Participants: Pr. Dwight K Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP101808
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01:02 Whatever be the love
01:08 It is enfolded 01:15 O, God of love 01:20 Within your arms 01:24 Embrace 01:29 Our human passions 01:35 Partnerships and yearnings 01:44 Refined within the radiance 01:51 Of your grace 02:07 Whatever be our smallest 02:11 Acts of courage 02:16 O, God of strength 02:20 They witness to your power 02:27 That reaches through our fear 02:34 And anxious trembling 02:39 And nurtures us to grow 02:44 To fullest flower 02:57 Whatever be the question 03:04 Or the challenge 03:09 O, God of wisdom 03:16 Source of holy speech 03:24 It is your call 03:29 That summons us 03:34 To justice 03:39 And opens hearts to live 03:44 The truth you teach 03:55 Whatever be our faith 04:01 It is uplifted 04:06 O, God of mystery 04:14 Far beyond our sights 04:21 Through shadowed lands 04:27 Through shadowed lands 04:33 Our wandering upward pathways 04:40 Converge 04:47 Within your final realm of light 05:05 Whatever be the song 05:12 It is your music 05:18 O, God of hope 05:23 Sustaining every breath 05:31 With morning stars 05:37 And mountains peaks 05:42 United 05:47 In symphonies of joy 05:53 Outliving death 06:10 Outliving death 06:13 Outliving death 06:17 In symphonies 06:22 Of joy 06:30 Of joy 06:55 Let's pray together. 06:58 Oh, God whatever be the love, 07:01 whatever be our smallest acts of courage, 07:06 whatever be the question or the challenge, 07:11 whatever be our faith, 07:13 whatever be the song, it is your music. 07:15 Oh, God of hope 07:17 sustaining every breath with morning stars 07:20 and mountain peaks united in symphonies of joy 07:25 out living death. 07:28 Holy Father, we have every reason to worship you today. 07:35 Receive these gifts of grateful hearts, 07:41 and take this moment, the moment has left, 07:44 turn it into a teaching moment. 07:45 Please may ancient scripture engage our very present journey 07:52 for the glory of Christ Jesus. 07:53 We pray in his name. Amen. 08:00 Can you believe? 08:01 Amen, can you believe this economic rollercoaster 08:06 that we are on as a nation, and not just as a nation, 08:09 that we are on as a world. 08:11 Look, I'm not an old guy, 08:13 but in all the years that I have lived 08:15 I cannot remember a time of such sustained 08:20 bad news headlines one after the other. 08:23 And every new headline recreates a landscape. 08:28 But I want to share with you this morning 08:30 why this time of such bad news 08:34 is actually the good news time for the everlasting gospel. 08:40 I want to refer to you to a study done back in 1967 08:43 two researchers at the University of Washington, 08:45 School of Medicine. 08:47 Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe designed an instrument called 08:50 the social readjustment rating scale. 08:54 Life change units, 43 human experiences 08:57 that you can go through. 08:59 Anyone of which will significantly 09:01 impact your next 12 months. 09:03 Now here's their premise, I'm quoting now, 09:05 their premise was that "The good and bad events," 09:08 good and bad, "in one's life can increase stress levels 09:10 and make one more susceptible to illness 09:12 and mental health problems," 09:14 i.e., there are certain life experiences we all go through. 09:17 And they can be good, very good as well as bad, 09:19 but by our going through them 09:21 internally the paradigm gets shifted. 09:24 It can be shifted physically 09:25 so that we become more vulnerable to disease. 09:27 It can become shifted emotionally 09:29 so that mental health becomes an issue or intellectually. 09:34 43 life experiences, and what as you know it, 09:36 at the very top, at the very top, 130 points, 09:42 and the issue is how many these points 09:44 you accumulate in 12 months, 09:45 at the every top the death of a child. 09:48 There is no greater human loss. 09:51 Death of a spouse is 30 points lower. 09:54 Death of a child. 09:56 That's how much your parents love you. 09:58 That's how much you mean to your parents. 10:00 If anything, God forbid, should happen to you, 10:04 they will be devastated, trust me. 10:08 I know the parents for the rest of their life 10:11 they will smile again, 10:13 but always with a silver tear in the corner of their eye, 10:17 I promise you. 10:19 It's not all bad news. 10:20 I mean come on, good news, even Christmas is on there. 10:24 Christmas causes stress. Marriage is on there. 10:27 You get married. 10:29 You know what, marriage is not only hard on your health, 10:31 it's hard on your wallet. 10:32 I mean everything kind of comes together in marriage. 10:36 And so we're rather excited, but it's wonderful. 10:38 I'm telling you, it is wonderful. 10:39 And so we were excited 10:40 when we got back from our year break 10:44 and found out that our son Kirk became engaged 10:47 to the lovely Chelsea Knowlton. 10:49 It's a good story. 10:50 But here's what's struck me 'cause I went to the UCLA web-- 10:54 I got this from UCLA website. 10:57 Of these 43, of these 43, 12 of them deal with economy. 11:01 Deal with economic financial issues. 11:03 Listen to this, fired at work. 11:05 Well, that would be-- that would be significant, 11:07 fired at work. 11:08 Retirement, you think retirement, 11:10 now I'm just gonna sit back. 11:11 No, when you go into retirement, 11:12 that's a stressful time. 11:14 Because you're going through a change, see. 11:16 Any change you go through opens you up to further change. 11:19 That's the key to tuck away in your mind. 11:22 What's another one here? Business readjustments. 11:24 Boy, there's gonna be a lot of that happening now. 11:25 Change in financial state. 11:27 Oh, boy, that's for all human race. 11:29 Change to a different line of work. 11:30 People are losing their jobs. 11:32 Our unemployment rate is going up in this nation. 11:38 Mortgage over $50,000. 11:39 If in the last 12 months, 11:41 you took out a mortgage over $50,000, 11:43 that's a major, major stress issue. 11:45 Foreclosure of mortgage, 11:46 that's what's happening to America right now. 11:48 People losing their houses, that's huge stress. 11:50 Wife begins or stops work, trouble with the boss, 11:53 change of work hours or conditions, 11:54 loan less than $50,000. 11:56 That would be a student, loan less than $50,000 for one year. 11:59 That's stress. 12:01 But here's is the point, ladies and gentlemen, 12:03 with all of this economic upheaval, 12:06 do you know what happens? 12:08 People are suddenly vulnerable, 12:09 and they're now available for major paradigm shifting, 12:14 not just in health, not just in emotions, 12:17 but intellectually as well. 12:18 It's the perfect time for the gospel of the Lord 12:21 Jesus Christ to step in and say, 12:23 "I've got exactly what you're needing right now. 12:26 Christ always does that. 12:28 So there's a story in Acts that we have got to give 12:30 very careful attention to this morning 12:32 in our continuing series 12:33 because in this story our seven, count 'em, 12:36 seven essential principles to effectively step in 12:41 and become the agent of the Holy Spirit 12:43 to create a paradigm shift 12:45 for the Lord Jesus Christ, seven of 'em. 12:47 Open your Bible to this story. 