Participants: Pastor Dwight Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP042316A
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00:08 [ Organ plays ] 00:14 >> ♪ Sing we joyfully unto God ♪ ♪ We sing ♪ 00:17 >> ♪ We sing ♪ >> ♪ We sing ♪ 00:19 >> ♪ We sing ♪ >> ♪ So joyfully unto God ♪ 00:22 ♪ God, God ♪ ♪ To Go-o-d ♪ ♪ So joyfully unto God ♪ 00:29 ♪ So joyfully unto God ♪ ♪ So joyfully unto Go-o-o-o-d ♪ [ Organ music fades ] 00:48 >> Amen. Good morning, PMC. >> Good morning. 00:53 >> It is such a beautiful morning, I do not believe there 00:56 are too many reasons not to be joyful and to be smiling this 00:59 morning, because I do believe -- and I've said this many times 01:02 before -- but the Sabbath is a gift. 01:05 And I love the fact that, at the end of every week, we have this moment with both God and our 01:10 fellow man. So, if you would take the time right now to just greet one 01:15 another, wish one another "Happy Sabbath." You've got time to just talk a 01:18 little bit about your week. I invite you to do that now as we sing our first song. 01:24 [ "Great is the Lord" plays ] 01:41 [ Congregation sings ] 03:47 Amen. Church, you sound amazing. This morning, I woke up... 03:54 [ Piano plays softly ] ...and, actually, I laid awake really late in bed last night. 03:58 I don't know why. It wasn't that I was stressed. It's just sometimes, you know, 04:02 when you lay in bed thinking, and there's just so many thoughts running through your 04:05 head. Well, today of all days, I was thinking about hope, because 04:10 that's what this theme is about today. And so because of that theme, I 04:15 just somehow imagined spring this morning. When I woke up, I saw the 04:19 flowers -- you know, tulips, how, even though it snows here at random times and the weather 04:24 is kind of all over the place, there's always life that's budding around us. 04:29 And I think it's beautiful how God gives us these little hints, these little pictures of hope. 04:34 But the most beautiful thing is the fact that the closer we get to Him and the more we 04:40 understand just the significance of that sacrifice, the fact that he died and he rose again -- 04:46 meaning he had victory so that we could have a personal relationship with Him -- it's 04:50 such an amazing thought that, as you go throughout your walk with Him, and that becomes more and 04:58 more significant, I believe these words, "because He lives," actually take on a deeper 05:03 meaning. So sing with me now "Because He Lives." 05:08 [ Piano music fades ] [ Hand taps guitar ] [ "Because He Lives" plays ] 05:26 [ Congregation sings ] 09:03 Amen. [ Music fades ] 09:15 [ "Cornerstone" plays softly ] 09:22 [ Music intensifies ] 09:41 [ Music intensifies ] 09:50 [ Music intensifies ] 10:05 Sing with me now. [ Congregation sings ] 10:31 [ Instrumental music plays ] 10:43 Sing that verse again. [ Singing continues ] 11:32 "When darkness seems." [ Singing continues ] 11:46 ♪ In every high and stormy gale ♪ 11:52 ♪ My anchor holds within the veil ♪ 11:58 ♪ My anchor holds within the veil ♪ 12:04 [ Singing continues ] 13:13 "Dressed in His righteousness." [ Singing continues ] 13:29 [ Music fades ] [ Guitar plays 13:36 "Be Thou My Vision" ] [ Congregation sings ] 15:49 [ Instrumental music plays ] 15:57 [ Singing resumes ] 16:39 "High King of heaven." [ Singing continues ] 17:02 ♪ Heart of my own heart, whatever befall ♪ 17:13 ♪ Still be my vision, O ruler of all ♪ 17:24 ♪ Heart of my own heart, whatever befall ♪ 17:36 ♪ Still be my vision, O ruler of all ♪ 17:49 [ Music fades ] 17:54 >> All right, guys, this is from one of my big children's stories, scouts, Sharon Dudgeon, 17:59 manager of WAUS. This happ-- Oh, it was this last winter. 18:03 You remember how cold it was last winter? Ooh! Just this winter? 18:07 >> Minus-zero. >> Minus-zero. 18:09 That's exactly what it was. [ Laughter ] 18:14 Minus-zero. The mathematicians are scrambling to figure that one 18:17 out. [ Laughter ] All right. 