WEBVTT 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:05.960 Thanks Clive and thank you for welcoming me back and letting me loose this morning. 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:12.919 It's a delight to be back with you and also to celebrate Matilda's baptism as well. 00:00:13.939 --> 00:00:18.800 So let's just take a few moments in prayer before we open God's word together. 00:00:21.400 --> 00:00:28.199 So loving God, we thank you for the opportunity to gather together this morning to worship you 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:35.619 and may our hearts be open to your Holy Spirit to work in and through us as we hear your word. 00:00:36.359 --> 00:00:39.219 In Christ's name we pray. Amen. 00:00:40.480 --> 00:00:46.200 So I have the privilege this morning of kicking off a new series, What Would Jesus Do? 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:48.920 and the theme today is to preach the kingdom. 00:00:49.899 --> 00:00:56.500 I'll come back to that a little bit later on, but at this point I want to set the scene as to what's going on in this passage. 00:00:56.500 --> 00:01:04.980 And this really is the launch pad for Jesus' mission, which is that the good news is to reach the ends of the earth. 00:01:06.019 --> 00:01:13.379 A bit earlier on in Matthew, if you flick back, we learn about Jesus' descendants, his genealogy as it's called. 00:01:13.819 --> 00:01:16.240 He is conceived, he is born. 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:21.539 Joseph takes the infant Jesus and Mary to Egypt as they escape Herod. 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:24.640 And now he has grown into adulthood. 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:28.040 He has been baptized by John, John the Baptist. 00:01:28.540 --> 00:01:32.140 He has gone into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 00:01:32.360 --> 00:01:34.500 And now it's time to go. 00:01:35.780 --> 00:01:41.200 So Jesus is not some E.T. figure who drops from the sky and who does wonderful things. 00:01:41.960 --> 00:01:43.760 But he is the new Adam. 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:47.040 He brings a whole new humanity to birth. 00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:52.200 The true Israel of God, fulfilling the scriptures through the prophets. 00:01:53.100 --> 00:02:01.260 And Matthew is saying here, here is the true son of God, who unlike Israel, would be faithful and obedient to him. 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:10.980 So Jesus is back in Galilee in a place called Capernaum, which was a busy lake-sized town. 00:02:11.700 --> 00:02:18.400 But moving to Galilee, there's something a bit deeper going on here than just a change of location. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:22.759 So Galilee was a despised part of Israel. 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:25.879 It was far away from Jerusalem and the temple. 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:28.460 It was riddled with Gentiles. 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:31.200 Syria wasn't that far away to the northeast. 00:02:32.259 --> 00:02:37.019 And there are echoes here of some words from Deuteronomy chapter 10. 00:02:38.620 --> 00:02:44.359 For the Lord your God is God of God and Lord of Lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, 00:02:44.679 --> 00:02:47.759 who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:51.879 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, 00:02:52.539 --> 00:02:57.859 and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 00:02:57.860 --> 00:03:04.700 And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. 00:03:04.699 --> 00:03:14.759 So Jesus' mission was to go to the Galilee of the Gentiles, as Matthew quotes from the prophet Isaiah in our reading, 00:03:14.959 --> 00:03:17.299 to reach the ends of the earth. 00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:20.899 The outcasts, those who were despised. 00:03:20.900 --> 00:03:24.000 And this was God's mission for Israel. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.460 And by launching Jesus' earthly ministry from Galilee, 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:33.360 Jesus here is anticipating what would come in the future. 00:03:33.860 --> 00:03:38.680 That the gospel, the good news, will reach the ends of the earth. 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:45.300 So that's my first point, that the good news will reach the ends of the earth. 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:47.219 That is Jesus' mission. 00:03:47.219 --> 00:03:58.079 My second point is that Jesus challenges us to be disciples and not just followers in a crowd. 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:03.520 In the verse just after the end of our reading, 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:09.900 Matthew refers to the crowds that follow Jesus as his fame spread. 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:15.000 And we see these crowds appearing again and again throughout the gospel. 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:19.120 So they appear at the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus was healing, 00:04:19.740 --> 00:04:24.899 when he was teaching through parables, and as he entered Jerusalem on a donkey. 