Participants: Pr. Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP051708
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00:29 Will you stay standing with us, as we sing, Amazed.
00:34 You dance over me 00:40 While I am unaware 00:47 And You sing all around 00:54 But I never hear the sound 01:00 Lord, I'm amazed by You 01:20 How You love me 01:27 Lord, I'm amazed by You 01:48 How You love me 01:52 Straight again, You dance over me. 01:55 You dance over me 02:02 While I am unaware 02:09 And You sing all around 02:15 But I never hear the sound 02:21 Lord, I'm amazed by You 02:42 How You love me 02:47 Let's sing, how wide. 02:49 How wide, how deep 03:02 How great, 03:08 is Your love for me? 03:12 Let's sing it again, how long. 03:16 How wide 03:22 how deep 03:29 How great 03:34 Is Your love for me? 03:39 Come on sing it up. 03:42 How wide 03:49 How deep 03:55 How great 04:00 Is Your love for me? 04:06 Lord 04:08 Lord, I'm amazed by You 04:28 How You love me 04:35 Lord, I'm amazed by You 04:56 How You love me 05:04 Amen. You may be seated. 05:19 Sing with us, I'm forgiven. 05:23 I'm forgiven because you were forsaken 05:30 I'm accepted, You were condemned 05:36 I'm alive and well Your spirit is within me 05:42 Because You died and rose again 05:50 Let's try that again, I'm forgiven. 05:53 I'm forgiven because You were forsaken 06:00 I'm accepted, You were condemned 06:07 I'm alive and well Your spirit is within me 06:13 Because You died and rose again 06:21 Amazing love, how can it be? 06:28 That you, my king would die for me 06:34 Amazing love, I know it's true 06:41 It's my joy to honor You 06:46 In all I do I honor You 07:05 I'm forgiven, because You were forsaken 07:12 I'm accepted, You were condemned 07:19 I'm alive and well Your spirit is within me 07:25 Because You died and rose again 07:33 Amazing love, how can it be 07:40 That You, my King would die for me 07:47 Amazing love, I know it's true 07:53 It's my joy to honor You 07:57 Sing amazing love. 08:00 Amazing love how can it be? 08:07 That You, my King would die for me 08:14 Amazing love, I know it's true 08:21 It's my joy to honor You 08:26 In all I do, I honor You 08:47 The faithful love of the Lord, it never ends! 08:51 His mercies never cease. 08:54 Great is thy faithfulness, 08:57 His mercies begin new every morning. 09:00 I say to myself, the Lord is my inheritance. 09:04 Therefore I will hope in him. 09:11 Great is Thy faithfulness! 09:18 Great is Thy faithfulness! 09:24 Morning by morning 09:30 new mercies I see 09:37 All I have needed 09:43 Thy hand hath provided 09:51 Great is Thy faithfulness! 10:01 Lord unto me 10:10 You all know this prayer. 10:12 In Ephesians 3, 10:15 it's Paul's prayer for spiritual growth 10:16 and he says, "When I think of all these things, 10:19 I fall to my knees and I pray to the Father, 10:23 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 10:27 I pray that from His glorious unlimited resources 10:32 that He will empower you with strength, 10:36 in the inner spirit. 10:38 Then, Christ will make his home in your hearts 10:41 as you trust in Him, your roots will grow down deep 10:45 and God's love will keep you strong. 10:47 And may you have the power to understand, 10:50 as all Gods people should, 10:53 how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. 10:59 May you experience the love of Christ, 11:02 that's surpasses all knowledge. 11:07 Sing with us, "How Deep the Father's Love." 11:11 How deep the Father's love for us 11:19 How vast beyond all measure 11:27 That He should give His only Son 11:34 To make a wretch His treasure 11:42 How great the pain of searing loss 11:49 The Father turns His face away 11:57 As wounds which mar the chosen One 12:05 Bring many sons to glory 12:20 Behold the Man upon a cross 12:28 My sin upon His shoulders 12:35 Ashamed I hear my mocking voice 12:42 Call out among the scoffers 12:50 It was my sin that left Him there 12:57 Until it was accomplished 13:05 His dying breath has brought me life 13:12 I know that it is finished 13:28 I will not boast in anything 13:36 No gifts, no power, no wisdom 13:43 But I will boast in Jesus Christ 13:51 His death and resurrection 13:58 Why should I gain from His reward? 14:05 I cannot give an answer 14:14 But this I know with all my heart 14:21 His wounds have paid my ransom 14:36 This is the day, this is the day 14:40 That the Lord has made, that the Lord has made 14:44 I will rejoice, I will rejoice 14:48 And be glad in it, and be glad in it 14:52 This is the day that the Lord has made 14:56 I will rejoice and be glad in it 15:00 This is the day, this is the day 15:04 That the Lord has made 15:08 (Singing in foreign language) 15:49 Red is the color of my favorite rose 15:53 Green is the color of the grass that grows 15:58 Yellow is the color of the sun that shines 16:02 Way up high in the blue, blue sky 16:06 Jesus! You sure know how to color! 16:11 Jesus! You sure know how to color! 16:15 Jesus! You sure know how to color! 16:19 Color my life with love! 16:30 Red is the color of my favorite rose 16:34 Green is the color of the grass that grows 16:38 Yellow is the color of the sun that shines 16:43 Way up high in the blue, blue sky 16:47 Jesus! You sure know how to color! 16:51 Jesus! You sure know how to color! 16:55 Jesus! You sure know how to color! 16:59 Color my life with Color my life with 17:03 Color my life with love! 17:13 Oh God, we linger a bit longer 17:15 in this sanctuary 17:16 of this glad worship place. 17:23 We've been much in worship 17:27 as now the Holy Scripture speaks in a way, 17:31 we hope will be clear for us. 17:34 Open our minds, our ears, our hearts, You have your way. 17:39 Instruct us as we begin a new journey today 17:41 in Jesus name, amen. 17:45 You know what, after all the, the mounts-- 17:50 are you following this, the election campaign? 17:53 I mean, please, this thing is interminable. 