Participants: Pr. Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP091507
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00:27 My Jesus, Jesus
00:35 There is none like You. 00:37 There is none like You 00:45 No one else can touch my heart like You do 00:51 I could search 00:53 I could search for all eternity long 00:59 And find 01:02 There is none like You 01:07 I could search. 01:10 I could search for all eternity long 01:17 And find 01:19 There is none like You 01:53 Be Thou my vision 01:58 O Lord of my heart 02:04 Naught be all else 02:08 To me save that Thou art 02:16 Thou my best thought 02:21 By day or by night 02:27 Waking or sleeping 02:33 Thy presence my light 02:46 Be Thou my wisdom be Thou my true word. 02:48 Be Thou my wisdom 02:53 Be Thou my true word 03:00 I ever with Thee 03:05 And Thou with me, Lord 03:11 Thou my great Father 03:16 I Thy true son 03:22 Thou in me dwelling 03:27 And I with Thee one 03:42 Riches I need 03:45 Not nor man's empty praise 03:52 Thou mine inheritance 03:58 Now and always 04:04 Thou and Thou 04:08 Only first in my heart 04:15 High King of heaven 04:20 My treasure Thou art 04:32 High King of heaven. 04:35 High king of heaven 04:39 My vict'ry is won 04:45 May I reach heaven's joys 04:51 O bright heav'n Sun 04:57 Heart of my own heart 05:01 Whatever befall 05:08 Still be my vision 05:12 O ruler of all 05:23 Still be my vision 05:29 O ruler of all 05:50 Then sings my soul 05:56 My Savior God to Thee 06:06 How great Thou art 06:14 How great Thou art 06:22 Then sings my soul 06:28 My Savior God to Thee 06:39 How great Thou art 06:47 How great Thou art 06:58 You dance over me 07:05 While I am unaware 07:13 And You sing all around 07:20 But I never hear the sound 07:26 Lord, I'm amazed by You 07:34 Lord, I'm amazed by You 07:41 Lord, I'm amazed by You 07:49 How You love me 07:53 Let's try that again. 07:56 You dance over me 08:03 While I am unaware 08:10 And You sing all around 08:17 But I never hear the sound 08:22 Lord, I'm amazed. 08:24 Lord, I'm amazed by You 08:29 Lord, I'm amazed 08:31 Lord, I'm amazed by You 08:38 Lord, I'm amazed by You 08:45 How You love me 08:51 This one you can all sing with us. 08:53 It goes How wide, How deep, How great is Your love for me. 09:00 How wide 09:06 How deep 09:13 How great 09:18 Is Your love for me 09:22 Let's try that again. How wide. 09:27 How wide 09:34 How deep 09:41 How great 09:46 Is Your love for me 09:51 Come on sing it now. 09:54 How wide 10:01 How deep 10:08 How great 10:13 Is Your love for me 10:21 Lord, I'm amazed by You 10:27 Lord, I'm amazed. 10:28 Lord, I'm amazed by You 10:35 Lord, I'm amazed by You 10:42 How You love me 10:46 Lord 10:49 Lord, I'm amazed by You 10:55 Lord, I'm amazed by You 11:03 Lord, I'm amazed by You 11:10 How You love me 11:16 Lord, I'm amazed by You 11:24 Lord, I'm amazed by You 11:31 Lord, I'm amazed by You 11:40 How You love me 11:50 Holy Father, we're amazed. 11:58 Why would You choose anybody, 12:02 why would You choose anyone at all, 12:06 but You have. 12:09 Choose a whole planet to save. 12:13 Lord, we're amazed by You. 12:19 This is Your house, You've been here waiting, 12:26 counting the moments still we come right back in. 12:32 We sense You here that's why the spirit 12:36 has drawn our hearts out 12:38 and we have lifted ourselves up. 12:40 Oh, if we could just touch Your throne. 12:48 Don't stop dear Father, what You're doing. 12:52 Don't let this human instrument 12:53 get in Your way, please I beg of You. 12:58 You have a crucial teaching to bring to us today, 13:03 may Holy Scripture be clear. 13:07 You know my Father, when, when we hear what we hear. 13:14 Show us how to go about making it real in this place, 13:20 on this campus for this time, 13:23 we pray in Christ's name, amen. 13:27 Amen. 13:30 Thank you, Andrew. Thank you, J.C. 13:35 Our new husband and wife team, glad to have them. 13:41 For the sake of illustration let's just pretend 13:43 for a moment that you are the head 13:50 of a juvenile detention center. 13:56 You know what those are, don't you? 13:57 Of course you do. 14:00 It's a lockdown facility where incorrigible kids, 14:06 teens, younger, the courts just say listen 14:10 mom and dad can't handle it, the town can't handle it, 14:13 we turning these kids over to the state or the county 14:16 and bring them back into productivity, 14:19 make them good citizens again. 14:21 As it so happens we have a juvenile detention center 14:24 just outside the village here 14:26 and a friend of mine Terry Martinek 14:28 is the administrator of that center. 14:31 Let's say you are. 14:34 Now you're the leader, what is your mission 14:37 as the leader of the juvenile detention center 14:40 what do you got to do? 14:42 This isn't rocket science, folks. 14:44 You know that somehow 14:45 you have to find a way to connect 14:47 with that big center 14:51 filled with the rudely and rebellious kids. 14:53 Somehow you've got to transform, 14:55 now you're the one, 14:56 we're looking to you to transform this, 14:59 all these inmates into productive citizens again. 15:02 So what do you do? What's the number one strategy? 15:06 You know if you're a leader you know-- 15:10 And by the way whether you're working 15:11 with a peaceful group or rebellious group 15:13 the strategy is always the same in leading 15:15 you have to get close to someone in that group, 15:19 isn't that true? 15:21 You got to get close to someone, 15:22 one of those boys, one of those girls, 15:24 one of the teens, you got to win her competence, 15:28 you have to-- 15:29 you have to engage his loyalty and then-- 15:33 because what's the strategy simple, 15:35 through the one you know you must reach the whole. 15:39 You have to have one. 15:41 Impossible, if you set out to reach that 15:43 whole room of screaming mimi's you will never reach the room, 15:48 you got to find one. 15:50 How do you know if you got the right one? 15:51 I don't know. 15:53 Something in his eyes. 15:55 Now boys, listen to me something in the way 15:58 the girl really does listen to you, 16:00 the whole is mayhem but she is tuning you in 16:03 and she's holding on to you 16:05 and you're saying that may be the one. 16:08 So you stop by his room 16:09 and just a little extra chit-chat. 16:11 You stop by the table where she's eating, 16:13 you want to begin to build that confidence engage that loyalty. 