Participants: Pr. Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP112010
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00:29 O come, let us sing to the Lord
00:34 Come, let us every one 00:38 A joyful noise make to the Rock of our salvation 00:49 Let us before his presence come 00:54 With praise and thankful voice 00:58 Let us sing psalms of praise to Him 01:03 And make a joyful noise 01:18 Our call to joy this morning is Psalm 100 01:21 and you can find that on page 10 01:22 of your worship bulletin. 01:27 "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, 01:29 all you lands! 01:31 Serve the Lord with gladness, 01:34 Come before His presence with singing. 01:37 Know that the Lord, He is God, It is He who has made us, 01:42 and not we ourselves. 01:44 We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 01:49 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 01:51 and into His courts with praise. 01:53 Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 01:57 For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, 02:01 and His truth endures to all generations." 03:21 Praise to the Lord 03:23 The Almighty, the King of creation 03:32 O my soul, praise Him 03:36 For He is thy health and salvation 03:43 All ye who hear 03:47 Now to His temple draw near 03:52 Join ye in glad adoration 04:01 Praise to the Lord 04:03 Who over all things so wondrously reigneth 04:11 Shieldeth thee under His wings 04:15 Yea, so gently sustaineth 04:22 Hast thou not seen 04:26 How thy desires ever have been 04:31 Granted in what he ordaineth? 04:40 Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper 04:45 Thy work and defend thee 04:52 Surely His goodness and mercy 04:57 Here daily attend thee 05:03 Ponder anew 05:07 What the Almighty can do 05:13 If with his love He befriend thee 06:56 Praise to the Lord 06:58 Oh, let all that is in me adore Him 07:08 All that hath life and breath 07:11 Come now with praises before Him 07:19 Let the amen 07:23 Sound from His people again 07:29 Gladly for all we adore Him 07:48 Our words of joy are taken from Psalm 98 07:53 "O sing to the Lord a new song 07:56 for He hath done marvelous things, 07:59 His right hand, and His holy arm, 08:01 have gained Him the victory. 08:03 The Lord has made known His salvation, 08:06 His righteousness, 08:07 He has revealed in the sight of the nations. 08:10 He has remembered His mercy 08:11 and His faithfulness to the house of Israel. 08:14 All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 08:18 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 08:21 Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. 08:25 Sing to the Lord with the harp, 08:27 with the harp and the sound of a psalm. 08:29 With trumpets and the sound of a horn. 08:32 Shout joyfully before the lord the King. 08:36 Let the sea roar in all its fullness. 08:39 Let the world and all those who dwell in it. 08:42 Let the rivers clap their hands. 08:44 Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, 08:47 for He is coming to judge the earth, 08:50 with righteousness, 08:51 He shall judge the world and the peoples with equity. 08:55 This is God's word. 08:57 May we be touched by God's abundant joy today. 10:02 We have heard a joyful sound 10:05 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 10:09 Spread the gladness all around 10:12 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 10:16 Bear the news to every land 10:19 Climb the steeps and cross the waves 10:23 Onward, 'tis our Lord's command 10:27 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 10:33 Waft it on the rolling tide 10:36 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 10:40 Tell to sinners, far and wide 10:44 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 10:48 Sing, ye islands of the sea 10:51 Echo back, ye ocean caves 10:55 Earth shall keep the jubilee 10:59 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 11:04 Sing above the battle strife 11:08 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 11:12 By His death and endless life 11:15 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 11:19 Sing it softly through the gloom 11:23 When the heart for mercy craves 11:27 Sing in triumph o'er the tomb 11:30 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 11:36 Give the winds a mighty voice 11:40 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 11:43 Let the nations now rejoice 11:47 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 11:51 Shout salvation full and free 11:55 Highest hills and deepest caves 11:58 This our song of victory 12:02 Jesus saves, Jesus saves 12:18 Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit, 12:22 what can we say, Triune God, 12:27 our hearts are full, we have every reason 12:29 to be gathered in your presence to bow before you. 12:32 You have done all things well this year 12:37 and in gratitude we praise Your name. 12:42 Now as we jangle our nerves 12:46 and radically shift our thinking for a moment, 12:53 may Holy Scripture engage our minds, 12:56 encourage our lives, 12:59 we pray in Christ's name, amen. 13:05 In the runaway international bestseller, 13:08 The Road Less Traveled, you may remember that book. 13:14 The late psychiatrist M. Scott Peck opens the book, 13:20 three words, nobody's gonna deny the veracity 13:23 of these three words, "Life is difficult." 