Participants: Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP170211A
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00:08 >> Join us as we sing together. [ "This Little Light of Mine" plays ] 00:16 Sing with me. [ Congregation sings ] 00:42 "All through the night." 02:25 ♪ Let it shine, let it shine ♪ ♪ Let it shi-i-ne ♪ 02:32 ♪ Let it shine, let it shine ♪ ♪ Let it shi-i-i-ne ♪♪ 02:48 I love to hear you guys singing. Lift up your voices to the King. And we're gonna sing about that 02:53 amazing grace that is so sweet to our souls. Can't do without it. 02:59 Can't do a day without it. [ "Amazing Grace" plays ] 03:04 Let's sing together. [ Congregation sings ] 03:50 [ Singing a cappella ] 04:26 [ Piano rejoins song ] 04:41 [ Singing a cappella ] 04:58 [ Piano rejoins song ] 05:27 [ Piano flourish, song ends ] 05:31 >> Amen. [ "Total Praise" plays ] 05:48 [ Congregation sings ] 06:54 >> Sing it out loud now. 07:22 >> ♪ A-A-Amen ♪ ♪ A-A-A-Amen ♪ 07:31 ♪ A-A-Amen ♪ ♪ A-A-A-Amen ♪ 07:40 >> ♪ A-A-Amen ♪ ♪ A-A-A-Amen ♪ 07:50 >> ♪ A-A-Amen ♪ ♪ A-A-A-Amen ♪ 08:05 >> I invite you, those of you who would like to bring your 08:09 praises and requests and petitions to the Father, to come 08:12 to the altar and kneel. 08:15 [ Song continues ] 08:29 ♪ Sing it to Jesus ♪ 08:32 ♪ Oh, Lord ♪ 10:01 Sing it now. >> ♪ A-A-Amen ♪ 10:07 ♪ A-A-A-Amen ♪ ♪ A-A-Amen ♪ 10:16 ♪ A-A-A-Amen ♪ ♪ A-A-Amen ♪ 10:25 ♪ A-A-A-Amen ♪ ♪ A-A-Amen ♪ 10:34 ♪ A-A-A-Amen ♪♪ 10:51 [ "Day and Night Praise" plays ] 11:36 >> ♪ The Lord be praised ♪ ♪ The Lord be praised ♪ ♪ The Lord be praised ♪ 12:09 ♪ The Lord be pra-a-a-ised ♪ ♪ From the time that the sun comes up ♪ 12:37 ♪ Till the going down of the sa-a-me ♪ ♪ The Lord be praised ♪ 13:06 ♪ The Lord be-e-e praised ♪ ♪ The Lord be-e-e praised ♪ 13:28 ♪ The Lo-o-rd be pra-a-ised ♪ ♪ The Lo-o-ord be 13:50 pra-a-a-a-ised ♪ 13:57 ♪ From the time that the sun comes up ♪ ♪ Till the going down of the 14:24 same ♪ ♪ The Lord be praised ♪ ♪ The Lord be praised ♪ 14:53 ♪ The Lord be praised ♪ ♪ The Lord be praised ♪ ♪ The Lord be pra-a-a-a-ised ♪ 15:30 ♪ From the time that the sun comes up ♪ ♪ Till the going down of the 15:55 same ♪ ♪ The Lord be praised ♪ ♪ The Lord be praised ♪ 16:24 ♪ The Lord be [Soprano] pra-a-a-a-ised ♪ [ Song ends ] 16:44 >> Amen! [ Applause ] 16:52 >> Oh, amen and amen. Thank you, Marguerite, Josh, and singers. 16:57 What a -- What a testimony. "The Lord be praised from the sun going up till the same going 17:06 down." I couldn't help but sit in the front pew and just imagine God 17:13 leaning over as Marguerite and her singers sang -- just leaning and saying, "Gabriel, come here, 17:19 come here, come here, come here, come here. Listen to this. Listen to this." 17:24 >> Amen. >> "From all of them, look at that. 17:29 From them." "The Lord be praised." Oh, God, that's why we're here, 17:35 just to lift up our hearts in total praise to You. We've been in worship. 17:44 And we're still in worship. And now the intersection of Your ancient Word with our very 17:54 contemporary living -- make it clear, dear God. Please make it clear. 17:59 Hide me so that the Lord be praised. Amen. 18:07 [ Dramatic piano music plays ] 19:04 [ Music ends ] [ Breathes deeply ] 19:07 So, what does this Black History Sabbath have to do with storm? 19:13 I believe a racial storm is brewing in America, and I fear 19:22 that the church is being entrapped in its angry vortex. 19:30 Two exhibits. Exhibit A. 19:33 This last June, the Pew Research Center released a 19:36 new survey titled "On Views of Race and Inequality, Blacks and 19:40 Whites Are Worlds Apart." The survey opens with these 19:44 words on the screen... 20:33 Let me run some numbers by you. Would that be okay? 20:35 Take a look at the screen. So, they asked -- they surveyed 20:39 both groups and asked the question, "Are blacks treated 20:43 less fairly than whites in America?" 20:46 And you'll see the white and the black response and the 20:50 differentiation between those responses. 20:54 How about in the workplace? Whites said yeah -- 22% of 20:59 whites, "Yep, blacks are treated unfairly." 21:01 Blacks said, "Whoa, whoa." 64% -- a spread of 42 points. 21:06 How about when applying for a loan or a mortgage? 21:09 Whites said yeah -- 25% of them said, "Yeah, they're probably." 21:12 Blacks, 66% -- a spread of 41 points. 21:16 How about in the courts? Whites, 43%, Blacks, 75% -- 32 21:19 points. How about in stores and 21:21 restaurants? Whites, 21% -- "Yeah, unfair." 