WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.299 Well, welcome. Thank you so much for coming. 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:08.259 I wonder if we turn to page 888 in the Bible to John chapter 3, 00:00:08.259 --> 00:00:08.259 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:30.800 for this evening. 00:00:30.940 --> 00:00:34.899 We pray that you would enable this sermon to be a training sermon for us. 00:00:35.480 --> 00:00:38.939 We dare to pray that what we learn now would stay with us all our days 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:43.600 and would be for the great good of many and indeed for ourselves 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:46.000 and would cause you a great joy. 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:48.920 So, Lord, please, may we hold this in our hearts, 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:52.219 root it in our souls and speak to others. 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:53.539 Amen. 00:00:53.539 --> 00:00:53.700 Amen. 00:00:53.700 --> 00:00:59.660 Well, it's great to have that outline of the Easter mission 00:00:59.660 --> 00:01:01.040 that we're going to be doing this year. 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:03.680 I wonder if you can take it away, put it in your diaries. 00:01:03.760 --> 00:01:06.900 That's a practical thing, and practical things are spiritual issues. 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:09.359 It's spiritual that we get these dates in place. 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:13.420 And I want to begin by saying that if you're concerned about doing evangelism, 00:01:13.740 --> 00:01:16.320 and by that I mean telling others about the Lord Jesus, 00:01:16.439 --> 00:01:20.939 if you're concerned about that, then you're right at the heart of God himself, 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:24.959 who is also concerned about evangelism. 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:30.060 In fact, he's so concerned about evangelism that he sent his son to die. 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:34.219 Can we see John 3, verse 16, as we look down? 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:39.519 Do we see what it says there as we come to the verse? 00:01:40.120 --> 00:01:44.939 For God so loved the world, do you see halfway down, that he kept it to himself. 00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:47.920 He so loved the world, he kept it to himself. 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:52.859 No, God so loved the world that he sent, he gave his only son, 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:57.120 that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:04.939 So this sits on the sort of halfway point between heaven and hell. 00:02:05.299 --> 00:02:06.439 The pulpit sits there. 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:08.240 We don't want people to perish. 00:02:08.939 --> 00:02:13.740 And if you're concerned about evangelism, then you're right at the heart of godliness. 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:14.740 It's an amazing thing, you know. 00:02:14.740 --> 00:02:18.080 You meet people and they want to be godly and yet they never do evangelism. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:24.760 But right at the heart of being godly, being like God, is telling others about the Lord Jesus. 00:02:25.200 --> 00:02:25.820 It's extraordinary. 00:02:25.980 --> 00:02:29.400 I meet Christians, they don't do evangelism, yet they think they're being godly. 00:02:29.659 --> 00:02:33.879 But to be godly is to be like God, so we're to be telling others, brothers and sisters. 00:02:34.860 --> 00:02:38.400 And God takes no pleasure in the spiritual death of the wicked, of people perishing. 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:42.860 He rejoices when the wicked turn from their wickedness and they repent. 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:49.080 And so right at the heart of evangelism is a concern for people and God's concern for people. 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:54.159 And to be engaged with evangelism is to be born up into the purposes of God. 00:02:54.300 --> 00:03:00.319 Because God doesn't just want to save us, he wants to use us to reach others and to have his heart. 00:03:00.599 --> 00:03:02.000 And so what is my identity? 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:05.680 I can be an ambassador for Christ, the dignity of that. 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:09.639 Right through my life, I can be one who shines out for the Lord Jesus. 00:03:10.659 --> 00:03:11.400 What a dignity. 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:18.020 But if you're like me, you'll find that that desire to tell others of Christ 00:03:18.020 --> 00:03:25.159 is combined with fear of what might happen to you as you tell your friends. 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:29.000 That's the fear, brothers and sisters. 00:03:29.620 --> 00:03:33.180 So I have a real desire to tell people and yet a real fear of speaking. 00:03:33.859 --> 00:03:39.079 And whenever a chance comes along to speak, I find that there's, well, not so much a butterfly, 00:03:39.259 --> 00:03:40.680 but an eagle in my tummy. 00:03:42.359 --> 00:03:47.039 And I don't know anybody who isn't relatively fearful about what might happen 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:49.639 as we seek to tell our friends about Christ. 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:52.120 Can I say, everyone I know is frightened. 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:55.900 There is a fear, but what I've discovered is this. 00:03:56.140 --> 00:04:00.319 The people who never do it think that the people who do it are not frightened, 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:01.800 and that's why they do it. 00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:03.319 But that's a great mistake. 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:08.099 I haven't known anybody who isn't apprehensive that their friends and neighbours and loved ones 00:04:08.099 --> 00:04:11.259 might reject them when they hear the gospel from them. 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:16.600 The only difference is that some people do it in spite of the fear, and other people don't. 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:19.939 Now, what does the Bible tell us to think when we're frightened? 00:04:19.939 --> 00:04:22.459 When I'm frightened, what am I to do? 00:04:23.139 --> 00:04:27.399 Well, it's going to be great to be praying, and we'll meet together and pray that we'll be bold. