Participants: Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP170128A
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00:08 [ "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" plays ]
00:26 >> Please stand with me. 00:41 [ Congregation singing ] 02:39 You may be seated. [ "Blessed be Your Name" plays ] 02:51 Sing along with us. Blessed be Your name, Lord. 03:23 Every blessing. 04:32 Let me hear you. 04:59 [ "I Will Exalt You" plays ] 07:21 Give it all to God. 07:28 Sing with me. "I will exalt You." 07:52 One more time. Sing "I will exalt You." 08:27 >> Well, happy Sabbath, boys and girls. Nice to see all of you here. 08:30 Yep, it's the last Sabbath of January already. But I'm so glad that you're out 08:36 here. Nice to see you. You look great. 08:38 All right. So, one of my favorite story scouts, she found this story. 08:47 Happened Monday. So we're talking pretty fresh. Happened north of Lake Tahoe in 08:51 California. So it's winter there, like it's winter here. 08:55 And two boys -- Let's see -- Dean Ortiz and Neale Shutler, are driving, 12:15 in the 09:03 morning. So that's Monday morning. Very early. 09:05 Pitch black outside, and it's snowing, did I mention? They're on Highway 89 north of 09:10 Lake Tahoe, when all of a sudden, there is what's called a whiteout. 09:15 Do you know what a whiteout is? You're driving down the road, and that snow just kind of 09:20 goes -- Pshew! -- and the headlights are piercing. You can't see. 09:23 You can't see a thing. David is driving. He's slowing the car down 09:26 slower, slower, slower, because you don't know where you're going. 09:29 When all of a sudden, it cleared, and he hit a bump. It was a bump of snow in the 09:34 middle of the road. And before they could adjust to that bump of snow, before they 09:39 could even move and think, up the mountain, 200 feet up, comes a wall of snow 12 feet tall. 09:48 And that wall of snow comes down faster, faster, faster, comes to the road and where that little 09:53 car -- where David and Neale are in, when that little car looks up -- Boom! -- under 12 feet of 10:02 snow. Can you believe that? "Hey, hey. 10:06 What happened? What happened? What happened? Hey, Neale, can you see 10:08 anything?" "No, I can't. Look out the window." 10:10 "I can't see anything. Look out your window." "I can't see anything, either." 10:14 You know why? They're under the snow. "[ Gasps ] What are we gonna do? 10:21 Nobody knows we're here. Do you got your cellphone?" "Yes, I do." 10:23 "Pull it out." "Okay." "Do you have any bars?" 10:26 "Ooh, not very many bars." "Well, we better decide what we should do. 10:34 And let's just do what the right thing would be." So they did. 10:38 And let's see a picture of them. They did a selfie in the snow underneath. 10:44 There are the windows covered with snow, every direction. "Well, we might as well get this 10:49 on Facebook if this is it." Can you believe that? And with the next breath, they 10:54 dialed -- What numbers did they dial? -- 911. They got ahold of 10:58 the North Tahoe Fire Department. Took them less than an hour for the paramedics to come. 11:02 And when the paramedics arrived, here's the picture the paramedics saw before the car 11:07 was dug out. That's with the car dug out. Under that snow. 11:10 And next picture, please. There's the big hole where the car has gone in. 11:16 Ooh, my, my, my. Oh, I tell you what, boys and girls, some days are good days, 11:23 and some aren't so good. Some nights, the same. But listen, listen, listen. 11:29 When Jesus is your Savior and your forever friend, it doesn't matter, good day, bad night -- 11:37 It doesn't matter. He is always with us anywhere, any time. 11:43 Jesus says, "Abide in me, and I in you. And I'm with you always." 11:48 What a friend. How many are thankful that Jesus is with us always? 11:52 Even under 12 feet of snow, he is still with us. Life feels like it's crashing in 11:57 sometimes, he is still with us. Would somebody like to thank Jesus for always being with us? 12:06 Sissy, I saw your hand first. You come on up here. All right. 12:11 Let's close our -- Let's close our eyes and fold our hands. And what's your first name? 12:16 >> Jerianna. >> Jerianna is gonna pray. Come on, let's close our eyes 12:22 with Jerianna. And she's gonna thank Jesus for being with us always. 12:26 >> Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for this day. Thank you for being with us 12:31 always. And we thank you for everything you've done for us. 12:35 Help everyone to obey God and you. And help the people to raise 12:42 from the dead. In your name, amen. >> Amen, Jerianna. 