Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP200822S
|
00:02 ♪♪
00:11 >> Good morning, saints. We're gonna start our praise 00:15 with singing a traditional African greeting song. 00:19 I'm gonna sing it through once, and then I'm gonna invite you to 00:22 join in with me. This is a time where we want to 00:26 give you the opportunity to wave and say hello to your neighbor. 00:30 Amen? I know we're social distancing, 00:32 but we can still say hello. [ "Good Morning, Jesus" begins ] 02:50 [ "The Lion and the Lamb" begins ] ♪♪ 03:02 ♪♪ ♪♪ 07:02 God is King. Amen? >> Amen. >> And not only is He King, He's 07:08 our Savior. And He wants to be not just the Savior for the world but the 07:14 Savior for each individual's personal story -- so much so that He will cover 07:21 your past, He will cover all of your brokenness and even invite you into His Father's house. 07:29 He has prepared a place for you and for me. And so I want to invite you to 07:36 sing with us "Who You Say I Am." "Who You Say I Am." [ "Who You Say I Am" begins ] 07:42 I'm gonna invite you to stand as we sing this one. 12:03 ♪♪ >> Hey, Sis, Dad, Mom! Come on! 12:09 "Children's Story" is on! >> Hello, boys and girls. 12:13 Happy Sabbath, and welcome to church. 12:16 Today I'm gonna tell you a story, but it's a different kind 12:19 of story, and I need you to listen very careful. 12:21 This is a parable, and I'm going to try to use a number of 12:24 different references to different things that you're 12:27 gonna find in the Bible. 12:29 And, hopefully, those of you who are older will be able to see how many of those connections 12:34 you can find. And then I'm trying to connect it to Pastor Dwight's sermon, so 12:39 we'll see how all the pieces fit together. If you're younger, I want to 12:44 invite you just to follow along and enjoy the story. Today's story is about a little 12:49 girl, and her name was Elizabeth, and she had a brother by the name of Thomas, and 12:53 Thomas had a twin. And their mom -- Thomas and Elizabeth and his twin -- her 13:01 twin, his twin -- lived in a big stone house that their great-great-grandparents had 13:08 built on a big rock on the side of a mountain. Their mother's name was Shalom. 13:14 And the three of them were waiting for something very, very special. 13:19 Their older brother, Joshua, had gone on a long trip to go and do some very important work with 13:24 their dad, and he had promised them that he would come back to get them all and that there 13:32 could be a big storm that would come before he came back. So they were waiting in the big 13:40 brick house that was built on the rock on the side of the mountain. 13:43 They lived in a town that had people from all over the world there, with a big factory that 13:50 made cars that ran on electricity. And the people were saying that 13:55 these cars were going to help to change the world for the better. They didn't know that the storm 14:00 was coming. So they worked every day, and they came from all over the 14:04 world, and they had funny names from different countries, and they worked in different parts 14:09 of this factory. And so Elizabeth and Thomas and his brother, they went to school 14:16 and they made friends with all kinds of people -- people that spoke different languages -- and 14:23 they loved their friends. They also loved to go walking around in the neighborhood 14:28 because it was a rural area and there were all different kinds of animals like dogs, and cows 14:37 that went [Moos] And sheep that went [Bleating] And even a pig or two that went 14:46 [Grunting and squealing] And when they heard the pigs squealing, they would giggle and 14:56 think, "What a silly sound that pigs make." Every morning they would wake 15:01 up, and they would hear the rooster crow. [ Crowing ] 15:06 And they knew it was time to go and do their chores and help their mom and clean the house 15:10 before they went to school. Well, one day their mom said, "You're not going to school 15:16 today because there's reports of a big storm." So they decided that they would 15:22 stay at home, and they watched the dark clouds rolling in, and they heard the [Whooshing] 15:32 wind blowing around the mountaintops, and they saw the clouds billowing in the sky. 15:37 And it got more and more ominous and dark. And then suddenly they heard a 15:44 deep rumbling sound [Rumbling] in the distance, and they saw a flash of lightning, and they 15:50 knew that the storm that their brother Joshua had told them about was coming. 15:54 But it wasn't there yet. It was still a long way off. They lived in a little town 15:58 along a river, and they thought to themselves, "We should invite our friends to come into our 16:03 house because our house is built on a rock on the side of the mountain." 