Participants: Dwight K. Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP171021A
|
00:00 ♪♪ >> Let's bow our heads for prayer.
00:13 Father in heaven, Lord, we love You so much. 00:17 We're so thankful for who You are and what You've done for us. 00:20 As we enter into worship, Lord, this morning, we thank You for 00:23 sending Your spirit to be here with us right here 00:25 and right now. So, Lord, accept our praise, 00:28 accept our offering to You. And, Lord, bring us closer to 00:33 Your throne this morning. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 00:37 Please stand with us as we sing our first song, 00:39 "Everlasting God." ♪♪ 00:51 ♪♪ [ Congregation singing ] 03:34 [ Song ends ] [ Instrumental music plays ] 03:39 ♪♪ ♪♪ 03:59 ♪♪ Sing "In Christ Alone." 04:05 [ Congregation sings ] 05:31 [ Instrumental music plays ] ♪♪ 05:45 ♪♪ 07:09 No guilt in life. 07:29 No power of hell. 08:07 [ Instrumental music plays ] [ Instrumental music plays ] 08:14 ♪♪ ♪♪ 08:26 [ Song ends ] You know, this morning I was 08:28 reading in the book of Lamentations. 08:30 It's a beautiful, beautiful book. 08:32 And there's a part in chapter 3 where the author of Lamentations 08:36 says, "Lord, I called on Your name, and You answered. 08:41 And you said, 'Do not fear.'" And that's what this 08:46 next song is about. It's about the name of God. 08:48 Calling upon the name of the Lord. 08:51 So sing with us this wonderful song, "Your Name." 08:57 ♪♪ ♪♪ 09:08 [ Congregation sings ] 10:04 ♪♪ Jesus, in Your name. 11:13 And it's in Jesus' name that we pray, and it's Him we 11:16 come to for strength and for life and for hope. 11:18 So at this time, I invite you, come forward. 11:21 If you have a prayer request, if you have a praise, something 11:24 to lay before the throne of God this morning, slip out of the 11:28 pew, if you're near the front, in the back, in the balcony, 11:30 come forward as we sing "Your Name," lifting up the name 11:35 of Jesus Christ. Sing "Your Name." 11:39 [ Congregation sings ] 13:06 >> ♪ Your name ♪ ♪♪ 13:24 ♪♪ 13:34 [ Organ plays ] ♪♪ 13:47 ♪ A mighty fortress is our God ♪ ♪ A bulwark never failing ♪ 13:59 ♪ Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing ♪ ♪ For still our ancient foe 14:15 does seek to work us woe ♪ ♪ His craft and power are great ♪ 14:25 ♪ And armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal ♪ ♪ Did we in our own strength 14:43 confide, our striving would be losing ♪ ♪ Were not the right Man 14:54 on our side ♪ ♪ The Man of God's own choosing ♪ 15:02 ♪ You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He ♪ ♪ Lord God of Hosts His name, 15:17 from age to age the same ♪ ♪ And He must win the battle ♪ ♪♪ 15:42 ♪♪ ♪ The prince of darkness ♪ ♪ Prince of darkness ♪ 15:51 ♪ prince of darkness grim ♪ ♪ We tremble not ♪ ♪ We tremble not ♪ 15:59 ♪ We tremble not for him ♪ His rage cannot endure, ♪ One little word ♪ 16:13 ♪ One little word ♪ ♪ One little word shall fell him ♪ 16:25 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Thy Word above all earthly 16:49 powers ♪ ♪ No thanks to them abideth ♪ ♪ The Spirit and the gifts 17:02 are ours ♪ ♪ Through Him who with us sideth ♪ 17:10 ♪ Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also ♪ ♪ The body they may kill: 17:27 God's truth abideth still ♪ ♪ His kingdom is forever ♪ ♪ Amen, amen ♪ 17:41 ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ 17:50 ♪ Amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪♪ [ Applause ] 18:04 >> Let's pray. Oh, God, at what price did the Reformers 18:10 sing those words? Whatever the price, may we of the New Reformation 18:19 be willing to sacrifice our all for Christ, who is our savior, 18:26 who is our Lord, In His name we pray, amen. 18:32 It was a cold and gray December morning. 18:35 December 10, 1520. Philipp Melancthnon, 18:40 the younger associate of professor and pastor 18:42 Martin Luther, issued an invitation on Luther's 18:47 behalf to all the faculty and students of the fledgling, the 18:51 new University of Wittenberg. 