Participants: Pr. Dwight K Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP022308
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00:29 Alleluia
00:34 Alleluia 00:39 For our Lord God Almighty reigns 00:45 Alleluia 00:51 Alleluia 00:56 For our Lord God Almighty reigns 01:01 Alleluia 01:07 Holy! 01:12 holy 01:15 Are You Lord God Almighty 01:22 Worthy is the Lamb 01:25 Worthy is the Lamb 01:28 You are Holy 01:32 Holy 01:36 Are You Lord God Almighty 01:42 Worthy is the Lamb 01:46 Worthy is the Lamb 01:49 Amen 01:57 Alleluia 02:02 Alleluia 02:07 For our Lord God Almighty reigns 02:13 Alleluia 02:18 Alleluia 02:23 For our Load God Almighty reigns 02:29 Alleluia 02:34 Holy 02:39 holy 02:42 Are You Lord God Almighty 02:49 Worthy is the Lamb 02:52 Worthy is the Lamb 02:55 You are Holy 02:59 Holy 03:03 Are You Lord God Almighty 03:10 Worthy is the Lamb 03:13 Worthy is the Lamb 03:16 You are Holy 03:20 Holy 03:23 Are You Lord God Almighty 03:30 Worthy is the Lamb 03:33 Worthy is the Lamb 03:36 You are Holy 03:40 Holy 03:44 Are You Lord God Almighty 03:51 Worthy is the Lamb 03:55 Worthy is the Lamb 03:57 Amen 04:22 Oh, God, You are my God. 04:24 Oh, God, You are my God 04:29 And I will ever praise you 04:33 Oh God 04:34 Oh God, You are my God 04:39 And I will ever praise you 04:44 I will seek You in the morning 04:50 And I will learn to walk in Your ways 04:55 And step by step You'll lead me 05:00 And I will follow You all of my days 05:06 Let's sing that again. Oh, God, You are my God. 05:09 And I will ever praise you. 05:13 Oh, God, You are my God 05:18 And I will ever praise you 05:23 Oh, God, You are my God 05:28 And I will ever praise you 05:32 I will seek. 05:34 I will seek You in the morning 05:38 And I will learn to walk in Your ways 05:44 And step by step You'll lead me 05:49 And I will follow You all of my days 05:55 And I will follow. 05:57 And I will follow You all of my days 06:02 And I will follow You all of my days 06:07 And step by step You'll lead me 06:12 And I will follow You all of my days 06:41 Holy, holy, 06:45 Holy 06:50 Lord God 06:53 Almighty 06:59 Early in the morning 07:06 Our song shall rise 07:11 To thee 07:17 Holy, holy, 07:21 Holy 07:25 Merciful 07:29 And mighty 07:34 God 07:37 In Three persons 07:43 Blessed Trinity 07:56 Holy, holy, holy 08:03 Angels adore thee, 08:09 Casting down their bright crowns 08:15 Around the glassy sea 08:23 Thousands and ten thousands 08:29 Worship low before thee 08:36 Which wert, and art 08:41 And evermore 08:46 Shalt be 08:51 Holy, holy, holy 08:57 Though the darkness hide Thee 09:03 Though the eye of sinful man 09:09 Thy glory may not see 09:17 Only Thou art holy 09:23 There is none beside Thee 09:30 Perfect in power, 09:37 In love, and purity 09:42 Let's stand together as we sing this last verse. 09:45 Holy, holy, holy 09:51 Lord God Almighty 09:57 All Thy works shall praise Thy Name 10:03 In earth, and sky, and sea 10:10 Holy, holy, holy 10:16 Merciful and mighty 10:23 God in three Persons 10:29 Blessed Trinity 10:42 Kadosh kadosh 10:47 Kadosh Kadosh 10:52 Kadosh 10:56 Kadosh 11:01 Adonai 11:06 Elohim tz'va'ot 11:10 Adonai 11:14 Elohim tz'va'ot 15:46 Hallelujah hallelujah 15:58 Hallelujah hallelujah 16:08 Hallelujah 16:13 Hallelujah 16:19 Hallelujah 16:32 Holy Father, 16:34 in Hebrew, in Swahili, in English. 16:39 When we lift up our hearts, 16:40 our spirits to praise your name the hallelujah sounds the same. 16:45 It is an expression of deep gratitude. 16:48 We linger just a little longer in Your presence 16:50 now the holy scripture affront the sinner. 16:53 May the Holy Spirit who inspire this teaching 16:56 long, long ago be here as Jesus said to guide us. 17:00 Guide us into all truth, we pray in His name. 17:04 Amen. 17:06 I hold here in my hands in the poppet, 17:09 my doggered copy 17:11 of C.S. Lewis's classic Mere Christianity. 17:16 You know the-- 17:17 You know its dogger 17:19 when you have to put a rubber band around it 17:20 to keep the pages inside. 17:23 Some books are just worth hanging on to. 17:27 I'm gonna read a line 17:28 from Mere Christianity for two reasons. 17:31 Number one, the line sets up our-- 17:33 sets up our metaphor 17:34 for this teaching today called the invasion. 17:37 And the number two, I have been 17:42 cut by surprise over the last few weeks 17:44 just the last few weeks. 17:46 As I had a four young adults 17:49 to my prayer list, my personal prayer list. 17:53 Four young adults who are wrestling 17:54 over the existence of God. 17:56 I need to tell you the C S Lewis is a young man 17:58 was an atheist. 18:03 It's okay, it's okay to have questions about faith, 18:06 its okay to-- to have doubt, it's not the end of the world. 18:11 C S Lewis became a believer as the young man. 18:14 A believer in Christ. 18:16 And when one to become arguably the greatest apologist, 18:19 the greatest defender of Christianity 18:21 in the 20th century. 18:23 Great mind in writings. 18:26 So, he gave these talks actually over the BBC 18:29 during World War II 18:31 after the talks were given, after the war 18:33 collected it made put into this books. 18:35 So this is from page 50 18:38 of the little classic Mere Christianity, 18:40 I freely admit, Lewis writes "That real Christianity 18:43 as distinct from Christianity and water. 18:45 All right water down Christianity, 18:47 "Real Christianity goes much nearer 18:49 to Dualism than people think." 18:51 Dualism teaches there're two eternal forces, 18:53 good and evil, they're both eternal. 18:54 You just stuck with them for ever. 18:57 But it says, we might be close to that 18:58 "One of the things-- One of the things 18:59 that surprised me when I first read 19:01 the New Testament as a young man 19:03 rather it seriously was that 19:04 it talked so much about a Dark Power in the universe, 19:08 a mighty evil spirit who was held to be the Power 19:11 behind death and disease, and sin. 19:12 The difference is that Christianity thinks 19:15 this Dark Power was created by God, 19:17 and was good, when he was created, 19:18 and went wrong. 