13:30 So stuff of human existence, our survival, it's difficult. 13:35 Just a few days ago, I sat down with a man, 13:38 his heart breaking over the immensity 13:43 of what he is suffering right now. 13:46 By the way, you don't have to be old to suffer. 13:51 I looked into that crystalline pain 13:53 of a young co-ed on this campus. 13:56 Struggling to find divine courage 13:59 in the midst of what she is going through. 14:02 I'll tell you the truth, "Life is difficult." 14:08 We know it intuitively and by the way, 14:12 some of you haven't suffered yet. 14:14 You've done all right, but trust me, 14:17 but they'll come before you exit this life. 14:20 You will suffer, can't avoid it, cannot. 14:25 So here's the question, how then, 14:27 how then should we live in the midst of suffering? 14:32 Bible word on this Thanksgiving season weekend 14:39 is entitled "The Gift: 14:42 When Every Nerve Shrieked With Pain." 14:46 Those of you watching on television, 14:48 you are gonna move to a study guide, 14:49 without any interruption, 14:50 not going to mention a word about it when we get to it. 14:52 So that's the website you want, 14:54 you see it on the screen right now. 14:55 Go to our website, you will get the same study guide 14:58 and we'll plunge into it. 15:00 For our case study today, all right, Thanksgiving season, 15:02 our case study today, we're going to examine 15:05 a little 5-foot 2-inch woman who lived a century ago, 15:11 that's our case study. 15:13 She has just boarded a sailing vessel 15:16 preparing to leave the western shores of this nation, 15:20 her destination, a rugged outback nation, 15:27 Australia. 15:29 You got it. 15:32 Leaders of the church that she serves in America 15:35 have sent her on a mission to build up the work of Christ 15:38 in that almost forsaken land at the time 15:44 across the pacific halfway around the world. 15:47 The truth is however 15:49 she has been politely banished for a season, 15:53 prophets are not always 15:55 the most popular people to have around, 15:56 you understand and she understands it. 16:01 And so she goes with everything within her 16:04 resisting this assignment to leave her home 16:10 and the comforts of her homeland, 16:13 at her age as a widow. 16:17 But she must practice what she preached. 16:20 Namely, submit to the counsel of the leadership, 16:24 however mistaken and uninformed the leaders maybe. 16:28 So she goes, but little does she know on this day 16:31 that she sails away from our shores 16:32 that she is sailing straight into the vortex 16:36 of the most intense physical suffering of her entire life. 16:42 Just days after she lands near Melbourne, Australia, 16:46 the suffering descends and I want you to take note 16:50 of her words as she describes what she went through. 16:53 Put it on the screen for you. 16:55 Ellen White writing, "I made the long journey 16:58 across the Pacific 16:59 and attended the conference held in Melbourne. 17:01 Just before the conference closed 17:03 I was stricken with a severe illness. 17:07 For the next eleven months 17:09 I suffered from malarial fever and inflammatory rheumatism." 17:13 Now hit the pause button right there, 17:14 so, Karen, my wife, is a nurse, 17:17 and I go to her, I say, hey, listen, 17:18 what's up with this inflammatory rheumatism? 17:22 She pulls down her big thick medical dictionary, 17:24 we look at it, go on Google when you can't find the answer 17:28 you are looking for, found it on Google, here it is. 17:33 Acute rheumatism, 17:34 inflammation of the joints attended with fever 17:38 and attacking usually the larger joints 17:41 which become swollen, hot, and extremely painful. 17:46 All right, 11 months of that, let's put it back up. 17:49 "During this period" Ellen White wrote, 17:52 "I experienced the most 17:54 terrible suffering of my whole life." 17:57 This by a woman who at the age of 9, 18:00 face struck by that angry classmate's stone, 18:04 intense suffering at the beginning, 18:05 but no, no, no, this was the worst. 18:09 "I was unable to lift my feet from the floor 18:10 without suffering great pain." 18:12 "My right arm," now watch this, "from the elbow down, 18:14 was the only part of my body that was free from pain. 18:18 My hips, my spine were in constant pain. 18:21 I could not lie on my cot for more than two hours at a time, 18:23 though I had rubber cushions under me. 18:25 I would drag myself 18:27 to a similar bed to change my position. 