Participants: Pr. Dwight Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP091011
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00:20 What do you remember?
00:24 Where were you when you first heard about it? 00:28 I was in between classes. 00:31 That morning we had Chapel. 00:32 And I was just getting ready with some final elements. 00:36 I remember Matthew Gambel was going to speak. 00:37 And I was walking through Griggs Hall. 00:40 Some of you remember what that building was like. 00:42 And Nadine Nelson, my good friend came and said, 00:45 Did you hear? Did you hear about the tower? 00:48 And it didn't mean much to me in the moment. 00:54 I said, No. She said, Like there's been a an attack, 00:58 or a crash, or something. 01:00 And in that moment what I remembered was, you know, 01:05 it seemed like over the last several years there had been 01:07 some kind of bombing at the World Trade Center, 01:11 but it didn't, it wasn't huge. 01:13 It was, I mean it was significant, but it wasn't huge. 01:16 And so I kind of carried that with me in that moment, 01:18 and I didn't think much of it. 01:20 And then I went and somebody turned on the TV 01:23 in one of the offices, and I saw, I saw what was happening. 01:29 And I remember getting goose bumps. 01:32 I remember being frozen and wondering what in the world? 01:37 What has just, what has just happened? 01:41 Do you remember where you were September 11 when the news broke 01:49 of that great calamity that just happened? 01:53 Do you remember? And what do you remember? 01:57 I want to remember them today for just a few 02:04 moments this morning. 02:05 So join me in reading the following responsely. 02:09 We will put it up on the screen here for you. 03:30 Let's take a moment of silence to remember those who suffered 03:34 that day and ever since. 03:50 We now look to God, our help in ages past, 03:53 and our hope for years to come. 03:56 Join me in singing hymn 103. 06:19 Pray with me. Our God, our help in ages past, 06:26 and our hope for years to come. 06:27 Our sustainer, our comforter, our protector. 06:33 We submit our hearts and our selves to You this morning. 06:39 And may we bask in Your everlasting love. 06:43 In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 06:51 Please stand. 11:50 Maybe you brought that injustice with you today. 11:53 Maybe you brought that pain. 11:55 Maybe you brought that hurt with you. 12:00 I want to invite you, if you have that with you, 12:04 if you have some other burden in your hearts, 12:06 bring it with you up front, and lay it at the feet of Jesus, 12:11 as we have our prayer. 12:12 Don't carry that with you anymore. 12:14 Allow yourself rather than be overcome by pain, and anger, 12:19 and hurt, to be drowning in the love of Jesus Christ. 12:22 So come, come and give that to Him. 18:13 Let us pray. Lord have mercy. 18:19 Christ have mercy. 18:27 God of Abraham have mercy upon Your children. 18:34 Don't let us destroy ourselves. 18:46 Have mercy on us, Oh Lord, and teach us to have this aim, 19:00 through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. 19:11 Less than a month after September 11, ten years ago, 19:17 less than a month later, a busload of us from 19:23 Andrews University, mostly students, some faculty, 19:30 and one pastor, drove through the night so that we might stand 19:39 in that cordoned off edge of where this world 19:50 was changed forever. 19:52 There's not a one of us here that cannot instantly recall 20:00 that slow motion disintegration of those towers, one and two, 20:08 that mushroom cloud of death, dust, debris. 20:16 It was a sunny Friday, the 1st of October 2001. 20:25 We stood on the gaping edge of ground zero. 20:32 A woman was there. 20:36 You were there. A woman was there. 20:39 She was crying. And so as students, faculty, 20:47 we surrounded her. 20:50 And she told us, she pointed, It was right over there. 20:55 She said, I was standing here, right over there. 20:57 The wheel of an airplane landed on the street. 21:05 Then, she said, a child's toy fell to the ground. 