18:54 "At 10:00 this morning, you are invited to join Dr. Luther at the Elster Gate 18:59 of Wittenberg, where he will preside over the public burning of the papal bull 19:05 Exsurge Domine." The bull has already gone viral in this sleepy little German 19:11 town. It's gone viral in the entire nation. 19:18 The bull challenge three years ago, unwittingly issued, that took on the church and the 19:28 Bishop of Rome. Like a viral fire, Luther's challenge threatens the church 19:36 of the Dark Ages. And so the Pope responds. Pope Leo X minced no words in 19:42 this 41-point condemnation of Martin Luther's writings in the papal bull. 19:48 These are his words, by the way. "Arise, O Lord," now, and papal 19:52 proclamations and encyclicals, the first two words in Latin 19:56 become the title for that proclamation. 19:59 Exsurge domine, "arise, O Lord," 20:03 the pope wrote. "Arise, O Lord, 20:07 and judge thy cause. A wild boar" -- and that would 20:11 be Luther -- "has invaded thy vineyard. 20:13 Arise, O Peter, and consider the case of the Holy Roman Church, 20:16 the mother of all churches, consecrated by Thy blood. 20:19 Our pastoral office can no longer tolerate the pestiferous 20:23 virus of the following 41 errors." 20:26 And then they are all listed. "We can no longer suffer," the 20:29 Pope goes on, "the serpent" -- that would be Luther -- "to 20:31 creep through the field of the Lord. 20:33 The books of Martin Luther which contain these errors are 20:36 to be examined and burned. And as for Martin himself, 20:40 good God, what office of paternal love 20:45 have we omitted in order to recall him from his errors?" 20:50 Luther's books have already been burned in the German city of 20:52 Mainz. 20:53 Now, in an act of defiance, Luther assembles a university community by an old oak tree 21:00 outside of the gate. A pile of wood is already stacked. 21:04 And one of the oldest members of the faculty picks up the torch, thrusts it into the pyre, 21:10 and as the flames roar heavenward, Luther tosses the papal bull into the fire with 21:18 these words, "As thou has vexed the Holy One of the Lord, may the eternal fire vex thee." 21:26 And the students? Well, the students being students, particularly these are 21:30 seminarians, and you know what seminarians are like. They have come for the fire, 21:34 as well. They've emptied the library -- No kidding. 21:37 They've emptied the library of expensive volumes of papal constitutions, canon law, 21:41 and the words of scholastic theology, "So there! So there! So there!" 21:46 Later, Luther, in explaining his action, wrote these words on the screen. 22:12 Martin Luther's written and published response is titled 22:16 "Against the Execrable" -- that would be abominable -- 22:20 "...Bull of Antichrist." Luther minces no words himself. 22:26 His words are on the screen. 22:47 You impious and insensate" -- and that means comatose. 23:05 He loves that word, and he'll come back to it next week. And with that, Luther's rupture 23:11 with Rome was complete and irreparable. Or was it complete? 23:21 And is it irreparable, this rupture between the Lutheran Church and the 23:25 Church of Rome? 23:27 Before I read to you from a very recent document written by the 23:31 Lutheran Church and Rome, composed together, 23:35 may I remind you why Martin was so passionately 23:39 heated in his response to the condemnation of Pope Leo X and 23:42 the curia of Rome -- that would be the bureaucracy 23:44 of the Vatican. "Why are you so hyped up?" 23:48 Because as an obedient son of the Church, Martin, this monk 23:52 and priest, has overdosed on what he thought were meritorious 23:56 acts of devotion and piety that were assured to win for him the 23:59 approbation and acceptance of a God who is obviously angry at 24:02 me, a hopeless sinner. 24:07 And had it not been for his vicar Johann von Staupitz, Luther tells us, he would 24:13 literally have mortified himself to death. Prayer, penance, confession, 24:20 worship. Prayer, penance, confession, worship. 