WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.679 Three weeks ago, we began a study on the gifts of the Spirit, and we're going to continue 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:15.519 that tonight, looking at this great theme of how God has given certain gifts to His church 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:18.480 in order to fulfill His purposes. 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:22.400 Tonight we're continuing our study, and I want to just begin by asking a question. 00:00:22.400 --> 00:00:28.000 Who is the most important person in here tonight? 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:30.719 You don't need to answer, but what springs to your mind? 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:31.719 You ask that question. 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:38.000 Who is the most important person in church here tonight? 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:44.079 Because when we think of gifts, we often tend to think that the people who have great gifts, 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:52.000 the people with amazing abilities, these talents make these people very, very important. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:57.200 So if somebody came in here who was a world-famous preacher, like Tim Keller came in, we'd all 00:00:57.200 --> 00:00:59.440 be a bit struck by their importance. 00:00:59.440 --> 00:01:06.879 Likewise, if a gifted leader from the business community here or from Hollywood came in here, 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:12.079 we would all feel perhaps a bit tense because we'd be struck by their importance. 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:18.600 Very often people who seem very gifted are the ones we regard as very important. 00:01:18.600 --> 00:01:24.680 Well, it's important to think about that because when it comes to the Christian church, who's 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.400 the most important person in here tonight? 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:32.960 Well, I'm not going to tell you yet, but hopefully we're going to discover as we look at the 00:01:32.960 --> 00:01:35.200 gifts of the Spirit together. 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:39.640 And this is a wonderful topic to look at because it's telling us all about how Jesus can use 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:45.280 people like you and me to do wonderful things for him in our day-to-day lives. 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:50.080 We're looking over this topic over a number of weeks, and as we do that, there's four 00:01:50.080 --> 00:01:54.160 fundamental truths that really we want to make sure we remember regarding the gifts of 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:58.159 the Spirit, no matter which specific gift it is we're looking at. 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:03.719 These are four big principles that we want you to remember, and we want to make sure 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:05.200 you write on your hearts. 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:08.919 Number one, gifts of the Spirit are given by God for his glory. 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:10.400 That means we don't earn them. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:11.719 They're gifts from God. 00:02:11.719 --> 00:02:16.639 It also means that they are exercised under Christ's lordship. 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:22.840 When Neil read from Ephesians, that's a passage all about different gifts, but Paul associates 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:28.439 that with the fact that Jesus is exalted as king over everything. 00:02:28.439 --> 00:02:34.759 And as king, Jesus upholds the universe by the word of his power, but he doesn't keep 00:02:34.759 --> 00:02:37.039 that power to himself. 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:42.800 Through his Holy Spirit, he empowers others so that we can serve him, so that we can be 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:44.960 like him and we can glorify him. 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:50.680 So the gifts of the Spirit, they connect us to the exalted Jesus, and through the Holy 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:55.480 Spirit, they empower us to connect with the world around us. 00:02:55.480 --> 00:03:00.680 And through these gifts, God spent the last 2,000 years doing amazing things through the 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:01.680 Church of Jesus Christ. 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:06.480 And that means these gifts are really, really, really exciting. 00:03:06.480 --> 00:03:09.800 So the gifts of the Spirit are given by God for his glory. 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:15.600 Number two, gifts of the Spirit are for the building up of the church as we all work together. 00:03:15.600 --> 00:03:19.640 And that's something that we want to really, really emphasize. 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:27.559 It's a crucial biblical truth that the gifts of the Spirit are for the good of other people. 00:03:27.559 --> 00:03:29.519 They are not self-centered. 00:03:29.519 --> 00:03:31.279 They are not self-glorifying. 00:03:31.279 --> 00:03:33.039 They are not self-exalting. 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:35.479 They are others centered. 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:38.879 It's all about helping build up the church. 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:44.879 And these gifts unite us together as a team, as a church with one body, with many parts. 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:46.479 We've all got our part to play. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:49.199 We all need each other. 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:56.199 Number three, gifts of the Spirit have common elements for all believers, but unique aspects 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:57.199 only for some. 00:03:57.199 --> 00:03:59.399 Now, I'll explain what we mean by that. 00:03:59.399 --> 00:04:03.119 At one level, what we are highlighting here is the fact that these gifts are for everyone. 00:04:03.119 --> 00:04:04.319 There's no one who's lacking. 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:08.519 Derek emphasized that in the first sermon we had two weeks ago. 00:04:08.519 --> 00:04:10.000 No one is lacking. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:11.439 Every believer has a gift. 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:12.799 No believer has no gifts. 00:04:12.799 --> 00:04:17.399 No matter what your feelings tell you, we are all able to contribute to the work of the 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:18.480 church together. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:22.560 But we also want to recognize a very, very important point. 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:28.040 And that is that the gifts of the Spirit, all of them, are reflecting principles of 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:32.960 behavior that are expected of all believers. 