WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.000 The scripture reading comes from Matthew chapter 4 and John 14. 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:14.000 Please follow along on the screen, the bulletin, or on your Bible. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:18.000 In Matthew 4 verse 18 we read, 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:29.000 While walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:34.000 casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:40.000 And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:45.000 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:54.000 And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:01:01.000 And in the boat, with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:06.000 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:15.000 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in the synagogue and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:21.000 and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:31.000 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various disease and pains, 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:38.000 those oppressed by demons, those having seizures and paralytics, and he held them. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:51.000 And a great crowd followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:56.000 And in John 14, verse 8, we read, 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:03.000 Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:10.000 Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.000 Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.000 How can you say, Show us the Father? 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:22.000 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:31.000 The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me, who does his work. 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:40.000 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, or else believe on account on the works themselves. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:48.000 Truly, truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:57.000 The greater works that this will be, will he, will I will do. 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:00.000 Then the Father may be glorified the Son. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:05.000 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:06.000 Amen. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.000 This is the word of God. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:12.000 Great. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:15.000 Thank you, Jonas and Janet. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.000 Good morning, Watermark family. 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:18.000 Great to be with you. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:23.000 Once again, if you do not know me, my name is Kevin, and I can see a bunch of you on the screen. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:27.000 Sybil and Joyce and Michael, Bernard and others, a warm welcome to you. 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:30.000 It is wonderful to be with you today. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:43.000 We are looking at Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 4, where he comes to various people, and amazingly, in unbelievable grace, Jesus comes and says, follow me. 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:56.000 What is so amazing about it is, as we have been going through the series, we have learned that in the first century, for a teacher to allow some people to follow him, some disciples or apprentices, he would select the very best students. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:08.000 Those who were the top of the class, those who came with a good reputation, those who had a well manicured resume, those whose lives were well ordered and put together. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:17.000 And after a rigorous interview process, if he thought they were good enough, he might invite them or allow them to possibly follow him. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:28.000 But Jesus comes to these fishermen, these working class people that didn't have much of a reputation or a CV or a resume. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:36.000 Jesus comes later on to tax collectors, the very people that society didn't hold in much regard, and he says, I'm choosing you. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:41.000 I want you to come and be part of my kingdom to come and follow me. 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:51.000 And so as we're working through Matthew 4, we're learning what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus, not just in first century Israel, but also in 21st century Hong Kong. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:57.000 And one of the things we're learning is that when Jesus says, follow me, that's not just a once off decision. 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:06.000 He's not just saying convert to Christianity back in 1997, and then from now on out, just live your best life now. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:15.000 Jesus calls us to live with him, to orientate our lives around him every day, to follow him from day to day for the rest of our lives. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.000 And we're learning that that kind of involves three things, the three main ingredients. 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:25.000 When Jesus says, follow me, he says, come and be with me. Come and orientate your life around me. 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:31.000 And what that really means is that throughout our day, whether we're on the MTR, whether we're putting our children to bed at night, 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:41.000 whether you're in the boardroom negotiating a deal, when you're on your way to school, what that means is to live with an awareness that we are in the presence of King Jesus. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:49.000 It doesn't mean that throughout the day we literally need to have our hands open and stop the traffic light and say, Father, do you want me to go forward or not? 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:56.000 We don't live like that. But we live as we go throughout our day, orientated around Jesus, aware that we're in the presence of the King. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:06.000 Secondly, Jesus says, come and become like me. In other words, love what I love, hate what I hate, be like me in character, in nature, in heart, 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:13.000 but also be like me in my relationship with the Father, dependent upon me, intimate with me, reliant upon me. 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:23.000 And then the third thing we are learning about what Jesus says when he says, come and follow me, is let the pattern of your life look like the pattern of my life. 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:32.000 Let your lifestyle look like my lifestyle. And what that means is that we as followers of Jesus start to do the things that Jesus did. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:45.000 In the first century, someone could look at a apprentice, a disciple and know whose teacher they belong to, whose rabbi they were, who they were following just by observing their life. 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:50.000 They could see someone down the street and say, oh, that must be an apprentice of that teacher or that rabbi. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:55.000 Jesus says, come and follow me. Come and learn to let your life look like my life. 