Participants: Pr. Dwight Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP090812
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00:06 From the campus of Andrews University,
00:08 this is New Perceptions 00:11 with Dr. Dwight K. Nelson. 00:30 Lift up the trumpet 00:33 And loud let it ring 00:36 Jesus is coming again! 00:42 Cheer up ye pilgrims 00:45 Be joyful and sing 00:49 Jesus is coming again! 00:55 Coming again, coming again 01:01 Jesus is coming again 01:08 Nations are angry by this we do know 01:13 Jesus is coming again! 01:18 Knowledge increases 01:21 Men run to and fro 01:25 Jesus is coming again! 01:31 Coming again, coming again 01:37 Jesus is coming again 01:48 Amen! Amen. 01:50 This morning we want to celebrate 01:54 one of our key mission statement components. 01:57 It's celebration of "Go". 02:00 One of the things that Andrews University 02:02 is full of is spiritually mature 02:06 and committed 02:07 Seventh-day Adventist young people. 02:08 So I'm going to ask some of those young people 02:10 to come up. 02:11 If you worked at a summer camp this summer, please come on up, 02:14 join me up here. 02:15 If you are an R.A. this year, please come up. 02:17 If you were on a study tour this last summer, 02:20 please come forward. 02:22 If you're a student dean, 02:24 any of the residence halls come up. 02:25 If you did colporteur ministry this summer, come on up. 02:29 Just join me up here 02:30 on the platform and on the stairs. 02:33 We have a lot of young people 02:36 that go out at the conclusion of every school year, 02:40 go at the end of every school year 02:42 and do ministry. 02:46 All right, so where is Paul? Paul, come here. 02:49 Paul is one of the leaders from Flag Camp right here 02:52 in Berrien Springs, Michigan, 02:54 a ministry of Pioneer Memorial Church. 02:55 Paul, why do you do summer camp? 02:59 This was my first year working at camp. 03:01 And honestly, I can say working with the kids 03:04 is probably one of the most life 03:05 changing experiences. 03:07 Like every single day we got excited to get up 03:08 in the morning and go to work just because I know like, 03:10 if the kid can leave camp with a smile on their face, 03:13 I know I made a difference that day. 03:15 And you did that every day. 03:16 Sophia, my daughter was at Flag Camp this summer. 03:19 She came back, she was singing songs 03:22 that I didn't teach her. 03:23 And that was just one of the beautiful things 03:24 is that she would come home every day 03:26 with new Christian songs 03:28 that she was praising God and every time she see Paul, 03:31 she sees Paul she smiles and she laughs. 03:34 And Paul smiles and he laughs and it's a special. 03:38 Thank you. Thank you, Paul. 03:39 Now we had something really interesting happen. 03:41 I'm going to show you a picture, 03:42 we do study tours here at Andrews University. 03:45 Where is Constanza and Ruben. Come on up, Constanza. 03:50 We do study tours every year and this year 03:52 there was a Bible land study tour 03:55 and something special really happened, 03:56 what happened? 03:58 I was baptized. She was baptized. 04:00 Let's see if we can get those pictures on there. 04:04 That's her father Ruben right here 04:05 who is your professor. 04:07 She went on the study tour and she just... 04:09 You felt compelled to give your life to Jesus. 04:12 And that's, that's what 04:14 these Go ministries are all about. 04:17 It's about going out once you've left this place 04:20 and taking what you've learned, 04:22 taking what you've experienced and the inspiration 04:23 that you've had in your life and sharing that with others 04:26 and that results in baptism. 04:28 So I want to do something really special right now. 04:31 Doc, if you could have a prayer to bless 04:34 and welcome Constanza, 04:36 but also to bless all of the students 04:37 who have gone out this last summer returning 04:40 and those students who are now serving 04:41 that they would be blessed in the ministry. 04:43 If you want to join me in this prayer, 04:46 please come forward, 04:48 lay your hands on some of these young people. 04:50 Otherwise stand in your place 04:52 as we have this prayer of blessing. 05:03 Holy God, we are so thankful to You 05:05 for everything 05:06 that You are doing on this campus. 05:08 The way You are inspiring 05:09 young people giving them wisdom them and strength 05:11 and passion for Your cause. 05:13 We thank You Father that Your Spirit is moving 05:16 in so many different ways here in the classroom, 05:19 in these big activities 05:20 that we do in one on one conversations. 05:22 You're ministering on so many different levels here 05:25 and I thank You so much. 05:26 What a privilege that we have to be surrounded 05:29 with such a great crowd of young people 05:31 who love You so dearly. 05:33 And especially this morning 05:34 we would like to have a blessing, 05:36 a prayer for Constanza, that You ought to be with her, 05:40 she has made such an incredible commitment back there 05:45 at the River Jordan and deciding to follow You, 05:48 and we ask You Father 05:49 that You protect her and guide her, 05:52 and if You give her compassion and wisdom 05:53 on how to live for Your glory in every aspect of her life. 05:58 This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. 06:00 Amen. Amen. 06:05 Soon I will be done 06:09 With the troubles of the world 06:14 Troubles of the world 06:19 The troubles of the world 06:24 Soon I will be done 06:27 With the troubles of the world 06:31 Going home to live with God 06:37 Soon I will be done With the troubles of the world 06:39 Soon I will be done 06:41 With the troubles of the world 06:42 Soon I will be done With the troubles of the world 06:45 The troubles of the world The troubles of the world 06:48 Soon I will be done With the troubles of the world 06:50 Going home to live with God 06:53 I want to meet my mother I want to meet my mother 06:59 I want to meet my mother Going to live with God 07:04 I want to meet my mother I want to meet my mother 07:10 I want to meet my mother Going to live with God 07:15 Soon I will be done With the troubles of the world 07:18 The troubles of the world The troubles of the world 07:20 Soon I will be done With the troubles of the world 07:22 Going home to live with God 07:25 Soon I will be done With the troubles of the world 07:28 The troubles of the world The troubles of the world 07:30 Soon I will be done With the troubles of the world 07:33 Going home to live with God 07:36 No more weepin' and wailin' No more weepin' and wailin' 07:41 No more weepin' and wailin' 07:43 I'm going to live with God 07:46 No more weepin' and wailin' 07:48 No more weepin' and wailin' 07:51 No more weepin' and wailin' I'm going to live with God 07:59 No more suffering 08:01 Suffering or crying 08:04 No weeping 08:12 Soon I will be done With the troubles of the world 08:14 The troubles of the world The troubles of the world 08:17 Soon I will be done With the troubles of the world 08:19 Going home to live with God 08:22 I want to meet my Jesus I want to meet my Jesus 08:27 I want to meet my Jesus I'm going to live with God 08:32 I want to meet my Jesus I want to meet my Jesus 08:38 I want to meet my Jesus I'm going to live with God 08:44 I'm going to live with God 08:52 With God 08:58 Amen. 09:06 We'll, thank you Gurney. 