Reading comes from Matthew chapter 10. Please follow a line on the screen in your bulletin or
your own Bible. In Matthew 10 verse 16 we read, Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst
of wolves, so be wise as serpent and innocent as those. Beware of men, for they will deliver you
over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged over, you will be dragged
before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.
When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say,
for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour, for it is not you who speak,
but the spirit of your father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death,
and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,
and you will be hated by all for my name's sake, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly I say to you,
you will not have gone through all of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple
to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have caught the master of the house
with Ziba, how much more will they malay those of his household? So have no fear of them,
for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy
both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for one penny? And not one of them will fall
to the ground apart from your father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not,
therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men,
I also will acknowledge before my father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men,
I also will deny before my father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the
earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's
enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of
me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his
cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it.
And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me. And whoever
receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he's a prophet will
receive a prophet's reward. And the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person
will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold
water because he's a disciple. Truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
This is the word of God.
Thank you so much, Ellen, for reading that. Wow, this is a really tough passage that we're going to be
looking at. But before I start, I just want to say just a really massive thank you to you as a
congregation. We gave birth to our second child a few weeks ago, and you guys have just been awesome,
just praying for us, supporting us, bringing food. We are just so grateful for the way that God is at
work in our family, our Watermark family together. So I just want to thank you for your love and support.
We've really sensed that during this time. Let me just pray for us as we look into God's word together.
Father, let's pray. Father, I just want to thank you that you are a God of awesome, gracious, good,
power, kindness, compassion. You're a God who knows us. You're a God who hears us. You're a God who sees us.
And Father, right now it feels like even as a church family, there's just a lot of sickness going around.
There's just a lot of challenges that people are facing. Lord, we keep praying for Wilson and Gloria
and Jacob and the family there. We keep praying, Father, for Ed and Trish and the choice, for Maddie's
in hospital, for Cecilia, whose dad is sick right now, and for many other people who I know are struggling,
whether with health issues or other family issues. Lord, we just pray for them. We pray would you have
your healing hand on them. We pray that you would show your power and your mercy and restore, Lord.
Show us your grace and your kindness to each one of these families, we pray. And we pray, Lord, in this
city where there's just so many things going on, whether it's with COVID, whether it's with politics,
whether people are leaving, people are coming. Lord, just we pray in the midst of all the uncertainties,
we pray that you'd help us as your people to keep your eyes fixed on you. We pray that even as we
look into this tricky, challenging passage, Lord, that we would see the great hope that we have in
you. We would see that you are worth giving everything for because you are the only thing,
the only one who is rock solid in our lives and in this city and in our world. So, Lord, I pray that you'd
speak to us. Give us hearts which are open. We love you. In Jesus' name, amen. Great. So, good morning
again. If you don't know me, my name's Chris. I'm one of the leaders here at Watermark. And we're going
to look into this tricky passage today, which, to be honest, I kind of wish Jesus hadn't said some of
these things. But let me start by taking you back to the year 302. For 40 years, Christians had enjoyed
a time of peace and there'd been a lot of growth in the churches. But then the Roman emperor, Diocletian,
decided that he wanted to return to pagan ways and to persecute the Christians. And if you want to
target and a movement, you hit the leaders. And so, what Diocletian did, he got to the pastors and the
bishops who in every town were the guardian of the scriptures. There was just one Bible in the whole
town for hundreds of people. And so, these pastors, these leaders, and some other members of the
congregation were dragged in front of courts and the officials. And they were threatened to say,
either you renounce Jesus, you burn those Bible, or we'll kill you. And many of the pastors,
they refused and they were martyred. But some decided to take the easy way up. They renounced their faith.
They burnt the scriptures so that hundreds of people were denied access to God's word.
And they went free. Three or so years later, a new Roman emperor came into power. And just a few years
later, Christianity was legalized. In fact, it wasn't just legal. It now actually became beneficial
to be a Christian. You could get great career benefits. You could get networking opportunities.
There was a huge advancement that could happen if you just became a Christian. It was a time of peace.
