Participants: Pr. Dwight Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP100116A
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00:08 [ "God of Our Fathers" plays ] 00:44 [ Congregation sings ] 02:44 [ Song ends ] 02:46 [ "Majestic" plays ] 03:00 >> "O, Lord, our Lord." [ Congregation sings ] 03:40 "O, Lord, our Lord." 04:35 "I will worship." 04:50 Sing it together, "We will worship." 05:33 [ Tempo slows ] 05:42 [ Song ends ] [ "Majesty" plays ] 05:57 Sing together, "Majesty." 06:01 [ Congregation sings ] 08:10 ♪ Jesus who died, now glorified King of all kings ♪ 08:23 Amen, amen. You know, the past couple weeks, 08:27 if you've been here at PMC or watching online, Pastor Dwight's 08:30 been covering an amazing, amazing series talking about the 08:34 Word of God speaking truth into our hearts. 08:39 And that's what this next time is. As we come to the Lord in 08:43 prayer, we lift up His petitions, we claim His promises, and we come to God, 08:48 asking Him to speak His truth and His love and His grace into our lives. 08:54 And so today, as we sing this song, as we come into prayer, I invite you to ruminate on the 09:02 words, let those words resonate with you. Sometimes, we just sing words, 09:07 but, today, hear these words, sing these words as we ask God to speak to us today. 09:14 [ "Speak, O Lord" plays ] 09:20 [ Congregation sings ] 10:27 "Teach us, Lord." 11:36 [ Song fades out ] 14:46 [ Tempo quickens ] 16:00 [ Song ends ] >> Amen. >> That was beautiful. 16:07 Thank you very much. Just what we needed this Sabbath. 16:13 So, without any further ado, I want to plunge into -- I'm really excited about our 16:18 teaching today. I hope it impacts you the way it has impacted me in going through 16:23 this study. I want to pray with you. Then we'll roll the video 16:27 trailer. We're off. Dear Father, Homecoming Sabbath. 16:32 Kind of reminds us of a homecoming someday for the entire human race. 16:40 So we're glad to be a part of this homecoming. The nation is rather... 16:48 in a crazy sort of way right now. We can't quite figure out what's 16:52 happening in America. May hope be Your response to our national collective heart. 17:03 May it be Your response to our hearts. Bless this moment of teaching. 17:07 Make it clear, please, in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's roll that trailer. 17:13 [ Cellphone chimes ] [ Mid-tempo music plays ] [ Cellphones chiming ] 17:41 [ Music ends ] 17:45 Was a cool autumn evening about this time of year, actually, in the nation's capital, 17:50 Washington D.C. Friend of mine and I decided to go down to the 17:54 National Cathedral -- majestic Gothic architecture there in D.C. -- that evening. 18:00 We were at church headquarters for meetings during the day. "Let's just go. Come on." 18:05 Friend of mine, Rob Lloyd. "Let's just go check it out." We slipped in to the cathedral, 18:10 trying to find out if there's a prayer service going on. "Shh! They're gathered." 18:15 And as we sat in the back pew and listened, we discovered it's a prayer service for those 18:20 suffering from AIDS. 18:24 We sat there quietly and watched as one after another came 18:28 forward to the officiants who were standing at the front -- 18:32 some alone, some with family, some with family and friends, as 18:37 the officiants prayed... prayed for healing. 18:41 I'm sure every heart was there for physical feeling. 18:45 But there's so many times when your heart also longs for 18:49 emotional healing. 18:51 It longs for spiritual healing. Tell you what, it was... It was an awesome moment just to 19:01 sit there and watch and pray with these strangers -- not unlike, by the way, the moment 19:09 when he is hanging there in midair, suspended from the ceiling that has been ripped 19:16 open with a hole large enough to lower a man through. There he is. 19:24 We are told he is suffering from the physical effects of a lifestyle he pursued once upon a 19:33 time -- spindly, immobile legs, skin taut, fallow, yellow, decaying. 19:49 And as he hangs there in midair, his friends eagerly watching from the hole, the one over 19:59 whose head the hole had been rapidly dug looks down. This one has a man face, strong 20:09 features, but a tenderness and a kindness unusual -- dark eyes of compassion. 