Missions Emphasis Sunday - 2023

Missions Emphasis - Part 2

Sermon Image
Preacher

Viktor Semukhin

Date
Nov. 5, 2023

Transcription

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.

[0:00] Well, I get the privilege to introduce our keynote speaker for the weekend for this morning. A good dear friend of mine, Victor Samukin and his wife, Luda.

[0:11] They're here with us over from the Seattle area. I've known Victor for about 25 years. I've done some English camps over in Russia over the years with him, helping with some of the church plants.

[0:26] Victor is a church planter. He's a pastor, a church planter. He's a jack of all trades and he masters them. Everything he does, he does well.

[0:37] He has had the privilege to see four churches planted over in Russia. He goes into a place, doesn't know a person, starts a business, meets people, shares the gospel, sees a church formed and trains leaders.

[0:53] He has planted churches all the way as far as east and Russia as the Ural Mountains in Nabrishny Chelmy. He's done, seen a church planted on the Black Sea in Anapa.

[1:04] He's planted one in the Caucasus region, Pytyagorsk, and then the latest in the south part of Russia. I don't know if I'm going to say this right, Aktyrsky.

[1:16] Did I do good? Awesome. What is fantastic is out of those four churches, two of them have already planted daughter churches.

[1:26] One in Chelmy and then the one in Anapa on the Black Sea. They actually planted a church then in Georgia. Victor told me earlier in the week, he said, Jay, I'm just a little bit tired.

[1:41] But he's been faithful to the charge. He really functions as like an apostle Paul in many ways. For some of you thinking, I could never do that, what I love about Victor's story is, he shared with the men yesterday, is that he came to faith later after serving in the military and it was through somebody just giving him a simple Bible tract.

[2:04] That began the process for the Lord calling him unto himself. You just think about that individual who had the courage to step out and just give that tract and you see churches that have been planted as a result of that.

[2:17] So I think you will be blessed this morning. Currently Victor is serving over at Crossroads Bible Church where Pastor Keith now serves as the lead pastor.

[2:30] But he serves there building an Eastern European ministry there at the church. He's had to leave Russia in the last couple of years because of the war and speaking out against that.

[2:41] So he is still in the process. He and Lutas are seeking asylum here in America. And yet the Lord is calling him to a new chapter, a new season, but we are blessed to have him and just very thankful for my friend.

[2:53] So Victor come on up and let me pray for you brother. This is by the way the second time Victor has ever preached a sermon in English. So be kind.

[3:03] And the first time I think was at the church where I pastored over in Bellevue years ago. So let me pray for Victor. Father, we love you. We love that you call us into ministry, Lord that you just use ordinary people.

[3:16] And Lord I thank you for Victor. I thank you for his tenacity, Lord his thoughtfulness, his courage and his faithfulness.

[3:26] And so Lord this morning would you use him to encourage us, Lord that we would hear your voice and would you even minister to Victor and encourage him as he serves us today.

[3:37] We love you Jesus. It's in your name we pray. Amen. Well, greetings to you dear brothers and sisters from forth.

[3:55] This is really my second time preaching the full sermon in English. But the most thing was really steering my heart was what the audience would be.

[4:10] What would be the atmosphere and the people I was speaking to. And I got some ideas from the Lord but sitting today in this hall and seeing all these missionaries and their job they do, I understood why I had some ideas.

[4:27] And now it's all the puzzles all come together. So I'm very thankful to be here. And actually I've been here like a year and a half ago just for a very short visit.

[4:38] Now it's a second time here. And I'm so happy that you guys having this mission event. I really believe God loves missions.

[4:48] He sent his only son it's a mission. And all these missionaries they just represent God's heart. This is so great. I'm happy to be a part of this event.

[5:01] About history what has been always been a main concern for people or for nationalities, cultures and beliefs.

[5:15] In my opinion peace and peaceful life is that what everyone was earned for.

[5:26] Why does attaining peace is so challenging for humanity if everyone wants that? According to Geneva Academy of Science there are currently over 110 active armed conflicts worldwide.

[5:44] This conflicts has many reasons and some of them have financial interests, some of them have religious tensions, some have national hostilities and territorial disputes.

[5:55] But all these factors not only divides nations sometimes we can see that it's also divides cities, neighborhoods and even families. We all need peace.

[6:07] How peace could be achieved? I grew up in Soviet Union when government liked very much to display motivational slogans everywhere in the most prominent locations of city.

