Participants: Pr. Dwight K Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP040508
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00:28 Korean.
00:35 Spanish. 00:43 Russian. 00:50 Kiswahili. 00:58 Australian. 01:04 "Come to me all ye who are weary and heavy laden, 01:09 and I will give you rest. 01:11 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 01:14 for I am gentle and humble in heart 01:17 and you will find rest for your souls." 01:20 Shall we pray? 01:22 Lord Jesus, we thank You for bringing 01:23 this global family together today, 01:26 to find rest in you. 01:29 As a community of faith and a community of learning, 01:32 we long to worship you today, in spirit and in truth. 01:36 Guide our worship, may it be acceptable to you, 01:40 in the name of Jesus we pray, amen. 01:45 It's a joy for me to introduce to you somebody 01:50 that I have great admiration for and respect, 01:54 he is the president of our world church. 01:56 How about a warm welcome for Dr. Jan Paulsen. 02:03 Good to have you, Dr. Paulsen. 02:05 Welcome. Nice to have you, have a seat. 02:09 We are delighted to have you here on our campus. 02:13 You turned down the invitation to preach, 02:15 you should be preaching today. 02:17 Next time, here's the deal, 02:18 I want you to say this in front of everybody, 02:20 the next time I'm here, Dwight, I'll preach. 02:23 I wish you well. 02:28 All right. 02:30 That tells you, about our leadership. 02:33 Or my influence. 02:37 I did this first church, 02:38 when you were sitting in the front row, 02:40 I want to do this while you're sitting right here. 02:42 I want to share with you and I want to share with you, 02:46 three qualities of our world president 02:50 that I especially admire. 02:52 I've watched him from afar, for a number of years now. 02:56 Number one, 02:58 I am very appreciative of the skillful way, 03:03 the very clear way, 03:06 Dr. Paulsen articulates both vision and theology. 03:10 He doesn't waste words. 03:13 When he speaks, you know what his mind is thinking 03:17 and I admire that about you, thank you very much. 03:20 What I like secondly about this man, 03:23 is that he is a humble leader. 03:26 Let me just tell you something about, 03:27 since we're in kind of a leadership cycle here, 03:29 in the United States in terms of an election coming up, 03:31 in case you haven't heard. 03:36 Jim Collins in his book, "Good to Great" 03:38 has studied the most successful 03:40 corporations in the United States, 03:42 and they have determined that the most effective 03:46 and successful leaders are known for their humility. 03:50 I'll tell you why I say that, 03:51 because when you watch an election cycle, 03:53 as we're in now, 03:55 you conclude that in order to be an effective leader, 03:58 you have to have a super ego. 04:00 You do not. 04:02 All you need to be is as humble as Jesus. 04:05 Just be humble. 04:06 Some of you are going to be leaders someday, 04:08 remember that. 04:09 It's humility that leads an organization. 04:13 All right, number three, 04:14 I appreciate his pastoral heart, 04:16 Pastor Paulsen, I appreciate that 04:18 you lead out of a pastoral heart. 04:20 I mean, I've been in rooms and hotel, banquets, halls, 04:27 where you've been addressing a fairly diverse group, 04:30 intellectually and otherwise, 04:32 and you could have just as easy just-- 04:34 just divided that room with one statement. 04:36 But he does-- his pastoral heart 04:38 leads by uniting, not dividing. 04:41 And I think that is a, I'm so grateful for that gift. 04:45 You've become known as the president 04:46 who moves around the world, in a conversation, 04:51 in a circle of young adults. 04:52 In fact, you were here, did you say two years ago for? 04:55 Something like that, yeah. 04:56 So you talk to young adults, you listen to them. 04:58 What is it that enthuses you, 05:01 about the 30 and under crowd in our church? 05:04 We've done these conversations. Now, we've had 20 of them. 05:08 The last one, just two months ago, 05:10 was in Hong Kong, 05:12 for our people, young people from-- 05:13 I bet that was interesting. Absolutely fascinating. 05:16 Were they-- did they ask different kinds of questions 05:19 than you would hear elsewhere? 05:21 In part, they did. Yeah? 05:23 The flavor of that conversation was to a significant extent, 05:27 created by the fact that we had 10 05:31 young adults from Mainland China, 05:34 who came out just for that weekend. 05:37 They were not people who had taken up residence 05:38 in Hong Kong or in Taiwan, 05:41 they came out for the weekend and returned to Mainland China. 05:45 And that put a very special flavor on the conversation. 05:48 I think this was one of the best conversations 05:50 we'd ever had. 05:51 I mean, you know, I get asked all kinds of questions-- 05:53 I'm sure you do. In these conversations. 05:56 Some of them, you at times wish 05:59 nobody was viewing or listening, you know. 06:01 These, these people from China, they were very, very serious. 06:05 These were, they asked very profound question, 06:09 having great importance for the life of the church. 06:12 And, yeah, it was a good conversation. 06:15 So what did-- what are you picking up on this generation? 06:17 What excites you about them? 06:19 What excites me about them is the sense 06:21 that there is a enormous commitment 06:23 on the part of the youth in this church, 06:26 to make sure that the church, the church remains strong, 06:29 that remains united. 06:32 Let me tell you, just, um, 06:34 a visit I made a few months ago, 06:38 as happens occasional on my travel, 06:40 I find myself placed in a place that wasn't really-- 06:42 it was a last minute, it was a stop over visit. 06:45 But if it is on the Sabbath, of course, I will go to church. 06:48 They may not know I'm in town and, 06:50 which is why I show up one minute 06:51 before the pulpit party goes in. 06:54 so that I don't disturb the planning of the brethren. 06:57 And, and here I was in Europe, 07:00 you know, Europe is very secular, 07:02 this, this was in a country 07:04 where the church has a real struggle to project itself 07:07 and to conduct its mission. 07:09 This particular Sabbath, 07:11 there were young adults, students, 07:13 who were taking the Sabbath service, 07:15 the divine service in the morning. 07:16 It's a wonderful service, 07:17 but of course they became a little bit nervous 07:19 when they saw me there and one of them came over to me 07:22 and wanted to prepare me for the music 07:25 that was gonna-- he need not have done that, 07:27 because this was good worship music, 07:28 I'm used to many kinds of music. 07:31 So, but one of the speakers 07:35 was a student, about 20- 21 years of age, 07:40 talked for about 8 or 10 minutes, 07:42 very strong biblical message and one of the things 07:45 which he said, very powerfully was, 07:47 I know we have a struggle here in this city, 07:49 to make the voice of Christ heard. 