Participants: Pr. Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP090410
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00:32 Lord, now indeed I find
00:36 Thy power, and Thine alone 00:41 Can change the leper's spots 00:45 And melt the heart of stone 00:51 Let's sing the third verse together. 00:57 And when before the throne 01:01 I stand in Him complete 01:06 I'll lay my trophies down 01:10 All down at Jesus' feet 01:16 Jesus paid it all 01:20 All to Him I owe 01:25 Sin had left a crimson stain 01:29 He washed it white as snow 01:40 Oh, praise the One who paid my debt 01:44 And raised this life up from the dead 01:49 Oh, praise the One who paid my debt 01:53 And raised this life up from the dead 01:58 Oh, praise the One who paid my debt 02:02 And raised this life up from the dead 02:06 Oh, praise the One who paid my debt 02:11 And raised this life up from the dead 02:18 Jesus paid it all 02:24 All to Him I owe 02:28 Sin had left a crimson stain 02:34 He washed it white as snow 02:47 Amen. 02:48 That same God who sent His Son to die, 02:52 the same God who created the entire universe 02:56 also considers Himself to be our Father 03:00 and when we approach Him in prayer, 03:02 we can call Him Father. 03:05 What a blessing that is to us. 03:12 I have a Maker 03:18 He formed my heart 03:24 Before even time began 03:29 My life was in His hands 03:37 He knows my name 03:43 He knows my every thought 03:49 He sees each tear that falls 03:54 And He hears me when I call 04:02 I have a Father. 04:05 I have a Father 04:11 He calls me His own 04:17 He'll never leave me 04:22 No matter where I go 04:29 He knows my name 04:35 He knows my every thought 04:41 He sees each tear that falls 04:46 And He hears me when I call 04:52 And He hears me when I call 05:01 How many of you have someone in their lives 05:03 or someone that they know, that they think 05:05 it would be impossible for them to come to Christ. 05:10 Impossible. 05:13 I had the opportunity to come and share just briefly 05:17 something that's happened in my life. 05:20 I was speaking to a pastor once and he expressed to me 05:23 how he had a spiritual revival in his own life. 05:27 And he felt like David. 05:28 He said, he told me 05:30 "I feel like I can run a giant." 05:33 I remember sitting there 05:34 and listening to him and thinking, 05:37 I've never felt like that in my whole life. 05:41 During this time I was reading this book 05:43 known as the "Desire of Ages," 05:45 and in a chapter there as a child 05:47 she writes a statement about Jesus, 05:50 when he was a young boy. 05:51 He says "He attempted much because He expected much." 05:56 And I was thinking to myself 05:59 perhaps, the reason that I'm not doing a lot 06:03 is because I don't really expect 06:04 that God's gonna do a lot for me. 06:07 See my God was the God of the lost keys. 06:11 I serve the God that helped me get to class on time. 06:16 I serve the God that made sure that nobody else noticed 06:19 that spaghetti stain on my shirt. 06:22 That was the God I served. 06:25 And so during time I was reading Testimonies, 06:27 she talked about how before she became a prophet, 06:29 how one by one she started working 06:32 in the lives of all her friends and so they were all converted. 06:34 And I said "Well, if she can do it, why not me?" 06:38 The Bible says that God is the same 06:39 yesterday, today and forever. 06:40 So I'm not waiting on Him. He's waiting on me. 06:44 And so I decided, all right, I'm going to attempt much 06:49 and really expect that God's gonna do a lot for me. 06:53 And so I talked to my family and some of my friends 06:56 and we started to write down on a piece of paper 06:59 people that we thought it would be impossible, 07:01 a literal miracle for them to come to Christ. 07:06 And to make a very long story short, 07:09 ladies and gentlemen, 07:10 I have seen the impossible done. 07:14 I have seen atheists going to church. 07:17 I have seen addictions 07:19 that have been longstanding broken 07:22 and by God's honoring glory, 07:23 I have seen at least already three baptisms 07:26 and expecting many more, including my very own brother. 07:30 Folks, we serve a God who can do the impossible 07:35 and there is power in prayer. 07:41 Happy Sabbath, everybody. 07:45 This morning we're bringing you comfort in words and in music. 07:52 We come from Arkansas, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, 07:58 Berrien Springs and Wisconsin. 08:03 And we bring you music in a Nigerian language, Yoruba, 08:09 it says "So Wa Oluwa." 08:12 So to keep you in tune with the song 08:13 I'm gonna give you a few definitions. 08:16 When we say or sing "a labada" and we do this, 08:22 we're asking for strength. 08:26 When we say "aayo," we're asking for joy. 08:31 When we say "okun," we're asking for endurance 08:38 to go and to continue on this journey 08:44 until He returns. 08:46 "So Wa Oluwa," save us and guide us, dear God. 11:21 The One who died and now lives, 11:27 the One who saves, 11:31 He is calling, He is waiting. 11:35 Give Him your heart, hold His hand. 11:39 Let Him guide you. Hold on. 12:52 Thank you. 12:55 Thank you, Ambassadors. 12:57 What a revival prayer, 12:59 "So Wa Oluwa," save us, our God. 13:06 Last night I'd some quiet time, just doing some brooding 13:13 over this journey that we have commenced together, 13:19 thinking what would a revival 13:20 at Andrews University look like. 13:24 I mean a full blown Holy Spirit revival. 13:30 So I opened up my Bible there in my little study at home 13:35 and find these familiar words. 13:37 I'm opening up my new Andrew Study Bible at home 13:42 and I find these words and I noticed 13:43 something interesting in the note. 13:46 So if you're a freshman you already have your Bible here. 13:51 Take a look at Joel, 13:52 the little book of Joel Chapter 2, Peter, 13:57 you remember preached these words on the day of Pentecost. 14:01 So I want to share this with you, then we'll have 14:02 prayer and plunge into today's teaching, all right? 14:04 Joel 2:28. 