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:32.920 So in the Acts of the Apostles, the prayer is, please, Lord, give me courage that I can speak up. 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:37.560 But also, what I must remember, and this happens as we come to communion tonight, 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:40.540 that my identity is in the grace of God. 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:44.659 So whether you accept or reject me doesn't make me valuable. 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:48.980 Brothers and sisters, what makes me valuable is Christ died for me. 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:53.819 So as we're thinking about evangelism, it's wonderful to be coming to communion, 00:04:54.600 --> 00:05:00.000 because at the heart of my identity is, Lord Jesus, you know all about me, you died for me, 00:05:00.280 --> 00:05:02.540 and that's where I'm loved, in that grace. 00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:09.620 Victor Hugo said that actually life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we're loved. 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:12.400 Well, that's communion, and I've got that in place. 00:05:12.660 --> 00:05:15.780 So whether my friends or neighbours reject or accept me doesn't make me valuable. 00:05:15.779 --> 00:05:18.379 What makes me valuable is Christ died for me. 00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:22.379 So great to have communion as we think of these things. 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:27.319 Well, let's now turn on, can we, to 2 Corinthians 4, 2 Corinthians 4, our passage this evening. 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:30.919 And can I say that John Chapman, the Australian evangelist, 00:05:31.219 --> 00:05:35.379 taught me that the first six verses we're looking at now in 2 Corinthians 4, 00:05:35.379 --> 00:05:45.240 so that's on page 965, 965, these first six verses are the most important verses on evangelism in the Bible. 00:05:46.060 --> 00:05:49.519 So as we're trying to train others or tell others of the Christian faith, 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:53.800 and we're to be disciple, making disciples of Christ in life, 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:57.560 can I say, if you've got these six and you can pass them on, 00:05:58.060 --> 00:05:59.639 you couldn't be doing any better than that. 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:05.099 These are the best six verses to pass on in Scripture. 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:09.240 So I hope you've got them there, 2 Corinthians 4, verses 1 to 6. 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:12.099 And they tell us what we're to do in evangelism. 00:06:12.659 --> 00:06:15.099 Most of all, they tell us what we're to leave to God. 00:06:15.599 --> 00:06:18.259 And I can't overemphasize their importance, 00:06:18.379 --> 00:06:21.479 because if we understand what we're to leave to God, 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:23.659 it delivers us from discouragement. 00:06:23.979 --> 00:06:25.419 And the thing about evangelism is, 00:06:25.419 --> 00:06:28.479 the parable of the sower tells me it's very discouraging. 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:31.520 There are lots of times when people reject the gospel. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:34.040 So what do I do about the discouragement? 00:06:34.180 --> 00:06:37.900 Because the parable of the sower says the birds pluck away the word, 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:39.720 the rocky places, the thorns. 00:06:40.280 --> 00:06:41.600 There's loads of discouragement. 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:43.340 So what do I do? 00:06:43.960 --> 00:06:44.500 Well, have a look. 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.020 Can we see chapter 4, verse 1 there? 00:06:47.420 --> 00:06:51.800 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we don't lose heart. 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:53.640 So how do I not lose heart? 00:06:53.740 --> 00:06:54.900 I look at the passage here. 00:06:54.899 --> 00:07:00.859 So in the face of discouragements, in trying to make sure I don't lose heart, 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:05.000 I come to 2 Corinthians 4 and these verses. 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:12.000 Not least because they celebrate what a great God we have and what he's done in our lives. 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:15.839 And if he's done it for me, he can do it for others. 00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:16.979 That's the issue. 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:18.060 He's done this for me. 00:07:18.179 --> 00:07:19.179 He can do it for them. 00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:24.680 So let's look at these verses and see how they keep up our morale and cause us not to lose heart. 00:07:24.900 --> 00:07:27.199 Now, again, if you're going to teach this to others, do jot these down. 00:07:27.420 --> 00:07:28.280 Here are three headings. 00:07:28.540 --> 00:07:31.360 This is the best little passage on evangelism I can give to anyone. 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:32.780 So here are the three headings. 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:36.220 God's part, the devil's part, and our part. 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:38.259 So three headings for us this evening. 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:40.639 God's part, the devil's part, and our part. 00:07:40.960 --> 00:07:42.180 First of all, God's part. 00:07:42.280 --> 00:07:43.540 God's part in evangelism. 00:07:43.540 --> 00:07:46.620 So let's try and isolate what God's part is. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:52.460 And we need to do that because if we don't and we try and do God's part, it's going to be very frustrating. 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:56.980 Because as we'll see, you've got to be ever so terribly good to do God's part. 00:07:57.480 --> 00:07:58.140 Very good. 00:07:58.580 --> 00:08:02.379 Now, God is ever so terribly good, so he can do it, and he's been doing it a long time. 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:04.480 Now, can you see God's part? 00:08:04.600 --> 00:08:07.360 Hold on to your seats, and let's have a look at verse 6. 00:08:07.700 --> 00:08:09.480 God's part is verse 6, brothers and sisters. 