Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP160227A
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00:08 [ "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" plays ] 00:27 [ Congregation sings ] 02:36 >> You may be seated. 02:39 [ "He Is Exalted" plays ] 02:47 [ Congregation sings ] 04:58 [ "Agnus Dei" plays ] 05:17 Sing with us. Alleluia. 05:20 [ Congregation sings ] 08:39 [ "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever" plays ] 08:51 "Over the mountains." 08:54 [ Congregation sings ] 09:58 >> Well, good morning, boys and girls. Nice to see you on this 10:02 springtime Sabbath. The snow all melted yesterday with those warm winds. 10:06 Wasn't that wonderful? >> It's still winter. >> Well, yes, it is. 10:10 It's still winter. So keep that thought in mind. But nice to see you on this 10:15 beautiful day. You look as happy as you feel. I can tell. 10:19 So, has this ever happened to you? Has anybody ever accused you 10:22 of doing something you didn't do? "Mommy! Mommy! 10:26 He ate my cookie!" "I did not." "He did too!" 10:29 "I did not." "He did too!" "I did not." 10:33 Has that ever happened to you? Let me tell you. If it's little sister calling 10:36 to Mama, you've lost already. Well, it happened to Ray -- Ray Hinton. 10:44 Early one morning, the police came to his house door. Birmingham, Alabama. 10:48 [ Raps pew ] "Yo. You Ray Hinton? We got you. 10:53 You're going -- You did it." "I did not." "You did too." 10:57 "I did not." "You did too." "I did not." 10:58 "You did too. We know it. You're going to the judge 11:01 right now, and we're gonna put you in jail, and then we're gonna take care 11:04 of you once and for all," and down to the jail they drove. The judge had a hearing. 11:09 The judge said, "You did it." "I did not." "You did too." 11:12 "I did not." "Too bad. You lose. 11:17 Two men are no longer alive because of you. Yep, yep, yep. 11:20 Bye-bye." And that's exactly what they did. 11:24 They put him in jail -- not just jail. They put him in the prison. 11:26 They put him on death row. 29 years old, and they put him on death row. 11:32 Let me see a picture of Ray Hinton. And there's the death-row unit. 11:36 You see the prison bars? Most of the time they put him in solitary confinement. 11:40 You know what that means? Nobody can talk to you. You can't interact with anybody. 11:43 "No, no, no. You did it." "I did not." 11:46 "You did too." "I did not." "Too bad. 11:49 You're here." Boom! A few weeks went by, 11:54 a few months went by, a few years went by, and then last year, a judge 12:01 called Ray Hinton to stand in front of his high-and-lifted-up seat. 12:09 The judge looked down at Ray Hinton and said, "You didn't do it. 12:14 You didn't do it." "I've been telling you I didn't do it." 12:18 "Well, we now know you did not do it," and they let Ray Hinton out. 12:22 I want to see a picture of Ray Hinton getting out. Oh, he's gotten old in prison. 12:28 My, my, my. He's getting old. Yep. 12:32 Do you know how long they kept him in prison? 30 years. 12:35 30 years. "I did not." "You did too." 12:37 "I did not." For 30 years kept in jail. Let me see that last picture 12:43 of him, please. Oh, it's an emotional moment. Wouldn't you be filled 12:47 with tears? I would, too. For 30 years my life is gone, 12:52 and I didn't do it. There's another judge in this universe. 12:57 Everybody comes up in front of His court, and guess what. He can say you did it, 13:02 and there's no excuse. We did do it. He knows. 13:06 But I want to tell you about this judge. This judge looks at you, 13:08 and he says, "You know what? I'm throwing the charges out." Just like the judge 13:12 did with Ray Hinton. "I'm throwing the charges out. You're innocent." 13:16 [ Chuckles ] "I pardon you." Oh, boys and girls, 13:24 there is someone who died on a tree once upon a time so that we could all be pardoned 13:29 right now. Who's that someone? Who's that someone? 13:32 What's His name? What's His name, Sissy? >> Jesus. 13:34 >> His name is Jesus. Jesus has thrown the charges out because he died in our place. 13:40 He was on death row, not us. How many want to say, "Oh, Jesus, Thank you for going to 13:45 death row and actually dying for me so that I can be pardoned and the charges will all be 13:50 thrown out"? Oh, let's thank Jesus, shall we? Who would like 13:54 to thank Jesus for me? I need a young boy this time. I got a girl in first service. 13:57 Is there a young boy who would like to pray? Yes, sir. 14:00 Come on up. Let's pray. Let's fold our hands together. What's your first name? 14:05 >> Caden. >> What? >> Caden. 14:07 >> Caden. Come here, Caden. Come on. Let's fold our hands 14:11 and close our eyes as Caden prays. >> Dear Jesus. 14:16 Thank you for this day. Thank you for waking us up in this lovely morning, 14:22 and please keep us safe, and please don't let Satan harm us or tempt 14:27 us to do the wrong thing and please don't let him actually 14:32 let anything happen. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. >> Amen. 14:37 Caden, what a beautiful prayer. Thank you, Caden. God bless you. 14:40 And, boys and girls, as you go back to your seats, you be saying that to Jesus -- 14:43 "Thank you, Jesus. You have thrown the charges out." 14:51 >> ♪ I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing ♪ 14:55 ♪ I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing ♪ 15:00 ♪ I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing ♪ 15:04 ♪ And obey the Spirit of the Lord ♪ ♪ I'm gonna sing when the Spirit 15:10 says sing ♪ ♪ I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing ♪ 15:16 ♪ I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing ♪ ♪ And obey the Spirit of the 15:23 Lord ♪ >> ♪ Obey, obey, obey, obey ♪ I'm gonna pray when the Spirit 15:30 says pray ♪ ♪ I'm gonna pray when the Spirit says pray ♪ 15:35 ♪ I'm gonna pray when the Spirit says pray ♪ ♪ And obey the Spirit of the 15:43 Lord ♪ ♪ I'm gonna shout when the Spirit says shout ♪ 15:49 ♪ I'm gonna shout when the Spirit says shout ♪ I'm gonna shout when the Spirit 15:55 says shout ♪ ♪ And obey the spirit of the Lord ♪ 16:00 >> ♪ I'm gonna sing >> ♪ I'm gonna sing >> ♪ When the Spirit says sing 16:06 >> ♪ I'm gonna sing >> ♪ When the Spirit says sing >> ♪ I'm gonna sing 16:11 >> ♪ When the Spirit says sing ♪ And obey the Spirit of the Lord ♪ 16:32 >> Amen. 16:39 ♪♪ 16:54 ♪♪ 17:08 ♪♪ 17:22 ♪♪ 17:38 >> Oh, God, we could sing. We could shout. If what we're about to encounter 17:46 is true, we can be set free. Bless these few moments we have. Energize us in our minds. 17:57 Engage us with our hearts. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. 18:02 Reynolds Price, the American author and poet, observed once 18:07 there is one sentence people turn to more than any other 18:14 sentence -- when they turn to a story, one sentence they crave 18:20 in a story they read, just one sentence. 18:24 Here it is -- "The maker of all things loves and wants me." One sentence people 18:35 crave when they pick up a book. Well, this be true in this one. "The maker of all things loves 18:44 and wants me." Let's face it. We live in a world 18:48 where this longing to be loved, this longing to be wanted is surely a universal desire, 18:56 though not hardly a universal experience. This last November, 19:01 the British young diva and singer phenom Adele -- much anticipated, 19:11 she releases her newest album, "25." On that album is a single called 19:17 "Hello." [ Light laughter ] You didn't think I'd know, 19:23 did you? [ Laughter ] That's why you're laughing. 19:28 I'm kind of laughing, too. Yeah, he singer Adele with "Hello," and that song, that one 19:36 song, tapped into this latent longing to be loved, to be wanted, and it just sold off the 19:46 charts. Forbesmagazine a few days after the album was 19:51 release announced that in the first week -- Listen to this. In the first week, she sold 19:54 1.71 million physical albums or CDs. Wow. 20:01 People are buying CDs still? In that same first week -- Listen. 20:05 She sold 1.64 million downloaded copies, and then she broke all the record books 20:12 when in one day she sold 1.49 million copies. That's 62,000 copies in an hour. 20:23 That's about 1,000 copies a minute. She's selling them. 20:28 ♪ Hello [ Laughter ] I know you're dying for me to 20:34 sing it. Forget it. [ Laughter ] 20:37 Maybe the choir. I don't know. [ Chuckles ] Okay, so here's 20:42 one of the sets of lyrics. "Hello from the other side. I must have called 20:48 a thousand times to tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done. 20:52 But when I call, you never seem to be home." We live in a world 20:57 that longs to be loved and wanted. The maker of all things loves 21:06 and wants me. Maybe -- Maybe Reynolds Price is absolutely right. 21:14 What if we tapped into that for a moment? What if in a string of stories, 21:19 we could come to grips with the mystery of this notion the maker of all things 21:23 loves and wants me? Open your Bible with me. Story number one. 21:27 Open your Bible with me to John, the Fourth Gospel -- John chapter 13. 21:31 Let's go. Chapter 13, verse 1. You didn't bring a Bible -- 21:34 Oh, you got to track this. Pull the pew Bible out. There you go. 21:36 Page 725 in the pew Bible. John chapter 13. I'm in the 21:43 New International Version. Just one line. Here we go. John 13:1. 22:05 Isn't that something? Hey, have you ever been loved to the end? 22:10 You say, "The end of what?" I'm talking about the end of life. 22:14 Is there -- Has there been anybody on this planet who has loved you till the end 22:19 of her life, to the end of his life? Most of us would think of 22:25 mother. Many of us would think of father. 