09:07 Thank you very much Gurney and Josh. 09:11 We needed that soon 09:13 I will be done with the troubles of the world. 09:18 Because let me tell you something, 09:20 if this life is no trouble to you, you have no, 09:24 you have no heart for the return of Christ. 09:27 If life is one non-stop picnic for you, 09:32 you will never have a passion for Jesus to come. 09:37 The moment trouble strikes, the moment suffering comes, 09:43 our paradigm is radically shifted. 09:47 And trust me before it's over, 09:50 we will all be pleading that prayer, 09:54 "Soon I will be done 09:56 with the troubles of the world, oh God." 10:03 We are not left... 10:09 Without the shining light of hope 10:11 on our dark horizon. 10:17 And our hearts here 10:18 who already know the meaning of trouble, 10:22 and pain, and sorrow. 10:27 Someday we all will. 10:30 But in this interim, in this space, 10:36 we have left. 10:38 Oh, God, prepare us, get us ready, 10:41 may this morning's teaching, may this morning's teaching 10:45 from Holy Scripture be clear 10:46 to all of our thinking minds and our worshipping hearts. 10:52 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 10:58 Psychologists have a term that I fear now, 11:06 describes the prevailing mindset 11:08 of this generation 11:10 and this civilization. 11:11 Here's the term. 11:14 Normalcy bias. 11:18 What's it mean? 11:20 Let me put Wikipedia's definition 11:22 on the screen for you. 11:24 Take a look at this. Read it off the screen. 11:26 The normalcy bias 11:30 or normality bias 11:33 refers to a mental state 11:35 people enter when facing a disaster. 11:39 It causes people to underestimate 11:41 both the possibility of a disaster occurring 11:43 and its possible effects." 11:45 Hit the pause button right there. 11:47 Case in point, Hurricane Katrina. 11:52 We just passed that anniversary, didn't we? 11:54 Isaac was coming in at the same time. 11:56 Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. 11:58 As that massive category five hurricane came, 12:03 howling out of the Gulf of Mexico, 12:06 dead eye toward the city of New Orleans. 12:10 And the word went out that our levee system 12:14 is not going to handle so horrendous a cataclysm. 12:20 By the tens of thousands, people said, 12:24 "it's not going to be that bad. 12:26 It's okay." 12:27 And by the thousands they perished. 12:30 Normalcy bias, the mental state people enter 12:32 when facing a disaster causing them 12:34 to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster 12:37 occurring and its possible effects. 12:40 Normalcy bias, Wikipedia goes on, 12:43 "This often results in situations 12:45 where people fail to adequately prepare, keyword, 12:49 failed to adequately prepare for disaster. 12:52 The assumption that is made in the case 12:54 of the normalcy bias is that since a disaster 12:57 never has occurred then it never will occur." 13:00 It's never happened on this planet, 13:01 it's not going to happen, trust me. 13:05 "It also results in the inability of people 13:07 to cope with a disaster once it does occur. 13:09 People with a normalcy bias 13:11 have difficulties reacting to something 13:12 they have not experienced before. 13:14 People also tend to interpret warnings 13:16 in the most optimistic way possible, 13:18 seizing on any ambiguities 13:20 to infer a less serious situation." 13:23 It's not gonna be so bad, 13:25 I'm telling you, don't get upset. 13:28 Case in point number two: 13:29 World War II Holocaust, 6 million Jews perish. 13:34 Initially a few Jewish proprietors 13:38 in Germany are troubled 13:39 as their places of business are ransacked. 13:43 Then there were a few incarcerations and arrests, 13:46 but the vast majority of the Jews living in Germany 13:49 minimized the Nazi threat 13:51 and simply could not come to believe 13:53 that there was an impending crisis 13:54 endangering their very survival. 13:59 It's not going to happen. This will pass. 14:05 What have we just read, 14:06 "People with the normalcy bias have difficulties reacting 14:08 to something they have not experienced before. 14:10 People also tend to interpret warnings 14:11 in the most optimistic way possible, 14:13 seizing on any ambiguities 14:15 to infer a less serious situation." 14:17 So here's the question. 14:19 Are you and am I, 14:20 are we also suffering from a normalcy bias? 14:25 Just like the citizens of New Orleans? 14:29 Just like the Jews of the Holocaust? 14:32 Is that our mindset as well? 14:35 Open your Bible with me please to the theme text 14:37 for this little three part mini series 14:40 that's launching this New Year. 14:42 Open your Bible to 1 Thessalonians 5. 14:44 1 Thessalonians 5, The Dark Knight Rises. 14:49 We were there last Sabbath, will be there next Sabbath 14:51 and that's it one two three and it's over. 14:55 Let's go back to that theme passage. 14:56 You didn't bring a Bible, please track this. 14:59 Pull the Bible out in front of you. 15:00 Pull it out of the pew rack and it will be page 796 15:04 in your pew rack Bible, that's the New King James. 15:06 I'm going to be once again in the NIV. 15:08 This is the new NIV. I like it. 15:12 1 Thessalonians 5:1. 15:14 We read these words last week. We return to them. 15:16 Verse 1. 15:18 "Now brothers and sisters, 15:19 about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 15:22 for you know very well." 15:23 Verse two. "That the day of the Lord." 15:26 By the way day of the Lord, 15:27 code phrase in Holy Scripture for the end of the world. 15:31 Code phrase for the return of Christ. 15:34 "For you know," verse 2, "very well 15:35 that the day of the Lord will come 15:37 like a thief in the night." 15:40 Verse 3. 15:42 "While people are saying, 'Peace and safety,' 15:45 destruction will come on them suddenly, 15:47 as labor pains on a pregnant woman, 15:49 and they will not escape." 15:50 We learned last week double negative. 15:52 They will no not escape. 15:53 Read my lips, nobody escapes the end, nobody. 15:59 Clearly Paul is describing a normalcy bias 16:03 for the last generation living on this planet 16:06 just before Jesus comes. 16:08 Normalcy bias, that point is so critical. 16:10 Grab your study guide. 16:12 Let's scribble it down right now. 16:13 Pull your study guide out of your worship bulletin, 16:15 there's a brand new one. 16:16 This is a keeper, this study guide, trust me, 16:18 you're going to want this and so if you don't have it. 16:20 Ushers, where are you ushers? Let's go. 16:22 Let's do this quickly please. 16:23 Right now ushers, 16:25 if you'll stand and those of you 16:26 who are watching on television, we're delighted to have you. 16:29 While they are getting these study guides out, 16:32 you get the same study guide. 16:33 Let me put it on the screen for you our website. 