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:11.180 And let's see what happens. 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:12.140 Verse 6. 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:23.460 For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus. 00:08:25.180 --> 00:08:33.060 Now, if you want to summarize that, you'd do it by saying, God gets us to understand that Jesus is God. 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:34.580 That's what happens. 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:38.960 So he shines the light of that knowledge into our hearts. 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:46.860 And there's a moment, do jot this word down, of illumination, when God, by his Holy Spirit, shines into the human heart. 00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:50.920 And that moment of illumination is a moment of identification. 00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:55.180 So do you remember what happened to Paul on Damascus Road? 00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:56.320 Acts chapter 9. 00:08:56.580 --> 00:08:59.240 There was a blinding light on the Damascus Road. 00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:01.019 Paul says, who are you, Lord? 00:09:01.160 --> 00:09:02.980 The answer is, I am Jesus. 00:09:02.980 --> 00:09:07.000 And the moment of conversion was that moment of recognition of Jesus. 00:09:07.740 --> 00:09:10.039 Gosh, this one I've been persecuted. 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:11.360 It's you. 00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:12.639 I'm Jesus. 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:14.740 That's what it is to be converted. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:19.580 It's to recognize for the first time in our lives who Jesus actually is. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:26.800 I mean, to my shame, as I was an early teenager, he was a swear word or a figure of history or a great moral teacher. 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:32.120 He wasn't God, but the moment of illumination is a moment of identification. 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:33.899 Now, how? 00:09:34.859 --> 00:09:35.679 That's the question. 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:39.500 How has God caused us to recognize who Jesus is? 00:09:39.779 --> 00:09:41.599 Well, can we see back to verse 6? 00:09:42.219 --> 00:09:43.959 Can we see what happens in verse 6? 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:45.419 Again, hold on to your seats. 00:09:45.539 --> 00:09:47.179 It's just extraordinary, verse 6. 00:09:49.719 --> 00:09:53.459 For God who said, let light shine out of darkness. 00:09:53.539 --> 00:09:54.139 Where's that from? 00:09:54.219 --> 00:09:55.539 Anyone know where's it from? 00:09:55.539 --> 00:09:57.379 Well, Genesis 1. 00:09:58.539 --> 00:10:04.620 So the God who caused the world to be created and shone light out of darkness, 00:10:05.139 --> 00:10:07.579 here's the word to jot down, does a miracle. 00:10:08.719 --> 00:10:13.579 And the one who thundered the universe into being, who said, let there be light, 00:10:13.779 --> 00:10:21.399 now takes that power that made the world, shines it into my heart, and recreates my heart. 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:25.720 So he doesn't do a miracle of creation, but a miracle of recreation. 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:29.500 And he gets me to see that Jesus is God. 00:10:30.620 --> 00:10:33.120 He causes people to have that knowledge. 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:37.559 And that's, if you want to jot this down, that's what it means to be born again. 00:10:38.199 --> 00:10:39.439 What does it mean to be born again? 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:44.560 God does a miracle with the power that made the world, and he causes you to understand that Jesus is God. 00:10:45.020 --> 00:10:48.680 I remember years ago, it's going to be amazing to have Hope Explored next Monday. 00:10:48.760 --> 00:10:50.300 Not tomorrow, but in a week's time. 00:10:50.660 --> 00:10:52.600 But I was on a little course called Christian Explored. 00:10:52.660 --> 00:10:55.820 I was running it, and there was a girl called Davina on the course. 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:57.700 And she was so angry. 00:10:57.980 --> 00:10:59.180 I don't know why she was there already. 00:10:59.300 --> 00:11:00.760 Week one, Christians are hypocrites. 00:11:01.180 --> 00:11:02.640 Week two, you can't trust the Bible. 00:11:02.920 --> 00:11:04.140 Week three, what about suffering? 00:11:04.500 --> 00:11:05.899 On this went on, this rage. 00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:07.399 Week six, we got to week six. 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:09.620 And I said at the start of the evening, any questions? 00:11:09.980 --> 00:11:12.220 She said, well, no, not so much a question, but a statement. 00:11:12.299 --> 00:11:13.639 And I thought, oh, great. 00:11:13.899 --> 00:11:14.840 We're on statements now. 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:15.159 Great. 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:17.460 So I gave her my wetty little Christian smile. 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:19.559 You know, okay, Davina, what do you want to say? 00:11:19.819 --> 00:11:24.919 She said, last week, as I went home on the Bakerloo line, between Embankment and Waterloo, 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:27.080 I realized Jesus was God. 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:28.139 And we said, what? 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:29.340 She said, no, no, no. 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:30.220 He's amazing. 00:11:30.340 --> 00:11:32.120 I've had an incredible week with him. 00:11:32.500 --> 00:11:33.500 God had done a miracle. 00:11:33.500 --> 00:11:34.460 Can you believe it? 00:11:34.580 --> 00:11:36.059 On the Bakerloo line. 00:11:37.299 --> 00:11:39.399 Honestly, I sit there between Embankment and Waterloo. 00:11:39.500 --> 00:11:40.240 I wait for a miracle. 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:40.919 Nothing happens. 00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:42.039 I have another Mars bar. 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:42.799 Nothing happens. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:47.440 He opened her blind eyes on the Bakerloo line. 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:48.519 And do you know what? 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:49.659 That was 30 years ago. 