WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.360 Last Christmas, Sal and the boys and I had the chance to take a bit of a break. 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:10.040 So straight after Christmas, we went down to Melbourne and had Christmas with my brother's 00:00:10.040 --> 00:00:10.460 family. 00:00:11.099 --> 00:00:15.460 And then on the way back to Sydney, decided we would break up the trip by going through 00:00:15.460 --> 00:00:17.559 the snowy mountains and spending a few days there. 00:00:18.400 --> 00:00:23.339 And there was no snow, it's the wrong time of year, but it was still some beautiful scenery. 00:00:24.060 --> 00:00:28.019 Bessie, which is my van, if you're wondering, did really well, making it through the Alpine 00:00:28.019 --> 00:00:31.759 roads and seeing all the trees and hills and all that sort of stuff. 00:00:32.519 --> 00:00:36.420 And while we were there, we decided that it would be a good idea with a two-year-old and 00:00:36.420 --> 00:00:41.820 a five-year-old, or two and four-year-old, I should say, to do the walk up to the top 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:42.740 of Mount Kosciuszko. 00:00:43.579 --> 00:00:45.480 So the walk began pretty well. 00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:48.799 We survived the chairlift without Hudson jumping off. 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.019 And once we got to the top, it was a nice day. 00:00:52.100 --> 00:00:53.000 The weather was clear. 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:59.079 I had one of those fancy backpacks that you kind of slot your small child into. 00:00:59.700 --> 00:01:03.780 It was still going to be a fair job carrying Hudson, but I had a backpack at least to restrain 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:04.019 him. 00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:08.060 We had water in our bag, we had sunscreen, and we were ready to go. 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:15.960 So off we charge up this track, and the first sign we get to says, 10 kilometres round trip 00:01:15.960 --> 00:01:16.560 to the summit. 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:23.260 So we were thinking, look, it's a bit ambitious, but the second half should all be downhill. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:25.460 So it should be okay. 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:28.240 And so off we set. 00:01:29.520 --> 00:01:35.140 About 150 metres later, Bailey asked if he could be carried as well. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.040 Bailey's my oldest son, if you're not sure. 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:44.040 So I attempted to carry Hudson on my back and Bailey in my arms for the next half a kilometre, 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:50.840 at which point incline, altitude, lack of fitness, call it what you will, everything conspired 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:56.480 against me, and I had to concede that this was not going to work for 10 kilometres on the 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:57.500 Alpine Ranges. 00:01:58.440 --> 00:02:01.500 So we conceded that we weren't going to make it to the summit. 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:06.620 We readjusted our goal, we looked at the signs and saw that there was a lookout that you could 00:02:06.620 --> 00:02:09.219 go to where you could look up at the summit. 00:02:09.219 --> 00:02:14.039 But it was a four kilometre round trip and we figured we're already halfway through getting 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:16.340 there, so that's probably a good goal. 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:18.939 Now, problem was, Bailey had already decided he was finished. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:23.860 He'd checked out on this whole exercising, hiking thing, was not interested at all. 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:29.300 And so for the remainder of the trip, I had to negotiate with him every step of the way 00:02:29.300 --> 00:02:33.520 and bribe him and somehow convince him and motivate him to keep walking. 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:36.640 So, we'd stop. 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:41.080 I'd point to some landmark that was just a bit further up the track. 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:42.879 I'd tell him that that's where we're going. 00:02:42.980 --> 00:02:47.219 Once we got to there, he could have some food, some chocolate, something out of the bag that 00:02:47.219 --> 00:02:48.100 would get him excited. 00:02:48.820 --> 00:02:53.260 And then, sure enough, we'd get this short burst of time where he would focus and he'd 00:02:53.260 --> 00:02:57.080 resolutely march off up the track, sometimes even running. 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:04.600 But then that would be followed by tears, tantrum, giving up, sitting in the middle of the path, 00:03:05.320 --> 00:03:09.980 followed by focus him on a new goal, bribe him with some more food, get some more enthusiasm 00:03:09.980 --> 00:03:12.340 and off we go and repeated cycle. 00:03:12.880 --> 00:03:19.000 It was an exhausting trip for him and for us, physically from carrying them, emotionally 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:23.660 from trying to convince him, because there was this ongoing struggle for him and I'm going 00:03:23.660 --> 00:03:26.540 to be honest, for me as well in the background, not that I admit it at the time. 00:03:26.539 --> 00:03:34.459 There was this struggle between being motivated to get to this goal and just the unpleasantness 00:03:34.459 --> 00:03:38.359 of the task that we were having to deal with in order to get there. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:45.159 And the same is true of what it's like to be on the journey following Jesus. 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:53.239 This series called The Journey Home has been placing us on this road of following Jesus, 00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:58.360 helping us to recognise that if you're someone who calls yourself a Christian, there is still 00:03:58.360 --> 00:03:59.740 journeying for you to do. 00:04:00.260 --> 00:04:05.879 You haven't arrived yet, you're not finished, but there is a goal, there is a home that's 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:07.300 worth pressing on for. 00:04:08.140 --> 00:04:12.500 There is something that is sufficient to motivate us to keep going. 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:17.620 So the Christian journey stands between two immovable points. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.340 This is something we've talked about in this series. 00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:25.060 Last weekend at Easter, we looked back at the beginning where we see how God loves us and 00:04:25.060 --> 00:04:29.560 the forgiveness that he offers to us as Jesus dies in our place on the cross. 