Participants: Pr. Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP160910A
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00:25 Let's sing together now.
00:28 Lord, I will lift 00:35 Mine eyes to the hills 00:44 Knowing my help is coming 00:55 From You 00:59 Your peace You give me 01:07 In time of the storm 01:16 You are the source of my strength 01:24 You are the strength of my life 01:32 I lift my hands in total 01:39 Praise to you 01:48 Lord, I will lift 01:54 Mine eyes to the hills 02:03 Knowing my help is coming 02:14 From You 02:19 Your peace You give me 02:26 In time of the storm 02:36 You are the source of my strength 02:44 You are the strength of my life 02:51 I lift my hands in total 02:59 Praise to you 03:04 Amen, 03:08 Amen Amen 03:12 Amen Amen 03:18 Amen Amen 03:20 Amen 03:37 You are the source of my strength 03:45 You are the strength of my life 03:53 I lift my hands in total 04:00 Praise to you 04:05 Amen 04:10 Amen Amen 04:14 Amen Amen 04:18 Amen Amen 04:26 Amen 04:36 Amen, praise the Lord. 04:37 Y'all may be seated. 04:43 They said, God is in the big things 04:45 and He's in the small things 04:46 and I believe He's also in the simple things 04:48 when it's done intentionally. 04:51 This next song is very simple, but it's also very intentional 04:54 because it talks about Christ as the center of it all. 04:57 Christ is the pillar of our faith 04:59 because His sacrifice and His death in resurrection 05:02 mean so much and we unpack that 05:05 each and every day as we get to know Him better. 05:07 So sing with me now, Jesus at the centre. 05:11 Jesus at the center of it all 05:18 Jesus at the center of it all 05:24 From beginning to the end 05:28 It will always be, it's always been You, 05:31 Jesus 05:35 Let's sing it again, Jesus. 05:38 Jesus at the center of it all 05:45 Jesus at the center of it all 05:52 From beginning to the end 05:55 It will always be, it's always been You, Jesus 06:02 Jesus, nothing else matters 06:09 Nothing in this world will do 06:17 'Cause Jesus You're the center 06:22 Everything revolves around You, 06:27 Jesus, You 06:43 Jesus be the center of my life 06:45 Jesus be the center of my life 06:52 Jesus be the center of my life 06:58 From beginning to the end 07:01 It will always be, it's always been You, Jesus 07:08 Jesus, nothing else matters 07:15 Nothing in this world will do 07:22 'Cause Jesus You're the center 07:27 Everything revolves around You 07:32 Jesus, You 07:36 From my heart to the Heavens Jesus be the center 07:44 It's all about You 07:47 Yes it's all about You 07:50 From my heart to the Heavens Jesus be the center 07:58 It's all about You Yes it's all about You 08:04 From my heart to the Heavens Jesus be the center 08:11 It's all about You Yes it's all about You 08:19 Nothing else matters 08:24 Nothing in this world will do 08:32 'Cause Jesus You're the center 08:37 Everything revolves around You 08:42 Jesus, You 08:47 This is the most important one. 08:50 Jesus be the center of Your church 08:57 Jesus be the center of Your church 09:03 And every knee will bow 09:07 And every tongue shall confess You, Jesus 09:14 Jesus 09:28 Great is Thy faithfulness 09:32 O God my Father 09:37 There is no shadow 09:41 Of turning with Thee 09:47 Thou changest not, Thy compassion's, 09:53 They fail not 09:56 As Thou hast been 10:00 Thou forever will be 10:06 Great is Thy faithfulness! 10:11 Great is Thy faithfulness! 10:16 Morning by morning 10:20 New mercies I see 10:26 All I have needed 10:30 Thy hand hath provided 10:35 Great is Thy faithfulness! 10:40 Lord unto me 10:48 Summer and winter 10:52 And springtime and harvest 10:58 Sun, moon, and stars 11:02 In their courses above 11:07 Join with all nature 11:11 In manifold witness 11:17 To Thy great faithfulness 11:22 Mercy, and love 11:27 Great is Thy faithfulness! 11:32 Great is Thy faithfulness! 11:37 Morning by morning 11:41 New mercies I see 11:46 All I have needed 11:51 Thy hand hath provided 11:56 Great is Thy faithfulness! 12:01 Lord unto me 12:04 For those of you that would like to come forward, 12:06 I invite you now for a prayer appeal. 12:08 Pardon for sin 12:12 And a peace that endureth 12:19 Thy own dear presence 12:23 To cheer and to guide 12:28 Strength for today 12:32 And bright hope for tomorrow 12:38 Blessings all mine 12:42 With ten thousand beside 12:48 Great is Thy faithfulness! 12:53 Great is Thy faithfulness! 12:58 Morning by morning 13:02 New mercies I see 13:07 All I have needed 13:11 Thy hand hath provided 13:17 Great is Thy faithfulness! 13:22 Great is Thy faithfulness! 13:27 Great is Thy faithfulness! 13:36 Lord unto me 14:25 My God 14:30 I love Thee 14:47 Not because I hope 14:52 For heaven thereby 14:58 Nor yet because who love thee not 15:11 Must die eternally 15:33 Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me 15:39 Upon the cross embrace 15:44 Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me 15:48 Upon the cross embrace 16:05 For me didst bear the nails, the nails and spear 16:11 And manifold disgrace 16:28 And manifold disgrace 17:08 Why, then why, 17:19 O blessed Jesus Christ 17:25 Should I not love thee well? 17:31 Not for the hope of winning heaven 17:43 Or of escaping hell 17:54 Not with the hope of gaining aught 18:00 Not seeking a reward 18:04 But as thyself hast loved me 18:13 O ever-loving Lord 18:29 E'en so I love thee 18:37 And will love 18:40 And in thy praise will sing 18:58 Solely because thou art my God 19:06 And my Eternal King 19:29 Amen. 19:37 Well, thank you choir, that was powerful. 