WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.820 Well, good morning. 00:00:07.179 --> 00:00:09.279 It is good to be with you this morning. 00:00:09.419 --> 00:00:13.259 I'm so thankful that you've given Matthew some time off. 00:00:13.380 --> 00:00:15.400 Matthew and I have really developed a great friendship. 00:00:15.620 --> 00:00:19.280 We get together about once a month or so at his other office away from here. 00:00:19.400 --> 00:00:21.080 If you don't know where that is, I can't tell you. 00:00:21.580 --> 00:00:24.640 A particular coffee shop where he tends to hang out. 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:26.679 And so we get together for mutual encouragement. 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:34.859 And it's just been such a joy for me to meet with him and to pray for you and to pray for your church. 00:00:35.219 --> 00:00:40.719 And so thank you for giving him the time off because, you know, preaching is central to the life of the church. 00:00:40.740 --> 00:00:43.079 And it takes a lot of work to be prepared well. 00:00:43.260 --> 00:00:51.359 And so especially if he's going to go through the book of Romans, to have just a week to get, you know, figure out where he's going is critical. 00:00:51.659 --> 00:00:52.920 So thank you for that. 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:59.579 And also, thank you for your partnership with Mission to the World and other missions in taking the gospel to the nations. 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:03.380 It's just so appreciated you hearing in the prayers. 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:12.379 In fact, just a couple of months ago in January, my wife and some others from Rocky Mountain region were visiting. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:16.820 And I can't say their names because of security concerns, nor can I say where they are. 00:01:16.819 --> 00:01:18.500 We'll just say T and E. 00:01:19.179 --> 00:01:26.599 And we were visiting them in the Middle East, and they are doing phenomenal work with their team. 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:31.000 They're there with T and E, or they're with J and E and R and M. 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:38.859 And they're all doing some amazing work with the gospel in an area that can be, that is quite, quite challenging. 00:01:39.219 --> 00:01:47.400 I mean, God has just put E in a position of influence in an educational institution, which is phenomenal. 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:53.960 T is involved in some language work that is just opening all kinds of doors. 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:58.559 And so to see it firsthand was just amazing. 00:01:59.139 --> 00:02:03.419 So where they are, and I'll just say this, they're in the Middle East. 00:02:04.099 --> 00:02:08.139 And when they first arrived in this country in the Middle East where they are now serving, 00:02:09.060 --> 00:02:11.079 when they first arrived, movies were banned. 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:14.719 Music was not allowed at all. 00:02:15.459 --> 00:02:20.780 And if you were walking down the street during the five calls of prayer and you were not going to prayer, 00:02:20.780 --> 00:02:23.580 the religious police would beat you with a stick. 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:26.680 Today, there are movie theaters in the malls. 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:30.120 You hear music playing all sorts of places. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:33.780 They've had concerts from everybody from Mariah Carey to Metallica. 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:39.139 During the five calls of prayer, we were walking down the street and there were no religious police around. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:41.500 And so it's opened up tremendously. 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:45.400 Yet, still in this country, evangelism is strictly forbidden. 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:47.580 Missionary activity is forbidden. 00:02:47.580 --> 00:02:54.220 And conversion from Islam to Christianity is legally punishable by death. 00:02:55.040 --> 00:03:01.000 And so it is a place where there are very, very few Christians, at least, who are natives to that city. 00:03:01.540 --> 00:03:05.020 In fact, this city is probably about twice the size of Denver. 00:03:05.480 --> 00:03:11.740 And if you were to gather all the indigenous Christians in that region, in that city, into this building, 00:03:12.220 --> 00:03:13.480 they would not fill up this room. 00:03:13.880 --> 00:03:16.180 In fact, it would be fewer people than are here today. 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:18.319 That's how few Christians there are in this area. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:21.379 These people believe that Jesus lived. 00:03:21.480 --> 00:03:23.060 They believe that Jesus was a prophet. 00:03:23.180 --> 00:03:24.360 They believe that he was a good man. 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:26.640 They do not believe that Jesus died on the cross. 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:28.520 They do not believe that he rose again from the dead. 00:03:28.620 --> 00:03:30.540 They do not believe he made atonement for sins. 00:03:31.020 --> 00:03:38.340 And so because of this, they are looking at their own good works as a way to earn their way to heaven and goodness before God. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:39.659 They are lost. 00:03:39.659 --> 00:03:56.159 And there are few people there that tell them the good news, which means overwhelming majority of the people, overwhelming majority of the people will be born, live their entire lives, and die without ever hearing about the hope of Jesus Christ. 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:59.759 Now, you may be thinking, that's interesting. 00:04:00.900 --> 00:04:02.599 But what does that have to do with us? 00:04:02.699 --> 00:04:05.439 After all, that's the Middle East. 00:04:05.859 --> 00:04:07.579 We are here in Colorado. 00:04:08.419 --> 00:04:10.919 How does that have a direct bearing on our lives? 00:04:11.259 --> 00:04:12.759 How does that impact us? 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:21.639 Well, in fact, you might even say, as many people have said to me as I've talked about these things, they say, you know, Mark, there are so many needs in our own city. 00:04:21.779 --> 00:04:25.500 Why are we concerned about what God is going on around the world? 00:04:26.139 --> 00:04:29.500 And the answer to that is, yes, there are tremendous needs in our city. 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:32.819 But thank God, look at all the people we've got here serving already. 00:04:33.039 --> 00:04:36.399 I mean, you add up all the Christians in Colorado Springs, there are quite a few. 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:38.579 We can address the needs in our own city. 00:04:38.579 --> 00:04:43.399 But in other places in the world, there are people there to meet these needs. 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:55.219 And the other thing that we see is that when we become Christians, we not only join the family of God, we join the family business. 00:04:56.279 --> 00:04:58.560 And God has given a mission to his church. 00:04:59.219 --> 00:05:05.860 And we're going to look at what that mission is and what our role is in this mission. 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:08.319 You know the difference between a vision and a mission? 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:13.040 You know how a lot of companies and even churches have vision statements and mission statements, right? 