WEBVTT

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 Good morning, everyone. Good to see you all. Man, those interest groups. I'll tell you what about those groups.

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! For us, as we're trying to figure out, we're still in the first year of figuring out what it even means to be church.

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 And actually, all those things that our heart is, actually, can this be people over program?

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 Let's run things only if there are people who are already doing those things.

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 Let's not become a church that's just filled with all these programs where we're doing all these things.

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 Because you know, as well as I do, you guys live those lives that are regimented.

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 You've got to go to work. You've got to do this. You've got to do that.

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 And how can we be a people that are organic but also organized?

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 Honestly, we're trying to figure that one out and trying to see where it goes.

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 Actually, this week, I've been giving thanks for my work, my job.

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 We had a few people around on Wednesday night when we were talking.

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 And we were talking about death because that's kind of the thing that you talk about over dinner.

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 And one of the questions was, what would you do if you knew you were going to die in three months' time?

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 Then I was thinking, and I was like, you know what?

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 Praise God, I think I'll be doing exactly what I'm doing now.

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 I don't think that will change.

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 I'm just doing what I love.

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 I don't think I'm working.

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 And of course, my work is an interesting one because my work is...

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 I don't know, there's part of me that thinks that my work isn't really, really needed.

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 And I'll tell you why, because I'm interested in this book here.

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 I believe this book offers the words of life.

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 It is able just to speak into every single situation.

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 But my job isn't just to teach you this so you would just then feed off what I teach you.

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 That's not all there is.

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 Because the goal is for you to do this.

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 The goal is for you to be able to look at this book and go, man, I want to learn more about God myself.

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 I want to be able to equip you so you can do the same.

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 Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing my job.

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 Ellen, just thank you for the prayer, Ellen.

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 But I was really struggling with my back this morning.

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 Actually, to the point where I couldn't get out of bed and my wife had to push me off the bed,

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 which she seemed to enjoy doing a little bit too much.

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 But then I couldn't walk.

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 And so then I was like, oh, man, what do I do?

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 So then I text.

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 We have a dear Damien.

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 Where's Damien?

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 Damien's there.

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 He's a chiropractor.

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 So I text him at 7.30.

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 I said, my back is going crazy.

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 And then he brings all these tools here.

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 And maybe even at 10.30, we were just in there.

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 And he was just hammering me with different things.

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 And I was like, oh, I'm so grateful for Damien.

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 But his job isn't one to then kind of teach me how to be a chiropractor.

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 You guys all have jobs where you actually do things.

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 I mean, Eric, you're an anesthetist.

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 You're not trying to teach your patients how to anesthetize.

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 When people go to Ken for banking advice, he's actually helping them invest and do things.

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 He's not teaching them.

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 Well, he's teaching them a little bit how to invest.

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 But that's not all there is.

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 When all of you do your work, you're kind of doing it for this.

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 Hong Kong is a service-oriented culture, right?

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 You go to people to provide a service with you.

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 You go to Queenie because she's going to do a great job barristering for you.

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 And she's not going to teach you how to barrister.

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 Clearly, I know a lot about that industry.

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 But my one's different.

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 Why do we gather?

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 We gather because we believe this word gives life.

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 But I'd be doing you a disservice if every week you just come in and you're like, okay,

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 we're going to have teachers about the Bible and that's it.

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 But that's just called spoon feeding.

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 That's just called milk.

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 But the goal is how can we get to a point where you and I, both of us, have this hunger

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 and thirst for this word and that we can equip each other to open this word together.

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 Because God knows, you know, you have access to this just as much as I do, right?

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 Do you believe that?

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 Or are you here kind of going, oh, I'm going to be taught the word today because I already

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 can't do it on my own the rest of the week.

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 Or I can't be bothered to do it on my own.

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 No, the goal is actually after having spent some time here, you feel as though you are

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 hungry for this.

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 And that's why we try different things.

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 You know, every church around the world does the sermon, does the worship.

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 But we're trying to do different things.

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 They're not new things.

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 I think a lot of places do them.

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 And I love copying from other places.

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 Good practice.

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 But that's why we try different things.

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 That's why we try Discovery Bible Study where sometimes we have different people come up

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 and share and then we force us all to do the uncomfortable thing, which is talk to the

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 people that are next to us because we're called to be church.

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 We're called to be a gathering of people, an assembly of people together.

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 And this week, I have the real pleasure of inviting my good friend up again because we're

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 going to try something different again.

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 And can we just give him a round of applause, Sam?

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 He came up already last week.

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 Do you want to grab that mic over there, Sam?

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 But what we're going to do is we're going to try and exhort you, which means to kind of

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 move your heart and teach you about, okay, what are you doing, Sam?

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 Are you breaking things?

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 We're going to try and have basically a conversation about the word and opening up the word with

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 you together.

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 Whilst we actually him and I have had a few calls this week talking about the passage that

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 we're going to go through.

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 And it's just a bit of joy to be able to work with each other to open up the word together.

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 Sam and I, we go way back, at least in my Hong Kong time.

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 You and Rachel were one of the first friends that we had.

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 We've gone through a lot of stuff.

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 He taught at ICS for a while.

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 And now you teach at where?

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 Yeah, I'm a career teacher.

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 But in the last two years, I've, yeah, I feel the call to spend more time with family,

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 with my kids.

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 And so right now, I teach the seven habits of highly effective people to school.

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 So I still work closely with students and teachers.

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 He's my favorite pianist of all time, by far.

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 It's not even close.

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 Every time Sam plays, I'm nearly distracted from the Lord because I'm just listening to

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 him play.

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 Nearly.

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 But then I turn my gaze back to Jesus.

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 But it's close because sometimes I think Jesus is playing the piano.

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 And then it's just Sam.

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 We've been through a lot of fun stuff.

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 We've also been through a lot of tough stuff, right?

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 You've had health challenges.

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 I mean, don't have to go through.

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 Share a little bit about that.

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 And yeah, I had the honor of sharing during the Restore Conference not too long ago.

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 But just in a nutshell, brain tumor.

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 We had surgery, brain surgery for that.

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 Thyroid cancer the next year, right after that.

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 And then, yeah, complications that arose from my surgeries affected years and years of my life.

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 And then, yeah, in the last few years, mentally, it was a big struggle for me.

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 So I kind of relate to Jonah.

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 I feel like Jonah should have been at the Restore Conference had it been offered, you know,

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 because I kind of recognize that language for myself.

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 And seriously, I look at this man and I have such love for this man because there's been moments where,

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 I mean, we've had the lows.

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 After church, we'd go for dinner.

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 Actually, we were in the same clan.

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 So at KFC, I were in the same small group.

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 And every week, we'd just go through the word together.

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 And it's always a joy, which is why we're doing this today.

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 But there'll be real lows as well, man.

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 We would have dinner.

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 And then, of course, the seizure would come.

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 And it would cause a whole scene of just me wrestling you down with Christina in the restaurant.

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 And those were the lows.

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 And in fact, I've had the privilege of accompanying you on a couple of those.

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 And, yeah, each time, I'm just seeing the goodness of God come through.

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 And then, of course, when I had my surgery and we had a kid, and Sam and Rachel, they've got two kids.

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 Ellie and Jojo, how old are they?

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 Ellie's turning four at the end of the year.

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 Jojo will be turning two soon.

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 Wow.

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 And just beautiful kids.

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 And we were so blessed by them.

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 They insisted, hey, we're going to come and cook you dinner.

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 I'm like, no, don't come and cook us dinner.

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 You guys have lots on your hands.

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 But they were like, no, we're doing it.

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 And they drove the whole family over to our house, cooked us dinner, took away all the dishes.

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 And it was just such a huge blessing.

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 And it just reminds me why we do life together.

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 There's just something beautiful about it.

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 And actually, what I really am excited to show you today is as him and I opened up the word, I've been blessed by this man and what the Lord has said through him.

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 And hopefully it will bless you.

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 And maybe the picture of us two sat here opening up the word together inspires you and goes, actually, who's your three?

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 We've asked that in the past.

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 Who's your three?

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 Who are the people that you can go deep with?

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 Who are the people that if you had a really, really bad night, you want to hang out with and you want to be there with you?

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 Who are those people?

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 So we're going to open up the word.

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 We're going to go to Jonah 4.

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 I did say that this was going to be last week.

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 But as I was preparing, I realized there's so much, so much we actually might go into next week just to finish off.

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 And it's a nice, tidy end of June kind of thing.

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 But we're going to go to Jonah 4 today.

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 So if I encourage you to open up your Bible or your app, we're going to go through this.

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 And we're really going to ask the Lord, what is it that you are trying to teach us through this?

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 It's been such a fun series to preach just because, I mean, it's convicting on so many levels.

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 But I pray that has been for you.

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 So can I invite you to stand for the word of the Lord and ask Sam actually to read the whole of chapter 4 to us?

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 Jonah 4.

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 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

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 He prayed to the Lord and said,

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 Oh, Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?

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 That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster.

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 Therefore now, oh, Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.

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 And the Lord said, Do you do well to be angry?

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 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there.

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 He sat under it in the shade so he should see what would become of the city.

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 Now the Lord God appointed a plan and made it come up over Jonah that it might be a shade over his head to save him from his discomfort.

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 So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plan.

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 But when the dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plan so that it withered.

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 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint.

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 And he asked that he might die and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

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 But God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry for the plant?

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 And he said, Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.

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 And the Lord said, You pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.

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 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also much cattle?

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 This is the word of the Lord.

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 Please take a seat.

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 Let us pray.

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 Lord Jesus, we thank you for your word.

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 We thank you that you are revealing yourself to us through this.

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 But we don't take this for granted.

