WEBVTT 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:02.240 Good morning. There we go. 00:00:07.060 --> 00:00:09.759 Well done for making it again this morning. 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:20.900 It's amazing to be here and to see so many people, even though summer is coming, that you've made it here. 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:23.160 But I wanted to ask a question. 00:00:24.019 --> 00:00:25.260 What are you here for? 00:00:26.839 --> 00:00:28.219 Maybe you hadn't thought about that. 00:00:28.219 --> 00:00:29.379 Why did you come this morning? 00:00:29.379 --> 00:00:30.599 You could have been at the beach. 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:33.759 You could have been lying in bed for a little longer. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:37.179 You could have been hanging out with friends. 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:39.840 You could have been in a lot of different places. 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:40.979 Why are you here? 00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:48.960 Now, maybe if I ask that a little more politely, what is it that we are about as a church? 00:00:49.859 --> 00:00:54.780 I don't know if you've been to Wong Tai Sin Temple in Kowloon Side. 00:00:54.780 --> 00:01:00.200 When I first came to Hong Kong, I went to the temple with a friend of mine and we were looking around. 00:01:00.300 --> 00:01:01.960 We had a tour guide who took us around. 00:01:02.260 --> 00:01:08.019 At the end of the tour, around this Taoist temple, we asked the tour guide, we said to him, 00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:11.679 Okay, do you believe this stuff that you're telling us about? 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:16.359 And he looked at us and he said, No, not really. 00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:20.459 And then we kind of got talking. 00:01:20.539 --> 00:01:21.780 We probed a few more questions. 00:01:21.780 --> 00:01:26.439 And we said, Well, what do you think you're here for in life? 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:28.140 What is your purpose in life? 00:01:28.620 --> 00:01:31.820 And I never remember, I never forget, he looked at me and he said, 00:01:31.980 --> 00:01:36.579 I'm sorry, but I don't have time to think about that kind of thing. 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:37.960 I'm just too busy. 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:44.920 Here he was in one of the major religious sites in the whole of Hong Kong. 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:49.260 And he was too busy to think about what he was doing and why he was here. 00:01:49.260 --> 00:01:58.439 And if you think about it, if you run a business and someone comes up to you and says, 00:01:58.660 --> 00:01:59.960 Why are you doing your business? 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:01.260 What's your business all about? 00:02:01.300 --> 00:02:04.219 And you say to them, I'm sorry, I'm too busy. 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:05.680 I don't have time to think about that. 00:02:06.600 --> 00:02:08.000 You would think there was a problem. 00:02:08.420 --> 00:02:11.520 You would think, I don't think that company is going to go very far. 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:19.300 And so when it comes to church, though, it's very interesting how often, if I think about it, 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:22.620 I just get into these routines of doing church. 00:02:22.920 --> 00:02:26.520 And I don't really stop to think about, What are we here for? 00:02:27.180 --> 00:02:28.120 What is it all about? 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:34.400 And the Corinthian church had that kind of problem. 00:02:35.099 --> 00:02:42.360 Because they had assumed that the answer to that question was based on what the culture had told them. 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:50.080 And subconsciously, they had come into the church, bringing all the baggage from their culture around them, 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:55.780 thinking that church was there to meet their needs, to meet their social needs, to meet their sexual needs, 00:02:55.920 --> 00:02:58.460 to meet all the things that they wanted to get out of it. 00:02:58.500 --> 00:03:03.560 And they would follow any leader that they thought would give them whatever made them feel great, 00:03:03.700 --> 00:03:08.120 whatever brought them up in social status, whatever gave them what they felt they wanted. 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:14.640 Now, when Paul came to look at the church, he had a few hard things to say to them. 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:24.899 Because he came to say to them, Actually, true spirituality is not about getting everything for yourself. 00:03:25.339 --> 00:03:28.639 True spirituality is cross-shaped. 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:31.839 It is shaped by Jesus more than anything else. 00:03:33.139 --> 00:03:39.839 And so last week, we looked at how the cross-shapedness of the gospel 00:03:39.839 --> 00:03:44.399 means that we lay down our freedoms for our brothers and sisters. 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:46.079 For those around us. 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:51.759 And today, Paul is going to kind of, he's moving on and giving an example from his own life 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:58.939 about how he lives out this gospel, which is cross-shaped, which is not about him, but is about Jesus. 00:03:59.099 --> 00:04:01.079 It's about following him in all of his life. 00:04:02.179 --> 00:04:04.259 So we're going to look in a couple of things. 00:04:04.359 --> 00:04:06.699 We're going to look at a chosen discomfort. 00:04:07.779 --> 00:04:10.119 We're going to look at a different perspective. 00:04:10.119 --> 00:04:12.459 And we're going to look at a different kind of church. 00:04:12.460 --> 00:04:15.540 So that's where we're going as we look at Paul, as we look into this letter. 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:18.480 We're going to see what these things meant. 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:20.600 I'm going to just lift this up a little bit. 00:04:22.960 --> 00:04:25.660 So, just some background. 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:29.280 Paul has founded this church four or five years ago. 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:30.319 Okay? 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:33.460 And since he's left, some other teachers have come in. 00:04:33.540 --> 00:04:39.280 People have come in and have started questioning whether Paul was really very valid as an apostle. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:42.779 And in this passage, they have said a couple of things. 00:04:43.119 --> 00:04:47.659 They have said, Paul, he can't really be the real deal. 00:04:47.779 --> 00:04:49.159 He can't really be an apostle. 00:04:49.539 --> 00:04:51.099 He's just pretending to be. 00:04:51.479 --> 00:04:59.579 Because any apostle, any someone who is worth listening to, any good philosopher, any good intellectual, 00:05:00.339 --> 00:05:02.939 well, you know, they get paid for what they're worth. 00:05:02.939 --> 00:05:10.600 And the market value of a good philosopher, if it's $10,000 Corinthian dollars an hour, 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:14.259 well, that's what you pay them if they're worth it. 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:19.300 But Paul was saying, I'm not charging you anything for my services. 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:23.399 So the Corinthians were saying, well, he can't be really very worth it, can he? 00:05:23.500 --> 00:05:27.620 What kind of apostle, what kind of speaker would ever do that? 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:29.800 And it's not just not charging. 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:31.399 He's even doing manual labor. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:35.340 He's working at the side of the road, making tents. 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:41.319 He's doing something which is such a low-grade position that anyone who wants to call themselves an apostle, 00:05:43.220 --> 00:05:44.019 come on. 00:05:45.459 --> 00:05:47.660 He's obviously not really a very good one, is he? 