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:15.420 You know, vision is where are you going. 00:05:16.279 --> 00:05:17.620 A mission is how are you going to get there. 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:19.079 Vision is where are you going. 00:05:19.420 --> 00:05:20.480 Mission is how are you going to get there. 00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:22.079 We're going to look at all of Scripture. 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:26.959 We're going to go from the beginning to the end very quickly in certain spots to look at this. 00:05:27.019 --> 00:05:30.560 But we see in the Bible, we don't have to invent the vision of the church. 00:05:30.659 --> 00:05:32.539 We don't have to think, what's God's vision for the church? 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:33.420 He tells us, right? 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:33.460 Right? 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:38.980 God's vision for the church and for the world is revealed in the prophets, 00:05:39.140 --> 00:05:43.000 but then comes to its consummation at the very end of the Bible in the book of Revelation. 00:05:43.140 --> 00:05:43.720 Here's the vision. 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:48.860 The vision is that there is this holy Jerusalem that is a temple to the Lord in heaven 00:05:48.860 --> 00:05:55.860 that will one day come down to earth and it will fill the whole earth so that the whole earth is a temple to the Lord. 00:05:55.980 --> 00:05:56.720 That's the vision. 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:57.680 That's where we're going. 00:05:57.879 --> 00:05:58.980 That's what's going to happen. 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:00.360 So that's the vision. 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:02.120 So we've gone to the end of the Bible. 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:03.520 What's the mission? 00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:04.780 What's the mission? 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:06.000 The mission is how you get there. 00:06:06.580 --> 00:06:10.300 And so to understand the mission, we're going to have to look at the beginning of the Bible 00:06:10.300 --> 00:06:14.560 and we're going to go through from Genesis 1 and primarily Matthew 28, 00:06:14.780 --> 00:06:17.100 looking at this mission, how we get there. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:21.220 And what we're going to see is that while the church does many things, 00:06:21.900 --> 00:06:25.879 while we're engaged in many, many things, the church only has one mission. 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:28.300 And this mission is given to us by God. 00:06:28.400 --> 00:06:29.340 So what's the mission? 00:06:29.339 --> 00:06:36.919 Well, we read moments ago, Genesis 1, about when God created Adam and Eve and humanity. 00:06:37.619 --> 00:06:43.060 And when God created the world, what we see is the world was ordered to some degree, 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:48.120 but the only place on earth that could truly be called paradise was the Garden of Eden. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:52.759 And God creates humanity, creates Adam, and he puts him in the Garden of Eden, 00:06:53.099 --> 00:06:54.479 and he commissions him. 00:06:55.139 --> 00:06:57.919 And when God commissions him, here's the commission we read moments ago. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:00.500 Here's the commission God gives to Adam and Eve, humanity. 00:07:00.740 --> 00:07:05.080 He says you are to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and rule over it. 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:06.280 That's the mission. 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:11.640 Now, God had given the mission to other creatures to be fruitful and multiply, 00:07:12.259 --> 00:07:17.500 but it's only to humanity that he gives this mission to rule or to exercise dominion over all the earth. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:18.160 Now, why? 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:19.319 What makes us special? 00:07:19.420 --> 00:07:20.480 What's different about us? 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:26.680 Well, the difference is, as we see in that commissioning, is God created humanity in his own image. 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:31.700 In the image of God, he created them, male and female, he created them. 00:07:32.180 --> 00:07:33.980 That we are made in the image of God. 00:07:34.060 --> 00:07:35.620 We are his image bearers. 00:07:36.300 --> 00:07:42.560 And so, in the ancient world, when a king wanted to show that he was ruling over a particular land, 00:07:42.640 --> 00:07:45.939 he would put up images of himself throughout the land. 00:07:45.939 --> 00:07:48.740 So that wherever you look, you knew who the king was. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:50.300 That's what God is doing here. 00:07:50.540 --> 00:07:53.079 He creates Adam and Eve, and he says, you're in my image. 00:07:53.139 --> 00:07:57.819 You're my image bearers, and I want you to exercise dominion as my image bearers. 00:07:57.899 --> 00:08:00.620 You're reflecting my rule over all creation. 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:02.939 And so, that's the mission God gives to them. 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:06.800 Not just to garden the garden, not just to cultivate there, 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:11.259 but to fill the whole earth, to exercise dominion over all the earth. 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:15.360 And Genesis chapter 2, then, fills this out a little bit more. 00:08:16.259 --> 00:08:20.920 In Genesis chapter 2, verse 15, God places Adam in the Garden of Eden, 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:24.240 and he tells him to work it and to keep it. 00:08:24.599 --> 00:08:26.219 To work it and to keep it. 00:08:26.599 --> 00:08:30.920 Now, those two words, when they are used together, have a special meaning. 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:36.240 In fact, later on, they're used to describe the work of the priest in the temple, 00:08:36.779 --> 00:08:37.819 or in the tabernacle. 00:08:37.820 --> 00:08:42.360 And so, what he's saying to Adam here is he puts him in the Garden of Eden, 00:08:42.780 --> 00:08:45.760 that you're to work and to cultivate it, not just to keep it. 00:08:45.800 --> 00:08:47.120 You're not just to cultivate it. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:49.879 Rather, you're to work as a priest in the temple. 00:08:49.980 --> 00:08:52.379 So, the Garden of Eden is a temple to the Lord. 00:08:52.900 --> 00:08:54.140 Adam is the high priest. 00:08:54.460 --> 00:08:56.680 He is to serve as the high priest there in the temple, 00:08:56.860 --> 00:09:00.420 and he's to fill the whole earth so that the whole earth is a temple to the Lord. 00:09:01.140 --> 00:09:03.440 And so, that's the mission that Adam is given. 00:09:04.100 --> 00:09:07.280 And so, that mission is given to him and to his posterity. 00:09:08.160 --> 00:09:11.260 Now, God only put one stipulation on Adam and Eve. 00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:11.960 Remember this? 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:13.800 Puts them in the Garden of Eden. 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:16.340 Says, you can eat of any tree that you want. 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:17.920 Eat any fruit that you want. 