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 This book that is the bestseller of all time around the world, it's in every hotel room.

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 And we get so used to seeing it.

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 We get so used to hearing about it.

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 But Lord, never let us lose sight of what it actually is.

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 It is you, Lord, speaking to us.

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 It is you, Lord, showing us the love story.

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 It is that you're writing to show us that you are a God of love and that you seek to know us and show us that love.

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 So be with us as we open up your word.

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 May we all just leave it just glowing, knowing that you've been here.

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 You've introduced yourself to us and that you are good.

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 We thank you, Lord.

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 In your name we pray.

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 Amen.

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 Amen.

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 So you've heard this a few times now, so I'll be quick.

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 This will probably be the last time.

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 And next week we'll probably just do a conclusion of the whole book.

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 But previously on Jonah, God goes to Jonah and says, go to the enemy.

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 Go to the enemy and preach a message of repentance.

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 And then he runs away.

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 He goes.

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 And then he goes the opposite way.

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 He goes down to the port, down to the boat, and then down into the ocean because the storm comes.

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 And that's the only way to appease the storm.

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 The wrath of God is satisfied there.

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 He's then in the fish.

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 That's what we really hear about when we talk about Jonah.

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 We hear about the fish.

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 And then he's in the fish for three days and three nights, rent free.

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 And then he sings this song, this prayer.

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 And, of course, this is a seemingly at first glance a prayer of confession.

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 But we see there's just such heavy doses of self-righteousness through it all.

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 And then we see in chapter three, the word of the Lord comes to Jonah again.

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 And he actually this time goes to Nineveh.

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 And he preaches the message that he actually really wants to preach, which is you're going to die in 40 days.

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 That's what he says.

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 Now, to his surprise, to his shock, they repent.

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 The most evil nation in the world.

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 The values of ISIS with the power of the U.S. is the contemporary analogy here.

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 They repent.

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 They may not.

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 We don't know whether they actually turn to God and worship him alone.

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 But they repent of their evil ways.

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 And then God does the unthinkable.

00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:23.300
 He forgives them.

00:13:23.560 --> 00:13:24.440
 He relents from disaster.

00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:25.560
 And then chapter four begins.

00:13:25.800 --> 00:13:30.160
 And Jonah is exceedingly, exceedingly angry.

00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:31.959
 And that's where we're at.

00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:42.639
 And actually, Sam, you last week brought up a little bit about Jonah jumps into this kind of confession that he uses from Exodus 34 that God uses to describe himself to Moses.

00:13:42.860 --> 00:13:46.199
 And Jonah almost uses that back at God here and says, I knew it.

00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:50.179
 This is exactly why I didn't do what you told me to do, because I know that you are these things.

00:13:50.179 --> 00:13:55.100
 I mean, just share a little bit about what is it, what it is that you shared last week just to kind of rejig our memory.

00:13:55.819 --> 00:13:56.179
 Yeah.

00:13:56.299 --> 00:13:57.819
 I mean, there's so much to unpack there.

00:13:57.820 --> 00:14:02.300
 But just in a nutshell, again, he's quoting from Exodus 34.

00:14:02.520 --> 00:14:04.940
 And he does a bit of a disservice.

00:14:05.160 --> 00:14:08.520
 He quotes the first part of God's attributes.

00:14:08.620 --> 00:14:10.560
 And this is not someone describing God.

00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:15.820
 This is God describing himself as he meets the people in the book of Exodus.

00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:21.440
 And he describes all the parts of God that actually displease him.

00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:28.940
 And he leaves out the very part that he desires, which is God visiting upon generations of aggressors.

00:14:29.420 --> 00:14:33.160
 What is due their lot, what their punishment should be.

00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:38.220
 And so I see here almost like a mocking tone that Jonah has.

00:14:38.640 --> 00:14:41.300
 And there's this unbridled honesty.

00:14:41.299 --> 00:14:46.799
 And I don't see this very much in scripture, say, for maybe the friend of God, Abraham.

00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:47.219
 Right.

00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:51.099
 And he has this incredible, frank conversation with the Lord.

00:14:51.500 --> 00:14:56.879
 But here, Jonah does something that I think I think, well, like Ellen said, some people relate to it.

00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:59.719
 And my wife says this is her favorite book.

00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:04.160
 Like she just relates to this raw honesty with the Lord.

00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:08.379
 And the amazing thing is God, God takes it.

00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:14.080
 Like we are speaking to the creator of the universe, the one who made everything, the one who is perfectly good.

00:15:14.220 --> 00:15:21.960
 And he's able to take what we put back at him, even though we are so, so wrong.

00:15:22.180 --> 00:15:23.320
 And Jonah must know this.

00:15:24.300 --> 00:15:25.019
 It's fascinating.

00:15:25.379 --> 00:15:27.060
 He goes into Nineveh.

00:15:27.059 --> 00:15:28.579
 He preaches this message.

00:15:29.239 --> 00:15:30.239
 And then he leaves.

00:15:31.219 --> 00:15:32.979
 And then he sits outside of the town.

00:15:33.500 --> 00:15:38.659
 Now, what you'd think a pastor should do if he's doing his job properly when he's preaching the good news is then he will stay.

00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:40.859
 Because then he'll say, hey, well, actually, now you've repented.

00:15:40.959 --> 00:15:42.799
 This is how you become a good Christian.

00:15:42.939 --> 00:15:44.019
 This is, okay, get your Bible out.

00:15:44.059 --> 00:15:44.959
 You've got your devotionals.

00:15:45.199 --> 00:15:45.759
 You do this.

00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:46.319
 You do that.

00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:47.279
 You attend church.

00:15:47.339 --> 00:15:48.059
 You do small group.

00:15:48.099 --> 00:15:49.279
 And then you attend the interest groups.

00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:53.759
 And then you go to Kenneth's wine tasting group because wine is godly because that's what Jesus did.

00:15:54.139 --> 00:15:54.299
 Okay.

00:15:54.299 --> 00:15:55.579
 So that's how you do it.

00:15:55.599 --> 00:15:57.319
 And that's how you become a godly person.

00:15:57.379 --> 00:15:57.559
 No.

00:15:58.059 --> 00:15:59.000
 Jonah preaches a message.

00:15:59.000 --> 00:15:59.839
 And then he leaves.

00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:01.199
 And then he sits outside the town.

00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:02.240
 And he just sulks.

00:16:02.779 --> 00:16:03.859
 And he's going, huh.

00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:05.759
 Let's see what you're going to do now.

00:16:06.179 --> 00:16:08.719
 And then he watches God just change his mind.

00:16:09.159 --> 00:16:10.019
 And then what happens?

00:16:10.199 --> 00:16:11.399
 He gets angry.

00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:12.899
 Angry.

00:16:13.839 --> 00:16:21.399
 He, like, he goes into the most evil city in the world, preaches the message, and they actually listen.

00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:24.319
 Do you know how many pastors in the world would love to do that?

00:16:24.600 --> 00:16:26.799
 To lead a revival just from one sentence?

00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:28.860
 The whole city would turn?

00:16:30.059 --> 00:16:32.220
 We'd all be so happy to see that.

00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.019
 And yet he goes and sits outside, and then he gets angry.

00:16:35.439 --> 00:16:36.019
 He gets angry.

00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:36.419
 Why?

00:16:36.959 --> 00:16:38.360
 Why does he get angry at God?

00:16:38.600 --> 00:16:40.939
 Yes, it's because he sees the compassion of God.

00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:44.740
 But as we've said at the beginning, it's also because it's down to his identity.

00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:48.379
 Jonah is a narcissistic nationalist.

00:16:48.379 --> 00:16:50.820
 He is a narcissistic nationalist.

00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:55.139
 He thinks about himself, and he thinks about his nation, and that's all he wants to think about.

00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:57.840
 That is his idol.

00:16:58.259 --> 00:16:59.299
 That's why he's angry.

00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.700
 He's angry because actually it's not going to go his way.

00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:09.740
 And actually it's only a few years later, the Assyrians who have just been spared from disaster end up completely destroying Israel and taking over.

00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:12.460
 So he almost has a right to be angry here.

00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:16.480
 But why does God allow this to happen?

00:17:16.620 --> 00:17:17.860
 Or why is this even in Scripture?

00:17:17.980 --> 00:17:23.759
 I think one of the big points that really comes up for me is we get angry when our own idols come under threat.

00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:25.220
 Let me say that again.

00:17:25.299 --> 00:17:26.000
 We get angry.

00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:27.299
 We get frustrated.

00:17:27.799 --> 00:17:28.600
 We get annoyed.

00:17:29.120 --> 00:17:33.000
 We get anxious when our own idols get exposed.

00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:35.000
 The things that we care about the most.

00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:38.519
 What did Jonah care about as a narcissist and as a nationalist?

00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:40.539
 He cares about himself, and he cares about his nation.

00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:43.859
 When those things come under threat, he gets angry.

00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:52.500
 It makes me think when things that we hold in our hearts that are not God, there are small little gods, idols, counterfeit gods.

00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:54.720
 When those things don't go our way, what happens?

00:17:54.980 --> 00:17:55.639
 We get angry.

00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:56.619
 We get annoyed.

00:17:56.980 --> 00:17:57.680
 We get anxious.

00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:02.440
 So the question here is actually are there any idols that we have that actually God is trying to expose?

00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:05.819
 God is trying to show you that actually this is an idol.

00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:16.019
 If you have an idol of control, then actually the Lord may allow things to go out of control just for you to see that actually that idol isn't good for you.

00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:20.740
 If you have an idol of money, then actually the economy may not go the way it wants to.

00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:23.179
 You may not do the deals that you want to do.

