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To focus upon Jonathan Edwards and specifically the resolutions
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that he wrote as a young man, 18 and 19 years of age.
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Let me begin by just putting Edwards in his right place,
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even in the mountain range of church history.
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It was Martyn Lloyd-Jones who said:
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I am tempted to compare the Puritans to the Alps,
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Luther and Calvin to the Himalayas,
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and Jonathan Edwards to Mount Everest.
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He seems to me to be the man most like the Apostle Paul.
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That's quiet a statement, from the Doctor himself, Lloyd-Jones.
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That it was Jonathan Edwards, who in essence,
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stood on the shoulders of Calvin, and Luther, and the Reformers,
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and climbed up a little higher and stood on the shoulders of the Puritans
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like John Owen, and Thomas Watson, and other great divines.
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And he went all the way to to the top of the mountain range, as it were,
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and had the clearest view of God, and Systematic Theology,
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and the inner workings of the truth of Scripture.
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That is why I think it is very worth our while,
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to look, in this last session, at Edwards.
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And what I want to set before you, is:
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There is a reason why, I believe, God so greatly used Edwards.
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Granted,
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he was the greatest American pastor to ever walk on the soil of this continent.
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He is arguably the greatest preacher over the last three centuries in America.
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He is called the greatest theologian America has ever produced
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and the greatest philosopher that America has ever produced.
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He has been argued to be the most profound author.
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R. C. Sproul has said, his book the Freedom of the Will is the greatest book
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ever to be written on American soil.
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He certainly preached the greatest sermon ever to be preached in this land:
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Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God.
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It is an amazing thing that all of those lines would intersect in one person.
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Greatest author,
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greatest philosopher,
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greatest pastor,
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greatest theologian,
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greatest preacher,
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greatest book,
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greatest sermon.
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All of this did not merely happen.
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Nothing just merely happens.
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The sovereignty of God is in and through all things.
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But Jonathan Edwards, when he was 18 years old,
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he charted a course that he would follow the rest of his life.
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Jonathan Edwards was converted by the grace of God at age 17.
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And within one year he was the interim pastor
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in what is today Downtown New York City.
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On Wall Street.
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Pastoring a church where there had been a split, a divide,
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a Scottish Presbyterian Church.
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He was 18 years old.
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He had grown up in a home of a Puritan pastor
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and as soon as he was saved his heart was inclined to the ministry and the things of God,
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for that is what he had seen all his life.
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And at age 18 he began to pastor in Downtown New York.
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He still had his Master's thesis yet to write.
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He had completed his course work at Yale both in the Bachelor and Master's level.
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And as he began this interim pastor at age 18,
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there was a deep conviction and concern in his soul
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that he be faithful to God.
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That he not squander this opportunity.
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That he be one who would pursue holiness
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with every inch and every ounze of his being.
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So Jonathan Edwards sat down and wrote what has come to be known as his Resolutions.
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Over the course of the next year and a half he wrote 70 resolutions.
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They were like purpose statements.
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They almost all began with the word Resolved.
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And then would follow a declaration,
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that was rooted and grounded in the Word of God.
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These resolutions began with a preamble.
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And a preamble is a short two-sentence paragraph,
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that sits on top of the resolutions
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and they are very important because in it, in this preamble,
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he states how dependent he is upon the grace of God
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to be enabled to fulfill these resolutions.
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So this is not Jonathan Edwards pulling himself up by his own boot straps
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where he is self-willed to carry out his own sanctification.
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He is totally dependent upon the grace of God, the ministry of the Holy Spirit
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to work and to will for his good pleasure in his own life.
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The preamble reads:
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Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing...
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Now you hear John 15, verse 5, in that.
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Jesus said: Apart from me you can do nothing.
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Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God's help,
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I do humbly entreat him, (God) by his grace,
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to enable me to keep these resolutions,
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so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake.
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Having said that, he began to write his resolutions.
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The first four are directed and pointed at the glory of God.
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There is no rhyme or reason as to the order of these resolutions.
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They are almost as reading the Proverbs, starting Proverbs 10 and following.
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There are somewhat jumbled together, except at the beginning,
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in which Edwards lays this foundation
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that the entirety of his life must be directed toward the pursuit of the glory of God.
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It is the overflow of his study of the Westminster catechism,
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the Westminster confession,
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the teaching of the reformers,
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the teaching of the Puritans.
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It was all steeped in the glory of God.
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He had read Calvin's Institutes
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that begins with the knowledge of God and the knowledge of men.
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He was steeped in the Westminster catechism: What is the chief end of men?
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To glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
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So as he takes pen in hand at age 18...
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The first four resolutions, let me read parts of them, focus upon the glory of God.
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Number 1: Resolved,
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That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God's glory.
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Edwards said, the interpretive key in his life
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in the pursuit of the will of God is:
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What will bring greatest glory to God?
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Who should I marry?
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What should I do with my life?
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Where should I live?
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What endeavor should I undertake?
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The fundamental core principle, Edwards recognized for his life, is:
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What will most glorify God?
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Not: What will most advance me? What will most promote myself?
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But: What decisions, what turns in the road, what forks in the road lie before me...
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The answer will always be: What will most glorify God?
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Resolution 2: Resolved, To be continually endeavoring to find out
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some new contrivance and invention to promote the aforementioned things.
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By that he is saying:
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As I am on the path to pursue the glory of God,
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what can be augmented to my life, that will springboard me
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even further in the promotion, in the pursuit of the glory of God?
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What new Bible studies could I undertake?
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What new ministries could I launch?
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What new endeavors could I undertake,
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that would be further extensions of glorifying God.
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Three: Resolved, If ever I shall fall and grow weary or grow dull,
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so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions,
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to repent of all I can remember.
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So, if at any point he would grow fatigued or weary,
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become spiritually lukewarm in the pursuit of the glory of God,
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he would immediately repent of this,
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and turn away from this,
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that he might be fervent in the pursuing the glory of God.
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Four: Resolved, Never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more,
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but what tends to the glory of God.
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So, he is a man, who is preoccupied with the glory of God.
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J. I. Packer writes regarding these first four resolutions
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that Edwards was (quote):
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God centered,
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God focused,
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God intoxicated,
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and God entranced.
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There is no over-statement here.
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Every day from morning till night
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he sought to live in conscious communion with God.
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(close quote)
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Now...
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Later in these resolutions...
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Resolution number 63: This is an extraordinary resolution.
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I am just setting the table for what I really ultimately want to say in this session.
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He wants to glorify God,
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just like, I'm sure, you want to glorify God.
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You wouldn't be here today, I would not think,
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were you not one who would desire to glorify God with your life.
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First Corinthians 10:
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Whatsoever you do, whether you eat or you drink, do all to the glory of God.
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Resolution 63 is a shock-and-awe resolution.
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It is mind boggling.
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This is what it says:
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On the supposition,
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that there never was to be but one individual in the world,
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at any one time,
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who was properly
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a complete Christian, in all respects,
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having Christianity always shining in its true lustre,
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and appearing excellent and lovely:
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Resolved,
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To act just as I would do, if I strove
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with all my might
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to become that one, who would live in my time.
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You know what Edwards is saying?
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I want you to think about this.
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There can only be on the Earth at any one time
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the strongest Christian alive.
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Edwards said: The goal for my life
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is to be that man.
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Someone may say: Well, that's kind of an... arrogant resolution.
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Okay, go be the worst Christian in your generation!
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You think that would glorify God?
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You talk about having everything upside...
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Everyone of us ought to say:
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God, I want to be that one in my generation at that time
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that Christianity is most fully shining through with its full lustre,
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shining forth from my life.
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That will glorify God.
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Edwards said that at age 18 and 19.
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When I was age 18 and 19 I would just think about playing football.
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Edwards is thinking about:
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I want to be the greatest Christian in my generation.
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Now, what he did and the rest of the resolutions
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charts the course for how he will glorify God
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and be that one most complete Christian
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in his lifetime.
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In my book on the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards
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I divide up all of the resolutions
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into different subject matters that he deals with.
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And there is a plethora of topics that he covers
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in the fullness of his own Christian life.
