Participants: Pr. Dwight Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP082016A
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00:08 [ "Speak, O Lord" plays ]
00:37 >> ♪ Speak, O Lord, as we come to You ♪ ♪ To receive the food of Your 00:48 holy word ♪ ♪ Take Your truth ♪ ♪ Plant it deep in us ♪ 00:58 ♪ Shape and fashion us in Your likeness ♪ ♪ That the light of Christ might 01:11 be seen today ♪ ♪ In our acts of love and our deeds of faith ♪ 01:23 ♪ Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us ♪ ♪ All Your purposes for Your 01:34 glory ♪ 01:40 >> I invite you to stand for us to pray this morning. 01:54 Holy God, we recognize you as the supreme being of all of the universe. 02:04 If there's anyone who by virtue of their essence, by virtue of character, authority and power, 02:14 can speak into our lives, it's You. You are the light of the world. 02:19 You are the author of love. You are the master storyteller. And so we come to You this 02:32 morning, Father, to receive the truth that you have for us, the truth that will change us. 02:39 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I'm so excited. This is a Sabbath of many new 02:48 things. We have new freshmen. We have new graduate students. 02:53 We have new transfer students. I bet you we have new faculty and new staff. 02:57 We probably have some new neighbors here, and I want you to take a moment and just 03:02 welcome them. Give them a hearty PMC welcome, everyone that's beside you, and 03:06 say, "Welcome to Sabbath. Welcome to being with one another." 03:10 ♪♪ 03:29 Isn't it good to be home? For all of those of you who are coming back and here early, we 03:34 welcome you home. We're excited that you are here and get to worship with us this 03:41 morning. Our opening song this morning, our opening anthem, is 03:46 "Days of Elijah." You know the song really well. And what it says there is very 03:51 true. These are a different kind of days. 03:56 And if you listen, right in the middle of the song, there's a bridge. 04:01 And it says, "There's no God like Jehovah." You're familiar with it -- 04:06 "There's no God like Jehovah." And here's the picture that I want you to paint. 04:10 Here's what I want you to envision when you think of, "There's no God like Jehovah." 04:15 Think that we're an army, right? We're a happy, noisy army -- we're glad to be here -- whose 04:21 general is the king of the universe, our God. And here's what we're doing. 04:28 We're coming after the enemy because we're gonna strike a deathly blow. 04:32 We have Jesus, Michael, the archangel, with us. And we're coming from a 04:37 distance, so it's gonna start off real low -- "There's no God like Jehovah." 04:40 But as we're getting closer and closer and closer, it gets louder and louder and louder. 04:44 I'm gonna let you know in the song when that part happens because we are in an army that's 04:50 here to serve the direction of the Lord. And we are gonna take out the 04:54 enemy, and we want him to know we're coming for him. [ "Days of Elijah" playing ] 05:13 [ Congregation sings ] 06:04 You got to tell people Jesus is coming. 06:08 ♪♪ 07:01 Here it is. Here it is. Real quiet at first, real quiet 07:03 at first. Here we go. 07:24 Now dig deep. 07:33 Cry it out! 08:00 [ Rhythmic clapping ] 08:28 [ "You Are Holy" plays ] 08:34 [ Congregation sings ] 09:46 That's what she said today. She says, "I will live for you." 11:16 [ "There Is None Like You" plays ] 11:28 [ Congregation sings ] 13:11 We could spend an eternity looking in other places. But why not decide today? 13:20 I'm reminded of the story of the woman at the well who's searching and looking and 13:26 looking in all the wrong places, and then she encounters this carpenter. 13:33 She encounters this messiah, this one that the Scriptures spoke of. 13:38 And this is what he said to her. He says, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty 13:43 again." He's talking about those places that don't really satisfy. 13:48 He says, "But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. 13:53 Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water, welling up to eternal 14:00 life." Don't you want that kind of water, the kind that you will 14:05 never thirst again? Let's not waste another moment. Let's invite Him in and tell Him 14:14 to speak to us. We're back to that opening intro. 