07:51 I know we have a struggle to make a witness. 07:54 But I am committed. 07:55 And he spoke for the group, 07:56 they were committed to make sure the church in this city 08:00 is not going to go down on our watch. 08:02 I like that. 08:03 And that I, it just, fills me with joy. 08:06 That is the message, the commitment, 08:08 I sense from the young people in this church. 08:11 You need to know, I really, I really trust our youth, 08:14 our young profession. 08:16 I want them engaged in the church, 08:18 I want them active. 08:19 So you, and particularly me, getting a bit older, 08:24 we-- you're coming along nicely. 08:32 We need to make sure that we have motivated 08:36 the youth and young professionals 08:38 to become engaged in the church. 08:40 If we don't engage them in the church, 08:43 they are not going to be with us tomorrow. 08:46 Yeah, I believe you're absolutely right. 08:47 In fact, we're-- our senior leadership team here, 08:49 in this congregation, is wrestling right now 08:51 with some kind of proactive way 08:53 to prepare, involve, integrate young adults, 09:01 while they're here, at the university, 09:03 but somehow shape them for getting-- 09:05 moving back into the local church 09:06 because you go to an institutional church like this, 09:09 this really is not your average milieu 09:13 for service and for worship. 09:14 So how can we prepare these kids? 09:16 Now pew-- what's the name of this organization? 09:20 PEW Research, whatever, a few weeks they came out 09:22 with some statistics analyzing American religions. 09:26 The Protestant religions, 09:28 Evangelical, Catholic and Orthodox. 09:32 There, they were examining the retention, 09:34 how able are contemporary churches to hang on to members. 09:41 The numbers for the Adventist church, 60%, 09:43 we have a 60% retention rate. 09:45 That means, 40% are leaving. 09:47 Those aren't just young adults, that's everybody. 09:50 But we were 73% a few years ago. 09:53 So we're hanging on to less and less. 09:56 So here's the question, the local church, 10:00 what can the church, beyond the general conference, 10:02 be doing to hang on to the young 10:06 and involve them in the life of our community of faith? 10:08 I think, really, you're saying the local church-- 10:10 this is where life is lived. 10:13 This is where nurture, 10:14 this is where inclusion takes place. 10:16 This is where that particular challenge, 10:19 primarily has to be resolved. 10:21 You know, a couple of days ago, 10:22 on my way from my house to the airport, 10:25 the driver who came to pick me-- 10:26 came from a company, 10:29 an agency that provides this kind of service. 10:32 And I'd never met him before, and he, 10:35 but he told me immediately, he was an Adventist. 10:37 Seventh- day Adventist, he told me which church 10:38 he worship and so forth. 10:40 And he said, when I work at my workplace, 10:43 I have now, he said, identified 10:45 five former Seventh- day Adventists. 10:49 And I was astounded. 10:52 And he said that, I want you to know, 10:54 pastor, none of them left the church 10:58 because of doctrinal doubts. 11:01 None of them left the church because they were convinced 11:04 that what we believe and confess is wrong. 11:06 I said why did they leave? 11:08 He said there were many reasons. 11:10 There was disappointments, they were hurt, 11:14 something happened, somebody said something 11:16 or did something to them that disappointed them 11:19 or hurt them so deeply 11:21 and they couldn't find healing in the church. 11:24 Or they said, there was some who said 11:26 the church had no need for us. 11:28 We were not included. 11:31 We were irrelevant to the church. 11:33 And so we sort of drifted away. 11:36 Now that to me is a tragedy 11:38 that every local congregation must openly 11:42 and honestly face and resolve. 11:45 Be sure that if, if you don't include them, 11:48 they will not stay. 11:50 They must be participants in the life of the church. 11:54 Could I say this also, pastor, 11:55 I mean, this is a congregation of a lot of young people. 12:00 Few of us, also more advanced in years. 12:05 Love the young people. 12:07 If every congregation was able to communicate the love 12:09 and care for young people, they would feel, 12:12 you don't walk away from a family 12:13 in which you are loved. 12:15 You don't, you, you, care for that family. 12:19 Make them care for the church because you love them. 12:22 And they will make mistakes but so have all of us. 12:26 Let them grow and develop, 12:27 and before you tell them about their mistakes, 12:29 make sure they know that you love them. 12:32 And in this way I think, 12:34 we will bond and build the church. 12:37 Two more questions, what burns your heart 12:40 about the Seventh-day Adventist church? 12:42 When you go to-- when you pray at night, 12:44 before drifting off to sleep, 12:45 what is it that you are carrying heavily, 12:49 that is a burden for you as you think of the church? 12:51 Well, I've said many times in the conversations 12:56 I've had with youth, 13:00 take responsibility for your own personal life. 13:03 I'm alarmed by the fact that only a quarter, 13:08 statistics show us, of Seventh-day Adventists 13:10 read the Bible at all. 13:14 One quarter? 13:15 Read the Bible on the regular daily basis. 13:19 Yeah, only that. 13:22 Good as the minister on Sabbath morning is, 13:24 in the church, I say it to all young people, 13:26 do not make your spiritual life dependant on the nurture 13:30 that the pastor gives you on Sabbath. 13:32 Good and solid as that is, spend time with Christ, 13:35 let Him talk to you through Scripture, 13:38 everyday quality time and talk back to Him in prayer. 13:41 If you don't do it, you will not survive as a believer. 13:45 That is important to me. 13:48 And then I think secondly, 13:49 it is important that we become engaged in the church, 13:53 and thirdly, it's important that we project the church 13:56 as a loving, caring, community. 13:59 Yeah. 14:00 One last question, you are such an optimist, 14:03 why can't you be so optimistic about the church? 14:09 Because the alternative is so unattractive. 14:15 I'm optimistic about the church because this is God's people. 14:20 God leads this church. 14:22 If I didn't believe that, the pressure that I would feel, 14:25 is, is, I couldn't survive with it. 14:28 I go to sleep at night and I'm, peace of mind, 14:32 and, and the Lord takes charge of these thing. 14:35 He did it before I came along 14:36 and He's going to do it when I'm gone. 14:38 This is His people. 