Participants: Pr. Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP030406
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00:29 All we like sheep
00:34 All we like sheep have gone astray 00:40 All we like sheep 00:45 All we like sheep have gone astray 00:51 We have turned We have turned 00:56 Every one to his own way 01:00 Every one to his own way 01:05 All we like sheep 01:09 Have gone astray 01:14 Have gone astray 01:18 We have turned We have turned 01:23 We have turned 01:27 Every one to his own way Every one to his own way 01:33 We have turned We have turned We have turned 01:36 We have turned Every one to his own way 01:40 Every one to his own way 01:42 All we like sheep 01:47 Have gone astray Have gone astray 01:51 Have gone astray 01:56 Have gone astray We have turned 02:01 We have turned 02:04 We have turned Every one to his own way 02:09 We have turned We have turned 02:11 We have turned Every one to his own way 02:15 We have turned We have turned 02:17 Everyone We have turned 02:20 Everyone 02:21 We have turned Every one to his own way 02:24 All we like sheep 02:29 All we like sheep Have gone astray 02:35 Have gone astray We have turned 02:41 We have turned We have turned 02:43 We have turned We have turned 02:45 We have turned We have turned 02:47 We have turned Every one to his own way 02:51 We have turned We have turned 02:54 We have turned We have turned 02:56 We have turned We have turned We have turned 02:59 We have turned Every one to his own way 03:05 We have turned Every one to his own way 03:10 We have turned Every one to his own way 03:17 And the Lord has laid 03:24 On him 03:31 And the Lord 03:35 Has laid on him 04:03 The iniquity 04:10 Of 04:17 Us all 04:34 Let's pray. 04:36 Oh, God, we do need that gospel 24/7, 04:39 it's the best news there is in the universe. 04:42 We who have gonna stray, 04:44 You've taken all our sins 04:50 and You've laid them on Him 04:52 we call our Savior, our Lord Jesus. 04:56 But, O God, it is not enough for us 04:57 to know that good news, it is simply not enough. 05:01 Teach us this morning through Holy Scripture. 05:04 We will listen to You in the name of Jesus. 05:09 Amen. 05:11 Do you realize that this morning, 05:12 in this worshiping community, I mean right here right now, 05:16 there are four generations right here 05:18 and you're part of one of those generations. 05:21 We have the GI generation here today 05:24 that would be those born in the 20s and 30s. 05:27 We have the baby boomer generation here, 05:29 those born in the 40s and 50s. 05:32 We've got the Gen X generation here, 05:34 those born in the 60s and 70s. 05:36 And we have the millennials here, 05:37 those born in the 80s and 90s. 05:41 Three, count them, 05:43 three out of the four generations 05:46 have already conquered 05:48 a new frontier. 05:51 I want you to watch the screen for a moment. 05:52 We'll play some archived pictures 05:54 in a video clip about those frontiers. 05:57 Take a look at this. 06:49 Yeah, you started to clap too soon. 06:52 Three of the four generations here 06:53 have already conquered new frontiers. 06:55 In case you didn't catch it, 06:56 let me remind you what those new frontiers are. 06:58 The GI generation conquered inner space. 07:00 They didn't get very far. 07:02 You saw John Glenn ride stuff, not too far, 07:05 us baby boomers came along and then came outer space. 07:08 That was Neil Armstrong talking on that first step on the moon. 07:12 And then came Gen Xers and they discovered cyberspace. 07:18 But there's a fourth generation left. 07:21 And the question is, is there any space left 07:26 to conquer for the millennials? 07:29 And I'm not talking about my space. 07:35 All right, it's not what I'm talking about. 07:40 All right, there is an answer 07:43 and I believe the answer for the millennials is found 07:46 in a very long ago story. 07:50 At the very end of that long ago story, 07:53 there is an answer 07:55 and I want you to write it down. 07:56 Please write it down. 07:57 Take out your study guide that is in today's worship bulletin. 07:59 Thank you ushers for standing 08:00 because I just know that there are people 08:02 who got in here without those study guides. 08:04 You didn't get a worship bulletin, 08:06 some dynamite quotes, you've gotta have them, 08:07 hold your hand up, 08:09 hold your hand up, we'll get it to you. 08:10 And while we're doing that, those of you 08:11 who are watching on television right now, 08:13 let me give you a website, put it on the screen for you. 08:16 There it is, www.pmchurch.tv. 08:19 That's our website. 08:21 If you go to this series 08:22 that we're doing called "Eternity's Edge," 08:24 you're looking for the teaching today, 08:26 "When God's Last Question Becomes Our First." 08:30 Click on there, when you see that, 08:32 you'll see the word study guide, click study guide. 08:34 You'll have the identical study guide here 08:36 from the back of the balcony to the choir up front. 08:39 Grab that study guide. 08:42 I want you to write it down, 08:43 one last frontier 08:45 to conquer for God. 08:48 Ready to go? Got your pen? 08:50 All right, the GI generation, what did they conquer? 08:53 Inner space. 08:54 All right, write it down, inner space. 08:56 The baby boomer generation, what did they conquer? 08:59 Outer space. Write that down. 09:02 Gen Xers, what did they helped us conquer? 09:04 Cyberspace. 09:06 All right, now the millennials, put millennials up. 09:10 What are we going to put in that space, 09:12 that blank space? 09:14 There's another five letter word 09:16 that goes right in that blank space. 09:20 There's a Bible book that ends with a question. 09:24 And in that question, there is that five letter word, 09:28 don't even try to figure it out. 09:30 You won't guess it. 09:32 Open your Bibles instead with me, please, 09:33 to the Book of Jonah, a little tiny Book of Jonah. 09:36 That would be the Old Testament in the Minor Prophets. 09:39 And while you're finding that book, 09:43 I need to tell you that last Sabbath, 09:45 do you remember in the middle of my sermon last Sabbath? 09:47 I said, "Man, I can hardly wait till next week," 09:50 because we're going to share 09:51 from the only book in the Bible that ends with a question, 09:55 hallelujah. 09:57 And then I went ahead and preached 09:58 the last half of the sermon. 10:00 As soon as... This is in second service. 10:01 As soon as the sermon is over, I went down to the front row, 10:03 and to sing the closing hymn 10:05 and there was a young co-ed there. 10:07 And she leaned over to me and she whispered, 10:09 "Which book of the Bible is it?" 10:12 Well, that's the whole point of not announcing the book, 10:13 you want a little sense of mystery. 