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And time does not permit me to do the overview of all 70 resolutions.
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What I want to do at this time right now is just isolate one slice of the pie.
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Just isolate one piece of the armor.
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Just focus upon one area of his resolutions
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that addressed a critically important area in his Christian life.
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Now, this subject matter may somewhat surprise you.
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As Edwards wanted to live for the glory of God
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and be the greatest Christian in his generation,
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he wanted to do so in the nitty-gritty of life,
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down in the day-to-day Christian living.
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And so he said: I want to live with an eternal perspective.
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And in order to live with an eternal perspective
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there are three subjects that need to be present before my life,
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on a daily basis, all the time:
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the shortness of life,
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the certainty of death,
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and the link of eternity.
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The shortness of life,
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the suddenness of death,
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and the link of eternity.
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Edwards would say elsewhere:
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God,
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stamp eternity
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upon my eyeballs.
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That was his way, metaphorically, to say:
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I want to live with an eternal perspective.
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I want to live in such a way as not to be confined
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with the mundane trivial things of this temporal life and world
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as if this is all that there is.
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If I am to rise above the temporal and live for the eternal,
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if I am to rise above that which I can see and live for that which I cannot see,
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if right now is to count forever
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then I must have this eternal perspective.
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That is what everyone of us here today needs.
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We need to live for eternity.
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What I do right now, how will it have its impact upon eternity?
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And so Edwards wrote several resolutions
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that dealt with time,
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and dealt with death,
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and dealt with eternity.
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Resolution number five.
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Edwards understood that time is a very precious commodity.
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And this is what was driving Edwards on this.
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He understood,
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if he wasted his time
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and squandered his time
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he could not most glorify God.
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Resolution number five reads thus:
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Resolved,
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And don't you like that word, resolved?
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How many people do you know that are actually resolved?
254
00:17:29,477 --> 00:17:31,620
How many people do you know that are actually
255
00:17:31,620 --> 00:17:35,880
intentionally, purposefully living their Christian lives
256
00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:40,287
and who are not like the wave of the sea, being tossed back and forth?
257
00:17:40,287 --> 00:17:46,176
How many people do you know that are not taking the path of least resistance
258
00:17:46,176 --> 00:17:49,016
but are taking the path of greatest resistance
259
00:17:49,016 --> 00:17:54,664
to the extent that they are being pointed into the center of living for eternity.
260
00:17:54,664 --> 00:17:57,863
Jonathan Edwards was determined.
261
00:17:57,863 --> 00:18:01,476
He was resolved.
262
00:18:01,477 --> 00:18:04,724
He would not become subject to the tyranny of the urgent,
263
00:18:04,724 --> 00:18:08,026
of the latest emergency to be thrown at his feet.
264
00:18:08,026 --> 00:18:11,397
Now he had set the priorities for his life
265
00:18:11,397 --> 00:18:16,814
and his priorities would dictate the decisions that he would make.
266
00:18:19,151 --> 00:18:22,337
Resolved,
267
00:18:22,338 --> 00:18:31,235
Never to loose one moment of time,
268
00:18:31,236 --> 00:18:36,574
but to improve it the most profitable way
269
00:18:36,575 --> 00:18:39,591
I possibly can.
270
00:18:39,592 --> 00:18:43,447
As Edwards said this, he understood,
271
00:18:43,448 --> 00:18:49,377
that I can only glorify God in this life
272
00:18:49,377 --> 00:18:53,078
in the prescribed amount of time
273
00:18:53,078 --> 00:18:55,958
that God has given to me
274
00:18:55,958 --> 00:18:58,797
to be alive on this earth.
275
00:18:58,798 --> 00:19:02,759
Therefore, this time is precious,
276
00:19:02,759 --> 00:19:04,495
and it is invaluable,
277
00:19:04,495 --> 00:19:07,762
and it is like liquid gold,
278
00:19:07,762 --> 00:19:09,892
and I cannot waste,
279
00:19:09,892 --> 00:19:11,910
and I cannot squander
280
00:19:11,910 --> 00:19:13,962
one moment of time
281
00:19:13,962 --> 00:19:16,041
because it is in the proper
282
00:19:16,041 --> 00:19:19,566
and most efficient use of my time
283
00:19:19,566 --> 00:19:21,039
that I will glorify God.
284
00:19:21,039 --> 00:19:23,234
If I use my time most wisely
285
00:19:23,234 --> 00:19:25,514
I can most glorify God
286
00:19:25,514 --> 00:19:27,764
with what is put in front of me.
287
00:19:27,764 --> 00:19:30,602
So he said: I have no time to loose.
288
00:19:30,603 --> 00:19:36,192
He would argue that riches can be lost and then later regained.
289
00:19:36,192 --> 00:19:38,090
But not time.
290
00:19:38,090 --> 00:19:44,882
Once time is forfeited and lost, it can never be replaced.
291
00:19:44,882 --> 00:19:48,244
Now, Jonathan Edwards had such a high view of the sovereignty of God,
292
00:19:48,244 --> 00:19:53,218
he understood a very basic truth, which is:
293
00:19:53,219 --> 00:19:54,512
that the number of days,
294
00:19:54,512 --> 00:19:56,038
and the number of hours,
295
00:19:56,038 --> 00:19:57,424
and the number of seconds
296
00:19:57,424 --> 00:19:59,603
that we have to live upon this earth
297
00:19:59,603 --> 00:20:05,520
have already been sovereignly preordained by God.
298
00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:12,247
From before the foundation of the world God determined
299
00:20:12,248 --> 00:20:16,371
the moment of my birth.
300
00:20:16,372 --> 00:20:21,781
And he has determined the moment of my death.
301
00:20:21,782 --> 00:20:29,219
And everything in between is what God has sovereignly ordained for me to live,
302
00:20:29,219 --> 00:20:34,353
and it is the perfect number of days, and it is the most wise number of days,
303
00:20:34,353 --> 00:20:37,769
that could be chosen for me.
304
00:20:37,770 --> 00:20:41,286
Job 14, verse 5
305
00:20:41,287 --> 00:20:45,094
Since his days are determined,
306
00:20:45,095 --> 00:20:49,100
the number of his months is with You, God;
307
00:20:49,101 --> 00:20:51,597
and his limits
308
00:20:51,598 --> 00:20:56,114
You have set so he cannot pass.
309
00:20:56,115 --> 00:20:58,235
You cannot pass
310
00:20:58,235 --> 00:21:05,721
the predetermined number of months and days and seconds that you have to live.
311
00:21:05,722 --> 00:21:07,615
Psalm 90, verse 12 says:
312
00:21:07,615 --> 00:21:13,479
So teach us the number of our days that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
313
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:21,527
God has numbered our days. We would be very wise to number our days.
314
00:21:21,528 --> 00:21:25,088
Psalm 139, verse 16
315
00:21:25,089 --> 00:21:28,614
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance
316
00:21:28,615 --> 00:21:34,477
and in Your book there were all written the days that were ordained for me
317
00:21:34,478 --> 00:21:39,509
when as yet there was not one of them.
318
00:21:41,703 --> 00:21:50,370
God has ordained the time that you have to live on this earth.
319
00:21:50,371 --> 00:21:58,061
You do not have a second to waste,
320
00:21:58,062 --> 00:22:03,918
to live with any other intention and goal
321
00:22:03,919 --> 00:22:06,341
but to glorify God
322
00:22:06,342 --> 00:22:08,284
to the max.
323
00:22:08,285 --> 00:22:11,296
Now, to take this further...
324
00:22:11,297 --> 00:22:13,809
Edwards rightly understood
325
00:22:13,810 --> 00:22:22,031
that not only had God preordained and prescribed a certain number of days,
326
00:22:22,032 --> 00:22:26,506
but that within that time allotment
327
00:22:26,507 --> 00:22:32,572
there were designated opportunities
328
00:22:32,573 --> 00:22:38,939
to do that which God has appointed me to do,
329
00:22:38,940 --> 00:22:47,319
and that I must capture the moment when those doors swing open.
330
00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:51,115
Those doors will then later be closed,
331
00:22:51,116 --> 00:22:59,004
and I must go through those doors of opportunity within time.
