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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP170121A
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00:01 ♪♪
00:08 [ "Lord of All Creation" plays ] 00:27 >> "Lord of All Creation." 00:30 [ Congregation sings ] 00:49 ♪ God of wonders ♪ 01:16 >> ♪ Lord of heaven and Earth ♪ ♪ Lord of heaven and Earth ♪ 02:13 >> ♪ Lord of all creation ♪ ♪ Lord of all creation ♪ 02:24 ♪ Lord of all creation ♪ ♪ Lord of all creation ♪ 02:31 >> "Hallelujah." 03:06 ♪ God of wonders beyond our galaxy ♪ 03:11 ♪ You are holy, holy ♪ 04:05 [ Song ends, "My Hope Is Built" plays ] 04:09 [ Congregation sings ] 04:34 ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ 05:07 ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ 05:40 ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ 06:13 ♪ All other ground is sinking sand ♪ 06:41 ♪ Christ alone ♪ 07:05 >> Amen. Praise God. >> Amen. Amen. 07:10 >> Amen. [ "Still" plays ] 07:23 >> "Hide me now." 07:27 [ Congregation sings ] 08:14 "Find rest, my soul." 08:23 "In Christ alone." 09:09 ♪ I will be still and know You are God ♪ 09:16 This morning, we want to give you an opportunity to just be 09:19 still and know God. We're gonna have a prayer in a 09:25 moment asking God, beseeching Him to be Lord of our lives no 09:28 matter where we are. 09:30 And if, this morning, you feel that the tempest roars in your life and you're seeking some 09:35 type of peace, some type of calm, no matter where you are, I invite you this morning to come 09:40 up at this time. Come forward now. Jesus is calling. 09:44 You'll find rest at the foot of the Cross. Jesus endured everything for 09:50 you. So, this morning, no matter your burden, no matter what you're 09:55 going through, Christ promises to shelter us underneath His wings, that we may find rest in 10:02 Christ alone. Let's sing that together, "Find rest, my soul." 10:07 [ Congregation sings ] 11:22 ♪ I will be still and know You are God ♪ 11:39 [ Piano flourish, song ends ] 11:46 >> Well, good morning, boys and girls. Nice to see you on this 11:49 sunshiny third Sabbath of the new year. Nice to have you here. 11:55 [ Exhales sharply ] And is it like spring or what? Perfect! 12:00 So, we're coming back this week from California, where we were to say goodbye to my mother -- 12:07 coming back late in the night to O'Hare Airport, where our car is parked, and then we drive the 12:12 long drive to Berrien Springs. So, we get our bags. We come out from the baggage. 12:19 We go across to -- They have a train station in O'Hare. It's called a tram. 12:24 They have a train up on a high track, and that train goes to terminal 1, terminal 2, terminal 12:30 3, terminal 5, and then to the remote -- to the faraway parking, where our car was. 12:35 So, we went down under the track, waiting for the train... and waiting for the train. 12:41 And, finally, there was a voice over the PA. "Thank you for your patience. 12:44 The tracks are being repaired. Our train will be with you shortly." 12:47 "Aw, great. This is the night when they're repairing the tracks. 12:50 Isn't that something?" So we keep waiting. A friend of ours named 12:53 Darius Jankiewicz, he comes down, and, you know, he's standing with us, and we're all 12:57 yakking away. It felt like hours were going by. 13:00 No, it's just maybe 20, 30 minutes. I don't know. 13:02 Another PA -- "Thank you for your patience. We are working on the tracks. 13:06 The train will be with you shortly." "Well, that's the third time 13:08 you've said it -- or fourth." And about 20, 30 minutes later, [Exhales deeply] here comes a 13:14 tram. No engineers on the tram. These things are run by 13:17 computer. So we get -- [Exhales deeply] Doors open. 13:20 Now the platform is just crowded. Everybody pushes into the train 13:22 because a lot of people have been coming. And so we're crowded into the 13:26 train. Now [Exhales sharply] the doors close behind us. 13:28 [ Exhales deeply ] The train begins to move. But something very interesting 13:33 happens when we're leaving station number 2. And that is, as we get -- The 13:39 doors close. More people are on board. As we get past the station, 13:43 there's a little X there. There's an X in the tracks. That means the train that's on 13:48 this track goes to this one and the train that's on this track goes to that. 13:51 So the X is to help the train change to the other track. We're now taking the X. 13:55 We're in the middle of the X when all of a sudden -- [ Sputtering, clicking tongue ] 13:59 [ Exhales deeply ] Power went off! Power went off! 14:07 We're on the X -- part on one track, part on the other. Not so bad... 14:15 except I look out the window, and I say, "Darius, do you see that? 14:18 There's another train coming this way. It's coming this way. 14:21 It has no engineer. It can't see a thing! It's just gonna keep coming, and 14:24 it's gonna hit -- it's gonna hit the cars behind us that are on its track!" 