00:18:23.439 --> 00:18:25.519
 And when things don't go your way, how do you respond?

00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:30.179
 How you respond will then tell you whether that really is an idol or not.

00:18:30.500 --> 00:18:32.259
 Maybe your idol is a relationship.

00:18:32.259 --> 00:18:34.859
 So when that doesn't go your way, then you get angry.

00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:35.619
 Then you get frustrated.

00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:36.299
 Then you get sad.

00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:37.980
 Then you even question God's existence.

00:18:38.759 --> 00:18:40.619
 That will show you what the idol is.

00:18:41.379 --> 00:18:44.559
 God here is showing Jonah exactly what his idol is.

00:18:44.740 --> 00:18:50.059
 And now it's not just to expose the idol, just to go see how much of a sinner you are, see how you don't put your trust in me.

00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:51.140
 No, it's not just that.

00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:53.259
 It's not just for this kind of vengeful act.

00:18:53.559 --> 00:18:57.519
 He's actually showing it because actually we all know those idols, they will crush us.

00:18:58.480 --> 00:18:59.740
 Our love for money will crush us.

00:18:59.740 --> 00:19:01.879
 Our love for people's approval will crush us.

00:19:02.259 --> 00:19:04.339
 Our love for power.

00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:05.359
 Our love for control.

00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:06.759
 Those things will crush us.

00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:13.140
 And God is a God of love who doesn't want that to happen, doesn't want us to pursue those things because those are inherently self-destructive.

00:19:13.740 --> 00:19:18.480
 What idols are you holding on to in your own heart?

00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:19.319
 And it's funny.

00:19:19.420 --> 00:19:25.700
 This passage carries on and it says God appoints a plant to cover him, to give him some comfort.

00:19:26.039 --> 00:19:28.720
 Then God appoints a worm to take away the plant.

00:19:29.299 --> 00:19:33.519
 And of course, earlier God appoints a fish to come and save him from drowning.

00:19:34.900 --> 00:19:36.620
 And then God appoints the wind.

00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:38.579
 God appoints the storm.

00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:39.420
 What does this tell me?

00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:42.039
 This tells me the Lord gives and he takes away.

00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:43.819
 He gives and he takes away.

00:19:43.819 --> 00:19:47.339
 I remember not this time, but the last time I was in hospital when I was in my 20s.

00:19:48.299 --> 00:19:49.139
 That was the song.

00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:53.299
 That was when Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redmond was still like a cool, hip, new song.

00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.119
 The older people are just nodding now.

00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:57.379
 Yeah, remember that tune?

00:19:57.380 --> 00:20:01.840
 You give and take away.

00:20:02.100 --> 00:20:03.200
 You give and take away.

00:20:03.940 --> 00:20:06.400
 Job, chapter 1, verse 21, that's what it says.

00:20:06.780 --> 00:20:07.960
 He gives and he takes away.

00:20:09.060 --> 00:20:11.360
 What storms do you have in your life?

00:20:11.740 --> 00:20:14.460
 What idols do you have in your life that actually God is giving and taking away?

00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:20.480
 What's happening in your life that actually God is allowing to happen just for him to expose the idols that you have?

00:20:21.019 --> 00:20:26.559
 It was just a conversation these last few days that actually even the troubles that we've been going through, God is allowing.

00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:30.460
 God is allowing and God is wanting to show us something in it.

00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:32.779
 He gives and he takes away.

00:20:33.120 --> 00:20:35.620
 Do you think God can't get rid of that situation straight away?

00:20:35.700 --> 00:20:36.279
 Of course he can.

00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:37.819
 But yet he doesn't.

00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:48.920
 There's something about the circumstances that we're living in right now, the job that you're doing right now, the family that you're in right now, the relationship you're in right now.

00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:54.180
 There's something about that that God is trying to do something in, that God is trying to show you something in.

00:20:54.300 --> 00:20:55.279
 Because you may have an idol.

00:20:55.820 --> 00:20:56.560
 Because I know I do.

00:20:57.940 --> 00:20:59.980
 The only question is, what idol do you have?

00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:03.860
 And of course, scripture says, Jesus is the only God that you want.

00:21:03.940 --> 00:21:05.180
 He can't just be your number one.

00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:06.320
 He has to be your only one.

00:21:06.860 --> 00:21:15.820
 And so actually, this life here is basically preparation for heaven where he's going to just show us and expose to us the things that we've got that have taken the place that only Jesus can really take.

00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:19.619
 And that's why it says at the end, Philippians 2, that actually there is only one name.

00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:21.240
 The name above every name.

00:21:22.179 --> 00:21:23.519
 He's the firstborn of all creation.

00:21:23.859 --> 00:21:25.419
 He's icon of the invisible God.

00:21:26.099 --> 00:21:26.960
 It's all about Jesus.

00:21:27.460 --> 00:21:30.799
 But we put so many other things in place of Jesus.

00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:37.039
 And I think that's why God puts these things, people, in place to help show us those idols.

00:21:37.659 --> 00:21:40.179
 Sam, as you look at this passage, what else jumps to mind?

00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:48.519
 And I mean, even about the giving and taking away, do you have any personal experiences of that that you can see that God's been exposing an idol in your heart?

00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:49.700
 Yeah, absolutely.

00:21:50.080 --> 00:21:56.299
 I think for a long time in my life, it felt like it was calm, calm, no storms.

00:21:56.620 --> 00:22:00.500
 And then when the storms all hit, like you said, they certainly reveal things about myself.

00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:03.440
 It's been said that there are kind of two tests.

00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:06.160
 There are Job tests and there are Jonah tests.

00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:14.660
 The Job tests, you know, the enemies working behind the scenes and we're not privy to what's going on between between in the spiritual realm.

00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:16.360
 But God allows that to happen.

00:22:16.360 --> 00:22:18.759
 And they kind of test our character.

00:22:19.019 --> 00:22:20.460
 And we will go through those tests.

00:22:20.580 --> 00:22:28.920
 But as you were saying, those storms that God appoints, God allows are to reveal who we really are and the idols that we have built.

00:22:28.920 --> 00:22:32.380
 And such a good reminder, you know, Ten Commandments, right?

00:22:32.840 --> 00:22:34.600
 You can't have any other idols before God.

00:22:34.779 --> 00:22:38.320
 And we just don't picture just having an idol built in our homes.

00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:45.759
 We certainly carry idols with us all the time, right here in our pocket, in our phones, as we look at someone else with envy.

00:22:45.759 --> 00:23:06.500
 For me, I guess a recent storm was as I was making the transition out of the classroom into just another line of work that came with just the practical reality of taking a bit of a pay dip.

00:23:06.500 --> 00:23:12.319
 As a teacher, you know, my relatives, this was before I had kids.

00:23:12.599 --> 00:23:13.420
 Oh, so great.

00:23:13.559 --> 00:23:15.720
 You know, like their education is taken care of.

00:23:15.900 --> 00:23:18.400
 You know, this is you stay there for the rest of your life.

00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:24.359
 You know, you put the kids through school and they want to kind of map out my life for me.

00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:29.740
 And I guess a part of me must have believed it to be true.

00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:30.440
 You know what?

00:23:31.299 --> 00:23:32.259
 I'll take care of it.

00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:35.519
 I'm the one who's who's providing for my family.

00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:44.839
 And so as a provider, I mean, I'm covering their health insurance, you know, the prospect of their education.

00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:51.920
 And as I leave, the first thing that I find out in my new job is, oh, there's no health insurance.

00:23:53.079 --> 00:24:05.079
 And because of my colorful medical history, my attempts to get medical insurance, private medical insurance on my own, turned down, turned down, and turned down again.

00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:07.240
 So I'm just unqualified.

00:24:07.379 --> 00:24:07.939
 I can't get it.

00:24:08.399 --> 00:24:11.359
 And so for me, that was a storm that came in.

00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:18.199
 And unfortunately, that was the first time I kind of realized, you know, I'm not the one taking care of my family.

00:24:18.619 --> 00:24:22.899
 It's not about having medical insurance that protects my family.

00:24:22.899 --> 00:24:24.819
 That doesn't protect my family.

00:24:24.819 --> 00:24:30.279
 And I had to look back towards the face of God and surrender it to him.

00:24:31.159 --> 00:24:38.339
 And that reveals and continues to reveal to me what I sometimes put first over God himself.

00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:39.000


00:24:39.539 --> 00:24:39.980
 Yeah.

00:24:40.059 --> 00:24:40.980
 And I shared this before.

00:24:41.079 --> 00:24:45.259
 It reminds me of when Christina and I, we were getting ready for Reuben.

00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:48.720
 And then we felt the Lord call us to give up our jobs to go into ministry.

00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:49.879
 And it was like, well, what about our kid?

00:24:50.740 --> 00:24:55.400
 And then I can just imagine now, as I say, and just imagine being in God's place, like, oh, that is so cute.

00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:59.119
 That is so cute, James, that you think you're actually the one providing for your family.

00:24:59.779 --> 00:25:01.819
 Like, because you could stop work at any moment.

00:25:01.879 --> 00:25:03.279
 You could not have a job at any moment.

00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:04.500
 You could die at any moment.

00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:07.420
 But the fact that you're here is because of me.

00:25:07.420 --> 00:25:10.779
 But it's so cute that you think that you, but actually it's not true.

00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:12.339
 I'm the one who provides.

00:25:12.339 --> 00:25:17.000
 And if I'm the one who's calling your family into this, don't you think I will be the one that will provide?

00:25:17.679 --> 00:25:22.839
 But you see, throughout all of this, and we see it in Jonah, whether you're incredibly angry because your idol's been exposed because you're under threat,

00:25:23.399 --> 00:25:27.579
 or whether you're incredibly worried and anxious, God is patient.