[6:23] These slogans were huge like volumetric letters on the main streets of the city or on the buildings. If you have something like I love Spokane and everyone taking pictures there that would be something like that.

[6:41] Those slogans were very famous. It was the same every city you come the same slogans. One of the most popular was peace to the whole world.

[6:55] You may be imagining that that was a huge thing in Soviet Russia, Soviet Union. I really like this simple and clear slogan. You can see it on the top of one of the buildings.

[7:06] You can see a guy who is standing with the sign like that. I'll explain about it. From a young age I digress with the value of peace and the destructiveness of war because my grandfather was the second World War veteran and he was sharing with me the very awful horrors of war.

[7:23] I was raised in the belief that we Russians are advocates of peace. However, our communist government believed that the peace could only be achieved when communists will conquer the entire planet.

[7:39] We the people of Soviet Union genuinely desired peace and couldn't understand why those Americans didn't want to become communists and live peacefully finally.

[7:50] Like disturbing. But the Soviet Union is no longer exist. What's more today people who are advocating for peace are being arrested on the streets of Russia.

[8:04] I kid you not. I check it myself. After my country brutally attacked our neighbor Ukraine, I went out on the streets free to times and with a simple poster showing the word of Jesus from Matthew 22, love God, love your neighbor, stop this war.

[8:26] I was arrested every time and was fined for approximately one month salary every time. Furthermore if I would persist in my advocating for peace, I would face imprisonment up to 15 years.

[8:40] That's the real charges. This is what is my country now. Now I'm looking for asylum in the United States but I still have a huge pain and burden about my born country.

[8:56] Sounds like we're back in the Soviet Union but in kind of a worser version because now even the standing for peace is not allowed.

[9:10] Having such resistance for peace and freedom I'm compelled to ask, do I really can do anything to help the society to achieve peace and to end this people's cruelty towards each other?

[9:24] Today I would like to delve into a Bible passage that will probably will provide us with a clear understanding how peace could be found in this world and how we can help it.

[9:38] Let's open the book of prophet Isaiah and read Isaiah 2 verses from 1 to 5. This is what Isaiah, Isaiah, son of Emma saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

[9:53] In the last days the mountain of the Lord temple will be established as the highest of the mountains. It will be exalted above the hills and all nations will stream to it.

[10:07] Many people will come and say, come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his path.

[10:20] The law will go out from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many people.

[10:31] He will beat their swords into plosures and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not take up swords against nations nor they will train for war anymore.

[10:48] Come descend us of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. Isaiah lived in prophesied during a very challenging period for Jewish nations.

[11:00] The northern part of Israel was already turned away from God and was enslaved, captive by the Assyrians. Now the threat of invasion was loomed over the southern kingdom of Judah.

[11:14] War was under Thresholt. Enemy was at the gate. And we see that God sending Isaiah to remind people of their mission even during this difficult time.

[11:30] We got also showing them the future and that this future will surely come to pass at the appointed time. Sometimes I'm here that we live in a difficult time for the church of Jesus Christ.

[11:43] And I can see it. That I hear that people saying that America is not the same, that the country is moving away from Christian principles. Well, even if so, it's a difficult time.

[11:55] What should the church do in such times? Today we will see that according to the book of Isaiah, we must diligently peer into the Lord's plan and keep fulfilling his mission.

[12:08] The first important message from Isaiah's prophecy is that God loves all the nations. Second words, in the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains.

[12:24] It will exalt above all hills and in all nations who will stream to it. Is I am interested in such a time when Jews were not very open actually for discussing about God's love to other nations, especially Syrians?

[12:38] Jews only had problems with other nations, but the idea that all people are going to come together under the leadership of Messiah should not be new to Israelite action.

[12:49] This idea was dated back to Abraham and in Genesis 12. We could read that, I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you, I will curse, and all people on earth will be blessed through you.

[13:04] God didn't call Abraham just to create a great nation. He called him to be a blessing to all the nations. We also can indicate that this idea exists in the very beginning of New Testament when the incarnation of the Son of God was marked by the arrival of the wise men from the West, from this distant country.

[13:28] After that, I can also see that in the Gospel of John, the sign king of Jews was under the crucifixion cross of Jesus Christ, was under the free main language of Israel and the whole world of that time.

[13:46] It was Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. The same provision of God I can see in the Pentecostal day when actually apostles in chapter 4 suddenly start preaching in multiple languages of all the nations, like a dozen or more nations who came to worshiping.

[14:06] In Revelation 21, we actually will witness a fulfillment of this prophecy and we will see the all nations actually in the New Jerusalem walking in the light of the Lamb.