14:30 [ Inhales deeply ] "Hold on!" But all of a sudden... 14:35 [ Sputtering, clicking tongue ] Its lights went out. [ Exhales deeply ] 14:41 Stop. [ Sighs deeply ] [ Laughs ] 14:46 We were glad... except that now we waited and waited and waited and waited. 14:53 There's no engineer. There's nobody to ask questions. The people in the other car are 14:56 looking at us. We're looking at them. "Yo. 14:58 No, no, we're not going either. Mnh-mnh." Waiting, waiting, waiting. 15:02 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 3 hours -- well, it felt like three hours. 15:06 It's really only about -- [ Laughter ] 20 minutes, 30 minutes. 15:11 Nothing, nothing. We don't know anything, when, all of a sudden, 15:14 [Exhales deeply] our doors open. "Whoa! That's a long ways down! Don't go there! 15:17 Don't go near the door!" And all of a sudden -- I tell you the truth -- a tiny little 15:22 lady climbs up. [ Imitating pitter-patter ] [ Gulps ] 15:25 She jumps in. "Whew!" She says, "I'm the engineer." 15:29 [ Laughter ] "Well, we are glad you are here, lady." 15:32 [ Laughter ] She says, "Scuse me, scuse me, scuse me, scuse me, scuse me." 15:36 She spends 15 minutes up on the other side of the car. We have no idea. 15:39 She's -- [ Exhaling sharply ] She says, "I am now going to 15:44 manually drive you to your stop." [ Exhales sharply ] 15:50 Guess what. We made it! But I want to tell you 15:54 something. Oho! It is bad news -- This is what I 15:58 learned. Oh, it is bad news to be stuck on the track with no power. 16:04 Because when you have no power, you're going nowhere. No power, nowhere. 16:13 Oh, I don't want to be stuck on the track of this Earth with a storm coming and going nowhere. 16:19 I want power. And your mommies and daddies are studying a lesson this very 16:23 month about the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "But when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you 16:27 will have...power." Acts 1. Jesus says, "I'm not gonna leave 16:32 you stuck on the tracks. I'm not gonna leave you with a storm coming. 16:35 I'm gonna give power." You're gonna have power right through the storm. 16:40 Oh, what a Jesus. Aren't you glad that He doesn't leave us stuck on the track? 16:44 Aren't you glad He has the power? How many want to say, "Thank 16:48 You, Jesus, for that power, for the Holy Spirit"? And with the other hand, say, 16:52 "Jesus, please fill me with that spirit." Amen. 16:56 Who would like to thank Jesus? Thank Jesus for the power -- Oh, sissy, come on up here. 17:01 Thank Jesus for the power of the Holy Spirit. Can you make it through there? 17:05 Can you make it right through? Come here. There you go. All right. 17:11 Let's thank Jesus for the power that He gives us. We don't have to be stuck on the 17:16 track. What's your first name? >> Kristen. 17:19 >> Kristen. Let's close our eyes and fold our hands as Kristen thanks 17:23 Jesus. >> Dear Jesus, thank You that we could have a nice time and that 17:32 we could... and that we could have power. In Jesus' name, amen. 17:41 >> Amen. Thank you, Kristen. Beautiful prayer. As you go quietly and reverently 17:45 back to your seats, just like Kristen prayed, thank You, Jesus. 17:48 You're not leaving us stuck on the tracks. We have Your power, the power of 17:53 Your spirit. 18:08 >> ♪ Guide me, oh, Thou great Jehovah ♪ 18:14 ♪ Pilgrim through this barren land ♪ ♪ I am weak, but Thou art 18:24 mighty ♪ ♪ Hold me with Thy powerful hand ♪ 18:32 ♪ Bread of heaven ♪ >> ♪ Bread of heaven ♪ >> ♪ Feed me till I want no 18:41 more ♪ >> ♪ Want no more ♪ >> ♪ Feed me till I want no 18:50 more ♪ 19:04 ♪ Open now the crystal fountain ♪ ♪ Whence the healing waters 19:16 flow ♪ >> ♪ Let a fiery, cloudy pillar ♪ 19:24 >> ♪ Lead me all my journey through ♪ ♪ Strong deliverer, strong 19:35 deliverer ♪ ♪ Be Thou still my strength and shield ♪ 19:43 ♪ Be Thou still my strength and shield ♪ 20:03 ♪ When I tread the verge of Jordan ♪ ♪ Bid my anxious fears subside ♪ 20:16 ♪ Bear me through the swelling current ♪ ♪ Land me safe on Canaan's 20:27 side ♪ ♪ Songs of praises ♪ >> ♪ Songs of praises ♪ 20:36 >> ♪ I will ever give to Thee ♪ >> ♪ Give to Thee ♪ >> ♪ I will ever give to Thee ♪ 20:54 [ Song ends ] >> Amen. >> Amen. 21:01 >> Well, thank you, Sanctuary Choir and Jeannie, again. 21:07 That's a prayer for the uncharted journey ahead of us -- 21:11 "Guide me, oh, Thou great Jehovah." 21:18 Before I pray and before we pray, Karen and I want to thank 21:23 you for your thoughtful expressions of love and 21:29 sympathy, your kindness... notes and cards and prayers, 21:38 flowers. 21:39 Bless you. You've just blessed us, and we love you for it. 21:45 So thank you, and thank God. Thank God we have the blessed hope of Jesus' soon return. 