12:48 This is my other favorite story in the Book of Acts, Acts 8, 12:53 our theme book for this series primetime. 12:56 We're now moving deeper and deeper 12:57 into the series primetime. 12:58 It's all about mobilizing a new generation 13:00 to effectively communicate God's end time truth 13:02 to an end time world. 13:04 That's what this series is about. 13:05 And I've said this to you, 13:06 university students over and over again, 13:08 you are the primetime generation. 13:10 By the way, it's global. 13:11 In Romania the same way, in Romania the same way. 13:14 What, wherever you are, if you're a young adult, 13:18 you are primetime for God's strategic plan for this planet. 13:22 All right, so we're going to Acts 8. 13:23 If you didn't bring a Bible, 13:24 please, grab the pew Bible right now. 13:25 It's right in front of you. 13:26 What's the page number in the pew Bible, 739. 13:29 Let me find it here, got it right here, 13:31 I'm in the Today's New International Version 13:33 that the series is out of. 13:34 You can have any translation you wish. 13:36 Just glad you brought a Bible. 13:38 Acts 8, oh, this is the great story, 13:41 Philip and the Ethiopian. 13:43 Don't you love that story? I do, too. 13:45 All right, verse 26, let's read it together. 13:47 Now here we go, "Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip," 13:54 got to hit the pause button right there 13:55 because Luke is huge on angels. 13:58 Angel comes and tells Zechariah, 13:59 "You're gonna have John the Baptist." 14:00 Angel comes to Mary and says, "You're gonna have Jesus." 14:02 Angel comes to the shepherd and says, 14:04 "Hey, shepherds, got great news for you." 14:06 Luke loves angels. He doesn't invent the angels. 14:09 He's very sensitive to angels and it keeps showing up. 14:12 You know what? You got to remember this. 14:13 Because we're moving into a story about 14:15 how to witness for your faith. 14:17 Angels are our partners in witnessing. 14:20 Every time you open your mouth to another human being 14:23 and you want to say a word about Jesus, 14:24 just let this little thought come to your mind. 14:28 I have a guardian angel, 14:29 that human being has a guardian angel, 14:31 and those two angels are in collaboration. 14:34 You are never outnumbered. 14:36 You are never outnumbered. 14:38 If there are ten people against you, 14:40 there are ten angels with you. 14:41 You are never outnumbered ever, 14:45 because the angels are always collaborating. 14:48 So an angel comes to Philip and says, 14:49 "Hey, Philip, go to the road south of Jerusalem." 14:53 By the way, notice this, no instructions. 14:54 It just says, "Go south to the road," 14:56 that'd be a 50 mile highway through the desert, 14:59 "that desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 15:03 Phil has no idea why he's going, 15:04 but when you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ 15:07 and he says, "Go," you go. 15:09 Verse 27 "So he started out, and on his way," 15:12 maybe this is it, "on his way he met an Ethiopian." 15:16 Now I need to tell you about Ethiopia back then. 15:17 When they talk about Ethiopia, it's not modern day Ethiopia. 15:20 It's all the land south of the first cataract 15:22 of the mighty Nile River, everything south of it. 15:25 It ends up, it ends up in today's Ethiopia, 15:27 but it could be anywhere along that stretch. 15:29 So he meets an Ethiopian eunuch. 15:32 Now you know what a eunuch is. 15:33 It's a male servant for royalty castrated. 15:36 All right? 15:37 Now there is some evidence that Daniel, Shadrach, 15:40 Meshach, and Abednego were all eunuch as well. 15:44 Not a very pleasant thought, 15:45 but that's the way they had their royal servants back then. 15:48 So this is an Ethiopian eunuch, all right. 15:52 And "he met an Ethiopian eunuch, 15:54 an important official in charge of all the treasury." 15:58 Now notice how my translation puts it, "of the Kandake." 16:03 Some of your Bible says, Candace, 16:05 Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, 16:06 but that's not true. 16:07 That's a mistranslation because Kandake in the Greek 16:13 is the title, is the title of a line of royalty. 16:16 Just like Pharaoh, Pharaoh is a title, Caesar. 16:19 They had other names, but that's the title. 16:20 Ptolemys, the Ptolemys. 16:23 So the Kandakes, it was a matriarchal society, 16:26 it was a line of queens. 16:27 We don't her name, she was just one of the Kandakes. 16:31 He works for her. 16:32 He's the treasurer of the royal court. 16:35 So he sees this official in charge 16:37 of all the treasury of the Kandake, 16:38 "which means 'queen of the Ethiopians.' 16:40 This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship." 16:42 He's a believer. 16:43 He has accepted Israel's God as his own. 16:45 He's a proselyte. 16:46 He believes in the creator God of the universe. 16:49 He's gone up to Jerusalem to worship. 16:50 He's on this way home, he is sitting in his chariot 16:53 reading the book Isaiah the prophet. 16:57 So his limousine is pulled off the road. 16:59 The shaded windows are all down, 17:01 'cause he wants a little bit of cross ventilation. 17:03 Nobody's there, he's on his own. 17:05 He's inside that stretch limo, and he's reading the Bible. 17:09 It's a scroll of Isaiah. 17:11 And verse 29, The Spirit told Philip, 17:15 "Go, go to that chariot and you stay near that chariot, boy, 17:21 and see what happens." 17:23 Principle number one, there it is, jot it down. 17:25 Take your study guide, please, quick, take that study guide. 17:27 Seven principles, we're gonna jot 'em all down for you. 17:29 Thank you, ushers. 17:30 Make sure that everybody here on the sanctuary floor, 17:35 up in the balcony and overflow, 17:36 make sure everybody gets-- 17:37 I hope the choir all has study guides. 17:39 Good. 17:40 Those of you watching on television 17:41 we're delighted to have you. 17:42 We want you to have the same study guide. 17:43 You've got to jot these seven principles down. 17:45 So go to our website, put it on the screen for you, 17:48 www.pmchruch, you see it at the bottom of your screen, 17:52 www.pmchurch.tv. 17:54 You are looking for the series "Primetime." 17:56 This is part six in the series. 17:57 If you didn't get the first five parts, 17:59 they're all waiting for you right there with podcast. 18:02 But you're looking for the title today, 18:03 "Just Walk Across the Room." 18:05 It's a book title, I'll talk about it in a moment. 18:08 Click on there where it says study guide, 18:10 you'll have the same study guide. 18:11 Seven essential principles to guide us 18:14 in effectively sharing the good news, 18:16 the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18:18 All right, let's go. 18:19 Everybody got one? 18:20 Principle number one, jot it down, 18:22 be open to the Spirit's impressions and promptings. 18:26 Write that down. 18:27 You're saying, "Dwight, that's just one line there. 18:30 Why did you put that in three lines?" 18:31 You know what? 18:32 'Cause I finally got wise to you. 18:33 Some of you are coming up to me after church and saying, 18:35 "Hey, listen, I've already figured out 18:36 your study guide before you even get up. 18:37 I figure out all the blanks. And I got it." 18:39 I said, "All right, Sherry, this week, 18:40 from now on, don't-- just one long line. 18:43 Nobody will ever know what goes in that long line. 18:45 Now they'll have to listen all the way through." 