14:18 And I'm gonna invite you to stand because we're making a petition before God right now to 14:24 speak to us, Lord. [ "Speak, O Lord" plays ] 14:32 [ Congregation sings ] 15:36 You may listen, but you need to act, as well. ♪♪ 16:51 Some of you are here this morning, and you have several things unresolved. 16:55 You're not financially cleared. You aren't done with registering for your classes. 16:59 Some of you are here this morning, and you have aches and pains and burdens that have been 17:06 pressing on you all week. But here's what I want to tell you -- that our God is special 17:13 and unique and unlike any other god because He says, "Ask, and I will give it to you." 17:20 He says, "Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be 17:25 opened." If you have that kind of courage, to ask a high request 17:32 of the king of the universe, I want you to come forward right now for our prayer time this 17:37 morning and get as close to the cross -- don't be shy -- get as close to the cross as possible. 17:42 We're gonna sing this verse and come and make your petition known before our Lord God as 17:47 Pastor Rodlie prays for us. Come forward. ♪♪ 17:56 [ Congregation sings ] 19:35 >> ♪ Arise, my soul, arise ♪ ♪ Stretch forth to things 19:39 eternal ♪ 19:42 ♪ And haste thee to the feet of thy Redeemer God ♪ ♪ Though hid from mortal eyes, 19:50 He dwells in light supernal ♪ ♪ Yet worship Him in humbleness and own Him Lord ♪ 20:00 ♪ His banquet of love awaits thee above ♪ ♪ Behold, the marriage festal of 20:09 the Lamb is come ♪ ♪ Rejoice, my soul, rejoice ♪ ♪ To heaven lift up thy voice ♪ 20:18 >> ♪ Alleluia ♪ >> ♪ Alleluia ♪ >> ♪ Alleluia ♪ 20:20 >> ♪ Alleluia ♪ >> ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ List to the harps of heaven ♪ 20:30 ♪ Hark to the song victorious ♪ ♪ The never-ending anthem sounding through the sky ♪ 20:40 ♪ To mortals is not given ♪ ♪ To chant its strains all-glorious ♪ 20:47 ♪ Yet sing, my soul, the praise of Him who reigns on high ♪ ♪ Who bought with his blood 21:00 the ransomed of God ♪ ♪ To Him be everlasting power and victory ♪ 21:22 ♪ And let the great Amen resound through heaven again ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ 21:29 ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia-a-a ♪ [ Song ends ] 21:38 >> Amen! [ Applause ] 21:48 >> Thank you, gentlemen. Just what we needed for today -- singing about the cross, blood 21:54 bought. Rejoice, rejoice. Hallelujah. 21:59 He has bought us with his blood. And if you will direct your attention to that board high 22:07 overhead, every name on that board is on that board because she, he, they made a decision 22:14 last night to become moral leaders, to put their lives, put their names on the line for 22:22 moral leadership on this campus. God knows we need moral leadership in this nation, as 22:27 the presidential-election campaign is showing us. We need leaders in America. 22:33 And I am so grateful to God for those names. Praise God. 22:39 By the time you come next Sabbath -- In fact, you come to opening convocation, that canvas 22:46 will be hanging there for all the world to see. Four years in a row now -- 22:51 that's who all these names are, individuals who have said, "I'm putting my name on the line for 22:57 Christ." Good for you. Let's pray. 23:03 Oh, God, rejoice, rejoice, hallelujah, as the men just sang. 23:11 We've been in worship from the moment we walked in. Nothing stopped. 23:19 We're bending our ear. We're hoping to hear from You through Your word. 23:23 Don't disappoint us, please. Don't let this frail voice get in the way of Yours. 23:31 Speak to us. In Christ we pray. In his name, amen. 23:35 Once every four years, the whole world catches this Olympic bug, 23:41 this quadrennial celebration of youth, where the young of the 23:47 world, on a stage of Earth, perform. 