332
00:22:59,005 --> 00:23:02,920
Ephesians 5, verse 16, makes this very clear.
333
00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:07,146
And one of Edwards' most powerful sermons was on this text.
334
00:23:07,146 --> 00:23:11,457
If time permits I would love to share some of that with you at the end.
335
00:23:11,457 --> 00:23:19,145
But Ephesians 5:16 says that we are to be making the most
336
00:23:19,146 --> 00:23:20,593
of your time.
337
00:23:20,593 --> 00:23:22,717
The most of our time.
338
00:23:22,717 --> 00:23:26,226
This word for time is not χρόνος,
339
00:23:26,226 --> 00:23:31,648
which refers to clock time, chronology, or chronometer, as a watch.
340
00:23:31,649 --> 00:23:33,626
That's not the word that Paul is using here:
341
00:23:33,626 --> 00:23:38,258
Making the most of the time that you have.
342
00:23:38,259 --> 00:23:40,707
It is Καιρός,
343
00:23:40,707 --> 00:23:44,376
which means a season or opportunity,
344
00:23:44,376 --> 00:23:47,757
a fixed period within time
345
00:23:47,757 --> 00:23:55,693
in which you are given divine opportunities to do something for God.
346
00:23:55,694 --> 00:23:58,348
We often call them divine appointments.
347
00:23:58,348 --> 00:24:03,425
A prearranged, divinely arranged season of time.
348
00:24:03,425 --> 00:24:10,988
Windows of time that are opened by God for us to do something to glorify Him,
349
00:24:10,988 --> 00:24:15,063
and those open doors will soon shut.
350
00:24:15,064 --> 00:24:16,364
Isaiah 55:6
351
00:24:16,364 --> 00:24:20,344
Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near.
352
00:24:20,344 --> 00:24:22,121
Psalm 69:13
353
00:24:22,121 --> 00:24:28,360
O Lord, my prayer to You is in an acceptable time.
354
00:24:28,361 --> 00:24:29,489
Psalm 32:6
355
00:24:29,489 --> 00:24:33,959
Let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found.
356
00:24:33,959 --> 00:24:38,126
There are times when God may be found, there are times when God may not be found.
357
00:24:38,126 --> 00:24:41,784
There are times when God is near, there are times when God is far away.
358
00:24:41,784 --> 00:24:44,092
Luke 14, verse 13 (Luke 4:13)
359
00:24:44,092 --> 00:24:48,728
There is a time for Satan to advance against Christ to tempt him in the wilderness,
360
00:24:48,728 --> 00:24:51,174
and there are times for Satan to withdraw,
361
00:24:51,174 --> 00:24:56,952
and then come back again at a more opportune time.
362
00:24:56,953 --> 00:25:04,562
There are opportune times in your life to do certain things today, this moment,
363
00:25:04,563 --> 00:25:10,234
that you will not have at other times in your Christian life.
364
00:25:10,235 --> 00:25:12,168
Dads,
365
00:25:12,169 --> 00:25:19,053
you have opportunities with your sons and daughters today,
366
00:25:19,054 --> 00:25:22,755
that you will not have next year.
367
00:25:22,756 --> 00:25:29,514
They cannot be replicated again.
368
00:25:29,515 --> 00:25:32,790
We must seize the moment.
369
00:25:32,791 --> 00:25:35,462
Edwards understood this.
370
00:25:35,463 --> 00:25:39,444
And so therefore he was a driven man, even as a young man,
371
00:25:39,444 --> 00:25:41,144
that he must buy up the time,
372
00:25:41,144 --> 00:25:42,629
he must seize the moment,
373
00:25:42,629 --> 00:25:44,551
he must live every day
374
00:25:44,551 --> 00:25:48,034
knowing that I do not have time to waste or to squander.
375
00:25:48,034 --> 00:25:50,136
There was a pace about his life,
376
00:25:50,136 --> 00:25:52,331
there was a press about his life,
377
00:25:52,331 --> 00:25:55,537
that he must do the works of God while it is day,
378
00:25:55,537 --> 00:26:01,290
for, when night comes, no man can work.
379
00:26:01,291 --> 00:26:05,714
Do you feel that press of eternity upon you life?
380
00:26:05,715 --> 00:26:09,585
Do you wake up, sensing that this is a day that the Lord has made?
381
00:26:09,585 --> 00:26:11,666
I shall rejoice and be glad in it?
382
00:26:11,666 --> 00:26:15,721
That God has preordained good works for me to work in?
383
00:26:15,721 --> 00:26:20,924
That I'm living in a sense of destiny every moment of every day?
384
00:26:20,925 --> 00:26:26,813
Would you say to God: God, stamp eternity upon my eyeballs!?
385
00:26:28,316 --> 00:26:31,597
That would greatly effect
386
00:26:31,598 --> 00:26:35,007
the use of your time this afternoon.
387
00:26:35,008 --> 00:26:39,431
It would greatly effect the use of your time tonight.
388
00:26:39,432 --> 00:26:41,862
It would greatly effect
389
00:26:41,862 --> 00:26:45,618
how much television you watch,
390
00:26:45,619 --> 00:26:47,887
how much do you sleep,
391
00:26:47,888 --> 00:26:49,630
when do you go to sleep,
392
00:26:49,631 --> 00:26:52,013
when do you wake up,
393
00:26:52,014 --> 00:26:54,372
how much do you read the Bible,
394
00:26:54,373 --> 00:26:56,765
how much do you pray,
395
00:26:56,766 --> 00:26:58,853
how much do you witness.
396
00:27:00,970 --> 00:27:02,790
Are you intentional?
397
00:27:02,790 --> 00:27:05,880
Are you resolved?
398
00:27:05,881 --> 00:27:12,925
You only have so little time.
399
00:27:16,830 --> 00:27:19,773
Edwards said in this resolution
400
00:27:19,774 --> 00:27:27,140
that he wanted to improve it the most profitable way.
401
00:27:27,141 --> 00:27:30,183
He understood he had to be very strategic,
402
00:27:30,184 --> 00:27:32,840
that he had to be very thoughtful,
403
00:27:32,841 --> 00:27:37,962
that he had to be very scrutinizing
404
00:27:37,962 --> 00:27:44,725
in how he improved the use of his time.
405
00:27:44,726 --> 00:27:51,593
In Ephesians 5, verse 15 and following the Scripture reads:
406
00:27:51,594 --> 00:27:54,582
Therefore be careful how you walk,
407
00:27:54,582 --> 00:27:59,532
not as unwise men but as wise,
408
00:27:59,532 --> 00:28:05,985
making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
409
00:28:05,986 --> 00:28:09,289
That verb, making the most,
410
00:28:09,290 --> 00:28:12,682
ἐξαγοράζω
411
00:28:12,683 --> 00:28:15,212
means: to redeem...
412
00:28:15,213 --> 00:28:19,437
In the old King James it says: redeeming the time.
413
00:28:19,438 --> 00:28:21,995
It means: to buy it up.
414
00:28:21,996 --> 00:28:26,337
The imagery here is: going into the market place.
415
00:28:26,338 --> 00:28:30,745
And something is offered for sale now,
416
00:28:30,745 --> 00:28:34,365
that will not be for sale later.
417
00:28:34,366 --> 00:28:39,114
And if you are going to purchase it, you must purchase it now.
418
00:28:39,114 --> 00:28:44,625
Almost as if there is a sale and it is offered now at this price,
419
00:28:44,625 --> 00:28:48,310
and if you are to have it at this price, you must have it now
420
00:28:48,310 --> 00:28:51,238
and purchase it now. There must be an exchange.
421
00:28:51,238 --> 00:28:56,648
You cannot come back to the same place in the same market place next week
422
00:28:56,648 --> 00:29:00,078
and expect to to be able to purchase this commodity.
423
00:29:00,078 --> 00:29:02,757
If you are to have it, you must have it now.
424
00:29:02,757 --> 00:29:06,742
You cannot procrastinate, you cannot put off the time.
425
00:29:06,742 --> 00:29:14,845
The business transaction with the one who is selling, it must be secured now.