10:15 So I said, "You'll have to come back next Sabbath 10:17 and find out." 10:18 To which she replied, 10:20 "Well, since you said that 10:21 I've already been going through the Bible, 10:23 and I found two books that end with a question." 10:25 I said, "You're kidding me. Show me." 10:28 She was right. 10:32 You can't believe everything that preacher says, 10:34 I'm just telling you, you just can't believe it. 10:37 And so I said, "Well, I want to have 10:38 to apologize next week," 10:40 which is what I'm doing right now. 10:42 And I'm thankful for that 10:44 young Andrews University student 10:46 who spent the last half of my sermon 10:48 not listening to it, but trying to find out 10:49 if what I'd said was true. 10:51 She's right, there're two books in the Bible 10:53 that end with a question, 10:54 but a little bit of redemption here. 10:56 Let me get the two books, Nahum and Jonah. 10:59 Here's the redemption. 11:01 Both books deal with the same city Nineveh. 11:04 Keep your pen moving, write it down. 11:05 It's Jonah, however, 11:07 Jonah not only ends with a question, 11:09 it is packed with 13 of them 11:11 in rapid fire sequence, boom, boom, boom, 11:13 I'm gonna give you all 13 right now. 11:14 Hold on to your seat. Let's go Jonah. 11:16 Have you found Jonah? This would be page 623. 11:19 If you didn't bring a Bible, grab that pew Bible, page 623. 11:22 Take a look at these 13 questions. 11:24 Here we go. 11:26 Question number one. 11:27 That would be verse 6 in Jonah 1, verse 6. 11:31 I'm in the New International Version today. 11:33 Now, "The captain went to him..." 11:35 That would be Jonah, the runaway prophet, 11:37 asleep in the bottom of the boat. 11:38 "The captain went to him and said, 'How can you sleep?' 11:41 " There it is, question number one, 11:43 "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your God! 11:45 Maybe he will take notice of us and we will not perish." 11:49 What's going on here? 11:50 Ladies and gentlemen, what's going on is 11:51 we have this humongous cyclone of a storm 11:53 and the boat is going down. 11:57 Now, Jean-Marcel Clouzet, my friend, 11:59 one of our student leaders on campus, 12:01 just a few weeks ago, 12:03 preached his heart out from the Book of Jonah. 12:05 Jean dealt with the first half of the book. 12:07 Today, we're going to take the second half of the book. 12:09 All right? 12:11 How can you sleep? 12:13 Question number one. 12:14 By the way, I'm reading a book through right now entitled, 12:16 Preaching to a Shifting Culture. 12:18 And in that book, 12:19 there's an essay by Hayden Robinson, 12:21 who makes an interesting observation 12:23 about sleeping, Jonah sleeping. 12:24 I put it on the screen for you, get a load of this. 12:26 If ever, I'm quoting now, 12:28 "If ever there was a man 12:29 who lived in direct disobedience to God, 12:31 it was the prophet Jonah. 12:33 God directed him to preach to the citizens of Nineveh, 12:35 but he boarded a ship and sailed away from God 12:37 rather than do what God had commanded him to do. 12:40 During his fligh a violent storm arose 12:43 that terrified the pagan sailors, 12:45 but Jonah was below deck in the boat asleep. 12:48 Evidently, Jonah had peace 12:50 about the decision he had made." 12:52 Now hold on, notice the contrast. 12:54 "On the other hand, if ever there was someone 12:56 who was doing God's will, 12:58 it was Jesus going to the cross. 13:00 Yet, in the Garden of Gethsemane, 13:01 he was in anguish, he didn't sleep, 13:03 and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the earth." 13:05 And here comes this punch line, 13:07 "Peace is not evidence we have made a godly decision." 13:13 You want to have peace, 13:15 making the godly decision for your life? 13:16 You just hang on to this story. 13:18 That information will come to you. 13:19 Okay, here comes question number two, 13:21 question number three, question number four, 13:22 question number five, question number six. 13:24 They're all in one verse, verse 8. 13:26 Drop down to verse 8. 13:28 So they, that would be the pagan sailors up top, 13:30 top side. 13:32 Jonah has just stumbled up there. 13:33 By the way, they just cast lots, 13:34 and it's landed on Jonah. 13:36 You're the cause of this. 13:37 And so verse 8, "They asked him, "Tell us, 13:40 who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? 13:42 What do you do? Where do you come from? 13:44 What is your country? From what people are you? 13:46 Just like a prosecuting attorney, 13:47 boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. 13:50 You must be bad to get the God this man. 13:54 And Jonah calmly is in that boat, 13:56 pitches in ease. 13:57 Jonah calmly says, "I'm a Hebrew. 14:00 I worship the Most High God 14:01 who made all of this in the first place." 14:04 And now here comes question number seven. 14:08 What verse is it? That be verse 10. 14:11 "This terrified them when they heard about him 14:13 worshiping the Creator God. 14:14 And they asked, here comes question number 7, 14:18 "What have you done?" 14:19 They knew he was running away from the Lord, 14:21 because he had already told them so. 14:23 Now here comes question number 8, verse 11, 14:25 "And the sea was getting rougher and rougher. 14:27 So they asked him, 'What should we do 14:28 to make the sea calm down for us?' 14:34 " You know, when you're running, 14:36 like Jonah, from our guilty conscience, 14:40 you're going to come to that moment, 14:41 or else it'll drive you to either drink or despair. 14:44 You're going to come to that moment 14:45 when you're going to have to have a Mea culpa. 14:48 That's Latin for my fault. 14:50 That boat, that little piece of Phoenician driftwood 14:55 shoots to the heavens 14:56 and as it drops into that canyon of water, 15:00 Jonah offers a Mea culpa. 15:04 Would be verse 12, 15:06 "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," 15:08 he replied, "and it will become calm. 15:10 I know, here it comes, I know that it is my fault," 15:14 Latin Mea culpa. 15:15 "I know that it is my fault that this great storm 15:18 has come upon you. 15:20 It is my fault." 15:24 How many of our relationships? 15:26 How many of our marriages could be saved 15:29 if we just had the honest courage to say, 15:31 it is my fault? 15:35 How much heartache I could spare 15:38 if this boy here would live a little more often 15:40 with those words on his lips, on my lips? 15:43 I'm sorry. 15:44 It is my fault. 15:52 Men are gonna throw him, verse 13, 15:54 "Instead the men did their best to row back to land. 15:56 But they could not, for the sea grew 15:57 even wilder than before." 