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:38.239 And looking back at that first point throws our eyes forward to the end point, the future 00:04:38.239 --> 00:04:40.079 that God is preparing for his people. 00:04:40.339 --> 00:04:46.239 That perfect home that he's designed that's going to be free from suffering and sin and sickness 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.800 and hurt and pain and death. 00:04:49.819 --> 00:04:55.519 It's a certain future hope that's based on a concrete historical reality. 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:03.879 So if you hold to one without the other, it's easy to get knocked around in the circumstances 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:04.660 of right now. 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:09.319 If we want to be able to stand firm, if we want to be able to persevere, if we want to be able 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:15.060 to continue, in spite of the hopelessness of failing time and time again, in spite of the 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:21.079 struggle of suffering that we see in the world around us, we need to anchor ourselves on both of those 00:05:21.079 --> 00:05:21.540 points. 00:05:22.339 --> 00:05:23.639 Both points are essential. 00:05:24.819 --> 00:05:31.579 Because just like Bailey when we were walking up that hike, the temptation is always to be 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:33.620 distracted by the here and now. 00:05:33.620 --> 00:05:40.439 It's always to be consumed by the details of today's challenge or this week's challenge or 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:41.600 this year's challenge. 00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:45.860 But God gifts us on this journey. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:53.899 God gives us perspective givers, tools if you like, that help us remember those two points 00:05:53.899 --> 00:05:58.660 and experience the grace of God in the details of here and now as well. 00:05:59.399 --> 00:06:03.560 See, it's really important that we understand that these two points are God points. 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:13.220 So it's not just the cross and then heaven, but here you see God working to draw you into 00:06:13.220 --> 00:06:14.399 a relationship with him. 00:06:14.699 --> 00:06:18.740 You see God expressing his love, God showing his forgiveness. 00:06:19.280 --> 00:06:23.980 And then over here, it's not just heaven, but it's God's presence. 00:06:24.620 --> 00:06:28.899 It's God preparing a perfect place where we'll get to enjoy him forever. 00:06:29.100 --> 00:06:32.180 It's God in both cases. 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:39.420 And what he's doing on this journey is giving us gifts and tools that help us to encounter 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:40.660 him now as well. 00:06:40.980 --> 00:06:44.780 So we get a dramatic encounter with God when we discover what he's done in the cross. 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:50.079 Heaven will be the most dramatic encounter with God you can possibly imagine for all of eternity. 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:57.819 But what God wants to do is give you opportunities to encounter him and enjoy him now as you walk 00:06:57.819 --> 00:06:59.139 the road towards home. 00:07:00.180 --> 00:07:04.779 He's giving you tools that will draw the reality of who he is. 00:07:05.339 --> 00:07:07.199 The reality of what he's already done. 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:08.839 The reality of what he's preparing. 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:12.359 And drag it into your situation today. 00:07:13.060 --> 00:07:13.779 This week. 00:07:13.919 --> 00:07:15.419 Drag it into your here and now. 00:07:15.739 --> 00:07:17.399 And that's what we've been looking at this series. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:20.759 That's what this Journey Home series has been about. 00:07:21.719 --> 00:07:28.699 The tools that God gives us to drag the reality of who he is into your here and now. 00:07:28.699 --> 00:07:30.399 So quick recap. 00:07:31.180 --> 00:07:37.039 We want to be people who confess our sins so that every step of the journey we're reminded 00:07:37.039 --> 00:07:39.659 that God loves us no matter what we've done. 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:45.939 We're reminded that what Jesus did on the cross is enough for God to keep forgiving us and keep 00:07:45.939 --> 00:07:46.740 loving us. 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:51.599 And we're more excited for the future because we're beginning to get a growing picture of 00:07:51.599 --> 00:07:54.699 just how incredible and how sufficient God's love is. 00:07:54.699 --> 00:08:01.639 Second gift he gives us is his word where he speaks to us and he draws our eyes back to 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:07.539 the cross and forwards to heaven and up to him so that we get this big picture of him 00:08:07.539 --> 00:08:12.620 that shines brighter and more substantially than the challenges that we face. 00:08:14.039 --> 00:08:20.959 Third gift he gives us is prayer where we get to draw close to him and experience him as 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:23.719 our heavenly father all the time. 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:24.859 Every day. 00:08:25.219 --> 00:08:25.919 Every moment. 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:26.579 Regularly. 00:08:27.159 --> 00:08:27.819 Fifth thing. 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:33.659 Nick showed us a couple of weeks ago that we get to gather as God's people so that we 00:08:33.659 --> 00:08:38.539 get a front row seat to see God working in one another. 00:08:39.779 --> 00:08:44.559 We get to look at people who it just doesn't make sense that anyone would love them and recognize 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:46.600 that God sent his son for them. 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:50.779 And as we do we get a bigger picture of God ourselves. 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:54.480 We get a bigger understanding of what it is that he loves us. 00:08:55.279 --> 00:09:03.840 All of these gifts draw our eyes, our minds, our hearts up to the God who sits over all 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:04.139 of it. 00:09:04.779 --> 00:09:08.180 To the God who begun the journey for us by sending his son. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:11.279 To the God who is preparing a home for us. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:14.419 It's all about what he is doing. 00:09:14.579 --> 00:09:20.579 And today we're going to finish this series with one final parting gift for your journey 00:09:20.579 --> 00:09:21.519 of following Jesus. 00:09:22.659 --> 00:09:27.959 These are Jesus' final words to his disciples that Nick just read out for us in Matthew 28 00:09:27.959 --> 00:09:28.620 and Acts 1. 