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:52.120 And so that was one thing that they said about Paul. 00:05:52.200 --> 00:05:57.900 But then the second thing that they said about Paul was, well, he's not just a very good apostle. 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:00.260 He's also a hypocrite. 00:06:00.900 --> 00:06:02.560 He seems to be a bit of a chameleon. 00:06:02.860 --> 00:06:08.860 Because you see, when he goes to be with the Jews, he's like, oh, I'm not even going to touch any bacon sandwiches around here. 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:10.140 He's going to go to the synagogue. 00:06:10.460 --> 00:06:11.780 He's going to look like a cool Jew. 00:06:11.980 --> 00:06:14.660 He's going to do all the nice ritual things that Jews do. 00:06:14.660 --> 00:06:19.060 But then when he goes to the non-Jews, what does he do? 00:06:19.220 --> 00:06:23.320 He's like ordering pork knuckle with extra bacon on top. 00:06:23.520 --> 00:06:27.040 He's like the most complete opposite from what he was before. 00:06:27.960 --> 00:06:33.379 And everyone looked at him and they said, don't you have any principles? 00:06:34.940 --> 00:06:41.660 Don't you know that an apostle shouldn't be this kind of double-faced person? 00:06:44.660 --> 00:06:47.300 Paul, apostle, no way. 00:06:48.820 --> 00:06:53.220 And now Paul comes in and he's got a few things to say about this. 00:06:53.420 --> 00:07:01.700 Because if you realize the people he's talking to, these people that he's talking to are the very church that he planted. 00:07:02.580 --> 00:07:05.460 These people have come to faith through him. 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:08.720 And he says to them, listen, I'm free. 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:10.280 Aren't I an apostle? 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:18.379 Listen, if you want to question whether I'm an apostle, remember an apostle is someone who's sent out to proclaim God's word, to bring people to faith. 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:20.319 Well, look, you're the evidence of that. 00:07:21.059 --> 00:07:22.679 You're the evidence of that. 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:25.299 You just look in verse 2 and verse 3. 00:07:25.719 --> 00:07:29.539 He says, if to others I'm not an apostle, at least I am to you. 00:07:30.419 --> 00:07:32.379 For you're the seal of my apostleship. 00:07:32.379 --> 00:07:39.519 And here Paul again, he's in the dock, being cross-examined by the Corinthians. 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:42.300 And he says to them, okay, now I'm going to give you my defense. 00:07:43.139 --> 00:07:44.180 Here's my defense. 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:47.300 If you are going to examine me at this point. 00:07:48.139 --> 00:07:50.480 And he starts off by saying, okay, I'm an apostle. 00:07:50.860 --> 00:07:53.319 Which means you should pay me. 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:54.000 Okay? 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.360 You should give me the money I deserve. 00:07:56.360 --> 00:08:09.699 And so he says, basically, first thing, isn't it common sense that if you're a soldier, you don't go and pay to go and fight a war? 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:11.280 Do you? 00:08:11.460 --> 00:08:13.139 You don't pay to fight a war. 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:23.139 If you're a farmer, isn't it natural that you should get to taste a bit of the crop, a bit of the milk, a bit of the things that you are farming? 00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:24.460 Isn't that just natural? 00:08:24.459 --> 00:08:27.579 Well, it's common sense that you should give me money as an apostle. 00:08:27.859 --> 00:08:28.979 But it's not just common sense. 00:08:29.060 --> 00:08:29.620 It's biblical. 00:08:30.039 --> 00:08:31.039 It's in the Old Testament. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:40.759 The law of Moses says that you should give me money because an ox shouldn't be muzzled, should be able to take from the grain. 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:46.659 That means I'm here giving you spiritual food, materially helping you. 00:08:46.980 --> 00:08:49.659 You should then provide for me materially. 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:51.639 It's not just common sense. 00:08:51.779 --> 00:08:52.399 It's biblical. 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:55.059 And it's not just Old Testament. 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:57.000 Jesus himself commanded it. 00:08:58.220 --> 00:09:06.539 He says, well, look in verse 14. 00:09:07.019 --> 00:09:13.199 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:15.319 So that's pretty clear, isn't it? 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:18.120 The fundraising pitch is going pretty well. 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:19.079 It's common sense. 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:19.620 It's biblical. 00:09:19.820 --> 00:09:20.860 Jesus commanded me. 00:09:21.180 --> 00:09:24.020 So now, what should be the response at this point? 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:26.980 You're thinking, okay, Paul, he's going to do the ask. 00:09:27.160 --> 00:09:29.580 He's going to say, okay, now give us the dough. 00:09:30.100 --> 00:09:30.920 Give us the money. 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:32.960 But he doesn't. 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:34.800 But he doesn't. 00:09:35.160 --> 00:09:41.180 He says three times, but we have not made use of any of these rights. 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:45.339 We've not made use of any of them. 00:09:45.339 --> 00:09:51.259 And then he even says, verse 15, he says, and I'm not asking for any money now. 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:54.439 In fact, I would rather die than you give me money. 00:09:55.039 --> 00:09:57.479 And you're thinking, okay, Paul, I'm not going to give you any money. 00:09:57.480 --> 00:10:01.259 Because he's so strong on this point. 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:03.800 But if you think about it, it's very strange. 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:04.920 It's very strange. 00:10:05.019 --> 00:10:05.480 Think about it. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:07.680 Paul is saying, I don't want your money. 00:10:07.800 --> 00:10:08.639 I deserve your money. 00:10:08.700 --> 00:10:09.580 You should give me your money. 00:10:10.019 --> 00:10:12.680 And it will be so much easier if you did give me your money. 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:15.420 Because he's had to work two jobs. 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:21.120 He's had to work as a manual labor, hard work, day and night. 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:26.060 And also, he's been planning a church, discipling people, training up leaders. 00:10:26.179 --> 00:10:27.120 I don't know when he did it. 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:28.940 Maybe he was working late at night. 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:31.740 And it could have been so much easier for him. 00:10:32.860 --> 00:10:38.460 You see, he could have come home and been watching Corinth's Got Talent or something on the TV. 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:41.000 He could have been there, bit of Facebook time. 00:10:41.259 --> 00:10:43.639 He could have been there going out for a drink with friends. 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:51.480 But instead, because he said no to their money, he's now working day and night. 00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:59.240 And if you were to think about this, and I think the Corinthians, like most people in Hong Kong, would say, 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:00.799 Duh, Paul. 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:03.240 That's a bit stupid, isn't it? 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:07.980 Like, if someone's offering you a free lunch, you don't refuse. 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:09.720 Right? 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:12.200 Are you a bit of a masochist, Paul? 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:21.000 And Paul is defending himself to show the Corinthians what makes him tick. 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:22.299 He says, 00:11:22.699 --> 00:11:24.759 We've not made use of this right, verse 12. 00:11:25.740 --> 00:11:32.080 We've not made use of this right, but endure anything, anything, anything, 00:11:32.379 --> 00:11:36.819 rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:39.919 Think about it. 