Participants: Pr. Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP042807
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00:31 The Book of Philippians Chapter 2,
00:36 tells us about our Lord 00:39 this humble Jesus 00:41 that because of what He did, 00:43 "that God exalted him to the highest place 00:48 and gave Him the name that is above every name, 00:52 that at the very name of Jesus 00:55 every knee should bow, 00:57 in heaven and on earth 00:59 and under the earth, 01:00 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 01:04 to the glory of God the Father." 01:17 Alleluia. 01:20 Alleluia, 01:27 Alleluia 01:30 For the Lord God Almighty reigns 01:32 For the Lord God Almighty reigns 01:37 Alleluia 01:40 Alleluia, 01:47 Alleluia 01:50 For the Lord God Almighty reigns 01:52 For the Lord God Almighty reigns 02:00 Alleluia, 02:05 holy, 02:09 holy 02:12 are you Lord God Almighty! 02:17 Worthy is the Lamb 02:19 Worthy is the Lamb, 02:22 Worthy is the Lamb, 02:25 holy! 02:27 Alleluia 02:29 Holy Holy 02:30 Are you Lord God Almighty! 02:32 Are you Lord God Almighty! 02:37 Worthy is the Lamb 02:38 Worthy is the Lamb 02:42 Worthy is the Lamb, Amen 02:53 Alleluia, 02:59 Alleluia 03:04 For the Lord God Almighty reigns 03:12 Alleluia, 03:19 Alleluia 03:23 For the Lord God Almighty reigns 03:32 Alleluia, 03:37 holy, holy 03:44 Are you Lord God Almighty! 03:51 Worthy is the Lamb 03:54 Worthy is the Lamb 03:57 You are Holy! 04:01 Holy, 04:04 Are You Lord God Almighty 04:10 Worthy is the Lamb 04:13 Worthy is the Lamb 04:16 You are Holy! 04:20 Holy, 04:23 Are You Lord God Almighty 04:30 Worthy is the Lamb 04:33 Worthy is the Lamb 04:35 You are Holy! 04:40 Holy, 04:43 Are You Lord God Almighty 04:49 Worthy is the Lamb 04:52 Worthy is the Lamb, Amen 05:22 Your only Son, no sin to hide 05:28 But You have sent Him from Your side 05:34 To walk upon this guilty sod 05:40 And to become the Lamb of God 05:48 Your gift of love they crucified 05:54 They laughed and scorned Him as He died 06:00 The humble King they named a fraud 06:05 And sacrificed the Lamb of God 06:11 Oh, Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God 06:17 I love the holy Lamb of God 06:22 Oh, wash me in His precious blood 06:28 My Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God 06:52 I was so lost, I should have died 06:58 But You have brought me to Your side 07:03 To be led by Your staff and rod 07:09 And to be called a Lamb of God 07:15 Oh, Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God 07:20 I love the holy Lamb of God 07:26 Oh, wash me in His precious blood 07:32 My Jesus, Christ, the Lamb of God 07:37 Oh, Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God 07:43 I love the holy Lamb of God 07:48 Oh, wash me in His precious blood 07:54 My Jesus, Christ, the Lamb of God 08:51 Glory, hallelujah, 08:56 Heavenly father 09:01 I will give the glory, 09:04 Lord to you! 09:10 Marvelous and glorious, 09:15 loving Creator 09:20 I will give the glory, Lord to you! 09:28 Be exalted, be exalted 09:31 Let your name be lifted up forever 09:36 God unchanging, you're my Lord and Savior 09:41 I will give the glory, Lord to you! 09:47 God almighty God almighty 09:50 The heavens and the earth belong to you, Lord 09:54 The sun, the moon, the stars, the seas they're yours Lord 09:59 I will give the glory, Lord to you! 10:01 Glory, Lord to you! 10:24 [Singing in foreign language] 13:12 Let's pray together. 13:15 Oh, God, that's, that's the bottom line 13:18 on this last Sabbath 13:21 of another year on this campus 13:25 but the glory be to You alone. 13:34 As we make that confession and testimony 13:38 would you say something to us in return please, 13:43 something that will take us from here to there 13:47 for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 13:51 We pray in His name, amen. 13:58 I want to crunch some numbers with you. 14:01 For the sake of illustration let's pretend you are a fervent 14:07 and passionate Muslim, all right. 14:12 And that's also a soon that part of that fervent passion 14:17 is that you are committed 14:18 to reproducing yourself once a year. 14:21 I, He every single year 14:25 you will invest the energies in another human being 14:27 so that other human being will become as fervent 14:31 and passionate as you are as a Muslim. 14:35 Let's do the arithmetic. 14:36 How long would it take you to reach the entire world? 14:41 Okay year one 14:43 we just do right up here we do it on our fingers. 14:45 Year one and you reproduce yourself 14:48 what we have at the end of the year one, two. 14:52 Year two if you both go on and reproduce yourselves 14:55 what will we have at the end of the year two? 14:57 Four. 14:58 Fervent Muslim year one has now become four. 15:02 Year three will have eight. Year four we will have 16. 15:09 Well, we want to go up to year 10. 15:11 Year four will have 16. Year five we will have 32. 15:15 Year six we will have 64. 15:18 Year seven we will have 128. 15:21 Year eight we will have 256. 15:24 Year nine we will have 512. 15:28 Year ten we will have 15:30 what began as one fervent passionate Muslim 15:33 by year ten has become 1, 024 Muslims. 15:40 And if we keep going, watch this by year 20 15:46 and by the way Gary Burdick 15:47 physicist at Andrews University has certified these numbers 15:50 so they are true. 15:52 Yep, he did. 15:54 By year 20 you reach a million. 15:57 Take it 20 years you start out as one fervent passionate Muslim 16:01 by year 20 there will be one million. 16:03 By year 30 there will be one billion 16:08 and by year 35 16:10 you would have become five times the population of planet earth. 16:15 What's going on, guys? 16:17 It's called geometric progression. 