17:58 After the mounts of hubris that stinky pride 18:03 that had been accumulating through this campaign 18:05 on television, radio ad nauseam, 18:08 it might be the right time for a new series of reflections 18:11 on the subject of humility. 18:15 Although, it would be interesting 18:16 just to put on the screen all the people that we know 18:18 of who've run for office, this year, 18:21 a coveted restraint for President of this land. 18:26 Look at them, you'd recognize some of the faces, 18:28 some of them you don't even know. 18:29 But all of them, I'll tell you what, 18:30 just like our neighbor Muhammad Ali, 18:32 all of these have said at one time or another, 18:35 I am the greatest, I am the best and you must pick me, 18:40 to be the number one leader in this nation. 18:42 You know sometimes, I'm not gonna tell you 18:43 which candidate, on that screen, 18:46 but there's one of those candidates, 18:47 whenever I hear that candidate speak, 18:48 I almost blush with the hubris, 18:52 just the ego that ekes out of every statement. 18:56 You're say, Dwight, 18:57 what are you talking about this hubris? 18:58 Lets put it on the screen, hubris. 19:00 It's a word in our dictionary, "hubris, 19:02 it's a noun that means wanton arrogance arising 19:05 from overbearing pride or passion." 19:08 Just kind of this excess. 19:11 So I'd begin today, a series of biographical sketches. 19:14 I went back over your sermon surveys from last year, 19:16 haven't got into the ones this year, yet. 19:18 But from last year, and a number of you said, 19:20 oh, do some biographies. 19:21 And so we're gonna do some biographies. 19:22 You ask for it, we're gonna do it. 19:24 Six biographies coming up here all focusing on the, 19:29 the antithesis of hubris, the very opposite of pride, 19:32 and that'd be humility, humility. 19:35 Now I need to tell you, 19:37 perhaps it's helpful to note it right here at the outset, 19:40 that generally, not always okay, not always, 19:42 but generally when a preacher preaches his heart out, 19:46 when he tackles a certain theme, 19:47 it is generally a confession, 19:52 but it is subject which he struggles with or she. 20:00 And so we begin a series today entitled, 20:02 "Not I but Christ, Tales of Humility." 20:07 Today's story, "After the Thunder, Missed." 20:10 After the-- and by the way 20:11 that's not mist that's missed. 20:16 "After the Thunder, Missed." 20:20 So let's shift gears and let's go. 20:22 I've never enjoyed or particularly relished 20:29 being the youngest face in the crowd. 20:32 And I don't suppose you did, either. 20:35 When you have a baby face, 20:38 it feels like you never grow up. 20:40 You're always the boy. 20:44 I suppose there comes a time 20:45 when all that plays to your advantage. 20:48 When all of your cohorts are shriveled like prunes, 20:52 but it is small consolation, 20:56 when you want so very much to be taken seriously... 21:04 and they'll treat you like a kid. 21:07 John Boy and I'm not thinking of the Walton's, either. 21:12 John Boy. Was that way for him. 21:17 The boyish face of the youngest 21:19 of the disciples of the Lord Jesus. 21:21 Karen and I just came back from Italy. 21:22 We were in Italy, last week. 21:24 Quinquennial gathering of the church in Italy 21:26 for a congress, it's such a joy to be with them. 21:29 That center filled with Italian, Christian, 21:33 some of the Adventist singing their hearts out. 21:35 Anyway, so we had three extra days to spend in Rome. 21:38 Rome is the capital of Christian heart, 21:40 it's a capital of Christian sculpture, 21:41 you know what, it's just the capital of history, 21:43 period, that's Rome. 21:45 But you see them all over, all over the city, 21:47 the statues of apostles. 21:49 And I'm telling you the gospel truth, 21:50 whenever you come in that little 21:52 that the pantheon of apostles, 21:54 you come to John, he's always, 21:56 he's always portrayed with a baby face, 21:59 beardless, obviously masculine, 22:02 could with a hair that long, look like a girl. 22:06 That's John, John Boy. 22:08 In fact you remember this, 22:10 Daniel Brown in that blockbuster book of his, 22:13 The Da Vinci Code, he's playing on the fact that Da Vinci, 22:16 in the last supper, not in Rome by the way, 22:18 the last supper's in Milan, 22:19 but Da Vinci portrays John, almost like a woman's face. 22:23 I'll put it on the screen for you. 22:24 And of course the whole plot of this fiction, 22:27 that's supposed to be Mary Magdalene, 22:28 that's kind of a under little secret we're passing along, 22:31 of course it's a bunch of hokey-pokey. 22:34 But it's because John looks so-- 22:36 he's just so young. 22:39 So hubris, he's got it in spades. 22:41 When you, when you were a kid, you have to prove yourself, 22:44 you have to climb to the top of that heap 22:46 and you'd do anything 22:48 to establish yourself as a macho. 22:51 That's John, John-Boy. 22:56 It's interesting isn't it? 22:57 We usually hide 22:59 or reveal our inadequacies by our accessories. 23:05 Napoleon, the neighborhood shorty, 23:08 ends up growing up to become the European bully. 23:10 Why? 23:11 Because he's got to, he's got to overcompensate 23:12 for being such a short little rut. 23:16 John Boy, let's go to the first time 23:18 John Boy appears in the synoptics 23:19 by the Sea of Galilee. 23:21 It is the gospel of St. Mark Chapter 1. 23:23 Ian mark. 23:26 John comes on the scene here in the synoptics, 23:28 right by Galilee, this would be-- 23:30 if you don't, you don't have a Bible, 23:32 grab your pew Bible we'll give the page number. 23:33 Here the page number is 673. Six hundred and seventy three. 23:40 Mark Chapter 1, this is the first moment. 23:45 Mark 1:16 "And as He" 23:46 Jesus "walked beside the Sea of Galilee, 23:48 He saw Simon and Andrew his brother 23:50 casting a net into the sea, for they were" what? 23:53 Call it out to me, what were they? 23:54 Come on guys, these, these are fishermen. 