[14:17] We still see the nations. Who are all these nations God loves? Are they just Americans, Europeans, and other Western democratic nations?

[14:29] What about those nations who pose threats and trying to enslave other nations? Are people from those nations even worthy of being in God's kingdom?

[14:41] When Isaiah prophesied that all nations will come to the Lord, the people of Judah probably couldn't accept that their enemies would also find a place in the house of the Lord. Can you think right now about similar situation in the world today?

[14:56] I can immediately think of free examples just for the last three months. As a Burjana and Armenia, bloody war. Russia invading Ukraine, bloody war, a lot of victims.

[15:11] Israel and Palestine going right now. Many people in these nations would not want to see their enemies in the house of the Lord. Even more at the times when we might think that some nations, we might sometimes believe that some nations just couldn't be saved at all.

[15:31] But God never stopped loving all nations and He knows something we don't know. For instance, in 1983 President Reagan famously called Soviet Union an evil empire.

[15:46] Back then in 1993 I was 10 years old boy. I don't remember that I was really like evil empire, but I remember that sometimes I did poorly in school and would like to escape to river to swim and get some other troubles.

[16:03] But God desired to save those people in Russia even during the Cold War and in 1983 particularly. Absolutely. And many Christians around the world were praying and were occupying themselves to be ready when the door would be open.

[16:20] And that time came very quickly. Only few years later Soviet Union was eventually collapsed and missionaries from various countries cached into Russia. 10 years later, after 1983, in November 15 of 1993, I heard the Gospel and accepted the call to repentance.

[16:41] I was 20 years old at that time. The person who came to Russia to fulfill God's will to preach to the all nations was a 30 years old American missionary named William Mice Winkle from small denomination greater grace world outreach.

[16:59] I remember his name. He was my first pastor. My first Bible was printed in United States by the Slavic Gospel situation. My Bible college tuition was covered by evangelical free churches from America through Pastor Jim McNeil.

[17:14] All the four churches God blessed me to plant along with additional $2 churches were planted with the support of American churches and leaders, some of whom are present here today.

[17:26] We had a great time with Jason when he and his college team was coming to help to plant the churches. That was a dad baptism. Yeah. And I met Pastor Jason in March of 1999 when I was working to plant my first church in the Muslim region of Russia.

[17:45] We just fall in love. And we, there was one elder from the crossroads Bible church who was always trying to keep us a little bit separated, not to start chain reaction.

[18:00] He said, you guys are just a nuclear element. You just, the God is keeping you on the opposite side of the globe just to keep earth stable. So it's been like 25 years ago where I become a little bit older and kind of little bit weaker, slower, I would say.

[18:16] So now God allows to be together on the same side of the planet, but not that time. That was a, would be too dangerous. So that was the greatest time. We had a great time together.

[18:26] And guys, I'm mentioning all these people because it's mother, the people who was standing here today, I'm so touched by them. They're spending their time, they're spending their life and they, they, they pay the price.

[18:43] But I'm so much in admire them because I was saved by the simple guy, William My Swinkle. And there is a countless people who was helping those guys to go, who was contributing financially, who was helped, who was fixing their planes, who was helping them with some social, some like a health issues.

[19:05] Like there is, this mission, there is a lot of support. And I don't even know the name of these people, but there is a number of them, the countless number of them.

[19:16] As a result of our ministry in, with Pastor Jason, there's hundreds of young people who heard the gospel and many of them received salvation. They, they repented and, but back in 1983, that was inconceivable that Aaron Curtin would fall and the evil empire would actually crumble.

[19:37] But there was a Christian missions who was faithful to God's heart, who loves all nations, the bad guys.

[19:48] They were prepared and the time, when the time came, they was ready to go. Today, it may seems that those countries like Russia, North Korea has once again become an even empire, empire for the rest of the world.

[20:01] From my human perspective, that's exactly how it looks right now. But however, we must remember that God knows something we don't know and he's keep doing and he haven't done yet with this world.

[20:14] And his word will be fulfilled now through his church. Matthew 28, 19, the best explanation of our mission. Go therefore to make disciples to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

[20:32] In Christ, all nations meant to be blessed. Jesus loves all nations. But God not only loves all nations, he'll eventually unite all nations.

[20:44] In the same passage, in the same second verse, we see that all nations as one streaming to the Lord. Basically, Isaiah received this message about the last days, that actually that long lasting peace will be established.