21:24 Blacks, 49% -- 28 points. How about when voting in 21:28 elections? Whites, 20%, versus blacks, 21:30 43% -- 23 points. In other words, white Americans 21:35 consistently underestimate the impact of unfair treatment on 21:41 their black neighbors. 21:44 "Aw, they're not treated that bad." And then they said that blacks 21:52 are more likely than whites to say blacks have a harder time with whites in getting ahead. 21:58 And here's how the blacks responded -- racial 22:00 discrimination. "You know why I can't get ahead? 22:02 Racial discrimination." 70% of blacks said, "That's why 22:05 I can't get ahead." Whites said, "Well, maybe." 22:07 It's 36% of the whites said, "Maybe they can't get ahead 22:10 because of that." Lower quality schools. 22:13 75% of the blacks said, "That's why we can't get ahead." 22:16 Whites said, "Nah, that's probably only 53% of the reason 22:18 why." Lack of jobs. 22:21 66% of blacks say, "That's why I can't ahead." 22:24 Whites say, "Well, 45%." What did we read a moment ago 22:29 from the Pew Research Center introduction? 22:31 "For many blacks, racial equality remains an elusive goal." 22:38 Well, you say, "You know what? They just need to work harder. That's their problem. 22:41 They need to get a work ethic." Are you serious? Do you even know the meaning of 22:49 uphill climb? Exhibit B. Friend of mine, Calvin Rock, 22:57 African-American -- strong preacher, skilled leader, longtime vice president of the 23:03 General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventists. In this month's issue, February 23:07 2017, the Adventist Review wrote a piece that speaks for itself. I'm gonna read a few lines from 23:15 it to you -- one of our own speaking to us. "It's been asked, even with 23:23 hostility, 'What's the point in chanting that black lives matter when all lives matter?' 23:28 I answered that, in spite of its disagreeable shock to the nation of America's social conscience, 23:34 Black Lives Matter is, in principle and in fact, Gospel truth for at least three 23:38 reasons." And I'll share one of them with you. 23:41 "It is Gospel truth because it reminds us that, while those 23:44 alive today had no part in yesterday's degraded trade in 23:48 humans, in its 246 years of merciless servitude, in its 1787 23:55 decree that Negroes be counted as three-fifths of a human 23:59 being, or in relegating them for more than a half a century, via 24:04 'separate but equal,' to life's most dangerous and undesirable 24:07 places -- that would be the back of the bus, the side of the 24:10 restaurants, the front of the trains, the top of the theaters, 24:12 the bottom of the boats..." I'm putting this on the screen 24:15 for you now... 24:31 Hmm. 24:33 He goes on. "'Black Lives Matter' is still a needed proclamation because, in 24:38 spite of today's welcome laws against injustice spawned by civil rights activities, there 24:43 is much that speaks of a lesser regard for black lives..." Now I raised my eyebrows. 24:47 "Is this -- I didn't know this." "...the denial of updated textbooks in black 24:53 neighborhoods, the limits of option that make black children drink and bathe in polluted 24:59 water, the wrongful arrests, unjust sentences, and more frequent execution of blacks. 25:04 And more -- the grocery stores in black communities that sell inferior produce at higher 25:10 prices, legislation to depress the black vote, absurd district gerrymandering --" politicians 25:16 always refiguring their districts so that they can carve a group out -- "the hostility 25:25 against affirmative action, and the delegitimatizing of the nation's black President by 25:33 angry whites who 'want their country back.'" Their country? 25:40 Are you serious? Their country? "The 'Black Lives' motto is 25:48 truth with the potential at least to shame heartless politicians who resist all 25:52 efforts to provide the poor better healthcare and education and generally remind America 25:56 that, after centuries of the degradation forced upon them, people at least need straps, 26:01 boots denied, in order to pull themselves up by their bootstraps." 26:06 One more line on the screen... 26:19 As he writes, "Awkward truth... is still truth." 26:27 "Yeah, but I'll tell you what, they're always complaining about our failures -- have you noticed 26:31 that? -- our failures as whites, while ignoring their own failures." 