24:22 Prayer, penance, confession, worship. "Martin!" Staupitz 24:28 exclaims to him. "Martin! God is not angry at you. 24:33 You are angry at God." It was one thin sliver of light when Staupitz said to him, 24:44 "Pbht! Go to the cross, Martin. Go look at the cross." One thin sliver of light, 24:52 but it shattered the dark night of the soul of this young man. And slowly, slowly comes the 25:04 dawning of the Gospel in his heart. To precipitate that dawning, 25:09 by the way -- this is brilliant on Staupitz's part. He turned to Luther and he said, 25:13 "Hey, listen. You need more work. You need more study. 25:18 I'm sending you back to school. You're gonna get a doctorate." He said, "I don't need a 25:20 doctorate. I'm happy what I --" "No, you're going back. 25:22 And it's gonna be a doctorate, by the way, in theology. Yes, it is." 25:25 "But I'm not --" "Yes, you are. I am your vicar. And when you're done, you'll 25:30 come back. and Duke Frederick will have you be one of his first new theology 25:36 teachers in this university just raised up." And it worked. 25:40 Immersing, intentionally, Luther in the Scriptures... Eventually Luther will lecture 25:45 from the Psalms, he will lecture from Galatians, he will lecture from Romans as he begins to see 25:51 the life-giving light of Christ. Of Christ. 25:55 Derek Wilson, his English biographer, describes Luther's 25:58 breakthrough, and it begins with Luther's words. 26:01 I want you to catch it. Put it on the screen for you. 26:02 Quoting Luther now. This first line is Luther. 26:04 Luther wrote... 26:12 In other words, you can't become a theologian just reading 26:15 great books. You've got to struggle yourself. 26:17 You have to fight the devil. Out of that being damned, you'll 26:22 become a theologian one day. Now Wilson commenting, 26:25 it goes on. 26:44 And when the Gospel breaks through to Martin, 26:47 oh, my, does it break through. Get a load of this. 26:50 James Kittelson, another biographer, sets up these words 26:55 of Luther. So the opening words will be 26:56 James Kittelson. On the screen for you. 26:59 "This focus on Christ" -- And, by the way, that's what set 27:03 Luther free, the focus on Christ. 27:06 "This focus on Christ could give even the most tormented soul 27:10 absolute assurance. Where was the release from 27:13 accusations of conscience or God's law?" 27:15 Now Luther will answer that question. 27:17 Here come Luther's words now. Luther writing... 27:19 "Nowhere save from Christ and in Christ. 27:23 For if some complaint should be registered against a heart that 27:27 believes in Christ" -- If the devil comes to you and 27:29 begins to taunt you, that's what Luther is saying, 27:32 and the devil testifies against you with some evil deed that he 27:35 reminds you of, then -- now, keep going -- 27:37 then, Luther writes, the heart is to turn itself away. 27:40 Turn away from the devil. Turn to Christ. 27:42 And you say to him, "But Christ made me satisfaction. 27:45 Christ is the righteous one, and this is my defense. 27:48 Christ died for me. Christ made his righteousness 27:50 mine, and made my sin His own. And if Christ made my sin His 27:55 own, then I do not have it, and I am free. 27:59 Hallelujah. That's the Gospel [Chuckles] 28:02 right there. Free, indeed was Martin. 28:08 It's no wonder the Protestant Reformation would be founded upon those five great 28:14 solas,Latin for "only" or "alone." 28:20 Let me run them by you in case you've forgotten these five. 28:22 Put them on the screen for you. They're also in the study guide 28:24 that you'll be able to take home. 28:42 Five of them. Luther and the Reformers who 28:45 preceded him and who followed him were absolutely sure that 28:48 standing in direct opposition to these five greatsolaswere the 28:52 teachings of Rome herself. 28:55 Which is why Luther's response to the papal bull and the subsequent bull of 28:59 excommunication was intractable. "I will not recant nor will I withdraw what Holy Scripture has 29:04 shown me is the Gospel truth of salvation through Christ alone, by faith alone, by grace alone, 29:08 through Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone. O meticulous ignorance! 