22:30 Some of us would think of lover or friend or spouse, and some of us would say, 22:36 "Nobody except Jesus." Let me read that again. 22:56 John Peckham, in his marvelous book -- I tell you what. If I could give this book 23:01 to everybody here today, I'd do it. One of our seminary professors 23:05 here at Andrews University, acclaimed. John Peckham's book, "The Love 23:11 of God: A Canonical Model." In that book a single line -- 23:14 Put it on the screen for you. Peckham writing, "Profound 23:16 love" -- speaking of this phrase we just read. 23:29 I want you to grab those two nouns that are embedded in 23:31 profound love. 23:33 Grab those two nouns right now and scribble them down on your study guide. 23:36 You got a study guide in your worship bulletin? Pull that study guide out, 23:41 and now our favorite ushers are coming your way. Two ladies today. 23:45 Hold your hand up if you need -- Well, we have a gentleman in the balcony. 23:49 If you need a study guide, just put your hand up. You don't want to miss this one. 23:53 Pull it out and let me just take a moment while they're handing this out. 24:00 Be patient. They'll get you in the back. I want to say to those of you 24:02 watching online right now, those of you who are live-streaming, you can get the 24:05 same study guide. I'd love for you to have it. 24:08 Title of the little series -- put it on the screen for you. 24:11 The title of the series -- "Charmed into Righteousness." 24:13 By the way, this is next-to-the-last piece. 24:15 We end it all next week just before spring break, all right? 24:18 "Charmed into Righteousness." Today's teaching -- "The Most 24:21 Loving God." You go to that on the website, 24:22 click on "Study Guide," you have it, and you're with us. 24:26 I want you to get this John Peckham quote -- two nouns 24:28 embedded in profound love. Keep your hands up. 24:32 They're coming. But let's go. Put it on the screen, please, 24:34 again. "Profound love" -- Peckham 24:36 writing, "Profound love is connoted by the expression 'to 24:39 the end,' likely connoting both intensity" -- Okay, guys, what's 24:43 intensity? What's intensity? 24:45 When something is intense, it is what? 24:47 Very strong. If I have an intense hunger, 24:50 if I have an intense thirst, it's strong. 24:52 It's just hanging on. Intensity -- write that in -- 24:56 and second word, "endurance." "Endurance." What's endurance? 25:00 I'm holding on. I'm never gonna let you go. 25:02 Endurance to the very end. "Profound love connoted by 25:10 both intensity and endurance." But the quotation goes on. 25:13 He's quoting Herman N. Ridderbos, renders 25:16 this phrase -- and I love this -- "Love to the last breath 25:21 and love in the highest intensity. 25:24 Further, Christ's love is here described as 'for his own.'" 25:28 It's a term of endearment. So, when it talks about he loves 25:31 them, he loves his own unto the end, these are his friends. 25:34 These are those that his heart just longs to embrace. 25:37 It's a term of endearment as found in ancient Near Eastern literature. 25:42 So, here's this stunning opening line. Less than 24 hours, and Jesus 25:48 will be dead at Calvary, and it declares, leading us into the Passion of the Christ, 25:53 "He loves His own to the very last breath." I want you to just brood 26:00 on that for a moment. Come on. Just let it ferment, foment 26:05 in your mind. Who we talking about here? We're talking about the 26:10 incarnated God of the Universe. John describes Him. "In the beginning was the Word, 26:14 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." By Him, all things, animate 26:19 and inanimate, have been created. This God -- "the Word became 26:23 flesh, and we beheld a glory, the glories of the only begotten of the Father." 26:27 This God loved them to the last breath. Because we have a love story 26:35 here, and every love story takes you to the final breath, the last breath of that love. 26:43 One of my favorite love stories, by the way -- I've read this one again and again. 26:49 It's a true story about a young man named Sheldon and a girl named Davy. 26:58 One Christmas they fell madly in love over in New Jersey. They both were hopeless 27:04 romantics. They would read and write poetry to each other late 27:08 into the night. You got the feel. Both are agnostics. 27:11 They grew up in wealthy homes, but they're agnostics. Within a year, 27:17 tie the knot, they're married. Then it's off to Oxford University, where Sheldon 27:20 wants to pursue his degree in English literature. While there, they meet a 27:25 professor -- C.S. Lewis. You've heard of him. C.S. Lewis takes a shine to this 27:31 rather attractive American couple, and they become friends. And through his friendship -- 27:35 Listen to this. Through his friendship, he leads them both to Christ. 