23:51 And everybody who's old wishes I could be young again, just like 23:55 them. Even the august 23:57 Wall Street Journal has to get in on the act this last week. 24:02 I'm gonna share an op-ed piece written by the rabbi and minister of 24:07 Congregation Shearith Israel in Manhattan. I can share this because my 24:12 friend Don Wilson tore it out of his Wall Street Journal and shared it with me. 24:17 The story is straight out of the Summer Olympics -- not the Olympics in Rio, but the summer 24:24 games in Paris, 1924. Two British runners, okay? So we got two more runners on 24:31 the scene. Two British runners -- a Jew named Harold Abrahams and a Scot 24:39 named Eric Liddell, a devout Christian. The whole world knows their 24:47 story because 35 years ago this very year, that story was immortalized in the great 24:52 "Chariots of Fire." You remember that? ♪ Dun, dun, dun, dun-dun-dun ♪ 24:57 All right, well, there they are. [ Laughter ] I'll spare you the soundtrack. 25:01 There they are. The world knows their story. So, the rabbi takes that story, 25:07 and he opines. He comments on it. I just want to read a line or 25:10 two from his op-ed piece. "Abrahams, as depicted in the film, feels stung by the latent 25:17 anti-Semitism he encounters in elite English society. Seeing his Jewishness as a 25:22 social handicap, he runs competitively to gain acceptance." 25:26 Yet from a Jewish perspective, Abrahams's life remains tragic. As a rabbi --" a fellow Jew -- 25:33 "As a rabbi, I actually draw inspiration from the life of Eric Liddell, a devout 25:39 Christian. The Scottish runner's religious identity also motivates his 25:45 athletics, though in a very different way. In the film, Liddell's father, a 25:49 missionary --" by the way, a missionary to China. And Eric was born in China. 25:58 In the film, the father tells his son -- I'm quoting -- "You're the proud possessor of 26:01 many gifts, and it's your sacred duty to put them to good use." The father's point is that 26:07 people of faith should sanctify the world, the rabbi says, sanctify the world, don't reject 26:11 it. "Liddell's explanation for why he runs is the most memorable 26:15 quote from film --" and you will recall it -- "'I believe God made me for a purpose, but He 26:21 also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.'" Now the story that we all know. 26:33 "While Americans rightly exult in the achievements of U.S. medalists, 'Chariots of Fire' 26:37 also serves as a reminder that athletics and even patriotism only mean so much. 26:43 When Liddell is informed that a qualifying heat takes place on Sunday, his Sabbath --" this Jew 26:49 writing says, "Well, that's his Sabbath" -- "he chooses not to compete in that race." 26:59 And by the way, it was that decision to miss the 100-meter dash, for which he was 27:06 considered a certain gold medalist, instead to try to run the 400-meter race, where 27:13 everybody's saying, "He's not gonna be able to do it." It was that decision that 27:18 catapulted him to global fame. In the end, Eric Liddell won the gold on the 400-meter race. 27:29 Returned to China, now himself a missionary, and 21 years later, after winning the gold medal, 27:37 died in China in a Japanese prisoner-of-war concentration camp just months before 27:42 World War II ended. I love this poster that they produced for the life testimony 27:49 of this young man and this athlete -- put it on the screen, please -- this athlete who 27:54 became a missionary. You see it there. Can you read the words there? 27:58 "Not for crowds...not for country...not for fame...not for glory. 28:04 He ran for God." But that's the way to live your life. 28:09 You knew starting out here. That's the way to live your life -- run for God. 28:13 Whatever it is you do, run for Him. There's something in the heart 28:19 of even a secular world, as the world has become today. There is a deep admiration. 28:25 There is something that the man of the world, the woman of the world finds extremely appealing 28:32 to see a human being go deep inside of him, deep inside of her for the sake of conviction. 28:40 The world rises up in awe, as we'll see, speaking of deep conviction, in today's story. 28:49 The title of today's story -- "The Well Digger: How to Live Deeply in a Sun-Scorched Land." 28:52 It's a rather obscure story. I daresay nobody here has really spent any time on it. 28:57 But perhaps in this forgotten piece of narrative, there is a secret embedded for us 29:02 third-millennials that we need to get. So, without any further ado, 29:05 open your Bible with me to the book of beginnings, Genesis chapter 26. 