18:20 So, Vicki Harrison looked out her window in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, and she says, "What 18:27 do I see? It is an animal that goes like this. 18:31 Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack. 18:33 >> A duck! >> Duck. You're right. Duck. 18:37 She saw a duck, but there was something very strange about this duck. 18:42 It looked closer to the ground. And when she looked closely into the snow, she realized that the 18:48 duck's feet were gone. The duck had gotten frostbite in the winter of Wisconsin. 18:56 Lost its feet. Just two little stubs. And so she raced out. 19:00 "Oh, ducky, ducky, come here. And the ducky just let Vicki scoop her up and take her back 19:05 into the house. Oh! So, immediately, of course, she 19:08 began to care for it, she began to feed it. But as a few days went by, she 19:13 said, "What are we going to do? What are we going to do? The duck has no legs, no feet. 19:18 Just legs, but no feet." [ Inhales deeply ] Then, she saw something on 19:22 video. "Ooh! Wow!" She said, "Is there a school 19:26 nearby?" "Yes." The South Haven Middle School 19:31 was nearby, and she got ahold of teacher Jason. She said, "Teacher Jason, I have 19:35 found a duck. The duck has no feet. Can you help? 19:38 I saw this on the video. I hear you might be able to." He said, "Oh, boy, this is -- 19:44 this is a big problem. Let me think about it." Well, a few days went by. 19:50 She had not heard from him, she had not heard from him, she had not heard from him. 19:53 Finally, she said, "You know what I'm going to have to do? I'm going to have to put the 19:57 duck to sleep." Ohh. And then the phone rang. 20:03 It was Teacher Jason. He said, "We've thought about it. 20:06 I have my whole class working on this project. I think we can help Phillip the 20:10 duck," because that's what she named the duck -- Phillip. Anybody here named Phillip? 20:15 >> [ Whistles ] >> All right, well, you're okay. [ Light laughter ] 20:19 Okay, just one of you? Okay. That's okay. Nothing wrong with that. 20:22 Phillip the duck. "I think we can help him." And sure enough, the class 20:29 worked. The class project -- worked. The sixth-grade class, they 20:32 worked, they planned, they worked, they planned, they worked, they planned. 20:35 And one day, Teacher Jason said, "Vicki, bring that Phillip the duck in." 20:41 So she brought Phillip the duck in, and sure enough -- let's see 20:44 him standing on the counter. There he is, without his feet. 20:47 Those are just little stubs. They've had to wrap the stubs up 20:51 so that he won't get hurt. That's Phillip the duck. 20:55 "But," Jason said, "I think it's going to work." Because do you know what they -- 20:59 Shh -- Do you know what they have in their classroom? They have a 3-D printer. 21:04 Oh! 3-D printer. I've never even seen one, but they're out there. 21:08 They can -- You know, when you get a regular printer, it just prints flat. 21:12 Flat, flat, flat. 3-D printers can print with all the shapes. 21:16 They can print on plastic. They can make things. And he said, "I think we've 21:20 got it. Let's try it." 21:22 They went over to Phillip the duck, they said, "Hey, Phillip. 21:25 Whoa! Ah, that one fits." 21:28 Let's put it on the big screen. "Ah. Oh. That one fits." 21:34 Plastic shoes. You can't put plastic shoes on 21:39 a duck. Please. 21:41 Well, let's just see how Phillip the duck went. 21:43 Whoa! >> Whoa! 21:46 >> Phillip the duck with his plastic shoes. 21:48 I said, "That might be a trick-photography picture." 21:50 Let's try one more, just to make sure. 21:52 Oh! Phillip the duck in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. 21:56 He's the happiest duck in the wildlife sanctuary north of 21:59 Milwaukee today. 22:01 You know, when I saw that story, I said, "Wait a minute. There are people in this world 22:06 who are all broken. Their hearts are broken, their bodies are broken, they need 22:10 somebody to fix them, and they have no idea that there is somebody who can fix you when 22:14 you're broken. 