Participants: Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP170225A
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00:29 Image of the unseen God
00:37 First before the whole creation 00:45 May the love of all space and matter 00:51 Far beyond 00:53 All across 00:55 The nations 01:01 All through 01:03 Our times and then 01:09 Your mighty 01:13 Your mighty love 01:28 Let's bow our heads to pray. 01:30 Father in heaven, we love You so much. 01:33 We're so thankful 01:34 that we can be here this morning 01:36 to worship and praise Your name. 01:39 Lord, we give You all the honor, 01:41 and glory, and praise this morning, 01:44 and thank You for already being here with us. 01:47 I pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. 01:50 I invite you this morning to stand 01:52 as we sing our opening hymn 01:54 "All hail the power of Jesus name," 01:57 hymn number 2:29. Please stand? 02:22 All hail the power of Jesus' Name 02:27 Let angels prostrate fall 02:31 Bring forth the royal diadem 02:35 And crown Him Lord of all 02:42 Bring forth the royal diadem 02:46 And crown Him Lord of all 02:55 Let every kindred, every tribe 03:00 On this terrestrial ball 03:04 To Him all majesty ascribe 03:08 And crown Him Lord of all 03:16 To Him all majesty ascribe 03:21 And crown Him Lord of all 03:29 Oh, that with yonder sacred throng 03:34 We at His feet may fall 03:39 Join in the everlasting song 03:43 And crown Him Lord of all Join 03:51 In the everlasting song 03:56 And crown Him Lord of all 04:08 Amen. Amen. 04:09 I invite you to join with us 04:11 as we continue to sing this morning 04:14 about the power of Jesus' blood. 04:17 It's powerful, right? 04:18 There is power in the blood of Jesus Christ 04:21 that was shed for us, 04:22 so sing about that power in the blood. 04:33 Would you be free from the burden of sin? 04:37 There's pow'r in the blood, pow'r in the blood 04:42 Would you o'er evil a victory win? 04:46 There's wonderful pow'r in the blood 04:50 There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r 04:55 In the blood of the Lamb 04:59 There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r 05:04 In the precious blood of the Lamb 05:09 Would you be free from your passion and pride? 05:14 There's pow'r in the blood, pow'r in the blood 05:19 Come for a cleansing to Calvary's tide? 05:23 There's wonderful power in the blood 05:27 There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r 05:32 In the blood of the Lamb 05:37 There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r 05:42 In the precious blood of the Lamb 05:47 Would you do service for Jesus your King? 05:52 There's pow'r in the blood, pow'r in the blood 05:57 Would you live daily His praises to sing? 06:01 There's wonderful power in the blood 06:06 There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r 06:11 In the blood of the Lamb 06:16 There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r 06:21 In the precious blood of the Lamb 06:25 There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r 06:30 In the blood of the Lamb 06:35 There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r 06:40 In the precious blood of the Lamb 06:45 In the precious blood of the Lamb 06:50 In the precious blood 06:55 Of the Lamb 07:03 There is power in the blood. 07:05 And that blood is so powerful that it saves me, it saves you, 07:10 it can save the entire world. 07:15 That power, that blood 07:16 is mighty to save each and every one of you. 07:19 And I invite you to make that the prayer 07:21 of your heart this morning 07:23 because Jesus is mighty to save. 07:34 Everyone needs compassion 07:37 A love that's never failing 07:42 Let mercy fall on me 07:48 Everyone needs forgiveness 07:51 The kindness of a Savior 07:56 The hope of nations 08:02 The hope of nations 08:07 Savior, He can move the mountains 08:13 My God is mighty to save 08:17 He is Mighty to save 08:21 Forever, Author of salvation 08:27 He rose and conquered the grave 08:31 Jesus conquered the grave 08:37 So take me as you find me 08:40 All my fears and failures 08:45 Fill my life again 08:51 I give my life to follow 08:54 Everything I believe in 08:59 Now I surrender 09:05 I surrender 09:10 Savior, He can move the mountains 09:15 My God is mighty to save 09:19 He is mighty to save 09:23 Forever, Author of salvation 09:29 He rose and conquered the grave 09:33 Jesus conquered the grave 09:38 Shine your light and let the whole world see 09:43 We're singing for the glory of the risen King 09:50 Jesus Shine your light and let the whole world see 09:57 We're singing for the glory of the risen King 10:05 Savior, He can move the mountains 10:11 My God is mighty to save 10:15 He is mighty to save 10:19 Forever, Author of salvation 10:25 He rose and conquered the grave 10:29 Jesus conquered the grave 10:33 Savior, He can move the mountains 10:39 My God is mighty to save 10:43 He is mighty to save 10:47 Forever, Author of salvation 10:54 He rose and conquered the grave 10:58 Jesus conquered the grave 11:05 Amen. 11:16 We are a moment. 11:18 We are a moment, You are forever 11:23 Lord of the Ages, God before time 11:28 We are a vapor, You are eternal 11:34 Love everlasting, reigning on high 11:41 Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty 11:46 Worthy is the lamb who was slain 11:51 Highest praises, honor and glory 11:57 Be unto Your name 12:03 Be unto Your name 12:08 We are the broken, You are the healer 12:13 Jesus, Redeemer, mighty to save 12:18 You are the love song we'll sing forever 12:24 Bowing before You, blessing Your name 12:30 Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty 12:36 Worthy is the lamb who was slain 12:41 Highest praises, honor and glory 12:47 Be unto Your name 12:52 Be unto Your name 13:00 Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty 13:05 Worthy is the lamb who was slain 13:10 Highest praises, honor and glory 13:16 Be unto Your name 13:21 Be unto Your name 13:35 Sing that again. 