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Series Code: PME
Program Code: PME241123S
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00:12 ♪ 00:21 >> Good morning, and welcome 00:22 to Pioneer Memorial Church. 00:24 Whether you're with us 00:25 here in person or online, 00:26 we're so glad to have you 00:28 as part of our Feast of Hymns. 00:31 For this next part 00:32 of the service, 00:33 I invite you to remain seated 00:34 as three choirs 00:35 are going to lead us in 00:36 "Holy, Holy, Holy." 02:40 >> Amen. 02:42 >> Lord God Almighty, 02:47 angels adore thee, 02:48 Casting down their crowns 02:50 around the glassy sea. 02:54 Lord God Almighty, 02:58 there is none beside me. 03:00 Perfect in power 03:01 and love and purity. 03:04 Lord God Almighty, 03:07 all thy works shall praise 03:09 thy name in earth and sky 03:12 and sea. 03:16 As we sing our expression of 03:18 joy, you'll find the words 03:21 and music in the bulletin 03:23 insert. 03:24 Please stand. 06:49 >> Good Sabbath, church. 06:52 The words of joy today 06:53 are taken from Psalm 98. 06:59 "O sing to the Lord a new song, 07:02 for he has done 07:03 marvelous things. 07:05 His right hand and his holy arm 07:08 have gained him the victory. 07:11 The Lord has made known 07:12 his salvation. 07:13 His righteousness 07:15 He has revealed 07:16 in the sight of the nations. 07:18 He has remembered his mercy 07:20 and his faithfulness 07:21 to the house of Israel. 07:23 All the ends of 07:24 the earth have seen 07:25 the salvation of our God. 07:28 Shout joyfully 07:30 to the Lord, all the earth. 07:32 Break forth in song. 07:33 Rejoice and sing praises. 07:36 Sing to the Lord with the harp, 07:38 with the harp 07:39 and the sound of a psalm, 07:40 with trumpets 07:41 and the sound of a horn. 07:43 Shout joyfully before 07:45 the Lord, the King." 07:47 This is God's word. 07:49 May we be blessed and touched 07:51 by God's joy among us. 21:28 >> We have much to be thankful 21:30 for this season, do we not? 21:34 You know, at this time of year, 21:35 usually we will look back 21:37 over the last 360-plus days 21:40 to see what blessings 21:42 we have received, 21:43 and this is a good thing to do. 21:45 My guess is, all of us, 21:47 regardless of 21:48 how difficult this last year 21:49 was, we can find something 21:51 to be grateful for. 21:53 For instance, 21:54 I'm fairly certain 21:55 that all of us here 21:57 can be grateful for food of 21:59 which you have had at least some 22:00 over the last year. 22:02 You are sitting here after all. 22:04 We can be grateful for shelter. 22:07 Whether you live in an abode 22:09 that is humble or high, 22:11 we can all be grateful 22:12 for a roof over our head. 22:15 We can also be grateful 22:16 for even more important things. 22:17 We can be grateful 22:19 for family and for friends 22:20 and for fellowship. 22:22 All of these things 22:24 are to be grateful for. 22:29 But I wonder if there is an even 22:34 better way to be thankful. 22:37 In fact, 22:38 could it be that this type 22:39 of thankfulness, by itself, 22:41 is forever incomplete? 22:45 Because, you see, 22:46 the truth is that 22:46 of all the things 22:47 that I just mentioned, 22:49 food and shelter and family, 22:50 et cetera, all of those things 22:52 that you or I might be thankful 22:54 for have already happened. 23:00 And you might be thinking, 23:02 "Well, what's so wrong with 23:02 that?" 23:06 Turn in your Bible, 23:07 please, to Matthew 8:5. 23:13 Matthew, the eighth chapter, 23:14 beginning with verse 5, 23:15 page 653 23:17 in the red pew Bible, 23:18 that is somewhere around 23:19 where you're sitting. 23:20 Matthew 8:5. 