And throughout the world, throughout church history, throughout the world today, and even in
churches today, you see this whole spectrum of what it means to follow Jesus from persecution
to times of peace. But do you know actually that the thing which has caused the most dishonor to Christ
and has been the most dangerous for Christians, whether in persecution or in peacetime, has been
when we have chosen our own ease and our own comfort above Christ, when we've chosen a kind of consumer
Christianity. And so what happens when we are tempted to do those things, to put comfort above Christ,
is that Jesus becomes a little bit more like your pet hamster. You keep him in a little box, confined,
on your desk during the week so he doesn't disturb you too much, and then you bring him out on Sundays
to feed him with some worship. And that just kind of suits us fine. But Matthew's gospel, which we've
been going through over the last few weeks, Matthew has been painting a different picture of Jesus.
He's been showing us that Jesus is the King, the divine Messiah who has come to bring in his kingdom.
And he's been preaching and teaching this kingdom, but he's also been embodying this kingdom by bringing
healing and restoration and forgiveness and deliverance to outcasts, to sinners, to the sick,
to the marginalized, to every person from every background, race, tribe, and tongue, calling them
to repent and believe and come into his kingdom. He's been calling people to follow him.
And last week, Kevin took us to Matthew chapter 10, which marks a transition in the book of Matthew
from where Jesus has been teaching and doing and healing and doing all these signs of the kingdom
to where now the focus now shifts off. He sends out his disciples to do the very things that he himself
has been doing. And we've seen that disciples of Jesus are people who are with Jesus. They become
like Jesus and they do what he does. And so as he sends them out on his mission to preach, to teach,
to heal, to embody the kingdom of God into our city, just as he calls us to and sends us out into
the neighborhoods and the areas of Hong Kong and Asia around us. So Jesus is going to up the ante a
little bit today. He's going to say that if we're a disciple and a follower of Jesus, who's becoming
like him and doing what he does, then there's going to be scars. There's going to be scars of mission,
but he's going to give us, there's going to be courage for mission and there is a promise for
mission. So that's where we're going today. There's three things, scars, courage, and a promise. So let me
start with the scars of mission. Jesus verse 24, he says this, a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a
servant above his master. It's enough for the disciple to be like his teacher. Okay. I mean, that, that, that's,
that's great, isn't it? In fact, in Watermark, I've just seen so many times where the, the love that
people are showing, the service that people are caring for one another, praying for another, I just
see glimpses of Jesus at work in our community. It just looks something like him and it's beautiful.
But Jesus goes on to say, if they have called the master of the household, Beelzebub, and the, the message
translation says, calls that dung face. That, that's an insult. Okay. He says, if, if they call Jesus that,
then how much more are they going to call those who are of his household, his followers, his family
members? You see, what he's saying is, if you're going to be my followers on my mission, there's going to be
scars. Just like me. Because my life was marked by deep love, but also deep suffering, which is where you
see that love. Because when the kingdom of God breaks through, there is always pushback from the
kingdom of darkness. You know, Jesus says it like this. He says about his own life, he says, unless a
grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
You see, what he's saying, just as grapes need to be crushed for the beautiful wine to come out. So
Jesus was crushed in rejection, in insults, in, in betrayal, all the way to death. In order to bring us
into his kingdom in order for this fruitfulness of many lives to be transformed. And he says,
we as his followers should expect the same, that kingdom fruitfulness in our lives will also bear
the same kind of scars. You know, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it like this. He said,
when God calls a man or a woman, he bids him come and die. That's challenging, isn't it? Because
many of our evangelism techniques, what we say is we say, come to Jesus, get love, peace, joy. And
we forget the small print, which says, actually, there's a place where you've got to die to find
life. And Jesus isn't, isn't covering over the small print. He's telling it like he is. Verse 16,
let's kind of go back to where he says, he says, behold, I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst
of wolves. So be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Now just think about that image for a
moment. That's not particularly comforting, really, is it? I mean, because sheep, have you ever seen a
sheep? In Hong Kong, probably not. But sheep are defenseless. Sheep have no claws. They have no sharp
teeth. They can't run fast. They're a cloud on legs. But wolves are predators. They have sharp teeth.
They have sharp claws. They can run fast. And they like eating sheep. What is Jesus saying here?
What he's saying, he's saying there's a legitimate reason why many of us really find it difficult to
go out on mission, out of our comfort zone, because it is scary and threatening. Why? Because we're not,
Jesus isn't sending us out onto neutral territory. He's sending us into our neighborhoods and workplaces
and families where there is a clash between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.