15:59 The sails are tattered now. 16:01 Then verse 14, "They cried to the Lord, oh, Lord," 16:03 they just met this God, they just, thanks to Jonah. 16:06 "Oh, Lord, please do not let us die 16:08 for taking this man's life. 16:09 Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man 16:11 for you, O Lord have done as you pleased." 16:14 Then we're going to have to do it. 16:15 Verse 15, "They took Jonah and they throw him overboard 16:17 and the raging, boom, that raging sea grew calm, 16:21 miraculous." 16:22 And look what happens at this, verse 16, 16:25 "The men greatly feared the Lord, 16:27 and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord 16:28 and they made vows to him. 16:30 I accept you now as the God in the universe. 16:33 Just got saved, old boat full of pagan sailors. 16:36 And what's happened to the Jonah? 16:38 That would be verse 17. 16:39 "But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, 16:43 and Jonah was inside the fish three days 16:46 and three nights." 16:49 Now, what follows in Chapter 2 16:52 is not a single question, not one question in Chapter 2, 16:56 just one very long confession. 17:00 And I want you to go to the very end 17:02 of his confession 17:03 because it's the theme verse of the entire book. 17:05 Go to Chapter 2, drop down to the very end, verse 9. 17:08 By the way, verse 5 tells us that Jonah has seaweed wrapped, 17:11 kelp wrapped around his head 17:13 as he is praying this confession. 17:15 I don't know about you, but I don't think that'd be 17:16 a very pleasant environment 17:18 in which to go on my knees before God, Jonah does. 17:22 And this is verse 9, 17:24 "But I, with a song of thanksgiving, 17:27 will sacrifice to you. 17:28 What I have vowed," 17:30 I know I used to sing that hymn in church, 17:31 I'll go where you want me to go. 17:33 Dear Lord, I'll do what You want me to do. 17:35 What I have vowed, dear God, I will make good, 17:38 and now here comes the punch line for, 17:40 "Salvation comes from the Lord." 17:44 Hallelujah. 17:46 That's the theme of Jonah, 17:47 "Salvation comes from the Lord." 17:50 The pagans discovered that truth. 17:51 Jonah just now confesses that truth 17:53 and as we know, an entire city will embrace that truth. 17:57 Come on, what greater truth is there 18:00 in the universe than that one? 18:02 Is there greater truth that you know? 18:04 We have heard a joyful sound. 18:09 Jesus saves, Jesus saves, 18:13 spread the glad news all around. 18:17 Jesus save, Jesus save, 18:22 hallelujah. 18:23 You know what? 18:25 You can't run too far. 18:27 You can't sink too deep. 18:30 But God is gonna find you. 18:34 God is going to save you. 18:38 Centuries ago somebody wrote a metaphor about God 18:40 called the hound of heaven. 18:42 I think on the basis of Jonah, we got a better metaphor, 18:44 God is the whale of heaven. 18:46 He will never let you drown. 18:48 They may throw you out of the church. 18:50 They may throw you out of the school. 18:52 They may throw you out of the job. 18:54 They may throw you out of your marriage. 18:56 They may throw you out, but when you get thrown out, 18:58 the whale of heaven will be right there 19:00 to keep you from drowning. 19:01 Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. 19:03 Wow. 19:06 Well, we're now ready for question number nine. 19:09 But first, we got to get Jonah out of that whale. 19:13 We have a pet dog named Sadie Hawkins. 19:17 Yeah, I'm serious 19:18 and because we got on February 29. 19:21 And I tell you what? 19:22 Sadie can throw us into an adrenaline rush 19:25 in a split second every time 19:28 she begins to vomit. 19:30 I don't know if you have a... Do you have a dog at home? 19:32 I think all dogs have the same sound when they vomit. 19:34 Don't they? 19:36 I mean you go... 19:39 And it gets higher and higher 19:41 and you just know it's coming up. 19:43 And boy when we hear that, we can be sound, 19:44 it's like, boom, we're both up 19:46 to the bathroom tile, out the door. 19:50 I know what a dog sounds like when it vomits. 19:51 I cannot imagine what a whale would sound like, can you? 19:59 But it sounds like God is the God of second chances. 20:02 Hallelujah. 20:04 Look at this, guys, this would be Jonah 2:10, 20:08 "And the Lord commanded the fish and it vomited. 20:14 You know that fish had no manners. 20:16 That is so noisy to do. 20:18 It vomited Jonah on the dry land. 20:22 Hallelujah. 20:23 Look at 3:1, 20:25 "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." 20:27 Mark it down, ladies and gentlemen, 20:28 He is the God of second chances. 20:31 Don't you ever give up? 20:32 Don't you ever, ever, ever give up 20:34 because God has not given up on you. 20:36 "And the word of the Lord came to Jonah second time: 20:38 'Go to that great city of Nineveh and proclaim 20:41 to it the message I give you." 20:43 And hallelujah, verse 3, 20:44 "Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord." 20:46 He got, I got the point. 20:48 I got it. I got it. 20:49 "And he went to Nineveh. 20:51 Now Nineveh was a very important city, 20:53 a visit requires three days." 20:54 Verse 4, "And on the first day Jonah started into the city. 20:57 He proclaimed 40 more days 20:59 and Nineveh would be overturned." 21:01 And guess what happened? 21:02 Verse 5, "The Ninevites believed." 21:06 Can you believe this? 21:07 "The Ninevites believed God. 21:09 They declared a fast 21:11 and all of them from the greatest of the least 21:13 put on sackcloth." 21:16 And now comes question nine, 21:18 a royal decree commanding that city while it fast. 21:22 And in that royal decree is verse 9. 21:24 And the king asked the question, who knows? 21:26 Question number nine, "Who knows? 21:29 God may yet relent and with compassion 21:32 turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish." 21:36 And I'll thank God, there is verse 10. 21:38 "And when God saw what they did, 21:41 and how they turned from their evil ways, 21:43 he had compassion 21:45 and did not bring upon them the destruction 21:47 he had threatened." 21:49 Ain't that great? 21:51 Apparently, guys, apparently God can save an entire city, 21:56 no matter how wicked that city is. 21:58 And by the way, it was wicked, wickedest of the wicked. 22:01 And that's precisely why Jonah did not want to be sent. 22:06 God saves Nineveh and Jonah is so happy. 22:12 Chapter 4:1, 22:14 "But Jonah was greatly displeased 22:18 and became angry." 22:19 Here comes question number 10. 22:21 "He prayed to the Lord, 'O Lord, 22:23 is this not what I said when I was still at home?'" 22:26 Question 10. 22:28 "That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. 