16:35 This is a little, 16:36 it's a little punchy miniseries, 16:38 The Dark Knight Rises Two. 16:40 That's today, two. Last week was one. 16:42 Next week will be three and it's over. 16:44 The Dark Knight Rises two, you can't miss it, 16:46 you'll see The Dark Knight artwork 16:48 on our website. 16:49 Click on there, go to two, 16:51 you'll have the same study guide 16:53 and you can join us. 16:54 You'll want this study guide, trust me. 16:56 You will want this study guide. 16:58 If you didn't get a bulletin when you came in, 17:00 keep your hand up, they're going to get your way. 17:05 And I want you to have the teaching 17:07 that we are going to share together 17:09 in Holy Scripture. 17:10 All right, let's go. Jot that first one down please. 17:12 Clearly Paul here, in 1 Thessalonians 5. 17:16 "Clearly Paul here is describing a "normalcy bias" 17:19 as the mindset 17:21 of the final generation on earth!" 17:25 Hey, not to worry, peace and safety. 17:27 Boom! It's over. 17:29 Normalcy bias, 17:30 they do not believe it can happen here. 17:33 Clearly that's what Paul is describing. 17:35 Now because 17:37 that Wikipedia definition is so punching, 17:40 you have it right there but now you need to fill it in. 17:42 Let's put the Wikipedia definition 17:43 on the screen please. 17:44 "The normalcy bias refers to a mental state people enter 17:48 when facing a disaster." 17:49 That's the key word. 17:51 It's not all day long, every day, 17:52 it's when you're facing a disaster 17:54 that this bias kicks in. 17:56 Keep reading. 17:58 "It causes people to underestimate 17:59 both the possibility of a disaster occurring 18:02 and its possible effects." 18:04 Now I thought this next line was significant. 18:08 "This often results in situations 18:10 where people fail to adequately prepare..." 18:14 The whole point of a crisis is you've got to be ready 18:16 before it comes, 18:17 but now normalcy bias, is no big deal. 18:19 People fail to prepare. Write that word in. 18:24 They fail to prepare for a disaster. 18:25 Keep reading. 18:26 "The assumption that is made in the case of normalcy bias 18:29 is that since a disaster never has occurred 18:35 then it never will occur." 18:37 It's never happened on this planet, 18:39 it's not going to happen, trust me. 18:42 Look out. 18:43 "People with a normalcy bias have difficulties reacting 18:45 to something 18:46 they have not experienced before, 18:48 tending to interpret warnings 18:49 in the most optimistic way possible, 18:51 seizing on any ambiguities 18:52 to infer a less serious situation." 18:56 Ladies and gentlemen, 18:57 Paul is describing a very serious normalcy bias 19:02 at the end of time, the final generation on earth. 19:04 The entire planet, normalcy bias. 19:09 And by the way did you catch that word sudden? 19:11 Did you catch that word suddenly? 19:14 Let's read it again, verse 3. 19:17 Verse 3, "While people are saying, 19:19 'peace and safety.' 19:21 destruction will come on them suddenly." 19:23 Those of you that have the New King James, 19:24 sudden destruction will come on them. 19:27 Destruction will come on them suddenly, 19:28 "as labor pains on a pregnant woman, 19:30 and they will not, no, not escape." 19:34 Guess what? 19:36 This is hardly a new thought for Paul. 19:38 He happens to be borrowing it from his master. 19:41 Once upon a time when Jesus was teaching, 19:43 he sees two dramatic Old Testament narratives 19:47 and he says, "Here you go, this is normalcy bias." 19:50 Watch Jesus take 19:51 two dramatic tales out of the Old Testament. 19:55 And in fact I want you to see this, 19:57 not just on the screen. 19:58 Follow it in your Bible. 19:59 So go back to Luke, the Gospel of Luke 17. 20:04 I want you to see it right there 20:05 in the Word of God. 20:07 You didn't bring a Bible, 20:08 then of course you can read on the screen. 20:09 Those of you watching on live streaming, 20:11 I hope you have your Bible near. 20:15 And in mine it's bright red. 20:17 Oh, I love this, I love my red letter Bibles 20:19 because these are the words of Christ. 20:22 No question. This is Luke 17, page 26. 20:26 Luke 17. 20:28 Here come the two dramatic narratives 20:29 out of the Old Testament. 20:30 Verse 26, Jesus speaking, 20:32 "Just as it was in the days of" whom? 20:36 "Just as it was in the days of Noah, 20:39 so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man." 20:41 Verse 27, "People were eating..." 20:43 Is it a sin to eat? 20:45 No, it is not. People were drinking. 20:46 Is it a sin to drink? No, it is not. 20:49 People were marrying. Is it a sin to marry? 20:51 Better not be. 20:53 People were marrying and being given in marriage 20:55 right up 20:56 until the day Noah entered the ark. 21:00 Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 21:04 Normalcy bias illustration number one 21:06 from the Lord Jesus Himself. 21:08 Fill it in your study guide please, 21:09 "In the days of Noah society was enjoying "peace and safety" 21:13 right up until 21:15 "sudden destruction" swept them away." 21:17 Just like that it was over. No time to prepare. 21:21 You had to be prepared before the event itself. 21:26 Jesus says I have another one for you, 21:28 Luke 17:28. 21:30 "It was the same in the days of Lot. 21:34 People were eating and drinking, 21:35 buying and selling..." 21:37 Anything wrong with buying and selling? 21:38 Of course not. Planting and building? 21:39 Nothing wrong with that either. 21:41 "But the day Lot left Sodom..." 21:42 It was that predawn moment, the purple horizon hemorrhaging 21:47 with the realization that this is Judgment Day. 21:50 And Lot and Mrs. Lot and the two girls are fleeing. 21:54 That's what Jesus is talking about here. 21:56 "But the day Lot left Sodom, 21:58 fire and sulfur rained down from heaven 22:01 and destroyed them all." 22:05 Keep your pen moving. Jot it down, will you? 22:07 Also in the days of Lot, not just Noah. 22:10 "In the days of Lot society was enjoying "peace and safety" 22:12 right up until " sudden destruction" 22:15 swept them away. 22:16 Normalcy bias. Boom! And it's over. 22:20 So what's your point, Jesus? What are You trying to tell us? 22:23 He goes on verse 30, Jesus speaking, 22:26 "And it will be just like this on the day 22:28 the Son of Man is revealed. 22:30 On that day no one who is on the housetop, 22:32 with possessions inside, should go down to get them. 22:34 Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything." 22:37 It's over, go move. 22:39 In fact, one of the shortest lines 22:41 in the New Testament, 22:42 "Remember Lot's wife!" 22:47 So Paul's point is hardly a new thought here 22:50 in 1 Thessalonians 5. 22:53 He simply echoing his master. 22:54 In fact scholars believe that Paul is actually taking 22:57 a specific teaching of Jesus 22:59 and paraphrasing it and it's in Luke. 23:01 So just turn a few pages forward 23:03 and Luke tell you. 23:04 Come to Luke 21. 23:08 You read these words carefully 23:09 and you hear the echo of them all the way 23:11 through that 1 Thessalonians 5 passage. 23:14 This is Luke 21 now. 23:15 Also red letters, verse 34, Jesus speaking... 