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>> Welcome to Pioneer
Memorial Church today.
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I'm delighted to see so many of
us here, and I know we have lots
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of others joining us online,
so I extend to you a warm, happy
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Sabbath, everyone. >>
Together: Happy Sabbath.
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>> Thank you, thank you. It's
good to have you this first
Sabbath in December.
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For those who are here with us,
may I remind you to keep your
masks on for the duration of the
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service, that we are inviting
you to physically distance from
those who are not of your
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immediate family or group, and
we're going to ask you to hum
along as the music is sung
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today. For our call to worship
this morning, I have Chaplain
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José joining me. And it goes
like this -- how beautiful is
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the voice of the one who
proclaims peace. >> How glorious
the voice that announces the
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good news. >> Let us sing
together, oh, people, the song
of comfort and joy.
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>> Let us sing peace and good
news. >> Both: For God, our God,
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has come among us, bringing
hope. >> Let us pray. God of
hope, we thank You.
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You have been faithful. You have
been faithful in providing, in
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protecting, in preserving,
in guiding, in leading, and we
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praise You today. We thank You
for sending to us the Prince of
Peace. In our world today, we
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have experiences of brokenness,
of constant war, and we thank
You for this pause for peace.
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As we worship You today, please
send that flame, that divine
flame, the Holy Spirit, so that
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He may penetrate our
circumstances, that He may
penetrate our spaces, that He
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might transform our experience
so that we might worship
wholeheartedly, unreservedly,
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undeniably, with body,
mind, soul, and spirit. Amen.
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>> Together: Amen.
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[ "Hosanna" begins ]
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[ "He Shall Reign
Forevermore" begins ]
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¤¤ [ Song ends ]
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>> Together: Amen. [
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"
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begins ]
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[ Song ends ] >> You know, they
sang that as a praise, but I
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think it could also be a
question we're asking ourselves.
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Is God with us? Which is what
Emmanuel means, right, "God with
us." Is God with us?
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So, family, why don't
we claim that in faith?
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Why don't we claim it in faith
that God is going to deliver us
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during these times? And
to demonstrate that faith,
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I'm going to ask you to stand
up, because that's what God is
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gonna do. He's gonna lift us up.
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We'll have one prayer now of
praise, and, in faith, we accept
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that God is going
to carry us through.
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Pastor Kyle, share our
first prayer of praise.
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>> Let's pray. Father
God, we come here today
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because we know that this is the
best place to be, whether we're
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in a car listening or at
home or here in this building.
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We know that it is through
really hiding ourselves under
your hand that You lift us up
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and You show us the way forward.
So we just want to praise You
right now for being a God who is
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the Alpha and the Omega, the end
from the beginning. We don't
have to live in this
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moment in despair. We don't have
to be in sadness. We don't have
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to be people without a joy in
our bones, but, rather, we can
have a fire within us.
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We can have revival within us,
because we know that, despite
our present circumstances, the
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best is yet to come. We know
that You have a plan for this
Earth, that You are
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sovereign on the throne, that
we are not orphans, but that we
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have a Father. And so we just
rejoice in that, we thank You
for that, we praise You for
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that, and we look to You as Your
children, and we cry out "Abba,"
because we know that You are the
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one that we are looking for. You
are the one who our souls are
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longing after. And so as I'm in
this room with all of my friends
and as I'm in this space with
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people listening maybe at home,
we want to acknowledge You as
Savior. We want to acknowledge
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You as creator. We want to
acknowledge You as the one who
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can change every circumstance
that is bad for good. And we
proclaim this through the
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powerful name of Jesus. >> Holy
God, we give You praise this
morning, so hear our song,
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"Praise God From Whom All
Blessings Flow." [ "From Whom
All Blessings Flow"
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begins ] Praise Him,
all creatures here below.
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¤¤ Praise Him
above, ye heavenly hosts.
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¤¤ Praise Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost.
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¤¤ Amen.
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[ Upbeat music plays
] >> Hey, Sis, Dad, Mom!
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Come on!
"Children's Story" is on!
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>> "But, Craig, I don't
have any marbles to play with."
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No marbles to play with?
Those words rang in my head?
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You see, when I was a
boy, I collected marbles.
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I loved collecting marbles --
clear ones and blue ones and red
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ones and white
ones and swirly ones.
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Actually, this is a bag
of marbles when I was a kid.
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These were actually my -- This
is actually the same bag, and
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these are actually the
same marbles when I was a boy.
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There's a blue swirly one.
Look how pretty that blue one is
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there. And I got another blue
one. All the blue ones came out.
And here's a purple and a yellow
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one. Oh, so much fun.
It's got a chip on it because
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evidently I had played marbles
with this one. It's got a chip
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in it. Oh, marble collecting is
so much fun, and I pulled out a
few of my other marbles.
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Here's some of my favorite ones.
Here's one that's a cat eye. It
looks like a cat's eye.
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That's really a cute one. And
here's a purie. Puries are ones
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that are really special. When
you see a purie, you hold it up
to the light to see
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whether or not there's any
bubbles in it. This one has just
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a couple of bubbles, so this
one's really close to being
pure, right? When you are in a
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store and you walk by marbles,
you don't just walk by marbles.
You always stop and you look at
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all those beautiful colored
marbles there. And if you see
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any clear ones, they're called
puries. You hold it up to the
light, and you're looking for if
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there's any bubbles. If someone
comes by and you're holding it
up to the light and
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they say, "What are you doing?"
you just say, "I'm just looking
for bubbles, see if it's a purie
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or not." And they're gonna
go, "Whoa, he really knows his
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stuff!" Right? Back to recess
in Jackson Junior Academy.
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I challenged Kelly -- We used to
play marbles with -- we'd
challenge our friends to
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marbles, and if I hit
his marble, I got to keep his
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marble. If he hit mine, he
kept my marble. That's how your
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collection would grow or your
collection would shrink, based
on your expertise in hitting the
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other people's marbles, right?
And so I challenged Kelly, and
Kelly said, "You know, hey, I
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don't have any marbles." And so
I thought, "Hey, I'll give him a
couple of my ones I
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don't really like." So I poured
out -- I remember pouring out
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the marbles there, and all my
good ones were there, and I
picked out three of the marbles
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that I really didn't care for,
and I said, "You can have these,
Kelly." Well, he was thankful.
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And then the thought came into
my head, "Give him one of your
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green ones. Give him one of your
green purie marbles." Now, I had
been collecting those
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green puries, and I wasn't about
to give them away, but the
thought came into my head, "Give
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him a green purie marble." And
so I found myself -- I reached
in, and I handed him one
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of the green purie marbles.
Actually, I have two. I used to
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have three. These are the same
marbles I had, and so these are
really special marbles.
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And when I gave Kelly -- "Here,
Kelly, you can have this one, as
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well." Kelly's eyes got big. He
got so happy. He says, "You're
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giving me a green purie marble?"