21:55 Yeah, we got it. We got it. Let's pray. Oh, God, that's our prayer. 22:05 Guide us. Guide us, oh, Jehovah. Uncharted, the journey before 22:12 us. The nation, just hours ago, commenced the journey. 22:16 We're caught up as a people in it. What does it mean? 22:24 Crazy times. Storm coming. Help us, please. In Jesus, amen. 22:35 >> Amen. 22:39 [ Dramatic music plays ] 23:38 >> A month ago, Time magazine came out with a stunning prediction about our nation, and 23:46 I need to share it with you. It's an op-ed piece written by Ian Bremmer. 23:54 Title -- "The Era of American Global Leadership Is Over. Here's What Comes Next." 24:03 Now, look, I realize we're a campus of almost a hundred nations here. 24:09 But this is about all of us, as you're about to hear. He opens up, a month ago, 24:17 predicting what happened yesterday. That would be the inauguration. 24:21 And so he writes it a month in advance. "As in the past, the day will be 24:25 cold." Well, he got that part right. January 20 is always cold. 24:29 "Melania will hold the Bible." She actually held two Bibles -- Abraham Lincoln's Bible and a 24:34 Bible given to Donald Trump by his mother when he was a child. "The kids will stand by 24:39 proudly." You saw them. "The new President will recite 24:42 his lines carefully, smile broadly, and change history." Now, here we go. 24:48 "And American international leadership, a constant since 1945, will end with the 24:55 presidential inauguration of Donald J. Trump on January 20, 2017." 25:01 Yesterday. "That's not because Trump is bound to fail where his 25:05 predecessors have succeeded." "Oh, no," the editorial goes on, three pages worth, observing 25:12 that there is a latent populism across the face of this Earth, and he checks off the major 25:18 nations one by one -- populism, meaning raw power going back to the people. 25:25 A new leadership vacuum -- he's making the case. In fact, he calls it "a world 25:30 without strong leadership, a new G-zero era." You've heard of the G7 nations, 25:35 the seven most powerful nations on Earth. Then they have the G8, and they 25:38 have the G20. He's calling this G-zero now. Now, this is his line on the 25:41 screen. 25:43 I want you to see it... 25:55 Now, look, I happen to believe that there is a rapidly emerging 25:59 power that will step into this vacuum on its own, but that is 26:04 neither the point of his editorial nor this sermon. 26:09 Ian Bremmer goes on to describe the world as we live in it right 26:12 now. Look at these words. 26:13 They'll be in your study guide. You'll be able to take them 26:16 home. On the screen -- "The 26:18 international order itself is unraveling." 26:21 Right now. "In the past eight years alone, 26:25 the world has seen the worst financial crisis in decades..." 27:01 Wow. Another writer, also an 27:05 American, made a most prescient prediction herself. 27:11 I'll put her words on the screen. 27:14 "The present..." [ Chuckles ] 27:17 Ominously, this sounds like today. 27:22 "The present..." 27:55 You and I could find a dozen talking heads who would bob their heads right now. 28:00 "On the verge of a stupendous crisis"? No kidding. 28:06 But of course. But there's more to this particular prediction. 28:11 Sentence back up on the screen -- "Angels are now 28:13 restraining the winds of strife, that they may not blow until the 28:18 world shall be warned of its coming doom; but a storm --" 28:21 There's that word again. But a storm. 28:24 "But a storm is gathering..." 28:37 Storm. "Finding Jesus in the Gathering 28:42 Dark" -- a new series for a new year in the Pioneer pulpit. 28:49 And that website, www.newperceptions.tv, that's 28:53 where you'll find the "Storm" every single week. 28:56 And the study guide in a moment. Because the only good storm -- 29:03 the only good storm is a storm you're ready for. 29:07 Question -- are you ready for the storm? 29:11 Jesus asks the question in peculiar words. Actually, He raises the 29:15 question. But I wonder, if He were here today, would He ask the same 29:19 question with these peculiar words? Open your Bible with me to the 29:22 Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, Luke chapter 18. What are you talking about, 29:27 Jesus? Luke chapter 18. I'm in the NIV. 29:30 You didn't bring a Bible, grab the pew Bible in front of you. It's page 706 in your pew 29:36 Bible -- Luke 18:8. Go to the very last line of verse eight, the very last line 29:41 of verse eight. Do you see it there? Bright red letters in mine -- 29:44 Jesus speaking... 29:51 Now grab your study guide because that's in your study guide. 29:54 It's the first blank to fill. Will He find faith on the Earth? Did you not get a study guide? 