29:09 Let's go. Genesis 26. Bring your Bible. New students, every Sabbath, I 29:15 guarantee you we will use it. Genesis chapter 26. I'm in the New International 29:20 version. Whatever translation you have is fine by me. 29:23 You got a device, that's okay. You didn't bring anything, there's a pew Bible. 29:26 Grab it. We're gonna stay here. So, you want to track the story. 29:29 Genesis 26:1 -- "Now there was a famine in the land -- besides 29:35 the previous famine in Abraham's time -- and Isaac --" that's the 29:39 boy of Abraham -- "went to Abimelek, king of the 29:42 Philistines, in Gerar." Now, hit the pause button right 29:46 there. Hold it! Time out! 29:49 Something sounds very familiar here, and that's what's happening. 29:53 The writer of Genesis, who happened to have been Moses, has embedded in the opening salvo to 29:59 this story key words that will remind the reader, who's reading consecutively through Genesis, 30:04 "Wait a minute. I read a story just like this a moment ago." 30:07 Yes, you did -- in Genesis 20, as a matter of fact. Let me show you six parallels 30:12 between Genesis 20 and 26, where we are. Parallel number one -- same 30:16 family tribe. We've got Abraham. We got Isaac. Same tribe. 30:20 Parallel number two -- same land, in the dry Negev region of south Palestine, desert-y, arid. 30:27 Parallel number three -- same city of Gerar, which is the seat of the Philistine fiefdom. 30:34 Parallel number four -- same king, Abimelek, although scholars have finally concluded, 30:40 based on these two stories, "You know what? Abimelek can't be his personal 30:43 name." The stories are way -- You can't have the same king in the same 30:46 story -- in two stories, rather. It's like "pharaoh." It just means "king." 30:49 So, we have the -- we have the king of the Philistines. Parallel number five -- same God 30:54 shows up in the story. Parallel number six -- and so does the same sin. 30:58 Uh-oh. Yep. Keep reading -- verse 2. 31:14 Hit the pause button again. 31:16 I want you to know that with every command of "Go" from God, there is a command to stay. 31:22 You see, some people spend their whole life chasing after a dream somewhere else, usually over the 31:30 rainbow. But here's a story to remind us that happy are they who realize 31:39 that a dream isn't what you pursue somewhere else. 31:43 A dream is what you become where you are. 31:47 Mm. Stay where you are, Isaac. 31:55 And so those of you who are new students here, I'm gonna make a 31:58 little prophecy. 32:00 There will be some moments in your journey at Andrews University when you're 32:03 gonna say, "I'm outta here." I hope in those moments, you will hear the quiet voice of God 32:12 whisper to you what He whispered to Isaac. Verse 3 again. 32:32 "Stay in this land of learning because you're gonna learn. 32:35 You're gonna learn outside of textbooks. You're gonna learn outside of 32:38 laboratories. You're gonna learn life. And the only way Isaac will 32:42 learn the lesson he needs to learn is to stay right there. There are lessons you will learn 32:47 far away from the academics, but will take place right here. Stay in the land. 32:52 Learn with me." 32:54 Verse 4 -- "'I will make your descendants as numerous as the 32:57 stars in the sky -- like I told your daddy, so I'm promising 33:00 you -- and I will give them all these lands, and through your 33:03 offspring, all nations of earth will be blessed because --'" 33:06 verse 5 -- "'Abraham obeyed me -- talking about your papa -- 33:09 he did everything I required of him, keeping my commandments, my 33:12 decrees, and my instructions.' So Isaac stayed in Gerar." 33:20 And if the story ended right there, whoa, we got a beautifully profound promise 33:24 that we can take to the bank. But unfortunately, there is more to the story. 33:31 Dr. James Dobson -- you ever heard that name? Dr. Dobson, James Dobson -- 33:35 still alive, but no longer around, really. The famed child psychologist of 33:39 last century, family counselor, used to love to tell a story about a young dad who's driving 33:44 down the road -- okay, young dad driving down the road, his boy right here beside him, his 33:48 little boy right here beside him. And then the dad does something 33:51 that men do, and men cannot explain this. We do not know why we do this, 33:55 but the dad hits the button, and he drops the window down. And then he expectorates. 