16:06 And so they started calling. And so Elizabeth called her friend Shakira, and she said, 16:11 "Shakira, I want to invite you to come into our house because a big storm is coming, and I want 16:17 you to come and be safe with us." And Shakira said, "Oh, sure. 16:21 I'll come. Let me just see if my mom can come too." 16:25 And so her and her mom ran up the street and around the corner, and they took the steps 16:29 up to the house, and they knocked on the door. [ Knocking ] 16:32 And they opened the door, and they said, "Come on in, come on in." 16:35 Thomas said, "I've got a friend whose name is Christian, and I'm gonna call him." 16:41 And so he called Christian, and Christian said, "I'm just a little sleepy. 16:46 I spent the whole night sleeping and a whole night watching Facebook and Instagram. 16:55 I'm too sleepy to come." And so he didn't come. And then they called their 17:00 friend Hideki, and Hideki said, "Of course I'll come." He came over to the house with 17:06 his parents, and they stayed inside. And then they called another 17:09 friend and another friend and another friend. And then one of their friends 17:12 said, "I've got a friend too," and they invited that friend to come. 17:15 And they waited, and the storm got worse and it started raining buckets. 17:18 [ Whooshing and rumbling ] They looked out the window, and they called one more friend, and 17:24 they got their flashlights, and they were holding it by the window so that their friend 17:28 could see the house, and they heard the knock on the door. And then they waited for their 17:32 brother Joshua to come back. And they waited, and the storm got worse and worse, and the 17:37 river started rising. And soon the homes in the valley started to disappear. 17:43 Then, as they were waiting and wondering when -- like, it seemed it was the worst time -- 17:49 all of a sudden the sky opened up just long enough, and they looked up, and there was a 17:55 massive helicopter with two propellers. [ Whirring ] 18:00 And it came down to the side of the mountain where the house was, and they heard a voice from 18:04 their big brother Joshua. He said, "Come on over to the helicopter! 18:07 Come quickly!" And they all ran over to the house, and they got on the 18:10 helicopter, and they were taken away with their friends from all around the world that they had 18:14 called. Some of them didn't want to come, but the ones who came were 18:17 safe, and they went in the helicopter with Joshua to the place where their dad was 18:23 working, safe, far away from the storm. So that's the end of the story. 18:30 I'm gonna invite you to think about, what are the parallels that we learned from in the 18:35 Bible and that you see in Pastor Dwight's sermon that may be speaking to the good news 18:40 that Jesus has promised to come and take us back? Even though there's a terrible 18:45 storm, He's given us a safe house to stay in, and I pray that you will put your trust in 18:51 Jesus and stay safe in His house until Jesus comes to take us home. 18:56 >> Dear Jesus, thank you for this Holy Sabbath. 19:00 I'd like to ask You to bless all of those praying with us. 19:05 Help the orphans and help the poor and help those who have never had a home before. 19:12 And please help us all to pass those trials and tests that we ourselves, we face -- with 19:22 spiritual tests and real tests, trials that we all have in our life. 19:28 Help us to pass them, and while we are, to earn faith and patience. 19:33 And please, Lord, when we go to heaven and we take off our masks of suffering, it will be a very 19:40 great day, and it's good to remember You here on Earth this Sabbath while we escape this 19:47 world of suffering and see our new world with you. In the name of Jesus. Amen. 19:55 ♪♪ 20:04 ♪♪ 20:35 >> ♪ One day You'll make everything new, Jesus ♪ ♪ One day You will bind every 20:45 wound ♪ ♪ The former things shall all pass away ♪ 20:54 ♪ No more tears >> ♪ One day You'll make sense of it all, Jesus ♪ 21:05 ♪ One day every question resolved ♪ ♪ Every anxious thought 21:14 left behind ♪ ♪ No more fear >> ♪ When we all get to heaven 21:31 ♪ What a day of rejoicing that will be ♪ ♪ When we all see Jesus 21:45 ♪ We'll sing and shout the victory ♪ >> ♪ One day we will see 21:55 face to face, Jesus ♪ ♪ Is there a greater vision of grace ♪ 22:06 ♪ And in a moment, we shall be changed ♪ ♪ On that day 22:16 >> ♪ And one day we'll be free, free indeed ♪ ♪ Jesus 22:23 ♪ One day all this struggle will cease ♪ ♪ And we will see Your glory 22:32 revealed ♪ ♪ On that day ♪ When we all get to heaven 22:48 ♪ What a day of rejoicing that will be ♪ ♪ When we all see Jesus 23:01 ♪ We'll sing and shout the victory ♪ ♪ When we all get to heaven 23:13 ♪ What a day of rejoicing that will be ♪ ♪ When we all see Jesus 23:26 ♪ We'll sing and shout the victory ♪ 23:55 ♪ When we all get to heaven ♪ What a day of rejoicing that will be ♪ 24:09 ♪ When we all see Jesus ♪ We'll sing and shout the victory ♪ 24:22 ♪ We'll sing and shout the victory ♪ ♪ We'll sing and shout the 24:35 victory ♪ 24:51 >> When we all get to heaven. Did you hear little Ezra? 24:54 I scribbled it down just a moment ago. 24:56 "When we go to heaven and take off our masks of suffering." 