18:29 Physicians said I would never be able to walk again, 18:32 and I had fears that my life 18:34 was to be a perpetual conflict with suffering." 18:39 How did that go, "Life is difficult." 18:45 Even for the friends of God or maybe we ought to say 18:49 especially for the friends of God. 18:53 Eleven months of suffering 18:55 and what can we learn from this case study. 18:57 How to suffer, how to suffer. 19:01 I hold here in my hands, I'm really excited about this, 19:03 I hold here in my hands an entrusted loan, 19:06 all right, keyword, loan, from my friend Marlon Byrd 19:10 who is the director of the Center for Adventist Research 19:13 here at Andrews University. 19:15 I emailed Merlin this last week. 19:16 I say, hey, Merlin, any chance you would have 19:21 Ellen White's diary entries 19:23 during these 11 months of intense suffering? 19:26 I'd love to see those. 19:28 He shows up two hours later in my office 19:30 bearing this right here. 19:34 He said, Dwight, I'm doing something 19:36 I am not supposed to do. 19:40 I'm gonna let you use this, 19:43 but listen to me carefully, boy, 19:48 if anything happens to what I have loaned you, 19:53 you will never be heard from again. 19:58 All right, I got the message, Merlin. 20:02 He's down in Atlanta today, so he says, 20:05 the associate director at the Center for Adventist Research 20:08 will meet you immediately following second service 20:11 and we'll remove from your hands, this folder. 20:14 I got it. 20:16 All right, well, I got the boy, so anyway here they are. 20:21 I want to read a few diary entries, 20:23 these are all written in Australia, 20:24 those of you from down under. 20:28 These were written at Preston, Victoria, Australia. 20:31 Some of you will know where that is. 20:33 I'm going to begin with May 9, 20:35 just read a line or two here, share this with you. 20:39 "The past night" okay, she's writing, 20:40 oh, by the way, this is not the original diary. 20:46 The original diaries are in a vault 20:48 somewhere outside the nation's capital. 20:51 After she wrote, these were turned over to a secretary, 20:55 she had a secretarial pool. 20:56 They sat down with old typewriters. 21:01 They used-- some of you don't understand what this is, 21:03 but they used what was called carbon paper. 21:07 All the old timers are not in their heads, 21:10 by the way, we still put it at the bottom of letters, CC, 21:12 that means carbon copy 21:14 though we don't use carbon copies anymore. 21:17 So these are all these, but she went back over, 21:19 this was her practice to go back over 21:21 the typed entries and she would make corrections. 21:25 And I'll show you one in just a moment. 21:26 All right, so what's the date on this one. 21:27 May 9th, okay, May 9th, listen, onion skin paper here, 21:33 "The past night has been a very long one 21:35 and I am so restless that I long for the day." 21:37 You ever had nights like that 21:38 where you were just praying for day to come. 21:41 I long for the day, I keep my mind 21:43 as much as possible on the promises of God. 21:45 I do not claim these promises because I deserve them, 21:47 but because they are bestowed upon 21:49 erring human beings as a free gift. 21:51 I am comforted with the assurance 21:53 that although constantly suffering pain, 21:55 I am never forsaken. 21:57 I put my trust in One who is too wise to err 21:59 and too good to do me harm. 22:01 He will restore me to health. 22:02 I shall yet speak forth His praise in the congregation. 22:05 I am determined not to encourage feelings 22:07 of despondency and gloom..." 22:10 May 9, May 10, oh, listen to this, 22:16 "I have had a rather singular night." 22:19 That means unforgettable. 22:21 Watch this, "Sometime during the night 22:24 I woke to find myself lying stretched out on my back. 22:27 My heart was beating only feebly. 22:29 I felt as if my body were being crushed under a mass. 22:32 I could hardly move any of my limbs." 22:34 It almost feels, sounds like a heart attack it's not. 22:37 "I did not know where I was. 22:38 I called my nurse, but she did not hear me. 22:40 After trying several times, I succeeded in moving my limbs, 22:42 but my body seemed helpless. 22:44 It was more than half an hour before I could understand 22:46 that I was in bed, and before I could use my mind 22:48 or move my limbs freely. 22:50 Then the thought came to me 22:52 that the angels of the Lord had awakened me, 22:55 or else I should soon have breathed my last." 22:59 You university students do not understand this, trust me, 23:02 it'll come, the older you get, the more sensitive you are, 23:06 and in tune you are to this little ticker 23:08 and anything that feels abnormal, 23:10 you are on red alert, what is happening now, 23:13 that's what's going on there. 