34:02 You have to get to be a senior at Andrews University to know that "expectorate" means "spit." 34:07 [ Laughter ] So, he -- [ Imitates spitting ] Out the window. 34:13 He's bringing his eyes back to continue driving when he hears the gurgling sound, the same 34:18 sound, coming from a little throat beside him. And before the father can react, 34:23 the boy went [imitates spitting] all over dad. [ Laughter ] 34:28 Now, Dr. Dobson's point is, like father, like son. That's exactly what we have here 34:34 in Genesis 26. You can't believe it. Yep. 34:38 Verse 6 again -- "So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 34:43 And when the men of that place asked him about his wife --" 34:47 uh-oh -- "he said, 'She is my sister.'" 34:53 Now, the reader of Genesis knows this -- "Again?!" 34:58 This has already happened twice with father Abraham, once when he went down to Egypt -- "Yo, 35:01 she's my -- she's my sis." Almost lost his life. He did it again in Gerar, same 35:07 place, with Abimelek -- lost his reputation. It's possible that Abraham was 35:13 just too shamed to even tell Isaac about it, but whether Isaac ever heard from his dad or 35:19 not, he follows in his dad's footsteps. Verse 7 again. 35:38 Well, there is a seventh parallel that we could add to 35:41 these two stories because both men -- father and son -- 35:43 married, as I've had the good fortune of doing -- a beautiful 35:47 woman. 35:48 [ Laughter ] And both of them were scared stiff that the men of the 35:56 community would stiff them in order to run off with their girls. 36:03 So, they both lied about their wives -- "Yo, she's my sister." "Really?" 36:07 "Yep." "Wow. Pretty good-looking sister." 36:09 "Yeah. You should have seen our mother." 36:11 [ Laughter ] The truth is, it's never smart or clever or cute to lie. 36:18 The price is too high. And the even sadder truth -- Now, listen up. 36:23 If you're ever gonna be a parent one day or you're already a parent, the even sadder truth is 36:28 that the sins -- and I wince when I say this -- the sins of the parents are often 36:34 perpetuated in their children, not by divine decree, but by frail modeling. 36:41 There's a hard disk, Daddy, Mommy. There's a hard disk that is 36:46 watching everything you do and recording every word you say. It's on the hard disk. 36:58 Oh, my. That's a rather somber reminder. The price is too high to lie. 37:07 And so Isaac tears a page out of his father's playbook, and he 37:10 lies. And the Jacob, who's born 37:14 here -- he's already alive. 37:16 Jacob tears a page out of his daddy Isaac's playbook and he lies to his daddy when his daddy 37:21 is old and he cheats him out of that birthright. And then when Jacob has boys, 37:25 they all know the story and they tear a page out of daddy's playbook and they lie to 37:30 daddy -- "You know, some animal did this, must have killed your boy Joseph" -- when they sold 37:35 him as a slave. Lying embeds itself deeply within our fallen hearts. 37:41 You are still young. Don't tear a page out of Genesis' playbook, please. 37:46 Just leave the page there. And yet -- And this is the glory. 37:53 And yet, what a God in this story. Do you remember? 37:57 Do you remember how God described Abraham to Abraham's boy Isaac? 38:00 I want you to go back and look at these words. We just blew through them here. 38:05 Verse 5 -- God is speaking to Isaac, and He says, "Yo, Isaac, 38:08 let me tell you about your dad. Abraham obeyed me and did 38:11 everything I required of him, keeping my commandments --" you 38:15 talk about the eighth commandments, "Thou shalt not 38:18 bear false witness" -- "keeping my commandments, my decrees, and 38:21 my instructions." No matter how severe the 38:25 meltdown you have been through, for the God of the universe, all 38:29 it takes is one confession, and that is washed. 38:33 There's some celestial book in heaven that has recorded that meltdown. 38:37 It is washed from the divine record. What do you say to that? 38:43 Amen. Come on, guys. This is clearly the glorious gospel, the everlasting gospel 38:49 that begins in Genesis and goes all the way through Revelation. You have nothing to fear from 38:54 this God who loves you. And He will start over just like that, wash the record. 