21:11 This is almost a month later, and she's still weeping, 21:16 returning to that sacred site. 21:19 I took pictures that day. 21:23 I want to share those pictures with you right now. 22:26 Those nine fire fighters you saw, Engine Company 22, 22:30 were lost in those two towers. 22:34 And what shall we remember today, ten years later? 22:38 What if we could remember the lesson of Ground Zero through 22:44 the eyes of the prologue of the fourth gospel? 22:49 Open your Bible with me, please, as we continue our New Year's 22:53 series, The Last Word, The Fourth Gospel for 22:58 a Final Generation. 22:59 Open to the prologue; our last time in the prologue, 23:02 Number 3 time in the prologue. 23:05 We plunge next week into the drama of John. 23:08 But one last time in the prologue. we cannot miss 23:11 We cannot miss its pinnacle ending. 23:15 If you didn't bring a Bible, pull out the pew 23:18 Bible in front of you. 23:20 You're going to want to track this short line. 23:22 It's page 714 in our pew Bible. 23:24 I'm in the New King James Version. 23:25 Any translation you have is perfect right now. 23:28 The gospel of John 1, let's read verse 16. 23:37 Who's this His? That's the Word made flesh. 23:49 Craig Keener in his 2 Volume Commentary on John, 23:53 spends an entire page trying to unpack what that Greek phrase 23:57 could possibly mean. 23:58 In the Greek it literally reads like this: 24:00 Grace instead of grace. 24:01 What's up with that? 24:03 Grace instead of grace? 24:05 Keener runs through a host of possibilities, but he concludes 24:11 that whatever the translation, what we have embedded here 24:15 is the profound assurance that in the Word made flesh, 24:19 get this, in the Word made flesh, we have an inexhaustible 24:24 supply of blessing. 24:26 That's the point. The Christ who becomes flesh, the eternal God 24:31 who becomes one with us, unleashes for us an 24:34 inexhaustible supply of blessing. 24:38 That point is so critical. 24:39 We're moving to our reflex ions on September 11 in a moment, 24:42 but we need to lock that point in right now. 24:44 Pull out your study guide, please, real quick. 24:46 Pull out your study guide. 24:47 Let's lock that in. 24:49 Your study guide is in your worship bulletin today. 24:50 Choir, you have your study guides? Good. 24:53 You've got your worship bulletin's. 24:54 If you didn't get a worship bulletin as you came in, 24:57 ushers are going to come by your way right now, up in the balcony 25:01 here and overflow in the Youth Chapel. 25:04 You need a study guide. 25:06 Keep your hand up. We'll spot you. 25:08 Those of you watching on television, 25:10 we're delighted that you're here on this Anniversary weekend. 25:14 This is Part 3 of our brand new series, The Last Word. 25:17 Let me give you our website, and you can 25:19 get the same study guide. 25:21 We'll put in on the screen for you right now. 25:22 There it is. The website is: 25:29 You're looking for the series, The Last Word, this is Part 3. 25:32 The title of this series, Presentation 3 today: 25:43 If you see that just click onto study guide and you'll have it. 25:46 So you get the same study guide. 25:48 Those of you watching live streaming now, you can get that 25:50 study guide as live streaming is taking place. 25:53 That way you'll be right up to speed with us. 25:57 By the way, I trust that this study guide is a keeper. 26:00 So hang on to this study guide. 26:01 If you didn't get a study guide, hold your hand up. 26:03 They're still coming your way. 26:04 But we need to go, so let's fill it in. 26:05 Craig Keener. I want to lock in that phrase. 26:07 What's, what's, what's verse 16 talking about? 26:12 Grace, instead of grace. 26:16 Key point. When the Word, who was God, stepped out of His 26:20 eternity with God, and He enters into our human family, 26:22 becomes God with us, He unleashes this... 26:27 It reminds me of a line from Desire of Ages. 26:29 Keep your pen moving. 26:31 Classic line, Desire of Ages. 26:32 You'll have to fill it in. 26:55 And write this in. 27:05 Not just the riches of heaven, but the whole universe. 27:28 End quote. Read that verse again, Verse 16. 27:34 And of His fullness, the words fullness, we've all received 27:38 grace for grace. Verse 17. 27:54 Bosom! Do you know what the word bosom means? Huh? 27:59 Is that too old of an English word for you? bosom. 