23:19 This is on the eve 23:21 of His own death and crucifixion. 23:23 "Be careful," Jesus says, " 23:25 or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, 23:28 drunkenness and the anxieties of life, 23:30 and that day will close on you suddenly..." 23:33 There's that word. 23:34 "That day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 23:37 For it will come on those 23:39 who live on the face of the whole earth. 23:40 Be always therefore on the watch, 23:42 and pray that you may be able to escape 23:44 all that is about to happen, 23:46 and that you may be able to stand 23:47 before the Son of Man." 23:49 Suddenly it will come like a trap. 23:53 A few months ago, 23:54 I noticed that we had a ground squirrel 23:56 that was beginning to dig down by the foundation of our house 24:00 going down, down, down. 24:02 And I'm thinking if this guy goes too far south, 24:04 he's going to hit water 24:05 and it's going to come into the house. 24:07 I've got to get that ground squirrel. 24:08 So I went to Guerin dense village hardware 24:10 and I bought a small rodent trap. 24:14 Ever seen those? It's just a cage. 24:17 Has a trap door that goes up 24:19 and you have a little trigger where you place some bait. 24:22 So I had that trap door right by the hole 24:25 when he comes out and he's hungry, he'll go in. 24:27 I tried this bait, it didn't work. 24:29 The next day I tried another bait, 24:30 didn't work, 24:32 and then I found out peanut butter, peanut butter. 24:34 So I put peanut butter came back, there he was. 24:37 Now, ladies and gentlemen, 24:38 the trap door on that ground squirrel trap, 24:41 the trap door does it come, 24:44 does it come down 24:45 like a garage door slowly? 24:50 Keeping your peanut butter there's times. 24:53 Keep eating, they got more time. 24:55 Does it come down that way? You kidding? Boom! It's over. 24:57 That door wham! And it's shut. 25:00 That is Jesus point, suddenly the trap is sprung, 25:05 there is no getting out. 25:07 Jesus says the whole earth will be caught in that trap. 25:12 Is this just a uniquely New Testament idea? 25:14 No. 25:16 Jesus actually inspired writers in the Old Testament. 25:18 Look at this. 25:19 This is the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon. 25:21 Ecclesiastes 9:12, "No one knows 25:24 when their hour will come, so people are trapped..." 25:26 There that word. 25:28 "People are trapped 25:29 by evil times that fall suddenly..." 25:31 Write that down. 25:32 "That fall suddenly upon them." 25:35 That just in Ecclesiastes? No. 25:37 Look at one of the minor prophets, 25:38 Zephaniah 1:18. 25:40 "For the Lord will make a sudden end 25:44 of all who live on the earth." 25:48 You know what? 25:50 This normalcy bias, 25:52 Christianity has plague with it. 25:54 There are vast swathes of the Christian community 25:57 who say end of the world. 25:59 Please! 26:00 You're not really serious 26:01 that this is going to happen that way, are you? 26:03 I mean, please! It couldn't happen. 26:05 Normalcy bias is not for pagans only, 26:08 even for believers in Christ. 26:13 In full concurrence with these pieces of evidence 26:15 that we've just noted. 26:16 A little lady who wrote in the 19th century, 26:19 issued some unmistakable warnings, 26:21 may I put her words on the screen. 26:23 Fill them in please. 26:25 This is from that apocalyptic classic, 26:26 The Great Conversely, take a look at this. 26:28 "The end will come more quickly..." 26:30 Write that in. 26:31 "The end will come more quickly than we expect." 26:35 There's another one. 26:37 "Great changes are soon to take place in the world, 26:39 and the final movements will be..." 26:40 What's that word? 26:42 The final movements will be what? 26:43 "Rapid ones." And here's one more. 26:47 "Many of the prophecies 26:49 are about to be fulfilled in quick succession. 26:51 Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom! Over, just like that. 26:57 What's the point? Noah's point. 26:59 Lot's point. Jesus' point. 27:01 Paul's point. Ellen White's point. 27:04 At a time when normalcy bias declares 27:07 "peace and safety" 27:08 will prevail, sudden destruction 27:11 will end human history as we know it. 27:14 That's the point. 27:16 So here's the question that begs to be asked. 27:18 How can we know we are approaching 27:23 that point of no return? 27:26 How can we know we are inexorably arriving, 27:31 approaching the end of the world? 27:33 Let's go back to Paul. In 1 Thessalonians 5. 27:39 Let's pick it up in verse 4 now. 27:41 We will add a verse that we didn't read last week. 27:42 Verse 4. 27:44 "But you brothers and sisters, are not in darkness 27:47 so that this day should surprise you 27:49 like a thief. 27:52 You are all children of the light 27:56 and children of the day. 27:58 We do not belong in the night or to the darkness." 28:00 Now here comes a verse we're reading. 28:01 "So then, let us not be like others, 28:04 who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober." 28:11 Apparently there is a way for the friends of Jesus 28:14 to remain awake and unaffected, 28:17 uninfected by this mass normalcy bias. 28:21 Apparently there is some... 28:23 There is some provision 28:24 that alerts the friends of Christ 28:27 so that they are not caught when that trap door drops. 28:32 Before I share with you, 28:34 but for me it's one 28:36 of the most compelling evidences 28:37 that we are living right now on the edge of the end, 28:40 and in just one moment I want to share that with you, 28:42 but before I do, here are three promises. 28:45 I wish you jot these down. 28:46 Here are three promises you and I can begin to claim 28:49 immediately asking God to open our eyes 28:52 to see the critical trends and signs 28:54 that are taking place around us. 28:56 Promise number one. 28:57 We won't take the time to look this up. 28:59 Jeremiah 33:3. 33:3. Jeremiah 33:3. 29:03 Jot it down, will you? 29:05 God's inviting us, "Call to Me, 29:08 and I will answer you and I will show you great 29:11 and unsearchable things you do not know." 29:16 Ladies and gentlemen, let this be clear, 29:18 God is not playing hide and seek. 29:19 God's not saying. 29:21 "Hey I want to catch you by surprise, I got harder way, 29:23 I got harder way to spook you." 29:26 He's not playing hard to get. 29:28 God says, "Listen, listen, listen. 29:29 Call to Me, just call to Me. 29:33 I'll show you what you don't know." 29:36 Didn't you love it when your mom came to you 29:37 and maybe it was when you went to church. 29:40 She gave you that little book 29:41 that was a series of connect the dots. 29:44 You remember those little connect 29:45 the dots puzzles, you remember that? 29:47 Dot one, you draw a line to, what's the next one? 29:50 Two. And then you draw line two. 29:52 It's an amazing thing. 29:53 Three and you go all the way around 29:55 and suddenly 29:56 what was just a series of dots now, voila, 29:57 this beautiful big picture. 30:01 I got to say, hey, I know, I know, 30:04 I know how the dots connect. 30:06 Ask me. Ask Me to show you. 30:10 I want to tell you just a personal testimony, 30:13 I go to Jeremiah 33:3, often in my private prayer. 