16:19 You mathematic types know all about it, don't you? 16:22 Yep, geometric progression. 16:24 You medical types also know about it 16:25 because that's the way virus behaves. 16:27 A virus works in the paradigm of geometric progression. 16:31 Common cold is caused by a virus. 16:32 So you sneeze on me, I sneeze on her, 16:35 she sneezes on him and overnight we can infect 16:37 an entire swath of the populace. 16:41 Geometric progression. 16:42 But here is good news, 16:43 you don't have to be a mathematics type, 16:45 you don't have to a medical type in order for this to work. 16:47 You don't have to even be a Muslim for it to work. 16:50 You can't be a Christian 16:52 a Seventh-day Adventist Christian at that 16:54 and in less than half of your life time 16:57 you can infect the human race five times 17:01 unless an half a life time in 35 years. 17:04 You say, impossible. 17:07 It seems right, it seems that way doesn't it? 17:09 But there is an obscure line that you haven't read 17:11 I bet in all your life that's in the Old Testament. 17:15 You may be read through it but you haven't stop there. 17:18 I want to go to that line the old Book of Isaiah 17:22 I want to take you to this line. 17:23 This is, this is gonna blow your socks off 17:27 Isaiah Chapter 60, 17:29 if you didn't bring a Bible you got to see this 17:31 pull out the Bible that's in the pew rack in front of you 17:33 it will be the same translation that mine is 17:35 which should be the New King James Version 17:37 and if you do pull that one out 17:38 the page number will be page 501. 17:41 All right, 501 Isaiah Chapter 60. 17:47 See there whatever translation you have 17:50 this is amazing, amazing, amazing. 17:53 Isaiah 60:22 the last line of Isaiah 60 17:56 watch this and "A little one shall become" how many? 18:01 "A thousand, and a small one a strong nation. 18:06 For I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time." 18:09 What's going on here? 18:10 Talked a way in the single obscure Old Testament line 18:13 are two incredible realities. 18:16 If you will grasp these two realities 18:19 it will breathe a whole new wind of fresh hope into your future 18:24 because I got to tell you some I-- 18:26 be honest with you I have worry, 18:27 I have afraid about the feature, the feature on its planet. 18:30 I mean how, how was God gonna do it? 18:33 How is God gonna reach the entire world? 18:34 It can't be done. 18:36 I mean, you just do the arithmetic 18:37 here some more numbers, 18:38 in case you haven't heard this numbers may I run this by? 18:40 Every single second on planet earth 18:44 guess how many babies are born every single second? 18:47 Four, four babies 18:50 every single second on planet earth 18:52 two human beings die 18:55 leaving a net growth of two per second. 18:58 Every six days that produces one million people 19:01 and every year 60 million people are added 19:04 to the log of the human race. 19:06 We can't even keep up with the people who are alive 19:09 much less reaching those who are still coming. 19:12 How in the world is God gonna do it? 19:14 Impossible. Oh, it's true. 19:17 I'd memories, I'd memories the commands Matthew 24:14 19:20 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached 19:22 in all the world as a witness to all the nations, 19:24 and then shall the end will come." 19:26 I'd memories those last words of Matthew 28: 19, 20 19:30 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, 19:32 baptizing them in the name of the Father 19:34 and of the Son and of the" Holy Ghost 19:36 "'Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe 19:38 every things I have commanded you 19:39 and lo, I am with you always, 19:41 even to the end of the age.' Amen." 19:43 But the problem is guys 19:45 how you gonna put an Amen on that. 19:47 Come on with the numbers that we just looked at. 19:50 Impossible. 19:52 Until I discovered two rather obscure realities, 19:59 two uncommon phrases 20:02 tucked away in our Bible, 20:04 the realities of which are tucked away. 20:07 If you will discover these two and I'm telling you what 20:10 here is the last Sabbath of the school year 20:11 I can't think two phrases 20:13 that can energies and ignite your future 20:16 greater than these two. 20:17 Let me show in them with you two uncommon phrases 20:19 and I will make you this promise, 20:20 by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 20:22 grasp reality of these two uncommon phrases 20:25 and you will never be 20:26 the same again ever, ever. Let's write them down. 20:30 Take your study guide out please 20:31 from your worship bulletin today. 20:33 Take out study guide. 20:34 Its right there brand new one ready to go. 20:36 Now ushers, let's get some because I see 20:39 lot of people have got in without, 20:41 without their worship bulletin. 20:42 So hold your hand up I want to make sure you get this. 20:46 This will be material you can brood on later 20:47 you can pass it on, pass it on. 20:50 And while the ushers doing now 20:51 don't forget the balcony, ushers. 20:52 I want to say to those of you were watching on 20:54 television right now or listening on the radio. 20:56 You got a website let me put it on the screen for you. 20:58 There it is www.pmchurch, Pioneer Memorial Church 21:03 pmchurch.tv that's our TV app. 21:07 And to the website and click on the series 21:09 this is the last of the series "Mercy Came a Runnin', 21:13 Mercy Came a Runnin'. 21:16 I have been teaching to class at the theological seminar 21:17 at this semester it's a very concentrate class 21:19 we did it in five weeks. 21:21 And these guys been begging me, 21:22 begging me please Dwight, don't have a final. 