14:10 I am thinking what would revival 14:12 on this campus look like if God answered our prayers. 14:17 "And it shall come to pass afterward, 14:19 that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh." 14:23 So I jumped down, I want to read the note 14:25 and the author of the note, one of our scholars here, 14:28 the author of the note points out 14:31 that God's gift of His Spirit 14:33 is not limited by three categories, 14:35 and here come the three categories. 14:36 Number one, it's not limited by gender, 14:39 "I am gonna pour out my Spirit on all flesh. 14:40 Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." 14:44 It doesn't matter the gender. 14:45 Number two, it's not limited by age, 14:47 "Your old men shall dream dreams 14:49 and your young men shall see visions." 14:51 Young women see visions. 14:53 And then number three, 14:54 it's not limited by social status. 14:56 It doesn't matter who you are, who your daddy was. 15:00 "And also on my menservants and on my maidservants 15:03 I will pour out my Spirit in those days." 15:06 When the mighty outpouring comes, 15:08 it is cross generational, multi-ethnic 15:14 and it is concentrated 15:15 where people are gathered together 15:17 in one accord and are in prayer. 15:20 And by the way, it's not just getting filled 15:22 with warm spiritual fuzzies that the revival is all about 15:25 because you drop down to verse 32 15:26 and that revival comes it will come to pass 15:29 that whoever calls on the name of the Lord 15:31 gets saved on that spot, at that moment. 15:37 So I'm thinking, "God, here we are, 15:38 we've just embarked on this 40-days of prayer. 15:41 What would happen if we were bound together 15:46 with this passionate quest for Andrews University 15:51 and the Pioneer Memorial Church, 15:53 that at the beginning of this school year 15:56 you did something supernatural, 15:58 you did something beyond the ordinary in our midst?" 16:03 That's why, guys, we have embarked on this 40-days 16:07 and 40-nights of prayer. 16:08 That's why last Sabbath I preached on it. 16:13 We handed out the books as you left. 16:15 We gave out last Sabbath 1,500 books, 16:20 we gave another 250 out, 16:21 people came that didn't have the books 16:24 our opening night September 1, here in the sanctuary. 16:29 And because we have collectively embarked 16:31 on this journey together I am absolutely convinced 16:38 that if you will join us, 16:41 if you will be willing to commit the next 40 days 16:46 to ask for a baptism of the Holy Spirit in your life 16:48 and to pray for five lost people, 16:51 as Edwin was just sharing a moment ago, 16:52 pray for five lost people, I am utterly convicted 16:58 that God will be released to do something 17:01 he has perhaps never been able to do in our midst. 17:06 I'm dreaming of a revival. 17:08 I am praying, God, we're at the end of time. 17:12 Jesus is coming soon. 17:13 You're not waiting for another headline, 17:15 you're waiting for your church to wake up. 17:17 Give me everything you have. 17:20 And so here is the deal. 17:22 I'm joining pastor Aster-- 17:28 I need you to come out on Wednesday night. 17:31 Now we need just the numbers, 17:35 the sheer numbers united in a shared passion. 17:44 If you're free Wednesday night at 7 o'clock, 17:47 come on-- come here to the sanctuary. 17:49 We're out at 7:45, it's 45 minutes. 17:52 It's not a preaching service. 17:53 We get right-- We move right into praying. 17:57 If you could come, this business of all together, 18:01 in one accord, in one place, why not? 18:04 Come on, come on out, Wednesday night. 18:08 Share-- 18:10 Claim the promise of that outpouring. 18:13 God will do something, God will do something 18:16 we've never dreamed could happen in our lifetime. 18:21 Why not? 18:23 Please, do it for your pastor. 18:27 Come on out and let's pray together, Wednesday night. 18:31 Let's pray right now. 18:32 Oh, God, so wa oluwa. 18:37 Almighty God, save us. 18:40 We can't save ourselves, we can't save this world, 18:44 but we can go to our knees and so, Holy Father, 18:50 do whatever it takes, band this campus together 18:54 in a shared spiritual quest 19:00 and leave us never the same again. 19:02 We're not telling you how to respond, 19:04 you respond in your own way. 19:05 Just use us and fill us and let this teaching, 19:12 this critical teaching this morning, 19:13 let it be clear to all of us. 19:16 I humbly pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 19:21 I'm not gonna say the government 19:23 by its response to this crisis reminds me of God, 19:28 but what I want to say is 19:30 the Chilean government facing the mining disaster, 19:36 the way they responded 19:40 reminds me how God may be facing a very similar dilemma. 19:45 I mean you think about it. 19:46 Everybody is following the story, right? 19:48 Thirty-three men trapped, one half mile 19:51 down inside the bowels of this mountain, 19:54 hallelujah, found alive and well. 19:59 Then the government moves into the rescue 20:01 and discovers that in order to drill 20:03 a 28-inch hole through which they're gonna extricate all 33 20:08 through solid one half mile rock, 20:11 it will take them possibly until Christmas. 20:16 And so the government announces 20:17 a gag order on all communication. 20:20 No-- No fam-- Nobody say a word to them 20:23 about how long this is gonna take. 20:25 We can't break their spirits, we can't dash their hopes, 20:29 we can't crush their expectations. 20:32 Mum's the word, until last week somebody spilled the beans. 20:36 Yep, the health minister of the Chilean government himself, 20:41 on purpose, 20:43 through a line lowered to that tiny little tube 20:45 that they've got going down to that little chamber 20:49 radio messaged to the men below, "I'm sorry, amigos, 20:54 but we're not gonna get you as fast as you think. 20:56 It may take us until Christmas. 20:59 And so coming down this lifeline right now 21:03 are antidepressants. 21:06 Take the pills and deal with your disappointment." 