19:40 My Eternal King, I love you, I love you, I love you. 19:44 Wow, we needed that. 19:46 Bless you. 19:50 Oh God, You're our king 19:54 and in worship this morning you, 19:56 you have been drawing from our very souls. 20:02 The praise, 20:04 the total praise that is due you 20:11 and I'm exclaiming like David did. 20:13 I was so glad when they said to me, 20:15 let us go to the house of the Lord. 20:18 We've been here, You're here. 20:22 Don't stop now, 20:24 we're getting to something 20:26 absolutely critical for our journey. 20:30 Make it clear, ignite it. 20:35 And may we get it, 20:37 we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 20:40 I mean what would you do with a 75 pound pearl? 20:43 You just can't imagine. 20:45 Can you put that picture one more time, 20:46 I just want to imagine that 20:47 under my bed I was just thinking. 20:51 By the way we snooped this 20:52 because some of you would think, oh, yeah, 20:54 this is one of those urban legends. 20:55 No, we checked it out. 20:57 Everybody's carried the story, BBC included. 20:59 They still haven't verified if it's the largest pearl, 21:02 but you know what, if you had it, 21:03 if you had a pearl like that, come on, tell me the truth. 21:05 Wouldn't shoot 100 million dollars. 21:07 Wouldn't you be willing to pretty much liquidate 21:09 everything you own to possess that pearl a 100 million. 21:16 Jesus told a story once upon a time, 21:17 didn't He, what was that? 21:18 Matthew 13 there was a businessman 21:20 who when he, 21:21 when he ascertain the veracity of that value, 21:25 he found that pearl of great price, 21:27 he liquidated his entire assets, 21:29 remember that little parable, 21:31 liquidated his entire assets just for the joy at... 21:35 the glory of owning 21:37 and possessing a pearl of great price. 21:40 So Christ Object Lessons, 21:42 this classic on Jesus' parables. 21:44 I love this line, put it on the screen for you. 21:46 "The blessings of redeeming love 21:48 our Savior compared to a precious pearl... 21:51 Christ Himself is the precious, I inserted that, 21:54 Christ Himself is the precious pearl of great price." 21:58 How precious is He? 22:00 Let's find out hashtag RxF4Now, 22:05 have you figured that out yet? 22:06 No, you haven't, keep hanging on to it, 22:07 you'll get it. 22:09 Let's put it on the screen 22:10 those of you are watching right now, 22:12 we're going to cut to a study guide in a moment. 22:13 So I need to put that website up so that you're ready to go 22:15 as we're ready to go. 22:17 The website is www.newperceptions.tv. 22:19 You go to that website, 22:21 you're looking for the series hashtag 22:22 RxF4Now, 22:27 titled this one, 'Precious'. 22:28 Hit on study guide, let's go. 22:31 You ready? 22:33 All right oh, yeah, oh thank you ushers, 22:34 bless you, thank you. 22:36 If you didn't get a study guide, 22:37 put your hands up because we're plunging into it, 22:39 it's just boom, boom, boom, 22:40 we're not stopping and looking back. 22:41 This teaching is that critical. 22:43 I'm just really pumped about the chance 22:46 that you and I get to share this 22:48 from the Word of God. 22:49 You watch, you see. 22:51 All right so, 22:53 Christmas is still a long ways off. 22:55 But let's pretend like we're Walmart, 22:57 let's have Christmas in September, 22:58 haven't they put the... 22:59 Don't they already have these decorations up 23:01 with little Christmas trees? 23:02 Let's take a page out of Walmart playbook 23:04 and let's go to a Christmas story right now. 23:07 Open your Bible please to the Gospel of Matthew, 23:08 Matthew 1. 23:10 I'm in the New International Version. 23:11 Whatever translation you've brought, 23:13 it's fine by me. 23:14 You didn't bring a Bible, pull the pew Bible out. 23:16 You've got it on your device, that God will use your device, 23:20 it's not a problem. 23:21 Matthew 1, the Christmas story, we pick it up in verse 20. 23:25 We got to move, you and me, let's move. 23:27 Verse 20, but after he, that would be Joseph, 23:30 had considered this, 23:31 that would be divorcing 23:33 his little teenage pregnant fiancé(C) 23:37 because back then when you got betrothed, 23:38 the only way you could break it off was, 23:40 it's that serious, it was a divorce. 23:42 So after, so he now is thinking he's going to divorce her, 23:44 "But after you consider this, 23:45 an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream 23:48 and the angel said, 23:50 Joseph son of David, 23:52 do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, 23:55 because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 23:58 She will give birth to a son, 24:00 and you are to give him the name Jesus, 24:02 because he will save his people from their sins." 24:07 Matthew goes on, 24:08 "And all this took place to fulfill 24:10 what the Lord had said to the prophet Isaiah." 24:11 Verse 23, 24:13 "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, 24:16 and they will call him Immanuel," 24:18 which means what? 24:20 Which means God with us. 24:22 Would you take your study guide and write that down. 24:25 That baby that is going to be born 24:27 full term of a nine month pregnancy, 24:30 when that baby is born, 24:31 that baby will be the eternal God 24:34 incarnated in human flesh. 24:36 We'll call him Immanuel, it means God with us. 24:41 So what was He like, this God man who came to earth? 24:44 What was He really like? 24:46 I mean in terms of His manliness, 24:48 in terms of His humanity. 24:50 The most profound statement 24:51 about Jesus' humanity is found in the Book of Hebrews 24:54 and without apology 24:56 I'm going to have you read the entire passage. 