16:18 Now I want to ask you a question. 16:20 Are you playing favorites right now with that one? 16:25 Are you playing favorites? 16:26 No, you are not. You are not. 16:29 You're simply using that one, you've got to get close to one 16:32 and so you've picked one through whom, 16:35 you wish to reach the whole, isn't that right? 16:38 Absolutely, that's how juvenile detention centers work. 16:41 Once upon a time there was a juvenile detention center 16:44 called planet Earth and it had a leader name God 16:48 and He said how am I get these boys and girls into my heart? 16:52 I'll find one of them, that's what I'll do. 16:56 And when He found that one He called them the chosen. 17:00 Open your Bible with me please 17:01 as we continue our series thinking, wrestling together. 17:05 What does it mean to be the chosen? 17:06 Open your Bible, to the Bible's fifth book, 17:08 this is our theme book. 17:10 Third time now we've come back to it. 17:12 Book of Deuteronomy, 17:13 the mighty climax to the Pentateuch. 17:19 It's first five books to the Bible that Moses wrote. 17:22 We come now to back to Deuteronomy. 17:25 Now I'm just guessing we probably picked up 17:27 a few of you worshipers who haven't been here before 17:30 and so as you're finding Deuteronomy Chapter 7 go ahead 17:32 and find Deuteronomy Chapter 7, I need to remind you 17:36 and in case you're new this is a farewell address. 17:40 It's a longest farewell address in literature anywhere. 17:43 This man 120 years old has been track 17:45 in this crowd for 40 years, 17:48 40 long burning bitter years in the wilderness. 17:53 Why's it taking 40 because they maybe waiting 17:54 for mom and dad to die, get mom and dad out of here 17:57 that generation rejected me God said 17:59 I will not take them into the Promise Land 18:00 I'll take the boys and girls instead. 18:02 Let the babies grow up and Moses you stay with them. 18:05 You, Caleb and Joshua are older than the rest, 18:08 I keep the three of you the rest will be buried 18:10 and until they're buried we're not going over. 18:12 Took 40 years to burry an entire generation 18:16 sometimes got asked to give up on a generation is that just, 18:18 this generation is not gonna cut it, 18:22 but I'll take the kids. 18:23 This is the farewell address. 18:25 Why is it a farewell 18:27 because just a few days earlier the leader blew it. 18:33 He let God down in a major public way. 18:37 And I said it twice before, I'm gonna say it one more time, 18:40 when you're a leader the bar is higher for you. 18:45 You can't get by with the bar down here 18:47 God expects of leaders 18:49 a higher, a higher loyalty an allegiance. 18:55 And Moses blew it and God said I'm awfully sorry 18:58 my dear, dear friend, you are gonna die on that mountain, 19:01 the kids will cross over without you. 19:03 So this is the farewell address. 19:05 Deuteronomy Chapter 7, 19:07 we've been to these words before but I got to go back. 19:09 I'm thinking juvenile detention center now. 19:11 I'm thinking the metaphor. 19:12 Can I understand why God has chosen at all? 19:15 What does He have the chosen on this planet? 19:17 Deuteronomy 7:6, by the way 19:19 if you didn't bring a Bible 19:20 grab the pew Bible its page 128. 19:22 You got to follow this 19:23 and we're going to get out this passage 19:24 into some other reaches 19:26 of Deuteronomy in just a moment. 19:27 So have that Bible ready to go. 19:29 Deuteronomy 7:6, New King James Version, 19:32 Moses thundering to the people. 19:33 "For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, 19:36 the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, 19:39 a special treasure above all the peoples 19:42 on the face of the earth." 19:43 I want to tell you something Moses said, 19:44 God look down onto-- one day on to this locked 19:47 down planet of a juvenile detention center, 19:50 saw all these rebels 19:52 and He pick one of them and use it. 19:56 You're the one He chose. 19:58 By the way did you get chosen 20:01 because there's something physically superior about you? 20:04 Did you get chosen 20:05 because there's some financially, 20:07 you're cut above intellectually are you a cut above? 20:12 Nope, Moses goes on verse 7 20:14 "The Lord did not set is love on you nor choose you 20:18 because you were more 20:19 in number than any other people, 20:21 for you were the least of all the peoples." 20:25 You're the least. 20:26 And by the way that is true, not only numerically, 20:29 not only where they the least in number, 20:31 they were the least morally, morally. 20:34 Watch this, so keep your figure right there 20:36 go to pages over to Deuteronomy Chapter 9, 20:38 look at Deuteronomy Chapter 9 Moses is-- 20:40 they might not have caught it at the first time it, 20:42 so he repeats his point Deuteronomy 9:6 20:45 "Therefore understand that the Lord your God 20:48 is not giving you this good land to possess 20:50 because of your righteousness, 20:52 for you are a stiff-necked people." 20:55 Have you ever woken up 20:56 in the morning with a stiff neck? 20:59 It is a real pain. 21:02 Moses is thundering, 21:03 you're a pain in that neck to God. 21:09 You're rebellious, 21:10 you're stubborn, you're incorrigible. 21:14 The point God is not chosen you because you are a superstar. 21:21 God does not choose superstars. 21:24 That point is so critical, 21:25 I wish to grab your study guide right now, 21:27 it's in your worship bulletin, pull it out write it down. 21:29 God does not choose superstars. 21:31 See that study guide? 21:34 Pull it out ushers, thank you. 21:35 Right now let's get these-- 21:37 There have to be a few people in here 21:39 who got in without getting a study guide. 21:40 Hold your hand up, 21:41 I want to make sure everybody gets one. 21:43 There is a stunning quotation that you'll take home 21:47 if you get the study guide today. 21:48 Hold your hand up and while they are doing that 21:50 in the balcony in here, 21:51 I want to say to those of you watching on TV 21:53 we're delighted to have you. 21:54 You can get the same study guide 21:55 just go to our website let me put it on the screen for you. 21:58 There it is www.pmchurch.tv. 22:02 You're looking for the series "The Chosen." 