23:57 Being a fisherman wasn't high in the social ladder, 23:59 but at least it was on the ladder. 24:02 I mean, you didn't make a huge living, 24:03 but you made a living. 24:04 I've seen Simon Peter's home at Capernaum, 24:06 they say this is where it was, at least he had a house. 24:11 So they're fishermen. 24:13 So Jesus comes up on these two fishermen. 24:16 And "Then Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, 24:20 and I will make you become fishers of men and women.'" 24:27 Hey I got to tell you, this is hardly 24:28 the first time Jesus has met these men. 24:29 They're-- these young men 24:31 are have already have met Jesus. 24:32 They're already quasi disciples. 24:35 But the problem is, they've been trying to juggle-- 24:38 this young master that they're following 24:40 and a career that they're trying desperately to build. 24:42 So they haven't fully cut-off yet 24:44 and Jesus knows that this back and forthness has got to stop. 24:47 I got to have your full time attention 24:49 and so the day it comes, 24:51 you're coming after Me, follow Me. 24:53 Of course you know who I am and I know who you are, 24:55 come on boys, let's go. 24:57 You know these little slimy, silvery things 25:01 that you're wiggling around, no more. 25:03 I'm gonna enable you to fish for human lives. 25:07 You're gonna fish for souls, follow Me. 25:12 Verse 18, "They immediately" 25:14 that should be the two brothers, Peter and Andrew, 25:17 "They immediately left their nets and followed Jesus." 25:19 Verse 19, "When He had gone 25:20 a little farther" down the beach, 25:21 I've been along that stretch of beach in Capernaum, 25:23 when he went a little farther down those rocks, 25:25 because it's not a white sand beach, 25:27 when He went a little farther down the beach, 25:31 "He saw James the son of Zebedee 25:34 and John his brother, 25:35 who were also in the boat mending their nets." 25:40 Because James-- whenever James and John are, 25:43 are listed together, James is perennially named first, 25:46 we automatically conclude rightly 25:48 so that James is the elder brother 25:51 John Boy is the kid. 25:53 All right James and John, now they're also fishermen. 25:56 They're, they're, they're the sons of Zebedee, 25:58 and by the way Zebedee does pretty-- 25:59 pretty well this man does, 26:01 because you'll note in the last verse. 26:03 He has servants. 26:04 So it's not just a father-son deal, they have hired help. 26:07 You got to be doing okay to have hired help, right? 26:10 He's an entrepreneur, so they got'em. 26:13 Jesus, the divine Master, 26:14 He stops before calling these boys 26:16 that barb and little skip, 26:17 up and down trying to get the nets ready 26:19 for fishing again tonight, 26:20 barbing and up and down Jesus reads their lives. 26:24 The divine Master knows before He even calls them, 26:26 you see that elder one right there, the older boy, 26:30 he'll be the first, the first. 26:34 By direct order of Herod himself, you'd be beheaded. 26:37 Number one, be the first to go. 26:38 And you see the little boy, you see John Boy, 26:41 John Boy, he'd be the last. 26:43 He'll hang on with every last finger nail 26:46 to He's the last to bear the reproach persecution 26:49 and toil of loyalty to the Master. 26:51 He'd be the last to go. 26:53 Jesus looked into that boat, 26:54 said, hey boys, you, you, let's go, follow Me. 27:04 "And immediately" verse 20, "He called them, 27:06 and they left their father Zebedee 27:07 in the boat with the hired servants, 27:11 and they went after Jesus." 27:13 That's the calling of John Boy. 27:15 I don't know it, may be he's 19, 27:16 may be he's 20, we don't know. 27:18 He's just a kid; he's with his older brother, Jimmy. 27:22 They're following this Jesus. 27:25 Just turn one page, you can move from the calling-- 27:28 I just love this moment. 27:29 The moment when Jesus says, okay, 27:31 I'm gonna give you a nickname. 27:33 Did you ever get a nick-name when you were a kid? 27:35 Did anybody give you a nickname? 27:36 And has that nick-name stuck? 27:37 There's nothing worse than the nick-name that sticks. 27:39 You got a nickname? 27:41 I got a nick-name with some cousins. 27:44 And how would you like it, if it wasn't just your parents 27:47 or the cousins who gave you the nickname? 27:48 How'd you like it if God gave you the nickname? 27:51 Oh, brother, it would really stick. 27:55 That's what happens here, just turn one page, 27:56 go to Mark Chapter 3, turn one page. 27:59 This is the moment now, Jesus finally has 12, 28:01 this is His inner circle the 12. 28:02 He's gonna, He's gonna appoint these, 28:04 He's gonna anoint these, 28:05 this is the ordination servants we're gonna have right now. 28:07 And so it picks up here in John, 28:09 rather Mark Chapter 3, 28:11 just turn that page to verse 13. 28:13 "And Jesus went up on a mountain 28:14 and he called to Him those He Himself wanted. 28:17 And they came to Him." 28:18 And "Then Jesus appointed twelve, 28:20 that they might be with Him and that"-- 28:21 they might, "that He might send them out to preach, 28:24 and to have power to heal sicknesses 28:25 and to cast out demons." 28:26 They're gonna become full time disciples. 28:28 Just what you and I'd been called to be, 28:29 by the way, full time disciples. 28:31 They're gonna be full time. 28:33 And now we get a listing, among I'd read a partial listing. 28:35 He starts with the, Mark does, 28:37 "Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter;" 28:40 Hey, I like you boy, I'm gonna call you, Rock, Rocky. 28:46 And then He turns, and who does He come to? 28:48 He comes to James and John. Look at that, verse 17. 28:50 "James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, 28:52 to whom Jesus gave the name Boanerges," direct, 28:58 it means, "Sons of Thunder" sons of wrath. 29:01 We kind of view-- we view 29:03 from my eyes did in to "Sons of Thunder." 