00:25:28.339 --> 00:25:31.039
 Now, sometimes we think, oh, man, I'm overreacting again.

00:25:31.859 --> 00:25:33.399
 I'm still not trusting in God enough.

00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:40.919
 Every time you see someone do something wrong in Scripture, God doesn't come down with this heavy hand and says, why did you do this?

00:25:41.159 --> 00:25:42.220
 You should know better.

00:25:42.339 --> 00:25:44.579
 Which sometimes is maybe one of our experiences.

00:25:44.839 --> 00:25:47.039
 I'm guilty of this even in my own parenting.

00:25:47.859 --> 00:25:53.319
 But you see here, Jonah's exceedingly angry to the point where he says, take my life.

00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:54.259
 I'm done.

00:25:54.919 --> 00:26:02.359
 I've just led the most successful revival in the history of mankind, and I have no reason to live anymore.

00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:03.480
 Kill me now.

00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:10.500
 Can you just imagine just the drastic contrast of just everything that's going on inside Jonah?

00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:16.240
 And then God, all he does is just says, Jonah, do you do well to be angry?

00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:25.759
 He goes to Adam and Eve, who have disobeyed and kicked off a chain of events that we're still suffering the consequences of now.

00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:28.940
 And all he says is, Adam and Eve, where are you?

00:26:28.940 --> 00:26:38.259
 When we have the first murderer of mankind in the story of Cain and Abel, he goes, where is your brother?

00:26:38.259 --> 00:26:42.960
 Every time he just comes with a question, a gentle one.

00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:47.579
 A gentle one of just going, hey, do you know my heart?

00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:49.619
 Do you know who I am?

00:26:50.440 --> 00:26:51.759
 I'm gracious and compassionate.

00:26:51.920 --> 00:26:52.599
 I'm slow to anger.

00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:54.039
 I'm abounding in steadfast love.

00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:55.519
 That's who I am.

00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:59.519
 I'm here just to ask you to help you get out of your pickle, out of your trouble.

00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:01.420
 But we don't have that.

00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:06.539
 We often just imagine this God that we've offended with our anxiety, with our anger.

00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:08.000
 And that is so not true.

00:27:08.859 --> 00:27:15.680
 Even scripture, Jesus says, Matthew 6, he says, who of you by worrying will add an hour to your lives?

00:27:17.099 --> 00:27:18.940
 Worrying doesn't do anything, but trust me.

00:27:19.660 --> 00:27:20.099
 Trust me.

00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:23.980
 As we go through this, what else strikes you from this passage?

00:27:23.980 --> 00:27:25.480
 As we see this fascinating thing.

00:27:25.579 --> 00:27:29.480
 Now, most of us think Jonah almost ends at chapter 2.

00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:30.460
 The big fish comes.

00:27:30.819 --> 00:27:31.500
 You disobey God.

00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:32.400
 You get eaten by a fish.

00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:33.240
 End of story.

00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:36.539
 But of course, then we find out in chapter 3, it's a little bit more than that.

00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:39.759
 The fish vomits him out, which is great.

00:27:39.819 --> 00:27:40.299
 It's disgusting.

00:27:40.539 --> 00:27:42.039
 But he vomits him out and saves him.

00:27:42.360 --> 00:27:42.839
 And then he goes.

00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:44.579
 And so we think chapter 3 is where it ends.

00:27:44.819 --> 00:27:46.819
 And wouldn't that be a great place for Jonah to end?

00:27:47.299 --> 00:27:52.779
 He learns his lesson, delivers the whole nation, and then rides off into the sunset on his white horse.

00:27:52.779 --> 00:27:55.619
 And yet, for some reason, there's chapter 4.

00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:57.519
 Chapter 4 is a problem.

00:27:57.619 --> 00:27:58.399
 I'll tell you this now.

00:27:58.519 --> 00:28:01.579
 If you weren't really paying attention when we were reading it, have a look again now.

00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:07.200
 Chapter 4 is a problem if you are someone who's trying to make up a story to inspire people.

00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:11.039
 Chapter 4 is a problem if you're trying to show who God is.

00:28:11.299 --> 00:28:13.440
 But God isn't just trying to show us who he is.

00:28:14.139 --> 00:28:14.839
 He's doing that.

00:28:15.019 --> 00:28:16.960
 But he's also trying to show us who we are.

00:28:17.259 --> 00:28:18.559
 And that's why chapter 4 is here.

00:28:18.660 --> 00:28:19.440
 Chapter 4 is a problem.

00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:21.860
 And I want to just ask you, why is it a problem?

00:28:22.059 --> 00:28:25.840
 As you look at this, what's problematic and almost what's encouraging about this?

00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:31.519
 It's certainly problematic for someone who wants to have the final say.

00:28:33.220 --> 00:28:37.880
 What strikes me is the honesty that's in this chapter.

00:28:40.180 --> 00:28:42.100
 And scripture is full of honesty.

00:28:42.099 --> 00:28:43.899
 I think that's why it's so convincing.

00:28:44.439 --> 00:28:55.439
 As a genre, looking at the Bible written in the time period that it was written, to write a narrative, a historical narrative like this, isn't fantasy.

00:28:55.619 --> 00:28:56.199
 It's not myth.

00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:58.980
 It's a reportage of what actually happened.

00:28:58.980 --> 00:29:07.339
 When we read about the woman who were waiting outside Jesus' tomb, it was the woman who were waiting.

00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:13.259
 Matthew 27, Mary and the other woman, they're watching the stone being rolled away.

00:29:13.360 --> 00:29:19.759
 And who's waiting there when Jesus has risen and he's walking through the garden?

00:29:20.180 --> 00:29:21.259
 It's the woman.

00:29:21.259 --> 00:29:36.559
 In another take, if the men had wanted to make themselves sound good, they would have written something like, oh, yeah, Peter, John and James were just waiting outside the tomb and filled with courage and filled with the spirit.

00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:38.640
 We awaited the Lord's return.

00:29:38.879 --> 00:29:39.079
 Right.

00:29:39.619 --> 00:29:41.119
 But it's honest.

00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:44.339
 And that's what makes it so, so convincing.

00:29:44.339 --> 00:29:48.799
 And 2 Timothy 3, 16, all scripture is God-breathed.

00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:51.879
 There's a reason why Jonah ends the way it ends.

00:29:52.379 --> 00:29:59.139
 I wonder as Jonah sat in his later years and he was penning this story, I wonder what came across his mind.

00:29:59.899 --> 00:30:11.779
 Maybe he wanted to write a bit more about how he's a different person now, how perhaps he's not that same nationalistic Jewish first identity anymore.

00:30:11.779 --> 00:30:16.700
 Maybe it was something else, but maybe the spirit of God stopped him for whatever reason.

00:30:17.539 --> 00:30:25.759
 And it's unique because it's the book of Nahum, it's the book of Jonah that ends with a question.

00:30:26.420 --> 00:30:31.740
 And both of these books end with a question specifically about Nineveh.

00:30:32.299 --> 00:30:37.460
 It's almost as if Jonah's not able to have the final word.

00:30:37.539 --> 00:30:38.879
 But I do have hope for Jonah.

00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:46.620
 I do have hope that he ended his life as a very different person.

00:30:47.280 --> 00:30:57.260
 And my reason for this hope comes from the God that we have and the lengths that he goes to pursue, to change.

00:30:57.400 --> 00:31:02.980
 And as we, there's a part on our part where we take up our cross daily and we surrender to him.

00:31:03.100 --> 00:31:05.180
 And he begins this transformational work in us.

00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:08.060
 And you see, God is in the business of changing us, right?

00:31:08.059 --> 00:31:08.960
 He changes names.

00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:11.200
 Abram to Abraham.

00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:17.379
 Jacob wrestles with the Lord and he walks away with a permanent condition.

00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:19.039
 You've got a condition right now.

00:31:19.119 --> 00:31:21.039
 Hopefully it's not permanent.

00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:22.619
 It might feel permanent at times, right?

00:31:22.819 --> 00:31:23.179
 This one?

00:31:23.339 --> 00:31:23.639
 This one?

00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:24.879
 Oh, I was, oh, wow.

00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:26.319
 He brought this on himself.

00:31:26.879 --> 00:31:27.200
 Okay.

00:31:27.419 --> 00:31:28.319
 I just thought I'd beat you to it.

00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:28.679
 Ouch.

00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:29.339
 Okay.

00:31:29.339 --> 00:31:29.399
 Okay.

00:31:30.980 --> 00:31:36.759
 He walks away with a permanent condition, but also with a new identity, right?

00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:37.960
 And he births a new people.

00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:41.099
 But I believe God changes people.

00:31:41.299 --> 00:31:42.939
 Peter and Simon, he's a great other example.

00:31:42.940 --> 00:31:47.640
 But last week, Alex was sharing from, um, our father's day sharing.

00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:49.299
 He's talking about first John.

00:31:50.320 --> 00:31:54.900
 And when I think about, uh, the brothers, John and James, it's, it's striking to me.

00:31:55.220 --> 00:31:58.640
 God renames so, so many people.

00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:02.440
 But to my knowledge, he only nicknames two people.

00:32:02.440 --> 00:32:02.880
 Right.

00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:07.180
 And the nicknames of John and James are the sons of thunder.

00:32:07.180 --> 00:32:07.680
 Right.

00:32:07.780 --> 00:32:09.740
 Because they've got this temper, right?

00:32:09.840 --> 00:32:11.920
 Lord, can we call down thunder?

00:32:12.080 --> 00:32:15.000
 Can we rain down punishment on these people for rejecting you?