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:19.320 But, for what? 00:09:20.820 --> 00:09:21.700 Tree at the center. 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:23.400 The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:09:23.780 --> 00:09:26.740 He says, you must not eat of the fruit of that tree. 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:29.360 And of course, what did Adam and Eve do? 00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:31.960 They ate of the fruit of the tree. 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:34.320 And death enters the world. 00:09:35.400 --> 00:09:38.660 Now, you may be thinking, okay, they disobeyed. 00:09:38.740 --> 00:09:40.200 What's so bad about this? 00:09:40.280 --> 00:09:41.240 They stole an apple. 00:09:41.580 --> 00:09:47.040 I mean, is that really a capital offense to steal a piece of fruit or something like this? 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:49.219 Well, remember what the tree was called. 00:09:49.339 --> 00:09:50.639 It's not just called a fruit tree. 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:51.679 It's called the tree of what? 00:09:52.199 --> 00:09:53.779 The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:58.799 What Adam and Eve are doing in this is they're not just disobeying God's command, 00:09:58.959 --> 00:10:00.259 which they certainly are doing. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:03.439 They are rejecting his rule over their lives. 00:10:03.659 --> 00:10:07.319 What they're saying is, I want to decide what is good and evil for myself. 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:09.579 I don't want you to tell me what's good and evil. 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:11.919 I want to decide what is good and evil. 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:16.579 And essentially what they're saying is, Lord, I don't trust your word to guide me. 00:10:17.099 --> 00:10:18.519 I want to make my own decisions. 00:10:18.819 --> 00:10:20.459 I want to be autonomous to myself. 00:10:20.579 --> 00:10:21.639 I want to be my own ruler. 00:10:21.879 --> 00:10:24.579 And I'm going to decide because I don't trust you. 00:10:24.860 --> 00:10:26.120 I'm going to look out for me. 00:10:26.199 --> 00:10:28.939 And I'll decide what's right and wrong for myself. 00:10:29.339 --> 00:10:30.039 See what they're doing? 00:10:30.259 --> 00:10:32.120 They're not just rejecting God's rule. 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:35.079 They're rejecting God's love. 00:10:35.539 --> 00:10:37.339 They're saying, we don't trust you. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:39.699 We don't trust you to decide what's best for us. 00:10:39.700 --> 00:10:40.980 They're rejecting God's love. 00:10:41.379 --> 00:10:47.379 And this act of disobedience is really an act of a lack of trust in God. 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:51.160 By the way, this is what we do every time we sin. 00:10:52.940 --> 00:10:57.759 Every time you and I sin, what we do is we take God's command. 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:00.240 He says, here's what you're supposed to do. 00:11:00.500 --> 00:11:01.900 And we evaluate the command. 00:11:02.020 --> 00:11:04.060 And we'll decide what's good and evil for ourselves. 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:07.520 We'll say, well, Lord, I know you say it's wrong to do this. 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:10.679 But I don't think that applies to me in this situation. 00:11:10.819 --> 00:11:13.659 I think it is my best interest to disregard your law. 00:11:14.299 --> 00:11:16.439 And what you're saying is, God, I don't trust you. 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:18.879 I don't want you to make decisions for me. 00:11:19.240 --> 00:11:20.759 I think I know what's best for me. 00:11:21.460 --> 00:11:22.100 You see what you're doing? 00:11:22.379 --> 00:11:24.279 You're not just rejecting his rule. 00:11:24.779 --> 00:11:26.579 You're not just rejecting God's authority. 00:11:26.659 --> 00:11:28.000 You're saying, God, I don't trust you. 00:11:28.419 --> 00:11:30.199 I don't think you have my best interest at heart. 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:31.899 I don't know if you love me. 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:34.879 And so I'm going to go out on my own, and I'm going to act independently. 00:11:35.220 --> 00:11:39.860 Every single time we disregard the law of God, that's what we're doing. 00:11:40.919 --> 00:11:43.240 Well, Adam and Eve broke faith with God. 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:48.559 And because they broke faith with God, they can no longer be priests in the temple of God. 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:50.779 They're expelled from the temple. 00:11:50.959 --> 00:11:52.399 They're expelled from the Garden of Eden. 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:53.740 They are sent east of Eden. 00:11:54.319 --> 00:11:58.039 And it looks like this project where God is going to fill the whole earth 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:01.459 and make the whole earth a temple to the Lord has now come to naught. 00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:04.919 But God does not neglect his mission. 00:12:05.099 --> 00:12:07.559 So you can skip ahead to Genesis chapter 12. 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:12.699 And in Genesis chapter 12, we meet a man named Abram, which means father of many, 00:12:12.819 --> 00:12:16.719 and his name is changed later on to Abraham, which means the father of many nations. 00:12:17.459 --> 00:12:20.299 Abram is living in the east. 00:12:20.299 --> 00:12:24.259 He is living in Ur of Chaldees, which is now in southern Iraq. 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:28.879 And God comes to Abram, and he calls him, and he says, 00:12:29.059 --> 00:12:30.919 I want you to go back to the west. 00:12:31.419 --> 00:12:34.000 By the way, do you notice that west is always good in the Bible? 00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:35.639 You know, the west is good. 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:36.819 East is bad, right? 00:12:36.980 --> 00:12:38.399 You know, east coast, terrible. 00:12:38.620 --> 00:12:39.419 West coast, glory. 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:43.700 So they're called back to the west. 00:12:44.439 --> 00:12:47.039 And they're called to this particular land, the land of Canaan. 00:12:47.139 --> 00:12:49.860 And you may be thinking, why this particular land? 00:12:49.939 --> 00:12:51.580 What's so significant about this? 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:53.480 And this, I think, is rather interesting. 00:12:54.259 --> 00:12:59.580 What makes this land special, if you look in Genesis chapter 2, verses 10 to 14, 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:01.559 we have the boundaries for the Garden of Eden. 00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:05.919 And the boundaries for the Garden of Eden are these four rivers, the Pishon, the Gihon, 00:13:06.340 --> 00:13:10.659 which are associated with the land in northern Egypt, and the Tigris and the Euphrates, 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:12.700 which, of course, we know is in Assyria. 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:20.159 Well, in Genesis chapter 15, we find that the boundaries of the promised land are the rivers 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.919 of Egypt and the Euphrates, the same boundaries. 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:28.360 So what God is doing, he's calling, God sent Adam out to the east. 00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:29.899 He calls him back to the west. 