29:06 You know what He's really saying? 29:08 I mean you try to picture this ladies and gentlemen, 29:09 what happened to an ordination. 29:10 Right now, this is a very serious moment, Lord. 29:13 I just assume, not have a nickname today 29:15 but the Lord stops the ordination and says, 29:17 by the way, before I put my hands on you, 29:19 you know what I'm gonna name you boys, 29:20 I'm gonna call you, "The Hothead Brothers." 29:24 That's exactly right, I'm gonna name you, 29:25 "The Hothead Brothers." 29:29 How'd you like that? 29:30 I don't mind a nickname, 29:31 but if God gives me the nickname, please, 29:33 I'll never get rid of it and he doesn't. 29:37 Hey Mark, by the way, how could the incarnate 29:40 God pick out a nick-name like that? 29:42 What do you suppose to let Jesus to say, 29:44 you're gonna be the hothead bros, with Me? 29:49 Why do you suppose, He gives them a nickname? 29:52 John did it the hard way, he earned it. 29:56 Jesus has been watching these boys 29:58 just from the beginning. 30:01 In fact, Dr. Luke, in his gospel, 30:03 he puts two of the hothead stories side by side, 30:05 so it makes really easy to read them together. 30:06 So let's go to Luke Chapter 9. 30:08 You want to see the hothead stories, this is the evidence. 30:10 Why were these boys be called the hothead brothers? 30:12 Look at this, go to Mark-- from Mark go to Luke 9. 30:17 Luke Chapter 9. 30:22 I hate it when a nickname sticks, don't you? 30:25 Stuck for them, and now you know why, 30:27 now you know why, look at this, 30:28 Luke, Luke 9, take a look in your Bible. 30:30 Let's pick this up in the verse 51. 30:32 "Now it came to pass, when the time had come 30:34 for Jesus to be received up, 30:36 that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." 30:39 He's got to die in Jerusalem. 30:40 He knows that. 30:41 "And He sent messengers before His face. 30:44 And as they went" these messengers, 30:46 "they entered a village of Samaritans, 30:47 to prepare of Him." 30:48 Hey listen, the master's coming. 30:50 We need a little place to stay tonight, 30:52 we'll eat some food, and what happens? 30:55 "But" verse 53, the villagers, the Samaritans, 30:58 "did not receive Jesus, 31:00 because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem." 31:04 Picky, picky, picky. 31:06 I want to tell you something, 31:07 nothing has changed in 2,000 years. 31:08 The president just this week was in Palestine 31:11 and you still have the same contentious. 31:14 If you're going there, you're not a friend of ours. 31:17 Do you know what it used to be that 31:18 if we had a visa from one of those nations in Palestine? 31:21 You couldn't cross the border in to the other, 31:22 and if you had it from the other 31:23 you couldn't get here, it's just got worse and worse. 31:26 Started long ago. 31:29 Now John Boy and James, 31:34 are big on superheroes. 31:38 And that they love history. 31:39 You got to hand that to them, they love history. 31:41 And when that messenger comes back and says, 31:43 you know what, they say we can't even stay here, 31:45 we got to find somewhere else to sleep tonight. 31:46 These boys go apoplectic. 31:48 They just, they just explode hotheads that they are. 31:54 And they pull story right out of history. 31:56 Elijah was their superhero. 31:58 They love that moment when the captain of the guard 32:01 from the battalion in Samaria brought those 50 soldiers 32:05 and Elijah just calls down fire from heaven 32:08 on those rebels and boom, they're nuked, they're gone. 32:11 And so Jimmy and John turned to Jesus said, 32:13 listen Master, just don't you worry about this, 32:16 we will take care of this village just like that. 32:20 Give us a word, and we're gonna nuke that entire town. 32:27 That's exactly what happened here. 32:30 Look at verse 54. 32:31 "And when His disciples James and John saw this, 32:32 they said, 'Lord, do You want us to command fire 32:33 to come down from heaven 32:34 and consume them, just as Elijah did?' 32:36 But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and said" 32:38 you hotheaded, you hotheads, what is the problem with you? 32:44 "'You do not know what manner of spirit you are. 32:47 For the Son of Man did not come 32:48 to destroy men's lives but to save them.' 32:52 And so they went to another village." 32:56 Can you believe that, over a perceived sight, 33:00 Jim and John are willing and ready to obligate 33:04 an entire village of human life? 33:07 Just gone! Because you tipped me off. 33:12 Sons of thunder. 33:14 Now the other story is actually 33:15 just before this one that we read. 33:16 So go up to verse 49. 33:19 When they had a comeback-- when they came back 33:20 from one of their mission and John said, 33:22 hey Jesus, You're not gonna believe this. 33:25 I came across a man, we did, 33:27 a man who's casting out demons in Your name. 33:29 You know what I did? 33:30 I put that man in his place and said listen, 33:32 you can't do this, you're not follower of the Master, 33:34 like we are, cease in this cyst, or-- 33:38 what do you think Jesus, did I do the right thing? 33:42 Jesus answers, verse 50. 33:45 "But Jesus said to him," oh brother, 33:48 "'Do not forbid him, 33:50 for he who is not against us is on our side.'" 33:54 Come on guys, time out, hotheads. 34:00 How often are we just like John Boy? 34:06 Categorizing, oh categorizing our actions 34:08 as always very defensive of glory of Christ, 34:11 when in fact if the truth were known, 34:12 and it'll always says, I did what I did 34:15 for the glory of me. 34:17 I just won't tell you that, 34:18 I say, I'm doing it for Jesus.''' 34:21 Doing it for Jesus. 34:23 I have seen times when men and women 34:26 would refuse to budge from a public position 34:30 they have taken regarding some Biblical truth. 