24:58 Hebrews 2, open your Bible towards the end 25:02 Hebrews 2, take a look at this. 25:05 What kind of a man was He? 25:07 Okay, I know God is with us. 25:08 So He's become human 25:10 but how human was the one who came? 25:13 Hebrews 2. 25:15 And by the way this is in your study guide 25:17 and I wanted this entire passage in the study guide, 25:19 so I put it in there. 25:20 So you're going to fill in blanks. 25:22 You can either read this from your study guide 25:24 and fill the blanks in as we go, 25:25 you'll have to kind of take a peek at the screen 25:27 or you can read it and fill it in later 25:29 because you obviously know what goes in the blanks. 25:31 Hebrews 2, we're going to pick it up in verse 9. 25:35 Verse 9, 25:37 "But we do see Jesus," write in the name Jesus. 25:40 That's what we're going to do this. 25:41 We're going to spend the whole morning, 25:42 the few moments you and I have together, 25:44 we're going to look at Jesus, 25:45 we're just going to keep looking at Jesus, 25:47 "We do see Jesus who was made 25:50 lower than the angels for a little while..." 25:53 Now that's code language because from the Old Testament 25:55 we know that the human race was created 25:56 a little lower than the angels 25:58 so that language is simply saying, 26:00 He was made human. 26:01 Okay, so we do see Jesus who was made human, 26:05 keep reading in verse 9, 26:06 now okay, he's back in heaven, 26:08 "Now crowned with glory and honor 26:11 because he suffered death 26:14 so that by the grace of God 26:15 he might taste death for everyone." 26:19 How many of the human race are covered by His coming? 26:21 How many of the human race? 26:23 The entire human race, every man, woman, child, 26:25 who ever occupied any space on terra firma is covered. 26:30 All right, now go on to verse 10, 26:31 "In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, 26:33 it was fitting that God, for whom 26:35 and through whom everything exists, 26:36 should make the pioneer, 26:38 " I like that in the new NIV, 26:40 "The pioneer of their salvation perfect 26:43 through what he suffered." 26:44 Keep filling them in, both now verse 11, 26:47 "Both the one who makes people holy, 26:49 it would be God, 26:51 and those who are made holy are of the same family. 26:54 So, Jesus is not ashamed to call them 26:58 brothers and sisters." 27:00 We are family, that's the point. 27:06 We're family. 27:07 He's one with us. 27:09 He's not ashamed 27:10 that's my bro, that's my sis, 27:12 that's my little sis, that's my little brother. 27:14 Keep going. 27:15 We're going to drop down to verse 14, 27:17 "Since the children have flesh and blood..." 27:19 That would be you and me, flesh and blood, right, 27:20 here we go, we got it, 27:22 "He too shared in their humanity 27:25 so that by his death..." 27:28 So he's sharing our humanity, 27:30 "By his death he might break the power of him 27:34 who holds the power of death." 27:35 Who would that be? That's the devil. 27:37 It's going to be mortal, hand to hand combat, combat, 27:40 mind to mind the entire time he's here, 27:43 he's here for combat. 27:44 Now, keep going. 27:46 Put the next slide up 27:47 "And by that death he's going to free those of us, 27:50 and that will be all of us, 27:51 who all our lives have been held in slavery 27:54 by our fear of death." 27:58 He came to set us free. 28:00 Now verse 16, keep going, 28:01 "For surely it is not angels that Jesus helps, 28:05 but Abraham's descendants." 28:06 Pause button, 28:08 the Greek word for descendants 28:09 sperm, sperma, that's the word sperma. 28:13 We're talking about real life humanity here, okay. 28:17 He's in the midst of it. 28:19 He helps Abraham's descendants, 28:21 "For this reason he had to be made, 28:24 he had to be made like them in... 28:26 " What are the next two words, in what? 28:28 Everyway, in everyway made like us. 28:32 How human was He? In everyway. 28:33 "In order that he might become a merciful 28:35 and faithful high priest in the service of God, 28:37 and that he might make atonement for the sins." 28:40 That's why He's here, He's going to die. 28:42 He has to become human because God can't die. 28:44 He has to become human, 28:45 He's going to pay the eternal penalty 28:50 for the rebellion of this planet. 28:52 Himself He will pay for the sins of the earth. 28:55 Verse 18, one more from chapter 2, 28:57 "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted..." 29:01 We're talking about trivial human, 29:02 He is tempted, 29:04 "Because he suffered when he was tempted, 29:05 he is able to help those who are being tempted." 29:08 He's down here in the mud with us. 29:12 Now we're going to throw in verse Chapter 4:15, 29:15 keep your pen moving, 29:16 "For we do not have a high priest 29:17 who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses..." 29:20 He has all our weaknesses now within him. 29:24 "He is not unable to empathize with our weaknesses, 29:28 but we have one who has been tempted in everyway." 29:31 So, just write that in 29:33 because He's not only made like us in everyway, 29:35 He's been tempted like everyway, 29:37 in everyway. 29:40 "Just as we are, yet he did not sin." 29:44 Huge, write in the word sin, He did not, He did not. 29:49 One last verse Hebrews 5:8, "Son though he was, 29:52 he learned obedience from what he suffered." 29:55 You know why? 29:56 No pain, no gain. 30:00 No pain, no gain. 30:02 It had to be this way. 30:03 It had to be this way. 30:05 So, Dwight, how come I have to go through 30:06 this extended passage, I mean please. 