00:04:32.960 --> 00:04:39.120 So yes, each believer has a particular gift in a particular area that's unique to them. 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:44.560 But even if you are not particularly gifted in a certain area, we should still strive 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.120 to exercise that gift as best we can. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.120 Calum highlighted this brilliantly last week because he was talking about apostles. 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:55.759 Now, very, very, very few people in the Christian church were apostles. 00:04:55.759 --> 00:05:01.240 But Calum highlighted the fact that yes, only some are apostles, but all of us are sent 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:04.639 out because that's really what the word apostle means, to be sent out. 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:09.560 Likewise, not everyone has the gift of being an administrator, but everyone is to do things 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:10.639 in order. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:14.280 Not all have the gift of mercy, but we're all to be kind and compassionate. 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:19.559 In other words, all the gifts of the Spirit correspond to aspects of behavior and service 00:05:19.559 --> 00:05:23.679 that should characterize all believers. 00:05:23.679 --> 00:05:29.239 And this is going to guard us against a dangerous misunderstanding. 00:05:29.239 --> 00:05:33.359 And with every doctrine that the Bible sets before us, it's easy to kind of go to an extreme 00:05:33.359 --> 00:05:39.000 interpretation that really misses the point of what God is saying. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:43.719 Because we must be very careful not to think that just because you don't have a gift, a 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:48.400 special unique ability in that area that you can't actually serve in that way. 00:05:48.400 --> 00:05:53.320 For example, I don't have the gift of hospitality. 00:05:53.320 --> 00:05:55.920 I'm not a very good cook. 00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:59.080 Buller corn flakes is kind of my limit. 00:05:59.080 --> 00:06:04.920 But if somebody came to me starving, it would be absolutely grotesque if I said to them, 00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:08.160 well, I don't have the gift of hospitality. 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:10.400 I'm not going to help them. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:15.079 And even worse, if somebody came to us and said, how do I become a Christian? 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:19.719 And we said to them, I'm not an evangelist, so don't ask me. 00:06:19.719 --> 00:06:25.879 So we must remember that there's common elements for all believers, but unique giftings for 00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:26.879 some. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:40.359 And then number four, the gifts of the Spirit are worthless and useless without love. 00:06:40.360 --> 00:06:46.280 So you can be incredibly talented and incredibly busy. 00:06:46.280 --> 00:06:52.360 But if that's not grounded in a love for God and a love for our neighbor, then it's no 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:54.080 use. 00:06:54.080 --> 00:06:57.800 So we want to highlight these four things as we go through this study. 00:06:57.800 --> 00:06:58.800 We want to remember it. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:03.439 Last week, those of you here here, Callum looked at apostles, which was fascinating 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:04.439 to look at. 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:09.920 Today, we are moving on to the next gift, as you can see, in your order of service. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:14.120 We are going to look at evangelists, and we can turn back together to Ephesians chapter 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:16.000 four, verse 11. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:21.120 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:27.120 equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:30.560 I want us just to ask three very simple questions. 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.439 What is the gift of evangelists? 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:40.160 Why is Jesus given this gift, and how is this gift to be exercised? 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:43.560 So question one, what do we mean when we talk about evangelists? 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:45.639 Well, that looks like a really easy question. 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:46.639 You ask what's an evangelist? 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:50.920 It seems quite straightforward, but it's actually quite complicated because there seems to be 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:54.079 a lot of different answers to that question. 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:58.800 People look at passages like this in the New Testament where evangelists are mentioned, 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:03.600 and lots of people seem to have lots of different ideas as to what exactly it's been referred 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:04.600 to. 00:08:04.600 --> 00:08:09.040 So some people say evangelists are like deputies to the apostles. 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:11.319 So you can see the apostles listed there. 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:18.400 The apostles were the foundational teachers of the Christian church, used by God to lead 00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:25.560 the church, and many of them were used to write key parts of the New Testament scriptures. 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:30.000 Now I'm arguing that the evangelists were like helpers for the apostles, and they served 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:34.840 alongside them, and just like the apostles no longer been here today, so do they're not 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:35.840 here. 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:37.559 But not everyone says that. 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:39.960 Some people say they're traveling missionaries. 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:42.120 Other people say itinerant preachers. 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:44.279 Other people say church planters. 00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:47.759 Other people say people who are good at engaging with unbelievers. 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:48.759 There's more options. 