Onward

[0:00] In your own heart. Through the praise of your people. May this time that we have. Back here.

[0:31] Again. Back here at Shoreline. And every time I'm here. I'm amazed when I hear my son-in-law. Or I hear any of these young guys.

[0:44] Jordan. If I hear Matt. They refer to themselves as elders. And I go really? But they are.

[0:54] You see. When we're maturing Christ as they are. That isn't just. A chronological thing. I'm an elder in a different way.

[1:07] But they are elders. Because of growth in Christ. And maturity in Christ. And the desire. To lead and shepherd.

[1:19] I think the same of Dave. As he pastors here. I think the same of. Of Ethan and Megan. And Tyler. As he led us in worship.

[1:29] This was beautiful. And. Rob. Thank you. You're leading. Behind the scenes. Right there. I. Everywhere I look. I see.

[1:40] The wonderful work of God. So thank you for letting. Marsha and I come back. And be with you. This is always a joy. Now. I'd like us to focus on something.

[1:51] And. And here's a slide. That will give us a focus. It's not new to you. But I bring it back. So we start with the familiar. And move forward. But. The real thing.

[2:02] That if we can boil down. Everything. That we want to look at. In God's word. And then the report. I give you today. Is one word. Onward. Onward.

[2:13] Onward. Until Christ returns. Takes us home. May we move. Onward. For his glory. The last time I was with you.

[2:24] We. Just tried to focus. A little on. Glory. But onward. For his glory. We find in Acts. Chapter 1. Verse 8. Very simple passage.

[2:36] That has onward. Written all over it. Where. Our Lord Jesus. Said to his first followers. But you will receive. Power. When the Holy Spirit.

[2:47] Has come upon you. And you. Will be my witnesses. In Jerusalem. And in all Judea. And Samaria. And to the ends of the earth. And to the end of the earth.

[2:59] I should say. And. I just want to remind you. Of something Jesus had in mind. And that is. The Holy Spirit. Is given. For two reasons.

[3:10] One of them is revealed here. The reason. Jesus died. Rose again. Ascended into heaven. And gave his spirit. Was for.

[3:21] His mission. He gave us. The dunamis. Power. Of God. Not just so that we. Can be nice people.

[3:33] He gave us. His Holy Spirit. For. His mission. Now there's something. Even beyond his mission. And it's this. And for his glory.

[3:46] So God is with us. Today. Dwelling within us. Richly. Through the Holy Spirit. So that. We. Will be on mission.

[3:58] For. His glory. That. Is what he's after. Now what's beautiful. In this passage. Is that the mission. Of God.

[4:10] Is local. And global. It is local. And global. And both. Must progress. Together.

[4:22] I love. This is the ESV. Which I read. But. The King James. Looking at the majority text. If you know what that means.

[4:32] If that impresses anybody. But the King James. Would actually say. Something like this. And you will be my witnesses. And adds this word. Both in Jerusalem.

[4:44] And Judea. And Samaria. And to the uttermost. In other words. By looking at that. Textual criticism. Of. What the Greek. That they had at the time.

[4:56] Here's what it means. Jesus is saying. I want all of this. To happen simultaneously. You see. It never. We never get to a point. In which local mission.

[5:07] Is finished. So therefore. We can go to the global mission. That never happens. The local mission. Will be forever with us. And the global mission.

[5:19] Is always before us. And so what Jesus has done. In the marvelous. Mystery of God. Is he has given us. His Holy Spirit.

[5:29] So that the mission. Go forward. Locally. And globally. For his glory. And that is what excites me.

[5:40] About being here. I'm going to give you a report. About global mission. But I want to encourage you. Of what God is doing here.

[5:53] In the local mission. Be encouraged. Be encouraged. Be encouraged. As you. Walk. With his Holy Spirit. And in his power.

[6:05] For the fulfillment. Of the local mission. For his glory. You're doing. A good job. Now what. What do I mean by that?

[6:16] Well. I sense in the worship. I sense. In the witness. That the Lord. Is pleased. Is there work still to be done?

[6:28] You better believe it. But be encouraged. And celebrate. As you go. On the journey. Now. Let me take you.