22:15 And He -- He is our dearest friend. 22:19 Who is that somebody? >> God. 22:21 >> Who is that somebody? >> God! 22:23 >> Jesus. 22:26 Now, boys and girls, last line. Listen carefully, now... because we know somebody who can 22:31 fix broken hearts and broken lives. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we 22:36 told others where they could go to get fixed, just like Phillip the duck got fixed? 22:41 What if we're too busy? "Aw, I'm not going to help them." 22:44 "No, I'm not going to help them. They can find it on their own." If Phillip had tried to find it 22:47 on his own, he never would have gotten those feet. Took somebody to say, "I can 22:52 help." How many are thankful that Jesus is the big fixer-upper in the 22:56 whole universe? He can fix what's broken. >> God. 23:00 >> It's God. You're right. He can fix what's broken. You know what? 23:05 That's what you call hope. You know how to spell "hope"? Anybody here know how to spell 23:09 "hope"? Okay, call it out. What is it? How do you spell "hope"? 23:11 >> [ Speaking indistinctly ] >> H-O-P-E. You're almost right. 23:15 Here's how you spell "hope." J-E-S-U-S. What's that spell? 23:22 >> "Jesus." >> Because Jesus is hope. Who wants to thank Jesus for 23:27 being our hope? Cissy, you come on up here. You were so fast. 23:30 Let's go. Let's fold our hands and close our eyes 23:33 with Cissy as she thanks Jesus for being the fixer-upper and our hope. 23:40 >> Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. Help everyone to tell each other 23:49 about hope. >> Amen. >> Amen. 23:52 >> Amen. Thank you, Cissy. That was a beautiful prayer. As you go quietly and reverently 23:57 back with Cissy to your seat, you say it in your heart -- "Thank you, Jesus, for the hope 24:03 that you will fix all who need you." 24:11 [ Organ plays ] 24:24 >> ♪ Come, Christians, join to sing ♪ ♪ Alleluia, amen ♪ 24:35 ♪ Loud praise to Christ our King ♪ ♪ Alleluia, amen ♪ 24:46 [ Instrumental music plays ] 24:58 ♪ Let all, with heart and voice ♪ ♪ Before His throne rejoice ♪ 25:08 ♪ Praise is His gracious choice ♪ ♪ Alleluia, amen ♪ 25:19 [ Instrumental music plays ] 25:32 ♪ Sing "alleluia" ♪ ♪ Oh, sing "alleluia" ♪ ♪ Oh, sing, sing, sing ♪ 25:41 ♪ Oh, sing "alleluia" ♪ ♪ Oh, sing "alleluia" ♪ ♪ Oh, sing, sing ♪ 25:49 >> ♪ Oh, sing "alleluia" ♪ ♪ Oh, sing "alleluia" ♪ ♪ Oh, sing "alleluia" ♪ 25:57 ♪ Oh, sing "alleluia" ♪ >> ♪ Alleluia ♪ >> ♪ Alleluia ♪ 26:03 >> ♪ Alleluia ♪ >> ♪ Oh, sing "alleluia" ♪ >> ♪ Alleluia ♪ 26:10 ♪ Alleluia ♪ >> ♪ Oh, sing "alleluia" ♪ ♪ Come, lift your hearts on 26:25 high ♪ ♪ Alleluia, amen ♪ ♪ Let praises fill the sky ♪ 26:37 ♪ Alleluia, amen ♪ ♪ He is our guide and friend ♪ ♪ To us He'll condescend ♪ 26:52 ♪ His love shall never end ♪ ♪ Alleluia, amen ♪ ♪ Ame-e-e-n ♪ 27:08 ♪ A...me-e-e-e-e-n ♪ [ Applause ] 27:25 >> Thank you, Jeannie. Beautiful. Beautiful. Let's pray. 27:34 Oh, God, what the choir just sang, that is the exclamation of our heart, that we wish to send 27:42 with Him to Your throne room. Alleluia. You reign the universe, this 27:50 little world, all under Your loving and compassionate control. 27:57 On this last Sabbath before You send us to all points on the compass, one more word of hope 28:03 we humbly ask, in Jesus' name. Amen. >> Amen. 28:12 >> "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 28:18 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope 28:26 and a future.'" Let me read to you what happened 28:33 one Sunday afternoon in one of Africa's most sprawling slums, 28:39 the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya. 28:42 It happened to an American visitor named Brian Fickert. He tells the story. 28:52 "One Sunday, I was walking with a staff member through one of Africa's largest slums, the 28:57 massive Kibera slum of Nairobi. The conditions were simply inhumane. 29:03 People lived in shacks constructed out of cardboard boxes. 29:07 Foul smells gushed out of open ditches carrying human and animal excrement. 