26:35 Calvin Rock, African-American, turns the coin over. And in turning the coin over, he 26:42 writes this... "'Black Lives Matter' is the Gospel truth in that it speaks 26:48 relevantly to black Americans, as well. It reminds them that change, 26:52 like charity, begins at home and that they themselves set the patterns their children will 26:57 follow. Apart from religion, education holds their highest hope of 27:01 progress, and blacks don't have to wait on the government to assist their youth in academic 27:06 pursuits. It is hypocritical to decry police brutality but do little 27:10 or nothing about the black-on-black violence that costs between 8,000 and 9,000 27:14 lives each year. And 'Black Lives Matter' speaks to the sad tragedy of our 27:20 failure to overcome self-hatred, the interethnic prejudice regarding so-called good hair 27:26 and bad hair, light skin and dark skin, accent and no accent, all stigmas surviving from the 27:31 racial rules of yesteryear. This, too, is Gospel truth." He goes on, 27:37 "'Black Lives Matter' is a reminder to black American youth that they destroy their 27:42 individual and community's good by bringing into the world children born out of wedlock. 27:47 The 2012 report of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control records that 17% of Asian, 29% 27:54 of white, 53% of Hispanic, and 73% of black babies are born without stable homes. 28:01 Neither that nor the dietary intemperance or lewd and violent mental entertainment established 28:07 in so many black communities is the fault of white America. Neither is the national rate of 28:12 black high-school dropouts -- approximately 50%, as compared to the general rate of 30%." 28:18 I was tempted to leave the following sentence out, but I think I'm gonna go ahead and 28:22 read it. 28:24 "The 'Black Lives Matter' motto is a scathing rebuke to 28:30 professionally successful blacks who function with an 'I got 28:34 mine, now you get yours' attitude, who get lost amid the 28:38 privileges of their education, often aided by some set-aside, 28:42 has brought them, who make no effort to reach back and help 28:45 those climbing up, and who forget --" Isaiah 51:1 -- "'the 28:49 rock from which they were hewn and the hole of the pit from 28:52 which they were dug.'" He doesn't mince words with any 28:58 of us, does he? "Storm." 29:00 Are we trapped in some sort of dark racial cyclone beyond 29:03 rescue? I think not. 29:06 Is Jesus able to infuse anything into our failure as whites and 29:11 blacks? 29:13 I think so. I think He can lift us out of this hole. 29:20 Consider what's been our theme text in this little series called "Storm." 29:24 Open your Bible with me to the red-letter words of Jesus in John chapter 15. 29:28 John 15:5 -- our theme text. Turns out it also speaks to us now. 29:35 John 15:5. I'll be in the New King James Version. 29:38 Whatever version you have is fine by me. Here we go, Jesus speaking -- 29:41 bright red. 29:43 "I am the vine, you are the branches. 29:46 He who abides in Me -- she who abides in me, and I in her -- 29:51 and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do 29:55 nothing." There they are again, 29:57 [Snaps fingers] the two sides of God's exquisitely expensive 29:59 salvation coin. 30:01 Side one, we are... in Christ. Side two, Christ is... 30:08 in us. Jesus said, "Yo, you, you people -- you in me, and let me 30:15 be in you, and you will bear fruit. You will bear stunning fruit for 30:19 my glory in this nation." What's he talking about? Let me show you. 30:25 The upper-room discourse where these words come from, I remind you, these red-letter words of 30:30 Jesus were spoken 12 hours before his brutal execution on Calvary. 30:40 The upper-room discourse -- familiar, almost totally red -- from chapter 13 to chapter 17 is 30:48 actually bookended -- get this -- two bookends, striking posture of Jesus in both 30:55 bookends. Listen. John 13, we find Jesus on his 31:00 knees before his disciples. And, in John 17, we find Jesus on his knees before his 31:07 Father -- what's called an "inclusio." It's two bookends to keep intact 31:14 what's in between. And isn't it amazing that His posture in John 13 is the huge 31:21 clue to the answer of His prayer in John 17? Let me show you what I mean. 31:27 The backstory to Jesus being on His knees before His disciples is found in one single line. 31:32 If Luke hadn't written it, we wouldn't know it. 31:35 Let me put it on the screen for you -- Luke 22, that upper room, 31:38 verse 24. "Now there was --" in that upper 31:40 room -- "also a dispute among --" Jesus' disciples -- 31:42 "as to which of them should be considered the greatest." 