I go, "Yeah." And I was happy
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because I had given something
that was really special to me to
Kelly, and I was kind of
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reluctant in doing it. The Bible
says here that we... said, "Each
one must give as he
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has decided in his heart, not
reluctantly --" aw, I wish I'd
have been more of a cheerful
00:19:06.78\00:19:11.81
giver -- "or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver."
I wish I'd have said, "Here, you
00:19:11.81\00:19:18.09
can have this one, this one --
all my best ones." But I did
give him one good one.
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And then it says this, "Jesus
said himself, 'It is more
blessed to give than to
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receive.'" Right? Aw, I
wish I would've given more
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to Kelly. That voice that was in
my head, that was Jesus talking
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to me. On Earth, it's actually
the Holy Spirit talking to me.
"Give him of some of your best,
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Craig. Give him some of
your best." And Jesus, the Holy
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Spirit will talk to you, too.
Listen to Him, which ways that
you could be kind to people.
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Give your best. Give of your
best to the master. You guys
00:19:59.53\00:20:06.53
have a great day. See you.
00:20:06.53\00:20:08.10
>> Dear Father in heaven, thank
You for this day, and thank You
00:20:08.14\00:20:12.71
for the Sabbath. May
the Holy Spirit open our
00:20:12.71\00:20:16.18
hearts as we
listen to the Word of God.
00:20:16.18\00:20:19.25
In Jesus' name, we pray.
Amen. [ Upbeat music plays ]
00:20:19.25\00:20:24.59
¤¤
00:20:28.02\00:20:29.32
>> Let's pray. Oh,
Jesus, You are the joy of
00:20:33.40\00:20:37.90
our desiring, and
here's our humble prayer.
00:20:37.90\00:20:42.34
Would you please be
front and center right now?
00:20:42.34\00:20:47.11
In Your name, we worship.
Amen. In the midst of this dark,
00:20:47.11\00:20:54.35
suffocating pandemic, you want
to see a beautiful Jesus moment?
00:20:54.35\00:21:00.86
I'm gonna show you a picture.
Well, you've probably already
00:21:00.86\00:21:05.63
seen the picture, this
now-gone-viral picture of the
00:21:05.63\00:21:08.50
physician in that COVID-19 ICU
ward, COVID patients everywhere,
00:21:08.50\00:21:16.30
and an elderly man --
the doc is holding him tight.
00:21:16.30\00:21:21.84
The man is crying. It's
Thanksgiving Day a few days ago,
and the whole world has
00:21:21.88\00:21:26.58
seen it now. I'm gonna put
it on the screen. Can't wait.
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Here it is. This is
right on the website there.
00:21:30.09\00:21:33.62
You see the doctor. This is Dr.
Joseph Varon. He is the chief of
00:21:33.62\00:21:44.37
staff at United Medical Center,
Houston, Texas, alright? He's
holding that elderly
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patient. The man is crying.
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PPE, they call it, this
protective equipment, personal
protective equipment.
00:21:54.98\00:21:59.55
Doctor is covered from head --
just a little bit of skin there,
covered from head to toe.
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The man is sobbing. Wow. Here's
the backstory from the website.
00:22:06.19\00:22:11.06
Let me just read it to you, just
a line or two. "Joseph Varon,
00:22:11.06\00:22:15.53
doctor treating coronavirus
patients at a Texas hospital,
was working his 252nd day in a
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row." This doc has not taken a
day off since the pandemic
began. I want to tell you
00:22:23.71\00:22:30.58
something. We just blow by our
frontline medical workers, and
say, "Well, of course they're
00:22:30.58\00:22:36.12
getting paid. That's what
they're supposed to do." You're
not supposed to work 250
00:22:36.12\00:22:39.15
days in a row. Nobody in their
right mind works that, unless
00:22:39.15\00:22:42.59
you have a passion that's
driving you. So, he walked into
the intensive-care unit on
00:22:42.59\00:22:49.23
Thanksgiving Day, and he sees
this elderly patient -- he's
telling the interviewer now --
00:22:49.23\00:22:53.87
"'out of his bed and trying to
get out of the room, and he's
crying,' Varon said.
00:22:53.87\00:22:58.17
'So I get close to him, and I
ask him, 'Why are you crying?'
And the man says, 'I want to be
00:22:58.17\00:23:03.04
with my wife.'" >> Together:
Aww. >> Yeah, really, "aww."
00:23:03.04\00:23:09.28
"'So I just grab him, and I hold
him. I was feeling very sorry
00:23:09.28\00:23:15.62
for him. I was feeling
very sad, just like him.
00:23:15.62\00:23:18.66
Eventually, he felt better, and
he stopped crying. I don't know
00:23:18.66\00:23:23.53
why I haven't broken down,' the
doctor said. 'My nurses cry in
the middle of the day.'"
00:23:23.53\00:23:28.20
I cry just thinking about them
crying, don't you? Varon said
that the isolation of
00:23:28.20\00:23:35.48
the COVID-19 unit is difficult
for many patients. "When you're
00:23:35.48\00:23:39.11
an elderly individual, it's more
difficult because you're alone.
Some of them cry, some of them
00:23:39.11\00:23:42.65
try to escape. We actually had
somebody trying to crawl through
00:23:42.65\00:23:45.95
the window the other day, and we
caught them." And here's some
good news. Varon said that the
00:23:45.95\00:23:53.36
elderly man in the picture is
doing much better. Hallelujah.
00:23:53.36\00:23:55.90
"We're hoping that, before the
end of the week, he'll be able
to get out of the hospital."
00:23:55.90\00:24:01.20
I want you to give a good, long,
hard look here. Pull that camera
00:24:01.20\00:24:06.27
in as far as you can. I want
you to take a good, long gaze at
00:24:06.27\00:24:09.28
this picture. You know what
you're looking at? That's a
picture of Jesus. That's a
00:24:09.28\00:24:15.92
picture of Jesus coming down to
this pandemic, sin-pandemic,
darkened, and suffocating
00:24:15.92\00:24:21.36
planet. And, one day, He came
across an elderly man, and the
elderly man was crying, and you
00:24:21.36\00:24:24.89
know what Jesus did? He just
instinctively grabbed the man,
00:24:24.89\00:24:28.33
and He hugged him. Sometimes,
when you're God, that's the only
00:24:28.33\00:24:32.27
thing left to do. And that's
what this doctor did. Wow, what
a metaphor of this crazy world
00:24:32.27\00:24:41.08
we're living in right now.
Welcome to Advent season 2020.
And we're gonna look at an
00:24:41.08\00:24:52.59
ancient Christmas prophecy, and
you're gonna be thinking "now,"
when it was talking about 2,000
00:24:52.59\00:24:57.79
years ago. Check it out for
yourself. Open your Bible to the
00:24:57.79\00:25:01.23
Gospel Prophet of the Old
Testament. We're talking about
00:25:01.23\00:25:04.80
Isaiah. Open your Bible to
Isaiah chapter 9. Everybody
00:25:04.80\00:25:08.44
knows these words. Come on.