22:30 I knew that you are gracious and compassionate God, 22:33 slow to anger and abounding in love, 22:34 a God who relents from sending calamity." 22:37 Question number 11, verse 4, God comes right back at him. 22:40 "But the Lord replied, 'Have you any right, boy? 22:43 Have you any right to be angry?' 22:49 " Jonah storms in a huff and a puff 22:54 and he finds a spot on a little hill overlooking 22:56 Nineveh still hoping 22:58 that there's going to be a spectacular 23:00 divine pyrotechnics show i.e. 23:02 fire still going to come from heaven. 23:07 But all he gets is a little vine from God 23:11 that grew up over his head and created some blessed shade 23:14 from the blazing sun. 23:17 All he gets the next morning is a little worm also from God 23:20 that ate the vine, that grew over the head 23:22 and the vine shrivels 23:24 and now that fiery ball just burns 23:27 red into that scalp, 23:30 and pouty, Jonah begs to die, he's so mad. 23:35 Question 12, here it comes. 23:38 This would be verse 9. 23:42 "God said to Jonah, 23:43 'Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?' 23:46 'I do,' He said, 'I am angry enough to die.' 23:50 " And now, ladies and gentlemen, 23:52 here it is, question number 13. 23:56 A single question 23:58 with the profound portrait of God 24:01 who loves the ugliest of the ugly, 24:03 the worst of the worst, 24:06 the meanest of the mean. 24:08 God speaks now, verse 10. 24:11 "But the Lord said, o boy, 24:15 'You've been concerned about this vine, 24:18 though you did not tend it or make it grow. 24:20 It sprang up overnight and died overnight.' 24:22 " Verse 11, "But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people 24:27 who cannot tell their right hand from their left 24:29 and many cattle as well. 24:31 Should I not be concerned about that great city?" 24:37 The end. 24:41 That's all he wrote. 24:44 But that's enough. 24:47 For has not the time come in history 24:49 when God's last question should become our first question? 24:53 Write it down. 24:55 Should I not be concerned 24:58 about that great city? 25:02 Keep your pen moving. 25:03 It's not going to stop for a while. 25:05 Do you know that one week ago today? 25:08 Last week at this time, no, not at this time, 25:10 7:19 in the evening, one week ago today. 25:12 "According to the US Census Bureau, 25:15 jot this down, 25:16 the world's population turned to 6.5 billion human beings." 25:21 A week ago today. 25:25 Keep your pen moving. 25:26 "It is now estimated that 47% of earth's inhabitants 25:30 live in a city, not a suburb, 25:32 not a town, not a little village like this, 25:34 not out in the country. 25:35 47% of earth is inner city, 25:37 which inner city which by the way means, 25:39 jot this number. 25:40 You have a few zeros to write here, 25:41 3,055,000,000 people on earth are urban dwellers. 25:47 They live only in a city. 25:51 In fact, earth's cities have become so large 25:53 that they are now being called, write this down, 25:55 "agglomerations," 25:57 aggregate and conglomeration just put it all together, 26:00 what is an agglomeration? 26:01 An agglomeration is defined as contiguous spreads 26:06 of inhabited buildings and streets. 26:08 There's a website, check it out. 26:10 That word was new to me just this last week. 26:11 I'm gonna now give to you, here they are, 26:13 we're not gonna write them down. 26:14 Take a look at this, the top 10 agglomerations on Earth. 26:18 And number one 26:20 is the city I was born in, Tokyo Japan 34,200,000. 26:27 Number two, Mexico City, 22,800,000. 26:32 Number three, Seoul, Korea, 22,300,000. 26:37 Look at this, number four, New York City, 21,900,000. 26:42 Number five, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 20,200,000. 26:47 Number six, Bombay, also known as Mumbai, 19,850,000. 26:53 Also in India, number seven, Delhi, 19,700,000. 26:58 Number eight, Shanghai, China, 18,150,000. 27:03 Number nine, Los Angeles, the City of Angels, 18,000,000, 27:08 and finally again from Japan, 27:09 number 10, Osaka, 16,800,000 people. 27:14 Grand total, you need to write this down, 27:15 grand total for the top 10 agglomerations on earth, 27:19 355,650,000. 27:24 And by the way, when you add the next 10 27:25 that would be the top 20, 27:27 the total jumps to just short of a half a billion people 27:31 living downtown in cities. 27:34 And by the way, that's just the top 20. 27:37 In fact, keep your pen moving, 27:38 there are now estimated to be 438 agglomeration cities 27:43 with 1 million or more inhabitants. 27:48 Have mercy. 27:49 If the cry of God that ends the Book of Jonah 27:53 were only for one city, it was only for one city. 27:55 Can you imagine the depth of the divine cry today? 28:01 Do you wanna know how God really feels about cities? 28:05 Jot this down in your study guide. 28:07 Luke 19:41, "As Jesus came near and saw the city, 28:10 He wept, He wept over it." 28:14 There are only two places in the gospel record 28:17 where it describes Jesus as weeping. 28:18 Once He wept over a dead friend, 28:21 and once He wept over a lost city. 28:24 I remember hearing a Baptist preacher 28:26 turned professor, his name Robert Logan, 28:29 I'll never forget this sentence as long as I live. 28:31 I want you to have it too. 28:33 He said, "We need to come to the place 28:34 where what breaks the heart of God 28:37 breaks our hearts, too." 28:41 Jesus saw the city and He wept. 28:42 What do you and I do? 28:44 Oh, thank God, we live in a village. 28:46 Thank God, 28:47 the inner city is someone else's problem, 28:49 not mine. 28:50 Thank God, it's none of my business. 28:52 Are you crazy? None of your business? 28:54 That is precisely Jonah's attitude. 28:56 And that's why about got lost. 28:58 It is your business. 28:59 Jonah says, "Who cares? 29:01 Who cares? 29:03 Do you care? 29:04 Do I care?" 29:13 A 100 years ago, 29:16 there was a woman who also had a heart 29:18 that broke for the cities. 29:19 I had these words, 29:21 and more scribbled all over my pages of Jonah. 29:23 I wanted you to have 29:25 and so you're having the study guide. 29:26 Take a look at what she wrote, "Work the cities without delay, 29:29 for time is short." 29:31 That was a century ago. 29:33 "At such a time as this, 29:35 every hand is to be employed in the city." 29:37 Now, the emphasis here is mine. 29:39 "The burden of the needs of our cities 29:41 has rested so heavily upon me 29:43 that it is sometimes seem that I should die." 29:46 Have you ever felt, 29:48 I am gonna die because of that city, 29:49 it's not reached for Christ. 29:51 I never felt that way in my life. 29:54 A burden of those cities is so heavy on me. 29:57 I've sometimes thought I was gonna die. 30:01 Wow. 30:02 Here's another one, 30:03 " Wake up, wake up 30:05 and enter the fields in America that have never been worked. 