Participants: Pr. Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP112407
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00:27 Please sing it again with me.
00:31 Praise God, from whom 00:34 All blessings flow 00:40 Praise Him all creatures 00:45 Here below 00:50 Praise Him above 00:54 ye heavenly host 01:01 Praise Father, Son 01:06 And Holy Ghost 01:14 Amen 02:20 Now thank we all our God 02:25 With heart and hands and voices 02:32 Who wondrous things hath done 02:37 In whom His world rejoices 02:43 Who, from our mothers' arms 02:49 Hath blessed us on our way 02:54 With countless gifts of love 02:59 And still is ours today 03:08 O may this bounteous God 03:13 Through all our life be near us 03:19 With ever joyful hearts 03:24 And blessed peace to cheer us 03:31 And keep us in His grace 03:36 And guide us when perplexed 03:42 And free us from all ills 03:47 In this world and the next 04:06 All praise and thanks to God 04:12 The Father, now be given 04:18 The Son, and Him who reigns 04:24 With them in highest heaven 04:30 The one eternal God 04:35 Whom earth and heaven adore 04:40 For thus it was, is now 04:46 And shall be evermore 08:05 Well, good morning, boys and girls. 08:08 Good to see all of you on this Sabbath after-- 08:11 what was the-- 08:12 what is it we were celebrating this week? 08:14 What was it? Thanksgiving. 08:16 Thanksgiving, the Sabbath after Thanksgiving. 08:18 It's nice to see you in church at a holiday weekend, 08:22 nice to have visiting family and visiting guests. 08:26 It's always nice to have you, of course and good to see. 08:29 We don't normally have a children's story 08:30 in second church 08:31 but because the college kids are gone 08:33 we'll sneak one in here, don't you tell them. 08:38 I got the perfect story to share with you 08:42 and I just learned it last weekend. 08:46 We had the privilege of being 08:48 out in the middle of the Atlantic 08:51 on a little rock in the middle of the Atlantic 08:55 named Bermuda. 08:57 Ever heard of Bermuda? Ever heard of Bermuda shorts? 09:01 They are from Bermuda. Ever heard of Bermuda grass? 09:03 It's from Bermuda. 09:05 So Karen and I flew over there for island wide 09:07 revival weekend. 09:10 And when I got there I learn-- oh, I learned history 09:14 and I said, I have got to meet the famous man. 09:18 I'll tell you about him in just a moment 09:19 but let me just show you a picture too. 09:21 You look right at the screen 09:22 and I'll show you picture to of Bermuda. 09:24 What is Bermuda? 09:26 It's just a tiny little island, just about 23 miles long. 09:29 And at its widest point-- can you see it on the screen? 09:32 You can look over here. 09:34 At its widest point it's only three miles wide. 09:37 So it's just a-- kind of a-- shape like a curly Q 09:41 out in the middle of the Atlantic, 09:42 beautiful island. 09:43 And look at the flowers that are grown over here. 09:45 Let's take a look. Oh. 09:47 I think that's a Bird of Paradise plant. 09:48 Beautiful flower, just growing along the side of the road. 09:51 Let's look at another one. 09:52 What's the next? Oh, yeah. 09:54 Do you see, there are a lot of little islands 09:55 that make up the nation of Bermuda. 09:59 Now Bermuda is-- have you ever heard of Britain, 10:03 Great Britain? 10:05 Ever heard of the United Kingdom? 10:06 Have you heard of it? 10:07 Okay, this is one of their colonies, the last colony. 10:09 This is the last one. 10:11 This belongs to Great Britain. 10:13 I'll show you that in just a moment. 10:14 Okay. 10:15 Oh, take a look at the city tower 10:16 in the Hamilton-- 10:18 Hamilton town center, that's the capital of Bermuda. 10:20 Most city towers have clocks on them 10:23 but look very closely at that tower 10:25 because the tower has a compass on it. 10:28 You know what a compass? 10:29 Compass points-- what direction does a compass point? 10:32 North. 10:33 South. East. 10:34 Oh, you know a compass. 10:36 And this compass is hooked up to the wind vane at the top. 10:39 Do you see the wind vane at the top? 10:41 And when the wind turns that little wind vane 10:43 the hand on the compass points the direction 10:46 that the wind is coming from. 10:47 Because when you are out in the middle of the Atlantic 10:49 and you have no where to go and you are stuck on the island 10:51 you need to know where that wind is coming from. 10:54 Because they get huge hurricanes there, 10:57 so they are very careful. 10:58 Next picture, please. 10:59 Oh, what's that picture of? 11:00 Oh, that's the big Hamilton church. 11:03 That's the main church. And notice the colors. 11:05 I want you to see the colors. 11:06 See the nice yellow pastel color. 11:08 Let's see the next picture 11:09 because there's the conference office. 11:11 Oh, nice pastel pink, I like that. 11:14 Very nice. 11:16 And before I show you I need to show you this BMW. 11:18 See, this is a car. 11:19 You know that car? Okay. 11:21 Look where the license plate is, 11:23 look where the license plate is. 11:25 What do you see there instead of the license plate? 11:28 A crown A crown. That's right. 11:30 If you see a car with a silver crown on it 11:33 and no license plate, it belongs to the queen, 11:36 they're in the service of Queen Elizabeth II, you see. 11:39 There is still a colony, 11:40 so the queen is still their monarch. 11:43 But they think-- they consider themselves British Americans 11:46 because there's a lot of Americans there 11:48 plus Britishers. 11:49 So there you got that. Now look at the colors. 11:51 Oh, look at that, little blue, little purple. 11:54 You see, all the houses are in pastel, little bit of pink. 11:56 Let's look at another one. 11:57 Oh, blue and yellow. 11:59 Let's do a close up on the yellow. 12:01 Oh, that's a church. 12:03 And I'm thinking we ought to paint Pioneer a bright yellow 12:06 so all the students on campus will know where the church is. 12:10 You go to the big yellow building. 