28:04 One of my most favorite people in all this life, 28:07 as a kid growing up especially, was my Great Aunt. 28:10 We called her Auntie Fern. 28:11 A wonderful lady, my mother's Aunt. 28:14 She was a Watt. She married Clayton Forr. 28:17 She, and they, were career missionaries in the Far East. 28:20 And then they came back and he ended up his career, 28:23 a Agshire Director for the General Conference. 28:25 Anyway, Auntie Fern. 28:26 Auntie Fern was a short lady, but a wide lady, 28:31 with a low center of gravity. 28:33 So you can now picture it. Alright? 28:36 And she was a lover. 28:37 She just loved people, I'm telling you. 28:39 She was just one wonderful woman. 28:43 She was a lover, which meant that whenever you greeted 28:46 Auntie Fern you would step into her wide open embrace. 28:51 Alright? Those little arms would go out. 28:53 You'd step into her wide open embrace, and she greeted you 28:55 with a nickname that she had just for you. 28:57 And then she'd pulled, she folded you into 29:01 this expansive hug. 29:02 What I mean is that when Auntie Fern hugs you, 29:06 you knew two things: You knew 1. You were loved. 29:11 And you knew you were surrounded. 29:15 Because when she pulled your head into her bosom, 29:18 it was all bosom. Ha ha ha ha! 29:23 Is that okay? Ha ha ha ha ha! 29:27 So you got the picture! 29:29 I didn't know if you knew the word bosom. Ha, ha, ha, ha. 29:36 But it was all love; it was all genuine love from Auntie Fern. 29:39 That is John's point. 29:41 That's what he's trying to describe here. 29:42 The word he uses for bosom, called bust, is the identical 29:46 word he inserts into the last supper upper room account 29:51 when he describes, you remember this moment, 29:52 he describes the disciple that Jesus kept on loving. 29:55 You remember that code phrase, that humble phrase? 29:57 I'm the one that Jesus kept on loving. 29:59 He describes himself at the upper room table, reclining. 30:04 They didn't sit at the tables, you remember, they reclined. 30:06 And so he has his elbow here. 30:08 He's eating with his left hand, and he has his elbow here. 30:10 And right beside him, he's sitting next to Jesus. 30:13 Right behind him is Jesus. 30:15 And you remember, Peter is going, Ask Him who betrays Him. 30:19 So John, all he has to do, because he says, The disciple 30:23 that Jesus loved was leaning on His bosom. 30:24 All he has to do is just look up into Jesus' face like that, 30:28 and he asked the question. 30:30 The word bosom in the Greek, it's a tender, 30:35 it's a tender term. 30:36 It's what a Daddy does with his child on his lap. 30:39 It's what a husband and wife do. 30:41 It's what dear friends do. 30:43 It's what John does with the Word made flesh. 30:45 And it's what the Word made flesh does with the Father. 30:50 Say, that's the point. 30:52 With the Father, like this! 30:55 Robert Smith, boy if you can ever get his Commentary on John. 31:01 It's entitled, Wounded Lord. 31:03 It's just a short commentary. 31:05 Robert Smith translates Verse 18. 31:07 It's in our study guide. Fill it out. 31:09 Okay, this is how Verse 18 reads. He says: 31:18 Boy, I tell you what, now I got the picture, you see. 31:27 Craig Keener comes back with Verse 18, and he says, 31:31 Here's what it means. 31:34 Fill it in. It is describing 31:41 Which is why the New NIV, and I'm reading it through 31:45 right now, and I'm loving it. 31:46 And I'm going to bring it in. 31:48 I'll begin preaching from it for awhile. 31:49 The New NIV, the 2011 edition of the NIV, 31:53 just released this spring. 31:56 They dropped the word bosom completely out, 31:58 and here's how they put it. 31:59 Next slide, please. The Son, 32:06 See, the word bosom's gone. 32:08 Because they said, Nobody knows what the word bosom means. 32:10 But He's in the closest relationship with the Father. 32:15 That's what it means. 32:16 In the bosom of the Father. 32:17 You can't get any closer than that. 32:20 So, Ladies and Gentlemen, what does that mean for you and me? 32:23 Robert Smith again. 32:25 Put the words on the screen. 32:27 And this is provocative. 32:28 Wait until you get to his punch line. 32:30 Robert Smith, it's in your study guide, he's writing. 