13:37 Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty 13:43 Worthy is the lamb who was slain 13:50 Highest praises, honor and glory 13:57 Be unto Your name 14:03 Be unto Your name 14:09 Be unto Your name 14:15 Be unto Your name 14:27 Well, good morning, boys and girls, 14:28 nice to see you all. 14:29 Oh, we got some more coming. 14:31 Come on up, 14:33 nice to have you 14:35 on this last Sabbath of February. 14:38 February 25, 14:40 only 10 more months to Christmas. 14:45 And one of you... 14:47 Was one of you praying for snow? 14:49 Anybody here been praying for snow? 14:51 You're the one, I wondered who that was. 14:54 Oh, I wish we had a little more snow 14:56 actually to be honest with you, 14:57 not much here but reminds us we're in winter. 15:00 Nice to have you, thank you deacon Kim Moore, bless you. 15:04 All right. 15:06 So thank you, my friend Don Wilson 15:07 who sent me this story. 15:09 I just need a boy and a girl. 15:11 So I got little something right here, if I get... 15:14 The red vest, sir, come on forward, 15:16 don't step on any of those kid's hands 15:18 while you're coming. 15:19 I need a front row girl. 15:20 Okay, I got a front row girl right here. 15:22 Perfect. 15:23 So, hey, boys and girls, 15:25 what if your mother did this to you? 15:26 I want you to watch this now, 15:27 tell me if your mother has ever done this to you. 15:31 So let's see here, okay, kids 15:33 I've been thinking it would be really nice for you 15:37 to go visit grandma... 15:39 So I'm putting a little this on you 15:42 and I want you to visit grandpa. 15:44 Where is your grandpa live? 15:45 Wisconsin. 15:47 Wisconsin, that will get you Wisconsin. 15:49 Where is your... She lives here. 15:50 She lives here. 15:51 Well, let me get that stamp back. 15:53 Okay, put you two stamps. 15:55 All right, now what if your mother did this, 15:57 she put the stamps on you, 15:59 and then she said, "Okay, now come with me, 16:01 come with me kids." 16:02 And she drive down to the post office 16:04 and she walks you into the post office 16:06 and she says, "Hey, I got stamps on my kids, 16:08 would you please mail them?" 16:11 What would you say if your mother did that? 16:14 Let me tell you something. 16:17 In the United States of America that's what they used to do. 16:21 I'm telling you the truth. 16:23 Back in 1900 they made a provision 16:27 for what was called rail delivery, 16:29 meaning, we'll take packages up to 50 pounds. 16:33 They started first with 10, then they raised it up to 50. 16:36 You're okay with 50? Okay. 16:38 You're okay with 50? 16:39 Yeah. Good. 16:40 So 50 pounds or under 16:43 and you could mail your child, anywhere in America. 16:48 That was back when they trust the mailman. 16:50 All right, and they say, 16:51 you would take the big mail babies in the mail. 16:54 No, I'm telling you the truth. 16:55 Look, you got the stamps 16:57 and if you show up at the post office, 16:59 they will take you to your loved one. 17:03 Wherever your mother wants to see you, send you, 17:05 wherever your daddy wants to send you. 17:06 In fact, listen to this, a 103 years ago right now 17:09 according to the Wall Street Journal... 17:11 I got it right here. 17:12 A 103 years ago February 1914 17:15 they had a little girl named May, 17:17 her name was May Pierstorff just shy of six, 17:22 mother said, I wanna mail you 17:23 from Grangeville, Idaho to Lewiston. 17:26 It was a distance of 73 miles 17:29 she was 48.5 pounds 17:31 so she's under the limit just barely. 17:33 And guess how much mama had to pay to mailman, 17:37 53 cents. 17:39 What? Yeah. 17:40 What? What? 17:42 What? 17:43 How will you? What? 17:46 Can you believe that, 53 cents. 17:48 And then get this... 17:50 So that was fare. But here is another one. 17:51 Oh, he was a little... 17:54 I guess this is a girl Edna. 17:56 Edna Neff also six years old 17:59 under the weight limit she can go... 18:02 This turns out to be the longest mailing 18:04 ever in U.S. history, 18:05 mailing a child from Pensacola, Florida 18:08 to Christiansburg, Virginia 727 miles. 18:12 And guess how much it cost? 18:14 15 cents. 18:17 What? 18:20 Can you believe it? 18:21 No plane... 18:23 No plane ticket... 18:24 Actually the kids ended upon trains 18:26 and the conductors had to look after the kids 18:28 and make sure they were fed 18:30 till they got to where they were going. 18:31 Oh, thank you, kids, sit down. 18:34 I can't believe it. 18:36 In 1930 then they said enough no more, 18:39 so it's all over. 18:40 Don't tell your mother to do it now, 18:42 they won't do it. 18:43 But what would happen if Jesus came to you 18:46 and Jesus said, "Hey, yo, 18:48 I'm putting a stamp on your shoulder. 18:50 Sissy, I'm putting a stamp on your shoulder. 18:52 Junior, I'm putting a stamp on your shoulder. 18:54 I'm putting a stamp on your shoulder 18:56 and I'm sending you, it's a stamp of my love 18:58 and I'm sending you to a lonely boy 19:01 in your classroom..." 19:02 Are you going to school? 19:04 A lonely boy, the kids never play with him, 19:06 at recess time he's... 19:08 At lunch time he is all by himself. 19:10 Jesus puts a stamp on your shoulder 19:12 and He says, 19:13 "Girl, I'm sending you to that boy right over there, 19:15 I want you to have lunch with him today, 19:18 and let him know that you wanna be his friend." 