39:01 I mean, that's the gospel prophet Isaiah. Isn't that what he said? 39:03 Isaiah 1:18 -- "Though your sins be as like scarlet, they shall be... 39:06 >> "White as snow." >> Yeah. We're gonna have that reminder 39:10 in just five months -- white as snow. Same gospel prophet -- chapter 39:15 43, verse 25 -- "I will remember your transgressions no more." No more. 39:22 Same gospel prophet -- Isaiah 44:22 -- "I will banish your sins like the morning mist." 39:29 I've been out running every morning before the sun comes up. And I'm telling you, these last 39:33 few weeks have been so muggy, so humid. 75 degrees we're talking about 39:38 in the dark, that there are just -- there's these low-lying sheets of mist that you run 39:46 through and sweat even more. God says, "Like the sun that --" [blows] -- "vanishes the mist, 39:52 that's what I'll do with your sin, the record." It's the gospel. 39:56 Paul says, "Here is the gospel. Here is a faithful and trustworthy saying -- 40:02 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst,'" 1 Timothy 1:15. 40:10 What a great note, by the way, to begin a new year. Don't you think? 40:13 Good news for you and me. Okay, verse 8. He's lied. Here it comes. 40:18 Now verse 8 -- 40:28 We are not told what was happening during that caressing. 40:32 All we know is that it would never happen between a brother 40:35 and a sister. 40:41 So, verse 9 -- 41:22 After public deceit and public exposure, God is still willing 41:28 to do business with His man, that man, that husband, that 41:33 father, that patriarch of the tribe. 41:36 God keeps His promises. He keeps His promises. 41:41 "I will bless you." And by the way, don't you 41:44 dare -- Oh, you can't miss next week. 41:46 Next week we're gonna begin a series, and the title of this 41:49 series is "#RxF4Now." That series begins next Sabbath, 41:56 and next Sabbath I will share with you a secret shared with me 42:01 by three individuals, a secret I have found and begun 42:04 incorporating this summer. 42:06 And it has already changed my life. Next Sabbath, the secret that 42:10 will change your life forever. God keeps His promises and blesses Isaac beyond imagining. 42:21 The very same God, by the way, who this new year will bless you in this place. 42:33 He's promised. 42:37 Put the promise on the screen for me. 42:38 I love this promise. 42:48 You know what, ladies and gentlemen? 42:50 It's very okay -- It's very okay to ask God to bless you 42:56 intellectually, to ask God to bless you academically. 43:01 It's okay. In fact, there's a prayer I pray 43:05 a lot, and imagine my surprise when I hear Pastor Rodlie 43:07 incorporate that prayer into his morning pastoral prayer. 43:12 You heard it just a moment ago. 43:13 It's the prayer of Jabez. You know what? I was praying that prayer over 43:18 and over yesterday. I'm saying, "God, we're gonna be in this sanctuary together. 43:23 God, expand your territory. Don't worry about mine. Expand your territory. 43:27 We need a whole new generation of young, moral leaders." And I stand here today humbly to 43:34 inform you that, in answer to that prayer, you see that in front of you. 43:39 What's that prayer? Come on. I want to pray it to you. 43:41 1 Chronicles 4:10 -- 43:43 And Jabez prayed. Here's the little prayer of 43:45 Jabez -- "Oh, God, that You would bless me indeed and expand 43:52 my territory, that Your hand would be upon me so that You 43:56 keep me from evil so that I may not cause pain." 44:00 And the record reads, God said, "You got it, boy. 44:04 You got it." Pray the prayer. 44:07 It's okay to ask -- It's very okay to ask God to bless you 44:11 intellectually, academically while you're here. 44:15 John Henry Newman, one of the great Christian thinkers of all 44:18 time, wrote these words. I put it on the screen for you. 44:21 "That perfection of the intellect, which is the result 44:25 of Education --" that's why you're here -- to perfect the 44:28 intellect -- "and its beau --" that's an Old English word that 44:34 means "attractive" -- "and its attractive ideal, to be imparted 44:38 to individuals in their respective measures -- that 44:41 perfection of the intellect is the clear, calm, accurate vision 44:45 and comprehension of all things, as far as the finite mind can 44:48 embrace them." Wow. 44:52 That's the goal -- comprehend as much as the finite mind can embrace. 