[ "Your Name" plays ] 00:00:07.97\00:00:10.87 [ "Shout to the Lord" plays ] 00:02:25.91\00:02:28.81 >> The greatest part about being in a church community is knowing 00:06:05.29\00:06:09.20 that you have a family that looks after you, that prays for 00:06:09.20\00:06:12.80 you, and generally just wants to know how you're doing. 00:06:12.80\00:06:16.50 At at this time, I want to invite you to bring your 00:06:16.50\00:06:19.57 burdens, bring your concerns up to the throne of God. 00:06:19.57\00:06:22.74 [ "Still" plays ] 00:06:22.74\00:06:24.91 ¤¤ 00:09:53.36\00:09:56.26 ¤¤ 00:10:39.37\00:10:42.27 ¤¤ 00:11:25.45\00:11:28.35 >> Amen. Oh, thank you, wind symphony. That was beautiful. 00:12:11.56\00:12:17.40 Hey, boys and girls, nice to have you. Ooh, we still have 00:12:17.40\00:12:20.24 some coming, do we? Oops. Sorry. Nice to have you. 00:12:20.24\00:12:23.64 Is this spring or what at last? Next to the last Sabbath. What's 00:12:23.64\00:12:30.51 up with that? I'm glad you're here, and you look so spring-y. 00:12:30.51\00:12:33.78 Yes, you do. Nice to see you. You know, when we were down in Cuba -- "Cooba" -- just a few 00:12:33.78\00:12:38.02 weeks ago, Ron Whitehead and I are staying on the third floor of a very narrow house, and the 00:12:38.02\00:12:42.69 houses are just side by side. So, another house beside us had 00:12:42.69\00:12:47.76 a third floor. And on top of that roof -- third floor -- that owner had a cage with two birds 00:12:47.76\00:12:55.40 in it. I want you to see the birds. Got them right here. Put them on the screen for you. 00:12:55.40\00:12:59.11 Do you know what those are? Anybody know what those are? 00:12:59.11\00:13:02.98 What are those? Those are cockatiels. They look like parakeets, but they're 00:13:02.98\00:13:08.85 cockatiels. They grow wild in Australia, okay? And they just 00:13:08.85\00:13:12.69 make a "chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp." Every morning when I get up -- "chirp, chirp, chirp." 00:13:12.69\00:13:18.19 Well, a lady in New York City -- Listen to this. A lady in New 00:13:18.19\00:13:21.93 York City -- she loved these. Now, the most popular pet in a cage, bird in a cage, is a 00:13:21.93\00:13:27.30 parakeet. This is number two. She loved to have cockatiels. 00:13:27.30\00:13:31.64 She is a millionairess. Ooh, that means she has a lot of 00:13:31.64\00:13:36.85 money. So, she began to collect cockatoos. Guess how many she 00:13:36.85\00:13:40.18 ended up with. 32! 32 cockatoos. 00:13:40.18\00:13:43.22 So she had to build a special house within her house called an 00:13:43.22\00:13:48.92 aviary. That's a house for birds. Let's see a picture of the lady and the house. 00:13:48.92\00:13:52.63 Ahh. See, this little -- Everything in that picture is 00:13:52.63\00:13:57.77 the aviary inside her mansion in New York. 32 cockatiels. Oh, my, she loved those little 00:13:57.77\00:14:04.24 birds -- "chirp, chirp, chirp." They don't talk -- "chirp, 00:14:04.24\00:14:07.48 chirp, chirp." Oh, she loved those little birds. And in fact, 00:14:07.48\00:14:11.65 I'm sad to report to you she died. She died. And when the 00:14:11.65\00:14:16.45 lawyers were going through her will -- "Let's see. This is to this one. This is to this one. 00:14:16.45\00:14:18.95 This is to that one." [ Gasps ] The lawyers said, "No." 00:14:18.95\00:14:21.19 Yes. One line in her will -- "I want $100,000 to go to my 00:14:21.19\00:14:25.83 cockatiels." $100,000. Now, they live to -- They can be 00:14:25.83\00:14:31.67 up to 16 to up to 36 years of age. So, that's a long time 00:14:31.67\00:14:36.04 living, and she said, "I want to take care of them for the rest 00:14:36.04\00:14:39.91 of their lives." $100,000. Do you know how much that is? Me 00:14:39.91\00:14:43.68 neither. It's just a lot of money. $100,000. Somebody died, 00:14:43.68\00:14:52.59 and that somebody said, "Take care of the birds for me." I'm thinking of another somebody 00:14:52.59\00:14:56.62 who died and said, "Not just the birds -- I want you to take care of all the boys and the girls 00:14:56.62\00:15:01.90 for me because I died for them." Who is that somebody? That is 00:15:01.90\00:15:08.64 Jesus. Did He die just for cockatiels? No. Did He die for 00:15:08.64\00:15:11.94 every boy and girl, man and woman? Yes, He did. And when you 00:15:11.94\00:15:15.64 know Jesus loves you that much, you know what to do with your money. You know where to put 00:15:15.64\00:15:21.35 your money to help Jesus grow His kingdom. How many are glad Jesus loves the cockatiels 00:15:21.35\00:15:28.62 because He designed them? But how many are glad He died for us 00:15:28.62\00:15:32.43 boys and girls? Put your hands up if you're happy. Aww, let's 00:15:32.43\00:15:35.00 just tell Jesus, "Thank you," shall we? Is there a young man -- 'cause I had a girl in first 00:15:35.00\00:15:39.27 service. Is there a young man who would like to pray and thank Jesus for being our Savior?" 00:15:39.27\00:15:44.77 I see a young man right there. Let's go. Would you like to pray 00:15:44.77\00:15:51.15 to Jesus? Is that why you had your hand up? Not sure now? [ 00:15:51.15\00:15:55.32 Chuckles ] Okay. I'll take -- I'll take a young lady. 00:15:55.32\00:15:59.15 Sissy right here, you come here. Come here. Yeah, let's pray to 00:15:59.15\00:16:03.12 Jesus. Let me get you a microphone. Let's -- Let's fold our hands and close our eyes. 00:16:03.12\00:16:09.53 Sissy is going to pray. And her little brother is right there. 