24:59 Did you hear that? I don't know how old he is. 25:02 9, 10, 11. That's a line to take home. 25:06 We'll take off these masks of suffering one day. 25:10 "How long is this pandemic gonna last, Dwight?" 25:12 "I have no idea." 25:14 Nobody knows. But here we are on the cusp of a brand-new year at 25:21 Andrews University. I want to ask you a simple question. 25:26 If your house were burning down, would you want me to warn you? So you're inside, I'm walking 25:34 outside, I see the flames. Would you want me to warn you? >> Yes. 25:38 >> Oh, but of course. If the world were burning down, should we warn it? 25:51 If America is beginning to burn down, should somebody say something? 25:57 Somebody like you? "American Apocalypse." A brand-new series that begins 26:06 right now. Boy, I wrestled long and hard this summer. 26:14 With God. In prayer. Do we go there? 26:22 Do we really go there? The moment you speak of this country... 26:29 you're gonna move into controversial realities. And somebody's gonna stand up 26:38 and say, "You can't say that." But if the house is burning down and you don't say anything, 26:47 aren't we morally culpable if we know? American Apocalypse in this 26:58 season of the pandemic. Here we are with our masks. American Apocalypse in this 27:07 season of racial fracture and class warfare. American Apocalypse in this 27:20 season of a broken economy. All the Band-Aids in the world won't save it. 27:28 American Apocalypse in this season of a conflicted election. And let me tell you something. 27:36 It's not the election we're worried about. It's the day after the election 27:39 that we're worried about. Isn't that right? American Apocalypse and the 27:47 remnant church that is sound asleep, if not comatose, in the West. 27:58 American Apocalypse. Come to think of it, that's why God gave prophecies in the first 28:07 place -- to be a warning. A halogen light shining down the pathway. 28:13 We talked about halogen lights last night with the new students. 28:19 Shining down the pathway, saying, "Look out. Look out. 28:24 It's coming." Are you gonna say something about it? 28:29 Am I gonna say something about it, or do we just let it crash and burn? 28:36 American Apocalypse. Because the time is right. Let's pray. 28:42 Oh, God. My, oh, my. If not now, when? 28:54 And if not prophecy, what? Here we are with our masks, physically distanced, but the 29:04 Holy Spirit is within us. And we're all connected through Him. 29:09 We're not alone. Pastor Jenifer's beautiful "Season of Prayer" a moment 29:12 ago -- We're not alone. We're bound together. Michelle having us wave to each 29:16 other. "At least somebody greeted me today." 29:21 We're here. Gilbert reminded us, "You got to pray." 29:26 You got to pray. This is the season of the prophecies. 29:32 And so we are praying. Have at it right now. We pray in Jesus' name. 29:36 Amen. Open your Bible with me, please, to the Apocalypse, the Bible's 29:40 last book, the Book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 1. 29:42 The opening line. We're together. There are two lines that you 29:47 must get right off the bat. Before we take another step into these prophecies, two lines. 29:53 You get these two lines, and the mysterious doors to the Apocalypse will open wide for 30:00 you. This is your journey. Your exploration. 30:07 Your discovery. Two lines. Here's line number one. 30:12 Revelation 1:1. I'm in the New International Version. 30:15 "The revelation from Jesus Christ..." Now, the Greek can be translated 30:20 "The revelation of Jesus Christ," revealing Jesus. Or is it from Jesus? 30:24 Is it about Jesus? It can go all three ways. "The revelation of 30:32 Jesus Christ -- from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants..." 30:39 Well, who are His servants? Anybody that follows Him. This church is filled right now 30:43 with servants. Livestreaming -- servants watching. 30:46 The servants of Jesus. So it goes from God the Father to God the Son. 30:52 Now, what does God the Son do with it? "The revelation from 30:57 Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. 