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:52.679 She has been a radiant Christian ever since. 00:11:53.179 --> 00:11:55.580 I saw her at Christmas back at my old Churchill Souls. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:56.899 Radiant Christian. 00:11:57.919 --> 00:11:59.500 God caused her to be born again. 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:04.259 And for my friends and your friends to become Christians, it's never just a matter of telling 00:12:04.259 --> 00:12:05.000 them the gospel. 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:08.519 If it was simply a matter of telling them the gospel, do you know what we'd do? 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:09.460 We'd get John Silver. 00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:11.980 He's the sort of techno man I've learned at this church. 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:14.340 We'd get a great big loudspeaker with his boys. 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:17.000 We'd drive around Ealing and just blare it out. 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:18.720 And that would be it, wouldn't it? 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:20.299 If it was just telling them the gospel. 00:12:20.299 --> 00:12:26.559 But no, to become a Christian, God must, by his Holy Spirit, shine the truth of the gospel 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:29.319 into people's hearts so they see the truth. 00:12:30.359 --> 00:12:32.620 And just to say, you can't do that yourself. 00:12:33.339 --> 00:12:36.179 It's a miracle that needs the power that made the world. 00:12:37.819 --> 00:12:39.539 I mean, let me tell you how it was with me. 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:42.459 I mean, before I was a Christian, I never worried about God. 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:45.599 Although I do remember praying that I would pass exams. 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:51.560 So I said things like, oh God, please help me to pass the exam tomorrow and I'll become 00:12:51.560 --> 00:12:52.159 a pastor. 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:53.159 Yeah. 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:54.200 And here we are. 00:12:54.460 --> 00:12:55.040 Here we are. 00:12:55.800 --> 00:13:00.560 But I didn't care about God as long as he looked after his bits and he left me alone to do mine. 00:13:00.740 --> 00:13:02.100 I didn't care about him. 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:07.200 But after I was born again, I started to love him. 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:09.860 It was the most extraordinary thing. 00:13:10.660 --> 00:13:13.259 And I was so glad at what he'd done for me. 00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:14.139 And it was amazing. 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:15.899 It was an amazing change. 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:20.379 And before this happened to me, the Bible was just gobbledygook. 00:13:21.259 --> 00:13:22.240 Honestly, it was read. 00:13:22.319 --> 00:13:24.519 I couldn't understand what people was going on about. 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:28.000 I used to, we had primary school, we had scripture lessons. 00:13:28.319 --> 00:13:32.039 And I used to flick through the Bible I had and look for references to rugby. 00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:33.919 I found a number I was pleased with. 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:35.580 One to referees in John 9 verse 1. 00:13:35.779 --> 00:13:36.919 I knew a man blind from birth. 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:37.519 Well, that was good. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:39.960 One to foul play in Acts 13 verse 3. 00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:41.679 So Paul and Barnabas were sent off. 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:45.000 And my favourite one was to crash tackling in Acts 20 verse 24. 00:13:45.199 --> 00:13:46.479 It's better to give than receive. 00:13:47.099 --> 00:13:49.419 And that was the result of four years of Bible. 00:13:49.939 --> 00:13:51.519 I just thought it was for the birds. 00:13:51.859 --> 00:13:57.199 But after I was converted, there'd be a little school Christian meeting and they'd teach the Bible. 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:00.759 And it was like it had my name and address in it. 00:14:01.400 --> 00:14:04.780 And the guy would start speaking and I would be thinking, can you never stop? 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:06.320 Can you never stop speaking? 00:14:06.420 --> 00:14:10.280 Because I found my heart burned within me as he taught about the Lord Jesus. 00:14:11.040 --> 00:14:12.620 It was an absolute miracle. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:14.940 And it was what God had done. 00:14:15.560 --> 00:14:18.640 And before I became a Christian, I only ever prayed when I was in trouble. 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:22.539 But after God changed me, I wanted to talk to Jesus like a friend. 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:25.360 And before I became a Christian, there were many sins. 00:14:25.439 --> 00:14:28.519 And I didn't give a fig about them as though I wasn't found out. 00:14:28.779 --> 00:14:33.639 But afterwards, they became very ugly to me because I knew they distressed the Lord Jesus. 00:14:34.199 --> 00:14:35.500 And I loved the Lord Jesus. 00:14:35.580 --> 00:14:37.139 And I kept distressing the Lord Jesus. 00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:38.899 It was a miracle. 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:40.500 It was being born again. 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:43.080 And it's not something we do. 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:44.639 It's something that God does. 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:49.340 And with my friends, I couldn't understand how they didn't flee to him. 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:53.100 Because the Bible was so alive, I couldn't understand it. 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:58.319 Well, what God had done is had mercy on me and opened my blind eyes. 00:14:58.580 --> 00:14:59.759 But here's the second issue. 00:15:00.059 --> 00:15:01.699 Why couldn't my friends see it? 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:04.439 I mean, Jesus is so wonderful. 00:15:05.319 --> 00:15:06.899 Why can't they see it? 00:15:06.939 --> 00:15:08.740 You'd trust him with your granny, wouldn't you? 