12:11 Look, isn't that something? Isn't that pretty? 12:13 Oh, that's beautiful. 12:15 Okay, now I want to tell you about somebody, 12:18 most famous person in Bermuda. 12:20 They told me about him, they told Karen, they said, 12:22 "Oh, if you are lucky you get to meet him." 12:26 His picture is taken by more people 12:27 than any other face in Bermuda. 12:29 He's known the whole world over. 12:32 I want to tell you his story because it's perfect 12:35 for the Sabbath after Thanksgiving. 12:38 His name is Johnny. Yeah, Johnny. 12:42 Anybody here, any boys here name Johnny? 12:44 Yeah, just-- oh, I got two or three, four, five. 12:47 Good, that's a great name, isn't it? 12:48 Yeah. Hallelujah. 12:49 You just want to see yourself on TV, 12:51 that's what you are doing, waving at the screen. 12:53 All right, so his name is Johnny, Johnny Barnes. 12:56 Oh, I said, can-- when I heard the story I said, can we-- 13:00 do we get to meet Johnny Barnes? 13:03 He said, if you are good, if you are good. 13:05 You know what happened? 13:06 Back in 1972, was that before you were born? 13:09 Oh, that's a long time ago? 13:11 1972, back in 1972, bus driver Johnny Barnes 13:17 woke up one morning and he said, you know, 13:19 hey, I need to do something for Jesus. 13:23 I am just always just taking care of my life, 13:26 I am driving the city bus but I want to do-- 13:29 I am so thankful for what Jesus has done for me. 13:32 I want to do something for Him. 13:34 And he got an idea. 13:36 So the next morning he woke up at 2 o'clock, 13:40 had his breakfast, packed a little nap sack 13:43 and he said, I'm going. 13:44 And he went downtown to Hamilton 13:48 because the traffic starts about 5:00 in the morning. 13:49 And at 4:45 in the morning he took a little-- 13:53 he found a little space and said, okay, 13:54 I am gong to stand right here, perfect 13:58 because they have in Bermuda what are called circuses. 14:03 Now that's not a thing that has animals. 14:05 You know the tent with animals. 14:06 A circus is a circle. 14:08 We have a circle right out here in front of the church. 14:10 You know a circle, you drive around the circle. 14:11 They call it circus. 14:13 So he said, I will stand right around here 14:14 by the traffic circus 14:17 and when the car start coming by 14:19 I know what I am gonna do. 14:20 And that very first morning he did. 14:23 Here comes the first car, okay. 14:24 Okay, Johnny, he said to himself let's do it now. 14:29 And he waved. 14:31 He just waved. 14:32 Hi. Bye. 14:34 Next car came, he said, oh, I got to be braver than that. 14:37 So he waved a little harder. 14:39 The next car came he said, I got to say something. 14:42 So he called, good morning. 14:46 He did that for a whole hour, just wave at the cars 14:49 that went by, just good morning. 14:51 God loves you! 14:53 People are driving by like, what? 14:57 Who is this nut? 15:00 And they drove on. But guess what? 15:02 The next morning Johnny says, I am going back. 15:04 And the next morning he's standing 15:06 right on his spot, right here. 15:08 Five o'clock in the morning comes, he waves. 15:12 He blew them kisses, now he got real brave. 15:14 I love you, he said. 15:18 People thought this is strange, who is this guy 15:21 that's waving at us when we dive? 15:23 The next morning he was there. 15:26 The next morning he was there. 15:28 Do you know what, boys and girls? 15:29 Listen to this, he has been doing that 15:32 every morning since 1972. 15:36 He gets up every morning at 2 o'clock. 15:38 He's 85 years old right now. 15:40 He get's up at 2 o'clock, his wife makes him breakfast, 15:43 he packs his little bag, he goes down 15:45 and he waves and he smiles 15:47 and he yells, "God loves you, sir!" 15:50 And the people started responding to him, 15:54 they started looking for, 15:55 I can hardly wait to get down that circus 15:57 and let wave, Hey, Johnny. 15:59 Hey, you, man, Johnny, how are you? 16:02 They yell out day after-- in fact, one day, one day 16:07 after several years of this Johnny wasn't there. 16:11 He did not show up and the newspaper 16:13 the very next morning with the headlines, 16:15 "Where is Johnny?" 16:17 It's true. 16:19 He was in the hospital, got a little bit of flu. 16:22 The hospital was flooded with flowers 16:24 from all over the island. 16:26 As that's Johnny Barnes, 16:29 he's now known as the most famous-- 16:31 the most famous Bermudian in the world. 16:34 They call him the friendliest man in the world. 16:38 I want to put his picture up here. 16:40 I want to put his picture up-- Oh, there he is. 16:44 There he is. 16:47 Look at him, we drove by, 16:48 I said, I have to meet this Johnny. 16:49 I have to meet this Johnny Barnes. 16:51 He was at the spot. 16:52 And now, boys and girls, he goes there-- 16:54 he starts at 5 o'clock in the morning 16:56 and everyday he goes for five hours 16:58 and he's 85 years old. 17:00 Look at him standing by that circus and saying, "Hi. 17:05 God loves you." 17:07 Now this is true, while we were there 17:09 because Karen and I want to get our picture taken with him. 17:11 While we were there a motorcyclist came up 17:14 with his motorcycle helmet on, 17:16 because in Bermuda the tourist can't-- 17:19 they don't rent cars to tourists, 17:20 they only rent little motor scooters 17:22 and the maximum speed on the island is 35km 17:26 which is slower than you drive on Andrew's campus. 17:29 And so it's very slow, 17:31 it's less than 25 miles and hour. 17:33 And so here comes this-- he's an American, 17:34 big old American comes up on this little tiny motorbike. 17:37 He puts his motorbike on the side of the road, 17:38 takes his helmet off, comes walking across the road. 17:41 He says, I am a businessman from Miami 17:43 and I've been here for two weeks 17:45 and Johnny I just had to get my picture taken with you. 17:48 And he handed me his camera and said, 17:49 hey, will you take a picture of me with this man? 17:51 I said, I'll be so glad to. 17:55 And let me tell you something, this man has become so popular, 18:01 the friendliest Bermudian in the world. 