20:19 He looks down into the twitching face. If you've ever seen the face of 20:28 guilt -- and in my kind of work, I see that face now and then. The eyes darting, desperate. 20:40 A twitch. The one who looks down reads the entire story. 20:47 This man doesn't want healing for his legs. His heart is about to die. 20:55 And in desperation, he's come through the roof. And Jesus speaks. 21:02 And when Jesus speaks, he activates a law that has been operative in the universe as 21:09 long as there has been a Creator God. We've learned about that law in 21:14 this series -- #RxF4Now. The law goes like this. Whenever the Creator speaks a 21:25 word, no matter what word it is He speaks, the spoken omnipotent word instantly creates the 21:35 reality that the word describes. So when He stood in this dark spot of the Milky Way, and He 21:43 said, "Let there be light," in half a nanosecond, there is light. 21:51 Whenever God speaks a word, that word, whether here or here, immediately creates the reality 22:00 He speaks. So the same Creator, now incarnated in human flesh, looks 22:06 down at this shriveled, desperate, dying heart. And He speaks the words the man 22:18 has come to hear. "Son... your sins are forgiven." 22:29 And in that instant, the omnipotence unleashed with the word, "Let there be 22:35 forgiveness --" [ Exhales sharply ] All over the face you see it. 22:42 "Desire of Ages" captures this moment. 22:44 Oh, lock this moment in your heart. 22:46 "Could He really do this for me, too?" 22:48 "The burden --" the paralytic. "The burden..." 23:01 "In simple faith, he accepted the words of Jesus as the boon 23:05 of new life. He urged no further request --" 23:07 He didn't come for the legs. He came for the heart. 23:13 "He urges no further request, but he lay in blissful silence, 23:18 too happy for words," staring into the face that smiles down 23:23 on him. "The light of heaven --" Oh, I 23:27 love this. "The light of heaven irradiated 23:30 his countenance, and the people looked with awe --" "Wow, did 23:36 you see that?" 23:40 Romans 8:1 -- our text. Would you find it in your Bible, whatever Bible you brought? 23:47 Didn't bring a Bible, grab the pew Bible in front of you. You got your device there. 23:50 Let's go. Romans chapter eight. What has just happened before 23:57 our eyes? Romans 8:1. "Therefore --" And I'm in the 24:01 NIV. "Therefore..." 24:16 That amazing? "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who 24:20 are --" what? Come on, finish the sentence for me. 24:23 For those who are what? In Christ Jesus. In Christ. 24:29 That's Paul's favorite -- That has become Paul's life-mission theme. 24:33 He is the champion of "in Christ." Over 200 times -- Over 200 times 24:37 in his scribbled epistles, he will use that phrase or one of its cognates -- "In Christ, in 24:43 him, in Christ, in him, in Christ, in him." Why? 24:46 Because when you're in Christ, something happens to you, and you'll never be the same again. 24:53 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." 24:58 Hallelujah. And by the way, that is precisely what the paralytic 25:04 desperately needed to know, and he learned it like that. Because, you see, just go 25:10 backwards into chapter 7, verse 24. The cry, the anguished cry of 25:14 the paralytic, is captured here in Romans 7:27 -- verse 24, rather. 25:20 Romans 7:24... 25:29 There isn't an Andrews alum that does not know the truth about that line. 25:38 You may have dodged it, you may have ducked it, you may have tried to forget it, you may have 25:42 even self-medicated yourself so that you will never think of it again, but that truth is born 25:47 and birthed in every heart that longs for something more. "Oh, wretched man that I am! 25:55 Who will deliver me from this body of death?" "Oh, wretched woman that I am! 25:59 Who will deliver me from this body of death?" You can be a student at 26:02 Andrews University. That's your cry. You can be a faculty member, you 26:05 can be a preacher at Andrews University. That's your cry. 26:08 "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" 26:13 We are all paralytics, and the bad news is terrible, which is why you need to get the good 26:19 news, which is the very next verse. "Wretched man that I am! 26:21 Who will deliver me from this body of death?" Look at verse 25. 