19:20 Christianity agrees with Dualism 19:22 that this universe is at war. 19:24 But it does not think this is a war 19:25 between independent powers. 19:26 It thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion, 19:29 and that we are living in a part of the universe 19:31 occupied by the rebel." 19:33 Right on. I agree with C S Lewis. 19:35 And if not here comes the line. 19:37 "Enemy-occupied territory that is what this world is. 19:41 Christianity is the story 19:43 of how the rightful king has landed, 19:45 you might say landed in disguise, 19:48 and is calling us all to take part 19:50 in a great campaign of sabotage." 19:54 Landing behind enemy lines like-- 19:56 I like the metaphor. 19:57 Landing in disguise, the invasion. 20:02 A king or as little baby in a village. 20:06 2,000 years ago, who's the king? 20:09 And by the way, what in the world was that, 20:10 does that have to do with his teachings series 20:12 we are in called the Sabbath. 20:14 Do they fit, what's the peaces fit, 20:16 let's-- let's explore together. 20:18 Open your Bible please to two books, 20:19 we've done-- we gonna do something today 20:20 we have never done before 20:22 and that is we gonna read two books simultaneously. 20:25 Book of Genesis and the book of John. 20:26 So pull your Bible out, 20:27 if you don't have a Bible, grab the Pew Bible. 20:29 We got to go. 20:31 We're gonna fly through this, 20:32 two Bibles-- two books simultaneously, 20:35 we gonna read just their openings, their prologs. 20:38 You gonna be amazed as I was at the dramatic similarity 20:42 between the opening to the Old Testament 20:44 and the opening to the New Testament. 20:46 Is there wait a minute, 20:47 Pastor John is not the opening to the New Testament, 20:49 it's Mathew, no, but John's prolog 20:52 actually goes back before Bethlehem, way before, 20:54 so we could call John effectively 20:56 the prolog to the New Testament. 20:58 So we got the Genesis and John. 21:00 Now everybody knows where Geneses 1 is where will be, 21:04 but John if you have ribbon in your Bible, 21:06 take a ribbon right now because you going-- 21:08 you going to going back and forth. 21:09 Put your ribbon in John 1, 21:11 if you got a Bible with a ribbon, 21:13 if you don't, put your both in John 1, 21:15 we'll get a study guide to you just a second. 21:17 We want to know seven strikingly dramatic parallels 21:22 between Genesis and John. 21:23 If I guess, let's do the study guide right now. 21:25 Let's put the study guide, if you do-- 21:26 if you came in today with out a study guide, 21:28 you didn't get a worship bulletin, 21:29 assures thank you very much. 21:31 Hold your hands up 21:32 our friendly assures will be by you 21:33 in a just a moment all way to the back of the balcony. 21:35 I want to make sure the choir has study guides as well. 21:38 So hold your hand up, 21:40 you want to get these seven dramatic parallels 21:42 and those who are watching on television right now, 21:45 we are very honored to have you, 21:46 thank you for joining us. 21:47 They'd give a website put it on the screen for you, 21:49 it's-- so you can find 21:50 the study guide www.pmchurch.tv, 21:54 that's our website for this new perceptions telecast. 21:58 Go to that website, you looking for 21:59 the teachings series in titled The Sabbath. 22:02 This is part four in that series. 22:04 There are only six parts, 22:05 so we are moving in the second last half here. 22:07 You are looking for the Sabbath the teaching 22:09 this one is in titled The Invasion. 22:12 So when you find The Invasion 22:13 and it says, study guide there, you got it. 22:16 You click there, you'll have the same study guide we do. 22:19 Let make sure-- sure everybody gets one. 22:22 As we gonna fly, you keep your hand up in the back, 22:25 while you are doing that I'm gonna go ahead and start. 22:27 All right seven dramatic parallels, 22:29 striking parallels between Genesis and John. 22:31 Which in it- what you gonna need to do is, 22:33 you gonna need to write the numbers down. 22:34 You gonna need to write the references down. 22:35 We put the books into the study guide, 22:37 let's put the first that's on screen of Genesis 1:1, 22:40 so you write that in, and John 1:1-3. 22:44 All right so the-- parallel number one. 22:46 Here we go. 22:47 Well, Genesis 1:1 that's not hard to find 22:50 its page one of our Pew Bible. 22:52 And it's beginning of every Bible. 22:53 So let's find Genesis 1:1. 22:56 And then we gonna start flying. 22:57 Okay, Genesis 1:1 here the familiar words 23:00 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 23:04 When we get-- when we began the series 23:06 three times ago, 23:07 we remembered that in Christmas eve 1968 23:10 the Apollo Crew looking out 23:12 the little space portal of their capsule 23:15 saw this terrestrial blue green ball 23:17 and they quoted these words to a broad cast center the world 23:21 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 23:23 Okay, so we got that down let's take a look at John. 23:25 So I got ribbon so I can go straight to John 1. 23:28 Put your study guide right in John 1 23:30 if you don't have a ribbon. 23:31 Let's look at John 1:1. John 1. 23:35 John 1:1 "In the beginning" look at that, 23:38 "In the beginning" different language 23:40 Greek and the New Testament Hebrew New Testament 23:43 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God," 23:47 as there capital W word "and the Word was God." 23:50 verse 2 "He was in the beginning with God." 23:51 now notice the verse 3 23:53 "All things were made through Him, 23:54 and without Him nothing was made that was made." 23:58 You know, that-- the Greek word for word 24:00 is logos. 24:02 From when it comes to English word logo, 24:04 as they drop the S we got logo. 24:05 You know what a logo is, don't you? 24:07 A logo is that which becomes 24:08 a visual representation of a reality 24:11 that you can't see, but you have the logo. 24:13 And when you see Andrews University's logo, 24:15 you say, ha, when you see pioneers logo 24:16 on the cover of our bulletin up, 24:17 apple's the logo on the back of a computer 24:20 all lighted up in white, apple you know the logo. 24:23 What it represents. 