32:34 And he's right, isn't he? 32:50 We don't know God! 33:09 Here it comes. 33:14 Key point: God is like Jesus. 33:18 It's not Jesus is like God. 33:19 Oh, no, no, he reminds me of God. 33:22 No, no, no, it's the other way around. 33:23 God is like Jesus. 33:26 The only portrait of God we will ever be given this side 33:30 of eternity, is the picture of Jesus. 33:32 He is not like God, God is like Him. 33:36 Anyone who has seen Me... 33:38 What does He say in John 14? 33:40 Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. 33:43 This climax to the prologue declares that the only portrait 33:48 of God we will ever gaze upon, this, this side of eternity, 33:53 is the portrait, is the picture of Jesus. 33:56 There is no one closer than He to God. 34:00 So, hold on, hold on, hold on. 34:02 If you want to get to know God, you must get to know Christ. 34:10 That's the only way you will ever know God, ever, ever, ever. 34:20 Which, by the way, is the point Steps to 34:21 Christ powerfully makes. 34:23 Put it on the screen. 34:24 It's in your study guide. 34:26 You need to fill it out. 34:27 This little classic, Steps to Christ. 34:39 See, there's the prologue line. 34:40 Which only He who was in the bosom of the Father 34:42 could declare Him. 34:43 Only He. Fill that in, please. 34:58 End quote. Those who hunger; and I hope you 35:03 hunger to know God. 35:04 I join you in that hunger. 35:06 Those who hunger to know God must know Christ. 35:11 How did Jesus put it? 35:14 No one comes to the Father but through Me. 35:18 Say, Ah, come on Dwight, great point, but what's all this have 35:22 to do with September 11? 35:24 Um, well, let's see if we can get there from here. 35:32 In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus... 35:34 Do you remember that parable that Jesus told about 35:36 the rich man and Lazarus? 35:37 Jesus describes heaven with the Jewish idiom. 35:41 Fill this in. He describes heaven with the Jewish idiom, 35:43 in the bosom of whom? in the bosom of Abraham. Yep. 35:49 So let's move from the bosom of the Father to the bosom 35:52 of Abraham for a moment. 35:54 The Talmud describes Abraham's lap as the place 35:56 of the blessed dead. 35:57 In fact you hear it today. 35:59 You hear people say, Hey, did you hear about the man who died 36:01 and went to heaven, and Saint Peter met him at the gate? 36:02 Do you remember that? Yep. 36:04 We do that all the time. 36:05 For the Jews it was Abraham. 36:06 You're going to paradise? 36:08 You're going through? 36:09 Abraham will meet you at the gate. 36:11 Jesus seizes this bit of popular lore and weaves 36:13 it into His parable. 36:15 In fact, listen to this, Jesus has the rich man in Hades 36:18 crying out across the gulf to Father Abraham, Yoh! 36:23 Father Abraham! Reminds us of that children's song 36:28 not too long ago, Father Abraham had many sons, 36:33 many sons had Father Abraham. Cut! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! 36:40 That thing goes forever! Ha, ha! 36:42 I'm not letting you go! 36:43 Alright, Father Abraham, because the truth be told, 36:47 Father Abraham really does have many sons and daughters. 36:50 Listen to this. He's the father of the children of Israel. 36:53 He's the father of the children of Ishmael. 36:55 And he's the father of the children of Christ. 36:57 Jot this down, will you, please? 37:06 Jot that down. All three of them. 37:10 You don't believe me? 37:12 Let me run the evidence by you right now. 37:14 Genesis 16:15. Fill it in. 37:25 Please note, Ishmael is the eldest son of Abraham. 37:30 No question. 37:32 He was a baby son preserved by divine miracle. 37:35 Fill that word in. 37:36 He's a baby son preserved by divine miracle. 37:38 Because when pregnant mother Hagar, the Egyptian handmaiden, 37:42 she's driven out of that house. 37:44 She will have a miscarriage unless God steps in. 37:47 And He does through the angel of the Lord. 37:49 Three great: first in the Bible. 37:51 The first time the angel of the Lord ever appears in Scripture. 