426
00:29:14,846 --> 00:29:17,658
Redeem the time, for the days are evil.
427
00:29:17,659 --> 00:29:23,780
And Edwards understood that these doors of opportunity would swing open in live,
428
00:29:23,780 --> 00:29:31,084
and when they swing open, he must move in, and he must buy up that time.
429
00:29:32,675 --> 00:29:35,113
When I went to college...
430
00:29:35,114 --> 00:29:37,759
I went to Texas Tech University.
431
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,501
I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee.
432
00:29:40,502 --> 00:29:43,320
I went out on a football scholarship.
433
00:29:43,321 --> 00:29:49,244
And when I went out to college, it seemed like... I went to the moon.
434
00:29:49,245 --> 00:29:53,090
A long ways away.
435
00:29:53,091 --> 00:29:56,944
... from rivers, and lakes, and green grass, and trees.
436
00:30:00,115 --> 00:30:06,221
To the barren country of West Texas.
437
00:30:06,222 --> 00:30:08,636
It was a huge family event.
438
00:30:08,637 --> 00:30:12,897
My family had a Volkswagen bus.
439
00:30:12,898 --> 00:30:18,104
We were not hippies at that time, but we were in that Volkswagen bus.
440
00:30:18,105 --> 00:30:23,421
My father, my mother, myself, my brother, my sister.
441
00:30:23,421 --> 00:30:27,642
And we all drove. Took us a couple of days to get to Lubbock.
442
00:30:27,642 --> 00:30:30,324
I'm the oldest child.
443
00:30:30,324 --> 00:30:33,299
This was a huge step.
444
00:30:33,299 --> 00:30:38,795
And I remember... moving into the dorm.
445
00:30:38,796 --> 00:30:44,753
And my father and my mother carefully helping me gather everything up,
446
00:30:44,754 --> 00:30:46,826
putting it into the closet,
447
00:30:46,827 --> 00:30:48,808
fixing up my bed,
448
00:30:48,809 --> 00:30:51,111
puffing up the pillow,
449
00:30:51,112 --> 00:30:53,868
putting a little alarm clock out,
450
00:30:53,869 --> 00:30:58,100
everything you would do.
451
00:30:58,101 --> 00:31:03,615
And then, my father, at the very end, he gave me his speech.
452
00:31:06,251 --> 00:31:10,326
And I remember, he reached into his pocket
453
00:31:10,327 --> 00:31:14,514
and he pulled out a dollar bill.
454
00:31:14,515 --> 00:31:18,097
And he said: Steven,
455
00:31:18,098 --> 00:31:22,661
your allowance for the semester.
456
00:31:22,662 --> 00:31:25,471
I was waiting for the answer for this.
457
00:31:25,471 --> 00:31:27,904
My mom was standing right behind him.
458
00:31:27,904 --> 00:31:32,229
I remember "your allowence", and he gave me the amount.
459
00:31:32,229 --> 00:31:36,161
It was an extraordinarily small amount.
460
00:31:38,195 --> 00:31:41,422
And I was doing the math in my head while he was talking,
461
00:31:41,422 --> 00:31:47,739
breaking this down by month, by week, by day, by meal...
462
00:31:47,740 --> 00:31:50,885
... this money.
463
00:31:50,886 --> 00:31:53,361
And he pulled out this dollar bill
464
00:31:53,361 --> 00:31:57,389
and he began to pull it in opposite corners.
465
00:31:57,390 --> 00:32:00,737
No one could work a dollar bill like my father.
466
00:32:00,737 --> 00:32:05,969
The most frugal man who has ever walked planet earth.
467
00:32:05,970 --> 00:32:10,535
To this day I still have never had a large Coke.
468
00:32:14,070 --> 00:32:19,899
It's always the small Coke and get the refill.
469
00:32:19,900 --> 00:32:22,897
I used to take his ballpoint pen and I would click it.
470
00:32:22,897 --> 00:32:27,620
And he would take it back from me and say: That's one less time it will work, son.
471
00:32:29,780 --> 00:32:31,876
(I suppose you're right.)
472
00:32:34,262 --> 00:32:36,290
So, he said to me,
473
00:32:39,633 --> 00:32:43,287
what this amount was.
474
00:32:43,288 --> 00:32:47,821
He said, this is all... that there will be.
475
00:32:47,822 --> 00:32:53,461
Now, it's gonna have to last during the entire semester.
476
00:32:53,462 --> 00:33:00,627
And he said: Every time, you put your hand into your pocket
477
00:33:00,628 --> 00:33:03,570
and you pull out a dollar bill,
478
00:33:03,570 --> 00:33:05,690
I want you to remember me,
479
00:33:05,690 --> 00:33:09,302
standing here with this dollar bill.
480
00:33:09,303 --> 00:33:16,221
And I want you to spend every dollar bill wisely.
481
00:33:18,861 --> 00:33:22,393
Because when you run out,
482
00:33:22,394 --> 00:33:25,868
there will be no more.
483
00:33:25,869 --> 00:33:30,122
I knew my dad was serious as a heart attack.
484
00:33:32,125 --> 00:33:35,676
And I knew that my mother would give me more.
485
00:33:43,074 --> 00:33:49,892
And she was smiling behind my dad as he is giving this speech.
486
00:33:49,893 --> 00:33:52,166
She is winking at me.
487
00:33:55,748 --> 00:34:00,253
But I have never forgotten that little speech.
488
00:34:00,254 --> 00:34:08,710
And that's the way I must be with the time allotment in my life.
489
00:34:08,710 --> 00:34:10,917
I don't have a day to waste.
490
00:34:10,917 --> 00:34:13,371
You don't have a day to waste.
491
00:34:13,371 --> 00:34:15,527
I don't have a morning to waste.
492
00:34:15,527 --> 00:34:19,510
I don't have an afternoon to waste.
493
00:34:19,511 --> 00:34:23,398
I remember one man coming by my office while I'm early in my pastorate
494
00:34:23,398 --> 00:34:27,107
and he came by, and he wanted to visit, and he came...
495
00:34:27,107 --> 00:34:29,150
He came into my office, sat down.
496
00:34:29,150 --> 00:34:32,161
I said: How can I help you? And he said:
497
00:34:32,161 --> 00:34:35,755
Nothing really. I just wanted to kill some time.
498
00:34:38,438 --> 00:34:41,829
I think there are a lot of people who go through life that way.
499
00:34:41,829 --> 00:34:44,607
They're just time killers.
500
00:34:44,608 --> 00:34:48,900
And it would be nice if they would just kill their own time.
501
00:34:48,902 --> 00:34:52,088
But they want to kill other people's time.
502
00:34:52,089 --> 00:34:55,228
And you are taking away from other people
503
00:34:55,228 --> 00:34:58,638
their maximum opportunity to glorify God,
504
00:34:58,638 --> 00:35:06,195
to be productive in the pursuit of what God has laid out in his will.
505
00:35:06,196 --> 00:35:08,600
This is not to say, there is not a place for recreation.
506
00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:12,195
There is the Sabbath principle talked throughout Scripture.
507
00:35:12,196 --> 00:35:17,456
We must rest. There is the need for the re-creation of recreation.
508
00:35:17,456 --> 00:35:21,198
We cannot live full tilt every moment of every second of every life.
509
00:35:21,198 --> 00:35:23,778
It's like highlighting in yellow every word on a page.
510
00:35:23,778 --> 00:35:26,709
Then nothing really necessarily stands out.
511
00:35:26,709 --> 00:35:28,615
There is an ebb and a flow of life.
512
00:35:28,615 --> 00:35:29,918
But I want to tell you this:
513
00:35:29,918 --> 00:35:32,437
You only have so much time on this planet
514
00:35:32,437 --> 00:35:34,026
to breathe God's air
515
00:35:34,026 --> 00:35:35,404
and to drink God's water
516
00:35:35,404 --> 00:35:36,696
and to do God's will
517
00:35:36,696 --> 00:35:41,859
and for God's sake, you better get on what He's called you to do!
518
00:35:41,860 --> 00:35:45,233
If He's called you to the ministry then get after it!