30:08 All right, I'll tell you why? 30:09 Because God's strategic plan. 30:12 This rescue mission of God's 30:14 to save the human race critically necessitated Him 30:18 becoming one with us rebel sinners. 30:21 So that nobody could come up to Him one day and say, 30:23 "Yo, Jesus, I understand You came, 30:25 I understand You have five fingers on each hand, 30:27 but You do not know what it's like, 30:28 You don't know what I've been through, 30:30 You have not felt what I have felt, 30:31 You do not understand me really truly." 30:35 Boom, He says, "Forget that." 30:38 Reminds me of a little playlet, little short play, entitled, 30:42 title of the play, The Long Silence. 30:44 I want to read this to you, see if you get it. 30:47 "At the end of time, 30:48 billions of people were scattered on a great plain 30:50 before God's throne. 30:52 Most shrank back 30:53 from the brilliant light before them. 30:54 But some groups near the front talked heatedly, 30:58 not with cringing shame, but with belligerence. 31:00 'Can God judge us? 31:02 How can he know about suffering?' 31:03 snapped a pert young brunette. 31:05 She ripped open a sleeve and reveal a tattooed number 31:08 from a Nazi concentration camp. 31:10 'We endured terror and beatings, 31:13 torture and death!' 31:14 In another group a black young man lowered his collar. 31:18 'What about this?' 31:19 he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn. 31:20 'Lynched for no crime but being black!' 31:24 In another crowd, 31:26 a pregnant schoolgirl with sullen eyes, 31:28 'Why should I suffer' she murmured, 31:29 'It wasn't my fault.' 31:32 Far out a cross the plain there were hundreds of such groups. 31:35 Each had a complaint against God for the evil 31:37 and suffering he permitted in his world. 31:39 How lucky God was to live in heaven 31:42 where all was sweetness and light, 31:44 where there was no weeping or fear, 31:46 no hunger or hatred. 31:47 What did God know of all that man had been forced to endure 31:51 in this world? 31:52 For God leads a pretty sheltered life, they said. 31:57 So each of these groups sent forth their leader, 31:59 chosen because he had suffered the most. 32:01 A Jew, a black, a person from Hiroshima, 32:04 a horribly deformed arthritic, an autistic child. 32:07 In the centre of the plain they consulted with each other. 32:09 At last they were quite ready to present their case. 32:12 It was rather clever. 32:14 Before God could be qualified to be their judge, 32:17 he must endure what they had endured. 32:20 Their decision was that 32:21 God should be sentenced to live on earth as a man. 32:25 'Let him be born a Jew. 32:27 Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted. 32:29 Give him a work so difficult 32:31 that even his family will think him 32:32 out of his mind when he tries to do it. 32:34 Let him be betrayed by his closest friends. 32:37 Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury, 32:40 convicted by a cowardly judge. 32:42 And then let him be tortured. 32:44 'And at last, 32:45 let him see what it means to be terribly alone. 32:48 Let then let him die. 32:50 Let him die so that there can be no doubt that he died. 32:52 Let there be a great host of witnesses to verify it.' 32:56 As each leader announced his portion of the sentence, 32:59 loud murmurs of approval went up 33:01 from the throng of people assembled. 33:03 And when the last had finished pronouncing sentence, 33:08 there was a long silence. 33:19 No-one uttered another word. 33:23 No-one moved. 33:26 For suddenly all knew 33:29 that God had already 33:32 served his sentence." 33:37 Wow. 33:39 What did we just read? 33:41 For we do not have one who is unable to empathize 33:43 with our weaknesses 33:44 but we have one who has been tempted in every way 33:46 just as we are, God with us. 33:54 So here's the question. 33:56 How would you answer this? 33:58 When God became man, 34:01 how did He relate to God? 34:07 Think about it. 34:08 Did Jesus have some sort of inside track, 34:14 some sort of divine privilege? 34:17 Maybe little, just a little teeny divine advantage. 34:20 You already know the answer to the question, 34:21 the question is no. 34:23 Instead Jesus had a huge human advantage 34:29 and I'm going to give you six texts right now 34:31 in a row that will prove to you 34:32 that you have the same huge human advantage 34:36 as Jesus did. 34:38 Let's go six of them, counting, 34:39 when the sixth one is done, I'm sitting down. 34:41 Number one, it's in your study guide, 34:42 number one Hebrews 2:13 we skip that verse. 34:46 But the verse is by, by the Book of Hebrews, 34:48 it's being attributed to Jesus. 34:50 He says this quote in the Psalms, 34:51 "I will put My trust, " quoting Isaiah, 34:53 "I will put My trust in Him." 34:56 You know how Jesus live when He was down here? 34:58 It was just like that. 35:01 He put His trust in God. 35:02 Was that once a week when He went to church. 35:05 Maybe that was once a day, when He prays in the morning. 35:08 Once an hour? 35:09 Once a minute? 35:11 Are you kidding? 35:12 Jesus lived by faith. 35:17 Now that's not such a radically new strategy. 35:19 In fact, it's a radically old strategy 35:22 which is why in the Book of Hebrews 35:23 you have Chapter 11 35:25 which is called the Hall of faith, 35:26 Hall of Fame chapter of the Bible 35:27 by faith Enoch, 35:29 by faith Nova, 35:31 by faith Abraham, by faith Sara, 35:33 by faith Joseph, by faith Moses, 35:36 by faith Gideon, 35:37 by faith all of them, 35:40 thought Jesus lived by faith, 35:43 by faith. 