21:24 Please, don't have a final. 21:26 And the last day I came into class 21:27 and they wrote it on the screen 21:29 regarding the final Mercy Came a Runnin'. 21:33 Well, guys, I just want to advice you 21:34 because I see a bunch of them here 21:35 you just better show up Tuesday 2 o'clock 21:38 because we will be in San Jose. 21:40 Okay, Mercy Came a Runnin' today comes to an end. 21:42 The title of today's teaching "Mercy Comes, 21:44 Mercy Goes." 21:45 Mercy Comes and Mercy Goes. 21:47 You see study guide talking you watching on television 21:50 you see study guide there at the website 21:51 click there you got the same study guide. 21:53 Let's go. 21:54 Two uncommon phrases with one uncommon truth. 21:58 Uncommon phrase number one, write it down, 22:00 we just talked about it geometric progression. 22:02 Write in the word, progression. 22:05 Let's go back to Isaiah 60 22:06 the last line of Isaiah 60 again Isaiah 60:22, 22:10 "And a little one shall become a thousand, 22:13 and a small one a strong nation." 22:15 For I, the Lord, will hasten it 22:19 "I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time." 22:21 Geo-- you know geometric progression is 22:23 we just illustrated it-- 22:25 it's an exponential explosion of numbers they just-- 22:30 they multiply faster and faster and faster 22:32 that's geometric progression. 22:34 You start with just a little one 22:36 just start with little one and God says 22:38 you gonna have a thousand that's geometric progression. 22:41 Let's return to the opening scenario for a moment 22:46 whether you are an odd Muslim 22:48 and it could be some are watching 22:49 on the television right now 22:50 whether you are an odd Muslim or you are an odd Christian 22:52 doesn't matter to me. 22:53 Let's just go back to the scenario. 22:55 In order for this geometric progression to work 22:57 it presupposes that there are gonna be 22:59 two commitments that you will make. 23:01 Jot these commitments down. 23:03 You got to make these commitments. 23:04 Commitment number one, you will make a fervent, 23:06 passionate commitment to your Lord. 23:08 You want to call Him Allah, that's fine. 23:10 You want to call Him God, that's fine. 23:12 You want to call Him Lord, that's fine. 23:14 But you may personally make a, 23:16 a fervent and passionate commitment to your Lord. 23:18 And number two, you also have to make a fervent, 23:21 passionate commitment to reproduce yourself once a year. 23:25 Now that's a key, you got to do that. 23:29 If you do the numbers work. 23:31 In fact, I want to jot this numbers down 23:33 because you gonna share this with others. 23:34 Lets just, let's just do it again. 23:35 We won't go all the way up to ten. 23:37 Year one, you are gonna-- 23:38 the year will end with two of you. 23:40 Year two, it will end with four of you. 23:41 Year three, it will end with eight of you. 23:43 Now let's skip-- let's go to 10 write it down 1,024. 23:49 Just as passion is you will be there 10 years later. 23:53 Write it down year 20, one million. 23:56 In 20 years little old you will become one million 23:59 and by year 30 you become one billion, one billion. 24:05 Add just five more years you will infect the earth 24:08 five times over five times of population of earth 24:11 by year 35. 24:12 Isn't that amazing? 24:14 You say, oh, come on pastor, that really work that way? 24:19 Yes, it does. 24:20 It's called geometric progression, 24:21 precisely Isaiah's point. 24:23 In fact, let's put this from the New Living Translation 24:26 and you have to fill it in. 24:27 I like that some of you brought the NLT to church. 24:30 The smallest family will multiply. 24:33 See geometric progression is involved with multiplication. 24:35 "The smallest family will multiply 24:37 into a large" of thousand. 24:40 The Hebrew says "a large clan. 24:41 The tiniest group will become a mighty nation. 24:44 I, the Lord, will bring it all the pass at the right time." 24:49 Now what's gonna happen? 24:50 This has to be born out of a fervent, 24:51 passionate commitment to the Lord 24:53 and a fervent, passionate commitment 24:54 to reproduce yourself once every year. 24:57 And here comes the caviar, here's a caviar of course, 25:00 of course it can break down. 25:03 Because this assumes 25:05 that you will be fervent and passionate every year. 25:08 If you say, no, I'm taking this year off 25:09 I am not gonna be fervent and passion it won't work. 25:12 This also assumes that every body you bring in 25:15 to your Lord 25:16 will be as fervent and passion as you 25:19 to make a commitment to reproduce 25:21 him or herself once a year. 25:23 Anywhere along the way you can stop it 25:25 meltdown the things ends. 25:26 I understand that 25:29 which way is ladies and gentlemen, 25:33 uncommon phrase number one. 25:35 Would you write this down? 25:36 Uncommon phrase number one, is insufficient. 25:39 You can't do it. 25:40 Just with uncommon phrase number one, 25:42 you have to have uncommon phrase number two 25:45 those two harness together 25:48 are they explosive formula 25:50 with an uncommon truth to end the school year? 25:53 And so would you write it down uncommon phrase 25:55 number two, what is it? 25:56 It's called divine passive, the divine passive. 26:01 So what in the world is that? Well, let's find out. 26:04 Go back to verse 22 Isaiah 60. 26:06 "A little one shall become a thousand, 26:08 and a small one a strong nation. 26:12 For I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time." 26:15 Now geometric progression is hinted 26:16 in the first half the verse, one becomes the thousand 26:19 and the divine passive is hinted in the last half. 26:23 I, the Lord, I will hasten it in its time. 26:26 What's the divine passive? 