18:49 That's what you get for bragging to me. 18:53 So write it down, be open to the Spirit's 18:55 impressions and promptings. 18:57 Whether it's your angel or the Holy Spirit, 18:59 it really doesn't matter. 19:00 There are crucial moments in your day, 19:02 there will be crucial moments in your week when God says, 19:04 "Hey, boy, girl, you're it right now. 19:07 We got to have you and now." 19:10 Be ready, be open to the Spirit's impressions. 19:13 Question, but how can I know for sure 19:15 that right now is the right time? 19:19 Answer, would you jot this down? 19:23 Maybe this-- Is this the one 19:24 that I'm supposed to do it, too? 19:25 Jot this down. 19:27 Ask yourself what you think 19:28 Jesus wants for this individual, 19:30 to be saved or lost? 19:33 Once you determine what Jesus wants 19:34 for that individual, you say, "Duh." 19:36 But of course that's the point. 19:38 Of course, he wants this individual saved. 19:39 So if you're getting the impression right now, 19:41 you're in a cafeteria, you're in a store, 19:42 you're on a plane, and you're getting the impression, 19:44 you ought to say something, 19:45 then you ought to say something. 19:47 He wants this person saved, trust me. 19:49 In fact, would you jot it down please? 19:50 Jesus said it in the house of Zacchaeus, Luke 19:10. 19:54 Put it on the screen and fill it in please. 19:55 "The Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost." 20:00 You want to know what turns heaven on? 20:01 That's it, that's all they think about night and day. 20:04 How do we save lost children? 20:06 'Cause they're all kids to them. 20:07 We're all children to heaven. 20:09 I love this line, I have it written 20:10 down in my Bible at Luke 15 20:14 the parable of the lost sheep and lost coin and the lost boy. 20:18 And we had Derek Nelson in chapel do a great job. 20:20 Wasn't that a great chapel? 20:22 Great chapel, he taught us out of that passage this week. 20:26 I love this, "Christ's Object Lessons," 20:27 what's the page number, 196, you have to fill it in. 20:29 "At the foot of the cross, remembering that for one sinner 20:32 Christ would have laid down his life, 20:35 you may estimate the value of a soul." 20:40 You don't have to wonder about the guy across the hall, 20:42 is Jesus interested in the guy across the hall? 20:45 How about the neighbor across the street? 20:46 You don't have to ask anymore. 20:47 You know he would have died for one. 20:49 That surely would include the person you're about, 20:51 you know, you're not sure. 20:52 Do I, do I not? Do I? 20:54 Now, question, but is this the right time? 20:59 So you say, "But look, Dwight, is this really the right time?" 21:02 Answer, you'll never know, you can't know. 21:06 In fact, jot this down, 21:07 you may be one of a long line of "witnesses" 21:11 that God of the universe is needing to slowly 21:15 but surely open up that individual 21:16 to the influence of the Holy Spirit 21:19 and the everlasting gospel of Christ. 21:21 You have no idea where you are in this stream. 21:24 Just be your link, don't let that link down, you be it. 21:28 Do you remember that college pastor, 21:29 in the nearby college 21:30 I was telling about a few times ago? 21:33 Let me tell you about that college pastor. 21:34 Let me show you all the contacts. 21:35 First contact, he had some Seventh Day 21:36 Adventist students in his class. 21:38 They start talking to him. 21:39 Contact number two, he goes, out of curiosity, 21:41 he goes to the Christian ABC bookstore here in town, 21:45 and he meets Sarah Sink. 21:46 He says, "Give me some books." She sells some books to him. 21:49 Contact number three, students say, 21:51 "You ought to come to church sometime." 21:52 He shows up on Easter Sabbath. I meet him. 21:54 Contact number four, we have Bible studies together. 21:57 Contact number five, I have no idea 21:59 who contact number five is. 22:00 It's immaterial to me. 22:02 All I need to be is there when my moment comes. 22:06 God will weave a golden chain 22:08 to just draw that heart to eternal life, 22:11 if we'll all just be the little link. 22:13 You don't have to be great in this link. 22:14 You may have a very small part. 22:16 Who cares? Just be there for them. 22:19 All right, yeah, but how-- you know, 22:21 come on, Dwight, I'm just really not sure 22:22 that this witnessing is really my gift. 22:25 Oh, would you write this down, please? 22:27 It may not be your gift, but it certainly is your role 22:30 as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. 22:33 I got a letter from a mother here, 22:35 who has kids in college here. 22:37 She says, "You know, something, pastor, please, 22:39 I mean, you know, all kids are not-- 22:41 are not extroverts and able to just chat-chat-chat-chat. 22:45 I understand that, I understand that. 22:48 But would you write this down in response? 22:51 God has not made us all evangelists. 22:53 He has not made us all evangelists, 22:55 but He has called us all to be witnesses. 22:57 Acts 1:8, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, 22:59 we've already looked at that in the series. 23:01 When the Holy Spirit comes on you, 23:02 you'll receive power, and you, I promise, 23:04 I promise you, Jesus says, you will be my witness. 23:08 You just will be. 23:11 Everybody, the shiest, 23:12 most introverted human being on earth 23:15 may be the one strategic link 23:18 that will get that person across. 23:20 Don't you ever say, 23:21 it can't be me helping God on this one. 23:24 In fact Bill Hybels, in his book, 23:26 "Just Walk Across The Room" 23:27 from whence comes this sermon title. 23:30 You see that in your study guide. 23:31 I love this, he wrote, 23:33 "God made you exactly as you are. 23:35 He wired you and gave you the temperament 23:38 and the experience," bashful as you are, 23:41 "and the background that you have," 23:43 he wanted your daddy to be your daddy 23:44 and your momma to be your momma. 23:45 He chose them all for you 23:47 'cause it would produce only you. 23:49 And nobody else like you on this planet. 23:50 "He wanted someone just like you in this world right now. 23:53 Today. In this generation." 23:55 Hey, listen, he says, "memorize all 24 verses of Psalm 139," 23:59 where it says, David says, 24:01 you wired me when I was still in my mother's womb. 24:03 You wired me. 24:04 You are what you are 24:05 because God wanted you to be what you are. 24:08 If you don't believe it read, 24:09 memorize Psalm 139 if you have to, 24:11 "but don't lose sight of the intentionality 24:13 God poured into his blueprint for you." 24:15 Oh, I like that. 24:17 Okay, so that was principle number one. 24:18 Let's find principle number two now. 24:20 Go back to the story, let's pick it up from verse 29, 24:22 And so the Spirit told Philip, 24:23 "Psst, Philip, go to the chariot, 24:26 stay near the chariot." 24:27 He didn't tell him what to say, didn't say a word. 24:29 Just says, "You go near that chariot." 24:31 And verse 30, "Then Philip ran up to the chariot 24:34 and he heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. 24:37 'Do you understand what you are reading?' 24:39 Philip asked." 