26:24 "But thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" 26:29 Now verse one of chapter eight... 26:38 No condemnation in Christ. No condemnation. You say, "Aw, I don't know that 26:46 that's true." Well, come on. Think about it. Why would God condemn someone 26:50 who's in Christ? He would be condemning Himself. That would be the craziest thing 26:54 in the universe to do. "Why would I condemn myself?" 26:57 If you're in Christ, no condemnation. 27:00 It's illogical for condemnation to arise. 27:02 It's impossible. If you're in Christ, no 27:05 condemnation. "Why would I condemn myself?" 27:10 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in 27:12 Christ Jesus." 27:14 Turns out Paul is trying to set us -- he's trying to get our attention with this "in Christ." 27:18 Over 200 times, he'll use this phrase. "Come on, get it, get it, get 27:21 it, get it!" In fact, I'll tell you this -- he has already set us up for 27:27 chapter eight, verse one in what he did in chapter five, so just turn the page. 27:31 Just go back to Romans chapter five. Everybody knows Romans five, at 27:34 least the first half of it. It's the second half we ignore. The first half is just replete 27:38 with this glorious description of God's love -- the Father's love, the Son's love for us. 27:43 You remember this, Romans chapter five? Let's pick it up in verse six. 27:45 "You see, just at the right time -- just at the right time, when we were still powerless, 27:51 Christ died for the ungodly." Oh, Lord. Paul goes on... 28:03 But verse eight. God the Father... 28:12 [ Claps ] 28:15 You cannot be loved today any more by the God, the Supreme Being of this universe, 28:22 than you are already loved. Nothing you can do to diminish that love. 28:26 Nothing you can do to increase that love. Nothing. 28:33 So, Paul has, "Father, Son, Father, Son, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on," and 28:37 then, all of a sudden, Paul says, "Hey, yo, I want to talk about Adam." 28:40 "Adam, Paul? Why would you bring up Adam now? We're having a great time with 28:43 the Father and the Son." "I'll show you," he says. Drop down to verse 12. 28:46 Now here we go into territory nobody ventures in Romans five. Come on. 28:51 There's something stunning here. Watch this. Verse 12. 28:54 "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through the one 28:57 man --" Who is the father of the human race? 28:58 Help me out. Who is the father of the human 29:00 race? Be Adam. 29:04 "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man --" 29:07 that would be Adam -- "and death through sin, and in this way 29:10 death came to all people, because all sinned..." 29:14 And Paul stops. 29:16 All your new translations just have a big dash and then white space after it. 29:19 You know why? Because he never finished the sentence. 29:22 He never finished the sentence. When we see him in eternity, "Yo, Paul, that sentence in 29:27 Romans five, what was up with that? Why didn't you finish it?" 29:29 Hey, haven't you ever had a -- Come on, alums. Didn't you have a brilliant 29:32 professor in one of your classes -- come on, students today. 29:34 A brilliant professor, the man, the woman, is waxing eloquent. All of a sudden -- 29:38 [Exhales sharply] she's gone. Where did she go? We were just talking about this, 29:42 but [Exhales sharply] now we're here. Brilliant mind. 29:48 Thought of something else, and he's gone the other way. 29:52 I read John Brown's commentary two summers ago -- the 29:54 Bible-application commentary in the Book of Romans -- read it 29:57 through. And I learned from John that in 29:58 fact the linguists have a technical word for unfinished 30:01 sentences. It's called "anacoluthon." 30:04 It means "a sentence that never ends the way it should." So that's one of those. 30:10 We just had one of those. There's no ending to it. But, boy, oh, boy, the path 30:13 [Exhales sharply] that Paul went on to -- take a look at this path. 30:17 Because, you see, Paul, with his brilliant Hebrew mind -- he's a Jewish scholar -- Paul knows 30:24 that, in Judaism, in Hebrew thought, you don't have like we have it in the West, you and 30:30 me -- individual, individual, individual, individual, individual, individual. 30:33 We're just a nation of individuals. We've lost connectivity. 