14:40 He will keep it strong and safe 14:41 until He comes back to claim his own. 14:44 So because this is God's movement, 14:46 I count it a privilege to be part of it, 14:48 but yeah, I'm confident, He does a good job. 14:52 Thank you for loving the church, 14:53 thank you for leading us. 14:54 How about a warm expression 14:56 that we're going to be praying for you, 14:58 Pastor Paulsen. 15:51 The Lord is my shepherd 15:58 Therefore can I lack nothing 16:05 He shall feed me 16:09 In a green pasture 16:15 And lead me forth 16:18 Beside the waters of comfort 16:30 He shall convert my soul 16:40 And bring me forth in the paths of righteousness 16:50 For his Name's sake 16:54 For his Name's sake 16:58 For his Name's sake 17:11 Yea, though I walk through the valley 17:16 Of the shadow of death 17:21 I will fear no evil 17:30 For thou art with me 17:34 Thy rod and thy staff comfort me 17:49 Thou shalt prepare a table for me 17:55 Against them that trouble me 18:05 Thou hast anointed my head with oil 18:12 And my cup shall be full 18:38 But thy loving kindness 18:43 And mercy 18:49 Shall follow me 18:51 All the days of my life 18:59 And I will dwell 19:01 In the house 19:07 Of the Lord 19:12 In the house 19:17 In the house of the Lord 19:23 Forever 19:30 Forever 19:50 Let's pray. 19:54 Oh, Father, that, that is our prayer. 19:59 That just-- that piece of music 20:02 just drew it out of our souls, this confession. 20:07 That more than anything else in the world, 20:11 we want to live in your house for ever and ever. 20:16 So lead us by the still waters, 20:19 rest our souls in the journey. 20:26 We pray, in Christ's name. Amen. 20:34 There is one human activity that over all others 20:42 turns out to be the most contagious. 20:45 I suppose this particular human activity 20:47 is endemic to this generation in the third millennium. 20:54 This particular human behavior, this particular human response, 20:58 is so contagious, 21:01 that research shows that 55% of us, 21:04 if we see someone engage in this behavior, 55% of us, 21:10 within the next 5 minutes, will imitate that behavior. 21:16 It's that contagious. 21:18 Well, that explains why we're all doing it. 21:22 This generation, I'll put a picture 21:25 of this activity on the screen for you 21:27 so that you can understand what it is we're talking about. 21:32 Isn't that a precious picture? 21:35 I'm taking about the human yawn. 21:40 It isn't limited to a certain age group, 21:44 it is the total human journey experience. 21:48 In fact, they've done studies and have found that 21:50 11 week old fetuses yawn in momma's tummy. 21:57 It is not only limited to the human race, 22:00 it is also an experience enjoyed by the great outdoors. 22:09 What is there about a yawn? 22:11 I went on, I went online, 22:13 just thinking about our theme for today, 22:15 I went online to find out, what is it that causes a yawn. 22:18 Is there a scientific answer to this? 22:21 And guess what, ladies and gentlemen, 22:22 nobody knows, scientists cannot tell us 22:25 what creates the human yawn. 22:28 We know that you suck in all the air in the universe 22:30 when you yawn, 22:31 that your heart rate goes up by 30%. 22:33 We know that one hour before you sleep, 22:36 you yawn the most and one hour after you awaken, 22:39 you also have your most frequent yawns 22:41 but they still do not know what it is. 22:44 Obviously it is multicultural, one more picture from Google. 22:48 Multicultural, you yawn all over the world. 22:52 So let's assume, let's just assume, 22:54 for the sake of illustration, 22:55 that in fact a yawn represents 23:00 a deep hunger and need for rest. 23:04 If that's the case, 23:06 then we're one of the most yawning generations ever. 23:09 If that's the case, then there has to be 23:10 a whole lot of good news in the passage of Scripture, 23:13 that the Spirit directs us to today, 23:15 open your Bible please to the Gospel of St. Luke, 23:18 Luke 11. 23:19 Here is this moving invitation to Christ, 23:24 read to us, what was it? 23:26 It was read to us first in Korean, 23:29 then it was read in Spanish, then it was read in Russian, 23:31 then it was read in Swahili and then in English. 23:36 Read to us just a moment ago. 23:38 Matthew 11, the Gospel of St. Matthew 11, 23:41 New King James, by the way, if you didn't bring a Bible, 23:43 grab the pew Bible right in front of you. 23:45 Let me give you a page number for this. 23:47 That would be page 656, red letters, 23:51 the words of Christ, maybe we are the generation. 23:56 Jesus spoke this foremost. 23:58 All right, Matthew 11:28. 24:00 "Come to me..." Oh, we know this. 24:01 "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, 24:04 and I will give you rest. 24:06 Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, 24:08 for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 24:10 and you will find rest for your souls. 24:12 For my yoke is easy and My burden is light." 24:19 Come to me. Hey. 24:21 Hey, hey, he says, hey, come to me. 24:24 Come to me, and I will give you rest. 24:27 I'll tell you what, if you forget everything else 24:28 that was experienced this morning, 24:30 in this hour of worship, 24:33 but retain that single line, you will not go wrong. 24:36 Come to me and I will give you rest. 24:38 In fact, take your new study guide out right now 24:40 and let's write it down, before we forget it, 24:42 scribble it down in your study guide. 24:43 If you didn't get a bulletin when you came in, 24:45 hold your hands up. 24:46 We've got the most efficient 24:49 and friendly ushers in North America. 24:52 They're here, just hold your hand up 24:54 and move all the way to the back up in the balcony. 24:55 I trust the choir, you've got your study guides. 24:58 Those of you watching on television right now, 24:59 we're delighted to have you. 25:00 This is a fascinating study, go to our website. 25:03 Let me give it to you, it's www.pmchurch.tv. 25:08 That's our website, 25:09 for the Pioneer Memorial church. 25:11 Go to our website and you're looking for a brand new series. 25:14 We just began this last week, it's God's Party, 25:17 a little five parter to wrap up this season. 25:21 God's Party. 25:22 Let's see, last week it was, what was last week? 25:24 Last week was Myspace. 25:26 Last week was Myspace, 25:28 next week, don't miss next week. 25:29 YouTube YouToo, that'll be next week. 25:32 And then number four will be Green Google, 25:34 and then number five, good way to end it, 25:36 Yahoo! All right? 25:38 So I have all five of those. Today, however, is Facebook. 25:41 You know, I'm going to say this 25:43 because we didn't take this informal survey last week, 25:47 I asked, so I asked the students 25:49 who were here last week. 25:51 And by the way, those of you 25:52 who are Dr. Paulsen's age, um, you may not know. 26:00 He does, but you may not know about social networks. 26:02 It's the hottest thing in the universe today. 