18:05 But you know what, we really know him as 18:07 in the church where I was at, 18:10 all those churches that got together, 18:11 do you know what he's called? 18:12 The friendliest Adventist in the world. 18:16 He's a Seventh-day Adventist Christian 18:18 and he's out there everyday for five hours 18:21 saying, "God loves you." 18:23 Is that a lot of hard work to have to do that, 18:25 just to say, God loves you to people driving by? 18:27 "God loves you. I love you." 18:30 People stop, he has prayed with people. 18:32 He has done that since 1972. 18:35 Now, one last part of the story, 18:36 so the Americans who come there, the tourists, 18:39 oh, they said, they-- everybody loves Johnny Barnes. 18:42 And so a group of Americans got together 18:43 and they went to the cabinet, 18:45 they went to the cabinet officers 18:47 of the Bermudian parliament 18:49 and they said, we have a proposal to make, 18:50 we want to build a statue in honor of Johnny Barnes. 18:54 They raised a $100,000. 18:56 And let's see that statue on the big screen. 18:59 Look at that. 19:00 There he is, it's called the spirit of Bermuda, 19:05 all because a Seventh-day Adventist Christian man 19:09 who was a bus driver said, 19:10 I can go to work a little early 19:12 and I can wave at people going by. 19:15 Do you have to do something fancy 19:17 for Jesus to make a mark? 19:18 No. 19:19 When you are thankful to Jesus 19:20 He has done something special for you, 19:22 can you do something special for Him? 19:24 But of course, so everybody, last picture, 19:27 everybody wants to get their picture taken 19:30 besides Johnny Barnes. 19:33 Hey, here's my thanksgiving question, 19:35 question number one, 19:37 do we have a whole lot to be thankful for the Jesus? 19:40 For one hand, if we have a whole lot 19:42 to be thankful to Jesus for. 19:44 Oh, my. 19:45 Do we, do we, do we? 19:47 Okay. Other hand. 19:48 Now watch this. Don't put up yet. 19:50 Other hand, how many want to take 19:53 the simple little acts of life 19:56 and show our gratitude to Jesus 19:58 by being a friend to others? 20:02 Put your other hand up. 20:03 Oh, we want to, just like Johnny Barnes. 20:06 They'll never make a statue for us 20:08 but we can still make a difference for Jesus. 20:10 Aren't you glad? 20:12 Oh, let's close our eyes and let's talk to Jesus. 20:14 Jesus, oh, this is such a beautiful story, 20:17 85-year-old man and there he is just telling people 20:20 that You love them and that he loves them too. 20:25 Oh, we raised our hands because we have so much 20:27 for which to be thankful this thanksgiving weekend. 20:29 And we quickly raised our other hand, Jesus, 20:31 because like Johnny Barnes 20:33 we want to take the simple little acts of life 20:38 and make a difference for You. 20:40 Shine through these boys and girls 20:42 all over this community. 20:44 We pray in your name, amen. 20:48 As you go quietly and revelry back to your seats 20:50 you can say that in your heart, 20:51 Jesus, I want to be just like Johnny, 20:55 the friendliest friend in all of Barring Springs. 21:04 I invite you to turn n your bulletin 21:06 where we will read responsively. 21:10 The word this morning 21:12 is taken from Deuteronomy 8:10-18, 21:20 "When you have eaten and are full, 21:23 then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land 21:27 which He has given you. 21:29 Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God 21:34 by not keeping His commandments, 21:37 His judgments, and His statutes, 21:40 which I command you today, 21:43 lest when you have eaten and are full, 21:46 and have built beautiful houses, and dwell in them, 21:49 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, 21:53 and your silver and your gold are multiplied, 21:57 and all that you have is multiplied, 22:00 then you shall say in your heart 22:03 'My power and the might of my hand 22:07 have gained me this wealth.' 22:10 You shall remember the Lord your God 22:13 for it is He who gives power to get wealth 22:17 and He may establish His covenant 22:20 which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.'" 22:54 Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving 23:00 To God the creator triumphantly raise 23:07 Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us 23:14 Who guideth us onto the end of our days 23:21 His banners are o'er us His light goes before us 23:27 A pillar of fire shining forth in the night 23:35 Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished 23:41 As forward we travel 23:45 From light into light 23:51 His law He enforces The stars in their courses 23:57 The sun in His orbit obediently shine 24:04 The hills and the mountains The rivers and fountains 24:11 The deeps of the ocean proclaim Him divine 24:18 We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing 24:25 With glad adoration a song let us raise 24:32 Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving 24:39 To God in the highest hosanna and praise 24:52 And so, Holy Father, we raise to You 24:55 a song of Thanksgiving, a hymn of our gratitude. 25:02 Given all that you have done 25:07 and all that we have, 25:11 how than shall we keep this spirit going? 25:17 Teach us this morning 25:19 through Christ Jesus our Lord, amen. 25:24 I can't think of better text 25:28 to share on the Sabbath after Thanksgiving 25:32 than this one, we read it just a moment ago. 25:35 "When you have eaten and are full." 25:37 Hallelujah. 25:40 Are you as full as you look? 25:42 You look great, you look great. 25:45 Anybody want to know how much America 25:47 ate this Thanksgiving? 25:50 Obviously the numbers are not all in yet. 25:53 But a preliminary estimate reveals 25:59 that in 2007, 272 million turkeys have been raised 26:07 and trust me they're not for household pets. 26:10 Yes, by the way it does not make us 26:12 the highest turkey consuming nation on earth. 