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:32.559 What he's doing is he's rebooting the mission. 00:13:33.819 --> 00:13:39.360 Abram, in a sense, is starting over this whole project that God began with Adam and Eve. 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:42.220 And so he's there back in the land. 00:13:42.220 --> 00:13:49.379 And by the way, we see this in other indications also that, you know, what we see is the Garden of Eden is 00:13:49.379 --> 00:13:53.139 originally called a temple, the holy mountain of the Lord in Ezekiel. 00:13:54.100 --> 00:13:59.320 And so he's calling him back there to this land, the very place that was the center of God's kingdom 00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:03.300 activity at the dawn of humanity becomes the center once again. 00:14:03.299 --> 00:14:09.240 And just as God had commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and to multiply, what does God say to Abram? 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:11.279 He says, you're going to be the father of many. 00:14:11.359 --> 00:14:13.339 In fact, you're going to be the father of many nations. 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:18.500 Just as he calls Adam and Eve to subdue the whole earth, what does he say to Abram? 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:20.859 He doesn't just say, I'm going to bless you and your descendants. 00:14:21.159 --> 00:14:24.059 He doesn't just say, I've chosen you to bless. 00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:28.259 Rather, what we see is he says to them, I will bless those who bless you. 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:30.899 I'll curse anyone who treats you with contempt. 00:14:31.459 --> 00:14:35.459 And all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. 00:14:36.199 --> 00:14:41.659 God is saying through Abram, see, God does not choose Israel instead of the other nations. 00:14:42.319 --> 00:14:45.139 God chooses Israel for the sake of the other nations. 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:48.819 And he's saying through you, I'm going to bless the whole earth. 00:14:48.959 --> 00:14:50.919 God's vision is not limited here. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:52.399 It's still for the whole earth. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:55.559 And so, again, it's not a new mission. 00:14:55.699 --> 00:14:58.139 It's a reboot of what we see in Genesis chapter 1. 00:14:58.879 --> 00:14:59.779 And so what happens? 00:15:00.579 --> 00:15:02.620 Well, Israel lives faithfully to God. 00:15:03.179 --> 00:15:08.740 And the promise is this, that God says to them, he says, I'm going to bless you and prosper you, 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:10.579 but you're to remain faithful to me. 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:16.779 And as Israel lives faithfully under God's law, God's smile would be upon them in such a way 00:15:16.779 --> 00:15:18.919 that the nations would be drawn to them. 00:15:19.299 --> 00:15:20.799 They were to be a light to the nations. 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:26.059 And so when Israel is living in obedience to God, they experience incredible prosperity. 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:32.599 We see this under King David and the later under King Solomon, that they become incredibly prosperous. 00:15:32.859 --> 00:15:35.179 In fact, here's what we read in 1 Kings chapter 4. 00:15:35.179 --> 00:15:40.539 Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan even to Beersheba. 00:15:40.959 --> 00:15:44.359 That's from coast to coast, east to west. 00:15:45.059 --> 00:15:48.959 Every man under his vine and under his fig tree all the days of Solomon. 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:52.539 And you're thinking, wow, everybody had their own vine and fig tree. 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:53.199 That's exciting. 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:55.660 What that's saying is everybody's rich. 00:15:56.640 --> 00:15:57.440 There's peace. 00:15:57.660 --> 00:15:58.420 There's prosperity. 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:00.580 Everybody is doing great. 00:16:01.160 --> 00:16:06.200 And this becomes so fantastic that the other nations do notice this. 00:16:06.700 --> 00:16:11.700 And that's why we have this interesting story just a few chapters later after this, 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:13.640 where you remember the Queen of Sheba? 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:21.039 There's this African queen, and she hears about Solomon's wisdom and how he's ruling with such wisdom 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:23.639 that they have all this prosperity and all this peace. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:25.360 She has to see it for herself. 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:32.759 And she goes up there, and she looks, and she leaves praising God, praising the Lord for what she sees there. 00:16:33.379 --> 00:16:39.319 The nations are being drawn to God because of what they see as Israel lives faithfully to God. 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:42.340 Well, did that last? 00:16:43.760 --> 00:16:45.320 It didn't last long, did it? 00:16:46.040 --> 00:16:50.080 Because right after Solomon, things begin to really, under Solomon, it begins to fall apart. 00:16:50.180 --> 00:16:53.240 But certainly after Solomon, it becomes to fall apart even worse. 00:16:53.780 --> 00:16:55.420 And it's this downhill slide. 00:16:55.620 --> 00:16:56.680 You have a civil war. 00:16:56.760 --> 00:17:00.080 We have a northern kingdom called Israel, a southern kingdom called Judah. 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:03.660 Northern kingdom goes corrupt right away, is destroyed. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:08.140 Southern kingdom is corrupt off and on and ends up being fully corrupt 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:10.360 and is taken into captivity into Babylon. 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:13.960 Just as Adam and Eve were expelled from the temple in the Garden of Eden, 00:17:14.580 --> 00:17:18.160 Israel expelled from the temple from the promised land there in Canaan. 00:17:19.100 --> 00:17:22.240 And once again, it looks like the mission of God has failed. 00:17:23.220 --> 00:17:27.440 But then we come to the New Testament, to the coming of Jesus. 00:17:28.120 --> 00:17:32.020 And we see again that God reboots the mission for the final time. 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:36.379 We saw both with Adam and Eve, as well as the nation of Israel, 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:40.680 that one has to be faithful to God to live in his temple. 00:17:41.420 --> 00:17:42.819 In the Psalms, it says this, 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:45.000 Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? 00:17:45.099 --> 00:17:47.420 And it says, He who has a pure heart and clean hands. 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:52.599 And so to live in the presence of God, to live in the temple without being expelled, 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:54.700 you have to live faithfully to God. 00:17:55.420 --> 00:17:57.700 And immediately, we ought to see a problem here. 00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:00.019 Adam and Eve couldn't do it. 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:02.279 Israel couldn't do it. 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:04.539 What makes us think we can do it? 00:18:05.360 --> 00:18:05.640 Right? 