29:58 Hold your hand up. We got some friendly ushers here who will come your way. 30:01 If you didn't get a study guide, you'll want this particular string of text. 30:06 Hold your hand up, and we'll get that to you. Jot it down. 30:08 "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the Earth?" You got to admit, it's a rather 30:12 probing question. "When I return," Jesus asks us -- "When I return, when I 30:16 return to the storm generation, the endgame generation, am I gonna find faith among you?" 30:22 Is it a rhetorical question? Does He mean the answer is, "But of course You will," or does He 30:26 mean the answer is, "No, of course I'm not going to"? What's the answer? 30:30 "When I come back, will I find faith on this Earth?" You say, "Dwight, what's the big 30:35 deal about this faith thing as far as an endgame storm?" You want to see what the big 30:38 deal about this is? Let me run them by you now, a whole string of these. 30:41 Keep your hand moving. We go. 1 John 5:4. Here's a text that you haven't 30:48 read in a long time. I've never preached from it. 1 John 5:4. 30:52 Take a look at this. Just before the Book of Revelation. 30:55 There they are -- 1, 2, 3 John and Jude. 30:58 1 John 5:4. "For everyone born of God 31:02 overcomes the world." Now, here comes the line. 31:05 "This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our 31:11 faith." Write that in. 31:12 "Even our faith." What's the big deal about faith? 31:15 What's the big deal about this endgame storm and faith? 31:19 Ah, faith is the determining -- it is the deciding, defining factor between victory and 31:25 defeat, between life and death. You remember the old gospel hymn? 31:29 ♪ Faith is the victory ♪ ♪ Faith is the victory ♪ ♪ Oh, glorious victory that 31:37 overcomes the world ♪ Old gospel hymn. It's the truth. 31:41 Faith -- we just read it. "Faith is the victory." When the storm strikes, faith 31:44 clearly is the demarcation between overcoming and being overcome. 31:48 [ Exhales sharply ] Right there. So, how do we get this faith? Next text. Look it up. 31:54 John 16:23. Thank you, Elizabeth, for reading that text in your mother 31:59 tongue -- powerfully done, I think. [ Laughter ] 32:03 Beautifully done. We can put it that way. It's beautifully done. 32:07 She just read John 16. These are the last words of Jesus before He prays the great 32:13 prayer of John 17 to His Father. The last words -- here they are. 32:17 This is John 16:33. Jesus -- red letters again. 32:20 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have 32:25 peace. In this world, you will have 32:29 trouble. But take heart!" 32:31 I like it in the New King James -- "But cheer 32:35 up! Be of good cheer. 32:39 I have overcome the world." Hey, listen, guys. 32:44 Figure this out with me, will you? We're only three weeks into this 32:47 new year, and already some of us are going through big trouble. We're talking about trouble with 32:51 a capital T. So, I'm in chapel. I'm in chapel on Thursday. 32:54 And one of the co-eds comes up to me, and she says, "Oh, 32:56 Pastor, you're not gonna believe what a friend of mine is going 32:58 through." And she begins to list all that 33:00 has happened in this new year already. 33:02 Oh, my! 33:06 Jesus says, "Hey, you going through trouble right now? Be of good cheer. Take heart. 33:13 I have overcome the world. I have overcome the lord of trouble. 33:22 So, child, my friend," He whispers in your heart right now. 33:28 "Don't be afraid. I am with you. And I have won." 33:35 Oh, by the way, I would say rather radical, radical faith. This is the night before His 33:43 crucifixion, and He's already declaring He's won. "I have overcome this world." 33:48 Unshakeable faith. Where do we get this kind of faith from? 33:54 Obviously, it's from Jesus. Did Jesus live with this faith? Are you kidding? 33:59 I want you to go to a passage you never thought was Jesus talking, but this is actually 34:02 quoting Jesus when He was here, and you will not find these words in the Gospels. 34:06 Go to the Book of Hebrews, Book of Hebrews chapter two. This is something else. 34:11 We get an insight into the mind of the Word made flesh as in no other place. 34:16 Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two. Let's begin in verse 10. 34:24 Hebrews 2:10. "In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was 34:30 fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their 34:35 salvation --" Ladies and gentlemen, who is the pioneer of our salvation? 34:39 Who's the pioneer? That's the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the 34:43 Pioneer Memorial Church. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. He would make -- how does it 34:48 read here? -- "the pioneer of our salvation perfect through what He suffered." 34:54 Now, those of you going through capital T Trouble right now -- three weeks into the new year, 34:58 and you're already in trouble -- I have good news for you. That's the path of God. 35:08 There is no way we will get out of this life without going through trouble. 