22:04 When you see the-- 22:05 you'll see what's on the screen right now 22:07 that the red cue ball surrounded 22:09 by the white cue balls. 22:10 That's the logo go there, this is teaching number three 22:13 and it's in titled "Not a Big Head, 22:15 but a Big Heart." 22:17 Then it will say study guide, you click on right there, 22:19 you'll have the identical study guide that we have. 22:21 What's going on in this series that's a brand new series? 22:24 We're trying to make the case that 22:25 God has always had it chosen. 22:27 Last Sabbath, if you are not here last Sabbath, 22:30 last week's teaching may ended 22:32 being the most critical one in this entire series 22:34 because we noted that God at the beginning 22:36 a sacred history He had a movement 22:39 and we noted 15 stunning parallels to a movement 22:42 God will have at the end of sacred history. 22:45 Fifteen parallels that link the-- 22:48 the divine strategy together. 22:50 You don't have it that website 22:52 you just on the screen you go to that, 22:54 get a podcast I was calling somebody 22:56 in an office this last week 22:58 and they say I just downloaded the podcast 23:00 I'm listening to it right now. 23:02 So you can get the podcast 23:03 in your own leisure, you listen. 23:06 The point is we need to build a case this morning part three. 23:09 We need to build a case this morning that 23:11 when God calls the chosen it's not a call to exclusivity, 23:14 it's a call to inclusivity. 23:16 It's a call to be inclusive rather than exclusive. 23:19 All right, let's go, fill it out please 23:21 study guide point number one, 23:23 God's chosen ones are not superstars. 23:26 Then what are they? 23:27 Keep writing, they are super loved. 23:30 We just going to word 23:31 you and I together they are super loved. 23:35 That's point God's making through 23:37 Moses right here verse 8. 23:38 Okay why did you get chosen? 23:39 Because we're the least. Why did you get chosen? 23:42 Moses goes on in verse 8 "Because the Lord loves you." 23:49 That's it hit the pause button right there. 23:51 You know, I was taking a class year ago 23:53 in a theological seminary here 23:55 at a professor here brilliant mind, 23:57 his name was Gerhard Housel. 23:59 And he was making the point to the class. 24:01 He said, hey, guys, I want to tell you something. 24:02 You don't know this but the Book at Deuteronomy 24:04 is an epistle of love 24:06 and I had to myself, yeah, right. 24:08 I have read Deuteronomy it is not an epistle of love. 24:12 Just this last week years later, 24:13 I said, okay I'm gonna count the Hebrew word for love their, 24:16 25 times in this book the only other book 24:19 that has more references to love 24:21 is that would be the Psalm's. 24:24 It is an epistle of love. 24:26 And in fact the Hebrew word right here is ahab. 24:30 It's the identical word that 24:31 Moses the author of Genesis used 24:34 when he wrote the love story of Jacob and Rachel. 24:37 You remember that love story? 24:39 So smitten is that boy with that beautiful girl, 24:41 that what does he do? 24:42 He says, I will work seven long years 24:45 to win your hand in marriage. 24:47 True or false? 24:48 But of course Moses says, 24:50 hey, I'm telling you that for 40 long years 24:53 God has been tracking you 24:55 through these burning sands desperate 24:58 to win your hand in marriage, 40 years that's seven, 25:03 40 years you been chosen because He loves you. 25:08 You know what folks, I tell you what, 25:09 any God who would love the likes of you and me 25:11 and spent 40 years trying to prove it to us 25:14 there's only one way to describe a love like that 25:16 one word G-R-A-C-E, 25:21 grace, grace. 25:25 We buried this last week, 25:27 an old warhorse of a pastor and preacher, 92-years-old, 25:32 my friend George Renton had his funeral right here. 25:35 So I'm sitting up here get ready for the humbly, 25:37 the family is chosen. 25:39 I've heard this hymn-- 25:41 I've heard this hymn a thousand times 25:42 but they invited Karen Randol to bring her violin 25:45 and in the plaintive melody of Amazing Grace sitting here 25:49 on the platform this last Wednesday. 25:53 I look down at Pastor George's casket 25:56 and I thought to myself you know what-- 25:58 you know what whether you are a preacher, 26:01 a pastor or a parishioner, the fact of the matter is that 26:04 when it comes time to cross over 26:07 it'll always be because of grace. 26:12 Moses says, hey, I telling you what, guys, 26:13 you are super loved. 26:15 You're not superstars or nothing about you 26:17 that would make God want to choose you. 26:19 Nobody else thought about choosing you. 26:20 But God loved you just like Jacob love Rachel 26:23 and He chose you. 26:26 And in fact, Moses is on to this love theme 26:28 you need to drop down to verse-- 26:30 this is chapter 7 drop down to verse 13, 26:33 keeps the love theme going. 26:34 And by the way future tense now 26:36 God will keep on loving you verse 13 26:39 "And He will love you and bless you" 26:41 the chosen "and multiply you, 26:43 He will also bless the fruit of your womb 26:45 and the fruit of your land, 26:46 your grain and your new wine and your oil, 26:48 and the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock 26:50 in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you." 26:52 Verse 14, hold on now, 26:54 "You shall be blessed above all peoples" 26:58 wow "there shall not be a male or female 27:01 barren among you or among your livestock." 27:03 And get this verse 15 27:04 "And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, 27:07 and will afflict you with none other 27:09 terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known," 27:12 have mercy what's going on? 27:15 You know what's going on, ladies and gentlemen? 27:17 God is saying, I am going to make 27:20 Israel a showcase to the world. 27:25 They're gonna be tell-- 27:26 they're gonna be able to tell it 27:27 by looking at you physically, 27:29 they're gonna be able to tell it 27:30 by studying you mentally and intellectually, 27:33 they're gonna study you agriculturally, 27:34 you are gonna come out on top over and over and over again. 