19:23 What if Jesus put a stamp on us 19:26 and sent us somewhere, 19:27 somebody that needs His love through you. 19:32 That's what God did with Jesus, put a stamp on Him and said, 19:34 "You're a baby, you go," 19:35 and Jesus was mailed to earth, and He lived among us. 19:40 So we could learn how to love just like Jesus. 19:44 Aren't you glad that God sends us... 19:46 You know, somebody who is all alone, 19:49 find that somebody this next week, 19:51 put your arm around her and say, 19:53 "I'm bringing you Jesus' love, let's be friends." 19:58 How many of you are glad that Jesus was mailed to us? 20:01 And how many wanna say, 20:02 "I wanna be sent by Jesus 20:03 wherever He needs across the street. 20:05 I don't need a stamp, all I need is His love." 20:09 Who would like to pray today and thank Jesus for sending us? 20:13 Sissy, you come, you held your hand up. 20:15 You come here... 20:16 Can I get that mike, guys? 20:18 Bless you. 20:20 And, Sissy, what's your name. 20:22 Camille. Camille. 20:23 Let's fold our hands, close your eyes 20:27 and, Camille, thank Jesus for sending us. 20:30 Thank you, Jesus, for sending us to this world. 20:35 And thank You for putting a stamp on us, 20:39 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. 20:41 Amen. 20:43 Beautiful prayer, Camille, thank you. 20:45 And as you go quietly 20:46 and reverently back to your seats, 20:47 you say, "Thank you, Jesus, put that stamp on me, 20:49 I will go for you." 21:04 The stone that the builders rejected 21:08 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 21:13 The stone that the builders rejected 21:17 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 21:22 The stone that the builders rejected 21:27 The stone that the builders rejected 21:32 The stone that the builders rejected 21:36 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 21:42 A grain of weed may be knocked to the ground 21:46 And suffer through the winter storm 21:51 Only to rise, rise up again 21:55 And bear its seed a thousand fold 22:00 The stone that the builders rejected 22:04 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 22:10 The stone that the builders rejected 22:14 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 22:19 The stone that the builders rejected 22:24 The stone that the builders rejected 22:28 The stone that the builders rejected 22:32 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 22:38 Never can our journey fail 22:43 A little child will lead the way! 22:47 Whose eyes are filled with a shining light 22:51 To whom the night is bright as day! 22:56 The stone that the builders rejected 23:00 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 23:05 The stone that the builders rejected 23:09 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 23:15 The stone that the builders rejected 23:19 The stone that the builders rejected 23:24 The stone that the builders rejected 23:28 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 23:34 The love that rolls the stone away 23:40 Gives us life that we may sing! 23:44 Grave, where is thy victory? 23:48 Death, oh, death, where is thy sting? 23:56 The stone that the builders rejected 24:00 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 24:05 The stone that the builders rejected 24:09 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 24:14 The stone that the builders rejected 24:19 The stone that the builders rejected 24:23 The stone that the builders rejected 24:27 Became the cornerstone of a whole new world 24:33 The cornerstone of a whole new world 24:53 Thank you, Chelsea and singers. 24:55 A cornerstone that the world rejected 24:59 became a whole new world. 25:03 So we need as old world broken down... 25:07 Jesus a cornerstone could... 25:11 be a foundation for a brand new creation 25:17 in the little time we have left. 25:19 Let's pray. 25:20 Dear, God, thank You for the singers, 25:24 thank You for that song, 25:26 A cornerstone the a builders rejected... 25:33 of a whole new world, oh, we need... 25:36 Given what's been happening, 25:38 Father, we need that cornerstone right now. 25:42 So Jesus had at it, 25:44 please just gonna keep me out of the way, 25:47 maybe clear enough what we're about to share 25:52 so that we know what we must do. 25:55 You speak, we listen, 25:59 in the name of our Savior we pray, amen. 27:04 Something happened in this sanctuary on Thursday. 27:10 And it had God's fingerprints all over it. 27:14 I've never seen anything like it. 27:16 I've been attending chapels for over 30 years, 27:20 never, never one like this one. 27:24 And strangely enough, 27:26 it all began the weekend before, 27:29 last weekend. 27:31 A little video clip 27:32 produced and released by some black students 27:35 here at the University along with their campus pastor. 27:39 Hashtag it is time AU. 27:43 I saw the clip on Sunday, 27:46 100,000 others saw by the end of the week. 27:52 And I can summarize I think the message of that clip, 27:59 simple message really, something like this. 28:03 It's time for the faith community 28:04 that is on this campus that owns this university 28:10 to own up to the racial injustices 28:14 against black students in the past, 28:18 as well as to a lack of sensitivity 28:19 to in representation of black students in the present. 28:24 It's time to respond with an apology. 28:30 And so when the word went out 28:32 at the speed of light by the way 28:35 through social media, 28:38 the word, the news at the university, 28:40 and its administration had not only heard 28:42 these black students' message, 28:44 but would present a formal response 28:48 to their appeal at Thursday chapel. 