29:12 I had a hard time keeping my balance as I continually slipped on oozy, brown substances that I 29:17 hoped were mud but feared were something else. Children picked through garbage 29:22 dumps, looking for anything of value. As we walked deeper and deeper 29:25 into the slum, my sense of despair increased. 'This place is completely 29:30 godforsaken!' I thought to myself. Then, to my amazement, right 29:37 there among the dung, I heard the sound of a familiar hymn. 'There must be Western 29:43 missionaries conducting an open-air service in here,' I thought to myself. 29:47 As we turned the corner, my eyes landed on the shack from which the music bellowed. 29:54 Every Sunday, 30 slum-dwellers crammed into this 10'x20' 29:59 sanctuary to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 30:03 The church was made out of cardboard boxes that had been 30:06 opened up and stapled to studs. 30:09 It wasn't pretty, but it was a church -- a church made up of some of the poorest people on 30:14 earth. When we arrived at the church, I was immediately to preach the 30:18 sermon. As a good Presbyterian, I quickly jotted down some notes 30:21 about the sovereignty of God and was looking forward to teaching this congregation the historic 30:26 doctrines of the Reformation. But before the sermon began, the service included a time of 30:32 sharing and prayer. I listened as some of the poorest people on the planet 30:38 cried out to God. 'Jehovah-jireh, please heal my son, as he is going blind.' 30:47 'Merciful Lord, please protect me, when I go home today, for my husband always beats me.' 30:54 'Sovereign King, please provide my children with enough food today, as they are hungry.' 31:00 As I listened to these people praying to be able to live another day, I thought about my 31:05 ample salary, my life-insurance policy, my health insurance, my two cars, my house, et cetera. 31:12 I realized I did not really trust in God's sovereignty on a daily basis, as I have 31:17 sufficient buffers in place to shield me from most economic shocks. 31:23 I realized that when these folks pray the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer, 'Give us this day 31:29 our daily bread,' their minds do not wander as mine so often does. 31:34 I realized that while I have sufficient education and training to deliver a sermon on 31:39 God's sovereignty with no forewarning, these slum-dwellers were trusting in God's 31:44 sovereignty just to get them through the day. And I realized that these people 31:50 had a far deeper intimacy with God than I probably will ever have in my entire life." 32:01 Jeremiah 29:11. This time, read it with me. Open your bible to Jeremiah 29. 32:08 These unforgettable words. "Chasing Hope," the miniseries that ends today. 32:14 Here is hope embedded in words I hope you'll never forget for the rest of your life. 32:19 Jeremiah 29:11. I'm in the NIV. 32:22 Whatever you're in is fine with me. 32:24 Words are on the screen. "'For I know the plans I have 32:27 for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to 32:31 harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" 32:38 A year ago, I read Walter Brueggemann's disturbing 32:41 book entitled "The Prophetic Imagination." 32:45 In it, he speaks about hope -- what we just considered in this 32:48 line of Scripture. These are his words on the 32:52 screen. "The task of prophetic 32:54 imagination and ministry is to bring to public expression those 32:59 very hopes and yearnings that have been denied so long and 33:03 suppressed so deeply that we no longer know they are there." 33:08 Take, for example, the story we just read -- these slum-dwellers 33:12 in that massive Kibera slum, who 24/7 are faced with the daunting 33:18 task of embracing a hope that seems utterly illogical, if not 33:23 certainly impossible. 