37:53 The first time God ever names a baby. 37:55 First time anybody ever says, I've seen God face to face. 37:58 And it was all for an Egyptian handmaiden, servant girl. 38:03 She must have been pretty important to God. 38:06 That baby must have been important to God. 38:11 So, write it down. Next line. 38:18 In fact, I was given a Koran by a visiting Imam from Detroit, 38:22 and in that holy book for the Muslims, did you know this? 38:24 They tell the story of Abraham on Mount Moriah? 38:27 And guess who Abraham is offering to God? Ishmael. 38:31 In the Koran it's Ishmael. 38:33 That's why they have the Dome of the Rock on top the ruins 38:37 of Jerusalem's temple. 38:38 Why? Because that's holy ground. 38:40 Muslims say, We are the children of Abraham. 38:42 They are! But the Jews say the same, and they're right. 38:46 Look at this. Jot it down. 38:55 Isaac was Abraham's only son through Sarah. 39:01 He was a baby son born by divine miracle. 39:05 Ishmael was a baby son preserved by divine miracle. 39:09 Isaac is a baby son born by divine miracle. 39:12 A year before Isaac was born the Lord shows up in Abraham's tent. 39:16 You remember that? 39:17 He said, You're going to have a baby. 39:18 No, I'm not, Yes, you are. 39:20 Quit laughing, you are, and so on. 39:21 You remember the story. 39:22 Alright. So, jot this down. 39:24 Isaac was the father of the children of Israel. 39:26 That's exactly what Exodus 3:15 says. 39:28 That means he's the father of the children of Judaism today. 39:32 And the Jews, of course, today believe that when Abraham 39:35 sacrificed his son atop Mount Moriah, it was his son Isaac. 39:39 Right? But of course! 39:41 And the Jews consider themselves, therefore, 39:43 the children of Abraham. 39:45 And they are. But guess what? 39:46 They're not alone. 39:48 The Christians consider themselves 39:49 the children of Abraham. 39:50 Jot this down: Galatians 3, Paul writing. 39:54 If you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. 40:02 Isn't that something? Keep writing. 40:05 Who are these Christian children? They are: 40:11 There's a miracle for every first child out of that clan. 40:16 A miracle for Ishmael, a miracle for Isaac, 40:18 and miracle for the children of Abraham through Christ. Wow! 40:24 By virtue of His Lordship, the followers of Christ are 40:27 inheritors of every promise made to Abraham. 40:29 There you have it, Ladies and Gentlemen. 40:31 All three monotheistic religions honored today rightfully claim 40:36 Abraham as our father. 40:40 He's our father as well, which means... Now hold on! 40:45 ...which means September 11's tragedy ten years ago 40:50 was a tragedy for all three families of Abraham, was it not? 40:54 Come on, wasn't it? 40:57 That crime against humanity, perpetrated by a band of 41:02 extremists, sucked all three monotheistic clans of believers 41:07 into the same vortex. 41:12 So here's the question: then shall all three branches of 41:16 Father Abraham remain hostile, fractured, 41:20 and alienated from one another? 41:23 Could it be that the Father of Father Abraham still seeks 41:28 reconciliation that might yet unite the children of Abraham? 41:33 Would you be surprised? 41:36 Hey, just tell me, would you be surprised to learn 41:40 that there is... God has raised up, let me put it that way, 41:45 God has raised up a branch from within one of the three 41:48 Abrahamic family clans. 41:51 He's raised up a branch from one of those three to lead all three 41:58 to the bosom of the Father. 42:00 Would that surprise you? 42:03 There is a branch of the Christian family clan 42:06 that shares more common ground with the Muslim family clan, 42:10 and the Jewish family clan than any other community within 42:13 the Christian family. 42:15 No Christian body on earth is as close to both Jews and Muslims 42:20 as this particular Christian community. 42:22 I wonder who that community could be? 42:25 Let me show you how it works with the Jews. 42:27 With the Jews this Christian branch shares... 42:29 And I'll put this on the screen for you. 42:31 With the Jews it shares... 42:58 This branch shares all of that with Judaism. 43:03 The fact is that had Israel embraced the Messiah when He 43:08 came to them there never would have been the need for this 43:12 branch of the Christian family to have been raised up at all. 43:17 But the record in the prologue of the fourth 43:20 gospel is bitterly sad. 43:21 I remind you, these words are in the prologue. 