[6:39] Just some place. That I've been. And Mike. Mike had mentioned. That I'd been to Uganda. And I'm going to report. On that in a second. But Nigeria. That I've reported. To you before.

[6:50] Is the. For me. I'm not saying this. In some kind of universal statement. For me. It is the place. Of multiplication. There is more.

[7:02] Happening in Nigeria. To advance. The global. Mission of God. To places. That are difficult. Than I find. Anywhere I travel. There is more.

[7:15] Potential. And as we move. Into 2020. If God. Allows us strength. There is. More work. That is going. To be done. Now.

[7:25] Nigeria. A key place. I've told you before. But I want to remind you. Abuja. The capital. If we draw a line. Right here.

[7:35] With Abuja. You find. Relatively. In Nigeria. That the southern part. More Christian. Than any other thing. Has.

[7:46] Relative. Peace. I don't want to. I don't want to. Mislead you. It's not easy. It's a different kind of peace. Than we have here. They don't have the prosperity.

[7:59] We have in America. But there's relative. Peace. When you move. North. You move. Into a battleground. You move.

[8:09] Into a place. Where. People. Are suffering. And even dying. I spend. A lot of time. In Joss. Just.

[8:21] Two. Or so. Hours. Just. From Joss. People. Have died. Even. While I've been there. This year. When I was there.

[8:32] In April. There were entire communities. Burned. And people. Killed. I'll refer to that. In a little bit. A little bit later. But God is not only working here.

[8:44] But he's also taking me out to Yola. Right. Close to the border of Cameroon. Here. Is one of the major headquarters.

[8:54] Of Boko Haram. And God is doing a work. Among those people. I've reported that to you. But I want to tell you. When we go into 2020.

[9:05] God is arranging something. Where I can work with missionaries. Who are already in the field. In hard places. Taking over the 1040 window.

[9:16] Going where other people don't go. Listen. If we can pray. Because. God has opened the door in 2020. For me to train 1500 missionaries.

[9:29] That are impacting 19 countries. And that's just God. That isn't. Anything with me. It's just him opening the doors.

[9:40] So I will be doing. Much more in Nigeria. In 2020. Let's look at Uganda. Just for a moment. Next. The guys on the left.

[9:52] These are some of the key leaders. That I've worked with. Charles is the. Is the very tall guy. Who is also sitting here. As we work together. Through God's word.

[10:03] But we have Charles. And then we have Thomas. Next to me. And Henry. Who is seated. And these are key leaders. For East Africa. Who were willing to do. What most people are not.

[10:15] I must tell you. We're having a little bit of a struggle. Right now. Because we love enough. To confront. That we would all be faithful men.

[10:26] Of integrity. And I just want to leave it on that level. But I ask that you remember. To pray. For the leaders of East Africa. That we might move forward.

[10:36] Next please. Here are the three of them. After they completed. Training. On what we call. God's plan for his disciples. It's a follow up material.

[10:48] Once we lead people to Jesus. And I took these key. Multiplying leaders. Through this. And then we give them a certificate. Not to impress anyone.

[10:59] But to be a testimony. Of completion. Next please. The joy that I've had. And I've shared with you before. Is to work with young leaders. Like Herbert.

[11:11] It was my dad's name. And. We'll see you. So. I get to work with them. But what I really want you to see. Is what Herbert did next.

[11:23] He says. Randy. I want you to try. One of our delicacies. Now if you look on the left. I don't know if you know. What that is. Those are termites. So at night.

[11:35] They turn on the light. Draw the termites. Termites. And then. They take the termites. And they bake them. And they eat them. Like popcorn.

[11:46] So. Herbert. Is downing these things. Like we would eat popcorn. Or peanuts. And he looks over to me. And he says. Randy. Try a termite.

[11:58] You know. I've eaten a lot of crazy things. On the mission field. But I'm not into bugs. And. And he says. I really want you to try one. Here he's got a whole handful. I took one.

[12:10] And I put it. In my mouth. And the minute. I crunched it. I said. This isn't good. I don't care.

[12:21] Who says that. Tastes like popcorn. That's anything. But popcorn. And I will also tell you. That when I came home. And I told the story. To my wife. She wouldn't let me kiss her. She says.