33:26 I mean, please, how can you hope for a land that is fairer than day, and by faith we can see it 33:32 afar"? How can you hope for everything in heaven, when you can't 33:36 possibly hope for anything on earth? How can you hope for material 33:42 contentment when your road is paved with the brown ooze of excrement and your shanty is 33:47 little more than flimsy cardboard taped together? Surely, these poor slum-dwelling 33:52 Christians can be forgiven for abandoning such implausible hope. 33:57 And yet they keep showing up in that 10'x20' sanctuary, singing their songs and praying their 34:05 prayers. But, of course, Brueggemann is not thinking about them at all. 34:10 He's thinking about you and me, sophisticated as we are. His words again on the screen. 34:16 "Hope, on the one hand, is an absurdity too embarrassing to 34:21 speak about, for it flies in the face of all those claims we have 34:26 been told are facts." Ha! "You can't hope that God 34:30 will heal you. Don't you know that he doesn't 34:32 heal people anymore?" 34:35 "Yo! You can't hope that God will rescue you. Don't you know that, morally, 34:39 you are too far gone, buddy?" "Yo! You can't hope that God will grant you the desires of 34:46 your heart, that baby you've been praying for, that spouse you've been praying for, that 34:51 promotion you've been longing for, that money, that dream that you have. 34:56 Forget it." How did Brueggemann put it? "Hope flies in the face of all 35:04 those claims we have been told are facts," which is why Brueggemann goes on. 35:09 "Hope is refusal to accept the reading of reality which is the 35:14 majority's opinion; and one does that only at great political and 35:20 existential risk." Because to hope -- let's be 35:23 honest -- come on, come on, just us friends together -- let's be 35:26 honest, to really hope, in the brutal face of the evidence, 35:32 in the skeptical face of cynicism, is to risk the 35:35 displeasure of the majority opinion, especially in 35:39 communities like this one -- they're called academic 35:41 communities -- where we have been nurtured and tutored on 35:44 what is politically correct in our circles. 35:50 Especially when it comes to the viability of this notion that Christ Jesus is soon to return 35:55 to the earth. "Pah." "Grownups don't believe such 35:59 childish wish fulfillments, do they?" Why don't they believe? 36:03 Why? Because we grownups have been made cynical from one too many hopes dashed, one too many 36:09 wishes unfulfilled, one too many prayers unanswered. And so, to shield ourselves from 36:16 the hurt of disappointment, that's what we do. We close our hearts off to hope. 36:21 We reject it. "Can't be true." 36:29 "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 36:33 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope 36:39 and a future.'" Paul Miller, in his inspiring 36:44 book, "A Praying Life: Connecting With God In A 36:47 Distracting World," describes our culture this way. 36:50 Miller on the screen. "The movement from naive 36:54 optimism to cynicism is the new American journey. 36:59 In naive optimism, we don't need to pray because everything is 37:02 under control, everything is possible. 37:04 In cynicism we can't pray because everything is out of 37:08 control, little is possible." Talking about a lose-lose 37:12 proposition, this American journey. 37:14 Either way you cut it, we lose. 37:19 We who let the culture inform our belief. No wonder hope is so rarely 37:29 heard from these days. And then Miller tells a story about the writer Dana Tierney 37:35 and her four-year-old son, Luke. Let me read that story to you. "In an article in 37:41 'The New York Times Magazine,' Dana Tierney described how both she and her husband, John, 37:48 a writer for 'The New York Times'" -- so there are two writers in that 37:51 marriage -- "how they rejected their childhood faith. They had their son, Luke, 37:57 baptized to placate their families, but that was it. When her husband went to Iraq as 38:02 an embedded reporter, Dana was understandably fearful. She was surprised at how calm 38:07 four-year-old Luke was. She assumed it was just youthful naivete until, one