00:04:25.459 --> 00:04:28.939 They were thinking that he was going to be a messianic warrior 00:04:28.939 --> 00:04:32.839 who would overthrow the Roman rule at that time. 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:40.459 But it was also the crowd at the end of the gospel in Matthew 27, 00:04:40.459 --> 00:04:43.599 when Jesus was on trial before Pilate, 00:04:44.039 --> 00:04:48.779 who called for Barabbas, a well-known prisoner, murderer, and thug, 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:50.519 to be released instead. 00:04:51.339 --> 00:04:53.919 And when Pilate asked what should be done with Jesus, 00:04:54.599 --> 00:04:57.719 they shouted, crucify, crucify. 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:02.879 So Jesus had a lot of followers in a crowd 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:05.719 who all ended up deserting him, 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:08.620 but not that many disciples. 00:05:10.620 --> 00:05:14.560 Being a disciple means to know and live out that good news. 00:05:15.260 --> 00:05:18.620 We are witnesses to that good news, 00:05:18.700 --> 00:05:21.480 to be beacons of the light of Christ 00:05:21.480 --> 00:05:24.460 shining to the ends of the earth. 00:05:24.459 --> 00:05:30.759 So discipleship is actually costly, 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.459 and it's costly in three dimensions. 00:05:33.799 --> 00:05:38.060 It's costly culturally, socially, and economically. 00:05:40.539 --> 00:05:42.039 When we follow someone, 00:05:42.159 --> 00:05:44.560 it could be someone on Instagram or TikTok, 00:05:44.799 --> 00:05:45.959 if that's your sort of thing, 00:05:46.419 --> 00:05:49.439 a particular commentator or journalist 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:51.679 or football team that you support. 00:05:51.819 --> 00:05:53.000 It's all on our terms. 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:54.680 We can dip in and out. 00:05:55.879 --> 00:05:58.540 But being a disciple takes all of us. 00:05:59.379 --> 00:06:02.420 We are to take up our cross, as Jesus says. 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:04.839 We are to follow him. 00:06:04.899 --> 00:06:06.579 It's part of who we are. 00:06:06.699 --> 00:06:07.560 It's our identity. 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:10.019 Paul talks about in his letters 00:06:10.019 --> 00:06:11.660 about living in Christ. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:15.040 And this is costly. 00:06:15.259 --> 00:06:17.040 It was costly for the disciples. 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:21.000 Jesus was calling them to a radical discipleship 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:23.040 that would cost them everything, 00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:25.639 and for some of them, their lives. 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:30.480 There was probably a bit more background 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:33.660 to what was going on in the story, 00:06:34.019 --> 00:06:36.379 or the gospel, as Matthew puts it. 00:06:36.420 --> 00:06:38.139 It seems like Jesus rocks up 00:06:38.139 --> 00:06:40.699 and just calls them off out of the blue, 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:43.800 and they respond without let or hindrance. 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:45.900 But this probably would have been over 00:06:45.900 --> 00:06:47.579 a longer period of time. 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:49.879 Jesus would have known them. 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:52.720 He was a skilled tradesman. 00:06:53.939 --> 00:06:55.540 And while in his 20s, 00:06:55.620 --> 00:06:57.560 Jesus of Nazareth would have likely been 00:06:57.560 --> 00:06:58.360 in that area. 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:00.340 He would have been a known figure. 00:07:00.339 --> 00:07:06.739 But this call was still challenging. 00:07:07.139 --> 00:07:07.679 It would, yes, 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:10.039 it was culturally surprising. 00:07:11.299 --> 00:07:14.259 What's slightly unusual about Jesus' approach 00:07:14.259 --> 00:07:16.199 compared to other rabbis 00:07:16.199 --> 00:07:19.439 is that if you were a keen student, 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:20.500 student of the law, 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:22.179 you would approach a rabbi 00:07:22.179 --> 00:07:24.459 and ask him to be his apprentice. 00:07:25.739 --> 00:07:26.559 Not Jesus. 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:28.839 He chose them. 00:07:29.699 --> 00:07:31.280 And not just students of the law, 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:32.860 but rather working men, 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:35.019 tradesmen, small business people, 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:37.319 and stirs up their gifts 00:07:37.319 --> 00:07:38.879 and uses their skills 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:41.139 and their profession 00:07:41.139 --> 00:07:44.699 as a metaphor to what discipleship means. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:47.680 Jesus calls fishermen 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.980 so that they may be fishers of people. 00:07:52.459 --> 00:07:54.939 Jesus is saying that you will be the ones 00:07:54.939 --> 00:07:56.759 who will help me gather Israel 00:07:56.759 --> 00:07:58.060 back into repentance, 00:07:58.819 --> 00:07:59.199 faith, 00:07:59.779 --> 00:08:00.540 and obedience. 00:08:02.540 --> 00:08:04.600 So it's culturally challenging, 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:07.819 economically costly as well. 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:11.420 Fishermen were not the poorest of the poor. 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:13.300 In Mark's account, 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:14.939 they had hired servants. 00:08:15.980 --> 00:08:17.699 The brothers would have likely been part 00:08:17.699 --> 00:08:20.240 of some business consortium probably. 00:08:21.259 --> 00:08:23.279 And they were to leave all of that 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:25.479 and rather have others 00:08:25.479 --> 00:08:29.659 dependent on them. 00:08:30.019 --> 00:08:31.939 They would be dependent themselves. 00:08:32.699 --> 00:08:35.139 Jesus called them to go into people's homes. 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.459 They probably would have been sleeping rough 00:08:37.459 --> 00:08:39.480 as they were traveling. 00:08:42.319 --> 00:08:45.199 It was socially scandalous as well. 00:08:45.319 --> 00:08:46.379 In verse 22, 00:08:46.939 --> 00:08:49.120 after Jesus called James and John, 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:50.720 they left their father. 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:52.300 And this would have been 00:08:52.300 --> 00:08:53.820 a significant 00:08:53.820 --> 00:08:56.700 and socially offensive thing to do. 00:08:57.019 --> 00:08:58.700 And they would have been away from home 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:00.519 for long periods of time. 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:04.340 And the point here is not that Jesus is anti-family, 00:09:05.040 --> 00:09:06.420 but that the kingdom of God 00:09:06.420 --> 00:09:08.840 is the ultimate priority, 00:09:09.560 --> 00:09:11.519 which can often be out of sync 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:13.019 to what we want 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:14.800 or our families want. 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:19.919 So following Jesus as part of a crowd 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:21.139 costs nothing. 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:24.240 But following Jesus as a disciple 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:26.120 is costly. 00:09:27.299 --> 00:09:28.779 And this is really challenging. 00:09:28.939 --> 00:09:30.019 You may have felt this 00:09:30.019 --> 00:09:32.419 when God calls you to do something 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:34.099 or to not do something, 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:37.620 particularly when it goes against the grain 00:09:37.620 --> 00:09:40.419 of what the world sees as important. 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:43.759 And the disciples felt this too 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:46.219 when Peter exclaimed to Jesus 00:09:46.219 --> 00:09:49.679 in Matthew chapter 19, verse 27. 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:50.240 He says, 00:09:50.579 --> 00:09:53.000 We have left everything to follow you. 00:09:53.639 --> 00:09:55.879 What will there then be for us? 00:09:58.379 --> 00:10:00.259 But despite this cost, 00:10:00.379 --> 00:10:03.699 we enter into a relationship with Jesus 00:10:03.699 --> 00:10:06.939 who laid down his life for us, 00:10:06.940 --> 00:10:09.920 whose sacrificial love means 00:10:09.920 --> 00:10:12.840 that we can have a share in his kingdom. 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:15.920 And he calls us as disciples 00:10:15.920 --> 00:10:17.440 to share that good news, 00:10:17.520 --> 00:10:20.100 to play our part in his mission 00:10:20.100 --> 00:10:22.860 that will reach the ends of the earth. 00:10:26.900 --> 00:10:28.660 So that's my second point, 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:31.180 is to follow Jesus as a disciple, 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:33.920 not just as part of a crowd. 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:37.620 But to be a disciple, 00:10:37.779 --> 00:10:40.039 we have to preach the kingdom. 00:10:42.299 --> 00:10:44.059 And what does that mean here today 00:10:44.059 --> 00:10:46.199 in the West, here in Clevedon, 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:47.639 where it could be argued 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:48.559 that being a Christian 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:50.939 is culturally unsurprising. 00:10:51.659 --> 00:10:52.879 Some people may think 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:53.759 that we're a bit weird, 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:54.839 but not a big problem. 