00:18:06.340 --> 00:18:09.200 I mean, do we really think that we are better than Adam? 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:13.140 Do we really think we would be more faithful than Israel? 00:18:14.059 --> 00:18:15.120 And so here's the problem. 00:18:15.600 --> 00:18:18.160 We're not able to live faithfully to God. 00:18:19.299 --> 00:18:22.580 We think about the way we, too, have disobeyed God's commands. 00:18:22.779 --> 00:18:24.640 We, too, have failed to trust Him. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:29.040 We all have done things that leave us feeling guilty and ashamed. 00:18:30.080 --> 00:18:31.240 But that's why Jesus came. 00:18:32.300 --> 00:18:35.759 Jesus came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:40.160 He comes as the second Adam to do what the first Adam could not do. 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:43.740 He comes as the true Israel to do what Israel could not do. 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:46.380 And He comes and He does it on our behalf. 00:18:46.500 --> 00:18:47.680 How does He do it on our behalf? 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:53.140 Well, Jesus comes, and Jesus is faithful. 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:55.720 He obeys the law of God perfectly. 00:18:56.180 --> 00:18:57.100 He honors God. 00:18:57.180 --> 00:18:58.600 He doesn't sin at all. 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:05.040 And yet, even though Jesus never sinned, we find that He is cast out of the holy city 00:19:05.040 --> 00:19:05.640 of Jerusalem. 00:19:06.320 --> 00:19:07.580 He is taken outside. 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:12.660 And the question is, why, if Jesus was faithful, was He cast out like Adam? 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:14.200 Was He cast out like Israel? 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:19.319 And the answer is, was that He was cast out so that we could be let in. 00:19:20.080 --> 00:19:23.039 He was forsaken so that we could be forgiven. 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:25.740 And here's how the Bible describes it. 00:19:26.420 --> 00:19:29.240 It describes it as, as someone called it, this great exchange. 00:19:29.340 --> 00:19:30.440 And Paul puts it this way. 00:19:30.580 --> 00:19:36.559 He says, for our sakes, He made Him, that is, Jesus, to be sin who knew no sin, so that 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:39.580 in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:19:39.579 --> 00:19:44.659 What he's saying is, something that Paul talks about throughout his letters, is when a person 00:19:44.659 --> 00:19:51.039 becomes a Christian, you become so united to Christ that everything Jesus did is now 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:53.919 yours, and everything that you have done is now His. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:55.740 And so we have this exchange. 00:19:55.859 --> 00:19:58.500 So your sin now has become His sin. 00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:02.939 And because Jesus died on the cross, He's paid the penalty for your sin in full. 00:20:02.940 --> 00:20:07.559 And not only that, but as Paul says, we now are the righteousness of God. 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:10.420 His goodness, His righteousness comes to us. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:11.860 Here's the good news. 00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:17.740 If you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you're so united to Christ that your sin is gone because 00:20:17.740 --> 00:20:21.140 Jesus has paid for it, and His righteousness is yours. 00:20:21.620 --> 00:20:22.920 Now, that last phrase is important. 00:20:23.660 --> 00:20:27.120 Oftentimes we think that Jesus died so that we could be forgiven. 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:30.100 And we sing about, we are forgiven of our sins. 00:20:30.099 --> 00:20:33.339 That is true, but that's only half of it. 00:20:34.059 --> 00:20:39.559 You're not only forgiven, you are robed in the righteousness of Christ. 00:20:40.419 --> 00:20:45.939 And so when God looks at you, Christian, if you have your faith in Him, if you have been 00:20:45.939 --> 00:20:49.819 united to Christ, when God looks at you, He doesn't see a sinner. 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:51.059 He knows your sin. 00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:52.059 It's not that He's ignorant. 00:20:52.679 --> 00:20:54.139 He doesn't see your sin. 00:20:54.219 --> 00:20:56.259 He doesn't even see a pardoned sinner. 00:20:56.459 --> 00:20:57.539 That's not all that He sees. 00:20:57.539 --> 00:21:01.839 He sees someone robed in the beauty and the righteousness of Christ. 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:06.940 The closest illustration I have of this is, you know, my own experience. 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:08.799 I go to a lot of weddings. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:13.920 It's just one of the things we do as ministers, and it's a great joy. 00:21:14.740 --> 00:21:21.000 In fact, I think as a minister, I have the best spot in the house for a wedding. 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:28.119 Because I get to stand right here, I'm standing next to the groom, and we get to see the bride 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:29.740 for the first time coming through that door. 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:36.799 And it is so great, because I'll see the bride, and I always, I'll look at the groom to watch 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:37.299 his face. 00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:42.619 And he's looking back at her, and he's going, wow. 00:21:42.619 --> 00:21:47.419 I mean, I've never seen a groom going, I'm so disappointed, you know. 00:21:47.819 --> 00:21:49.559 That has never happened. 00:21:50.159 --> 00:21:51.000 Never happened. 00:21:51.419 --> 00:21:53.279 It's always, wow. 00:21:53.919 --> 00:21:56.859 And he's thinking, I can't believe she's marrying me. 00:21:57.539 --> 00:22:00.439 And I look at him and go, I can't believe she's marrying you, you know. 00:22:00.719 --> 00:22:03.419 I mean, we're both stunned at this. 00:22:04.699 --> 00:22:07.119 Think of how the groom looks at the bride. 00:22:07.859 --> 00:22:11.139 That is how the father looks at you in Christ Jesus. 00:22:11.140 --> 00:22:13.520 And many of us forget that. 00:22:13.580 --> 00:22:14.520 You know why we forget that? 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:18.960 It's because we are living as if we relate to God based on our works rather than based 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:19.540 on Christ. 00:22:20.460 --> 00:22:24.520 Walter Marshall, the old Puritan, said, your heart is addicted to salvation by works. 00:22:24.740 --> 00:22:28.880 And what I mean by that is, is when you think about how God thinks of you, you're not looking 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:29.600 at Christ. 00:22:29.740 --> 00:22:31.320 You're not looking at your union with Christ. 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:34.460 You're not believing that you're saved by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:34.759 alone. 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:36.740 What you're doing is, how have I done this week? 00:22:37.280 --> 00:22:38.180 How have I performed? 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:39.460 Have I been good? 00:22:39.520 --> 00:22:40.400 Have I read my Bible? 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:41.440 Well, at least I'm in church. 