24:40 Luckily the limousine windows are down. 24:41 So he can hear the guy reading aloud inside 24:44 and he says, "I just heard you reading. 24:45 Do you understand what you're reading?" 24:47 So he just responded to that moment. 24:50 That's principle number two, 24:51 would you write it down, please? 24:52 Be willing to walk across the road or room. 24:56 That's what Philip did. He walked across the road. 24:58 The Spirit said, "This is your moment, go. 25:00 I'm not gonna tell you what to do, just go. 25:01 You'll figure it out." And he went. 25:04 In other words, make yourself available to that individual 25:07 that the Spirit is impressing you about. 25:09 Hey, listen, come on, ladies and gentlemen, 25:13 you have no-- you have no idea where this will go, 25:17 but if you don't go, you will never know. 25:20 Write it down, you got to go. 25:24 I don't know what's gonna turn out. 25:25 Turn out to be a zero, but who cares. 25:27 I did my little part. Don't worry about it. 25:30 Getting all twitterpated by, oh, I got to do something big. 25:33 Forget it. Just do your part. 25:36 Bill Hybels tells the story of a tall African American Muslim, 25:39 who came to know Christ 25:40 because of the action of a stranger at a cocktail party. 25:43 All right, this is in the deep south, by the way. 25:45 And these business men are all together, 25:49 except one businessman standing off by himself. 25:50 He's been to these things. He knows how it is. 25:52 Nobody's gonna talk to him anyway. 25:53 So he's standing in that corner. 25:55 There was a man, a stranger 25:56 in a circle with his colleagues, 25:57 and they're talking and laughing, 25:59 and you know how it is in the cafeteria. 26:00 You get a whole table full of people, 26:01 and there's one guy sitting all alone, 26:03 nobody cares about that girl over there. 26:05 You know how it goes, don't you? 26:07 So they're having this time. 26:08 And this guy happen to turn around, 26:09 and he saw that tall African American standing there. 26:12 Turns out he was a Muslim, 26:14 and he made a decision on the spot, on the spot. 26:18 And Hybels, that's what you have in your study guide. 26:21 "The Spirit living inside of him," you see it there, 26:23 "caused him to feel such compassion 26:25 for the man standing alone 26:27 that he excused himself from his Circle of Comfort," 26:29 write that in. 26:30 'Cause we all have these circles of comfort, 26:32 where these are my, these are my friends 26:35 I know that I am accepted right here. 26:37 It's great to have a circle of comfort. 26:39 There's nothing wrong with that. 26:40 You just have to get out of it. 26:44 "He excused himself from his Circle of Comfort, 26:46 he made the turn to the other side of the room, 26:48 and he started walking in the direction of a place 26:51 I call the 'Zone of the Unknown.'" 26:54 I have no idea what's gonna happen now. 26:57 Let me tell you what, if you like living on the edge, 26:59 this is a great way to live. 27:01 Zone of the Unknown. 27:02 "He had resolved in his heart," and I love this, 27:04 "probably praying every step of the way," 27:06 God, I want to meet this guy. I have no idea who he is. 27:09 Just take this moment and do something. 27:11 Do something, please. Praying the whole way over. 27:15 He resolved to enter the zone and see what God might do. 27:18 And Hybels is commenting now, 27:20 "In my opinion, it's within this zone 27:22 that God does his very best work." 27:26 And that story, which was shared to him, 27:28 became the metaphor for his book, 27:29 "Just Walk Across The Room." 27:31 You just got to walk across the room. 27:34 Do what the stranger did, do what Philip did. 27:36 Obey the promptings of the Spirit, 27:37 take a step out of your circle of comfort, 27:41 just get out of it. 27:42 Walk into the zone of the unknown. 27:46 You'll be all right. You won't die. 27:50 You may be exactly what the Spirit 27:52 was waiting for that day 27:53 because you were obedient. 27:56 By the way, may I remind you, that's exactly what Jesus did. 27:59 He is in the throne room of the universe. 28:01 And, boy, were we singing today, 28:03 hallelujah, thank you, Justin and Justin. 28:05 Were we singing today, he's in the throne room. 28:09 He is the subject of every ballet, 28:11 every poem, every song in the universe. 28:13 They're singing about Him. 28:14 He is the number one star and hero of all the galaxies. 28:19 But one day he stood from His throne. 28:21 He said, "I can't, I can't, I just can't, 28:22 I can't, I can't live here." 28:24 And he walked across the room 28:26 of the universe to a rebel planet, 28:29 the zone of the unknown. 28:31 The greatest risk any being has ever taken 28:33 in the history of the universe. 28:36 And became one for the human race. 28:39 It's what he did. 28:41 I carry these words written a century ago by Ellen White. 28:44 I carry them in the back of my Bible 28:46 and you have them in your study guide now. 28:47 Look, isn't this something? 28:48 "The same devotion, the same self-sacrifice, 28:51 the same subjection 28:52 to the claims of the Word of God, 28:54 that were manifest in the life of Christ, 28:56 must be seen in the lives of his witnesses." 28:58 That would be you and me, 29:00 "He left his home of security and peace, 29:02 he left the glory he had with the Father, 29:04 he left his position on the throne of the universe. 29:06 He went forth, a suffering, tempted man. 29:09 He went forth in solitude, to sow in tears, 29:11 to water with his blood, 29:12 the seed of life for a lost world. 29:15 In like manner," you and me, "his witnesses, 29:18 we are to go forth to sow. 29:20 The warning message," for our Christ's time, 29:23 "is to be carried to all parts of the world." 29:26 Just walk across the room, across the street, 29:30 across the country, go around the world. 29:32 Doesn't matter, just go, go, go. 29:35 This hour of economic instability 29:38 and financial uncertainty 29:39 when people now are going through 29:41 such life changing units, just boom, boom, boom, 29:43 that they are wide open to the gospel of Jesus, 29:47 the everlasting gospel. 29:49 Oh, boys, don't put it off. 29:51 Please, go, across the street, across the cafeteria, 29:54 across the backyard fence. 29:55 Just get over to him, get over to her. 29:59 All right, here's principle number three. 30:02 We need to read verse 30 here, read it again, 30:04 "Then Philip ran up to the chariot 30:05 and he heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. 30:08 'Do you understand what you are reading?' 30:10 Philip asked." Scribble this down, will you? 30:12 Questions, write it down, 30:13 questions are a very effective way 30:16 to gain someone's attention and open up a conversation. 30:20 We'll get back to that other blank, don't worry about it. 30:22 Questions, questions. 30:25 Do you understand what you're reading? 30:28 Can you believe the economy these days? 30:32 Hey, hey tell me who's gonna win the World Series? 30:37 Hey, can I borrow your ladder? All it takes is a question. 30:42 A question is the most engaging 30:43 form of human conversation there is, 30:45 because the moment you ask a question, 30:46 somebody's gonna give an answer. 30:48 So we're flying back from Romania 30:49 and here is this guy, turns out he's an engineer, 30:52 he's reading the scholarly journal articles. 