26:15 I heard just this last week, Israel is the highest 26:19 per capita consuming nation on earth 26:20 for they do not eat pork, wise people. 26:25 I tried to find how many veggie turkeys 26:27 were raised this last year. 26:30 Barely you don't raise those, you just cook them. 26:32 I did see somebody speak-- this is true, 26:34 they now have a Tofurky, 26:38 it's in the shape of the turkey but it's all tofu. 26:39 Is that what you had, isn't so? 26:43 Another popular Thanksgiving staple 26:45 is cranberry production. 26:46 You had cranberry didn't you? 26:47 Oh, we had cranberry, 690 million pounds of cranberry 26:53 grown in the United States this year. 26:55 Here's another one, pumpkins. 26:58 Did you have pumpkin? 26:59 Something with pumpkin in it? Yeah. 27:01 You know, I never told you this 27:02 but all the years we had our kids at home 27:04 and all those jack lanterns and all the pumpkins 27:06 on the on the front doorstep. 27:08 We've been throwing them out in the back, 27:09 just the compost pile of 27:10 throwing them out, throwing them out. 27:11 This year for the first time a-- 27:12 on its own a massive pumping grew 27:15 right in the back corner of our yard. 27:17 We got on our front door step, if you want to swing by. 27:22 Pumpkins this year, one billion pounds of pumpkins 27:26 in America. 27:27 And finally you did have sweet potatoes, didn't you? 27:30 Sweet potatoes, 1.6 billion pounds. 27:33 Ladies and gentlemen, America has eaten very well this year, 27:36 wouldn't you say? 27:38 How much of that food did not get eaten. 27:41 I eaten, did it all get eaten? 27:42 Nope. 27:45 According to Tim Jones, professor 27:47 of applied anthropology at the University of Arizona, 27:50 who has spent 10 years going through American garbage. 27:52 How its like that to be a professional expertise? 27:56 I heard, he was interviewed on NPR, 27:58 from the farm to the store to the table 28:00 nearly one-half of America's food 28:03 never gets eaten. 28:06 Fifty billion dollars worth of food every year 28:08 we Americans throw away from brown bananas 28:13 and I'm guilty that one, to day old rice, 28:17 to cottage cheese casseroles that finally grow 28:19 mold in the refrigerator, you just throe it away. 28:23 When you've eaten-- how does it go? 28:24 "When you have eaten and are full." 28:29 What should our response be? 28:31 Let's take that, let's take a moment, 28:32 I impact that line together. 28:34 This is from our series, The Chosen 28:36 and this teaching will be entitled 28:38 "An American Thanksgiving in Canaan," all right. 28:42 Go to Deuteronomy 8, please with me. 28:44 Deuteronomy Chapter 8, 28:45 if you haven't already found it. 28:49 Take your Bible, if you don't have a Bible 28:50 grab the pew Bible in front of you, 28:53 New King James Version. 28:54 Stunning bit of discovery here 28:57 and I pass it on to you as well. 29:00 Deuteronomy Chapter 8, that would be-- 29:02 by the way in our pew Bible, page 129. 29:05 Remember this Moses' farewell address, 29:08 in a few days he'll be dead. 29:11 He's lead these people for 40 years 29:13 through the burning sands of that wilderness wandering 29:17 and he announces to them, look you guys, I can go with you 29:20 but when you get over into Canaan, 29:22 when you have your Thanksgiving 29:24 and you have planted your garden 29:26 and you have reaped your fields and your tables are spread, 29:30 when you push away finally from that bountifully laden repast, 29:36 I want you to do this, please don't forget it. 29:39 Deuteronomy 8:10, 29:40 "When you've eaten and are full, 29:43 then you shall blessed the Lord your God 29:46 for the good land He has given to you." 29:54 I want you children, 29:55 I want you children to remember please, bless Him. 29:59 And there is a beautiful word, a Hebrew word is Baraq. 30:02 I love that word. 30:04 Now the NIV renders Baraq, are consistently praise 30:08 and I think we missed a little bit in that rendering. 30:10 It can mean to kneel down in worship. 30:13 It's the word that appears in this favorite-- 30:15 this one of our favorite Thanksgiving Psalm, Psalm 103. 30:19 Take a look at this, Psalm 103:1. 30:21 In fact, but let's just read this out loud together. 30:25 "Bless the Lord, O my soul, 30:27 and all that is within me, bless His holy name. 30:32 Bless the Lord, O my soul 30:34 and forget not all His benefits. 30:38 Who forgives all your iniquities, 30:40 who heals all your diseases, 30:43 who redeems your life from destruction, 30:46 who crowns you with loving-kindness 30:48 and tender mercies, 30:50 who satisfies your mouth with good things, 30:53 so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." 30:56 When the child of God does inventory with her life 31:00 and she adds it up, Baraq, bless the Lord, O my soul. 31:06 And that's why, ladies and gentlemen, 31:07 when we get-- particularly 31:08 in our first celebration here at Pioneer, 31:11 when we gather the first thing we do is we sing those words, 31:14 "Praise God from whom 31:17 all blessings flow." 31:22 "When you've eaten and are full, 31:25 then you shall blessed the Lord your God for the good land 31:27 which he is given you." 31:29 America-- I understand it, 31:30 America is not a Christian nation 31:32 but we are a blessed nation. 31:34 You can say that whether you are Christian or Muslim 31:37 or Jew or atheist, it doesn't matter, 31:38 you got a sense that this nation of ours. 31:41 I know that they are 100 nations represented here 31:43 when all the students are home, but you've got a sense 31:46 that this nation of ours is truly blessed. 31:49 I came across an essay and easing kind of essay 31:54 that appear on the web written by John Durr. 31:57 Let me read this to you. 31:58 I want to talk about America's bountiful blessings. 32:01 "The United States is undeniably the richest 32:03 and most powerful nation ever on the face of the earth, 32:06 all right. 