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:42.019 That's got to count. 00:22:42.340 --> 00:22:46.660 You know, you begin to look at your performance instead of looking at Christ's performance. 00:22:47.360 --> 00:22:49.660 God does not judge you based on your performance. 00:22:49.960 --> 00:22:51.700 He judges you based on Christ's performance. 00:22:51.940 --> 00:22:53.720 Christ took the judgment for your performance. 00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:55.800 And that's the gospel truth. 00:22:56.519 --> 00:22:58.180 And so that's what Jesus has come to do. 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:01.940 He's made it so that now we can live in the temple of God. 00:23:02.220 --> 00:23:05.700 We can go into the garden without fear of being expelled. 00:23:05.900 --> 00:23:08.620 We can go into the holy land without fear of banishment. 00:23:08.619 --> 00:23:13.319 We can stand before the holy temple of God without fear of being cast out. 00:23:13.719 --> 00:23:14.979 Jesus was cast out. 00:23:15.239 --> 00:23:16.479 You will never be cast out. 00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:17.899 That's the gospel. 00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:21.659 But that gospel is not just for you and for me. 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:24.119 That gospel is for the world. 00:23:24.259 --> 00:23:26.559 Remember, Genesis chapter 1, what was the mission? 00:23:26.959 --> 00:23:28.959 The whole earth will be a temple to the Lord. 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:32.779 Genesis chapter 12 to Abraham, what's the mission? 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:35.980 All the families, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:40.680 Revelation chapter, at the end of the book, chapter 21, 22, what's the vision? 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:47.160 That the temple of the Lord comes down and fills the whole earth and there are people there from every tribe, nation, and tongue. 00:23:47.299 --> 00:23:48.039 That's the mission. 00:23:48.360 --> 00:23:49.019 That's the vision. 00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:55.960 And then what we see then is Jesus then recommissions the church for the mission given to Adam and Eve. 00:23:56.099 --> 00:24:00.240 And so we read it moments ago where we see the mission of the church. 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:02.519 And let's look at it again, Matthew 28. 00:24:03.779 --> 00:24:08.900 In Matthew 28, Jesus is risen from the dead after his crucifixion. 00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:13.840 He's there with his disciples and he says to them, 00:24:14.080 --> 00:24:16.940 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:24:17.600 --> 00:24:24.720 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 00:24:25.300 --> 00:24:28.060 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:30.680 And notice something very important. 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:32.180 What's the mission of the church? 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:36.140 The mission of the church is not to make disciples. 00:24:36.140 --> 00:24:40.860 The mission of the church is not to make disciples. 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:45.660 The mission of the church is to make disciples of all nations. 00:24:46.360 --> 00:24:50.120 And if you leave out that prepositional phrase, you change the meaning of the whole text. 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:52.720 It is not merely to make disciples. 00:24:53.280 --> 00:24:59.400 It is to make disciples of all nations, of all ethnicities, we might even say. 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:06.040 And so the other place we find that Jesus is commissioning his church after the resurrection. 00:25:06.360 --> 00:25:11.680 By the way, if you go through each gospel and the book of Acts, after the resurrection, 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:14.519 we see Jesus giving the same mission in different words. 00:25:15.120 --> 00:25:17.759 Every single gospel, obviously this is important. 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:22.839 But in Acts 1-8, he says to the church, he says, 00:25:23.259 --> 00:25:25.799 you'll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, 00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:31.519 and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:33.220 Now, notice the scope. 00:25:33.879 --> 00:25:36.160 He doesn't say, I want you to make disciples where you are. 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:37.500 That's not what he says. 00:25:38.059 --> 00:25:39.599 He says you're to make disciples where? 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:41.299 To the ends of the earth. 00:25:41.539 --> 00:25:46.140 So let's put all this together, and we summarize these different mission statements together. 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:47.420 Here's the mission of the church. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:55.560 It is to make disciples of all people in all places till all the earth is a temple to the Lord. 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:56.980 That's the mission. 00:25:57.440 --> 00:25:59.440 That's the mission Christ has given to his church. 00:25:59.940 --> 00:26:05.100 All people, all places, so that all the earth is a mission to the Lord. 00:26:05.780 --> 00:26:09.820 Now, of course, we begin right where we are, right? 00:26:10.520 --> 00:26:15.440 I mean, if you consider that Acts 1-8, you know, Jerusalem, Judea, to the ends of the earth, 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:22.960 that command from a first-century Christian's perspective, Colorado is the ends of the earth, right? 00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:25.720 We are, I mean, we're a long way from Jerusalem. 00:26:25.900 --> 00:26:26.980 We are the ends of the earth. 00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:29.820 And so certainly we begin here. 00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:32.340 We begin where we live, work, and play. 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:38.120 You know, you are in your neighborhood and at your workplace, not by chance. 00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:40.380 You're placed there by the providence of God. 00:26:40.380 --> 00:26:44.580 And so you're there to be a witness for him right where you are. 00:26:45.280 --> 00:26:48.060 But the mission, though, is bigger than this. 00:26:48.220 --> 00:26:55.780 And as a body, as the church, we can't lose sight of the mission is not just to make disciples of Colorado Springs. 00:26:56.400 --> 00:27:00.200 The mission is the whole world, the whole earth, to be a temple to the Lord. 00:27:00.800 --> 00:27:04.720 And so while the church does many things, it has only one mission. 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:14.140 Now, in the church, we worship, we disciple our children, we care for one another, we study the Bible, we sing. 00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:16.519 There's so many things that we do. 00:27:17.140 --> 00:27:18.779 But these are not separate missions. 00:27:19.579 --> 00:27:24.339 They're all components of the one mission that Christ has given to his church. 00:27:24.539 --> 00:27:26.700 In many ways, the church is like the military. 00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:29.220 And Army people, forgive me for a minute. 00:27:29.360 --> 00:27:30.600 I'm going to use an Air Force example. 00:27:30.599 --> 00:27:34.379 So please be patient. 00:27:35.679 --> 00:27:37.659 But, you know, it's like the Air Force. 