27:39 They go back to the states Christians now, and Sheldon finds a little 27:45 private college in Virginia where he's gonna teach English literature, 27:49 and I'm telling you what. The story is bright with wonder and love. 27:54 They couldn't be happier. Life could not be grander -- until tragedy strikes. 28:00 Davy contracts a mortal disease that cuts her life short. So, I've read this time 28:08 and again, and I just go into tears every time. This is the death scene, 28:13 all right? I'm gonna read it to you. This is the death scene. 28:16 This is the last breath, as Jesus loves to the last breath. 28:21 Oh, by the way, Sheldon Vanauken. 28:23 This is a bestseller, title of the book "A Severe Mercy." 28:27 It's a first-person account of love and grief and healing, 28:30 and he and Lewis remain friends through all of this tragedy. 28:34 Anyway, here we are at the end. She's in the hospital. 28:36 He's holding her hand. "Then she stirred," I read. 28:41 "There was no change at all in her half-parted lips or eyes or the hand I held, 28:46 but then her other hand and arm came slowly up from her side. I could not 28:51 think of what she was doing. The hand moved slowly across her. 28:54 It found my face. She touched my brow and hair and then each eye 29:01 in turn and then my mouth. Her fingers moved to each corner of my mouth 29:06 as we had always done, and I gave her fingers little corner-of-the-mouth 29:10 kisses as we had always done. Then her arm fell slowly back. 29:16 Past seeing and past speaking, with the last of her failing strength, 29:21 she had said goodbye. In one of her earliest letters when we were first in love, 29:25 she had spoken of 'the gentle, awkward yearning I feel for you just to touch your face,' 29:32 and touching my face in the old way was her last act in this world." 29:41 The last breath. How does it read? 29:56 And having loved his own who were in the world, He loved them. 30:01 He loved them to the very last breath. Wow. It's a love story. 30:14 It has its own death scene where the love ends, and, as we know, in fact, 30:20 really begins. I want to go to that death scene here in John. 30:23 It's over in chapter 19. Find it. It's Friday afternoon. 30:27 Less than 24 hours after the Upper Room. Jesus hangs suspended 30:32 between heaven and earth. John chapter 19. We'll pick it up in verse 28. 30:37 Verse 28. 31:15 John is absolutely set and intent on making certain that we understand 31:22 that the lover of this love story is in control to the very last breath. 31:29 He's inserted three actions the Synoptics do not discuss. For John, Jesus is the only one 31:37 to carry the cross. There is no Simon of Cyrene. Jesus carries the cross himself. 31:41 He's in control. For John, Jesus chooses his last words. 31:45 He's in control. And for John, Jesus chooses the moment 31:49 of death -- not like Davy in that death scene just a moment ago where her hand 31:54 drops and that's it. I mean, if that were the case, then John would have had Jesus 32:02 breathe his last, and then his head would fall, collapse 32:05 to his chest, but, oh, no, no. John says it was exact opposite. He put his head down. 32:10 It is now time. He put his head down and ceased breathing. 32:13 The lover in this story is in control to the very last breath. 32:18 Why? Because we must know that the maker of all things 32:22 loves and wants us. That's why. He loves and wants us. 32:30 I think of this picture that Rachelle, our graphics artist -- 32:33 She does such a great job, but this week, boy, she -- above and beyond. 32:37 I think the picture she put on the cover of our bulletin -- Take all the copy off of it. 32:42 I want you to see the picture now. I need you you to just 32:45 look at that picture. Don't look at me. Look at the screen. 32:48 Look at that picture. Graphic, detailed, artistic. The hands of a lover 32:59 who to his very last breath loved the likes of you and me. Wow. 33:08 Turns out that the sentence that Reynolds Price once observed 33:13 is what people crave more than any other sentence in a story -- "The maker of 33:18 all things loves and wants me." Turns out this sentence is cryptically embedded in 33:22 every story from the beginning to the end of this book, and I want to show you that. 33:26 Watch this. Old Testament of all places. A lover in the Old Testament? 33:30 You got it. Go back with me to the book of Jeremiah. 33:32 Come on, let's go. Jeremiah chapter 31, okay? So just go back into the 33:39 Old Testament. You'll hit Jeremiah. Jeremiah 31. 33:42 Look at this. God is speaking. The pre-incarnate Christ. This is Jeremiah 31:3 -- 33:50 "And the Lord appeared to us in the past." Notice. 33:52 Whatever he's gonna say now, this has happened long ago. This message has been around 33:56 from the beginning. "And the Lord appeared to us in the past, saying" -- Here we go. 34:01 Let's put it on the screen, please. 