29:13 You impious and insensate papist." Not exactly Dale Carnegie's 29:19 "How to Win Friends and Influence People." [ Laughter ] 29:24 But he won friends. Oh, my, did he win German friends. 29:29 By the tens of thousands. They were set free by the very Gospel he began to preach 29:37 and teach. L.E. Froom, in his comprehensive four-volume 29:44 magnum opus, called "The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers" -- I have all four 29:48 volumes. If you can ever find them, get them fast. 29:51 L.E. Froom summarizes the twin message of the Protestant Reformation. 29:56 Twin messages. Here they are. 29:58 Froom is on the screen. You have to fill this out, by 29:59 the way, in your study guide, so pull your study guide out real 30:01 quick now. I'm not taking a lot of time 30:03 to break for study guides. Here we go. 30:04 Froom's words on the screen. 30:16 "It was evident that nothing in this old world is more" -- 30:19 I love this line. "Nothing in this world is more 30:22 powerful than a prophetic truth whose time has come. 30:27 It has impelling force and power within it. 30:29 Thus it was with the Reformation, which was 30:31 really born out of a twofold discovery." 30:33 Here they are. Jot them down. "First, the rediscovery of 30:37 Christ and His salvation, and second, the discovery of the 30:43 identity of Antichrist and his subversions." 30:49 Ladies and gentlemen, come on, guys. 30:52 Martin Luther did not invent the word Antichrist. God invented it. 30:55 It's in the Bible. To prove that, let me show you. Go to the little 1 John right 31:00 near the end of the Bible. 1 John chapter 2, please. Why don't you look this up? 31:05 I'm gonna share with you four texts that confirm Luther in his conclusion to take on the 31:11 immensity of the institution of Rome. Here are the four texts. 31:17 Okay. 1 John. 1 John chapter 2. I'm in the New International. Whatever you're looking it up on 31:22 is fine by me. 1 John 2:18, and then verse 22. 31:27 Verse 18. "Dear children" -- so you have a pastor here. 31:30 He's an elderly man, now. He's writing to his parish, 31:33 to his people. "Dear children, this is the last 31:35 hour," do you understand? "This is the last hour; 31:43 and as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, even now 31:47 many antichrists have come. This is how we know 31:50 it's the last hour." Drop down to verse 22. 32:01 Jot it down, will you, please. The Antichrist -- and, by the 32:04 way, that's the Greek word antichristos. 32:08 Some people say that that means "against Christ." 32:11 No, no, no, no. The word literally means 32:13 "instead of." The Antichrist takes 32:16 Christ's place. The Antichrist -- write it 32:18 down -- instead of Christ, is coming. 32:20 That's John's point. And Luther identifies the papacy 32:23 as the coming Antichrist power. He throws in another line. 32:27 We'll just do this on the screen. 32:28 This is 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. Paul writing now. 32:34 Luther says, "There's a connection here. 32:35 Watch this." "Don't let anyone deceive you in 32:37 any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion" -- 32:40 and the Greek word for rebellion there isapostasia. 32:44 Apostasy. That's what he's saying. 32:45 And if you have an apostasy, it's within the community of 32:47 faith, not outside it. An apostasy means inside. 32:51 "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not 32:54 come until the apostasy occurs and the man of lawlessness," or 32:57 the man of sin, "is revealed, the man doomed to destruction." 33:00 What kind of an individual is this? 33:02 "He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is 33:05 called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in 33:09 God's temple," in the faith community, he sets himself up, 33:12 "proclaiming himself to be God." Now, we read it just a moment 33:17 ago, when Luther's trying to justify his burning of the 33:20 papal canon, Luther's words, "The canon law was included 33:23 because it makes the Pope a god on earth." 