12:46 Beautiful prayer. Boys and girls, as you go quietly and reverently -- Thank 12:50 you, Jerianna. As you go quietly and reverently back to your seats, thank you, 12:54 Jesus. You are with us all the time. Amen. 13:02 [ Choir vocalizing ] 13:28 >> ♪ I've been in the storm so long ♪ ♪ I've been in the storm 13:42 so long, children ♪ ♪ I've been in the storm so long ♪ 13:55 ♪ Oh, give me a little time to pray ♪ [ Choir vocalizing ] 14:18 >> ♪ Oh, let me tell my mother how I come along ♪ ♪ Give me time to pray ♪ 14:35 ♪ With a hung down head and an aching heart ♪ >> ♪ Oh, give me a little time 14:51 to pray ♪ [ Choir vocalizing ] 15:08 >> ♪ I've been in the storm so long ♪ ♪ I've been in the storm 15:23 so long, children ♪ ♪ I've been in the storm so long ♪ 15:36 ♪ Oh, give me a little time to pray ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ 15:49 ♪ When I get to heaven, I'll walk unabowed ♪ ♪ Give me a little time 16:01 to pray ♪ ♪ There'll be nobody there to turn me out ♪ 16:17 ♪ Give me a little time to pray ♪ >> ♪ To pray ♪ 16:28 >> ♪ I've been in the storm so long ♪ ♪ I've been in the storm 16:41 so long, children ♪ >> I've been in the storm so long ♪ 16:54 >> ♪ Long ♪ ♪ Just give me a little time to pray ♪ 17:16 [ Choir vocalizing ] ♪ To pray ♪ [ Choir vocalizing ] 17:34 ♪ To pray ♪ >> ♪ To pray ♪ [ Applause ] 18:06 >> Thank you, choir. That was absolutely beautiful. 18:14 Oh, God, how true... for this Earth, for this congregation. 18:27 Been in the storm so long. Time to pray. As we carve out these last few 18:40 moments, is there good news in the midst of being in the storm? There is. Let us see it. 18:45 Let us sense it. Let us embrace it. In Jesus name, amen. 18:53 ♪♪ 19:54 >> So, let's talk about a coin toss. 19:56 You know what a coin toss is, don't you? 20:01 When they play the Super Bowl, the two teams, captains from 20:04 both teams, will gather in the center of the field with a 20:07 referee. He'll have a coin, not unlike 20:11 this. It'll actually be a 20:13 commemorative coin. This is a silver dollar. 20:15 He'll say, "All right, gentlemen, come here, come here, 20:17 come here. This is heads. 20:20 This is tails. 20:23 I want the visiting team to make the call." Well, who's visiting? 20:26 Everybody's visiting. It's the team with the worst record of the two. 20:30 "You make the call." So he'll take that coin, and he will flip it up. 20:34 Only he won't catch it. It goes to the turf. Stoops over, picks it up. 20:39 Voilà. Here's the result. Interestingly enough, 20:44 50 Super Bowl games, 24 of the times, the team that won the coin toss won the game. 20:53 So what's the big deal? The big deal is this, all to make this point -- If you're 20:58 gonna have a coin toss, you have to have a coin with two sides on it. 21:03 If it doesn't have two sides, you're living in a two-dimensional world. 21:08 Three dimensions -- You have to have -- Every coin has two sides. 21:11 It's the two sides together that make the coin valuable. So, once upon a time, God minted 21:19 a pure gold coin. Absolutely, exquisitely expe-- The most expensive in 21:28 the universe. And He called the coin "Salvation." 21:32 And guess what -- It has two sides. Do you know the two sides to 21:39 the coin of salvation? Open your Bible up. Let's go. The words of Jesus. 21:43 John chapter 15. Thank you, Robert, for reading in Portuguese. 21:47 John chapter 15. Take a look at this. The words of Jesus. 21:50 Two sides to the salvation coin. So, I'm in the NIV. I'm gonna find it here. 21:57 You find it in your translation. Didn't bring a bible, grab the pew bible in front of you. 22:02 Page 727. Bright red letters. This is late Thursday night. 22:06 Only 11 disciples now. In less than 24 hours, Jesus will be dead. 22:12 John 15. Let's pick it up in verse five. 22:21 Some of your translations read, "If you abide in me." 22:32 Zero. Nada. Nothing. All right? 22:36 Now, do you see the two sides of the coin? They're right there. 22:39 Did you see them? Let's write it down. Grab your study guide right now, 22:42 and let's just scribble this down because this is absolutely critical to understand the two 22:46 sides. Find the study guide in your worship bulletin. 22:48 You didn't get a worship bulletin? Come on, ushers. 