[12:33] He who has bug breath. Must go alone. You know. It's quite a sacrifice. To be on the mission field. But you know.

[12:44] They have a reality. We don't. They have a lifestyle. We don't. Look at the next one. How would you like this. Being your kitchen. And this is where you do.

[12:55] All of your work. I'd like to introduce this. To the culinary institute. In Rhode Island. But this is where we go. Next please.

[13:06] This is how they get water. No way to get fresh water. And all of this is in Kogan River. One of the poorest places. I'll be back there in September.

[13:19] For a third visit. And people who are finishing our training. Many of them. This is in Kogan River. And the key leaders. And that's a photograph. That I've shown you before.

[13:30] Next please. You know. When you're in poor areas. They take whatever they have. For the glory of God. I took a picture of this.

[13:41] Because one church. That I was preaching in. They had communion. Can you imagine communion. Where you can't even find. Grape juice. So you use orange juice.

[13:53] And that's why I took it. You know. You know. Whatever they have. And this was a very impoverished church. They give. To the glory of God.

[14:04] And you know. One thing I've learned. In the culture of Africa. Is this. They get most excited. They get most excited. In worship. When they give. Listen.

[14:17] Boy. If we could have a dose of this in America. When they really break out dancing. Is when. They take up the offering. Watch this.

[14:28] Well we don't. Yeah. Don't have sound there. Wish you could hear it. Because. What they're doing.

[14:43] Is dancing. As they come forward. To get the offering. The instruments. That they're playing. I wanted you to see. And I hope. One day. That you can hear them. Because it is.

[14:54] Fascinating. Work. Here we go. It's only a short video. But I wanted you to see.

[15:06] That when the real excitement. Gets going. It's when they come forward. To give their offering. Dancing. Singing. You know.

[15:17] I think sometimes. The people who have the least. Understand. It's more blessed to give. Than to receive. And these key leaders. Next please.

[15:28] Are part of a church. That is being built. Now I don't believe. That any. There's no such thing. In the Bible. That a church. Is a building. But we do meet.

[15:41] In buildings. And I took this picture. Of this makeshift. Structure. Because. The church. Worldwide.

[15:51] Is still being constructed. And it's being constructed. Next please. Through leaders. Who are diving. Into God's word. And willing. To take it. Anywhere. Next please.

[16:03] And here's a group. Of young people. Mostly. Some of them. Are a little older. And. In these people. I taught. In a seminary. For their summer course.

[16:15] And. It was a wonderful time. In teaching. In this seminary. When I go back. In September. Mature. Here. That's his name.

[16:26] I'll be working. With his entire denomination. In Abouja.

[16:37] In the capital. So God's open doors. Oh by the way. This guy. He's right up in northern. Nigeria. Where people are dying. Look at the smile on his face.

[16:49] He came to sit in my class. He. He said. I just happened to come visit the seminary. Can I sit in for one day. Hungering for the word of God. Next please. Now.

[17:03] When you're in Nigeria. You do as Nigerians do. And they love to dress me up. And. So on the left. Is a key leader. And they're wanting me to.

[17:15] Dress like. So they actually. Take measurements. And tailors make this stuff. They don't go just buy it anywhere. I really do like the last one. They gave me. Because it's kind of a throwback.

[17:27] To the 60s. And the tie-dye look. And. And I was raised in the 60s. So. So I said. Thank you. I. I don't know. Grow my hair a little longer. And get back to being a hippie.

[17:37] I don't know. But anyway. Nigerian dress. But here is another one. This key leader. Is opening the door. For the 1500 missionaries.

[17:49] Right there. That I'll be working with. This particular man. Said. I've got a message. For President Trump. I'd like you to take it to him.

[18:01] I said. Well. I don't know him. He's my president. But I. We're not close friends. And he says. Well. I'd like to write something. So he wrote something. And he gave it to me.

[18:13] He wrote. Not only President Trump. George W. Bush. And Condoleezza Rice. And he wrote them letters. And he gave them to me. And I said. What am I going to do?

[18:24] Well. I'll tell you what I did do. I first read it. To see if it was anything. And it was kind of cryptic. It was a poem. Kind of thing. And then I thought.