26:28 You say, oh, come on I have heard this something that 26:30 something out of this seminary probably. 26:33 Write it down, now here is the definition 26:34 for the divine passive. 26:36 It's a Hebrew grammatical device 26:38 in which the action of the passive verb 26:42 is understood to be accomplished by God himself. 26:47 Now I know that those of you they have freshmen comp 26:49 behind you now are saying please, 26:51 I didn't think we get more comp in the last Sabbath of church. 26:54 No, this is it. 26:56 I could ask you, do you know how passive work, 26:58 do you remember passive, 26:59 remember there is active in passive, active in passive. 27:02 How does a passive work? 27:03 Okay, let me give you the active. 27:05 I hit the ball. All right this is this season. 27:08 So, I hit the ball, that's the active. 27:12 The subject acts something happens. 27:14 But watch this, I was, I was hit by the ball. 27:20 That's no longer active. Subject didn't do a thing. 27:22 I was hit it happened to me that's the passive. 27:25 Passive is a word of verb goes back and gets the subject. 27:28 Does it go forward? 27:29 It goes backward and gets the subject. 27:31 So, the Hebrew define passive watch this 27:34 let's take, let's take one of the great lines of scripture. 27:37 The first line of Genesis 2, 27:40 "Thus the heavens and the earth, 27:42 and all the host of them, were finished." 27:47 There is a passive verb there do you-- 27:49 what's the passive verb come on, scholars. 27:51 What's the passive verb, we are finished. 27:54 Heavens and earth every thing were finished. 27:56 By whom? 27:57 Don't say, no, no, don't say 28:00 but that's a Hebrew divine passive. 28:02 They write as we use the passive to mean 28:04 that in fact, as Genesis 1 has already told us 28:07 the actor here of the accomplishment 28:09 is God himself. 28:10 See the divine passive means God is the actor. 28:13 He is left out of it. Let's do another one. 28:15 John 19:30 Jesus Christ out on the cross 28:19 "It is finished." 28:22 Now one of our scholars came up to me 28:23 after a first church is said Dwight, 28:25 you know that's English and its not passive 28:27 it's the Greek the Greek is passive. 28:31 No it doesn't say who finished it. 28:33 it just says its finished. 28:36 Understood that even has He was the soul player 28:41 in the creation of the human race 28:44 at the end of our tragic rebellions 28:46 let's put the screen up, 28:48 at the end of our sad, sad story 28:51 He becomes the soul player all over again. 28:55 Let me tell you some, listen, listen 28:58 God gets all the credit for our creation and our redemption. 29:03 You can't do a thing to save yourself, 29:05 you cannot save yourself. 29:08 It takes somebody outside of you 29:11 to perform that action and to save you. 29:13 It's a divine passive. 29:16 You say, oh, man I am really confused now. 29:18 Hold on. 29:19 Oh, come on don't, don't check out of me yet. 29:21 I want to share one more text with you, 29:23 this is explosive. 29:24 When you see it in this text 29:25 you see why it's such great news. 29:27 Let's go to that text 29:28 that I quoted just a moment ago from Mathew 24, 29:32 because Mathew has been our theme book all this series long 29:36 so let's go back I'll end up on this one. 29:38 Matthew 24, if you have a Red Letter Bible 29:41 these words are gonna be bright red 29:43 because this is just a few hours 29:45 just a three days before Jesus is executed, 29:48 before the "It is finished" is declared 29:50 that God has accomplished the salvation of the human race. 29:55 Chapter 24 drop down to verse 14, 30:00 Matthew 24:14 30:02 "And this gospel of the kingdom" will be what? 30:06 Passive, passive, passive see, 30:08 it acts back on the gospel. 30:10 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached 30:13 in all the world as a witness to all the nations, 30:17 and then the end comes." 30:21 Passive verb. 30:24 My friend Ranko Stefanovic, 30:26 chair of the religion department here at Andrews University 30:29 in his commentary on the Book of Revelation, 30:32 he is the one that taught me this 30:33 when I was reading his commentary through. 30:35 He said this is divine passive. You think about it. 30:38 Jesus could have said and hey you guys 30:41 hey, you, you, you, 30:42 you will preach the Gospel all over the world 30:44 and when you are through then I come. 30:46 He could say that but He does it. 30:49 He leaves us completely out of the picture 30:50 and He just says by the way 30:52 the gospel is gonna get preached, 30:53 it will be preached and then I will come. 30:56 The divine passive 30:58 because what is the divine passive mean, 31:00 what is it what's the hint of the divine passive, 31:03 who is doing the action? God is doing the action. 31:06 Good news, Jesus says, hey guys you been sitting 31:09 around worried about who is gonna finish, 31:11 who is gonna finish God's work? 31:12 I got some great news for you, God will. 31:16 I will finish my work myself, the divine passive. 31:22 We just precisely what we just read in Isaiah 60:22 31:26 when God declares I the Lord will hasten it in its time. 31:30 Listen to me God says, I'm gonna do it in the end. 31:34 I will do the whole thing trust Me, all I need is one, 31:37 I need one of you. 31:39 Will you be the volunteer? 31:40 I just need give me one, just give me one. 31:42 If you will have a fervent, passion for me, 31:45 if you will have fervent, passion for the good news 31:47 the everlasting Gospel I promise you 31:49 I can take you boy, girl, 31:51 I can take you and out of you I'm gonna make a thousand. 