519
00:35:45,234 --> 00:35:50,534
If this is the time to step forward and to go in a certain direction
520
00:35:50,534 --> 00:35:54,792
then pursue the will of God in your life!
521
00:35:54,793 --> 00:36:01,429
There is only so much time to do it.
522
00:36:01,430 --> 00:36:04,075
Now I want to give you another resolution.
523
00:36:09,503 --> 00:36:13,397
(I only know what time it is. When do I finish?)
524
00:36:17,510 --> 00:36:21,499
(O.k., alright.)
525
00:36:21,500 --> 00:36:23,990
(I'll make anything work.)
526
00:36:27,711 --> 00:36:35,610
(Whitefield's last sermon was two hours, as I told you, up at Exeter, New Hampshire.)
527
00:36:35,611 --> 00:36:37,586
Resolution number seven.
528
00:36:41,966 --> 00:36:43,199
Resolved,
529
00:36:45,269 --> 00:36:48,875
Never to do anything
530
00:36:48,876 --> 00:36:52,278
that I should be afraid to do
531
00:36:52,279 --> 00:36:58,138
if it were the last hour of my life.
532
00:36:58,139 --> 00:37:02,636
Edwards purposed to live his life, as Baxter said, we should preach:
533
00:37:02,636 --> 00:37:07,776
as a dying man to dying men, as never to preach again.
534
00:37:07,777 --> 00:37:13,322
Edwards purposed that he would focus upon the end of his life
535
00:37:13,322 --> 00:37:15,632
and then work back,
536
00:37:15,632 --> 00:37:21,013
and that he never wanted to be found doing anything that he would not do
537
00:37:21,013 --> 00:37:24,082
if it were the last hour of his life.
538
00:37:24,082 --> 00:37:26,082
And as he studied the gospels, he understood
539
00:37:26,082 --> 00:37:30,407
that Christ was consciously aware of that last hour of his life.
540
00:37:30,407 --> 00:37:33,391
John 2:4 My hour has not yet come.
541
00:37:33,391 --> 00:37:35,184
Referring to that last hour
542
00:37:35,184 --> 00:37:36,954
and it was the finished line
543
00:37:36,954 --> 00:37:42,091
it was the conclusion of the will of God, that the Father had charted for Him,
544
00:37:42,091 --> 00:37:45,267
and He was pressing towards that finished line
545
00:37:45,267 --> 00:37:50,195
and He always kept His eye upon that last hour of His life.
546
00:37:50,195 --> 00:37:54,161
John 7:6 My hour is not yet here.
547
00:37:54,161 --> 00:37:57,688
John 7:30 His hour had not yet come.
548
00:37:57,688 --> 00:38:04,752
John 12:27 Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose I came to this world.
549
00:38:04,752 --> 00:38:11,489
John 17:1 Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that the son may glorify you.
550
00:38:11,489 --> 00:38:15,868
John 19:30 It is finished.
551
00:38:15,869 --> 00:38:19,443
There was no rambling in his life.
552
00:38:19,444 --> 00:38:22,513
There was no weaving all over the highway.
553
00:38:22,514 --> 00:38:27,520
There was no dabbling over here and let me try something else over here.
554
00:38:27,521 --> 00:38:34,466
There was a very mature press about his life as he was pointed to the finished line,
555
00:38:34,466 --> 00:38:37,341
and he would not look to the right, he would not look to the left,
556
00:38:37,341 --> 00:38:40,864
he would not look at the others who were running around him in the race of life.
557
00:38:40,864 --> 00:38:47,590
His gaze was upon the finished line, the last hour of his life.
558
00:38:47,591 --> 00:38:53,781
He prepared all of his life for the last hour of his life.
559
00:38:53,782 --> 00:38:56,826
That he would die well.
560
00:38:56,827 --> 00:38:59,603
That he would die without regret.
561
00:38:59,604 --> 00:39:04,327
That he would die without saying, as so many that he had heard:
562
00:39:04,327 --> 00:39:07,168
Oh, if I had only done this.
563
00:39:07,168 --> 00:39:13,103
Oh if I had only made these choices and pursued these endeavors.
564
00:39:13,103 --> 00:39:19,985
No, when I come to the end of my life, I want to say: It is finished.
565
00:39:19,986 --> 00:39:22,585
And to die like his master.
566
00:39:22,586 --> 00:39:29,244
In the very epicenter of the will of God for his life.
567
00:39:29,245 --> 00:39:34,749
Resolved, Never to do anything that I should be afraid to do
568
00:39:34,749 --> 00:39:40,022
if it were the last hour of my life.
569
00:39:40,023 --> 00:39:43,550
Can you envision the last hour of your life?
570
00:39:43,551 --> 00:39:45,917
Whether it's this afternoon,
571
00:39:45,918 --> 00:39:48,430
whether it is in a month,
572
00:39:48,431 --> 00:39:49,739
whether it's in a year,
573
00:39:49,739 --> 00:39:51,251
or a decade,
574
00:39:51,251 --> 00:39:53,910
or whenever it is.
575
00:39:53,911 --> 00:39:56,156
Who knows, what the circumstances will be?
576
00:39:56,156 --> 00:40:01,870
Who knows, where that will be, when that will be, with whom it will be?
577
00:40:01,871 --> 00:40:11,222
But unless the Lord returns before then, that day is fixed on God's calendar for your life.
578
00:40:11,223 --> 00:40:19,996
You need to stay focused and riveted upon the last hour of your life.
579
00:40:19,997 --> 00:40:22,920
So that you will die
580
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:25,520
without regret.
581
00:40:25,521 --> 00:40:31,330
That you make choices and decisions in your life today
582
00:40:31,331 --> 00:40:34,808
that will effect the path that you take
583
00:40:34,809 --> 00:40:36,665
when you arrive
584
00:40:36,666 --> 00:40:40,676
on that last day.
585
00:40:40,677 --> 00:40:42,758
Resolution number ten.
586
00:40:46,337 --> 00:40:50,151
This is a resolution that will grow you up.
587
00:40:50,152 --> 00:40:55,835
This is a resolution that will make an 18 year old young boy
588
00:40:55,836 --> 00:40:58,060
appear to be 68,
589
00:40:58,061 --> 00:41:00,669
appear to be 78.
590
00:41:00,670 --> 00:41:07,955
This will give you wisdom beyond your years.
591
00:41:07,956 --> 00:41:11,223
Resolved,
592
00:41:11,224 --> 00:41:15,049
When I feel pain
593
00:41:15,050 --> 00:41:20,973
to think of the pains of martyrdom
594
00:41:20,974 --> 00:41:22,834
and hell.
595
00:41:25,715 --> 00:41:28,493
If you're going to live with an eternal perspective
596
00:41:30,685 --> 00:41:33,687
and when you face disappointment,
597
00:41:33,688 --> 00:41:36,455
when you face trials,
598
00:41:36,456 --> 00:41:39,136
when you face problems,
599
00:41:39,137 --> 00:41:41,570
when you face difficulty,
600
00:41:41,571 --> 00:41:43,539
and adversity,
601
00:41:43,540 --> 00:41:46,671
and tribulation,
602
00:41:46,672 --> 00:41:50,461
you need to keep that in proper perspective.
603
00:41:50,462 --> 00:41:52,570
We have a tendency
604
00:41:52,571 --> 00:41:54,798
to become preoccupied
605
00:41:54,799 --> 00:41:57,516
on our troubles.
606
00:41:57,517 --> 00:41:58,994
And they grow,
607
00:41:58,995 --> 00:42:00,528
and they grow,
608
00:42:00,529 --> 00:42:02,196
and they grow,
609
00:42:02,197 --> 00:42:04,603
and they escalate,
610
00:42:04,604 --> 00:42:06,389
and they dwarf us,
611
00:42:06,390 --> 00:42:08,217
and they intimidate us,
612
00:42:08,218 --> 00:42:11,804
and they paralyze us.
613
00:42:11,805 --> 00:42:15,134
And they cause us to be self centered,
614
00:42:15,135 --> 00:42:17,707
and they defeat us,
615
00:42:17,708 --> 00:42:20,606
and they cause self pity
616
00:42:20,607 --> 00:42:24,786
to arise out of our hearts.