00:32:15.460 --> 00:32:20.360
 And I don't know if there's this humorous side of, of Jesus that we really don't know about,

00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:26.020
 but he, he gives them this, this nickname, but let's fast forward to the end.

00:32:26.280 --> 00:32:30.720
 And as John writing the last book right here, revelation, right?

00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:36.059
 All of his friends have passed away, but this is other book first John, which Alex was quoting

00:32:36.059 --> 00:32:39.579
 from, and it's, it's a book filled with tenderness, right?

00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:40.980
 God is love, right?

00:32:41.620 --> 00:32:44.360
 Like God lavishes his love on us.

00:32:44.539 --> 00:32:47.059
 Something's changed about John.

00:32:47.779 --> 00:32:48.960
 Something's changed about him.

00:32:49.140 --> 00:32:55.579
 And next to first Corinthians 13, the book of first John is like the de facto book to quote

00:32:55.579 --> 00:32:56.720
 at your wedding.

00:32:57.319 --> 00:33:00.480
 Uh, I, we, we picked it for our wedding years ago.

00:33:00.720 --> 00:33:04.640
 Um, and I don't know, Flo, we can make it to your wedding.

00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:06.220
 It was on the wedding invite.

00:33:06.539 --> 00:33:07.500
 On the wedding invite.

00:33:08.120 --> 00:33:08.519
 Fantastic.

00:33:08.680 --> 00:33:08.819
 Yeah.

00:33:08.940 --> 00:33:16.259
 So, so Scott did, did a work in John that we were able to see because he, he, he had a

00:33:16.259 --> 00:33:19.799
 chance to write, uh, later on in the canon, in the New Testament.

00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:26.819
 But the kind of God that we have is the God who, who will, who will change us, who desires

00:33:26.819 --> 00:33:32.919
 for our hearts to be turned towards him and to, to turn towards not just the Hebrew people,

00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:35.859
 but the message, which is for all people.

00:33:35.859 --> 00:33:36.179
 Yeah.

00:33:36.899 --> 00:33:37.899
 And so have a thing.

00:33:38.099 --> 00:33:43.539
 What idols do you have that actually God is trying to orchestrate circumstances to reveal

00:33:43.539 --> 00:33:47.179
 to you, to expose to you so that you would surrender it for your own good?

00:33:47.740 --> 00:33:53.079
 What idols are you facing right now that you have inside your own heart that God may send

00:33:53.079 --> 00:33:53.459
 a storm?

00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:54.599
 He may send a fish.

00:33:54.599 --> 00:33:55.639
 He may send a plant.

00:33:55.740 --> 00:33:56.439
 He may send a worm.

00:33:56.699 --> 00:33:58.419
 He may send the wind, whatever it may be.

00:33:58.500 --> 00:34:04.759
 He gives and he takes away with the sole purpose to prepare you, to form you for what you're

00:34:04.759 --> 00:34:07.039
 destined for, which is eternity with him.

00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:10.299
 What is it that you've actually got going on that actually has that?

00:34:10.380 --> 00:34:13.199
 And you see here, and it's just a fascinating turn of events here.

00:34:13.239 --> 00:34:17.480
 And you see just, I think Jonah, he would have been great at a store because, well, actually

00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:20.799
 you can see that he's going through some mental health challenges here.

00:34:21.619 --> 00:34:23.480
 He's, he's got these highs and he's, he's got these lows.

00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:26.179
 He's got these, he's got these moments where he's incredibly angry.

00:34:26.420 --> 00:34:31.019
 And then as he's out, so chapter four, verse five says, Jonah went out of the city and sat

00:34:31.019 --> 00:34:33.240
 to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there.

00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:34.360
 And he just sits there.

00:34:34.699 --> 00:34:38.699
 So he just makes a little, little stall for himself and sits and looks at the city, hoping

00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:40.340
 that in his heart that it will still perish.

00:34:40.519 --> 00:34:41.900
 But it doesn't, of course, but it's sunny.

00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:45.059
 It's kind of like these last few days that we've had in Hong Kong, which again, we're not

00:34:45.059 --> 00:34:48.079
 complaining about the sun because we all need vitamin D, but it's hot.

00:34:48.460 --> 00:34:48.920
 It's hot.

00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:50.159
 So you then you try and find the shade.

00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:54.239
 And then he, and then of course God sees that and gives him comfort and actually raises

00:34:54.239 --> 00:34:56.519
 up this big plant to cover him, to give him shade.

00:34:56.819 --> 00:34:59.379
 And then at that point he's super, super happy.

00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:02.099
 So he goes from exceedingly angry to verse six.

00:35:02.339 --> 00:35:05.139
 So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.

00:35:05.399 --> 00:35:07.000
 He's like, Ooh, plant.

00:35:07.779 --> 00:35:09.500
 Ooh, I hate those people.

00:35:09.579 --> 00:35:10.379
 I want them to die.

00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:11.379
 I want me to die.

00:35:11.659 --> 00:35:12.920
 And then, Ooh, plant.

00:35:13.059 --> 00:35:13.980
 Ooh, I love plants.

00:35:13.980 --> 00:35:19.260
 You can see that he's probably unstable at best at this current moment.

00:35:21.559 --> 00:35:25.380
 And then when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant.

00:35:25.820 --> 00:35:27.539
 I mean, this is just getting a little bit comical here.

00:35:27.719 --> 00:35:29.699
 He truly does give and he takes away.

00:35:30.059 --> 00:35:32.039
 Appoints the worm to attack the plant so that it withers.

00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:34.679
 And when the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind.

00:35:34.740 --> 00:35:39.000
 He's in, he's the God of everything from worms to fish to, to the storms, to weather, to

00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:39.380
 everything.

00:35:39.380 --> 00:35:44.579
 And he appoints the scorching east wind and the sun be down on the head of Jonah because

00:35:44.579 --> 00:35:45.780
 he probably didn't have much hair.

00:35:46.700 --> 00:35:49.380
 Because angry guys are usually angry, bold guys.

00:35:50.519 --> 00:35:52.820
 On the head of the Jonah so that he was faint.

00:35:53.140 --> 00:35:56.480
 And he asked that he might die and said, It is better for me to live than to die.

00:35:56.880 --> 00:35:59.720
 When our idols are exposed, sometimes we lose the meaning to live.

00:35:59.940 --> 00:36:01.900
 And then we actually just don't want to live anymore.

00:36:03.300 --> 00:36:07.039
 When your job isn't going well, you know, if you lose your job, you know, I don't even

00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:07.820
 know what to do anymore.

00:36:07.820 --> 00:36:12.740
 Well, when your idol is studies and doing, wanting to do as well as you can in your exams.

00:36:12.740 --> 00:36:14.840
 And that has a whole host of reasons behind that.

00:36:15.160 --> 00:36:19.460
 But when they don't go well, you see so many secondary students struggling with this issue

00:36:19.460 --> 00:36:21.840
 of mental health, struggling with suicidal thoughts.

00:36:23.059 --> 00:36:28.519
 Because we as a society have nurtured out of them, into them, this idol of study, this

00:36:28.519 --> 00:36:33.039
 idol of doing the best as you can, which isn't self not a bad thing, but it's not the

00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:33.440
 only thing.

00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:36.579
 And so you see it happens to him and he's going all over the place.

00:36:36.740 --> 00:36:38.980
 And then God asks him again, he's just so gentle with Jonah.

00:36:39.139 --> 00:36:41.420
 He says, Do you do well to be angry for the plant?

00:36:42.619 --> 00:36:44.940
 And he said, Yes, I do well to be angry.

00:36:45.159 --> 00:36:45.940
 Angry enough to die.

00:36:46.220 --> 00:36:47.059
 I love that plant.

00:36:47.559 --> 00:36:48.860
 That plant was so good to me.

00:36:49.420 --> 00:36:51.139
 Now I want to die because the plant is gone.

00:36:51.480 --> 00:36:52.500
 I even named the plant.

00:36:52.980 --> 00:36:53.639
 But now he's gone.

00:36:53.639 --> 00:36:56.779
 And then God finishes up with this.

00:36:57.179 --> 00:37:00.859
 And the Lord said, and this is how, this is why this is just such a fascinating bit.

00:37:01.400 --> 00:37:02.619
 The chapter, the whole book finishes.

00:37:02.940 --> 00:37:07.379
 And the Lord said, You pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it

00:37:07.379 --> 00:37:10.539
 grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.

00:37:11.279 --> 00:37:16.139
 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons

00:37:16.139 --> 00:37:19.279
 who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?

00:37:19.280 --> 00:37:24.040
 I think it's comical that he just kind of puts, and also remember the cows.

00:37:24.440 --> 00:37:25.060
 The cows are there.

00:37:27.000 --> 00:37:31.660
 And of course, 120,000 doesn't seem a massive amount unless you consider actually back in

00:37:31.660 --> 00:37:34.440
 those days, the average city only had about 3,000 people.

00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:36.240
 So this was a big metropolis.

00:37:37.019 --> 00:37:37.800
 And so, and that's it.

00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:38.380
 It just finishes.

00:37:39.900 --> 00:37:46.720
 You're angry about the plant, but I'm angry about all these people who don't know what

00:37:46.720 --> 00:37:47.380
 they're doing is wrong.

00:37:47.380 --> 00:37:50.000
 And what about the cows?

00:37:52.119 --> 00:37:53.119
 And then it just stops.

00:37:55.160 --> 00:37:58.220
 And then you stop and you go, Why, God, why did you leave this here?

00:37:58.320 --> 00:38:01.260
 And if you were making this story, why would you finish it like this?