23:23 This, for context here, 23:25 is just after Jesus 23:28 on the sermon on the Mount, 23:29 the longest sermon 23:30 that we have Jesus doing. 23:31 He's just finished that. 23:32 He is headed now 23:33 to Capernaum, which is his home. 23:35 His hometown, obviously, 23:36 originally, was Bethlehem, 23:37 but Capernaum was 23:39 his adopted base of operations 23:40 as he ministered 23:41 in the region of Galilee. 23:43 And in this story 23:44 we're about to read, 23:45 he is going to meet 23:46 an important person. 23:48 Here's what happens. 23:48 Matthew 8:5. 23:51 "When Jesus had entered 23:52 Capernaum, a centurion came 23:55 to him asking for help." 23:57 Pause right there, please. 23:59 A centurion -- 24:00 We don't have these 24:02 in our military now, 24:03 although we do have something 24:04 that is close to it. 24:04 Centurions were 24:06 kind of mid-level officers. 24:07 They were the backbone 24:08 of the Roman military. 24:10 As you might imagine 24:11 from the name, century, 24:12 centurion, there's supposed 24:14 to be about 100 men under him. 24:15 In other words, 24:16 in actual practice, 24:17 probably 50 to 100. 24:18 He was 24:19 a relatively important man. 24:22 And he has a request. 24:25 Verse 6. 24:27 "'Lord,' he said, 24:29 'my servant lies at home 24:31 paralyzed 24:32 and in terrible suffering.' 24:35 Jesus said to him, 24:36 'I will go and heal him.' 24:39 The centurion replied, 'Lord, 24:42 I do not deserve to have 24:43 you come under my roof. 24:45 But just say the word, 24:48 and my servant will be healed. 24:50 For I myself 24:52 am a man under authority, 24:53 with soldiers under me. 24:55 I tell this one, "Go," 24:56 and he goes, 24:58 and that one, "Come," 24:59 and he comes. 25:00 I say to my servant, 25:02 "Do this," and he does it.' 25:05 When Jesus heard this, 25:07 he was astonished 25:10 and said to those following him, 25:12 'I tell you the truth, 25:13 I have not found anyone 25:15 in Israel with such great faith. 25:17 I say to you 25:18 that many will come from 25:19 the east and the west 25:20 and will take their places 25:21 at the feast with Abraham, 25:22 Isaac, and Jacob 25:23 in the kingdom of heaven. 25:24 But the subjects of the kingdom 25:25 will be thrown outside 25:27 into the darkness, 25:29 where there will be weeping 25:31 and gnashing of teeth.' 25:34 Then Jesus said 25:35 to the centurion, 25:36 'Go! It will be done just 25:40 as you believed it would.' 25:42 And his servant was healed 25:44 at that very hour." 25:47 Wow. 25:48 [ Chuckles ] 25:51 And thus, the centurion 25:53 and all of his household 25:55 undoubtedly were left rejoicing. 26:01 But the Pharisees 26:03 and the Jewish leaders, and 26:04 perhaps even Jesus' own 26:07 disciples were left fuming. 26:12 You see, 26:14 Jesus has done here something 26:15 that's a major faux pas 26:17 by Jewish standards of the day. 26:19 Number one, 26:19 he has gone to the home -- 26:21 he's agreed to go to 26:22 the home of a Gentile. 26:24 The traditions of the Jews 26:25 at that time said 26:25 that that made you somehow 26:27 unclean before the sight of God. 26:29 But it wasn't just any Gentile. 26:31 Number two, Jesus was going 26:33 to a Gentile Roman. 26:35 A Roman, part 26:37 of the very nation 26:38 that was oppressing 26:39 and had overthrown the Jews 26:40 and was now occupying Palestine. 26:43 And it wasn't just any Roman. 26:44 Number three, 26:45 it was a Roman centurion, 26:48 a member of the military. 26:50 I mean, who knows? 26:51 It could be some of the very men 26:52 that had struck down Jews 26:54 in this particular centurion's 26:55 unit. 26:56 And Jesus had agreed to go, 26:58 and he performs this miracle. 