24:25 So the word is a logo. It's a divine logo. 24:29 See Him? 24:31 He represents the reality behind the logo, the logos. 24:34 By the way John is the only one of the New Testament writers 24:37 to use this word logos 24:38 to refer to one of the members of the God head. 24:40 So it's the significant word. 24:44 I like this Desire of Ages 19 24:46 see in your study guide fill it in. 24:47 "By coming to dwell with us, 24:48 Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. 24:51 He was the Word of God, he was God's thought made audible." 24:54 Look it, You and I look at each other right now 24:56 and neither of us-- neither of us speaks 24:58 I have no idea what you thinking, 24:59 you have no idea of what I'm thinking. 25:00 I have to open my mouth, 25:02 once I put words to it, you know my thoughts, 25:04 once you put words to it, I know your thoughts. 25:06 That's what the word. 25:07 Capital W word was. 25:09 So what is parallel-- parallel one 25:10 between Genesis and John 1 teaches? 25:12 Write it down Christ is the creator, 25:16 Christ is a creator of the world/ universe. 25:18 No question. 25:19 Genesis just says God, John 1 comes on 25:22 and says let me tell you it was Christ Himself. 25:24 By the way not only John teaches that, 25:25 not only-- not only John 25:26 but Paul teaches it, 25:27 Hebrew, Hebrew teaches it as well. 25:30 In fact the New Testament is unequivocal. 25:32 Jap this down the active divine agent, 25:36 see there in your study guide the active divine agent 25:38 who created the earth in the beginning, 25:40 the God who personally shaped 25:42 Adam and Eve into existence was the preincarnate Christ. 25:45 Genesis 2: 7 when it says 25:46 "The Lord God made man of the dust of the ground" 25:49 that is Christ He became Jesus. 25:52 That's Christ's over that little hunk of clay, 25:55 we've got to personality. 25:56 We can put to the God of Genesis 1. 25:59 That's Christ. 26:01 In fact, John 1, Colossians 1, Hebrews 1, 26:03 and I tell you, people, you wanted to know 26:04 where Christ is that created 26:05 John 1, Colossians 1, Hebrews 1, 26:06 let's go to Colossians 1 26:07 "For by Him all things were created 26:10 that are in heaven and that are on earth, 26:12 visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions 26:14 or principalities or powers. 26:16 All things were created through Him and for Him. 26:19 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 26:22 He is the activation of creation. In the God head. 26:25 Let's go to Hebrew's chapter 1 and take a look at this 26:27 "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time 26:31 past to the fathers and mothers by the prophets, 26:34 God as in these last days spoken to us by His Son, Jesus, 26:38 whom He has appointed heir of all things, 26:39 through whom also He made the worlds, 26:42 Christ is a creator, who being the brightness of His glory 26:45 and the express image of His person, 26:47 and upholding all things by the word of His power, 26:50 when He had by Himself a Calvary purged our sins, 26:53 sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." 26:56 He is back on the thrown, the creator of the universe, 26:59 was the baby born in Bethlehem. 27:01 That's the point ladies and gentlemen. 27:05 Christ Himself, okay, 27:06 that's a longest one of the parallels. 27:07 The rest of fly by here comes parallel number 2, 27:10 here is the short one, 27:11 jot the numbers down first please, 27:13 that would be Genesis 1: 3-4 27:15 and John 1: 4, 5, and verse-- verse 9. 27:19 Okay, so you got the ribbon in John 27:21 so that means we go back to Genesis 27:22 you won't loose your place 27:23 put the study guide there in John. 27:25 Because actually use when you are right 27:26 as after the John reading. 27:28 Okay, so what is this in Genesis 1:3, 4, okay, 27:32 "Then God said, 'Let there be'" what? 27:34 "'light' and there was light." 27:36 Verse 4 "And God saw the light, that it was good, 27:39 and God divided the light from the darkness." 27:41 Very clear, the creator immediately 27:44 He is immersed in light, He is dealing with light. 27:46 Is it true, in the prolog of John. 27:48 Take your ribbon, 27:50 now we go to John 1, let's find out. 27:53 Sure enough look at this John 1: 4 27:55 "In Him" in Christ the word, in the word "Was life, 27:58 and the life was the light of men. 28:00 And the light shines in the darkness, 28:02 and the darkness did not comprehend it." 28:04 Now move your finger down to verse 9 28:06 "He was the true Light 28:07 which gives light to every man and women 28:09 coming into the world." 28:11 There it is ladies and gentlemen, 28:13 Christ this is parallel two, jot it down, 28:15 Christ is the light of the world. 28:16 Unmistakably both prologs move from announcing the creator 28:20 to associating immediately the creator was like 28:23 and resists your darkness. 28:25 All right that's clear. 28:26 Parallel number three here we go, 28:27 there are only seven of these, parallel number three, 28:28 jot it down Genesis 1 now we go with verse 26, 28:31 Genesis 1: 26, jot it down John 1:12. 28:35 All right, so here we go back again, 28:36 point you glad we don't have to do this every week, 28:38 this would take for ever. 28:40 All right we go back to Genesis 1 28:42 we drop down to verse 26 28:45 "Then God said, 'Let Us make man and women in Our image, 28:49 according to Our likeness, 28:51 and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, 28:53 over the birds of the air,'" 28:54 but aren't those animal or something, 28:55 in Maasai Mara, I tell you what? 28:58 Just let them have dominion over the entire population, 29:01 of animals, birds and fish. 29:03 All right, that's Genesis 1, 29:05 now can we find a parallel in John 1? 29:08 Take your ribbon or your study guide 29:09 flips right back to John 1 29:11 and what are we looking for here this would be a verse 12. 29:15 so in Genesis 1 let's make a man in our image 29:18 and in verse 12 of John 1 it says 29:20 "But as many as received Him, to them 29:23 He gave the right to become children of God, 29:25 to those who believe in His name." 29:27 Jot it down parallel number three, 29:29 the inhabitants of earth are to be the children of God. 29:32 Both prolog makes it clear. 