30:09 There's a work to be done in foreign fields. 30:10 And I want to say this, 30:11 I realize we have over 90 nations 30:13 represented in Pioneer and at Andrews University. 30:16 And God knows you have challenges there. 30:18 But I tell you what? 30:19 We need to see this sentence as well in America. 30:21 There is a work to be done in foreign fields, 30:23 but there is a work to be done in America 30:25 that is just as important. 30:27 The Missology department 30:29 wants to cast our eyes over the seas. 30:31 We do need that vision over there. 30:33 But we cannot forget the cities here at home. 30:36 Just as important. 30:38 Now go on, there's more to that, isn't there? 30:39 Yeah. 30:41 "In the cities of America, 30:42 there are people of almost every language." 30:44 Do you know how many languages are in Chicago? 30:45 Do you know how many nations 30:47 are represented in the Windy City 30:48 just around the corner of the lake? 30:50 These need the light that God has given to His church? 30:54 Wow. 30:56 I have a book in my library, written by John, excuse me, 31:00 John Dawson. 31:02 Title of the book, Taking our Cities for God. 31:04 I've read it through three times. 31:05 And I know I'm going to read it a fourth time. 31:08 In that marvelous stirring book, 31:11 Dawson has written these words 31:12 and you have them there in the study guide. 31:14 "The emergence of a worldwide urban culture, 31:18 I like that, is setting the stage 31:20 for the world's first truly global awakening. 31:23 From China to Brazil, cities are becoming 31:26 more and more uniform in culture. 31:28 Entertainment in the form of movies, 31:29 rock music and television 31:30 is discipling the youth of the world 31:32 into a universal urban culture. 31:35 English as a second language 31:36 is spoken by the elite of most world-class cities, 31:39 thus creating the potential 31:40 for the rapid spread of a product or an idea." 31:44 You know, when I read that it suddenly hit me, 31:46 wait time out. 31:47 Do I, hold it, do you understand 31:50 that all because of these agglomeration cities, 31:53 God has actually set up 31:55 His everlasting gospel for success. 31:58 Success today. Why? 31:59 Because we have mass communications now, 32:01 we have the English language 32:03 that's spoken almost the whole world over. 32:05 And number three, we have this global urban culture, 32:09 you can go dress like this into any city on earth, 32:11 and you look like just one of the boys, 32:13 one of the girls, 32:14 you don't have to change your uniform now. 32:16 It's the same culture in the world cities. 32:19 God has set us up for success. 32:23 But Dawson says, these are urgent times, 32:27 and then let me read, these are his words again, 32:29 more than half, listen to this, 32:30 "More than half the people who have ever lived 32:33 are now alive. 32:34 If we don't have an awakening in this generation, 32:37 more people will go to an eternity without Christ 32:40 than in all the past generations 32:42 put together. 32:44 Wow. 32:45 I can't see God allowing that to happen." 32:47 He writes, "Business-as-usual is not good enough, 32:49 there is not enough time." 32:53 Which is why my dear people, 32:55 it is high time to make God's last question 32:58 our first question, 33:00 should I not be concerned about that great city? 33:05 And I was just saying, you say, "No, Pastor, come on, please. 33:08 There's no way, I can't move to Tokyo. 33:10 I can't move to Moscow. 33:12 I can't show up in Bombay. 33:16 I'm stuck here in Berrien Springs." 33:18 Well, so am I. 33:20 But there are two things we can do, 33:21 jot these down in closing, two strategies for us 33:23 who live right here right now. 33:25 Strategy number one 33:26 begin with a city closest to you. 33:29 Twelve miles up this road, 33:32 we have according to The Wall Street Journal, 33:35 the second most depressed 33:36 inner city per capita in the United States. 33:39 Twelve miles away, it's called Benton Harbor. 33:44 If God's heart breaks for that city, 33:46 shouldn't our hearts break too? 33:48 If God's messenger could explain 33:49 that the burden of the needs of the city are so great, 33:52 it is sometimes seen that I should die, 33:54 can't we let the same Spirit of Jesus 33:59 bring that passion to us as well. 34:04 It's time to fill in that last blank, 34:06 the one that we left blank at the beginning. 34:08 Fill it in. 34:11 It's true, five letter word here it comes, 34:14 it's true, the GI generation conquered inner space 34:17 and the baby boomers conquered outer space, 34:20 Generation X has conquered cyberspace 34:23 but what about the millennial generation? 34:26 Urban space. 34:27 Write it down, urban space. 34:30 It is the greatest and most monumental challenge 34:33 that faces Christianity, 34:35 along with our particular community of faith today. 34:39 Listen to me carefully. 34:40 We do fine in the villages. 34:42 We do great in the towns. 34:43 We're perfect out in the country 34:45 where there's hardly anybody. 34:46 We're so-so in the suburbs, but I'll tell you what? 34:49 We are an abysmal failure in the cities of earth. 34:52 There is one frontier left for this generation. 34:54 That's the unconquered frontier and you're it. 34:57 God has picked you because we have got to go 35:00 where we have never gone before. 35:02 Is that Star Trek? 35:05 Go where we have never gone before, 35:08 your generation and we will help you. 35:10 Your generation must conquer another frontier. 35:14 We don't need to go to Mars. 35:17 We gotta go to Madrid, 35:20 Minneapolis, 35:22 Moscow, 35:26 Melbourne, 35:27 We gotta go. 35:33 Unconquered cities, the agglomerations of Earth 35:36 unconquered for Christ and His kingdom, 35:38 which is why, which is why I'm absolutely unabashed. 35:41 I believe God has raised you up millennials. 35:43 He has raised you up 35:44 for this final frontier to conquer. 35:46 I don't care what your major is. 35:48 I don't care what your career is going to be. 35:49 Take that career to a city, 35:51 please don't live it in a country. 35:53 Take it to a city. Don't live it in a village. 35:55 Take it to a city and let God set you ablaze, 35:59 downtown for the kingdom of Christ. 36:03 Begin now, it's not too early, 36:05 start dreaming of a city on Earth. 36:07 You know what you can do? 36:08 You can go to your niece 36:09 when you pray now at night before you go to bed. 36:11 When you first, when you get up in the morning 36:12 and you have in your private worship, 36:13 you can be adding to your prayers, 36:15 God, there is a city on earth that You have designed me for. 36:19 Before I finish Andrews University, 36:21 show me that city. 36:22 I will go, I will fulfill my vow, 36:24 I will go to that city for you. 36:26 It might be here in this country. 