27:03 And he infers 27:04 that men like this centurion 27:07 will be in the kingdom. 27:09 But the subjects of the kingdom, 27:11 the ones who should know better, 27:13 will not be. 27:18 Yes, there was much rejoicing 27:19 in that centurion's house, 27:21 and probably a great deal 27:22 of fuming, again, perhaps even 27:24 amongst Jesus' own disciples 27:26 at what Jesus had done. 27:30 Now let us think carefully 27:31 for a moment here. 27:32 What made the difference? 27:35 What made the difference 27:37 between the rejoicing 27:38 of the centurion 27:39 and his household 27:40 and the fuming on the part 27:42 of many of the Jews that heard 27:44 and understood that this 27:45 event was taking place? 27:46 Well, we could probably give 27:48 a number of answers to that, 27:50 but perhaps, at the very least, 27:53 we could say this. 27:56 The Jews of Jesus' day 27:58 could only manage to survive 28:00 in the present 28:02 by protecting the past. 28:05 But the Roman centurion 28:07 could thrive in the present 28:10 by living as though God's 28:11 future had already come. 28:15 Now let's unpack 28:16 that for a moment. 28:18 The Jews of Jesus' day 28:19 could only manage to survive 28:20 in the present 28:21 by protecting the past. 28:22 Almost everything they did 28:24 was about the past. 28:25 You know, "We are God's 28:26 chosen people because he said so 28:28 in the past, 28:29 that we have traditions 28:30 by the dozens, 28:31 by the hundreds, 28:32 that have been passed 28:32 down from our rabbis 28:34 and teachers, et cetera. 28:35 If, in the past -- 28:36 The temple in Jerusalem 28:39 has been built here in the past, 28:40 and we will protect it." 28:42 Their days were consumed 28:44 with protecting what had 28:46 happened, and the best most 28:47 of them could eke out 28:49 was to survive in the present. 28:53 But the centurion -- 28:55 the centurion manages to thrive 28:58 in the present by living 29:00 as though God's future 29:02 had already come. 29:06 I wonder 29:07 if we could learn a few things 29:08 from that centurion. 29:12 You know, I mentioned a few 29:13 weeks ago that we Adventists can 29:16 have a love-hate relationship 29:17 with the end of time. 29:20 On the one hand, 29:20 there are many of us 29:21 that rightly love 29:22 to talk about some of the signs 29:25 of the end, you know, 29:27 signs in 29:27 the natural world of decay, 29:29 you know, signs in 29:30 the political world, wars 29:31 and rumors of wars, et cetera. 29:33 These are all good 29:34 and important things. 29:35 Jesus himself 29:36 said these are signs, 29:37 legitimate signs, 29:38 of his soon return, 29:39 so we need to pay 29:40 attention to them. 29:41 But on the other hand, 29:44 there are some signs 29:45 that we are reluctant 29:47 to talk about, 29:49 signs not out there, 29:50 but signs in here 29:52 and maybe even in here. 29:55 Signs like Revival and 29:58 Reformation, 29:59 signs like the outpouring 30:01 of the Holy Spirit of God, 30:02 signs and wonders -- 30:03 that makes us nervous -- 30:04 mass conversions, 30:05 every member a minister, 30:06 power-packed gatherings 30:08 of hundreds in this building 30:10 and other buildings 30:10 around the world 30:11 throughout the week, 30:12 devoting ourselves to prayer 30:14 and Bible study and evangelism. 30:15 Oh, what a day that will be. 30:22 And yet... 30:26 we are sometimes reluctant 30:27 to talk about that day. 30:31 In fact, sometimes we are 30:32 even embarrassed 30:33 by talk about that day, 30:36 and our silence on such topics 30:39 can become deafening. 30:43 How come? 30:46 Why can we be reluctant 30:47 to talk about those signs? 