31:45 "I mean, which of us is superior to the others? 31:48 Which of us is the leader over the others? Which of us is number one in 31:53 this community?" And so Jesus gets up from the table, strips naked to His 31:59 waist, grabs a towel, and begins to wash their feet. Just turn the page back -- 32:05 chapter 13. Pick it up in verse four. Here's the actual record. 32:09 "Jesus," verse four... 32:24 Jesus performs -- Get this. 32:26 Jesus performs the menial task of a slave. Why? 32:31 Because nobody wants to be a slave. Former slaves don't want to be 32:37 slaves. Slavemasters don't want to be slaves. 32:42 So nobody is going to bow down and admit that, "Maybe I have a weakened self-confidence, I have 32:49 an uncertainty of my self-worth, and I would accede to an observation that I am a slave." 32:55 Nobody bows down. Nobody can break the logjam that night in that upper room, 33:02 because nobody wants to be a slave -- not former slaves and not masters. 33:09 Nobody will be a slave. When Jesus is through washing their feet, Jesus the slave 33:17 resumes His place at the table, and He issues -- get this -- He issues the "11th Commandment." 33:28 It's just happened, the washing of the feet, and then He speaks. Drop down -- You're in chapter 33:31 13. 33:32 Drop down to verse 34 -- bright red letters here, Jesus 33:35 speaking. "A new commandment I give to 33:39 you, that you love another; as I have loved you... 33:44 What you just saw me do, what you just saw me do, you, you do 33:49 this. My love for you, your love for 33:52 each other. ...you also love one another." 33:56 Verse 35. "By this -- by the way -- "all 33:59 will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for 34:03 one another." 34:05 This some sort of isolated, warm, fuzzy moment before He gets on with the meat of His 34:11 upper-room discourse? Are you kidding? Go back to our theme text, 34:16 John 15:5. Look what happens right after John 15:5. 34:20 We'll read verse 5 of John 15 again. 34:22 "I am the vine, you are the branches. 34:25 The people who abide in Me, and I in them, they will bear much 34:29 fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." 34:31 Verse 12. "This is My commandment, that 34:34 you love one another as I have loved you." 34:38 There it is again -- obviously not just a passing notion. 34:43 Verse 13. "Greater love has no one than 34:46 this, than to lay down one's for his friends. 34:48 And you are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 34:52 No longer do I call you servants -- I'm not calling you 34:55 slaves, for a slave doesn't know what his master is doing; but I 34:58 have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My 35:02 Father I have made known to you." 35:04 And, oh, by the way -- verse 16 -- "You didn't choose Me. 35:09 I chose you. Never forget I chose you to 35:14 reflect Me. I chose you. 35:19 And I appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and 35:22 that your fruit should remain, and that whatever you ask of the 35:25 Father in My name he may give to you." 35:27 One last line, verse 17. "These things I command you, 35:29 that you love one another." 35:33 [ Raps pulpit ] This is much on His heart hours before His execution. 35:41 So, here's the question. How else are we going to reach -- As a church of black 35:47 and white, how else are we going to reach America? I need you to just think this 35:54 through with me for a moment. If the country cannot turn to the church and, in this faith 36:01 community, discover on bold display the self-sacrificing love of Jesus lived out between 36:07 the races, why should the country give a hoot for the message that this church has 36:15 been raised up to proclaim? [ Scoffs ] Let me put it another way. 36:19 If America cannot turn to Adventists to see a community where radical self-sacrificing 36:26 love of Jesus is being lived out among us, why would anybody in their right mind give two bits 36:33 for what this movement stands for? You'd be crazy to. 36:40 If we don't practice what we preach, you might as well quit preaching. 