26:05 It's where you go to meet people, 26:06 it's where you establish your contacts and so last week, 26:09 we were talking about Myspace, it's the number one-- 26:11 200,000 people 200 million people globally, 26:15 meet in Myspace. 26:17 Number two is Facebook, number three is MyYearbook, 26:19 number four is Bebo and Pastor Rick-- 26:23 Bebo is the number one social network site in the UK. 26:27 All right? 26:29 So we're taking each of those, 26:31 and now each of those, two of those, 26:33 and focusing on the social networks. 26:35 I need to just tell you this, 26:36 before we filled in the study guide, 26:37 I had a Professor of Andrews University, 26:40 come to me last week. 26:41 He says Dwight-- 26:43 Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention this. 26:45 I had students raise their hand last week, 26:47 which one are you in, 26:48 and several of you raised your hands all the way-- 26:49 or two or three of them. 26:50 Karen was sitting behind a girl, 26:52 a girl and her boyfriend 26:54 and that young woman raised her hand 26:56 for all four of the top four social networks. 26:59 So you guys are, you guys are everywhere, in cyberspace. 27:01 So here comes this professor to me, 27:04 last week, and he says hey, Dwight, 27:05 my son is on Facebook. 27:07 My son is now a med student at Loma Linda University, 27:09 but the kid grew up here, in this community. 27:11 He says, guess, Dwight, 27:12 guess how many friends my son has in his Facebook account. 27:17 Now let me just tell you about Facebook, 27:18 I'm learning this, you have to have, 27:20 you have to list your friends in Facebook 27:22 in order for them to get into your-- is that true? 27:24 In order for them to get into your, 27:26 kind of, your private spot. 27:29 So he said, guess how many. 27:30 So I said, well, I'm thinking about maybe 10, no, 20, no. 27:33 I said okay, 40, no. I said 70, no. 27:37 His son has 685 best friends. 27:44 Can you imagine that? 27:45 685 of his closest friends get together every week. 27:50 I-- tell you what, guys, 27:51 if you're not in this generation, 25 and younger, 27:53 it's a whole new world of networking out there. 27:57 So we're talking about Facebook today. 27:58 You say, what does Facebook have to do 28:00 with what we just read. 28:01 You're gonna find out. 28:02 But let's take-- let's jot that line down please. 28:05 Opening line in your study guide, 28:06 Jesus' Words, Matthew 11:28. 28:08 "Come to Me and I will give you rest." 28:12 Write it down, please. I will give you rest. 28:15 Matthew's original language of the Greek 28:17 gives us a fascinating insight 28:19 into what Jesus is really offering here. 28:20 Keep your pen moving. 28:21 The Greek word for "rest" is anapauo. 28:24 It's composed of two parts, 28:25 ana means again and pauo means to stop or cease. 28:29 In other words, Jesus is saying, 28:30 hey, stop again and again and again. 28:32 Just keep stopping. You need that kind of rest. 28:35 It's the kind of rest, ladies and gentlemen, 28:37 you get when you climb a mountain. 28:38 Anybody here ever climb a mountain? 28:40 Ever climb a mountain? 28:41 I climbed Mount Fuji, 28:42 when I was a kid and growing up in Japan. 28:44 All right, you know, you know that nobody chugs 28:49 to the top without stopping. 28:52 In fact, let me just tell you this, 28:53 they released a documentary, 28:55 just this last week that-- 28:56 the name of the documentary is "Blindsight." 29:00 It's about the blind climber, Erik Weihenmayer, 29:07 I said he was a German in first church 29:09 and somebody came up to me and said, 29:10 I read the book, he's an American. 29:11 All right, but he's got a strange name. 29:13 All right, Erik Weihenmayer, 29:15 the first blind climber to scale the 29,000 ft. summit 29:19 of Mount Everest, back in 2001. 29:21 That's not what this documentary is about. 29:23 Instead, it's about him, with 6 Tibetan, 29:27 youth blind climbers, 7 of them are blind. 29:31 And they're climbing the 23,000 ft. peak 29:33 of Lhakpa-Ri, just north of Everest, 29:36 and here's Erik with one of the blind Tibetan climbers. 29:41 Anybody who's climbed a mountain knows, 29:43 you got to stop, you can't just hustle to the top. 29:46 You got to stop and rest. 29:47 You have to have rest stops, 29:48 you got to stop and rest, stop and rest. 29:51 That, ladies and gentlemen, 29:52 is precisely what Jesus is saying here. 29:53 He says you're gonna need rest stops. 29:55 In fact, write it down, will you? 29:56 In an essence, he's saying, 29:58 "In your ascent through life you've got to stop and rest 30:00 or you'll never make it to the top, 30:02 so come to Me, 30:03 and let Me be your rest stop again and again.'' 30:08 You just come to me. 30:09 Now it's true that the, 30:12 the rest of the gospel is a permanent sort of, rest, 30:15 but Matthew is intentionally using language 30:18 to shift from an idea of permanence 30:20 to an idea of being periodic. 30:24 Which is why, by the way, 30:26 when Matthew lays down 30:27 this most beloved of all of Jesus' invitations, 30:30 I'm sure, when he lays it down, 30:32 it is smack dab beside a narrative 30:36 that he has intentionally put right up against it. 30:39 Watch this. 30:41 Pick it up in verse 28 again, "Come to me, Jesus speaking, 30:44 all you who labor and are heavy laden, 30:45 and I will give you rest. 30:46 Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, 30:48 for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 30:50 and you will find rest for your souls. 30:51 For my yoke is easy and My burden is light." 30:54 When Matthew is writing his gospel, 30:55 ladies and gentlemen, there are no chapter divisions, 30:57 there are no verses. 30:58 He just keeps, he keeps chugging through to the end. 31:01 So he intends you to go immediately 31:04 after that offer of rest, to the next story. 31:06 Here it is, 12:1. 31:07 "At that time Jesus went through the grainfields," 31:10 on what day of the week? 31:12 "He went to the grainfields on the Sabbath. 31:13 And His disciples were hungry, 31:15 and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 31:17 You know, that's what I love about the Sabbath. 31:18 If you're hungry, it's the right day. 31:20 Do we eat well on the Sabbath, or what? 31:22 Huh? Yeah. 31:24 So they're hungry. 31:26 Now Levitical law gave permission for the poor 31:29 and the followers of Jesus along with the Master Himself, 31:32 certainly qualify for that distinction. 31:34 The followers of the poor were allowed, 31:36 if you're going through-- to a vineyard, 31:37 you can pluck, going through a grain field, 31:40 you can-- you can't bring your, 31:41 you know, your big gunny sack, 31:42 but you can pull a few heads off. 31:43 And so that's what they're doing. 31:45 They're shucking them right there, 31:46 like peanuts, just throwing them in their mouths. 31:50 But their behavior was observed in verse 2. 