30:52 Well, again, I suppose there's 30:53 a variety of reasons, 30:55 but could it be that one of 30:56 the most foundational ones, 30:58 the reason we don't talk about 30:59 those kinds of signs is 31:02 because there's a part of us 31:04 that doesn't really believe 31:04 it's ever going to happen. 31:10 After all, I've heard it said -- 31:12 My guess is, if you've spent any 31:12 time around the Adventist 31:13 church, you've probably heard it 31:14 said, too. 31:16 It goes something like this. 31:17 "They told my grandfather 31:19 that Jesus was coming soon, 31:21 and he didn't. 31:24 They told my father that Jesus 31:26 was coming soon, and he didn't. 31:29 And now you're telling me 31:31 that Jesus is coming soon, and 31:35 you expect me to believe that?" 31:41 Ladies and gentlemen, 31:42 it is, indeed, hard to wait 31:47 so long for something so good 31:50 and so needed 31:51 as the second coming of Jesus. 31:54 It can be a real challenge 31:55 sometimes. 31:59 And sometimes, 32:00 in our fear of disappointment, 32:02 too many of us have become 32:03 at least somewhat like 32:04 1st-century Judaism. 32:06 We survive in the present 32:08 by defending the status quo, 32:09 what is right now. 32:11 And we can actually, at times, 32:12 oppose talk of revival or 32:14 the latter reign of the spirit, 32:16 either outright, verbally, 32:17 or just by our quiet lack 32:18 of participation. 32:19 And at the same time, 32:21 we seek to maintain 32:22 whatever level of comfort 32:23 we have today, 32:24 making sure that any talk 32:26 of seemingly far-fetched things 32:28 like reaching the masses and 32:29 thousands of conversions 32:30 in a day, et cetera, et cetera, 32:31 stays just that -- 32:33 talk and not action. 32:37 Because action might lead 32:39 to disappointment. 32:40 And who needs more of that? 32:47 But hold on. 32:50 Wait just a moment. 32:52 What about that centurion? 32:57 That centurion was no stranger 32:59 to disappointment himself. 33:01 I mean, let's think about this. 33:03 For this centurion 33:05 to do what he has done 33:07 in this story 33:07 obviously means he 33:09 had already experienced 33:10 probably a pretty wide range 33:11 of disappointment. 33:12 For instance, disappointment 33:13 with Roman medicine. 33:16 You know, he may not have been 33:17 the highest-ranking officer 33:18 in the Roman military, 33:19 but he was certainly 33:19 no slouch, either. 33:20 This was a man of influence 33:21 and probably a man of wealth. 33:23 In Luke's version of this story, 33:25 it tells about 33:26 how this centurion built 33:27 an entire synagogue there, 33:28 probably in Capernaum. 33:29 You have to have 33:30 some cash for that. 33:32 And any of the doctors 33:33 in the land probably 33:35 could have been at his disposal, 33:36 but he had been disappointed. 33:39 And let's just follow this 33:40 through logically. 33:41 The very fact that this 33:42 centurion is now talking 33:43 face-to-face with Jesus, 33:45 of all people, probably means 33:48 that he has come to the place 33:50 where he is disappointed with 33:52 much of the Roman system itself. 33:56 The endless conquest, 33:59 the Pagan worship, 34:00 the idolatry all 34:02 had left him dry 34:04 and disappointed. 34:10 But in his disappointment, 34:13 notice what he doesn't do. 34:17 He doesn't consult his fears. 34:19 He does not defend 34:20 the status quo as though 34:22 that's all that there is. 34:24 He does not deny 34:25 that great things can happen 34:26 or that great things are coming. 34:27 But instead, notice carefully, 34:29 he places his trust 34:31 in the invisible. 34:35 The invisible. 34:37 You know, as far as we know, 34:38 the centurion had never met 34:40 Jesus prior to this point. 