34:33 And there are saying, it is in defensive truth, 34:36 when in fact, it is in defense of pride and ego. 34:42 I'm not backing down now, I got book supporting this. 34:50 I've seen marriages, I've seen marriages just unravel, 34:56 because somebody refuses 35:02 to swallow his pride, swallow her hubris. 35:08 I've seen business associates broken. 35:10 I've watched close friends, severed. 35:17 Because neither guy has willing to admit, he was wrong. 35:21 I've taken my stand, so help me God. 35:25 And God doesn't help you. You're on your own. 35:31 Acts of the Apostles puts it this way, 35:33 James and John had thought that in checking this man 35:35 they had in view the Lords honor. 35:39 But they began to see 35:40 that they were jealous for their own. 35:41 Just pretending, pretending that this was-- 35:43 I'm doing this for Jesus. 35:44 Now, I realize I'm doing this for me. 35:47 I want to be in the inner circle 35:48 and I don't want anyone else there. 35:51 So a little bit of John Boy is in all of us, isn't there? 35:55 Okay, jot this down. 35:56 This is something from your study guide. 35:57 Now, it's a very short study guide? 35:58 Jot this down. 35:59 Acts of the Apostles, page 540, notice this. 36:01 "John did not naturally possess the loveliness of character 36:04 that his later experience revealed. 36:06 By nature," jot this down, "he had serious defects." 36:12 Serious defects, yeah, by nature. 36:18 You know defects are don't just happen-- 36:20 Tribune, I read the Tribune every day. 36:22 Here're the parts being recalled. 36:24 Defect means, there's something wrong with this thing, 36:25 it should've never gone in to the market. 36:28 Can you imagine, can you imagine like 36:30 you and me being born with the defects already? 36:33 God can't recall us. 36:35 He says, I'm gonna have to fix what's already there. 36:37 Look at these, I could not believe this list. 36:40 Eight defects, jot these - you don't have to jot it down, 36:42 just count them, in your mind. 36:44 He was-- speaking of John Boy, 36:45 "He was not only 1, proud, 2, self-assertive, 36:50 3, ambitious for honor, he was also impetuous." 36:53 Boom! I'm ticked and I'm acting on this right now. 36:57 He was impetuous. 36:58 "He was 5, resentful under injury. 37:00 He and his brother were called 'sons of thunder.' 37:01 6, he had an evil temper, 37:03 7, he had the desire for revenge." 37:05 Here's was John's motive, this was his mantra. 37:09 I never get mad, I get even. 37:12 Desire for revenge, I'll get back at you don't you worry. 37:15 Tit-for-a tat, I keep score. 37:18 "Number 8," What's number 8 there? 37:21 "He had the spirit of criticism" 37:22 all of that in the beloved disciple." 37:25 Boy, good news for the likes of you and me, 37:26 wouldn't you say? 37:27 Hallelujah. 37:29 Jesus, if you can do something that kind of a life, 37:31 would you please do something for me? 37:38 You know but what's so utterly amazing for me, 37:41 is that this John Boy, with all that psychological 37:44 and character defects, 37:45 not only ends up in the inner circle of Jesus, 37:47 get this guys, he ends up 37:50 the closest friend Jesus will have on earth. 37:54 Acts of Apostles describes it this way, 37:56 John enjoyed to pre-eminent degree, 38:00 the friendship of Christ. 38:03 It makes you wonder, doesn't it? 38:04 Did Jesus play favorites, is that it? 38:07 Did He play favorites? 38:08 You know what, I know I wouldn't have been 38:09 in the inner circle. 38:10 I'd be out there in the fringes. 38:12 I understand that. 38:13 So I can't help, but feel for those guys. 38:15 Because I remember the times in the gospel stories 38:17 when Jesus would stop the group right here and says, 38:18 hey guys hey, let's see, I want you Peter, 38:21 I want you James, I want you John, you three, come with me. 38:23 We're going behind close doors. You guys stay out here. 38:25 The close doors belongs to Jairus, 38:27 behind those doors he's gonna get a little girl back to life 38:29 and only three of them get to see it. 38:31 I would be feeling it. 38:34 Why wasn't I part of that group? 38:36 Who're these guys? 38:38 When Jesus says stops the group and say, hey, hey, hey, 38:40 Peter I'll take you, John, James, come here boys. 38:42 We're gonna climb this mountain, 38:43 you guys stay down here in the valley. 38:45 And up on top of the mountain, 38:46 Moses and Elijah personally show up 38:48 and Jesus just transfigured. 38:49 I would be tipped that I got left out of that one. 38:54 I'd feel it. Wouldn't you feel it? 38:57 But Jesus says, I want to have some real prayer time now. 39:00 So you guys, lets see, the nine of you stay right here 39:02 at the gate of the garden. 39:03 But Peter, James, John, you three come with Me 39:05 we're gonna have a prayer, 39:06 a prayer season inside Gethsemane. 39:09 I'd have felt that. I'd have said, hey. 39:14 Is Jesus playing favorites? Is he? 39:17 There's one more story I want to share with you. 39:20 Its proof enough, He's not playing favorites at all. 39:21 Go to the gospel of Mark again, 39:23 so we're in Luke, go back to Mark. 39:25 Mark Chapter 10. 39:27 Because one day, one day James and John sat up to Jesus, 39:33 sat right up to His side and say, 39:35 hey, can we talk to You privately please? 39:38 Peter-- rest of you-- 39:43 I want to talk to the Master, just the two of us, you go. 39:47 That moment, they're gonna spring something on Jesus, 39:50 to catch Him off guard, 39:51 may be we'll get what we want that way. 39:53 And that's exactly 39:54 what happened here in Mark 10:35. 39:56 "Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, 39:58 came to Jesus and they said, 'Teacher'" look at-- 40:00 if anybody ever comes to you with this request, 40:02 you just be fore warned, something, 40:04 something you're not gonna be happy with it. 40:07 "'Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.'" 40:12 Anybody ever comes and says, I want you do for me, 40:13 whatever I ask, you'd never say yes, 40:15 till you find out what it is. 40:17 Jesus is brilliant, He's also gentle. 