day, they 38:11 were watching television together, and they happened to see the wedding of a soldier who 38:16 had returned from Iraq. Thinking it wouldn't cause any undue fears in Luke, she figured 38:21 it was okay for them to watch it together. But then the soldier described 38:26 his fear of returning to Iraq. For just an instant, Dana saw Luke form his hands to pray. 38:34 When she asked him about it, Luke at first denied it. But after he did it a second 38:39 time, he confessed that he had been praying. Dana was stunned, partly by 38:45 Luke's faith and partly by how his faith allowed him to be calm, and her lack of faith 38:49 caused her to be fearful. She was also embarrassed that her four-year-old son 38:53 instinctively knew that praying for his dad was socially inappropriate... 39:00 then asked Luke when he first began to believe in God. 'I don't know," the little boy 39:06 said. 'I've always known he exists.' Unlike many of our intellectual 39:11 gatekeepers, Dana does not patronize believers. In the article, she described 39:16 how many of her nonreligious friends feel free from religion, as if they'd been liberated from 39:21 superstition. Not Dana. She feels like she's missing 39:26 out. When she watches her religious friends, she notices that 39:29 they --" now he's quoting her article -- "'that they have an expansiveness of spirit. 39:33 When they walk along a stream, they don't just see water falling over rocks. 39:37 The sight fills them with ecstasy. They see a realm of hope beyond 39:41 this world. I just see a babbling brook. I don't get the message.'" 39:52 How many Danas are there in this world? "I don't get the message." 40:00 Let's put Dana's words. I need this to sink in to your 40:03 consciousness here. I'll read them again. 40:06 She's writing these words. "When they --" her religious 40:08 friends -- "walk along a stream, they don't just see water 40:11 falling over rocks; the sight fills them with ecstasy. 40:14 They see a realm of hope beyond this world." 40:16 Hope, hope, hope. "I just see a babbling brook. 40:19 I don't get the message." "I don't get it." 40:24 So, what's the message? "'For I know the plans I have 40:33 for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to 40:37 harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" 40:43 Sounds like something Jesus would say, doesn't it? Have you ever noticed that about 40:48 Jesus? How, oftentimes, before performing a miracle, he -- he 40:53 speaks a word of hope into the mind, the psyche, the heart of the suffering one, so that when 41:03 they lowered, from that now-broken-open roof, a swaying pallet that bears the shriveled 41:12 form of a young man, and they drop it down to waist level with Jesus, when he looks into the 41:18 face of that young man, Jesus does not say, "Be healed." Instead, Jesus says, "Be 41:27 forgiven." You have reason to hope. Amazing. 41:34 First of all, Jesus infuses divine hope into human 41:36 hopelessness, so that when he meets the widow of Nain, her 41:41 heart broken, as she follows behind the funeral cortege, out 41:45 of that mountain village, into that hillside cemetery, Jesus' 41:49 first words to her are... "Don't cry." 41:56 Hope. He infuses divine hope into 42:01 human hopelessness... so that when Jesus stops in 42:05 front of the man born blind and he speaks loud enough for the 42:08 man to hear, as Jesus turns to his disciples, he says, "I want 42:11 to tell you about this man. This has happened so that the 42:13 works of God might be displayed in him." 42:16 Jesus infuses hope into human hopelessness... so that when Jairus stops the 42:26 Master and says, "Listen, listen, you don't have to go now. 42:28 I just got word, our little girl is dead. You don't have to come to our 42:31 house," Jesus' immediate response, to infuse hope into that hopeless heart, is... 42:39 "Don't be afraid. Only believe." Hope! 42:45 What a God! What a Savior! Infusing hope into the despair 42:53 of our cynical human journey. Wow. Paul Miller again on the screen. 