30:18 And I say God, You just said right here 30:22 that You will show me what I do not know. 30:25 There are a whole lot of people sleeping right now, God. 30:29 Is there something I should be seeing 30:31 that I need to be sharing? 30:34 Open my eyes, you can do the same. 30:37 Go to Jeremiah 33:3. 30:38 Put your finger on it, say Jesus, 30:40 I want to see what I do not know. 30:42 I don't want to be caught by surprise. 30:44 I don't want to live with normalcy bias. 30:46 Oh, there's one more you got to... 30:47 And this is New Testament, just before he is betrayed, 30:52 the night of His betrayal. 30:55 John 16:13. 30:57 Red letter words, we won't look them up. 30:58 I hope you mark these verses eventually 31:00 in your Bible that you go to them often. 31:02 Jesus speaking upper room, "When He..." 31:04 Speaking about the Holy Spirit. 31:05 "When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, 31:07 He will guide you into all truth 31:09 and He will tell you what is yet to come." 31:13 Would you jot that down? 31:14 "He will tell you what is yet to come." 31:17 Jesus said, hey, listen, listen guys, 31:19 you are my friends, I have called you friends. 31:22 I'm not trying to surprise you, 31:24 I'm not trying to catch you, gotcha. 31:27 I want you to know, so ask and you receive, 31:29 seek and you'll find, 31:31 knock and it will be open to you. 31:33 I will send you the Holy Spirit 31:35 and He will tell you what is yet to come. 31:39 You can put your finger on John 16:13. 31:41 God, you've got to help me please. 31:44 And then just a few weeks ago, I found this third one. 31:46 So now I have three that I claim and worship. 31:48 Here's number three. 31:50 This is Review and Herald, August 5, 1902. 31:56 "Those who place themselves under God's control, 32:00 to be led and guided by Him, will catch the steady trend..." 32:04 That is a key word, would you jot that down? 32:06 "Those who are under 32:08 who placed themselves under God's control 32:09 to be led and guided by hand will catch 32:11 the steady trend of events ordained 32:15 by God to take place." 32:19 I'll share the trends with you. 32:21 That means I'll help you connect the dots. 32:25 I'll show you the trends. Wow! 32:30 And listen, keep in mind this little caveat please. 32:34 God has never promised to reveal every detail 32:36 of His endgame even to His friends on earth. 32:38 There are some surprises 32:40 that will be a surprise for the entire human race. 32:42 In fact Jesus Himself said when He was here, "Yo! 32:44 You're not going to know the day, 32:45 you're not going to know the hour. 32:47 You will not know a date for when I return." 32:49 That'll be a surprise. 32:52 But here are three promises with the stunning assurance 32:56 that God Himself will open our minds 32:59 and our eyes to the trends, 33:01 to the trend of events happening, 33:04 swirling all around us. 33:05 This is a 24/7 news cycle. The news cycle never stops. 33:09 We are flooded and drowning in information. 33:13 God says, ask me 33:15 and I'll help you pull this, this, this. 33:18 I'll show you the trend. 33:22 As a child of the light, as a child of the day, 33:24 I am urging you, 33:26 I am earnestly appealing to you, 33:30 please claim these promises 33:34 and ask him to show you 33:37 what is yet to come. 33:41 One of the critical trends. 33:43 I am now carefully watching 33:44 and I have a feeling you are too. 33:47 Is He unraveling the melting down 33:50 of our national and global economies? 33:55 Have a file of news clippings and Internet postings 33:58 and financial news letter exposés, 34:02 simply in tied, 34:03 it's about this thick is a manila file folder. 34:05 Simply entitled, "The Economy." 34:09 Listen, forget about Greece, 34:11 forget about the European Union, 34:13 some of you are from here, forget about China. 34:15 The fact of the matter is, we are facing 34:17 an even greater economic collapse 34:19 in our own nation 34:21 of the United States of America. 34:24 Just this last week, 34:25 you surely were following this little, 34:27 this little dot that appeared in the news. 34:30 The news media reminded us this last week 34:32 that we have now passed our national government debt. 34:36 We have crossed the $16 trillion threshold. 34:42 Never mind that the number 16 trillion 34:44 is humanly impossible to fathom, all right. 34:47 Nobody knows what 16 trillion is? 34:50 Look at it this way. 34:53 The IRS estimates that our government takes 34:56 in every year $2.1 trillion 35:02 in tax revenue from all sources that would be corporate taxes, 35:04 business taxes, personal taxes, 35:07 $2.1 trillion a year but just this year, 35:11 Congress has voted a budget of $3.2 trillion. 35:16 Spending more than we have by $1.1 trillion. 35:21 That difference is called the deficit 35:24 which is a euphemism 35:25 for more debt. 35:30 Every woman here who balances a checkbook, 35:35 knows that you cannot spend more 35:41 than you are receiving and survive financially. 35:46 Is that true? Is that true? 35:51 But what's also interesting is 35:53 that the interest on our national debt 35:55 is now running nearly 35:57 one-half trillion dollars a year, 36:00 just to pay the interest. 36:02 Not touching the $16 trillion principle. 36:05 Ladies and gentlemen, 36:07 if you keep spending more than you make 36:08 and your interest on 36:09 that accumulating debt keeps climbing, 36:11 you don't have to be a rocket scientist, 36:12 you don't have to be a Nobel laureate economist 36:14 either to conclude that we are facing... 36:18 We're facing a catastrophic financial collapse 36:23 because the hemorrhaging is now irreversible. 36:27 My friend, Norman Waggs loaned me a book 36:31 over the Labor Day holiday, had a chance to go through it, 36:33 the title of the book Aftershock, 36:35 written by macroeconomist David Wiedemer, 36:37 and his brother Robert, and Cindy Spitzer, 36:40 the three of them collaborating. 36:41 This book Aftershock has been on the Wall Street Journal 36:44 Business bestseller list 36:45 having predicted the first financial meltdown 36:48 in our nation back in 2007-2009. 36:51 They actually were making the prediction in 2005-2006. 36:54 So they had gotten everybody's attention. 36:57 The authors now, 36:58 this economic team has revised their book 37:00 into a second edition are now predicting 37:02 an even greater aftershock 37:05 which will follow the great recession 37:06 which is now theoretically behind us. 37:08 They write that this aftershock will be the meltdown, 37:12 they are suggesting, we don't know when 37:13 but sometime 2013-2015 maybe, we don't know for sure. 37:18 They are suggesting that this meltdown, 37:24 the aftershock will collapse both the US dollar 37:29 and the US government debt. 37:34 Notice the language of sudden 37:36 that they probably unwittingly embedded 37:38 in this line from their book. 37:40 I'll put it on the screen for you here, 37:41 "The dollar bubble," 37:43 'Cause there are the two bubbles 37:44 they are watching now, the dollar bubble, 37:45 it's the worth of the dollar in the world 37:47 and the US government debt. 37:48 "The dollar bubble will remain relatively hidden 37:51 until the end, 37:53 but when it starts to blow up, it will look a lot like 37:56 the financial crisis of late 2008, 37:59 meaning it will come on..." 38:00 What are the next two words? 