22:50 Here they come. Hold your hand up. They're gonna get a study guide 22:53 to you. Up in the balcony, the same. And those of you watching right 22:57 now, we're glad to have you on live streaming. You're already on our website, 22:59 so go the website and run off, real quick, the study guide. By the way, if you have your 23:04 device with you, you got your smartphone with you, you can do it all on the smartphone. 23:08 What's the website? 23:10 Please put it on the screen. You go to that website, click on 23:15 number three. What is the series? 23:17 "Storm -- Finding Jesus in the Gathering Dark" where it says 23:20 "study guide" under part three. You can do it all on your phone. 23:23 You never have to have paper again. 23:25 It's a paperless-study-guide world. 23:26 You'll carry these with you forever. 23:28 All right, let's go. So let's fill it in, what we 23:31 just read, the words of Jesus. Jot it down. 23:34 Jesus speaking, "If you remain in Me" -- Hit the pause button 23:37 right there. We will call that -- We will 23:39 call that the "We are in Christ" side of the coin. 23:42 Remember, there are two sides. So that's the "We are in Christ" 23:45 side of the coin. Jot that down, please. 23:47 We are in Christ. So, Jesus says, "If you remain 23:53 in Me and I remain in you" -- Oh. 23:57 There's the flip side of the coin. 23:58 We'll call that the "Christ is in us" side of the coin. 24:02 Jot that down. "You remain in me and I remain 24:05 in you, then you will bear much fruit." 24:08 Plain and simple, ladies and gentlemen. 24:10 The coin has two sides. One side is the "We are in 24:13 Christ" side. Turn the coin over -- 24:16 "Christ is in us" side. You have to have both sides. 24:19 If you don't have both sides, you don't have the coin, and you 24:21 don't have the value. Now, let's put it up as a 24:24 graphic. Put it up as a graphic, please, 24:26 on the screen. Let's go back to that "We are in 24:29 Christ" side. What's that? 24:30 That is God's gift of forgiveness. 24:33 Forgiveness. You got this in your study 24:35 guide. That's God's gift of 24:37 forgiveness. With the "Christ is in us" side, 24:40 that's God's gift of fruit. Both are gifts. 24:44 The fruit, the forgiveness. Two sides of the coin. 24:46 Two gifts. The first side of the coin, the 24:50 gift of forgiveness, that's the theological term called 24:52 "justification." We don't use this language. 24:54 This generation doesn't even know. 24:56 What are you talking about? We don't use it anymore, but 24:58 that's what that building over there calls it -- justification. 25:02 The other side of the coin, "Christ is in us," that's what 25:04 they call "sanctification." Now, you see what's on there in 25:07 yellow? That's what came to me after we 25:10 printed the study guide, so you're gonna have to scribble 25:12 this down real quick because the contrast goes on. 25:15 On the "We are in Christ" side of the coin, that's what changes 25:20 our external status. Forgiveness, justification. 25:24 It changes our external status. Flip the coin over. 25:27 "Christ is in us" side of the coin -- that's what -- that's 25:31 what changes our internal state. Something changes inside of us. 25:36 One more. Keep writing. The "We are in Christ" side of 25:40 the coin -- that's what declares our righteousness, our right 25:45 being. You flip the coin over. 25:47 What's that side of the coin? "Christ is in us." 25:49 That's what demonstrates our righteousness. 25:52 Now, this is gonna come clear in just a moment. 25:54 But the two sides. You say, "Dwight, but listen. 25:56 Come on. Please. What's the big deal? 25:58 Who cares, two sides?" Ah. Here's the big deal. 26:00 Keep the graphic up, please. Because some people are in 26:04 big trouble. You know why? 26:06 Because they emphasize only one side of the coin. 26:10 They act as if there is no other side. So you can do that with the 26:13 "We are in Christ." You just say, "Hey, hallelujah. I'm saved. Grace, grace, grace. 26:16 Yo! Give me a high five, Jesus." And that's all they talk about. The flip side is just as true. 26:23 Some people jump to the bottom, and they say, "Christ is in us." "Hey, behavior. 26:27 You got to get your behavior together. You got to have fruit in your 26:30 life." And that's all they talk about. You need to be able to spot 26:35 those kind of people, because the moment you see them, they only got half a coin. 26:39 And one-sided coins are of no value. You have to have both sides. 26:44 The coin of salvation. Jesus says there are two sides to it. 26:47 And Paul comes along, and he says, "Amen." Yeah, Paul agrees with Christ. 