32:08 The gross domestic product, GDP of the United States 32:11 is larger than the next two biggest economies combined 32:13 which would be China and Japan. 32:15 The US economy out-produces the combined economies 32:17 of over 47 poor nations 32:19 which account for 53% the population of the world, 32:22 these 47 nations including China and India. 32:27 But if you translate it to an individual scale 32:29 how much is that does that income of the average American 32:31 compared to the average income of the poor of the world? 32:34 Listen to this, last available statistics 2000, 32:36 the per capita income of the US was 360% higher than 32:40 the world average per capita income, the CPI. 32:43 The U.S. boasted a CPI of $34,100 32:48 while the average world CPI was $7,410." 32:52 This doesn't even give an accurate picture 32:53 because the world average include the US 32:55 and the other wealthy nations of Europe. 32:57 Therefore let's look at the 56% of the world's population 33:00 who comprise the world's poor. 33:02 Listen to this, "According to the statistics, 33:04 these statistics from the World Bank, 33:06 56% of the world's population lives in extreme poverty. 33:10 They survive on an income of less than $730 per year." 33:16 Which you calculate to $2 per day. 33:18 "Half of the world's poor who comprise 33:20 28% of the world's population live on $1 or less a day 33:25 in comparison the average American earns from 33:27 46 to 92 times more then the poverty-stricken 33:31 comprising over half of the world's population." 33:34 We are a blessed nation. 33:37 Reading an author a century ago to write these words. 33:41 Every now and then I go back to his words 33:42 I have them scribbled at the top of the page 33:45 for Revelation 13 in my Bible. 33:48 I go back to these words just to be reminded. 33:51 Put it on the screen for you. 33:53 "The Lord has done more for the United States 33:56 than for any other country upon which the sun shines." 34:06 Right now I'm reading Nathaniel Philbrick's 34:09 newest book, it's called Mayflower. 34:13 You look at the blog today in the bulletin on our website 34:15 I referred to that book and some statistics. 34:18 It's an amazing, amazing tale. 34:20 And by the way, the book is not just-- 34:21 it's is not just getting the pilgrims 34:23 to Cape Cod, it's the 60 after, 34:26 it's just a phenomenal story. 34:29 But I want to tell you, my personal, 34:30 my personal response, I'm reading this 34:31 and I'm thinking to myself 34:34 how can you deny that the hand of almighty God 34:39 has been instrumental in shaping 34:43 the very heart and soul of this nation. 34:47 Now I am looking out and I see there are people here 34:48 from other nations and you taken perhaps 34:50 a bit of an affront to this, 34:52 I am not suggesting for a moment 34:54 that God has not had a hand in your nation 34:56 but I am telling you, of all nations upon 34:58 which the sun shines, there's been no nation 35:02 more blessed than this one. 35:06 And I don't say that with hubris either, 35:08 you got to know my heart, I was born in Japan. 35:10 So I am American kid but grew up overseas. 35:14 I don't say we're hubris and I tell you why I don't 35:16 because I know, I know 35:18 how the story is gonna suddenly pivot 35:22 and it is same like life is going on just as usual 35:25 in the good old US of A 35:26 and then there will be something, 35:28 there will be a massive paradigm shift. 35:32 And the ending to this nation is an ending of utter tragedy. 35:36 My heart just breaks when I realized 35:39 what is coming to America. 35:42 I mean, I read the apocalypse, I read the prophecies. 35:46 I was out jogging this Thanksgiving morning, 35:48 did my little 5k in that beautiful crisp air 35:53 of Thanksgiving morning and I was just saying, 35:55 God, you have got to-- I know how the story ends 35:59 but hold off that ending as long as You can, 36:03 keep America 36:07 in the hallow of Your hand a little longer. 36:11 It's a sad, sad ending. 36:13 And maybe in the New Year 36:15 you and I will examine that ending. 36:18 But for now we are a nation blessed, 36:21 surely of all nations on earth. 36:22 A holiday called Thanksgiving would be appropriate. 36:28 How is it go? 36:29 "When you have eaten and are full 36:32 then you shall bless the Lord your God 36:34 for the Good land which He has given to you." 36:38 I mean, that's a no brainier. 36:39 I said, who else am I suppose to bless. 36:41 If I can't bless God, who else? 36:42 Moses said, I want to put another person in play 36:44 as a possibility for being blessed. 36:47 Watch this, verse 12, 36:49 "Lest when you've eaten and are full, 36:52 and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them, 36:54 and when you heard and your flocks multiply," 36:56 verse 13, "and your silver and your golden are multiplied, 36:58 and all that you have is multiplied," 37:00 verse 14, "when your heart is lifted up, 37:02 and you forget the Lord 37:03 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 37:04 from the house of bondage, 37:05 who leads you through the great and terrible wilderness 37:08 in which they were fiery serpents" 37:09 don't miss next Sabbath, Fiery Serpents. 37:11 "And scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water, 37:14 who brought water for you out of the flinty rock, 37:19 who fed you" verse 16, 37:20 "in the wilderness with a manna, 37:21 which your fathers did not know that He my humble you 37:23 and that he might test you, to do you good in the end. 37:26 Lest you say in your heart," verse 17, 37:29 "my power and the might of my hand 37:31 have gained me this wealth." 37:34 There's another person in play here 37:36 and instead of blessing God you know what, 37:37 You and I, we can resort to self-blessing, bless me. 37:43 And by the way, when you say bless me, 37:44 it's not because you sneezed either, 37:45 just blast me for what I did, self-blessing. 