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:30.779 Jesus is about to go to heaven. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.259 He's kind of passing on the baton to his disciples. 00:09:34.419 --> 00:09:37.579 And he gifts them with one last tool for the journey. 00:09:37.580 --> 00:09:41.520 You know it's important because it's the last thing that he says. 00:09:42.680 --> 00:09:45.000 He wants to leave this thing ringing in their ears. 00:09:45.100 --> 00:09:47.180 Plus he says it with absolute authority. 00:09:47.980 --> 00:09:49.720 Did you notice that in Matthew 28? 00:09:50.700 --> 00:09:52.080 He prefaces this with, 00:09:52.900 --> 00:09:55.900 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:09:57.100 --> 00:10:01.160 Because of what he did on the cross, we said it in the Creed just a moment ago in Philippians. 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:08.339 Because he died and rose again, God exalted him and gave him absolute, infinite authority over everything. 00:10:09.219 --> 00:10:14.179 And from that place, what's the message he's got for his disciples and for us? 00:10:16.980 --> 00:10:18.159 Make disciples. 00:10:20.139 --> 00:10:23.519 Or as Acts 1 puts it, be my witnesses. 00:10:24.959 --> 00:10:27.699 This is one of the main reasons we're left on this journey. 00:10:27.700 --> 00:10:31.040 One of the main reasons there is even a journey at all. 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:36.560 This is why God doesn't just kind of start us on the journey with the cross and then fast track us to heaven. 00:10:37.300 --> 00:10:39.900 This is why people don't disappear when they become Christians. 00:10:43.060 --> 00:10:48.600 God leaves us here in the messiness of life to be his witnesses. 00:10:49.540 --> 00:10:51.040 To make other disciples. 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:53.660 Now a quick sidestep before we move in. 00:10:53.700 --> 00:10:54.920 I'm not going to unpack this too much. 00:10:54.980 --> 00:10:55.879 But we've got to ask the question, 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:57.320 One, what is a disciple? 00:10:57.500 --> 00:10:58.580 And two, how do you make one? 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:00.639 It seems important. 00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:01.559 He mentions it. 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:02.519 It's his final words. 00:11:03.220 --> 00:11:06.320 Simply, a disciple is a follower of Jesus. 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:10.000 A disciple is somebody who has started the journey. 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:15.299 Somebody who has discovered that God loves them because he sent his son to die in their place, 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:16.379 even though they don't deserve it. 00:11:16.419 --> 00:11:18.720 And who has said, I want in and I'm going to follow God. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:25.940 That's when a disciple is created, when they discover who God is through what he did in his son on the cross. 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:32.120 And so you make disciples by introducing them to God in Jesus. 00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:36.740 You make disciples by pointing them to what God has already done. 00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:41.259 And then by helping them do the journey using the gifts that we've been talking about this series. 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:44.299 Helping them discover that God speaks in his word. 00:11:44.419 --> 00:11:47.180 Helping them discover that God invites them to speak to him in prayer. 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:50.100 Helping them discover the blessing of gathering with other Christians. 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:52.259 The gift of confessing sin. 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:55.440 And now, the final gift of sharing that faith. 00:11:56.980 --> 00:11:59.740 Of being a witness to what God has done for them. 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:06.360 Now, at this point, this final gift sounds less like a gift than maybe the other four have. 00:12:07.860 --> 00:12:09.620 Sounds a bit more like work. 00:12:10.560 --> 00:12:11.600 Like a job. 00:12:11.899 --> 00:12:12.899 Like a hassle, even. 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.000 Make disciples to the ends of the earth. 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:20.840 Christians like to talk about this using a scary word, evangelism. 00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:25.000 It's a word that just means telling others the good news about Jesus. 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:28.460 But there are few words that scare Christians more than evangelism. 00:12:28.460 --> 00:12:30.600 If I said, hey, we're going to go. 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:34.560 And we're going to go and do evangelism over in the shop straight after church. 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:37.000 Suddenly, everybody's kind of busy tonight. 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:37.759 You've got plans. 00:12:38.660 --> 00:12:40.700 Important things, but plans. 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:41.780 And you're not going to be able to make it. 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:46.180 Now, it's not that we don't know that we should do evangelism. 00:12:46.280 --> 00:12:48.019 It's not that we don't think it's good. 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:49.759 But man, it's scary. 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:51.639 It's intimidating. 00:12:53.019 --> 00:12:55.780 I mean, what if I say the wrong thing? 00:12:55.779 --> 00:13:01.339 Or what if they reject me and hate me for trying to talk to them about Jesus? 00:13:02.259 --> 00:13:03.939 What if I destroy a friendship? 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:09.120 Or worse, what if they ask me a question that I don't have an answer to? 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:16.779 See, practically, making disciples isn't complicated. 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:18.459 It's simple. 00:13:18.460 --> 00:13:20.960 But it's still hard. 00:13:22.300 --> 00:13:28.580 It's simple because all that's required to make disciples, all that's required to be a witness to Jesus, 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:32.860 is to act like Jesus and to speak about Jesus. 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:34.879 That's it. 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:37.080 It's not complex. 00:13:37.780 --> 00:13:38.780 Just act like him. 00:13:39.920 --> 00:13:40.940 Serve like him. 00:13:40.940 --> 00:13:46.240 Join a ministry team and rock up here with a ridiculous smile at a ridiculous hour on a Sunday morning 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:48.560 to clean the toilet so that other people will be blessed. 