38:02 "Very quickly..." 38:04 Very quickly. 38:06 Suddenly Jesus says the trap will spring. 38:09 The final events will be rapid ones, 38:11 very quickly. 38:12 Now notice the next line, 38:14 "It will be like a fire that firefighters 38:15 can no longer control... 38:17 In fact, it will..." 38:18 I thought this was rather unique. 38:20 "It will be a once-in-history event." 38:25 Not lifetime, once in history event. 38:29 The point is, ladies and gentlemen, 38:30 we're poised on the razor edge 38:32 of an unprecedented economic meltdown, 38:35 but you listen to both political parties 38:37 who coincidently both have concluded 38:39 their recent presidential conventions. 38:41 And you would think that 38:42 with their popular hero at the helm, 38:44 this baby can be turned around. 38:46 It's going to work someday, it's called normalcy bias. 38:53 There are people high enough 38:54 and bright enough to know the truth. 38:56 They're not going 38:58 to tell little people like you and me 38:59 for fear of creating some sort of panic. 39:03 And then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 39:06 I'll tell you what's happening 39:08 with those two presidential conventions, 39:09 they were simply whistling past the graveyard. 39:15 Let's do a little bit of sanctified dot connecting 39:17 for a moment to remind ourselves 39:18 why the economy is such a critical bell 39:21 weather trend. 39:22 I'm going to give you six dots. 39:24 Watch how these six dots can now connect, six dots, 39:27 they are in your study guide. 39:28 You brood over it later on, you just write them down now. 39:31 Dot number one, 39:32 we will all accept this dot, I'm certain. 39:34 Dot number one, our national/global civil 39:38 and social infrastructure 39:39 depends on the solvency of the economy. 39:42 Yes or no? 39:44 But of course, but of course, 39:46 it all depends on the solvency of the economy. 39:48 That's dot one. Let's go to dot number two. 39:51 Dot number two, if the economy collapses, 39:54 then law and order are likely to do the same. 39:59 Isn't that right? 40:01 Just look, rewind the video 40:03 to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. 40:05 When the catastrophe hit, law and order finished. 40:11 Just two months ago in Athens, what are they doing? 40:14 They are rioting, 40:15 burning vehicles on the streets of that ancient city. 40:18 Why? 40:19 Because once the economy is insolvent, 40:21 you are threatening my very survival 40:23 and the masses will rise up. 40:27 Dot number three, jot it down, if law and order collapses, 40:31 then strident measures will have to be enacted 40:34 in an attempt to restore it. 40:35 True or false? You have to. 40:38 If you don't, it's curtains for the whole civilization. 40:42 Strident measures will have to be enacted. 40:45 In fact, you have the blogosphere right now, 40:49 going hot over the Patriot Act and I've checked it out, 40:52 there really was a Patriot Act 40:53 and it really does give the President 40:55 and the military police powers over this nation. 41:00 It's been enacted, it's there. 41:05 Dot number four, such drastic measures 41:08 undertaken in a time of crisis, 41:12 which will be what will have be done, 41:15 but such drastic measures 41:16 open the door to the curtailing, 41:18 write it down, of civil liberties. 41:22 You'll say, "Oh, Dwight, you're just making it up." 41:24 No, I'm not. 41:25 September 11, we're coming up 41:27 to that anniversary in just a few hours, aren't we? 41:28 September 11, 2001, 3 days or 2 days after September 11, 41:32 South Ben Tribune, front page, 41:34 I still remember reading the report, 41:36 a survey of Americans found out that between 51, 41:40 I don't what the number was, 51, 52, 41:42 53% of American surveyed told the surveyors, 41:47 "I'm willing to yield some of my civil liberties 41:51 for the sake of personal and national security." 41:54 I'll let it go. 41:58 Let me tell you something, in a crisis that will sweep 42:02 across the cities of this nation, 42:05 will Americans be willing to let go civil liberties 42:08 for the sake of security? 42:10 You bet. 42:11 Dot number five, jot it down please. 42:14 If civil liberties are curtailed 42:16 for the sake of national security, 42:17 then legislation to enforce a public, 42:20 even religious act of conformity becomes feasible. 42:28 Fascinating. Let me share this with you. 42:30 Michael Barkun, Professor of Social Science 42:32 at the University of New York in Buffalo, 42:35 studied the effect disasters can have on people's attitudes. 42:38 Now I'm indebted to my friend, Marvin Moore, 42:39 who includes this research in his book 42:41 Could It Really Happen? 42:42 I want to put Barkun's words on the screen for you, 42:44 you'll fill them in. 42:46 "One of Barkun's most significant conclusions 42:48 was that," Fascinating, 42:50 "look at this, 'Disaster creates conditions 42:53 peculiarly fitted to the rapid alteration 42:56 of belief systems...'" 42:58 What I believe before is now suddenly up 43:01 for grabs in the time of a crisis or a disaster. 43:04 Isn't that amazing? Wow. 43:09 Keep reading. 43:10 "Belief system 43:11 which under nondisaster conditions might be dismissed, 43:15 now receive sympathetic consideration." 43:18 We would never do that, 43:20 we would never do that in America, 43:22 but suddenly now the conditions have changed 43:25 and what I never would have done before, 43:28 I'm willing to do now. 43:31 Dot number six, if some form, final dot, 43:35 if some form of prescribed moral conformity 43:38 is made a legal mandate, then the "great controversy" 43:41 scenario of Revelation 13 43:43 is suddenly now 43:45 very possible. 43:49 Ladies and gentlemen, six dots, you can get there from here, 43:54 you can get there from an economy 43:56 that is on the cliff 43:58 to the fulfillment of Revelation 13. 44:00 Six dots, you can get there in six dots. 44:05 Isn't that amazing? 44:08 Now wonder Paul was so adamant 44:10 that we live out our divine destiny. 44:12 Read it again, one last time. 44:14 Pick it up in verse 4, 44:15 "But you, brothers and sisters..." 44:17 This is 1 Thessalonians 5. 44:18 "But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness 44:21 so that this day should surprise 44:22 you like a thief." 44:24 No, no, no, verse 5, 44:25 "You are children of the light," 44:27 Do you know what it means 44:28 when it says children of the light? 44:29 That means we're children of Jesus. 44:31 Who's the light of the world? 44:32 Who's the light of the world? It's Christ. 44:35 So when you are children of... 44:36 When I'm a child of the light, I'm a child of Christ. 44:39 Paul's saying, "Hey, guys, don't worry, don't worry, 44:41 we're all children of Christ." 