21:12 I think of that dilemma and I'm thinking to myself, 21:15 wait a minute, wait a minute, isn't that, 21:16 isn't that, isn't that the picture of God 21:18 without the antidepressants part? 21:22 Isn't that the picture of God 21:23 looking down through the universe into the dark, 21:27 collapsed mine shaft of this fallen planet? 21:30 And there His children are entombed 21:32 and he's talking to everybody up on top, 21:35 "Hey, guys, what are we going to do? 21:36 We can't tell them how long this is going to take 21:38 before we can successfully extricate them from that hole. 21:42 So what shall we do? Shall we tell them anything? 21:44 Shall we parse out the secret portion by portion?" 21:49 Spilling the secret, the title of today's teaching 21:53 from an ancient line written by a very minor prophet 21:57 who packs a very major wallop, prophet Amos, 22:04 and God through Amos saying, "Hey, I want you to watch 22:07 how I spill the secret one portion at a time." 22:12 Open your Bible up to the teaching today 22:14 found in Amos 3, Old Testament. 22:17 If you got-- If you found Joel you're there, 22:20 it's the next book right after Joel. 22:22 Find Amos 3, 22:25 I'm gonna be here in my New King James version. 22:29 If you didn't bring a Bible, 22:30 grab the pew Bible in front of you 22:32 so that you get-- you'll be able to track this, 22:34 just one line, amazing, amazing line. 22:37 The very dilemma the Chilean government faced, 22:39 God has been facing all these millennia. 22:42 By the way, that would be page 618 22:44 in your pew Bible, Amos 3, to get to the line 22:47 I want to begin at the beginning of the chapter. 22:48 We'll have a little run on to that line. 22:50 Amos 3, pick it up please in verse 1, Amos 3:1, 22:55 "Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, 22:59 O children of Israel, against the whole family 23:01 which I brought up from the land of Egypt," 23:03 you're my people, you're my children, listen up. 23:08 "You," verse 2, "You only have 23:10 I known of all the families of the earth, 23:13 Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." 23:17 Ouch. 23:19 'Cause when you're on the inside, 23:22 when you're a part of that inner circle 23:24 to whom much is given, how does it go? 23:26 To whom much is given, much will be required. 23:29 It makes me think of the words of Richard John Neuhaus. 23:32 Boy, he was spot on when he wrote 23:34 "It is a fearful thing to be chosen." 23:38 When you end up being chosen, it's no picnic. 23:43 Of all people I was counting on you. 23:46 You let me down. 23:48 Now God launches a series of seven 23:50 rhetorical questions, watch this. 23:51 You know what a rhetorical is, don't you? 23:53 A rhetorical question is that question 23:55 that implies the answer tucked inside of it. 23:59 So that if I-- if I say to you, 24:01 here is a rhetorical question. 24:02 If I say to you, "Yo, isn't this a gorgeous day?" 24:06 I'm not hoping that you'll respond "Man, I hate it." 24:11 I am expecting that you're gonna say, "But of course." 24:16 So here they come, watch them, 24:17 seven of them, God lines them up. 24:19 Here they go, Chapter 3:3, rhetorical question number 1 24:23 "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" 24:25 No, how could I walk with you-- 24:27 you and I go for a walk this afternoon 24:28 if we don't make an appointment together. 24:30 You got to be agreed. 24:31 Rhetorical question number 2 24:32 "Will a lion roar in the forest, 24:34 when he has no prey?" 24:35 Nope. 24:36 He's gonna roar when he's got it. 24:37 "Will a young lion cry out of his den, 24:39 if he has caught nothing?" 24:40 Nope. 24:41 Rhetorical question number 4 24:42 "Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, 24:44 where there is no trap for it?" 24:45 No. How could it? 24:47 Rhetorical question number 5 24:49 "Will a snare spring up from the earth, 24:51 if it has caught nothing at all?" 24:52 Nope. 24:53 Rhetorical question number 6, verse 6 24:55 "If a trumpet is blown in a city, 24:57 will not the people be afraid?" 24:58 Yep. 25:00 And finally rhetorical question number 7 " 25:02 If there is calamity in a city, 25:04 will not the Lord have done it?" 25:07 God it would have been-- Then he goes 25:11 "Surely the Lord God does nothing, 25:13 unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." 25:16 In a deft literary twist what Amos does is, 25:19 we're expecting another rhetorical question. 25:21 Amos should have asked, "Will not the Lord 25:24 reveal His secrets to His servants, the prophets?" 25:26 Yep. 25:27 But, oh no, he catches us off-guard and he quickly 25:30 moves from the interrogative to the declarative 25:33 and he says, "Yo, God will do nothing 25:37 without first revealing His secret 25:39 to His servants, the prophets." 25:42 Brilliant. One line. 25:47 God has apparently a select circle, 25:51 an inner circle on this planet 25:55 that He uses to spill His secrets, 26:00 that we can call the prophets God's secret spillers. 26:03 I want to nail that point down 26:04 before it gets past my mind and yours. 26:06 Would you grab your study guide, please, right now? 26:07 It's inside your worship bulletin. 26:09 Pull that study guide out. 26:10 If you didn't get a study guide out, 26:11 so let's make sure everybody gets it today, 26:13 because you're gonna want this study guide. 26:16 Just hold your hand up as our friendly ushers 26:17 come your way, up in the balcony, 26:19 those of you sitting in the overflow, 26:21 we're glad to have you as well. 26:22 If you need a study guide, just hold your hand up, 26:24 we'll get a study guide to you. 26:26 And while these are going out, I want to say to those of you 26:28 watching on television, we're delighted to have you. 26:30 You can have the same study guide, go to our website. 26:32 Let me put it on the screen for you. 26:34 There you see it, at the bottom of the screen, 26:36 www.pmchurch.tv. 26:41 You go to that website, 26:42 you're looking for the new series, 26:43 brand new, this is only part two, "The Gift". 26:46 By the way, if you missed part 1, 26:47 it's already there in podcast and videocast. 