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:58.000 And so that's what we're going to look at today. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:04.000 And so we're looking at this passage in John chapter 14. And if you have your Bible, I encourage you to turn there with me. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:11.000 We're going to spend a little bit of time on it up front and then we're going to look at practically what does that look like in our lives. 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:19.000 And so the context is this in the later chapters of John's Gospel, Jesus engages in what's called his final discourse. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:30.000 It's the night before he's about to be crucified. He's having his last supper with his disciples and he's giving them his final teaching before Judas leaves the meal to go and betray him. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:35.000 Jesus is going to be arrested in a couple of hours and the next day he's going to be crucified. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:45.000 And so Jesus gives his final discourse to his disciples and he's been talking to him about the fact that he's about to be crucified and he's then going to ascend to the Father and leave them. 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:48.000 But that's okay because he's going to send the Holy Spirit. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.000 Look at what the disciples say to this in verse 8. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:56.000 Philip says, Lord, show us the Father. That's enough for us. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:02.000 Jesus said, Philip, have I been with you so long and still you do not know me? 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:05.000 Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:08.000 How can you say, show us the Father? 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:12.000 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:15.000 The words that I say to you, I don't speak of my own authority. 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:20.000 No, but the Father who dwells in me, he does his works in me. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.000 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:28.000 Or else, believe at least on account of the works themselves. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:33.000 So here, this one disciple, Philip, is saying, look, Jesus, you've been talking about the Father. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:36.000 We want to see the Father. Can't you just show us who is God? 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.000 What exactly is he like? 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:40.000 And Jesus says, how can you even ask me that? 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:53.000 I spent three years with you. Can't you see, Philip, that the Father and I are so unified, so united, so one, that if you've seen me, it's like you've seen the Father. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:57.000 If you've experienced me, it's like you've experienced God the Father. 00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:00.000 And Jesus gives two proofs for this. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.000 He says, firstly, look at my words. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:06.000 He says, the words that I say to you, I don't speak of my own authority. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.000 In other words, you've been listening to what I've been saying. 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:11.000 This isn't just some new radical teaching. 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:17.000 The things that I've been saying to you are bear witness or testament to the fact that God and I are one. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:23.000 What I've been saying, announcing the gospel of the kingdom, is the same thing that all the prophets have been saying throughout the scripture. 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:27.000 Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, my words are the fulfillment of this. 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:30.000 I'm only doing what the Father has told me to say. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:37.000 But secondly, he says, if you don't believe on account of my words, well, at least consider my works. 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:38.000 Look at what he says here. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:41.000 Believe me that I'm in the Father and the Father's in me. 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:48.000 Or else, if you can't believe my words, at least believe on account of the works themselves. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:55.000 Jesus is saying that, if my verbal testimony leaves you with doubts in your mind about who I am, look to my works. 00:09:55.000 --> 00:10:01.000 Let my works and my words join together and lead you to faith. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:04.000 Okay, that's what verse 11 says. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:07.000 And Jesus actually says the same thing throughout John's gospel. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:09.000 He says in chapter 10, a little bit earlier. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:13.000 The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me. 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:27.000 So, the goal of Jesus' lifestyle, his works, the way that he lived his life, was to bear witness to the reality of who God is and who Jesus is in relation to God the Father. 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:32.000 Jesus says, believe me, I'm in the Father, the Father's in me. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:35.000 Or else, believe on account of the works themselves. 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:38.000 Now, look at the very next verse. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:39.000 Verse 12. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:49.000 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me, followers of Jesus, will also do the works that I do. 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:52.000 Do you see what Jesus is saying? 00:10:52.000 --> 00:11:00.000 In the same way that Jesus' life is a testimony to God the Father and to who Christ is in the Father. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:10.000 In the same way, our lives, followers of Jesus, are meant to be a testimony to who Jesus is and who we are in Jesus. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.000 Now, there's an obvious difference between our works and Jesus' works. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:23.000 Jesus' works, his lifestyle, testifies to the fact that he is one with God, that he is divine, that he is the Son of God, that he is part of the Trinity. 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:33.000 Our works, I'm sorry to say, don't suggest in any way that we are somehow the fourth member of the Trinity, that we are somehow divine along with Jesus. 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:34.000 There's a distinction there. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:36.000 That's obviously not what Jesus is saying. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:45.000 But what he's saying is that the things that he did bore witness about him to lead people to see God and who God is. 00:11:45.000 --> 00:12:01.000 And in a similar way, those who follow him, those who are learning to be with him and become like him, in the power of the Spirit will continue similar works so that our lives will also bear witness to who he is, who Christ is, and who he is in the Father. 