00:08:48.759 --> 00:08:52.519 Some people say that it's an office in the church, so just as you can be ordained as 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:57.639 an elder and as a deacon you could be ordained as an evangelist in a similar category of 00:08:57.639 --> 00:08:58.720 office. 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:03.960 Other people regard evangelists as a role, so sometimes people are employed as evangelists. 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:08.480 That happens in the free church in various places, perhaps working in a specific area 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:09.480 or region. 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:11.159 So we've got all these different answers. 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:12.480 Which one's right? 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:19.559 Well, I think we could probably say all of them, because I think the best way to understand 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:25.479 the word evangelist is just to focus on what the word itself means. 00:09:25.479 --> 00:09:29.479 So you look at that word evangelist, what is the definition of that word? 00:09:29.479 --> 00:09:35.759 Well, it's got a very simple, clear definition. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:40.679 Someone who tells good news. 00:09:40.679 --> 00:09:45.039 That word, evangel, at the start of evangel, comes from the Greek word for gospel. 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:51.039 So you could translate it gospelist if you want, which is basically talking about good 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:56.919 news and evangelist is someone who tells the good news of Jesus Christ. 00:09:56.919 --> 00:10:07.919 Now I want to stop there because that slide is highlighting an incredibly important point. 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:15.479 An evangelist is not someone who converts people. 00:10:15.479 --> 00:10:17.120 We can so easily think that. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:21.799 We can so easily think an evangelist is someone who can bring loads of people to faith in 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:22.799 Jesus Christ. 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:27.199 And we feel like we are a complete failure and that we are rubbish evangelists because 00:10:27.199 --> 00:10:28.479 we can't convert people. 00:10:28.479 --> 00:10:33.039 We try and try and try and we seem to fail and we think, well, we are useless evangelists. 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:41.199 Just don't convert people because the only person who ever converts anyone is the Holy 00:10:41.199 --> 00:10:45.199 Spirit. 00:10:45.199 --> 00:10:54.639 An evangelist simply announces the good news and it is always, always, always God the Holy 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:58.799 Spirit who does the work of conversion. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:00.559 So that's what an evangelist is. 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:04.679 Who spreads the good news about Jesus and therefore I think all the options that were 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:10.279 listed there, church planters, missionaries, preachers, all of these options are valid 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:13.879 because they are all people who are striving to share that good news. 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:18.719 And even if they were deputies to the apostles, the command to share the good news of Jesus 00:11:18.719 --> 00:11:25.479 still applies to all believers and we do that through God's grace working in and through 00:11:25.479 --> 00:11:26.479 us. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:30.960 An evangelist is someone who tells good news and I would say that the New Testament is 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:37.159 really deliberately general and broad in its use of this term to convey the fact that 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:45.240 sharing that good news is done by lots of different people in lots of different ways. 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:48.840 So that's question one, what's an evangelist? 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:53.279 Question two, why has Jesus given this gift? 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:59.839 Well there's three key things I want to say and they're very simple but they're really 00:11:59.839 --> 00:12:00.839 important. 00:12:00.839 --> 00:12:02.199 Why does Jesus give this gift? 00:12:02.199 --> 00:12:09.919 Well three reasons, number one, God wants people saved. 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:15.480 First Timothy 2.3, this is good and it's pleasing the sight of God our Savior who desires all 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:19.839 people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:23.800 In Peter 3.9 the Lord's not slow to fulfill His promise of some kind of slowness but is 00:12:23.800 --> 00:12:31.399 patient towards you not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance. 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:37.680 That is a foundational biblical truth, God wants people saved. 00:12:37.680 --> 00:12:42.120 Now that can sound so simple and I'm sure it's something that we all know and yet it's 00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:49.080 easy to forget and yet it's crucial because the whole of the Bible's message, the whole 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:54.720 of redemptive history of the way God has worked out His plan of salvation across the generations 00:12:54.720 --> 00:13:00.240 of history, the whole of systematic theology, the way we piece the theology of the Bible 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:05.759 into a framework, a system that we can understand and explain, the whole of the history of the 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:09.400 Christian church stretching back over 2,000 years. 00:13:09.400 --> 00:13:15.200 All of these things are grounded on one fundamental truth. 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:21.640 God wants people saved and sin has wrecked this world and wrecked humanity. 00:13:21.640 --> 00:13:25.800 Our lives are broken and we look at the world around us and we see people whose lives have 00:13:25.800 --> 00:13:30.320 been wrecked and who are ravaged with sorrow and suffering and pain. 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:35.960 We see and know, I'm sure you all know, broken families where relationships have broken down 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:39.320 and where people suffer that awful hurt. 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:44.759 We see broken bodies, even your own body is probably a bit broken with illness or pain. 00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:51.840 We see people whose minds are broken and they're crippled by fear and anxiety and depression. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:54.200 We see broken hearts. 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:57.000 We see people's lives ravaged by addiction. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:01.919 We see humanity constantly battling against the damage that sin is causing and ultimately 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:07.240 we see the fact that every single person on this planet is living under an unstoppable 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:11.879 shadow of death. 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:19.879 And God looks at the people who are trapped in the midst of that wreckage and He says, 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:23.759 I want to rescue these people. 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:25.399 And that's why Jesus came. 00:14:25.399 --> 00:14:26.799 That's why we have the Bible. 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:33.240 That's why we have the gospel message because God is a God who wants people saved. 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:39.639 Now that means that when you look out on Edinburgh tonight, when you walk out the door in half 00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:46.000 an hour's time or whenever it is and you see hundreds of people wandering around, you've 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:48.639 got to ask yourself the question, what does God want for these people? 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:51.679 The answer is He wants to save them. 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:55.480 And so whether it's your boss at work tomorrow or your friends at school or the people you 00:14:55.480 --> 00:15:00.159 play football with or your neighbor or the homeless guy sitting on the corner of the 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.840 street, the person, the member of the public you have to serve at work, the crowd marching 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:09.800 down the royal mile for pride or independence or whatever it is, the tourists, the motorists, 00:15:09.800 --> 00:15:13.480 the workers, the children, the pensioners, all these different people are one thing 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:14.980 in common. 00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:19.560 God wants them. 00:15:19.560 --> 00:15:24.240 God wants them saved. 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:28.200 And perhaps even more amazing is the fact that that also means that God wants to save 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:29.200 you. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:35.879 Now I don't know everybody here tonight and if you've come in here tonight and you're 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:40.879 not yet sure if you're a Christian, maybe you've never heard the message of the Gospel 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:44.800 before, maybe you're not sure who God is, maybe you've got loads of questions about 00:15:44.800 --> 00:15:47.440 everything, maybe you're searching, maybe you're curious. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:53.480 If that's you tonight or maybe you've been here for years and you're still not sure, 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:59.360 if that's you tonight, please, please write this truth on your heart. 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.600 God wants to save you. 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:06.360 He wants to rescue you out of the wreckage that sin can bring. 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:09.279 He wants to free you from the power of death. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:15.879 He wants to adopt you as his very own child and he wants to hold you and guide you and 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:22.279 protect you and love you forever. 00:16:22.279 --> 00:16:29.159 And so first and foremost, when we ask the question, why does Jesus send evangelists, 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:33.360 the answer is because of you. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:38.079 Because God wants you saved. 00:16:38.079 --> 00:16:42.199 So who's the most important person in this building? 00:16:42.199 --> 00:16:45.959 Is it me or Derrick or the elders? 00:16:45.959 --> 00:16:46.959 No. 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:53.879 It's the person who's not yet a Christian. 00:16:53.879 --> 00:17:01.560 And if that's you, please make no mistake, God wants you saved. 00:17:01.560 --> 00:17:05.640 And that salvation comes through a message. 00:17:05.640 --> 00:17:11.720 And that's the second key reason why God gives the gifts of evangelists. 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:16.680 Christianity is grounded in a message of good news. 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:21.360 For centuries and up until the present day, Christianity has been on the receiving end 00:17:21.360 --> 00:17:24.080 of a huge amount of misunderstanding. 00:17:24.080 --> 00:17:28.880 Even if you were to go to all the churches in Edinburgh and ask the question, what lies 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:33.240 at the heart of Christianity, you may very well get a lot of different answers. 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:35.480 Some people might say it's about living a good life. 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:36.799 It's about doing your best. 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:38.400 It's about loving one another. 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:42.279 It's about following the example of Jesus or something along those lines. 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:46.200 And of course, at one sense, these things are accurate. 00:17:46.200 --> 00:17:53.120 But the truth we have to recognize is that at the heart of Christianity lies one thing, 00:17:53.120 --> 00:17:58.559 a message of good news about Jesus Christ. 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:06.160 Christianity is grounded on a message, an expression of information that needs to be communicated 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:07.160 to the world. 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:13.799 Now, within that message lies our wealth of wonderful teaching, both theological and ethical. 00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:17.000 But at its heart, we must remember that Christianity is a message. 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:19.759 That's why it's grounded on a book. 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:23.480 It's grounded on words, conveying information. 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:27.759 That's what the Bible is, the record of the message that God's communicating to us in 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:29.440 order to save us. 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:37.119 Now, this is reminding us of the fact that everything that God does makes perfect sense. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:43.279 And so the foundation of the church is a message, the good news of Jesus Christ. 