34:05 "I have loved -- I have loved you 34:08 with an everlasting love; I have drawn you 34:11 with unfailing kindness." I want you to grab your study 34:15 guide, and I want you to just get this down because there are 34:19 three different words that God, who inspired 34:22 this book, makes sure gets used. And you watch. 34:25 They'll show up again. So these three words -- 34:27 jot it down in your study guide. Leave that screen up, please. 34:30 Bless you. "I have loved" -- and that's the 34:32 Hebrew word "aheb." "I have loved you, my people, 34:35 with an everlasting love" -- "ahabah." 34:37 "With unfailing love" -- "chesed" -- 34:40 "I have drawn you to myself." All right, God. 34:43 Three Hebrew words. What are you trying to tell us? 34:46 What kind of love do you really have for us? 34:49 He said, "I'll show you." Three stories. 34:52 Let's go back. Let's go back to the 34:53 Book of Genesis. We don't have time to turn 34:55 there. We'll do it on the screen. 34:57 Put it on the screen, please. Genesis 22. 34:59 You remember these words -- "Some time later" -- middle 35:02 of the night -- "God tested Abraham, 35:05 and he said to him, 'Abraham!'" Abraham wakes up. 35:08 "'Here I am,' he replied. Then God said, 'Take your son, 35:13 your only son, Isaac, whom you love'" -- 35:16 "aheb" -- the very word we just read in Jeremiah 31 -- 35:19 "'and go to the region of Moriah.'" 35:21 "What am I to do there, God?" "Sacrifice him. 35:23 That's what I'm asking you to do." 35:25 "'Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains 35:28 I will tell you about.'" This tale of a father and a son 35:36 who come to the moment of death together. 35:38 The story line of Abraham and Isaac -- of course, embedded in it is the shadowy story of 35:46 another father and another son who will make the same trip to that same Mount Moriah, 35:52 now known as Calvary. How much do you love us, God? Just like that. 35:58 Like father and son. Both of us are in this love for you. 36:05 How deep is their love? Watch this. Turn a few pages over. 36:07 You come to Genesis 29. Everybody knows this love story. 36:10 Put it in the screen, please. This is Jacob. 36:12 Jacob has run away from home. He's just done his brother bad, 36:16 and he's run away. He's in the home of Laban, 36:20 his uncle, and Laban has two girls, and, oh, boy, 36:22 Jacob is smitten with the younger one. 36:25 Jot it down. "Jacob was in love." 36:27 There's the same word again -- "aheb." 36:29 "Jacob was in love with Rachel, and he said to her papa, 36:32 'I'll work for you seven years in return for 36:35 your younger daughter Rachel.' So Jacob served seven years 36:38 to get Rachel, but they seem like only a few days 36:41 to him because of his love" -- "ahabah." 36:43 There they are, both words. "Because of his love for her." 36:47 Get this. Keep writing. 36:48 "God seizes the language of two lovers, 36:50 and he declares -- this is how much I love you -- 36:53 with the passion of a Lover." That's how much I love you. 36:58 John Peckham again -- his words on the screen -- fill it in -- 37:00 "Scripture consistently displays God's intensely passionate -- 37:06 passionate and profoundly emotional love for his people." 37:11 Guess what. The maker of all things loves 37:14 and wants me. Every story -- embedded. 37:21 Oh, here's the third story. The words will appear here, 37:24 as well. Oh, this is a love story. 37:27 David and Jonathan were soul mates, kindred spirits, like 37:30 this. And Jonathan is cut down 37:33 with his maniac father leading the charge into battle. 37:36 He and his father perish in that battle. 37:39 When the word comes to young David, who will be the next 37:41 king, David sobs. Put the words on the screen, 37:46 please. 37:58 Get this -- "God seizes" -- Jot it down. 38:09 By the way, here's a divine assurance to those who do not 38:14 experience married love, an assurance that their experience 38:17 of friendship love is just as genuinely depicting the love 38:20 of God as does married love. 38:21 You don't have to be married to know this love. You have a friend, 38:24 you know the love of God. "You are mine. I've loved you with an 38:31 everlasting love." The maker of all things loves and wants me. 38:36 But the tragedy is, not everybody wants to be loved by Him. 38:43 That's the sad truth, even in the third millennium. Go back to, while you have it 38:49 still open, Jeremiah 31. Drop down now to verse 20. How does God react 38:54 when not everybody loves him back? 38:57 Ah, look at this -- Jeremiah 31:20, God speaking -- 39:15 Jot it down in your study guide. Fill in that word. 39:18 There's a fourth word inserted here. 39:22 You see it on the screen? "Is not Ephraim my dear son, 39:23 the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against 39:26 him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns. 39:30 I yearn for him; I have great compassion" -- 39:33 "racham." Write that in. 39:34 Compassion. "'I have great compassion 39:38 for him,' declares the Lord." By the way, one scholar 39:41 declares "racham" as the strongest word for love 39:45 in all Biblical language. You've just hit the jackpot 39:50 in "racham." And when you combine it 39:53 with yearning, you have an explosive love. 39:56 Watch this. Peckham on the screen again. 