35:12 It's just like it is in athletics. "No pain, no gain." 35:15 What do they say when you bulk up? "No pain, no gain." 35:20 Going through trouble right now -- "I have overcome the world." 35:26 Jesus says, "Listen, been there and done that when it comes to trouble. 35:30 I know all about it. Stay with me. Stay with me." All right. But I digress. 35:36 Verse 11. But, "Both the one who makes people holy --" that's the 35:40 Lord Jesus -- "and those who are made holy are of the same family. 35:44 So Jesus is not ashamed to call them --" He's not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters, He 35:48 says. Now, here is quoting the mind of Christ. 35:51 He says, verse 12, "I will declare Your Name, oh, God, to my brothers and sisters in the 35:56 assembly. I will sing Your praises." And now here it comes and, 36:00 again, quoting His mind, "I will put my trust in Him. I will put my trust in Him." 36:06 Would you jot that down, please? "I will put my trust in Him." I will put my trust in God. 36:14 Those are the words of Christ. And that is precisely how the faith of Jesus manifested itself 36:20 when Jesus was here. I mean, lookit, Lucifer suddenly [Exhales sharply] materializes 36:25 in an explosion of light, purporting to be an angel of light -- emaciated Christ, 40 36:31 days of fasting, and he looks down at that emaciated specimen of humanity, and he says, "Yo. 36:39 You daddy's boy. You see these stones here? Turn 'em to bread." 36:46 Ladies and gentlemen, all three of that massive and aggressive onslaught of temptation -- all 36:52 three of the temptations, Jesus responds the same way. You know how He responds? 36:55 What you just read. "I will put my trust in Him. No, I'm not gonna do it." 36:58 "Aw, come on here. Throw yourself off the temple, and see what God will do." 37:02 "I will put my trust in Him. I will not do it." "Come on! Bow down to me! 37:05 I'll give you the whole planet and no Calvary." "I will put my trust in Him." 37:11 Three times. Mortal combat. And how does He respond? "I will put my trust in Him." 37:23 We're talking radical, unshakeable faith. And guess what. 37:30 Hold on to your pew now. Because this is precisely the kind of faith He gives to you -- 37:39 the same! You don't believe it? I'll show it to you. 37:42 Next text in this chain. Here we go. Revelation 14:12. 37:45 You may have read these words before. Revelation chapter 14. 37:49 Go back to the end of your Bible -- Revelation 14:12. Here's that line. 37:55 "Here --" speaking of this storm generation, the endgame generation. 37:59 "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and --" 38:05 the word "keep" is understood because it's continuing -- "those who keep the commandments 38:11 of God and keep the faith of Jesus." Would you jot that down? 38:18 "Here are they who keep the commandments of God and keep the faith of Jesus." 38:23 There will be a generation in Earth's last storm that will hold on -- keep the faith, 38:29 baby -- that will hold on to the faith of Jesus no matter what. Isn't that amazing? 38:36 I mean, think about this. Wow. And because they cling to that faith, guess what. 38:45 Because they cling to the faith of Jesus, guess what they get. They get the victory of Jesus. 38:50 Do you know that? Come on, I'm telling you the Gospel truth. 38:53 Next text. Look at it. 1 Corinthians chapter five -- 15, rather. 38:56 Boy, these are the words you read in a funeral homily or at a graveside. 39:01 This is such powerful stuff. Lookit. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 39:06 Paul... This exclamation of his. This would be verse 30 -- verse 39:12 57, rather. 1 Corinthians 15:57. "But thanks --" Come on. 39:17 "Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through --" write that word 39:23 down -- "through our Lord Jesus Christ." Can you believe that? 39:29 Astounding. First, the Bible establishes that our faith must come from 39:34 Christ. It's His faith. And now the Bible declares that 39:37 our victory will come through Christ -- it's His victory -- showing once again that, when it 39:43 comes to salvation, from stem to stern, from A to Z, from alpha to omega -- "Because I am the 39:48 alpha and the omega and all the letters in between." It's the Greek alphabet. 39:53 It's all about Jesus. The faith of Jesus is what gives us the victory of Jesus. 40:01 Wow. No wonder the greatest Christian who ever lived wrote this 40:07 testimony down, and I hope you memorize it. You probably already have it 40:10 memorized -- Galatians 2:20. I like it in the King James, and so go to your study guide 40:15 because it's in the King James right there. Paul... 40:24 Where is Christ? Where is Christ for the disciple, the follower? 40:27 He's in me. He's in me. Christ lives in me. Now keep going. 