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:40.740 What's an obstacle? 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:41.240 An obstacle. 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:47.080 An obstacle is something that blocks your way from seeing something or getting somewhere. 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:53.000 If you're trying to head for the door and Tobin and Erica are in front of you, that's an obstacle. 00:11:53.000 --> 00:12:02.679 If you are trying to drive along the road as you get out and a seven-ton elephant stands in front of the road, that's an obstacle. 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:08.559 And so Paul is saying, receiving money from you is an obstacle. 00:12:08.719 --> 00:12:11.959 And you're thinking, okay, that doesn't sound like a big obstacle to me. 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:14.019 I'm quite happy to get that. 00:12:14.359 --> 00:12:23.059 But you see, Paul's got a different mentality because Paul knows that in Corinth, in the society, people spoke. 00:12:23.059 --> 00:12:26.939 People gave philosophical ideas for the money. 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:29.139 So you want someone to speak? 00:12:29.319 --> 00:12:30.059 You hire them. 00:12:30.259 --> 00:12:31.279 You give them what they're due. 00:12:32.679 --> 00:12:37.879 And Paul doesn't want to be preaching the gospel and everybody think he's just in it for the money. 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:51.120 Because the Corinthians might just pay him and think they're just getting another philosopher, a nice bit of intellectual stimulation just to help them. 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:52.720 But that's not Paul's heart. 00:12:52.980 --> 00:13:01.139 Paul says, I do not want anything to block their vision from seeing the gospel of what I'm trying to say to you. 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:19.919 The beauty of Jesus is so amazing that if I take money from you, that anything I do, anything I say, anything I expect, anything I wear, anything that stops you from seeing something of the beauty of Jesus, I'm going to cut it out. 00:13:21.779 --> 00:13:24.019 Because the gospel is that important for you. 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:25.580 He'll sleep less. 00:13:25.860 --> 00:13:27.360 He'll miss Corinth's got talent. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:32.659 He'll do anything so that they might see that Jesus is beautiful. 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:35.639 And why does he do it? 00:13:35.659 --> 00:13:42.580 Well, he says, my boast, if I preach the gospel, well, I just have to preach the gospel. 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:45.919 But what's my boast is it's not just preaching the gospel. 00:13:46.220 --> 00:13:55.860 I want to embody the gospel so that when you see that Jesus Christ died for you freely as a gift of grace, free gift of grace. 00:13:55.860 --> 00:14:00.080 And I come to you and I freely give the gospel. 00:14:00.379 --> 00:14:04.460 You begin to see lived out in my life the message that I'm trying to proclaim to you. 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:06.039 You see how it works? 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:09.419 You see, Paul's thinking is completely different. 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:12.840 So think for a minute. 00:14:14.419 --> 00:14:20.180 What obstacles stop people from seeing Jesus as attractive? 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:22.680 There are many. 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:34.359 But what obstacles can there be that we as Christians put in the way which are not gospel obstacles? 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:38.019 They're just preference obstacles. 00:14:39.979 --> 00:14:42.659 You know, in churches we have many traditions. 00:14:43.079 --> 00:14:46.459 We have many things which we like to do. 00:14:46.699 --> 00:14:47.839 We get comfortable doing. 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:50.120 Every social group, you have your own little traditions. 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:55.919 And actually, it's very strange if you try and go into a different social group because they've got different norms from you. 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:01.120 And you know, it's uncomfortable moving to different venues even. 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:04.820 Some of us struggle with the fact that we move venue because we're not comfortable. 00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:08.659 Because we want to be comfortable. 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:10.320 So we have our traditions. 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:14.259 So we have the things, the ways we always do, the language we always speak. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:16.240 We have all these things that we're used to. 00:15:16.299 --> 00:15:17.100 And we're comfortable. 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:19.899 We're comfortable with the certain people that we like to be with. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:20.899 All these things. 00:15:21.139 --> 00:15:24.200 You know, if you're in a community group, you like to be with a certain kind of people. 00:15:25.060 --> 00:15:25.759 And that's good. 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:28.600 In the gospel, we're free to do those things. 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:36.560 But when they become an obstacle, that's what we need to think about. 00:15:36.620 --> 00:15:47.300 In a previous church, the church that I was in realized that we were not reaching out to our neighbors and the people in our community well. 00:15:47.299 --> 00:16:01.179 And so they decided that they were going to reshape the way church was working so that their small groups would have greater emphasis so that people would be sharing their lives, reaching out into the neighborhoods together. 00:16:01.819 --> 00:16:04.319 And after much prayer and discussion, they decided to do this. 00:16:04.599 --> 00:16:07.240 Now, there's a couple in this group, in this church. 00:16:07.939 --> 00:16:09.719 They've been in the church for 50 years. 00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:12.560 And they're a wonderful couple. 00:16:13.540 --> 00:16:16.720 They've been stalwarts of this church for 50 years. 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:19.920 And, you know, they're the kind of... 00:16:19.920 --> 00:16:25.639 I don't know anybody who's actually probably more traditional in some ways than this couple. 00:16:25.740 --> 00:16:27.500 Because, just give you one example. 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:43.740 For the last 35 years, this couple, twice a year, have gone to the exact...on holiday, to the exact same place, the exact same place within that, eaten in exactly the same restaurants within that place for the last 35 years. 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:44.500 Okay? 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:47.399 They don't like change, you might have gathered. 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:54.940 So when the church said, the church they've been in for 50 years, we've got to change. 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:56.580 Can you imagine how they felt? 00:16:57.500 --> 00:16:59.539 Are you sure? 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:04.400 But we so like the way we do it like this. 00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:09.099 We so like the way we can gather together with the people we like. 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:11.900 We so like the way that we have the organ at the back. 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:13.640 We so like the way that we do that. 00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:19.000 But I remember having one conversation with them at the end of the time talking with them. 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:19.759 And they said this. 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:25.859 You know, we don't like what you're trying to tell us to do. 00:17:25.859 --> 00:17:28.599 We don't want to do it at all. 00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:38.000 But if it means that people will come to know Christ through this, then we will do it. 00:17:40.099 --> 00:17:41.259 Then we will do it. 00:17:42.459 --> 00:17:46.939 And you know, that couple became one of the most significant couples in the church. 