00:16:09.53\00:16:13.10 Sissy, what's your name? >> Camille. >> Camille is gonna 00:16:13.10\00:16:16.44 pray. Let's pray with Camille as she thanks Jesus. >> Dear Jesus, 00:16:16.44\00:16:22.91 thank you for, um, letting us have a great Sabbath. >> Mm-hmm. 00:16:22.91\00:16:27.45 >> In Jesus' name. Amen. >> Amen. Thank you, Camille. As you go quietly and reverently 00:16:27.45\00:16:32.55 back to your seats, will you say that in your heart? "Thank you, 00:16:32.55\00:16:36.19 Jesus, a great Sabbath, and thank you for giving us life forever." Happy Sabbath, guys. 00:16:36.19\00:16:41.06 ¤¤ 00:16:55.94\00:16:58.85 ¤¤ 00:17:58.84\00:18:01.81 ¤¤ 00:19:01.84\00:19:04.74 ¤¤ 00:20:04.67\00:20:07.57 ¤¤ 00:21:07.60\00:21:10.50 >> Well done. Yep. I tell you what -- we, as a 00:22:18.60\00:22:22.84 congregation, are blessed to have these students on our campus in this parish. 00:22:22.84\00:22:30.68 Great music. Thank you for that. But that last number -- 00:22:30.68\00:22:34.35 "One Life Beautiful." That's the kind of life I want to live. 00:22:34.35\00:22:37.52 Don't you want to live a beautiful life for the Savior? 00:22:37.52\00:22:42.12 Yeah. Let's pray. Oh, God, you came to live the beautiful life 00:22:42.12\00:22:51.10 in our midst. Just take a few moments now in worship. Open your Word and consider that 00:22:51.10\00:22:55.14 life... how our lives interface with His. 00:22:55.14\00:23:01.31 Make it clear. Let us leave this place upbeat, with courage for 00:23:01.31\00:23:09.42 the adventure that awaits us. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:23:09.42\00:23:13.56 So, I'm scanning the Bloomberg website the other day, wanted to 00:23:13.72\00:23:19.13 check up on what's the business and economic news coming down 00:23:19.13\00:23:22.40 the pike, and I spot an intriguing headline. 00:23:22.40\00:23:24.93 And of course they always put these headlines where you spot 00:23:24.93\00:23:27.34 them so that you'll look. Here's the headline -- "Join the 00:23:27.34\00:23:29.70 1% and live a decade longer." 00:23:29.70\00:23:34.18 Wow. Whatever that 1% is, I'd like to be a part of it. 00:23:34.34\00:23:37.61 The 1%? It's probably a -- I don't know. "Well, who are the 00:23:37.61\00:23:42.92 1%?" I'm thinking. 1% of all Americans drive Toyota Camrys. 00:23:42.92\00:23:46.76 Maybe that's it -- live a decade longer. So, I read it. 00:23:46.76\00:23:54.10 "The wealthiest Americans." Oh, great. That's the 1% you're 00:23:54.10\00:24:00.34 talking about? Forget it. I'll never be in that group. 00:24:00.34\00:24:05.31 Very few of us will. 00:24:05.31\00:24:07.21 "The wealthiest Americans can expect to live at least a decade 00:24:07.38\00:24:12.11 longer than the poorest, and that gap, as with income 00:24:12.11\00:24:16.25 inequality, is growing ever wider. 00:24:16.25\00:24:22.06 New research in The Journal of the American Medical Association 00:24:22.22\00:24:26.19 -- JAMA -- shows top-earning Americans gained two to three years of life expectancy between 00:24:26.19\00:24:30.60 2001 and 2014, while those at the bottom gained little or nothing. Plenty of research has 00:24:30.60\00:24:36.14 already shown that health and wealth are intertwined and that they generally improve in tandem 00:24:36.14\00:24:40.88 as you move up the income scale. But this year, wildly divergent incomes among Americans and the 00:24:40.88\00:24:46.68 vanishing middle class --" guess that's the rest of us -- "have been central issues in a 00:24:46.68\00:24:52.29 vitriolic race for the White House. Today's JAMA research 00:24:52.29\00:24:56.22 shows in the starkest terms yet how disparities in wealth are mirrored by life expectancy." 00:24:56.22\00:25:02.63 Now, listen to this for example. "Take a 40-year-old man in the 00:25:02.63\00:25:07.64 top 1%. He can expect to live, on average, to 87. His counterpart in the bottom 1% 00:25:07.64\00:25:12.31 would be expected to perish, on average, before his 73rd 00:25:12.31\00:25:17.11 birthday." Go figure. "For women, who live longer on average --" you go, girls -- 00:25:17.11\00:25:24.49 "the gap was narrower, but still substantial. Life expectancy for 00:25:24.49\00:25:29.56 the richest women is almost 89, about 10 years longer than the poorest." By the way, that 00:25:29.56\00:25:35.40 little lady that we just talked about -- the 32 cockatiels -- she died at the age of 70. 00:25:35.40\00:25:39.77 Millionairess. Kidney stones. I guess it doesn't matter which percentage you're in. 00:25:39.77\00:25:47.14 Nobody has a lock on life, 10 years or zero. What's the title 00:25:47.14\00:25:54.68 here? "Join the 1% and live a decade longer." But I got great 00:25:54.68\00:25:58.25 news for you. I got a title even better this morning -- "Join the 10% and live forever." 