27:40 You the chosen, I want this for you 27:44 above all people on this planet. 27:50 Why this amazing grace, this amazing love for Israel? 27:53 I tell you why? 27:54 Moses drops the hints all the way through Deuteronomy. 27:57 In fact, if you want to go back 27:58 to chapter 4, the hint-- 28:00 this is a huge hint watch this one. 28:03 Just go back a three chapters Deuteronomy Chapter 4, 28:06 pick it up, please in verse 5 Deuteronomy 4:5 28:10 Moses speaking, "Surely I have taught you 28:12 statutes and judgments, 28:15 just as the Lord my God commanded me, 28:17 that you should act according to them in the land 28:19 which you go to possess." 28:21 We weren't just having a little tete a tete 28:23 on top of Mount Sinai. 28:24 Everything that came down from that mountain 28:26 has been designing for you. 28:29 What's up with that look at verse 6 28:30 "Therefore" Moses goes on "Be careful to observe them," 28:33 the laws, code of ethics, the code of behavior, the diet, 28:38 "Be careful to observe them, for this is your wisdom 28:43 and your understanding in the sight of the peoples 28:45 who will hear all these statutes, 28:46 and they are gonna say," 28:47 wow "'Surely this great nation is a wise 28:50 and understanding people.'" 28:52 Verse 7, "For what great nation is there 28:55 that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, 28:59 for whatever reason we may call upon Him?" 29:01 The NIV says "What great nation is there like us 29:04 having a God so close to us 29:05 whenever we pray He's close to us." 29:08 And then verse 8 29:09 "And what great nation is there that has such statutes," 29:13 man whatever the code is that 29:15 these guys live by it is paying off. 29:18 "What nation is that they have such statutes 29:22 and righteous judgments as our in all this law" 29:25 the torah "which I have set before you this day?" 29:29 Ladies and gentlemen, mark it down 29:30 this is the first clue, justice remember this. 29:33 This is the first clue that when God chooses 29:35 you are chosen for your worth you are chosen for His work. 29:39 And what is His work? 29:41 God is crystal clear, to reach the rest at the kids 29:44 in the juvenile detention center. 29:46 I picked you out because I need you to help Me 29:49 reach all the rest for Me so I'm gonna bless you. 29:54 I'm gonna bless you physically, 29:55 mentally, financially, institutionally. 29:57 I'm gonna bless you so big 30:00 that when they hear your story they're gonna say, 30:02 wow, who is the God of this people? 30:07 What is up with that? They'll say. 30:14 The point is inescapable, please jot it down. 30:17 When God chooses the chosen, 30:20 they are not chosen for their worth, 30:22 they are chosen for His work. 30:25 And there's a big difference. 30:27 God doesn't choose superstars, He chooses the super loved. 30:32 All right, one more Deuteronomy reference, 28, 30:34 okay, the farewell address is nearing its end. 30:37 I think when the series ends 30:38 we'll go up Mount Nebo with Moses, 30:40 we kind a let this poignant moment not pass us. 30:43 We got to be with Moses when he dies alone. 30:47 But not now Deuteronomy 28, 30:49 Deuteronomy 28, take a look at this. 30:52 Boy, is God continue to make his case or what? 30:55 Verse 1, 30:57 "Now it should come to pass, 30:59 if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, 31:01 to observe carefully all His commandments 31:04 which I command you today, 31:05 that the Lord your God will set you high above 31:08 all nations of the earth." 31:12 Verse 2 "And all these blessings 31:13 shall come upon you and overtake you, 31:15 because you obey the voice of the Lord your God." 31:18 And then he start listening-- listing those blessings 31:20 all over again with your cattle, 31:21 with your livestock, with your produce, 31:23 with your wife, with your husband, 31:24 with your children, 31:25 the whole land is gonna be blessed. 31:27 What's up? 31:29 Look dropdown to verse 10, then, 31:31 "Then all peoples of the earth shall see 31:35 that you are called by the name of the Lord, 31:38 and they shall be afraid of you." 31:42 And verse 13 "The Lord will make you 31:44 the head and not the tail, 31:46 you should be above only, and not beneath." 31:48 You won't be second, you'll not be second. 31:50 I'm gonna make you first. 31:53 If, oh, here's the caviar, here is the-- 31:56 here is the conditional statement 31:58 "If you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, 32:01 which I command you today, 32:03 and you are careful to observe them." 32:05 Ladies and gentlemen, mark it down again 32:07 please in your heart God is not playing favorites 32:09 by pouring out His blessings. 32:11 He is setting up the most attractive 32:13 and appealing showcase on earth. 32:15 And verse 10 that ends here 32:17 "And they should be afraid of you." 32:18 I love the New Living it says they will stand in all of you. 32:22 They stand in all of you. 32:25 What is up with that campus? 32:28 What is up with that university? 32:32 But that people. 32:37 How does the law 32:38 of the juvenile detention center go? 32:40 Now you write it, 32:41 we left that out the top your study guide. 32:43 Now you go back to the top, please write it down 32:44 the law the juvenile detention center. 32:46 You must focus your heart on one, 32:49 so that you might win the hearts of all. 32:52 That's the divine strategy. 32:55 Focus on one to win them all, to win them all. 33:00 You got to win that one teenager, 33:02 win the trust, little rebel win the loyalty, 33:06 turn that heart around, turn that heart to love you 33:10 and once you've got that friendship now infiltrate, 33:15 get the rest of the kids for Me. 33:19 You see, a call because you're worth it. 33:22 It's a call because of His work. 33:25 Yeah, when God chooses the chosen, 33:28 yup, not for the worst, but for their work. 33:31 Derek Kinder, a friend of mine, he gave me the two-volume, 33:34 it's just a inspirational two-volume commentary 33:37 of the songs, Derek Kinder, and he makes this point. 33:40 I put it on the screen for you, 33:41 it's not on the study guide 33:42 but I put it on the screen for you. 33:43 "God's little nation was His beachhead, 33:47 not His boundary." 