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:10.000 So the lives of followers of Jesus are meant to, in some small way, look like Jesus' life and emulate his works. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.000 Jesus says the same thing in Matthew chapter 5. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:21.000 He says, remember he says, you are the salt of the earth, you are the city on a hill, let your light shine. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:31.000 Then he says this, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, that's the same word in Greek, and give glory to your Father in heaven. 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:34.000 The Apostle Paul writes similarly in Ephesians chapter 2. 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:35.000 This is amazing. 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:39.000 He says, by grace, we've been saved through faith. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:40.000 This is not your own doing. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:46.000 It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:57.000 Okay, so Paul says this, we were dead in our sins, in Christ we've been made alive in Jesus, reconciled to the Father, given a new name, a new status. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:01.000 And that's not because of our good works, it's by sheer grace alone. 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:07.000 No one can come before the Father and say, Father, I'm a Christian because I've done so many good things. 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:10.000 No, no, we are saved by grace. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:18.000 Remember in the gospel, we are given what we don't deserve, which is adoption, reconciliation, justification, redemption. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:24.000 And we are also not given what we do deserve, which is judgment and hell for all eternity. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:31.000 In the gospel, we are given these things by grace alone, through faith, not because of our good works. 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:35.000 But then, look at what Paul says. 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:51.000 Because we are saved, because we are accepted by God on the basis of grace, not good works, God then changes us so that we start to live the kind of lives that do good works, as a result of what Jesus has done in our lives. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:14:02.000 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:05.000 John Piper summarizes it like this. 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:11.000 He says, Jesus means that all of his followers will be marked by this. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:20.000 They'll be so united to Jesus that they'll carry on his work by his power, doing the kind of things that will bear witness about him. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:25.000 They will point people to Jesus and through Jesus to God the Father. 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:35.000 Christians are defined by works or life which flow from faith in Jesus and point to the glory of Jesus. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:40.000 Okay, so Christians are not saved by works, we're saved by grace alone. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:51.000 But because we are in Christ, Jesus says, let your life, like my life, testify to who I am and who God the Father is. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:57.000 Verse 12, truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:03.000 Friends, maybe I can ask you, are you a follower of Jesus this morning? 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:07.000 Does this, could this be said of you? 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:12.000 Does your life in some small way look like the life of Jesus? 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:17.000 Well, Jesus goes on and he says something very interesting. 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:26.000 He says, not only will his followers do the same works that he does, he actually says this, we will do greater works in these because he is going to the Father. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:32.000 Now, it's a very difficult passage, this, and what he doesn't mean is that we will do more spectacular works in Jesus. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.000 Like, Jesus fed 5,000, we will feed 10,000, right? 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:42.000 Jesus walked on water, we will somehow just hover on water or fly across the water, okay? 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:45.000 It doesn't mean that the works we do will be more spectacular. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:47.000 It also doesn't mean that we will do more in number. 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:52.000 You know, Jesus healed 1,000 people, we will heal 10,000 or a million. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:54.000 Though that is true as well. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:59.000 What it means is that Jesus' works that he did were anticipatory. 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:04.000 They anticipated the cross and his death and his resurrection. 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:10.000 But the works that his followers will do will not be in hope or anticipation signs of what's coming. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:13.000 There will be a proof of what has already happened. 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:16.000 Maybe an example to think of it like this. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:19.000 Imagine someone comes to you and says, I want to give you a million dollars. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:22.000 That's a nice thing to happen. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.000 And he says, here's a down payment. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:26.000 Here is $10,000. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:29.000 Here's a check for $10,000 as a down payment. 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:33.000 Imagine someone else comes to you and says, I want to give you a million dollars. 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:35.000 In fact, I've already done it. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:38.000 Here is a statement from the bank, a proof of transfer. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.000 The money is already in your bank. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:41.000 Which one's better? 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:45.000 A check, which is a down payment of what's to come. 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:48.000 Or the proof of what's already in your account. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:59.000 Jesus says that the works that his disciples will do will be greater because there will be a proof, almost a guarantee of what has already happened. 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:06.000 We don't do works that says, believe the works in our lives because one day Jesus is going to die on the cross and rise again. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:08.000 And I'm just preparing you for that. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:14.000 When people see our lives and when we pray for someone they heal in Jesus name, this should be a proof. 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:16.000 Say, the power is not in us. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.000 This is because Jesus died and rose again. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:19.000 He conquered sin. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:20.000 He conquered the grave. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:21.000 Jesus is alive. 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:25.000 This is a guarantee of what Christ has done. 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:31.000 Jesus says, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:34.000 Now, what exactly are these works? 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:39.000 Well, in the immediate context, in John's Gospel, Jesus is talking about his miracles. 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:51.000 But when you read the rest of the New Testament, books like 1 Corinthians, it's obvious that not all Christians will abound in miraculous works and works of healing. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.000 Some may, and that's wonderful. 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:56.000 Corinthians tells us that all Christians are given different gifts. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.000 Some are given the gift of faith. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.000 Some are given the gift of speaking in tongues or prophecy. 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:04.000 Some are given the gift of miracles and healing. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:07.000 But Paul says not all Christians have all of these gifts. 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:14.000 So what that means is, Jesus is not saying that all Christians will necessarily do the miraculous works that he did. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:19.000 Like raising Lazarus from the dead, turning water into wine, walking on the water, etc. 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:27.000 But what he is saying is that the supernatural life that he lived, in the power of God, for the glory of God, 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:49.000 that life is what all followers of Jesus should exhibit and walk in, so that all Christians live the supernatural life in the power of God, that point to the glory of God, and are a sign or evidence of the wonder and the reality of who God is. 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:54.000 Now, when we look at the New Testament, we see Jesus gave himself to many things. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:59.000 But here's a bunch of them categories, ways that we could think about it. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.000 What did Jesus do? 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:05.000 And what should our lives look like as we follow him and become like him? 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:10.000 Well, one of the things that Jesus did very obviously was he announces the gospel. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:15.000 What Matthew calls, he proclaimed the good news of the gospel. 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:23.000 Jesus goes throughout the cities of Galilee and Israel announcing this good news that the kingdom of heaven has come to earth. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:26.000 And it's good news because we don't need to earn our way in. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:27.000 We don't need to buy our way in. 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:29.000 We don't need to merit our way in. 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:35.000 We are received into this kingdom by faith through, by grace through faith alone. 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:37.000 And Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven has come. 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:40.000 Turn, repent from the kingdom of darkness. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:43.000 Come and follow me and enter the kingdom of God. 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:46.000 Jesus announced the good news of the kingdom wherever he went. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.000 Here's another thing Jesus did. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:51.000 He also taught what life in his kingdom was like. 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:54.000 So Jesus doesn't say, I've got good news. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:56.000 The kingdom of God is here. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:58.000 Just pray this simple prayer. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.000 Then go on with your life however you want. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.000 And when you die one day, hey, I'll see you in glory. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:04.000 We'll catch up then. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:06.000 Jesus says, the kingdom of God is here. 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:11.000 And then he went around teaching what this life in the kingdom looked like. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:15.000 And one of the most prominent places where he does that is the Sermon on the Mount. 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:21.000 The Sermon on the Mount really is Jesus' manifesto of what life in the kingdom looks like. 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:29.000 But the Sermon on the Mount is not that super high level kingdom like for those that are extreme Christians, 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:31.000 like the amazing Christians. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:36.000 Actually, the Sermon on the Mount is, this is what life in the kingdom looks like for all my followers. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:41.000 It looks like people who pray for their enemies and forgive those that have hurt them. 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.000 Those who turn the other cheek. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:52.000 It looks like those who don't just say, hey, I haven't committed adultery, but actually are pursuing a life of such purity that they don't even pursue a life of lust. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:57.000 It looks like those that are always praying to their father, our father in heaven. 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:58.000 Hallowed be your name. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:03.000 Jesus, let your kingdom come in Hong Kong as it is in heaven. 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:14.000 Jesus says a life in the kingdom is one where we follow the narrow road of suffering that leads to life rather than the wide road of populism that leads to death. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:20.000 And so Jesus announces the arrival of his kingdom and then he taught his people what his life in the kingdom look like. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.000 Here's another thing Jesus did. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.000 Jesus went around doing good. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.000 In Acts chapter 10, it says, 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:35.000 Jesus was anointed by God in the spirit and in power and went around doing good and healing various diseases. 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.000 I think Jonas read it to us earlier in Matthew chapter 4. 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:41.000 Matthew says again, 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:50.000 Jesus went throughout the cities proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, healing various diseases and those that were suffering and afflicted by evil works. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:55.000 And so Jesus does good or what Josh Curry says, he pushes back darkness. 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:57.000 I love that description. 