31:02 He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John..." 31:06 Do you know that Jesus has a guardian angel? In fact when he came here as a 31:10 little human baby, that angel was assigned to him the entire time he was here. 31:15 I happen to know the name of that angel because that angel shows up in the Book of Daniel, 31:20 which is a twin book with Revelation, and that angel is unabashed to say, "My name is 31:24 Gabriel." Some of you are named Gabriel. "My name is Gabriel, man of 31:28 God." This is the same Gabriel. He's the prime minister of the 31:35 universe. Christ Jesus our Lord is the King. 31:38 He has a prime minister. "I have an errand for you, Gabriel. 31:42 Go!" So he sent it through Gabriel, and who does it go to? 31:45 It says he sent it to his servant John. Which John is this? 31:48 This John Boy who's now the elderly John. You look at verse 9, he's on the 31:52 isle of Patmos. Why is he on Patmos? Because that's a penal 31:56 penitentiary Roman institution of incarceration. He's in jail. 32:03 For his faith. Read verse 9. It's for his faith. 32:06 And, by the way, Domitian is the emperor in Rome, in the Roman Empire at this moment. 32:11 Domitian has already tried to snuff out the witness of this John Boy turned elderly John. 32:17 He threw him in a boiling cauldron of oil, tradition tells us -- threw him in there. 32:22 "Let's watch him burn." And he just stood there. [ Chuckles ] Nothing happened. 32:26 He finally crawled back out, and they said, "Dry the oil off of him." 32:32 God did that in the Book of Daniel -- put three boys in a fiery furnace seven times 32:37 hotter, and those boys just stood there like nothing's going on. 32:41 Both books remind us that, if you are a follower, if you are a servant of the Most High God, 32:46 you have nothing to fear for what's coming ahead. Now, there's gonna be some stuff 32:50 that's gonna make us tremble a bit. It ought to. 32:53 That's why it's a warning. But you don't have to be afraid. So, let's see -- it goes from 32:58 God the Father to God the Son, God the Son to Gabriel, Gabriel to John -- oh, and John at the 33:05 end of verse 1, to his servant John -- verse 2 now -- "who testifies to everything he 33:10 saw -- that is, the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ." 33:14 Now here it comes. Verse 3. "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this 33:18 prophecy." Oh, I'll take that blessing right now because that's what 33:22 I'm doing -- I'm reading aloud the words of this prophecy. You're gonna find out in one 33:26 split second that that's you reading aloud to yourself. 33:29 "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this 33:32 prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart 33:36 what is written in it, because the time is --" what? 33:39 "The time is... "The time is near." 33:43 Come on, keep that on the screen. 33:45 "Because...the...time...is near." 33:49 Now, there's some scholars, God bless them, that push this point 33:54 too far. "What point are you talking 33:55 about, Dwight?" I'm talking about the point that 33:57 says, "Listen, we know that Revelation was written for the 33:59 first-century Christians because they're the original readers. 34:02 Therefore, the Book of Revelation has to make sense to them." 34:04 It does not have to make sense to them. I read another scholar this 34:08 summer that says, "Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa! Not so fast. 34:11 The Book of Revelation was written for the last generation of the human race." 34:16 Of course the first century read it, but what do you think the 21st century is gonna do? 34:22 We're gonna read it, as well. Why would it be especially for the endgame generation? 34:28 Because they're the ones that are gonna live through these hairy, scary stories. 34:35 This was intended, in its completeness, for one generation, and it's the 34:40 generation that is the final generation, and you can't tell me and I can't tell you that 34:46 you're it or I'm it. But I'm watching a house beginning to burn -- 34:53 "American Apocalypse." Don't miss next week, whatever you do. 35:02 Yeah. The time is near. Now, there's a generation that was intended to get the whole 35:08 story, and you and I are part of that generation right now. Hey, let me tell you about 35:13 William Shakespeare, because if you take honors class here at Andrews University, you'll read 35:17 some of Shakespeare's plays. "The Tempest." Honors students particularly, 35:23 you might remember this line if you've already taken the class. What did Shakespeare write? 35:28 That "what is past is prologue." So, here's the deal. That's true about prophecy. 