23:15 "I dared not try to sleep again." 23:17 I'm not going back to sleep now. 23:20 "For my heart seemed to be very feeble in action." 23:24 She's worried, sums on, sums up. 23:29 All right, May 11, 23:31 "I thank the Lord for the precious light today." 23:33 You can hear that a lot. 23:34 "The sleepless hours of the past night 23:36 were very wearing but I was not comfortless, 23:40 I find consolation in presenting my case to Jesus. 23:43 The grace of Christ strengthens me in my affliction." 23:47 So since this is a case study, Ladies and Gentlemen, 23:49 let's jot these down. 23:50 Seven of them. 23:51 I want to share with you now seven 23:53 how to live through your own 23:54 suffering principles, all right? 23:56 Grab your study guide it's tucked away in your 23:58 Thanksgiving bulletin today, grab the study guide, 24:01 we're not gonna take time to get it to you. 24:03 Grab your study guide, if you need one afterwards, 24:05 you can ask for it. 24:06 Let's jot these down. 24:07 How to live through your own suffering? 24:09 Here's the list, number one, put it on the screen, please. 24:12 In your suffering look to Jesus. 24:15 That's exactly what just happened 24:16 with these diary entries. 24:17 In your suffering, some of you, by the way, 24:19 listening on the radio right now and by the-- 24:21 I need to say we're very delighted to have you 24:24 who are from WAUS, we've made a special invitation 24:26 to our WAUS listeners. 24:29 You're sitting by one today perhaps, 24:31 we've invited you to come and join us 24:32 and we're delighted to have you. 24:34 We got a special dinner for you right afterwards, 24:36 down those stairs behind me, 24:38 and I'm looking for to meeting you 24:39 and greeting you then. 24:40 But those of you watching on television, you know, 24:43 listening on the radio, you know about suffering, 24:49 some of you are experiencing it right now. 24:50 Number one, in your suffering, look to Jesus. 24:55 All right, here comes number two, 24:56 May 12, this is the very next day, 24:58 "The past night has been severe in trying." 25:00 You are going to hear this again and again. 25:02 "But I am determined not to be discouraged. 25:05 I will press my petitions to the throne of grace. 25:08 I spend many of my sleepless hours in earnest prayer to God 25:11 and I know that he hears me 25:13 and that he will not disappoint me." 25:16 There it is, principle number two, 25:17 before I share that with you, 25:19 let me put on the screen for you 25:21 and you have it in your study guide, 25:22 it's a little excerpt from a letter 25:24 she wrote back to the States 25:25 describing what she's going through. 25:27 Put it on the screen, 25:29 "In the long weary hours of the night," 25:33 all right, "in the long weary hours of the night, 25:35 when sleep has been out of the question, 25:38 I have devoted much time to prayer 25:41 and when every nerve seemed to be shrieking with pain, 25:45 when if I considered myself, 25:46 it seemed that I would go frantic, 25:47 the peace of Christ has come into my heart in such measure 25:50 that I have been filled with gratitude and thanksgiving. 25:53 I know that Jesus loves me, and I love Jesus. 25:55 Some nights I have slept three hours, 25:57 a few nights four hours, and much of the time only two, 26:00 and yet in these long Australian nights, 26:02 in the darkness, all seems light about me, 26:05 and I enjoy sweet communion with God." 26:11 Isn't that beautiful? Yeah, jot it down. 26:13 Principle number two, there it is. 26:15 In your suffering, talk to God. 26:19 In your suffering look to Jesus, 26:21 in your suffering, talk to God. 26:26 Okay, here's May 13, we'll pick up another principle, 26:32 May 13, here we go, 26:35 "I cannot yet move my left arm without pain, 26:39 but thankfulness is constantly welling up in my heart." 26:43 Remember, the only part of her body 26:45 without pain was from the elbow here, 26:47 this was her writing hand, right arm. 26:49 I can't move this arm yet, 26:51 "But thankfulness is constantly welling up in my heart, 26:54 my head is perfectly clear, and my memory undimmed." 26:56 I have something I can be thankful for. 26:58 Would you jot that down, please, number three. 27:00 Number three, In your suffering, give Him thanks. 27:04 In your suffering, look to Jesus, 27:05 in your suffering, talk to God. 27:07 In your suffering, give Him thanks. 27:11 May 14, "The past night has been 27:15 one of great tediousness. 27:17 I was obliged to get up six times 27:20 to change my position, for my back 27:22 and limbs were full of pain. 27:23 My neck was so painful 27:24 that it distressed me to lie on the pillow. 27:27 But the Lord is good, and He draws near to me 27:29 as I lift up my heart in prayer to Him, 27:31 beseeching Him for grace and for restoration to health. 