00:25:58.25\00:26:04.69 So, what do you want, 10 years or forever? Let's go for the 00:26:04.69\00:26:08.90 forever. Jesus has less than a week to live. No extra decade 00:26:08.90\00:26:13.07 for Him for sure. But in a dramatic episode near the end of His life, the secret 00:26:13.07\00:26:17.54 to the 10% is embedded, and so let's go. Grab your Bible -- the 00:26:17.54\00:26:21.38 Gospel of Luke chapter 19. Luke chapter 19. We're going to Jesus 00:26:21.38\00:26:25.08 here on the next to the last Sabbath of this school year at Andrews University, the Sabbath 00:26:25.08\00:26:28.95 that finally brings us sunshine after a whole semester. Ah. Luke 00:26:28.95\00:26:34.92 chapter 19. I'll be in the NIV. Any Bible you have -- You got your -- You got any Bibles up 00:26:34.92\00:26:38.09 here, tablets or anything like that? Okay. 00:26:38.09\00:26:41.13 I'll read for you. I'll be in the NIV. Luke 19:28. 00:26:41.13\00:26:48.30 Jesus has just spent the day -- So, what's just been happening? He's just spent the day -- 00:26:56.01\00:27:01.62 possibly the night -- with a very wealthy, in the top 1%, tax collector named Zacchaeus, all 00:27:01.62\00:27:06.86 right -- so, you got the picture? -- who has been, by the way, Zacchaeus so deeply 00:27:06.86\00:27:10.93 impacted by Jesus inviting himself to be a guest with this filthy rich, hated tax 00:27:10.93\00:27:14.93 collector, that Zacchaeus stands up because all the people in town are gawking through the 00:27:14.93\00:27:19.37 open windows, as they did with the wealthy back then. And 00:27:19.37\00:27:23.04 Zacchaeus makes an announcement. So, just turn back to -- what is 00:27:23.04\00:27:27.01 this? -- verse 8. That's double what the Scripture suggests -- two. You see, you can't hang 00:27:41.29\00:27:46.80 around Jesus very long before He begins to rub off on you. And just His presence can ignite 00:27:46.80\00:27:51.93 transformation and reformation in your life. And that which you 00:27:51.93\00:27:56.81 thought you could never let go of, you let go of all because of Jesus. And so Jesus breaks into 00:27:56.81\00:28:02.21 this big grin because here's this little, short, filthy rich tax collector who's just said, 00:28:02.21\00:28:09.55 "I'm gonna give half of it away." And Jesus speaks. What is 00:28:09.55\00:28:14.12 this? Verse 9. He just joined the chosen, the saved. 00:28:25.80\00:28:29.50 Jesus says, "Look, that's why there's religion. That's why 00:28:36.24\00:28:39.25 there's faith. That's why I came. That's why God became human -- so I could seek and 00:28:39.25\00:28:42.42 save the lost." And then He tells him a story. Here it goes 00:28:42.42\00:28:45.72 -- verse 11. This is it. He's gonna be king now. 00:28:53.80\00:28:56.63 So, Jesus said -- verse 12 -- "A man of noble birth went to a 00:28:56.80\00:29:01.57 distant country --" Now, I'm just gonna give you a 00:29:01.57\00:29:04.51 little clue. Jesus is talking about Himself. 00:29:04.51\00:29:06.54 Nobody knows that yet, but He's talking about Himself. 00:29:06.54\00:29:09.84 "I'm gonna come back someday. You won't know when. I'm coming 00:29:16.38\00:29:19.39 back." You got the picture? 00:29:19.39\00:29:21.29 Now, one mina was worth 100 days of wages. So, let's just take 00:29:30.90\00:29:35.77 the minimum wage today. Now, if you're in California, what's the 00:29:35.77\00:29:39.17 minimum wage? Jerry Brown -- God bless you, Governor. It's now up 00:29:39.17\00:29:42.68 to $15, but let's just say for the sake of illustration you're 00:29:42.68\00:29:48.42 at Andrews -- $10. Is it $10 at Andrews? >> $8.50. >> $8.50? 00:29:48.42\00:29:52.72 [ Laughter ] I'm sorry, guys. [ Laughter ] 00:29:52.72\00:30:01.03 Let's just say it's $10. [ Laughter ] Maybe it'll get there 00:30:01.03\00:30:07.24 someday. 8 hours a day, how much you gonna make? 8 hours a day, 00:30:07.24\00:30:10.24 if it's $10 -- 8 hours a day, how much you gonna make? $80. 00:30:10.24\00:30:12.51 100? 100 days, how much you gonna make? $8,000. 00:30:12.51\00:30:15.88 I want you to see that. So, we're not talking about some piddly, little nothing here. 00:30:15.88\00:30:19.98 It's not a whole lot of money, but it's $8,000. And He entrusted all of them, 00:30:19.98\00:30:23.72 by the way, in this story, not different amounts. Everybody 00:30:23.72\00:30:28.76 gets the same. Doesn't take rocket science to figure out that what Jesus is trying to 00:30:28.76\00:30:33.23 illustrate here, obviously, is the good God of the universe who gives us all gifts. 00:30:33.23\00:30:36.73 Everybody gets gifts. Okay. So, the king goes off, gives 00:30:36.73\00:30:45.91 them all 10 minas each. Nobody's given more. Nobody's given less. 00:30:45.91\00:30:52.15 Of course, that's not true, by the way -- to hit the pause button here -- that's not true 00:30:52.15\00:30:55.78 about Americans. Oh, Americans. I was just reading this last 00:30:55.78\00:31:00.16 week in Steve Corbett's and Brian Fikkert's book "When Helping Hurts" some 00:31:00.16\00:31:04.23 rather sobering stats. 00:31:04.23\00:31:05.63 I'll put them on the screen for you. 00:31:05.79\00:31:07.40 Take a look at this. "While the average American --" 00:31:07.40\00:31:09.53 okay, in this country -- "lives on more than $90 per day --" 00:31:09.53\00:31:13.13 Now, you're not necessarily spending 90 bucks a day, but 00:31:13.13\00:31:15.87 you're living on it -- gas and insurance and, you know, all 00:31:15.87\00:31:18.77 that stuff. So, "the average American lives 00:31:18.77\00:31:21.58 on more than $90 a day, approximately one billion people 00:31:21.58\00:31:25.41 on this planet live on less than $1 per day, and 2.6 billion -- 00:31:25.41\00:31:29.65 40% of the world's population -- live on less than $2 a day." 00:31:29.65\00:31:34.49 And here you and I are, moping through the door, moping through our domiciles, feeling sorry for 00:31:34.66\00:31:39.06 ourselves because we don't have enough money. "Poor me!" 00:31:39.06\00:31:42.23 Yeah, right. Verse 15. 