They are war zones. And so he says, be wise. Like, don't be naive. Don't be naive about this.
Like, just think about it. You see on it, you're desperate to find somebody to date. And you look on
that dating app and they put Christian on the label. And you think, wow, finally. And then when
you meet the person, you see that they don't really go to church and they're pressurizing
you to sleep with them. And you go, but it says Christian. And Jesus says, be wise. Be innocent.
Be alert to Satan's tactics. There's a war on. And you know, you can feel the heat of the battle.
Sometimes with outsiders. But Jesus focuses down and says, often it's with those who are closest
and most precious to us that the challenge comes. He says this, people will betray, will deliver you
over to the courts and flock you in their synagogues. But when they deliver you over, don't be anxious.
And then he says, brother will deliver brother over to death. And he says a father and his child
and a mother. And you see, this is really challenging. You see, but the word deliver is the same word
that is used for betrayed when Jesus was betrayed by his close disciple Judas.
You see, what he's saying is Jesus himself knew opposition from those closest to us.
And for those who follow us, we may too.
And then in verse 34, he gets even stronger. He says, don't think I've come to bring peace
on the earth. And you go, what? He says, I have not come to bring peace on the earth,
but a sword. And you think, really? But I thought you were the prince of peace.
And it gets even stronger. He says, but I've come to set a man or divide a man against his father
and a daughter against his mother. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.
For a Jewish listener, this is the equivalent of how the royal family would have received the recent interview
with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
This was shocking because every Jew at the time would agree with Michael J. Fox,
who says, family is not an important thing. It's everything.
And it's for many of us in Chinese culture, too, that's the same idea.
And so what is Jesus saying in this?
He's not saying, deliberately go against your family or just be a rebel.
He's not saying, kind of, be an idiot and get some response, bad response back.
He's not saying that because he's very strong with the religious leaders
of calling them to uphold the commandment to honor your father and mother.
Jesus is big into family.
He's not saying either, I'm all about violence.
This isn't justification for things like the Crusades.
What is he saying?
He's saying that when believers choose to follow Jesus,
family members may reject your profession of faith and your new identity in him
because they're rejecting Jesus himself.
And if they do, his call is to choose me,
even above your most precious family members.
You know, in Western individualistic society, we say,
hey, I want to do what I want to do.
In traditional Eastern societies, it's I do what my parents want me to do.
But for Jesus' disciples, it's we do what Jesus wants us to do.
And often that's going to be compatible with your parents' wishes.
But where it is not, where there are clashes,
Jesus says, choose me.
Will you follow me?
You know, I went to Cambodia a couple of years ago
and I met this church planter, a Cambodian church planter there,
whose father had been killed by the Khmer Rouge.
And he was the eldest son and he was expected to support and look after the family.
And his family wanted him to study at college and to become a tour guide
because that was a lucrative job.
But he became a Christian and he felt God calling him to be a pastor and a church planter.
And his family, his mother and the rest of his family could not believe this.
They threatened him with disowning him.
They said he dishonored the family.
How could he be so selfish?
All these things.
There was an emotional blackmail.
And he was just so torn in this time because he loved his family.
But he really felt God calling him.
And so he actually decided to leave to go to Bible college.
And his family disowned him.
Fast forward a few years' time when he'd actually been planting a number of churches.
And he actually managed to, because of his church planting work,
he actually got connected with working for an NGO,
which actually paid him a really decent salary.
And in that time, his family had seen the way that he had lived his life.
And some of his family members started coming to Christ.
And he was able to both support his family,
but also see them one to Jesus because they'd seen how much Jesus meant.
You see, Jesus loved his family more than even he did.
He just couldn't understand it in the moment.
And so that is what the call that Jesus is saying.
He loves our families, but he wants us to place him first
because placing him first is the best way to really love your family
with eternal consequences.
You know, some of us, we know just how challenging and how hard this really is.
Some of us, our families, our parents, they have a lot of expectations on us,
whether it's to do with marriage, whether it's to do with careers,
whether it's to do with parenting choices or finances or lifestyle decisions.
And there's often a clash of values between their values and Jesus' values.
And it's hard.
Many of us know that.