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:57.959 It's culturally assimilated 00:10:57.959 --> 00:11:00.360 and co-opted into the dominant culture. 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:03.019 It's economically unthreatening. 00:11:03.019 --> 00:11:04.579 And in most places, 00:11:04.699 --> 00:11:06.579 it's socially acceptable. 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:09.939 But you may like to have a think about 00:11:09.939 --> 00:11:12.460 how many people in the settings 00:11:12.460 --> 00:11:13.659 that you are in, 00:11:13.740 --> 00:11:14.600 your work colleagues, 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:15.480 your friends, 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:16.639 maybe even your family, 00:11:17.179 --> 00:11:18.779 who know that you are a Christian 00:11:18.779 --> 00:11:20.860 and a disciple of Christ. 00:11:22.980 --> 00:11:24.000 I'm ashamed to admit 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:25.340 that in my previous job, 00:11:25.379 --> 00:11:27.519 before I went into ordination training, 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:28.960 I would say at least a third 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:29.819 of my colleagues 00:11:29.819 --> 00:11:31.799 didn't know that I was a Christian 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:32.959 until I told them 00:11:32.959 --> 00:11:33.859 why I was leaving. 00:11:35.179 --> 00:11:36.740 And I found a couple of people saying, 00:11:36.939 --> 00:11:38.439 oh, I'm a Christian as well. 00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:42.559 Maybe there's something in us 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:43.719 that is a bit embarrassed 00:11:43.719 --> 00:11:45.659 to share our faith, 00:11:46.079 --> 00:11:47.120 or even just to say, 00:11:47.259 --> 00:11:48.620 I went to church on Sunday. 00:11:50.379 --> 00:11:51.659 Maybe we're afraid 00:11:51.659 --> 00:11:54.079 of people making assumptions about us. 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:55.920 or that it's convenient 00:11:55.920 --> 00:11:57.940 to compartmentalise 00:11:57.940 --> 00:11:59.480 work life and friends 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:01.480 and church life and friends. 00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:04.720 But we are all people 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:05.560 in this building 00:12:05.560 --> 00:12:06.960 and out in the world 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:08.800 who are loved by God 00:12:08.800 --> 00:12:10.700 and who God is longing 00:12:10.700 --> 00:12:13.440 to see reconciled to himself. 00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:17.160 That he gave his one and only son, 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:18.379 Jesus Christ, 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:20.259 to die on the cross for us, 00:12:20.259 --> 00:12:22.419 that those who believe in him 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:23.799 may not perish, 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:25.919 but have eternal life. 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:29.319 And Jesus proclaims 00:12:29.319 --> 00:12:30.559 a very bold message 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:31.620 in our reading. 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:33.120 Repent, 00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:34.620 for the kingdom of heaven 00:12:34.620 --> 00:12:36.279 has come near. 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:39.000 To repent means 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:40.179 to turn to Christ 00:12:40.179 --> 00:12:41.860 and to turn away from sin 00:12:41.860 --> 00:12:43.700 that separates ourselves 00:12:43.700 --> 00:12:44.519 from him. 00:12:45.340 --> 00:12:47.039 And this is a very bold message. 00:12:47.139 --> 00:12:47.759 It's a message 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:48.840 that's disruptive. 00:12:49.819 --> 00:12:52.000 The gospel is often referred to 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:53.080 as being offensive 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:54.840 because it requires us 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:55.779 to do something. 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:57.480 It requires us 00:12:57.480 --> 00:12:58.740 to make that change, 00:12:58.899 --> 00:13:00.120 to turn to him. 00:13:00.580 --> 00:13:02.220 It's an offensive message 00:13:02.220 --> 00:13:04.259 to the way of this world. 00:13:04.779 --> 00:13:05.740 But it's also 00:13:05.740 --> 00:13:07.679 a message of hope. 00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:09.939 The kingdom of heaven 00:13:09.939 --> 00:13:11.100 is near. 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:13.840 And we are called 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:15.639 to share this message. 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:18.120 After Jesus' resurrection 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:19.480 in Matthew's gospel 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:20.600 in chapter 28, 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:21.259 he gives us 00:13:21.259 --> 00:13:22.240 the great commission. 