26:49 You can get it, it's sitting there right now for you, 26:52 but this is part 2 and the title of this teaching 26:54 "Spilling the secret." 26:57 When you get to "Spilling the Secret, 26:58 " it says study guide right there, you click on it, 27:00 you'll have the same study guide we have. 27:02 Delighted to have you. All right, let's go. 27:04 We got to move, Amos 3:7, 27:06 let's jot it down, put it on the screen. 27:09 This is the verse, Amos 3:7, 27:12 "Surely the Lord God does nothing." 27:13 Will you fill that in please? 27:14 There are three keywords here that you need to fill in. 27:16 "Surely the Lord God does nothing 27:18 unless He reveals His secret." 27:21 Notice something-- By the way, how much of nothing is nothing? 27:26 Nothing. 27:27 God does nothing without revealing His secrets 27:31 to His servants, the prophets. 27:34 They are-- 27:35 In fact, keep your pen moving. 27:37 We'll go to the very next slide. 27:39 God's prophets were His confidants, 27:43 His "secret-spillers," we'll call them. 27:46 Thus you can understand, ladies and gentlemen, 27:48 theirs was not an ordinary relationship, 27:50 God and His prophets. 27:51 God drew them into His inner circle. 27:54 That's why Abraham Heschel, 27:56 the Great Rabbi of the 20th-centurty, scholar, 27:59 in his magisterial two volume series called "The Prophets," 28:02 I've got those two books, I tell you dynamite. 28:05 Abraham Heschel describes the prophets this way. 28:08 You'll have to fill it in. Put it on the screen. 28:10 "The prophet claims to be far more than a messenger." 28:15 Notice what he is saying here. 28:16 "He is a person who stands in the presence of God, 28:19 who stands, " according to Jeremiah 23:18, 28:22 "who stands in the council," and by the way, 28:25 I put that little sidebar in there 28:26 because you need to know that the Hebrew word for "council" 28:29 is the same Hebrew word for "secret" that we just read. 28:32 God will reveal His secret through His prophets. 28:35 So this prophet stands in the council of the Lord, 28:39 in other words, the secret council. 28:40 "Who is a participant," Heschel goes on, 28:42 "as it were in the Council of God, 28:44 not a bearer of dispatches 28:46 whose function is limited to being sent on errands." 28:49 Now here it goes. "He is a counselor." 28:52 Jot that in please. 28:53 "He is a counselor as well as a messenger." 28:59 The point, there is a very close 29:02 and even intimate relationship 29:03 between God and the prophet of God 29:05 to the place that Amos, get this, 29:07 the prophet Amos can argue with God to change God's mind. 29:11 I want you to watch this happen. 29:12 Just turn one page over 29:13 or maybe two pages in your Bible to Amos 7. 29:17 Look at this. 29:19 A massive locust attack has taken place 29:22 in the northern kingdom where Amos is ministering, 29:25 the ten tribes. 29:26 Massive locust attack. 29:28 Amos is crushed by this judgment, 29:32 this apparent divine judgment. 29:33 So notice verse 2, "And so it was, when they," 29:36 the locust, "had finished eating the grass of the land 29:38 that I said: 'O Lord God, forgive, I pray! 29:42 Oh, that Jacob may stand, for he is small.' 29:46 "Please be merciful to us. 29:49 "So," watch God, 29:51 "So the Lord relented concerning this. 29:55 'It shall not be,' He said." 29:58 That's how close the prophet is, 30:00 that's how close the prophet is with God, 30:02 changing His mind, attempting to. 30:05 So that Heschel now-- Keep your pen moving. 30:07 Heschel observes, "When the secret, 30:11 " that Amos 3:7 talks about this secret that God reveals. 30:14 "When the secret revealed is one of woe, 30:17 the prophet does not hesitate 30:20 to challenge the intention of the Lord," 30:21 as we just saw, 7:2. 30:23 "When the lives of others are at stake, 30:25 the prophet does not say 'Thy will be done,' 30:27 but rather, 'Thy will be changed.' 30:31 "Jot that down. 30:32 Thy will be changed, Amos just did it. 30:35 By the way, that's what the prophet Abraham does. 30:37 God, you don't-- Whoa! 30:39 God, you don't mean you're gonna destroy Sodom, are you? 30:41 Not Sodom. 30:43 God, if there are 50 people in Sodom, 30:44 won't you keep us alive? 30:46 45? 40? 30? 20? 10? 30:47 Yep, I'll do it, I'll do it, 30:48 I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do it. 30:50 The prophet trying to change the mind of God. 30:54 Isn't that amazing? 30:55 That's how close they are. 30:58 Inner circle. 31:00 In fact would you jot it down please? 31:02 "A very unique and close relationship 31:05 has ever existed between God and His prophets." 31:10 Very close. 31:11 You can use the word "intimate" between God and His prophets. 31:15 Now keep going because the sentence goes on, 31:17 "Because such a relationship," and here's the key point, 31:20 "Such a relationship manifested through the gift of prophecy- 31:24 was utterly essential and strategic 31:27 in the divine gift of salvation." 31:30 That's what's at stake. 31:32 It's not about, "Shall we have a gift called prophecy?" 31:33 No, no, no. 31:34 The huge, the huge issue is the gift of salvation 31:40 driven by the desire to give that gift to the human race. 31:43 God comes up with the gift of prophecy. 31:45 In fact, weren't we talking about that last week? 31:47 Weren't we in the garden last week at the gates, 31:49 the locked gates of the garden, two gifts. 31:51 Remember that? 31:52 Two gifts that God gave to the human race, why? 31:55 Because the creator could no longer enjoy 31:58 face to face communion. 32:00 Some of you have been brooding over that thought 32:02 and saying "you know what? 32:03 What's the big deal with that? 32:05 God, why don't you just go ahead 32:06 and talk to us face to face?" 32:08 Ah, look at, it's not that God 32:10 doesn't want to talk to us face to face. 32:12 It's that he can't talk to us face to face. 32:15 Look at, when you go, when you to into a darkroom 32:19 and you turn on the light, okay. 32:22 Where does the darkness go? Does it run for cover? 32:25 Hide under the bed? Where does the darkness go? 32:29 The fact of the matter is, ladies and gentlemen, 32:30 darkness and light cannot co-habit the same space. 