40:20 And so He's gonna let this thing play out. 40:21 He says, okay guys, what is it? 40:23 He's okay the next first. 40:24 What is it? What is it you want? 40:28 According to Him, verse 37. 40:29 They say okay, you want to know 40:30 what we want, here it is. 40:31 "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand 40:34 and the other on Your left, in Your glory.'" 40:38 Want the top two positions, 40:41 two senior vice-president positions, 40:43 please represent You. 40:48 I love this. 40:49 Jesus said to them guys, 40:54 you don't even know what you're asking. 40:57 Do you know what My throne is gonna be? 41:00 Do you what my throne is going to be? 41:03 It won't have a place to sit. 41:05 I'll have to be nailed to that thing. 41:07 You don't want, what you just asked. 41:09 Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, 41:11 be careful what you pray for, ever, ever, ever with God. 41:15 You may just get what you ask for. 41:18 Jesus says, hey talk to me. 41:21 Are you able to drink the cup I'm gonna drink? 41:23 Oh, yes, of course, we are. 41:26 Are you able to be baptized with the baptism, 41:28 I'm gonna be baptized with? 41:29 Yes, indeed. 41:31 Be careful what you ask for because they got exactly 41:34 what they asked for. 41:36 First guy to go-- last guy to hang on. 41:40 They both got it. 41:43 You didn't want it that way, did you? 41:45 Be careful. 41:47 You better be serious 41:48 what you're asking God right now. 41:49 Some of you are in an earnest prayer season with God 41:51 you be very serious what you're asking Him, 41:53 because you may get what you ask for. 41:57 They said, we're able we can do it. 41:59 Jesus said, let Me tell you something, 42:00 I love this, look at this verse 39. 42:04 "They said, 'We're able.' 42:05 Jesus said to them, 42:06 'You will indeed drink the cup that I drink and you end 42:08 with the baptism I am baptized with, 42:10 you will be baptized.'" 42:11 But notice verse 40. 42:12 "But to sit on My right hand 42:13 and on My left is not Mine to give, 42:15 but it is for those for whom it is prepared." 42:17 Now I'm gonna put something on the screen 42:18 that you don't have it in your study guide. 42:19 I want you to see this, this is from "Desire of Ages," 42:21 take a look at this. 42:23 "In the kingdom of God, 42:26 position is not gained through favoritism. 42:31 It is not earned, nor is it received 42:33 through an arbitrary bestowal. 42:35 It is the result of character." 42:37 Isn't that some? Jesus is not playing favorites. 42:41 This inner circle, nope. "It is the result of character. 42:44 The crown and the throne are tokens 42:46 of a condition attained, 42:47 they are the tokens of self-conquest 42:49 through our Lord Jesus Christ." 42:51 You know Jesus is so merciful that these guys 42:53 He could've just cut the legs out from under them-- 42:56 What kind of idiots are you? 43:00 I've got 12 guys following Me, who says you get the closest? 43:04 He could've just diced them, but He doesn't. 43:09 He knows that inside that earthy heart, 43:13 there is an ardent love for Jesus. 43:16 Jesus was always drawn to those 43:20 who were drawn to Him. 43:22 He never played favorites. 43:24 But if you want Me, we're gonna be the best friends. 43:28 He just wants to know, do you want Him? 43:32 If you don't want Him, 43:33 He's not gonna kick the door down. 43:36 He's drawn to the people who are drawn to Him. 43:39 You want an inside circle friendship? 43:41 You want an inside circle position? 43:45 Be a friend. Get drawn in. 43:49 You may end up-- 43:53 But it'll be best thing in eternity for you. 43:57 Draw near. I love that about Jesus. 44:03 You know what, Jesus is really saying here? 44:08 You want to be the greatest? 44:11 Become the humblest 44:12 and you never want to be the greatest again. 44:14 That's what He is saying. 44:15 Look at this-- got to end with this, Now 41. 44:18 "Then the ten heard it," and it says here, 44:21 "they were greatly displeased." 44:22 That's euphemism. 44:24 They were ticked to high heavens. 44:27 Those punks. 44:31 "They were greatly displeased with James and John. 44:33 But Jesus called all of them." 44:34 Gathers the twelve, and He says, hey listen, verse 42. 44:36 "You know that those who are considered rulers 44:38 over the Gentiles lord it over them, 44:39 and their great ones exercise authority over them." 44:42 Remember that by the way, the next time you watch 44:43 this presidential campaign unfold, 44:45 the great one in the world of paganism, 44:47 in the world of Gentiles, the great ones achieve status. 44:52 Jesus says, it's not that way with you, look at verse 43. 44:54 "'It shall not be so among you, 44:55 but whoever desires to" be among 44:57 "be great among you shall be your servant. 44:59 Whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45:01 For even the Son of Man" 45:03 who could've asked for that top throne 45:05 in the universe and already had it. 45:07 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, 45:09 but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." 45:16 Greatest are the humblest 45:17 who don't want to be the greatest at all. 45:20 Clearly Jesus is mixing any favorite status, notions, 45:24 no inner circle here, I'm not playing favorites. 45:27 Not you James, not you John, nope, nobody. 45:32 I'm simply drawn to those who're drawn to Me 45:34 and He reads the hearts of these boys, 45:37 it says, they want Me. 45:44 He draws all, Jesus draws all, but not all will be drawn. 45:49 And by the way, 45:50 that's the difference between John and Judas. 45:54 Two disciples, on the eve of Christ's death, 45:58 it is Judas and John, 45:59 who pressed the closest to the Jesus. 46:02 Do you know on this, you know this that the top two positions 46:04 around the Lords upper table are John and Judas? 