44:44 "You are all children of the light 44:46 and children of the day. 44:47 We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 44:49 So then," verse 6, 44:51 "let us not be like others, who are asleep, 44:55 but let us be awake and sober." 44:59 Children of Christ, let us be awake. 45:04 Ellen White, a century ago wrote 45:06 a one sentence prayer, 45:08 I've scribbled it in my Bible, put it on the screen for you, 45:11 "God of heaven, wake us up!" 45:16 "God of heaven, wake us up!" 45:22 "God of heaven, 45:24 wake us up!" 45:28 That's the line to tweet to the world by the way. 45:31 That's the line to tweet to your little world, 45:34 "God of heaven, wake us up!" 45:40 Because the dark night is rising faster 45:41 than we first imagined. 45:43 And we still have work to do, 45:45 we have lives to prepare for Jesus, 45:47 we have people to warn for Jesus, 45:48 we have a world yet to reach for Jesus. 45:51 And we must reach this world in this generation. 45:54 We do not have decades now. 45:57 We do not have decades now, we have years. 46:02 Some of you have only months left. 46:07 God of heaven, 46:09 wake us up now, please. 46:14 I want to conclude, I told you last week. 46:15 Didn't I tell you last week, 46:17 I got an email at the beginning of this summer 46:19 and then another one at the end. 46:20 Let me just end now with that email 46:22 I got at the end of this summer from a total stranger. 46:28 "Hello, Pastor, I'll keep it short. 46:31 I'm 25, doing mission work in Africa from Boise, Idaho, 46:37 preaching my first evangelism campaign last month 46:39 in the DRC," 46:41 The Democratic Republic of the Congo, 46:43 "in the midst of 20,000 UN troops protecting Goma," 46:47 the city where he is preaching, 46:48 "from a tax by a huge rebel army." 46:51 How'd you like to be preaching with the army ringing the city? 46:54 "Was with a team of 19 other speakers, 46:56 thousands were baptized, 46:57 87 of my side will be in Ghana in November 47:00 for another series with a team of 44 other speakers 47:02 and I'm currently in Rwanda doing work." 47:08 Turns out he's been listening to the Pioneer podcasts. 47:11 "Two big things I've learned. 47:13 Number one, every Friday night I pray for five people 47:16 who I know are either lost 47:17 or haven't completely discovered 47:18 the full Bible truth. 47:20 And number two, 47:21 I pray frequently to have the heart of God 47:23 for this lost world, 47:24 also those teachings have definitely reinforced 47:26 my desire above all else 47:27 that God's Spirit be poured out. 47:29 So we can tell the world and go home." 47:31 So I wrote this kid back, 25 years old, 47:34 never met him in my life. 47:35 I said, "How does a 25-year-old American end up in Africa?" 47:40 He told me a story, 47:42 just printed the email off yesterday. 47:46 He said, "It's now impossible to express in words 47:49 how much this world needs to hear about Jesus 47:51 and His soon-coming all seven plus billion of them. 47:55 I got to hit hard 47:56 with this third member of the Godhead," 47:58 he means the Holy Spirit, 47:59 "on May 11 of this year 48:00 about 11:30 at night was laying down on," 48:02 I like this, "was laying down 48:04 on my comfortable couch in my comfortable house, 48:06 in my comfortable neighborhood, 48:08 in comfortable Boise, Idaho, 48:10 when all of a sudden I sat up quickly 48:11 and agreed in my head to serve full time 48:14 as a life-long missionary. 48:16 If somebody would have told me 48:18 that was going to happen 10 seconds beforehand, 48:20 I would have grinned and gone back 48:21 into the comfortable mode. 48:24 Trying to describe the event is difficult 48:25 but it was like a comprehension bomb 48:27 exploded in my mind, 48:28 things in my life flashed quickly, 48:30 my friends life, 48:31 my experiences in this life all the same conclusion, 48:34 Jesus has to come soon 48:36 but we have work to do to make it happen." 48:38 Turns out the kid is a videographer 48:41 for NBC television in Boise, Idaho. 48:43 He's been working for NBC for five years and in May, 48:48 comprehension bomb as he calls it. 48:50 Guess what he does? 48:52 Next prayer he tells me, he sells his house 48:55 above what he was asking for five days 48:58 before he got on that plane. 49:00 Sold everything he had except for some clothes, laptop, iPod, 49:05 and a few other miscellaneous items. 49:06 Look, as long as you have your laptop 49:07 and iPod 49:09 you can go anywhere on this planet. 49:11 Come on, you know what generation 49:12 he is a part of, of course. 49:14 He said, "I sold everything else 49:15 but I got my laptop, and iPod, and a plane ticket. 49:17 And I flew on July 17th," get this, "July 17th, 49:21 I found myself getting off a plane in Africa on the way 49:24 to do something I've never done before, preach. 49:29 Never had a desire to do it, never wanted to do it. 49:32 And at 25 years old, 49:33 I felt too young and inexperienced 49:35 but God blessed the meetings 49:36 though even in the midst of a city of about 49:38 a million on the edge 49:39 because of the intense fighting taking place 49:40 just a few miles outside of town. 49:42 Every one of the meetings 49:43 was packed to the brim over the course of two weeks. 49:45 The desire to learn about the Bible 49:46 and Jesus was powerful to witness. 49:50 I'll be here in Africa for two years, 49:52 after that I don't know. 49:53 Personally, I wish all 18 million of us 49:56 in the church," 49:57 He's talking about Seventh-day Adventist, 49:59 "I wish all of us were full-time missionaries 50:01 at home or abroad. 50:02 There is just so much needed. 50:04 We'd have been home yesterday if that was the case. 50:07 Man, I'm just so tired of seeing 50:09 what I'm seeing in this life." 50:13 I tell you what, I get a letter like this, 50:15 the letter is burning around the edges in my hand 50:18 after I printed off. 50:20 And something gets ignited in my heart 50:22 and I pray this prayer, "God of heaven, wake me up. 50:27 Wake me up." Twenty five years old. 50:33 God of heaven, wake us up! 50:37 We've got lives to prepare for Jesus. 50:40 We've people to warn for Jesus. 50:42 We've a world to reach for Jesus. 50:44 God of heaven, wake us up!" 50:49 I pray. 50:53 Pull out your connect card, will you please? 50:56 It's tucked away, it looks like this. 50:57 It's in your worship bulletin. I want to end with this. 51:02 A little connect card 51:04 because, brothers and sisters of the Advent hope, 51:09 we can't come to an end of a teaching 51:10 like this and just say, 51:12 "Oh, that's great, I'm inspired now. 51:13 I'll just look forward to Jesus coming." 51:14 There has to be a next step we can take. 51:18 Last week, two stacks, 51:23 this high. 51:28 You're guest here for the first time, 51:29 please take a moment and fill this out. 51:31 Let's know how you have found out 51:33 about this place. 51:35 You've been here a few times in a row, that's great. 51:37 We consider you part of the family. 