44:57 By the way, another great Christian thinker living at the very same time as 45:02 John Henry Newman also wrote the same point. Her name is Ellen White. 45:07 This is in her classic "Christ's Object Lessons," page 333. 45:11 Look at that on the screen. 45:41 Here comes the stinger. 45:54 It's very okay to ask God to bless you intellectually. 46:01 And God will bless you to the max. 46:03 And when he does, look out. Look out. 46:08 Look what happens here -- verse 13. 46:13 "And the man Isaac became rich, and his wealth continued to grow 46:16 until he became very wealthy." 46:34 You see, when people envy you and God blesses you 46:39 intellectually -- when people envy you, do you know what they 46:42 do? 46:43 They plug up your well. That's exactly what they do. Truth is, there will always be 46:49 "well pliggers" -- well pluggers -- yeah, those others, too -- well pluggers around you 46:54 wherever you are. There's always gonna be somebody to throw rocks in there. 46:59 It's probably your deep convictions, all right, you know, like Eric. 47:03 Deep convictions -- you're willing to stand up and say yes. You're willing to stand up and 47:08 say no, like Joseph, Daniel, and Esther did. Come on. 47:11 Somebody like Haman is gonna be around to plug up that well. They'll throw rocks and sand. 47:16 They'll go after you with nails. I'm talking about well-meaning people. 47:20 We're talking about roommates and classmates, friends and colleagues who can't stand to 47:26 see somebody advancing under the anointing blessing of God. There will always be well 47:32 pluggers in your life. Take a page out of Isaac's playbook here. 47:36 What happens if they plug your well? Move and dig another one. 47:38 They get you over there, move and dig another well. I'm telling you what -- if you 47:43 will move and dig, if you'll move and dig, unplug and dig, unplug and dig, you will never 47:49 be out of water -- ever. And that's that point. When you follow the Lord of 47:55 Isaac, you will never be out of water. And it doesn't get any better 48:02 than that. In a dry and barren culture and society, where people are 48:08 panting, trying everything to swallow, hoping, "This will bring satisfaction," and they 48:15 get no satisfaction -- in a society like ours, there will be people -- young, moral 48:23 leaders -- who will drink deeply of a well that will never run dry. 48:31 I mean, what did Jesus -- Pastor José read this a moment ago. 48:34 What did Jesus say to the woman at the well? Come on. Put it on the screen. 48:37 What did he say to her? 48:38 "Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water,' he tells the 48:42 woman, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again --" 48:45 keep reading -- "but whoever drinks I give them will never 48:47 thirst. Indeed, the water I give them 48:49 will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal 48:52 life.'" Do you know what he's saying? 48:54 With Jesus, the water will never run out, ever, ever, ever. 49:01 What did he say to his disciples? 49:02 Look at this -- all in the book of John. 49:04 Here's John chapter 6. What did he say to his 49:06 disciples? Then Jesus declared, "I am the 49:08 bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never 49:10 go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty,'" 49:12 because with Jesus, the water will never run out. 49:15 What did he say to the crowd in John 7? 49:16 Take a look at this. "On the last and greatest day of 49:19 the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'Let 49:22 anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 49:24 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of 49:28 living water will flow from within them.'" 49:31 What's the point? With Jesus, the water will never 49:34 run out. What does he say to the whole 49:36 world to end the book of Revelation? 49:38 22:17 -- here it is -- 49:50 What's the big point, Dwight? With Jesus, the water will never 49:52 run out, not while you're here at Andrews University, not while 49:55 you're on this planet. 49:57 The water will never run out. They'll plug your wells. You'll move. 50:01 They'll plug your wells. You'll dig, dig hard, work deep, go beneath the surface. 