00:31:42.23\00:31:48.84 The nobleman now has become king, and he returns. 00:31:49.00\00:31:51.67 Look at this. 00:31:51.67\00:31:53.58 Just one simple question -- "You know that money I gave you? 00:32:01.02\00:32:04.85 You know that money? What did you do with it? Did you have any 00:32:04.85\00:32:08.62 money in your life? Good. What did you do with it? That's all I 00:32:08.62\00:32:13.40 want to know. What did you do with it?" And the rest of the story's about these three -- He 00:32:13.40\00:32:17.97 picks three of the servants out. They come. Two out of the three 00:32:17.97\00:32:21.14 -- "Yo, master, we multiplied it. Take a look at this. Aren't 00:32:21.14\00:32:24.27 you proud?" The third guy comes up, and he says, "I didn't do a 00:32:24.27\00:32:26.98 thing with it. I know who you are. I didn't do a thing with it." And then the master retorts 00:32:26.98\00:32:31.15 -- punch line of the parable now. 00:32:31.15\00:32:32.88 This is verse 26. The master says -- Now, the 00:32:33.05\00:32:35.52 number-three servant -- "I didn't do anything." 00:32:35.52\00:32:38.52 I love the way Eugene Peterson renders this line. In fact, I 00:32:50.53\00:32:53.84 have this line posted, from Eugene Peterson, on the wall just below the window where I 00:32:53.84\00:32:57.87 have worship every day of my life, okay? So, here's the line. I'll put it on the screen for 00:32:57.87\00:33:00.98 you. 00:33:00.98\00:33:01.88 Quoting Jesus -- 00:33:02.04\00:33:04.45 "So, yo, what did you do with that money I gave you?" Risk your life and get more than 00:33:12.69\00:33:18.09 you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag. 00:33:18.09\00:33:24.17 And when the story's ended, Jesus waves adios to Zacchaeus, turns around, and now the story 00:33:24.17\00:33:29.60 that we began just a moment ago picks up -- verse 28 again. 00:33:29.60\00:33:33.38 Did you catch that? Maybe you didn't. 00:33:39.28\00:33:41.65 I'm gonna put it on the screen. 00:33:41.65\00:33:43.55 Oh, my, what a blessed thought. You think about this. Whatever is coming my way -- 00:33:47.16\00:33:51.43 Help me out. See if this is logical. Whatever is coming my 00:33:51.43\00:33:55.43 way, if Jesus is going ahead of me, He meets it first. Would 00:33:55.43\00:34:01.70 that be true? This is not a trick question. If He's going ahead of me, whatever's coming 00:34:01.70\00:34:07.24 to me goes through Him. What's ever happening to you right now, what's ever happening 00:34:07.24\00:34:11.31 around you right now has already come to Him. What's ever happening inside of 00:34:11.31\00:34:16.15 you right now, even inside of your body, it's already come 00:34:16.15\00:34:21.26 through Him. Whatever is going on, He has determined -- now, this is -- He has determined, 00:34:21.26\00:34:28.36 "She can do it. That boy -- That boy can make it." If you couldn't make it, it 00:34:28.36\00:34:34.37 wouldn't have come to you. He checks it in advance. That 00:34:34.37\00:34:40.21 little baby. What a precious 6-month-old. You know that mother? God bless her. 00:34:40.21\00:34:45.55 Do you think she dumps the baby in the bathwater, say, "Hey, Junior, let's get a bath." 00:34:45.55\00:34:50.39 Psch! You kidding? You know what a mother does? 00:34:50.39\00:34:52.55 She holds the baby under her arm, and what's she doing with 00:34:52.55\00:34:55.76 her other hand? What's she doing with her other hand? She is checking the water. 00:34:55.76\00:34:58.63 Isn't that right? Is it too hot? Because if it's too hot, is she 00:34:58.63\00:35:02.86 gonna dump the baby in? Are you crazy? The one who goes ahead 00:35:02.86\00:35:06.97 checks it all out. He says, "I think that boy can handle this. 00:35:06.97\00:35:10.07 I think that girl can handle this one." And then it comes to 00:35:10.07\00:35:14.81 you. Wow. It reminds me of that old gospel hymn. 00:35:14.81\00:35:19.05 You probably don't know it. You're not a choir. You play 00:35:19.05\00:35:26.19 instruments. But I need you to kind of back me up, will you, 'cause I'm gonna start singing 00:35:26.19\00:35:29.59 it. And if you know it, please hide my voice so we can do this 00:35:29.59\00:35:36.16 right, all right? ¤ He leadeth me ¤ ¤ O, blessed thought ¤ ¤ O, heav'nly word with comfort 00:35:36.16\00:35:47.14 fraught ¤ ¤ Whate'er I do ¤ ¤ Where'er I be ¤ 00:35:47.14\00:35:56.82 ¤ Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me ¤ You know the 00:35:56.82\00:36:03.83 chorus. Come on. ¤ He leadeth me ¤ ¤ He leadeth me ¤ ¤ By His own 00:36:03.83\00:36:13.77 hand, He leadeth me ¤ ¤ His faithful follower I would be ¤ 00:36:13.77\00:36:21.34 ¤ By His hand, He leadeth me ¤ Boy, there's a whole lot in that little line from Scripture -- 00:36:21.34\00:36:32.35 And He went on ahead of them. Whatever's coming to you will go 00:36:32.35\00:36:38.89 through Him first. Let's keep going, all right? 00:36:38.89\00:36:40.80 Hit the pause button right there. 