29:34 Earth inhabitants are children of the divine Father, 29:36 in His image. 29:38 Now it's true, John comes along and says, 29:39 oh, oh, oh, wait a minute time out, 29:41 you not born out automatically, 29:42 no, no, no you have to choose now because of the fall, 29:45 you have to choose to be a part of that family. 29:48 Nobody is forced to be in God's family, 29:50 but if you'll accept Christ? You are in. 29:53 All right parallel number four, only seven of these. 29:55 Parallel number four, Genesis 3, now write down here, 30:00 1-14 because that's the whole story. 30:03 But we not gonna read 1-14 and then write down John 1:11. 30:06 Because the moment you see Genesis 3 30:08 you remember it, 30:09 the people that read Genesis say, 30:10 oh boy, that's a story of Eve. 30:13 That's a story of Eve at the tree 30:15 and this is the awful meltdown, 30:18 you are right. 30:20 Let's go to Genesis 3. 30:21 Go to Genesis 3, 30:23 I want to look at just one verse, 30:24 we gonna to verse 8. 30:26 The whole story you know is-- is so tragic, 30:28 but this has to be the heart breaker, 30:30 the heart breaker is verse 8. 30:32 Because remember Christ is the one who shaped them. 30:34 Christ is the one who breathed life into Adam 30:36 and then took a ribbon, breathed life into Eve. 30:39 Christ is their forever friend, He is their creator, 30:42 so this must have broken His heart. 30:44 When you get down to verse 8, 30:45 after they both eaten of the tree and verse 8 says, 30:49 "And they heard, the Adam and Eve, 30:50 heard the sound of the Lord God walking 30:52 in the garden, in the cool of the day." 30:54 That's Christ, 30:55 that's Christ. 30:56 He says, I'm coming down for my friends, 30:58 hey, guys, where are you? 30:59 It's kind of quite around here. 31:01 What's up with that? 31:02 You're usually here when I come. 31:03 You're here to welcome me. 31:04 Hey, anybody here? 31:07 And then He sees the bush moving. 31:09 He said, I never crated a moving bush, 31:12 must be something behind it. 31:15 So it says here, "And they heard the sound of the Lord God 31:17 walking in the garden in the cool of the day, 31:18 and Adam and his wife... " Can you believe this? 31:21 "They hid themselves from the presence 31:23 of the Lord God among the trees of the garden." 31:27 I tell you what, ladies and gentlemen, 31:28 sin tells the lie, and we believe it, 31:32 God is not somebody to be a friend of, 31:34 He is somebody to be afraid of. 31:35 God is not somebody to run to, 31:37 He is somebody to run from. 31:39 The serpent Lucifer has spun that lie the very beginning 31:43 and the human race has bitten it 31:45 hook, line, and sinker. 31:48 Somebody to be afraid of. 31:51 It's what sin has done to us. 31:53 I tell you what? The heartache of verse 8 in Chapter 3 31:56 can only be matched by the heart break of verse 11. 32:01 Back in John 1, 32:02 you know, before I ever looked at these parallels, 32:05 I've always-- I've always gotten a lump in my throat, 32:07 when I read verse 11, it's so sad in John 1, 32:09 do look at John 1 it's just so sad 32:11 that verse is there but it's so sad. 32:14 Look at this John 1:11. 32:16 Isn't it something? "He came to His own," 32:19 He says, oh, this is-- this is my family. 32:22 "He came to His own..." 32:23 And what happened? 32:25 "His own did not receive Him." 32:27 They didn't run to, and they ran from Him. 32:29 You can't be, you can't be, 32:31 who you say you are. 32:33 He came to His own and His own received Him. 32:35 Now jot it down please, parallel number four, 32:37 sin, it's clear in both prologues. 32:40 "Sin shatters our relationship with our Creator 32:42 and instead of running to Him, 32:44 we run from Him." 32:48 Parallel number five, 32:50 just seven of these, here come five, 32:51 Genesis 3:15 and John 1:14 and then add 29. 32:56 All right, so now leave your ribbon or study guide there, 32:58 you got to go back to Genesis 3, 33:00 so God says, hey, guys, what's happening? 33:03 Why? Why are you hiding from Me, Adam? 33:04 What's the problem, boy? 33:06 Hence this is why, I heard you coming, and I was afraid. 33:07 Why are you afraid? Because I'm naked. 33:11 What do you mean you're naked? 33:12 Who told you, you were naked? 33:14 Did you go near that...? 33:15 Did you eat from that tree? 33:17 Yeah, Well, let me tell you something, 33:18 the woman you made and the one that you gave to me, 33:21 she is the one, who got me into it. 33:22 Woman, Eve, is that true? You ate from the tree? 33:24 Well, let me tell you something. 33:25 The serpent, you made is the one that got me into it. 33:28 Serpent, is this true? It's sin. 33:32 Always self justification, I never take the blame. 33:35 It's not my fault, it's my parents fault, 33:38 it's my wife's faults, it's my husband's fault, 33:40 it's society's fault that I'm this way. 33:44 Always twisting the blame turning in. 33:49 Is that you serpent? 33:50 And then God speaks to the serpent, 33:52 that will be verse 14. 33:53 "So the Lord God said to the serpent, 33:54 'Because you have done this, 33:56 Oh, my, you are cursed more than all cattle, 34:00 And more than every beast of the field, 34:02 On your belly you shall go, 34:03 And you will eat dust All the days of your life." 34:07 And I'm gonna make a promise right now 34:09 in this garden to the three of you. 34:12 Here comes the promise, 34:13 this is beautiful, code language. 34:15 Verse 15, "And I will put enmity, serpent, 34:17 between you and the woman, 34:19 And between your seed and her Seed." 34:21 Notice it's capital S seed now. She is gonna have-- 34:23 seeds gonna come through her and he the seed, 34:25 "Shall bruise your head, 34:26 And you shall bruise His heel.'" 34:30 Now if somebody took it and say we got a steamroller here, 34:33 we gonna give you two places, you pick. 34:35 Two places we gonna run over your body. 34:36 We'll either run over your head or we'll run over your heel. 34:39 Which would you choose? 34:42 Please, go ahead. 