00:17:46.940 --> 00:17:58.080 Because, you see, they were willing to lay aside the comforts, those things they realized might become an obstacle, even though they wanted it. 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:00.279 That is so Christ-like. 00:18:00.380 --> 00:18:03.440 Because, you know, Garden of Gethsemane, what does Jesus say? 00:18:03.660 --> 00:18:05.860 He says, I don't want to go to the cross. 00:18:05.859 --> 00:18:07.519 I don't like going to the cross. 00:18:07.659 --> 00:18:11.019 But if it's what you want, Father, I will go to the cross. 00:18:12.399 --> 00:18:13.719 That is what Paul is saying. 00:18:13.779 --> 00:18:14.899 That's true spirituality. 00:18:17.479 --> 00:18:18.579 Our lives. 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:27.419 We, even though we're only nearly five years old, we can still have our own little comforts and things that we don't want to change. 00:18:28.139 --> 00:18:29.740 We like it the way it is. 00:18:29.740 --> 00:18:36.539 And our lives are made up with a wallet full of choices. 00:18:37.099 --> 00:18:44.779 We can spend our choices as freely as we want to. 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:49.839 But are there times we will discomfort ourselves? 00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:52.779 We will do what we don't want to do. 00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:57.160 Because it will stop people from seeing Jesus. 00:18:57.779 --> 00:19:00.359 And we will choose that Jesus is better. 00:19:02.039 --> 00:19:03.559 That's a chosen discomfort. 00:19:06.019 --> 00:19:09.759 But the next thing to think about is, there's a different motivation. 00:19:10.539 --> 00:19:13.160 Because why actually would you bother to do that? 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:14.319 Why would you do that? 00:19:15.019 --> 00:19:18.559 Paul says, verse 19, he says, 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:29.519 Though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 00:19:29.899 --> 00:19:33.480 To the Jews, I became as a Jew in order to win Jews. 00:19:33.659 --> 00:19:38.859 To those under the law, I might become as one under the law, that I might win those under the law. 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:44.339 To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law, that I might win those outside the law. 00:19:44.339 --> 00:19:47.839 To the weak, I became weak that I might win the weak. 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:54.039 I have become all things to all people, that by all means, I might save some. 00:19:54.139 --> 00:19:56.299 I do it all for the sake of the gospel. 00:19:58.959 --> 00:20:01.000 The people have been saying, you're a chameleon. 00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:02.859 No principles. 00:20:04.139 --> 00:20:08.799 Paul is going to say to them, I'm preaching the gospel to people from different backgrounds. 00:20:09.439 --> 00:20:12.019 To people from different social situations. 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:22.420 And what really, my heart is in this situation, is that there are some things that these groups find acceptable, 00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:24.759 and some things that these groups don't find acceptable. 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:26.799 But I am willing to flex. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:28.639 I am willing to be adaptable. 00:20:30.099 --> 00:20:33.819 Because I want to save some people. 00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:35.960 Why does he say that? 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:44.480 And many people have misused this passage to say, well, basically, I can become like anybody else in society, 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:45.680 because I'm going to save them. 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:49.759 He's not saying, I become like a gossip to reach the gossips. 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:52.539 He's not saying, I become a stripper to reach the strippers. 00:20:52.940 --> 00:20:53.120 Okay? 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:54.039 He's not saying that. 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:58.759 Because actually, what the key thing here is, I do not compromise on the gospel message. 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:07.480 I do not compromise on the behavior that I have, which is about ethical and moral purity, holiness before God. 00:21:07.619 --> 00:21:09.240 You see, read chapters 5 to 7. 00:21:09.339 --> 00:21:12.059 You know that is absolutely true for what Paul says. 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:19.399 But he says, for the sake of Christ, I want to save some people. 00:21:20.639 --> 00:21:22.019 That's my reason for living. 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:22.059 Okay? 00:21:22.619 --> 00:21:23.980 That's what I'm all about. 00:21:24.119 --> 00:21:27.259 And if I have preferences, I'll set them aside. 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:29.279 If they're not fundamentals to the gospel. 00:21:29.700 --> 00:21:36.240 If I want to reach out to British people, I will go and eat soggy Brussels sprouts for the gospel. 00:21:36.980 --> 00:21:37.119 Okay? 00:21:37.859 --> 00:21:46.319 If there are people in my CG and there is a newcomer who comes in who's not like me, 00:21:46.539 --> 00:21:48.000 then I will stop. 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:54.400 I will try and reach out and understand them rather than trying to make them just become like me. 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:56.359 Do you see that? 00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:57.680 That's what we always want to do. 00:21:57.759 --> 00:21:59.619 We always want to make everybody like us. 00:22:00.940 --> 00:22:04.119 But it's the gospel which makes people like Christ. 00:22:04.740 --> 00:22:06.940 And we flex on those other things. 00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:11.420 But I think the Corinthians had a problem with this. 00:22:11.420 --> 00:22:13.220 And I think we can all have a problem. 00:22:13.320 --> 00:22:14.820 I have a problem with this. 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:22.360 Because the Corinthians thought that spirituality was about the external benefits for them. 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:24.519 It's about what is in it for me. 00:22:25.140 --> 00:22:25.400 Okay? 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:27.420 Does it make me feel good? 00:22:27.840 --> 00:22:29.180 Do I like doing it? 00:22:29.180 --> 00:22:31.660 Does it have long-term career benefits? 00:22:32.060 --> 00:22:32.240 Okay? 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:35.180 If it does, then I will sacrifice for those things. 00:22:35.340 --> 00:22:39.039 If it doesn't, then it's weird. 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:41.400 Why would I ever discomfort myself? 00:22:41.580 --> 00:22:45.420 Why would I ever flex in these different situations and adapt myself? 00:22:45.560 --> 00:22:48.039 Because I want to be what I want to be. 00:22:48.180 --> 00:22:50.100 I want to get what I want to get. 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:56.279 But Paul has this different lens, this different perspective on the way he sees things. 00:22:56.279 --> 00:23:01.980 We've mentioned already, at Watermark, if you see, we have these three banners. 00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:03.759 Gospel, Community, Mission. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:15.859 When Watermark first planted a group together, they came up with a vision statement and a number of things that was at the heart of this church was to be. 00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:21.079 One of those statements, and if you've read the membership document, you will see this statement in that document. 00:23:21.079 --> 00:23:22.019 It says this. 00:23:22.019 --> 00:23:29.220 We, as Watermark, exist for the glory of God and for those who are not here on Sunday. 00:23:29.579 --> 00:23:31.639 Those who are not here as part of this church. 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:36.019 We exist for our non-members and the glory of God. 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:41.859 There's not many social clubs in Hong Kong which exist for non-members. 