30:37 We've lost collective and corporate. We're just individuals now. 30:40 In the Hebrew mind, the many are one person. The many are one, and the many 30:48 have a representative head that is the head of the one. Thousands are in that one. 30:57 And that's what Paul is now gonna show us. We once had a head. 31:04 We now have a new head. And he's setting us up for the "in Christ" thing. 31:10 Watch this. Drop down to verse 15. "But the gift --" Because he's 31:14 talking about the Father, the Son, the gift -- Calvary, Calvary. 31:16 "The gift is not like the trespass --" the sin of Adam. "For if the many died..." 31:30 How much more? 31:33 He's setting us up. Now he's gonna run them by us -- three parallels. 31:38 Boy, if we had a chart -- The study guide, by the way, is in your -- all the quotations 31:41 today, you have them in your worship bulletin. There's nothing to fill in. 31:44 But if we had a chart, boy, here we would go. Three parallels. Here they come. 31:48 Let's pick it up in verse 17. "For if --" Put that on the screen, please. 31:51 There we go. "For if, by the trespass of the one man --" that would be 31:55 Adam -- "death reigned through that one man..." 32:06 [ Claps ] All right, let's create a little graph. 32:08 We'll have three lines to this chart -- call it a chart instead. 32:11 Adam equals what? Death reigns, yeah. Adam equals death reigns. 32:17 And now over here beside would be Christ, and what happens with Christ? 32:21 Life reigns. Okay. Let's go. This is verse 18 now. 32:26 "Consequently --" Three of these parallels he's gonna fire by us. 32:29 "Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in 32:32 condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted 32:36 in justification and life for --" how many people? 32:39 For how many people? For all. All. 32:42 Okay, second line. Come on, put the chart up real quick -- second line. 32:46 Adam equals condemnation for how many? All. 32:49 Christ equals justification or pardon and life for how many? For all. 32:55 Paul says, "Are you getting this?" "How about one more, Paul?" 32:57 He says, "I'll give you another one." Verse 19. 33:00 "For just as through the disobedience of the one man --" 33:03 that would be Adam -- "the many --" By the way, when Paul 33:06 uses "many" and "all," it's the same thing. 33:09 He's not trying to deal with numbers here. 33:10 No. Many means all. Verse 19. 33:14 "For just as through the disobedience of the one man --" 33:16 Adam -- "the many were made sinners, so also through the 33:19 obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." 33:23 Come on, put that third line up. Adam -- many made sinners. 33:28 Christ -- many made righteous. What's going on here? 33:32 Paul's actually -- Paul's borrowing language from the 33:35 greatest Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament. 33:37 Be Isaiah 53. He's grabbing the language, and 33:41 he's weaving it in here. Let's put Isaiah 53 on the 33:43 screen because Isaiah 53 is about the Messiah, the servant 33:47 of Israel. See, Israel is one person. 33:49 The servant is the head. The servant is gonna go through 33:52 what Israel will not have to go through, because the servant 33:54 goes through. That's what's happening in 33:56 Isaiah 53. Take a look at verses 11 and 12. 33:59 "...by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify 34:02 many. He will bear their iniquities." 34:05 Verse 12. "For he bore the sin of many, 34:07 and he made intercession for the transgressors." 34:10 Somebody's stepping in. "I will represent all of them." 34:14 "What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do by 34:16 stepping in?" Go back to verses five and six. 34:20 "But he --" the servant -- "was pierced for our transgressions, 34:24 he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that 34:28 brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." 34:32 Keep reading. Verse six. "All we, like sheep, have gone 34:35 astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has 34:39 laid on him --" the representative of the entire 34:41 human race -- "the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us 34:47 all." You were under Adam. 34:50 What do you get for being under Adam? Death. 34:53 You now can be under Christ. And what do you get for being under Christ? 