30:53 They've all been photocopied. 30:54 And I'm looking at the titles, 30:55 you know, nanoseconds and photons. 30:57 And I finally said, "What is it you're reading?" 31:01 Folks, this isn't something cutesy or clever you do. 31:03 You just use a question like Philip. 31:06 Do you understand what you're reading here? 31:08 Just ask question. 31:09 It invites the individual to respond. 31:12 So here's the principle. 31:13 Write it down now, principle three, 31:15 be ready to take the initiative. 31:17 You don't always have to use the question Philip did. 31:18 You can come up with something else. 31:20 Hey, I made you a batch of cookies. 31:22 What's wrong with that? It's an entree. 31:25 No, it's not entree, is it? 31:28 In my diet it would be an entree. 31:30 But in your diet it's a dessert. 31:33 But you know I mean by entree, entry, all right. 31:36 No, that's what I meant, that's really what I meant. 31:38 And you heard it the other way. 31:41 See, you got to able to ask questions. 31:42 Now, Dwight, what did you really mean by that? 31:45 All right, you're saying, 31:48 Dwight, I'm not an expert in any of this. 31:50 I can't take the initiative. 31:51 You know, here's what you can do. 31:53 Here's what you can do, this week, 31:56 hey, have you ever seen one of these? 31:58 That's all you have to say. 31:59 Have you ever-- Did you get one of these? 32:01 They say, "Yes, I got one." Fine. 32:03 If they say no, hey, I got one for you. 32:04 You can have it. What's it about? 32:06 It's Mark Finley, Discover 08, beginning Friday night, 32:08 satellite event right here, big screen. 32:11 I want to invite you to come. You've got to come. 32:13 See, you just asked a question, did you get one of these? 32:16 It's not hard. 32:17 If they say no, you give it to them. 32:18 If they say yes, oh, yeah, you're invited. 32:23 That's it, just ask a question. 32:24 Yeah, but, you know, Dwight, I'm just not an expert in this. 32:26 Oh, please, you don't have to be an expert, please. 32:30 Witnessing, would you, jot this down please, 32:31 witnessing is not about your ability, 32:35 it's about your availability. 32:38 Who cares what you can do? 32:39 If you got a mouth, you can do it. 32:44 You just have to be available, that's all it is. 32:47 Take the initiative when the Spirit prompts you. 32:48 All right, let's go to-- 32:49 let's find principle number four. 32:51 Verse 30 read that again, 32:52 "Then Philip ran up to the chariot 32:54 and he heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. 32:56 'Do you understand what you're reading?' 32:57 He wisely asked. 32:58 How can I," the man shoots back, verse 31, 33:01 "unless someone explains it to me?" 33:02 So he invited, "Hey, Philip, come on in. 33:04 Sir, come into my-- come into my limousine, here. 33:08 "And invited Philip to come up and sit with him." 33:10 Verse 32, "This is the passage of Scripture 33:12 the eunuch was reading," the glorious Isaiah 53, 33:16 "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, 33:17 and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, 33:19 so he did not open his mouth. 33:20 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. 33:22 Who can speak of his descendants? 33:24 For his life was taken from the earth." 33:26 And then the eunuch looked 33:27 straight into the stranger's face, 33:28 this guy that just walked across the road 33:29 and is now in his limousine, and he says, 33:32 "Hey, did this prophet, tell me please, 33:38 is he talking about himself? 33:40 Or is he talking about somebody else? 33:43 I want to know. 33:44 And then verse 35, I love this, verse 35, 33:47 "Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture 33:51 and told him the good news about Jesus." 33:56 Ah, there it is, principle number four, 33:57 write it down, be prepared to answer a question. 34:01 Be prepared to answer a question. 34:02 Raise a question to engage a conversation, 34:06 engage a conversation. 34:07 But be prepared to answer. 34:10 That's precisely what Philip was ready to do. 34:12 And by the way, in so doing 34:13 he adds a very important dimension to witnessing 34:15 that we don't think about. 34:16 'Cause here's how you and I think of witnessing. 34:18 Traditionally, we think witnessing 34:20 is giving your testimony. 34:21 Remember our last teaching together, 34:23 turning your story into His story. 34:24 Giving your testimony to someone 34:26 who does not believe. 34:27 And we think that means atheists, 34:30 agnostics and unbelievers. 34:31 Those are the people you witness to. 34:34 Now don't miss 2 weeks from now, 34:35 when we begin a little two part inside the series, 34:37 "How to witness to an atheist?" 34:39 I hope that will be helpful for you. 34:40 But we're wrong. 34:41 Witnessing is not only about atheists, 34:43 agnostics and unbelievers. 34:45 In fact the Ethiopian already believes 34:48 in the true God of the universe. 34:50 He already has the Bible, he's reading the Bible. 34:51 So it's not like, "Oh, there is a Bible." 34:53 No, he's already into it which leads me to conclude 35:00 that even Christians, would you jot this down, 35:02 please, even Christians-- 35:05 Now I left one out. 35:07 Just before, witnessing is also sharing the good news 35:09 about Jesus with someone 35:10 who is seeking to understand Scripture more clearly. 35:14 That's also witnessing. 35:15 Now I'll get to the one I wanted to get to. 35:17 Even Christians can be witnessed to, 35:19 so that they discover deeper truths 35:21 about Jesus in the Bible, truths 35:23 they never knew or studied before. 35:26 Now if you stuck around for the break, 35:27 Pastor Skip last week 35:29 masterfully dealt with this issue, 35:30 can you witness to somebody who is already a believer? 35:32 But of course. He made the case airtight. 35:35 I'm simply reaffirming his point. 35:37 I wasn't here, I was in Romania, 35:38 but he sent me his notes. 35:39 I read it, yep, perfect. 35:43 That's why we need to be prepared 35:44 as Philip was to respond to somebody who says, 35:46 "You know what, I was hoping 35:47 somebody would come by right now. 35:49 I have a question about the Bible." 35:50 I know that makes you want to-- 35:52 that makes you feel like panicking, doesn't it? 35:53 Boy, what do you think, I am a Bible-- 35:55 Bible answer man, Bible answer woman? 35:58 I'm no authority in the Bible. 36:01 Of course you're not. You don't have to be. 36:03 But don't forget our theme text. 36:05 1 Peter 3:15, fill it in, 1 Peter 3:15, 36:08 "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone 36:13 who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 36:18 You say, "But look, I'm just a student, please." 36:21 Just a student? Are you serious? 36:23 Jot this one down, 36:24 Christ desires to use every student, 36:27 word written 100 years ago, 36:28 Christ desires to use every student as His agent. 36:32 If you're a student, hallelujah, 36:34 'cause you're an agent for Christ. 36:35 You are an agent for the most High God. 36:38 Don't you ever apologize for being a student. 36:41 You're primetime. 36:42 Yeah, but, you know what, Dwight, 36:43 I'm not gonna know what to say. 36:45 Let me pass on two recommendations to you. 36:46 Number one, please take our contagious Adventist seminar. 