34:45 It will kill me, but go ahead. 34:47 See the seed will come, he will crush your head, 34:52 but you will be paying to him, you will crush his heel. 34:57 Only one wins. 34:58 The seed of the woman. 35:00 Any parallel to that? 35:02 Somebody coming into this human stream. 35:05 Any parallel? But of course go back, quick, quick. 35:07 Take your ribbon, go back to John 1. 35:09 The parallel is inescapable. 35:11 Look at this verse 14. John 1:14. 35:16 "And the Word..." 35:18 Remember the audible expression of God 35:20 became flesh, the visible now. 35:22 He is not only audible, He is gonna become visible. 35:25 I'm the God of the universe, I'm. 35:29 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, 35:32 pitched his tent right beside us 35:34 and we beheld His glory, 35:35 the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, 35:38 full of grace and truth..." 35:39 And then just a few moments later in the story 35:42 that begins in verse 29 John the Baptist, 35:44 sees Jesus coming and he cries out behold, 35:47 verse 29, "Behold! The Lamb of God 35:49 who takes away the sin of the world!" 35:51 The savior is here. 35:57 The promise of a coming deliverer. 36:00 The word audible, flesh visible, 36:02 C.S. Lewis, jot this down, this line we began with, 36:05 Lewis writing "Christianity is the story 36:07 of how the rightful king has landed, 36:09 you might say in disguise..." 36:12 That's the invasion, guys, that's the invasion. 36:14 He has invaded our space. He came in, in disguise. 36:20 "On this enemy-occupied world, he did in human form." 36:24 And then I love this from Desire of Ages. 36:25 Keep your pen there, 36:26 "So Christ set up His tabernacle 36:28 in the midst of our human encampment. 36:30 He pitched His tent by the side of the tents of men and women, 36:33 that He might dwell among us, 36:34 and make us familiar with His divine character and life. 36:37 Since Christ, since Jesus came to dwell with us, 36:39 we know that God..." I love this. 36:41 "God is acquainted with our trials, 36:42 and sympathizes with our griefs. 36:44 Every son and daughter of Adam may understand 36:48 that our Creator is the friend of sinners." 36:51 Write that in, our Creator. 36:53 Can you believe that? Our creator is our friend. 36:57 "For in every..." This is good. 36:58 "For in every doctrine of grace, 37:00 every promise of joy, every deed of love, 37:02 every divine attraction 37:03 presented in the Savior's life on earth, 37:05 we see "God with us.'" 37:08 Write it down please, parallel number five. 37:10 Our Creator came to earth to become our savior. 37:16 Only seven of these, 37:17 we come to the next of the last, 37:18 parallel number six, jot it down please, 37:20 Genesis 1:31 and then write in 2:1, chapter 2:1, 37:25 that's for Genesis, and then for John write down 37:27 oh, we gonna, we gonna now fly to the end, 37:30 the mightiest, the mighty epic, 37:32 finale of John 19:30, so write that in. 37:36 Now it's still a little bit of a review here, 37:38 we did this in our previous teaching, in this series, 37:40 let's do the readers digest version 37:41 of every 24 hour period. 37:43 Remember the creation hours, 37:45 the Hebrews clear these are 24 hour periods. 37:47 So you tell me, day one, 37:48 24 hour day one, what did God create? 37:51 Light, good. 37:52 24 hour day two, what did God create? 37:56 Atmosphere, very good. 37:57 24 hour day three, what did God create? 38:00 Earth and on top of the earth, trees and flowers. 38:04 24 hour day four, what did God create? 38:08 Solar system, yeah, sun, moon, and the planets. 38:11 24 hour day five, 38:12 what did God create in the air, and in the sea? 38:17 And 24 hour day six, what did God create? 38:22 All of them, long neck, long trunk, 38:25 what a God of variety, huh? 38:27 He could have made them all looking like us. 38:30 How sad? 38:32 Oh, by the way day six, what else did God create? 38:35 You and me. all right so now we were-- 38:38 Genesis 1, day six is over, 38:41 I'm gonna read, read that line again with you, 38:42 Genesis 1:31. 38:45 Genesis 1:31, 38:46 "Then God saw everything that He had made, 38:49 and indeed it was very good. 38:53 So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." 38:56 Now go to verse 1 of chapter 2, 38:58 "Thus the heavens and the earth, 39:00 and all the host of them, 39:02 were..." what? Church, were what? 39:05 "Were finished." Were finished. 39:11 And it says parallel in the gospel of John. 39:14 How does the passion we climax. 39:16 Okay, in spite of the passion, we go to John 19, 39:19 John 19, we're out of the prologue now, 39:21 we are at the huge summation of the gospel of John, 39:25 this is passion we, This is Friday, 39:29 the Lamb of God is about to die for the sins of the world, 39:31 but just before He expires, here we go, this is John 19. 39:36 Now it says verse 30, but we gonna pick it up in verse 28 39:38 just to have the context, after this Jesus knowing, 39:41 it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon, 39:42 "Knowing that all things were now accomplished, 39:44 and that the Scripture might be fulfilled, 39:46 He said, 'I thirst!'" 39:47 Now verse, they the soldiers heard it, 39:49 "Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there, 39:52 and they filled a sponge." 39:53 So they stick that sponge in with a hyssop branch, 39:55 they get it soak and then they hold the sponge up 39:58 to his broken cracked lips, 39:59 and they say, all right, drink. 40:01 And He could just lick His tongue, as all He can do. 40:04 And then verse 30, now here we go on the screen. 40:06 "So when Jesus had received the sour wine." 40:10 What did He say? He cried it like a trumpet call. 40:12 What did He cry out? "It is finished!" 40:16 And then notice this, 40:17 "And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." 40:21 Ladies and gentlemen, that's intentional death, 40:23 autonomic death which means, you know, 40:25 all of a sudden I quite breathing, 40:26 autonomic death is I'm breathing here 40:27 and suddenly gone and then my head drops. 40:30 Intentional death is, 40:32 you lower your head first and then you stop breathing. 