00:38:02.740 --> 00:38:06.579
 Until, I mean, this is what Tim Keller's book, The Prodigal Prophet, it's just so piercing

00:38:06.579 --> 00:38:07.200
 when he says it.

00:38:07.240 --> 00:38:11.440
 He says, That question that God sends to Jonah, which is like an arrow.

00:38:11.980 --> 00:38:16.280
 You care about the plants that I only just created yesterday?

00:38:16.280 --> 00:38:17.800
 What about the people?

00:38:19.019 --> 00:38:24.240
 And as that arrow goes from God to Jonah, you realize, and then the book stops, you realize

00:38:24.240 --> 00:38:26.380
 that arrow does not just stop at Jonah.

00:38:26.700 --> 00:38:28.320
 That arrow is coming straight for us.

00:38:29.160 --> 00:38:31.400
 Because suddenly, Jonah disappears.

00:38:32.160 --> 00:38:35.260
 And you're like, Oh, that's a question for me.

00:38:35.260 --> 00:38:37.960
 He was worrying about the plant.

00:38:39.020 --> 00:38:40.300
 But I was worrying about my job.

00:38:42.240 --> 00:38:43.640
 He was complaining about the wind.

00:38:45.220 --> 00:38:47.060
 But I was complaining about that relationship.

00:38:48.220 --> 00:38:50.140
 That why isn't God doing this for me, doing that for me?

00:38:50.600 --> 00:38:52.680
 And suddenly you realize God just turns it on you.

00:38:52.780 --> 00:38:55.480
 I mean, this is just masterful in the way he does it as he writes this.

00:38:55.840 --> 00:38:58.260
 It just stops on the cliffhanger and turns it to you.

00:38:58.260 --> 00:38:58.820
 What about you?

00:39:00.060 --> 00:39:01.280
 Do you care for the people?

00:39:02.100 --> 00:39:04.300
 And those of you who have been around me, you'll have heard this story before.

00:39:05.940 --> 00:39:09.120
 Hong Kong, there's a lot of people in Hong Kong, especially on the MTR.

00:39:09.260 --> 00:39:15.820
 And if you're the same height as me, which is 5 foot 5.7, you are conveniently at the same height,

00:39:15.880 --> 00:39:20.160
 a lot of people, just under their armpits when you're on the MTR.

00:39:20.159 --> 00:39:22.299
 And it's just such a painful experience.

00:39:22.399 --> 00:39:25.279
 And it gets even more terrible when they start clipping their toenails.

00:39:27.759 --> 00:39:32.659
 And so the habit that I've had since I've been in Hong Kong over these last five and a half years

00:39:32.659 --> 00:39:38.799
 is just to go, retreat into just the countryside and hang out with the mosquitoes there

00:39:38.799 --> 00:39:40.599
 because they love me.

00:39:42.159 --> 00:39:44.960
 And there was one time I took the ferry from Stanley all the way to that little island

00:39:44.960 --> 00:39:47.039
 that only has ferries on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

00:39:47.039 --> 00:39:47.579
 What's it called?

00:39:47.859 --> 00:39:48.839
 Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

00:39:48.920 --> 00:39:49.259
 Poultai.

00:39:49.399 --> 00:39:49.920
 Is it Poultai?

00:39:50.159 --> 00:39:50.659
 Poultai, though.

00:39:51.819 --> 00:39:54.539
 And then I climbed right to the end near the georocks.

00:39:55.019 --> 00:39:57.659
 And there was just this most beautiful scene.

00:39:57.799 --> 00:40:01.559
 There's this picture where the georocks were on the right and then just the mountains in the far left

00:40:01.559 --> 00:40:02.500
 and then just the waters.

00:40:02.599 --> 00:40:04.399
 And I just took this picture of it.

00:40:04.440 --> 00:40:06.599
 And I was like, this is just, God, this is you.

00:40:07.039 --> 00:40:08.139
 Man, this is you.

00:40:08.379 --> 00:40:12.819
 But as I was taking the picture, there was just this incredibly inconvenient group of tourists

00:40:12.819 --> 00:40:15.299
 that were just in the bottom left corner there.

00:40:15.299 --> 00:40:18.739
 And I was like, oh, this picture would be so perfect.

00:40:18.739 --> 00:40:21.859
 We're not for the fact there are those humans there.

00:40:21.860 --> 00:40:27.280
 And then I felt God just remind me, you know what's the most beautiful thing about this picture?

00:40:28.480 --> 00:40:29.180
 Those people.

00:40:30.120 --> 00:40:30.480
 Why?

00:40:30.579 --> 00:40:32.760
 Because those people are made in my image.

00:40:32.940 --> 00:40:33.720
 Yes, the mountains.

00:40:33.920 --> 00:40:34.539
 Yes, the ocean.

00:40:34.680 --> 00:40:35.240
 Yes, the sun.

00:40:35.599 --> 00:40:36.240
 Yes, the blue sky.

00:40:36.300 --> 00:40:36.900
 They're all beautiful.

00:40:36.900 --> 00:40:44.400
 But did you not realize that the most beautiful place in Hong Kong is Causeway Bay?

00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:51.760
 Just outside Sogo, where all the people are.

00:40:52.280 --> 00:41:00.059
 Or in Admiralty Station on the platform at 6 p.m. on a Friday when you have to queue for 10 trains.

00:41:00.059 --> 00:41:04.000
 That is the most beautiful place.

00:41:04.139 --> 00:41:06.980
 It doesn't smell the nicest there, but it's the most beautiful place.

00:41:07.059 --> 00:41:10.940
 Because these are all people who are made in my image.

00:41:11.019 --> 00:41:12.340
 And these are all beautiful.

00:41:12.759 --> 00:41:18.420
 The fact that you want to get rid of them from your cute little picture that you can put on Instagram

00:41:18.420 --> 00:41:23.739
 for those 10 people who follow you to like it shows me that you've missed the point.

00:41:23.739 --> 00:41:26.059
 And what about the cows?

00:41:28.500 --> 00:41:30.259
 Tell me, James, what about the cows?

00:41:33.099 --> 00:41:37.459
 And it's funny because that's what I think.

00:41:37.479 --> 00:41:38.919
 That's why I think Jonah comes around.

00:41:39.819 --> 00:41:40.959
 Because he finishes there.

00:41:41.419 --> 00:41:44.919
 Because I think Jonah does come around because otherwise we wouldn't have this book.

00:41:45.939 --> 00:41:49.079
 Why else would we have this book presenting the story of a jerk?

00:41:49.899 --> 00:41:52.299
 Unless the jerk comes around in the end and writes this book.

00:41:52.300 --> 00:41:57.320
 And what I like the most about this is that, as you said, he doesn't feel the need to have the final say.

00:41:57.740 --> 00:42:00.019
 Because if it was me, I would say, okay, I was a jerk, guys.

00:42:00.060 --> 00:42:00.380
 I know.

00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:01.120
 I know it was bad.

00:42:01.220 --> 00:42:02.240
 But where am I now?

00:42:02.620 --> 00:42:09.400
 I am now the CEO of an NGO that looks after enemy countries and spreading the gospel to them.

00:42:10.420 --> 00:42:12.039
 And I do this and I have five kids.

00:42:12.039 --> 00:42:14.420
 But no, it just stops.

00:42:15.860 --> 00:42:17.100
 And I think it's because of one thing.

00:42:17.560 --> 00:42:18.500
 I think it's because of Jesus.

00:42:18.500 --> 00:42:22.579
 I think as Christians, we cease needing to have the final say.

00:42:23.300 --> 00:42:24.760
 Because we know what Jesus did for us.

00:42:25.719 --> 00:42:27.460
 And Jesus is the one who has the final say.

00:42:27.519 --> 00:42:31.639
 And that cures us from the need to defend ourselves when we're not in the right.

00:42:32.780 --> 00:42:36.260
 It cures us from the need to kind of present ourselves in the best possible way to people.

00:42:36.440 --> 00:42:37.800
 Because Jesus.

00:42:38.940 --> 00:42:39.579
 Because Jesus.

00:42:40.440 --> 00:42:41.739
 That's why I think there's hope for Jonah.

00:42:42.199 --> 00:42:44.139
 Hey, I want to circle back to the end as we conclude here.

00:42:44.139 --> 00:42:52.000
 You brought up Exodus 34 about Jonah just choosing to omit certain traits of God.

00:42:52.480 --> 00:42:56.339
 And it really brings into this issue of just talking about justice and love.

00:42:56.460 --> 00:42:58.699
 What thoughts do you have about that as we conclude?

00:43:01.179 --> 00:43:02.779
 I think we're all Jonah.

00:43:03.199 --> 00:43:06.480
 I think we look at God and we kind of zoom in.

00:43:06.579 --> 00:43:09.279
 We magnify the traits that we want.

00:43:09.280 --> 00:43:10.960
 That appeal to us.

00:43:11.060 --> 00:43:12.540
 That make us feel warm inside.

00:43:13.300 --> 00:43:16.600
 And for a lot of, I guess, this generation, it's God is love.

00:43:16.800 --> 00:43:16.920
 Right?

00:43:16.980 --> 00:43:18.140
 And that speaks to us.

00:43:18.720 --> 00:43:20.640
 The forgiving nature side of God.

00:43:20.760 --> 00:43:21.460
 The love your neighbor.

00:43:21.920 --> 00:43:23.540
 We like that side of God.

00:43:24.100 --> 00:43:29.300
 And we, like Jonah, we omit parts of God that are difficult to accept.

00:43:29.300 --> 00:43:33.960
 I think for some cultures to hear that, hey, you know what?

00:43:34.160 --> 00:43:40.000
 God calls us to a standard of holy living, holy relationships, boundaries.

00:43:40.740 --> 00:43:42.019
 That's difficult to accept.