[18:35] What do I do? But I told him. I will try to deliver. So I put all three. In an envelope. And addressed it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And I sent it.

[18:48] But you got to know. I thought. Oh my goodness. I'm going to go to a post office. Far from my home. I don't want anybody to trace this back to me. So someone asked me.

[19:00] Did you wear gloves? I said no. So it's already traced back to me. But I thought. Here is a man. Very poor. He's from Colgon River. And he cares enough about our country.

[19:14] To try to make a difference. Really blessed me. Well as we think of going onward. I've already read Acts 1.8. And we know that God has a local.

[19:27] And a global mission for us. But I'd like you to see the mirror verse. Acts 8.1. It says in Acts 8.1. And Saul approved his execution. We know that to be the martyrdom of Stephen.

[19:40] He approved the execution of Stephen. And there arose that day. A great persecution against the church in Jerusalem.

[19:50] And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. Except the apostles. I want you to think about something just for a moment.

[20:03] That sometimes God is going to use our pain to move us forward. And it was because of the persecution that they went forward.

[20:17] Let me share with you very quickly a couple of stories. Next please. The lady on the right. Is a widow. She's a widow.

[20:28] When I was there in April. Some of these women. Their husbands were hacked to death with machetes. They now are in a widow's ministry.

[20:40] Learning a trade. So somehow they can make a living. And these ladies have asked a friend of mine. And I go to minister to them too.

[20:51] And they say I have a question. What is it? And they say this. Is it okay for me to pray wrath on those who killed my husband? You know the Christian answer so quickly as we need to forgive.

[21:08] But when you're with someone who's destitute. You handle that very humbly. You agree with them. I know your pain is great.

[21:20] And here's all I'll say to that. I'm not going to try to theologize. I'm just going to simply say. Let's leave them in God's hands. For what he wants to do.

[21:31] How do you answer someone who's faced persecution? Well one thing we could do. And have done. Is through the contributions of churches like here.

[21:43] We bought some fans for their work area. May their work be a little cooler in hot Nigeria. Next please. All across the ceiling.

[21:55] Just trying to bless them. Because you see James said. That if we minister to widows and orphans. That's pure and undefiled religion. And so those fans represent something big for you and me.

[22:08] Next please. The suffering is great friends. This little girl. She's actually about three years old. But she's stunted in her growth due to malnutrition.

[22:21] But the reason I want you to see her. Is not only are widows suffering. But this little girl. Was in a community. A couple of hours out of Joss.

[22:32] In April this year. I was in Joss. And what was happening. Right while I was there. Is that the Fulani people group. Came through.

[22:44] They came with machetes. And this girl. Was on her mother's back. I give this as an example. Of how they carry their babies. In Africa.

[22:55] And she was on her back. Wrapped around. Like this. And the Fulani people came. And hacked her mother to death. Her mother. Dying.

[23:06] Fell back on her back. And injured. The little girl's leg. Dead. But it's the only reason. She's still alive. This.

[23:17] Young girl. Has been adopted. By PJ. And his wife. Who are missionaries. That came to Nigeria. Last September.

[23:29] I was on their flight. They came to Nigeria. Sight unseen. And said. We're going to live here. And this is where God has called us. They'd never been to Nigeria. And they moved in.

[23:41] This little girl. Represents. The region. Of pain. Next please. I've shared this with you before.

[23:52] But the red here on the map. Is the 1040 window. And it is the least evangelized. Because it's the most persecuted. And God has called me.

[24:04] Every time I go out. To spend 95% of my time. Right here. There's a rare occasion. I go to South America. But most times.

[24:16] North Africa. Into Asia. Because God has called us to go. Where people aren't going. And to equip people. Who will go. Even this next trip.

[24:27] When I go. There's a man from Burkina Faso. Which is right up here. In the persecuted area. Coming down. Into. To the persecuted area.

[24:37] Of Nigeria. And he says. We've got to get leadership training. In our country. And he's willing to come. And meet me. At his own expense. Friends.

[24:49] This is. The last frontier. This is the Apollo moon landing. For the mission of Jesus. Into the red. The mission of Jesus.