34:41 Oh, he'd probably heard 34:41 something about him, 34:42 but he'd never met him. 34:44 And so what that means is, 34:45 is that the centurion here 34:46 is quite literally placing 34:48 his faith in that 34:49 which was as yet unseen, 34:51 undone, quite literally 34:52 invisible to anything 34:54 the human eye could see. 34:57 And what was the result? 34:59 Well, the result of that faith 35:02 in the invisible 35:03 was transformation, 35:05 was new hope, 35:07 new strength, life born anew. 35:09 How else do you describe 35:11 healing someone who's paralyzed 35:13 and near the point of death 35:14 when the doctor doesn't 35:15 even walk into the room? 35:17 [ Chuckles ] 35:20 Ladies and gentlemen, 35:22 Jesus never fails. 35:25 Jesus never fails. 35:27 Now, he may take longer 35:28 than we would like sometimes. 35:29 He may not act always 35:31 when we think he should act. 35:32 But when the time is 35:33 truly right, God moves. 35:35 God does precisely what 35:37 he said he would do. 35:39 And this is not just 35:40 like a dozen times in history, 35:42 or even what's limited in 35:44 what we have in the Bible here. 35:45 No, no, no, no. 35:46 There are tens of thousands of 35:47 times, even millions of times, 35:49 down through history 35:50 in the private lives 35:51 of his followers 35:52 and even before the wide-eyed 35:53 masses where God has proven 35:55 faithful. 35:57 That which he has said 35:58 he has done. 36:05 All of which means 36:08 that you and I here in the 36:09 present have a choice to make. 36:13 We can be content 36:15 to merely survive 36:17 in the often painful present, 36:19 bah-humbug'ing along 36:21 as a relic of some 36:22 formerly passionate movement, 36:24 or -- or -- we can choose 36:27 to thrive in the present 36:30 by realizing the future 36:32 even now. 36:34 By taking God at His Word, 36:36 by remembering, 36:37 as the centurion did, 36:38 that it is Jesus 36:39 who has promised these things, 36:41 who has promised revival and 36:42 reformation and miracles, 36:43 and legions of believers 36:44 engaged in prayer 36:46 and passionate Bible study, 36:47 and the outpouring 36:48 of the Spirit of God 36:49 for the finishing of the work, 36:50 and because Jesus 36:51 has never failed to deliver 36:53 on his promises, 36:54 we can choose to act 36:55 as though they are certain 36:56 to occur, 36:57 because they are certain 36:59 to occur because 37:00 Jesus Christ has said it. 37:05 You see, as it turns out, 37:07 the best way to guarantee 37:09 that Jesus will return 37:11 in your lifetime is to live 37:13 as though Jesus will return 37:15 in your lifetime. 37:16 [ Chuckles ] 37:18 And let's put an even 37:19 finer point on that. 37:21 Jesus will return 37:23 when two things converge. 37:26 The prophetic time clock 37:28 and the readiness of his people. 37:31 The prophetic time clock 37:32 and the readiness of his people. 37:36 Ladies and gentlemen, 37:36 by my reckoning, 37:37 the prophetic clock 37:39 is nearing midnight, 37:41 but are his 37:42 people nearing ready? 37:46 Are we truly living 37:47 effectively for God? 37:49 Are we following his voice? 37:51 Are we daily 37:52 about our father's business? 37:53 Are we doing all 37:54 that we can be doing 37:55 to reach the lost 37:56 and the wandering for Christ? 37:58 Are we faithfully living 37:59 like the centurion 38:00 in the present, 38:01 fully trusting that God's 38:02 glorious future 38:03 is going to happen? 38:09 This Thanksgiving, 38:11 please do give thanks 38:15 for what's happened in the past. 38:17 That's a good thing to do. 38:19 Thank God for family 38:20 and for friends 38:21 and for food and shelter 38:22 and all of those things. 