40:03 "This language" -- Watch this. "This language 40:05 depicts profoundly passible --" Now "passible" 40:09 means capable of feeling -- because, you see, in some 40:11 circles -- can you believe this? -- there's some circles 40:14 who say God is impassible. He is as unmoved as a crystal. 40:20 There's no variation in his emotion. 40:22 He's not affected by human emotions. 40:24 He is God, and he's unchangeable. 40:26 They have missed the wealth. Most of us believe, "Oh, 40:31 no, God is passible." Keep reading. 40:33 "This language depicts profoundly passible 40:36 [capable of feeling] and intense emotionality, 40:40 evidenced by the Hebrew idiom which literally refers 40:43 to turbulent or roaring internal organs and here 40:46 'depicts'" -- jot it down -- "'God's stomach being churned up 40:50 with longing for His Son.'" I want to ask you a question. 40:54 Have you ever cried so hard that you got sick 40:57 to your stomach? Oh, you have. 41:01 And if you haven't, you will. You can't get through this life without crying that hard. 41:07 Your stomach is just twisted in agony. That's God. 41:15 Like a mother over her child. Like a father over his runaway. Like a spouse for a lover 41:24 who has turned away for another. That stomach twisting-churning agony. 41:32 Ah, jot this down -- "We have but a faint and dim concept of 41:36 how deep -- how deep is the love of God for us." 41:42 It's like the story line of David, who with 41:44 stomach-churning sobs, weeps out the cry. 41:47 Let me put this on the screen. You remember his boy Absalom. 41:49 Oh, he loved Absalom. Absalom 41:51 has rebelled against his daddy. He wants to kill him. 41:53 He's already usurped the throne, but in battle, Absalom 41:56 is killed, and when the news comes to David, 41:58 here it goes right here -- 2 Samuel 18:33 -- 42:01 "And the king was shaken. David went up to the room 42:04 over the gateway and he wept. And as he went, he said: 42:08 'O my son Absalom! My son Absalom! 42:13 My son. If only 42:15 I had died instead of you. O Absalom, my son, 42:19 my son!'" Do you think God is gonna 42:24 septically say, "Hey, listen, you can't win them all, boy. 42:26 I sure miss her. I sure miss him." Are you kidding? 42:28 With stomach-churning agony, you say no to him. You have the right. 42:34 You are perfectly free to say no to God because love can't be love 42:38 unless you can say yes to it and no to it. You may say no to God, 42:42 but when you say no to him, you will rip his guts out. Look at David. 42:48 If it's true about a father, how about the father of us all? Oh, here's another story line. 42:53 The same stomach-churning weeping -- it's Jesus this time. 42:57 Words on the screen. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem -- 43:02 how often I have longed to gather your children 43:04 together, as a hen --" like a mother -- "gathers 43:07 her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing." 43:11 We have but a faint concept of how deep God's pain 43:14 over unrequited love truly is. 43:17 Hey, listen, guys. Come on. Where do you think we get the pain of rejection, 43:20 huh? You know how it feels when somebody says no to you? 43:23 Where do you think we got that pain of unrequited, unreciprocated, unreturned? 43:28 Where do we get that? We got it from Him. Our Creator, our Savior, 43:34 our God. He's that way. It kills him 43:39 when one he loves says no. No. I reject it. I reject you. 43:48 How many times has he wept over Jerusalem, has he wept over you, 43:56 has he wept over me? It's no wonder 44:01 God can't sleep at night. 44:02 Do you know how many people on Earth -- I'm talking about men, women, and children. 44:05 Do you know how many people on earth go to bed every single night not knowing the story of 44:08 this truth about God? They have no clue. They hope to find it in a book, 44:13 "the maker of all things loves and wants me." They have no clue it's true. 44:17 It's not fiction. It's not just a great story line. 44:20 It's a lifeline, but they won't grab the lifeline until somebody tells them the story. 44:29 If only they could existentially discover the story line of this book. 44:33 Ah, I got to share this with you. Consider this sampling. 44:35 This is only a sampling. I'm gonna run them by, seven of them, seven of them. 44:39 You're gonna get writer's cramp, but keep writing. There'll be one word you will 44:43 write over and over again. Let's go. 1 John 4:8, 16. 44:47 "God is" what? "God is love." 45:17 Let's read this one out loud together. 