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:53.280 That's serving like Jesus because it doesn't make sense to somebody who doesn't know Jesus. 00:13:55.640 --> 00:13:57.420 Care for the poor like he would. 00:13:58.760 --> 00:14:04.540 Give your money away to them and to charities in a way that would make no sense to somebody who doesn't know Jesus. 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:08.040 Forgive like Jesus. 00:14:08.039 --> 00:14:10.199 Love your enemy. 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:16.319 Do things that make the people around you confused about why you would do that. 00:14:18.099 --> 00:14:22.179 I don't know if you guys have caught the story on the news over the last week or so, 00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:26.459 but just before Easter, a bomb, a suicide bomber, 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:31.699 was detonated himself in an Egyptian Coptic church that was meeting. 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:37.279 As he was about to enter, a security guard stopped him to send him through a metal detector, 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:42.879 at which point he detonated his explosive and killed, I think it was 14 people, including the security guard. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:49.299 I was watching a news interview this week of the security guard's wife. 00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:53.100 She was being interviewed by a Muslim news anchor, 00:14:53.100 --> 00:14:57.360 and as she was being interviewed, she basically said, 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:00.540 I forgive the bomber. 00:15:02.540 --> 00:15:05.500 And I want him to know that there is forgiveness, 00:15:06.899 --> 00:15:08.920 that God forgives people like that. 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:11.439 And she just kept saying it. 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:17.500 And at the end of the interview, the news anchor sits there in silence for what feels like minutes. 00:15:19.219 --> 00:15:21.860 He just sits there not knowing what to do with that. 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:25.460 And he responds with these words. 00:15:27.220 --> 00:15:27.639 He says, 00:15:27.700 --> 00:15:32.620 The copse of Egypt, the Christians of Egypt, are made of steel. 00:15:34.539 --> 00:15:35.259 He says, 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:37.259 If it were my father, I could never say this. 00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:40.279 These people have so much forgiveness, 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:44.899 but this is their faith and religious conviction. 00:15:46.379 --> 00:15:47.300 Listen to this. 00:15:47.299 --> 00:15:48.959 He says, 00:15:48.959 --> 00:15:53.639 These people are made from a different substance. 00:15:55.620 --> 00:15:58.399 He doesn't understand why. 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:00.559 He doesn't understand how this could work. 00:16:00.659 --> 00:16:01.699 He hasn't met Jesus. 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:06.240 He doesn't know the unconditional love that God offers to those who reject him 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:08.139 and treat him like he doesn't matter. 00:16:08.459 --> 00:16:10.879 And so this kind of forgiveness doesn't make sense to him. 00:16:10.939 --> 00:16:12.120 But when he sees it, 00:16:12.939 --> 00:16:14.839 it forces him to ask the question, 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:15.659 How? 00:16:16.659 --> 00:16:17.179 Why? 00:16:17.299 --> 00:16:21.120 When we act like Jesus, 00:16:21.539 --> 00:16:25.479 the only answer to why that could be happening is Jesus. 00:16:26.939 --> 00:16:28.599 When we put other people first, 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:29.639 when we love our enemy, 00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:31.959 when we care for people at great cost to ourselves, 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:35.839 it testifies to the one who has loved us unconditionally. 00:16:37.539 --> 00:16:39.719 Making disciples is simple. 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:42.439 Act like Jesus. 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:43.419 And of course, 00:16:44.079 --> 00:16:45.479 tell people about Jesus. 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:46.659 Open your mouth. 00:16:46.659 --> 00:16:47.620 Use some words. 00:16:48.579 --> 00:16:50.759 Tell people how good it is to be loved like this. 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:56.039 Tell people how amazing it is to wake up this morning knowing that God loves you as much today 00:16:56.039 --> 00:16:59.100 as he did yesterday and the day before and tomorrow and every other day 00:16:59.100 --> 00:17:01.480 because it's not about what you've done or not done. 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:02.759 It's about him. 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:09.759 Tell them about the wonder of heaven that you're looking forward to. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:14.279 Tell them how amazing it is to know that you're going to heaven no matter what 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:17.160 because Jesus has already guaranteed your ticket. 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:22.259 making disciples is simple. 00:17:22.259 --> 00:17:23.440 Making disciples is simple. 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:26.040 Act like Jesus. 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:27.220 Speak about Jesus. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:30.660 But it's still difficult. 00:17:30.660 --> 00:17:36.100 Just want to throw in a small plug. 00:17:36.200 --> 00:17:37.120 Nick's already mentioned it. 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:41.279 We're going to spend the next month in mission month wrestling with this whole concept. 00:17:42.140 --> 00:17:46.560 How do we speak like Jesus and act like Jesus in our community? 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:49.419 Here in Chatswood but also on your front line. 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:50.700 At work. 00:17:50.919 --> 00:17:51.700 At school. 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:52.919 With your neighbours. 00:17:53.079 --> 00:17:53.720 With your family. 00:17:53.859 --> 00:17:55.539 With whoever it is that's in your life. 00:17:56.379 --> 00:17:57.279 How do we do that? 00:17:57.299 --> 00:17:59.159 We're going to wrestle with that in mission month. 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:00.659 So make sure you're around for that. 00:18:00.740 --> 00:18:03.079 We're also going to spend some time this week in community groups 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:05.720 actually giving you a tool to speak about Jesus. 00:18:05.859 --> 00:18:07.319 So get along to community group this week. 