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:47.420 But we exist for those who are not part of us. 00:23:47.420 --> 00:23:50.640 Now that's actually quite weird. 00:23:52.360 --> 00:23:57.400 That's quite weird because we've been talking about these last few weeks. 00:23:57.480 --> 00:23:59.800 The church, the image of the church is like a boat. 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:07.900 A boat that we're actually, we're not all just individual boats who kind of come together for a nice little dinner together 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:13.100 and then sail away on our own journey when we've got refueling or whatever we want. 00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:18.099 No, we're actually all in one boat together and everything we do affects everybody else. 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:20.879 That was the analogy Tobin used about drilling in the boat. 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:22.419 My sin affects you. 00:24:24.199 --> 00:24:26.099 Everything I do affects other people. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:28.419 We're in this together. 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:29.099 We're a family. 00:24:30.719 --> 00:24:33.339 But there's another question we have to ask about this boat. 00:24:34.179 --> 00:24:35.779 What kind of boat is it that we're in? 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:43.099 In the sandbox that we have, that's the vision of the values that really shape us. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.379 It talks about two kinds of boats that we can be in. 00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:50.119 Are we a cruise ship or are we a lifeboat? 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:59.039 Because I think this is a key thing and this is a key part behind the heart of what Paul is saying to the Corinthians. 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:02.700 You see, the Corinthians thought church was like a cruise ship. 00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:06.700 Some of you may be going on cruises, so you can kind of validate anything that I'm saying. 00:25:06.819 --> 00:25:09.140 But, you know, they thought it was 24-hour pizza. 00:25:09.700 --> 00:25:25.600 You know, they thought church was about getting entertainment, a bit of R&R, a bit of rest, relaxation, a bit of entertainment, a good time, refreshment because it's been a hard time at work just to get away from it, an oasis, something which can make me feel good for a little while. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:36.179 And the problem is their mission was really to have comfort. 00:25:37.439 --> 00:25:39.199 The mission is to have comfort. 00:25:40.339 --> 00:25:48.399 And the thing is, if anything interferes with that mission when you're on the boat, you know, you're going to sit down, you have your steak, your steak is burnt. 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:50.320 What are you going to do? 00:25:51.860 --> 00:25:52.220 Okay? 00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:57.019 You come in, the waiter pours wine over you or something accidentally. 00:25:57.240 --> 00:25:58.140 What are you going to do? 00:25:58.800 --> 00:26:02.860 You're going to say, okay, somebody was singing in the shower. 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:05.140 Mrs. Wong was singing in the shower too loudly yesterday. 00:26:05.220 --> 00:26:05.880 What are you going to do? 00:26:06.040 --> 00:26:06.940 You're going to complain. 00:26:07.380 --> 00:26:10.660 You're going to say, I don't deserve this. 00:26:11.580 --> 00:26:13.560 I paid good money for this. 00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:16.899 You're going to say, I want to talk to the manager. 00:26:17.339 --> 00:26:18.659 I want my money back. 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:20.839 It's not fair. 00:26:21.059 --> 00:26:22.639 This is not what I signed up for. 00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:25.819 I deserve compensation. 00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:32.940 I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I. 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:43.200 And you know, you may be lying by the pool, reading a great novel, and you just get to the part where you're going to find out whether the main character is a vampire or not. 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:44.900 And you're just on the edge of your seat. 00:26:44.900 --> 00:26:51.880 And then suddenly you hear somebody falls over into the sea overboard. 00:26:53.180 --> 00:26:56.160 And at that point, what do you think? 00:26:56.340 --> 00:26:57.380 You're just in your book. 00:26:57.500 --> 00:27:01.740 You think, why did they have to fall into the sea now? 00:27:03.140 --> 00:27:05.120 It's so inconsiderate. 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:07.039 Couldn't they drown later? 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:15.279 You're thinking, if you're a little less callous than that, oh dear, I hope somebody saves them. 00:27:17.500 --> 00:27:20.099 And then maybe you rather guiltily get back to your book. 00:27:21.700 --> 00:27:24.940 Because you think it's about a cruise ship. 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:30.000 But Paul has a different lens. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:31.680 He says, church is not a cruise ship. 00:27:31.940 --> 00:27:33.079 It's like a lifeboat. 00:27:33.960 --> 00:27:39.359 And in a lifeboat, you're always scanning the sea, looking out for those who are drowning. 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:48.420 In a lifeboat, you're going to train yourself to be prepared for when you have to rescue people. 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:54.320 And if you get to the point where you have time to read a book, well, that's a bonus. 00:27:55.220 --> 00:27:55.960 That's great. 00:27:56.140 --> 00:27:56.880 You enjoy it. 00:27:56.960 --> 00:27:58.300 But that's not what you're about. 00:27:59.180 --> 00:28:03.800 Because when the time comes, you're going to be putting your book down because you know that you're on a mission. 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:05.320 And your mission is not comfort. 00:28:05.420 --> 00:28:07.000 Your mission is to save people. 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:15.880 And the things which make you uncomfortable, well, you will live with those because you know there's something. 00:28:16.099 --> 00:28:19.380 That's part of the job of what you're doing. 00:28:21.779 --> 00:28:23.859 And I think that's often how we see church. 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:30.619 If church is a cruise ship, well, the Bible study doesn't give me enough depth for what I want. 00:28:30.819 --> 00:28:32.500 If the music is a little bit off. 00:28:32.500 --> 00:28:39.500 If suddenly the people change and there's someone who comes in who's a little bit weird, you know, and it just doesn't feel like it felt before. 00:28:39.579 --> 00:28:40.420 What am I going to do? 00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:43.640 I'm going to say, oh, I'm going to complain to the manager. 00:28:43.819 --> 00:28:47.019 I'm going to maybe move on somewhere else. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:52.960 There are kids who are running up and down. 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:54.259 They're disturbing your comfort. 00:28:55.900 --> 00:29:00.779 And we think, this is not what I signed up for. 00:29:00.779 --> 00:29:03.059 We have to move to a different venue. 00:29:04.119 --> 00:29:06.500 And you think, oh, this is not what I signed up for. 00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:11.299 Because we think we're a cruise ship. 00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:23.519 And that things will irritate and annoy you and be something which consume you if you think that's what it's about, your comfort. 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:28.059 You know, Toby mentioned it earlier. 00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:38.740 There's another phrase that the people who, as we started Watermark, one of the phrases was, we want to be a church which lives for something bigger than ourselves. 00:29:38.740 --> 00:29:48.740 You know, if you're on a cruise ship and you get to the end of the cruise, no one's there waiting to say, well done for doing the cruise. 00:29:48.740 --> 00:29:57.579 You know, the only people who get remembered for being on cruises are those who the cruise liner has hit an iceberg. 