Everybody knows these words. In
fact, drop down to verse six
00:25:08.44\00:25:12.27
just to nail this as -- this is
truly the Christmas prophecy.
Take a look at this, Revela--
00:25:12.27\00:25:17.88
Isaiah 9:6. "For unto us..."
Oh, who's changing the screen
00:25:17.88\00:25:24.89
here? Oh, that's
me. Okay. [ Laughter ]
00:25:24.89\00:25:28.12
Man, come on. You guys
up there, change the screen.
00:25:28.12\00:25:30.83
I'm ready. Oh,
that's me. [ Laughter ]
00:25:30.83\00:25:33.56
Alright. "For unto us a child is
born, to us a son is given, and
00:25:33.56\00:25:37.20
the government will be on
his shoulders." Oh, boy, you
00:25:37.20\00:25:41.04
remember that from Handel's
"Messiah," straight out of
Handel's "Messiah." No, it's the
00:25:41.04\00:25:45.77
other way around. Handel's
"Messiah" is straight out of
00:25:45.77\00:25:49.08
Isaiah 9. Come on. "For unto us
a child is born, to us a son is
given, and the government will
00:25:49.08\00:25:53.18
be on his shoulders. And he
--" this coming one -- "will be
00:25:53.18\00:25:56.05
called Wonderful Counselor..."
"You can sob on my shoulder, and
I'll weep with you."
00:25:56.05\00:25:59.82
"He'll be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
00:25:59.82\00:26:03.29
Prince of Peace." You say,
"Dwight, that ancient prophecy
doesn't feel like today
00:26:03.29\00:26:07.23
at all." That's because
we skipped the opening verse.
00:26:07.23\00:26:09.96
Let's go to the opening verse.
This is verse two, same chapter.
Isaiah writes, speaking of that
00:26:09.96\00:26:14.47
time...
00:26:14.47\00:26:15.74
Boy, those words, "deep
darkness," does that feel like
today or what -- I mean even
00:26:27.62\00:26:32.29
pushing aside our personal
circumstances, and we've got a
roomful of personal
00:26:32.29\00:26:36.66
circumstances going on right
now. There's enough to weep over
00:26:36.66\00:26:40.23
without the pandemic. But does
that not feel like life today on
this planet, a people
00:26:40.23\00:26:45.87
walking in darkness? "In a land
of deep darkness a light has
00:26:45.87\00:26:53.48
dawned." This sad, sad pandemic
season. Such confusion, such
heartache. Such chaos.
00:26:53.48\00:27:01.45
What could be more fitting than
these words? Let's read them
00:27:01.45\00:27:06.19
again... 700 years later,
Matthew comes along, and he
says, "I love that verse.
00:27:13.09\00:27:18.10
I'm gonna use it." And that's
why we know the words, because
00:27:18.10\00:27:23.47
Matthew uses it in Matthew 4:16.
You'll see the words. You
could've left your finger in
00:27:23.47\00:27:30.08
Isaiah 9, but here we are at
Matthew 4:16. And I need to be
00:27:30.08\00:27:34.32
there myself. Matthew 4. Come
on. I want you to look it up in
00:27:34.32\00:27:36.52
your Bible. Don't just take the
screen's word for it. Matthew 4.
00:27:36.52\00:27:39.92
Matthew 4. Always takes
me awhile to find these.
00:27:39.92\00:27:44.19
Alright, Matthew 4:16. Here
we go. "The people living in
00:27:44.19\00:27:49.36
darkness have seen a great
light." Well, this sounds like
00:27:49.36\00:27:54.17
what we just read. "And those
living in the land of the shadow
of death, for them, a light has
00:27:54.17\00:28:00.74
dawned." You see any difference
between what we just read in
Isaiah and what we now read in
00:28:00.74\00:28:05.48
Matthew? You can't see it by
reading them back to back. Let's
do a split screen, because
00:28:05.48\00:28:09.65
there is a significant
difference, and you're gonna
catch it right now.
00:28:09.65\00:28:13.46
Here's the split screen. There's
Isaiah 9, and there's Matthew 4.
00:28:13.46\00:28:17.29
Now, I want to show you
something. Isaiah uses two
00:28:17.29\00:28:21.83
strong, positive action verbs.
Here they are. "The people
walking in darkness
00:28:21.83\00:28:26.00
have seen a great light, on
those living in the land of deep
darkness a light has dawned."
00:28:26.00\00:28:31.87
Matthew drops those strong
action words, and he takes
another word, another word in
00:28:31.87\00:28:37.11
the Greek. It's a word that
describes a sluggish solitude,
00:28:37.11\00:28:44.55
and it means "to sit, to brood,"
sluggish, all-alone solitude.
"Hey, wait a minute.
00:28:44.55\00:28:54.73
Dwight, you said it says
'sitting.' NIV says 'living.'"
00:28:54.73\00:28:58.13
Yeah, that's because they made a
mistake, in my humble opinion.
They said, "We're gonna
00:28:58.13\00:29:01.70
interpret that. That just means
'living.'" No, no, no, this is a
00:29:01.70\00:29:04.71
significant point. Let's not
miss it. "The people sitting in
00:29:04.71\00:29:08.68
darkness have seen a great
light." That's how it's supposed
to read, the actual Greek reads.
00:29:08.68\00:29:13.28
"And on those sitting in the
land of the shadow of death, a
00:29:13.28\00:29:17.42
light has dawned." You say,
"Dwight, what in the world are
you talking about?" Let's let
00:29:17.42\00:29:22.16
the great commentator on the
Book of Matthew, Frederick Dale
Bruner, his magisterial
00:29:22.16\00:29:26.09
two-volume commentary -- let's
just see why he's making such a
00:29:26.09\00:29:31.50
big deal of this. You'll see it.
Okay, we just changed these to
"sitting" because "sitting" is
00:29:31.50\00:29:35.70
the actual. And some of you that
have New American, you have the
00:29:35.70\00:29:38.97
New King James, they all say
"sitting." They got it right.
00:29:38.97\00:29:42.01
But let's go to Bruner now.
Here's Bruner. "Isaiah wrote --"
00:29:42.01\00:29:46.05
I'm quoting Frederick Dale
Bruner now -- "Isaiah wrote,
"The people who walk in
00:29:46.05\00:29:51.42
darkness;' Matthew writes, 'The
people who sit in darkness,'
because Matthew believes
00:29:51.42\00:29:58.36
spiritual darkness is so thick
it immobilizes." Whoa! Are you
serious? Keep reading.
00:29:58.36\00:30:03.83
"The verb 'to sit --'" that
Matthew has chosen -- "aptly
denotes a sluggish solitude.
00:30:03.83\00:30:09.67
...in Matthew's reading, they
are so far in the dark that they
00:30:09.67\00:30:15.21
cannot even move. They sit in
the darkness...in a paralysis."