28:54 I felt like whole world was here, 28:55 I've never seen a chapel so packed in my life. 29:01 And by the way the faculty staff forum 29:04 the Tuesday before this Thursday. 29:07 Somebody near the end of the forum got up 29:09 and said, "Yo, I think we need to have... 29:11 We need to call for a day of fasting and prayer 29:14 on the campus of Andrews University." 29:16 And so lead chaplain June Price and I were tasked 29:19 with spending Tuesday evening 29:21 crafting a call to prayer and fasting. 29:26 Went out Wednesday morning to every student, 29:28 every faculty member, every staff member 29:31 in this institution of higher learning. 29:34 And the suggested day of prayer was, okay, 29:36 Wednesday 7 pm to Thursday 7 pm. 29:40 Well, the beauty of that is Wednesday 7 pm we're here, 29:43 house of prayer, 29:46 on the beginning of that day of fasting and prayer. 29:49 And so we could not, 29:50 not come from out of the pews on to this platform, 29:56 and pray for the woman 29:58 who would stand in less than 30:01 24 hours at this spot, 30:05 and who would address this institution, 30:07 and through live streaming a whole lot more. 30:12 And so we prayed for three categories 30:16 one, the president, two, the students, 30:20 three, the faculty and staff. 30:22 Three volunteers, two of whom I've never met... 30:24 I could not tell you their names 30:26 but I wanna to tell you, I wanna testify to the passion, 30:30 and the earnestness of those three prayers 30:33 and everybody on this platform is swept 30:35 into those prayers 30:36 as they ascended the throne of God. 30:38 And so because it was a day of fasting and prayer, 30:41 when I walked into this chapel space 30:43 on Thursday morning, 30:45 I'm coming with a sense of expectancy as well, 30:49 turns out everybody else was too. 30:52 I'm not gonna rehearse what took place 30:53 during those 50 minutes in this space. 30:56 You can watch the entire service 30:58 on YouTube now. 31:01 But I can only tell you 31:02 that in the context of a day of fasting and prayer, 31:07 my spirit immediately recognized 31:09 there's something going on here. 31:12 From the opening prayer to the final prayer of appeal 31:16 both delivered by two of our chaplains. 31:20 For me it was absolutely crystal clear 31:25 that the spirit was in our midst 31:27 moving the details. 31:30 I sat in a group of black students, 31:34 listening keenly every one of them, me too. 31:39 And I'm starting to get moved by what's happening here 31:41 from the prayer at the beginning to the end 31:43 and in between the president in her own gracious humble way 31:47 begins to speak from her heart, 31:49 she goes to Mark 2... 31:51 I've never heard anybody interpret the story in Mark 2, 31:54 the way she did and I said to myself 31:56 Holy Spirit way to go. 32:00 You got it... Just go, you watch it on YouTube. 32:06 And I'm beginning to resort 32:08 to the universal motion for emotion. 32:11 You know, what that universal motion 32:12 for emotion is. 32:16 And I'm seeing the students around me going like this. 32:21 God was here. 32:24 He was moving on us all. 32:27 But for worship this morning, in the same space here we are, 32:31 exactly two days later 32:33 we have not come to rehearse but it's already happened. 32:38 Rather we must seriously ponder now... come on. 32:40 We got to ponder now, what needs to happen next, 32:42 right here in this campus church. 32:45 It's a only space I can talk to. 32:47 But in the space of faith community churches 32:52 all across this nation 32:54 and I'm thinking of America right now. 32:57 What is it to God would have us 32:58 as Seventh-day Adventist do next. 33:01 I'm talking about racial reconciliation, 33:04 I'm talking about the unspoken, unhidden agenda 33:06 that like the proverbial elephant 33:08 is sitting on top of us 33:09 whenever we gather as blacks, and reds, and yellows, 33:11 and whites, and browns in one space, 33:13 that elephant is sitting on all of us, 33:15 and we know exactly what it is, it's racism. 33:20 It may not look like the 1950s and the 1960s, 33:23 it is very suddenly different perhaps 33:26 but it's still racism. 33:30 And the truth is, 33:32 racism did not disappear on Thursday. 33:36 Today is Sabbath. 33:38 A new day and a new week are about to begin. 33:42 We need to confront the truth. 33:48 I wrote my weekly blog on Wednesday. 33:53 And with your permission 33:54 I'm gonna read that blog right now. 33:57 But I wanna read it without your permission. 34:02 You can get the blog by the way online. 34:04 And if you go to my blog online, 34:06 at the bottom of the blog 34:08 will be a link to everything that happened Thursday, 34:11 Andrews University, everything. 34:13 So as title of the blog is, "How can you heal the pain, 34:17 when you can't feel the pain?" 34:20 www.newperceptions.tv 34:22 those of you watching right now live streaming 34:24 from somewhere on earth 34:26 or you watching it later on a television program. 34:28 The blog begins this way, 34:30 how can you heal someone's pain, 34:31 when you can't feel someone's pain? 34:33 There is a pain deep within our faith community 34:35 and our university campus. 34:37 And the truth is most of us can't feel it. 34:39 How could we possibly feel it, we're white? 34:45 Years ago a friend gave me a book 34:47 that I never got around to reading 34:48 until a few days ago. 34:50 It's Paul Kivel's exploration, titled Upending Racism: 34:53 How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. 34:56 One glance at the title back then 34:58 and I knew this wouldn't be book for me, 34:59 since I'm not a racist, 35:01 since I see very little of any racism around me, 35:03 so why should I worry? 