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:51.079 And so Jesus gives a gift called the apostles to make sure that that message is accurately 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:52.480 laid down for us. 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:58.319 That's the foundational role of the apostles, played the Holy Spirit, worked through these 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:03.279 men in order to lay down the core teaching of the gospel message. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:08.799 That's why the only true gospel is the apostolic gospel. 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:13.839 With that apostolic gospel, the gospel of the apostles set out, that's all we mean when 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:16.240 we say apostolic gospel. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:19.519 That message is not a secret. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:23.919 And it's not confined to these apostles as though they're some sort of elite group. 00:19:23.919 --> 00:19:26.879 That message needs to be spread. 00:19:26.879 --> 00:19:32.440 And so as well as giving the gifts of apostles, Jesus has given the gift of evangelists, the 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:34.279 two go hand in hand. 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:40.599 The apostles have taught us this life-giving message, the evangelists are announcing it 00:19:40.599 --> 00:19:42.440 to the world. 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:48.119 And that is the message that makes the difference between life and death. 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:53.119 And that's why a false gospel is so, so dangerous. 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:56.440 And if you look in the New Testament and read through it, you will see that the apostles, 00:19:56.440 --> 00:20:02.680 whether it's Paul or Peter or John, they go absolutely ballistic whenever there is the 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:08.560 threat of a false gospel or false teaching creeping into the church. 00:20:08.560 --> 00:20:15.960 And this is where we have to, in a way, try and maybe almost reset our priorities in a 00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:24.400 sense because we today can get so hung up on the mistakes that people make in their lives. 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:27.840 So somebody comes along to church and they muck up. 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:33.159 So maybe they fall into addiction or they get caught over the driving limit or maybe 00:20:33.159 --> 00:20:35.759 they even fall into sexual sin. 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:37.399 And these things are a massive scandal. 00:20:37.399 --> 00:20:44.759 And yes, these things are serious, but we must never forget that far, far, far more 00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:50.039 serious is the danger of a false gospel. 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:53.599 Because if somebody falls into addiction or into moral failure, then yeah, that will be 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:54.879 a scandal for a while. 00:20:54.880 --> 00:21:03.360 But if someone preaches a false gospel, it will lead you all to hell. 00:21:03.360 --> 00:21:06.640 The apostles gave us the message of eternal life. 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:08.760 The evangelists need to announce it. 00:21:08.760 --> 00:21:12.760 I often think that a good illustration of this is a vaccine. 00:21:12.760 --> 00:21:17.040 And maybe you've heard this illustration being used before, but not long ago we saw the massive 00:21:17.040 --> 00:21:20.680 Ebola outbreak in Africa, which was devastating. 00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:23.280 Imagine at Edinburgh University, they developed a vaccine. 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:25.399 That would be brilliant, wouldn't it? 00:21:25.399 --> 00:21:28.399 It would be amazing if they were able to do it. 00:21:28.399 --> 00:21:29.399 It would be a wonderful thing. 00:21:29.399 --> 00:21:32.160 But it's no use sitting in Edinburgh. 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:34.839 It would be crazy if we just said, oh, well, that's great. 00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:40.079 There's a triumph for the Molecular Science Department of Edinburgh University. 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:43.559 Let's just put that in the records and sit it there and move on to the next thing. 00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:52.720 That would be ridiculous because the vaccine needs distributing, doesn't it? 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:57.360 And while it's being distributed, it also needs to be kept pure. 00:21:57.360 --> 00:22:02.680 Because if the distributors thought, oh, well, we'll just add a wee bit of extra into this, 00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:07.960 or we'll just dilute it a wee bit so it'll go a wee bit further, then it wouldn't work. 00:22:07.960 --> 00:22:13.480 It would be crazy if they were to corrupt and pollute that vaccine in exactly the same 00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:14.480 way. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:21.880 In fact, no, not in exactly the same way, in a far, far, far more serious way. 00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:27.720 The apostolic message of the New Testament is the cure for the problem of sin. 00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:29.840 That cure needs spreading. 00:22:29.840 --> 00:22:34.760 That cure needs to be kept pure. 00:22:34.760 --> 00:22:40.120 Christianity is grounded in a life-giving message. 00:22:40.120 --> 00:22:44.800 Evangelists have been given to spread that good news. 00:22:44.800 --> 00:22:46.720 So God wants people saved. 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:48.200 It's grounded in a message. 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:54.559 Number three, God uses people as his channel of communication. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:59.920 The key tool for spreading that good news is people. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:06.600 So from the New Testament to the present day, God has used people to spread the message 00:23:06.600 --> 00:23:08.440 of Jesus Christ. 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:13.840 And I'm sure that for all of us, or certainly almost all of us, we can think of people that 00:23:13.840 --> 00:23:16.799 God has used to bring the message of Jesus to it. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:20.919 It might be people who've spoken to us, but even to the person who's maybe had no contact 00:23:20.919 --> 00:23:24.960 with anybody else and just picks up a Bible, that's still through the medium of people 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:29.599 because God used people, the apostles, to set that writing down. 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:31.119 He's used people to translate it. 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:33.680 He's used people to print it. 