[21:02] And this is the prophecy of the 1000 years of reign of Christ called millennium. And this word will be looking slightly different from what we have today.

[21:13] I think the presence of Jesus on earth will change it. Because even when Jesus was here in the human body, in the weakness of human body, he changed the world a lot.

[21:26] The blind was receiving the side, the lepers was cleansed, the lamb was healed. The dead was resurrected. What will the millennium look like under the head of Christ?

[21:39] Where will be the capital of the kingdom of Christ? Well, today America is the most influential country on the planet. But you know, let me point to one obvious but extremely important detail.

[21:53] We should be noted that all nations will stream to the mountain of the Lord and it will not be in America. It will be not in Russia. It will not be in Beijing, China.

[22:06] It will be in the mount of Zion in Jerusalem. And all of us, representative from different nations, will be there in the same crowd, in a general admission, next to each other.

[22:21] Also, I don't think that, for example, English will be the official language of that place. I don't think that we all will end up on languages, tongues.

[22:36] I think there will be, there will not, there is no necessity in some kind of heavenly language. We don't, we're not told in the scripture about heavenly language at all.

[22:47] But what it will be like? I think that the unity requires understanding. And Genesis 11 Babylonian Tower pretty well proved that.

[23:02] That without understanding each other, there could not be unity. And it's so interesting that in the next chapter, in Genesis 12, God gives a task to Abraham to unite nations again under his seed, right after he just scattered them.

[23:24] And I think that in the new world, there will be no single dominant language, like English. Instead, I think the people who miraculously finally will start understanding each other in varieties of languages, like the apostles did in the day of Pentecost.

[23:45] Richness of different cultures expressed through food, custom architecture, closing the way of life, and you cannot really embrace into the culture without knowing the language.

[23:57] Imagine all the missionaries who are going to serve for a long term, they study language. You need that. Imagine the variety of nations all around you, and they have so much to share about the deep, deepness of their culture.

[24:11] You need to know the language. You need to talk with them in their hard language. You need to explore the diversity and beauty of God's creation, because God created all these diverse nations.

[24:26] I think we will have the beautiful ability to immerse ourselves in the depth of these various cultures, understanding their language perfectly, and reaching a worship and fellowship.

[24:40] God cherished all people in their uniques. Even after millennia, we will see that we read that nations continue to exist and they walk in the light of the Lamb.

[24:52] Third thing I would like to emphasize from this passage is that God not only loves and unites all nations, He will also teach and judge all nations.

[25:03] In the verses 3 and 4, we can read that many people will come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His path.

[25:18] The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many people.

[25:29] They will beat their swords into plowshires and their spears into pulling hooks. Nations will not take absurd against nations nor will they train for war anymore.

[25:42] Notice that verses 3 and 4, they describe the kingdom of Christ where there will be no instant complete knowledge, but there will be gradual learning of God's way of life.

[25:52] At the Mount of the Lord, God will teach us the same way because we read here that the word of the Lord comes from Zion. And guess what? This is the word of the Lord you have today with you.

[26:04] So we are going to continue to learn what God has to say us. And we are actually doing it right now. We are already in the process. I eagerly anticipate that time, especially because there will be one thing we will not be learning anymore.

[26:22] It says here that we will not be learning anymore to kill each other. Imagine that the self-defense and the weapons has a big issue right now.

[26:35] We need protection and we actually need to learn how to use it. Me and my wife, we had to go for training for that. It's something you need sometimes.

[26:48] That sphere will totally be removed. We will feel peace. There will be no more killing. I eagerly anticipate that time. Also that era will be marked by the peace and justice as mentioned in verse 4.

[27:03] He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many people. Divine justice will finally be adjusted. So hard to find the justice.

[27:15] Even the court decisions sometimes doesn't seem to be right. And with the divine justice we all will be satisfied. It will not be some kind of a temporary ceasefire. It will not be something like, let's just admit that you both were wrong.

[27:31] Like that. No, that will be something that God will judge and we will agree with that. Our hearts will agree. And He will say what was right, what was wrong.

[27:43] And He will also say how I can make things right. And my heart will be in peace with that. The long awaited peace and justice will finally prevail on earth.

[27:53] People will understand each other deeply. They will admire each other and they will begin to live in love with each other and the under head of the Lordship of Christ.

[28:05] And the fourth thing I want to mention is that the God will not only love, unite, teach and judge the nations. He will also expect a mission today to be fulfilled with all these nations.