35:04 That was 20 years ago. 35:06 Now the book speaks volumes to me. 35:09 I put a few words from the book on the screen for you. 35:12 This is Kivel writing. 35:14 "It is not necessarily a privilege to be white, 35:17 but it certainly has its benefits... 35:21 Privileges are economic 'extras' 35:23 that those of us who are middle class 35:25 and wealthy gain at the expense of poor 35:27 and working class people of all races. 35:29 Now hold on. 35:30 Benefits, on the other hand, 35:32 are the advantages that all white people gain 35:35 at the expense of people of color 35:37 regardless of economic position... 35:39 Just because we don't have the economic privileges 35:41 of those with more money doesn't mean we haven't enjoyed 35:44 some of the benefits of being white." 35:48 And then Kivel runs through for me 35:50 an eye opening checklist of such privileges. 35:53 And this is just six of them, 35:55 they're two pages worth in his book. 35:58 Let me run six of them by. 35:59 One, "We whites are able to count on 36:02 police protection rather than harassment. 36:04 Two, we're able to choose where we want to live 36:06 with safe neighborhoods and decent schools. 36:08 Three, we're given more attention, 36:10 respect and status in conversations 36:12 than people of color. 36:13 Four, in news, music, history books, and the media 36:16 we see people who look like us in a positive light. 36:19 Five, we have more access, 36:21 credibility, and recourse with lawyers and courts. 36:24 Six, nothing that we do is qualified, limited, 36:26 discredited, or acclaimed simply 36:28 because of our racial background." 36:32 And then he says by the way that's not when you're adult 36:34 and white privilege actually starts 36:36 when you're a child. 36:37 And he runs by five, one, 36:40 "People around us will have higher expectations 36:42 for us as children. 36:44 Two, more money will be spent on our schools. 36:47 Three, we'll get called on more times in class. 36:49 Four, we will see people 36:50 who look like us in our textbooks. 36:52 Five, and if we get into trouble 36:54 adults will expect us 36:55 to be able to change and improve, 36:57 and therefore will discipline or penalize us less 36:59 or differently than children of color." 37:04 Kivel concludes his words on the screen. 37:07 "All else being equal, it pays to be white. 37:12 We will be accepted, acknowledged, 37:13 and given the benefit of the doubt. 37:15 Since all else is not equal 37:16 we each receive different benefits 37:18 or different levels of the same benefits 37:20 from being white." 37:23 So the question repeats itself, 37:25 "How can you possibly heal someone's pain, 37:27 when you can't feel someone's pain?" 37:31 The blog moving to its wrap. 37:33 Ask the Good Samaritan. 37:35 The crime victim was a Jew, and Jews hated Samaritans. 37:38 So why should the Samaritan bother at all? 37:40 He couldn't feel the victim's pain. 37:42 But as Martin Luther King, 37:44 Jr. observed about Jesus' parable. 37:46 Whereas the priest and the Levite fretted, 37:48 "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" 37:51 The Samaritan asked, 37:53 "If I do not stop to help this man, 37:55 what will happen to him?" 37:58 And there is a universe of difference. 38:00 Got that from a biography of Martin Luther 38:02 that I have in my library, "Let the trumpet sound." 38:06 What will happen to him? What will happen to her? 38:08 What will happen to them if I don't stop 38:09 and pour myself into their pain? 38:11 It's the golden rule hammered out 38:14 in the crucible of another's pain. 38:16 The Samaritan knelt beside the victim 38:18 and administered to him 38:20 the emotional and physical intervention 38:22 the brutalized man desperately needed. 38:26 And in his self-sacrificial love 38:27 for his neighbor, 38:29 we see not only the truth about Christ 38:31 who knelt beside us at Calvary 38:33 because that's exactly what Jesus did at the cross, 38:35 He knelt beside us. 38:37 But we also see the truth 38:38 Christ calls His radical followers to embrace 38:41 as you would have others treat you, 38:44 you treat them. 38:47 Final line, there is a pain deep 38:49 within our faith community and our university campus. 38:53 It may not be your pain 38:54 but until it becomes your business, 38:57 the pain, plain and simple cannot 39:00 and will not be healed in the school, 39:03 in the church, in our own hearts. 39:06 The end. 39:11 Young friend of mine 39:13 an African-American attorney wrote me 39:17 after reading the blog. 39:21 "Pastor Dwight, how is everything going? 39:24 I pray and hope that you are doing well. 39:26 First of all, I wanna let you know 39:29 that I was deeply moved by your blog yesterday. 39:32 What I connected with most was the genuine Spirit, 39:34 capital S, Spirit behind it. 39:37 As you prepared to minister this coming Sabbath, 39:39 I feel impressed to simply say don't hold back. 39:42 I don't know what God is impressing upon you to say 39:45 but I implore you to let the Spirit lead you 39:47 as you help ShepherdPMC, AU campus, 39:50 and the surrounding community 39:51 through this process of transparency and healing." 39:54 And then he observes, 39:56 "We are at a critical point in our church's history 39:58 and I believe that we are at a time 40:00 in which we will no longer be able to hide 40:02 from these questions, and sweep things under the rug, 40:05 regardless of how folks may feel 40:07 about the method chosen by, it is time AU team. 40:10 It has brought us to this critical moment 40:12 and there is no turning back. 40:16 No going back to the old passive 40:18 non-confrontational fairytale of post racial harmony 40:22 that we have tried to convince ourselves 40:24 is true knowing all along it was a lie, 40:26 it is time for us, all of us to take a look in the mirror, 40:30 and start getting unapologetically real 40:33 with ourselves and with each other. 