36:50 We're going through it the first time right now. 36:51 Too late, can't get into it now. 36:53 But we're gonna-- I'm gonna ask 36:54 that we offer it before the school year 36:55 is over one more time. 36:57 I want you to have a chance to take it. 36:59 The whole purpose of this seminar 37:00 is to equip you, to give you the ability, 37:02 the wherewithal to be able to intelligently discuss 37:06 some of the great themes of the Holy Scripture. 37:08 You don't have to get a doctor to do this. 37:10 You just need a little bit of coaching. 37:11 And we want to coach you. 37:13 But here's my second recommendation, 37:15 never forget this verse. 37:16 This is a dynamite verse, Luke 12:11, 12 37:20 in the New Living Translation, fill this in. 37:22 I tell you what, this verse comes to mind at times 37:24 when I am desperate. 37:25 I say, "God, you got to help me right now." 37:28 Look at this promise, Jesus speaking these words, 37:31 "Don't worry about what to say in your defense, 37:34 for the Holy Spirit will teach you 37:35 what needs to be said 37:37 even as you are standing there." 37:41 On the spot. 37:43 I could tell you story after story after story, 37:45 but let me tell you probably the most famous story of all. 37:48 His name was Nehemiah. 37:50 He was a Jewish exile, also serving royalty. 37:53 One day the angry king, 37:55 'cause this king was mercurial in his personality. 37:58 Oh, boy, you never know how the king's gonna react. 38:00 One day the king said, 38:01 "Hey, you look like you're downhearted. 38:03 Oh, you're never supposed to be downhearted 38:04 in the presence of the glorious sun of the universe. 38:08 What's the problem?" 38:09 Nehemiah says, "How can I be happy 38:11 when the city that I came from is in shambles." 38:15 The king says, "What can I do for you?" 38:19 And just like that, just like that he realizes, 38:22 "I have to know what to say right now." 38:25 And so the shortest prayer in all the Scriptures, 38:27 Nehemiah 2:4, 38:28 "Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 38:30 and I answered the king." 38:32 That was it, boom, boom. 38:34 That's the shortest prayer in the Bible. 38:36 Boom, boom. 38:37 You know how long that prayer was? 38:38 Four letters, H-E-L-P, help. 38:42 There's nothing wrong with praying that way. 38:44 God says, "I was hoping you'd ask." 38:46 That's why Jesus says, "I got the Spirit here." 38:48 You got to help-- And Nehemiah says 38:50 what he never would have said if he hadn't prayed. 38:52 He asks for way more than prudence 38:56 would have told him to. 38:57 He just blew the bank account, 38:59 but the Spirit said this would be a good time to do it. 39:01 Boom, and he got it. 39:04 Yeah, proving true Jesus' words, 39:05 while you're standing there, you get the answer. 39:09 All right, let's look at principle five, 39:10 there are only seven of these. 39:11 Principle five, let's read verse 35 again, 39:13 "Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture 39:16 and he told him the good news about Jesus." 39:20 Here it is principle five, be mindful of the context 39:23 of that moment and conversation. 39:26 Do not be like the presidential candidates in their debates. 39:31 Moderator asks the question, 39:33 he says one word, just one word, 39:35 sounding like he's going to answer the question and... 39:38 into that campaign speech. 39:39 All of them rehearsed campaign speeches over and over again. 39:42 Forget it. You can't do that. 39:44 If somebody asked a question about Isaiah 53, 39:47 then you're gonna have to answer about Isaiah 53. 39:49 That's exactly what Philip did. 39:50 He began, 39:51 he began in the context of the questioner. 39:55 If somebody asks you about the Sabbath, 39:56 then you talk about the Sabbath. 39:57 You don't say, "Well, five conversations from now 39:59 I'll tell you about the seventh day Sabbath." 40:01 No, I want to know right now. 40:04 Help, and then speak, that's all you do. 40:07 You have to stay within the context. 40:09 You can do like-- as Philip did masterfully, 40:14 but stay in the context. 40:15 Don't apologize. 40:17 Okay, let's find principle number six, verse 36, 40:20 "And as they traveled along the road," 40:21 so the limousine is now driving down the road. 40:23 I mean he's driving now and Philip is talking, 40:25 they're visiting in the back. 40:27 "They came to some water, and the eunuch said, 40:30 'Look, here is water. 40:33 What can stand in the way of my being baptized?' 40:36 And He gave orders" through the glass window, 40:38 knocked on it. 40:39 Stop. 40:40 The chauffeur pulled over. 40:42 "And then both Philip and the eunuch 40:47 went down into the water and Philip baptized him." 40:50 By the way that's how it's done always in the Bible. 40:54 You know, sprinkled as a baby, 40:56 you know, sprinkled as an adult, 40:57 the very Greek word means you do it just like Jesus did. 41:00 You go down under the water with someone with you, 41:02 someone will baptize you, always in the New Testament. 41:07 It's the only-- It's the only one baptism, that's it. 41:09 So they went down in the water, and, oh, then they come up, 41:13 and I wish you could have seen the face of that Ethiopian. 41:15 It was radiant. 41:18 Principle six write it down, 41:21 be focused on the ultimate goal of every witness, 41:26 the salvation of the individual through baptism into Christ. 41:31 Good leaders know that you must 41:33 always lead with the end in view. 41:36 You always have to see the end, 'cause it's tough going 41:39 until you get to the end sometimes, very tough going. 41:42 But if you hold on to that vision, 41:44 you can get through anything. 41:46 You know what the end is for you? 41:47 It's that glorious moment when that man, that woman, 41:50 that young adult, that teenager 41:52 that you were a link in comes up out of that baptistery 41:56 absolutely resplendent with joy. 42:03 You just have to trust me on this one. 42:05 There is no greater joy. 42:08 I mean that's as high as-- 42:09 that's as high adrenaline as you can get, 42:12 more than any rollercoaster in the United States. 42:14 That is better than any food. You love good food? 42:17 That is more delectable than any food. 42:19 In fact, the disciples came to Jesus 42:21 after the woman at the well, 42:22 and she got saved. 42:23 And they said, "Hey, look, we got your-- 42:24 we have your little brown bag now." 42:26 And Jesus said, "I've already eaten." 42:27 They said, "How could you have already eaten?" 42:28 He said, "I've eaten food you don't know anything about." 42:31 When you see a soul saved, 42:33 and that soul comes up out of that baptistery, 42:34 I'm telling you what, you will live for the day 42:36 when you can stand again and your eyes glistening 42:39 and your heart beating. 42:40 And you're standing up on that right there at that pew 42:43 and you're watching what's happening. 42:45 It doesn't get any better than that. 42:48 The little classic steps to Christ. 42:51 You have it in your study guide there. 42:53 Oh, I love this. 42:54 "God might have committed the message of the gospel, 42:57 and all the work of loving ministry, 42:58 to the heavenly angels." 42:59 You think about it. Couldn't the angels have gone. 43:01 Hey, I'll go. Stay right there, Philip. 