43:00 "Cynicism kills hope. The world of the cynic is fixed 43:04 and immovable; the cynic believes we are swept along by 43:08 forces greater than we are. Dreaming feels like so much 43:11 foolishness. Risk becomes intolerable. 43:14 Prayer feels pointless, as if we are talking to the wind. 43:17 Why set ourselves and God up for failure? 43:20 But --" and, oh, I love this -- "But Jesus is all about hope." 43:25 >> Amen. >> I know it's late in the 43:28 morning. I expected to get a little more 43:30 than that. Let me repeat that line. 43:33 "But Jesus is all about hope"! >> Amen. >> Amen. 43:37 >> There you go. Woke them up. [ Light laughter ] 43:42 What is it you're hoping against hope for? What is it you've been dreaming 43:48 for, for so long, and are about to let go of that hope? Are you graduating in a few 43:54 hours? Hmm? What is it you long for? 44:00 What is it you hope most for? 44:02 "Jesus is all about hope." >> Amen. 44:08 >> Amen. "'For I know the plans I have 44:14 for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to 44:19 harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" 44:27 A little girl was kneeling down beside her bed with her daddy 44:31 for nighttime prayers. 44:34 And she prayed, "Dear Jesus, please come back soon... because we have lots of owies. 44:45 And they hurt." 44:52 I called my mother last Saturday night, and I could tell immediately, when her husband, 44:58 Burt, answered the phone and we visited for a bit, and then he gave the phone to Mom, I could 45:06 tell that her strength was ebbing. And I knew I needed to be there 45:11 at her side. And so I found a ticket, late that night, jumped on a plane 45:17 early Sunday morning, flew to Ontario, California. I had texted my brother Greg and 45:25 Kari, before leaving, that I needed to be with Mom. "I'll keep you posted." 45:31 And they surprised me and both flew in from their cities to be there with Mom. 45:37 The two days this week with her were just -- they were wonderful days -- a whirlwind. 45:43 We had to make medical decisions, we had to make financial arrangements to move 45:47 my mother to Sacramento, where Kari and her husband are pastoring -- the Carmichael 45:51 church. Wednesday morning... I went to their bedroom to see 45:57 her. She was in bed. We talked for a bit. 46:02 And then she spoke words I was totally, totally unprepared for. She said, "I don't think 46:14 I will see you again." And not wanting to accept that thought, I reflexively shot 46:24 back, "Mom, I can fly to Sacramento. I -- I'll -- I will see you 46:29 there." But as the days have gone by, since Wednesday morning, I've 46:36 had time to brood over what she said. And I realize that perhaps, 46:43 maybe... she was saying more than just goodbye. 46:53 "Dear Jesus... please come soon... 47:10 ...because we have lots of owies, and they hurt." 47:17 You think we have owies in here? What do you think the world is living with today? 47:25 Nonstop, self-medicated, masked-over owies. We're like Dana Tierney that, in 47:36 hopelessness, confessed, "I don't get the message. Why do you have hope? 47:41 I can't see a thing." 47:44 How can we go on leaving them in that state of cynical 47:50 darkness when we've found that Jesus is the hope? 47:57 And we've embraced it. 48:01 Then why wouldn't we share it with those who don't have it? Have we been burned too many 48:07 times by disappointment, and we can't dare? We might -- We just might -- It 48:12 might not be. "I don't get the message." It's precisely because you and I 48:23 have friends and neighbors and colleagues and roommates who don't get the message, that 48:27 "Hope Trending" is coming, 25 weeks from today. 255 weeks, it'll be here on this 48:32 campus. All 24 time zones simultaneously, "Hope Trending." 