31:54 You just give me you. 31:57 What you gonna be when you get out of here? 31:58 A doctor, that if Jessica doctor. 32:02 You're gonna be nurse, you're gonna be a teacher, 32:06 you're gonna be a preacher, 32:08 you're gonna be farmer, you're gonna be plumber. 32:10 I don't care God says it doesn't matter to Me 32:12 what you choose to become I just need you. 32:16 Give me you, just you 32:19 and I will take geometric progression 32:21 and I will take the divine passive 32:23 and you know what, I will reach an entire civilization 32:27 in less than a half of a life time. 32:31 Wow. 32:32 Jot it down will you Isaiah 60:22 and Matthew 24:14 32:38 "Are God's promise to combine 'geometric progression' 32:41 and the 'divine passive' 32:44 to reach an entire civilization in half a generation. 32:49 Half a generation, half of life time, 32:52 35 years I can do it just like that. 32:55 And by the way, by the way, He can do it quickly. 32:59 He doesn't have to wait half of life time. 33:01 In fact, fill it in your study guide Isaiah 60:22 33:04 for "I the Lord, will hasten" write in that word hasten. 33:07 He can do it fast just like that 33:11 just like Mother Nature by the way. 33:13 Just like Mother Nature. How did you like that? 33:15 Did you, did you hear the ominous whale 33:18 of the tornados sirens on Thursday 33:21 wouldn't that something. 33:22 Wow, just like that weather patterns change 33:27 and well hadn't to the basement. 33:28 Where would you go, even outside inch is, 33:30 hey, bring it on let me see this. 33:33 I want to see it. 33:35 Take a little camera with you and everything. 33:39 Just like weather maps can instantaneously change 33:43 even so human events can change 33:45 and God said that I can change this thing, 33:46 I can do this thing overnight. 33:47 Look at this Romans 9:28 "For He will God will finish" 33:52 fill it in "He will finish the work 33:54 and cut it short in righteousness, 33:57 because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth." 34:02 Short, short, short did you get that 34:05 short, short, short, short, short. 34:07 There are no numbers that bother God today, 34:09 bothers me because I'm running out of time. 34:11 Bothers you because you're saying, 34:12 how can it be possible be done? 34:14 And God says what's the problem. 34:15 I can do this whole thing myself. 34:17 I can do it in the short. Finish it. 34:21 I just need one, 34:22 I just need one volunteer step forward and say, 34:25 yes Sir, you can count me and I will take You. 34:28 You have a passion for me, you have a passion 34:30 to reproduce the Gospel unless others of others 34:32 I will take you come here girl, 34:33 I will take you, I will take you. 34:37 Reminds me well, these words written, written 100 years ago, 34:39 "There will be a series of events" 34:41 at the end of time "a series of events revealing 34:43 that God is the master of the situation. 34:47 And the final events will be rapid ones." 34:52 The day is coming when the divine passive 34:54 will explode in the action and by the way, 34:57 God will not only do the work He will finish the work. 35:02 But here is the catch, here is the catch, 35:04 now here comes, you see, let it be clear 35:08 that "The divine passive will not become active 35:12 while we remain passive" won't happen. 35:16 That's the uncommon truth from two uncommon phrases, 35:18 would you write it down please? 35:20 "The divine passive will not become active 35:23 while we remain passive." 35:26 Can happen, cannot happen. 35:29 Keep your pen moving. 35:30 That means "Once mercy has come runnin' to us 35:34 we must go runnnin' for him." 35:37 Because capital M mercy is a hymn. 35:40 Yes, it is hymn. 35:43 I think the Muslim world will began this teaching today 35:48 thinking about them we began to school year, 35:50 did we began the school talking about Muslims. 35:53 I think of the Muslim world 1.4 billion of them 35:59 a people with a fervent, passionate commitment 36:02 just watch the evening news they got it, they got it. 36:06 People by the way whose hearts are as broken over the mayhem 36:10 in the Middle East as our hearts are. 36:13 I saw a piece on 60 Minutes this week 36:15 Lawyer Logan was interviewing a Sunni Muslim father 36:19 and who told her that his solo mission every single day 36:24 is to get his kids safely to school 36:27 and get them home again without being killed 36:31 on the streets of the Baghdad. 36:34 His solo mission 36:35 is to keep my little babies alive to and from school. 36:42 Lawyer Logan then asked him, this- how does all affect you 36:48 and that's throughout the Middle Eastern man, 36:52 his lip began tremble 36:54 and his eyes just welled up the tears. 36:59 He couldn't even talk and she reached out 37:01 and touched his knee, he didn't, he didn't need to say a word. 37:04 She knew, we knew. 37:07 I will tell you something I understand 37:10 I know there are evil terrorists who is cruel massacres, 37:14 besmirches the Islamic people of earth 37:16 but we should know more blame Islam for them 37:22 then they should blame Christianity for the slaughter 37:25 on our campuses and in our cities. 37:30 Tired of hearing people going around 37:32 blaming the religion, blaming the people, 37:34 it's a problem with the Muslims. 37:36 What do you think they are saying about America? 37:37 That's the problem with the Christians. 37:40 They kill each other on campus, 37:42 they kill each other in the city. 37:46 We all have the problem 37:49 and its two words long Human Nature. 37:54 I don't blame Muslims. 