00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:05.000 He does this on individuals by healing the sick, bringing shalom and peace to the brokenness of people's lives. 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:11.000 Jesus is forever helping those that are downtrodden and are suffering. 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:19.000 At one point, Jesus is going to Cornelius's house or sorry, going to a centurion's house to heal his servant. 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:30.000 And on the way, he's interrupted and he's interrupted by an old lady that spent all her money on doctors to be made well, but they haven't helped. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:33.000 And Jesus is allows himself to be interrupted. 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:34.000 He stops from where he's going. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:36.000 The crowds are hammering about him. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:37.000 He stops. 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:43.000 He looks this lady in the eye and he gives individual attention and he makes sure that she's healed. 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:47.000 Jesus does this on an individual level, but he also does it on a corporate level. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:50.000 Jesus stands up to the hypocrisy of society. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.000 He stands up to the hypocrisy of religious leaders, to the corruption. 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:58.000 Jesus mediates between two brothers who are arguing and he brings peace. 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:59.000 He's a peacemaker. 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:06.000 Jesus does good and pushes back darkness in individuals' lives and in society's life. 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.000 Here's another thing that Jesus did. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:14.000 Jesus spent almost his whole time eating and drinking with people who are far from God. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:17.000 This is one of my favorite things about the gospel. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:26.000 If Jesus is not on the mountain top or in a boat or in the synagogue, chances are you'll find him in somebody's house eating and drinking with people. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:34.000 And chances are he's eating and drinking with the very people that society wanted to have nothing to do with. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:41.000 With tax collectors, with prostitutes, with the very people that society looked down upon. 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:44.000 One scholar said it like this. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.000 Jesus seemed to eat his way through the gospels. 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:51.000 And Jesus is always spending his time with these people. 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:56.000 In fact, at one point he's having a meal at Levi's house. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:58.000 Levi, remember, becomes a disciple. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:00.000 But before that he's a tax collector. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.000 And tax collectors were like the scum of Israelite society. 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.000 They were seen as those who joined the Romans against Israel. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.000 They sided with the enemy. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:12.000 They really just looked down upon. 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:15.000 Jesus is having a meal at Levi's house. 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:20.000 And the Pharisees are attacking the disciples, attacking Levi. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.000 And Jesus takes their side. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:25.000 He defends them. 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:28.000 At another point, Jesus is having a meal at a Pharisee's house. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:31.000 And this prostitute lady comes in and is washing his feet. 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:34.000 And the religious leaders are having a go at her. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:37.000 And Jesus joins her side and defends her against them. 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:44.000 You remember when Jesus is having a meal at Levi's house with all his tax collector buddies around there. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:47.000 The Pharisees come to his disciples and say, 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:52.000 Why on earth is your teacher eating and drinking with sinners? 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:56.000 Why is Jesus spending so much time with tax collectors and sinners? 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:58.000 Do you know what the answer is? 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:00.000 Because he's perfect. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:03.000 Because he's Jesus. 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:08.000 Because he's showing us what God is like. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:11.000 Because Jesus is living out the gospel. 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.000 Friends, because you and I need him. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:17.000 And so he's come to be with us. 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:22.000 Notice Jesus doesn't just give a Bible study. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:24.000 He comes and he has a meal. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:25.000 He opens. 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.000 He comes and he invites himself, like Claire spoke about earlier, into people's homes. 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:33.000 Because he knows that going to people's homes is a way of getting into their hearts. 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:37.000 You know, in biblical times, to have a meal with somebody was a way of saying, 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:38.000 I receive you. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:40.000 I accept you. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:46.000 Jesus is forever having meals with people who seem far away from God because he's receiving them. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:49.000 He's pouring out his love on them. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:53.000 Here's another thing that Jesus did was, 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:58.000 He would constantly, intentionally retreat from the demands of life to be with his Father in prayer. 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:04.000 And this is probably one of the most overlooked and yet one of the most important things for us in Hong Kong. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:08.000 In Hong Kong, we are not very good at observing the Sabbath. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:13.000 We're not very good at retreating from the demands of life and spending time with our Father. 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:21.000 Jesus is forever retreating from even good things like ministry and healing the sick and teaching. 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:24.000 Retreating from good things in order to do the best thing, 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:29.000 which is to spend time in silence and solitude with his Father in prayer. 