31:52 "And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Jesus, 31:55 hey 'look, Your disciples are doing 31:58 what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!''' 32:00 Now there's nowhere in the sacred Scripture that, 32:03 that activity is forbidden. 32:05 But we remember that over the centuries, 32:09 an oral tradition rose up and eventually, 32:12 it became written. 32:13 And in that oral tradition, 32:15 there were some strict guidelines 32:17 for Sabbath behavior. 32:18 This apparently violates one of those guidelines. 32:22 And so Jesus responds, he says hey, verse 3. 32:26 "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, 32:29 he and those who were with him, 32:30 how he entered the house of God, 32:31 how he ate the showbread 32:33 which was not lawful for him to eat, 32:36 nor for those who were with him, 32:37 but only for the priests?" 32:38 He said, hey, guys, chill out. Don't you understand? 32:42 That there are times when need supersedes creed. 32:46 We got the creed, but there are times 32:48 when need supersedes a creed. 32:52 He says, oh, by the way, let me tell you something else. 32:54 This should be verse 5. 32:56 "Or have you not read in the law of the Torah 32:58 that on the Sabbath the priests 32:59 in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless. 33:02 They break the Sabbath. 33:03 But need supersedes creed, Jesus is saying. 33:06 And oh, by the way, did I say to you verse 6. 33:10 "That in this place there is One greater than the temple." 33:14 But if you had known what this means, 33:17 and now Matthew quotes his favorite text 33:18 from the Old Testament, to keep quoting Hosea 6:6. 33:21 "He said if you know what this means, 33:22 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' 33:25 you would not have condemned the guiltless." 33:28 My disciples are not guilty. You know why I can say that? 33:31 Jesus says, verse 8. 33:33 "For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." 33:39 Ladies and gentleman, 33:40 write that down, will you please? 33:41 You have it right there, a short Sabbath narrative, 33:43 bookended on one side by Jesus' invitation to find rest in him, 33:47 and bookended on the other side by His declaration 33:50 that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. 33:53 There's no question, Matthew is intentionally 33:55 laying down his most beautiful invitation to Christ. 33:58 Hey, hey, hey, come to me, 33:59 come to me and I'll give you rest. 34:01 He is intentionally putting it side by side, 34:03 juxtaposed, with a story that ends with a punch line. 34:06 And by the way, I am the Lord of the Sabbath. 34:12 Evidence enough at least for this heart. 34:16 That this most profound 34:17 and heart stirring of gospel invitations 34:20 is most fully experienced 34:22 in the gift of God's seventh-day Sabbath. 34:26 When we rest on the Sabbath, 34:27 that's the highest expression and experience of this rest. 34:33 So you can write it down now, yup, you're right. 34:35 While the case can be made for the gospel's 34:37 permanent rest in Christ, 34:39 the actual language Matthew 34:40 uses also describes the Sabbath's 34:42 periodic resting in Jesus. 34:46 So, how does Jesus' Sabbath promise 34:48 address our deepest fatigue? 34:50 All right, before you leave here, 34:51 let me run these by you real quick. 34:52 Four areas of deep fatigue in our lives, 34:56 on this campus and on this planet today. 34:59 Four of our greatest fatigues, here they are. 35:01 Number one, write it down, 35:02 Jesus' Sabbath promise relates to this. 35:04 "For our physical fatigue, it restores our pace." 35:08 Our pace. 35:12 Did you catch this just a month ago? 35:15 Our nation released two sleep studies of Americans. 35:19 Two of 'em, and it came out just days apart. 35:22 Now this is amazing. 35:23 The first study, The National Sleep Foundation, 35:25 they made this statement. 35:26 In fact you can jot this down. 35:28 Nearly 50 million Americans-- speaking about yawning, 35:32 we're a generation of yawning, 35:33 50 million Americans chronically suffer 35:35 from sleep problems and disorders 35:37 that affect their careers, 35:38 their personal relationships and safety on the roads. 35:41 So they're figuring that 35:42 we're getting an average of 6 hours and 40 minutes. 35:45 6 hours and 40 minutes a night. Wouldn't that be nice? 35:49 And then a second study came out 35:50 from the University of Maryland, 35:52 and they're saying hey, wait a minute, 35:53 no, no, let's take the U.S Census Bureau data, 35:55 where it's kind of like a diary, 35:56 here's what I did today 35:57 and these are the very minutes I did it. 35:59 They examine that and it shows that we're getting 8.5, 36:02 they're saying we are a well rested nation, 36:05 we're getting 8.5 hours of sleep a night. 36:08 And I'm thinking to myself, 36:09 which nation are they living in? 36:13 I mean, I know where my body fits, 36:15 don't you know where your body fits 36:16 which one of those studies? 36:17 Ladies and gentlemen, we are not getting sleep. 36:20 And by the way, this is not an elderly problem. 36:24 This is for the kids now. Listen to this. 36:26 The March issue of the journal of Adolescent Health reported, 36:30 "Insomnia in adolescence is as prevalent as substance abuse, 36:34 depression and ADHD." 36:36 Now jot this down. 36:37 One quarter-- okay, so adolescence, 36:39 by the way is 19 and younger, 19 and younger. 36:43 "One quarter of the participants reported 36:45 having one or more symptoms of insomnia, 36:48 such as trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, every night." 36:51 Now the journal goes on. 36:52 "Those with chronic insomnia were five times 36:55 more likely to think their mental health was poor, 36:57 three times as likely to have health problems 37:00 and trouble at school, 37:01 and twice as likely to use alcohol and drugs 37:04 like marijuana and cocaine." 37:06 And so Newsweek Magazine, 37:07 which is reporting this study, reports another study. 37:09 Jot this down. 37:11 "The use of prescription sleep medication 37:13 for children under the age of 19 37:15 has spiked 45% from 2001 to 2006." 37:21 I'm telling you what, ladies and gentlemen, 37:24 we got a sleep problem. 37:25 You say oh, come on, Dwight. 37:27 That's children, that's not us college kids, 37:30 that's not us adults, we don't have quite the same... 37:33 Do you know what, do you know, let me ask you this, 37:36 do you know how many university students at Andrews University 37:40 are regularly up at 1 or 2 in the morning, 37:43 every single night? 37:44 Do you know? 37:45 I don't know either, but I'm telling you what, 37:47 I, once in a while, over there in the cafeteria, 37:49 I eat every week. 37:51 If a can operate on anecdotal evidence-- 37:56 I was having the guys help me with this PowerPoint, 37:57 so I said, guys, you tell me the truth, 38:00 are the dorms up at night? 