43:03 Sleep in this morning. You need an extra day. 43:05 I'll go, I know where that road is. 43:07 No. Angel said, "Hey, you go." 43:10 Why is God so big? 43:11 He could do the whole thing himself. 43:13 Look at this, "He might have employed other means 43:18 for accomplishing His purpose. 43:20 But in His infinite love," it's not like God said, 43:23 "I hate witnessing. 43:24 I just hate it. Would somebody else do it? 43:26 Yeah, will you do it for me? 43:27 I just don't like doing this stuff." 43:29 Are you kidding? 43:31 It's out of love that he says, 43:32 "No, I'm gonna let you do what I love to do 24/7. 43:37 You're gonna have My heart." 43:38 And by the way, 43:39 if you don't have the Father's heart, 43:41 you're never going to the Father's house, 43:43 trust me. 43:44 You have to have His heart before you go to His home. 43:47 That's a key, and that's why 43:49 things are taking a long time down below. 43:54 When are you gonna have My heart? 43:57 A little more of the economic crises 43:58 and he'll get our attention, 43:59 you just watch, he'll get our attention. 44:02 I got to let those toys go now. 44:04 Guess I can't have that anymore. 44:06 Don't need it. Work for me, boy, I need you. 44:11 Oh, isn't this great? 44:12 So "but in His infinite love He chose to make us 44:15 co-workers with Himself, with Jesus Christ, 44:18 with the angels that we might share the," 44:20 here's the whole point, 44:22 "that we might share the blessing, 44:23 the, joy, the spiritual uplifting, 44:25 which results from this unselfish ministry." 44:27 God says, "You got to do it, you got to do it with Me. 44:30 You'll never be happier in your life." 44:32 Finally number seven, verse 39, 44:36 "And when they came up out of the water," 44:38 boy, I wish I could have been on this hitchhiking ride. 44:40 "When they came up out of the water, 44:41 the Spirit of Lord," gone, Philip is gone, 44:44 just like that, took him away. 44:48 "And the eunuch did not see him again, 44:49 but he went on this way rejoicing." 44:51 And guess what, that eunuch became a new witness 44:54 for the whole Kandake royal community. 44:58 "And Philip," verse 40, 44:59 "however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, 45:02 preaching the gospel in all the towns 45:04 until he reached Caesarea." 45:05 Write it down, principle seven, be ready to turn right around 45:08 and do it all over again. 45:11 You don't take a vacation after you've won someone to Jesus. 45:13 You say, give me more. 45:15 Who else can I find for the Master? 45:18 That's why Jesus once upon a time, 45:21 He makes clear this moment in Philip's story, 45:24 Jesus said to everyone who has more, 45:28 to everyone who has more will be given, that's it. 45:31 That's what, you know, 45:32 the Holy Spirit is a brilliant businessman. 45:33 We're going through this economic challenging time now, 45:36 but the Holy Spirit knows 45:38 if I want my investment to be multiplied, 45:41 will I give it to the guy who keeps taking 45:44 what I give him and immediately multiplies it, 45:46 or will I give it to the one who gets it, 45:49 and then just hoards it, and never does a thing with it. 45:52 This is not Economics 101. 45:54 This is prior to that, and that is, 45:56 the one that's doing the investing 45:58 keeps getting the opportunities. 45:59 Some people say, you know, there are just some men, 46:01 some women just have a knack for this. 46:02 They don't have a knack for it. It's not a knack. 46:05 They just keep taking what God gives them, 46:06 and He says, "Boy, give that girl more." 46:10 Wouldn't you do that? But of course you would. 46:15 To him, to her who has more will be given. 46:19 Ah, seize the moment you have. Don't sit on it. 46:21 So what do you say? 46:22 You and I begin every day this way, with this prayer. 46:25 Fill it in, this is the last filling in here. 46:27 Every day humble simple prayer, 46:30 Oh, God, today I offer to you my life and my witness. 46:35 Send to me or send me to someone 46:39 who needs to know Jesus and His truth. 46:43 Amen. 46:44 I tell you what, ladies and gentlemen, 46:45 you pray that prayer every day, 46:46 and you will experience the unbridled joy 46:50 that led God to give you 46:51 the opportunity in the first place. 46:52 He said nothing will make you happier than this. 46:54 Nothing will fill your heart more than this. 46:57 There they are seven essential principles 47:00 for stepping into the paradigm shifting economic crisis 47:02 that we are in, and taking advantage of it, 47:04 and saying I got just what your heart is now ready for. 47:07 Take advantage of it. 47:08 Seven principles, take it home, meditate, brood on it. 47:11 Don't lose those seven. I want to end with a story. 47:16 I heard this story some years ago, 47:18 but when we were in Romania last week, 47:21 and we were in the infamous 47:23 Sighet prison of the former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, 47:29 you've heard of him, all right. 47:31 Communist penitentiary. 47:34 As I was going into one of the rooms, 47:38 I said, ah, I forgot all about that story. 47:42 I'm gonna tell it to you right now. 47:44 I'm gonna give you a picture, too, on the screen here. 47:46 I mean, this is like going to dark. 47:48 I mean when you realize that the intellectuals, 47:51 the artists, the politicians, the clergy, 47:54 the people who are educated 47:56 were rounded up by the Communist 47:57 and incarcerated there, dying in that prison, 48:00 I mean, it's as bad as summer come like the cow or whatever. 48:04 The walls covered with the pictures of those 48:07 who paid the supreme sacrifice for that repressive regime. 48:13 So they've turned every cell into a museum piece. 48:16 Now there is a typical cell, look at that. 48:17 And by the way it was against the law 48:18 to look out that window. 48:19 They finally covered the windows up. 48:21 Against the law to look out that window. 48:23 One of the rooms I went into was dedicated to the clergy, 48:27 so I'm particularly interested in that. 48:29 And I said, "Hey, Karen, come here, look at this. 48:31 Here, I know this man." I got a book in my library. 48:35 And I want you to see the picture, 48:36 there he is right there. 48:37 I saw his picture, I said, 48:39 "I have a book in my library called 48:41 "Sermons in solitary confinement." 48:44 And then I remembered I've met him. 48:47 I'm gonna tell you this story. 48:48 I was flying out to LA to preach one weekend. 48:50 I thought it was a nonstop flight, 48:51 but for some reason they landed in Denver. 48:54 And we had to get off and change equipment. 48:55 So I got off. 48:57 I saw two clergy in front of me, all right. 48:59 So the guy-- One guy has this white collar on 49:01 and the other with his bushy black beard 49:03 and a little black cap. 49:04 I know he's an Orthodox priest. 49:05 And they are in-- they are in serious conversation. 49:08 I said, "Oh, man, I 'm one of them. 49:10 I'm gonna go and meet them." 49:13 No, seriously, that's exactly what I said. 49:14 So I watch them go into the waiting lounge there, 49:16 and they sat down, 49:17 and there was an empty chair in front of them. 49:19 So I sat down on that empty chair. 49:20 And you've done this, haven't you, 49:21 you sit down on the chair, 49:22 and then you lean way back to hear 49:24 what's happening behind you. 49:25 And when I leaned back to hear what was happening behind me, 49:28 I said, "Oh, no, they're speaking in tongues. 