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:30.000 Look at these scriptures. 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.000 Mark chapter one says, 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:35.000 Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:40.000 Jesus departed and he went out to a desolate place and there he prayed. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:42.000 Luke five says, 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:48.000 And now even more, the report about Jesus went abroad and great crowds gathered to hear him, 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:49.000 to be healed of their infirmities. 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:50.000 That's a good thing. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:56.000 But Jesus would withdraw from the crowds to a desolate place and pray. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:59.000 Luke six says the same thing. 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:06.000 In those days, he went out to the mountainside and all night he continued in prayer to God. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:10.000 Friends, we are not very good at this as a society. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:13.000 This is one of the most important things that Jesus did. 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:15.000 John Ortberg says, 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:18.000 Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual formation. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:25.000 We will never know God, never walk with him, never be with him, becoming like him and doing the things that Jesus did. 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:31.000 When our lives are packed eight to eight, rushing from one thing to the next. 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:35.000 As our mobile phones are banging with notifications, one thing after next. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:46.000 Friends, to become like Jesus, we have to take time to disengage, to slow down, to retreat, to fill our soul as we engage with our Father in prayer. 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:53.000 Of course, there is one last thing that Jesus did, the greatest thing, and that was, he gave his life as a ransom for many. 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:56.000 Now, we can't do this in the same way that Jesus did. 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:57.000 None of us are divine. 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:59.000 None of us are the long awaited Messiah. 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:04.000 And yet in another way, Jesus does invite us to lay down our lives for others. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:10.000 Do you remember in the book of Philippians that we looked at last year, in chapter two, the apostle Paul writes this. 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:11.000 He says, 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:18.000 Jesus, though he was God, did not grasp his equality with God, but he laid, he emptied himself. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:21.000 That means he laid aside his glory, his majesty. 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:26.000 He took on the nature of a servant and he poured himself out for others. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:29.000 And then Paul writes this and he says, 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:40.000 In the same way that Jesus poured out his life and to death, thereby buying or purchasing life for others, in the same way I, the apostle Paul, have done that. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:41.000 He says, 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:49.000 Even I have poured out my life like a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, and I am glad and rejoice with you. 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:50.000 Paul says, 00:28:50.000 --> 00:29:01.000 Just as Jesus poured out his life for others, so I too, the apostle, am pouring out my life for you, that your life, your faith may flourish and grow. 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:06.000 Friends, these are just a few things that Jesus did. 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.000 The works and the life that Jesus did. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:10.000 The habits and the patterns of his life. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:11.000 And then Jesus says, 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:15.000 Whoever believes in me will also do the works. 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.000 His life will look like my life, will do the works that I do. 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:25.000 I've tried to show us this morning that when Jesus says, 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:26.000 Come and follow me, 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:30.000 He's calling for the pattern of our lives to look like the pattern of Jesus' life. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:33.000 That we will do the things that Jesus did. 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:36.000 But there's one problem. 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:37.000 There is a problem. 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:42.000 The problem is that if we just left it there, that doesn't really help us much. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:52.000 And my sense is that there's probably three responses that we feel when we hear this teaching or we see those six things on the screen. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:55.000 The first response is maybe some of us feel like, 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:57.000 You've got to be kidding me. 00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:00.000 My life is stretched to the max. 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:02.000 Everything I'm doing. 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:03.000 I'm trying to work. 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:04.000 Trying to look after kids. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:06.000 I'm trying to look after my parents. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:08.000 I'm serving in church. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:10.000 I'm leading a CG. 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:12.000 I'm trying to provide for my family. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:15.000 After everything else I've got to do, 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:18.000 You're now telling me there are six more things to do. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:23.000 And as you hear this, you can feel like you're weighed down by the reality of life. 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:29.000 And now I've just put six more tons in your backpack of things for you to do. 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:32.000 And it can just feel like an added burden. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:36.000 As if you're not doing enough, Jesus is asking you to do a whole lot more. 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:41.000 And so one of the dangers is that we can hear this and we can feel like God is saying, 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:42.000 You're not doing enough. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:46.000 And Jesus cracking the whip over us, asking us to do more. 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:48.000 That could be one response. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:52.000 Another response is we might feel like we hear those things and say, 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:55.000 I can't do any more, but it's okay. 00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:57.000 Christianity is all about grace, isn't it? 00:30:57.000 --> 00:31:02.000 Jesus came to live the life that I couldn't live so that I don't have to. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:03.000 It's wonderful. 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:04.000 That's the good news of Jesus. 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:07.000 That I can just do whatever I want and I'm saved by grace. 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:11.000 But the problem with that is then our lives don't look anything like Jesus. 00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:14.000 And then we've got to tear out a whole bunch of our Bibles. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:17.000 Because Jesus said, when you follow me, your life will look like me. 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:21.000 So if we just write it off and say, hey, we saved by grace. 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:23.000 It doesn't matter whether we do those things or not. 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:24.000 Who cares? 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:25.000 Jesus loves us anyway. 00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:27.000 Then we're not following Jesus. 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:29.000 There's a third response. 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:35.000 And that is that maybe some of us feel like we read those things and we say, sure, no problem. 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:37.000 Is that all you want me to do? 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:39.000 I think Christians should do even more than that. 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:43.000 What about mission trips and serving in the worship team and Bible translation? 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:49.000 And political advocacy and social justice and getting involved in all sorts of other things. 00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:51.000 And more Bible studies. 00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:52.000 Is that all? 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:56.000 And then what happens is that we become like the Pharisees. 00:31:56.000 --> 00:32:00.000 We start looking at our religious resume and all the things we do. 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:03.000 And we start to feel like, yeah, I'm pretty good. 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:05.000 I've got this thing waxed. 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:08.000 And we look at other Christians or other churches down the road. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:10.000 We think, man, those guys are lame. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:13.000 If only they were doing more things like I am. 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:15.000 And that doesn't help. 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:17.000 So how do we obey Jesus? 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:23.000 How do we become like the followers of Jesus, but neither feel overwhelmed and burdened, 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:26.000 neither just ignore it in the name of grace, 00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:31.000 but also don't become self-righteous and conceited and arrogant like the Pharisees? 00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:35.000 Well, the answer is actually found in the final verse that we didn't read. 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:38.000 Look at verses 13 and 14 with me. 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:40.000 Jesus says this. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:41.000 He says, verse 12, 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:44.000 Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do. 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:48.000 Greater works than these will he do, because I'm going to the Father. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:49.000 Then he says, 00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:56.000 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:33:00.000 If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:02.000 What Jesus is saying is this. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:05.000 I'm calling you to do the works that I do. 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:07.000 I'm calling your life to look like my life. 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:13.000 But I want you to do it not in your own strength, not in self-sufficiency. 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:21.000 I want you to do it by drawing close to me, relying on me, remaining in me, dwelling in me. 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:26.000 And as you do so, I will empower you to do the works that I've called you to. 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:32.000 The secret is not to try and do it yourself, but to draw near to me and let me work in you. 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:34.000 And there's two clues in this passage. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:35.000 Look at the first one. 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:42.000 The first one is he says, Whatever you do, whatever you ask actually, do it in my name. 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:48.000 When we pray in Jesus' name, what Jesus means by that is don't just pray and then at the end of your prayer, 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:51.000 just tag on in Jesus Christ's name I pray. 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:52.000 That's not what he means. 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:59.000 What he means is when we come before God in prayer, when we live our lives, we do it not in self-confidence. 00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:00.000 We don't do it in our own name. 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.000 We don't do it in our own self-sufficiency. 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:07.000 We do it desperately dependent on who he is. 00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:09.000 We do it in his strength, in his name. 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:11.000 Our confidence is in him. 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:19.000 We do it with open hands, actively dependent on the one who went to the cross for us, who rose again, who defeated the grave, the one who is our righteousness. 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:23.000 And so we come to God and say, God, I can't do it. 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:26.000 But I come in Jesus' name, the one who can do it. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:30.000 And we ask you, God, come and do your work through us. 00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:31.000 Here's the second clue. 00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:32.000 Look at what Jesus says. 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:37.000 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do. 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:42.000 If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:46.000 The work that Jesus asks us to do is not self-generated. 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:54.000 The work that he does in us as we come to him in heartfelt prayer, intimacy, dependence, reliance. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:58.000 As we come to him, Jesus says, look, I'm calling you to do the same things that I did. 00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:00.000 I'm calling you for your life to look like me. 