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:09.500 But plug aside. 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:15.240 Making disciples is simple but it still sounds like work. 00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:18.059 It still sounds hard to do. 00:18:19.179 --> 00:18:23.220 The whole idea of going into the big bad world and trying to tell people about Jesus 00:18:23.220 --> 00:18:27.579 let alone live like him might cripple you with anxiety and fear. 00:18:30.679 --> 00:18:33.220 And I want to say that that's kind of fair enough. 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:35.939 Making disciples isn't easy. 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:39.960 It can be hard work. 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:44.159 But it's still a gift from God to you. 00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:49.319 It's not accidentally in this series among four other gifts. 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:55.899 It's gift number five from God to you for the journey between what he has done in the cross 00:18:55.899 --> 00:18:57.220 and what he's preparing in heaven. 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:00.679 He's not sending you out on your own. 00:19:02.099 --> 00:19:03.539 He says in Matthew 28, 00:19:03.700 --> 00:19:06.039 I'll be with you to the very end of the age. 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:12.819 Being a witness to God is a gift from him to you for your sake. 00:19:15.019 --> 00:19:16.299 And let me show you why. 00:19:18.519 --> 00:19:23.740 Firstly, joy shared is joy deepened. 00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:31.220 Now any of you who have spent a little bit of time with me will know that I have an annoying habit of quoting TV shows. 00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:33.500 Some in particular more than others. 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:34.440 TV shows, movies. 00:19:34.500 --> 00:19:35.900 It's not even intentional sometimes. 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:40.279 I just watch a show and if I enjoy it and it's funny, the lines just stick in my head. 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:49.500 And then later on we'll be having a conversation about something completely unrelated and just a word or a way that you say something will trigger my memory and then blah. 00:19:49.660 --> 00:19:51.619 Out comes the line from the movie or something. 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:54.079 And you're looking at me like I'm a weirdo. 00:19:54.139 --> 00:19:55.319 I'm having the time of my life. 00:19:55.319 --> 00:20:04.859 I'm just enjoying the moment because the joy that I got when I was watching this show has suddenly been like regenerated and deposited into the right now. 00:20:04.980 --> 00:20:07.419 You might think I'm weird and whatever and that's fine. 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:08.099 Good for you. 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:15.779 But the joy that I had has suddenly doubled because I got it when I watched it and now I get to enjoy it again because my mind's just playing the episode while we chat. 00:20:15.779 --> 00:20:24.220 And it's just like getting to share it with you even if you don't get it increased my joy. 00:20:24.639 --> 00:20:32.779 Now if somebody in the circle knows what I'm talking about and starts to snicker because they're watching the episode in their mind as well, then my joy is off the charts. 00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:41.660 Because then I've like had this joy, dragged it to here, bounced it off that person and it's just like snowballing and the joy is getting bigger and bigger and bigger. 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:53.960 It's like the original joy somehow gets grown, multiplied because I get to share it, because I get to relive it. 00:20:54.580 --> 00:20:57.560 It's the same when it comes to witnessing for Jesus. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:09.320 See if I'm going to show to someone or explain to someone how good God is, the most compelling evidence I've got is how good he's been to me. 00:21:11.660 --> 00:21:15.160 It's the bit that I know better than anything else. 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:21.519 It's the bit that I've witnessed, the bit that I've tasted and felt and experienced is God's goodness to me. 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:25.860 His love for me, his patience with me, his forgiveness for me. 00:21:27.820 --> 00:21:39.320 And so essentially the call to be a witness, the call to make disciples is a call or an invitation to revisit everything about God that made you think I want to follow him. 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:47.980 It's a call to come back to all the good bits, all the stuff that you experienced when you first started the journey. 00:21:49.579 --> 00:21:58.339 It's an opportunity to talk about how much God loves you and how he proved it when he sent his son to die in your place. 00:21:58.339 --> 00:22:09.500 That joy you felt when you first discovered that God wanted you in his family, that God was going to love you irreversibly and unconditionally, 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:16.819 gets dragged out of that moment and then dropped into right now, because you're talking about it, because you're thinking about it, 00:22:16.899 --> 00:22:20.439 because you're sharing it with someone else and so you get to enjoy it all over again. 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:27.279 Joy is only fully enjoyed when it's shared. 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:31.140 That's the point of how joy works. 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:37.820 Think about the way that we share the things that we enjoy in life, the way we talk about them. 00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:41.180 Wasn't that meal delicious? 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:44.019 It's an invitation. 00:22:44.019 --> 00:22:48.539 It's saying, hey, how good is this? 00:22:49.139 --> 00:22:51.720 Let's acknowledge together how great this is. 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:53.559 Or that restaurant was amazing. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:54.660 You should go there. 00:22:55.180 --> 00:22:57.740 My joy was fantastic, but we know it would make it even better. 00:22:57.819 --> 00:23:00.539 My experience at that restaurant is you going there and coming back and going, you're right. 00:23:00.579 --> 00:23:01.759 It is the best restaurant. 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:04.480 How have I not tried McDonald's before now? 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:13.460 When you share your joy and see somebody else grab hold of it, it feeds your own joy. 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:15.700 It grows your appreciation. 