40:35 I wanted you to know that I'm praying for you. 40:37 We're stronger together and we will make it 40:39 through these difficult days 40:40 with our eyes fixed on the promise 40:42 that He will be with us, guide us, hold us, carry us, 40:44 and empower us until our faith is made site. 40:48 Let me know if there's any way I can be of assistance to you 40:51 with love and respect." 40:52 He signs his name. 40:55 Now he does not know this Andrews University alum. 40:58 He does not know 40:59 that when he sent me that email. 41:01 Before I read it I was on my knees 41:05 because I'm writing a sermon for Sabbath, 41:07 it's the next in this series. 41:09 But all the while that I'm writing, 41:10 it is now getting late in the afternoon, 41:12 there's just a sense 41:13 that maybe I should not be writing the sermon. 41:16 Maybe I should be writing another sermon right now. 41:19 And finally I went to... 41:21 I was so bothered by it, I went to my knees, 41:22 and I said, "God, what's going on here?" 41:25 I said, "God, its' 3 o'clock in the afternoon. 41:29 I need to know very clearly whether You want this or not, 41:33 and so here's the deal I'm giving you 30 minutes. 41:36 Thirty minutes you send me a text, 41:39 you send me a phone call, somebody walk into my room, 41:42 somebody sends me an e-mail, I don't care. 41:43 You send in 30 minutes you get word to me." 41:47 And then I went back to my knees, 41:48 prayed for bit, got up, 41:50 and said, "Man, I can't sit around here, 41:51 I got to keep working on the sermon." 41:52 So I kept writing 41:54 and I finally look down at my watch, 41:55 it was 34 minutes past 3. 41:59 I went to my phone, I said no text messages, 42:02 no phone messages, well, I'm gonna try email 42:04 so I go email and I see his name, 42:06 and see the email and I opened it up 42:07 what I just read to you. 42:09 And God said to me, "Boy, that's your answer." 42:14 That was my answer, so I pushed everything aside, 42:16 I said, "Okay, it's 4 o' clock now, 42:18 let's start over." 42:25 So here we are 42:27 you and I in a predominantly white congregation. 42:30 Just look around. 42:34 Pretty much unaware at least I was that we have grown up 42:37 all of us whites 42:38 with a legacy of white privilege. 42:41 And if I might be honest with you 42:43 because I recognize this in my own heart, 42:46 we have unconsciously... 42:47 And by the way that's a key word, 42:49 that's a key word, 42:50 we have unconsciously because nobody sets out 42:52 to embrace racial bias. 42:55 We have unconsciously grown up 42:57 with a modified Jewish male prayer God. 43:00 I thank you, I was not born a pagan, 43:02 I was not born a woman, and I was not born black. 43:09 Why? 43:11 Because you don't have to be a genius to know 43:14 that if you're a white and particularly 43:15 if you're a white male in this country, 43:17 you live with a package of privileges, 43:19 and prerogatives of advantages, 43:21 and accoutrements that your black neighbors, 43:22 and your black colleagues, and your black friends 43:24 never get to live with never, never, never. 43:29 And you know by the way... 43:31 Listen to me carefully now, you know, they know, 43:36 but you pretend you don't know. 43:40 We pretend we don't know 43:42 that all this fuss about justice 43:43 and equality is a carry over, 43:45 it's a vestige from a generation long ago. 43:47 But when I read Kivel's book, 43:49 I suddenly realized how much white privilege 43:52 it has been my privilege to enjoy. 43:57 And that my white, friends, is what those black students 44:01 were reacting to when they said, 44:03 "Enough is enough, 44:06 it is time to fish, or cut bait." 44:08 Take a week to decide how to respond 44:10 but respond you must. 44:12 It was not an ultimatum. 44:15 Now looking at it 44:16 through our white privilege glasses, 44:18 it may have felt like a ultimatum. 44:20 It was not, it was a plea. 44:23 We know, that you know, that we know, 44:26 you live with white privilege so what we're asking, 44:29 will you do for us? 44:32 Don't tell us manana, we need to know now, 44:37 that was the plea. 44:40 And they're right. 44:42 We must respond. 44:47 And I wanna say on behalf of nobody 44:51 and that's generally the best person 44:53 to be talking for. 44:55 I wanna say on behalf of nobody that I must respond. 44:58 Our president with humility and clarity 45:01 announced the beginning 45:02 of Andrews University's response, 45:06 and I will do all I can to help in any way 45:08 to assist her in this university 45:10 in a continuing response. 45:12 You know, why, because I happen to believe God's promise 45:14 and I know that you do too. 45:15 And I put the promise on the screen 45:16 for you Philippians 1:6. 45:18 I love this promise. 45:19 "I am confident of this, 45:21 that the One who began a good work 45:23 among you will bring it to completion 45:24 by the day of Jesus Christ." 45:27 God never start something that He doesn't finish. 45:29 And I'm telling you 45:31 He started something on Thursday, 45:32 His fingerprints were all over this place. 45:36 And so we can't just twiddle our thumbs down 45:37 and sit back well, 45:39 by the day of Jesus Christ come on, 45:40 even so come, Lord Jesus, get it done, get it done. 45:42 No, Jesus says, "I'm not coming." 45:45 You got work to do, 45:46 don't you keep praying that prayer even so come, 45:48 Lord Jesus, until you do 45:51 what the Lord Jesus has commanded you to do. 45:54 "You obey me. 45:55 When you obey me, 45:57 you will do what I'm asking you to do, 46:01 and then you'll heal 46:03 this gaping wound in yourself." 