26:51 Put the words on the screen. Galatians 2:20. 26:53 "I am crucified with Christ" -- Oh, hit the pause button there. 26:58 Scribble it into your study guide. 27:00 That's the "We are in Christ" side. 27:02 You weren't at Calvary. I wasn't in Calvary. 27:05 But He took us to Calvary, and He took our sins there. 27:07 We are in Christ. "I am crucified with Christ -- 27:11 nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but --" 27:13 Oh, here it comes. Christ lives where? 27:16 "In me." That's the "Christ in us" side 27:19 of the same coin. Keep reading. 27:29 There they are, ladies and gentlemen -- two sides to the 27:31 salvation coin -- "We are in Christ," "Christ is in us." 27:36 And once you know these two sides, you're gonna spot it all the way through 27:40 the New Testament. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. But with your permission, I'd 27:45 like to concentrate on the second side of the coin. Because, actually, #RxF4Now, 27:52 our little series last fall, we were focusing on the "We are in Christ." 27:56 Now, futile times we have, with the "Storm" series, let's flip the coin over. 28:01 "Christ is in us." "Is that just Jesus's words that bring that to us? 28:05 One little line, and you're making a big case out of it? Are you kidding?" 28:08 Get your pen running. I'm not gonna comment on a single one of these verses. 28:11 I'm gonna run them by you. Here they come. Six in a row. Write them down. 28:19 That's the second side we're gonna concentrate on. 28:24 We just read that as well, but now fresh territory. 28:35 Keep reading. Paul says, "I pray that Christ 28:39 may dwell in your hearts." Christ in, inside. 28:47 This is one of the big ones for "Christ in us." 28:59 One more. And by the way, he's speaking to 29:02 the storm generation, the end-game storm generation. 29:05 It's called Laodicea. He speaks these words to 29:08 Laodicea. Revelations 3:20. 29:19 Christ in you. 29:24 "Yeah, but come on, Dwight. I mean, why are you making such 29:26 a big deal about the second side of the coin?" 29:29 Oh, I'll tell you why. We just read it. 29:31 Write it down. John 15:5. What did we read? 29:34 "I am the Vine --" Jot it down -- "you are the branches. 29:37 If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much --" 29:42 What? What's the next word? You'll "bear much fruit." 29:47 For the God of the universe -- I'm talking about the Father, 29:49 the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- for the God of the Universe, 29:52 "bearing fruit is a huge deal." You know why? Jot this down. 29:56 "Because it is --" Fruit is "the only way to show that the branch 30:03 is truly connected to the Vine. No fruit, there's no connection. 30:08 No connection, there's no fruit. It's a big deal. 30:12 In fact, Jesus tells a parable over here in Luke. 30:15 It's a parable. We never read this one, do we? 30:18 Luke chapter 13. But he's making the point. 30:20 Watch this. Luke chapter 13. Beginning in verse 6. 30:24 And Jesus told this parable. Here comes the parable now. 30:27 "A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard." 30:29 So Jesus was in the vineyard in John 15. 30:31 We're still in the vineyard. But here is this one little fig 30:34 tree growing up out of the vineyard. 30:54 And the gardener jumps up, he says, "Sir, hold it, hold it, 30:57 hold it." 31:10 Would you jot that down, please? 31:18 Ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake about it. God very much wants fruit. 31:24 You know why? Because fruit-bearing is proof to anybody who asks -- who asks, 31:34 who wants to know if I'm connected to the Vine. For anybody who observes, who 31:42 wants to ascertain, are you connected to the Vine? It's a big deal for God because 31:48 it's God's character on the line. And if He has people who are 31:52 connected to Him, they'll bear the fruit of who He is. It's a big deal. 31:57 You say, "Well, I suppose it's a big deal, Dwight. But you know what? 32:00 It really depends on what kind of fruit you're talking about." Well, how about this fruit? 32:02 On the screen again. 32:05 "The fruit --" Write that in, please. 32:24 So, what did Jesus say? "If you abide in me and I abide 32:27 in you, you will bear much fruit." 32:29 In other words, it's gonna show. Reminds me of that day when Satan came sauntering into 32:34 the council room in heaven. God spots Satan walking in. He says, "Yo, Satan. 