00:23:17.120 --> 00:23:18.940 C.S. Lewis describes it like this. 00:23:19.019 --> 00:23:19.319 He says, 00:23:19.420 --> 00:23:27.799 I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses, but completes the enjoyment. 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:31.799 It is its appointed consummation. 00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:39.859 What he's saying is you actually haven't gotten all the joy that you could until it overflowed, 00:23:40.220 --> 00:23:43.740 until it's been expressed, until you've shared it. 00:23:45.879 --> 00:23:52.519 Which means that God has gifted you with the call to be a witness so that your joy will overflow. 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:58.539 So that you will get the fullness of joy that is on offer in what he's done for you. 00:23:58.539 --> 00:24:05.899 He has designed it in such a way that you're almost missing out on joy if you don't express it, 00:24:06.379 --> 00:24:07.920 if you don't share it. 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:16.039 The call to be a witness of Jesus is a gift because it's an invitation to feed and grow the joy that you already have. 00:24:17.700 --> 00:24:23.480 And secondly, it's a gift because it's an invitation to encounter God himself in fresh ways. 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:31.259 When I was the pastor in my previous church, I was leading a group of high school guys in a D team, 00:24:31.420 --> 00:24:32.700 like a community group. 00:24:33.380 --> 00:24:38.000 I had five guys in the group and when we were there in year 11 and going into year 12, 00:24:38.120 --> 00:24:41.120 they had one friend who was part of their group at school. 00:24:41.380 --> 00:24:44.940 So it was six mates, five loved Jesus, wanted to be a part of it. 00:24:45.420 --> 00:24:48.779 One definitely did not, but really liked these guys. 00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:50.980 And so they hung out, they were good mates. 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:55.420 And we'd been praying for this one kid for months and months and months, 00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:57.980 but he was really clear that he wasn't interested in God. 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:00.799 Following God was not for him and was never going to be. 00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:04.879 And the boys would try and encourage him, they'd try and invite him, 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:07.559 they'd talk about their own relationship with God. 00:25:07.639 --> 00:25:09.960 And it just felt like we were making no ground at all. 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:15.019 Until, finally, his girlfriend invited him to come on youth camp. 00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:17.519 And he said, yes, straight away. 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:22.879 On the last night of camp, there was an opportunity to become a Christian, 00:25:23.339 --> 00:25:25.619 an opportunity to start the journey of following Jesus. 00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:30.339 He was sitting right over in one corner with his girlfriend and her friends, 00:25:30.660 --> 00:25:34.400 and me and the other guys were literally over in the other corner, the opposite corner. 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:37.819 And as we got to the point in the night where the preacher's standing at the front 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:39.740 and inviting people to become a Christian, 00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:45.240 me and the boys are doing some of the most intense praying I've ever seen 16-year-old boys do. 00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:51.359 Like, it was physically visible how earnestly they were just pleading with God, 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:53.420 saying, come on God, make tonight the night. 00:25:53.779 --> 00:25:56.700 Just willing this guy to get out of his seat and go forward. 00:25:56.839 --> 00:25:58.819 Like, they were almost pushing him, 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:03.200 just desperate for this guy to cross the line and start following Jesus. 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:07.220 And as he finally took step one and two, 00:26:07.319 --> 00:26:09.080 the boys were jumping off their chairs, 00:26:09.319 --> 00:26:11.580 they're hugging each other, there was high fives. 00:26:11.840 --> 00:26:14.440 We were so excited and celebrated. 00:26:14.600 --> 00:26:16.380 There wasn't a lot of sleeping that night on camp 00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:19.259 because they were all so, so pumped to see God 00:26:19.259 --> 00:26:21.920 kind of do something that seemed impossible. 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:27.259 But something occurred to me afterwards. 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:32.180 As I was reflecting on this whole kind of scenario playing out, 00:26:32.180 --> 00:26:38.880 I began to recognise how that process had fed the five guys themselves. 00:26:41.019 --> 00:26:43.420 As they'd been talking to this guy about God 00:26:43.420 --> 00:26:46.360 and been getting rejected time after time, 00:26:47.340 --> 00:26:50.880 they'd begun to see the way that God pursues people, 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:52.539 even when they're saying no. 00:26:53.580 --> 00:26:57.320 They began to see the way that God doesn't give up on people, 00:26:57.799 --> 00:27:01.120 the way God is patient and continues to invite people 00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:02.979 who were busy telling him to get stuffed. 00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:07.259 And they suddenly understood how God had pursued them 00:27:07.259 --> 00:27:08.739 when they first came to follow him. 00:27:10.139 --> 00:27:12.899 They suddenly had this bigger picture of what it was 00:27:12.899 --> 00:27:14.439 that God chose them as well 00:27:14.439 --> 00:27:16.939 because they saw it in action in their friend. 00:27:18.539 --> 00:27:21.079 As this guy began following Jesus, 00:27:21.239 --> 00:27:25.139 the boys got front row seats for God actively working in his life. 00:27:25.140 --> 00:27:28.620 They began to see him wrestling with sin, 00:27:28.740 --> 00:27:29.540 being convicted, 00:27:30.080 --> 00:27:32.640 discovering that God was gracious to forgive him. 00:27:33.420 --> 00:27:36.800 They began to see him discover the peace 00:27:36.800 --> 00:27:39.080 and hope of heaven. 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:45.399 And as they sat there front row watching God work in front of them, 00:27:47.059 --> 00:27:51.220 it opened their eyes to what God was doing inside of them. 00:27:52.879 --> 00:27:57.899 As they looked in front and saw the ways that God was encouraging this guy 00:27:57.899 --> 00:28:00.159 and strengthening this guy and blessing this guy, 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:03.079 it suddenly opened their eyes to the fact that God had been doing 00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:04.879 all sorts of similar stuff in their own life, 00:28:04.939 --> 00:28:07.259 but they'd just never recognised that it was him. 00:28:09.079 --> 00:28:13.480 Suddenly the God that they knew was good was so much gooder. 