33:26 Therefore -- so here comes number three now. 33:28 He goes back to the Old Testament, the great 33:30 prophetic book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 7. 33:33 Oh, let's just go back a minute. You do need to fill out 33:37 that line. 33:47 Now, here's Daniel 7:25. 34:05 Would you jot this down, please. "The 'little horn' power of 34:07 Daniel 7, Luther believed, would speak against the 34:13 Most High, persecute the saints, and change times and laws." 34:16 Luther identified this "little horn" power 34:18 with the papacy. One more line. Revelation 13:3. 34:29 Keep reading. Jot this down, please. 34:42 The truth of history is -- Jot this down. 34:59 How did Froom put it? The Reformation had two 35:02 discoveries, twin discoveries. Discovery number one -- 35:06 Christ and His salvation. 35:08 Discovery number two, the identity of Antichrist and his subversions. 35:12 Hey, but listen, listen, listen. Come on, come on. Relax, relax. What a difference -- if you're 35:16 all worried about something. What a difference 500 years can make. 35:21 I hold in my hands, right here, a document entitled, "From Conflict to Communion: 35:27 Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017." 35:33 In the introduction, I read -- I'll put the words on the screen 35:35 for you. This is paragraph one. 36:07 What a difference 500 years can make. 36:11 Essentially, what's being said here is, 36:15 "We are now gonna celebrate together the greatest rupture 36:18 Roman Catholicism has experienced in its recent 36:24 1700-year history." 36:27 In fact, last October 31, the beloved Pope Francis flew to Sweden to join with 36:32 the president of the Lutheran Wold Federation, Bishop Munib Younan, 36:36 in a joint prayer service to mark the beginning of a year-long celebration of the 36:41 Protestant Reformation. "Together we'll celebrate this." The document goes on. 36:47 This would be paragraph 16. 36:57 How true. "Remembrance makes 36:59 the past present." It sure does. Certainly does. 37:02 "While the past itself is unalterable, the presence of the 37:05 past in the present is alterable." 37:19 And that's what they've done. To tell the history of Martin Luther and the 37:24 Reformation differently. To tell it very differently. In other words, 37:31 "We can't change the story. We'll find a new way to re-tell it." 37:36 You know, as I've read these pages, I've wondered to myself how Martin himself would respond 37:42 to this new tête-à-tête 500 years later between the church he founded and the 37:49 Church of Rome. Consider his last major book to be published. 37:52 So Luther's last book. 37:54 Derek Wilson, the biographer again, he explains the book. 37:57 Put it on the screen. "Luther's last major book was 38:00 titled 'Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the 38:03 Devil," which he sent to the press in March 1545. 38:16 Hit the pause button right there. 38:17 I'm gonna remind you of something, because it's so easy 38:19 for us to forget. Luther is not writing to people. 38:24 If he was writing to Catholic people, that's everybody. 38:25 That's everybody in his church. That's everybody in the city. 38:28 That's everybody in the next -- It's everybody in the country. 38:30 We're all Catholics. 38:32 He's not writing, condemning, judging people. Luther instead has focused on an 38:37 institution that he believes is the bestower of what he has defined, the Scripture has 38:46 defined as heresy. And so with a white-heat passion, he goes after the 38:54 institution. It's not the people. They're his parishioners. 38:58 He's their pastor. We forget that. Now pick it up. 39:05 Derek Wilson again. 39:06 "When some of his friends took him to task for this" -- 39:09 Man, Luther, do you have to use this kind of language? 39:12 "...he admitted that his language was extreme, 39:14 but he was unrepentant." 39:24 And now, 500 years later, they want to tell 39:27 the history differently. 39:31 Shall we be surprised if, perhaps, one day -- I don't know. 39:35 I suppose it could be as a sort of final coup de grace for the Reformation. 