35:34 What happens back here is a huge clue as to what's gonna happen up here. 35:39 What's happened behind us is a clue to what's gonna happen ahead of us. 35:42 You're gonna, in this -- You're gonna run into all kinds of strange stuff, but you're gonna 35:47 run into a woman who's drunk. She's called a prostitute. She's called a whore in some of 35:51 your translations. And you know what she's drunk with? 35:54 She's drunk with the blood of God's friends. Can you believe that? 35:58 She's drunk with the blood [Gasps] of God's friends. And if what is past is prologue, 36:06 what has happened behind us -- ohh -- is gonna happen in front of us. 36:13 Yeah. Warning -- the house is burning down. 36:21 Whoa. Yeah, make no mistake about it, this book is for you. 36:25 This book is really for you. [ Tapping book ] Alright, read verse 1 again 36:33 because we got to get this. Verse 1. "The Revelation from --" of, 36:36 about -- "Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take 36:41 place." How does it read in the Greek? It reads, "The Revelation --" 36:45 the apokalupsis, the apokalupsis. That means "the unveiling," pull 36:48 the -- you know, they're unveiling a new car model, they take that cloth off and -- 36:54 [ Exhales deeply ] That's what's happening here, an unveiling. 36:58 Of what? The end-time events? What does it say? 37:01 The unveiling of what? It's the unveiling of the Lord Jesus Christ. 37:05 That's the unveiling taking place. I want to tell you something, 37:09 newbie reader of Revelation. What you're gonna be looking for is a portrait of Jesus. 37:15 This book is all about Jesus -- hands down, from stem to stern, cover to cover. 37:21 It's about Him. And if, in my teaching, I neglect to point Him out, I am 37:29 praying to God already, "Send the Holy Spirit immediately to cover for me and show her, show 37:35 him the picture of Jesus that, at this moment, is extremely personal to you." 37:41 Do you need power? On the eve of this new year, do you need power? 37:45 You are going to be introduced to a Jesus with all the power in the universe. 37:49 There is nothing that can stand in His way. 37:53 Do you need hope in this season of the pandemic? 37:56 [ Chuckles ] You're gonna meet a Jesus in the Apocalypse who will 38:00 have all the hope, the hope of what's even ahead when we all 38:05 get to heaven. What a day of rejoicing that 38:09 will be, when we all see Jesus. We'll sing and shout the 38:17 victory. Everything you need, you're 38:19 gonna find in Jesus, the Jesus of the Apocalypse. 38:22 So don't run from this, whatever you do. 38:24 Grab it. 38:29 "The revelation of..." Put that on the screen there. 38:32 "Revelation of..." "Revelation from..." 38:35 I'm gonna skip one. Go to the next line. 38:38 "The revelation of, the revelation from, the revelation about Jesus Christ." 38:44 That's line one. You got to get this. There are two lines. 38:47 If you get the two lines, the mysterious doors of Revelation will open for you in your 38:51 private reading, alright? There's line one. Let's go to line two. 38:55 So now we go to the literary middle of the book. The heart of the book is 38:58 Revelation chapter 12, alright? So now we're jumping down the pike here. 39:04 Revelation chapter 12. Let's begin in verse 7. "Then war --" Whew! 39:10 War broke out. Guess where. Guess where war broke out. Long before it broke out in your 39:16 mom and dad's marriage, long before it broke out in the office where you work, long 39:20 before it broke out in the dormitory where you live, long before war broke out in that 39:25 relationship that has crushed your heart, long before it broke out on earth, it broke out in 39:30 God's home. I have parents who sit in my office and they are weeping. 39:34 "Dwight, what have we done? We made a mistake. Our child has run away from 39:40 God." You know what I have to say to those parents every single time? 39:43 "I know your heart is broken. I want to remind you, however, there is a perfect parent in 39:47 this universe who lost one third of his family in a perfect home." 39:51 Go figure. God knows what war's all about. It has wounded Him to the core. 39:57 He will carry secret wounds for the rest of eternity. He knows what you're going 40:02 through. "War broke out in heaven. Michael --" oh, that's the 40:07 apocalyptic name for Christ before he was a baby Jesus. "Michael and his angels fought 40:12 against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 40:15 And he --" the dragon -- "was not strong enough --" hallelujah, amen -- "and they 40:19 lost their place in heaven. That great dragon was hurled down -- that ancient serpent 40:23 called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth..." 40:29 Hit the pause button right there. Because if line number 1 is the 40:34 truth that Jesus is the subject of the Apocalypse, line number 2 is His defeat of Satan is the 40:42 focus of the Apocalypse. You got to get both of those. He's the subject of everything. 