00:36:52.51\00:36:54.08 Did you catch that line? "He sent two of His disciples." 00:36:54.08\00:36:59.11 Wow! The story begins with "He 00:36:59.11\00:37:01.15 leadeth me," and now the song switches to, "He sendeth me." 00:37:01.15\00:37:06.92 That's pretty good. You know why? 00:37:06.92\00:37:08.49 Because you and I are in the habit of sending ourselves. 00:37:08.49\00:37:10.93 That's why. We say, "Hey, I know what I'm 00:37:10.93\00:37:13.56 gonna do. And I'm sending myself there, 00:37:13.56\00:37:15.16 and I'm sending myself over there and I can handle this." 00:37:15.16\00:37:17.40 And the problem is... when we choose our own place of 00:37:17.40\00:37:23.84 mission, we choose our own place of sacrifice, the reason it 00:37:23.84\00:37:26.81 feels so contrived and appears so forced is because we have 00:37:26.81\00:37:29.74 sent ourselves on a mission for ourselves. 00:37:29.74\00:37:32.21 When we send ourselves, Jesus says, "Yo, yo, yo, come back. Come back. Come back. Come back. 00:37:32.38\00:37:35.68 Come back here. I do the sending. You do the going. 00:37:35.68\00:37:37.72 As the Father has sent me, I'm gonna send you. Let me send you. 00:37:37.72\00:37:42.12 I know what I'm doing. I'll send you to the place where your gifts in this life have 00:37:42.12\00:37:46.83 been shaped for a shining moment from me. Don't you go ahead, 00:37:46.83\00:37:50.47 girl. Boy, stay back here now. I send you." Making a big 00:37:50.47\00:37:55.77 decision, are you? You better be waiting on Him. You better be waiting on Him and saying, 00:37:55.77\00:37:59.91 "Jesus, what do you want me to do with my life?" Some of you are gonna be graduating in a few 00:37:59.91\00:38:04.65 hours. "What do you want me to do with my life? Where do you 00:38:04.65\00:38:08.28 want to send me? I know what I'd like to do. No, no, no, Jesus. You said you do the sending, I 00:38:08.28\00:38:11.95 do the going. Tell me. Show me." Wow. 00:38:11.95\00:38:16.32 "He leadeth me" becomes "He sendeth me." Verse 29. 00:38:16.32\00:38:21.26 Hit the pause button right there. You know what that would 00:38:37.01\00:38:39.01 be like? That would be walking up to a guy's driveway -- So, 00:38:39.01\00:38:41.18 you see this beautiful car in the guy's driveway. You see that the keys are in the 00:38:41.18\00:38:43.55 car. You're getting in the car. You're gonna drive off. 00:38:43.55\00:38:45.42 Jesus said, "Drive off." "Yo! Yo! You! What are you doing? 00:38:45.42\00:38:49.99 Who do you think you are?" Jesus anticipates that's exactly what's gonna happen when you 00:38:49.99\00:38:56.67 drive off with that hot rod. 00:38:56.67\00:38:58.90 So Jesus says, "If they ask you --" What's this? 00:38:59.07\00:39:01.44 Verse 30 -- "If anyone --" Verse 31. 00:39:01.44\00:39:04.57 Well, that will get you a car real far down the road. Jesus said, "You got to trust 00:39:10.08\00:39:15.92 me on this one." Verse 32. 00:39:15.92\00:39:18.52 By the way, that's life. You will always find it the way 00:39:23.12\00:39:26.29 Jesus said it is. You will always find it the way He said it is. You can trust Him to the 00:39:26.29\00:39:30.10 max. They found it just as He had told them, and as they were 00:39:30.27\00:39:33.13 untying the colt, its owners ran up and asked them, "Why -- Why 00:39:33.13\00:39:36.27 are you un-- Why are you untying this colt?" 00:39:36.27\00:39:38.61 And they replied -- catch it -- "The Lord needs it." 00:39:38.61\00:39:43.91 You didn't catch that. Twice in this single narrative, that single line appears -- 00:39:44.08\00:39:48.28 "That Lord needs it," or, as the old King James reads, "The Lord 00:39:48.28\00:39:53.99 hath need of it." Wow! The story begins with "He leadeth me" and 00:39:53.99\00:39:57.79 then it becomes "He sendeth me" and now it declares "He needeth me." "Why do you lead me? 00:39:57.79\00:40:01.60 Why do you send me?" "Because I need you. That's why." 00:40:01.60\00:40:06.13 People go running off after number two when you need the 00:40:06.13\00:40:09.10 number three. "What do you need from me?" "I'll tell you. I'll tell you exactly what I 00:40:09.10\00:40:12.94 need from you. Wait on me. You're getting way ahead of me. 00:40:12.94\00:40:17.68 Come back. Follow me." Whew. "He leadeth me, He sendeth me 00:40:17.68\00:40:24.79 because He needeth me, for the Lord has need of it." Yeah, but 00:40:24.79\00:40:30.46 come on. Come on. A little reality check here. Does God really, truly need anything? 00:40:30.46\00:40:33.63 Tell me. Help me out here. Does God need anything in this 00:40:33.63\00:40:37.90 universe? [ Scoffs ] Of course not. The answer's rhetorical -- 00:40:37.90\00:40:41.30 no. Lookit, you got these Bible verses. 00:40:41.47\00:40:42.64 Let me run them by you. Number one -- Pslam 24:1 -- "The 00:40:42.64\00:40:45.21 earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and 00:40:45.21\00:40:48.44 all who live in it." The whole shebang is His. 00:40:48.44\00:40:52.15 Let's go to the next Psalm, Psalm 50. 00:40:52.15\00:40:54.02 There it is -- Psalm 50 -- "For every animal of the forest is 00:40:54.02\00:40:56.85 mine, and the cattle on a --" what? -- "thousand hills." 