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:41.439 You know, the Air Force, there are people in the Air Force who do a lot of different things. 00:27:41.699 --> 00:27:43.779 But the Air Force has one mission. 00:27:44.779 --> 00:27:48.159 I was talking to some cadets one time and asked them, what's the mission? 00:27:48.219 --> 00:27:50.799 And some duly stood at attention and shouted out the mission. 00:27:50.939 --> 00:27:53.919 It's to fly, fight, win, anytime, anywhere. 00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:55.919 Air power, anytime, anywhere. 00:27:56.159 --> 00:27:58.619 Fly, fight, win, air power, anytime, anywhere. 00:27:58.759 --> 00:27:59.799 That's the mission of the Air Force. 00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:03.219 Now, living around here, we know lots of Air Force people. 00:28:04.159 --> 00:28:09.240 One of my neighbors across the street, not across the street, elsewhere in the neighborhood, 00:28:09.899 --> 00:28:11.980 was an elite athlete. 00:28:12.159 --> 00:28:14.539 He was a captain of the Air Force, and he trained for the Olympics. 00:28:14.740 --> 00:28:15.740 That was his full-time job. 00:28:16.919 --> 00:28:18.359 Know people who are in the Air Force. 00:28:18.500 --> 00:28:19.399 They're in the Air Force van. 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:22.619 I know other people in the Air Force who are IT. 00:28:22.899 --> 00:28:24.659 I know people in the Air Force who are accountants. 00:28:24.699 --> 00:28:26.279 I know people in the Air Force who do logistics. 00:28:26.779 --> 00:28:30.219 I've known some pilots, but most people I know in the Air Force don't fly, fight, win. 00:28:30.660 --> 00:28:30.839 Right? 00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:31.960 They don't fly. 00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:32.660 You know? 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:35.339 They've been on airplanes, but that's about it. 00:28:36.380 --> 00:28:38.059 But they're part of that mission, right? 00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:41.799 I have a son-in-law who's training to be a doctor in the Air Force. 00:28:42.539 --> 00:28:45.519 Now, the mission of the Air Force is not to give good medical care. 00:28:45.600 --> 00:28:46.420 That's not the mission. 00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:51.420 But if the Air Force is going to fly, fight, win, air power, anytime, anywhere, you better 00:28:51.420 --> 00:28:52.559 take care of your people, right? 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:57.679 And if the mission of the Air Force is to fly, fight, win, then you need some good accounting 00:28:57.679 --> 00:29:00.159 because they're dealing with billions of dollars, right? 00:29:00.460 --> 00:29:01.379 I mean, that's critical. 00:29:01.899 --> 00:29:05.460 If the mission of the Air Force is to fly, fight, win, you need people to understand logistics. 00:29:05.619 --> 00:29:07.500 And the mission of the Air Force is to fly, fight, win. 00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:09.879 You better have good athletes and music for some reason. 00:29:09.960 --> 00:29:10.599 I'm not sure why. 00:29:10.980 --> 00:29:13.519 So, but it's important, right? 00:29:14.859 --> 00:29:15.799 There's one mission. 00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:18.099 The mission is not to make music. 00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:21.740 The mission is fly, fight, win. 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:29.399 The mission of the church, the mission of the church is to make disciples of all people 00:29:29.399 --> 00:29:34.339 in all places so that all the earth is a temple to the Lord. 00:29:34.899 --> 00:29:35.759 That's our mission. 00:29:36.419 --> 00:29:41.099 And it means we all have different roles in coming together to be part of that mission. 00:29:41.099 --> 00:29:45.879 You know, it doesn't mean that all of us should go. 00:29:46.299 --> 00:29:49.159 Just not like everyone in the Air Force should be a pilot. 00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:53.919 Not everyone in the church is going to go places like where T and E are serving. 00:29:54.839 --> 00:29:56.019 But some should go. 00:29:57.059 --> 00:30:00.659 And oftentimes in talking to people like this, I'll talk to people and say, 00:30:00.779 --> 00:30:02.480 well, I don't really feel called. 00:30:03.480 --> 00:30:05.659 And my question would be, how would you know? 00:30:06.719 --> 00:30:08.719 How would you know what God's calling you to? 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:11.380 You know, you feel like you're called to something. 00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:15.279 Did you have the Holy Spirit come down upon you one day and say, 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:18.600 say, Johnny, I've called you to be a real estate agent? 00:30:19.700 --> 00:30:21.100 Well, it probably didn't happen that way. 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:21.779 What'd you do? 00:30:22.539 --> 00:30:25.240 You looked at your gifts and your interests and your abilities. 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:31.180 And so, looking at calling, you know, we can look at, you know, 00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:35.980 God's priorities in the world, our gifts and abilities, 00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:38.160 and where we fit in. 00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:41.680 As an early American pastor said, you know, we should look at the world and say, 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:42.640 what good can I do? 00:30:43.620 --> 00:30:46.240 And oftentimes people say, well, I don't feel called to missions. 00:30:46.460 --> 00:30:49.240 And I say, well, how would you know if you've never actually considered it? 00:30:49.720 --> 00:30:51.039 Have you ever prayed about it? 00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:52.579 Have you ever looked into it? 00:30:53.380 --> 00:30:57.039 You know, I just look at the needs around the world and how, you know, 00:30:57.039 --> 00:31:00.819 rabbit trail, pardon me for a moment. 00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:07.519 But, you know, out of every dollar that we give, as Christians give away, 00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:13.420 every dollar that we give away, 95% of it, 95 cents, goes right here to the U.S. 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:17.539 5% goes to the rest of the world, and part of that, 00:31:17.639 --> 00:31:21.799 even only a small part of that, goes to unreached places where people like TN are 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:22.180 serving. 00:31:22.840 --> 00:31:24.700 I'm thinking, God's given us the resources. 00:31:25.860 --> 00:31:28.360 And so shouldn't we be looking at the needs? 00:31:28.440 --> 00:31:30.880 And if this is the mission saying, you know, shouldn't we be, 00:31:31.080 --> 00:31:32.380 some be considering going? 00:31:32.539 --> 00:31:37.779 Now, so my challenge is for some of you to pray about it, to look at it, 00:31:37.860 --> 00:31:38.700 to explore it. 00:31:39.019 --> 00:31:42.299 How do you know where God's calling you if you've never even inquired? 00:31:43.019 --> 00:31:45.560 Now, for the rest of us, and I include me in this, 00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:50.100 our job in the family business is not to go, but we still have a role. 00:31:50.099 --> 00:31:53.699 Our role is to pray diligently. 00:31:54.619 --> 00:31:56.099 And, you know, Scott talked about this earlier. 00:31:56.359 --> 00:32:00.519 You know, we're in spiritual warfare, and we need to be praying for our people. 