40:48 His defeat of Satan is the focus of everything in the Book of Revelation. 40:54 You don't believe me? "Oh, Dwight, you're just making that up." 40:57 Nope. Keep reading. Pick it up in verse 9 again. "That great dragon was hurled 41:02 down -- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world 41:06 astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." 41:09 Now, come on, hold on, hold on. Verse 10. "Then I heard a loud voice --" 41:13 megales phone. This is a shout. This is a megaphone. 41:16 That's how it reads in the Greek. 41:19 "I heard a megaphone in heaven say: 'Now have come the 41:22 salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the 41:26 authority of His Messiah --'" Christ. 41:29 "'For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who 41:32 accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 41:36 And they --'" these are the followers of Jesus. 41:39 "'They triumphed over him --'" that's that wicked dragon. 41:42 "'They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb --'" code 41:45 language for Calvary -- "'and by the word of their testimony; for 41:49 they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.'" 41:53 You remember that drunk woman? She was drunk back there, she'll 41:55 be drunk again. That line is gonna be important 41:57 to remember. When the moment comes, you will 42:00 not shrink. You will not shrink... 42:09 from what stands before you. "'They did not shrink from 42:13 death. Therefore --'" verse 12 -- 42:15 "'rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!'" 42:19 Whew! He's gone. Lucifer is gone forever. 42:22 "'But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone 42:27 down to you! He is filled with fury, because 42:30 he knows that his time is short." 42:33 Both passages we've read have ended with the same point -- the time is near, the time is short. 42:38 Either way, for an endgame generation, this book is absolutely your chart for your 42:46 spiritual journey with Jesus through the endgame and the house burning down. 42:56 Wow. We're in a war, and this battle's intensifying. 43:01 [ Chuckles ] Don't you let anybody kid you. It's worse today than it was a 43:05 year ago today. It's worse today than it was last month. 43:08 The battle is intensifying. The war is intensifying. This is not the little 43:15 mythological Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader with that lightsaber fight to the death. 43:20 This is not that! This is the real deal! There are only two sides -- 43:27 Christ and Satan. Only two sides in this war. Only two sides. 43:37 These prophecies that we are plunging into now describe the stunning detail of the desperate 43:42 war raging between the forces of light and the forces of darkness on a battlefield called earth. 43:47 But guess what. Where the battleground really is, it's between your two ears, 43:51 between my two ears. This is where the battle is being waged. 43:55 And I'm telling you, both sides are playing for keeps. One side will use intimidation 44:02 and brute force, if he can get by with it. The other side will only use 44:05 persuasion and woo and love and just draw -- "No, no, no, no. Don't -- Come back, come back." 44:12 It will feel like you're going crazy. You are not going crazy. 44:16 That battle going inside of your mind is as real as the nose on your face. 44:22 They're all battling for your allegiance, for your loyalty. They need you to say yes to 44:28 them, and there are only two sides. There are not three. 44:30 "No, Dwight, I have a third side." "Oh, really, Miss? 44:32 What's your third side?" "My third side is me." [ Chuckles ] 44:38 You? If you're making you the third side, guess what. 44:41 You're automatically on the side of the one who said, "Me first," and started this 44:47 whole...bloomin' mess. There are only two sides, and every morning when you awaken, 44:53 you have to answer the question, "Yo, boy, girl, whose side are you on today?" 44:58 Every night when you go to sleep, in that dormitory room, no matter what has happened 45:02 before, you're going to sleep, the question will be put to you again... 45:07 "Whose side are you on?" Only two sides. Which side am I on? 45:18 Was talking with a young man last summer who got sucked into the drug culture, okay? 45:25 Started off with a little bit of weed. Then it was prescription 45:30 drugs -- not his own. And then it was meth. And then the dragon said, 45:34 "Gotcha. I gotcha, boy." He told me -- speaking of this 45:42 war that we're all in -- he told me there were moments of sobriety when he could think 45:46 clearly and, in those moments of sobriety, the voice of God would speak to him and say, "Come on, 45:51 come on, come on, come on. Come back. Come back to me. You want peace? 