Matthew is trying to tell us
00:30:15.21\00:30:20.35
something. He's describing the
psycho-social spiritual culture
00:30:20.35\00:30:24.99
into which Christ has come. He's
trying to tell us that this is a
00:30:24.99\00:30:29.56
numbing, this is a suffocating
darkness, and they're not
walking, they're not living --
00:30:29.56\00:30:33.66
they're just sitting there. Man!
Does this begin to feel like
00:30:33.66\00:30:38.23
today? Mercy!
Matthew's trying to describe
00:30:38.23\00:30:41.50
Jesus' First Coming, and I'm
sitting here thinking of this
culture before Jesus'
00:30:41.50\00:30:46.34
Second Coming -- a sluggish,
numb suffocation. They're just
00:30:46.34\00:30:52.98
sitting in the darkness. Aw,
let's read it again. We've
switched out the "living"
00:30:52.98\00:30:57.95
into the right word...
00:30:57.95\00:30:59.59
Oh, boy, that is so graphic,
"Sitting in the land of the
00:31:09.03\00:31:15.00
shadow of death." You know why
this feels like so today? I'll
tell you why -- because we
00:31:15.00\00:31:19.51
are living in a death
culture today. That's why.
00:31:19.51\00:31:22.84
Do you understand that? This
culture, these Gen Z'ers and
everybody else in this
00:31:22.84\00:31:26.82
planet, it's all about death.
Everything's about death. We
watch death all the time.
00:31:26.82\00:31:30.99
It's in a news clip. The whole
world gapes as they watch live
00:31:30.99\00:31:36.29
video of George Floyd
suffocating to death, until he
dies. The whole world sees it.
00:31:36.29\00:31:44.20
The terrorists behead on camera
hostage. [ Exhales sharply ]
00:31:44.20\00:31:50.61
We are now so immersed in
this death culture. Our music is
00:31:50.61\00:31:55.74
death culture. Hollywood, our
entertainment, is death culture.
We are so immersed in this, we
00:31:55.74\00:32:00.78
don't know that there's a
culture that doesn't have death
00:32:00.78\00:32:04.22
in it. That's why heaven is
going to be so radically
mind-blowing. Death is how we
00:32:04.22\00:32:12.06
live. It's death everywhere. So
what Matthew describes as the
world when Jesus came the first
00:32:12.06\00:32:18.33
time, you and I are
instinctively saying, "Guess
00:32:18.33\00:32:21.74
what. That's the world He's
coming to the second time, only
it's worse today than then."
00:32:21.74\00:32:26.51
And I suppose, when they open up
the Colosseum again and they
show it live on TV, that we're
00:32:26.51\00:32:32.35
gonna finally reach the depths
of debauchery that the culture
back then had descended to, when
00:32:32.35\00:32:39.42
it becomes entertainment. My.
Suicides are shot on Facebook so
00:32:39.42\00:32:46.16
that the world can see. Murders
are committed on Facebook so
00:32:46.16\00:32:51.50
that the world can see. We live
in a death culture. And this is
00:32:51.50\00:32:58.01
such a profound line. Let me
show you how some other
translations render it.
00:32:58.01\00:33:00.41
This is the Holman
Christian Standard Bible...
00:33:00.41\00:33:02.98
Ooh, I like that. Here comes
the New Living Translation...
00:33:06.61\00:33:09.25
That's where you live. That's
your address. One more, the NIV
00:33:12.55\00:33:16.79
that we just read...
00:33:16.79\00:33:18.33
Mercy. Matthew thought he was
describing the world when Jesus
00:33:20.36\00:33:23.13
came the first time. We're
thinking he's describing the
world when Jesus comes the
00:33:23.13\00:33:26.84
second time. Wow.
Eugene Peterson, who died this
00:33:26.84\00:33:35.58
year -- brilliant, brilliant
writer -- in his rendition of
00:33:35.58\00:33:42.38
the Bible called "The Message,"
I like the way he puts it
00:33:42.38\00:33:46.76
here... Ladies and gentlemen, in
that one single line is the
summation of the Gospel story.
00:33:56.03\00:34:01.24
You have it all right here.
"Read it again, Dwight." I will.
00:34:01.24\00:34:06.17
How beautiful is that? Can't you
just see it? It's pitch dark,
00:34:14.05\00:34:17.29
and all of a sudden, [Exhales
sharply] from the east, here it
comes. You've watched the
00:34:17.29\00:34:21.32
sunrise. You've seen that little
crest just above the eastern
horizon, and as it grows, the
00:34:21.32\00:34:26.03
sky gets brighter, brighter.
They watch -- [ Exhales sharply
00:34:26.03\00:34:28.76
] It's a huge light. That's
Jesus! That's Jesus! Into our
darkness, He rises like
00:34:28.76\00:34:39.54
the sun we've been praying would
come after this long, torturous
00:34:39.54\00:34:45.05
midnight. That's Jesus, the Son
of righteousness. I scribbled on
00:34:45.05\00:34:49.72
this page years ago, this line
-- I love it -- from "Desire of
Ages." Let me put this on the
00:34:49.72\00:34:53.12
screen for you...
00:34:53.12\00:34:54.22
Isn't that beautiful? "The
whole world is brighter for His
00:34:58.36\00:35:02.30
presence." But isn't it
intriguing -- you think about
00:35:02.33\00:35:06.37
this -- why didn't Matthew
put Isaiah 9:2 in the Nativity
00:35:06.37\00:35:11.57
story? That would've been the
logical place to put it, because
00:35:11.57\00:35:14.08
"unto us a child is
born," yada, yada, yada.
00:35:14.08\00:35:15.78
Why didn't you put
it here? No, no, no.
00:35:15.78\00:35:17.48
He says, "I want to wait
till Jesus begins not his Judean
00:35:17.48\00:35:20.85
ministry. I want
to wait till He begins
00:35:20.85\00:35:23.18
his Galilean ministry, where
it's half lost, half saved --
00:35:23.18\00:35:26.35
pagan, Jew,
pagan, Jew, pagan, Jew.
00:35:26.35\00:35:29.79
And there Jesus
goes for His ministry.
00:35:29.79\00:35:31.93
I want to wait till he starts it
there, and then I'm gonna quote
00:35:31.93\00:35:35.20
Isaiah 9:2." My, oh, my.
00:35:35.20\00:35:39.77
It's as if, somehow, the good
news of the Gospel -- we have to
00:35:39.77\00:35:45.41
grasp this.
00:35:45.41\00:35:46.81
Jesus didn't go to where light
was already there. Jesus went to
00:35:46.84\00:35:50.71
where there was no light. Most
of us want to settle where
there's plenty of light so we
00:35:50.71\00:35:54.02
never have to worry
about darkness. We're the exact
00:35:54.02\00:35:57.15
opposite of Jesus. He
said, "Get me where it's dark.
00:35:57.15\00:35:59.32
That's where I want to be."