00:28:14.419 --> 00:28:16.079 It was so much more real. 00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:18.919 They saw it concretely in front of them 00:28:18.919 --> 00:28:20.779 and it meant that they could reflect on themselves 00:28:20.779 --> 00:28:23.500 and be thankful to God in a whole new way. 00:28:25.839 --> 00:28:29.399 In the process of trying to introduce God to someone else, 00:28:29.919 --> 00:28:31.720 these guys got to know God better. 00:28:35.480 --> 00:28:36.919 And that's kind of the whole point. 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:41.480 Every gift that we've talked about in this series 00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:45.000 has been designed to help us get to know God better. 00:28:45.800 --> 00:28:48.500 I don't mean just know about him, but know him. 00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:51.480 Have a relationship with him. 00:28:52.140 --> 00:28:54.320 Because that's what you need on this journey. 00:28:54.560 --> 00:28:56.200 That's what you need in this life. 00:28:56.320 --> 00:29:00.640 You need a big, clear, vivid, compelling vision of Jesus. 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:05.800 One that's big enough and bright enough to still be the loudest thing 00:29:05.800 --> 00:29:08.540 when things in your life aren't the way you want them to be. 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:15.340 And witnessing is a gift from God because it draws you back to encounter him again. 00:29:15.339 --> 00:29:21.039 To encounter his love for you as you see it worked out in the people around you. 00:29:22.159 --> 00:29:25.099 It drowns out the distractions of your circumstances. 00:29:25.659 --> 00:29:29.019 It drowns out the distraction of your own limitation and your own failure. 00:29:29.419 --> 00:29:32.459 And it lifts your eyes to look again at what God has done in the cross. 00:29:32.679 --> 00:29:35.299 To look again at the future he's preparing for you. 00:29:35.539 --> 00:29:38.699 And to see that right now is part of the journey between those two points. 00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:45.200 Witnessing is a gift from God to deepen your joy in him. 00:29:46.059 --> 00:29:49.000 A gift from God to reveal more of him to you. 00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:54.600 And a gift from God to help keep your eyes fixed on what matters most. 00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:57.519 What he's already done in the cross. 00:29:58.059 --> 00:29:59.880 And what he's got in store for you in heaven. 00:30:02.340 --> 00:30:06.380 And yet, it's still hard to do. 00:30:08.700 --> 00:30:11.700 Even as we know it's a gift, it's still intimidating. 00:30:13.140 --> 00:30:17.160 And so I want to finish by just trying to do concretely and practically. 00:30:17.819 --> 00:30:19.580 Think about how can we do it. 00:30:19.620 --> 00:30:23.600 What's one thing that could help us do witnessing? 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:29.980 Well, I've got some really, really good news. 00:30:31.360 --> 00:30:32.900 You don't do it. 00:30:36.500 --> 00:30:37.360 You be it. 00:30:38.700 --> 00:30:40.580 Did you catch that in Acts 1? 00:30:41.700 --> 00:30:42.680 It's not a job. 00:30:44.420 --> 00:30:45.860 It's an identity thing. 00:30:46.620 --> 00:30:48.319 So the instruction isn't from Jesus. 00:30:48.740 --> 00:30:53.900 You will do witnessing in Judea and Samaria and all the ends of the earth. 00:30:55.819 --> 00:30:58.019 It's you will be my witnesses. 00:31:01.299 --> 00:31:03.940 They're even told to wait around for something to help them. 00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:05.120 Do you notice what it is? 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:07.000 It's the Holy Spirit. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:09.479 It's God's presence with them. 00:31:09.939 --> 00:31:14.099 It's the fulfilment of the promise in Matthew 28 that he'll be with them to the ends of the age. 00:31:14.099 --> 00:31:21.500 And the reason they need that is because being a witness is like being a mirror. 00:31:22.939 --> 00:31:28.659 The way that a mirror works, I apologise for any scientists out there, this may be a somewhat primitive description. 00:31:28.660 --> 00:31:41.040 The way that a mirror works is that light comes in in the form of an image, some sort of arranged light particles that then reflect out the same image. 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:46.119 If you don't have light coming in, you don't have light or an image going out. 00:31:46.460 --> 00:31:50.740 You need light coming in for there to be anything to see coming out the other way. 00:31:50.740 --> 00:32:08.339 And in the same way, a witness is somebody who witnesses something, who sees something, who hears something, who experiences something, and who then reflects that or bears witness to it by speaking about it, by reacting with the facial expression, by creating art about it. 00:32:08.339 --> 00:32:11.939 It's testifying to something that they've seen and heard. 00:32:13.099 --> 00:32:17.459 But you need to have seen and heard something in order to be able to witness to it. 00:32:18.399 --> 00:32:22.019 So you have input before you have output. 00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:28.220 In fact, the quality of the input directly affects the quality of the output. 00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:37.339 Good quality reflecting, good quality witnessing requires good quality input. 00:32:38.339 --> 00:32:42.359 Good quality reflecting requires encounter with God that is sufficient to reflect. 00:32:43.299 --> 00:32:44.559 Now, I'm laboring this point. 00:32:44.619 --> 00:32:45.379 I'm aware of that. 00:32:45.639 --> 00:32:47.079 Because this matters. 00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:52.879 This is what shifts the call to be a witness from being a burden to being a gift. 00:32:53.579 --> 00:32:58.599 This is what changes it from being something scary and intimidating to something that motivates us. 00:33:00.599 --> 00:33:06.619 To be a witness of Jesus, the key is you need to encounter him yourself. 00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:10.779 You need to experience who he is. 00:33:11.579 --> 00:33:15.879 What it is to be loved by him if you expect or want others to see it in you. 00:33:16.939 --> 00:33:25.339 You need the mirror that is your life to be positioned in such a way that you can see and taste and feel as much Jesus as you possibly can. 00:33:25.339 --> 00:33:31.099 And that's why every gift on this journey that we've looked at is about getting Jesus. 00:33:32.299 --> 00:33:34.779 Finding him in his word where he speaks to us. 00:33:35.500 --> 00:33:38.299 Finding him in prayer as your great heavenly father. 