00:29:58.579 --> 00:30:00.920 And the cruise liner has actually begun to sink. 00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:04.240 And at that point, they needed a lifeboat. 00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:05.140 Right? 00:30:05.140 --> 00:30:17.240 But those who are part of lifeboat cruise, when they get to the end of their mission and they get back, you know there are thousands and thousands of people who are grateful and who are waiting for them. 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:19.220 And who say, well done. 00:30:19.220 --> 00:30:26.220 Because you've been doing something heroic in the kingdom of God. 00:30:28.200 --> 00:30:40.259 And it's interesting when you go to funerals and you see at the end of people's lives, there's such a difference between those who've lived with a lifeboat mentality and those who've lived with a cruise ship mentality. 00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:48.680 Because at the funeral of those who live with a cruise ship mentality, people are trying to find good things to say about them. 00:30:49.220 --> 00:30:56.960 But those who live at lifeboat funerals, they just have, you can't stop them talking about them. 00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:01.900 Because they've radiated the beauty of Jesus in their lives. 00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:07.360 So how do we view Watermark? 00:31:08.539 --> 00:31:09.579 Why are we here? 00:31:10.420 --> 00:31:11.559 What do we come for? 00:31:11.559 --> 00:31:16.460 It's our conviction that our church is to be here in this city. 00:31:17.019 --> 00:31:21.579 Because around us, there are thousands and thousands of people who are drowning. 00:31:22.639 --> 00:31:29.000 Who are drowning in quests to find fulfillment in so many other things. 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:32.539 There are people who are drowning in comparison. 00:31:33.180 --> 00:31:34.759 Drowning in self-promotion. 00:31:35.400 --> 00:31:39.400 Drowning in attempts to make themselves be something that they're not. 00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:40.819 And it's crushing them. 00:31:41.099 --> 00:31:42.079 And it's killing them. 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:47.500 And yet, are we going to be just going back to our book and reading it nicely? 00:31:48.539 --> 00:31:50.400 Even if that book is just the Bible. 00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:58.700 Because you see, there is so much facade, so much play-acting. 00:31:59.600 --> 00:32:04.160 None of us, none of us can save ourselves. 00:32:05.600 --> 00:32:07.140 And Paul has this lens. 00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:09.980 And it's the lens that the church needs to live by. 00:32:10.120 --> 00:32:13.080 Which is actually, we are free. 00:32:13.079 --> 00:32:20.339 But we're free to get on a boat. 00:32:21.220 --> 00:32:22.779 Which boat are we going to get on? 00:32:24.259 --> 00:32:25.139 So that's it. 00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:26.799 Chosen discomfort. 00:32:27.199 --> 00:32:28.000 Different perspective. 00:32:28.639 --> 00:32:28.939 Finally. 00:32:29.859 --> 00:32:31.299 A different kind of church. 00:32:32.359 --> 00:32:35.559 You see, how do we actually be this kind of lifeboat church? 00:32:37.259 --> 00:32:41.759 You see, a lifeboat church, I think, is a church which spends time with people. 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:44.839 It's a church which spends time with people. 00:32:45.660 --> 00:32:46.500 You see, Paul says, 00:32:46.839 --> 00:32:49.279 I endure anything for the sake of the gospel, 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:53.779 so that I might not put any obstacle, 00:32:54.339 --> 00:33:00.400 any obstacle in their way of hearing and understanding the gospel. 00:33:00.900 --> 00:33:03.819 How does he know what's an obstacle to the people? 00:33:04.660 --> 00:33:08.240 How does he know that the weak are weak in a certain area? 00:33:08.819 --> 00:33:10.940 How does he know these different things? 00:33:10.940 --> 00:33:13.460 Well, he knows because he spent time with them. 00:33:14.320 --> 00:33:18.840 He knows because he spent time getting to know the heartbeat of people. 00:33:19.580 --> 00:33:22.700 In the city which is filled with so much noise, 00:33:23.100 --> 00:33:26.340 there are so many people talking and so few people listening. 00:33:28.400 --> 00:33:33.100 But Paul has heard the fears of people. 00:33:33.539 --> 00:33:35.059 He's spent time listening to them. 00:33:35.340 --> 00:33:36.320 He's heard their hopes. 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:38.880 He's heard how they think about other Christians. 00:33:38.880 --> 00:33:41.820 He's heard what they despise. 00:33:43.080 --> 00:33:45.840 He's begun to see what they see. 00:33:46.840 --> 00:33:48.100 That's why he can adapt. 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:50.580 He's not adapting the gospel message, 00:33:51.080 --> 00:33:54.380 but he's adapting how he shares it with them 00:33:54.380 --> 00:33:57.640 so that it reaches into their hearts and they can hear it. 00:33:57.940 --> 00:33:58.780 You know, that's like Jesus. 00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:04.860 You know, Jesus spends time with the religious righteous right and the liberal left. 00:34:04.859 --> 00:34:08.779 He eats with the Pharisees in one corner and the tax collectors in another. 00:34:09.920 --> 00:34:11.819 Jesus knows people intimately. 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:20.319 Author Francis Schaeffer once stated if he had one hour to share the gospel with people, 00:34:21.319 --> 00:34:24.719 he would spend the first 55 minutes asking questions 00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:27.639 and finding out what was troubling their heart and mind. 00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:31.619 And in the last five minutes, he would share something of the truth with them. 00:34:33.419 --> 00:34:38.939 And he was criticized often for not sharing just the simple gospel with people. 00:34:39.059 --> 00:34:40.959 And he replied to them like this. 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:41.199 He said, 00:34:41.199 --> 00:34:55.859 How can you share the gospel with people if you don't really know how to engage with them? 00:34:57.139 --> 00:34:58.480 What their issues are? 00:34:58.480 --> 00:35:01.380 But if we're a cruise ship people, 00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:03.420 then maybe we'll just get off the boat occasionally 00:35:03.420 --> 00:35:05.940 and lob a few kind of grenades at them, 00:35:06.059 --> 00:35:07.300 lob a few things at them, 00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:09.639 and then run back on to get back to our book. 00:35:10.300 --> 00:35:11.780 Because that's actually more comfortable. 00:35:12.860 --> 00:35:16.360 Because we can think mission is just doing an outreach event 00:35:16.360 --> 00:35:16.940 and then it's like, 00:35:17.019 --> 00:35:17.900 at the end of it, 00:35:17.940 --> 00:35:20.679 thank goodness I've done mission for the year. 00:35:20.679 --> 00:35:25.239 But lifeboat people, 00:35:25.739 --> 00:35:29.219 they are looking for how to connect with people. 00:35:31.199 --> 00:35:32.859 It's not always huge projects. 00:35:33.319 --> 00:35:36.019 You know, sometimes it can be just as simple as saying hello. 00:35:36.259 --> 00:35:39.079 I mean, in the lift in Hong Kong, 00:35:40.659 --> 00:35:42.039 do you know, lifts are amazing things. 00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:46.359 It's amazing how suddenly, from being normal people, 00:35:47.179 --> 00:35:50.399 the ceiling and the floor becomes incredibly interesting. 00:35:50.679 --> 00:35:54.159 But actually, how many times, 00:35:54.619 --> 00:35:56.879 what does it mean to begin to get to know people? 00:35:57.259 --> 00:35:59.500 Have you ever said hello to anybody in a lift? 00:36:00.819 --> 00:36:02.739 Now that's weird for some people, 00:36:02.839 --> 00:36:03.539 but for some of you, 00:36:03.599 --> 00:36:05.779 that may just be the first step you need to take 00:36:05.779 --> 00:36:06.779 in getting to know people. 00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:08.259 Maybe it's going to your guards 00:36:08.259 --> 00:36:09.819 and actually saying to them, 00:36:10.339 --> 00:36:12.339 oh, what's going on in your life? 00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:14.940 Now don't expect necessarily everybody 00:36:14.940 --> 00:36:16.539 to just pour out their hearts to you. 00:36:16.579 --> 00:36:17.399 I mean, maybe they will, 00:36:18.179 --> 00:36:19.839 because relationships take time. 00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:22.100 But we're looking, we're seeing, 00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:23.840 how can I engage with people? 