Mercy. Twice in the Gospels,
00:35:59.32\00:36:04.63
Jesus says, "I am the light
of the world. Yo, you people
00:36:04.63\00:36:09.40
listening to me?" He says, "I am
the light of the world." And
when they hang Him up on
00:36:09.40\00:36:17.27
that tree at Calvary, in the
blackest midnight of human
history, never did that light
00:36:17.27\00:36:24.55
shine brighter than on
the Cross. That's the Gospel.
00:36:24.55\00:36:29.58
Jesus said, "I am the light
of the world. Come to me, your
00:36:29.58\00:36:34.12
guilt is gone. Come to me, your
fears are gone. Come to me, your
hopelessness is gone.
00:36:34.12\00:36:38.59
Come to me, you're going to live
now. You're not going to end
00:36:38.59\00:36:41.80
your life -- you're gonna live
because you want to live and I
00:36:41.80\00:36:45.37
want you to live. Come to me,
and I'll give you rest. I am the
light of the world."
00:36:45.37\00:36:51.14
"People sitting out their lives
in the dark saw a huge light --"
oh, I love that -- "sitting in
00:36:51.14\00:36:56.61
that dark, dark country of death
--" as we are -- "they watched
00:36:56.61\00:37:02.18
the sun come up." Hallelujah.
That sun is going to come up
00:37:02.18\00:37:07.42
again. And Jesus steps up to me
and says, "Yo, Dwight, let's
talk. I want you to love the
00:37:07.42\00:37:13.03
world for me. Do you mind
hugging them for me? Come on,
00:37:13.03\00:37:16.80
just be like Dr. Joseph Varon.
Just do it impulsively. We now
know that Dr. Varon did
00:37:16.80\00:37:20.70
not know that the photographer
was in that room. The
00:37:20.70\00:37:24.34
photographer from Getty Images
had been assigned, "Do a photo
essay, 'Thanksgiving in America:
00:37:24.34\00:37:32.85
Pandemic-style.'" He was
embedded in that ICU. [ Clicking
tongue ] Doc didn't know that.
00:37:32.85\00:37:38.52
That isn't some setup shot. That
doc was doing what instinctively
00:37:38.52\00:37:44.49
came to him at that moment.
"I have an elderly patient here.
00:37:44.49\00:37:47.13
He's sobbing. Come here, let me
hug you." "Dwight, why don't you
go out and love the world in the
00:37:47.13\00:37:53.37
same way, huh? Come on,
you don't need some kind of big
00:37:53.37\00:37:56.10
strategy. What do you think this
is, you got to have some kind of
PhD to figure out how to love?
00:37:56.10\00:37:59.81
No, no, no. You just
love the world for me, Dwight.
00:37:59.81\00:38:03.91
It's a dark world out there. You
love the world for me. You be
love on the move for me.
00:38:03.91\00:38:10.29
That's what I want you to be. I
want you to be love on the move
00:38:10.29\00:38:13.19
for me. Hug anybody that comes
into your space that looks like
00:38:13.19\00:38:16.39
they need a hug. Just love the
world for me." Love on the move.
00:38:16.39\00:38:21.10
That was Jesus. That was Dr.
Joseph Varon. Love on the move,
instinctively. "Yeah, but come
00:38:21.10\00:38:27.44
on, Dwight. Time-out, time-out,
time-out. Please. Man, you're
00:38:27.44\00:38:31.04
waxing eloquent. You don't even
understand. We're in a lockdown
right now. This is a pandemic.
00:38:31.04\00:38:35.28
We cannot go out into that
world to love it. Too bad."
00:38:35.28\00:38:39.55
Well, you have raised a huge
point to which I cannot even
00:38:39.55\00:38:46.09
respond. That point is so
significant. I have no answer
for it. We sat together, a group
00:38:46.09\00:38:49.72
of pastors and chaplains.
We meet every Monday afternoon.
00:38:49.72\00:38:52.86
Don't we, guys? We meet every
Monday afternoon to have worship
together, and last Monday, we
00:38:52.86\00:38:56.63
were just saying, "What do we
do? The pandemic has hit our
campus strong again.
00:38:56.63\00:38:59.73
When these kids come back, what
are we gonna do?" We had a few
00:38:59.73\00:39:03.20
good ideas, I thought, nothing
earth-shaking. What are we
supposed to do? We're locked
00:39:03.20\00:39:08.24
down, do you understand? We have
no idea how long this pandemic
00:39:08.24\00:39:12.28
is gonna last. When does it
lift? I do not know. Although I
will tell you that,
00:39:12.28\00:39:15.52
ever since this pandemic, in my
reading of "Great Controversy"
the first half of this pandemic,
00:39:15.52\00:39:19.65
there's a thought that has been
planted in my mind, and I'm
gonna get a little brave here
00:39:19.65\00:39:23.56
and share it with you. I could
be in trouble. I'm wondering if
00:39:23.56\00:39:29.40
in fact it's gonna be just like
it was with the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 A.D., that
00:39:29.40\00:39:35.97
mysterious military move. Let me
tell you what I'm talking about.
00:39:35.97\00:39:43.11
Josephus, the first-century
Jewish historian, is the one who
captured the details that
00:39:43.11\00:39:51.05
allow us to know the reason
behind this mysterious military
00:39:51.05\00:39:54.39
move. "What are you talking
about, Dwight?" Here we go.
00:39:54.39\00:39:57.03
66 A.D., the Roman general
Cestius Gallus marched 66,000
Roman soldiers from Syria
00:39:57.03\00:40:07.97
southwest to Jerusalem. He's
gonna take Jerusalem. That is a
00:40:07.97\00:40:14.68
huge army. Do you understand?
66,000? That's how many people
00:40:14.68\00:40:20.08
are in the army. There was some
Jewish resistance along the way.
They have to fight some
00:40:20.08\00:40:24.22
skirmishes, but eventually
Cestius, with those 66,000, is
able to penetrate the city --
00:40:24.22\00:40:29.16
not the whole city. They got
up into the northwest corner of
00:40:29.16\00:40:35.23
Jerusalem. But he cannot take
the Temple Mount, and anybody
that knows anything about
00:40:35.23\00:40:38.57
Middle Eastern history knows, if
you want Jerusalem, you have to
take the Temple Mount.
00:40:38.57\00:40:42.44
The Dome of the Rock? You got
to take that. If you don't take
00:40:42.44\00:40:46.68
that, you don't take it. He
cannot take the Temple Mount,
and so, with his 66,000, they
00:40:46.68\00:40:51.41
surround Jerusalem. The
Roman army surrounds Jerusalem.
00:40:51.41\00:40:55.72
They besiege the city, and get
this. Nine days later, Cestius
00:40:55.72\00:41:02.86
pulls the troops off of that
siege and marches to the coast.
Nobody to this day is quite sure
00:41:02.86\00:41:13.23
what was going on -- a mystery
move. Well, the moment the
00:41:13.23\00:41:18.27
Romans leave, the Jewish
resisters inside the walled city
of Jerusalem, they're out the
00:41:18.27\00:41:22.71
gates. "Charge!" And
they pursue the Romans, and
00:41:22.71\00:41:26.98
there is a mighty skirmish. But
while the Romans and the Jewish
resisters are gone, the
00:41:26.98\00:41:34.49
Christians in the city of
Jerusalem remember the words of
Jesus -- Luke 21:20.