34:57 Life. In Adam, condemnation. In Christ, pardon and life -- 35:05 for all, by the way. For all. And I need to ask you this 35:09 question. How much of all is all? How much of all is all? 35:15 That's pretty much all, isn't it? That's pretty much all. 35:20 All pardoned. All have life. 35:26 Well, look at verse 18. You say, "Dwight, you're just 35:28 making this up." Come on. Verse 18. 35:29 "Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in 35:31 condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted 35:35 in justification and life for all people." 35:38 As many people that are under Adam and in sin and death, that 35:42 same number of people now in Christ -- pardoned, life. 35:51 A century ago, a short little lady named Emma White wrote three stunning sentences. 35:56 These are all in your study guide. You take them home. 35:58 Let me run these three sentences by you. Sentence number one. 36:00 She's commenting on the prayer -- "Father, forgive them --" as he's being nailed to 36:03 the cross. "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing." 36:06 "That prayer --" So we're putting it on the screen now, 36:08 from "Desire of Ages." "That prayer..." 36:17 "Upon --" How many? "Upon all rests the guilt of 36:20 crucifying the Son of God. To --" How many? 36:23 "To all, forgiveness is freely offered. 36:25 'Whosoever will' may have peace with God, and inherit eternal 36:28 life." The entire human race was 36:31 pardoned, forgiven, justified in Christ. 36:34 Now here comes stunning sentence number two on the screen. 36:37 Christ "took in His grasp the world over which Satan claimed 36:41 to preside as his lawful territory, and by His wonderful 36:45 work in giving His life, Christ restored the whole race of men 36:51 and women to favor --" to favor -- "with God." 36:55 The whole race. Stunning sentence number three. 37:01 I love this one. Watch this... 37:14 Hit the pause button right there. 37:15 There are some of you here that sentence is describing right 37:18 now. 37:19 You know, you come to homecoming, you come to a time when -- reconnecting with 37:23 your class and old friends, and, you know, we have this little sentence on our hard disk that 37:29 we just keep repeating. "Yo, how are you?" "Fine. Thank you. And you?" 37:32 "Yo, how are you?" "Fine. Thank you. And you?" "Yo." 37:35 "Fine. Thank you. And you?" Don't even have to ask. We have the answer. 37:38 "Fine. Thank you. And you?" And yet, behind that well-manicured alum face or that 37:45 well-manicured and handsome student face, something's going on. 37:51 Your life is entangled. Your stomach is in knots. You are in such a bind that 38:00 nobody can slice this knot. Did you just notice what we read? 38:09 Jesus is drawn most to people like that. Entangled as you are in the back 38:15 row of the balcony, he's drawn to you. More than others, he's drawn to 38:22 you -- more than drawn to them. [ Scoffs ] Wow... 38:34 Here it comes... 38:40 Ladies and gentlemen, here's the point, please. 38:43 God is not trying to play hard to get with the human race. 38:46 The door to His heart, the door to His home is wide open today. 38:50 You can come home now, no questions asked! 38:55 No questions asked. "Come to me, and I'll give you 38:58 rest. Just come to me, and I'll save 39:02 you." [ Scoffs ] 39:06 It's called the Gospel. All the charges are dropped. 39:12 In fact, listen to this. The only way -- The only way a human being can possibly be lost 39:20 is if the human chooses to be lost. You have to choose to be lost 39:26 because God's...default position is a wide open heart to you, a love that will never stop loving 39:36 you -- ever, ever, ever. That's his default. If you want to be lost, you have 39:44 to say no to Him. Otherwise... He says, "Come. Come on. 39:53 Let's go. You and me." Wow. And, by the way, this is not 40:00 Universalism. You can say no. He's justified and pardoned and 40:07 forgiven the entire human race. You can come home right now, no questions asked. 40:11 This is not Universalism. You have the right to say, "Nah, I don't want to go home." 40:15 But why anybody would not want to come is beyond me. You say, "Aw, yeah, but, Dwight, 40:22 you have no idea how horrible a sinner I am. My family does not know. 40:28 My spouse does not know. My friends do not know. I've been living with this. 40:38 You have no concept." You are absolutely right, my friend. 