32:39 You see that friend of mine down there? I mean, has anybody gotten 32:43 closer to me than that man named Job? What do you think of Job?" 32:46 And Satan just shoots back, "Yeah, God, I'll tell you what. You turn off your little 32:50 blessing machine, and he'll turn away from you. I promise you." 32:55 God pauses for a moment. He thinks. He said, "Okay." 32:58 I'll turn off the blessing machine. You can have at it with him. 33:03 Only don't you kill him. All right?" 33:08 In the Book of Job, there's this stunning narrative of a man who, 33:12 in the midst of crippling calamities -- I mean, we're 33:14 talking about loss of property, loss of the beloved ones, loss 33:18 of personal health -- relentlessly is hanging on to 33:22 his trust in God. In fact, for me -- Okay, for me, 33:25 the stunning of all stunning lines in Job is this one -- When 33:30 he sobs his confession and he says, "Even though He slays me, 33:38 I'm gonna trust Him." 33:41 Man, if I could borrow language that's gonna come from 2,000 years after Job, I'd say, "Look 33:47 at Job. Obviously here he is abiding in Christ, and Christ is clearly 33:53 abiding in him because just look at the fruit. "Have you seen my friend Job?" 34:00 "Have you seen my friend Tony?" "Have you seen my friend Stanley?" 34:11 Look. What does Job say? Jot it down. 34:25 How did Jesus put it when he was on Earth? 34:26 Hebrews 2:13 says this was his life confession. 34:29 Hebrews 2:13 -- "I will put My trust in Him." 34:34 "I will put My trust in Him." 34:40 Jesus says, "Abide in me and I in you." 34:46 "The faith of Jesus is revealed --" Jot it down one 34:49 more time -- "in the fruit of the Spirit." 34:51 The fruit. Okay, here's "Desire of Ages." 34:54 Oh, this is dynamite. Watch this. 35:08 That's what fruit is. It's just, "Yo, man, look at 35:10 that guy. Reminds me of God." But it gets even better. 35:14 Watch this. 35:25 You know why? Because the fruit of the Spirit 35:27 doesn't come by labor. Doesn't come by grunting and 35:29 straining. "I'm gonna get this." 35:31 It comes by abiding. By abiding in Him. 35:36 "Abide in me and I in you." So, we got four apple trees on 35:40 our little property. And boy, when they're going, 35:45 delicious fruit. But I'll tell you the truth. 35:51 I go out in the middle of the night. 35:53 No kidding. This is true. I go out in the middle of the 35:56 night, and I stand near those trees. 35:58 And I have never, in the middle of the night, ever heard those 36:03 apple trees sobbing, "I am trying so hard to bear fruit, 36:07 but nothing's coming. I'm grunting. I'm panting. 36:11 I'm straining. But no fruit is popping out. 36:14 Poor, pitiful me." 36:20 Never. Never heard it. You know why? Because these four little apple 36:25 trees, they abide in the soil, and the soil abides in them. They abide under the glorious 36:32 sun, and the sun abides in them. They abide in the showers of rain, and the rain abides 36:39 in them. They just stand there, and apparently, they bear fruit from 36:44 that quiet abiding. So maybe that's what's supposed to be with us. 36:51 What did we just read? 36:52 "The Savior does not bid us labor --" work, strain, groan -- 36:56 "to bear fruit." Can I put it this way? 36:59 Let's just shift the metaphors here, move from fruit to 37:02 relationships. 37:05 When you fall in love with somebody, and you have. When you fall in love with 37:11 somebody, you really end up abiding in that person. And that person abides in you. 37:18 You don't grunt. You don't growl. You don't grit yourself into 37:21 love. You abide in a very special friendship that deepens the more 37:29 you abide in each other. You talk. You listen. You keep reminding yourself, 37:34 "Two ears, one mouth, two ears, one mouth," to remember the lesson. 37:40 But the more time you spend together, the deeper it grows. No kidding. Really. 37:46 The more time. The more heartache, the more pain, the more tears you go 37:51 through together, the deeper grows your love for her, your love for him. 37:57 You don't take a pill to get this. You don't grunt. 38:05 You just abide in her, in him. Even as she, as he, abides in you. 38:11 And ever so surely, ever so slowly, you begin to change. It's how it works in a 38:18 relationship. Love changes you. The most powerful book I've ever 38:24 read on marriage is written by a Canadian author named Mike Mason. 38:28 Title of the book, "The Mystery of Marriage: As Iron Sharpens Iron." 38:31 In my humble opinion, here is an absolutely brilliant observation. 