00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:24.259 He tells the disciples, 00:13:24.659 --> 00:13:25.980 go and make disciples 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:27.139 of all nations, 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:28.600 baptizing them 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:29.240 in the name 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:29.939 of the Father 00:13:29.939 --> 00:13:31.220 and the Son 00:13:31.220 --> 00:13:32.899 and the Holy Spirit. 00:13:35.779 --> 00:13:36.600 And we, 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:37.299 as the church, 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:38.500 as we learned this morning, 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:40.399 as the body of Christ, 00:13:40.500 --> 00:13:41.600 all have a part 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:42.759 to play in this. 00:13:42.759 --> 00:13:45.120 we are to baptize. 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:47.179 We are to make disciples. 00:13:47.720 --> 00:13:48.319 We should be 00:13:48.319 --> 00:13:50.399 disciple-making disciples. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:55.259 And this is quite daunting, 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:57.980 especially when we have seen 00:13:57.980 --> 00:13:59.519 evangelism done 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:00.419 quite aggressively. 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:01.600 I don't know if you've ever 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:02.159 walked through 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:03.059 Speaker's Corner 00:14:03.059 --> 00:14:04.259 in Hyde Park. 00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:04.919 You'll probably know 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:05.679 what I'm on about. 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:08.399 Or in some professions, 00:14:08.679 --> 00:14:09.179 like especially 00:14:09.179 --> 00:14:10.120 the care profession 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:10.879 or in schools, 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:11.480 where we need to be 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:12.220 really careful 00:14:12.220 --> 00:14:13.700 how we talk about 00:14:13.700 --> 00:14:14.519 our faith 00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:15.580 when there is a vulnerability 00:14:15.580 --> 00:14:18.019 to abuse power. 00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:21.600 I want to draw 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:22.259 your attention 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:23.279 to a book 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:24.419 I often refer to 00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:25.860 on evangelism. 00:14:26.100 --> 00:14:26.700 You may have come 00:14:26.700 --> 00:14:27.220 across it. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:28.399 It's by a chap 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:29.399 called Sam Chan 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:31.139 who is an Australian 00:14:31.139 --> 00:14:32.059 evangelist. 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:33.299 And he's titled 00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:33.799 this book 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:35.200 How to Talk About Jesus 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:36.759 Without Being That Guy. 00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:41.159 And when it comes 00:14:41.159 --> 00:14:42.539 to evangelism, 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:43.319 telling people 00:14:43.319 --> 00:14:44.000 about Jesus, 00:14:44.860 --> 00:14:45.759 he talks about 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:47.220 a lifestyle change 00:14:47.220 --> 00:14:47.960 rather than 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:49.100 a one-off event. 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:51.819 He makes the comparison 00:14:51.819 --> 00:14:53.360 to a New Year's resolution 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:54.879 when you're trying 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:55.639 to get fit. 00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:56.080 You know, 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:56.799 you know the drill. 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:58.080 You set up 00:14:58.080 --> 00:14:58.879 a gym membership 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:02.159 and you drill yourself 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:03.000 to get out of bed 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:04.059 at five in the morning 00:15:04.059 --> 00:15:05.080 and you go for a run. 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:06.900 And by the 7th of January 00:15:06.900 --> 00:15:07.660 it's too much 00:15:07.660 --> 00:15:08.420 and you give up. 00:15:10.100 --> 00:15:11.379 And the same process 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:12.340 will repeat itself 00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:13.900 year after year. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:15.700 And that's because 00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:17.340 it's yet another activity 00:15:17.340 --> 00:15:18.960 to cram into 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:20.720 an already busy life. 00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:22.460 And he says 00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:24.180 fitness is a lifestyle change 00:15:24.180 --> 00:15:26.220 not a one-off event. 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:28.060 And it's the same 00:15:28.060 --> 00:15:29.080 with evangelism 00:15:29.900 --> 00:15:30.900 about telling people 00:15:30.900 --> 00:15:31.820 about Jesus. 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:34.400 It's not a one-off event. 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:36.180 We need to live 00:15:36.180 --> 00:15:37.900 as disciples. 00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:41.680 And one of the suggestions 00:15:41.680 --> 00:15:43.960 that Sam Chan makes 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:45.220 is breaking that 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:46.560 compartmentalization, 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:47.400 if that's a word, 00:15:47.940 --> 00:15:50.480 of church and non-church groups 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:51.920 of people we know 00:15:51.920 --> 00:15:52.660 who are Christians 00:15:52.660 --> 00:15:54.300 and people who aren't. 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:56.379 A practical suggestion 00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:56.960 that he makes 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:58.180 could be to invite people 00:15:58.180 --> 00:15:59.360 here on a Sunday morning 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.300 or to bring people 00:16:02.300 --> 00:16:04.200 into your social gatherings 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:05.300 with other Christians 00:16:05.300 --> 00:16:06.639 where that's appropriate. 00:16:07.139 --> 00:16:08.580 Where people can come together 00:16:08.580 --> 00:16:10.700 and the good news of Christ 00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:12.300 can be made known. 00:16:13.419 --> 00:16:14.460 Because one of the ways 00:16:14.460 --> 00:16:15.240 that many people 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:16.259 come to know Christ 00:16:16.259 --> 00:16:17.560 is through community 00:16:17.560 --> 00:16:18.740 with others. 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:20.180 Where we pray for one another, 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:21.779 where we encourage one another, 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:23.240 and where we learn 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:24.539 from one another. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:26.299 And that also goes back 00:16:26.299 --> 00:16:27.240 to what we were talking 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:27.980 about this morning 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:29.339 when we bring people up 00:16:29.339 --> 00:16:30.899 in the faith. 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:35.039 When we baptised 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:37.299 Matilda this morning, 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:39.519 we promised and affirmed 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:40.980 that we will maintain 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:42.000 the common life 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:43.839 of worship and service, 00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:45.120 that Matilda 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:47.039 and all children among us 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:49.039 may grow in grace 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:50.519 and in the knowledge 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:51.579 and love of God 00:16:51.579 --> 00:16:52.779 and of his Son, 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:53.819 Jesus Christ. 00:16:57.099 --> 00:16:58.839 So we often have 00:16:58.839 --> 00:17:00.500 these two separate universes 00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:02.399 and we need to merge them. 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:04.000 We need to live as disciples 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:05.859 across the two. 00:17:07.579 --> 00:17:08.259 And that's why 00:17:08.259 --> 00:17:10.680 when Jesus went down 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:11.859 eight with tax collectors 00:17:11.859 --> 00:17:12.480 and sinners 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:14.220 in Matthew chapter nine, 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:16.659 the Pharisees saw him doing this 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:17.340 and they asked, 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:19.759 why does your teacher eat 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:20.759 with tax collectors 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:21.620 and sinners? 