33:49 Isn't that good? Leave it on the screen. 33:51 leave it on the screen because you have to look at it. 33:53 God's little nation was His beachhead, 33:58 and not His Boundary. 33:59 You know what a beachhead is? 34:02 When a war over in Iraq right now 34:03 I got a son-in-law living in Baghdad right now. 34:05 He is a medic with US Army Rangers. 34:06 What's the beachhead? 34:07 A beachhead is when the troops go in 34:09 and they establish a presence. 34:10 What's the purpose of the presence? 34:12 So you can continue to expand. 34:13 You don't put your boundary there the beachhead 34:15 is your first step to taking the entire whole. 34:20 So Israel isn't God's bound, this far this-- 34:22 These are all the people on this planet I care about. 34:23 Are you kidding? 34:24 It's a beachhead in this detention center 34:26 and now I'm going for the rest. 34:29 All right that's the calling of Israel. 34:32 Case and point, let me share 34:33 and now let's take a little breather here. 34:34 Let me share a couple stories with you to prove that, 34:38 that in fact has been God's strategy from the beginning. 34:40 Tell me who the wisest man 34:42 in the whole world is outside your father? 34:45 Who's the wisest man in the whole world? 34:47 What's his name? 34:49 King Solomon, everybody knows the story of King Solomon. 34:52 You think about King Solomon? 34:55 This is a little reality check time by the way. 34:58 Was Solomon old man 35:00 when he became wise or was he young? 35:05 Young, you're absolutely right. 35:06 He was a very young man that night 35:08 when guy came to the newly coordinated king in a dream 35:11 and asked him what do you want from Me? 35:13 You're starting your leadership here, 35:15 what do you want from Me? 35:17 And you know what Solomon says to Him? 35:19 He said, I'm but a child, I'm just a baby. 35:22 I can't-- I don't know about going out, 35:23 I don't know about coming in, 35:25 but I have this one request of You, 35:26 oh, God, I wish that you would give me 35:28 an understanding heart that I might discern 35:31 the difference between good and evil. 35:32 Help me to know the difference. 35:35 That's why we need leaders. 35:36 Leaders are supposed to know 35:38 the difference between good and evil. 35:39 When a leader is not sure 35:41 of the difference between good and evil, 35:42 the community then begins to flounder. 35:45 The leader must know the difference. 35:47 God give me a heart to know 35:49 the difference between good and evil. 35:53 And God is so pleased with this kid, 35:56 whose asked for wisdom, 35:57 that God says, you know what boy, 35:58 I'm not only gonna give you wisdom, 36:00 I'm gonna give your riches, 36:01 I'm gonna give you a long life, I'm just gonna bless you. 36:09 And what happens? 36:10 You got to see this in your Bible. 36:11 Don't read it on the screen, find it in your Bible, 1 Kings. 36:14 Look at the story of Solomon's reign as it begins, 1 Kings. 36:18 I know the story ends tragically 36:20 but forget the ending. 36:21 1 Kings Chapter 4, we're thinking about the beginning. 36:24 When he got it right 1 Kings Chapter 4, 36:27 what's that page number? 36:28 1 Kings Chapter 4, its page 235 in your pew Bible, 36:33 1 Kings Chapter 4. 36:37 Okay, take a look at this 1 Kings 4:30 36:43 "Thus Solomon's wisdom excelled 36:46 the wisdom of all the men of the East." 36:48 Remember the Magi, the wise men from the East. 36:50 They are noted on earth for their brilliance, 36:53 their intellectual acuity. 36:56 "Solomon's wisdom exceeded all the wisdom 36:58 the men to the east and all the wisdom Egypt." 37:00 Drop down to verse 32 37:01 "Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs, 37:03 and his songs were one thousand and five." 37:06 verse 34 "And men of all nations, 37:09 from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, 37:12 came to hear the wisdom of Solomon." 37:15 Boy, I'm gonna bless you so good 37:19 that when a word gets out there gonna come to you. 37:22 Just remember what to do when they come to you. 37:27 And all the men it says came, 37:28 and by the way the women came too. 37:31 A woman in particular. 37:32 Go over here to chapter 10 she's the Queen of Sheba. 37:34 Go over to 1 Kings Chapter 10, a woman came too. 37:39 Because the word had gone 37:40 all the way down to the Gulf of Aqaba, 37:42 gotten all the way down to little Edom, 37:44 I been there as a boy, tiny little desert Kingdom. 37:49 Verse 10-- this is verse 1 of 1 Kings 10 37:52 "Now when the queen 37:54 of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon" 37:58 and notice this "Concerning the name of" whom? 38:01 Is it concerning the name of Solomon? 38:02 No. 38:03 Concerning the tribe of David-- the literature of David? 38:04 No. 38:06 "Concerning the name of the Lord." 38:07 I heard about you 38:08 but I heard about the name of your God. 38:10 When she "heard the famous Solomon 38:11 concerning the name of the Lord, 38:12 she came to test him." 38:14 I wonder if this university 38:15 is really as bright as they say. 38:18 I'm gonna test you. 38:20 Verse 3 "And so Solomon answered her all her questions, 38:24 there was nothing so difficult for the king 38:26 that he could not explain it to her." 38:29 I'd like to have that on your transcript. 38:32 Verse 10, no verse 9 rather. 38:34 Verse 9 "Blessed be the Lord your God, 38:37 who delighted in you, 38:39 setting you on the throne of Israel! 38:41 Because the Lord" Yahweh "has loved Israel forever, 38:44 therefore He made you king, 38:46 to do justice and righteousness." 38:47 That he then queen praises that God of King Solomon. 38:52 Do you understand, ladies and gentlemen, 38:53 what has just taken place? 38:54 God says, I'll choose that boy and through the chosen one, 38:57 through choosing the king of Israel 38:59 God was gunmen for the Queen of Sheba. 39:02 He got her because the chosen was cooperating with Him. 39:06 That's always been the point. 39:08 He chooses not for your worth, but for His work. 39:15 Wow, let me give you one other example. 39:19 Only this one is not a king, he is a captive 39:22 far, far, far away from his hometown. 39:26 He is just enrolled in a pagan university. 