Particularly when you know your parents have just invested so much in you.
Some of us are being held back maybe from thinking about baptism
because of family pressures.
Some of us, as God is going to be calling some of our families
to really engage in the fostering and adoption program
that we're really trying to push as a church,
some of you are going to get pushback from that from close members of your family.
And Jesus says, don't be surprised.
Don't be surprised.
If you're in peacetime or if you're in persecution,
there will be pushback.
But will you follow me and trust me in this?
And you've got to think,
all this feels like a little heavy, doesn't it?
How can you do that?
That sounds scary.
Which is why Jesus then moves on to his second point,
which is the courage for mission.
Because when you hear all of these different things,
isn't often animal's natural response fear?
And Jesus knows that
because he expects it as normal.
That's why four times in this passage he goes,
don't be anxious.
Don't be afraid.
Have no fear of them.
Don't fear those who kill the body.
Fear not.
Do you get the idea?
He's telling us, don't fear.
Why not?
Well, because, he says, fear God, not people.
Why?
Because two things.
One, your life and your future
and everyone's, a whole of history,
is in God's hands.
Look at it.
Verse 28.
Don't fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
And then later on in verse 39, he goes,
whoever finds his life will lose it.
And that's the same word in Greek,
just slightly different grammar,
same word as destroy.
And whoever loses, same word,
his life for my sake will find it.
What is he saying?
He's saying human beings right now may make your life uncomfortable,
can pressurize you, can intimidate you, can hurt you,
can even in the most extreme circumstances kill you.
But, they can't touch the inner core of who you are.
Because that's in the hands of the source of life,
in your creator, the God of the universe,
our Father himself.
Life itself and all of your future is held,
not in your parents' hand, not in your boss' hand,
not in anyone else's hands.
It's held in his hands.
And so he says,
fear me,
which means look to please me,
honour me first,
by being willing to proclaim me,
go public with your faith,
from the housetops.
And if you lose your own comfort now,
for the sake of making me known,
you won't miss out,
because I'm the one who holds your life itself.
So look to please me first.
But then, in the same time,
there's also this warning,
which he says,
if you live for your own comfort now,
be like a chameleon.
Like, just wanting to blend in,
just wanting a comfortable life,
so just staying, like,
Jesus light in your life.
Jesus is your hamster kind of religion.
You may avoid all the opposition from people right now.
You may have comfort,
you may not,
but you may have comfort now.
But you'll get opposition from God later on,
on judgment day.
And he says,
God is the eternal judge,
who has your entire life in his hands.
He can both give you the whole of life,
but he can also take it away.
So look to him and please him,
because he's the win-win situation.
You know, there was a tennis player,
Australian tennis player,
Margaret Court,
who's a pastor.
She got mocked for some of her disagreement
with gay marriage a few years ago.
And in a tweet by a fellow tennis player,
Martina Navratilova,
she said to her,
Margaret, hashtag,
wrong side of history.
Jesus is saying,
history is not judged by the current cultural trends
or what seems to be comfortable right now.
The true hashtag,
wrong side of history,
occurs on judgment day
when we stand before the king of the whole universe
and we want to be on the right side.
The side of those who are loved by him.
So he says,
don't fear,
look to please him first.
Your life is in his hands.
Secondly,
he says,
don't fear
because the sovereign God of the whole universe
knows you
and cares for you intimately.
I love this.
This is great.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father.
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not,
therefore,
you are more value than many sparrows.
You see,
in the first century,
a sparrow was the cheapest thing that you could buy in the market.
And so if one sparrow dropped dead,
nobody cared.
It's like,
you know,
if you walk past those vegetable stalls
and you just see like a straight grape or a mushroom just in the gutter there.
Like everyone walked past it.
They trample on it.
Nobody cares about it.
At all.
It's so insignificant.
And then he goes,
actually,
your hair.
How many of you have actually itemized how many hairs you have?
I just had my hair cut,
but I didn't look at how many I lost.
Because I don't care that much about it.
We care about our hair,
but we don't care about the details of it in that intimate attention.
But Jesus is saying,
if he has itemized every hair on your head,
if he knows even that grape,
even that little mushroom there,
then don't you think,
if he cares and is attentive
and has his hands watching over even that,
that the very things which are far more significant in our lives,
that we really care about,
that our very life itself,
don't you think that he cares way more than you do about it?