40:43 I do not know how horrible it is in your heart. All I know is the darkness that 40:51 dwells too often deep in my own soul. "Oh, wretched man that I am! 41:01 Who will deliver me from this body of death?" And this much else I do know 41:11 from the studying and the reading and the praying that I've done over this #RxF4Now. 41:21 This much I do know. For every horrible sinner, there is one wonderful Savior. 41:36 That much I know. No matter how much sin is in your life and in my life, verse 41:44 20 in the old King James is absolutely true. Put it on the screen please... 41:56 The more sins you have, the more grace He pours in. The more sins you have, the more 42:03 grace He pours in. She who does not confess much does not receive much. 42:12 "Simon, Simon, the woman has wept over my feet and washed them, and you didn't kiss me. 42:18 You gave me no oil for my head. You didn't wash my feet. She who has been forgiven much 42:26 loves deeply." "Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound." 42:33 Wow. By the way, the news is even better. 42:38 Hold on to your pew now 'cause we're gonna get to the best news. 42:41 It's coming right now, so hold on. Come on. Hold on. 42:44 Grab that cold wooden pew. Because in Christ, it gets -- Come on, come on. 42:51 Paul is not through. Go to chapter six. Watch this. You're not gonna believe this. 42:55 Some of you are gonna say, "Oh, boy, typical homiletical hyperbole. 42:58 That's what we get from Dwight, homiletical hyperbole." Okay. Check it out for yourself. 43:01 Romans chapter six. Come on, check it out. Romans 6:3. 43:06 Paul says... 43:10 Scholars believe that that "baptized into Christ," that notion from the very beginning 43:13 of the Christian faith, was the seed for Paul to champion this phrase over 200 times -- "in 43:19 Christ." He got it from the baptismal formula. 43:21 You're baptized into Christ -- "in Christ, in Christ, in Christ." 43:25 Hey, Paul says, "Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into 43:29 his --" what? His death was yours. You were so into him, his death 43:33 became yours. Keep reading. Verse four. 43:36 "And we were therefore buried with him --" His burial became 43:38 yours. Keep reading. 43:40 "...buried with him through baptism into death in order 43:43 that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory 43:46 of the Father --" Guess what. We, too, came up with him. 43:50 We came up with him Resurrection Sunday. 43:53 Verse five... 44:01 [ Claps ] Man! 44:03 You're really in when you're in. You die with him, you're buried with him, you rise with him, 44:09 and guess what. You didn't know this. You ascended with him. 44:11 Did you know that you ascended with Christ? Come on, you ascended with 44:14 Christ. You're saying, "Now, this is where you're pulling my leg, 44:17 Dwight." No, no, no, no, no. Come on. Paul, Ephesians chapter two. 44:22 You got a Bible, turn to Ephesians chapter two. Look at this. Look at this. 44:26 Can you believe this is in your Bible? Ephesians chapter two. 44:29 We'll pick it up in verse four. Ephesians 2:4. "But because of --" Paul is just 44:33 so enamored with the love of God. Everywhere you turn, you're 44:36 running into God's love with Paul. "But because of His great love 44:40 for us, God, who is rich in mercy --" verse five -- "made us alive together with Christ even 44:45 when we were dead in transgressions." You remember that phrase we 44:49 read? You're all tangled up in sin. You don't know what to do. 44:52 Remember that phrase? Guess what. When you're in the "all tangled 44:56 up and dead in sin" phase of your life, God has already begun moving you into "in Christ." 45:05 He didn't wait for a changed life to do it. He started while you were still 45:11 dead in transgressions. Mercy. "And --" Oh, boy. 45:17 Oh, boy. Verse six... 45:26 Guess where you are right now if you're in Christ? You're already in heaven. 45:30 You are already in heaven. Do you believe that? Because when the Creator says, 45:33 "You're already in heaven," if you say, "Amen," it is. "I just said amen, Dwight, but 45:39 I'm still having to listen to you. Why aren't I in heaven?" 45:44 You're there in Christ. Keep reading. There's one more verse. 