27:35 I have a longing desire to get well." 27:40 And then she does, she does what the scriptures say to do. 27:44 You're suffering? 27:45 Watch what the scriptures say, put it on the screen for you. 27:47 This is-- this is James 5. 27:49 "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray." 27:53 We don't pray alone, here it goes, 27:55 "Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing songs." 27:58 Next, "Is anyone among you sick? 28:00 Let her call for the elders of the church 28:03 and let them pray over her, 28:04 anointing her with oil in the name of the Lord." 28:06 Keep reading "And the prayer of faith will save the sick, 28:09 and the Lord will raise him up. 28:11 And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 28:13 Confess your trespasses to one another, 28:15 pray for one another, that you may be healed. 28:17 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man 28:20 or a woman avails much." 28:23 Jot it down, will you, number four, 28:24 In your suffering, ask for prayer. 28:27 Some people are very private about this, 28:29 they'll be like, ah, listen, I don't like to tell anybody, 28:31 I don't want people to feel sorry for me. 28:34 That's a big mistake. 28:35 You should not be trying to suffer alone. 28:38 What's the point of it? 28:39 You'll get some little hero award for being private? 28:42 No, no, no, don't suffer alone. Ask others to join you. 28:45 Ask others to join you in praying. 28:51 Number four, In your suffering, ask for prayer. 28:54 All right, I'm gonna jump up to June 15 now, 29:00 "The night has been long and trying." 29:02 She says it over and over again, 29:04 those nights were tough. 29:05 "The night has been long and trying. 29:07 I lay awake from half past ten till half past two, 29:11 so full of nervous pain that I could not rest. 29:13 But I will not repine. 29:16 Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." 29:22 In fact, you know, in keeping 29:24 with that invitation in James 5, 29:26 watch this, she calls for the elders of the church, 29:33 she calls for the pastors to come and pray for her. 29:36 I got it right here, 29:38 "The trying, almost sleepless night is ended. 29:42 Yesterday afternoon Pastor Daniells and his wife, 29:45 Pastor Tenney and his wife, and two men named 29:47 Stockton and Smith came to our house at my request 29:49 to pray that the Lord would heal me. 29:51 We had a most earnest season of prayer, 29:53 and we were all much blessed. 29:54 I was relieved" and you can tell, 29:56 she's just wishing she could write, 29:59 "I was relieved but not restored." 30:01 It will come up again and again, 30:02 why have I not been healed. 30:04 Some of you know what that's all about, don't you? 30:07 I was relieved, but not restored. 30:10 I have now done all that I can to follow the Bible directions, 30:12 and I shall wait for the Lord to work, 30:14 believing that in His own good time, He will heal me." 30:18 You just keep praying. 30:24 June 17, here's another principle that emerges, 30:28 I read this to you, all right, careful as I turn these pages, 30:34 June 17, here it is, 30:40 all right, one more, got it. 30:46 "During the past night I have slept but little." 30:50 Sounds like a broken record. 30:52 She isn't writing for you, or for me, this is her diary. 30:56 "The past night I have slept but little. 30:58 I tried to look to Jesus, to place my hands-- 31:01 to place myself rather in the hands of the great physician. 31:04 He has said, My grace is sufficient for thee. 31:07 The grace of Christ leads men to speak right words 31:10 under all circumstances. 31:11 Bodily suffering is no excuse for unchrist like actions." 31:16 That's something, you know, when I'm not feeling well, 31:18 look at Karen, look at everybody that I bump into, 31:20 because you're going to hear about it. 31:23 Bodily suffering tends to draw from us a really grouchy 31:27 and gripey spirit, doesn't it? 31:30 Isn't that something, bodily suffering 31:31 is no excuse to I for unchrist like words. 31:36 But isn't that something? 31:37 She says, "He said-- He has said, 31:40 My grace is sufficient for thee." 31:41 Let me show you where she got that, this is Paul suffering. 31:44 The great prophet and Apostle Paul, 31:45 2 Corinthians 12:7 31:47 "And lest I should be exalted above measure 31:49 by the abundance of the revelations" 31:51 he was receiving visions, all right, that's what prophets do. 31:54 They receive visions. 31:55 "A thorn in the flesh was given to me, 31:57 a messenger of Satan to buffet me, 31:59 lest I be exalted above measure." 32:02 Now watch this, "Concerning this thing 32:04 I pleaded with the Lord 32:05 three times that it might depart from me." 32:08 This is it, now I lay me down to sleep, 32:09 and, oh, by the way, heal me, God, 32:11 three of those prayers, are you kidding? 