Don't you think that you matter?
He says,
you are of more value to him
than many grapes,
many mushrooms,
many hairs,
many sparrows.
This is awesome.
It really is.
He says,
you know,
my daughter,
when she was born,
she was just tiny,
but she's precious.
And how do you treat someone who is precious and valuable?
Oh,
with great care and attention.
That's how Jesus,
that's how God the Father,
thinks of you.
And it doesn't matter how insignificant
or how inadequate
or how ignored,
how rejected,
how hard your life is,
he
says you matter to him.
That
is an awesome truth.
So he says,
don't fear.
But can I be honest?
Like,
just really honest for a moment.
I actually know these two truths.
And yet,
sometimes I still fear.
Right?
Sometimes I still
have fear
in speaking about Jesus
to people,
in really facing the cost
of living for his kingdom.
You know,
Tim Keller
shared this story
about a teenage girl
that he met.
And she came to him
and said,
you know,
I know Jesus loves me.
I know I'm his child.
I know I'm valued
by him immensely.
But
what's the use of that
when none of the boys
in my class
like me?
I love her honesty.
Right?
Because
what she's saying is
she fears
the social rejection,
the relational rejection
of the boys
more than she does
fear God.
she's actually saying
she loves the acceptance
of those boys around her
more than she loves
the acceptance
of Jesus.
And that's real.
Because I think
functionally
that's where many of us live.
Don't we?
But
we know these truths
but they haven't sunk
into our hearts.
And so the call to die,
the call to mission
sounds like a call
to suicide,
sounds like a call
to ruin your life
rather than a call
to finding life
as Jesus says.
But can I just share
very personally?
You know,
when I've realized
that actually
that's what's going on
in my heart
with all of my fears
and I've come before Jesus
and just repented
and asked God
to restore
a fear of him
and a love for him
and a delight in him
to know that value
in my heart.
And then he's given me
opportunities
to step out in obedience
and to share my faith
or to make significant
decisions for his kingdom
which I know
are going to cost
which get pushed back
where there is rejection
where there is discomfort
where I have felt
the shame of others.
Do you know
two things have happened?
One,
I've really felt the pain
and the wrestle
and the struggle.
It's real.
It's uncomfortable.
Dying to my own comfort
and my own approval
really is painful.
And even at the same time
as I've wrestled
I've discovered actually
increasingly
the heart of Jesus
that actually
as we are rejected
we see how incredible
his love for us is
that he was rejected
even by us
in so many ways
and yet
we just sense
more of what he's done
for us.
But secondly
I've also discovered
the liberation
from being freed
from actually
all these things
that have enslaved me
the fear of other
people's opinions
when suddenly
you're able to be bold
and actually
it doesn't matter
what people come back
with you
and you discover
that Jesus
is truly enough
that there is
this joy in Jesus
that he is truly
your life
then
the gospel penny
just drops deeper
into your heart
and you realize
that what he is saying
is true.