[24:59] So I must say. Onward. And if we're going to go onward. We've got to be a church. Like the ancient church. I see so much. Of the ancient church.

[25:10] Here at Shoreline. But I want to encourage. And challenge. Onward. The great church. Of Antioch. Was the church.

[25:21] That was missional. God wants. A missional church. And the church. Of Antioch. Was missional.

[25:33] I want us. To just look. At one aspect. Of them. Being. A missional church. I'll read the passage. And then. Highlight. At the beginning.

[25:44] Acts 11. 19 to 21. Now those. Who were scattered. Because of the persecution. We'd already seen that. That arose. From Stephen. Traveled as far as. Phoenicia.

[25:55] And Cyprus. And Antioch. Speaking the word. To no one. Except Jews. But there were. Some of them. Men of Cyprus. And Cyrene. Who on coming.

[26:05] To Antioch. Spoke to Hellenus. Also. Preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord. Was with them. And a great number. Who believed. Turned to the Lord.

[26:16] I want us to highlight. First and foremost. They were scattered. Because of the persecution. And if we could look at the next point. I've already mentioned this.

[26:27] But the gospel spreads. Through our pain. You see. Many of us. Want to say. That if God. Would just meet me. In this point. Of controversy.

[26:37] In my own life. In my family. In my physical health. In my emotional life. If he would just. Simply take care of that. Then I would move out.

[26:48] And I'm telling you. That isn't the way God works. He works with people. Who move out. Even in their pain. And that's how. The advancement.

[26:59] Goes forward. I just want to quickly. Share with you. Some of you may read. Voice of the martyrs. I've actually been in Romania.

[27:10] Where the Wurmbrands. Were incarcerated. And lived. And died. But I love. What Sabina. Wurmbrand. Richard Wurmbrand's.

[27:22] Wife. Who was incarcerated. For being a Christian. During. The regime. Of Ceausescu. Right there. In. Romania.

[27:34] And she recounted. She's no longer with us. She's with the Lord. But she recounted. At one point. A story. In her own life. In which she is in jail.

[27:45] In a prison. In an encampment. Because of her faith. And she talked about. What they did. Here's what they did. There were three.

[27:56] Or four. Of these women. Who knew the Lord. And because they knew the Lord. They knew that the guards. Were always watching. So they. And they would get.

[28:07] Out. Their beds. Their beds. At night. And get under the bed. Whisper scripture. Pray to the Lord. And.

[28:19] And talk about scripture. One. Particular day. They're under their bed. And they're talking. About.

[28:30] Stephen. And his martyrdom. There was a lady. There that day. Who was watching them. And she was also. Imprisoned. But not for religious reasons.

[28:41] She was a political prisoner. In. Romania. And as she watched. These Christians. Underneath the bed. Knowing the cost.

[28:52] Of what it would mean. If they were caught. She just simply observed. And interacted. With them. Sabina.

[29:03] Writes. That. After. We had. Read. They'd smuggled. The Bible. And they had read. Acts chapter 6. And 7. And they're talking.

[29:14] About the stoning. Of Stephen. After we had read. This chapter. And arrived. At the last verse. One of the ladies. There under the bed. Spoke up with us. She was not a Christian.

[29:25] She was a political prisoner. And one of the richest ladies. In Romania. Whose husband. Was also in prison. After each of us. Said something.

[29:35] About Stephen. This lady. Told us. I like you Christians. Because I consider you. To be intelligent. But I cannot.

[29:46] Understand. How you intelligent women. Can believe. All these things. That are written. In your Bible. How can you believe.

[29:57] That Stephen. Standing. Before death. Could be so beautiful. At such a moment. Of crisis. What beauty parlor.

[30:09] Could have made him. So beautiful. That even his enemies. Saw him beautiful. Like an angel. Sabrina writes.

[30:19] Just then. The guard. Entered our cell. And came directly. To the place. Where we were. He took us out of the cell.

[30:31] And he beat us. And he threw us. Back into the cell. We Christians. Knew the price. We had to pay. Whenever we wished. To come together.

[30:42] To witness. Whenever we came together. To pray. And read the Bible. But we wondered. How our cellmate. Who was not a Christian. Would react.