38:36 Put the words on the screen for you. 38:57 "Yet ironically, it is some of --" I love this. 39:16 So, if you're heading down that pathway, jot it down. 39:27 That's what Jesus is talking about when he says, "Abide in 39:30 me and I in you. You will bear much fruit." 39:33 Be prepared for change. Revolutionary change. Ever so slowly, ever so surely, 39:40 that change just creeps into your relationship. Well, the question that begs 39:45 itself is, "How should we abide, He in us, and us in Him?" As it turns out, this coin -- As 39:55 it turns out, the faith of Jesus is absolutely essential for both sides of the coin. 40:00 The faith of Jesus. The question is, Jesus's faith when he was here, "How did he 40:08 get his faith?" Oh, come on. Remember that moment? 40:12 Satan materializes -- Shoo! -- materializes himself. He's standing in front of the 40:16 emaciated and famished God-made flesh, the Son of God. And with that assault of three 40:24 blinding temptations, Jesus picks up the challenge. And have you noticed, all three 40:33 temptation, when He responds to the temptation, He begins with the identical words. 40:36 What are the words? Do you remember? "It is written." Yeah. 40:44 In fact, that first temptation responds -- Jot it down in your 40:47 study guide. 40:56 Every word. Now, remember, when God speaks a 40:58 word -- When the omnipotent God speaks a word, the word 41:02 instantly creates the reality it describes. 41:04 So when Jesus quotes the word back to the tempter, and he says, "Man shall not live by 41:11 bread alone," in the very speaking of the word, divine power is unleased in him, and he 41:16 can stare at those stones that he could turn into bread, and he can say no to his appetite, just 41:21 like that. Where'd the power come from? It was supernaturally infused in 41:25 him because he believed the word. And he says, "Man shall not live 41:28 by bread alone." Pshew! All three times. 41:34 The Word of God was huge for Jesus. As he abided in the Father, and 41:40 the Father abided in him, the word was the key. In fact, watch this. 41:46 Jesus is obviously saturated with the Psalms, the prayer book of his faith community. 41:52 He has memorized the Psalms. The book of Hebrews chapter 10 says these are actually words 41:58 Jesus quoted. Jot them down. This is from Psalm 40:8. 42:02 Jesus speaking... 42:09 So he quotes the promise, and he says amen to it, and, boom, 42:14 written all over the walls of his heart and his mind. 42:16 And guess what -- you and I say amen to it, all over us, the 42:21 Word, the Law of God in our heart. 42:25 Psalm 119:11. 42:34 The Word of God is the secret to Jesus abiding in Him and He in 42:38 Jesus all through his life, all through his mission. 42:41 And get this. I had never seen this before. But even as he is expiring, 42:47 he's been hanging on the cross for six hours. Darkness is moving in to swallow 42:53 him up. In that moment just before death -- I never knew this 42:58 before. Did you? -- Jesus goes to an embedded promise in the Psalms. 43:06 I'm indebted to Camron Schofield for showing me this in his book "Heralding the Loud Cry." 43:12 Watch this. You remember when Jesus dies. Finally at the end, he cries out 43:18 a rather triumphant exclamation. Do you remember what it was? "It --" What? "is finished." 43:26 And then the seventh word of the cross, right after he says, "It is finished," the final 43:29 word -- "Father --" And how's it go? "Father, into Your hands 43:35 I commit my Spirit." Now, people have come -- and I've taught the cross through 43:40 the years -- people have come and said, "Hey, Dwight. I mean, how do you explain that 43:44 faith?" And you know what I've said? It's kind of a wimpy reply, but 43:49 this is what I've used for years -- "Well, you know, Jesus, before he came to Calvary, he 43:54 was telling everybody, 'I'll be dead for three days, and then I'll come up. 43:56 I'll be dead for three days, and then I'll rise up. I'll be dead for three days, and 43:59 I'll rise up.'" So Jesus remembers the promise. He remembers what he's been 44:03 telling everybody, and he hangs on to that. And how wrong that 44:08 interpretation is. Thank you, Camron. You know what Jesus does? 44:13 As the darkness in overwhelming him, just as it's about to suck him up, Jesus puts his finger on 44:21 an embedded promise in the Psalms. Write it down. It's Psalm 16. 44:25 Unbelievable. 44:26 Look at these words. It's Jesus speaking. 