39:29 And when he discovers 39:30 how the majority on that campus were living, 39:34 he said to himself I refuse to live like 39:37 the majority on this campus. 39:39 I don't care what they eat, I don't care what they drink, 39:43 I don't care where they party, 39:44 I don't care because I have read 39:46 the Book of Deuteronomy 39:47 and I happen to know, I am chosen to, 39:50 and I'm a part of the chosen people 39:51 and I shall live in loyalty to my God. 39:54 And when Daniel made that choice, 39:55 it was a tough choice by the way 39:57 because riding with the tide and going with the flow 40:00 is the opposite direction and he said, no way, 40:03 I purpose in my heart not to defile myself. 40:05 I'll not put that to my lips, I will not do it. 40:10 And what happened? You know the story. 40:12 It's one of favorites, isn't it? 40:14 When it's over three years later, 40:16 Daniel and his three buddies 40:18 who all four of them stood together. 40:20 By the way, if you have a friend 40:21 around here on this campus 40:22 who has the same moral convictions you do, 40:24 hang around with that friend. 40:26 Build, build a critical mass, that's how God works. 40:31 He don't need 40 He can work with four. 40:34 He can work with four of you. 40:37 I know that the others are saying, 40:38 that isn't the way we live. 40:39 No, you just, you stand just the four of you, 40:43 you watch, how God will permeate 40:45 an entire institution through just four. 40:48 He did it with the Babylonian Empire, 40:49 He can certainly do it with you. 40:51 Let's put it on the screen. 40:52 Look at the reaction of the pagan king, 40:53 Daniel 1:20 "And in all matters of wisdom 40:56 and understanding about which king" Nebuchadnezzar 40:58 "examined them, he found" 41:00 these boys, these chosen ones 41:02 "he found them ten times better than all the magicians 41:05 and all the astrologers who were in his realm." 41:08 Hands down these guys are at that top of the pack, 41:11 top of the pack. 41:14 In fact, that boy, Daniel has made 41:16 such a profound impact on this pagan king. 41:20 Watch this Daniel Chapter 2, look at the King, 41:22 "The King answered Daniel, and said, 41:24 Truly your God is the God of gods the Lord of kings, 41:29 and a revealer of secrets," since you boy, 41:33 "since you could reveal the secret to me." 41:36 Do you know what, ladies and gentlemen, 41:37 let me just remind you in case you forgotten 41:40 that that boy who graduated 41:42 from the university with honors 41:44 that boy became the strategic divine instrument 41:47 to convert pagan Nebuchadnezzar 41:51 into a full believing convert of the Lord God of Israel. 41:58 A pagan, do you know what that would be like? 42:00 Is what it would be like, 42:02 it would be like you bumping into Osama bin Laden. 42:05 I'm serious, Nebuchadnezzar was as ruthless 42:08 a terrorist and ruler. 42:10 It would be like Osama bin Laden 42:12 getting close to you 42:14 and through your moral witness as the chosen. 42:17 You have such an impact on him 42:20 he chooses the God you worship. 42:25 This is not a small little story here 42:28 and that's why Israel was the chosen. 42:31 I wish I knew who wrote this piece, 42:33 I found it in my sabbatical a few weeks ago. 42:37 The piece is anonymous, 42:38 I'd love to give credit to somebody, 42:39 it is the most cogent piece that I have read 42:43 anywhere describing God's mission, 42:46 what could have been God's mission 42:49 and vision for Israel. 42:50 It's found in the Bible Commentary 42:51 and the reason it's in the section general articles 42:54 and they're unsigned articles. 42:55 I love to give credit to somebody. 42:57 It's a two-page article, 42:58 I'm not gonna give you the two pages. 43:00 There's a paragraph from that article 43:02 I put it in your study guide. 43:03 This is something else, 43:05 what could have been with the chosen? 43:08 Look in your study guide, you see that there 43:09 "The material advantages that Israel enjoyed 43:13 were designed to arrest the attention 43:15 and catch the interest of the heathen, 43:17 for whom the less obvious spiritual advantages 43:20 had no natural attraction." 43:22 Hold it right there. 43:23 You know what, in a pagan world were vastly becoming 43:26 as a nation a very secular nation, 43:27 but you know, you can go around 43:28 and say, hey, I wish you have what I have 43:30 because I don't have guilt anymore. 43:32 And you know what your secular post-modern friend is saying? 43:34 I don't have guilt either, I never had guilt. 43:36 There's nothing that bothers me. 43:38 So you can offer these little intangibles. 43:40 You can say, I have peace of mind now. 43:42 Everybody's got peace of mind, if you drink enough. 43:46 I got peace I don't know what you have. 43:48 You know, what the pagans are saying, where's the beef? 43:50 Show me the money, show me the money. 43:53 And God said, I understand that language, 43:54 I'm gonna materially bless these people, 43:58 so that when they see the material blessings 44:00 they go for the intangibles. 44:02 Brilliant whoever this writer is brilliant. 44:04 Keep going here. 44:05 Now he's called from the Old Testament 44:07 and there are few verses putting inserted 44:10 into the quotation to support his conclusions 44:12 "They" the heathen "would gather themselves together 44:16 and come from far from the ends of the earth, 44:18 to the light of truth shining for 44:21 from the mountain of the Lord. 44:22 Nations that had known nothing 44:24 of the true God would 'run'" Isaiah 55, 44:27 "they would run to Jerusalem 44:28 because the manifest evidence 44:30 of divine blessing that attended Israel." 44:32 Now hold on, "Ambassadors from one foreign country 44:36 after another would come to discover, 44:38 if they might, the great secret 44:41 of Israel's success as a nation, 44:42 and its leaders would have the opportunity 44:45 up directing the minds of their visitors 44:48 to the source of all good things." 44:49 Hit the pause button right there. 44:51 I got to tell you a story real quick, 44:52 and I tell you the story. 