[30:53] To such beating. The first one. Who came to speak. With me. After the beating. Was this lady. She said. Today. I better understand.

[31:05] What it means. To be a Christian. The very fact. That the communists. Beat you. And persecute you. Christians. The very fact. That they fight.

[31:15] Against God. Is the best proof. That he exists. If there were no God. They would not fight. Against him. The very fact.

[31:26] That they beat Christians. Put you in prison. And mock you. Because of Christ. This tells me. That Jesus. Is the Savior.

[31:38] And I need him. He will be my Savior too. Sabrina writes. When she told me this. She did not know.

[31:49] That her face. Was smeared with blood. And tears. That her face. Now shown. Beautifully. With the glory of God. She had passed through.

[32:01] The beauty parlor. Of Jesus. I just want to say to you. That what I read. In Acts. I see. In our lives. Friends.

[32:12] We don't get beaten. Like that. But your pain. Is your pain. Your problem. Is your problem. Your controversy. Is your controversy. And God.

[32:23] Wants to use that. As a platform. For the gospel. He wants us. To be real people. Who walk through life. Knowing that it's painful.

[32:34] And it's sometimes. Discouraging. And at times. Disgusting. But people are watching. How do you respond. To your pain.

[32:47] And what I find. That's most beautiful. In that ancient. Church. Of Antioch. Is that. Their pain. Became the platform. Of the gospel.

[32:59] Rather than saying. In an American way. Oh. My life is easier. Since I came to Jesus. I'm richer. No.

[33:10] I want to tell you. How Jesus. Meets. With me. In the darkest. Moments. I ever face. That. Is more powerful. Than a prosperity.

[33:22] Gospel. That falsely. Tells people. Come to Christ. And you have no problem. Come to Christ. And that Mercedes. Will show up. At your door.

[33:33] That gospel. Is no gospel. At all. The only gospel. Is that Jesus. Is with me. In season. And out. In the depths.

[33:44] And in the heights. This is about him. And his glory. Shining. Through people. Of pain. So my friend.

[33:55] Just like the local mission. Never. Is over. Nor are we. But God. Is in our pain. He's in the midst. Of our darkness. And he will use it.

[34:06] As a platform. Because the gospel. Spreads. Through our pain. Let us. Move onward. Next please. These people.

[34:19] Who were moving onward. In the midst. Of their pain. It says. They were speaking. The word. Some of them. Only to Jews. Others. Also. Included. Hellenists.

[34:31] Or Greeks. Or Gentiles. Now. This is. Very. Important. That. In the midst. Of their pain. They still. Spoke the word.

[34:41] And they spoke. The Hellenists. The word. For speak again. Is the word. Where we get dialogue. They learn. To have. Gospel. Conversations. Let me ask you.

[34:53] Are you growing. In that? Are you growing. In how. To have a gospel. Conversation. You know. One book. That has. Challenged me.

[35:04] And blessed me. Over many years. Is Jim Peterson's. Living Proof. I recommend it. This is actually. A compilation. Of two.

[35:14] Of his books. One entitled. Evangelism. As a lifestyle. And then another one. Evangelism. For our generation. But I just need you. To know. When you pick it up. It's older.

[35:25] And this was. For my generation. Not yours. But some of the principles. And the way. He talks about evangelism. As a lifestyle. Is very important. I just recommend it.

[35:38] Because we need to grow. In how. To have gospel conversations. Dialogue. Now let's look at. Two other points though.

[35:50] The thing that we see here. Is the gospel first. Is for everyone. Some spoke to Jews only. Others. Also spoke. To Hellenus.

[36:00] Jesus was a Jew. Jesus lived. In Israel. He never traveled. Outside of it. And so therefore.

[36:12] Many people. Had always seen it. Christianity. As a sect of Judaism. And so they just thought. Why preach to Gentiles? I mean. The gospel is for Jews.

[36:25] That's how the church. Began. And there were many people. Who just developed. A very small mindset. But it says. Some of them. Also talked.

[36:36] To Gentiles. Now let me tell you. Where we are today. Most of us. Are over here. Only. With Gentiles. Do you see. The continuum.