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:11.019 There's not a part of Jesus' life you want to reject. 00:15:11.319 --> 00:15:12.679 Why can't people see it? 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:14.959 Well, let's see why they can't see it. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:15.639 Now, this is heavy. 00:15:16.219 --> 00:15:18.379 And let's have a look down and see it again. 00:15:18.939 --> 00:15:22.259 When we get this in place, it almost changes all of life. 00:15:22.339 --> 00:15:24.419 So let's have a look and see why people can't see it. 00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:26.019 Can we look down verse 4? 00:15:26.419 --> 00:15:27.039 Verse 4. 00:15:27.139 --> 00:15:28.259 Why can't people see it? 00:15:28.259 --> 00:15:44.019 In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 00:15:44.019 --> 00:15:47.419 Ah, so with tears. 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:51.340 Here is the reason so many reject the gospel. 00:15:52.100 --> 00:16:01.179 So at this point, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, the curtain is drawn back and it reveals a supernatural battlefield. 00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:06.860 Please don't be naive and not think this is going on. 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:08.879 Londoners hate being told they're naive. 00:16:09.800 --> 00:16:12.080 But if you don't get this, you're totally naive. 00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:18.940 And we realize that it is not a case of somebody simply accepting or rejecting Christ. 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:23.379 The devil is at work preventing people recognizing Jesus. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:27.419 He has, do we see verse 4, blinded their minds. 00:16:27.419 --> 00:16:32.199 Now, of course, the very phrase, the God of this world, is a contradiction in terms. 00:16:32.939 --> 00:16:39.439 If there's one thing certain about divinity, it's that it's not confined to this world, or as the Greek word actually means, this age. 00:16:39.839 --> 00:16:43.479 Divinity, by definition, must be eternal, must be timeless. 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:46.939 So clearly, the God of this world is no God at all. 00:16:47.219 --> 00:16:54.079 But there is a spirit abroad in this age who many serve as though he were indeed God. 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:59.259 And to make things of this world, this age, our God is his aim. 00:16:59.680 --> 00:17:01.160 To blind us. 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:03.360 That's what he's wanting to do. 00:17:04.600 --> 00:17:07.579 You know, if you want to know what the devil's doing at heart, it's not Ouija boards. 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:09.059 I mean, they're very serious things. 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:10.819 But lots of people think, oh, that's the focus. 00:17:11.100 --> 00:17:12.140 No, this is the focus. 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:13.620 To blind people. 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:15.440 To any other world. 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:17.340 One commentator put it like this. 00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:26.959 It's an idolatrous preoccupation with the material things of this passing world, which renders the spiritual things of the next world undetectable to men's gaze. 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:29.720 So do you know people like that? 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:35.619 You talk to them about the things of the Spirit and of Christ, and they're absolutely blind to them. 00:17:36.619 --> 00:17:39.079 There's a sort of, oh, Rico, what have you done with your life? 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:40.099 You just wasted your life. 00:17:40.159 --> 00:17:40.839 What are you doing? 00:17:41.379 --> 00:17:42.779 It's just this pretend world. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:44.819 Maybe you know people like that. 00:17:44.879 --> 00:17:46.500 Perhaps you spent Christmas with them. 00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:48.220 Members of your family. 00:17:48.380 --> 00:17:49.059 Nice people. 00:17:49.180 --> 00:17:49.940 Normal people. 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:55.539 But their concerns are totally contained within the here and now. 00:17:55.660 --> 00:18:03.059 So it's the career, the family, the house, the property, the presence, the essay, the girlfriend, the boyfriend, the jobs, the exams, the ashes. 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:07.480 Putting food on the table, the rent, the job hunt, the grind of life. 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:13.720 There's a complete inability to see that there might be anything beyond an obsession with the here and now. 00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:23.380 But the Christian who has had their eyes opened, can we see over the page, chapter 4, verse 18, what happens to the Christian who's had the miracle done? 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:25.940 Verse 18, end of the chapter. 00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:30.880 As we look, as we look, not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:37.960 For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 00:18:38.140 --> 00:18:41.000 They place me in a story that never ends. 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:43.819 So there it is. 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:54.099 And these sort of blind people are obsessed with the here and now, and they can only see Jesus in the here and now as perhaps a great moral teacher. 00:18:54.299 --> 00:19:00.960 What's interesting culturally is they're going, actually, we terribly miss Jesus, even though they only see him as a great moral teacher. 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:07.140 Someone like Tom Holland isn't converted, and yet he says, gosh, we're missing the influence of Christ. 00:19:07.140 --> 00:19:12.640 But they only see Jesus as a great moral teacher and his use in that way. 00:19:13.020 --> 00:19:19.259 But any eternal significance to Jesus is completely lost on them, and they're confined to the here and now. 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:24.380 And please notice, can we see as we look down, back over the page to verse 4. 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:27.480 Have a look at verse 4, because it's so important we see this. 00:19:28.040 --> 00:19:31.900 In their case, the God of this world has blinded, do you see what he's blinded? 