40:32 "And the life which I now live in the flesh --" in my 40:35 humanity -- "I live by the faith --" write that down -- "I 40:39 live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and 40:42 gave Himself for me." You see, the faith of Jesus is 40:45 something you can have. 40:47 It's not something that you are. It's not your faith. It's not my faith. 40:50 "I live by the faith of Jesus, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." 40:55 It's His faith! It's His faith. Takes all the worry out of 41:02 wondering, "Will I be saved or not?" No, no, no, no, no, no. 41:05 It's not your faith that saves you. It's his faith. 41:07 "I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." 41:13 Wow. It is the faith of Jesus that makes all the difference in the 41:19 world -- not your faith, not my faith -- because the faith of Jesus brings the victory of 41:25 Jesus. Amen. 41:32 One more text. One more text in this string. 41:33 This is it. Revelation 3. You got to go back. 41:36 I want you to see this in your Bible. 41:38 Revelation 3. To an end-time generation -- 41:40 This would be the storm generation. 41:41 This is the endgame generation because this is Laodicea. 41:44 You may have heard that name before. 41:46 This is a promise to Laodicea, the endgame people, which you 41:51 and I, by the grace of God, long to be a part of, right? 41:55 Okay, so Revelation chapter three. Red letters again. 41:58 Boy, the red letters are not just in the Gospel. You got them all over the 42:02 opening to the Apocalypse because it's the revelation of Jesus, so He's doing a lot of 42:05 speaking, as He should. Drop down to verse 21. 42:09 Fill this in even as we read it. "To the one who overcomes, I 42:14 will give the right to sit with me on my throne --" now, key 42:19 words now -- "just as -- just as I overcame and sat down with my 42:27 Father on His throne." The Greek word for "overcome" 42:34 and "victory," it's all the same Greek word. 42:37 It's all the same. "Overcome," "victory," 42:39 "conquer," it's all the same. So that's why the NIV renders 42:42 this -- I'll put the NIV on the screen for you... 42:52 "Just as I was victorious, just as I overcame --" And how did 42:56 Jesus overcome? How did He overcome? 42:59 His faith. "I will put my trust in Him." Radical faith. 43:04 Unshakeable faith. And that's the faith he says, "I will it to you." 43:09 Because when you have the faith of Jesus, you have the victory of Jesus. 43:14 Put that on the screen for us. When you have the faith of Jesus, you have the victory of 43:19 Jesus. Faith is the victory. Isn't that the song? 43:22 "Faith is the victory." The victory is not me [Exhaling sharply] swashbuckling 43:27 my way through life. The victory is His faith. He won! 43:34 And I put my hands out, and I say, "Amen, Jesus. Give me that faith." 43:37 Boom! His victory becomes my victory. For an end-time, storm 43:43 generation, I make one more promise to her who overcomes, to him who overcomes and has the 43:56 faith of Jesus. "You will sit on the throne with me like I sit on the throne with 43:59 the Father." It doesn't get any better than that. 44:05 So, the question that begs to be asked right now is, "Yo, Dwight, hey, how do I have this? 44:11 How can I live the faith of Jesus?" You know, that's a very critical 44:16 question. I'm glad you asked it. Because, remember, we opened up 44:19 with Jesus' rather sobering announcement. "When the Son of Man comes, will 44:24 He find faith on the Earth?" There is a possibility, apparently, that vast swaths of 44:31 people will be faithless when He returns. I don't want to be in that 44:36 group. No. I'm gonna leave one line with 44:43 you from a classic on the parables of Jesus called "Christ's Object Lessons." 44:48 This line will tell you how you will get the faith of Jesus and you will have it for the rest of 44:53 your life. One line. Page 149. I'll even give you the page 44:58 number. "Christ's Object Lessons," page 149. 45:01 Fill it in, please. "All that Christ received from 45:05 God we, too, may have." Did you catch that? 45:08 "All that He received from God we, too, may have. 45:12 Then ask and receive. With the persevering faith of 45:16 Jacob --" midnight assailant, sweaty torso. 45:19 He's hanging on. He now knows he has God in his 45:22 arms, and he cries out, "I will not let You go unless You bless 45:25 me." "With the persevering faith of 45:28 Jacob, with the unyielding persistence of Elijah --" who 45:32 prayed not once -- after Mount Carmel -- God has nuked 45:36 the summit of Mount Carmel. But Elijah said, "I got to have 45:39 more. I got to have rain. 45:40 We have to have rain." He prays not once, he prays not 45:43 twice, he prays not three times, he prays not four times, he 45:46 prays not five times, he prays not six times -- seven times, he 45:49 says, "God, have mercy on me. Make me an unobstructed channel 45:55 for You to be released to give us rain." 45:58 "With the un..." How does it go here? 46:02 "With the unyielding persistence of Elijah --" oh, I love this -- 46:06 "claim for yourself all that God has promised." 