46:06 You know that? 46:07 Its-- now you think 46:08 it was Peter and John may be 46:11 James and John, Andrew and John. 46:13 No, no, no, no, the top two positions 46:14 around that Lords table are John and Judas. 46:17 How do we know? 46:18 Because Peter sitting around the table 46:19 he goes-- ask Him. 46:22 For John's right there to ask. 46:24 How do we that Judas was on the other side? 46:26 Because Jesus dips that little piece of bread 46:28 that Paschal bread in to the dipping. 46:34 And He says, the one I hands this to he is gonna betray Me. 46:38 Judas and John making a play at the very end, 46:45 and only one of them follow the Jesus into the garden. 46:47 Only one of them refused to run 46:49 when the rest cut and fled at Jesus arrest. 46:51 Only John Boy made his way 46:53 in to the very inner courtyard of kangaroo trial 46:55 and because there was pounding at the door, 46:56 and he realize it was Peter, 46:57 and he goes back and he tells the gatekeeper, 46:59 let him in and he rushes Peter 47:01 in to the place of his great moral fall. 47:04 Only John followed Jesus to the torturous long night 47:07 and the early morning. 47:08 Only John, of all the disciples, 47:10 only John, followed the master to the summit of Calvary. 47:14 Only John is left, so when Jesus 47:16 in His supreme agony looks down and says, 47:18 to whom can I give My mother, 47:19 there's one boy standing there and He said, 47:21 John Boy, this is your mother. 47:22 Do you understand? Take care of her when I'm gone. 47:26 Only John, everybody's gone. 47:30 Something has happened to John. 47:36 Some mysterious transformation has reshaped this hothead, 47:40 this Son of Thunder who is now willing to die. 47:44 Peter said, I'll die, he's cut, not John. 47:49 Something-- would this be 47:52 too much to conclude, apparently, apparently, 47:57 a daily prolonged exposure to the Savior, 48:03 can actually change your character? 48:09 Huh? 48:12 The guy has changed forever. 48:15 Three-and-half years-- I'll tell you what, 48:16 when I was studying this, 48:17 and doing the research this week, 48:18 my heart just leaped. 48:19 Because I got so many character flaws, 48:21 I don't even know where to start with God. 48:23 But here's the good news that struck me, 48:26 three-and-half years, you can go 48:28 through an entire character transformation 48:30 in three-and-half years. 48:33 Isn't that something? 48:34 I used to think that it takes a whole life-time. 48:36 I can't change in a life-time. 48:37 No, look at John, three-and-half years, 48:40 this Son of Thunder becomes a new man 48:44 and he never changes, 48:45 he stays that way for the rest of his life. 48:50 Guys, don't give up, do not give up. 48:54 I want the Spirit of God is calling 48:56 from deep inside of you saying, 48:57 you can change boy, come on girl, 48:59 you can change, I'll change you. 49:01 Prolonged exposure with the Savior 49:04 apparently changes the one 49:07 who by beholding becomes changed. 49:11 By beholding, we become changed. 49:16 Isn't that amazing? 49:18 I mean that's the greatest news in the whole story. 49:20 Three-and-half years and he's a different man. 49:22 Apparently I don't have to be stuck 49:24 with what I was born with. 49:27 Apparently the defects in my heart can be overcome 49:33 with prolonged exposure to the Lord Jesus Christ. 49:38 What do you say to that, huh? 49:40 Didn't make you want to say, amen? 49:41 Amen. 49:42 Now let me hear an, amen from you. 49:43 Amen. 49:44 Oh, come on guys, that's the good news. 49:49 Matthew 11:29, putting on the screen for you. 49:52 This is the great gospel invitation. 49:53 "Learn from Me, for I am" what? 49:56 Let's say this together out loud. 49:57 "Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart." 50:01 The NIV says, "Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble." 50:05 I'm a humble one. 50:07 Stick around with me John Boy, I'll change you. 50:10 I got to share this with you before I sit down. 50:12 Sevenfold strategy, he has an eight, 50:15 an eight characteristic defect, within him, eight part defect. 50:21 Note in your study guide, sevenfold strategy. 50:23 Here's how you can change, 50:24 here's how I can change, just like John, jot it down. 50:26 "But day after day, in contrast with his own violent spirit," 50:29 this is "Desire of Ages" that classic. 50:32 John, jot it down, beheld the tenderness 50:36 and forbearance of Jesus." 50:38 He just looked at Jesus, just keep looking at Jesus, 50:40 read a gospel story a day. 50:41 Read a gospel story a day from the life of Christ. 50:43 I'm working my way through Luke right now. 50:44 Just read a gospel story a day. 50:46 Behold Jesus. That's what happened with John. 50:48 He beheld the tenderness and forbearance of Jesus. 50:50 He heard," number 2 50:51 "His lessons of humility and patience." 50:52 You'll hear them. 50:54 "3, He opened his heart." 50:55 Okay God, do something, I'm a mess. 50:58 Do you understand, my personality is a mess. 51:01 My character needs help, do something. 51:03 Just open your heart and just say God, do it. 51:05 "4, He became not only a hearer 51:09 but a doer of the Savior's words." 51:12 Jesus will say to you in the morning worship, 51:13 you're gonna do this now and you're gonna say, 51:15 yes Lord, I will. 51:16 Just do what you hear. 51:18 "5, Self was hid in Christ." 51:22 I'll be like that alligator, 51:23 you don't have to have a prominent place, 51:25 just stay where you are. 51:27 God will change the world from that base, 51:29 where He already put you. 51:30 "6, He learned to wear the yoke of Christ." 51:33 Learn from Me, 51:34 for I am gentle and humble at heart. 51:36 And finally, "7, He learned to bear His burden." 51:39 There it is ladies and gentlemen, 51:41 learn from Me Jesus says, 51:45 and John did and he became the humblest disciple of all. 51:48 The humblest disciple, hothead, the humblest disciple of all. 51:52 How do I know? 51:55 Clinching proof, then I'll say that. 51:57 This was just-- there's a boy out of the water. 