45:28 Romans 8:35 and 38 and 39. 45:51 Number seven -- 46:01 Do you understand what we just read? 46:05 Put that picture, please, back up on the screen. Look at this picture. 46:10 This is the love story. He is the lover, and you are His longing. 46:20 Wow. As a result, because of that picture, you know what you and I 46:26 can be saying about ourselves? I am loved and I am wanted. I say that on a week 46:33 that ends the Andrews University campaign "I AM NOT." You been following the campaign 46:37 this week? I AM NOT. I am not defined -- I am not 46:40 defined by my habits. I am not defined by my behavior. Then what are you defined by, 46:47 sir? I'll tell you what you're defined by. 46:48 You're defined by the God of the universe who says, "You are loved, and you are 46:54 wanted." I am. I am valuable. 47:00 I am. 47:06 Perhaps this world could know the love of God if they could only read 47:10 the story of the love of God all around them. Ernest Gordon found God 47:16 in a Japanese prisoner-of-war work camp in Thailand during World War II. 47:21 He only barely survived. Found God in the camp, by the way. 47:27 When he got out of the war -- He was a Scotsman. When he got out of the war -- 47:32 this is just a side note -- he ended up as Dean of the Chapel at 47:34 Princeton University. He was the pastor of that university. 47:37 He wrote a book much later, the title of the book, "Miracle --" I got it right here. 47:43 I want to read a story from it. 47:46 "Miracle on the River Kwai." A story was going around while 47:51 they were in camp, this work camp. 47:54 And, boy, they are all down to skin and bones. And so he picks it up here. 47:59 "One story that went the rounds soon after concerned another Argyll." 48:03 Okay, so he's an Argyll. That's what the Scots call themselves at. 48:07 That's a Scottish warrior in the British Army, so they're called Argylls, all right? 48:11 So, this went around about a Scottish soldier "who was in a work detail on the railway." 48:16 Now, listen. "The day's work had ended. The tools were being counted as 48:20 usual. As the party was about to be dismissed, 48:24 the Japanese guard shouted that a shovel was missing. He insisted 48:28 that someone had stolen it to sell to the Thais. Striding up and down 48:31 before the men, he ranted and denounced them for their wickedness and, 48:34 most unforgivable of all, their ingratitude to the Emperor. 48:39 As he raved, he worked himself into a paranoid fury. Screaming in broken English, 48:45 he demanded that the guilty one step forward to take his punishment. 48:49 Nobody moved. The guard's rage reached new heights of violence. 48:53 'All die! All die!' he shrieked. And to show that he meant what he said, 48:57 he cocked his rifle, put it to his shoulder, and looked down the sights ready 49:01 to fire at the first man on the other end. At that moment, 49:08 the Argyll stepped forward, stood stiffly to attention, and calmly said, 'I did, sir.' 49:16 The guard unleashed all his whipped-up hate. He kicked the helpless prisoner 49:20 and beat him with his fists. Still the Argyll stood rigidly to attention with the blood 49:24 streaming down his face. His silence goaded the guard to an excess of rage. 49:28 Seizing his rifle by the barrel, he lifted it high over his head, and, with a final howl, brought 49:33 it down on the skull of the Argyll, who sank limply to the ground and did not move. 49:39 Although it was perfectly clear that he was dead, the guard continued to beat him 49:43 and stopped only when exhausted. The men of the work detail picked up their comrade's body, 49:52 shouldered their tools, and marched back to camp. When the tools were counted 49:56 again at the guardhouse, no shovel was missing." "Greater love 50:04 hath no man than this: to lay down his life for his friends." 50:13 Makes you wonder how often that story is being played out all around us 50:18 in this postmodern millennial society, where if they only 50:22 could know the story line, they would find Him. The maker of all things loves 50:32 and wants me. Reminds me of this compelling sentence from the American 50:37 writer Ellen White. 50:39 I'll put it on the screen for you. 50:40 It's from her classic "Christ's Object Lessons." 50:44 "The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy 50:49 to be given to the world, is a revelation of God's 50:52 character --" of what? Of what? 50:56 Oh, go ahead and call it out. Of what? 50:59 Of love, the last word to go to this planet. 51:02 This is the last word. So, what shall we do as a campus 51:05 congregation -- come on -- situated right here? 51:09 What shall we do to take this last message of God's love to a dying world? 