617
00:42:24,787 --> 00:42:30,678
And Edwards said: So that I can keep everything in rightful perspective,
618
00:42:33,099 --> 00:42:36,933
I want to be constantly thinking
619
00:42:36,934 --> 00:42:40,201
about martyrs
620
00:42:40,202 --> 00:42:42,684
and souls in hell.
621
00:42:45,937 --> 00:42:50,062
To think about those in Foxe's Book of Martyrs
622
00:42:50,063 --> 00:42:52,602
who where strapped to the stake
623
00:42:52,603 --> 00:42:56,935
and gave a witness for their faith and the Lord Jesus Christ.
624
00:42:56,936 --> 00:43:04,033
Who were literally burned at the stake for their gospel testimony.
625
00:43:04,034 --> 00:43:06,835
And in comparison
626
00:43:08,096 --> 00:43:10,187
we virtually
627
00:43:10,188 --> 00:43:13,225
have never had a bad day
628
00:43:13,226 --> 00:43:15,165
here upon the earth.
629
00:43:19,061 --> 00:43:21,608
Seven years ago
630
00:43:21,609 --> 00:43:27,613
I was forced out of a pastorate of a church that I pastored.
631
00:43:27,614 --> 00:43:31,336
It was a very painful experience.
632
00:43:33,889 --> 00:43:39,862
It's a publicly humiliating experience:
633
00:43:39,863 --> 00:43:41,040
family,
634
00:43:41,041 --> 00:43:42,618
friends,
635
00:43:42,619 --> 00:43:44,331
enemies,
636
00:43:44,332 --> 00:43:46,264
foes,
637
00:43:46,265 --> 00:43:47,617
newspaper,
638
00:43:47,618 --> 00:43:48,944
television.
639
00:43:51,845 --> 00:43:54,824
It's a very painful thing to go through:
640
00:43:56,855 --> 00:43:58,845
to step into a pulpit
641
00:43:58,846 --> 00:44:01,227
to preach your last sermon,
642
00:44:01,228 --> 00:44:05,621
to give your resignation,
643
00:44:05,622 --> 00:44:08,600
and then to just walk out of the building.
644
00:44:10,932 --> 00:44:16,912
You know, what kept everything in perspective... for me?
645
00:44:16,913 --> 00:44:23,634
Is reading about the Marian Martyrs in the English reformation.
646
00:44:23,635 --> 00:44:29,779
Reading about those men who preached what I preach,
647
00:44:29,780 --> 00:44:36,022
but yet they were strapped to a stake and were burned to a crisp.
648
00:44:38,212 --> 00:44:40,310
I walked away.
649
00:44:40,311 --> 00:44:42,618
I walked out.
650
00:44:42,619 --> 00:44:45,086
I got in a suburban.
651
00:44:47,295 --> 00:44:50,545
My son drove the getaway car.
652
00:44:54,131 --> 00:45:01,382
I was able to stop and get out of the car and shake the dust off my feet.
653
00:45:01,383 --> 00:45:04,113
I was driven home.
654
00:45:04,114 --> 00:45:06,521
I had a meal.
655
00:45:06,522 --> 00:45:11,164
Next day I played golf with my boys.
656
00:45:11,165 --> 00:45:13,282
I've never had a bad day.
657
00:45:15,413 --> 00:45:18,238
In my preaching Bible
658
00:45:18,239 --> 00:45:22,652
I have a picture of John Rogers.
659
00:45:22,653 --> 00:45:26,367
He was burned at the stake in 1555.
660
00:45:26,368 --> 00:45:29,717
He was the first Marian martyr.
661
00:45:29,718 --> 00:45:34,242
He was the first to be torched by Bloody Mary
662
00:45:34,243 --> 00:45:37,627
for his evangelical beliefs.
663
00:45:37,628 --> 00:45:44,251
In the back of my Bible I have the wood carving of John Rogers,
664
00:45:44,252 --> 00:45:50,187
being strapped to the stake in London, and being burned to death
665
00:45:50,188 --> 00:45:53,049
in front of his church building,
666
00:45:53,049 --> 00:45:55,909
in front of his congregation,
667
00:45:55,909 --> 00:46:01,174
in order to try to attempt to intimidate them all.
668
00:46:01,175 --> 00:46:04,150
They would burn the shepherd.
669
00:46:04,151 --> 00:46:08,775
Their intend was for the sheep to scatter.
670
00:46:08,776 --> 00:46:15,387
When I read this resolution of Edwards, I thought, there is much wisdom in this.
671
00:46:15,388 --> 00:46:21,364
For all of us to think constantly of martyrdom and hell.
672
00:46:21,364 --> 00:46:28,186
Not that we have some morbid spirit or martyr's complex,
673
00:46:28,186 --> 00:46:30,287
that's not it.
674
00:46:30,288 --> 00:46:36,624
But the things that upset us, and the things that stress us out,
675
00:46:36,625 --> 00:46:37,832
quite frankly,
676
00:46:37,832 --> 00:46:43,144
do not even begin to compare with what the martyrs experienced.
677
00:46:43,144 --> 00:46:46,798
And then, he says, "and of hell".
678
00:46:46,799 --> 00:46:50,557
Now let me remind all of us,
679
00:46:50,558 --> 00:46:55,502
if everyone of us in this room received what we deserved,
680
00:46:55,503 --> 00:47:00,221
we would all be in hell right now.
681
00:47:00,222 --> 00:47:06,714
We would have been in hell from the moment we were conceived.
682
00:47:06,715 --> 00:47:11,467
And the day that you sin you shall surely die.
683
00:47:11,468 --> 00:47:16,279
The fact, that we are not in hell right now suffering the torment of the damned,
684
00:47:16,279 --> 00:47:21,658
is far better treatment than anyone of us deserve.
685
00:47:21,659 --> 00:47:26,001
That is a theological truth.
686
00:47:26,002 --> 00:47:30,998
And that helps put everything in right perspective for my Christian life.
687
00:47:30,999 --> 00:47:34,716
I have pressures in my life right now, that are squeezing me
688
00:47:34,716 --> 00:47:39,875
and cause my mind at times to be anchored into those things.
689
00:47:39,875 --> 00:47:45,002
And it's not spiritually healthy for me to become concentrated upon those things.
690
00:47:45,002 --> 00:47:48,979
I need to set my mind on things above and not on things of the earth,
691
00:47:48,979 --> 00:47:52,263
but I also need to set my mind on things below,
692
00:47:52,263 --> 00:47:55,725
souls being tormented in hell right now.
693
00:47:55,725 --> 00:48:01,330
And realize that that mercy that has been shown to me
694
00:48:01,330 --> 00:48:04,956
is so astonishing and amazing
695
00:48:04,956 --> 00:48:09,162
that by comparison of souls in hell right now
696
00:48:09,162 --> 00:48:14,054
I have... I have no problems. I have nothing, for which I can complain.
697
00:48:14,054 --> 00:48:16,909
There is no reason for me to have a pity party.
698
00:48:16,909 --> 00:48:18,760
There is no reason for me to whine.
699
00:48:18,760 --> 00:48:23,492
There is no reason for me to be the focus of every conversation that I am in,
700
00:48:23,492 --> 00:48:27,983
to draw the people into my problems.
701
00:48:27,984 --> 00:48:30,349
I'm not in hell.
702
00:48:32,138 --> 00:48:36,400
Jonathan Edwards, as an 18 year old young man,
703
00:48:36,401 --> 00:48:38,355
he purposed,
704
00:48:38,356 --> 00:48:44,250
that I will think about hell and I will think about martyrdom,
705
00:48:44,251 --> 00:48:49,049
so that everything in my life will be kept in proper perspective.
706
00:48:49,050 --> 00:48:53,462
When I went to London a few years ago,
707
00:48:53,463 --> 00:48:56,723
I landed at the airport, got on the train, took the subway...
708
00:48:56,723 --> 00:48:59,475
I wanted to go first to Bunhill Fields.
709
00:48:59,475 --> 00:49:01,847
I wanted to see where the Puritans are buried.