40:37 He came to the hour, the moment of His sacrifice. 40:42 Jot it down, ladies and gentlemen. 40:44 "Day 6 of the Creation week 40:45 and Day 6 of the Passion week..." 40:47 Here's the parallel number six. 40:48 "Both end with the same declaration, it is finished." 40:53 Thus the heavens and the earth, 40:54 and the host of them, were finished." 40:56 That's Genesis. 40:57 Thus the plan of salvation to save 40:58 the host of lost sinners was completed. 41:00 That's John 19, our creator becomes our savior 41:03 and finishes His work on the sixth day of both weeks, 41:07 creation week and passion week. 41:10 Now we're ready for number seven. 41:13 What's all this have to do with the Sabbath? 41:15 Take a look at this, final parallel, 41:17 parallel number seven. 41:19 We gonna go to Genesis and John again 41:21 with a little help of one of our Synoptics. 41:23 Let's do this first question. 41:26 What did the Creator do after He finished His work 41:28 on the sixth day of the Creation week? 41:31 Answer, the same thing He did when He finished His work 41:33 on the sixth day of the Passion week. 41:35 Write it in, He rested, He rested. 41:43 Now we go back, one last time to Genesis, Genesis 2 now. 41:48 Now you can write fill in the parallel Genesis 2:2, 3. 41:53 Go back and by the way I'm gonna read Christ into 41:55 because it's incontrovertibly cleared it in New Testament. 41:59 So we can read Christ into this, 42:00 that's what I'm gonna do. 42:01 Genesis 2:2, "And on the seventh day Christ..." 42:05 the active divine agent of creation. 42:07 "And on the seventh day 42:08 Christ ended His work which He had done, 42:09 and He rested on the seventh day 42:11 from all His work which He had done." 42:13 Verse 3 "Then Christ blessed the seventh day..." 42:15 Remember when we talked about what that word means in Hebrew, 42:18 you turn your face, you turn your face, 42:19 you were so caught up in it. 42:21 Blessing in Hebrew means 42:22 to turn your face to it, and it says, 42:23 "He blessed it and He sanctified it." 42:25 That means you infuse it with your divine presence. 42:27 So He poured Himself into that seventh day. 42:30 "And Christ blessed the seventh day 42:31 and sanctified it, 42:32 because in it He rested from all His work 42:35 which Christ had created and made." 42:39 The Christ doing, His work 42:41 as creator was finished, He rested. 42:43 What did Christ do when His work of savior was completed? 42:47 What did He do? 42:49 Go back, John 19, back to the story. 42:54 John 19, that where our ribbon is, is it? 42:59 It's all right, you got it, John 19. 43:01 Drop down to verse 41. 43:04 "Now in the place where Jesus was crucified 43:07 there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb 43:10 in which no one had yet been laid. 43:12 So they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, 43:16 for the tomb was nearby." 43:19 He is sleeping now. 43:21 Now we need our help from Dr. Luke, the physician 43:23 because he paints in a little bit more of a detail 43:26 and so just-- just turn back to Luke 23, 43:28 this will be our last text. 43:29 Luke 23. 43:31 This is Luke's Calvary account 43:34 and let's drop down to the end of 23, pick it up in verse 52, 43:37 Luke's talking, describing the moment, 43:39 when Joseph of Arimathea, 43:40 you remember that Joseph comes to Roman Governor, 43:42 Pilate I want the body. 43:43 What do you want the body for? 43:44 The guy is quick, I want the body, 43:46 Can I have it, sir? You may have it. 43:49 All right so that's verse 52 and so 43:51 "This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 43:54 Then he, Joseph took it down, wrapped it in linen, 43:57 and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, 44:00 where no one had ever lain before." 44:02 Scholars are thinking you know what? 44:03 That's his own tomb, 44:04 He was gonna to be buried there. 44:06 He gave up His Sepulchre, His family plot for His master. 44:13 Now what day was that? Verse 54 now, 44:15 "That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near." 44:20 So it's Friday, Sabbath is drawing near. 44:22 Now we all call it Good Friday. 44:24 We know it's Friday, 44:25 it's Good Friday, the day Jesus died. 44:27 And the Sabbath drew near, verse 55 44:29 "And the women who had come with Him 44:30 from Galilee followed after, 44:32 and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 44:34 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. 44:37 And they..." By the way that they is not just the woman, 44:39 that's Joseph and Jesus, everybody in this paragraph. 44:43 "And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment." 44:48 Now what commandment would that be? 44:49 That would be the fourth commandment of the Decalogue. 44:51 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 44:54 They rested according to the commandment. 44:58 Write it down, will you please, ladies and gentlemen? 45:00 They all of them, Joseph of Arimathea, 45:02 the women, and the Jesus rested on the Sabbath, 45:05 according to the fourth commandment." 45:08 Isn't that amazing? 45:09 Even as he did on the seventh day of the creation, 45:11 we saw the creator turn savior 45:13 now does on the seventh day of the passion week, He rest. 45:18 He who is Lord of the seventh day Sabbath, 45:21 becomes He who is Lord of Salvation 45:24 and when He became, not only Lord of the Sabbath, 45:26 but now when he becomes Lord of salvation, 45:29 He does as He did in the beginning. 45:33 He keeps, He keeps the Sabbath, that He is Lord of. 45:40 Other way it's the Sabbath that He wrote with His own finger. 45:43 Didn't He write? 45:44 You say how do you know that was Jesus on the-- 45:46 that was the preincarnate Christ. 45:47 Well, piece of cake. 45:48 John 8, Jesus said before Abraham was, 45:50 I'm and is very clear that I'm is the one 45:53 who stepped out of that cloud of glory 45:55 and with his own finger carved 45:57 all Ten Commandments into granite. 