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:39.519 Whoever it is, parents, friends, preachers, teachers, writers, God uses people to spread 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:40.519 the good news. 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:44.519 And at one level, we are all involved in that if we are Christians. 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:50.240 So mums, dads, grandparents, brothers, sisters, friends, classmates, employees, bosses, teachers, 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:55.480 pupils, neighbors, volunteers, in all the situations that you find yourself in as a 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:58.079 Christian, you're a missionary. 00:23:58.079 --> 00:24:04.079 You are called to be salt and light, called to stand out as being visibly distinctive 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:05.879 as followers of Jesus. 00:24:05.879 --> 00:24:12.079 That's why every day, every day as a Christian is incredibly exciting because tomorrow might 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:17.279 well be the day when you are used by God to share this good news. 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:22.359 So at one level, we're all involved in it, but at another level, there are those who 00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:25.919 are particularly gifted in this area. 00:24:25.919 --> 00:24:30.960 And sometimes these people don't even realize it, but it seems that they can speak about 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:36.159 the gospel in a way that's so natural and so engaging and so clear. 00:24:36.159 --> 00:24:40.919 Sometimes these people can be particularly good at speaking to certain groups, so some 00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:45.759 are really gifted at explaining the gospel to children, some are great at working with 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:50.080 students, some are great at speaking, shading the gospel with people who are sick, some 00:24:50.080 --> 00:24:53.320 are great at dealing with professionals. 00:24:53.320 --> 00:24:59.840 Some people have this wonderful gift of being able to share the good news. 00:24:59.840 --> 00:25:02.480 Lots of different people in lots of different ways. 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:14.240 The key point is that God's primary tool for spreading this good news is people just like 00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:17.480 you. 00:25:17.480 --> 00:25:22.480 That's how he's done it for the past two thousand years, and he's going to keep on doing 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:24.880 it. 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:31.680 And all of this is pointing us to a big theme that runs through the whole of Scripture. 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:36.240 It's one of the many amazing things about the Bible that there are great themes running 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:38.880 through the whole of Scripture. 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:45.279 This whole question of evangelists is pointing us to the great theme of the temple. 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:51.680 Now you're probably thinking, Thomas, what on earth has evangelism got to do with the 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:52.680 temple? 00:25:52.680 --> 00:25:57.440 Well, let's look at this together because the temple in the Old Testament was a key part 00:25:57.440 --> 00:25:59.920 of the religious life of God's people. 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:03.200 It was the place where God dwelt. 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:07.000 That's really how we define a temple, the place where God dwelt, the place where he 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:08.000 was worshiped. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:13.240 And one of the key purposes of that temple built in the middle of Jerusalem was to be 00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:16.200 a light to all the nations. 00:26:16.200 --> 00:26:20.480 Isaiah 56 tells us it's to be a house of prayer for all people. 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:26.200 It was part of this distinctive identity of the people of Israel, which was to make them 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:29.880 stand out as a light for all the nations. 00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:36.520 In other words, the temple was a great missionary tool in the purpose of God. 00:26:36.520 --> 00:26:43.040 And we actually sang about that in Psalm 46, and there's a really interesting verse that 00:26:43.040 --> 00:26:44.040 talks about it. 00:26:44.040 --> 00:26:50.400 It says, there's a river whose stream is made glad, the city of God, the holy habitation 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:51.400 of the Most High. 00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:54.560 Now, when we talk about holy habitation of the Most High, that's talking about the temple. 00:26:54.560 --> 00:26:58.560 Remember we said the place where God dwells. 00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:04.639 So we're thinking in terms of the temple, and we're thinking in terms of streams, according 00:27:04.639 --> 00:27:06.359 to this verse here. 00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:12.079 So I want you just to picture that in your mind, picture the temple, picture streams 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:13.879 all around it. 00:27:13.879 --> 00:27:19.159 And for some reason, this is a source of joy. 00:27:19.159 --> 00:27:21.159 What's all that about? 00:27:21.159 --> 00:27:27.359 Well, the word for streams in that verse is really interesting because it's actually 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:33.919 the word that means, now wait for it, irrigation ditch. 00:27:33.919 --> 00:27:40.479 Now, we lose a wee bit of the poetic flair here. 00:27:40.479 --> 00:27:45.319 When we say there's a river whose irrigation ditches make glad the city of God. 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:50.639 But that's what the word actually means, irrigation ditch. 00:27:50.639 --> 00:27:56.919 So now you have in this image of the temple, place where God dwells, and we can picture 00:27:56.920 --> 00:28:01.000 irrigation ditches connected to it. 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:03.759 Now, you might be thinking this seems really weird. 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:06.000 What are you saying? 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:09.800 And certainly irrigation ditches doesn't sound as nice as streams. 00:28:09.800 --> 00:28:18.720 Stream sounds very poetic, but there's a really, really important difference. 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:22.279 Streams flow into something. 00:28:22.279 --> 00:28:23.840 So streams flow into a river. 00:28:23.840 --> 00:28:26.880 Streams flow into a loch. 