44:29 "I will keep my eyes always on the LORD." 44:32 No matter how dark my life right now, "I will keep my eyes always 44:36 on the LORD." I will put my trust in Him. 44:38 Remember, he lives by that. "I will keep my eyes always on 44:41 the LORD. With him at My right hand --" 44:43 Now watch this -- "I will not be shaken." 44:46 Why will you not be shaken as you're dying? 44:47 Keeping reading. "Because You will not --" Write 44:50 that in -- "You will not abandon Me to the realm of the grave." 44:53 You will not let me stay in there. 44:55 You will not keep me in the grave, in the realm of the 44:58 dead. "You will not abandon Me to the 45:02 realm of the dead, nor --" Write that word in -- "will You let 45:05 Your faithful one see decay." In his mind, as the darkness 45:11 overwhelms him -- In fact, "Desire of Ages" tells us he 45:13 cannot see past the portals of the tomb. 45:15 This is a one-way street into eternal oblivion. 45:20 But in his mind, as he contemplates that ending, the Spirit brings back to him a 45:27 promise -- You will not let me be held captive in the realm of the dead. 45:31 You will not let this body decay. And so, in a cry of sheer faith, 45:40 "Amen to that promise. It is finished. Father, into Your hands, I 45:44 commit My Spirit." Boom, he's dead. But what God spoke with His lips 45:52 is instantly created. And that body locked in the realm of the dead, not a moment 46:01 of decay. Three days later, poof! Isn't that amazing? 46:09 Now, Cameron Schofield -- I want you to get his point. Words on the screen. 46:13 "If you don't get anything else out of this study --" Schofield writing -- "I want you to listen 46:17 carefully and get this." 46:34 The italics are his. "He believed that God would keep 46:39 His Word." He died. 46:44 The faith of Jesus -- "I will put my trust in Him even in death." 46:49 And in that instant before He dies, the promise appears to Him that He had read. 46:55 How many times have I read the Psalms and never thought about Jesus reading this line? 46:58 He read it. He knew it. "You will not leave me in the 47:03 realm of the dead. You will not let my body decay." Amen! 47:08 Dead. And God says, "You quoted my Word back to me. 47:15 You quoted my omnipotent Word back to me. 47:18 And because you believe it, you get it." 47:24 That's the faith of Jesus. "Here are they that keep the 47:27 commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus." 47:29 That would be the storm generation, the end-time 47:31 generation. They're known with two 47:33 characteristics. 47:34 They keep the commandments of God, and then there's nothing else. 47:37 It says, "and the faith of Jesus," meaning the keep the faith of Jesus. 47:42 Your faith won't get you anywhere. You can't get saved by your 47:46 faith. You and I can only be saved by the faith of the Lord Jesus 47:50 Himself. The faith of Jesus. "You abide in me. 47:55 I abide in you." You'll be okay. Where did Jesus get His faith? 48:01 From the Word of God, of course. Where do we get -- Where do we get the faith of Jesus from? 48:05 From the Word of God, of course. Let me end with this -- "Desire of Ages." 48:08 Let me end with this quotation. "It is through the Word --" Write that in. 48:13 "It is through the Word that Christ abides in His followers." That's how He does it -- through 48:20 the Word. Keep reading. "The words of Christ --" that 48:23 would be in the Gospels -- "are sprit and life." That's John 6:63. 48:26 Keep reading. "Receiving Christ's words, you receive the life of the Vine. 48:29 You live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 48:32 The life of Christ in you produces -- " Can you believe this? 48:35 Jot it down. "The life of Christ in you produces the same fruits as in 48:40 Him." That's why when you abide in Jesus and He abides in you, 48:44 people look at you, and you know what they're thinking about? They're not thinking about me. 48:48 They're not thinking about you. They're thinking, "Man, that guy is like this with Jesus." 48:53 "That girl is like this with Jesus." What's showing up? 48:57 The fruits of the Spirit, that's what's showing up. They say, "I recognize that. 49:03 I recognize that. I recognize that boy." They took note that these men 49:07 had been with Jesus. See? It's the fruit -- Acts 4:13. 49:11 It's the fruit. That's it. That's it. 49:19 You know what that means? 