00:19:32.120 --> 00:19:34.100 The minds of the unbelievers. 00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:36.659 He's blinded their minds. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:41.679 You know, that's what's at the center of it. 00:19:42.199 --> 00:19:45.559 You know, it's not the emotion that leads us astray or the will. 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:46.000 No. 00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:49.919 Satan knows that the human mind is the Achilles heel. 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:55.759 That's what he goes for because of the human capacity for intellectual arrogance and self-deception. 00:19:56.639 --> 00:19:58.339 Romans 1 verse 18. 00:19:58.779 --> 00:20:01.919 The godless and wickedness of men who suppress the truth. 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:03.779 It's a suppression with the mind. 00:20:04.620 --> 00:20:07.320 So Satan knows that prejudice can keep the mind shut. 00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:10.960 Sin can nail down its portals. 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:13.960 And other philosophies cut out any light. 00:20:14.140 --> 00:20:16.180 And it is a spiritual battle. 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:17.820 So we get the phrase. 00:20:17.940 --> 00:20:18.700 Can you see it? 00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:22.420 This piled up phrase in verse 4. 00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:23.560 Do you see the phrase here? 00:20:24.320 --> 00:20:30.080 Has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:35.359 That piled up phrase, what it means is Satan stops people recognizing Jesus. 00:20:35.740 --> 00:20:37.559 So at the mission, why Easter? 00:20:37.619 --> 00:20:40.159 We're going to keep saying to people, what do you think of Jesus? 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:42.339 Will you look at him? 00:20:43.059 --> 00:20:45.199 In the Sermon on the Mount, he said, love your enemies. 00:20:45.339 --> 00:20:46.679 Pray for those who persecute you. 00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:49.639 As he was being murdered, he cried out, Father, forgive them. 00:20:49.659 --> 00:20:50.500 They don't know what they're doing. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:51.980 What do you make of him? 00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:54.339 Have you ever seen forgiveness like it? 00:20:54.339 --> 00:20:57.619 So we keep talking about Jesus. 00:20:58.579 --> 00:21:03.039 Now this application here of the devil and his work has three applications. 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:09.119 Three things to say about God opening my blind eyes and the devil blinding people. 00:21:09.439 --> 00:21:12.199 The first one, brothers and sisters, the first application is this. 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:14.519 On this first Sunday of the new year. 00:21:14.859 --> 00:21:16.619 Brothers and sisters, it's gratitude. 00:21:16.619 --> 00:21:25.259 Have you knelt by your bed today and said, oh Lord God, I can't believe you opened my blind eyes and did the miracle. 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:27.500 But I can see who Jesus is. 00:21:28.219 --> 00:21:33.019 And if you took your Holy Spirit from me, I'd revert to godlessness at this very moment. 00:21:34.239 --> 00:21:37.659 And have you knelt by your bed and said, Lord Jesus, I'm so grateful. 00:21:38.359 --> 00:21:40.059 I just can't believe you did it. 00:21:40.539 --> 00:21:42.979 And to do it, you took the power that made the world. 00:21:43.379 --> 00:21:44.239 That's what it took. 00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:45.859 And you did it for me. 00:21:45.859 --> 00:21:50.899 So let's just be so thankful, particularly in this week of prayer. 00:21:51.459 --> 00:21:52.979 Lord God, thank you so much. 00:21:54.019 --> 00:21:55.199 Secondly, pray. 00:21:56.359 --> 00:22:03.099 For our loved ones and friends and colleagues to become Christians is a matter of spiritual warfare. 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:06.500 The battle for blind eyes to be opened. 00:22:06.639 --> 00:22:09.899 And God calls us to proclaim Christ, but to pray. 00:22:10.599 --> 00:22:15.059 You know what Spurgeon said, talk to God about men before you talk to men about God. 00:22:15.059 --> 00:22:17.299 Could you please pray for my prayer life? 00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:19.379 I battle to do this. 00:22:19.460 --> 00:22:20.159 It's hard. 00:22:21.159 --> 00:22:23.379 Fortunately, I'm natural on cleaning my teeth. 00:22:23.460 --> 00:22:25.500 I do it morning and evening, but not with prayer. 00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:27.519 It's such a battle. 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:28.819 Let's help each other. 00:22:28.879 --> 00:22:30.419 It's great to start this week. 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:33.159 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday to be praying. 00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:34.399 It's a wonderful start. 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:36.560 But thirdly, so number one, be thankful. 00:22:37.019 --> 00:22:37.620 Secondly, pray. 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:40.360 But thirdly, brothers and sisters, this is so important. 00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:42.519 The results belong to God. 00:22:43.560 --> 00:22:47.420 We are not going to get in a state about the results of this Y Easter mission. 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:51.519 They belong to God because he has to do the mission because he's got to turn the lights on. 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:55.059 Our job is to faithfully preach Christ. 00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:59.019 But if you see, now if the results belong to me, what happens? 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:04.019 Well, I'll either get proud if people do become Christians or discouraged if they don't. 00:23:04.359 --> 00:23:06.400 And either way, I'll be a pain in the neck to all of you. 00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:08.319 Much better than that. 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:12.019 We just say, Lord, everyone who's converted, we just give such thanks to you. 00:23:12.180 --> 00:23:14.379 But our job is to preach Christ. 00:23:14.420 --> 00:23:15.579 And we'll see that in a moment. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:18.439 Only he can switch on the light, God. 00:23:18.819 --> 00:23:22.139 So we just leave the results to him and get on with it. 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:26.000 I remember doing a mission with John Chapman in Oxford in 1993. 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:31.539 And there was a very overzealousist missioner who kept on wanting to tell us who professed faith. 00:23:31.879 --> 00:23:34.279 And Chapo, the leader, he'd just get up and leave the room. 00:23:34.339 --> 00:23:35.339 He said, that's not my job. 00:23:35.899 --> 00:23:37.279 He said, the results belong to God. 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:40.319 Please talk to me about whether I proclaim the gospel faithfully. 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:42.879 He'd leave the room and not hear about the results. 00:23:43.059 --> 00:23:44.339 It struck me very deeply. 00:23:45.159 --> 00:23:47.659 Now, thirdly, just as we close, what is our part? 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:50.259 Brothers and sisters, what are we to do with why Easter? 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:51.139 Let's have a look. 00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:51.720 Verse 5. 00:23:51.819 --> 00:23:52.699 Can we see verse 5? 00:23:53.059 --> 00:23:53.879 What are we to do? 00:23:53.959 --> 00:23:54.599 Verse 5. 00:23:55.299 --> 00:24:01.159 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, 00:24:01.299 --> 00:24:05.220 and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:12.539 So my job is to tell people the gospel and leave the spirit of God to convict them of its truth. 00:24:12.700 --> 00:24:17.640 So I am a messenger servant with a message about the identity of Jesus. 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:19.200 And that's my part. 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:22.940 I am a signpost to say, look, here is Jesus. 00:24:23.400 --> 00:24:24.180 He's Lord. 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:25.259 He's supreme. 00:24:25.640 --> 00:24:26.720 He's God on earth. 00:24:26.940 --> 00:24:28.299 He now rules the universe. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:29.740 He'll judge the world. 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:30.900 He died for you. 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:33.720 You've ignored him all your days, but he died so you can be forgiven. 00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:36.519 He's risen again to prove it's true. 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:37.620 Just look at him. 00:24:37.900 --> 00:24:39.240 And do you know what's amazing about Easter? 00:24:39.740 --> 00:24:42.000 The world is expecting us to invite them along. 00:24:43.059 --> 00:24:44.240 Easter's such an ask. 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:47.660 They're expecting us to invite them along and explain these things. 00:24:47.740 --> 00:24:48.779 They know that's our job. 00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:50.859 They know we're huge on Easter. 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:54.700 And God alone can then illumine the human mind. 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:59.140 And our task is to keep saying, Jesus is Lord. 00:24:59.819 --> 00:25:01.900 Don't you think you can trust him to know what's best? 00:25:03.140 --> 00:25:06.299 I was having a conversation in the autumn with someone. 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:10.180 And honestly, it's hard to get Jesus' name out on the mat. 00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:16.259 But we were discussing someone and a friend of his said he's rejected the Christian faith. 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:17.680 And I said, oh, really? 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:21.100 Well, ask him what part of the life of Jesus he's rejecting. 00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:24.519 Oh, she said, I don't think he's rejected Jesus yet. 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:26.460 And I said, well, that's what we're on about. 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:28.500 We're on about Jesus. 00:25:29.580 --> 00:25:31.740 And don't you think he's wonderful as you look at the gospel? 00:25:31.900 --> 00:25:32.900 So Hope Explored. 00:25:32.980 --> 00:25:37.600 I can't wait next Monday to get out Luke's gospel and to say, what do you make of Jesus? 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:40.480 Jesus, we're totally unashamed of him. 00:25:40.879 --> 00:25:43.339 There's lots in the church we are ashamed of, but not him. 00:25:44.679 --> 00:25:47.219 And a herald, can we look down this word proclaim? 00:25:47.379 --> 00:25:49.799 This word proclaim in the original is the word herald. 00:25:50.500 --> 00:25:57.019 A herald, verse 5, a proclaimer, is someone who brings an important announcement about the king. 00:25:57.779 --> 00:26:01.719 So we're heralds bringing news of the king about the king to his kingdom. 00:26:02.519 --> 00:26:04.259 And what is to be our manner? 00:26:04.259 --> 00:26:09.119 Now, again, this quiet revival that's going on nationally, whatever is going on, 00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:15.160 one of the roots of it is that wonderfully people like yourselves, brothers and sisters, have lived godly lives. 00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:21.240 So the non-Christian is looking across and they look at the liberal progressive folk, the individualists, 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:23.619 and they go, well, they've lived quite selfish lives. 00:26:23.660 --> 00:26:27.700 But they look at the Christians and they say, do you know, that Christian's the nicest person in the family. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:30.640 That Christian's the most caring person in the office. 00:26:30.640 --> 00:26:33.500 And it's yielding fruit, so keep going. 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:37.520 Keep being a servant at home, at work, on the street. 00:26:38.180 --> 00:26:41.500 And the word servant, interestingly, is the word slave in the original. 00:26:42.060 --> 00:26:43.700 We are to be slaves of others. 00:26:43.960 --> 00:26:46.120 Oh, my goodness, what a me-centered culture we're in. 00:26:47.080 --> 00:26:48.860 But this one says, no, be their slave. 00:26:48.859 --> 00:26:55.799 And Paul was determined to present Christ to others with no glory subtracted through self-promotion. 