00:40:56.85\00:41:00.46 Incidentally, the reports we're getting back indicate that not 00:41:00.46\00:41:02.82 only the cattle on a thousand hills, but He owns the hills 00:41:02.82\00:41:05.06 under the cattle. Let Him go on and speak here. 00:41:05.06\00:41:09.33 Put it back up, please. "I know every bird in the 00:41:09.33\00:41:11.43 mountains. I know the creatures of the 00:41:11.43\00:41:13.10 field. They're all mine," God says. 00:41:13.10\00:41:14.70 "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, 00:41:14.70\00:41:18.17 and all that is in it." So, if the world is His and all 00:41:18.17\00:41:23.18 that is in it, why does He say, "The Lord needs it"? 00:41:23.18\00:41:26.41 How can the Lord need anything if He has everything? 00:41:26.41\00:41:28.68 I mean, look at Haggai 2:8. By the way, all the money is 00:41:28.68\00:41:31.49 His. Let's take a look at that. 00:41:31.49\00:41:33.22 "'The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,' declares the Lord 00:41:33.22\00:41:35.56 almighty." 00:41:35.56\00:41:36.79 So, what could a God who has everything possibly need? Guess 00:41:36.96\00:41:43.67 what. I can only think of one thing. I can only think of one thing, and I'm gonna let you 00:41:43.67\00:41:48.34 figure it out before we put any more on the screen. I can only 00:41:48.34\00:41:51.87 think of one thing that God possibly needs, what He wants. What do you think God needs? 00:41:51.87\00:41:55.41 There's one thing He needs that He can't get. What do you think 00:41:55.41\00:41:59.15 it is? >> Us. >> Us. To the head of the class. 00:41:59.15\00:42:03.79 You may graduate, in fact, in May. >> Yes. 00:42:03.79\00:42:06.79 >> Proverbs chapter 23, ladies and gentlemen, verse 16 -- "My 00:42:06.96\00:42:10.06 child -- My child, give me your heart." 00:42:10.06\00:42:14.66 He owns everything else in the universe except your heart. 00:42:14.66\00:42:18.57 And that's why He comes to you. "My child, my daughter, my son," humbly He asks, "give me your 00:42:18.73\00:42:24.24 heart." The Lord needs it. But he cannot take it because 00:42:24.24\00:42:27.58 your heart is yours alone to live, and if you've been giving your heart out to 100 different 00:42:27.58\00:42:31.88 people in the short time you're here, there are a lot of people holding onto you now. 00:42:31.88\00:42:35.85 They have an invested interest in you. You got to hang on to 00:42:35.85\00:42:40.86 that heart. It's not worth giving to every flashy soul that 00:42:40.86\00:42:48.60 walks in front of you. The Lord has need of it. He wants that 00:42:48.60\00:42:55.60 heart. And you know why? There is nothing -- Hold on. Hold on. 00:42:55.60\00:42:59.77 Hold on. There is nothing that more quickly, more authentically, and more clearly 00:42:59.77\00:43:05.08 reveals who has your heart than who has your money. Well, I'd 00:43:05.08\00:43:13.92 drop it, too. [ Laughter ] Who has your heart? I'll find out. 00:43:13.92\00:43:19.96 Who has your money? "My child, my son, my daughter, the Lord 00:43:19.96\00:43:30.47 needs it. Oh, but He doesn't need anything, except, of course, your heart." 00:43:30.47\00:43:33.58 But nothing more clearly reveals who has your heart than who has 00:43:33.58\00:43:37.08 your money. Ed Gungor -- let me put his words on the screen. Take a look at this. 00:43:37.08\00:43:39.31 This is rather insightful, I think. 00:43:39.31\00:43:41.12 ...which is precisely the point of this explosive promise in the 00:44:12.35\00:44:16.25 Bible. We'll end with this -- Malachi, Malachi chapter 3. That would be the Old Testament, 00:44:16.25\00:44:20.69 last book. It's always hard to find, but it's just before 00:44:20.69\00:44:26.03 Matthew. Malachi chapter 3 -- take a look at this. Malachi 00:44:26.03\00:44:34.80 chapter 3. Verse 10. God's speaking. He says, "Yo..." 00:44:34.80\00:44:40.11 Did you catch that? The Lord has need of it. Well, what's the 00:44:55.46\00:45:00.96 need? "I need it. I need food in my storehouse. Please. 00:45:00.96\00:45:03.57 I need it, and you have it." Aw, come on, God. You have 00:45:03.57\00:45:06.17 everything. You don't need -- What, are you collecting dollars up there? He doesn't need the 00:45:06.17\00:45:11.31 dollars at all. He's collecting hearts. And He knows that behind 00:45:11.31\00:45:14.21 -- behind -- behind the dollar is a heart. He's going for the 00:45:14.21\00:45:21.95 hearts, guys, not the bucks. It's the hearts He wants. "Bring the whole tithe to me. 00:45:21.95\00:45:29.32 It's 10% right off the top. 10%. Hey, lookit, I understand what 00:45:29.32\00:45:37.60 you need. I'll leave 90% for you. This 10% is for me. It's 00:45:37.60\00:45:42.54 mine, actually. Bring that 10% to me. Wrap your heart up in the 10%, and I'll take care of the 00:45:42.54\00:45:48.34 100% for you. How's that?" 00:45:48.34\00:45:51.78 For as the Good Book says... or as Jesus put it Himself -- 00:45:51.95\00:45:58.45 Luke 16:13 on the screen. 00:45:58.45\00:46:00.72 "So please give me your heart. 00:46:11.40\00:46:13.30 Give me your money. The Lord has need of it." "How much, Lord?" 00:46:13.47\00:46:16.91 "10%. I'll stretch the 90%. Give me that 10%. 00:46:16.91\00:46:22.11 I'll stretch what's left. I need your heart. And this is the only 00:46:22.11\00:46:28.85 way I can know I have your heart -- if I have your money." I received an e-mail from one of 00:46:28.85\00:46:38.59 our viewers a few months ago. And I'll tell you, this story -- this story is so incredible, I 00:46:38.59\00:46:43.16 got to share it with you, all right? "Hello, Dwight. 