38:23 Yes, yes, do that. 38:25 And let's also make 38:28 our gratitude complete 38:29 by taking it 38:31 one better step further. 38:33 As we thank God 38:35 for his blessings in the past, 38:37 may we also live 38:38 in such certainty of God's 38:40 faithfulness and power 38:41 that we actually thank God 38:42 for his blessings 38:43 in advance of them happening. 38:46 Thank God now for the great 38:48 revival movement that is coming. 38:50 Thank God now for the great wave 38:52 of reformation 38:53 that is on its way. 38:55 Thank God now for the outpouring 38:56 of the Holy Spirit 38:57 that will fall on God's people. 39:00 The finest hour of God's Church 39:02 is coming. 39:05 And it is coming here to Pioneer 39:08 and this campus and beyond. 39:10 So let us live 39:12 and be grateful now 39:15 for the invisible that 39:18 we might be ready when it comes. 39:32 ♪ Deep river 39:40 ♪ My home is over Jordan 39:48 ♪ Deep river, Lord 39:58 ♪ I want to cross over 40:02 into campground ♪ 40:07 ♪ Deep river 40:14 ♪ My home is over Jordan 40:23 ♪ Deep river, Lord 40:32 ♪ I want to cross over 40:35 into campground ♪ 40:44 ♪ Oh, don't you want to go 40:47 >> ♪ Don't you want to go 40:50 >> ♪ To the gospel feast 40:56 ♪ That promised land 41:03 where all is peace? ♪ 41:14 ♪ Deep river 41:20 ♪ My home is over Jordan 41:27 ♪ Deep river 41:34 ♪ Want to cross over 41:37 into campground ♪ 41:43 ♪ Deep river 41:50 ♪ My home is over Jordan 41:58 ♪ Deep river, Lord 42:07 ♪ I want to cross over 42:11 into campground ♪ 42:20 [ Applause ] 45:36 >> This is the time for us 45:37 to bring forward our gifts. 45:40 I want to invite the Pathfinders 45:41 to come forward 45:42 as they will be receiving 45:43 the gifts. 45:44 And this is an opportunity 45:46 for us to bring song, food, 45:49 tithes and offerings 45:51 and, of course, our letters. 45:55 ♪ 55:30 >> ♪ Amen 55:44 >> Let us pray. 55:47 Lord Jesus, we have so much 55:48 to be thankful for. 55:49 We know, Lord, 55:51 because you have promised 55:53 that our praise is 55:54 precious in your ears. 55:56 Lord, we have much of it, 55:56 and we thank you for 55:57 the blessings of life and 55:58 of family and of friends, 56:00 all the many things 56:01 that you shower on us. 56:02 And, Lord, we thank you 56:04 for the great things 56:05 that are yet to come. 56:07 Bless us Lord, 56:08 this holiday season, 56:09 for we ask it in your name. 56:11 Amen. 56:14 ♪ 56:20 >> ♪ Take joy 56:23 ♪ Take joy 56:26 ♪ Live thanks 56:28 ♪ Live thanks 56:32 ♪ Joy 56:37 ♪ Thanks 56:42 ♪ 56:51 >> I'm Shane Anderson, 56:53 the lead pastor here 56:54 at Pioneer Memorial Church. 56:56 At Pioneer Media, 56:57 we have been blessed 56:58 by the financial support 57:00 that comes from our viewers 57:01 like you that enable us 57:03 to continue this ministry. 57:05 We've made a conscious decision 57:07 not to continually appeal to you 57:08 for that support. 57:10 However, keeping this ministry 57:11 going takes money 57:12 to support our staff and 57:14 technology needs. 57:15 If God has blessed you 57:17 and you would like 57:18 to further the work of this 57:19 ministry, we invite you 57:21 to partner with us. 57:22 You can donate 57:23 on our website pmchurch.org, 57:26 then click "Giving" at the top, 57:28 then select "Media Ministry." 57:31 Or call the number 57:33 877-HIS-WILL. 57:35 Again, that number is 877, 57:38 the two words "HIS WILL." 57:40 My prayer is that the God 57:42 who has blessed 57:43 you will continue to pour 57:45 into your life the gifts 57:46 of his joy and his hope. 57:48 Thank you, and I'm 57:50 looking forward to seeing 57:51 you right here again next time. 57:58 ♪ 58:08 ♪ 58:18 ♪ |
Revised 2024-12-05