00:36:26.320 --> 00:36:28.860 It's little choices every day 00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:30.460 in the normal things of life. 00:36:30.539 --> 00:36:31.740 It doesn't have to be big things, 00:36:31.820 --> 00:36:33.740 it's just seeing with a different lens 00:36:33.740 --> 00:36:34.760 the people around you. 00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:38.200 So who are the people around you 00:36:38.200 --> 00:36:41.320 that you know who are not Christians? 00:36:41.559 --> 00:36:42.740 Who do you really know 00:36:42.740 --> 00:36:44.720 that you could tell me, 00:36:44.719 --> 00:36:46.419 I know their heart. 00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:48.399 I know their desires. 00:36:48.500 --> 00:36:49.339 I know their fears. 00:36:50.899 --> 00:36:52.619 Have you spent enough time 00:36:52.619 --> 00:36:55.119 looking to get to know them? 00:36:57.759 --> 00:36:59.000 Because lifeboat people, 00:36:59.199 --> 00:37:00.379 they spend time with people. 00:37:00.539 --> 00:37:03.079 Lifeboat people also pray in a different way. 00:37:04.039 --> 00:37:05.159 Because think about your prayer life. 00:37:05.159 --> 00:37:08.279 If someone wasn't a Christian 00:37:08.279 --> 00:37:09.339 and they kind of dropped in 00:37:09.339 --> 00:37:10.279 and heard you praying, 00:37:11.019 --> 00:37:15.619 what would they say about God? 00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:16.920 Would they think your prayers 00:37:16.920 --> 00:37:20.139 were all about God helping just you? 00:37:22.219 --> 00:37:26.039 Or were they all about glorifying Him? 00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:29.099 Think about it. 00:37:29.159 --> 00:37:30.920 Cruise ship people pray things like, 00:37:32.159 --> 00:37:33.659 God, I pray that the guy 00:37:33.659 --> 00:37:35.300 on the lounge chair next to me 00:37:35.300 --> 00:37:37.779 would move because he smells. 00:37:38.460 --> 00:37:38.619 Okay? 00:37:39.219 --> 00:37:40.779 They pray that the life, 00:37:41.320 --> 00:37:42.460 that the problems in life 00:37:42.460 --> 00:37:44.300 would just kind of be smoothed out. 00:37:44.779 --> 00:37:47.199 That everything would become easy 00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:48.699 so I can have a blessed life. 00:37:50.199 --> 00:37:51.519 That I can be comfortable. 00:37:51.519 --> 00:37:57.900 But lifeboat people pray for boldness 00:37:57.900 --> 00:38:00.039 and opportunities and courage 00:38:00.039 --> 00:38:00.900 because we're fearful 00:38:00.900 --> 00:38:04.380 and we just struggle 00:38:04.380 --> 00:38:06.179 to be lifeboat people sometimes. 00:38:07.719 --> 00:38:09.300 And in community groups, 00:38:09.440 --> 00:38:10.920 lifeboat people pray for each other. 00:38:11.119 --> 00:38:11.860 They pray for each other. 00:38:12.179 --> 00:38:14.179 We're going over on holiday, some of you. 00:38:16.139 --> 00:38:18.099 Have you got people praying for you 00:38:18.099 --> 00:38:20.280 for opportunities when you go on holiday? 00:38:20.280 --> 00:38:23.340 Do the people in your community group 00:38:23.340 --> 00:38:25.180 know the people that you know? 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:27.660 Do they pray for them? 00:38:27.800 --> 00:38:29.320 Do they know what to pray for them? 00:38:31.380 --> 00:38:33.280 Because if we're in this boat together, 00:38:33.680 --> 00:38:35.220 we're in it together. 00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:37.680 We're on the mission together. 00:38:40.540 --> 00:38:43.019 And in Acts, 00:38:43.180 --> 00:38:44.540 there's an amazing passage. 00:38:45.180 --> 00:38:45.880 In the book of Acts, 00:38:45.980 --> 00:38:46.560 the disciples, 00:38:47.380 --> 00:38:49.019 they're just being thrown in prison. 00:38:49.120 --> 00:38:50.040 They're just being flogged. 00:38:50.039 --> 00:38:50.860 They get released. 00:38:50.980 --> 00:38:51.719 They come back 00:38:51.719 --> 00:38:52.940 and they start praying. 00:38:53.099 --> 00:38:53.860 And do you know what they pray? 00:38:54.539 --> 00:38:55.599 They don't pray, 00:38:56.360 --> 00:38:56.759 God, 00:38:57.159 --> 00:38:58.759 please would you make life 00:38:58.759 --> 00:38:59.820 much easier for us? 00:39:01.159 --> 00:39:03.079 Please would you stop 00:39:03.079 --> 00:39:04.739 all the persecution of us? 00:39:04.960 --> 00:39:05.599 Do you know what they pray? 00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:06.000 They say, 00:39:06.039 --> 00:39:06.239 God, 00:39:06.500 --> 00:39:07.340 give us boldness 00:39:07.340 --> 00:39:09.119 so that we can go back out 00:39:09.119 --> 00:39:10.079 and start preaching again. 00:39:10.079 --> 00:39:14.139 And if I think about that 00:39:14.139 --> 00:39:14.739 and I think, 00:39:15.579 --> 00:39:17.039 am I a lifeboat person 00:39:17.039 --> 00:39:18.420 or a cruise ship person? 00:39:19.299 --> 00:39:20.719 And if you were to think about that, 00:39:20.779 --> 00:39:21.900 are you a lifeboat person 00:39:21.900 --> 00:39:23.000 or a cruise ship person? 00:39:23.860 --> 00:39:26.860 I think I flip between the two 00:39:26.860 --> 00:39:29.400 and so often I'm more of a cruise ship person 00:39:29.400 --> 00:39:31.559 and this message really convicts 00:39:31.559 --> 00:39:32.539 and challenges me 00:39:32.539 --> 00:39:34.639 because I like to be comfortable 00:39:34.639 --> 00:39:36.440 and there are so many things going on. 00:39:36.440 --> 00:39:37.760 There's so many busy things. 00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:38.880 There are so many things that, 00:39:39.059 --> 00:39:39.240 you know, 00:39:39.280 --> 00:39:40.400 it's vacation time. 00:39:40.679 --> 00:39:41.480 There are so many things 00:39:41.480 --> 00:39:42.760 which wrap up my mind 00:39:42.760 --> 00:39:43.360 that, 00:39:43.700 --> 00:39:43.980 you know, 00:39:44.059 --> 00:39:45.740 I've got to be loving my church family 00:39:45.740 --> 00:39:46.360 in the boat. 00:39:46.440 --> 00:39:47.200 I've got to be loving people 00:39:47.200 --> 00:39:48.159 outside the boat. 00:39:48.500 --> 00:39:48.760 Like, 00:39:48.920 --> 00:39:50.300 don't I have any time for me? 00:39:53.480 --> 00:39:54.840 How am I supposed to do 00:39:54.840 --> 00:39:55.519 all these things? 00:39:55.619 --> 00:39:56.960 And I think Paul would say, 00:39:57.360 --> 00:39:58.079 you can't. 00:39:59.740 --> 00:40:01.340 If you try and do it by yourself, 00:40:01.420 --> 00:40:01.880 you can't 00:40:01.880 --> 00:40:03.679 because you're going to be stressed out. 00:40:03.720 --> 00:40:04.400 I've got to save them. 00:40:04.480 --> 00:40:05.179 I've got to save them. 00:40:05.240 --> 00:40:05.820 I've got to do everything. 00:40:05.820 --> 00:40:06.960 You won't be able to 00:40:06.960 --> 00:40:08.440 unless you see this. 00:40:09.820 --> 00:40:10.420 This is, 00:40:10.580 --> 00:40:10.760 I think, 00:40:10.820 --> 00:40:11.720 what gets Paul 00:40:11.720 --> 00:40:14.760 with this totally different perspective on life. 00:40:17.640 --> 00:40:19.940 The only thing that can really change you 00:40:19.940 --> 00:40:21.600 from being a cruise ship person 00:40:21.600 --> 00:40:22.880 to a lifeboat person, 00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:24.440 from us being a cruise ship church 00:40:24.440 --> 00:40:25.680 to a lifeboat church, 00:40:26.180 --> 00:40:28.260 is if we see 00:40:28.260 --> 00:40:31.539 that I was also 00:40:31.539 --> 00:40:33.280 in that water drowning. 00:40:33.280 --> 00:40:36.680 that I was somebody 00:40:36.680 --> 00:40:39.300 who was drowning in my shame, 00:40:39.300 --> 00:40:40.380 in my sin, 00:40:40.720 --> 00:40:42.300 in my selfishness, 00:40:43.260 --> 00:40:44.360 in my self-focus, 00:40:44.460 --> 00:40:45.860 being wrapped up in myself. 00:40:46.160 --> 00:40:48.560 And I couldn't swim across to the lifeboat 00:40:48.560 --> 00:40:48.860 and say, 00:40:48.960 --> 00:40:49.380 it's okay, 00:40:49.540 --> 00:40:50.780 I can get myself in 00:40:50.780 --> 00:40:51.780 because I was drowning. 00:40:51.780 --> 00:40:52.780 I can't do it. 00:40:52.780 --> 00:40:53.780 I can't do it. 00:40:53.780 --> 00:40:54.740 And yet, 00:40:54.920 --> 00:40:56.920 the captain of this lifeboat 00:40:56.920 --> 00:40:57.720 jumped in, 00:40:59.140 --> 00:41:00.160 pulled me out, 00:41:00.640 --> 00:41:02.240 lifted me onto the lifeboat. 