46:10 Now, I've had an extra 48 hours to brood over this quotation. 46:14 You haven't, so I'm gonna help you out. 46:16 I'm gonna speed up your brooding right now. 46:18 I want you to circle some words. Circle the words that I draw to 46:21 your attention. Circle the first "all," will 46:24 you, please? "All." 46:25 "All that Christ received from God --" Hey, what did Jesus 46:28 receive from God? 46:33 All. I mean, give me some "alls." What are some "alls"? 46:37 The spirit of joy? Didn't He receive that from God, the spirit of joy? 46:40 How about the spirit of obedience? Did He receive from God the 46:43 spirit of obedience? How about the spirit of holiness? 46:45 Was He holy, devoted to God? But of course. How about faith? 46:48 Did Jesus receive faith from God? Of course He did. 46:50 All that Christ received you and I can have. The faith of Jesus? Yep. 46:59 So circle the "all," and then would you circle the word "ask"? 47:02 "Then ask." James chapter four says, "You 47:05 don't have, because you don't ask." 47:07 That's half our problem. We got it convinced up here -- 47:10 we just don't ask. We think God's gonna just bring 47:13 it on a silver platter. "No, I'm not gonna force you. 47:15 You have free choice. Ask me, and I'll give it to you. 47:18 Then ask." Circle another word. 47:20 Circle the word "claim." Oh, I like that one. 47:23 "Claim for yourself all --" circle the last "all --" "all 47:27 that God has promised." Oh, wow. 47:40 Do you remember this great law of the universe we've been learning over the last few 47:44 months together? Goes like this. See if it gets completed in your 47:48 mind. When the Omnipotent God speaks a word, the moment He speaks the 47:55 word, the word does what? It creates the reality it describes, so that when God 48:04 says, "Let there be light," in less than half a nanosecond, there was...light. 48:12 And wouldn't you know it? I had a mathematician in first service sitting there, 48:15 listening. And you know what he did? He gave me this card, and he 48:19 said, "Listen, Dwight, I've calculated just how long a half a nanosecond is." 48:24 With all the formula on it. It's very intimidating to preach in this congregation. 48:29 I'm just telling you. [ Laughter ] You can't say nothing about 48:32 nothing, and somebody's got a PhD in it. Or they're doing an honors 48:38 project on it, and they know more than the professors. They do in those cases. 48:44 Half a nanosecond. In half a nanosecond... light. 48:54 So, what if God did this? You say, "Dwight, I love that, I love that. 48:57 'Let there be light.' There's light." What if God said, "Do you let 49:01 there be faith in your life"? Would you say amen to that if He said it to you? 49:05 Of course I would. If You say -- God, if You say to me, "Let there be faith," I 49:09 will say amen, and I'll take it right now in half a nanosecond. Guess what. 49:13 God says it for you. I'll put it on the screen. Don't you lose that study guide. 49:17 Romans 12:3... 49:21 The most pagan of pagans on the planet today -- Of those 7 billion, the most pagan of 49:25 pagans has a seed of faith already in her, already in him. Everybody's been granted a 49:33 measure of faith. Now, it's true, guys -- you don't get faith fully grown. 49:37 Nope. "No pain, no gain." Come on. You ever work out? 49:43 Most of you have not worked out. I can just see that by looking at you. 49:46 [ Laughter ] It's okay. I haven't either. [ Laughs ] 49:50 But the deal is faith can come. You get this little mustard seed of faith, but if -- just like a 49:57 muscle, if you begin to exercise that faith, the muscle that exercises the faith, the faith 50:04 in the faith of Jesus -- you exercise that muscle, that muscle begins to grow. 50:11 Your faith begins to grow. "I've given to everybody on this planet," God says, "a measure of 50:15 faith." And now one more. You want Jesus to tell it to you 50:17 plain? Come on, Jesus. Say, "Let there be faith in me," 50:19 and I will say amen to it, and I'll receive it. 50:22 Here it goes. Mark 11:22. Come on. 50:24 Jesus says -- red letters -- "Have faith in God." 50:28 You want faith? Jesus says to you, "Have faith." 50:32 You may have it. "Let there be faith." 50:34 And in half a nanosecond, however you calculate that, you got it. 50:41 You see what's going on here? 50:44 God has made everything available to you in the 50:48 universe. "All that Christ received from 50:53 God we may also have." You say, "Dwight, I want 51:01 miracle-working power." "Don't be playing games with me, 51:04 boy. Are you serious about that?" 51:06 "Yeah, I want miracle-working power." I want to tell you something. 