38:02 Guy says you can hear the television 38:03 going down the halls, 38:04 you can hear the stereo and my suitemate and... 38:12 No wonder, when we come to the seventh day of the week, 38:16 we just crash and burn. 38:20 Please! 38:22 We did it the hard way, 38:23 we earned it, the right to sleep. 38:31 You know what, some are going to take exception to this 38:35 but I'm going to risk their umbrage by telling you 38:38 that I believe sleep-- put it on the screen please. 38:40 "Sleep is a part of God's Sabbath gift." 38:44 Don't you let the old timers 38:46 talk you out of that, all right? 38:48 Sleep is a part of the Sabbath-- 38:50 look at this, what is this? 38:51 Psalm 127:2. "He gives His beloved. 38:53 God gives His beloved sleep." Hallelujah. 38:56 It is not a sin to sleep on the Sabbath. 39:00 I believe the Sabbath was given for sleep. 39:03 Not primarily, but for sleep, as well. 39:08 No seriously, I'm making a point here. 39:12 In our crazy, third millennial survival, 39:16 let us sleep on this day. 39:20 Don't stay up all Friday night too. 39:24 Sleep on this day, it was given to us for sleep. 39:29 Now I'm not suggesting that we so burn the candle 39:31 at both ends for six days and nights 39:33 that when we come to the Sabbath we collapse. 39:35 That won't work. 39:36 I'm going to give you something proactive next Sabbath, 39:37 YouTube YouToo. 39:39 But right now, let's say it's not a sin to sleep. 39:42 I don't care what you've been told. 39:44 It's not a sin to sleep, on the Sabbath. 39:48 Come to me, Jesus says, and I'll give you rest. 39:51 That's a promise for our physical fatigue, 39:53 that is also a promise, write it down, 39:54 for our emotional fatigue. 39:57 Jesus' Sabbath promise for our emotional fatigue, 39:59 refreshes our hearts. 40:02 Rebecca Brillhart wrote a beautiful piece 40:04 in the Adventist Review in January 40:06 and I've seen my friend Bill Knott, 40:07 who is editor of the Adventist Review here, 40:10 and it was a great issue, back in January. 40:14 She wrote a piece, beautiful piece entitled, 40:16 "The Jade Belt Bridge." 40:18 In this piece, she quotes the comment of a woman 40:20 to a friend of hers. 40:22 Now here's what the woman said. 40:23 Not going to put it on the screen, just listen to this. 40:24 So this woman says to Rebecca's friend, 40:27 "Now I understand that 40:29 if I don't allow for this rhythm of rest in my busy life, 40:33 illness becomes my Sabbath." 40:36 Ladies and gentlemen, 40:37 young adults and not so young adults, 40:39 we're gonna get rest. 40:40 Our bodies will get rest. 40:42 You either give your body rest, 40:44 or it will take rest. 40:45 It will put you down to get the rest it needs. 40:49 It will put you down. 40:53 In fact, Rebecca points out 40:55 that the Chinese character for too busy, 40:58 watch this, this is incredible, 40:59 the Chinese character for too busy, 41:01 is composed of two parts. 41:03 "Heart" and "kill." 41:05 Boy, isn't that something? 41:06 When you are too busy, 41:07 and are we too busy on this campus, come on. 41:10 When you are too busy you are killing your heart. 41:12 That's not just your physical heart, 41:13 you're killing your emotional heart. 41:16 You're killing yourself. 41:17 I've been a pastor for a few years 41:19 and so I've had the privilege of observing human behavior. 41:22 I'm telling you what, ladies and gentlemen, 41:23 in this generation, we have so ratcheted up, 41:27 the speed with which we experience life, 41:30 that I am convinced that 41:32 because we are denying ourselves 41:34 the 24 hour mandatory resting of God's Sabbath, 41:39 we are paying a price far too high. 41:42 We are over medicating ourselves 41:44 just to save ourselves from totally burning out. 41:49 Come on, take a break. Jesus says come to me. 41:54 Come to me and I will give you rest. 41:58 Isn't that great? 42:00 You say, oh, come on, Dwight, any hope for us? 42:02 Yep. 42:03 Look at this, two and a half weeks ago, 42:04 this is South Bend Tribune, can you see, 42:06 can you see this headline, 42:08 get the camera there, can you read that? 42:13 Yeah now you can. 42:14 "Poll finds college campuses seas of stress. 42:20 Did you have to do a poll to figure that one out? 42:25 Please. 42:27 One in five this, one in four this, 42:29 one in six this, one in three this, 42:31 one in however many, 42:32 thinking may be suicide is my best way 42:34 out of all this stress. 42:35 I mean, the numbers, guys, 42:37 these are American campuses all right, seas of stress. 42:44 Here's a university raised up by the Creator Himself to honor 42:48 and to love Him and honor that seventh day of the week 42:52 where rest is woven into the very fabric 42:57 of our university life. 42:58 Isn't that something? 43:00 Rest, take a break, enjoy, live it, 43:05 come to me, Jesus says, and I'll give you rest. 43:06 All right, there are four areas, 43:08 let me go to number three. 43:09 It's also that Jesus' Sabbath promise 43:11 is rest for our financial fatigue. 43:15 And this is a huge one right now, 43:16 financial fatigue. 43:18 What does it do? 43:20 The Sabbath promise actually refines our wants. 43:22 Write both of those down please. 43:24 A friend of mine who is an executive 43:25 with a multinational insurance company informs me 43:27 that financial institutions today are holding, 43:32 in unsecured debt, all right, this is unsecured debt, 43:35 they are holding $45 trillion. 43:40 And when he sent me the email, 43:42 couple of weeks ago after the Bear Stearns meltdown, 43:44 he said Dwight, that's trillion with a "t". 43:46 Unsecured debt means I got a credit card 43:48 but if you come after me there's nothing behind it. 43:51 If you take my house I got nothing, 43:52 it's unsecured, 45 trillion. 43:59 Since this Bear Stearns meltdown, 44:00 I'm telling you what, I've started to find, 44:03 and it's growing like this, 44:04 I'm amazed and I don't want to be a, 44:06 an alarmist here, 44:08 but I'm amazed at the, so called experts 44:13 from the economic and financial world, 44:15 some of you in finances? 44:17 I'm amazed at the voices 44:19 that are being raised now in warning, 44:22 in warning to what is impending. 44:24 So I, so I go online. 44:26 Dallas Morning News, 44:27 you heard of that famous newspaper 44:29 out of that great city of Texas. 44:30 Dallas Morning News, the Sunday paper, 44:32 this week carries an editorial, I'm going to read it to you. 44:37 No, I'm not going to read the whole thing, just a line. 44:39 So this appeared online, 44:41 "The economic crises now breaking upon us 44:45 will be both a political and a cultural event." 44:47 I'm grateful we have world church leaders 44:49 and church leaders, period, 44:51 who keep their eyes on the horizon. 