00:43:42.320 --> 00:43:44.380
 And then to hear, oh, forgive your neighbor.

00:43:44.820 --> 00:43:46.740
 Or forgive people who trespass against you.

00:43:46.780 --> 00:43:47.120
 Oh, yeah, yeah.

00:43:47.120 --> 00:43:47.660
 That makes sense.

00:43:48.720 --> 00:43:52.539
 But then to other cultures, hearing the same message, they would have a very different response.

00:43:52.539 --> 00:43:59.000
 I would just imagine maybe like an honor, shame culture, maybe in the Middle East where, yeah, you know what?

00:43:59.400 --> 00:44:01.239
 The strict boundaries between men and women.

00:44:02.259 --> 00:44:05.579
 God's design for marriage should be between a man and a woman.

00:44:06.219 --> 00:44:07.219
 We accept those.

00:44:07.340 --> 00:44:07.840
 No problem.

00:44:07.920 --> 00:44:08.380
 We'll do it.

00:44:08.679 --> 00:44:12.159
 But then to hear, oh, forgive, to love your neighbor.

00:44:12.480 --> 00:44:13.519
 That would be difficult.

00:44:14.059 --> 00:44:14.679
 And so here's the thing.

00:44:14.820 --> 00:44:19.599
 God subverts, challenges every one of us.

00:44:20.440 --> 00:44:21.480
 We are Jonah.

00:44:21.480 --> 00:44:24.179
 Jonah, every single one of us is Jonah.

00:44:24.280 --> 00:44:25.679
 Every single culture is Jonah.

00:44:26.260 --> 00:44:39.500
 And we need to come to God and to allow him to show us the fullness of who he really is and to challenge the very parts of us that resist him.

00:44:40.579 --> 00:44:44.960
 And, of course, Jonah's big plight with all of this is actually he looks at God.

00:44:45.039 --> 00:44:47.219
 He's like, God, you are a God of love.

00:44:47.480 --> 00:44:50.519
 But I've lost confidence in the fact that you're a God of justice.

00:44:51.480 --> 00:44:55.380
 So can God really be a God of love and of justice is really the question that he's asking.

00:44:55.440 --> 00:44:57.260
 And he's saying he's voted with his feet and he's saying no.

00:44:57.679 --> 00:44:59.320
 He's going to be loving and that's it.

00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:00.480
 And I can't roll with that.

00:45:01.119 --> 00:45:05.440
 But really, now that now we know what we know about Jesus.

00:45:05.440 --> 00:45:08.019
 What thoughts run through your mind?

00:45:08.019 --> 00:45:18.280
 It's funny how Jonah comes at this because he wasn't on the receiving end of the full justice of God.

00:45:18.720 --> 00:45:20.280
 God's spared him.

00:45:20.280 --> 00:45:27.180
 The way he runs away from God, the way he speaks to God, the kind of justice that he wishes upon his enemies.

00:45:27.480 --> 00:45:30.040
 He's actually receiving grace on his own.

00:45:30.039 --> 00:45:36.980
 And as we kind of come to the end of this book, I can't help but look at who this book is really about.

00:45:37.219 --> 00:45:39.559
 And it's really not about Jonah.

00:45:40.360 --> 00:45:44.320
 We might see ourselves in Jonah, in the Ninevites.

00:45:44.719 --> 00:45:47.320
 But this is not fully just about us.

00:45:47.440 --> 00:45:49.019
 This is about Jesus.

00:45:49.019 --> 00:45:57.500
 In Matthew 12 and Luke 11, they're almost identical passages where Jesus talks about Jonah.

00:45:58.239 --> 00:46:02.360
 Jonah doesn't get to complete and have the final say on his own story.

00:46:02.860 --> 00:46:08.019
 And I don't know if he knew that someone to come was going to speak about it.

00:46:08.480 --> 00:46:09.340
 But someone did.

00:46:09.780 --> 00:46:13.119
 And Jesus comes and he calls himself the greater Jonah.

00:46:13.440 --> 00:46:14.719
 Jesus makes it about himself.

00:46:15.300 --> 00:46:17.099
 I think we have to go there for a minute.

00:46:17.099 --> 00:46:21.759
 And the fact that we're all Jonah, we've been through this these last few weeks.

00:46:21.819 --> 00:46:24.960
 We are all Jonah because we all forget grace ourselves, right?

00:46:25.119 --> 00:46:28.559
 We all forget that we look at other people and we point out the problems that they have.

00:46:28.619 --> 00:46:30.799
 And like, God, why aren't you judging them?

00:46:30.880 --> 00:46:31.920
 Why aren't you sorting them out?

00:46:31.960 --> 00:46:34.079
 And you realize, actually, we have that.

00:46:34.179 --> 00:46:38.440
 I mean, I had that example pop up in my own heart the other day.

00:46:39.119 --> 00:46:46.000
 Christina and I, we took that long, treacherous journey to Shenzhen a couple of days ago.

00:46:46.000 --> 00:46:51.400
 So, of course, she's, we had to go through the farmer's line because someone doesn't have a Wu Hangjing.

00:46:51.800 --> 00:46:54.519
 So, so anyway, and of course, we're with a child.

00:46:54.639 --> 00:46:57.579
 So he doesn't have his own e-card thing.

00:46:58.000 --> 00:46:59.480
 And I'm just waiting in the queue.

00:47:00.280 --> 00:47:03.820
 And do you, do you have you, okay, so I have a problem with queues, by the way.

00:47:03.820 --> 00:47:06.619
 And this, this comes back from when my dad had how he raised us.

00:47:06.619 --> 00:47:13.099
 Even in a McDonald's line, he would put me, my brother and himself all in separate queues just to see who would get there first.

00:47:13.480 --> 00:47:16.319
 And then suddenly, whoever gets there first, the other two absorb into that one.

00:47:16.859 --> 00:47:18.079
 We were that annoying family.

00:47:18.759 --> 00:47:23.339
 So then I would, I was standing and I was like, okay, Christina, we have to, okay, that family looks like trouble.

00:47:23.579 --> 00:47:25.079
 They're going to have problems in the line.

00:47:25.159 --> 00:47:26.799
 So then you say, stay away from that queue.

00:47:27.039 --> 00:47:28.100
 And then you join this queue.

00:47:28.360 --> 00:47:32.100
 And then you realize, actually, the one single person here ends up being the one with the problem.

00:47:32.180 --> 00:47:32.500
 You're like, ah!

00:47:32.700 --> 00:47:33.600
 And then you go into that queue.

00:47:33.660 --> 00:47:34.760
 Anyway, we jump around a couple of times.

00:47:34.820 --> 00:47:36.700
 My wife gets completely annoyed by all of this stuff.

00:47:36.820 --> 00:47:37.820
 But I just can't help it.

00:47:37.900 --> 00:47:38.800
 It's just, that's my idol.

00:47:39.580 --> 00:47:48.420
 So, and then, and then when I'm just behind this one family that are just in the queue and they're just there forever.

00:47:48.840 --> 00:47:50.980
 And I'm like, criminals.

00:47:52.220 --> 00:47:55.240
 I hope they find what you did and drag you to that room.

00:47:55.239 --> 00:47:57.119
 Because you're taking so long.

00:47:57.859 --> 00:47:58.939
 So, so long.

00:47:59.299 --> 00:47:59.979
 Come on.

00:48:00.459 --> 00:48:02.219
 What business do you have going into Shenzhen?

00:48:02.879 --> 00:48:04.239
 Seriously, just go home.

00:48:04.679 --> 00:48:06.379
 These thoughts are just happening inside my head.

00:48:07.979 --> 00:48:09.759
 And then what happens when I get to the queue?

00:48:10.599 --> 00:48:11.919
 And then suddenly we get checked.

00:48:12.279 --> 00:48:13.319
 And then we're taking forever.

00:48:13.439 --> 00:48:14.959
 I'm like, I hope those people don't know.

00:48:15.039 --> 00:48:15.679
 Oh my goodness.

00:48:16.059 --> 00:48:18.239
 I hope they understand my situation.

00:48:19.879 --> 00:48:21.639
 I married a wagwaran.

00:48:21.639 --> 00:48:25.980
 I hope they understand.

00:48:26.519 --> 00:48:27.400
 Don't we do that?

00:48:27.480 --> 00:48:29.279
 Don't we judge others by their actions?

00:48:30.019 --> 00:48:31.819
 But we judge ourselves by our intentions.

00:48:33.019 --> 00:48:33.699
 Don't we do that?

00:48:33.900 --> 00:48:35.819
 Don't we have that kind of Jonah inside us?

00:48:35.859 --> 00:48:36.519
 Well, we forget.

00:48:36.679 --> 00:48:37.619
 And it just takes a moment.

00:48:37.779 --> 00:48:38.379
 And that's it.

00:48:39.099 --> 00:48:40.719
 And actually, even just as you said that.

00:48:40.779 --> 00:48:41.579
 And this is where we'll finish.

00:48:41.579 --> 00:48:45.960
 Because I know you have some really, just really cool comparisons between Jesus and Jonah.

00:48:46.219 --> 00:48:47.619
 That I would love for us to finish with.

00:48:48.239 --> 00:48:55.299
 Is when you said that Jesus comes and basically has the final say for Jonah.

00:48:55.759 --> 00:48:57.259
 And says, I am the greater Jonah.

00:48:58.460 --> 00:49:01.179
 Doesn't, wouldn't that just warm Jonah's heart?

00:49:01.779 --> 00:49:02.719
 That everything that he's gone through.

00:49:02.719 --> 00:49:07.579
 And you're like, I am, what, what Jonah wasn't, I am.