32:35 When light comes in, darkness is gone 32:38 and that's why God cannot say, "Hey, Dwight, 32:40 yo, I want to come down, I want to meet you 32:42 where you're having your prayers 32:43 and worship today, so just to keep the door open. 32:46 I'll be walking through in just a moment." 32:47 God cannot walk into my space. You know why? 32:50 Because there is still darkness in Dwight's heart. 32:53 There is still darkness in my mind. 32:54 There is darkness in my body. 32:56 It clings to me or I cling to it 32:58 and if light walks in to where that darkness is, 33:01 boom, the darkness is gone. 33:02 And if I'm holding onto that darkness 33:03 in any way, poosh, I'm gone. 33:09 God says, "I can't do this to you, boy. 33:12 We're gonna have to do this whole thing not face to face. 33:18 I'll kill you and I don't want that." 33:21 And so He gives two gifts to the human race. 33:24 Because we can't go face to face, 33:26 God says, "I'm gonna give you a gift whereby 24/7, 33:30 I don't care where you are on this planet, 33:32 24/7 we will meet face to face." 33:37 Face to face. 33:38 Look at this, Hebrews 11:6 33:41 "But without faith it is impossible to please God, 33:45 for he, for she who comes to God must believe that He is, 33:50 and that He is a rewarder of those 33:51 who diligently seek Him." 33:53 God says, we can't do face to face, 33:54 but if you're just lisp face to face you get faith to faith. 33:58 We'll do faith to faith together. 34:00 Prayer, because I need to hear from you 34:03 and the gift of prophecy, 34:04 yeah, I'm gonna give you a second gift 34:05 at the gates of the locked garden. 34:07 I'm gonna give you this mysterious collaboration 34:09 between the divine and the human 34:10 whereby certain select individual human beings 34:14 though they're very human foibles 34:16 and failures are more than obvious. 34:19 Don't you miss next week, oh my, 34:20 of maniacs and fools and other such gifts. 34:24 It's heartrending. 34:25 They are utterly human. 34:28 But in spite of their foibles I picked them 34:32 and they will spill my secrets to you. 34:34 Listen up to them. 34:36 Now, I am talking to you. 34:38 Gift of prophecy. In fact, let's read it again. 34:41 That's what's happening here, Amos 3:7 34:43 "Surely the Lord God does nothing, 34:46 unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." 34:51 I mean, you know, folks just think about this. 34:52 What does this say about the character of God? 34:55 You know, He could have said "Hey, adios, don't call us. 34:59 We'll call you." 35:00 But instead, He gives two gifts because-- 35:03 What is the passion of His heart? 35:04 I have got to keep in touch with you. 35:07 I'm doing everything, everything divinely possible 35:11 so that we are never separated. 35:14 What does it say about God? Does He love you or what? 35:18 24/7, 24/7. 35:21 Wow. 35:24 So why should we be surprised then to discover 35:29 that when we trace the salvation story 35:31 from beginning to end, look what we discover 35:33 before every major chapter in the salvation story. 35:38 Just before the chapter is to begin, 35:40 God raises up one of these inner circle secret-spillers. 35:45 Every time. 35:46 Watch this 35:49 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God." 35:51 Amos is being clear on that. 35:53 Yeah, the secret things belong to God, 35:55 "but those things which are revealed, 35:57 "the secrets He's already spilled, 35:59 "belong to us and to our children forever." 36:02 Why is God sending these secrets? 36:04 So "that we may do all the words of this law." 36:07 So that we may be in the heart of His salvation journey. 36:11 The whole point of it, the whole point of it 36:14 is because He wants to save you and me, that's it, 36:16 two gifts, to save the likes of you and me. 36:19 So, God, how does this work? You send your secrets down? 36:21 I mean how do you do it? 36:23 New Testament now, 2 Peter 1:19-21 36:27 "And so," Peter says, remember 36:29 "we have the prophetic word confirmed, 36:32 which you do well to heed as a light 36:34 that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns 36:38 and the morning star rises in your hearts." 36:41 How does this work? 36:42 Well, you need to know this first, 36:43 "that no prophecy of Scripture 36:45 is of any private interpretation, 36:48 for prophecy never came by the will of man, 36:51 but holy men of God spoke 36:53 as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 36:56 That's what's happening, God's taking His secret 36:58 and entrusting it to these select chosen ones. 37:03 They'll be my messengers, they'll be my prophets, 37:05 they're my servants. 37:08 Read it again, Amos 3:7 "Surely the Lord God does nothing, 37:14 unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." 37:17 Would you jot this down please? It is the truth. 37:20 Before every major chapter of salvation history story 37:25 God first raised up a prophet. 37:28 That's the point. 37:29 God raised up a prophet to announce the divine secret 37:33 of the impending salvation event. 37:37 Let's just check this out, okay? 37:39 I want to share with you 37:40 seven major chapters from salvation history. 37:42 When it's over, I'll sit down and we're through. 37:44 Seven chapters, let me run these by you real quick, 37:46 keep your pen moving. 37:47 Seven spilling-the-secret chapters in salvation history 37:51 where God raises up a prophet first to prepare His people 37:54 for what is just about to happen. 37:57 Chapter number 1, we're just-- 37:59 These are not-- These aren't all of them. 38:01 I just picked seven of them, all right? 38:02 Chapter number 1, jot it down, the flood. 38:05 And who would be the prophet associated with the flood? 38:07 But of course our friend Noah, yeah. 38:12 I mean what a monumental chapter in salvation history. 38:16 God's primeval creation obliterated by a global flood. 38:20 Let's just read a few words from Genesis 6. 38:22 We'll just-- We'll read it off the screen, 38:24 "Then the Lord--" 38:25 You know, I read these words and I keep thinking, 38:27 "Am I looking at the third millennium? 