35:48 Proof text number two, 35:51 here comes number two, jot it down. 35:52 And by the way the next three, 35:54 the next three are all red letters 35:56 because we'll hear from Jesus' own lips 35:58 the huge human reality that He lived through. 36:02 Okay, so this is number two, John Chapter 5. 36:06 You've got it there in the study guide John 5:19, 36:09 "Very truly I tell you," 36:11 oh, by the way because this is the fourth gospel 36:13 you already know this many of you, 36:15 but this is a double amen, 36:17 whenever you see those words in the NIV, 36:18 "Very truly I tell you," 36:20 that means there's a double amen. 36:22 Amen, amen. 36:23 Now that's a device, 36:25 a literary device that John uses like a huge red flag. 36:27 "Yo, reader slow down, slow down, slow down, 36:31 something huge is about to be declared by Jesus." 36:35 It's only on his lips that we hear the double amen. 36:37 So here it now, something big is coming, 36:39 "Barely, barely amen, amen, 36:42 I tell you, the Son can do nothing." 36:45 How much? 36:47 How much? 36:48 Nothing by Himself and then to make sure 36:52 we didn't miss that verse 30 of the same conversation 36:55 he is having with these ecclesiastical leaders, 36:57 look it, he puts it there, 36:58 puts it this way, "By myself I can do, how much? 37:03 Nothing, nada, zero, 37:04 nothing, I can do nothing by myself. 37:09 Now this is, this is rather amazing 37:11 because this is coming from the incarnated 37:13 creator of the universe, 37:14 remember the creator of the universe. 37:16 The creator who spoke and when He speaks, 37:18 what He speaks becomes reality. 37:22 So when He says, 37:23 "Let there be light" 37:24 in less than a half a nanosecond, 37:26 boom, there is light 37:28 because the creator's word get this, 37:30 the creator's word describes the reality 37:35 embedded in the word and creates the reality 37:39 when the word is spoken. 37:41 Let there be light, boom, there's light. 37:45 Psalm 33:9, 37:48 remember that from our first part in the series verse 9, 37:51 "For He spoke, and it was done." 37:54 And by the way in the Hebrew, it goes like this, 37:55 "For He spoke and it was." 37:57 There's no done, I inserted the done. 38:00 "For He spoke, and it was, 38:01 He commanded, and it stood fast." 38:04 That's the point. 38:05 That's why I love Isaiah 55:11. 38:07 These are two, boy, I tell you, 38:09 I've latched on to this, 38:11 these verbs these verses 38:13 with their verbs are in my mind kind of every day, every day. 38:17 Why? 38:19 Because I know that when God speaks the word, 38:21 let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid. 38:25 When God uses the same language, 38:26 "Let not" when He speaks that word. 38:29 The moment He speaks it, you got it. 38:32 Let your heart be at peace. 38:34 Peace, because the word He speaks 38:37 creates the reality it describes 38:40 So Isaiah 55:11 I love this, 38:41 "So is My word that goes out of My mouth: 38:44 It will not return to Me empty, 38:45 but will accomplish what I desire 38:47 and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." 38:50 When I say, when I say, 38:52 "Let not... 38:57 your heart be troubled." 39:01 It's no trouble. 39:04 Neither let it be afraid. 39:08 Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus. 39:14 You got it. 39:16 When He speaks it, 39:19 and you receive it, you got it. 39:23 So Jesus says, 39:24 isn't it something that the great creator 39:26 who just says the word 39:27 and the whole universe is shaped. 39:28 He says, "I can do nothing, I can do nothing by Myself, 39:32 nothing." 39:33 Something has happened. 39:35 Something has happened to the Almighty God Creator 39:37 come to earth incarnated into our likeness, 39:39 something has happened. 39:40 He has become us and because He is now us, 39:43 He can do nothing on His own. 39:47 Proof text number three, there are six of these. 39:50 Here comes number three also red letters. 39:52 Then on the eve of His execution, 39:54 this is John 14:10, 39:55 Oh, boy, wait till you see what this one says. 39:58 This is Jesus speaking, 39:59 there're only 11 men in the upper room now, 40:01 one of them is gone. 40:03 "The words I say to you, my friends and disciples, 40:07 I do not speak on My own authority. 40:09 Rather, it is the Father, living in Me. 40:14 The father living in Me, who is doing His work." 40:17 He lives in Me. 40:19 He's doing it through Me. 40:20 It's His work. 40:23 What is going on here? 40:24 Do you mean the healing Jesus did? 40:26 You mean, the loving Jesus did? 40:27 The weeping Jesus did? 40:29 The dying Jesus did? The resurrecting Jesus did? 40:31 Do you mean that was all the work of the Father, 40:32 that's exactly what Jesus means? 40:35 I didn't do this. I can't do anything. 40:37 By Myself I can do nothing. 40:38 You know who's in Me? 40:40 The Father Himself is in Me. 40:42 I am totally dependent 40:45 on the Father of this universe. 40:49 Look at Desire of Ages, you can take this one home. 40:51 You got it in your study guide, 40:52 "So utterly was Christ emptied of self that He made," 40:55 this, this is astounding, 40:57 "that He made no plans for Himself. 40:59 He accepted God's, God's plans for Him, 41:02 and day by day the Father unfolded His plans." 41:06 Now what gets me is are the next four words, 41:10 "So should we 41:13 depend upon God." 41:18 His modus operandi is to become our modus operandi. 