37:50 The prevailing sin. 37:52 We don't need it down out trump to remind us this, do we? 37:55 The self-blessings is the prevailing sin 37:56 of this generation. 37:58 I don't suppose it's unique to this generation. 38:00 Obviously once upon a time there was a king name 38:03 Nebuchadnezzar. 38:04 And Jesus told a parable about a rich fool, 38:06 I understand that. 38:10 But it is certainly 38:12 the prevailing sin of our age. 38:18 We flew, you know, to Bermuda for that island wide revival. 38:24 They are just moving into elections now. 38:27 The highest elected official their be 38:29 equivalent of our president, he's known as premier, 38:31 he serves under the Queen, you understand. 38:33 But they wanted him, the premier to come 38:36 and of course with elections just three weeks away, 38:38 why would you turn down an opportunity 38:39 to address a group like that. 38:40 And so the premier showed up. 38:41 They also invited 38:43 the opposition leader in the parliament. 38:46 So he was there, and all front row 38:49 Sabbath morning of government officials. 38:52 And they invited both of these men, 38:53 first the premier and then the opposition leader 38:55 to get up and share a few words or greeting. 38:58 And as they were giving that greeting I was reminded, 39:00 I was reminded of my very human tendency 39:06 to always present myself in the best light possible, 39:10 without looking, like I am self-blessing. 39:14 Let me tell you, some politicians 39:15 don't have a corner on this thing. 39:18 They don't have a corner on it. 39:21 "Lest--" verse 17, "Lest you say in your heart, 39:24 'My power and the might of my hand 39:27 have gained me this wealth." 39:29 Self-blessing, the prevailing sin of this generation. 39:31 Is it not? But of course. 39:34 But what's so stunning about this passage 39:36 is the very overt prescription that Moses offers 39:40 as an antidote to our self-blessing, to our tendency, 39:44 to our proclivity to self-blessing. 39:46 This stung me and it maybe surprising to you too. 39:49 Take a look at this, this is verse 10 39:51 and we left out a verse intensely. 39:53 We are reading it now, verse 11. 39:54 Verse 10, "When you've eaten and are full 39:56 then you shall bless the Lord your God 39:58 for the good land which he has given you." 40:00 Now the verse we left out, verse 11, 40:02 "Beware, that you do not forget the Lord your God 40:05 by not keeping His commandments, His judgment 40:09 and His statutes which I command you today." 40:12 You got to remember, Moses says, hey, guy's, 40:15 I'm gonna be gone in just a few hours, 40:17 you must remember the Lord your God. 40:20 By the way, you counted it. 40:21 I went through with my computer program 40:23 that it's his hands down, most favorite praising 40:25 in all the Book of Deuteronomy, 40:27 "The Lord your God," 282 times 40:31 it just always there, you got to remember, 40:34 the Lord your God, the Lord your God. 40:35 And that also include the times 40:36 when he talked about the Lord our God, 40:38 282 times the Lord your God. 40:39 I want you to keep him front-and-center, remember. 40:42 Now it says, don't forget. 40:44 Let's put it in the positive, remember. 40:47 And here's what's surprising, 40:48 how am I supposed to remember Moses? 40:50 How am I supposed to do it? 40:51 By keeping-- hold on, by keeping God's commitments. 40:59 You believe that? Look, you just read it. 41:02 It's there in verse 11, I'll read it again. 41:04 "Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God 41:08 by not keeping His commandments, 41:10 His judgments and His statutes 41:12 which I command to you today." 41:15 Isn't that amazing, ladies and gentleman? 41:16 Come on. 41:17 You know what Moses is saying, obedience, 41:19 the keeping of God's commanded. 41:20 Obedience is the secret to sustained gratitude. 41:26 For whom you obey, you remember. 41:28 Obedience is this secret to sustain gratitude. 41:36 I want to keep thankful and stay obedient to God, 41:40 stay obedient to Him. 41:45 Whenever I go on a trip I-- I'm wanting to just 41:48 take a book along to read that I've read before, 41:51 one of my favorites is Roland Bainton's seminal, 41:54 biography of Martin Luther, it's called "Here I Stand." 41:57 And I got the book in a paper bag 41:58 so I can just throw it in my computer case 41:59 as I did heading over this last weekend to Bermuda. 42:03 Martin Luther, in that biography 42:05 I came upon the point that is Luther's. 42:07 I'll put it on the screen for you. 42:08 This is Luther's point, "All morality is gratitude." 42:15 Isn't that amazing? 42:16 "All morality is gratitude. 42:19 It is the irrepressible expression of thankfulness 42:21 for food and raiment, for earth and sky, 42:24 and for the inestimable gift of redemption." 42:27 Did you get that? 42:28 All morality, all morality is gratitude. 42:33 Out of a grateful response of what God has done for me 42:35 of course, I want to obey Him. 42:36 All morality is gratitude. 42:39 Obedience which is morality in action, 42:42 obeying the ethical-- the ethical norms 42:45 that God has established, 42:46 obedience is the secret to sustained gratitude. 42:57 Verse 11 again, 42:58 "Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God 43:01 by not keeping His commandments, 43:03 His judgments and His statutes 43:04 which I command you today" verse 12, 43:06 "lest when you have eaten and are full, 43:08 and have build beautiful houses and dwell in them," 43:10 drop down to verse 17, 43:11 "that you say in your heart, 'My power 43:13 and the might of my hand have game me this wealth.'" 43:17 Self-blessing cannot occur in the life 43:20 that is obediently live, it can't occur, it just can't. 43:23 How can you bless yourself when you're obeying 43:26 another authority in your life? 43:30 Obedience is a secret to sustain gratitude 43:34 and sustain gratitude is the antidote to self-blessing. 