46:08 What wound? What command? The 11th commandment, come on. 46:13 I want you to look it up. Come on in your Bible. 46:15 John 13, you got a Bible, pull your Bible out to John 13, 46:20 red letter words, 46:21 this is less than 12 hours and Jesus would be... 46:24 About 12 hours He'll be hanging on the cross, 46:27 He will die, He knows He's gonna die. 46:31 He's on death row but before He dies 46:34 something is passionately important to Him, 46:38 and He gets it out 31 times in this passage, 46:40 He will use the word love. 46:41 Thirty one times, I've counted them. 46:44 This is not a little passing fancy. 46:46 Verse 34 red letters. 46:48 "A new commandment I give you..." 46:50 John 13:34 and 35, 46:51 "Love one another, as I have loved you, 46:54 so you must love one another. 46:55 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, 46:57 if you love one another." 46:59 Ladies and gentlemen, 47:00 you have to admit that the 11th commandment 47:02 is all about racial reconciliation. 47:05 If it's about anything, 47:06 it's about racial reconciliation, 47:08 it has to be. 47:10 Within the faith community, 47:13 which means to experience racial reconciliation 47:16 we must take two steps. 47:17 Let me share with you these two steps, 47:19 and then one story, and I'm done. 47:21 All right. 47:22 Two steps, no study guide, you just gonna get it. 47:26 Two steps. 47:27 Step number one, 47:29 we must admit our white privilege. 47:33 Read it on the screen so that sticks in your mind, 47:35 don't just listen to my voice. 47:36 We must admit our white privilege. 47:41 I'm not saying we must confess it. 47:43 No, no, no, we were born into it, 47:44 never chosen, 47:46 never thought about it even, not enough to care. 47:49 But racial reconciliation must begin 47:51 with us admitting that we have lived, 47:54 we have profited, we have flourished 47:55 because of white privilege, and by not knowing that, 47:59 or by at least ignoring it, 48:00 we have inadvertently forced others 48:02 who are not quite like us to live 48:05 without those privileges, 48:06 without those benefits even in the church. 48:12 The church has someone doing to do at the national level. 48:14 I'm absolutely convinced of it, but that's not my business, 48:19 that's for somebody with a higher pay grade 48:21 to deal with. 48:24 All we can deal with this at the local church 48:25 and that's where we ought to keep our attention. 48:28 When I talk about this local church, 48:29 one of the privileges we enjoy 48:31 it's a house of prayer for all people 48:32 is this spacious sanctuary. 48:36 My favorite place on earth. 48:37 Middle of the night when there's nobody here 48:39 but me and God, 48:40 middle of the day on a Sabbath it's just a beautiful place. 48:45 We are here in this space while our friends at new life, 48:50 a predominately African-American 48:51 worship community on campus are packed 48:53 into the seminary chapel 48:55 and they're given one shot at that space. 48:57 One shot. 48:58 Spilling out into the atrium, wherever they can find space, 49:01 and here we are a 100 yards away, 49:03 and we have space to spare. 49:06 White privilege, could it be that 49:10 there is some way to share space. 49:19 Step number one, 49:22 we must admit our white privilege, 49:24 until we do 49:25 we will never take step number two, 49:27 I promise you will never take it. 49:29 What step number two, on the screen. 49:30 We must relinquish, we must relinquish 49:34 our white privilege, how? 49:38 Hey, folks this is not complicated at all, 49:39 you're gonna be surprised at this. 49:42 Listen, the best and most effective way 49:45 to relinquish your privilege is to simply make sure 49:48 everyone enjoys the same privilege, 49:50 then it's no longer a privilege, 49:51 it's a blessing shared. 49:54 The moment we release it as mine, 49:57 it's over, it's no longer a privilege 49:58 because everybody gets it. 50:02 That didn't hurt, did it? No. 50:07 Red and yellow, black and white, 50:09 all are precious in His sight, 50:10 we've been taught since knee-high to a grasshopper 50:12 to sing those words and we have. 50:16 And if it take somebody to come up to me and say, 50:18 "Hey, by the way, Dwight, 50:19 I see that you enjoy a privilege, 50:21 I've never been granted." 50:22 Do you know what my response needs to be? 50:24 It needs to be, "You know, what I didn't realize it. 50:26 Let me go to work to make sure this privilege is also yours 50:29 and that will be a shared blessing." 50:32 Right? 50:34 We have work to do. We've got to go to work. 50:38 Well, I let them do it. 50:39 Well, I'll let the university do it. 50:41 We're a campus church so we don't have to do it 50:43 because we're part community and part campus anyway. 50:46 Good luck, Andrews University, we're cheering you on, 50:48 we're praying for you. 50:50 No, no, no, you can't do that. 50:51 You can't, we can't get, that be arsenide. 50:56 We have to respond. 51:01 Relinquish white privilege. 51:05 Because until we're sitting together 51:06 at the same table and transparently, 51:08 authentically listening 51:10 to our black brothers and sisters, 51:11 we will never spot the privileges 51:13 we've taken for granted all our lives as whites. 51:16 I repeat the best way for us to step away 51:19 from our white privilege is to devote our lives 51:21 to making certain everyone enjoys 51:23 the same privilege we benefit from. 51:25 And since privileges are never skin color based. 51:31 And since God's blessings and benefits 51:33 are never skin color based, 51:38 we've had to find a way. 51:41 We have to do something. 