32:13 That is to the mat, facing the carpet with God, 32:15 I'm begging You'll heal me. 32:18 Heal me of this. 32:19 Three times, three times I begged Him 32:23 and what did He say to me? 32:25 "My grace" that's all she wrote, 32:27 she just scribbled this into her dairy 32:28 "My grace is sufficient for you, 32:31 for My strength is made perfect in weakness. 32:33 Therefore--" Paul, exclaims, "most gladly 32:36 I will rather boast in my infirmities 32:38 and in my sicknesses that the power of Christ 32:40 may rest upon me. 32:42 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, 32:45 in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake." 32:49 Now here's the principle "For when I am weak, 32:53 then I am strong." 32:54 Wow, how does that work? 32:55 Because when I am weak and I can't get myself through, 32:58 I lean hard on God and He comes shining through 33:01 'cause it isn't right anymore, and that's what's happening. 33:05 My grace is sufficient for you. 33:07 Would you jot that down, please. 33:08 Principle number five, there are only seven of these. 33:10 In your suffering, trust His grace. 33:12 What did we write? 33:13 In your suffering, give Him thanks. 33:16 In your suffering, ask for prayer. 33:17 In your suffering, trust His grace. 33:21 Now let me share this one, 33:23 this is June 20, so I go few pages up to June 20. 33:27 "I slept for the first part of the night, 33:29 but during the latter part I could not rest. 33:31 I committed my case to the Lord, 33:32 and was comforted by the thought 33:34 that I am a subject of His care. 33:36 I do find peace and comfort in prayer, 33:38 but I should look upon it as a great blessing from the Lord 33:41 if I could pass from the hours of the night in sleep." 33:43 You know what, God, it's really great 33:45 to have some time to pray with you, 33:46 but I would really rather sleep than pray. 33:51 Very candid, I mean, this sleep, 33:54 this prayer thing is gone on long enough now, 33:56 how about some rest? 33:58 That's what she's saying, 34:00 when the next time you have a night in your bed 34:02 and go to sleep and you are as wide awake 34:04 as you can possibly be. 34:06 Yeah, you know. 34:10 "I do find peace and comfort in prayer, 34:14 but I should look upon it as a great blessing from the Lord 34:16 if I could pass the hours of the night in sleep. 34:17 These words comfort and strengthen me. 34:19 'Be therefore renewed in the spirit of your mind.'" 34:23 That begins in one diary entry 34:26 a series of seven biblical quotations, 34:29 no references, she just quotes them. 34:31 She's been memorizing scriptures, 34:32 she scribbles them into her dairy, 34:34 that leads us to principle number 6. 34:36 Would you jot this down, please. 34:37 In your suffering, read His Word. 34:41 She was saturated in the word. 34:42 She kept going back to the book, 34:44 to the Bible, to the Bible. 34:46 In your suffering, read His word. 34:50 All right. 34:52 One, two, three, just two more now, one last principle, 34:56 and I'm going to June 30 to get this one, 34:59 and I read this to you, June 30. 35:02 "Another night has nearly passed." 35:04 Remember I told you the secretary 35:05 has typed this up and then she went back over them 35:06 and made little emendations. 35:09 She did here, "Another night has nearly passed" 35:12 was what she originally wrote in her diary, then she wrote, 35:14 "Another night of great weariness" 35:16 she scribbles that in her handwriting-- 35:18 great weariness has nearly passed. 35:20 "Although I continue to suffer much pain, 35:22 I know that I am not forsaken by God." 35:25 Later, when she rereads it, she strikes out the name God 35:28 and she writes "I know that I am 35:30 not forsaken by my Savior." 35:33 They're very personal, intensity in this suffering 35:37 through which she journeys. 35:39 "My prayer is, Help me, Jesus, that I may not dishonor 35:42 Thee with my lips. 35:43 Let no unkind words be spoken by me." 35:48 Wow. 35:49 Here it comes, here is the last entry, 35:52 that I'm reading to you. 35:53 This is July 15, 35:57 "The Lord has brought me through another night. 36:02 I did not sleep well. 36:05 The weather this winter" remember in July, 36:08 it's winter in Australia, 36:10 summer here, but winter down there. 36:12 The weather this winter has not been unpleasant, 36:14 but the air is very penetrating, 36:16 and I cannot manage to keep comfortably warm 36:18 in these high rooms," apparently high ceilings 36:20 "with only a grate fire." 36:21 Little fire in the grate, "I have had two severe chills, 36:24 and this has greatly increased the lameness 36:26 in my shoulders and hips." 36:27 Listen, "But notwithstanding this, 36:30 I was able to spend most of yesterday 36:32 writing on the life of Christ." 