45:59 Wouldn't you expect the one who wrote the Ten Commandments 46:03 to honor the day that He is Lord of? 46:08 In fact, jot this down, will you? 46:10 This is quoting Mathew 12 and Mark 2 46:13 "After all, did not Jesus declared..." Jot it down. 46:14 "The son of man is Lord of the Sabbath." 46:17 The gospels are clear. 46:18 He is Lord of the Sabbath, 46:19 which by the way keep your pen moving, 46:21 "Makes the seventh day the Lord's Day." 46:24 What day of the week is the Lord's Day? 46:25 It's the day He is Lord of. 46:26 What's He Lord of? Bible's clear, 46:28 He is Lord of the Sabbath. 46:30 Of course He is the Lord, He is the one who made it 46:32 and gave it to the human race in the beginning. 46:34 Why wouldn't He be Lord? Please. 46:37 It's the day He sanctified, 46:39 it's a day He blessed, it's a day He rested. 46:41 Which ladies and gentlemen 46:42 leads us to the concluding point, 46:43 it is a compelling point and I wish you'd write it down. 46:46 "These seventh parallels between Genesis and John 46:49 provide incontrovertible evidence 46:51 that the Creator's universal gift 46:54 of the seventh day Sabbath at Creation remains, 46:57 remains his universal gift in Redemption today." 47:02 Malachi 3:6, " I'm the Lord and I change not." 47:09 I don't change. 47:12 Now, ladies and gentlemen, this is not rocket science, 47:16 this is prayerful, logical thinking. 47:19 I need to ask a series of questions here. 47:22 Were Christ to have changed His mind? 47:24 Okay, okay, I change my mind. 47:26 I change my mind, I'm changing the day, 47:28 were Christ to have changed His mind? 47:30 Should we not expect to hear something from Jesus 47:34 indicating the fact that He has done so? 47:37 I mean somewhere between 47:38 the resurrection and the ascension, 47:40 He say, hey, timeout, guys, 47:41 I just needed to tell you, things have been changed. 47:42 I know I wrote it in rock, but forget it. 47:44 I'm changing it now. 47:46 Wouldn't He say something, just a hint, may be a breath, 47:50 just a suggestion, zero, not even a breath. 48:01 What's up with that? 48:05 Instead it's clear. 48:10 In fact M.L. Andreasen in his carefully reasoned book 48:12 The Sabbath, he puts it this way, 48:14 and you have it in your study guide, 48:15 let me read it in your hearing "God Himself." 48:18 This is careful logic here. 48:19 "God Himself led the way 48:20 in the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. 48:24 Did it in the beginning, did it on Mount Sinai. 48:25 "He Himself proclaimed it in flaming fire from the mount." 48:28 That would be Mount Sinai. 48:29 "He Himself wrote it in enduring stone. 48:31 Millions of God's people were witnesses 48:33 at the base of Mount Sinai, 48:34 and they heard the proclamation, 48:35 and myriads of angels were there. 48:38 Psalm 68:17. 48:40 None of these conditions was present at the time 48:43 when the first day of the week 48:45 was supposed to have been instituted. 48:47 Sunday came in unannounced, unheralded, unnoticed, 48:51 in every way an anticlimax to the original institution 48:56 and inauguration of the Sabbath of the Lord." 48:59 Now he goes on, 49:00 "If God had anything to do with the first day of the week, 49:04 we must draw the conclusion that He wanted the change 49:07 to be made in the most secret and inconspicuous way possible, 49:11 for on the first Sunday." 49:13 My talents are his. 49:14 "Nobody knew that any change had been made, 49:18 not even the disciples, who some say were the ones 49:20 who were supposed to have changed it! 49:22 They were in as complete ignorance as the rest, 49:24 having locked themselves in a room for fear of the Jews." 49:36 The fact remains, there is not a solitary hint, 49:42 there is a not a single word in all the New Testament 49:46 indicating that Christ changed His mind as Creator 49:51 and changed the day. 49:53 No where, no where, 49:55 not from the apostles, not from the Savior. 50:00 I mean come on, just think with me, 50:02 would Jesus, had declared Himself 50:04 to be the Lord of the Sabbath, 50:05 knowing in that in just a few days 50:06 the whole thing's over. 50:07 Then would He say, I'm Lord of the Sabbath, 50:09 and few days later it's gone. 50:13 To the contrary, do you know what Jesus did? 50:15 He told His disciples 40 years after I'm gone. 50:18 40 years after I'm back in heaven, 50:19 you will still be worshiping on the seventh-day Sabbath. 50:22 He told them. 50:23 It's in the great chapter of prophecy, Christ's predictions. 50:27 Look at this Matthew 24:15 50:29 "Therefore Jesus says, when you see 50:30 the ''abomination of desolation,'' 50:32 that would be the Romans 50:34 "Spoken of by Daniel the prophet, 50:35 standing in the holy place..." 50:36 When the Romans invade this city, 50:37 I want to tell you something. 50:38 "Whoever reads, let him understand, 50:41 then let those who are in Judea..." 50:42 Guys, just get out of the land. 50:44 "Flee to the mountains." 50:45 Now notice verse 20 "And pray that your flight 50:48 may not be in winter or on the Sabbath." 50:51 Christ is predicting 50:53 the destruction of Jerusalem's temple in 70 AD 50:56 and He says you will be celebrating the Sabbath then, 50:59 pray to the Lord of the Sabbath 51:01 to be your defense, your deliverer, 51:04 call up on me, call up on me, 51:07 when the city melts down and burns the temple. 51:14 The evidence is clear and compelling. Jot it down. 51:17 "The Seventh-day Sabbath remains the Lord's Day today." 51:23 It's it. 51:25 Neither Christ nor the apostles knew or taught any other, 51:28 their silence is deafening, deafening. 51:35 And any scholar 51:37 of the New Testament will tell you, 51:39 that in fact this is true. 51:44 Then how can be, you ask? Come on, come on, Dwight. 51:45 Please nearly all of Christendom today 51:47 is worshiping on the first day of the week 51:49 rather than the Bible seventh-day Sabbath. 51:50 How can it be, You can't tell me 51:51 that all these churches are wrong. 51:54 I want to share with you next week, 51:55 I want to share with you 51:56 one of the most fascinating studies, stories. 51:59 We'll call it the Case of Dr, Eck. 52:03 I just found this, I never knew this. 52:05 Just reading couple months ago 52:07 came across the story of Martin Luther's trial, 52:09 Dr. Eck by the way was the Roman Catholic protagonist 52:13 for Martin Luther in that great trial. 