43:24 Verse 11. He, the Word, 43:36 Now I want you to think with me. 43:37 Had the community of Israel, with her leadership, 43:41 united in accepting Christ, there would have been no need 43:45 for any further remnant community. 43:48 Israel would have carried God's truth to the end. 43:51 In fact, there would have been no need for the two other 43:54 monotheistic religions that came after Judaism. 43:59 Christianity and Islam would never have been born. 44:05 The truth is that the Jews have no closer spiritual cousins, 44:09 or family, than this divinely raised up apocalyptic community 44:13 within the Christian family. 44:15 Furthermore, the family of Islam has no closer spiritual cousin, 44:19 or family within the Christian community than this same 44:21 apocalyptic branch that we've just noted is close to Judaism. 44:24 Let me show you that with the Muslims this same Christian 44:27 branch shares these major common grounds. 44:30 Put it on the screen for you. 44:37 Different holy books, but still reverence for the holy book. 44:59 Within the Christian community to share these seven tenants 45:05 of faith is indeed a most significant common ground 45:08 with Muslims, isn't it? 45:10 So who is this branch within the Christian community that has 45:14 been raised up to bridge to all three monotheistic religions 45:18 at this time in history? 45:20 I believe that the Seventh-day Adventist church 45:24 is that community. 45:26 A community of Christians closer to Jews and Muslims 45:31 than any other Christian body. 45:34 But that closeness now, that closeness does not denigrate 45:38 its distinctive Christian witness within this community 45:42 of faith, for like all other Christian communities, 45:45 in contradistinction to Islam and Judaism, 45:49 the Seventh-day Adventist church accepts the testimony 45:51 of the Jewish writer of the fourth gospel, the apostle John, 45:55 who himself was a Jewish Christian. 45:58 And that is the shining truth of the prologue, 46:01 and his entire gospel, that Jesus was, 46:04 and is the incarnation of one who shares both deity and 46:09 eternity with almighty God. 46:11 But who came down to the human race becoming one with us, 46:14 so that He might die for the human race. 46:16 And on the third day He rose again to become our Lord 46:20 forever and ever, Amen. 46:27 Which is why, by the way, the Word made flesh in the fourth 46:31 gospel, John goes to extra lengths to make certain the 46:34 reader is clear the Word made flesh is greater than both 46:38 Moses, who's mentioned twelve times in this gospel, 46:41 or Abraham, who's mentioned eleven times in this gospel. 46:44 Let me give you two sample verses where John is 46:46 driving this point home. 46:47 First about Moses. 46:54 The greater proceeds the lesser, of course. 46:56 John's point clear. 46:58 What does he say about Abraham? 47:01 Jesus speaking to a group of Jews. 47:07 I AM. The children of Abraham and Moses, of Ishmael and Isaac, 47:16 are the very children the heavenly Father longs to draw 47:20 into His eternal heart, which is why He sent His Son. 47:27 And which is why,... 47:29 And now I need you to be listening 47:30 very carefully, please. 47:31 Which is why you and I, as Seventh-day Adventists must 47:35 come to the place where we find it painful. 47:37 You say, Find what painful, Dwight? 47:39 Listen, you and I as Seventh-day Adventists must come to the 47:42 place where we find it painful. 47:46 And I'm speaking about the false charactures, 47:49 and misrepresentations that You Tube, and Cyberspace perpetrate 47:55 against both of these monotheistic communities. 47:58 If it is a mission of the Seventh-day Adventist church 48:03 to build bridges to our Muslim and Jewish friends 48:05 and neighbors, than of all people on earth we should 48:08 reject the impulse to forward any e-mail, or any video clip 48:14 that belittles, or attacks the sincere faith of these 48:17 children of Abraham. 48:18 I got a letter two weeks ago from one of our listeners. 48:27 And the listener said, You, obviously don't know the Koran, 48:32 and outlined for me all the commands that reflect violence. 