37:55 Don't you suppose that 37:56 when mercy comes runnin' it will come runnin' 38:00 for the Islamic peoples of earth as well, don't you think? 38:03 Now has mercy gonna, how is mercy gonna reach them? 38:06 It will reach in the same way mercy reached you. 38:08 You have been reached, you got reached I don't know 38:10 how you got reached but you got reached. 38:13 How did mercy reach you? 38:14 Took somebody to run for mercy. 38:16 Somebody came to you on in the name of mercy. 38:20 That's Matthew 24:14 is all about 38:22 "And this gospel of the kingdom 38:24 will be preached" divine passive we know 38:26 who they helped them the actor is here 38:28 who will compensate it Himself. 38:30 The gospel "will be preached in all the world 38:33 as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come." 38:37 Does not the divine passive include the Muslims? 38:40 Doesn't it? 38:41 Don't you think when mercy comes runnin' 38:43 His arms will be outstretched to the children of the east 38:46 along with the children of the west. 38:49 Please, BUT of course and how will mercy reach them 38:52 the same way mercy reached you. 38:54 It came runnin' through somebody else 38:58 which is why we began with the school year 39:02 with an altar call and which is why today 39:06 we are ending the school year with an altar call. 39:11 Back in September a 160 of you students came forward 39:16 and said I will go, I will go, 39:17 I will go to the Muslim world, 39:20 I will go anywhere in the world. 39:21 I will take a year out of my education 39:23 at Andrews University and I will go as a missionary, 39:25 I will go as a student missionary. 39:28 This last Sabbath of the year 39:30 I would like to ask you to recommit to that decision 39:33 you who came forward on that Sabbath in September. 39:37 In fact, I'm not only ask you I'm gonna ask others 39:39 who had no idea that this last Sabbath 39:42 would be in a pew for you to go to. 39:45 I'm gonna ask you to think about it. 39:47 I want end to the story and while I am reading 39:49 this little storey you think about it. 39:51 You can go. You can go. 39:54 You don't have to go today, you don't have to go this summer 39:56 you go and come back to school if you wish 39:58 but you could still take a year, you can go. 40:02 I want to end with a story of the graveyard at Miango. 40:07 Philip Yancey in his marvelous book, 40:11 newest book it's on prayer, does it, 40:13 Does It Make Any Difference? 40:15 Prayer, doesn't make any difference? 40:17 In the book he tells us, it actually concerns-- 40:20 its involves a Michigan professor 40:24 his name is Charles Edward White 40:25 and he is been taken some relief teaching stance 40:29 over in Nigeria a predominantly Muslim nation by the way. 40:32 Nigeria at the University of Jos. 40:35 Assume that's how you pronounce it J-O-S. 40:41 One of the release stance over there 40:44 that God just left Yancey pick it up here. 40:46 While there, while in Nigeria Charles Edward White, 40:50 "he visited a mission," look at this, 40:52 "a mission graveyard in a quiet garden 40:54 beside a chapel on Nigeria Central Plateau. 40:57 Most of the graves, he noticed," strange. 40:59 "Most of the graves are, were small two and three 41:03 foot mounts to accommodate child-sized coffins." 41:08 In fact he went into the arithmetic. 41:09 "Thirty three of the fifty-six graves 41:12 in fact held the bodies of small children. 41:16 The Tombstones went back as far as 1928 41:19 but old timers in the mission could tell them 41:20 only the stories of the most recent deaths." 41:22 Begin to put the stories together. 41:25 "Two of the infants lived just one day." 41:26 You know, so he is reading, 41:27 he is reading the headstones or the pieces of wood. 41:31 "Others lived a few years, 41:32 falling victim to the tropical diseases 41:34 common in that part of the world." 41:35 Now here comes, here comes a moment. 41:37 "Melvin Louis Goossen was 12 when he and his brothers 41:41 fell off a suspension bridge over a rain-swollen creek. 41:45 Their missionary father Arthur Goossen 41:47 dived into the creek to save one son. 41:50 When he went back into the creek to save the other 41:52 both he and Melvin drowned." 41:56 And so both are buried in the graveyard in Miango. 42:02 Charles Edward White eventually came back, 42:06 he wrote a piece a little essay for Christianity Today 42:10 in which he reflects on Gods mercy 42:13 coming out of the story of the graveyard. 42:14 Let me, let me read a line from that essay. 42:17 "The graveyard at Miango tells us something about God 42:21 and about His grace." 42:23 Listen to this, "God's grace maybe free, 42:26 but it is not cheap. 42:28 Neither purchasing our salvation 42:30 nor letting us know of the gift was inexpensive." 42:33 Was Calvary inexpensive? 42:34 No, no, no no, no 42:35 but this the new thought for me 42:37 is not only was the purchase done 2, 000 years ago 42:40 not only was that expensive 42:43 somebody had to get the news to me. 42:46 I don't know about my family tree, 42:47 I don't know about yours but there was somebody 42:49 there is an anonymous missionary in your life. 42:52 Someone in your family tree 42:54 and we have no idea what it cost that missionary 42:56 in Europe and South America 42:58 and Asia and Australia and Africa, in North America 43:01 somebody came to your folk, your kinfolk. 43:04 Somebody came and said that 43:05 I have some good news to pass on to you 43:07 and because of that anonymous missionary 43:09 you are sitting here today. 43:11 Somebody came to you. At what cost? 43:15 I have no idea only eternity will tell us the cost. 43:19 Boy, that's a line, 43:21 "God's grace maybe free but its not cheap. 