39:42 Maybe it would be the canonization of Martin Luther as a saint of the Church of Rome. 39:50 But at what price this newfound unity? Oh, you're absolutely right. 39:54 Jesus did pray. John 17, the last prayer recorded before the cross. 39:58 Jesus did pray. "Oh, Father, that they might be one even as we are one." 40:06 He prayed for that unity, absolutely. But notice what the unity 40:12 is to be based on. John 17:17. The words on the screen. 40:15 "Sanctify them" -- Oh, Father, "Sanctify them by Your truth; You word is truth." 40:21 Jesus declares the basis for unity, and it's the word of God. It's the word that provides the 40:27 basis for unity. Sola scriptura. Only the word of God that 40:32 defines and declares the truth of God can serve as the foundation for the unity of the 40:36 Church of God. "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." 40:41 That's how you do it. Any church, it would be that way. 40:46 Any churches, it would be that way. "Sanctify them by Your truth. 40:51 Your word is truth." So here's the question. You tell me. 40:56 Does the Reformation no longer matter? Hmm? 41:05 Has Rome changed? 41:09 Turns out Rome hasn't changed at all. 41:10 It's the Protestants who have changed, 41:12 as you are now going to see. The Pew Research Center did two 41:16 major surveys this summer. They surveyed the United States, 41:18 Protestants in the United States. 41:20 They went over to Western Europe and surveyed Protestants in 41:22 Western Europe. I have the report of their 41:25 survey. 41:27 In fact, there's a website there in your study guide, and you can track it, as well. 41:31 Here's the preamble to the survey report. "As Protestants prepare to mark 41:37 the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, new Pew Research Center surveys show 41:41 that in both Western Europe and the United States, the theological differences that 41:45 split Western Christianity in the 1500s have diminished to a degree that might have shocked 41:50 Christians in past centuries. Across Europe and the U.S., the prevailing view is that 41:54 Protestants and Catholics today are more similar religiously than they are different. 41:58 And while the Reformation led to more than a century of devastating wars and persecution 42:03 in Europe, both Protestants and Catholics across that continent now overwhelmingly express 42:07 willingness to accept each other as neighbors, and even as family members. 42:12 I'm not gonna worry about the stats for Western Europe. You can go online, and you can 42:15 read those stats. Let me give you three of the statistics for the 42:18 United States, all right? That's our homeland here. On the screen for you. 42:21 Fill them in, please. "About half" -- in this survey, 42:24 "about half of the U.S. Protestants" -- that would be 42:26 52% -- say both good deeds and faith in God are needed to get 42:31 into heaven, a historically Catholic position. 42:35 I'm reading directly out of the document. 42:43 So there's statistic number one. Here comes statistic number two. 43:09 One more. Statistic three. "Just 30% of all U.S. Protestants affirm both 43:15 sola fide"-- salvation is by faith alone -- "and sola scriptura." 43:19 The Bible alone is the source of our authority. Only 30% of U.S. Protestants. 43:24 Question -- has Rome changed? Answer -- As it turns out, it's the 43:30 Protestants who have changed. In fact, the prolific American Protestant writer Ellen White, 43:37 120 years before Pew Research announces this discovery -- 120 years before made the same 43:45 point and said, "This is how it will be in your nation." In her apocalyptic classic 43:50 "The Great Controversy," on the screen, fill it in. 44:15 "The papacy that the Protestants are now so ready to honor" -- 44:19 and, I might add, so ready to unite with -- "is the same that 44:22 ruled the world in the days of the Reformation, when men of God 44:25 stood up at the peril of their lives to expose her iniquity... 44:28 There has been," Yes, yes, yes, yes. 44:30 "There has been a change; but the change is not 44:33 in the papacy. 