44:53 Nothing is gonna catch them by surprise. 44:57 "The economic crises now breaking upon us 44:59 will be both a political and a cultural event 45:01 that may well be a turning point 45:02 in our nation's history, 45:04 as consequential as the Great Depression, 45:06 which by the way, is a historical standard 45:08 to which some smart people 45:09 like former Federal Reserve chairman, 45:11 Alan Greenspan are comparing this event." 45:14 We're in it. 45:17 Will it be as severe? 45:19 Who knows? 45:21 But here's the sentence that's just jumped out 45:22 of this editorial for me. 45:24 "The cultural roots of this crisis 45:26 have to do with American's refusal 45:28 to recognize natural limits." 45:31 Isn't that it? 45:32 Our refusal to recognize natural limits. 45:34 Do you know what? 45:35 Last year, Wall Street Journal three weeks ago, told us, 45:37 last year, Americans, all right, 45:39 that would be you and me, only Americans, just last year, 45:43 we spent $10 billion 45:46 changing the ring tones on our cell phones, 45:50 $10 billion. 45:55 Most of that was by the young, 45:57 because the old timers don't even know 45:58 how to get the thing ring. 46:04 $10 billion. 46:05 I just came back from the Horn of Africa, 46:06 few weeks ago. 46:07 Do you know what $10 billion would do 46:10 over there right now? 46:12 10 billion. 46:13 What's this line, 46:14 "Americans refusal to recognize natural limits. 46:18 The cost of our grand natural experiment 46:19 and living beyond our means is now coming due." 46:22 Yeah, I guess it is. 46:25 'Cause it's home fore-- 46:27 It's a home foreclosures 46:28 and then it's mortgage institutions 46:30 and then it's banks and then it's Wall Street, 46:32 and then it's the United States and then it's the world. 46:37 You say, oh, Dwight, what's this-- 46:39 what's the big deal, I'm not into economics, 46:40 I don't have anything to do with this, 46:41 the Sabbath isn't going to heal that. 46:43 No, the Sabbath will not heal our national woes today, 46:46 but I'll tell you what, 46:47 the Sabbath can heal those of us 46:48 who are living a credit card driven existence, 46:52 getting a hold of every new trinket and gadget 46:55 that technology brings to America. 46:57 We've bought the iPhone two times over. 47:01 Paid for it the American way, 47:03 charged it on our student visa. 47:07 Come on, guys, there's something about us 47:10 that has gone to the well of materialism in this nation. 47:13 We as Seventh-day Adventists are just as guilty as the rest. 47:17 We're sucking it up out of this well, 47:19 thinking we got to have more and more and more, 47:22 when the appeal of scripture is less and less and less. 47:28 We're doing it backwards. 47:30 I love this prayer. 47:31 I mean, this would be a great Sabbath prayer. 47:32 Look at this, Psalm, what is this, Psalm-- 47:34 You have it in your study guide, 47:35 Psalm 73:25. 47:37 This friend of God cries out, and I love this. 47:40 "Whom have I in heaven but you," dear God, 47:44 I have nothing else but you. 47:47 And there is none, write that down, 47:49 and there is none-- 47:51 Can we put it up please, on the screen. 47:53 And there is none. 47:55 And now he says, there is nothing 47:57 on earth that I desire besides you. 48:00 Now that's what the Sabbath rest 48:02 comes along to do. 48:03 Jesus says, hey listen, come to me, 48:05 hey, boy, come to me 48:06 and I'm going to give you a rest 48:07 from that insatiable thirst to have more. 48:12 You don't have to have more. 48:14 You can get by with less. 48:15 American, you can get by with less. 48:18 Western Adventists, get by with less. 48:24 Who have I in heaven but You, in the earth, 48:27 on earth there is nothing I desire besides you. 48:31 Less and less of my wants, 48:32 more and more of my God, 48:33 and finally, write it down, 48:34 four great and deep fatigues, 48:37 the fourth one, it's the spiritual fatigue. 48:40 But the Sabbath promise comes along 48:41 and it renews our friendship. 48:45 Because you see, it takes the wants and so it says, 48:47 hey, I am going to give you a new thing to want. 48:48 Why don't you want my friendship? 48:49 Why don't you just want my friendship? 48:51 I'll slick your thirst, 48:53 I'll satisfied your hunger, you want me. 48:55 Oh, and I love this, 48:57 look at Eugene Peterson in The Message, 48:58 isn't this good? 48:59 It's there in your study guide. 49:01 How does the message render, 49:02 Matthew 11:28 and following? 49:04 "Are you tired?" Jesus asked. 49:06 "Are you worn out? 49:08 Burned out on religion? Come to me. 49:11 Get away with me." Notice the friendship language. 49:14 "Get away with me and you'll recover your life. 49:17 I'll show you how to take a real rest. 49:19 Walk with me," friendship language. 49:21 "And work with me," friendship language. 49:22 "Watch how I do it. 49:24 Learn--" And I love this. 49:25 "Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. 49:28 I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you." 49:30 Final line, write it down, 49:32 "Keep company," it's friendship language. 49:34 "Keep company with me 49:35 and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." 49:39 So as for preparing a race out of this building 49:41 to keep up with life 49:42 I need to ask you this question, 49:44 so what would happen if we began to think 49:46 of every new Sabbath as keeping company with Christ? 49:50 Just keeping company with Him. 49:52 Let's shift the paradigm, 49:53 instead of being like the Pharisees 49:54 who are thinking of obligatory observances, 49:56 why don't we just move that aside 49:58 and let's focus on a refreshing relationship, 50:01 keeping company. 50:03 Keeping company with the savior, come to me. 50:06 Hey, hey, walk with me, 50:09 work with me, rest with me. 50:12 Come on, you and me. 50:15 I'll tell you what, ladies and gentlemen, 50:16 if we would shift the paradigm up here 50:19 you know what we will find about the Sabbath? 50:20 Write it down. 50:21 We will find out that the Sabbath is Jesus' Facebook. 50:24 That's' the truth about the Sabbath, 50:25 it's Jesus' Facebook. 50:27 Saying, these were my faces. 50:29 You want to find me as one of your top friends? 50:31 Oh, I wish I would be just one of your top, 50:33 I wish you make me number one in your Facebook account. 50:36 You don't know what Facebook is because you're too old to-- 50:38 I still wish I could be number one in your life 50:41 and every Sabbath it's about you coming to see my face. 50:45 Wouldn't that be something? 50:48 A century ago, Ellen White was writing to an-- 50:53 an older woman who was on the brink of death 50:57 and in that letter there is a beautiful little line. 51:00 I put it in the study guide for you. 51:01 I love this, she writes, 51:03 "Rest in Christ's arms, 51:05 and know that He is your Savior, 51:07 and your very best Friend. 