51:10 Listen carefully. If you sincere about miracle-working power and you 51:19 are living as Jesus lives -- "I place my trust in Him --" then you will receive miracle-working 51:29 power at the moment you need that miracle -- not a second before and not a second later. 51:37 Because if it's for, "Yo, guys, watch me do this!" that's exactly what Lucifer was up to 51:42 in the wilderness. "Let's watch it, daddy's boy. Let's see you do it." 51:46 No. If you're living -- "I put my trust in Him --" when you need a 51:53 miracle, you will get a miracle. Don't you tell God when to jump to and when not to. 52:02 You just trust Him. "I place my trust in Him." "Desire of Ages," page 143. 52:12 Every miracle Christ performed was by the power of God through the angels. 52:17 He didn't do it one -- It was not in Him. He didn't have hot fingers that 52:21 suddenly -- [ Exhales sharply ] "Whoo! What was that?" 52:25 It was not in Him. He came to live exactly as you and I live. 52:30 There's nothing in me either. "I will put my trust in Him." That's how the power came. 52:36 You say, "Dwight, I'd like to have the power of discerning what a man is thinking right 52:40 now. I want to know what that woman is thinking right now. 52:44 Looking in her eyes, I need to know." If you're serious about that -- 52:47 No, seriously. If you're serious, because it will glorify God for you to 52:53 know, then just like Peter -- When Ananias and Sapphira stand in front of him, he reads their 52:59 minds. And he says, "You're lying." Who told him that? 53:07 The third Person of the Godhead. [ Exhales sharply ] "All that Christ receives from 53:16 God, we, too, may have." How about self-control and purity? 53:22 Would you like self-control and purity? Please. 53:27 The faith of Jesus -- When you get the faith of Jesus, you get all these gifts. 53:30 What the faith of Jesus looks -- Here's how it operates. Jesus has a beautiful woman. 53:35 She's beautiful. She's pouring perfume all over His feet. 53:40 She's kissing His feet. She's weeping over His feet. There is no arousal taking place 53:48 sexually. "I put my trust in Him." Instead, He sees a sinner hungry 53:56 for God, and He responds just like that. You don't have to worry. 54:03 Whatever you need, the faith of Jesus is yours. And when you need it... 54:14 you will have it. Ah. Wow. Wow. What's the big deal? 54:23 Here's the big deal. "We are on the verge of a stupendous crisis." 54:31 You don't have to believe me. You don't have to believe me at all. 54:35 You got a bright mind. Figure it out. "We are on the verge of a 54:41 stupendous crisis." And in all candor, you can believe me here -- I worry for 54:49 God's people. I'm worried that somehow we'll just blow this off. 54:57 "It's not a big deal. We'll get over it." 55:02 We're not gonna get over this one. 55:08 A storm is coming the likes of which the Earth has never seen. Question -- are you ready for 55:15 that storm? No, seriously. Are you ready for that storm? 55:19 Are we here on this campus, are we ready for that storm? [ Inhales sharply ] 55:27 The only way you and I will be ready, I repeat, is if we have the faith of Jesus. 55:35 It's a gift. It is a gift of Jesus to us. And so this sermon ends with a 55:43 plea. It ends... with a heartfelt invitation. 55:52 Won't you please begin asking for the faith of Jesus? You have enough Bible texts to 56:02 which you can say, "Amen, let it be so." And I believe -- And I stand 56:08 before you to declare I believe that, when you ask, this gift you will receive. 56:19 "All that Christ received from God we may have." I want to pray. Oh, God. 56:28 That's it, the faith of Jesus. An endgame generation, the storm generation will keep the faith 56:37 of Jesus. Grant that everyone watching on live streaming, everyone here, 56:43 that all of us -- that in this New Year moment, we'll send the prayer to heaven today and today 56:51 and today until Jesus comes. "I will put my trust in You." Grant us His faith. 56:59 The battle on multiple fronts in our hearts, but the faith of Jesus is the one gift that 57:08 brings the victory of Jesus. So grant us His faith. We pray in His name. Amen. 57:17 Amen. 57:20 >> I wanted to take an extra moment to let you know how grateful I am you joined us 57:23 today. I hear from viewers and listeners like you all across 57:26 this nation and literally around the world, and I'm thankful, because it's through the 57:31 generosity of the members of this congregation and people like you that we're able to 57:35 bring you this program. So, if what we shared today has touched your heart, I'd like to 57:39 invite you to become a financial partner with us. Just give us a call. 57:42 Toll-free number 877, the two words "his will." 57:45 877-HIS-WILL. Or, if you'd rather, go to our 57:49 website, www.pmchurch.tv. Either way, your generosity will 57:54 bless a new generation in cyberspace all over this planet. 57:58 So thank you. Thank you very much for your 58:02 partnership. 58:04 ♪♪ |
Revised 2017-01-26