44:53 Once upon a time there was a king, 44:54 he is on his deathbed, he is dying, he so sick. 44:58 And God calls the king's friend, 45:00 the prophet had to be happen to be a friend of the king. 45:02 And God speaks to the prophet He says, Isaiah, 45:04 I need you to get to Hezekiah 45:05 and I want you to tell him he's right, he's dying. 45:08 In fact, you give the message to Hezekiah, 45:10 put your house in order, 45:11 prepare to meet your God because it's over. 45:14 So Isaiah slips into that death chamber, 45:16 there's the king battling for his life, 45:18 and Isaiah says king, 45:20 put your house in order, it really is over. 45:23 And Hezekiah bursts into tears. 45:26 It so bad that the prophet who loves the king, 45:28 he can't handle it, he has to leave the room. 45:31 Hezekiah when the prophet is gone, 45:33 weeps he says, God, I don't understand this, 45:35 I've been a faithful leader, I've led an revival, 45:37 I've really try to stay true to You, 45:39 how could You let me down now, and let me die. 45:42 And he's sobbing and Isaiah has hardly made it 45:45 to the palace courtyard 45:47 when the Spirit of God speaks to him 45:49 and says, boy, stop it right there, 45:51 I got some further instructions for you, 45:53 I just changed my mind. 45:56 His tears got to me. 45:58 Hezekiah got to me, you go back to him 46:01 and you tell him 15 more years. 46:05 Oh, Isaiah there is a skip in his step 46:07 as a whistle on lips, he go marching back in 46:10 the king sees the guy smile, what's up with this? 46:12 Oh, king live forever or at least 15 years, 46:15 God has heard your prayer. 46:18 God has heard your prayer. 46:22 So Isaiah steps out to put little poultice 46:24 on the boil kind of, you got to cooperate 46:26 with God natural remedies, plus a divine healing. 46:28 So he putting his little thing on the boil 46:30 and Hezekiah is thinking, hey, hey, hey, 46:31 wait a minute prophet, how do I know 46:35 that I'm really gonna have 15 more years? 46:38 Isaiah says, oh king, you check-- 46:40 you choose, you pick a sign, let's do this. 46:43 You have a sundial out in front of the palace, 46:45 do you want the shadow to go forward ten degrees 46:48 or go backwards 10 degrees? 46:49 And the king thinks to himself, 46:51 man oh, sundials go forward ten degrees, 46:53 I wanted to go backwards he said and sure enough, 47:01 the sundial shadow went backwards. 47:05 King is healed. 47:06 I tell you what a miracle like that 47:09 spreads to the farthest corner of earth 47:11 and a Babylonian empire hears it, 47:13 and when they hear that the King a Judah got healed, 47:17 supernaturally healed 47:18 and even the sun went backwards, 47:21 they are sending an ambassador 47:23 and an envoy and a whole delegation 47:26 and when they show up in Jerusalem, are you the king? 47:29 Are you the king that God healed? 47:30 I am, I am. How did it happen? 47:34 And you know what? 47:37 It is one of the saddest meltdowns 47:40 in the divine mission of Israel. 47:43 This was a homerun pitch to say 47:47 if you only worshiped the God I do, 47:52 it could happen to you. 47:55 How did that-- forget it, 47:56 let me show you my treasures come on guys, 47:59 and he opens up the treasure house 48:01 of Judah to these ambassadors. 48:05 They went home, not having heard 48:07 a word about Israel's God but they went home 48:11 with a map to Israel's gold. 48:17 Can you believe it? 48:20 They showed up, saying what's up with this campus? 48:24 What is up with you people? 48:28 What are we gonna do? 48:29 Show him US News and world reports? 48:33 What are we gonna do when they want to know? 48:39 That's what might have been. 48:41 This writer writes, 48:43 "Its leaders would have the opportunity 48:44 of directing the minds of their visitors 48:46 to the Source of all good things." 48:47 One last sentence, you have to fill this one in. 48:49 "From the visible their minds were to be directed 48:51 to the invisible, from the seen to the unseen, 48:54 from the material to the spiritual, 48:56 from the temporal to the eternal. 48:58 The house of God in Jerusalem would eventually 49:00 'be called an house of prayer for all peoples.'" 49:04 The very words chisel above the door 49:07 entry to the Pioneer Memorial Church. 49:11 That was a dream, ladies and gentlemen, 49:13 that was the passion of God for the chosen. 49:15 Do you suppose it still is? 49:17 Do you suppose that God still hopes against hope 49:22 that there might be a people who by receiving 49:29 the divine blessing might become a showcase 49:32 to a skeptical and wondering society? 49:37 I mean, you think about it 49:39 when God wants when He began in a juvenile detention center, 49:42 and He had to pick a boy, He picked a boy named Abram 49:45 growing up in a pagan family 49:46 He said, Abram, I'm picking you. 49:48 Do you know why God picked Abram who became Abraham 49:50 the father of the chosen? 49:51 Jot this down in your study guide, 49:53 Genesis 12:1-3, God says, 49:56 "I will make you" Abraham "a great nation, 49:58 I will bless you and make your name great." 50:01 Why God, why, why, why have you chosen me? 50:04 So that "You will be a blessing. 50:06 And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." 50:12 Ladies and gentlemen, it is the truth of the chosen. 50:14 Keep your pen moving. 50:15 "The point of the blessings is to point to the Blesser." 50:20 That's the point, 50:22 so when they walk into your dormitory room, 50:25 what are they drawn to? 50:27 When they walk into my house, what are they drawn to? 50:29 When they walk on to this campus, 50:31 what is it that draws them? 50:35 Has God chosen you in order to bless you? 50:37 Has God chosen us in order to bless us? Has He? 50:41 And they walk into your medical clinic, your hospital, 50:46 when they walk into your office, 50:48 your workplace, when they walk into your classroom, 50:51 what is the source? Where does the pointing go? 50:56 You thought you had this athletic prowess 51:00 because God needed one more superstar 51:02 a super jock on this planet? 51:03 No, my friend. 51:04 You have athletic prowess for a reason, 51:07 a divine intention that through that prowess 51:10 God can reach people nobody else can reach. 51:12 You have intellectual brilliance, do you? 51:15 Your scores were high 51:16 and you got into Andrews on scholarships. 