41:21 "So should we depend upon God 41:24 that our lives may be the simple outworking of His will, 41:26 keep reading, "As one with us, 41:28 God with us, a sharer in our needs and weaknesses, " 41:32 weak just like you and me, 41:34 "He was wholly depended upon God, 41:37 and in the secret place of prayer 41:38 He sought divine strength, 41:40 that He might go forth braced for duty and trial." 41:45 Huge advantage, Dwight, 41:47 I'm not seeing the huge advantage. 41:49 Oh, you'll see it, there are only six of these, 41:50 you'll see it, here comes number four. 41:52 Also by the way in the upper room 41:54 just a few breaths later than Chapter 14. 41:57 Jot this down, John 15:5, 42:00 Jesus speaking, "I am the vine, 42:02 you are the what? 42:03 Come one, you are the what? 42:05 You're the branches, I'm the vine. 42:08 What is Jesus saying here. 42:09 "If you remain in Me, your older translation say, 42:12 if you abide in Me as I, 42:13 If you remain in Me and I in you." 42:17 Hit the pause button right there. 42:18 You know what Jesus is saying? 42:20 He's saying, hey, listen, listen, as it was, 42:24 as it is with the Father in Me, I can do nothing by Myself, 42:28 I can do nothing by Myself 42:29 but the Father is in Me, He doeth, 42:31 he does the works. 42:33 As it is between the Father and Me, 42:36 it's going to be between You and Me. 42:38 I'm gonna be in You, boy, and you're gonna be in Me. 42:40 We're gonna be just like this. 42:43 Girl, do you understand me? 42:45 I'm in you, you're in Me, 42:47 just like it was Me and the Father, 42:49 it will be with you. 42:51 Wow, and now notice some very familiar words 42:54 so after he says this in John 15:5, 42:57 "If you remain in Me and I in you, 42:58 you will bear much fruit," 42:59 and now here comes "for apart from Me..." 43:01 How does it go? Tell me. 43:03 How does it go? 43:04 "For apart from Me you can do nothing." 43:06 Twice He's already told us, I can do nothing, 43:09 I can do nothing, has to be the Father. 43:11 Now He tells us, guess what? 43:12 Ditto for you. 43:14 You can do nothing 43:16 unless I'm in you and you in Me. 43:20 The track that He carves across the face of time 43:24 is the very trail we too are to trot. 43:29 Same-o, same-o, same-o, 43:32 nothing different for me than for you. 43:36 If I win doing it this way, guess what? 43:39 You win doing it this way. 43:41 You'll be fine just like Me and the Father, you and Me. 43:46 Wow. 43:52 Jesus is declaring here in John 15:5 is 43:55 "That just as His life was distinguished 43:57 by His radical and dependent faith in God, 44:00 even so our life is to be distinguished by our radical 44:04 and dependent faith in Christ." 44:08 But now I've got a surprise for you, 44:09 the best comes last. 44:12 There're still number five. 44:14 Now we can know 44:16 why the Bible's last book describes the, 44:18 describes earth final generation in the way 44:23 that feels a bit grammatically crazy 44:26 which has led modern translations 44:28 to miss the point completely as I'll show you. 44:31 Revelation 14:12, take a look at this. 44:33 You can look at in your Bible 44:34 but I have it right here in the study guide. 44:37 If you want to do it right there, you read, 44:38 some of you will remember these words. 44:40 "Here is the patience of the saints..." 44:43 This is at the end of the Three Angels' Messages, 44:45 this is the last line of the Three Angels' Messages, 44:47 "Here is the patience of the saints, 44:50 here are those who keep" two, two things. 44:53 And I've numbered them, 44:55 the numbers aren't in the Bible, 44:56 I've numbered them for you, two things just, 44:58 you keep two things is clear from the grammar. 45:00 They keep two things, 45:01 "Here are those who keep, number one, 45:03 the commandments of God, and number two, the what? 45:09 The faith of whom? 45:12 The faith of Jesus, 45:15 but modern translations come along and say, 45:17 that can't be. 45:18 I mean, how do you keep the faith of Jesus. 45:20 So you know what they do? 45:22 It's like my NIV, it renders it this way. 45:24 "Here are they who remain faithful to Jesus." 45:27 The word remain isn't even in the Greek, 45:28 they inserted to try to make their misinterpretation fit. 45:32 It doesn't fit. 45:34 The Greek reads exactly as it is. 45:35 "Here are they who keep, one, the commandments of God 45:38 and two, keep the faith of Jesus." 45:41 They keep Jesus' faith. 45:43 Do you understand that? 45:44 That's not the faith of me, that's not the faith of you, 45:47 that is the faith of Jesus, 45:48 that's what will get them through, 45:49 the final chapter of earth's history. 45:51 It's not the faith of you, it's not the faith of me, 45:54 it's the faith of Jesus that they hang on to 45:57 and that is what gets them through. 46:01 A final generation which must endure 46:04 what no generation in the history of this planet 46:06 has ever endured. 46:07 They will get through, 46:09 not on their faith, but on His faith. 46:13 You say, oh, Dwight, this is kind of... 46:15 I think you're just a little bit 46:17 pushing the margins here, 46:18 I mean please. 46:20 Oh, really. 46:22 It's one of Paul's favorite phrases 46:24 also mistranslated by modern translations. 46:28 I'll show you why? 46:29 Now I don't want to show you why, 46:30 I'll just show it to you. 46:32 Galatians 2, 46:33 okay, this is the last text I told you, six. 46:35 Here's number six, Galatians 2:20, 46:37 there are a lot of you 46:38 who have been able to sing the song 46:40 and you know, you know how the words go 46:41 and so I must do it out loud with you. 46:42 Let's do it. 46:44 "I am crucified with Christ," come on you know this, 46:46 "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, 46:50 yet not I, but" 46:53 remember abide in me and I in you, 46:55 that's what Paul said, 46:56 and that's what happened, He's in me. 46:58 He's in me. 46:59 Christ in you the hope of glory, 47:00 He's in me. 47:02 Let's do it again, "I am crucified with Christ, 47:04 nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. 