00:41:34.49\00:41:42.13
And Jesus said, "And when you
see this city circled by armies,
you know the end is near."
00:41:42.13\00:41:54.68
They remember those words. They
said, "Let's go." Their
protagonists, their
00:41:54.68\00:41:58.81
antagonists, they're gone. The
Jews are gone, the Romans are
gone, and the Christians
00:41:58.81\00:42:03.49
slip out of the city. They
go east. They cross the Jordan
00:42:03.49\00:42:07.09
River. They move to a little
city called Pella, where they
establish a new colony of
00:42:07.09\00:42:13.43
Christians. Amazing.
And do you know what?
00:42:13.43\00:42:18.97
Listen to this, quoting "Great
Controversy." That apocalyptic
00:42:18.97\00:42:24.67
classic tells us not one
Christian perished in the
destruction of Jerusalem when
00:42:24.67\00:42:30.85
General Titus returned in 70
A.D. to besiege and sack and
slaughter that city. Not one
00:42:30.85\00:42:37.75
Christian perished. Jesus had
told them, "You just watch.
You'll know your moment."
00:42:37.75\00:42:43.36
And when that siege was lifted,
that was their moment. You say,
"Dwight, what does this
00:42:43.36\00:42:49.60
have to do with the pandemic?
Come on, I'm not into Roman
00:42:49.60\00:42:52.97
history." Ah, but I'm thinking,
"Wait a minute, wait a minute."
Could it be that this
00:42:52.97\00:42:58.57
pandemic -- it's gonna lift
sometime. I mean, we all believe
00:42:58.57\00:43:03.14
that. I don't know if it's soon
or later. I have no idea, but
00:43:03.14\00:43:07.28
I'm wondering if that lifting
will make possible a small
window of opportunity for the
00:43:07.28\00:43:13.46
people of God to be about our
Father's business, the remnant
community of the Apocalypse to
00:43:13.46\00:43:19.66
suddenly be mobilized -- pinned
down, but now the forces that
have pinned them down have
00:43:19.66\00:43:25.07
disappeared. They go out as a
cue. "Get the world now while
the window's open."
00:43:25.07\00:43:35.58
I'm brooding on this. If
Jesus equated -- Listen to me.
00:43:35.58\00:43:40.25
If Jesus equated the destruction
of Jerusalem with the end of the
world, as we know He does in
00:43:40.25\00:43:44.59
Matthew 24. He conflates
the two. We're not sure -- is He
00:43:44.59\00:43:47.72
talking about Jerusalem here or
the end of the world? We don't
00:43:47.72\00:43:50.66
know. He mixes them up. If Jesus
does that intentionally, could
00:43:50.66\00:43:54.30
it be -- and that's a key
caveat, by the way -- could it
be -- the lifting of this global
00:43:54.30\00:44:02.47
pandemic will be but a brief
window for our end-game mission.
[ Exhaling softly ]
00:44:02.47\00:44:07.78
Mysteriously, it's gone. Where'd
it go? It's gone. I'm just
00:44:07.78\00:44:13.85
wondering. I'm just thinking
out loud with you. Aw, one of my
00:44:13.85\00:44:20.52
favorite lines in "Great
Controversy" is this line I'm
about to read to you, but I see
00:44:20.52\00:44:27.40
that I left a verse out. And
that's a thing when you're doing
the slide changing. They can
00:44:27.40\00:44:32.20
skip it up there if I miss it --
I can't miss it here. Do you
know what? Twice in the Gospels,
00:44:32.20\00:44:37.04
Jesus says, "I am the light, I
am the light." Come on, come on,
00:44:37.04\00:44:39.91
come on. Here we are in Matthew
4. Great darkness. If you just
00:44:39.91\00:44:42.91
jump over to the Sermon on the
Mount, look at verse 14. Jesus
not only says twice in the
00:44:42.91\00:44:45.95
Gospel, "I am the light of the
world." Do you know what He also
00:44:45.95\00:44:49.05
says? "You are the light of
the world." There's no claim in
00:44:49.05\00:44:53.36
Matthew for Jesus to be the
light of the world. He doesn't
00:44:53.36\00:44:56.39
claim it Himself, only in John
twice. But He does say that,
"You are the light of the
00:44:56.39\00:44:59.86
world." Boy, I'm glad we caught
that because we would've gone
out of here and said, "Phew,
00:44:59.86\00:45:03.83
this doesn't bother me at all,
doesn't concern me. It's not
00:45:03.83\00:45:06.90
about me." No, Jesus says,
"It is about you. I am that huge
00:45:06.90\00:45:11.51
light, but you're my light. Like
Dr. Joseph Varon, you are my
00:45:11.51\00:45:20.82
light." But this great line in
"Great Controversy," "Servants
00:45:20.82\00:45:23.89
of God with their faces lighted
up --" don't you love this line,
speaking of just before Jesus
00:45:23.89\00:45:27.39
comes? "Servants of God with
their faces lighted up and
shining with holy consecration,
00:45:27.39\00:45:30.96
will hasten from place to place
to proclaim the message from
00:45:30.96\00:45:33.76
heaven." Ladies and gentlemen,
this global mobilization that
this line predicts could not
00:45:33.76\00:45:38.07
possibly happen in a lockdown
pandemic. It could not happen.
You can't hasten from place to
00:45:38.07\00:45:42.10
place now. I can't even
cross the street to say hi to my
00:45:42.10\00:45:45.47
neighbor. "Hey, Dwight, you
don't have your mask on. Get out
00:45:45.47\00:45:50.91
of here. Go." Now everybody's
tense. Everybody's uptight --
00:45:50.91\00:45:54.98
rightfully so. We're protecting
ourselves. We say that we're
protecting you, but we're really
00:45:54.98\00:46:00.76
protecting ourselves. Let's
be honest. No, something has to
00:46:00.76\00:46:06.49
lift -- of what we're going
through right now, something has
to lift. Servants of God will
00:46:06.49\00:46:09.90
hasten from place to place, to
place to place to place.
Something has to lift.
00:46:09.90\00:46:14.10
For Revelation 18:1 to take
place and the whole Earth --
[Exhales sharply] the whole
00:46:14.10\00:46:18.01
Earth is lightened with its
glory -- just like the three
angels, that fourth angel is
00:46:18.01\00:46:21.44
dependent on human messengers.
When the Earth is lightened with
His glory, something has to lift
00:46:21.44\00:46:25.31
that has everybody locked
down right now. That's all I'm
00:46:25.31\00:46:28.02
saying. That's all I'm saying.
"The people sitting in great
darkness have seen a great
00:46:28.02\00:46:35.59
light." Boy, that's today.