00:41:02.960 --> 00:41:03.960 But as he did, 00:41:04.660 --> 00:41:06.100 the wave hit him 00:41:06.100 --> 00:41:07.400 and knocked him down, 00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:12.620 sinking down into the depths of the sea. 00:41:12.619 --> 00:41:15.920 And as we look 00:41:15.920 --> 00:41:17.380 and turn around 00:41:17.380 --> 00:41:18.940 and we are now safe 00:41:18.940 --> 00:41:20.039 on that lifeboat 00:41:20.039 --> 00:41:21.819 and you see him there 00:41:21.819 --> 00:41:23.599 drowning in the sea 00:41:23.599 --> 00:41:24.199 and you think, 00:41:24.339 --> 00:41:25.859 that should have been me. 00:41:27.259 --> 00:41:29.179 That should have been me. 00:41:32.019 --> 00:41:34.199 And the gospel message says, 00:41:34.559 --> 00:41:36.619 he rose again from the dead 00:41:36.619 --> 00:41:37.900 and he's now the captain 00:41:37.900 --> 00:41:38.940 of the lifeboat. 00:41:38.940 --> 00:41:41.500 And as I'm there 00:41:41.500 --> 00:41:42.300 on the lifeboat 00:41:42.300 --> 00:41:43.240 and I see him, 00:41:44.200 --> 00:41:45.340 what is my response 00:41:45.340 --> 00:41:45.960 going to be? 00:41:46.920 --> 00:41:48.159 Am I going to look at him 00:41:48.159 --> 00:41:48.700 and just say, 00:41:48.940 --> 00:41:50.360 thanks for what you did, 00:41:50.480 --> 00:41:51.240 I'm just going to go 00:41:51.240 --> 00:41:52.220 for tequila now. 00:41:52.960 --> 00:41:54.099 Is that what I'm going to say? 00:41:54.780 --> 00:41:55.440 Thank you now, 00:41:55.500 --> 00:41:56.059 I can go back 00:41:56.059 --> 00:41:57.119 and get back to my book 00:41:57.119 --> 00:41:59.260 or get back to my life 00:41:59.260 --> 00:42:00.220 or get back to the things 00:42:00.220 --> 00:42:00.920 which are going to kind of 00:42:00.920 --> 00:42:01.519 make my life 00:42:01.519 --> 00:42:02.519 a little bit more comfortable. 00:42:04.780 --> 00:42:06.440 I think Paul would say, 00:42:06.940 --> 00:42:08.460 when you see the beauty 00:42:08.460 --> 00:42:09.019 of Jesus, 00:42:09.840 --> 00:42:10.679 when you see that 00:42:10.679 --> 00:42:11.780 the captain of the ship 00:42:11.780 --> 00:42:12.920 did that for you 00:42:12.920 --> 00:42:14.380 and if that's true, 00:42:15.599 --> 00:42:16.980 not just a theory, 00:42:17.260 --> 00:42:18.400 because I think we all know 00:42:18.400 --> 00:42:19.199 that as a theory, 00:42:19.340 --> 00:42:20.179 but if that's true, 00:42:20.320 --> 00:42:21.079 really true, 00:42:21.280 --> 00:42:22.659 really true in the depth 00:42:22.659 --> 00:42:23.559 of my heart, 00:42:23.760 --> 00:42:24.740 it will transform 00:42:24.740 --> 00:42:26.059 the way I see everything. 00:42:26.800 --> 00:42:27.760 It will transform 00:42:27.760 --> 00:42:28.420 the way I see 00:42:28.420 --> 00:42:29.420 the people around me. 00:42:29.460 --> 00:42:30.139 It will transform 00:42:30.139 --> 00:42:31.500 the way we see this city. 00:42:31.860 --> 00:42:32.699 It will transform 00:42:32.699 --> 00:42:33.519 the way when you go 00:42:33.519 --> 00:42:34.380 into your workplace, 00:42:34.760 --> 00:42:35.720 you see the colleagues 00:42:35.720 --> 00:42:36.300 who you thought 00:42:36.300 --> 00:42:37.260 were so annoying 00:42:37.260 --> 00:42:38.680 and irritating before. 00:42:38.980 --> 00:42:39.740 It will transform 00:42:39.740 --> 00:42:40.380 the way you go 00:42:40.380 --> 00:42:41.220 into your family 00:42:41.220 --> 00:42:42.600 and that family members 00:42:42.600 --> 00:42:43.360 who have hurt you 00:42:43.360 --> 00:42:44.080 in the past, 00:42:44.360 --> 00:42:45.500 you begin to see them 00:42:45.500 --> 00:42:46.420 with a different lens. 00:42:46.500 --> 00:42:47.380 You see them as people 00:42:47.380 --> 00:42:48.720 who need the gospel 00:42:48.720 --> 00:42:51.720 and they need saving 00:42:51.720 --> 00:42:53.019 because they need 00:42:53.019 --> 00:42:54.300 to see this captain 00:42:54.300 --> 00:42:56.000 who is so much greater, 00:42:56.360 --> 00:42:57.780 who is so much more beautiful, 00:42:58.100 --> 00:42:59.580 who is so much more glorious 00:42:59.580 --> 00:43:01.080 than all the other missions 00:43:01.080 --> 00:43:02.080 that they're going on 00:43:02.080 --> 00:43:02.860 in their lives. 00:43:02.860 --> 00:43:05.800 And that as a church 00:43:05.800 --> 00:43:07.180 is why God has got us here 00:43:07.180 --> 00:43:09.320 because he has brought us 00:43:09.320 --> 00:43:10.300 to see this captain, 00:43:11.660 --> 00:43:12.019 Jesus. 00:43:13.780 --> 00:43:14.620 And nobody 00:43:14.620 --> 00:43:18.480 is more beautiful than him. 00:43:21.220 --> 00:43:22.680 And so as we think 00:43:22.680 --> 00:43:23.480 as a church 00:43:23.480 --> 00:43:25.059 about planting churches, 00:43:25.860 --> 00:43:26.940 about multiplying 00:43:26.940 --> 00:43:27.980 community groups, 00:43:28.820 --> 00:43:30.120 let me promise you something. 00:43:30.220 --> 00:43:31.120 When you're on a lifeboat, 00:43:31.200 --> 00:43:32.220 it can be uncomfortable. 00:43:32.860 --> 00:43:34.680 The waves can be rough. 00:43:36.300 --> 00:43:37.599 But are you willing, 00:43:37.960 --> 00:43:38.860 because we have 00:43:38.860 --> 00:43:39.820 an amazing captain, 00:43:40.240 --> 00:43:42.260 to lay aside our rights, 00:43:42.500 --> 00:43:43.900 to choose even 00:43:43.900 --> 00:43:45.180 when it's necessary 00:43:45.180 --> 00:43:46.400 to be uncomfortable? 00:43:47.539 --> 00:43:48.780 Maybe there will be people 00:43:48.780 --> 00:43:49.940 who have to move 00:43:49.940 --> 00:43:50.860 to different groups, 00:43:50.980 --> 00:43:51.800 different locations, 00:43:51.920 --> 00:43:53.120 and they're the people we loved 00:43:53.120 --> 00:43:53.960 and it's painful 00:43:53.960 --> 00:43:55.660 because we want to be with them. 00:43:55.960 --> 00:43:57.519 But for the sake of the gospel, 00:43:57.680 --> 00:43:58.360 we will say, 00:43:59.059 --> 00:44:01.099 we will release you 00:44:01.099 --> 00:44:02.460 and we will not grumble 00:44:02.460 --> 00:44:03.239 and complain, 00:44:03.380 --> 00:44:04.159 but we will say, 00:44:04.860 --> 00:44:06.319 Father, you have got us here 00:44:06.319 --> 00:44:08.739 for such a time as this, 00:44:09.099 --> 00:44:09.960 for this city, 00:44:10.619 --> 00:44:11.679 for your glory, 00:44:12.239 --> 00:44:12.940 for your name. 00:44:13.739 --> 00:44:14.380 Let's pray. 00:44:14.380 --> 00:44:25.800 Father, as I think about 00:44:25.800 --> 00:44:29.200 even my own life 00:44:29.200 --> 00:44:34.400 and just the way so often 00:44:34.400 --> 00:44:35.400 the cruise ship seems 00:44:35.400 --> 00:44:36.420 so much more attractive 00:44:36.420 --> 00:44:40.400 because we want to be comfortable. 00:44:42.900 --> 00:44:44.559 We want to do things 00:44:44.559 --> 00:44:46.680 which suit us. 00:44:47.700 --> 00:44:48.119 But Father, 00:44:48.240 --> 00:44:48.960 you have called us 00:44:48.960 --> 00:44:50.619 to something greater than this. 00:44:51.440 --> 00:44:52.360 You've called us 00:44:52.360 --> 00:44:53.240 to open our eyes 00:44:53.240 --> 00:44:54.760 and see the people around us. 00:44:55.420 --> 00:44:56.880 Thank you so much for Paul, 00:44:57.380 --> 00:44:58.519 that Paul's example 00:44:58.519 --> 00:45:00.420 is an example of someone 00:45:00.420 --> 00:45:02.059 who imitated Christ. 00:45:03.240 --> 00:45:03.960 Lord, please, 00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:06.179 would we see Christ 00:45:06.179 --> 00:45:08.800 and again and again 00:45:08.800 --> 00:45:09.900 would we be reminded 00:45:09.900 --> 00:45:11.740 that that's not just a theory, 00:45:12.699 --> 00:45:14.880 but that is a life-shaping, 00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:17.000 life-transforming message 00:45:17.000 --> 00:45:18.059 of the gospel. 00:45:19.599 --> 00:45:20.099 Please, 00:45:20.220 --> 00:45:21.159 would we be willing 00:45:21.159 --> 00:45:23.960 to not make use of our rights, 00:45:24.480 --> 00:45:25.400 of our freedoms, 00:45:25.960 --> 00:45:27.860 for the sake of the gospel? 00:45:29.340 --> 00:45:30.139 Show us, Lord, 00:45:30.159 --> 00:45:31.400 even as we go on vacation, 00:45:31.400 --> 00:45:34.200 even as we still here 00:45:34.200 --> 00:45:34.820 in our offices, 00:45:34.980 --> 00:45:37.280 show us the people around us. 00:45:38.820 --> 00:45:39.480 Forgive us 00:45:39.480 --> 00:45:41.820 where we are wrapped up 00:45:41.820 --> 00:45:42.820 in just making sure 00:45:42.820 --> 00:45:43.840 that we're just doing 00:45:43.840 --> 00:45:44.519 our own thing. 00:45:46.139 --> 00:45:46.900 But Lord, 00:45:47.000 --> 00:45:48.599 open our eyes to see you. 00:45:49.599 --> 00:45:51.200 Open our eyes to see people 00:45:51.200 --> 00:45:54.119 and let us be a people 00:45:54.119 --> 00:45:55.880 who really do live 00:45:55.880 --> 00:45:57.200 for your name 00:45:57.200 --> 00:45:58.680 and your glory in this city. 00:45:59.800 --> 00:46:00.019 Amen.