47:09 And the life I live, 47:12 I live by the faith of the Son of God, 47:16 who loved me, and gave himself for me." 47:17 It reads exactly as Revelation 14:12 does, 47:20 the Greek identical. 47:23 The life I live, I live by the faith of Jesus. 47:28 It's the faith of Jesus that I live every day 47:31 says the greatest Christian who ever lived. 47:33 Did you fill that in? 47:34 I didn't stop to let you fill it in 47:36 because I needed to keep going here, 47:37 what's going on, you gonna say, Dwight, 47:38 something's going on here. 47:40 You bet. 47:41 I want to go to my friend Carl Cosaert, 47:43 one of the bright New Testament 47:44 scholars in our faith Community. 47:46 He teaches at Walla Walla University. 47:48 Carl Cosaert in his punchy little short 47:50 commentary on Galatians. 47:52 I'm quoting him now. 47:55 There's a new wind blowing even in New Testament scholarship. 47:59 N. T. Wright, he believes the same, 48:02 Richard Hayes, Duke University, 48:04 he believes the same, 48:05 Cosaert puts it simply for us. 48:08 Words on a screen, you take it home, 48:09 "In Greek the phrase..." 48:12 And by the way the phrase in modern translations 48:15 is rendered this way, 48:16 "Faith in Jesus, faith in Jesus, 48:19 faith in Jesus." 48:20 Everybody says, those that are thinking deeply 48:23 in the new scholarship are saying no, no, no, no, no 48:25 and that's what Carl is saying, 48:26 read this now. 48:28 In Greek the phrase literally means 48:30 the faith of Jesus or the faithfulness of Jesus. 48:35 "For Paul, Cosaert goes on, 48:37 the primary emphasis is not our faith in Jesus, 48:41 but Jesus' faithfulness. 48:43 Thus the issue is not our works 48:45 versus our faith 48:48 - that would almost make our faith meritorious, 48:50 which it is not." 48:52 My faith cannot save me. 48:55 If you make your faith the key, 48:58 the strategic piece in this jigsaw puzzle, 49:01 you have now made yourself your savior. 49:04 If your faith is what saves you, 49:06 your faith is your savior 49:08 and the New Testament is saying no, 49:09 no, no, no, no 49:12 it's his faith. 49:14 The faith of Jesus, the faithfulness of Jesus. 49:18 Do you see it? 49:20 That's what Cosaert is saying. 49:22 Keep reading where I stopped. 49:24 Rather, okay, see the word rather, 49:26 "Rather, faith is only the conduit 49:29 by which we take hold of Christ. 49:32 We are justified or saved not on the basis of our faith, 49:36 but on the basis of Christ's faithfulness." 49:42 Are you getting any of this? 49:44 Is this getting through? 49:47 And I've had a few weeks to work through this 49:49 since my study this summer. 49:50 It may take a little longer. 49:52 Don't throw your hands up in despair, 49:53 just keep thinking, keep thinking the Holy Spirit 49:55 who is here will impress upon you 49:57 what you need to remember and retain. 50:00 Here's what's happening. 50:02 There lies in this a vital nuance 50:05 that most modern translations now miss. 50:08 Here's what Paul, Paul exclaims, 50:09 here's what he's saying, 50:11 "I live by the faith of, not the faith in, 50:14 I live by the faith of the Son of God." 50:16 In other words, it is his faith, 50:19 his faithfulness that I daily live by." 50:21 Okay, let's put it another way, 50:22 try this one. 50:24 I live by the faith that belongs to Jesus. 50:27 All right. 50:28 The very faith He lived out when He was here, 50:34 that historical faith I'm living by it, 50:37 that's what Paul is saying. 50:40 I am accepted by God on the basis of Jesus' faith, 50:44 Jesus' faithfulness because it is His faith, 50:46 not my faith that matters in the end. 50:51 Wow, the good news, 50:54 ladies and gentlemen, of salvation. 50:56 The good news of salvation 50:59 in Christ is not the good news of our faith, 51:04 but rather the good news of Jesus faithfulness 51:07 when He was here. 51:08 In other words we are accepted by God 51:09 not on the basis of our faith, but it's His faith. 51:12 It's his faith. It's his faith. 51:14 The faith of Jesus. 51:17 There will be a generation at the end of time 51:18 that keeps the faith of Jesus. 51:24 A.T. Jones, 51:27 you've probably heard of that famous duo Wagner and Jones, 51:31 he's one half of that team. 51:33 This team by the way who exploded this truth 51:35 into prominence 120 years ago, 51:37 A.T. Jones in 1895 spoke these words, 51:43 put him on the screen please, 51:44 "When Jesus stood where we are, 51:46 He said, "I will put my trust in Him..." 51:49 That's Hebrews 2:13. 51:51 "And that trust was never disappointed." 51:53 I will put my trust in Him 51:55 and that trust was never disappointed, 51:57 "In response to that trust 51:59 the Father dwelt in Jesus and with Jesus 52:02 and kept Jesus from sinning, 52:04 and thus the Lord Jesus has brought to every man, 52:06 woman and child in this world divine faith. 52:10 That is the faith of the Lord Jesus, 52:12 and that is saving faith. 52:15 Faith is not something that comes from ourselves 52:17 with which we believe upon Him, 52:19 but it is that something He believed, 52:21 the faith He exercised, which He brings to us, 52:25 and which becomes ours 52:26 and works in us -the gift of God." 52:33 Here they who keep the commandments of God 52:37 and who keep the faith of Jesus. 