[28:24] Please note that the verse is from 2nd to 4th belonging to the event of the future, the millennium kingdom of Christ. But the fifth verse is actually Isaiah's call to contemporaries of his people who he lives with.

[28:42] And to continue to live in the life of the mission entrusted them today. Verse number 5, come descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

[28:56] He talked about present. What was the Israel's mission? To be a blessing to all nations. Obviously according to the promise to Abraham. Isaiah said that the same thing repeated several things several times during this book of Isaiah.

[29:15] For example, Isaiah 496, I will also make you a light for Gentiles that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

[29:26] Brothers and sisters, what is our mission as a church today? Probably the greatest definition was given by Christ himself.

[29:36] And we already read that in Matthew 2819, make disciples of all nations. While we are waiting for the Christ's second coming and establishing his kingdom.

[29:49] What we as a church should do to fulfill this mission? I think God desires his church to live today like seeing this kingdom of Christ.

[30:02] Because God loves all the people and he expresses it very obviously and undoubtedly by sending his son.

[30:13] John 316, the verse everybody knows but it's very much worth to be repeated. For God so loved the world, so he gave his one and only son.

[30:25] That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. This is the loving nature of God. Sometimes we divide it but God is not divided.

[30:37] He loves you, he loves us and he loves those distant people who are far away from us. While God created this breathtaking planet without shedding a tear.

[30:49] He willingly shed the blood of his son for the redemption of all people of our planet. That's how deeply he wants all nations to be saved.

[31:02] Fulfilling God's mission for peace will demand a sacrifice from us. When we make sacrifice for God's mission we allow his nature to actually grow within us and unfold something beautiful.

[31:16] Everyone is noticing that when you do something according to God's heart, you become a little bit more aligned with God. You become a little bit changed and transformed.

[31:28] So to participate in the mission is actually very needed for ourselves. It's not only needed for God. We really transform by participating in the mission because that's God's heart.

[31:40] And just as Jesus saw not just crowds of people but also individuals, we also need to understand that there is a God's heart for people around us.

[31:51] Even those who may be in our neighborhoods, in all other areas, we are maybe kind of disturbing. God loves them too. And when we do that, when we bring the gospel to these people, when we serve them, when we are becoming aligned for them, we actually become carriers of the kingdom.

[32:12] The kingdom we are reading in the Book of Isaiah coming to their neighborhood, to their family. Sometimes it takes a simple question, but how can I do it?

[32:28] Once I learn very simple practice, if I want to penetrate deeper into a life of a person, I ask him a question when there is a quiet time, when there is nobody hustling around.

[32:41] How are you? And usually people say, I'm fine. And then I ask the next question, tell me more about it. Can you be more specific?

[32:54] And sometimes people don't open, but sometimes they open. And the next question I would say, can I pray for you?

[33:04] And sometimes people start crying. You'd be very surprised how often people open up to you if you show genuine interest.

[33:18] I recall one friend with whom I sat in an immigration prison. Yeah, it happens sometimes.

[33:29] After I offered to pray for him, he began to cry. This guy was like a six and a half, six feet, five inches tall, big guy.

[33:40] His situation was seem hopeless. He called me and I asked him this question. I talked to him, I asked him to pray.

[33:51] And he started crying right on the phone. I remember I was in a safe way. My wife, we took, we got shopping. And my wife had to go again alone and I had to just talk to him.

[34:02] You can't imagine what the simple prayer and simple genuine interest can do. And it will steer your desire to do it even more.

[34:15] In conclusion, I would like to say that this morning, I have one simple address to you. Not only know that God is in control.

[34:29] Not only know that he will establish his kingdom, and this is undoubtedly, but also act in the light of his future kingdom today.

[34:42] What we see around us today is not the final version of this world. The Prophet Isaiah ministered during a difficult time for the God's people. And there are rarely actually easy time for God's people.

[34:56] In fact, during challenging times, the church should redouble the efforts to remain the light for the people of the whole nations of the earth.

[35:07] I would like to close with personal testimony how God amazingly for me used me for being a little bit too little bit taste the future kingdom.

[35:22] I want to challenge you a little bit. Do you remember where you were on the Easter of 2022 and who shared that day with you? Can you recall?

[35:34] I will never forget my Easter of 2022. In the early days of April that year my wife Luda and I applied for political asylum at a United States point of entry at the border.

[35:49] However, Custom and Border Protection officers separated us, sending us to immigration prison. My wife Luda was sent to Louisiana and I was sent to California. Guys, this is not fun to be in any jail for any length of time. If you don't believe me, you can try it.