710
00:49:01,847 --> 00:49:05,753
At that time it was outside the city limits.
711
00:49:05,754 --> 00:49:09,757
They would not allow John Owen to be buried inside the city limits.
712
00:49:09,757 --> 00:49:13,479
They would not let John Bunyan be buried inside the city limits.
713
00:49:13,479 --> 00:49:17,980
Isaac Watts, you are on the outside, looking in.
714
00:49:17,981 --> 00:49:21,695
I wanted to go to Bunhill Fields and just stand with those men
715
00:49:21,695 --> 00:49:26,225
who have been rejected, and many, who have died ignominious deaths.
716
00:49:26,225 --> 00:49:29,774
And from there I went to Saint Bartholomew's Hospital.
717
00:49:29,774 --> 00:49:33,976
Interestingly enough, that is exactly were Martyn Lloyd-Jones practiced medicine
718
00:49:33,976 --> 00:49:38,062
before he was called on the Gospel ministry. And on the back side of the hospital
719
00:49:38,062 --> 00:49:41,382
is a little brass plaque, that no one would ever see,
720
00:49:41,382 --> 00:49:45,420
unless you are intentionally going there and looking for it,
721
00:49:45,420 --> 00:49:47,487
and on this brass plaque it says:
722
00:49:47,487 --> 00:49:53,203
Here is were John Rogers was burned at the stake for his evangelical faith
723
00:49:53,203 --> 00:49:57,997
in the word of God and the Gospel of Christ.
724
00:49:57,998 --> 00:50:03,648
Just to have it edged into my mind again,
725
00:50:03,649 --> 00:50:07,372
that these men payed a valiant price,
726
00:50:07,373 --> 00:50:09,790
a great price
727
00:50:09,791 --> 00:50:11,990
for their Christian faith.
728
00:50:11,991 --> 00:50:14,943
And as I live my spiritual life,
729
00:50:14,944 --> 00:50:18,977
resolved, when I feel pain, when I feel disappointment,
730
00:50:18,977 --> 00:50:20,826
when I feel discouragement,
731
00:50:20,826 --> 00:50:24,269
to think of the pains of martyrdom
732
00:50:24,270 --> 00:50:26,170
and of hell.
733
00:50:28,754 --> 00:50:32,697
Let me give you one more, and then we are finished.
734
00:50:32,698 --> 00:50:34,566
Resolution number fifty.
735
00:50:36,837 --> 00:50:39,762
Resolved,
736
00:50:39,763 --> 00:50:44,483
I will act so as I think I should judge
737
00:50:44,484 --> 00:50:47,616
would have been best,
738
00:50:47,617 --> 00:50:51,156
and most prudent,
739
00:50:51,157 --> 00:50:57,290
when I come into the future world.
740
00:50:57,291 --> 00:51:00,472
Edwards wanted his present life to be shaped
741
00:51:00,472 --> 00:51:06,119
by whatever would be most important upon entering heaven.
742
00:51:06,119 --> 00:51:08,774
Whatever is important there
743
00:51:08,774 --> 00:51:12,692
must dominate the landscape of my life now.
744
00:51:12,692 --> 00:51:18,202
Whatever is of priority in heaven there, when I enter into heaven,
745
00:51:18,202 --> 00:51:20,879
that must be moved up the list
746
00:51:20,879 --> 00:51:25,802
and must be at the top of what is most important in my life today.
747
00:51:25,802 --> 00:51:30,356
Whatever matters to God and Christ in eternity, in heaven,
748
00:51:30,356 --> 00:51:33,894
around throne of God, for ever, and ever, and ever,
749
00:51:33,894 --> 00:51:37,710
what is ever of highest value in that day,
750
00:51:37,710 --> 00:51:42,613
must be as gold and silver in my life today.
751
00:51:44,730 --> 00:51:49,051
That is what Edwards is saying.
752
00:51:49,052 --> 00:51:54,178
He cites 2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things that are seen
753
00:51:54,178 --> 00:51:56,535
but at the things which are not seen,
754
00:51:56,535 --> 00:51:58,411
for the things which are see are temporal,
755
00:51:58,411 --> 00:52:05,060
but the things which are not seen are eternal.
756
00:52:05,061 --> 00:52:09,547
Edwards chose to live his life in such a way,
757
00:52:09,548 --> 00:52:14,520
that he was not preoccupied with the visible, but with the invisible,
758
00:52:14,520 --> 00:52:17,484
not with the temporal, but with the eternal,
759
00:52:17,484 --> 00:52:21,920
not with the earthly, but with the heavenly.
760
00:52:21,921 --> 00:52:29,249
He wanted his life to count to the maximum for God.
761
00:52:29,250 --> 00:52:33,787
So, fast forward, if you would, to the end of his life.
762
00:52:33,788 --> 00:52:37,311
So, how did Edwards die?
763
00:52:37,312 --> 00:52:41,962
What did it look like on the last day of his life?
764
00:52:41,963 --> 00:52:44,834
Well, it is by no coincidence
765
00:52:44,835 --> 00:52:52,121
that after age 18 and 19 Jonathan Edwards did become
766
00:52:52,122 --> 00:52:53,249
the greatest preacher,
767
00:52:53,249 --> 00:52:54,422
the greatest pastor,
768
00:52:54,422 --> 00:52:57,818
the greatest theologian,
769
00:52:57,819 --> 00:53:00,279
the greatest author,
770
00:53:00,280 --> 00:53:03,769
to preach the greatest sermon.
771
00:53:03,770 --> 00:53:08,612
It wasn't because he had time to kill and he was just shuffling free life,
772
00:53:08,613 --> 00:53:11,593
looking for something to do.
773
00:53:11,594 --> 00:53:14,204
He had purpose, he had intention,
774
00:53:14,205 --> 00:53:17,890
and he was resolved.
775
00:53:17,891 --> 00:53:24,748
He became the third president of Princeton, following his own son in law.
776
00:53:24,749 --> 00:53:27,034
And Edwards, you know the story, the end of his life,
777
00:53:27,034 --> 00:53:33,045
as soon as he was inaugurated and became president of Princeton,
778
00:53:33,046 --> 00:53:36,429
he was resolved to write the history of the work of redemption.
779
00:53:36,429 --> 00:53:38,861
It would be his Magnum Opus.
780
00:53:38,861 --> 00:53:44,239
It would be in the league of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion.
781
00:53:44,239 --> 00:53:48,445
It would be up there with Luther's The Bondage of the Will.
782
00:53:48,446 --> 00:53:53,309
One month into his presidency on February, 13th, 1759,
783
00:53:53,309 --> 00:53:57,912
Edwards was inaugurated for Smallpox.
784
00:53:57,912 --> 00:54:01,060
He was the president, set the example for the student body.
785
00:54:01,060 --> 00:54:03,956
Everyone needs to be inaugurated for Smallpox.
786
00:54:03,956 --> 00:54:08,802
I the president will be inaugurated to show you that it will not harm you.
787
00:54:08,802 --> 00:54:13,452
He took the Smallpox vaccination.
788
00:54:13,453 --> 00:54:18,092
And tragically it had a very opposite effect on him.
789
00:54:18,093 --> 00:54:25,167
His throat began to swell to the point that he could not breathe.
790
00:54:25,168 --> 00:54:28,795
His wife, Sarah, was back in Upstate New York,
791
00:54:28,795 --> 00:54:35,443
there, were he administered to the Indians on a fifth-grade level.
792
00:54:35,444 --> 00:54:39,438
He has now come to Princeton, New Jersey, to assume this presidency.
793
00:54:39,438 --> 00:54:46,179
He is there by himself with only his daughter Lucy at his bedside.
794
00:54:46,180 --> 00:54:50,597
I recently was in Princeton and went to this very house,
795
00:54:50,597 --> 00:54:54,952
and went to the very room in which Edwards died.
796
00:54:57,013 --> 00:55:00,126
Dear Lucy,
797
00:55:00,127 --> 00:55:03,961
it seems to me to be the will of God
798
00:55:03,962 --> 00:55:07,628
that I must shortly leave you.