00:26:56.459 --> 00:27:00.699 And his words here were undoubtedly aimed at the new ministers in Corinth, 00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:08.039 whose preaching apparently focused on themselves and had the effect of making the Corinthians serve them. 00:27:08.819 --> 00:27:10.000 So here are the preachers. 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:14.179 And the objective is to manipulate the congregation into serving them as preachers. 00:27:14.180 --> 00:27:19.779 These ministers were the first of many subsequent ministers who, in the name of Jesus, 00:27:20.180 --> 00:27:27.500 have put the spotlight on themselves in order to gain material or psychological advantage from their followers. 00:27:28.180 --> 00:27:34.240 So paradoxically, Paul insists that the message of the glorious Lord is only effectively conveyed 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:38.480 by those who have the mind and manner of a servant, a slave. 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:46.440 Calvin commentated here, he that would preach Christ alone must of necessity forget himself. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:50.880 And what a challenge this is, again, in the me-centered culture, 00:27:51.360 --> 00:27:54.440 where we all run our lives around our precious time. 00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:56.400 So, you know, it's my file of facts. 00:27:56.460 --> 00:27:58.839 But my wife said, you're the only one still with a file of facts. 00:27:59.019 --> 00:28:00.299 But it's about me, isn't it? 00:28:01.059 --> 00:28:02.400 I run my life. 00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:03.339 What's convenient to me? 00:28:03.539 --> 00:28:05.480 Or my diary on my phone. 00:28:05.480 --> 00:28:09.079 And this says, no, no, no, as we reach out with Christ, 00:28:09.559 --> 00:28:12.940 what does it mean to lay our lives down in service of others? 00:28:13.140 --> 00:28:14.519 As I know many here do. 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:16.700 Brother, sister, keep doing it. 00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:19.660 It's having an effect nationally and locally. 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:23.700 But, you know, you can't fake genuine care for someone, can you? 00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:26.299 You know whether someone cares for you. 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:27.980 You can't fake it. 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:33.059 And that's why, by the way, prayer and evangelism goes together. 00:28:33.059 --> 00:28:36.720 Because we meet to pray 5.15 every Sunday afternoon. 00:28:36.899 --> 00:28:37.559 But you know what? 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:39.179 You meet to pray or you pray in the morning. 00:28:39.399 --> 00:28:41.539 The next thing you do is you text them to see how they are. 00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:43.740 So as we pray, we care. 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:45.039 They go together. 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:47.079 Write the friends down. 00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:48.279 Pray for them. 00:28:48.619 --> 00:28:50.919 As you pray for them, you'll be serving them. 00:28:51.240 --> 00:28:53.740 And say, Lord Jesus, please, you did it for me. 00:28:54.220 --> 00:28:55.539 Open their blind eyes. 00:28:55.919 --> 00:28:56.619 Do the miracle. 00:28:56.980 --> 00:28:58.240 May they see who you are. 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:01.659 And just as we close now, what else are we to do? 00:29:01.660 --> 00:29:03.000 Verse 5, let's close with this. 00:29:03.580 --> 00:29:04.759 Verse 2, as we close. 00:29:05.040 --> 00:29:05.560 Here we are. 00:29:06.100 --> 00:29:08.340 But we have renounced disgraceful underhand ways. 00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:11.220 We refuse to practice cunning or tamper with God's word. 00:29:11.580 --> 00:29:16.060 But by the open statement of the truth, we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience of the sight of God. 00:29:16.440 --> 00:29:18.440 In other words, brothers and sisters, what do we do here? 00:29:18.660 --> 00:29:19.660 We tell the truth. 00:29:21.019 --> 00:29:23.620 People come along and they say, do you know what? 00:29:23.620 --> 00:29:25.980 At IPC, they were transparently straight. 00:29:26.500 --> 00:29:28.060 They told me about the difficult things. 00:29:28.059 --> 00:29:31.279 They did it graciously, but they said, there is a place called hell. 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:36.220 They said, you've got to trust Jesus and know what's best and turn from everything he says is wrong. 00:29:36.919 --> 00:29:39.940 We're going to transparently tell the truth. 00:29:40.039 --> 00:29:45.799 And again, in Corinth, they had these false teachers who weren't being straight with people. 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:47.619 They weren't being straight. 00:29:47.619 --> 00:29:51.659 And the result was Christ was dishonored. 00:29:52.479 --> 00:29:54.099 So we never grind out decisions. 00:29:54.259 --> 00:29:55.119 We never manipulate. 00:29:55.459 --> 00:29:56.659 We never treat people. 00:29:56.979 --> 00:29:58.339 We do tell them the cost. 00:29:58.459 --> 00:29:59.639 We tell them what's at stake. 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:01.279 And why don't we do that? 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:02.119 Why do we do that? 00:30:02.179 --> 00:30:06.839 Because we've got to preach Jesus as Lord in order for God to open blind eyes. 00:30:06.919 --> 00:30:09.919 He's not going to honor the preaching of Christ unless we're straight. 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:12.380 This is why I left the Church of England. 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:17.779 I left the Church of England because the Jesus that was being preached was not Jesus as Lord. 00:30:18.039 --> 00:30:19.800 And therefore, the Holy Spirit will depart. 00:30:20.940 --> 00:30:21.220 We are. 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:22.680 You know, it's ludicrous. 00:30:23.180 --> 00:30:24.140 We need the miracle. 00:30:24.519 --> 00:30:27.060 So how can you possibly not preach Jesus as Lord? 00:30:27.220 --> 00:30:29.060 Because otherwise, blind eyes won't be opened. 00:30:30.340 --> 00:30:31.900 So we tell others of Christ. 00:30:32.060 --> 00:30:32.519 We pray. 00:30:32.740 --> 00:30:34.080 We leave the results to God. 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:41.319 And in all of this, we remember that as we speak to others, our identity is in the grace of God. 00:30:41.419 --> 00:30:42.019 Let's pray together. 00:30:42.119 --> 00:30:42.460 Let's pray.