36:34 Now may I hit the pause button right here 36:36 in this little interjection, 36:41 one of the profound gifts of God through Ellen White 36:44 as a result of this intense season of suffering 36:48 was the eventual completion of her magnum opus 36:51 entitled The Desire Of Ages. 36:53 The greatest book, bar none, that I have read 36:56 on the life of Jesus and George Barna 36:58 when he surveys his clergy, 37:01 the Christian demographer discovers that 40 37:03 and under clergy list Ellen White as one-- 37:06 all denominations by the way, 37:08 40 and under clergy list Ellen White 37:10 as one of theauthors they turn to, 37:13 amazing and I know, it's the book Desire Of Ages. 37:16 Classic, next time you and I are together, 37:19 it will be an opportunity to get that book. 37:23 So here she is, intense suffering 37:26 but could it be that through her own pain 37:28 the divine suffering and passion of her Lord 37:30 was refracted. 37:34 Could it be the Desire Of Ages has become 37:36 the inspirational classic that it has 37:41 because of this season, 37:44 the suffering in the life of the author, 37:47 one wonders. 37:49 So she writes here but not withstanding this, 37:51 "By suffering I was able to spend most of yesterday 37:53 writing on the life of Christ." 37:54 Now listen to this, this is the principle number seven, 37:56 "I praise the Lord because I feel a nearness to my Savior. 38:00 My faith feeds on the rich promises of God, 38:03 which are full of comfort and hope." 38:05 And then she starts singing, 38:06 how do we know she started singing 38:08 because with her pen, 38:09 it was all fountain pens back then, 38:10 with her pen, 38:11 she starts writing the words of Charles Wesley, 38:14 remember, she grew up in the Methodist Church. 38:16 Charles Wesley, the beloved hymn writer, 38:18 she starts writing, you can see that pen scratching 38:21 across the parchment. 38:22 "Jesus, lover of my soul 38:26 Let me to Thy bosom fly 38:28 While the billows near me roll 38:30 While the tempest still is high 38:32 Hide me, O my Savior, hide! 38:35 Till the storm of life is past 38:37 Safe into the haven guide 38:39 O, receive my soul at last 38:42 You know when I learn a hymn, I'll get the first stanza, 38:44 everything else is gone. 38:46 I don't know any other stanzas. 38:48 She breaks out into the second stanza, 38:49 she keeps writing. 38:50 Other refuge have I none Hangs my helpless soul on Thee, 38:55 Leave, O leave me not alone, Still support and comfort me 39:00 All my trust on Thee is stayed, All my help from Thee I bring 39:05 Cover my defenseless head, With the shadow of Thy wing 39:12 The memorized words of Charles Wesley 39:15 entered into her diary, 39:17 there it is, principle number 7, 39:19 jot it down, In your suffering, sing His praise. 39:24 Sing His praise. 39:26 Start singing when you're feeling the worst, 39:29 start singing, and see if the spirit of Christ 39:33 doesn't begin to leave, leave you 39:39 higher than the pain that has been your focus. 39:43 But interestingly as soon as she's finished singing 39:45 this Hymn into her diary, she pens this line up. 39:47 I'll put it on the screen for you. 39:48 "My whole being longs after the Lord. 39:51 I am not content to be satisfied 39:53 with occasional flashes of light. 39:55 I must have more." 39:57 My whole being longs after the Lord. 39:59 Ladies and Gentlemen, 40:00 I think it was a time ago, or two, 40:02 that you and I know the Jesus principle by their fruits, 40:07 you know, by their fruits. 40:12 You will know, how should I suffer, 40:14 how did she put it? 40:15 My whole being longs after the Lord. 40:18 I must have more, 40:20 that's how you suffer through your suffering. 40:23 You do it with Jesus. 40:29 Won't you sit back. 40:30 Choir has a very special, moving arrangement 40:34 of an old gospel hymn. 40:35 I want you to listen to this. 40:37 "There's not a Friend like the lowly Jesus: 40:41 No, not one! No, not one! 40:43 None else could heal all our souls' diseases. 40:49 No, not one! No, not one!" 41:07 There's not a Friend like the lowly Jesus 41:13 No, not one! 41:15 No, not one 41:19 None else could heal all our souls' diseases 41:25 No, not one! 41:27 No, not one 41:31 Jesus knows all about our struggles 41:37 He will guide till the day is done 41:43 There's not a Friend like the lowly Jesus 41:49 No, not one! 41:52 No, not one 41:59 There's not an hour that He is not near us 42:05 No, not one! 42:08 No, not one 42:12 No night so dark, but His love can cheer us 42:18 No, not one! 42:21 No, not one 42:25 Jesus knows all about our struggles 42:31 He will guide till the day is done 42:38 There's not a Friend like the lowly Jesus 42:44 No, not one! 42:47 No, not one 42:53 Did ever saint find this Friend forsake him 42:59 No, not one! 43:02 No, not one 43:06 Or sinner find that He would not