43:23 Neither purchasing our salvation 43:25 nor letting us know of the gift was inexpensive." 43:27 Just letting us know. 43:28 Now, listen "Beginning with Abel," 43:31 he goes on, "many of the witnesses 43:32 to divine grace sealed their words with their blood. 43:35 Jesus asked the Jews 43:37 which of the prophets was not persecuted? 43:39 Hey guys, it's a tough life. 43:41 It's a tough life. 43:44 "When he first sent out His disciples, 43:45 he promised them betrayal and death. 43:47 Then, at the end of his ministry, 43:48 he promised his followers that as they carried his word, 43:50 they would face trouble and hatred." 43:52 And then Charles Edward White makes this conclusion. 43:56 "The only way we can understand 43:58 the graveyard at Miango is to remember 44:01 that God also buried his Son on the mission field." 44:07 That is quiet a closer. 44:09 Would you write it down please? 44:10 Write it down, "The only way 44:12 we can understand the graveyard at Miango is to remember 44:19 that God also buried his Son on the mission field." 44:28 Nobody said becoming a missionary would be easy. 44:35 But of mercy has come a runnin' to the lives of you and me 44:38 you know, at some point, 44:39 at some point we must go runnin' for mercy too. 44:43 You see mercy comes and then mercy goes. 44:46 It can't stay, it just can't stay. 44:50 It got to go. 44:51 When mercy comes to you, you must go for mercy. 44:58 And so I'd like you to invite you 44:59 to go for mercy on behalf of mercy. 45:04 I'd like to invite you to consider, 45:06 you may never have considered this before 45:08 but I'd like to invite you to open up yourself to mercy 45:11 and say, you know what, I'm willing to go for you. 45:15 I'm willing to-- little owe me. 45:19 If you can turn one into a thousand I'd go for you. 45:22 If you do the work I'll go for you. 45:25 And some I want to end with an altar call, 45:26 I want to invite those who came forward in September 45:29 to come forward again to recommit yourself. 45:32 Somebody have going right away. 45:34 Japhet De Oliveira of the chaplain 45:36 in charge of missions has told me, 45:38 said Dwight, you got 27 going right now, 45:40 you got three waiting till the, end of the summer, 45:44 rest planning the next year, 45:47 if you came forward in September to the Muslim world fine, 45:51 not to the Muslim world anywhere in the world 45:53 but if you'd be willing to say, 45:55 I'll go for mercy as a student missionary 46:00 I like to invite you to come forward right now. 46:04 Commit yourself right now. 46:05 You came forward before. 46:09 You come in forward today for the first time that's fine. 46:14 I won't know. 46:15 Japhet is down near you. He'll get your name. 46:19 Nobody is going tomorrow, 46:20 nobody is getting on a plane tomorrow, 46:21 nobody is gonna have to fly to a strange country 46:23 and learn to use chopsticks by next week. 46:27 But somebody is going to save Jesus. 46:30 You came a runnin' for me, 46:33 how can I not cease this moment 46:36 and go a runnin' for you. 46:38 I'm so proud of our missionaries. 46:41 I'm so proud of you. 46:45 Mercy's gonna go runnin' through you, 46:47 I've no idea where you're going, 46:48 I just know you are going and mercy says go. 46:54 I will hasten it. I will do it. 46:58 You go just be one, little one as Isaiah 60:22 47:01 just be a little one for me I'll make into a thousand. 47:05 I'll make into a thousand, promise you. 47:07 Geometric progression in the divine passive, 47:09 I'll do it for you. 47:13 Are there any other students here? 47:18 Students sure I didn't commit to anything in September 47:21 but you know what, I'm gonna open up my life 47:23 right now and say, Jesus if this is something 47:26 we can pull off together we got faculty advisors, 47:29 faculty who will juggle the numbers 47:33 and re-crunch your curriculum, 47:35 they will do it, you can do it. 47:38 You say, neither would I'd be willing to go. 47:41 Is another student here up in the back at balcony? 47:44 Anybody else? 47:50 Anybody else? So proud of you. 47:56 You can all go student missionaries, 47:57 come on we are not all students. 48:01 Can go. 48:02 Some of us can go as adult missionary though. 48:06 We've got representatives 48:07 from the Adventist Frontier Mission's right here. 48:10 I tell you what so fast 48:11 they would take your names they would work with you. 48:13 We'll spend months working with you. 48:15 If you want to go as an adult 48:19 somewhere on earth for Jesus you go. 48:23 If you are an adult here and you fit into that, 48:25 we are gonna sing a hymn in a moment 48:26 you can quietly slip up 48:28 while we are singing that hymn. 48:30 But I want to talk to the rest of you 48:31 'cause I'm a baby boomer and when we grow up 48:34 you kind of became an atman quick praying 48:36 for the missionaries in the cowboys. 48:37 Just stop it, it's just a repetitious prayer. 48:39 I want to say it to all of you 48:40 its time to get off at that kick, 48:42 it's time to start praying for the missionaries again. 48:45 We got people who are bearing their dead across the sea. 48:48 They are doing it at an incredible price. 48:53 It's time to not kick that little phrase out of our prayer. 48:56 So there are three ways you and I can respond. 48:58 We'll stand right here. 48:59 The three ways number one, pray for them. 49:01 Pray for the missionaries. You see these pray for them. 49:04 There are more where these came from, pray for them. 49:06 Number two, give to missions. 49:07 You can give right here at Andrews University, 49:09 Students Mission, you can give at Pioneer on 13 Sabbath 49:11 and it'll go to missions the whole world over. 49:13 You can give when that little Sabbath school 49:15 play comes by give. 49:17 Give to missions. 