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:31.360 irrigation ditches flow out. 00:28:31.360 --> 00:28:36.560 And here in Psalm 46 and in various other places in the Old Testament, such as the 00:28:36.560 --> 00:28:42.160 latter chapters of Ezekiel, especially Ezekiel 37, there's this imagery of water flowing 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:47.280 not into the temple, but out of the temple. 00:28:47.280 --> 00:28:52.200 And so this source of gladness is the fact that water is flowing out. 00:28:52.200 --> 00:28:56.040 In other words, it is for the benefit of others. 00:28:56.039 --> 00:29:01.960 These streams are not supplying the temple. 00:29:01.960 --> 00:29:08.599 They are flowing from the temple and supplying the needs of the world around. 00:29:08.599 --> 00:29:16.240 The temple was a key tool in God's plan to reach out to the nations of the world. 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:22.079 Temple outreach, that's key part of temple theology. 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:23.480 Okay. 00:29:23.480 --> 00:29:28.079 Where is God's temple today? 00:29:28.079 --> 00:29:35.799 It's you because you are the place where the Holy Spirit dwells. 00:29:35.799 --> 00:29:41.519 And part of our role as the temple of God is to reach out. 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:45.900 That's part of the reason why the giftings that come from the indwelling of the Holy 00:29:45.900 --> 00:29:52.839 Spirit, which makes us the temple of God, part of that gifting is evangelists whose 00:29:52.839 --> 00:29:57.079 work is to reach out to those around us. 00:29:57.079 --> 00:30:01.639 The Holy Spirit has come to make us his temple. 00:30:01.639 --> 00:30:07.039 Therefore we are a key means through which he's going to reach out to other people. 00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:14.199 In other words, when it comes to sharing the gospel, God can use you, and it is a theological 00:30:14.199 --> 00:30:19.079 fact backed up by the whole of Scripture. 00:30:19.079 --> 00:30:25.319 And yes, some people have a clear gift in that area, and it's wonderful to see people 00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:28.480 who can naturally speak about Jesus to other people. 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:34.279 But for many of us, when it comes to evangelism, we don't find it easy. 00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:39.199 And I'm sure every one of us feels a sense of failure in regard to all that. 00:30:39.199 --> 00:30:44.399 But there's two important things I want to notice in terms of thinking about this. 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:51.280 First of all, there's a brilliant verse about evangelism in Colossians chapter 4. 00:30:51.280 --> 00:31:02.480 Paul says, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the Word to declare the mystery 00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:03.480 of Christ. 00:31:03.480 --> 00:31:12.560 That's reminding us that you can pray every day that God will open doors for the people 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:15.119 who are gifted evangelists. 00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:19.960 There are people who I'm sure you know who are really good and gifted at speaking about 00:31:19.960 --> 00:31:20.960 Jesus. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:25.119 Every day, pray that God would open a door for them. 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:28.119 That's one of the great things about being in the Christian churches that we join in 00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:30.679 the work together through prayer. 00:31:30.679 --> 00:31:34.799 Pray that God will open doors for his evangelists. 00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:39.359 But I want you to notice something else as well that's very important and interesting 00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:43.959 from Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11, which was the verse we read at the start. 00:31:43.959 --> 00:31:45.839 Here we've got a list. 00:31:45.839 --> 00:31:49.879 Now often you'll find in the Bible there's lists in verses. 00:31:49.879 --> 00:31:55.799 And if you're anything like me, sometimes when you go through a list, you can in a way 00:31:55.799 --> 00:31:58.959 lose sight of exactly what's been said. 00:31:58.959 --> 00:32:02.639 Because as you go through the list, by the time of each the end of the list, I've forgotten 00:32:02.639 --> 00:32:06.679 the first two or three items on the list. 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:12.200 So when we look at a verse like that, that's got a list of stuff in it, we need to make 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:18.960 sure that we recognize how the statement being made in the sentence applies to each item 00:32:18.960 --> 00:32:19.960 on the list. 00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:22.080 And a good way to do that is to simplify the verse. 00:32:22.080 --> 00:32:24.759 So we're going to simplify the verse. 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:29.000 So here it says, he gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, church procedures, etc. 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:31.640 Let's simplify it and focus on evangelists. 00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:40.759 It says, he gave the evangelists to equip the saints for the work of ministry. 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:44.759 Now, isn't that really interesting? 00:32:44.759 --> 00:32:50.440 The people who are particularly gifted in evangelism are not just there to be the ones 00:32:50.440 --> 00:32:52.720 who do all the outreach work. 00:32:52.720 --> 00:33:00.720 They're also there to help the rest of us, to equip us, to build us up so that we can 00:33:00.720 --> 00:33:02.360 reach out as well. 00:33:02.360 --> 00:33:07.839 It's a great reminder that evangelism is not something that God expects us to be automatically 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:08.839 good at. 00:33:08.839 --> 00:33:16.120 Rather, he wants those who are gifted to help, to encourage, to guide, to teach, to equip 00:33:16.120 --> 00:33:17.720 the rest of us. 00:33:17.720 --> 00:33:24.000 God gave the evangelists not just to reach out, but also to help us all to join in that 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:25.000 work. 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:31.680 But as I said, it's often where we feel overwhelmed, and evangelism is one of these areas we often 00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:33.640 feel quite poor at. 00:33:33.640 --> 00:33:36.960 That brings up our third question, which is, how do we do it? 00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:37.960 How can we do it? 00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:41.119 Well, there's an awful lot we could say, and I would love maybe in the future for us to 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:44.920 spend more time studying evangelism in more detail. 00:33:44.920 --> 00:33:47.880 Tonight, I just want to say two things. 00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:54.039 First of all, we're taught a wonderful lesson from the passage that we read about Philip. 