00:32:00.599 --> 00:32:03.980 It's very, very hard where many of our people are serving. 00:32:04.740 --> 00:32:07.379 And if they're going to go, we can pray, and we can give generously. 00:32:07.939 --> 00:32:11.799 If they're going to leave family and friends, then we certainly can lower our lifestyle 00:32:11.799 --> 00:32:15.279 so that they can have their needs met. 00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:18.039 And we can encourage persistently. 00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:23.899 And, you know, like the accountants and IT professionals to support the personnel in the Air Force, 00:32:23.980 --> 00:32:27.859 our job is to support those who are out there doing the work. 00:32:28.220 --> 00:32:30.460 And we do this not out of a sense of duty. 00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:32.339 Oh, certainly we have that. 00:32:33.220 --> 00:32:36.059 But out of our love for the one who took away our guilt and shame. 00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:39.599 It's out of knowing that the Father delights in us, 00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:41.940 and we want others to know that same delight. 00:32:41.940 --> 00:32:44.460 In a moment, I'm going to ask you to pray a prayer. 00:32:45.539 --> 00:32:46.299 And here's the prayer. 00:32:47.019 --> 00:32:47.720 It's simply this. 00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:50.000 Lord, I will go wherever you want me to go. 00:32:50.660 --> 00:32:52.500 I will give whatever you want me to give. 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:54.779 I will do whatever you want me to do. 00:32:56.100 --> 00:32:56.720 Here's the prayer. 00:32:56.840 --> 00:32:58.120 I'll go wherever you want me to go. 00:32:58.299 --> 00:32:59.900 I'll give whatever you want me to give. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:01.799 I'll do whatever you want me to do. 00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:04.720 I was talking to a woman one time, and she said, I'm not praying that. 00:33:06.120 --> 00:33:07.259 And she said, why not? 00:33:07.340 --> 00:33:09.519 She said, actually, someone else told her. 00:33:09.539 --> 00:33:10.680 She was telling me the story later. 00:33:10.680 --> 00:33:15.240 She said, I was afraid if I did that, that God might actually take me up on this, right? 00:33:16.440 --> 00:33:19.000 But let's think about that for a moment. 00:33:19.100 --> 00:33:21.440 It is funny, and I imagine many of us have thought this way. 00:33:21.900 --> 00:33:23.799 But what's wrong with the thinking there? 00:33:24.539 --> 00:33:28.460 I'm saying, if I offer my life to God, say, God, use me however you will, 00:33:28.820 --> 00:33:29.940 he's going to use me. 00:33:31.140 --> 00:33:33.519 And we use the use in an exploitive sense. 00:33:33.940 --> 00:33:35.580 Is our Father exploitive? 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:39.799 Is the God who sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for you, 00:33:39.859 --> 00:33:44.539 is he looking at this opportunity to use you in a malicious sense? 00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:45.619 He's your Father. 00:33:46.279 --> 00:33:50.439 Jesus said this, if a son were to go to his father and ask for a loaf of bread, 00:33:50.539 --> 00:33:52.199 the father would not give him a stone, would he? 00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:55.839 And if the father, he asked for a fish, he would not give him a serpent, would he? 00:33:56.079 --> 00:33:59.960 And if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your father, your children, 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:03.359 how much more does the heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask of him? 00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:06.339 Do you believe the Father will give good gifts to you if you pray? 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:08.079 Do you believe that? 00:34:08.819 --> 00:34:13.859 Well, if that's who he is, then we can pray, knowing he's going to give a good gift. 00:34:14.559 --> 00:34:16.579 I will go wherever you want me to go. 00:34:17.259 --> 00:34:22.779 I will do whatever you want me to do, and I will give whatever you want me to give. 00:34:23.359 --> 00:34:25.440 Because, Lord, I trust you. 00:34:25.960 --> 00:34:28.739 I trust you, and I want to be part of your mission. 00:34:29.279 --> 00:34:29.759 Let's pray. 00:34:29.759 --> 00:34:32.819 Father, we do thank you that you are trustworthy. 00:34:34.260 --> 00:34:37.980 You have shown that you are faithful even when we are faithless. 00:34:39.140 --> 00:34:42.640 When we have not been true to you, you've always been true to us. 00:34:43.860 --> 00:34:45.559 And so, Lord, forgive us for doubting that. 00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:49.840 And forgive us for just the many acts of disobedience, 00:34:50.039 --> 00:34:54.400 which are done out of a lack of faith, out of thinking that you really don't love us, 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:55.420 that we know what's best. 00:34:55.420 --> 00:35:00.880 Forgive us for that autonomous spirit that wants to go our own way 00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:02.940 and doesn't trust you enough to obey. 00:35:04.059 --> 00:35:08.260 And so, Father, we also say, take our lives, Lord. 00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:10.599 We believe you love us. 00:35:11.340 --> 00:35:12.380 We trust you. 00:35:13.200 --> 00:35:14.720 And, Lord, we pray this in faith. 00:35:14.820 --> 00:35:18.780 Even though our faith is always mixed with some doubt, our knees may be shaking, 00:35:18.920 --> 00:35:22.360 but at the core of our being, we believe that Jesus died for us. 00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:24.019 We believe that you love us. 00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:27.539 And because we believe that you love us, Lord, here's what we're going to pray. 00:35:28.519 --> 00:35:31.500 Lord, I will go wherever you want me to go. 00:35:32.360 --> 00:35:33.259 Lord, I mean that. 00:35:33.539 --> 00:35:36.380 As fearful as I may be, I trust you. 00:35:37.340 --> 00:35:39.300 And, Lord, I will give whatever you want me to give. 00:35:39.980 --> 00:35:40.980 You have blessed us. 00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:43.659 And so, Lord, I don't need it. 00:35:44.360 --> 00:35:45.780 I can lower my lifestyle. 00:35:46.740 --> 00:35:48.200 Just tell me what you want me to do, Lord. 00:35:48.280 --> 00:35:49.660 I will give whatever you want me to give. 00:35:49.740 --> 00:35:53.100 In fact, Lord, I will do whatever it is you want me to do 00:35:53.100 --> 00:35:56.380 because I believe you delight in me and you love me 00:35:56.380 --> 00:35:58.280 because of what Christ has done for me. 00:35:58.760 --> 00:36:00.100 And we pray this all in Jesus' name. 00:36:00.240 --> 00:36:00.480 Amen. 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:00.580 Amen. 00:36:02.480 --> 00:36:03.480 Amen. 00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:04.480 Amen. 00:36:04.480 --> 00:36:05.480 Amen. 00:36:05.480 --> 00:36:06.480 Amen. 00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:07.480 Amen. 00:36:07.480 --> 00:36:08.480 Amen. 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:09.480 Amen. 00:36:09.480 --> 00:36:10.480 Amen. 00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:11.480 Amen. 00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:12.480 Amen. 00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:12.540 Amen. 00:36:12.540 --> 00:36:12.640 Amen. 00:36:12.640 --> 00:36:12.720 Amen. 00:36:12.720 --> 00:36:12.740 Amen. 00:36:12.740 --> 00:36:12.820 Amen. 00:36:12.820 --> 00:36:12.920 Amen.