43:39 Which means the cure for our preventing sin, obey. 43:42 Obey, America. 43:44 America, obey God. 43:48 That's the cure for our self-blessing, 43:51 obedience to the Creator 43:54 because whom you obey you remember, 43:55 and whom you remember you love. 43:58 Which by the way, was just a few breaths earlier 44:00 Moses is trying to make this point. 44:02 Just go back to 7: 9. 44:04 Moses was making a point, 7:9, 44:07 "Therefore know that the Lord thy God, He is God, 44:11 the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy 44:13 for a thousand generations 44:16 with whose who love Him and keep His commandments." 44:21 I suppose that's a no-brainer, 44:23 that loving God results in obeying God. 44:24 Isn't it a no-brainer, whom you love, you obey? 44:29 Which is why I obey Karen. 44:32 What do laughing at? You don't think I do? 44:34 Oh, I do. 44:36 Although I am gonna tell you this, tell you this, 44:39 there are very few people that I obey. 44:42 I have a character flaw. 44:43 I am telling you, this is not something to be proud of 44:45 but I am going to tell you, I have a character flaw. 44:47 I am extremely stubborn 44:49 and I hate taking orders from anybody, 44:55 even my conference president. 44:57 Why? 44:58 Just I don't know, I am too independent. 45:00 God's working on that. 45:01 But I want to tell you, 45:02 there are some people in my life 45:05 I call them my EF hurting people 45:08 that when they speak I listen. 45:13 Do you know why I listen? 45:15 Because I admire them. 45:18 I respect them. 45:20 I love them. 45:21 So I trust them. 45:24 Now let me tell you something, they don't know I am listening. 45:27 Oh, I put an impossible protest, 45:35 an argument but I am listening. 45:38 My wife Karen is one of those people. 45:44 I play the devil's advocate with her. 45:47 I'll out logic her at every turn, 45:51 I'll frust, debate 45:56 but I am listening to see how well she holds this one. 46:03 And when she laid out her case 46:06 notice, I didn't' say when she lays down the law. 46:10 When she lays out her case I say, all right, 46:17 you made your point, I'll do it. 46:20 I'll do it. 46:21 Why? 46:22 Because she's someone I respect and admire and love. 46:25 Because I know her mind and her heart 46:26 I can trust her command, that's why. 46:29 I know her mind and I know her heart. 46:31 Jesus says, do you know My mind, 46:34 do you know My heart? 46:35 John 14:15, "If you love me, if you really love me 46:41 you will keep My commandments." 46:43 You will, America, if you really love me. 46:47 Some of you think this is a Christian nation, it is not 46:49 but you think it is, fine, keep His commandments, 46:51 America, keep His command. 46:53 If you love me, Jesus says, keep His commands. 46:56 Moses comes along, Deuteronomy 8:11, he says, 46:58 "Remember God by keeping His commandments." 47:02 Now ladies and gentlemen, neither Christ nor Moses 47:04 is appealing for legalism, rather both are bound together 47:07 the spirit of loving gratitude 47:09 with the spirit of grateful obedience. 47:10 They are overlaid, you can't separate them. 47:13 They have to go together. 47:17 Because whom you gracefully obey 47:19 you will faithfully remember 47:21 and the God you faithfully remember 47:22 is a God you will gratefully obey. 47:24 Luther is absolutely right. 47:25 All morality is gratitude, is gratitude. 47:32 And it is that appeal that is woven from stem to stern 47:37 throughout the Book of Deuteronomy. 47:38 You know why? 47:39 Because Deuteronomy is written for the chosen. 47:43 And when you've been chosen, when you have been chosen 47:48 the God who went to all of the work of choosing you 47:53 says, now follow Me, I have done this for you, 48:01 now you follow Me. 48:05 When you get into the land of Canaan 48:06 and your tables are full and you push away, 48:11 you bless the Lord your God 48:13 and beware, beware that you do not forget Him 48:17 by not keeping His commandments. 48:22 All morality is gratitude 48:26 which is why more than anyone else on earth 48:29 the chosen have been called to obey, 48:34 more than anybody else on earth. 48:37 If I read my apocalypse correctly 48:39 just before the return of Christ 48:40 the chosen to describe this way, Revelation 14:12, 48:43 "Here is the patience of the Saints, 48:45 here they who keep the commandments of God 48:47 and the faith of Jesus." 48:50 if you love Me, if you love Me you obey Me. 48:55 Here is the patience of the chosen, 48:58 the endurance of the chosen. 49:01 I have Christian friends who say, you know what, 49:04 I don't have to obey God, 49:05 His commandments are no longer binding to me. 49:08 I've been set free. 49:09 Oh, my friend, are you serious. 49:11 That is mistaken thinking to conclude the divine grace 49:13 is somehow released you from human obedience. 49:15 How could it be? It's impossible. 49:18 It is utterly illogical 49:21 because the reverse is just as true, 49:23 whom you disobey you do not truly love. 49:27 The chosen do not have the option, 49:30 they do not have the option. 49:32 They are called to obey. 49:35 Moses and Jesus and Luther are more than clear, 49:38 whom you love, you obey and all morality, all obedience 49:42 its gratitude, all of it grateful response. 49:47 Not legalism, its gratitude. 49:51 Which is why when we bow 49:53 you and I before the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ 49:56 how can we not help 49:58 but be moved to grateful obedience. 50:00 Do you understand that everything 50:01 you ate on Thursday and every possession 50:04 you still hold on to today, 50:06 all of it has been purchased by Calvary, 50:08 do you understand that? 50:09 Let me put it on the screen, 50:10 this classic line from Desire of Ages, pages 660, 50:14 "To the death of Christ we owe even this earthly life. 50:18 The bread we eat" I love this, 50:20 "the bread we eat is a purchase of His broken body. 50:22 The water we drink is bought by His spill blood. 