38:29 Is this the 21st-century in my homeland?" 38:32 "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man 38:34 was great in the earth and that every intent 38:36 of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 38:39 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth 38:42 and He was grieved in His heart." 38:44 You'll say how can anybody be sorry 38:45 that you made-- you made that child? 38:48 Listen, I have talked to some parents 38:51 whose hearts are so broken 38:53 over what has happened to their children 38:55 that they dared to breed the thought, 38:58 "I wish to God that we hadn't brought that life. 39:04 Look what has happened." 39:07 Don't you tell me that there aren't parents' hearts 39:10 who are broken and wondering did I do the right thing. 39:13 God's no different. 39:14 He's shown-- He's shown as a parent. 39:16 God says, "Look, I'm sorry, 39:19 but I'm gonna have to destroy humanity 39:21 whom I have created from the face of the earth, 39:23 both man and beast, 39:24 creeping things and birds of the air, 39:25 for I am sorry that I have made them." 39:28 But hallelujah, Noah, got him, I found one. 39:34 "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." 39:37 It wasn't just Noah, there was a whole community, 39:39 the community of Seth. 39:40 I got Noah. "This is the genealogy of Noah. 39:43 Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations." 39:45 And Noah, just like Enoch, "Noah walked with God." 39:51 It's possible in the most corrupt hour of human history. 39:55 Isn't that great news? You can walk with God. 39:57 Yeah, "And so Noah begot three sons." 39:58 You know them, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 40:00 Oh, but let's hear a little bit more of the story. 40:01 "And God said to Noah, 40:02 "The end of all flesh has come before Me, 40:04 for the earth is filled with violence through them; 40:06 behold, I'm gonna destroy them with the earth." 40:07 So here's what I need you to do, Noah, 40:09 "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; 40:10 make rooms in the ark, 40:11 and cover it inside and outside with pitch." 40:13 And how does Noah respond? 40:15 "Thus Noah did, according to all that God commanded him, 40:17 so he did." 40:20 Inner circle, the secret-spiller, 40:22 you're gonna tell everybody what I just told you. 40:26 You know, when I get to heaven 40:27 I hope to have a quiet conversation with Noah. 40:30 By the way, I already know what Noah looks like. 40:32 I believe Noah looks like the cover of our bulletin, 40:35 the picture that actually Peterson found. 40:37 I'll put it on the screen for you. 40:38 Let's put it on the-- Doesn't that look like Noah or what? 40:40 Is that a picture of Noah? 40:42 We googled Noah and we found him. 40:45 Look at that. 40:46 That is Noah if there ever were a Noah, there it is. 40:50 So anyway, I would like to sit down with Noah one day, 40:52 I'll say, "Noah, listen, I have two questions for you. 40:55 Question number one, sir, how did it feel 41:00 proclaiming a truth that could not be proven, 41:03 a truth for which you were ridiculed 41:06 by the scholars of your age? 41:07 How did that really feel?" 41:11 Then I throw in question number two, 41:13 "And why is it that you only preached 41:15 one sermon the entire 120 years? 41:20 No wonder you didn't have a congregation 41:21 when you were through." 41:25 And while we're at it, 41:26 I'm throwing in question number three, 41:28 "Why did you get drunk after the flood?" 41:32 I throw that question in for you to remind you 41:34 that when God gets 41:35 an inner circle confidant secret-spiller, 41:38 He doesn't look for somebody perfect. 41:41 He needs somebody willing. 41:44 We'll deal with those foibles and failures next Sabbath. 41:47 All right, so there is chapter number one, 41:49 we'll call it "The Flood." 41:50 Noah is the prophet. 41:51 Chapter number two, we'll call this one-- 41:52 Put it on the screen please, 41:53 we'll call this one "The Chosen, 41:54 "the prophet would be Abraham, of course. 41:57 This is a massive chapter in salvation history 41:59 because God is going to raise up a people, 42:02 not because they're the greatest on earth. 42:03 Are you kidding, God, in fact, finally had to tell them 42:06 you're about the worst I've ever had. 42:08 But I need to have somebody. 42:12 Stiff neck-- Stiff neck though you are, 42:14 I need to have somebody and you're it 42:18 because I need you to take the light of my character 42:20 to the whole world, then I'll come. 42:22 That's the only reason you ever get chosen. 42:24 You're chosen for service and they were. 42:28 It's a massive chapter. 42:29 Ah, praise God. 42:32 Oh, but there's chapter 3, chapter 3, 42:34 jot it down, will you please? 42:35 "The Exodus," 42:37 because the chosen end up in slavery. 42:39 Of all things, the exodus. 42:40 And who is the great prophet with the exodus? 42:42 But of course, that would be Moses. 42:43 And so God comes to Moses, in Exodus 3:2 42:46 "Come now, therefore, Moses, 42:48 and I'm gonna send you to Pharaoh 42:50 that you may bring My people, 42:51 the children of Israel, out of Egypt." 42:54 Let My people go. 42:56 That is a huge chapter in salvation history. 42:59 In fact, do you know that, 43:00 that chapter becomes the prototype 43:03 of the grand Calvary chapter, when the entire human race 43:07 is released from the bondage of Satan? 43:09 What God does through, Moses in Egypt is a type, 43:14 it's a foreshadowing of what Christ would do 43:17 on Calvary's middle cross. 43:18 That's huge. And then guess what? 43:20 Moses not only has one 40 days and 40 nights prayer period, 43:24 he does double 40 days and 40 nights of praying 43:28 and in those doubles, 43:29 he's alone, face to face with God almost. 43:33 And God says "Take these Ten Commandments 43:34 that I've written with my finger, 43:36 take this sanctuary system 43:37 that illustrates the entire planet's salvation." 