49:30 I cannot understand this at all." 49:33 Finally the bushy bearded 49:34 Orthodox priest got up and left. 49:36 That's my moment. 49:37 I turn around and I say to the man, 49:39 "Hey, what language was that you were speaking?" 49:41 And he said in fluent English, he said, "Romanian." 49:45 And I said, "Oh, really?" 49:46 I said, "Listen," here, this is my moment, 49:48 "I'm a minister, too." 49:50 He said, "You are? What church?" 49:54 Now you know, 49:59 you know that if they ever ask you 50:01 what church you belong to, you square yourself around. 50:06 No, you square yourself around, 50:11 you throw your shoulders back, you take a deep breath, 50:13 and you lock in on those eyes 50:15 'cause you want to watch the face afterwards, 50:18 I'm a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 50:20 And then you watch the reaction. 50:22 "Oh," he said, "I have known Adventists. 50:26 I knew some Adventists who were in prison." 50:29 I thought to myself, "I can't believe it. 50:33 Oh, my luck, I'm meeting a prison chaplain 50:36 who knew Adventist crooks." 50:38 Tell me, please. 50:41 "No, no, no," he said, "no, no, no, no." 50:43 He said, "I knew them when we were in prison together." 50:48 It turns out I had just met for the first time 50:50 the author of the book in my library. 50:52 Richard Wurmbrand, the great Lutheran pastor of Romania. 50:57 So I was-- he was incarcerated in that Sighet penitentiary. 51:01 He said, "Oh," he said, "by the way," 51:03 he said, "son, I'm thirsty. 51:05 Would you mind taking me to get a drink? 51:07 Get some water?" He said, "Hold on to your arm." 51:09 he's probably in his late 70s. 51:12 He took my arm and we walked down the crowded concourse. 51:15 And he began to tell me the story. 51:16 He said, "Oh, I know you Adventists." 51:20 He said, "You know what? 51:21 You Adventists tithed when you were in prison." 51:26 And I thought, "Oh, man, that's kind of extreme. 51:30 Tithing in prison?" Please. 51:33 He said, "No, no, no, no. 51:35 Every week," and I read this on one of the walls 51:37 so I know it's true, 51:38 "every week we were given one 51:41 stale crusty piece of bread each. 51:46 But you Adventists, out of your devotion to God, 51:49 would tie that piece of bread 51:51 and give it to a more hungry prisoner." 51:56 And I thought to myself, oh, mercy, 52:00 how many of us don't even tithe at all. 52:05 And they're tithing their bread crusts for the glory 52:08 and honor of Jesus Christ. 52:10 Mercy. 52:11 He said, "Oh, no, I got to know you Adventists in prison." 52:14 In fact, he says, "You know what, we always knew 52:17 when the 7th day came because of you Adventists." 52:21 You know, I don't mind witnessing for my faith, 52:24 but to-- I mean to call out, Sabbath's here, 52:27 Sabbath's here, just-- it doesn't feel right. 52:29 "No, no, no," he said, "it wasn't that." 52:32 We always knew it was the 7th day of the week 52:35 because we would hear the Seventh-day Adventist 52:37 beginning to scream through their beatings 52:39 for refusing to work again on the holy Sabbath. 52:44 We knew it must be the Sabbath. 52:47 The Adventists are being beating again. 52:50 And I thought to myself, I walk into this church, 52:52 there's nobody to stop me, nobody. 52:54 Nobody to put up any resistance. 52:56 I sit down here until I'm ready to leave, and then I leave. 52:59 And here were these Romanian 53:00 Seventh-day Adventist Christians 53:03 refusing to dishonor Jesus. 53:06 I'll not work, even if you kill me I will not work. 53:10 So they beat him instead. 53:13 I tell you what, when I walked out of that penitentiary, 53:15 and that story came back to my mind, 53:17 I said in my heart, "Oh, God, I beg of you give me 53:24 the legacy of these Romanian 53:28 Seventh-day Adventist Christians. 53:30 And may I be faithful with my witness 53:35 unto death, please." 53:39 Richard Wurmbrand never forgot 53:42 until he died the witness of those 53:46 Seventh-day Adventist Christians in prison with him. 53:49 We, too, have been called to witness through our lives. 53:56 Jesus said, look, if the Holy Spirit 53:57 comes on you, you're gonna receive power. 53:59 You will be My witnesses. 54:03 I don't know about you, 54:04 but I want to fulfill Christ's promise. 54:06 Let me do the fulfilling of Your promise, 54:07 Jesus, let me fulfill if. 54:09 Let me be that witness. 54:11 Let me be that witness for You. 54:16 You want to be a witness for him? 54:18 You want to pray that prayer every morning? 54:19 I know there'll be some mornings we forget it, 54:20 but, you know, God, today send me to or send to me 54:25 someone with whom I can share You, 54:28 share the Lord Jesus. 54:30 If you'd like to claim that legacy, 54:33 join me in standing. 54:34 And by standing you say, no, I want to do that, too, Dwight. 54:36 Dwight, you're not gonna do it alone, I'll do it with you. 54:38 I'll do it with you. I'll do it with you. 54:45 There's an old gospel hymn. 54:46 We're not gonna sing the gospel hymn through, 54:48 but the chorus, I want you to sing the chorus with me. 54:51 I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord. 54:56 I'll say what You want me to say, 54:58 I'll be what You want me to be. 55:01 Put the words on the screen for you. 55:29 I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord 55:37 O'er mountain, or plain, or sea 55:45 I'll say what You want me to say 55:51 Dear Lord 55:55 I'll be what You want me to be 56:05 Now let's sing it just like a prayer, 56:06 just quietly sing it one more time. 56:08 Shall we? 56:10 I'll go where You want me to go 56:17 Dear Lord 56:20 O'er mountain, or plain 56:25 Or sea 56:28 I'll say what You want me to say 56:36 Dear Lord 56:40 I'll be what You want me to be 56:53 Let me take one more moment 56:54 as we close out our worship time together 56:56 and tell you about our weekly sermon podcast. 56:59 Each week around here we've got a very special group 57:02 of technically savvy volunteers from our media department 57:05 who gather together to publish 57:07 a podcast of the sermon messages 57:09 like the one you heard today. 57:11 These messages, by the way, 57:12 automatically downloaded to your computer via iTunes. 57:15 Everything is set up and ready to go. 57:17 All you have to do to receive this free podcast subscription, 57:20 just go to our website. 57:21 Let me give you the address, www.pmchurch.tv. 57:25 And while there, you'll see podcast, 57:27 just click on the podcast. 57:29 Then you're gonna be given some easy to understand directions 57:31 that will guide you through the set-up process. 57:33 It's that simple. 57:35 Once again, our website www.pmchurch.tv. 57:39 And by the way, while you're there, 57:40 you can also download the study guides 57:42 to follow along with each week's teaching. 57:44 I hope you'll join the thousands of others 57:46 who enjoy that podcast each week, 57:48 and share it with your friends. 57:50 That's what it's for, 57:51 to bless you and then pass it on. 57:54 In the meantime, God bless you and keep you as you journey on. 57:58 And I'm looking forward to seeing you again right here 58:01 as we continue to share God's Holy Scriptures together. |
Revised 2015-04-02