52:43 You know, my generation, 52:45 the Haight Ashbury generation. 52:49 You heard of hippies. 52:51 So those of us growing up in the '60s and '70s, 52:52 there was a hot phrase that was making the rounds. 52:55 It was making the rounds everywhere 52:57 and here's a hot phrase. 52:58 Here's a hot phrase. 53:00 Keep the faith baby. 53:03 Yo, they didn't have fist bumps back then, 53:05 keep the faith baby. 53:07 There will be a people at the end of time 53:08 who'll keep the faith baby. 53:10 They keep the faith of Jesus. 53:13 They keep the faith of Jesus. 53:18 But now hold on to your pew because this gets... 53:21 This is where it blow out of the water, 53:23 this very teaching. 53:25 You've got to see how incredibly good 53:27 the good news is. 53:28 I only wrote one sentence for you to fill in, 53:30 the rest has all been scripture but here's a sentence 53:32 that I needed you to fill in right now, 53:33 you see it's true. 53:35 Fill it in. 53:36 "If it is the faith and faithfulness of Jesus... 53:38 And I hope you know, 53:40 now know that in fact that's what scripture teaches. 53:42 "If it is the faith and faithfulness of Jesus 53:45 that will save you and me in the end, 53:47 then that means God ends up providing everything essential 53:52 for our salvation!" 53:54 Everything essential for our salvation, 53:58 He has provided it all. 54:00 Do you understand that? 54:02 Because we used to think, well, I've got the faith, 54:03 He's got the rest. 54:05 No. 54:06 Now we know, jot this down, jot this down, there's whole, 54:09 there's seven of these. 54:10 Now we know that, 54:12 "He offers us the unshakable faith of Jesus." 54:15 The faith isn't even mine. 54:18 He gives the faith. 54:20 Keep going. 54:22 "He offers us also the perfect obedience of Jesus." 54:25 Last Sabbath we looked at the law giver made flesh 54:28 perfectly obeying God's law. 54:31 The Father says, you may have His perfect obedience. 54:33 Number three, 54:35 "He offers us the spotless righteousness of Jesus." 54:37 That robe in which there is not a stain, 54:39 not a smear, not a single smudge. 54:45 You have that perfectly white robe. 54:49 Number four, 54:50 "He offers us the sinless sacrifice of Jesus" 54:54 I give that to you. 54:56 Number six. 54:57 Number five rather 54:58 "He offers us the intercessory prayer of Jesus." 55:00 Now your high priest is interceding for you 24/7. 55:04 You never have to worry again in your life. 55:07 Number six, 55:09 "He offers us the eternal life of Jesus." 55:12 And number seven, 55:13 "He even offers us the eternal home of Jesus." 55:16 Ladies and gentleman, everything, everything, 55:19 everything has been given to us in Jesus, 55:23 in Jesus. 55:26 Wow. 55:29 Everything is yours. 55:32 When I was going over my notes last night late, 55:36 I said, "Oh God, this is, this, 55:38 I just cannot miss this point." 55:39 And so pardon me for doing this but I wrote it. 55:43 I got a big marker 55:45 and I wrote it at the bottom of my notes 55:48 so that I would not forget 55:49 and I want to make sure that you don't forget. 55:51 So I was just going to show you my notes, 55:54 "God has provided it all 56:00 in Jesus." 56:04 That's the truth. 56:05 If you get this truth, 56:08 you have the goodest news in the universe, 56:14 amen. 56:16 But, Dwight, I don't do it, 56:17 I do something, Dwight, come on, come on, come. 56:19 Yes, you do. Here's what you do. 56:20 You put your little trembling hand out 56:22 and you say, I'll take it, 56:26 that's the little faith you'll exercise, 56:28 you have to believe. 56:29 You just put your little hand out and you say, 56:31 I'll take it, how much do you want, Dwight, 56:33 I'll take the whole thing if you don't mind. 56:35 All of it. 56:37 I'll take it all. 56:39 In Jesus you have it all. 56:42 No wonder I end with this 56:43 speaking of the pearl of great price. 56:45 Put it on the screen for us please. 56:46 All that can see Christ Object Lesson, 56:48 "All they can satisfy the needs and longings of the human soul, 56:51 for this world and for the world to come, 56:53 is found in Christ." 56:55 Oh, oh, one more line, here it is, 56:58 "Our Redeemer is the pearl 57:00 so precious that in comparison all things else 57:04 may be accounted loss." 57:07 Amen and amen. 57:09 What do you say? 57:10 Amen. 57:14 May I take an extra moment with you 57:15 and let you know how grateful I am 57:17 that you joined us in worship today? 57:19 I hear from viewers like you across the nation, 57:21 and literally around the world, and I'm thankful. 57:24 If you'd like to explore further 57:25 what we have just shared, 57:27 I hope you'll visit us at our website. 57:28 It's an easy one to remember, 57:29 www.pmchurch.tv. 57:33 We're the Pioneer Memorial Church 57:35 here on the campus of Andrews University. 57:37 So that's www.pmchurch.tv. 57:41 Click on to that website, 57:42 and you'll be able to listen to a podcast of this material. 57:44 You can download the presentation. 57:46 You can print off the study guide. 57:47 You may have a special prayer need that you wish to share 57:50 with our prayer partners, 57:51 or you may wish to partner with us 57:53 through a personal donation to help reach this generation 57:55 with the everlasting good news of Christ. 57:58 If you'd rather talk with someone, 58:00 call one of our friendly operators. 58:01 Here's the toll free number 877, 58:04 and then the two words HIS-WILL. 58:06 877-HIS-WILL. 58:08 In the meantime, 58:09 may the grace and peace of Jesus be yours 58:11 every step of this adventurous way. |
Revised 2017-02-05