36:27 It might be across one or two oceans, 36:29 it might be who knows where, 36:31 but you begin to ask God, God show me that city. 36:34 Give me that place. 36:35 Tell me, impress me, one day I'll know this is it. 36:39 This is where I must go for Christ. 36:43 The new missionaries of the third millennium. 36:46 There they are, the new missionaries, 36:49 the cities, the last unconquered frontier. 36:53 I tell you what? 36:55 The strategy is begin with a city close to you, 36:57 we desperately need you in Benton Harbor. 36:58 Hundred and fifty of our Andrews students 37:00 are going to get on the buses this afternoon. 37:01 But you know what? 37:03 There is way more to do than 100 and 450 students. 37:06 Three o'clock this afternoon those buses will line up 37:08 in front of Lampson Hall, we need you. 37:09 We need you so bad, 37:11 but we not only need students up there, 37:12 we need community members up there. 37:14 We have just, you might have forgotten 37:16 planted a fledgling little church 37:18 called a new plant church 37:20 in the inner city of Benton Harbor 37:22 12 miles away. 37:23 We desperately need help with that church plant. 37:26 In fact, let me share this with you. 37:28 I got this email a few days ago. 37:31 From one, this is from one of our young adult mothers. 37:33 All right. 37:35 She comes here every church, sits right there, 37:36 every church first church 37:38 with her little two little boys and her husband. 37:40 And as soon as first church is over, 37:42 they're in a car and they're driving up, 37:44 they're driving up to Benton Harbor 37:45 where she will spend the rest of the day 37:47 in that little church plant, a young adult Gen Xer. 37:51 She sent me this email, Pastor Dwight, 37:53 we really, really need help. 37:55 Her name is Becky Vanderpulaski. 37:57 As you may know, there are 10 to 15 people 37:59 trying to run new plant, 38:00 maybe you can share with people 38:02 that there are very simple things they can do. 38:04 We aren't asking for a big commitment. 38:05 Even if they could commit 38:07 to one Sabbath a month as a student. 38:08 Yeah, just one Sabbath a month, it would be great 38:11 because then the people that are there every week 38:13 could have a break. 38:15 Even if people are scared to interact with kids, 38:16 that's okay. 38:18 If all they can do is wash dishes and clean up. 38:19 We do all, we love to have and do the rest. 38:22 If we had a few extra hands 38:23 to sit with kids in church and Sabbath School, 38:25 help prepare food, 38:27 we could have a point person who they could come to 38:28 and that person could tell them what to do. 38:30 It's terrible to admit. Now listen to this. 38:32 She's opening up her heart. 38:33 It's terrible to admit, 38:34 but sometimes I dread the Sabbath, 38:37 I dread it. 38:38 Because I know that I'm going to be working 38:40 from 10 to 3 after she worship here. 38:42 And then to have the kids in church 38:43 come over to our house. 38:45 It's almost overwhelming. 38:46 I think that we are burning out 38:47 the few new plant people that we have. 38:49 I see so much good in these kids at new plant, 38:51 we just need extra hands to love them. 38:52 Once you get involved in new plant, 38:54 you realize that this is probably 38:55 the greatest service you will ever do for the Lord. 38:58 Anyway, just my thoughts that I thought I'd share. 39:02 I read that the first time, just tears sprang to my eyes. 39:04 Here's a woman, a young adult working herself to the knob 39:08 because God has broken her heart for a city. 39:11 She needs help guys. 39:13 We need help up their bad. 39:15 Sabbath afternoons, we're going to sleep, 39:19 we need your at 3 o'clock. 39:21 We need those buses, we can get more buses, 39:22 don't worry about that. 39:23 We gotta have help. 39:25 Should I not be concerned over that city? 39:32 In fact, I put the address, 39:34 you see that, I put the address on our study guide. 39:35 It's right there, the address to the new plant church. 39:38 In fact, if you reach inside your bulletin, 39:40 I think in the bulletin you got today, 39:42 you're going to see something, it looks like this, 39:43 1,113 different ways to help Benton Harbor. 39:46 Turn it over, you got a map. 39:47 Everything's there, the address, 39:49 the map, everything. 39:50 Just go up one Sabbath. Please go up just one Sabbath. 39:53 Go up one Sabbath, and see for yourself. 39:59 See for yourself. 40:01 See if God doesn't tug at your heart. All right. 40:03 I'll sit down with a second strategy. 40:04 Here it is. They're just two simple strategies. 40:06 Go to the beginning of the city closest to you 40:08 and finally strategy number two, 40:10 give for the cities all around you. 40:14 Thanks to mass communication, 40:15 and television, and radio, and the internet, 40:16 Pioneer is now potentially 40:18 touching nearly every city on Earth 40:20 through the three satellite networks 40:21 that carry our worship services, 40:23 plus there are 90 dear people 40:24 and I call them our TV pioneers right here. 40:26 Who every single week are giving $10 a week 40:30 in order to reach 1.75 million viewers 40:33 right here in the Michigan area and I thank God for them. 40:36 But you know what, folks, Michigan is not enough. 40:38 With the world's cities on our hearts, 40:42 including Chicago weighing heavy on my own. 40:44 I must appeal to you today in the name of Jesus Christ. 40:48 Please help us financially. 40:52 We need it, 40:53 our church meeting and business session 40:55 just last month voted. 40:57 The Evangelism Council came in 40:58 with the most aggressive evangelism budget 41:00 in the history of this church 41:01 $150,000 for 2000 for this very year. 41:05 But that's not only 150,000 for the master plan, 41:09 there's another 50,000 41:10 that these pioneers are raising, 41:11 plus another 50,000 41:13 from some gifts to hire someone on to our staff, 41:15 it's a $250,000 a year budget. 41:19 You say, "Come on, Dwight, come on, Pastor. 41:21 I don't know if I could do that. 41:24 I want to tell you something, 41:25 I got some very good news for you. 41:26 It's simple. 41:28 Inside your bulletin, you'll find a little card 41:31 that looks like this reaching the cities. 41:32 Would you pull this card out? 41:34 You are going to be amazed how simple it is. 41:35 We can do it together. 