43:40 I'm telling you, this chapter is huge, but it's not the end. 43:44 There comes another chapter. 43:45 Put this one down, it's chapter number four, 43:47 this is "The Exile". 43:49 Who are the prophets associated with the exile? 43:51 Put Jeremiah, write Jeremiah 43:54 and then put the little Latin "et al". 43:56 That means "and all the others". 43:58 Because this was a string for three centuries, 44:01 God sends a string, prophet after prophet after prophet 44:04 after prophet begging, pleading, cajoling the people. 44:09 You don't want to-- You don't really mean this 44:11 that you don't want Me to be your protector. 44:12 Are you telling Me that you don't want Me 44:14 to be your shield, 44:15 because if I step back, it's adios, it's curtains. 44:19 I'm begging you keep Me as your God. 44:23 They're aping their pagan neighbors. 44:25 Can you believe that? 44:26 If the pagan neighbors do it, we got to do it. 44:28 They're worshipping their neighbors' gods. 44:31 God says you can't do this, you just can't. 44:36 By the way the string of prophets, 44:37 listen to this, Obadiah, Joel, Jonah, Hosea, 44:39 Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum and Zephaniah, 44:41 Habakkuk and then Jeremiah. 44:43 And the whole thing goes down the tubes 44:46 in Jeremiah's ministry. 44:48 Ah, but there's another chapter coming 44:50 called chapter number five "The Return," Daniel, 44:55 the return from exile/ Daniel, et al., 44:57 because there are other prophets as well 45:00 to prepare the people for one last probationary period, 45:07 to prepare the people 45:08 for the coming of the Messiah, Daniel. 45:13 Hundreds of years go by, 45:14 then comes the great chapter number 6, 45:18 salvation chapter and, of course, 45:19 the salvation history, jot it down "The Coming." 45:22 The coming of who? 45:23 The coming of the Messiah, of course. 45:25 And who's the prophet associated 45:27 with the Messiah's first coming? 45:29 John the Baptist, it's got to be John, John the Baptist. 45:32 So critical was this secret spilling prophet 45:35 that God sent the mighty angel, 45:37 the angel Gabriel to alert the birth of John. 45:41 Put this up on the screen please. 45:42 Luke 1:15 "For he," John, 45:45 "will be great in the sight of the Lord, 45:46 and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. 45:49 He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, 45:50 even from his mother's womb. 45:52 And he will turn many of the children of Israel 45:54 to the Lord their God. 45:56 He will also go before the Messiah 45:57 in the spirit and power of Elijah, 45:59 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' 46:01 and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, 46:04 to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." 46:08 How could there be a greater mission 46:11 than to prepare a people for the coming Messiah? 46:15 Stupendous. 46:16 Behold the Lamb of God 46:18 who takes away the sin of the world. 46:21 Seven chapters. 46:23 So what was that one? Was that number six? 46:24 Okay, here comes number seven, "Coming-2". 46:28 Jot that down please, "Coming-2". 46:30 Who is this one? 46:31 Not John the Baptist, but this one is John the Revelator. 46:35 And John who opens his apocalypse up, 46:37 he shows as the Amos 3:7 process, look at this, 46:40 we put Revelation 1 on the screen. 46:42 John is describing how this process works. 46:44 "The Revelation," the secret spilling, "of Jesus Christ, 46:47 which God gave him to show His servants - 46:51 things which must shortly take place. 46:53 And He sent," the secret, " 46:55 and signified it by His angel to His servant John." 46:58 And is John just hanging on to the secret? 47:00 Are you kidding? No. 47:01 John, "who bore witness to the word of God, 47:03 and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, 47:05 to all things that he saw. 47:06 Blessed," now notice the next verse, 47:08 "Blessed are those who read and those who hear the words 47:11 of this prophecy, and keep those things 47:13 which are written in it for the time is near." 47:17 Every single time, ladies and gentlemen, 47:18 God has something huge coming on the radar screen 47:22 of salvation history and boom, before it comes, 47:24 He raises up a prophet. 47:29 Seven major chapters, there they are, in salvation history. 47:32 And by the way, all of them clustered around the prophets 47:35 and the book that the prophets have bequeathed as our legacy, 47:39 this book right here. 47:42 I want to read you these words. 47:43 I'll put them on the screen for you, 47:44 from that apocalyptic classic. 47:46 Speaking of this book, what place does this book 47:48 have in the life of this community? 47:50 This is the apocalyptic classic "Great Controversy". 47:53 Put the words on the screen, words written a century ago, 47:56 "God will have a people upon the earth, 48:00 "at the end of time, he's talking about, 48:02 "God will have a people upon the earth 48:05 to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, 48:09 as the standard of all doctrines 48:10 and the basis of all reforms." 48:13 Listen to this, "The opinions of learned men, 48:16 the deductions of science, 48:18 the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, 48:21 as numerous and discordant as are the churches 48:23 which they represent, the voice of the majority- 48:26 not one nor all of these should be regarded 48:28 as evidence for or against any point of religious faith." 48:32 Before-- This is our call. 48:35 "Before accepting any doctrine or precept, 48:38 we should demand a plain 48:40 'Thus saith the Lord' in response." 48:45 God will have a people for whom the Bible and the Bible alone 48:53 is their sole authority at the end of time. 48:58 These 40 days of prayer they're not just about praying. 49:02 The 40 days of prayer have to be feasting from the Word. 49:08 You'll say "I don't want to read the Word. 49:09 Dwight, I'm just not really into the Bible right now. 49:11 I just want to pray." 49:12 Let me tell you something, my friend, 49:14 if you pray without the Word, your prayer is nearly bankrupt. 