45:52 Verse seven. "In order that in the coming 45:54 ages God might show the incomparable riches of his 45:57 grace, expressed in His kindness to us --" there it is again, 46:01 over 200 times -- "in Christ Jesus." 46:05 That is absolutely unbelievable. We died in him, we're buried with him, we rose with him, we 46:12 ascended with him, we're sitting on the throne of the universe in Christ Jesus, with him. 46:18 Now, think, think. When you're sitting on the throne with Christ, how could 46:24 God ever lose you? How could you be lost? You're already there. 46:31 You're there. You're secure. He can't lose you... unless you say, "Get me out of 46:40 here. Get me out of here. Send me back. Send me back." 46:48 We do not understand how this "in Christ" theme is absolutely huge in God's economy of 46:55 salvation. This "in Christ" phrase, this "in Christ" truth, there is no 47:01 "huger" truth. We just invented a word. No huger truth than this one. 47:09 That's why Paul devoted his life now to preach "in Christ, in Christ." 47:16 And that little old lady we were talking about a moment ago, God bless her, got it right again 47:22 when she wrote these stunning words in a letter to someone who needed to read them, and that 47:28 someone may be you today. I'll put them on the screen for you. 47:31 You'll take them home in that study guide. You didn't get a study guide, 47:34 ask one of these friendly ushers who will be sitting up here, and you can get it from them. 47:38 "The message from God to me for you --" Here's your message from God. 47:45 "Message from God to me for you is --" and she's quoting the red-letter words in John 6:37, 47:49 the words of Jesus -- "'Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.'" 47:53 By the way, in the Greek -- This is very interesting. In the Greek -- look at that 47:57 line. "I will in no wise," that's a double negative in the Greek. 48:00 "I will no, not ever, cast out. You come to me... in Christ forever." 48:08 Now she goes on. Watch this, watch this... 48:21 I want to tell you something. 48:23 I promise you this. That little lady had no clue that there was a double negative 48:28 in John 6:37, but when she reacts to the promise, what does she put? 48:33 A double negative in the English. "You will never, never --" in 48:37 case you missed the first one. "You will never, never be turned away." 48:44 [ Scoffs ] 48:45 Keep reading 'cause it gets even better... 48:56 "Cling to that promise and you are safe." 48:59 Quote the line again for us, please. 49:02 "'She that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.' 49:05 Present this assurance to Jesus, and you are as safe as 49:08 though --" "already," I'm adding -- "inside the city of 49:12 God." 49:14 I rest my case. When you're in Christ, you're on the throne now. 49:19 You're inside the city, do you understand that? You can't get lost, unless you 49:24 say, "Let me out of here. Let me out. I don't like this place." 49:29 You're free to go, by the way. But why would anybody say, "Let me out of here"? 49:39 Wow. Christ's promise, Christ's grace is so strong, so sure, it's as 49:48 if you're already there. "Aw, Dwight, come on, now. Tell me, tell me, tell me. 49:52 How can I be in Christ?" Okay. Here's how. "Yeah, but come on. 49:57 Tell me something." No, I am. "What is this?" 50:00 This is what you do. You want to be in Christ, this 50:03 is what you do. This frail little hand is 50:07 upturned. And you know what the hand is 50:09 saying for the heart? "Amen. Amen. I'll take it. 50:17 I'll take it, please." 50:19 That's all you have to do. Take it. Just put your hand out. Ask Him. 50:31 It's yours. Don't walk away. Put two hands out if that helps. Some of you are saying to 50:41 yourself, "I know, I know." This is what you're saying. "Oh, this is so elementary. 50:45 I am so farther on in my life than this." Well, goodie for you. 50:52 [ Laughter ] Sounds to me like a Pharisee who's praying to God, "Oh, God, 50:58 I thank You I'm not like that wretch in the back row of the balcony. 51:01 I got my life together, thank you, Jesus." Same little lady. 51:09 These words on the screen. "All of us need to humble our 51:12 own individual hearts, and be converted --" how often? 51:16 What's that last word? How often? 51:18 Daily. Daily. Daily. 