51:40 Would you please put your email address 51:42 on the front side of this card? 51:44 We got several email addresses this last week 51:47 that we could not read. 51:49 We can't send you what you are asking for, 51:50 this material that you'll ask for here. 51:52 So please make sure you allegedly write 51:53 your email address. 51:55 If you're not sure it's readable, 51:56 go ahead and include your cell phone, 51:58 so we can call to ask you what it is. 52:00 Turn the card over, it says, "My next step." 52:03 What's the next step we take together? 52:06 We got to do something, we can't just sit here, 52:07 and go home, and eat that vegan cottage cheese loaf. 52:13 Number one, I will claim... 52:15 Oh, this is the one I can put a checkmark by 52:17 and I'm sure you can too, 52:19 "I will claim the three divine promises 52:21 for insight to connect the dots and discern 52:24 the trends of this end time generation." 52:27 You've been here long time, you've been here short time, 52:29 it doesn't matter but can you join me? 52:30 Can you put a checkmark right there? 52:31 Why can't we? Of course. 52:33 I will claim those three promises. 52:34 Hang on to that study guide, 52:35 you will have those promises for the rest of your life. 52:37 Never lose them, never, never lose them. 52:40 Number two, "I would join you, Dwight, in praying the prayer, 52:43 'God, of heaven, wake me up!'" 52:46 Would you really? 52:48 Would you be willing to ask Jesus 52:49 to just wake you up like I'm willing to ask for me? 52:53 Put a checkmark there. Jesus, wake me up." 52:56 And I'm putting it here, box number three. 52:59 I would like information about becoming a missionary 53:02 for Christ in this dark world. 53:04 Last Sabbath, a 146 of you checked that box. 53:10 A 146 people sitting around you said, 53:14 "I want to be a missionary. 53:16 What do I need to know?" 53:18 You don't become a missionary tomorrow, 53:19 we're not shipping you on a plane, 53:21 but if you would like more information 53:23 about how you can become a missionary, 53:25 put a checkmark there. 53:26 Within 48 hours, we will get information to you 53:30 and you can begin to think and pray about it. 53:32 25 years old lying on a comfortable couch 53:36 and he wakes up at 11:30 53:37 just like that and his brain is saying, 53:40 "You're going to be a missionary for me." 53:43 It can happen that way. 53:45 Sometimes it takes longer as I just, kind of, 53:47 brood over the possibility. 53:48 Don't worry about how, just make your life available. 53:51 Put a checkmark there if you are interested. 53:53 If you're one of the 146 from last week, 53:54 don't check it again, you don't need to. 54:00 But we've added a new one on the other box. 54:03 And so I need to draw your attention to it. 54:07 "I'm interested in beginning a relationship with Jesus." 54:10 Some of you who are hearing material 54:12 for the first time, you say, 54:13 "I didn't know there were any dots to connect. 54:15 I didn't know that 54:16 there is some kind of normalcy bias here 54:17 that the world's coming to an end. 54:19 I didn't know that Jesus is the light 54:20 that I'm desperate for." 54:22 If your heart right now is sensing, 54:25 you know what, boy, 54:27 you know what, girl, I need that friendship. 54:29 And you would like to know how. 54:31 We'll send you something through Cyberspace. 54:32 We're not going to knock on your door, 54:33 just put a checkmark there. 54:35 Why not begin to grow a friendship 54:38 with the one who is soon to come? 54:39 Put a checkmark there. 54:40 "I want information on baptism." 54:42 Put a checkmark there, 54:43 nobody is going to be baptized next week. 54:44 You haven't been baptized? This is the year. 54:47 "Normalcy bias means 54:48 I have all kinds of time, life goes on." 54:50 No, you don't have all kinds of time, 54:52 this is the year to make your decision 54:54 for the Lord Jesus Christ. 54:55 Put a checkmark there. We will be in touch with you. 54:57 You take your time 54:59 but make the decision now, don't put it off. 55:01 Don't put the decision off. 55:03 Now here's the one we're adding, 55:05 "I'd like to serve on the prayer ministry team." 55:08 You know, both of these emails from both young adults 55:11 talked about a renewed sense of earnest praying, 55:16 earnest praying. 55:19 You want to join the prayer team? 55:21 You want to be strategic in your praying? 55:23 Put a checkmark there. 55:24 We'll send you an email, 55:26 we'll put you in touch with the team. 55:29 "I would like to join that prayer team. 55:32 I would like to intercede on behalf of this world, 55:36 this campus, this congregation." 55:40 Put a checkmark there. 55:41 The ushers are going to come in just a moment to receive 55:43 these along 55:44 with our morning tithes and offerings. 55:47 But there's some life's... 55:48 Look at 146 last week I didn't know, 55:50 their life-changing decision is being made right now, 55:52 and I'd like to pray over the decision 55:54 that you're wrestling with as you decide 55:57 whether I put a checkmark there or not. 55:58 That offering plate will be by your side in just a moment. 56:01 But let me pray first, 56:03 and then we'll receive your cards. 56:04 Oh, God... 56:07 Connecting the dots, you can get there from here. 56:12 We never realized that 56:14 the actual conditions today in a matter of dots, 56:19 how many other trends 56:22 are also connecting 56:25 to that same destination, 56:27 the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. 56:30 Oh, Father, children of the light, 56:32 children of the day, 56:34 shine that light brightly into our minds. 56:38 Please let us know, 56:41 and then with that light shining upon us, 56:43 send us out into this world. 56:45 If the world is just a block away, 56:47 or 12 miles away, 56:49 or an ocean away, send us out into the world 56:52 with the light of the Lord Jesus, 56:56 shining our light for the one who is soon to come. 57:01 Take our morning tithes and offerings, 57:03 it isn't a lot but multiply 57:05 these gifts to permeate 57:09 Your light into all this dark world. 57:12 We pray in Jesus name, 57:15 amen. 57:18 Living as you and I are in this time 57:20 when the dark night is rising. 57:22 I believe it's absolutely critical 57:24 that we prepare ourselves for what's yet to come. 57:26 That's why I'm excited about this little book. 57:28 You can see it, On the Edge of Time, 57:31 preparing for the crisis ahead. 57:33 This is a short condensation of that apocalyptic classic, 57:36 The Great Controversy. 57:38 And I'd love to send this to you. 57:39 No charge, even the phone call is free. 57:42 So jot this number down. It's easy to remember. 57:44 Here's the number, 877, 57:45 that's all you have to remember, 57:47 877 plus two words, 57:48 HIS-WILL, 877-HIS-WILL. 57:52 Our friendly operators are standing 57:54 by to receive your order. 57:55 No cost to you. 57:56 I'm happy to send you this gift copy of a book 57:58 that will stir your mind and your heart, 58:00 I believe, to the core. 58:02 You'll never regret reading the book for yourself. 58:05 So please call our toll-free number 877-HIS-WILL. 58:09 And until we meet again next time, God be with you. |
Revised 2018-06-18