00:46:43.16\00:46:47.54 While we have never met, I truly feel like I know you. My son 00:46:47.54\00:46:51.61 went to Andrews University," yada, yada, yada. "I'm a member 00:46:51.61\00:46:55.81 and an elder in a very well-known church far, far away from here. I did this in my 00:46:55.81\00:47:00.92 life. This was my 20th year. But what I'm e-mailing you about is the sermon you preached on 00:47:00.92\00:47:06.65 the double-tithing challenge. I've faithfully pay tithe since I started working as a teenager 00:47:06.65\00:47:12.06 to help pay for my Christian education costs and clothing. It's very clear to me that the 00:47:12.06\00:47:17.07 Lord loves us. Everything is the Lord's, and it's amazing that he 00:47:17.07\00:47:21.24 only asks 10% and allows us to keep 90%. My wife and I, for most of our adult life, have 00:47:21.24\00:47:26.11 also given an additional 6% for offering." Wow. Mm-hmm. "We have also -- We have also 00:47:26.11\00:47:32.91 been greatly blessed. But I must say that, while the concept of a double tithe is not 00:47:32.91\00:47:37.12 new, it really hit me the way you presented it and the way the Holy Spirit convicted me. 00:47:37.12\00:47:41.42 You see, my wife has a job, and we need to buy our house. We 00:47:41.42\00:47:51.53 decided --" I'm summarizing now. "We decided that if we triple our house payments -- if we 00:47:51.53\00:47:55.80 triple our house payments, we can have this house by September 00:47:55.80\00:48:02.54 this year." Whew. "We've been so stressed to keep up with this 00:48:02.54\00:48:06.05 heavy of a house-payment schedule. We've used up all our savings to keep the schedule 00:48:06.05\00:48:09.65 going. Therefore, my story --" Now lookit. "So, I hear this 00:48:09.65\00:48:13.15 presentation in the month of August. I talk to my wife, and we decide we will start 00:48:13.15\00:48:17.16 double-tithing my personal business." So, that's what they do. "So, to keep up with our 00:48:17.16\00:48:20.80 payments tripled to be able to pay the house off, we needed more money, not less, but we're 00:48:20.80\00:48:25.90 not gonna return more." That's what he's saying. How could this 00:48:25.90\00:48:28.90 be? This is illogical. "Since the double payments, this is 00:48:28.90\00:48:32.51 what's happened." And he made a little chart. So, this is the story part now. So, he made a 00:48:32.51\00:48:36.78 little chart. And he tells at the bottom of the chart what's happened. So, this is September. 00:48:36.78\00:48:42.98 September. They triple house payments. They find they're 00:48:42.98\00:48:47.22 gonna be $100 short. "I was in my bedroom and found a $100 bill that I had no clue was 00:48:47.22\00:48:50.96 there. Thus, our needs were provided for." 00:48:50.96\00:48:54.00 Check your bedroom. That's the point. Just check the bedroom. 00:48:54.00\00:48:57.30 That's where stuff is. You don't even know what's in there. 00:48:57.30\00:49:00.84 Just check it. So, they were $100 short. 00:49:01.00\00:49:03.94 He found $100 in his bedroom. Okay, that's September. 00:49:03.94\00:49:06.68 Now comes October. "We were gonna be $300 short. 00:49:06.68\00:49:11.58 I was in my truck and looked in the console between the seats. 00:49:11.58\00:49:15.05 There, from the prior year, was a check for $300. 00:49:15.05\00:49:18.65 Thus, we met the payment." Now, he puts a little word as an explanation -- exclamation at 00:49:18.82\00:49:25.89 the end of every -- in this little chart. So, the first one, 00:49:25.89\00:49:30.43 to find $100 in the bed, his exclamation is, "Amen." The $300 00:49:30.43\00:49:34.64 in the truck is, "Praise God." "Now, in November, we needed 00:49:34.64\00:49:41.44 $1,180." Whew. They are short. Turns out, at his former job, the director is now -- Her 00:49:41.44\00:49:47.28 husband's been given an overseas trip, and they're going on 00:49:47.28\00:49:50.99 vacation. The woman has used up all her -- She has no vacation accrual time, so they need to 00:49:50.99\00:49:55.52 hire somebody to step in. He had done the job, he stepped it, and he got paid for stepping 00:49:55.52\00:49:59.73 in that month an extra $4,400. So, now the word is, at the end 00:49:59.73\00:50:07.17 here, "Wow!" He types in, "Wow!" This is December. "Needed $500 00:50:07.17\00:50:14.04 extra. Got an unexpected $1,000 bonus from the place where I 00:50:14.04\00:50:18.98 work. Covered." January -- Now, I'm not going through his whole life. This is January. 00:50:18.98\00:50:22.22 "Was gonna be $1,000 short. Had three checks." Oh, this is one 00:50:22.22\00:50:25.69 of those three-check months. "Had three checks, so received an extra $2,000 and also got a 00:50:25.69\00:50:30.23 cost-of-living adjustment of $960." And what's the exc-- 00:50:30.23\00:50:33.33 The word here is, "Unexpected." Final one -- February. "Was gonna be $1,200 short for 00:50:33.33\00:50:39.33 February. Was asked to cover a certain clinic. 00:50:39.33\00:50:42.70 It increased my pay by $31,000 a year, of which $2,583 per month 00:50:42.70\00:50:47.74 was added. And, by the way," he says, "we also found a $300 check on the kitchen counter 00:50:47.74\00:50:52.35 from the year before, and the counter is not cluttered." Yeah, right. It's not cluttered. 