45:54 I'll give it to you. You want fulfillment? I'll give it you. Come to me." 45:58 And he said, invariably, in those moments of sobriety, when he would hear the voice of 46:03 God -- [Exhales dramatically] there would be that dark dragon, this accusing voice. 46:11 You know what the dragon would say to him? "You can't go back now. 46:18 [ Snickering ] Look at you. Look at you. You are hopelessly addicted. 46:21 I mean, how many times have you asked God to deliver you? And, apparently, God can't do it 46:26 or you don't want it. You cannot go back. I'll tell you what, boy. 46:30 You know what you are? You are a loser. That's what you are. 46:34 You are a loser. You have lost this thing. You know what you want to do. 46:39 You want to belong to me. You come back. We'll just put that little 46:43 conscience to sleep, and then I'll give you everything you want." 46:48 As he's telling me this, my eyes are just welling up with tears because I'm realizing how brutal 46:56 the fury of the dragon who's about to lose his victim. 47:08 You've heard the accuser. I've heard the accuser. I've heard that "loser" line. 47:14 It's so old. He ought to give it up. "Loser." 47:19 You've heard that voice. But I'm telling you what, on the authority of what we just read, 47:28 that boy who told me his story... I'll show you. Read it again. 47:35 Lookit. Verse 10. "Then I heard a megaphone 47:37 in heaven saying: 'Now have come the --'" this is at Calvary -- 47:40 "'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of 47:43 our God, and the authority of His Messiah. 47:45 For the accuser --'" the accuser, the accuser -- "'of our 47:48 brothers and sisters --'" and you and me, who accuses us day 47:51 and night before God -- he has been hurled down. 47:54 And they -- you and me -- triumph over him by the blood of 47:57 the Lamb, and we triumph over him by the word of our 48:00 testimony -- and we're gonna be sharing those testimonies here. 48:03 For, "'They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from 48:06 death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens 48:08 and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the 48:11 sea, because the devil has gone down to you! 48:13 He is filled with fury, he knows that his time is short.'" 48:17 The generation that reads this, when the time is short, needs the fullness of what has just 48:22 been promised. And I'm telling you, I'm happy to tell you today that he was in 48:27 church today -- that boy. He had a face mask on, so you won't recognize him. 48:34 He's a volunteer in this church today because he found out, "Now has come salvation and power" to 48:43 the one who yields his life to the Lord Jesus Christ. He's no longer a loser. 48:50 Guess what. He's a winner. He's a winner! 48:54 The devil was lying to him because that's the only language the devil knows. 48:58 He's a liar from birth. He's a liar. Don't you ever believe him. 49:05 Wow. [ Chuckles ] Hallelujah. That young man is living proof 49:11 of these words. Gonna end with these words. 49:16 Put them on the screen for you -- "Steps to Christ." 49:20 There it is. "When Satan --" the accuser. 49:23 "When Satan comes to tell you that you are a great sinner --" 49:27 guess what, no surprise -- "look up to your Redeemer --" the 49:32 Jesus of the Apocalypse -- "and talk of Jesus' merits. 49:35 That which will help you is to look to His light." 49:39 We talked about the light last night. 49:41 Keep your eyes on the light. Next line. 49:43 "Acknowledge your sin, but tell the enemy that 'Christ Jesus 49:46 came into the world to save sinners' and that you --" that 49:50 I, that we -- "may be saved by His matchless love." 49:53 Hallelujah. Is there more? "We have been great sinners --" 49:57 yep, yep, yep, yep -- "but Christ died that we might be 50:01 forgiven. It is when we most fully 50:03 comprehend the love of God that we best realize the sinfulness 50:07 of sin." Keep going. 50:09 "When we see the length of the chain that was let down for 50:13 us --" at Calvary. Man, somebody climbed all the 50:16 way down that chain to save me from my pit. 50:20 "When we understand something of the infinite sacrifice that 50:24 Christ has made in our behalf --" here we go now -- 50:26 "the heart --" talking about your heart and mine -- "is 50:29 melted with tenderness and contrition." 