41:37 Watch this. Do you know what? 41:38 If you would give just $1 a day, 41:42 one measly little dollar a day, 41:44 that's less than a pizza a week. 41:46 That's less than two rental DVDs a week. 41:49 That's less than three gallons of gas a week. 41:52 Just $1 a day. 41:55 If we each everybody here would give $1 a day. 42:00 You say, "What am I supposed to do it?" 42:02 Well, when you come here, just pull a tithe envelope out, 42:03 drop down to line five. 42:04 It says NPE master plan of evangelism. 42:06 You just write in the $1 day amount, 42:08 whatever it is, 42:09 however often you want to fill it out 42:11 during a month. 42:12 One dollar a day. 42:14 All of us here. 42:15 We could reach every city on Earth 42:17 for the Lord Jesus Christ 42:18 or we could all got, we can't all go. 42:21 But we could go right from here. 42:23 One dollar a day. 42:27 I wanna appeal to you dear student, 42:29 you say, "Come on, you know how tight my finances are?" 42:32 I know how tight your finances are, I know. 42:34 And I'm not gonna I'm not gonna, 42:35 I'm not gonna be in your face over this. 42:37 Forget it. 42:38 You know, 50 cents a day. 42:41 Now, for you, 40 cents. 42:44 No just a dollar a day. 42:46 Just a dollar a day. 42:48 You say, "Dwight, there's no way I could do." 42:50 Okay, dollar every other day. 42:52 Some of you say, we got a note in seconds or several notes 42:54 saying, "Oh, Pastor, 42:55 we're already doing way more than this." 42:56 Oh, hallelujah. 42:58 Don't drop it down to a dollar a day, 42:59 please drop it down for you at a dollar a day. 43:03 That's what I'm gonna do. 43:04 I'm gonna add, just add dollar a day 43:06 to whatever it is you're doing right now. 43:08 One dollar, if we all added one dollar a day, 43:11 ladies and gentlemen, we could do it. 43:13 We can do it together, the cities of Earth. 43:16 I gotta tell you this. 43:17 I didn't know this was happening. 43:20 But our little Sabbath schools are what is this, 43:23 pre primary Sabbath schools. 43:25 Unbeknownst of me, we're taking up 43:27 an offering for Benton Harbor. 43:28 I just found out about it like three or four days ago. 43:30 And they said, "Oh, Pastor, 43:31 could we come and bring that money to you?" 43:33 And so they came in first service 43:34 and some kids came up and they brought their money 43:36 for Benton Harbor. 43:37 One little boy, get this, one little boy. 43:40 They've been paying the kids. 43:42 This is a novel idea. 43:44 They're paying the kids to learn their memory verses. 43:46 I like it. 43:48 It's very creative. 43:50 Entrepreneurial, 43:51 because Lord bring it back to you. 43:53 And it's not all their memory verses just Psalm 23, 43:56 we will give you dollar, we will give you dollar 43:57 if you memorize Psalm 23 43:58 they said to all these little, this is preschool. 44:00 All these little kids, will give you a dollar 44:02 one little boy perfectly recited Psalm 23 44:04 they gave him a dollar and you know what he did? 44:05 He walked right over to that Benton Harbor little bucket 44:07 and he gave his dollar to Benton Harbor. 44:10 Come on. 44:12 Where's the kids? 44:13 Where's little Ruth Burns? 44:14 Where's Matthew Beckwith? 44:16 Where's teacher? Gabriela? 44:18 Are you here? 44:20 Gabriela? 44:22 A teacher? 44:24 I see Ruth. Come on Ruth. 44:26 Come on Matthew. 44:28 You go my man. Bless your heart. 44:29 You're representing all the Sabbath School. 44:30 Hallelujah. You stay right here. 44:32 Ruth. 44:34 I see you're not gonna come. 44:36 Thank you very much, Matthew. 44:38 I'm so proud of you. 44:39 I am so proud of you. Because you know what? 44:42 Because you care enough 44:43 and I can tell this is a lot of money. 44:46 And because you care, 44:48 Jesus is going to use your money, 44:49 you know what He's going to do? 44:51 He is going to multiply it a 1000 times, 44:53 just because you were willing to love His cities with Him. 44:57 God bless you, man. Sure do love you, man. 44:59 God be with you. 45:00 Thank you, Matthew and all the children 45:02 that are represented, like Matthew. 45:04 Hallelujah. 45:07 Some of you, some of you are saying, 45:09 "Hey, come on, Pastor, what's in it for me? 45:10 What's in it for me?" 45:12 You want to know what's in it for you. 45:13 Take a look at that picture of the cross. 45:15 Take a look at Jesus hanging on the cross. 45:17 From the dying lips of God comes the question, 45:20 Should I not be concerned with that city? 45:27 You know what? 45:29 Jonah cried out from the belly of the whale salvation 45:32 comes from the Lord. 45:35 That's the truth. 45:36 And by the way, the salvation will only come to you 45:39 if you allow it to go through you. 45:41 Jonah would be lost. 45:44 He would have been lost if he had not turned around 45:46 and got to Nineveh that city. 45:48 Because he turned around, he got saved. 45:51 What's in it for you? 45:52 Home, mercy, salvation, but there's something else. 45:55 And, Kim, I want you to come on up here 45:56 and I want Ann to come up here. 45:58 I want you guys to sing a song 45:59 because you know what else is in it? 46:01 I want you to imagine going to heaven. 46:02 Kim is going to sing this very picture. 46:04 I want you to imagine going to heaven 46:06 and one day a boy coming up to you 46:07 and say, hey, were you the one that gave? 46:09 Were you the one that came on Sabbath afternoons? 46:11 Were you the one that volunteered 46:13 a new plant church, 46:14 that little Benton Harbor boy says to you, 46:16 I want to tell you something. I am in heaven today. 46:19 I made it from Benton Harbor to heaven, 46:23 because you cared enough to come. 46:26 I want to tell you when you get that thank you guys. 46:28 Trust me. 46:30 When you get that thank you, 46:31 you will have received the greatest reward. 46:34 Eternity will bring the joy 46:37 of seeing other people in eternity because you cared. 46:41 Kim's gonna sing that song, I want you to be thinking, 46:44 in fact, what I want you to be doing right now. 46:46 Don't start singing yet, Kim, 46:48 I need you to fill this out right now. 46:49 Please, we're going to pick these up right now. 46:51 This isn't rocket science, this doesn't take time. 46:54 You just put your name on there, please will you, 46:56 your name and check that little box. 46:57 Dwight, I can help with a dollar a day 46:59 for Pete's sake. 47:01 What's a dollar a day, I can give it, 47:03 I'll put it in a tithe envelope. 47:04 I'll mark it on line five, master plan of evangelism. 47:07 I'll give dollar a day, 30 dollars a month. 47:10 Count me in. 47:11 I have it, I have it for Jesus. 47:14 I want God to love his cities through me. 47:16 I want to hear that thank you one day. 47:19 I want to see that boy come up and say, 47:21 it's because you gave that I'm here. 47:24 Would you take a moment right now while Kim is singing? 