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:08.000 But actually, as you come to me in my name, I will do these things in you and through you. 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:17.000 So, for instance, Watermark, Jesus comes to us and he says, Watermark, I see that you've got a heart for the vulnerable children in your city and for single moms. 00:35:17.000 --> 00:35:21.000 You want to take care of them, but you feel like how can this is such a big thing in our city. 00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:22.000 We're such a small church. 00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:26.000 How can we as a church make any difference in this area of the city? 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:34.000 Jesus says, whatever you ask in my name, dependent upon me, reliant on me, not in your own strength, I will do it through you. 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:39.000 Jesus comes and he says, you want to love and serve some of the foreign domestic helpers in our city? 00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:41.000 And it feels like we don't even know where to start. 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:44.000 There's 150 of us, there's 400,000 helpers. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:48.000 How on earth can we bless and love and serve the helpers in our city? 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:56.000 Jesus says, as you come in my name, not self-reliant, dependent on me, I will do it through you. 00:35:56.000 --> 00:36:03.000 Jesus comes to us and he says, you want to reach out to your neighbors, those who seem far from God, but they seem so clever, 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:10.000 they've got such good arguments, they've read all these books, you feel intimidated, you feel like, how on earth can I tell anyone about Jesus? 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:12.000 How can I proclaim the gospel to anyone? 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:23.000 Jesus says, as you ask in my name, not self-sufficient, not relying on your own clever arguments, as you come to me, I will do it through you. 00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:35.000 Friends, some of us feel exhausted, burnt out, and we don't even know how we're ever going to rest, how we're going to retreat or withdraw from the demands of life to spend time with our Father. 00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:41.000 It feels like there's so much going on, how on earth can I carve out 20 minutes a day to spend time with God? 00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:51.000 Jesus says, come to me, come rest in me, come ask me, don't do it in your own strength, I will do it in you, I'll do it through you. 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:57.000 The very next chapter of John's gospel, chapter 15, Jesus is still in this final body. 00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:03.000 He's about to be betrayed by Judas Iscariot, and he's giving his disciples his final teaching. 00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:09.000 And this is what he says, we read this two weeks ago, he says, next slide. 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:14.000 Okay, sorry it's not up there, let me read it to you. 00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:19.000 Jesus says this, remain in me, even as I remain in you. 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:22.000 I am like a vine, and you are like branches. 00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:29.000 Whoever remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit. 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:34.000 But apart from me, you can do nothing. 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:41.000 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:52.000 Friends, as we draw near to Christ, as we come to him, in prayer, in confession, in surrender, in humility, in desperation, in dependence upon him. 00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:57.000 For God to work in us and through us, for God to do what we cannot do on our own. 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:03.000 God promises that he will do miraculous things in us and through us. 00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:06.000 Just like the gospel, not in our own strength, but by grace alone. 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:17.000 God will do amazing things in us and through us that will point people to the beauty of Jesus and the wonder of the Father, that he might be glorified in our lives. 00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:21.000 This is what it means when Jesus says, come and follow me. 00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:23.000 Let's pray together. 00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:34.000 Oh gracious Father, wonderful Son, beautiful Spirit, we come before you this morning God. 00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:39.000 We come before you in dependence and desperation God, because we need you. 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.000 God, we don't have what it takes to live this kind of life on our own. 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:47.000 God, we so want that our life will look like your life. 00:38:47.000 --> 00:38:49.000 For us to do the works that you did. 00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:52.000 For us, Jesus, to be proclaimers of the gospel. 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:56.000 For us, God, to do good works and push back darkness in our city. 00:38:57.000 --> 00:39:00.000 God, we long for it to be in Hong Kong as it is in heaven. 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:05.000 For there to be justice and shalom and peace and wholeness and relationships. 00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.000 God, for people to be reconciled, for healing to take place. 00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.000 God, we long for the streets of Hong Kong to look like the streets of heaven, Jesus. 00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:18.000 God, come and do it in us and through us. 00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:23.000 God, we long to see people that are far from you to be reconciled to you. 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:27.000 Jesus, we long for these things to happen in our day. 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:30.000 But Christ, we don't have what it takes. 00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:32.000 We are broken. 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:33.000 We are sinful. 00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:34.000 We are fallible. 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:37.000 God, we are confused. 00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:38.000 We are full of doubts. 00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:45.000 Spirit of God, we ask, won't you come and do in us what you did through Jesus? 00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:48.000 Come and transform our hearts and our lives. 00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:54.000 Come and so orientate our lives around you that the pattern of our lives will look like the pattern of Jesus' life. 00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:58.000 Jesus, we pray these things in your name. 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:00.000 Not relying on ourselves. 00:40:01.000 --> 00:40:02.000 Dependent on you. 00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:04.000 In your name, we ask God, come and do it, we pray. 00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:06.000 Amen.