51:19 You think it's so that God can spread the word of who you are? 51:22 No, it is not you have brilliance today 51:25 because God says, I need brilliant minds 51:27 to represent Me in a skeptical world. 51:30 You are chosen not to glory and your ability is saying, 51:35 not to glory in your ability to think. 51:38 You're chosen, 51:40 so that you can point to the source of your blessings. 51:45 So what are people think about when they come around here? 51:48 When they refocus magazine, what is the message? 51:53 When they read the student movement, 51:54 what is the message? 51:55 When I listen to WASR Radio, what's the message? 51:58 When they listen to the Pioneer Memorial Church, 52:00 what's the message? 52:04 The point of the blessings is to point to the Blesser. 52:09 That's why God had the chosen in the beginning 52:12 and that is why, ladies and gentlemen, 52:15 God will have the chosen at the end. 52:19 It's the point to the Blesser. 52:21 God says, listen, listen, listen, follow Me, I love you, 52:27 you're nothing, zero, not a nothing but I love you. 52:32 Follow Me, obey Me, 52:35 those laws about what you eat and drink, stay true to Me. 52:39 They're going do studies on you eventually that will establish, 52:43 there is an edge to what I've given you from the beginning. 52:47 Stay with Me. 52:49 That intellectual brilliance just like Daniel 52:53 will be traced to Me, stay with me. 52:58 Financially, I'll lift you. 53:01 Institutionally, I will raise you, 53:04 not so that the whole world will rise up and applaud you, 53:07 but so that the world might know there is a God in Israel 53:11 and He still blesses the chosen. 53:15 I am picked for your worth, I have picked you from My work, 53:18 I need you to reach the world for Me. 53:24 So when they come on to campus and they say what's up? 53:28 You speak up about Me, not you, not you, 53:34 you speak about Me. 53:38 Don't be so timid. 53:41 Quit being so politically correct, 53:44 stand-up and speak up for Me 53:49 so I chose you in the first place. 53:53 When the Blesser of all humanity 53:54 was on his way to the cross, 53:56 Jesus said something mysterious. 53:59 He said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." 54:04 Makes you wonder doesn't it? 54:06 Could it be the reason why few are chosen 54:08 is that the many who are called have forgotten 54:11 that the point of the blessing is to point to the Blesser. 54:17 That's the point, 54:19 that's the point for the chosen. 54:23 Let us pray. 54:25 Oh, God, many called but few chosen. 54:30 Holy Father, please 54:32 do not let us live, 54:40 in forgetfulness of this high calling. 54:45 We're not superstars, 54:50 but because of You're super abundance love, 54:53 You pick somebody in the detention center, 54:56 could You be the one to help me reach the rest? 55:01 Oh, God, look down with mercy and grace upon this campus, 55:06 upon this church, upon this community, 55:09 upon this nation to whom much is given, 55:14 much will be required. 55:16 You want to be chosen just like Jesus said, 55:20 we wish to be chosen. 55:22 Please, faithful to Him 55:25 let us all live, Amen. 55:32 Before you go I wanted to take one more moment 55:34 and let you know how glad I am you shared this hour of worship 55:37 and Bible teaching with us. 55:38 This is the Pioneer Memorial Church 55:40 and we're on the campus of Andrew's University 55:42 and the series is "The Chosen." 55:44 This is a series that has been growing 55:46 and it's burned on my heart and over the last few weeks 55:51 before this new season began. 55:53 And some concentrated prayer time 55:55 I believe the Spirit of God lead me do this series, 55:57 out of the Book of Deuteronomy for this generation 56:00 within our community of faith 56:02 and outside this community of faith. 56:03 I believe both, both communities 56:07 need to hear the compelling Bible truth 56:11 captured in this series called "The Chosen." 56:13 So thank you for joining me and all of us 56:15 as we continue our journey deeper and deeper 56:18 into the heart of this theme. 56:20 Living as you and I do and I'm-- 56:22 I know I'm preaching to the choir now, 56:24 living as we do on the edge of a civilization 56:28 that is surviving through constant upheaval and change. 56:31 I am so grateful and I know you are 56:34 for the bedrock hope we have in Jesus. 56:37 I'm thankful that you and I have been given 56:39 the, the privilege by God to partner, 56:42 to reach this generation the world over 56:44 through the satellite telecast. 56:45 I don't know how it works, 56:46 I just know that those satellites drop the signals 56:49 and those footprints all over the planet 56:51 are helping disseminate this divine call 56:55 to become a part of the Chosen, 56:56 God's last generation on earth. 56:58 So please, here's what I want you to know, 57:00 I thank God for you in a generous way 57:03 you have partnered with us in the past 57:05 and making New Perceptions possible globally. 57:08 Your tax-deductible gifts are being multiplied 57:11 all across the earth I believe for such a time as this. 57:14 Look, would you like to order a copy of today's teaching 57:18 you can order DVD, you get all the PowerPoint, 57:20 everything is there, you can share with your friends, 57:23 share with your family. 57:24 I want to just insert this here, 57:25 if you go to our website 57:27 and we've been advertising our website all along the way 57:29 and I'm gonna insert it right here www.pmchurch.tv, 57:33 go to that website you get a podcast of this. 57:35 We have people now subscribing to podcast the world over, 57:39 it's time for this message to get out. 57:41 Thank you for your partnership in helping us do that. 57:44 Call one of our friendly operators 57:46 to toll-free number, 57:47 it won't cost you a penny here in North America, 877-HIS-WILL. 57:50 You call that number, I promise you every penny 57:54 that you share we will invest 57:56 your generosity in God's mission 57:58 to reach this final generation now. 58:01 Thank you very, very much. 58:02 And be assured, I'm looking forward to seeing you here, 58:05 right here again next time as we continue 58:09 our fascinating journey into The Chosen. 58:13 God bless you. |
Revised 2015-06-25