[36:48] Jews only. Jews and Gentiles. Gentiles only. God's faithfulness. And love for the Abrahamic covenant.

[37:09] And the covenant of people. Jews. To the Jew. The Jews. The Jews. First. And then to the Gentile. God's faithfulness. And love for the Abrahamic covenant.

[37:22] And the covenant of people. That we need to be focusing. For everyone. The Bible. When we speak of everyone. Thinks of Jew and Gentile.

[37:32] Let ours. Not be segmented. I just want to tell you. One quick thing. There's a large church in Texas. That I visited. Marsh and I. Just sat in a service. We were not. Asked to do anything.

[37:44] 39,000 people. Were part of that church. Now I don't say that. To say numbers. Matter. Mostly. But something. Happens. When 39,000 people.

[37:56] Want to gather. This particular church. Comes from. Baptist. Roots. And this church. I asked.

[38:06] An 80 year old pastor. He's one of the. 200 pastors. On staff. And I asked him once. I said. What is the secret. To this kind of growth? Here's what he said.

[38:18] I actually met him. In New Zealand. And we're talking. About his church. And he said this. He didn't mention evangelism. He didn't mention worship. He didn't mention. A lot of things. He simply said this.

[38:30] We really believe. To the Jew first. And we're after. Every Jewish person. In the metroplex. Dallas Fort Worth. Metroplex. I find so many of us.

[38:42] And I. And I preach this. Worldwide. There is an anti-Semitism. That is all over the world. And I'm telling you. God wants to break that. That doesn't mean.

[38:54] That we only focus on. Jewish evangelism. But. God. Help us not to. Forsake it. Because the gospel. Is for everyone. And we need.

[39:06] To be thinking. In such global. Ways. Second thought. Coming from. The way they did. The gospel. Works through. All who are willing.

[39:18] I love. How the scripture. Is said. Some of them. Some of them. You know. There's never a church. In which all of us. Are a part. Of Christ's mission.

[39:31] There's not a church. Where 100% of the people. Are part of Christ's mission. So here's my. My question. Are you. God wants to work.

[39:43] Through anyone willing. And the ones. Who were willing. The most. Were the ones. Who said. Wait a minute.

[39:54] Can I tell you. Something about myself. This is what they would say. They were from Cyprus. Out in the Mediterranean Sea. Or Cyrene. North Africa. The most.

[40:05] Passionate. About evangelism. About. Jesus mission. Remembered. They once. Were. His mission. Those who reach out.

[40:17] Remember. I was once lost. And so. What we find. Is that the gospel. Will work. Powerfully. In the mission. And the glory. Of Christ. For all.

[40:28] Who are willing. Some. May go forward. Next please. I love.

[40:39] The. Subject. Of their. Ministry. And that. Preaching. The Lord Jesus. So. Next slide please. and this is something we need to keep in mind.

[40:51] The gospel is about Jesus. It's not a doctrine, even though it is. It's not solely a doctrine. It is about a person, and when these went forth, they preached Jesus.

[41:06] I just want to highlight something one more time out of living proof. In the appendix, this is worth just the appendix. In the appendix, Peterson has a Bible study, an evangelistic Bible study.

[41:23] It's all questions. That's all it is, that we can have gospel conversations with someone, and it's called 24 Hours with John. It just looks in John's gospel. The price of the book is worth the appendix, in which he simply says this, let's just get people focusing on Jesus.

[41:42] Now, let me tell you how the gospel is often presented. Here in America, your life is in need. That's true. What they did, they began with Jesus. They didn't end up with Jesus.

[41:54] They started, who is he? Why did he come? What has he done? And what does he want from me? It's all about Jesus, and I think our evangelism would go forward, and the mission of Christ would go forward, if we focus more on Jesus than ourselves.

[42:17] It's what they did. So, next slide please. As they were preaching Jesus, it says, I've got a whole other study of that, where that's found throughout Scripture.

[42:34] Mainly talks about conviction. When the hand of the Lord is on a people, the message they bring bears conviction. I don't have time to talk about it more.

[42:48] But because the hand of the Lord was on them, a great number of people believed. Next slide please. The gospel is effective through God's power.