50:25 Never one, saint or sinner eats his daily food, 50:27 but he is nourished by the body and the blood of Christ. 50:30 The cross of Calvary is stamped on every loaf. 50:34 It is reflected in every water spring." 50:40 Wow, to the death of Christ we owe our all 50:42 which is why all morality is gratitude. 50:46 We owe it all. 50:49 And which is why obedience is still a secret. 50:55 Hey, you want to live with a grateful life, 50:57 long past Thanksgiving this year? 50:59 Then obey Him, obey Him, obey His commandments 51:03 for it is true. 51:04 Obedience is the secret 51:08 to sustained gratitude. 51:13 Let us pray. 51:18 "When you've eaten enough full 51:19 then you shall bless the Lord your God. 51:21 Oh, Lord our God, 51:26 teach us to be thankful by helping us 51:32 to be obedient through Jesus Christ our Lord 51:36 whom to love is to obey, amen. 51:45 One can almost picture the pilgrims 51:47 in this hymn we're going to close with. 51:48 The hymn was composed in 1960s, 51:50 open your hymn please to hymn 556. 51:53 But you can picture that the pilgrims almost. 51:55 They hymn begin with these words, 51:57 "As saints of old there first-fruits 51:59 brought of orchard, flock, and field." 52:03 It's a great hymn, we never sung it here before, hymn 556. 52:06 But let's sing this grateful praise 52:07 to the familiar tune of Isaac Watts 52:10 "I sing the mighty power of God." 52:13 You know that melody, we will sing to that melody, 52:15 sing with all your heart. 52:17 This expressional gratitude, hymn 556. 52:56 As saints of old their first-fruits brought 53:00 Of orchard, flock, and field 53:04 To God, the giver all good 53:08 The source of bounteous yield 53:12 So we today first-fruits would bring 53:16 The wealth of this good land 53:21 Of farm and market, shop and home 53:27 Of mind and heart and hand 53:34 A world in need now summons us 53:38 To labor, love, and give 53:42 To make our life an offering 53:46 To God, that all may live 53:50 The church of Christ is calling us 53:55 To make the dream come true 53:59 A world redeemed by Christ-like love 54:06 All life in Christ made new 54:13 In gratitude and humble trust 54:17 We bring our best today 54:21 To serve Your cause and share Your love 54:26 With all along life's way 54:30 O God, who gave yourself to us 54:34 In Jesus Christ your Son 54:39 Teach us to give ourselves each day 54:46 Until life's work is done 54:59 And now may the God of peace 55:00 who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, 55:03 that great Shepherd of the sheep 55:05 through the blood of the everlasting covenant. 55:08 May He make you complete in every good work 55:11 to do His will. 55:12 Working in you what is pleasing in His sight, 55:15 through Jesus Christ to whom be glory 55:18 forever and ever, amen. 55:24 Before you go I wanted to take one more moment 55:27 and let you know how glad I am 55:28 to share this hour of worship and Bible teaching with us. 55:31 This is the Pioneer Memorial Church 55:33 and we're on the campus of Andrew's University 55:35 and the series is The Chosen. 55:37 This is a series that has been growing 55:39 and it's burned on my heart and over the last few weeks 55:43 before this new season began. 55:45 And some concentrated prayer time 55:47 I believe the Spirit of God lead me do this series, 55:50 out of the Book of Deuteronomy 55:52 for this generation within our community of faith 55:54 and outside this community of faith. 55:56 I believe both, both communities need to hear 56:01 the compelling Bible truth 56:04 captured in this series called The Chosen. 56:05 So thank you for joining me and all of us 56:08 as we continue our journey 56:10 deeper and deeper into the heart of this theme. 56:12 Living as you and I do and I'm-- 56:15 I know I'm preaching to the choir now, 56:17 living as we do on the edge of a civilization 56:20 that is surviving through constant up evil and change. 56:24 I am so grateful and I know you are 56:27 for the bedrock hope we have in Jesus. 56:30 I'm thankful that you and I have been given name 56:32 the privilege by God to partner to reach this generation 56:36 the world over through the satellite telecast. 56:38 I don't know how it works, I just know that 56:39 those satellites drop the signals 56:42 and those footprints all over the planet 56:44 are helping disseminate this divine call 56:48 to become a part of The Chosen, 56:49 God's last generation on earth. 56:51 So please, here's what I want you to know, 56:53 I thank God for you in a generous way 56:56 you have partnered with us in the past 56:58 and making New Perceptions possible globally. 57:01 Your tax-deductible gifts are been multiplied 57:04 all across the earth I believe for such a time as this. 57:07 Look, would you like to order a copy of today's teaching 57:11 you can order DVD, you get all the PowerPoint, 57:13 everything is there, 57:14 you can share with your friends, 57:15 share with your family. 57:17 I want to just insert this here, 57:18 if you go to our website 57:19 and we've been advertising our website all along the way 57:21 and I'm gonna insert it right here www.pmchurch.tv, 57:25 go to that website you get a podcast of this. 57:28 We have people now subscribing to podcast the world over, 57:32 it's time for this message to get out. 57:34 Thank you for your partnership in helping us do that. 57:37 Call one of our friendly operators 57:38 to toll-free number, it won't cost you a penny 57:41 here in North America, 877-HIS-WILL. 57:43 You call that number, I promise you every penny 57:46 that you share we will invest 57:49 your generosity in God's mission 57:51 to reach this final generation now. 57:54 Thank you very, very much. 57:55 And be assured, I'm looking forward to seeing you here, 57:59 right here again next time as we continue 58:02 our fascinating journey into The Chosen. 58:05 God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17