00:49:08.899 --> 00:49:10.539
 And that just sends goosebumps.

00:49:11.459 --> 00:49:15.779
 Just because for me, it's like, man, this is how the whole of scripture just comes together.

00:49:16.099 --> 00:49:17.959
 To point towards him, right?

00:49:18.419 --> 00:49:23.000
 And just wanting to share with us, just the comparisons between just Jesus and Jonah.

00:49:23.879 --> 00:49:25.459
 Jesus is the greater Jonah.

00:49:26.959 --> 00:49:28.459
 Jonah ran from his assignment.

00:49:28.919 --> 00:49:30.000
 And Jesus ran towards it.

00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:33.039
 Jonah went into the city because he had to.

00:49:33.679 --> 00:49:35.539
 Jesus came because he wanted to.

00:49:36.519 --> 00:49:39.579
 Jonah sat outside the city and hoped for its destruction.

00:49:39.760 --> 00:49:43.320
 And Jesus stood outside and wept and pleaded for her salvation.

00:49:44.820 --> 00:49:48.079
 Jonah was thrown overboard into the sea for his sin.

00:49:48.659 --> 00:49:52.139
 And Jesus was cast into the sea of God's wrath for ours.

00:49:53.159 --> 00:49:57.820
 Jonah was taken into the depths of darkness for three days because of his disobedience.

00:49:57.820 --> 00:50:03.539
 For Christ was taken into the darkness of death for three days because of ours.

00:50:07.200 --> 00:50:10.940
 Jonah showed up bearing an announcement of condemnation.

00:50:11.140 --> 00:50:17.580
 But Jesus says in John 3, 17, that God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world.

00:50:17.579 --> 00:50:24.559
 And there's a peek in Hebrews about Jesus suffering.

00:50:24.639 --> 00:50:29.559
 It says Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.

00:50:30.299 --> 00:50:34.239
 So finally, Jonah went outside the city hoping to witness his condemnation.

00:50:34.360 --> 00:50:39.079
 But Jesus went outside on the cross, outside the city to accomplish its salvation.

00:50:39.920 --> 00:50:41.299
 He is the greater Jonah.

00:50:41.300 --> 00:50:46.519
 And whilst we've spent so much time wondering, okay, what if Jonah is in me?

00:50:47.539 --> 00:50:49.519
 And that's a valid question.

00:50:49.660 --> 00:50:51.440
 That's a valuable exercise that we have to do.

00:50:51.960 --> 00:50:53.500
 But maybe we finish just there.

00:50:54.280 --> 00:50:55.700
 But what if it wasn't even about you?

00:50:56.780 --> 00:50:58.100
 What if it was all about Jesus?

00:50:59.340 --> 00:51:01.120
 What if he's the center of everything?

00:51:01.580 --> 00:51:05.120
 What if everything came from him, through him, for him, by him?

00:51:05.119 --> 00:51:07.219
 What does that mean?

00:51:09.239 --> 00:51:12.079
 Maybe this is where we finish and we go, okay, well, what does that mean for us?

00:51:13.819 --> 00:51:16.460
 And maybe just as this book finishes, I turn it back to you.

00:51:16.519 --> 00:51:16.859
 I don't know.

00:51:17.819 --> 00:51:18.980
 What does it mean for you?

00:51:19.819 --> 00:51:21.779
 As you reflect on the idols that you have.

00:51:21.859 --> 00:51:23.920
 As you reflect on the storms that God has allowed.

00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:29.179
 As you reflect on the plant, the worm, the wind, the Ninevites, the self-righteousness.

00:51:30.819 --> 00:51:33.400
 As you reflect on the honesty that Jonah has.

00:51:33.400 --> 00:51:34.000
 All these things.

00:51:35.119 --> 00:51:36.219
 What does that mean for you?

00:51:36.719 --> 00:51:37.759
 How do you respond?

00:51:39.480 --> 00:51:42.380
 And what does Jesus bearing that good news mean for you?

00:51:42.400 --> 00:51:43.440
 And how can you apply that?

00:51:44.039 --> 00:51:46.339
 I can't tell you how to respond to this message.

00:51:47.019 --> 00:51:48.299
 The arrow is coming straight for you.

00:51:49.900 --> 00:51:53.960
 I'm going to invite Florence and the team now to come up just to spend a moment here.

00:51:54.599 --> 00:51:55.920
 And I'll lead us in a prayer.

00:51:56.019 --> 00:51:56.900
 Actually, I want to take this chance.

00:51:57.019 --> 00:51:58.859
 Can I pray for you as well?

00:52:00.859 --> 00:52:03.239
 When we obey the call of the Lord,

00:52:04.000 --> 00:52:04.960
 I've got to tell you.

00:52:05.319 --> 00:52:09.000
 When we love anything, when we love something, it costs us something.

00:52:10.440 --> 00:52:16.119
 We shared about Sam's health these last few years.

00:52:16.440 --> 00:52:21.960
 And honestly, it's been a dilemma for me to even ask him to come up to do this with me.

00:52:21.960 --> 00:52:29.000
 Because I know that every time I ask him to do something with me in church, the enemy seeks to destroy.

00:52:29.119 --> 00:52:31.320
 The enemy seeks to bring him and his family down.

00:52:31.559 --> 00:52:33.800
 And we were just talking about this last night as we were on this call.

00:52:35.179 --> 00:52:38.039
 And his health is suddenly getting a little bit shaky.

00:52:38.039 --> 00:52:41.239
 Suddenly, some of the signs are just coming back.

00:52:41.920 --> 00:52:47.219
 And I was just like, should I even ask him?

00:52:47.219 --> 00:52:55.159
 And then I said, hey, if anything isn't right, if it just doesn't feel right, don't even worry.

00:52:55.619 --> 00:52:56.259
 Just drop it.

00:52:56.959 --> 00:52:59.139
 And I'll be fine by myself.

00:52:59.139 --> 00:53:01.519
 And then yesterday, he just said the words to me.

00:53:01.599 --> 00:53:03.299
 And he was like, actually, no, quite the contrary.

00:53:03.300 --> 00:53:08.280
 Even with all these things happening, we're going to push through.

00:53:08.700 --> 00:53:09.539
 And this isn't just him.

00:53:09.600 --> 00:53:11.680
 It has to be Rachel as well, because she's the one who has to.

00:53:12.620 --> 00:53:16.220
 And so I wanted just to spend that time to honor the family here.

00:53:16.780 --> 00:53:20.660
 Just going, actually, for him to even do this, even preaching the gospel, there is a cost.

00:53:22.120 --> 00:53:23.320
 Obeying the Lord, there is a cost.

00:53:24.580 --> 00:53:25.740
 I don't know what that is for you.

00:53:25.920 --> 00:53:28.380
 And that's how I want to pray for him.

00:53:28.400 --> 00:53:29.560
 And I want to pray for all of us.

00:53:29.559 --> 00:53:32.779
 It says we seek to respond to this message that the Lord has given us.

00:53:32.920 --> 00:53:35.619
 Seek to respond to this arrow that is coming right towards us.

00:53:35.980 --> 00:53:41.019
 With the aim of really piercing our hearts, cutting straight to the deepest parts of our hearts.

00:53:41.799 --> 00:53:42.940
 How will you respond?

00:53:43.259 --> 00:53:43.980
 What will you do?

00:53:44.860 --> 00:53:45.920
 And yes, it might cost you.

00:53:47.219 --> 00:53:48.119
 But he is good.

00:53:49.360 --> 00:53:50.099
 And he is worth it.

00:53:50.860 --> 00:53:51.279
 Let's pray.

00:53:51.280 --> 00:54:00.100
 Thank you, Lord, that you come to us.

00:54:01.860 --> 00:54:05.200
 You come and preach peace to those of us who are near or far off.

00:54:08.800 --> 00:54:11.880
 And thank you that that good news is for every single one of us here.

00:54:12.380 --> 00:54:14.820
 Whether we are as far as the Ninevites.

00:54:15.560 --> 00:54:17.160
 Or as self-righteous as Jonah.

00:54:17.159 --> 00:54:21.179
 Or as well-intentioned as the sailors.

00:54:24.399 --> 00:54:25.480
 We come to you now.

00:54:25.579 --> 00:54:26.599
 And with Jesus, we look at you.

00:54:26.739 --> 00:54:27.879
 You are the center of everything.

00:54:29.839 --> 00:54:31.879
 You're the author and perfecter of our faith.

00:54:33.759 --> 00:54:34.719
 Would you bring healing?

00:54:35.539 --> 00:54:36.339
 Would you bring restoration?

00:54:36.639 --> 00:54:37.440
 Would you give us faith?

00:54:38.639 --> 00:54:40.399
 Thank you for this brother and for his family.

00:54:40.799 --> 00:54:43.039
 As they heed your call, would you protect them?

00:54:43.039 --> 00:54:47.679
 Would you not allow harm to come upon them?

00:54:50.199 --> 00:54:56.420
 May your grace and your mercy and compassion and love cover their family and cover all of us here.

00:54:57.779 --> 00:54:58.980
 We respond to you, Lord.

00:55:01.320 --> 00:55:04.800
 May you unite us in one voice.

00:55:05.659 --> 00:55:07.420
 As we say, we trust you.

00:55:09.159 --> 00:55:10.039
 We trust you.

00:55:10.039 --> 00:55:10.039


00:55:13.039 --> 00:55:14.199
 We trust you.

00:55:17.659 --> 00:55:19.360
 You truly are the center of everything.

00:55:21.179 --> 00:55:22.340
 And we worship you now.

00:55:23.659 --> 00:55:24.699
 In your name we pray.

00:55:25.699 --> 00:55:25.960
 Amen.