All of which leads me to this
00:46:35.59\00:46:39.23
appeal, alright? The time left
in our pandemic lockdown needs
00:46:39.23\00:46:50.91
to be spent in getting ready for
this window to open. That's all
00:46:50.91\00:46:58.68
I'm saying. I want you to think
about that. I want you to talk
it over the dinner table.
00:46:58.68\00:47:03.52
You talk about it anyway. I
want you to think about it with
00:47:03.52\00:47:07.82
others. We can't go anywhere
right now. But rather than
twiddling our thumbs, rather
00:47:07.82\00:47:12.86
than binge-watching our way
through the holidays,
binge-watching through
00:47:12.86\00:47:16.73
Christmas, binge-watching
through the new year,
binge-watching till I get back
00:47:16.73\00:47:20.54
to Andrews University -- rather
than binge-watching, wherever
you are, students right now on
00:47:20.54\00:47:27.24
this planet, what if we took
this opportunity, you and I, to
somehow go deeper, to go deeper
00:47:27.24\00:47:33.38
with Jesus -- you know, a little
book like "Steps to Christ" or
just read the Gospel of John,
00:47:33.38\00:47:37.29
please, whatever. But we
say, "You know what? I think I'm
00:47:37.29\00:47:40.79
gonna take this opportunity."
I'm gonna tell you something. If
you don't -- Listen, if you
00:47:40.79\00:47:44.69
don't -- Hey, you remember
Jesus' parable of the 10
00:47:44.69\00:47:48.13
girlfriends? Everybody remembers
the 10 girlfriends? They're all
00:47:48.13\00:47:51.57
locked down, pandemic midnight.
They are locked down. They can
00:47:51.57\00:47:54.90
go nowhere. They're just
waiting. Five of them, while
they're locked down, are
00:47:54.90\00:47:59.04
replenishing their oil supplies
-- five of them. Their oil is
00:47:59.04\00:48:03.88
not running out. When the
midnight cry sounds and they fly
into the darkness, they are
00:48:03.88\00:48:10.15
thoroughly equipped. They go
with gusto for the Kingdom of
Heaven. The other five?
00:48:10.15\00:48:14.59
The other five are saying,
"Mañana, mañana. [ Chuckles ] I
00:48:14.59\00:48:18.93
don't need to prepare now.
Spiritual disciplines? Spiritual
00:48:18.93\00:48:22.03
practices? I don't need any
of those. I will someday when it
00:48:22.03\00:48:25.70
really gets tough. When that
window opens, then I'm gonna do
it." I want to tell you
00:48:25.70\00:48:29.90
something, my friend -- when
that window opens, it'll be too
late. Now, please listen
00:48:29.90\00:48:34.88
carefully. When that window
opens, it will be too late. Why?
00:48:34.88\00:48:38.38
Because you have to be ready
now. Those Christians had a
00:48:38.38\00:48:43.28
brief moment. Boom! We
have no idea what lies beyond
00:48:43.28\00:48:49.59
this. But could it be that
window of opportunity is being
00:48:49.59\00:48:54.60
given to the friends of Jesus,
who have been told, "You are the
light of the world for me.
00:48:54.60\00:49:01.20
You be the great light.
They'll see the way you hug.
00:49:01.24\00:49:03.51
They'll see the way you love.
You'll be the great light."
00:49:03.51\00:49:05.97
Could it be this window
of opportunity is ours now?
00:49:05.97\00:49:15.75
I don't want to be definitive,
but I would like to suggest
00:49:15.75\00:49:19.55
that, when the window
opens eventually, the time for
00:49:19.55\00:49:22.99
spiritual
preparation... is ending.
00:49:22.99\00:49:31.83
Because what leads you to put it
off today will lead you to put
00:49:31.83\00:49:34.30
it off tomorrow, and what leads
you to put it off tomorrow will
00:49:34.30\00:49:36.81
lead you to put it off when the
window opens, and what leads you
00:49:36.81\00:49:39.31
to put it off when the window
opens will lead you to put it
00:49:39.31\00:49:41.68
off until the door closed and
five girlfriends are knocking on
00:49:41.68\00:49:44.11
that -- "Let me in!"
"I don't know who you are.
00:49:44.11\00:49:46.48
Sorry. Wrong address."
00:49:46.48\00:49:50.69
Hey, listen, folks. We don't
do Sabbath together to entertain
00:49:50.72\00:49:55.82
each other, do we? I don't step
into this pulpit every Sabbath
and say, "How can I entertain
00:49:55.82\00:50:01.23
this little congregation that is
diminished in size, with the
rest watching online, wherever
00:50:01.23\00:50:06.80
on this planet?" I don't think
of worship that we just went
through, I don't think
00:50:06.80\00:50:10.34
of that as entertainment. I
don't think of our Sabbath
schools as entertainment.
00:50:10.34\00:50:14.14
If our Sabbath schools are being
planned for entertainment,
that's a dead-end street.
00:50:14.14\00:50:18.15
I wake up every single morning
with one passion on my mind. I
know what my mission is.
00:50:18.15\00:50:22.52
My mission is to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord.
Everything I do from sunup until
00:50:22.52\00:50:27.96
I go to bed is devoted to that.
God forgive me if I take my mind
00:50:27.96\00:50:32.63
off of that. I live for that
mission. You must live for that
mission. It's not just mine.
00:50:32.63\00:50:41.24
It's yours. My mission is to
help you seize your mission to
make ready a people prepared for
00:50:41.24\00:50:46.94
the Lord. It's not gonna be
preachers that reach this planet
one last time. Those servants of
00:50:46.94\00:50:52.91
God are you. They're not a bunch
of seminary professors. They're
00:50:52.91\00:51:00.56
you and me. Make ready a people
prepared for God. That's why we
00:51:00.56\00:51:07.96
can't wait. You cannot put off
for tomorrow what the Holy
Spirit is telling you you must
00:51:07.96\00:51:14.54
do today. You got something to
make right, make it right today.
You've got something to learn,
00:51:14.54\00:51:19.74
learn it today. You got a deep
depth that you need to go to?
00:51:19.74\00:51:23.65
Go there today. Don't wait. It's
too late if you wait. I cannot
say it anymore, so I'm
00:51:23.65\00:51:30.69
sitting down, but I believe the
light of the world has entrusted
enough light to you so that you
00:51:30.69\00:51:37.03
can walk out this door, and when
the pandemic does raise, that
light will come shining -- like
00:51:37.03\00:51:42.73
Dr. Joseph Varon, it'll come
shining out of you. We can't
00:51:42.73\00:51:52.94
wait. See this year's banner?
"Get ready." We can't wait. You
signed up for this.
00:51:52.94\00:52:01.85
You signed up for this.
Get...ready...now. Amen. Amen.
00:52:01.85\00:52:12.23
Give me something Dwight, okay?
Connect Card on the screen.