52:16 Stunning bit of logic that Dr. Eck uses. 52:21 I want to share that with you next week, please, 52:23 wherever you are, just get back here, 52:25 get back here for next week. 52:27 If you're watching on television, 52:28 join us next week. 52:30 Listen on the radio, turn on the radio, 52:32 please join us, fascinating study. 52:35 Listen, got to end. 52:36 We began with C.S. Lewis's classic Mere Christianity. 52:38 Let me close now with another classic 52:40 written by Charles Sheldon, it's the book "In His Steps." 52:44 Written a century ago, the book became 52:45 an international best seller. 52:47 If you don't have the book, any bookstore on earth, 52:51 particularly Christian bookstores 52:53 will carry Sheldon's book "In His Steps." 52:55 Now it's a fictionalized story 52:58 of a pastor named Henry Maxwell and this church, 53:00 the first church of Raymond, 53:01 so it's Sunday and the pastor's waxing eloquent, 53:04 his preaching was just about to ready to move 53:06 toward the summation of a sermon 53:08 when down the center aisle of the church 53:12 is a tramp but now we don't call him tramps, 53:13 we call him a homeless man, a homeless man 53:15 is just stumbling down the center aisle, 53:17 he gets down to the front and he looks up 53:19 with the preacher asking for permission 53:22 and the distressed pastor, what else can I do? 53:24 Go ahead. 53:25 The beggar turns around and addresses the congregation, 53:28 "I've been out of work from New York City. 53:31 I've been out of work. 53:34 I came to your city a few days ago. 53:37 I've been going from-- I'm a printer by trade, 53:39 I've been going from store-- establishment to establishment, 53:42 store to store to store, seen some of you, 53:44 not a single word of sympathy from you. 53:48 My wife's dead, I got a little girl left 53:49 with the printer back in New York. 53:52 You know what? I've been listening to your preaching, 53:53 the man had been sitting up in the balcony, 53:55 I've been listening to your preaching, 53:56 he is talking about following Jesus. 53:57 I'm wondering what you mean about following Jesus. 53:59 Does that mean you ask the question, 54:01 what would Jesus do? 54:03 Your intent about walking in His steps?" 54:07 The beggar half turned and collapsed. 54:11 They carried him over to the parson, 54:12 and three days later he dies in the pastor's home. 54:16 Charles Sheldon's brilliant story 54:20 is the struggle 54:21 of a congregation to come to grips, 54:23 well, how do we live with the question, 54:25 what would Jesus do? 54:29 You know what? 54:31 That is the perfect question to ask 54:32 when it comes to the seventh-day Sabbath. 54:35 Lot of people when it comes to seventh-day Sabbath, 54:36 they don't ask of Him, Jesus is the last example we turn to. 54:39 Listen, what would my friends do? 54:40 What would my family do? 54:42 What would my church do? 54:44 Now, we need to learn as Christians 54:45 that the question to ask is what would Jesus do? 54:48 What would Jesus do 54:49 when it comes to the seventh-day Sabbath? 54:51 You know what? We know what He did. 54:53 Let me put a line on the screen for you, 54:54 this is the gospel of Luke 4:16. 54:56 You know what it says? Look at it. 54:57 "And as His custom was, Jesus went in 55:02 on the Sabbath day to worship." 55:07 What would Jesus do? 55:08 I mean look at it, what else would we expect 55:10 the Creator to do on His day? 55:16 And by the way what else would He expect us to do on His day? 55:24 So the question really is not what would Jesus do? 55:28 The more pressing question is what shall we do? 55:33 What shall we do given the lordship 55:38 we who call Him Lord, 55:39 given the lordship of Jesus Christ? 55:44 I want to pray with you. 55:46 Let's bow together. 55:47 Oh, God... 55:53 whatever we do, we who follow Jesus, 55:57 some people are hearing this for the first time, 55:59 wondering what I'm supposed to do with this, 56:02 some have heard it for a long time, 56:05 but all of us are hearing the same invitation 56:09 come, follow Me 56:14 and so Holy Father, because we call Jesus Lord, 56:20 we want to follow 56:24 which is why I humbly pray 56:27 that You'll grant both Your grace and Your courage 56:32 to men and women and young adults 56:36 who with this teaching know in their hearts 56:41 what Christ would have them to do. 56:45 He is the Lord of the Sabbath. 56:48 We've embraced him as the Lord of salvation, 56:50 may He be both for us always. 56:55 We pray in His name, amen. 57:01 I wanted to take one more moment here 57:03 at the end of the telecast to let you know 57:05 how grateful I'm for your journey with us, 57:08 with our New Perceptions Ministry. 57:10 You may think that New Perceptions 57:11 is only about television, 57:12 but I need to tell you we do have a website 57:15 which is more than just the study guide. 57:17 I know we go to the study guide every week 57:19 but if you go to our website, 57:20 let me put the address on the screen again, 57:21 www.pmchurch.tv, 57:26 you will find at that website a blog. 57:28 I write every Wednesday, I sit down on my laptop 57:29 and write up a blog something as commenting on world events, 57:32 something local, something national, 57:34 you get the blog. 57:36 You want a archive, 57:37 previous teachings from here in the Pioneer pulpit, 57:39 you go to that annotated archive, 57:42 you can pick out a message, it will be sent to you. 57:44 You want to get into the podcast business, 57:48 I'm not real hi-techy on this but if you click podcast, 57:51 you will be able to connect instantly 57:52 with every new teaching that comes from the Pioneer pulpit. 57:55 The point is we're trying to connect 57:57 with the generation on the move, on the go. 57:59 Thanks for being a part of it. 58:01 Thanks for your prayer partnership. 58:02 We have got to connect with this generation 58:04 at this time in earth's history 58:07 and I'm grateful you and I are sharing the mission. 58:09 God bless you, until next time. |
Revised 2015-04-09