36:45 You might as well quit preaching. Because we're not practicing, so 36:49 why preach? Who cares about your theology? Who cares about your beautiful 36:56 educational system? Who cares about your healthcare system that belts the planet? 37:01 Who cares about your doctrinal beliefs? Because if what you believe 37:05 leaves you as fractured as this nation, you can have it. 37:17 So, what does this mean for my faith community, our faith community? 37:22 I'm gonna surprise you right now by not bringing up the "separate but equal" conferences that 37:29 exist only in the United States and are organized by race rather than geography. 37:35 I'm not gonna bring it up. Although, now that you did, let me just -- No, no, no. 37:39 [ Laughter ] I'm not gonna go there. Nope. 37:43 I've already preached twice on that extremely sensitive subject 37:47 in the past. 37:50 And, apparently, those two sermons created such a firestorm among my African-American 37:55 colleagues and friends in ministry, as well as my non-African-American colleagues 37:59 and friends in ministry, that I said to myself, "I get it. I get it. 38:03 This is the third rail of the American Adventist church." And you do know what the third 38:10 rail is, don't you? It's the rail that has power. You touch it, you're dead. 38:15 So nobody touches ever the third rail. And what's the point of 38:20 continually electrocuting yourself? So I'm not bringing it up. 38:25 [ Laughter ] "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. 38:36 Because the way you love one another, the whole world will know the truth about me." 38:41 You know what, ladies and gentlemen? It's time to quote Moses. 38:45 It's time to, "Let my people go." 38:51 They're not being held captive by forces outside the church. It's time for the church to "let 39:00 my people go." There's a dark and brewing storm that is engulfing and will 39:10 totally engulf America one day -- a broiling, racial storm of anger and subjugation and 39:16 retaliation. Let us not be fooled into naively concluding that somehow 39:22 this storm that explodes will just pass by the church. She will not be exempt. 39:30 We will not be exempt. It will be the ultimate tragedy of this faith community if, when 39:37 that dangerous storm strikes, the country will not be able to turn to this church in order to 39:44 find refuge in the love and equality of Almighty God. It'll be the ultimate tragedy. 39:54 If they can't find racial unity here, I ask you, where do they go? 40:00 Politics? Are you crazy? 40:06 The good news is that all it takes will be one man to stand up and show us the way. 40:12 And the good news is that one man has already stood up and shown us the way. 40:21 Which is why, in the shadow of Calvary, Jesus prays the prayer in the second bookend, on His 40:28 knees before the Father. Just turn the page to John 17. We heard these words in 40:33 Afrikaans -- thank you, Lawrence -- a moment ago, the language of South Africa -- 40:37 which has its own struggles. 40:41 This is John 17 -- bright red, Jesus praying to the Father. 40:45 "Father, I do not pray for these alone --" His disciples -- "but 40:47 I pray for those who will believe in Me through their 40:50 word --" that's everybody here 'cause we believe in Him because 40:52 of their word -- verse 21 -- "that they --" my followers -- 40:55 "may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that 40:59 they may also be one in Us, that the world may believe that You 41:02 sent Me." Verse 22... 41:09 "I in them, and You in Me." Whoa. 41:11 This thing works more than we thought. 41:14 I thought it was me in Christ, Christ in me. But Jesus says, "No, no, no. 41:17 It's you in me, and me and the Father in you." Heaven steps in to this 41:28 equation, the Father himself. 41:31 "Oh, Father, I in them..." 41:43 Well, what will it take to answer that prayer? 41:45 I'll tell you what it'll take. It'll take one man. It'll take one woman. 41:51 It will take one young adult. It will take one teenager. It will take one leader. 41:57 It will take one administrator. It will take one school. It will take one congregation, 42:03 one person to stand up and put it all on the table and say to the others and to the 42:08 Lord Jesus, "I put it all there. It's all there. You may have it -- my 42:13 prerogatives, my privilege, my possessions. You have it -- myself, my 42:19 reputation. You have it. You may do whatever you wish 42:22 with me. 42:23 I'm putting it all on the table, all of it for You. 42:33 Use it." It's when a man, it's when a 42:39 woman is willing to give it all up out of unselfish love for the 42:43 other or for the others that social institutions are 42:46 radically changed. 