47:28 Put your email address on there too, would you? 47:31 If you put your email address on there, 47:33 I'll make this promise to you. 47:35 I'll send you an personal email every single month. 47:38 And I'll tell you what's happening 47:39 in the cities of the world and particularly Benton Harbor. 47:42 I'll send you an email, 47:43 I'll tell you stories we will never tell here. 47:45 I want you to share God's love for the cities with me. 47:50 Jot it down, fill it out. 47:51 If everybody here fills out one card, just one, 47:54 one for two for a couple, three for a family of three. 47:58 If everyone here fills out one card, 48:01 Jesus can love the cities through you and me. 48:13 I dreamed I went to heaven 48:17 You were there with me 48:21 We walked upon the streets of gold 48:25 Beside the crystal sea 48:29 We heard the angels singing 48:33 Then someone called your name 48:37 You turned and saw this young man 48:40 And he was smiling as he came 48:44 He said friend, 48:46 you may not know me now 48:48 And then he said but wait 48:52 You used to teach my Sabbath school 48:56 When I was only eight 49:00 And every week you would say a prayer 49:03 Before the class would start 49:07 And one day when you said that prayer 49:10 I asked Jesus in my heart 49:16 Thank you 49:19 For giving to the Lord 49:24 I am a life that was changed 49:31 Thank you 49:34 For giving to the Lord 49:39 I am so glad you gave 49:45 Then another man stood before you 49:50 He said remember the time 49:53 A missionary Came to your church 49:57 His pictures made you cry 50:01 You didn't have much money 50:04 But you gave it anyway 50:09 Jesus took the gift you gave 50:12 And that's why I'm in heaven today 50:18 Thank you 50:21 For giving to the Lord 50:25 I am a life that was changed 50:31 Thank you 50:34 For giving to the Lord 50:39 I am so glad you gave 50:46 One by one they came 50:49 As far as the eye could see 50:53 Each one somehow touched 50:56 By your generosity 51:00 Little things that you had done 51:03 Sacrifices that you made 51:08 They were unnoticed On this earth 51:11 In heaven now proclaimed 51:17 And I know up in heaven 51:20 You're not supposed to cry 51:24 But I am almost sure 51:27 There were tears in your eyes 51:31 As Jesus took your hand 51:34 And you stood before the Lord 51:38 My child look around you 51:41 Great is your reward 51:47 Thank you 51:51 For giving to the Lord 51:56 I am a life 51:58 That was changed 52:03 Thank you 52:06 For giving to the Lord 52:10 I am so glad you gave 52:18 I am so glad you gave 52:39 Thank you, Kim. 52:40 Hallelujah. 52:42 Thank you, thank you, given to the Lord. 52:47 Would you take this turn it upside down 52:48 and just hand it, hand it to that aisle there. 52:51 Would you please and hand it to those aisles, 52:54 these two side aisles. 52:58 I know our greatest joy will be to hear 53:03 that thank you one day. 53:05 Ann, 53:09 let's just, I wanna sing that chorus again 53:11 because we have to give the ushers 53:12 just one more second to get down. 53:14 Let's just sing, do you know that chorus 53:16 thank you for giving to the Lord, yeah, let's do it. 53:18 And we're gonna sing that again. 53:20 Kim comes come stand by me because I need to hear you. 53:23 Thank you. 53:25 I want you to stand, go ahead and stand. 53:27 If you still haven't turned your card 53:29 and just pass it right down, keep it upside down. 53:31 Just keep it upside down, just hand it, 53:33 we'll pick it up for you. 53:35 Keep going, ushers, ushers keep going 53:36 all the way to the back. 53:37 Bless you. 53:39 Thank you 53:41 For giving to the Lord 53:46 I am the life that was changed 53:52 Thank you 53:55 For giving to the Lord 54:00 I am so glad you gave 54:06 Thank you 54:10 For giving to the Lord 54:14 I am a life that was changed 54:20 Thank you 54:24 For giving to the Lord 54:29 I am so glad you gave 54:36 I am so glad you gave 54:43 Oh Jesus, heaven will be cheap enough. 54:48 To hear you, we say thank you. 55:01 We should be thanking You that You would ever thank us. 55:07 Oh, Christ, whatever You want. 55:11 Everything we have is Yours. 55:13 It all came from You. 55:14 It's going back to you. 55:18 Take our little dollar bills, a dollar a day. 55:22 Oh, Christ, please multiply this. 55:28 The children have lead us today. 55:32 What breaks Your heart breaks our hearts. 55:36 You don't sleep at night. 55:37 We do. 55:39 But we want to help the cities. 55:43 Oh Jesus. 55:45 I want to pray for these millennials 55:46 before I say amen. 55:48 You have a city for him. 55:50 You've already picked out a city for her. 55:54 Send the word. 55:57 Let them hear quieter here 56:01 and then send them from us, 56:03 the new missionary generation 56:07 to conquer the last frontier for the kingdom. 56:10 When that frontier's conquered, it's over. 56:12 We don't need Mars. It's the cities we need. 56:16 Oh God, tell her, teach him what it is. 56:21 And use us right now 56:23 with the city that'cs closest to us. 56:25 To get that thank you in heaven. 56:28 It'll be worth it all. 56:30 Thank you, Jesus. 56:31 No, no, no, no, 56:32 we thank You for saving us. 56:38 And now to Him 56:39 who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask 56:43 or imagine according to His power 56:46 that is at work within us. 56:50 To Him be glory in the church 56:53 and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, 56:57 forever and ever. 57:00 Amen. 57:03 I wanted to take an extra moment 57:05 to let you know how grateful I am, 57:06 you joined us in worship today. 57:08 I hear from viewers like you all across this nation 57:09 and literally around the world. 57:11 And I'm thankful. 57:13 If you'd like to explore further what we just shared, 57:15 I hope you visit our website. 57:17 It's easy to remember, www.pmchurch. 57:20 We're the Pioneer Memorial Church 57:22 here on the campus of Andrews University, 57:24 www.pmchurch.tv. 57:27 Click on that website, 57:28 you'll be able to listen to a podcast of this material, 57:30 or download my presentation free mp3 player 57:33 or print off the study guide for further study. 57:36 You may have a special prayer need 57:37 that you wish to share with our prayer partners. 57:39 And you have an observation you wish to write to me 57:41 or you may want to partner with us 57:42 through a personal donation 57:44 to help us reach this generation 57:45 with the everlasting gospel. 57:47 Let me hear from you. 57:48 You can write to me at www.pmchurch.tv 57:51 or if you'd rather talk with someone, 57:53 call one of our friendly operators at 877-His-Will. 57:57 In the meantime, 57:59 may the grace and peace Jesus be yours every step of the way. |
Revised 2019-07-29