49:18 Number one, pray for missionaries, 49:20 number two, give to missions, and number three, 49:24 number three you got somebody a lot closer to you 49:27 than Iraq they are right next door, 49:30 somebody is right next door to you 49:31 become a missionary where you live. 49:34 Of course, you have to get out of your comfort zone. 49:35 Of course its, you're not gonna, 49:37 you are not gonna bury a child like these missionaries did, 49:39 that will be the high price you'll have to pay. 49:41 But you'll have to get over, 49:42 you just have to kind of suck it up 49:46 and be little bit nervous 49:47 but start building a friendship with the strangers, 49:49 start building a bridge to somebody who is lost, 49:52 start caring for lost people and ask God and say, 49:55 anybody lost in my life that I should know 49:57 God will point them to you. 49:59 And then you, you become God's bridge 50:01 let mercy come in runnin' to you. 50:05 So, open your hymnal, please. 50:08 You guys stay right here, we're gonna sing around you. 50:11 In 578 So Sinned are You and as we sing, 50:15 as we sing these words I'd like to invite you, 50:18 if you'd be willing to commit yourself to be one 50:20 who prays for missionaries, gives to missions 50:23 and becomes a missionary right where you live right now 50:26 that you stand when sing the same. 50:27 You stand with me and by the act of standing 50:29 we are saying I'll be a missionary for Christ as well. 50:32 I will be a missionary for mercy. 50:35 Hymn 578, it's a beautiful, 50:37 beautiful prayer, it's a commitment. 50:38 You want to send me Jesus says 50:39 as the Father sends me I send you. 50:42 We say Jesus, send us please. 50:44 Let's stand. 50:45 You are standing in the back 50:46 you folks in the front as well stand too. 50:48 Hymn 578. 51:07 So send I you, 51:10 by grace made strong to triumph 51:16 O'er hosts of hell, 51:20 o'er darkness, death, and sin 51:25 My name to bear, 51:28 and in that name to conquer 51:34 So send I you, 51:38 my victory to win 51:44 So send I you, 51:47 to take to souls in bondage 51:53 The word or truth 51:57 that sets the captive free 52:02 To break the bonds of sin, 52:07 to lost death's fetters 52:12 So send I you, 52:16 to bring the lost to Me 52:23 So send I you, 52:26 My strength to know in weakness 52:32 My joy in grief, 52:36 My perfect peace in pain 52:41 To prove My power, 52:45 My grace, My promised presence 52:51 So send I you, 52:55 eternal fruit to gain 53:02 So send I you, 53:06 to bear My cross with patience 53:12 And then one day 53:16 with joy to lay it down 53:22 To hear My voice, 53:26 Well done, My faithful servant 53:32 Come, share My throne, 53:36 My kingdom, 53:38 and My crown! 53:45 As the Father hath sent Me, 53:55 so send I you 54:06 As the Holy Christ you send us, 54:08 you send us we stand before You, 54:10 how could we stay when you say go. 54:16 Oh, Father, for these who have come forward 54:21 there is such joy in the kingdom of heaven. 54:25 Mercy came runnin' to him, mercy came runnin' to her 54:27 and out of an eternal gratitude 54:30 they're gonna run for mercy. 54:33 Father, seal them, seal these decisions, 54:36 don't let anything happen to them. 54:41 May the angel of the Lord encamp 54:49 we're under about them and protect them. 55:02 Holy Christ, she does not go in ignorance 55:06 he goes no way. 55:10 Look at this little boy 55:11 who came for our Father just a boy. 55:15 He wants to go, raise up our boys and girls, 55:20 raise up our young adults, 55:24 raise up this church to go please. 55:29 And so we stand, 55:32 oh, God we, there isn't one of us 55:35 that even now can faintly comprehend the electric joy 55:41 that will serge through the bodies 55:43 and hearts of those missionaries one day 55:49 who with the gate of the eternal kingdom 55:52 will be greeted by You and You'll cry out to them, 55:58 well done good and faithful missionaries, 56:03 you've been faithful and a little arm 56:08 on an arm make you ruler over much. 56:12 Enter into the joy of your Lord forever and ever. 56:17 Oh, Father, may all of us 56:19 standing before You hear those words one day 56:23 and may we never forget 56:27 that You had only one boy 56:31 and You made him a missionary. 56:35 In the name if our missionary Savior Jesus 56:38 let all the people say amen and amen. 56:58 Let me take one more moment of your time to let you know 57:01 that one of the blessings I received from this telecast 57:03 is being in touch with viewers like you 57:05 all across Michiana and our nation 57:07 and literally the world. 57:09 I'm humbled and honored 57:10 with your sharing the journey with us. 57:11 Sometimes it's a Bible question 57:13 other times it's an observation or suggestion 57:15 and sometimes just a note 57:16 to share a prayer or a prayer request. 57:19 I'd love to hear from you 57:20 and it is so easy to be in touch. 57:21 Just go to our Pioneer Memorial Church website 57:24 www.pmchurch.tv 57:27 and click on contact and in the word pastor 57:30 and then jot down the message you wish to send. 57:33 If you have a prayer request click on those words 57:35 or call our toll free number 1-877-HIS-WILL 57:40 and I promise you that our prayer partners 57:42 will lift your personal need to God 57:44 because nobody should have to journey alone. 57:46 Not only do we have Jesus but we also have each other. 57:49 So, write me won't you at www.pmchurch.tv 57:53 In the mean time may the God whose mercy 57:56 continually runs after us 57:58 be with you 24x7 every step of the way. 58:02 I'll see you again right here next time. |
Revised 2014-12-17