42:49 Just ask Martin Luther King. Just ask Mahatma Gandhi. Just ask Jesus. 42:56 Just ask Paul, who wrote the line that all four of them believed in. 43:01 "When I am weak, then..." Think we're getting that up on the screen. 43:08 "...then I am strong. When I am weak, then I am strong." 43:19 The only way our racial logjam is gonna be broken is if somebody puts it all on the 43:24 table, and, until that somebody does -- Listen carefully now. Until that somebody does, ain't 43:30 nobody going home. Nobody's going home. You know why nobody will be 43:34 going home? Because nobody's coming for you. Nobody's coming for you. 43:40 It'd be like what my principal said. Our academy principal, when he 43:44 caught us boys tinkering with electric bills -- electric bells, rather, in the 43:47 dormitory, setting them off at 4:00 in the morning... he said, "Boys, nobody's leaving 43:52 this room until I found out who did it." Nobody's going home, and that's 43:58 what God's saying. "Ain't nobody going home -- nobody -- until you get this. 44:04 You know enough. You have enough. You are enough. 44:09 What are you waiting for, me to do it? I won't. 44:12 I won't, I won't, I won't. I made you free. You're not a slave. 44:17 You'll have to freely give it all up, put it on the table, and walk away and say, 'You may have 44:24 that and do whatever you wish.' I'm not coming until you kids figure this thing out." 44:33 And you know what? I happen to believe Him. I believe He's not coming. 44:38 There'll just be one storm after another, and they'll all get worse. 44:43 And He keeps waiting. "I give you a new commandment, that you love another as I have 44:49 loved you. By this the whole world will know you are my people, if you 44:57 are one, even as the Father and I are one." So, how does it work? 45:04 Let me introduce you to two new friends of mine, Richard and Betty Moore. 45:08 I want to invite them to come forward. Richard Moore is the associate 45:13 treasurer of the Lake Union Conference. That's the Great Lakes states. 45:16 It's a great part of the world to be living in. And Betty is a nurse 45:22 practitioner, practicing right here in Berrien County. So, Rich, I read your article. 45:28 I read their story in the Lake Union Herald. And I really appreciate you 45:32 being here. Man, this childhood that you grew up with, San Diego -- I 45:37 mean, come on. Explain it to the folks, please. >> I want to give a shout-out to 45:42 Debbie Michel, from the Lake Union, also, who helped craft that article. 45:46 >> Beautiful. >> But growing up as a kid in San Diego, I didn't have a real 45:51 Christian experience. >> Mm-hmm. >> My single mom, who had five 45:55 kids -- just going through life aimlessly. >> Mm-hmm. 46:00 >> And, one day, she met my future-to-be stepdad at a bar, just having a good time. 46:08 And he comes home, and he becomes part of our life. >> Mm-hmm. 46:11 >> He's an African-American man who was an alcoholic. >> Mm. 46:16 >> He -- He would drink a lot. And when he would drink, he was a very unpleasant person, not 46:23 somebody you want to hang around, and that was very bothersome to our family, and I 46:29 began to pray to a God that I did not know. I was not a churchgoer. 46:34 "God, this man is horrible. Get him out of our life." And I would pray that every day. 46:42 I'd pray that every week. I prayed it for over three years, and then God finally did 46:47 answer that prayer. >> And this is the incredible part of your story. 46:51 >> The answer was, "No, I'm not going to get him out of your life, but we're going to change 46:56 him from a roaring lion into a little pussycat." >> [ Chuckles ] 47:01 >> One day, an angel visited his bedside, he told us, and said, "Mitch, get your life together, 47:08 and go back to the Adventist church that you have come from. Be a prodigal son, and go back 47:15 home." And so he gathers us together that one Saturday morning, with 47:21 his five new white children and white wife, to attend the San Diego 31st Street -- a black 47:29 Adventist church. And we are there, and we are welcomed with open arms -- he 47:35 being recognized as who he was before, and now with a new family, bringing a new group to 47:42 this church family. And they welcomed us. They loved us. 47:45 They embraced us. >> They just loved you, and you loved them back. 47:48 You came to love them back. I mean, that's your new home. Your stepdad gets baptized -- 47:53 re-baptized for him -- and you get baptized in that journey. >> After having some Bible 47:57 studies and falling in love with the Bible, I wanted to make a commitment to Jesus as my Lord 48:06 and Savior, and I, too, was baptized a little bit later. >> Wow. 48:11 Yeah, so, African-American church, San Diego -- we got the picture. 