51:23 May have been a long time since you ever told Jesus, "I'm in you, and you're in me." 51:29 I know you're a member of some church somewhere. That's fine. 51:33 Won't get you anywhere. It may be a long time since you've told Jesus, but start 51:42 today, tomorrow morning, and the next and the next. "What do I pray, Dwight?" 51:48 [ Scoffs ] What'd Jesus say in John 15:5? "Abide in me, and I in you." 51:55 It's life. "You abide in me, and I in you. You're in Christ, I'm in you." 51:59 So your prayer every day could be, "Oh, God, today, right now, as the day begins, I want to be 52:04 in Christ. Please, Jesus in me. That's all I'm asking. 52:09 Let me be in him. May he be in me." Every day, be converted daily -- 52:16 every day in Christ. You say, "But, Dwight, what in the world does this have to do 52:21 with the regrets of Oscar Wilde?" Oscar Wilde. 52:23 Put his picture on the screen for you -- Irish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, one of 52:31 the great luminaries in the world of the arts in the 19th century. 52:35 His single novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" -- widely acclaimed, brilliant 52:39 mind, academic honors. One author described him as a "scintillating writer." 52:46 Oscar Wilde, at the height of his fame and success, almost by accident, ended up in court not 52:53 once but twice, and it was the second time that the secrets of his life were exposed to the 53:00 public, and he was shamed before the world. They gave him a two-year 53:06 sentence of hard labor. And while in prison, he reflected on his tragic fall and 53:15 described his spiritual journey in a very long letter that has since been titled 53:21 "De Profundis." Latin. Wilde was released from prison 53:32 after his two-year sentence. He died a year later in Paris, destitute. 53:39 He was 46. But from that day, "Profundis" -- these words of 53:46 his confession. On the screen, please... 54:36 "I allowed pleasure to dominate me, and I ended in horrible 54:41 disgrace." 54:45 The regrets of Oscar Wilde. What a tragic story. What a sad ending to so much 54:57 promise. [ Sighs ] Because nobody's story -- 55:03 nobody's story has to end this way. "There is therefore now no 55:09 condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." In fact, Jesus spoke the very 55:17 words when they threw that woman taken in adultery in a heap at his feet. 55:21 Jesus said to her, "Woman... neither do I condemn you. Now go in peace. 55:32 Leave your life of sin behind." No condemnation, no regrets when you are in Christ, which you can 55:46 be right now. Right now. You say, "Amen..." 55:54 You say, "Amen," inside... 55:58 ...you have it. Believe. Believe. 56:08 Apparently, you can even say to get a miracle, "Lord, I believe -- help my unbelief." 56:13 You get the miracle anyway. "Just the seed of a mustard plant, that's all I need. 56:22 Just believe me," he says, and you're in Christ. Amen. 56:30 Oh, God, could the truth be this simple? Could it be this clear? 56:37 Could the news be this glorious? Please, my Lord, look into our hearts. 56:48 "Oh, wretched man, wretched woman that I am!" Look into our hearts and hear 56:58 the quiet "amen" that we speak to you now. 57:13 Amen. 57:17 >> I want to take an extra moment with you to tell you about something we're really 57:20 excited about. It's called "Hope Trending: A Crash Course on How to Live 57:23 Without Fear." It's a 9-night series of 60-minute programs that will be 57:28 live-streamed to the world October 14 through 22, and we want to connect with your 57:33 friends -- friends who have yet to meet God, friends who have yet to discover how vital 57:37 end-time truths are for this very generation. That's why I hope you'll pass on 57:42 to them an invitation. All the information you need for that invitation is at our 57:45 website. Let me give that website to you. 57:47 Check it out for yourself -- hopetrending.org. 57:50 One word -- hopetrending.org. And would you please join me in 57:55 praying that this new innovative strategy will open up fresh 57:58 doors for Jesus across this nation and literally around the 58:02 world. 58:03 In the meantime, my prayer is that God will continue to bless you with His hope, with His 58:07 grace, with His peace until we meet again right here next time. 58:15 ♪♪ |
Revised 2016-11-23