00:33:38.980 --> 00:33:43.000 Finding him in his people as he works in them in front of you. 00:33:43.399 --> 00:33:46.459 Finding him as you confess sin to be faithful to forgive you. 00:33:46.460 --> 00:33:48.420 And finding him as you witness. 00:33:49.100 --> 00:33:51.100 And he opens your eyes to more of his goodness. 00:33:52.500 --> 00:33:59.019 You position yourself to see more of Jesus and the result will be that your witness is clearer. 00:33:59.660 --> 00:34:00.700 Is louder. 00:34:01.079 --> 00:34:02.140 Is more compelling. 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:05.380 It's a big job. 00:34:06.420 --> 00:34:09.340 To try and witness Jesus to the ends of the earth. 00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:11.019 But this is incredible. 00:34:12.440 --> 00:34:16.700 As God hands us this responsibility to glorify him. 00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:17.780 To make more disciples. 00:34:17.960 --> 00:34:19.360 To draw people into following him. 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:22.900 The way he does it. 00:34:23.500 --> 00:34:28.420 Is intricately connected to the same path that will give you the most joy. 00:34:28.940 --> 00:34:30.860 That will give you the best purpose. 00:34:30.860 --> 00:34:33.140 That will give you the deepest security. 00:34:33.500 --> 00:34:35.180 That will give you the brightest hope. 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:41.480 The journey home is all about God. 00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:43.800 All about what he has done. 00:34:43.880 --> 00:34:45.519 It begins with his work on the cross. 00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:48.200 It ends with his presence and perfection in heaven. 00:34:48.199 --> 00:34:50.319 And the key to this bit in the middle. 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:52.719 The key to life right now. 00:34:53.439 --> 00:34:57.399 Is to encounter as much of Jesus as you possibly can. 00:34:59.480 --> 00:35:03.679 Just to soak in whatever you can get of who he is. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:04.919 And what he's done. 00:35:05.939 --> 00:35:07.019 Start at the cross. 00:35:08.699 --> 00:35:09.799 Get into his word. 00:35:09.919 --> 00:35:10.859 Listen to his voice. 00:35:11.059 --> 00:35:11.339 Pray. 00:35:11.539 --> 00:35:12.460 Gather with his people. 00:35:12.980 --> 00:35:14.460 And lastly tonight testify. 00:35:15.960 --> 00:35:16.839 Be a witness. 00:35:16.840 --> 00:35:18.440 Speak of what you've seen. 00:35:18.600 --> 00:35:19.300 And heard. 00:35:19.600 --> 00:35:20.079 And felt. 00:35:20.220 --> 00:35:21.019 And experienced. 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:23.800 And then do it all over again. 00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:24.440 And again. 00:35:24.600 --> 00:35:25.079 And again. 00:35:25.220 --> 00:35:25.720 And again. 00:35:27.800 --> 00:35:28.860 Until one day. 00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:33.380 You hear the most incredible words. 00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:35.000 From your heavenly father. 00:35:38.280 --> 00:35:39.079 Well done. 00:35:41.079 --> 00:35:42.059 Journey finished. 00:35:43.120 --> 00:35:43.880 Welcome home. 00:35:43.880 --> 00:35:48.240 Let's pray. 00:35:48.240 --> 00:35:48.260 Let's pray. 00:35:53.260 --> 00:35:53.980 Father God. 00:35:54.059 --> 00:35:55.300 We want to thank and praise you. 00:35:55.380 --> 00:35:57.300 That you are a gracious and generous God. 00:35:58.140 --> 00:35:59.220 We want to thank you. 00:35:59.300 --> 00:36:01.320 That although we so often look at your gifts. 00:36:01.519 --> 00:36:03.579 And don't recognize how good you're being. 00:36:03.680 --> 00:36:04.559 That you persist. 00:36:05.240 --> 00:36:07.119 You continue to reveal yourself. 00:36:07.300 --> 00:36:08.220 And bless us. 00:36:08.219 --> 00:36:10.579 Father. 00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:11.699 Help us to see. 00:36:11.699 --> 00:36:12.379 Who it is. 00:36:12.439 --> 00:36:13.199 That's giving us. 00:36:13.359 --> 00:36:13.859 This gift. 00:36:13.939 --> 00:36:14.639 And this calling. 00:36:15.139 --> 00:36:16.279 To bear witness to you. 00:36:16.980 --> 00:36:18.019 Help us to remember. 00:36:18.619 --> 00:36:19.459 That you are the God. 00:36:19.539 --> 00:36:21.039 Who only gives good gifts. 00:36:21.899 --> 00:36:22.599 You are the God. 00:36:22.679 --> 00:36:24.159 Who sent your son for us. 00:36:24.500 --> 00:36:25.199 You are the God. 00:36:25.279 --> 00:36:27.179 Who is preparing heaven for us. 00:36:28.279 --> 00:36:29.659 Help us to trust you. 00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:31.279 And to step out boldly. 00:36:32.119 --> 00:36:32.759 Step out. 00:36:32.799 --> 00:36:34.099 Even in our inadequacy. 00:36:34.199 --> 00:36:34.819 Knowing that. 00:36:35.059 --> 00:36:36.000 You are with us. 00:36:36.219 --> 00:36:37.059 You are powerful. 00:36:37.059 --> 00:36:38.239 And in this. 00:36:38.360 --> 00:36:39.840 You have given us the opportunity. 00:36:39.840 --> 00:36:41.219 To get to know you better. 00:36:41.779 --> 00:36:43.039 To get more joy. 00:36:43.099 --> 00:36:44.139 As we get more of you. 00:36:45.599 --> 00:36:46.079 Father. 00:36:46.199 --> 00:36:48.579 I ask that you would so fill our lives. 00:36:48.659 --> 00:36:49.500 With your majesty. 00:36:49.759 --> 00:36:50.519 And power. 00:36:50.960 --> 00:36:51.519 And goodness. 00:36:53.159 --> 00:36:54.779 That we wouldn't be able to help. 00:36:55.179 --> 00:36:56.599 But bear witness to you. 00:36:57.599 --> 00:36:58.759 That who we are. 00:36:58.860 --> 00:36:59.679 And what we say. 00:36:59.779 --> 00:37:00.900 And everything about us. 00:37:00.980 --> 00:37:01.960 Would just speak. 00:37:02.259 --> 00:37:03.900 Of the incredible God. 00:37:03.980 --> 00:37:04.699 Who loves. 00:37:05.400 --> 00:37:06.340 Sinners like us. 00:37:06.340 --> 00:37:07.480 Father. 00:37:07.480 --> 00:37:07.500 Father. 00:37:07.600 --> 00:37:08.019 We beg. 00:37:08.100 --> 00:37:09.079 That you would use us. 00:37:09.160 --> 00:37:10.300 To draw this community. 00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:12.500 To draw our families and friends. 00:37:12.500 --> 00:37:13.760 Who don't yet know you. 00:37:13.820 --> 00:37:14.660 Into the joy. 00:37:14.820 --> 00:37:15.260 And hope. 00:37:15.400 --> 00:37:16.019 And peace. 00:37:16.360 --> 00:37:17.380 Of this journey. 00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:19.400 Father. 00:37:19.480 --> 00:37:20.900 We thank you so much for Jesus. 00:37:21.880 --> 00:37:23.740 We ask that you would lift our eyes. 00:37:23.820 --> 00:37:24.519 Every day. 00:37:24.620 --> 00:37:25.260 From this one. 00:37:25.340 --> 00:37:26.440 Until we make it home. 00:37:27.300 --> 00:37:28.760 To see what you have done. 00:37:29.180 --> 00:37:30.300 What you're preparing. 00:37:31.079 --> 00:37:32.539 And how you're working with us. 00:37:32.600 --> 00:37:33.300 In the here and now. 00:37:33.300 --> 00:37:35.840 Thank you so much. 00:37:36.840 --> 00:37:37.180 Amen.