48:37 Nine TED Talk-length pieces of reason why Jesus is all about hope. 48:50 What you need most, He is about. "Hope Trending"... where your living room or your 48:58 family room or your dormitory room can be turned into a watch party with your closest friends 49:03 and people that you've been hoping to bridge to, and you're sitting in front of your 49:08 big screen and the WiFi is bringing it live to you. "Hope Trending." 49:13 Why? Because hope is what the world is desperately blind to 49:22 but longing for. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord, 49:30 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" 49:37 Come on, guys. We know how to spell "hope" -- J-E-S-U-S. 49:46 And because we know, we have to tell -- we must tell. This summer -- Where are you 49:52 going this summer? Doesn't matter to me, but take Jesus and his hope with you. 49:56 On a plane, at a bus stop, on a golf course -- doesn't matter -- at the workplace, be 50:02 ready. There's a heart that says, "I don't get the message." 50:12 We have this hope... and it must be shared. To wait another year may be too 50:18 late... for our mothers... for our children... 50:24 for our roommates... for our colleagues... for our neighbors. 50:30 Why wait? When hope is what they are longing for most of all... 50:37 why wait? Jesus is the hope of the world, and we must share Him... 50:44 now. Amen. >> Amen. 50:49 >> Oh, God... we have known this hope. Many of us have sat in these 50:55 pews for centuries... with the hope... locked up inside. 51:03 Dear Father... unlock our tongues, our minds, our spirits, and our hearts 51:13 and, with abandon, enjoy. May we take the truth of Jesus, with our hope, to this dark and 51:24 desperate world. We humbly pray in His name. Amen. 51:31 >> Amen. 51:33 [ Organ plays "How Great Thou Art" ] 51:44 [ Congregation sings ] 52:18 >> ♪ Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee ♪ 52:27 ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art ♪ 52:35 ♪ Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee ♪ 52:44 ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art ♪ 52:56 [ Singing continues ] 53:32 ♪ Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee ♪ 53:41 ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art ♪ 53:50 ♪ Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee ♪ 53:59 ♪ How great Thou art, how great Thou art ♪ 54:13 [ Organ plays "We Have This Hope" ] 54:31 [ Congregation sings ] 55:56 [ Organ music fades ] 56:00 >> Amen. Amen. And here's God -- God's benediction for you. 56:08 And now may the God of hope... who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ... 56:15 fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope... 56:22 by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. >> Amen. 56:30 [ Organ plays "Under His Wings I Am Safely Abiding" ] >> ♪ Under His wings ♪ 56:37 ♪ Under His wings ♪ ♪ Who from His love can sever? ♪ ♪ Under His wings my soul shall 56:56 abide ♪ ♪ Safely abide forever ♪ 57:14 >> May I take an extra moment with you and let you know how grateful I am that you joined us 57:18 in worship today. I hear from viewers like you across the nation and literally 57:22 around the world, and I'm thankful. 57:24 If you'd like to explore further what we've just shared, I hope 57:27 you'll visit us at our website. It's an easy one to remember -- 57:29 www.pmchurch.tv. We're the 57:34 Pioneer Memorial Church here on the campus of 57:36 Andrews University. So, that's www.pmchurch.tv. 57:41 Click on to that website, and you'll be able to listen to a 57:44 podcast of this material, you can download the presentation, 57:46 you can print out the study guide, you may have a special 57:49 prayer need that you wish to share with our prayer partners, 57:51 or you may wish to partner with us through a personal donation 57:54 to help reach this generation with the everlasting good news 57:57 of Christ. If you'd rather talk with 58:00 someone, call one of our friendly operators. 58:02 Here's the toll-free number -- 877 and then the two words 58:05 "his will." 877-HIS-WILL. 58:08 In the meantime, may the grace and peace of Jesus be yours 58:12 every step of this adventurous way. 58:16 ♪♪ |
Revised 2016-05-31