44:46 The Rome that Martin Luther challenged and stood up to is the same 44:51 and unchanged Rome today that is suing for peace with every major faith community 44:58 that's willing to dialogue. Oh, by the way, it's not just the church of Martin Luther. 45:05 Two days ago, on Thursday, 50 leaders of the World Methodist Council 45:11 were in the Vatican to meet with the much-beloved and friendly Pope Francis with the same 45:17 appeal for unity. 45:19 So now you have the Church of Martin Luther, you have the 45:22 Church of John Wesley, you have the Church of England, you have 45:26 the Church of John Knox gone the way of Rome. 45:30 Returning to Mother Church all in response to Rome's 45:36 beckoning to pursue a unity no longer based on the word of God, 45:41 but rather the ambitions for unity and a confederation 45:45 at any price. 45:47 Christian, non-Christian, it doesn't matter. But it is a price that the 45:53 Protestants and not Rome will finally pay. And what price shall we pay? 46:02 We who are the inheritors of this New Reformation? Luther's mighty Reformation. 46:09 "What do you mean New Reformation, Dwight?" Oh, the same apocalyptic classic 46:13 on the screen. 46:22 For every generation, there will be a new -- a new reforming, 46:27 which means there's a new reformation God sends to this 46:30 civilization, a continued reclamation of truths buried in 46:34 the ash heap of the Church of the Dark Ages. 46:37 On the screen again. "Great Controversy." 46:50 A New Reformation with reformers young and not so young. 46:53 Men, women, and children who are unafraid to stand up to the hegemony of a monolithic church 46:58 with ambitions to rule Christendom once again. A New Reformation to pick up the 47:02 torch that has been fumbled and dropped by the descendants of the old Reformation. 47:08 A New Reformation. A present truth for a final generation. 47:16 One last line. On the screen. "Great Controversy." 47:37 I say bravo for Martin. Huh? Am I the only one clapping? Milan? 47:47 [ Applause ] No. No. I save bravo. Bravo to Martin. 47:54 The question is, is there anybody to step in to Martin's place one last time? 48:00 That's the question. Is there anybody to step in to Martin's place one last time. 48:07 There will be a generation. There will be a generation with a New Reformation one last time. 48:17 That's why we spent the month of September thinking about something called the daily 48:22 baptism of the Holy Spirit. Daily. You know why? 48:30 Because you can't have a courage like Luther's. Come on. And, by the way, 48:35 you say, "It'll never come to me. I'll never stand up 48:38 like Luther." Don't worry about standing up. It can happen in a boardroom. 48:44 It can happen in a classroom. It can happen in an airport. It can happen playing golf. 48:51 There will be a moment in which you can stand up just as he did. 49:00 It isn't the courage of Martin Luther we need. It's the courage of Jesus. 49:03 And that's what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is. It's the courage of Jesus. 49:06 It's the Spirit of Jesus. Every day -- every day -- to say, "Oh, Jesus, just as you 49:15 went to the Father morning by morning, every day, I'm going to You. 49:19 Please. Every day, baptize me afresh. Baptize me afresh. 49:25 Fill me all over again, just as you did Jesus. Holy Spirit, fill me. 49:34 Reformation isn't over. The greatest hour of the Reformation is still ahead. 49:43 And God is calling for reformers. Not based upon their theological 49:49 training or their spiritual pedigree. He needs men, women, and 49:54 children who are willing to stand up for Him whenever, wherever, and say whatever 50:04 He needs said at that moment. And only -- only the Holy Spirit can give you that. 50:13 I'm not backing off of September's series. We need -- 50:17 We need what Jesus is offering. Come on. If you who are evil know how 50:20 to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the 50:25 Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? And in the Greek, it says "who 50:28 ask Him day after day after day after day after day. "How much more? Just ask