49:21 It is the word of God that will empower 49:24 and inform you're praying. 49:27 So in these 40 days get into the Word. 49:28 You got the new Andrews Study Bible, 49:30 get into the Word, get into the word of God. 49:32 You don't have the study Bible, fine. 49:33 Take any Bible you have, just get into the Word, 49:36 40 days and 40 nights in the Word and on our knees. 49:40 It's the combination. 49:42 God will have a people at the end of time 49:44 for whom the Bible and the Bible only 49:48 is their sole authority. 49:51 And by the way, in reading this Bible 49:53 I have come to this conclusion, 49:55 carefully studying it I am convicted that before 49:58 every major chapter of salvation history, 50:00 God has raised up a prophet to prepare His people 50:04 for what is yet ahead, 50:05 leading me to wonder out loud with you, 50:09 if that is true 50:11 that in every major chapter of salvation history 50:14 God has raised up a prophet to prepare His people 50:17 for what is impending, do you not suppose 50:20 He would do the same before the return of Christ? 50:26 Think with me now this last sentence. 50:29 I'm gonna repeat it. 50:32 If God has undertaken no major spiritual chapter 50:37 in salvation history 50:39 without first raising up a prophet to share that secret 50:42 and prepare His people for what was just ahead, 50:45 if that's true, and we've just seen that it is, 50:48 then would it not be both logical and consistent 50:53 to expect that before the most explosive and spectacular event 50:58 in salvation history? 51:00 I'm talking about the physical, visible, 51:03 personal return of the King of heaven and earth 51:06 the second time to this planet, 51:08 the most explosive moment in human history. 51:12 Would it not be logically consistent 51:15 to expect that just before that event, 51:19 God would raise up a prophet 51:23 before the return of Christ? 51:33 Wouldn't He do that, 51:38 if this is His story? 51:52 I want to invite you to sing a hymn about this Book. 51:57 Sing a hymn about this Book, ponder to that question 52:00 as our worship concludes. 52:02 We'll put the words on the screen for you, 52:03 "How firm a foundation we hear in His word." 52:11 Let's stand together and let's sing this hymn, 52:13 sing your heart out, this confession of this Book. 52:44 How firm a foundation 52:47 Ye saints of the Lord is laid for your faith 52:53 In His excellent word 52:56 What more can He say 53:00 Than to you He hath said 53:02 To you who for refuge 53:06 To Jesus hath fled? 53:11 Fear not, I am with thee 53:15 O, be not dismayed 53:17 For I am thy God 53:20 And will still give thee aid 53:23 I'll strengthen thee, help thee 53:27 And cause thee to stand 53:30 Upheld by My righteous, 53:33 Omnipotent hand 53:38 When thro' the deep waters I call thee to go 53:45 The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow 53:52 For I will be with Thee, thy trouble to bless 53:59 And sanctify to Thee 54:03 Thy deepest distress 54:08 When thro' fiery trials thy pathway shall lie 54:14 My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply 54:21 The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design 54:27 Thy dross to consume 54:30 And thy gold to refine 54:37 The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose 54:43 I will not, I will not, desert to his foes 54:50 That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake 54:56 I'll never, no never, no never forsake 55:08 Holy Father, we hear Your promise 55:10 to never, never forsake us. 55:12 Please hear our benediction response 55:20 by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 55:23 and through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit 55:26 we will never, never forsake You, either. 55:31 Seal our souls, 55:36 our lives in the bedrock of Holy Scripture we pray. 55:45 And now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly 55:48 above all that we ask or think, 55:52 according to the power that works in us, 55:55 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus 55:59 to all generations forever and ever. 56:04 Amen. 56:24 I'd like to take a moment here 56:25 at the end of the service to tell you about 56:26 one of the most important groups of people 56:28 that make this ministry possible. 56:31 They're a team of people that are not afraid to get down 56:34 into the thick of life itself, 56:36 which is why you're gonna find them, 56:38 you will find them moving forward on their knees. 56:41 They're our prayer partners, 56:43 a group of men and women and young adults 56:46 who believe that this humble television ministry 56:49 has been raised up by God for such a time as this. 56:51 And so they pray earnestly that God will use the preacher 56:54 and God will use me and God will use the countless 56:57 other volunteers to spread the everlasting Gospel 57:00 and the word of God in ways 57:01 we could never have imagined before. 57:04 They're the ones who are praying 57:05 that God is gonna open up the hearts of people, 57:08 open up the hearts of viewers 57:10 around the world, for the message, 57:12 the critical message for this end time generation. 57:16 And what I'd like to do is ask you, 57:18 would you be willing to be a prayer partner with us, 57:21 a prayer partner with New Perceptions? 57:23 You don't have to call a toll free number, 57:24 you don't have to go online or register. 57:26 All I need to know is that you'd be willing 57:29 to lift this little ministry up day after day after day, 57:35 pray that somehow through radio and television and the web 57:39 God will open up new doors, new regions on earth 57:43 where the everlasting Gospel can be proclaimed. 57:46 There is no question the power of prayer 57:48 has potential to take this ministry to places 57:50 we could never have imagined before. 57:53 So that's it, would you please be willing 57:56 to partner with me in prayer? 57:58 The times are urgent, the need is critical 58:02 and I hope you'll say yes. 58:04 Till we're together next time, may the prayer-answering God 58:08 accompany you every step of the way. |
Revised 2014-12-17