[43:02] It's never in our brilliance, in our ability to argue people into the kingdom, but it's about that convicting power, the Holy Spirit. When the hand of the Lord is on us, and so I think it would do us all a great good to say, Lord, what does it mean that your hand be on a people, and how might I position my life?

[43:23] So your hand is on my mission for you. Well, I'm not a real good preacher, because I don't have three nice points.

[43:38] But here's what I try to see, in one point, that the Antioch church was a gospel church. The gospel spreads through our pain. The gospel is for everyone.

[43:50] The gospel works through all who are willing. The gospel is about Jesus, and the gospel is effective when His power is working through us.

[44:01] So Shoreline, are you an Antioch? A church? Next, please. An Antioch church is a missional church. And missional churches are Christ-centered, gospel-driven, and Holy Spirit-empowered.

[44:18] That's just that simple. Focusing on those three things. Jesus, it's all about you. It's gospel-driven. It's gospel-driven.

[44:28] I want to live the gospel. I want to share it. And I need the power of God through the Holy Spirit in order to do that. If this is true, here's our message.

[44:43] Onward. Beyond your borders beyond your borders. Beyond your borders. What is holding you back? Beyond your boundaries.

[44:54] The things that keep you from moving forward. God is calling us onward. And we must get beyond our borders and beyond our boundaries as churches, as individuals, to the glory of God.

[45:07] So, Lord, I just want to stop here. Don't want to keep talking. Lord Jesus, we just want to come to you.

[45:20] Because this is all about you and for your glory. And, Lord, it's very possible that today someone has come here and they go, I've heard all of this, but I'm not even sure I have a relationship with Jesus.

[45:36] Lord, if that's the case, now is a time to begin. Begin a journey. Jesus, you are the Lord.

[45:48] We declare you Lord of all. We declare you have created us for yourself and that all of life is about you.

[46:05] And so, Lord Jesus, we make you the focus. So, why did you come? Well, you came to bear our sin, to rise again, ascend into heaven and give us the presence of God within through the Holy Spirit.

[46:24] This is about you. And as we look at you and see you for who you are, draw us to yourself.

[46:34] If the Lord Jesus is drawing you, this is just what He's done for so many of us, He's just drawing you to Himself.

[46:48] All He wants is to have a relationship with each one of us. Jesus wants to join your journey.

[47:05] Amazing. And He's simply saying, trust in Me. Trust Me.

[47:16] The Lord Jesus died on the cross for your sins and He rose again so that He could come live with you and you with Him forever.

[47:37] It's all about Him. but He says, come to Me. Come to Me.

[47:50] So if today, you're here, you've heard nice words, but there's something going on inside of you saying, I need to reach out and trust in Jesus today.

[48:08] Then I invite you to the journey with Jesus. some of us, perhaps some of the leaders will be here and would love to pray with you.

[48:30] Lord Jesus, I just thank You that Your mission is going on here locally because You're doing a work in us. And if there's anyone here today that you want to begin your work in, have Your way.

[48:47] Break down the barriers, I pray. And may they embrace Jesus and surrender all they are to Him. Thank You, Jesus, for dying on the cross for us and rising again.

[48:59] And now, Lord Jesus, while You do that mission in us, do Your mission through us. Locally and globally.

[49:14] onward through the power of the Holy Spirit. Onward. Lord, I pray for each person here today.

[49:26] Each one of them has a private pain. Something undone. Something that they wish was not there. Lord, and I pray that while You're working out all the details of our issues and our problems, that You would use them right now as a platform on which You can shine.

[49:52] In the midst of a people that aren't done yet, not complete, we're not perfect. some of the things we suffer are because of our own doing.

[50:04] Some of them because of what has been done to us. But in all things, may our pain become a platform for Jesus so that people in a real and broken world might see You because they see a people that are peculiar.

[50:26] they're different. They're different in how they deal with pain, loss, and hurt.

[50:40] Lord, I ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to take every one of us forward, onward, even when we're not done yet.

[50:56] And Lord, I thank You for Shoreline. I thank You for every joy that is here in the community. And I ask Jesus be glorified now and forever in this church.

[51:13] Amen.