51:59 How do I know? 52:00 Because when John wrote the gospel, 52:01 when John wrote the story of Jesus, listen to this, 52:04 you will not find in a single place, 52:06 in the gospel of John, the name, John. 52:11 He has left himself out of the story. 52:14 You know you'll find John, the Baptist, 52:15 you won't find John ever named in the story. 52:20 Oh, wasn't he-- is he not 52:21 in the story in the gospel of John? 52:22 Oh, he's there, often. 52:26 But he intentionally cloaks himself with a cold phrase 52:30 he'll use five times in that gospel. 52:33 This is proof, that when you go to Calvary 52:37 in that prolonged exposure, you're changed. 52:41 You don't have to wait till you're 80 to changed, 52:43 you can change right now. 52:45 Here's the proof, I'm gonna show you 52:46 the first place it appears, this cold phrase, 52:48 John, this is our last text, John 13:23, 52:51 take a look at this. 52:52 John 13:23 never forget this. 52:55 This is the proof, John learned the lesson of humility. 52:59 And if there's hope for John with eight serious defects, 53:03 there might be hope for me and you as well. 53:04 John 13:23, and then, "There was one leaning 53:08 on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, 53:12 whom Jesus loved." 53:16 I don't know what you're saying-- 53:17 Dwight, that didn't sound very humble to me. 53:21 Hey, by the way, I'm the disciple that Jesus loved. 53:24 What's so humble about that? 53:26 Because we miss it, we miss it in the English, 53:28 we have to get it in the Greek. 53:29 In the Greek, in the Greek tense 53:31 it's in the imperfect and it goes like this. 53:34 "He was the disciple whom Jesus kept on loving." 53:39 Write it down. 53:41 That's how it is supposed to be translated. 53:42 He kept on loving me, that's John point. 53:46 Five times, in my mess, He kept on loving me. 53:49 In my short fused fury, He kept on loving me. 53:53 In my hubris and pride, He kept on loving me, 53:56 and He drew me closer, and He drew me closer 53:59 and He can keep on loving you and draw you closer and closer. 54:02 Five times, cold phrase, 54:07 I'm the guy in the story that Jesus never quit loving. 54:12 Isn't that great? 54:13 Isn't that great? Hallelujah. 54:15 You know what ladies and gentlemen, 54:16 Jesus will keep on loving you. 54:18 You go to the same Jesus that John went to, 54:20 you get some prolonged exposure with Him every morning. 54:22 He will keep on loving you closer 54:25 and closer and closer, to Him. 54:27 You want to sit beside Me in the kingdom, 54:30 you want to sit on this side? 54:32 You come, you come with Me, 54:34 you'd be baptized with what I am baptized with. 54:36 You drink the cup that I drink. 54:39 You get so close to Me, that we are this, trust Me. 54:44 You'll be in My kingdom, next to Me. 54:50 I want to be next to Jesus, don't you? 54:53 I want to be next to Jesus, 54:55 so I want to be just like John. 54:59 I want to be next to Jesus, so I want to be just like John. 55:04 Prolonged exposure to the Savior, 55:07 I want be changed. 55:09 I got may be three-and- half years, 55:11 may be I got two-and- half years, 55:12 I may only have half-a-year left, 55:14 I need to be changed now just like John. 55:21 You want that? 55:24 After the thunder John's missing. 55:28 He's missed, he's missed an whole book, 55:30 his name isn't even there. 55:31 After the thunder, he's missed. 55:33 There is a mist, a mist of Christ's humility, 55:37 after the thunder in your life, 55:38 there will be the mist of Jesus humility. 55:40 Step into that mist, step in, not I but Christ, 55:46 we honored, loved, exhorted, not I but Christ. 55:50 Not I but Christ. 55:53 You want that? 55:55 I do. I really, really do. 55:59 Let us stand for the benediction. 56:10 Three-and-half years, three-and-half years, 56:15 and we thought it would take forever. 56:21 Oh Jesus, what I pray for myself, 56:23 I pray for this worshipping community, 56:28 for every viewer, for every worshipper. 56:31 May the prolonged exposure 56:33 to who you are, in the gospel story 56:39 have a tangible transforming 56:44 effect on our hearts, 56:47 our characters, our personalities, our lives. 56:52 I want to be humble just like John, who was just like You. 56:57 Grant that to all of us for the glory of our Savior. 57:03 We pray in His name, amen. 57:08 I wanted to take one more moment here 57:10 at the end of the telecast to let you know how grateful 57:12 I'm for your journey with us, 57:15 with our New Perceptions ministry. 57:17 You may think that New Perceptions 57:18 is only about television but I need to tell you 57:21 we do have a website 57:22 which is more than just the study guide. 57:24 I know we go to the study guide every week 57:26 but if you go to our website let me put the address 57:28 on the screen again, www.pmchurch.tv, 57:33 you will find at that website a blog. 57:35 Every Wednesday I sit down on my laptop 57:37 and write up a blog something as commenting on world events, 57:40 something local, something national, you get the blog. 57:42 You want to archive previous teachings from here 57:45 in the Pioneer pulpit you go to that annotated archive 57:49 you can pick out a message it will be sent to you. 57:51 You want to get into the podcast business 57:55 I'm not real hi-tech here on this, 57:57 but if you click podcast you will be able to connect 57:59 instantly with every new teaching 58:01 that comes from the Pioneer pulpit. 58:02 The point is we're trying to connect 58:04 with a generation on the move, on the go. 58:07 Thanks for being a part of it. 58:08 Thanks for your prayer partnership. 58:09 We've got to connect with this generation 58:12 at this time in earth's history 58:14 and I'm grateful you and I are sharing the mission. 58:16 God bless you, until next time. |
Revised 2015-07-19