50:34 Good news that Jesus Christ revealed in the Bible's last 50:39 book is everything you need for the new journey in front of us 50:43 all -- everything you need. When you're standing in line, 50:48 read the Apocalypse. Say, "Dwight, I'm not gonna 50:50 carry my Bible around." You have it on your phone. 50:53 The lines are longer now with the pandemic anyway. 50:55 Pull your phone out. Read it in your room. 51:02 Read it in your home. 51:04 Something -- there's some mysterious power in the reading of the Revelation. 51:10 I end this line from the same author as "Steps to Christ." 51:14 I couldn't skip this. "When we as a people --" this 51:16 little faith community -- "understand what this book --" 51:18 we're talking about Revelation here. 51:20 "When we as a people understand what this book means to us --" 51:24 as a faith community -- "there will be seen among us a --" 51:27 what's this word right here? What's this word? 51:29 Call it out to me. >> Together: "Great." 51:30 >> "Great." And what's this word right here? 51:32 >> Together: "Revival." >> "There will be a great 51:34 revival." We have been praying for a 51:36 revival for years on this campus and in this congregation. 51:39 Guess what. I just found out this summer -- 51:42 you want a revival, you want a revival at Andrews University, 51:44 you want a revival in the Pioneer Memorial Church, you 51:47 want a revival in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 51:49 then go back to the Book of Revelation. 51:52 Go back to the Apocalypse. It's all about Jesus, and it's the Jesus we need to know now 51:58 for what's just ahead. Would you join me in praying for that revival? 52:05 Would you join me? Every day when you pick the book up, say, "Jesus, I don't know. 52:08 Dwight said to read the book, so I'm just slowly working my way through it, but, Jesus, I see 52:13 here -- would You please do for us what we have never in a time of peace and prosperity been 52:19 able to do for ourselves? Do it now as the house burns down. 52:28 Give us the time we need to tell Your story while there's still time." 52:35 Let's pray. Oh, God... Oh, God. 52:42 We're not asking You to burn down Your house. Boy, the devil doesn't like that 52:46 Book. Whew! He doesn't like that Book. 52:49 He'll throw it to the ground. You know what he'll do, God. We just saw that. 52:52 We just saw that. He walked by. We just saw that, Lord. 52:59 That's what we're up against. But you know what? It doesn't matter to You. 53:06 They can destroy the Book. They can get rid of every printed word that speaks of 53:12 Jesus. But we have Jesus in our hearts. And we're facing this brave new 53:18 pandemic new year. We're facing it with confidence and courage. 53:24 Because Jesus already won the war. There are a few battles that got 53:31 to be taking place, but He's already, at Calvary, won the war. 53:34 And we praise You. Now, Father, don't burn our hearts down. 53:39 Ignite our hearts, please. Ignite our hearts with this great revival so that we are 53:45 compelled to move away, move out, move out. We are propelled into a world 53:50 that desperately needs to know its house is burning down. Set us ablaze with Your reviving 53:57 love. We humbly pray in Jesus' name. Let all the people say amen. 54:04 And amen. The world is coming to an end. We have nothing to fear. 54:09 We have everything to look forward to, and we have a friend, our very best friend, 54:15 who goes with us. And to that I say amen. >> Amen. 54:22 [ "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" begins ] ♪♪ 54:33 ♪♪ ♪♪ 56:43 >> Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. 56:46 The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto 56:48 you. The Lord lift up His countenance 56:51 upon you and give you peace. 56:53 Now and forever more, let all the church say... >> Amen. 56:56 >> Amen. ♪♪ 57:08 >> Think of the last time someone said, "I'm praying for 57:11 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 from one of our viewers 57:19 saying, "Yo, Dwight, I've been praying for you lately." 57:21 There's nothing like knowing someone is praying for you. 57:23 So I want to offer you an opportunity to partner -- let 57:26 me, let us partner with you in prayer. 57:28 If you have a special prayer request or a praise of 57:31 thanksgiving you'd like to share with us, I'm inviting you to 57:34 contact one of our friendly chaplains. 57:36 It's simple to do. You can call our toll-free 57:38 number 877-HIS-WILL. 877-HIS-WILL. 57:43 That friendly voice that answers, you tell him, you tell 57:46 her, what your prayer need is. We'll join with you in that 57:49 petition. And may the God who answers 57:52 prayer journey with you these next few days until we're right 57:54 back here together again next time. 58:00 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:17 ♪♪ |
Revised 2020-09-02