00:52:12.23\00:52:15.56
Connect Card. If you go to this
website, pmchurch.org/connect --
you go there right now, you're
00:52:15.56\00:52:20.54
sitting in this space, you go to
the Connect Card right now --
because we don't hand these out
00:52:20.54\00:52:23.64
anymore. pmchurch.org./connect.
You're going there right now,
00:52:23.64\00:52:28.31
and when you get to "connect,"
where it takes you, you're gonna
then click onto "connect," and
00:52:28.31\00:52:32.18
it will show the Connect Card.
It will say, "My next step today
00:52:32.18\00:52:35.18
is..." Let's go to "my next step
today," on the screen. Oh, thank
00:52:35.18\00:52:40.79
you. You can go there, Dwight,
if you wish. [ Laughs ] Okay.
00:52:40.79\00:52:44.33
"My next step today is I want
the light of the world to shine
through me into the darkness
00:52:44.33\00:52:48.30
around." Is there a soul here
that does not want the light of
00:52:48.30\00:52:51.63
the world to shine through you?
Of course not. Box number 2.
00:52:51.63\00:52:54.44
"Dwight, I want to share the
light -- please send me an
electronic version of
00:52:54.44\00:52:58.84
'Steps to Christ.'" If you put a
checkmark there and and an
e-mail address anywhere
00:52:58.84\00:53:06.05
on this planet, but right here
in this community, we'll send
you a beautifully designed
00:53:06.05\00:53:12.12
edition of "Steps to Christ."
You can keep it on your phone,
and you can read it in your
00:53:12.12\00:53:15.89
spare moments. You want to go
deep with Jesus. I know you do,
00:53:15.89\00:53:19.26
but you can pass this on. You
can send the link to somebody
else, and you can send
00:53:19.26\00:53:22.13
it to somebody else. "Hey,
I want you to read this little
00:53:22.13\00:53:25.07
classic. It really blessed me."
Come on. We have a holiday in
00:53:25.07\00:53:29.20
front of us. Why not go deeper
this time? Box number three, "I
00:53:29.20\00:53:35.44
want to be baptized and follow
Jesus into the world." Some of
00:53:35.44\00:53:38.95
you have not been baptized, and
you've been thinking about it,
and I'm telling you what, the
00:53:38.95\00:53:42.45
Holy Spirit has been speaking
to you. It's not me speaking.
00:53:42.45\00:53:45.32
I can't convince anybody. But
the Holy Spirit, when He knocks
on your door, that's Him
00:53:45.32\00:53:49.29
saying, "Yo, this would be a
good time, pandemic lockdown.
00:53:49.29\00:53:55.33
Get baptized now." We have
beautifully safe baptisms that
we conduct here. It can be for
00:53:55.33\00:54:01.84
you. Why not? Put a little
checkmark there, and make sure
we have an e-mail address.
00:54:01.84\00:54:05.14
We'll be in touch with
you, that's all. You're not
00:54:05.14\00:54:08.21
committing to anything, but
you're saying, "I want to be.
Help me. Be in touch with me.
00:54:08.21\00:54:11.61
Show me what my next steps need
to be." That's it. That's it.
00:54:11.61\00:54:17.55
I want to pray with you. I want
to offer to God what you and I
are now and pray that He
00:54:17.55\00:54:24.69
will seize it and that the light
will come shining through, the
light of the Lord we love and
00:54:24.69\00:54:30.97
serve, our Lord
Jesus. Amen. Let's pray.
00:54:30.97\00:54:34.10
Oh, God, here we are, masked,
locked down -- the nation, the
00:54:34.10\00:54:43.85
world. Please, know our hearts.
We can't do this. There's
00:54:43.85\00:54:50.19
nothing in us. But thank you for
one lone doctor who showed us
that one act of love can go
00:54:50.19\00:55:02.66
viral in a planet hungry to be
hugged, hungry to be touched,
longing to be loved.
00:55:02.66\00:55:09.24
They're all around us, where we
live, where we work, where we go
00:55:09.24\00:55:16.64
to school. Oh, Jesus, light of
the world, save us. And through
us, save others out
00:55:16.64\00:55:24.09
of that dark, deep night. Save
them for eternity. We humbly
pray in the name of
00:55:24.09\00:55:35.26
the one who is
our light. Amen. Amen.
00:55:35.26\00:55:40.47
[ "The First Noel" plays ] >>
What is it about the holiday
season that has given you
00:55:43.87\00:55:48.01
the greatest joy? Is it the time
spent cutting down the family
00:55:48.01\00:55:52.55
Christmas tree at the local farm
or maybe a special ornament
placed on that lighted bough?
00:55:52.55\00:55:57.49
Or do you find joy in
contemplating the profound
meaning of the carols we sing?
00:55:57.49\00:56:02.22
Maybe Christmas joy is found in
the memories you make together
with friends and family
00:56:02.22\00:56:06.26
and the spirit of giving that
surrounds this season. As we
reflect on these joys,
00:56:06.26\00:56:12.07
let's always remember the great
light who guides us, the One who
brings and meaning to life --
00:56:12.07\00:56:17.34
a loving Father who is at the
heart of all treasured
relationships and the wonderful
00:56:17.34\00:56:21.91
God who gave the ultimate
gift in a newborn child.
00:56:21.91\00:56:26.21
Some of my joy this season
comes in part from your letters,
00:56:26.25\00:56:29.45
your prayers, and your faithful
giving of support to this
00:56:29.45\00:56:32.39
ministry which reaches
literally around the world.
00:56:32.39\00:56:35.36
If you've been blessed this
year, I'd like to ask you to
00:56:35.36\00:56:38.06
join the many people who
financially support this global
00:56:38.06\00:56:40.86
New Perceptions
ministry. It's simple to do.
00:56:40.86\00:56:44.50
Just call our toll-free number
877 -- two words -- HIS-WILL.
00:56:44.50\00:56:49.50
One of our friendly operators
will be happy to help you.
00:56:49.50\00:56:52.11
You can also click the donate
link at the top of our website.
00:56:52.11\00:56:54.94
Trust me, no gift is too small
for God to use to spread the
00:56:54.94\00:56:59.05
good news of His love,
His sacrifice, and His future
00:56:59.05\00:57:02.62
plans for our happiness.
Every gift, by the way,
00:57:02.62\00:57:06.76
is entirely invested in our
mission to communicate God's
00:57:06.76\00:57:09.29
good news to a generation
who needs a hope found in Jesus,
00:57:09.29\00:57:13.13
which will bring
them true joy in life.
00:57:13.13\00:57:15.70
So once again, the
number to call is 877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:15.70\00:57:20.27
This season, my wish for
you is that the mighty God,
00:57:20.27\00:57:23.61
the everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace will be at
00:57:23.61\00:57:26.51
the heart of the very
best memories made together
00:57:26.51\00:57:30.35
with your family and friends. ¤¤
00:57:30.35\00:57:40.52
¤¤ ¤¤
00:57:40.52\00:57:56.81
¤¤ ¤¤
00:58:00.71\00:58:18.49
¤¤
00:58:18.49\00:58:26.47