799
00:55:07,629 --> 00:55:12,090
Therefore give my kindest love to my dear wife,
800
00:55:12,091 --> 00:55:15,782
and tell her, that the uncommon union,
801
00:55:15,783 --> 00:55:19,554
which has so long subsisted between us,
802
00:55:19,555 --> 00:55:26,846
has been of such a nature as I trust is spiritual and therefore will continue forever:
803
00:55:26,847 --> 00:55:29,525
and I hope she will be supported under so great a trial,
804
00:55:29,525 --> 00:55:32,924
and submit cheerfully to the will of God.
805
00:55:32,925 --> 00:55:37,914
And as to my children you are now to be left fatherless
806
00:55:37,915 --> 00:55:42,062
which I hope will be an inducement to you all
807
00:55:42,063 --> 00:55:48,055
to seek a father who will never fail you.
808
00:55:48,056 --> 00:55:53,593
Jonathan Edwards had prepared his entire adult life for this moment.
809
00:55:56,013 --> 00:56:01,974
As he came to the end of his life he was not a man cursing and shrieking,
810
00:56:01,975 --> 00:56:07,045
and pulling back from the horrors of his appointed time.
811
00:56:07,046 --> 00:56:10,861
He was a man who would had given himself for the last years
812
00:56:10,861 --> 00:56:15,413
since age 18 to the pursuit of this day.
813
00:56:15,414 --> 00:56:18,986
He died as he had lived:
814
00:56:18,987 --> 00:56:23,119
glorifying God.
815
00:56:23,120 --> 00:56:29,299
He died suddenly on March, 22nd, 1759, at age 55.
816
00:56:29,299 --> 00:56:32,909
Only two short months after becoming president
817
00:56:32,909 --> 00:56:38,652
of the college of New Jersey which would become Princeton.
818
00:56:38,653 --> 00:56:44,077
Upon learning of Jonathan's death, Sarah, still in Stockbridge,
819
00:56:44,077 --> 00:56:51,608
packing their belongings, wrote this note to their daughter Esther:
820
00:56:51,609 --> 00:56:54,989
What shall I say:
821
00:56:54,990 --> 00:57:04,917
A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud.
822
00:57:04,918 --> 00:57:12,839
O that we may kiss the rod, and lay our hands on our mouths!
823
00:57:12,840 --> 00:57:16,111
The Lord has done it.
824
00:57:16,112 --> 00:57:23,660
He has made me adore his goodness that we had him so long.
825
00:57:23,661 --> 00:57:28,802
But my God lives; and he has my heart.
826
00:57:28,803 --> 00:57:34,389
O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left to us!
827
00:57:34,390 --> 00:57:40,193
We are all given to God; and there I am and love to be.
828
00:57:40,193 --> 00:57:47,530
Your affectionate mother, Sarah Edwards
829
00:57:47,531 --> 00:57:53,970
Upon her arrival in Princeton with their family belongings
830
00:57:53,971 --> 00:57:59,776
she then immediately died herself.
831
00:57:59,777 --> 00:58:02,515
And then Lucy died.
832
00:58:02,516 --> 00:58:05,683
All in a matter of months.
833
00:58:05,684 --> 00:58:09,569
And when you go to Princeton now, to the cemetery,
834
00:58:09,570 --> 00:58:18,537
there is Jonathan Edwards, and lying next to him, Sarah Edwards.
835
00:58:18,538 --> 00:58:21,793
They both had lived
836
00:58:21,794 --> 00:58:25,996
charting a course for the day of their death.
837
00:58:25,997 --> 00:58:31,336
That they would maximize the time that had been given to them
838
00:58:31,337 --> 00:58:39,176
to live every moment of every day in the pursuit of the glory of God.
839
00:58:39,177 --> 00:58:42,010
How are you investing your life?
840
00:58:42,010 --> 00:58:45,987
I wonder how much time you have left upon this earth.
841
00:58:45,987 --> 00:58:48,783
How uncertain it is...
842
00:58:48,784 --> 00:58:52,580
Only God knows.
843
00:58:52,581 --> 00:58:55,019
How wise of a steward are you?
844
00:58:55,019 --> 00:58:59,079
With the opportunities that are around you today?
845
00:58:59,080 --> 00:59:08,931
May everyone of us number our days and present to God a heart of wisdom.
846
00:59:08,932 --> 00:59:10,402
Let us pray.
847
00:59:15,725 --> 00:59:17,507
Our father,
848
00:59:19,674 --> 00:59:22,033
You have sovereignly ordained
849
00:59:22,033 --> 00:59:27,798
that we would be birthed into the 20th century,
850
00:59:27,798 --> 00:59:33,276
and that we would be alive in the 21st century.
851
00:59:33,276 --> 00:59:38,023
You have appointed who our parents would be.
852
00:59:38,024 --> 00:59:40,978
What our personality would be.
853
00:59:40,979 --> 00:59:44,089
What our gender would be.
854
00:59:44,090 --> 00:59:47,775
What our complexion,
855
00:59:47,776 --> 00:59:50,278
what our physical body would be,
856
00:59:50,278 --> 00:59:52,155
what our gifts,
857
00:59:52,156 --> 00:59:55,175
what our abilities.
858
00:59:55,176 --> 00:59:59,328
You've appointed the day of our conversion.
859
00:59:59,329 --> 01:00:01,867
You have appointed those people who would be around us
860
01:00:01,867 --> 01:00:06,999
whose influences would be brought to bear upon our lives.
861
01:00:07,000 --> 01:00:14,715
Even those that have been of evil influence, You have meant for good.
862
01:00:14,716 --> 01:00:21,799
And over it all You have caused all things to work together for our good.
863
01:00:21,800 --> 01:00:28,788
And you have already prescripted the end of our lives.
864
01:00:28,789 --> 01:00:34,101
Except Christ's return before then, everyone of us in this room will die.
865
01:00:36,799 --> 01:00:42,098
And we must prepare for that day... now.
866
01:00:42,099 --> 01:00:46,478
May you lead us to put one foot in front of the other
867
01:00:46,478 --> 01:00:48,518
on the narrow path
868
01:00:48,518 --> 01:00:53,526
as we would continue our course in this world.
869
01:00:53,527 --> 01:00:57,595
I pray there would be a sense of urgency about our lives,
870
01:00:57,595 --> 01:01:00,366
a sense of picking up the pace,
871
01:01:00,366 --> 01:01:04,768
and pressing on to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
872
01:01:04,769 --> 01:01:08,460
Let us run the race that is set before us.
873
01:01:08,461 --> 01:01:10,963
Let us not beat the air.
874
01:01:10,963 --> 01:01:13,993
Let us buffet our bodies,
875
01:01:13,993 --> 01:01:16,398
lest we be disqualified.
876
01:01:16,399 --> 01:01:21,080
Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
877
01:01:21,081 --> 01:01:26,356
Let us not become entangled with sin.
878
01:01:26,357 --> 01:01:35,190
Let us be fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith.
879
01:01:35,191 --> 01:01:38,532
Father, would you bless these men.
880
01:01:38,533 --> 01:01:42,691
And as the dusk clears from this conference,
881
01:01:42,692 --> 01:01:52,966
I pray that there would be a certainty and a centrality about these truths
882
01:01:52,967 --> 01:02:01,522
that would be secured and anchored into their hearts.
883
01:02:01,523 --> 01:02:05,550
May we live as mighty men of old.
884
01:02:05,550 --> 01:02:11,411
May we be as those who turned the world upside down.
885
01:02:11,412 --> 01:02:15,810
Father, I pray that You would bless these men,
886
01:02:15,810 --> 01:02:20,881
that they might be a blessing to countless others.
887
01:02:20,882 --> 01:02:25,641
And that the eternal destinies of others would be altered
888
01:02:25,642 --> 01:02:31,321
for the pursuit of your will by these men here today.
889
01:02:31,322 --> 01:02:33,884
I commend them to your grace
890
01:02:33,884 --> 01:02:38,940
and to your word which is able to sanctify them and make them strong.
891
01:02:38,941 --> 01:02:44,679
I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our savior.
892
01:02:44,679 --> 01:02:46,534
Amen.