00:50:52.35\00:50:56.05 $300 just sitting there on the clean counter? No way. 00:50:56.05\00:51:01.69 Isn't that something? "Who knows where we go from here? 00:51:01.69\00:51:04.16 But the February raise will cover what we need on a monthly basis --" this is his testimony 00:51:04.16\00:51:07.96 now -- "to get out of debt by having the house paid off by our target date of September and 00:51:07.96\00:51:13.17 have the ability --" [ Sighs ] "Isn't it funny how we go from 00:51:13.17\00:51:17.91 worrying about whether we will have enough money to keep up with our goals to the next 00:51:17.91\00:51:21.91 minute worrying about not entering into the next tax bracket and having to pay more 00:51:21.91\00:51:25.78 taxes? It's a good problem. It's a good problem," he writes, 00:51:25.78\00:51:28.28 "but we need to trust the Lord at all times. Thank you for your 00:51:28.28\00:51:31.15 ministry. The Lord is coming soon." Isn't that something? How'd that line go? 00:51:31.15\00:51:34.76 What was this, Malachi 3:10? 00:51:34.76\00:51:36.49 "'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be 00:51:36.66\00:51:40.36 food in my house. And test me -- test me -- check 00:51:40.36\00:51:43.40 me out in this,' says the Lord almighty, 'and see if I will not 00:51:43.40\00:51:47.20 throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much 00:51:47.20\00:51:50.64 blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.'" 00:51:50.64\00:51:54.74 Why give? Because the Lord needs. He needs your heart. 00:51:54.91\00:51:59.45 He wants your heart. He leadeth me, he sendeth me because he 00:51:59.45\00:52:05.85 needeth me. He leads me and sends me and needs me all the way up the road to Calvary 00:52:05.85\00:52:12.76 because it's at the cross where at last we're confronted with the stupendous debt God has paid 00:52:12.76\00:52:19.43 on our behalf. I want to close with these words. 1902 these words were written. 00:52:19.43\00:52:24.24 They're on the screen. 00:52:24.24\00:52:26.14 This is the line -- "He has 00:52:49.70\00:52:51.60 revealed a love that defies all computation --" isn't that 00:52:51.77\00:52:56.10 good? -- "a love that should fill our hearts and our lives 00:52:56.10\00:52:59.71 with gratitude." 00:52:59.71\00:53:01.18 "He has revealed a love that defies all computation." Wow. 00:53:01.34\00:53:08.72 So, Bloomberg boasts, "Join the 1% and live a decade longer." Jesus counter-offers, "Join the 00:53:08.72\00:53:20.00 10% and live forever." So, go ahead. Keep the 10%. Keep the 00:53:20.00\00:53:26.77 10%. You'll get another decade. Return the 10%, you've got 00:53:26.77\00:53:30.94 forever. Hey, Look. Look. Look. Look. Forever. 10 years. 00:53:30.94\00:53:38.31 Forever. 10 years. Is this really a choice? 00:53:38.31\00:53:41.12 Let's pray. Oh, God, forever, 10 years? What are we thinking? 00:53:46.52\00:53:54.93 Well, we know what you're thinking. You climbed that hill, 00:53:54.93\00:54:00.20 hung on that cross so that you might win our hearts, win us, 00:54:00.20\00:54:07.58 woo us, draw us. It's not the dollar bills you want. You have 00:54:07.58\00:54:11.51 them all. It's the hearts that you're longing for, and so I pray for every heart gathered 00:54:11.51\00:54:18.15 here or anywhere. You may have our hearts. Please take our 00:54:18.15\00:54:26.09 hearts. In Jesus' name. Amen. [ "I am Thine, O Lord" plays ] 00:54:26.09\00:54:32.70 [ Congregation sings ] 00:54:53.66\00:54:56.56 "And now may the God of hope who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ fill you with 00:56:34.86\00:56:40.96 all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the 00:56:40.96\00:56:47.44 Holy Spirit." Amen. ¤¤ 00:56:47.44\00:56:53.41 >> May I take an extra moment with you and let you know how grateful I am that you joined us 00:57:12.36\00:57:16.30 in worship today. I hear from viewers like you across the nation and literally 00:57:16.30\00:57:19.77 around the world, and I'm thankful. 00:57:19.77\00:57:21.80 If you'd like to explore further what we have just shared, I hope 00:57:21.97\00:57:24.57 you'll visit us at our website. It's an easy one to remember -- 00:57:24.57\00:57:27.08 www.pmchurch.tv. We're the 00:57:27.08\00:57:32.18 Pioneer Memorial Church here on the campus of 00:57:32.18\00:57:35.35 Andrews University. So, that's www.pmchurch.tv. 00:57:35.35\00:57:38.65 Click onto that website, and you'll be able to listen to a 00:57:38.65\00:57:41.16 podcast of this material. 00:57:41.16\00:57:42.39 You can download the presentation. You can print off 00:57:42.56\00:57:44.99 the study guide. You may have a special prayer need that you 00:57:44.99\00:57:48.03 wish to share with our prayer partners. Or you may wish to partner with us through a 00:57:48.03\00:57:52.17 personal donation to help reach this generation with the everlasting good news of Christ. 00:57:52.17\00:57:55.97 If you'd rather talk with someone, call one of our friendly operators. 00:57:55.97\00:57:59.31 Here's the toll-free number -- 877 and then the two words 00:57:59.47\00:58:02.94 "His will" -- 877-HIS-WILL. In the meantime, may the grace 00:58:02.94\00:58:07.78 and peace of Jesus be yours every step of this adventurous 00:58:07.78\00:58:11.69 way. ¤¤ 00:58:11.69\00:58:16.86