50:07 Don't ever be satisfied with surface work. Go deep, and you'll never, ever 50:15 run out of water -- ever. You say, "Dwight, how do I get this water?" 50:22 60 seconds. I'll give to you in 60 seconds. Start the watch. 50:25 How do you get the water? 50:27 They've put them on the screen. Just memorize them in your head. 50:30 You'll get it down. You want water from Jesus? 50:32 One gospel -- you pick the gospel, but stick with that 50:34 gospel till it's over -- one story per day, one story a day, 50:37 in your dorm room, in the community, faculty, staff, 50:40 student -- doesn't matter. Number 2 -- reread the story to 50:43 relive it. Just go back over it. 50:44 Let the story come alive in your mind. 50:46 Number 3 -- what fresh water can I drink from Jesus? 50:49 Ask yourself, "Where's this water in this story? 50:51 It's Jesus' life. There's water here. 50:53 Holy Spirit, show me where the water is." 50:55 Once you find water, write an e-mail to Jesus. 50:57 Number 4 -- you write him an e-mail. 50:59 You just sit down, and you scribble it out. 51:01 You write it out. You just write it and respond to 51:04 the gift of water that you just sensed from that reading. 51:07 And finally, number 5, you then kneel down before the maker and 51:11 creator of universe, who is your personal friend and you offer 51:14 your life for that new day to him and then you're gone. 51:18 Every day, fresh water with Jesus. 51:19 It doesn't get any better than that, does it? 51:21 Because I remind you that, with Jesus, the water never stops. 51:26 Even when they kill him -- phoom! -- water. 51:32 Even when they kill him, he never runs out. 51:36 With Jesus, the water never runs out. 51:40 He's thirsty on the cross so that we would never be thirsty 51:45 again. 51:46 With Jesus, the water never runs out. Everybody who says that's good 51:53 news, say "Amen" with me. >> Amen! >> And Amen. 51:56 All right, I want you to stand. We're gonna sing a beautiful gospel -- gospel song. 52:01 I want to sing this gospel song -- 493. "Like the woman at the well, I 52:06 was seeking for things that do not satisfy." Let's sing it together -- three 52:13 stanzas. [ "Fill My Cup, Lord" plays ] 52:27 [ Congregation sings ] 54:40 We'll sing the last stanza. When we get to that chorus about "fill my cup," don't be 54:45 embarrassed that this will feel like junior one Sabbath school. But let's put our hands 54:50 together, shall we, just symbolically, when we get to that chorus -- "Fill my cup, 54:53 Lord. I lift it up." And just lift it up. 54:55 You don't have to raise it way over your head, but just symbolically, let's tell the 54:59 Lord we're serious. "You fill this, fill us with your water," all right? 55:02 We'll do that on the last chorus, hmm? 55:04 [ Congregation sings ] 56:19 Oh, God, that is our prayer. We lift our empty hearts and humbly pray today and today and 56:29 today, fill this cup with the life-giving water of Christ Jesus our Savior and our 56:40 friend. And now, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love 56:49 of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." Amen. 57:00 >> May I take an extra moment with you and let you know how grateful I am that you joined us 57:03 in worship today? I hear from viewers like you across the nation, and literally 57:07 around the world, and I'm thankful. If you'd like to explore further 57:11 what we have just shared, I hope you'll visit us at our website. 57:13 It's an easy one to remember -- www.pmchurch.tv. 57:19 We're the Pioneer Memorial Church here on the campus of 57:21 Andrews University. So, that's www.pmchurch.tv. 57:26 Click onto that website, and you'll be able to listen to a 57:29 podcast of this material. You can download the 57:31 presentation. You can print off the study 57:33 guide. You may have a special prayer 57:34 need that you wish to share with our prayer partners, or you may 57:37 wish to partner with us through a personal donation to help 57:40 reach this generation with the everlasting good news of Christ. 57:44 If you'd rather talk with someone, call one of our 57:46 friendly operators. Here's the toll-free number -- 57:49 877, and then the two words "His will." 57:51 877-HIS-WILL. In the meantime, may the grace 57:55 and peace of Jesus be yours every step of this adventurous 57:59 way. ♪♪ |
Revised 2016-10-12