51:45 What did Jesus say, "A new commandment I give you 51:48 that you love one another as I have loved you. 51:51 By this the whole world..." 51:53 I love that. 51:54 "By this the whole world will know you are My people, 52:00 if you have love for one another." 52:03 Our journey towards obedience of the 11th commandment 52:05 began on Thursday, it is now Sabbath, 52:09 tomorrow a new week and a new chapter begins. 52:18 But it must begin with you and me, 52:19 and all of us sitting at the same table. 52:22 I need to hear your story. 52:24 I need you to be honest about the pain that you suffer 52:29 because until we share our stories, 52:32 we will never share our pain, and until we share our pain 52:37 we will never find the healing that we desperately need. 52:40 We can't, we can't. 52:44 And by the way, until we share our pain, 52:47 and find that healing, a nation that is fractured, 52:51 and broken, and bleeding to the core racially 52:55 will never think to look 52:58 at this faith community for help, 53:02 their shadows will never darken our doors 53:06 because they say, 53:07 "You got the same problem we do. 53:10 What good is your belief." 53:17 The great Christian apologist of 20th century C.S. Lewis. 53:22 Got a letter one day from an American woman. 53:26 She might have read something that he had written 53:29 or she had a questions 53:31 that I write to this bright mind in England 53:33 across the pond so she sent the letter, 53:36 Lewis read the letter. 53:39 He was a gracious man 53:40 and he answered much of his correspondence 53:42 so something prompted him, he said, "I'll answer her." 53:44 So he answers her. 53:46 I don't know how much time goes by, 53:47 mail travel a little slower back in the 60s before he died. 53:52 But another letter comes from the woman, 53:55 another question, another comment, 53:57 he picks his pen up, shoots an answer back. 54:00 Soon letters are going like this, 54:02 they never met face to face. 54:05 These are not love letters. 54:07 She was just writing the great mind, the great man, 54:10 and asking him. 54:12 He died the day JFK was assassinated, he died. 54:17 In the world his death is totally obscured 54:19 by the tragedy here. 54:22 She eventually died and her family get this, 54:25 her family took the letters 54:27 that she had received from C.S. Lewis 54:30 went to a publisher, they didn't have her letters, 54:33 those are gone. 54:34 All they had were his answers, 54:37 they gave them to a publisher and the publisher says, 54:38 "We can do this 54:39 and publish the letters under the title Letters 54:42 from an American Lady." 54:43 And friend of mine gave me the book, 54:45 I read the book, 54:46 and near the end of the book, guess what? 54:48 C.S. Lewis talks about Seventh-day Adventists. 54:52 I'm telling you the truth, 54:53 this woman apparently has had an experience 54:56 with a Seventh-day Adventist, 54:58 fortunately it was a positive one. 55:03 I'm just saying. 55:06 She writes to him about it and says, 55:08 "Tell me what do you know about these people?" 55:11 Verbatim now he writes back 55:14 these words on the screen for you. 55:17 "What you say about the seven..." 55:20 Oh, I like that. "The Seven-day Adventists." 55:23 That's what we are to call ourselves really, come on, 55:25 we're not Adventists one day at a week. 55:26 We are Adventists seven days at a week. 55:29 "What you say about..." 55:30 And he uses a Roman numeral here. 55:31 "What you say about the Seventh-day Adventists 55:33 interest me extremely. 55:35 If they have so much charity, 55:39 there must be something very right about them." 55:49 Bright mind across the pond. 55:53 I don't know anything about these Adventists, 55:56 but if they have that kind of love, 55:58 there must be something very right about them. 56:03 By this all people will know, 56:05 they will know beyond the shadow of a doubt, 56:06 you are My people because you love each other. 56:12 Let the word go forth that in this church blacks, 56:17 and whites, and all. 56:21 There is something very right about us 56:23 and that something is a someone 56:25 and His name is Jesus and that's the truth. 56:29 Let's pray. 56:31 Oh, God, 56:33 please do whatever it takes, 56:37 Thursday is gone, Sabbath will end, 56:41 the next chapter 56:44 please lead us to do 56:48 what our hearts compel us to do. 56:53 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 56:59 I want to take an extra moment to thank you 57:00 for joining us in worship today. 57:02 It's by the continued support from viewers like you 57:04 that we're able to bring this telecast. 57:07 Today I want to invite you though, 57:08 to share with us 57:10 how this ministry has blessed you. 57:11 Truth is, I get inspiring notes, 57:13 e-mails, letters from viewers literally all over the world, 57:17 sharing with us how God has blessed them 57:19 through this program, 57:21 and I'd love to hear from you as well. 57:22 It's not that hard, simple, really. 57:24 Just visit our website, newperceptions.tv. 57:27 It's one word, newperceptions.tv. 57:30 And click on the contact link at the top of the page. 57:33 Shoot me that e-mail. 57:34 Once again, thank you for being with us. 57:36 Thank you by the way, for your own support. 57:39 That support is what keeps this telecast, 57:41 week after week, reaching America, 57:43 reaching North America, and reaching the planet. 57:47 That kind of generosity that you share is a huge boost 57:51 and blessing to us. 57:52 And I hope you'll join us right here next time 57:54 'cause we'll be here. 57:56 In the meantime, 57:57 God be with you and bless you real good. |
Revised 2017-05-25