49:21 We'll finish the sentence here. "Living in Christ, adhering --" 49:24 or clinging -- "to Christ, supported by Christ, drawing 49:27 nourishment from Christ, you bear fruit after --" the 49:30 likeness. The similitude is the likeness 49:32 of Jesus. I'm telling you what, ladies and 49:34 gentlemen. See the two sides? 49:36 See, here's the salvation coin. Two sides. Every side is Jesus. 49:41 It is Jesus from stem to stern. It is the faith of Jesus -- both sides. 49:45 We are in Christ. He is in us. It's Jesus from beginning to 49:49 end. And that's good news, because if it depends on you and it depends 49:56 on me, curtains. It's not my faith. It's not your faith. 50:02 It's the faith of Jesus that He's offering you and me today. I will put my trust in Him. 50:11 You know what that means? Jot it down. One last fill-in-the-blank. 50:14 "If you want to abide in Christ and you want Him to abide in you, every day ask for the faith 50:20 of Jesus as you read the Word of God." Now, I'm gonna repeat that a 50:26 thousand times right now. Every day ask for the faith of Jesus as you read the Word of 50:33 God. Every day -- In fact, say it out loud with me. 50:37 Every day ask for the faith of Jesus as you read the Word of God. 50:41 Come on, let's do it again. Every day ask for the faith of Jesus as you read the Word of 50:48 God. That's it. That's it. 50:51 Both sides of the coin are now dealt with. You're okay, and I'm okay, 50:57 because we have the faith of Jesus. I'm telling you what. 51:02 I'm just saying. It is through the Word -- What did we just read? 51:09 It is through the Word that Christ abides in us. And, oh, by the way, when Christ 51:13 abides in you and you abide in Him, guess what. You will not only bear much 51:17 fruit. No, no, no, no, no, no. But it will be the beginning of 51:21 a story of a friendship that will last forever and ever. Amen. 51:26 That's it. That's the teaching. Take it home. 51:30 Take it into your heart. I want to pray with you after we sing two stanzas -- 51:36 Ralph Carmichael. This is a great piece. Steve, you know this piece well. 51:41 The Savior is waiting to... enter your heart. It's, "I want to come in." 51:47 It's the Laodicean invitation. "I'm knocking. Let me in." 51:51 There are only two stanzas to it, so, ushers, please stand. Please go. 51:54 And let's go. Let's sing. [ "The Savior Is Waiting" 51:57 plays ] 53:37 >> ♪ ...take one step toward the Savior, my friend ♪ ♪ You'll find His arms open 53:50 wide ♪ ♪ Receive Him, and all of your darkness will end ♪ 54:05 ♪ Within your heart He'll abide ♪ 55:00 >> Oh, God, what an appeal. The Savior is standing waiting, knocking to enter your heart. 55:14 Time and again, He has knocked. Oh, God, if there -- if there is somebody here right now who's 55:28 hearing the knocking and knows who it is, for that man, for that woman, please... 55:41 just a touch of the faith of Jesus in that heart to have the courage to open the door from 55:49 the inside... and invite the Savior in. Oh, God, it's a big deal. 56:00 We abide in You. You abide in us. And the fruit grows. 56:10 So thank You. Thank You that the truth is all wrapped up in Jesus, the faith 56:18 of Jesus. We go today with that faith in our hearts, His faith, His 56:26 promise, His Word. And now may the grace of Jesus and the love of the Father and 56:41 the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. 57:03 >> May I take an extra moment with you and let you know how grateful I am that you joined us 57:07 in worship today? I hear from viewers like you across the nation and literally 57:11 around the world, and I'm thankful. If you'd like to explore further 57:14 what we've just shared, I hope you'll visit us at our website. 57:17 It's an easy one to remember -- www.pmchurch.tv. 57:22 We're the Pioneer Memorial Church here on the campus of 57:25 Andrews University. So that's www.pmchurch.tv. 57:30 Click onto that website, and you'll be able to listen to a 57:32 podcast of this material. 57:33 You can download the presentation. You can print off the study 57:36 guide. You may have a special prayer need that you wish to share with 57:39 our prayer partners. Or you may wish to partner with us through a personal donation 57:43 to help reach this generation with the everlasting good news of Christ. 57:47 If you'd rather talk with someone, call one of our 57:49 friendly operators. Here's the toll-free number -- 57:52 877 and then the two words "HIS WILL." 57:55 877-HIS-WILL. In the meantime, may the grace 57:59 and peace of Jesus be yours every step of this adventurous 58:02 way. 58:06 ♪♪ |
Revised 2017-02-03