51:12 Know that He will never leave you or forsake you. 51:14 He has been your dependence for many years, 51:16 and your soul may rest in hope." 51:18 Isn't that beautiful? He is our very best friend. 51:25 So what if we made Sabbath the day of our Facebook friend, 51:31 and the number one friend is the face of Jesus. 51:36 You say, oh, come on, Dwight, there's no-- 51:38 I might be able to get started in that 24 hour period but-- 51:42 Listen, in my mind, I multi-tasked, 51:43 I'd be out of there, I never keep my mind on it 51:45 for the whole 24 hours. 51:47 Yeah, you're probably right. I have a problem with that. 51:49 Don't feel bad, I have the same problem. 51:51 Trying to keep my mind and this is my friendship day. 51:57 So here's what I want to share in closing with you. 51:59 I wish you could write this down. 52:00 Here's what I would like to suggest. 52:01 Then I'm gonna ask you to take that little study guide 52:03 and put it in your wallet and keep it. 52:05 Here's what you'll do, 52:06 in your Bible circle verses 28, 29 and 30 52:09 of Matthew 11, all right? 52:11 You circle those verses, circle the numbers. 52:14 Then here's what you do, 52:15 at the beginning of every Sabbath, 52:17 from hence forth, wherever you are. 52:18 If you are in your dorm room, if you're in your home, 52:20 if you're in your apartment, 52:22 you're in a trailer, you're in a hotel, 52:23 somewhere on earth, 52:25 every Friday night when the Sabbath begins, 52:31 you read just the first two verses, 52:34 just the first two verses 52:35 of these three that you've circled. 52:36 So that you will read, "Come to Me, 52:38 all you who labor and are heavy laden, 52:40 and I will give you rest. 52:41 Hey, hey, take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 52:44 for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 52:46 and you will find rest for your souls." 52:48 You just read that, you just quietly read that 52:51 and then you pray this prayer. 52:52 You can do a lot better than this prayer I wrote 52:54 but here's a suggestion 52:55 in case you can't think of a prayer to pray. 52:57 Here's your prayer to begin the Sabbath. 52:59 "Dear Jesus, I receive Your Sabbath offer of rest," 53:04 I receive it right now. 53:05 "I wish to keep special company with You for these 24 hours. 53:10 Let me see your face today. 53:13 Amen." 53:14 Then you live the Sabbath, 53:16 you just go ahead and live the Sabbath. 53:18 But now you're looking for His face, 53:19 you're looking for His face. 53:22 You'll be amazed at the places where suddenly 53:25 you walk straight into the face of Christ. 53:28 You may see it in the poor inter-city kid 53:30 that you're working with, 53:31 up at Benton harbor. 53:33 You'll see that face 53:34 maybe in your beloved mother. 53:37 You'll see His face, you're looking for His face. 53:41 And then you say, well, Dwight, 53:42 would I just go all the way through the day looking for-- 53:44 That's seventh-day, looking for the face of Jesus? 53:47 And when you come to the end of the day, 53:48 here's what you do, you then read verse 30. 53:51 You can go ahead and read 28, 29 53:52 but you want to concentrate on verse 30. 53:53 And how's that go? 53:55 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." 53:58 And so then you pray this prayer. 53:59 You say, all right, Jesus Lord, I want to be yoked, 54:02 I want to be partner with you all through the new week. 54:05 Please keep company with me 54:07 until we return together to Your Facebok Sabbath. 54:12 Amen. 54:13 That's it, ladies and gentlemen, 54:15 take that little piece of paper, 54:16 take that little piece of paper, you fold it. 54:19 Listen, you just fold it a couple three times, 54:22 you stick it in your wallet. 54:24 This will be worth more to you 54:25 than a $10 bill in that same wallet. 54:27 You just take this piece, put it in your purse. 54:28 You don't have a wallet? Put it in your purse. 54:30 But when the Sabbath begins next time you pull it out, 54:34 you just say, okay, the Sabbath. 54:35 What am I going-- Just read the verses. 54:38 Keep it with you. 54:39 Hey, listen, isn't that the point of having a Facebook 54:41 in the first place? 54:43 And what is Facebook for? 54:45 Facebook is a place to meet your friends 54:51 and to focus on their faces. 54:55 That's the Sabbath, 54:56 to meet your "F" Friend 55:00 and to focus on His face. 55:06 Sing it with me, sing it with me. 55:09 Turn your eyes upon 55:13 Jesus 55:17 Look full in His 55:21 Wonderful face 55:27 And the things of earth 55:32 Will grow strangely dim 55:39 In the light of His 55:44 Glory and grace 55:52 Stand up please as we pray. 55:57 Because oh, God, that is it. Isn't it? 55:58 In the end it's just turning our eyes, 56:02 shifting the paradigm 56:04 and turning our eyes on the face 56:08 that is your Facebook Sabbath, 56:11 that one face who whispers even now, 56:17 I am the very best friend you will ever have. 56:23 Let me walk with you, 56:25 you walk with me, keep company with me, 56:29 you and I on My Sabbath 56:33 and I will give you a rest so deep, 56:36 it will heal every realm of your life. 56:43 Look to Me, come to Me and I'll give you rest. 56:48 Thank you, Father, thank you. 56:51 In the name of Jesus let all the people say, amen. 56:57 I wanted to take one more moment 56:59 here at the end of the telecast 57:00 to let you know how grateful I am 57:02 for your journey with us, 57:04 with our New Perceptions Ministry. 57:06 You may think that New Perceptions 57:07 is only about television 57:09 but I need to tell you, we do have a website 57:11 which is more than just the study guide. 57:13 I know we go to the study guide every week 57:15 but if you go to our website, 57:16 let me put the address on the screen again, 57:17 www.pmchurch.tv. 57:22 You'll find at that website a blog. 57:24 I write every Wednesday. 57:25 I sit down with my laptop and write up a blog, 57:26 something as commenting on world events, 57:29 something local, something national. 57:30 You get the blog. 57:32 You want archive, previous teachings 57:34 from here in the Pioneer Pulpit, 57:35 you go to that annotated archive. 57:38 You can pick out a message, it will be sent to you. 57:40 You want to get into the podcast business, 57:44 I am not real high-techie on this 57:46 but if you click podcast, 57:47 you'll be able to connect instantly 57:49 with every new teaching 57:50 that comes from the Pioneer Pulpit. 57:51 The point is we're trying to connect 57:53 with a generation on the move, on the go. 57:56 Thanks for being a part of it. 57:57 Thanks for your prayer partnership. 57:58 We have got to connect with this generation 58:01 at this time in earth's history. 58:03 And I'm grateful you and I are sharing the mission. 58:05 God bless you until next time. |
Revised 2015-03-19