00:17:23.040 --> 00:17:24.040 And Jesus responds 00:17:24.040 --> 00:17:24.720 by saying, 00:17:25.540 --> 00:17:26.460 it's not the healthy 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:27.860 who need a doctor, 00:17:28.420 --> 00:17:29.600 but those who are ill. 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:33.980 The interpretation of this 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:34.880 is that Jesus needs 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:35.640 to be with them 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:36.680 in order that they would know 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:37.660 who he is, 00:17:38.019 --> 00:17:39.100 that they may repent 00:17:39.100 --> 00:17:40.420 for the kingdom of heaven 00:17:40.420 --> 00:17:41.279 has come near. 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:43.019 But also, 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:43.960 if Jesus wasn't going 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:44.500 to do that, 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:46.080 no one else was, 00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:49.779 and we have that same call 00:17:49.779 --> 00:17:51.100 today as disciples 00:17:51.100 --> 00:17:52.680 to create communities 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:54.200 in which the love of God, 00:17:54.900 --> 00:17:55.980 the good news 00:17:55.980 --> 00:17:57.220 of Jesus Christ 00:17:57.220 --> 00:17:58.700 and the outpouring 00:17:58.700 --> 00:17:59.900 of the Holy Spirit 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:01.500 may be made known. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:06.120 So Jesus launches 00:18:06.120 --> 00:18:07.080 his ministry. 00:18:07.540 --> 00:18:08.920 His mission is to reach 00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:10.560 the ends of the earth 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:12.460 and he calls 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:13.179 disciples 00:18:13.179 --> 00:18:15.000 to make disciples 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:16.700 and that also 00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:17.960 applies to us too 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:19.259 and that is costly. 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:21.639 We are to be 00:18:21.639 --> 00:18:23.000 followers of him 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:24.039 and not part 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:24.879 of a crowd. 00:18:27.379 --> 00:18:28.440 But it means 00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:29.759 that all people 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:30.519 may know 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:32.079 the love of God 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:33.000 which we know 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:33.539 today. 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:37.359 and to do that, 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:38.299 to be a disciple, 00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:39.259 we need to 00:18:39.259 --> 00:18:40.279 preach the kingdom. 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:41.319 We need to create 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:42.019 those communities 00:18:42.019 --> 00:18:42.980 where people may 00:18:42.980 --> 00:18:44.079 come to know him. 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:46.460 We are witnesses 00:18:46.460 --> 00:18:48.139 of his kingdom 00:18:48.139 --> 00:18:49.879 and we are called 00:18:49.879 --> 00:18:50.839 to live that out 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:51.799 so that others 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:52.579 may know. 00:18:55.180 --> 00:18:56.139 So let's pray. 00:18:56.140 --> 00:19:05.759 Heavenly Father, 00:19:06.420 --> 00:19:07.880 we are called 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:09.360 to be your disciples. 00:19:11.560 --> 00:19:12.560 We are called 00:19:12.560 --> 00:19:13.580 to play our part 00:19:13.580 --> 00:19:14.960 in your mission. 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:17.780 Help us, Lord, 00:19:17.860 --> 00:19:19.160 to follow your call 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:21.320 and despite the cost, 00:19:22.280 --> 00:19:23.640 may you strengthen us, 00:19:25.020 --> 00:19:25.840 guide us 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:26.939 and teach us 00:19:26.939 --> 00:19:28.519 to bring up 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:29.139 one another 00:19:29.139 --> 00:19:31.059 in your love 00:19:31.059 --> 00:19:32.899 and to share 00:19:32.899 --> 00:19:33.740 the good news 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:34.619 of your kingdom. 00:19:35.659 --> 00:19:36.679 In Christ's name 00:19:36.679 --> 00:19:37.220 we pray. 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:38.419 Amen.