48:15 So, these colleges, these universities, like to send recruiting teams out. 48:19 Turns out the only college that sent a recruiting team to your church was... 48:24 >> It was not Andrews. >> [ Chuckling ] It was not Andrews. 48:28 Okay. [ Laughs ] >> Only Oakwood College -- 48:30 Oakwood University now -- came to recruit at that church. >> And what did your people tell 48:35 you? >> The congregation says, "Richard, we love you so much. 48:38 We want to help you to go to Oakwood to study theology, to study to become a pastor, to 48:44 become a preacher..." >> Ah. >> "...and so much so that we're 48:48 gonna help pay the way there. Hallelujah." >> Isn't that amazing? 48:51 So this little congregation raises the money. You go off to Oakwood, and this 48:54 is one of my favorite moments in your story, as well. So, you're standing in front of 48:58 the dean. He said, "Next. Next." And then he looks up at you. 49:02 >> He looks up at me and asks a rather interesting question. "Are you sure you're at the 49:07 right place?" [ Laughter ] "Shouldn't you be maybe 100 49:11 miles east?" >> That'd be Southern Adventist. >> Southern Adventist. 49:15 And my response was, "Well, this is Oakwood." And he said, "Yes." 49:19 "Then I'm at the right place." >> Yeah. Incredible. So, you -- double major, 49:24 theology and business. Five years -- you're going to school. 49:28 And you go into ministry. You want to be a treasurer, pastor, maybe end up as a 49:34 treasurer someday, and you end up here at Andrews University. And so I'm gonna come over here 49:40 to Betty. Betty, so, you are a girl from -- young woman from 49:44 South Chicago. >> Yes. >> You went to 49:47 Broadview Academy, a rather... homogenous sort of academy there in the farm fields of Illinois. 49:55 >> Yes. >> But you're here, Betty. Now, just tell the story about 49:58 how you met Richard. >> So, I met Richard through my roommate. 50:03 >> Mm-hmm. >> The two of them worked together in the communications 50:07 department here at Andrews University. At the time, they still had a 50:11 switchboard. I don't know if they still have that now, but they worked 50:15 together. And it was located in the administration building, down in 50:19 the basement. >> Gotcha. >> And I was studying nursing, 50:23 and so, every day, I had to make that trek over to the science complex. 50:27 So I would divert off and go say hi to my roommate Nikki whenever she was on duty. 50:32 And that particular day, Richard happened to come into the office when I was visiting Nikki. 50:39 And I'm generally friendly to everybody, so, "Hi. How are you?" 50:43 That was about the extent of that conversation, and then I finished my visit with my 50:48 friend, and I left. Well, it turns out, later, I found out that he expressed 50:52 interest in me. >> Hmm. >> So, "Who is that?" 50:55 [ Laughs ] So my roommate, always trying to fix me up, had [Laughs] decided 51:02 that she would play matchmaker. >> Mm-hmm. >> So she gave him our phone 51:06 number at the dorm -- we didn't have cellphones back then -- and she told me later that, "He will 51:14 be calling you, and you be nice to him." So -- 51:17 [ Laughter ] He did call, and we had a wonderful conversation. 51:22 He asked me out on a date, and I said, "Well, not quite sure. I don't know you that well. 51:27 How about we go on a double date with my roommate and her boyfriend?" 51:31 And so he was fine with that, and we got together, had a wonderful time. 51:36 I fell in love with him. He's a wonderful man, God-fearing man, just a 51:41 wonderful person. And the rest is history. >> Praise God. 51:44 >> Mm-hmm. >> Praise God. I wanted to -- One more 51:48 incident, Richard. So, you two get married, and you're working in 51:52 Wisconsin Conference because you're gonna help out with treasury there, and you're going 51:56 around preaching. So, one wintry Sabbath... >> Yes, one wintry Sabbath -- 52:04 and maybe it wasn't necessarily just one time. >> Mm. 52:07 >> And I imagine it probably wouldn't have been restricted just to Wisconsin. 