00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:56.159 Philip is known as Philip the Evangelist. 00:33:56.159 --> 00:33:59.000 He's referred to that in Acts chapter 21. 00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:05.720 In that passage, we saw, first of all, he went down to Samaria and he preached to crowds. 00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:12.800 And then he went up to this man from Ethiopia, and he spoke to him one on one. 00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:17.159 And all I want to highlight is the fact that evangelism can happen in lots of different 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:18.800 ways. 00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:23.599 God has used people as they have announced the good news to great crowds, and God has 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:29.279 used people as they've announced the good news in a private conversation with questions, 00:34:29.279 --> 00:34:31.360 with discussion, with Bible reading. 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:36.279 Now, some of us are terrified about speaking in front of a crowd. 00:34:36.279 --> 00:34:39.880 Some of us are terrified about speaking one to one. 00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:42.119 Some of us are terrified of both. 00:34:42.119 --> 00:34:47.119 But the great thing about God is that he works through loads of different evangelists and 00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:48.679 in loads of different ways. 00:34:48.679 --> 00:34:52.319 And sometimes you don't even know that he's doing it. 00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:57.720 Think of the people that God used to bring you to faith. 00:34:57.720 --> 00:34:59.800 Not just one person. 00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:02.480 There's very few of us, I'm sure, for whom there's one person. 00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:09.400 There's lots of people, family, friends, preachers we've listened to, maybe people we've read. 00:35:09.400 --> 00:35:11.360 Think of all these different people. 00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:18.039 How many of them do you think would call themselves evangelists? 00:35:18.039 --> 00:35:21.280 Probably not many of them. 00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:29.480 And yet they're the ones that God has used, because God works in lots of different ways, 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:32.640 and God uses us to spread the gospel. 00:35:32.640 --> 00:35:38.040 So we want to remember that, that God can do it in lots and lots and lots of different 00:35:38.040 --> 00:35:39.040 ways. 00:35:39.040 --> 00:35:41.440 But I want to close by saying this. 00:35:41.440 --> 00:35:45.560 If you are working to do, if you are wanting to share the gospel with somebody, or if the 00:35:45.559 --> 00:35:52.400 opportunity arises to share the gospel, there's three really, really, really important things 00:35:52.400 --> 00:35:54.480 to remember. 00:35:54.480 --> 00:35:58.880 Number one, God wants people saved. 00:35:58.880 --> 00:36:03.360 So whoever you are talking to, this one thing is through. 00:36:03.360 --> 00:36:04.639 God wants to save them. 00:36:04.639 --> 00:36:09.599 Number two, Christianity is grounded on a message of good news. 00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:10.599 Never forget that. 00:36:10.599 --> 00:36:12.519 You are telling them good news. 00:36:12.519 --> 00:36:16.360 Now, good news does not mean comprehensive information. 00:36:16.360 --> 00:36:20.079 We're often terrified of evangelism, because we think that we don't know very much, and 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:22.440 they might ask a question that we don't know the answer to, and we're not very good at 00:36:22.440 --> 00:36:27.400 explaining the whole of theological truth from Genesis 3 to 11. 00:36:27.400 --> 00:36:33.559 Good news is not the whole of theology. 00:36:33.559 --> 00:36:40.519 Good news might simply be telling someone that God loves them. 00:36:40.519 --> 00:36:44.559 It might simply be inviting someone to church. 00:36:44.559 --> 00:36:50.480 It might simply be just telling them that they're welcome here, and that we'd love to 00:36:50.480 --> 00:36:54.840 have them with us. 00:36:54.840 --> 00:37:05.400 God can do the work of evangelism in 10 seconds, in one sentence. 00:37:05.400 --> 00:37:07.119 God can do amazing things. 00:37:07.119 --> 00:37:12.679 So remember that Christianity is grounded in a message of good news. 00:37:12.679 --> 00:37:20.920 And remember that God's chosen channel of communication is people, and that means He's 00:37:20.920 --> 00:37:23.000 going to use you. 00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:25.960 So you might feel useless when it comes to evangelism. 00:37:25.960 --> 00:37:31.400 You might feel absolutely rubbish, but theology is on your side. 00:37:31.400 --> 00:37:40.559 So go for it, because God's not going to use the teas or machines. 00:37:40.559 --> 00:37:42.160 He's going to use people. 00:37:42.160 --> 00:37:44.280 He's going to use you. 00:37:44.280 --> 00:37:50.440 So God has laid a foundation with the apostles. 00:37:50.440 --> 00:37:55.240 God is spreading that message out with evangelists. 00:37:55.239 --> 00:38:03.199 And next He's going to build up believers through the pastors and through the teachers. 00:38:03.199 --> 00:38:07.359 But you'll have to come back next week if you want to learn about them. 00:38:07.359 --> 00:38:13.079 But I hope you can start to see how it all fits together, because do you know when Jesus 00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:16.919 said, I will build my church? 00:38:16.919 --> 00:38:19.959 He meant it. 00:38:19.960 --> 00:38:25.599 Let's pray. 00:38:25.599 --> 00:38:33.599 Our Father, we thank you for the work that you have done through the gift of evangelists, 00:38:33.599 --> 00:38:37.800 a gift that is unique in some. 00:38:37.800 --> 00:38:44.119 And we thank you for those who have that gift, who can speak clearly and well about the gospel. 00:38:44.119 --> 00:38:49.199 We pray that you would open doors this week for the evangelists who are here gathered 00:38:49.199 --> 00:38:53.119 in this congregation tonight and for the evangelists who are in the other congregations around 00:38:53.119 --> 00:38:54.119 Edinburgh. 00:38:54.119 --> 00:38:58.079 Please open doors this week for them to share the gospel. 00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:02.359 But for all of us Lord, we want to contribute to that work as well. 00:39:02.359 --> 00:39:09.399 And we pray that you would help us in our words and in our actions to show that we love 00:39:09.399 --> 00:39:14.919 you and to show that knowing Jesus is the best thing that can ever happen to us. 00:39:14.919 --> 00:39:17.879 So please help us to share that good news. 00:39:17.880 --> 00:39:21.920 Thank you so, so much that you are building your church. 00:39:21.920 --> 00:39:25.599 Thank you so much that you are a God who wants people saved. 00:39:25.599 --> 00:39:27.599 Help us to never forget that. 00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:48.440 In Jesus' name, Amen.