51:15 I want to read a letter to you from one of our viewers from Iran. 51:23 You know the country of Iran, don't you? Listen to this. 51:26 "Dear Dr. Nelson, my name is" -- He writes his name. "I'm a Muslim-born, 51:31 non-religious man. Now I'm 27 years old" -- about your age. 51:35 "I study" -- and he tells the discipline he's studying -- 51:39 "at this university" -- and he names it -- "in this city," and he names it. 51:42 "I've been listening to your podcast since last autumn. 51:48 Almost last year for the second time in my life, I experienced a terrible shock. 51:53 It was somehow a romantic one, and I lost the girl I loved." The whole world 52:00 longing for love. "I lost her. Before that, 52:05 I used to be a pious person, someone who prays five times a day, doesn't drink alcohol, 52:09 not interested in sex out of marriage, but after that shock, I changed dramatically. 52:13 Maybe it was the voice of the evil or what that I lost my beliefs -- 52:17 not a Muslim anymore, not a pious anymore. I began drinking, smoking weed, 52:21 and just taking care of the moment -- a carefree life. I've been questioning 52:25 the existence of God many times. My only answer was, He exists and He created all." 52:31 The maker of all things. It's the longing in every heart to believe 52:36 there is that Creator. What did he say? "He exists and He created all." 52:42 "There are other questions that I don't have the answers, like my own life. 52:46 If I die, nothing different will happen to the world. Nobody even hears." 52:54 Hmm. "You see, as an individual, my life is pointless. 52:58 Since the time I've been listening to you -- I'm not claiming that I became a 53:01 true believer. On the other hand, I understand that sometimes we shouldn't live 53:04 for our own sake, but for the others. I've been donating my blood 53:06 as I listen to your "Sermons of Addiction Series." It is good to listen to you. 53:10 I've got to say that some of the verses you read from the Bible are the same 53:13 in the Qur'an." And there are those who are trying to stir up a controversy 53:17 by saying, "Oh, no, the holy books do not agree in critical places." 53:22 Here's a Muslim saying, "I find that they're very alike." "I'm working on a Western novel 53:29 and may be published in quite a while. I teach English. 53:32 I try to live not for myself, to help others. Even that help would be 53:35 listening to my friends or the people's complaints about life. Teach me more, Dr. Nelson. 53:39 Preach me. I'm all ears." How many are in the world, how many in this postmodern, 53:48 millennial society are there who say, "The maker of all things loves 53:55 and wants me"? I wish it were true. I really wish it were true. 54:04 Oh, God. People turn to books. They crave the thought, 54:10 "The maker of all things loves and wants me." They don't know there's a maker. 54:17 It's just something inside of them that wells up and -- Oh, Father, 54:22 we have to tell them the truth. We've got to get to them soon. We can't wait. 54:27 And so we humbly pray that like this young man in Iran, whatever country on Earth 54:34 they're in now, just hold them, keep them, preserve them, and when the word goes out, 54:40 that hope trending is coming, you -- It's for you. You raise up a generation 54:46 within this generation of people who know now for sure the maker of all things 54:52 loves me and wants me, and I will give my life to Him and I will serve Him 54:56 until He comes. May that be true of our hearts. Take these volunteer 55:01 decisions, these prayer lists. Take it all. Seal it and set us loose 55:10 for this mission Christ has called us to. We pray in Jesus' name. 55:14 [ "The Love of God" plays ] 55:27 [ Congregation sings ] 56:44 And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the 56:51 Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 56:58 >> May I take an extra moment with you and let you know how grateful I am that you 57:01 joined us in worship today? I hear from viewers like you across the nation 57:05 and literally around the world, and I'm thankful. If you'd like to explore further 57:09 what we have just shared, I hope you'll visit us at our website. 57:12 It's an easy one to remember -- www.pmchurch.tv. 57:17 We're the Pioneer Memorial Church here on 57:19 the campus of Andrews University. 57:21 So, that's www.pmchurch.tv. Click onto that website, and 57:26 you'll be able to listen to a podcast of this material. 57:29 You can download the presentation. You can print off the study 57:31 guide. You may have a special prayer need that you wish to share 57:34 with our prayer partners, or you may wish to partner with us through a personal donation 57:38 to help reach this generation with the everlasting good news of Christ. 57:42 If you'd rather talk with someone, call one of our 57:44 friendly operators. Here's the toll-free number -- 57:47 877 -- and then the two words -- HIS-WILL. 57:50 877-HIS-WILL. In the meantime, may the grace 57:54 and peace of Jesus be yours every step 57:57 of this adventurous way. ♪♪ |
Revised 2017-01-20