48:37 He just wrote it up in a three page typed letter. 48:42 You're right. Those are all there. 48:44 But have you read the Old Testament lately? 48:49 Do you know how long a list I could put together 48:51 from Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges? 48:54 How would you feel if somebody pulled all those references out 48:58 and left them all by themselves, no context, no nothing but just 49:02 the gut line, and then disseminated that line and said, 49:07 This is the Bible she believes in. 49:08 This is the Bible he believes in. 49:11 What kind of a religion do they have? 49:13 Ladies and Gentlemen, the golden rule taught to us by the Word 49:17 made flesh is you treat others the same way you want 49:22 to be treated yourself. 49:27 If we, as the children of Abraham ourselves, 49:29 seek to destroy the integrity and reputation of Godly Muslim's 49:32 and Jews, we engage in what is called fratricide. 49:35 Do you know what fratricide is? 49:37 It is the mortal attack of children upon their own siblings. 49:40 It's children killing their brothers and sisters. 49:42 Look, agreed, September 11 was an act of tragic fratricide 49:49 committed by Muslim extremists, we all agree. 49:51 But our collective response as Adventists, as Christians, 49:55 cannot be to reciprocate in a more subtle, 49:58 but nonetheless destructive manner, using the dissemination 50:01 of falsehoods in order to destroy a people, 50:04 no matter how pure our motives might be. 50:07 We can't do it. If our motivation is to seek, 50:13 and save the lost like Jesus, then there is only one response 50:17 we can make to attempts to harm rather than save. 50:21 We must categorically reject those fear mongering YouTube 50:25 clips, and forwarded e-mails. 50:27 No, that will never get past me. 50:29 That will never go past me. 50:31 It ended right here, right here. 50:36 And we must, in the name of the Word made flesh, 50:38 so that He could save us all, we must seek to build faith 50:41 bridges to the very ones others are rejecting. 50:45 That's the whole point. 50:46 The world may reject, but this is God's opportunity to build 50:51 a bridge where others have torn it down. 50:54 That's the point. And for that reason I wish to take this tenth 51:01 Anniversary opportunity of September 11, to recommit my 51:06 life to drawing nearer, and nearer to the One who is in 51:11 the bosom of the Father. 51:12 Because if Jesus is in closest relationship to the Father, 51:18 then I wish to come into closest relationship with Jesus. 51:24 That's what I want, because surely, when I am near to Him, 51:30 it will be clear to me that I must be near to them, too. 51:36 All the rest of the children of Abraham. 51:40 I want to be that for Jesus, don't you? 51:44 Yeah, I do. There's a great hymn I want us to sing in closing. 51:55 Pull your hymnal out. 51:56 It's hymn 301 in your hymnal. 51:57 But there's one stanza that links us with this verse 52:01 in the prologue, and I want to put the words on the screen. 52:04 Because this is a prayer of my heart, and I know it's the 52:06 prayer of your heart. 52:07 I just want to get nearer and nearer. 52:09 Can we put the words on the screen, please? 52:12 Remember this old hymn? this old gospel hymn? 52:14 I want to show you this line straight out of the prologue. 52:17 Look at the words on the screen for a moment. 52:19 It's hymn 301, by the way. 52:20 You're finding it in your hymnal, but look at the screen. 52:32 Now watch this. 52:38 We have sung that stanza for years. 52:40 Now you know where it came from. 52:43 It's the One who is in the breast of God 52:46 that we are praying to. 52:48 May I be drawn close to Your breast? 53:00 I want to go nearer, and nearer, and nearer 53:03 to Him until He comes. 53:05 Stand with me. Let's sing this beautiful prayer. 53:09 It is our prayer, hymn 301. 57:19 Holy Father, please answer the prayer we have just sung. 57:24 Nearer, and nearer, and nearer we pray, 57:31 so that we might be bridges from Your heart to theirs. 57:39 And now may the love of God, and the grace of His Son, 57:45 and the communion of the Holy Spirit abide with you and me 57:51 as we go to them, Amen. |
Revised 2016-03-07