52:11 >> Mm. >> Across the nation, probably something similar would've 52:14 happened. >> Mm-hmm. >> On that cold, wintry 52:17 Sabbath, I would be a nice gentleman and drop my wife off at the front door so that she 52:22 could go inside and not be confronted with the misery of going through a snow-packed 52:28 parking lot. She goes there. She's not greeted. 52:33 She's not invited to sit anywhere. She finds her own way. 52:38 >> Mm-hmm. >> I get out of my car after finding a spot, and I walk in 52:43 and say, "Hey, I'm Richard. I'm the guest speaker for today." 52:47 "Oh, hello. How you doing? Let's guide you to the right place to be." 52:50 Treats me quite differently than how they treated my wife. >> Mm. 52:54 >> Later, when I was introduced as speaker and my wife was invited to stand, she was 52:59 treated quite differently at the end of service than what she was at the very beginning. 53:05 >> Mm. >> And that sort of breaks our heart a little bit, that we have 53:09 a tendency to treat people differently because of how they look. 53:13 >> Mm. I think the rapt question, Richard, is -- We're a 53:18 university congregation here, got a lot of people watching from all over. 53:22 What do we do? Do you have any... Do you an appeal or do you have 53:26 some counsel for us? >> Yes. I would like to appeal to all of 53:32 us to treat each other as God's children. >> Mm. 53:38 >> We are all princes and princesses of the King of the universe, and we need to treat 53:43 everybody the same way. If you're uncomfortable with somebody that maybe looks a lot 53:49 different than you, then make a sacrifice and go out of your way and spend time with them, eat 53:54 with them, play with them, hang out with them to get to know them better so that, somehow, 54:00 some way, Jesus can soften your heart. To understand somebody, we need 54:04 to spend time with them, just like our relationship with Jesus. 54:07 If we're not spending time with Him, then we're not knowing Him. >> Yeah. 54:12 >> Let's spend time with different people. >> Amen. Beautifully put. 54:15 Betty and Richard, both of you, thank you for sharing your testimony with us. 54:20 What a beautiful story. Ladies and gentlemen, give them a hand as gratitude for that. 54:24 Bless you. [ Applause ] 54:31 What'd you just see? You saw two people of different races who, through love, are 54:38 brought together, and it is love that makes the two races one. That's it. 54:46 That's what God's waiting for. I'll have a prayer with you in just a moment, but we've got 54:49 this great -- this great -- This is from the 1960s and '70s, kind of an activist song, "They Will 54:54 Know We Are Christians By Our Love." Let's sing that, sing our hearts 54:58 out, as the ushers receive our Connect Cards. [ "They'll Know We Are 55:04 Christians" plays ] 55:16 [ Congregation sings ] 56:34 [ Song ends ] Amen and amen. Amen. 56:38 "And now the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the 56:45 Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen." [ Organ plays "They'll Know We 56:52 Are Christians" ] 57:09 >> May I take an extra moment with you and let you know how grateful I am that you joined us 57:13 in worship today? I hear from viewers like you across the nation and literally 57:17 around the world, and I'm thankful. If you'd like to explore further 57:20 what we've just shared, I hope you'll visit us at our website. 57:23 It's an easy one to remember -- www.pmchurch.tv. 57:28 We're the Pioneer Memorial Church, here on 57:31 the campus of Andrews University. 57:32 So that's www.pmchurch.tv. Click on to that website, and 57:37 you'll be able to listen to a podcast of this material, you 57:39 can download the presentation, you can print off the study 57:42 guide, you may have a special prayer need that you wish to 57:45 share with our prayer partners, or you may wish to partner with 57:48 us through a personal donation to help reach this generation 57:51 with the everlasting good news of Christ. 57:53 If you'd rather talk with someone, call one of our 57:56 friendly operators. It's the toll-free number 877, 57:59 and then the two words "his will." 58:01 877-HIS-WILL. In the meantime, may the grace 58:05 and peace of Jesus be yours every step of this adventurous 58:09 way. 58:12 ♪♪ |
Revised 2017-02-16