[36:11] Just kidding, don't do that. While in custody, I prayed daily for my release. Over time my anxiety calmed down and I realized that I was actually among over a hundred people in the same situation like me.

[36:29] They feel it with fear and uncertainty, with anxiety, looking for hope, looking to be released. As God opened the door, I took a chance and started sharing my Christian faith, especially that God is in control. Several people was listening to me, black and white, Asian, Hispanic. Once day, April 17, I wake up about 4.30 in the morning and I suddenly realize that though in Russia, Easter is on the 24th of April, here in the United States, because of difference in calendar, it's actually April 17.

[37:15] And it's actually Easter today. As soon as I was let out of my cell, I asked Guard to print out for me the Gospel of John 11.

[37:30] You should have seen the expression on his face. I think that was the first time somebody was asking to preach a Bible in this place.

[37:43] So he said, how do I do it? I said, go to the Biblegate.com, choose the Gospel of John, scroll down to 11 chapter and print the whole chapter. He said, I'll think what I can do. I will see what I can do. And he left. 15 minutes later, he bring me these four pages and it's the Gospel of John 11. Great! But the people around me, a lot of them were Russian speaking, so I had some more boldness and I came to hear him again and said, can I ask you one more thing? Can you please print it out in Russian as well?

[38:27] He was like, oh, this prisoner is so bold and unrestful. And he said, how do I do it? Oh, I said, that's simple, same website, but choose a different translation. Choose Russian translation, scroll down and print it out again. So a few minutes later, I got five pages of Gospel of John 11. I don't know why Russian translation is longer than English. So, and about 6.30 in the morning, we had breakfast, so we were standing in line, all these people in these robes standing and I start talking to people. Do you know what I said to Easter today?

[39:04] And people are like, oh, maybe, yeah, yeah, it's around this time, yeah. So do you want to be a part of the Easter service? So Jamaican guys, Hispanic, Russian speakers, they said, yeah, yeah, let's do it. So, okay guys, so 10 o'clock, they'll be in Russian, 11 o'clock in English, okay, okay. So, the guard was very suspicious.

[39:25] He was standing like that and watching the group of people gathering around beardy Russian man speaking something. He was so, he was, he wasn't, but then he came to me and he shake my hands and said, good job.

[39:39] So, during that time, when I was, when we had that meeting, I was able to share the story of Lazarus. About 40 to 50 prisoners was participating, some of them standing on the second floor watching and I was preaching a story of Lazarus' resurrection, a narrative of hope and freedom from death. Remember, Lazarus was buried for four days in a grave. He was all wrapped with clothes and he was like really dead, like four days.

[40:14] Earning for freedom, we all could relate to Lazarus, bind it and wrap it up with this and we discovered hope with the words of Jesus.

[40:26] Lazarus, come out. We all felt like, oh, we want to hear that. Come out. The very next day on Monday morning, I suddenly was hear my name and I was released from prison and I flew to Sittek to Microsoft's friends. However, I will never forget the kingdom of the house of the Lord when people of diverse backgrounds celebrated Jesus' saving power together that day in prison.

[40:58] And you know what? That prison Easter service reminds me the cultural diversity which should be a part of the church because God loves all the nations and sometimes when you send a missionary to a different culture, different nation, that's bring diversity. That brings sometimes your church maybe a little bit monocultural but participating is absolutely necessary. We're all different but we're united in Christ. All these nations, yes, we're different but God loves us all and our challenge is, challenges of life may different from culture to culture but the God's answer is remain the same to live in the light of future kingdom today.

[41:54] It is doesn't matter what impossible problem is hindering you and wrapping up you like Lazarus was wrapped. Jesus has power over it all. He will deal with impossible things if we desire to walk in a light of future kingdom today. Let us pray and let us ask God to always have global vision, vision which are stretching behind this wall, behind this county, city, the state, the continent and to see the world as God sees it as all the people with their hurt, heart pain, heart desires, hopes and they all need peace. Let us pray.

[42:44] Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for your word. Your word which is which which is sucked with your love that all nations are your beloved people and thank you for reminding reminding reminding it through Isaiah to the Israel, reminding it to us today.

[43:03] I'm thankful so much that you're correcting our ways. You make us not less self-focused but more God focused and having your heart. I thank you for that and I'm so much thank you for the churches who are following your call, following your mission and support the mission, support and fulfilling your mission to love all people, love all nations. We pray in your some, the missionary Jesus Christ. Amen.