you will never
understand
brothers and sisters
just how valued
and how loved
you are
by the king
of the universe
by simply sitting
and listening to sermons
or simply doing
bible studies
though good
though those are
we've got to take
our faith public
and as we do
we will experience
all kinds of
different things
will happen
rejection
for some
death
even for others
but we'll begin
to taste
life
in him
in a richer
deeper way
this is the courage
we have
as God calls us
and sends us out
on his mission
but finally
the promise
of mission
and again
this is just amazing
because Jesus
though he promises
suffering
in his mission
he doesn't
leave it there
he's got this
extraordinary promise
for us
as we go out
into loving
the city
the end of April
as we go out
into all the
different things
that God is calling
us to
in the neighbourhood
in the love
offering
he gives us
this promise
verse 40
whoever receives
you
watermark family
receives me
and whoever
receives me
receives him
who sent me
now think about
this
this is incredible
it just blew me away
when I read this
you see what he's saying
is do you know
how the kingdom
of God
comes
and spreads
in Hong Kong
and in Asia
and around the world
how Jesus the king
the sovereign creator
of all the galaxies
the one who has
all power in his hands
the one who could
who breathes
and speaks
and life happens
that God
has chosen
to reveal
his kingdom
and to draw people
to his kingdom
to restore
and to heal
through
ordinary
broken
individuals
like you
and me
that as we go out
and the people
who do receive us
they receive Jesus
and they receive
the father
and they receive
the kingdom
that's awesome
right
you see
marriages
will be broken
which will
be restored
as we go out
self-centered
individuals
will become
those who have
compassion
and serve
other people
divided families
will find healing
the sick
will be restored
there will be
lives which
will just
crushed
and hopeless
which find
a savior
who restores
and gives them
a life
to live
and hope
for the future
you know
above us
where we live
there's a
there's a couple
there's actually
a couple
of units
but there's
a couple
with a young
child
that have
just moved
in
and I got
chatting to
them the other
day
and they've
actually just
moved in
to
sorry
they left
some very
successful careers
they're still
quite young
to work
and serve
amongst some
teenage girls
who were
school dropouts
whose parents
had abandoned
them
or just in
a whole load
of messy
situations
and they've got
two or three
of these girls
living with
them
and they
said at
times it's
just been
a nightmare
because troubled
kids have
issues right
and when they're
in your home
that makes it
even more
real
but they
said each
one of these
girls has
actually come
to faith
and they
have experienced
they're now
getting back
into the
schooling
system
their lives
are being
turned around
and these
couple are
not being
hauled in
front of the
courts
in fact the
social security
system are
referring cases
to them
but they
are looking
like Jesus
and they are
learning to
die to their
own comfort
and follow
where Jesus
takes them
you see God
is calling us
out on his
mission
to follow him
for every one
of us it's
going to look
different
it's going to
look different
but are we
willing to
say yes
as Jesus
sends us
out
because as
we move out
into our
city even
over these
next few
weeks
this promise
Jesus says
if you
acknowledge me
if you go
public about
me
do you know
what I
will go
public about
you before
my father in
heaven I love
to imagine it
like this and
I'm going to
close here
but when we
die we come
before our
father who in
his dazzling
glory we can
hardly breathe
but if we
get a chance
to
what we
would want
to start
saying when
he says to
us hey how
did you follow
me in life
and we'll go
hey I just
think I didn't
do a great
job I was
sometimes I was
cowardly
sometimes I just
felt like things
didn't work the
way I wanted
them to
sometimes it's
frustrating
sometimes I
fumbled over
my words I
tried to share
with people
didn't always
work I tried
to live for
you but you
know and just
as we're kind
of going through
this Jesus will
cut us off and
he'll say turn
around and behind
us there will be
this queue of
hundreds and
hundreds of
people snaking
around longer
than a queue for
an iPhone new
iPhone launch and
some of the people
you'll recognize and
some of the people
you won't and
each one of them
will have a
testimony to share
of how God had
used you to
bring him into
the kingdom and
Jesus will say to
the father look
father this is
what you did
through your
faithful servant
Yidi Echo Greg
Gary Margo Kathy
Brian Henry Joe
Chris carry on the
list of water
markers and the
whole of heaven
will stand on its
feet in applause
a resounding
standing ovation
not for you but
for the father the
son and the Holy
Spirit for the work
that they did in
your lives that the
fruit of Jesus
death was that
people ordinary
broken people like
you and me were
willing to have
scars on us but
bore so much fruit
in our lives and he
will get the glory
let's pray
father I pray that
even as we hear
what is just a
it's just really
challenging Lord
but Lord you
promise that you
are going to be with
us
and so I pray for
us even as we
hear this Lord I
pray that in our
hearts that
actually we'd feel
that sense of fear
of what it really
means to follow you
but then we would
look up and see
what a kind of
saviour you are
what a kind of
awesome but
compassionate and
gracious God you
are and Lord that
we would bank our
lives on you and
you would send us
out this week you
would send us out
every single one of
us into loving the
city Lord every
excuse that we put
up Lord I pray that
you would remove
that because we see
that in your hands is
our life our lives are
not in our busyness
our lives are not in
our exams our lives are
not in our studies our
lives are not in our
workplaces our lives are
not even in our
families good gifts
though all of these
are our lives are
held in you and so I
pray that you'd make
us a people of faith
a people have so many
stories to tell of how
you broke through and
used us insignificant
though we are for your
glory and your kingdom
in Jesus name Amen