me. 50:33 Just ask me." Is there anybody left after Martin 50:44 to take a stand one more time? I pray, oh, God, 50:50 maybe him, maybe her. Me too. Me too, please. There's a powerful hymn, 50:57 "Onward, Christian Soldiers." We're gonna sing it together. And we'll stand on the fourth 51:03 stanza, all right? But, ushers, would you please stand, and would you kindly now 51:06 just receive our Connect Cards. Go up and down these aisles. Don't leave somebody in the 51:10 middle of the pew. Just go ahead and reach that plate over, and let's sing this 51:15 great, great anthem. [ Intro to "Onward, Christian Soldiers" plays ] 51:27 ♪ Onward, Christian soldiers! marching as to war ♪ ♪ With the cross of Jesus 51:40 going on before ♪ ♪ Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe ♪ 51:52 ♪ Forward into battle, see His banners go ♪ ♪ Onward, Christian soldiers! 52:05 marching as to war ♪ ♪ With the cross of Jesus going on before ♪ 52:19 ♪ Like a mighty army moves the Church of God; ♪ ♪ Christians, we are treading 52:32 where the Saints have trod ♪ ♪ We are not divided; all one body we ♪ 52:46 ♪ One in hope and doctrine, one in charity ♪ ♪ Onward, Christian soldiers! 52:59 marching as to war ♪ ♪ With the cross of Jesus going on before ♪ 53:13 ♪ Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane ♪ ♪ But the church of Jesus 53:26 constant will remain ♪ ♪ Gates of hell can never 'gainst that church prevail ♪ 53:39 ♪ We have Christ's own promise, that can never fail ♪ ♪ Onward, Christian soldiers! 53:52 marching as to war ♪ ♪ With the cross of Jesus going on before ♪ 54:07 ♪ Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng ♪ ♪ Blend with ours your voices 54:20 in the triumph song ♪ ♪ Glory, praise, and honor unto Christ the King ♪ 54:33 ♪ This through countless ages men and angels sing ♪ ♪ Onward, Christian soldiers! 54:47 marching as to war ♪ ♪ With the cross of Jesus going on before ♪♪ 55:05 >> Oh, God, and so we stand before You. It doesn't feel like a war. 55:11 Doesn't look like a war, really, at times. What is this 55:16 militaristic language of what we just sang? And yet we know in our 55:24 heart of hearts, the war that broke out in heaven that is now desperately moving 55:31 to its final death throes, is the most genuine war of all of history. 55:42 We are all drawn into this war. And, so, Holy God, Holy Father, I humbly pray that You would 55:54 baptize us afresh every new day for the sake of this war You have called us to engage. 56:05 If we were dependent on our own resources, it's over. But drawing courage from where 56:12 Martin found his courage, solus Christus, we cry out for the power and 56:21 courage and spirit of Christ our Lord. Seal this moment. 56:31 Keep the call ringing in our spirits. We humbly pray. 56:39 And now to Him who loves us, and has freed us from our sins by His blood, 56:46 and has made us to be a kingdom and priest to serve His God and Father, to Christ be glory and 56:54 power forever and ever. Amen. [ Organ plays ] 57:15 >> Thank you for taking the time to join us in worship today. 57:17 I'd like to spent another moment with you here at the end of our 57:20 program to share with you a gift of hope. 57:22 In these uncertain times, this little book, "The Great Hope," will help you 57:26 understand what God has planned for your future. And not just your future, 57:28 but for the future of the human race. In this 500th anniversary of the 57:32 Reformation, we recognize that Luther had a mighty work to do. But the truth is, he didn't 57:37 recognize all the light of Holy Scripture. How could he have? 57:40 He's just one life. New light has been continually shining since his time, and new 57:44 truths have been constantly unfolding. 57:47 This book, "The Great Hope," is a story of that continuing 57:50 Reformation. So grab your phone, 57:52 dial our toll-free number, 877-HIS-WILL -- 57:55 Remember the two words. 877-HIS-WILL. -- 57:58 and we'll get a copy to you right away. 58:01 Until the next time we meet, may the peace of our Lord Jesus 58:04 be with you. 58:07 ♪♪ ♪♪ |
Revised 2017-10-27