take him 43:12 No, not one! 43:15 No, not one 43:19 Jesus knows all about our struggles 43:25 He will guide till the day is done 43:32 There's not a Friend like the lowly Jesus 43:39 No, not one! 43:44 No, not one. 45:04 What gift can we bring 45:08 What present, what token 45:13 What words can convey it 45:17 The joy of this day 45:22 When grateful we come 45:26 Remembering, rejoicing 45:30 What song can we offer 45:35 In honor and praise 45:45 Give thanks for the past 45:48 For those who had vision 45:52 Who planted and watered 45:56 So dreams could come true 46:00 Give thanks for the now 46:04 For study, for worship 46:08 For mission that bids us 46:12 Turn prayer into deed 46:20 Give thanks for our friends 46:24 For families and strangers 46:28 For all those who touch us 46:32 In numberless ways 46:35 With token of love 46:40 Affection and caring 46:44 Reflecting their Maker 46:48 In deeds larger and small 46:56 Give thanks for tomorrow 47:00 Full of surprises 47:04 For knowing whatever 47:08 Tomorrow may bring 47:12 God gives us His Word 47:16 That always, forever 47:20 We rest in God's keeping 47:24 And live in God's love 47:32 This gift we now bring 47:36 This present, this token 47:40 These words can convey it 47:44 The joy of this day 47:48 When grateful we come 47:52 Remembering, rejoicing 47:56 This song we now offer 48:00 In honor and praise! 50:37 To God be the glory 50:41 Great things He hath done 50:44 So loved He the world that 50:47 He gave us His Son 50:50 Who yielded His life an 50:53 Atonement for sin 50:56 And opened the life gate 51:00 That all may go in 51:03 Praise the Lord, praise the Lord 51:06 Let the earth hear His voice 51:09 Praise the Lord, praise the Lord 51:13 Let the people rejoice 51:16 O, come to the Father 51:19 Through Jesus the Son 51:22 And give Him the glory 51:26 Great things He hath done 51:31 Great things He hath taught us 51:34 Great things He hath done 51:37 And great our rejoicing 51:40 Through Jesus the Son 51:43 But purer, and higher 51:46 And greater will be 51:50 Our wonder, our transport 51:53 When Jesus we see 51:57 Praise the Lord, praise the Lord 52:00 Let the earth hear His voice 52:04 Praise the Lord, praise the Lord 52:07 Let the people rejoice 52:10 O, come to the Father 52:14 Through Jesus the Son 52:17 And give Him the glory 52:21 Great things He hath done 52:42 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow 52:48 Praise Him, all creatures here below 52:55 Praise Him above, ye heavenly host 53:02 Praise Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost 53:12 Amen. 53:46 Now thank we all our God 53:51 With heart and hands and voices 53:57 Who wondrous things hath done 54:02 In whom His world rejoices 54:08 Who, from our mothers' arms 54:13 Hath blessed us on our way 54:18 With countless gifts of love 54:23 And still is ours today 54:31 O may this bounteous God 54:35 Through all our life be near us 54:42 With ever joyful hearts 54:47 And blessed peace to cheer us 54:53 And keep us in His grace 54:58 And guide us when perplexed 55:04 And free us from all ills 55:09 In this world and the next 55:17 All praise and thanks to God 55:21 The Father now be given 55:27 The Son and Him who reigns 55:33 With them in highest heaven 55:39 The One eternal God 55:44 Whom earth and heaven adore 55:49 For thus it was, is now 55:55 And shall be evermore 56:08 But my God shall supply all your need 56:11 according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 56:15 Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever. 56:19 Amen. 56:26 God in three persons 56:33 Blessed Trinity! 56:45 Holy! 57:12 This little classic was a God send to me 57:14 when I hit rock bottom spiritually 57:16 as a graduate student on this campus years ago. 57:19 The title became a self-fulfilling prophecy, 57:22 Steps to Christ, because that's precisely 57:25 what I discovered in this short but inspiring, 57:27 and for me, life-changing book. 57:29 And I'd love for you to experience the same, 57:32 which is why we're setting aside a few of these books 57:34 for our viewing friends. 57:35 If you'd like your own copy of Steps to Christ, 57:37 call our toll-free number 877-His-Will, 57:41 just punch those two words, His-Will on your keyboard, 57:43 877-His-Will, and ask for the book. 57:46 If you want it in Spanish, ask for it. 57:47 It's one of the most translated books in the world. 57:50 Our friendly operators are standing by 24/7 to assist you 57:53 and we'll get the book to you as soon as possible, 57:55 straight to your address. 57:56 So why not go to the phone right now 57:58 and see if your walk with Jesus isn't deepened 58:00 by this spiritual classic. 58:02 It's our gift to you. 58:04 And until I see you again next time, 58:05 may you sense the living Christ 58:08 walking beside you every step of the way. |
Revised 2014-12-17