WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 All right, now we're going to introduce our dear special friend, David Gotts. 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:10.000 I think this is the first time we've ever had a guest speaker in the two years that we've gathered. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:14.000 So it's a very, very special privilege to be able to have David to join us. 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:17.000 David, he's allowed to share because he's from England, you see. 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:20.000 Everyone has to have the right accent before they... 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.000 And we did the protocol already. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:28.000 We double-checked which team he supported, and it's Manchester United, not Manchester City. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:32.000 So he passed that test with flying colors and we're like, yeah, come preach anything you want. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.000 So I'm born not too far from where you're from in Cheshire. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.000 I was born in Wakefield and up in the north. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:40.000 So, so good to have David. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.000 His bio is so long. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:44.000 I wish I could share everything about him. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:46.000 But if we have time, I hope we do. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:50.000 I get to ask a little few questions, some questions about his family, about his wider story. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.000 But David, to sum up, he started as a banker with Barclays. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:56.000 He moved to Hong Kong in 1990. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:00.000 He was alive in 1990. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:01.000 Not many. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:03.000 Sorry, David, I put you on the spot there. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:05.000 I showed your age. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:07.000 That's part of it that, yes, we're young and growing. 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:08.000 I was alive. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.000 But now he came in 1990. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:15.000 And in 1993, he had a visit up in, and he'll share later, up in southern China. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:20.000 And then that birthed this incredible organization called ICC, International China Concern. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:28.000 And now 31 years later, 120 staff, thousands of children who have been marginalized and to say would have been helped and served by ICC. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:30.000 And today he's going to share a little bit about that. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.000 But he's also going to share a passage from the Good Samaritan. 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:35.000 So I'm going to invite David. 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:36.000 I'm going to invite you. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:37.000 I'm going to pray. 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:38.000 And then we're going to go from there. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:41.000 So we just stretch out our hands as we pray for David. 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:45.000 Holy Spirit come. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:49.000 Lord, thank you for this man of God that's standing right here. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:52.000 There's a testimony to everything. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:55.000 Not what he's doing and what he's saying, but it's your testimony. 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:57.000 Your power, just as you heard from him. 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:58.000 There's a lot. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.000 Each and every one of us have a story. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:02.000 And Lord, we see your fingerprints in it. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:07.000 And I pray today as David shares his words, may they be your words. 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:10.000 Because may his heart be aligned to your heart. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:13.000 And Lord, may our ears be quick to listen. 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:15.000 Open up our spiritual ears, Lord. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.000 And I pray that as we hear these stories of compassion, 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:20.000 this compassion that leads to action. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:25.000 Lord, may it stir in us, Lord, to how to live in that same way. 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:30.000 And Lord, I thank you for just the way this man has obediently followed you and carried his cross 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:34.000 and brought so much glory and power and healing to the kingdom. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:38.000 I pray, Lord, that today each of us will learn to carry our own cross. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:41.000 And we understand what it means to follow you, Lord. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:44.000 And that we're not here just to tickle our ears and listen to an encouraging message. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:48.000 But Lord, let us really be transformed by your word. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:49.000 In Jesus name we pray. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:50.000 Amen. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:51.000 All right. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:52.000 Thank you, David. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:54.000 Good morning. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:57.000 Oh, that was pretty poor. 00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:58.000 Good morning. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:59.000 Good morning. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:01.000 That's a little bit better. 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:02.000 Okay. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:06.000 It's great to be with you this morning and to have an opportunity to share a little bit of my story 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.000 and also God's word with you. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:12.000 And, you know, I trust that God is going to speak to our hearts this morning. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:14.000 You know, we've come, we've worshipped him. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.000 We've opened our hearts to him. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.000 We blessed him through our worship. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:24.000 Now we open our hearts for him to come and transform us and to impact and change us. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:26.000 So, yeah, my name is David Gotts. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:31.000 And as was just shared, I'm the founder of an organization called International China Concern. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:35.000 And basically that organization, as you're going to hear, as I share God's word with you this morning, 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:42.000 has been involved in impacting the lives of some of China's most marginal, marginalized children, most vulnerable children. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:46.000 And so I hope that this message this morning will encourage you. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:48.000 I hope it will challenge you. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:53.000 And I hope it will help you answer the question, who is your neighbor? 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:56.000 That is what we're going to look at today. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:06.000 And we're going to look at this through a very, very familiar story that we find in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 25 to 37. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:13.000 And this is a story where Jesus is responding to a question that is asked by one of the teachers of the law. 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:17.000 And that is the question that this teacher of the law asked Jesus. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.000 He says, Jesus, and who is my neighbor? 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.000 And he's asking Jesus this question. 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.000 It tells us because he wants to justify himself. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:27.000 Why does he want to justify himself? 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:36.000 He wants to get a neat little answer that's going to help him feel justified in not having to help people out there. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:42.000 He maybe wants to help the people right here, maybe help the people in his neighborhood or in his community. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:46.000 But Jesus is wanting to change that view. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:49.000 Jesus is wanting to break open that man's way of thinking. 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:54.000 He wants him to understand in a fresh way who is our neighbor. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.000 And so that's the story we're looking at. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:59.000 And I'm going to read this passage from the Word of God to you. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:04.000 And yeah, just open your hearts to whatever God is going to say through this time. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:09.000 So it says, on one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:13.000 Teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:15.000 What is written in the law? 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:16.000 Jesus replied. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:18.000 How do you read it? 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:25.000 And the teacher of the law answered, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:28.000 And love your neighbor as yourself. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.000 You've answered correctly. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.000 Jesus replied, do this and you will live. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:37.000 But he wanted to justify himself. 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.000 He wanted to justify himself. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:43.000 So we asked to Jesus, ask Jesus, and who is my neighbor? 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:50.000 In reply, Jesus said, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:51.000 They stripped him of his clothes. 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:55.000 They beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.000 A priest happened to be going down the same road. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.000 And when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:09.000 So, too, a Levite, when he came to the place, saw him and passed by on the other side. 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:14.000 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.000 And when he saw him, he took pity on him. 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:17.000 He had mercy on him. 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:22.000 And he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:27.000 And then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:31.000 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:32.000 Look after him, he said. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:37.000 And when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have. 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:44.000 Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:50.000 The expert in the law or the teacher of the law replied, the one who had mercy on him. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:54.000 Jesus told him, go and do likewise. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:59.000 So this is the story that we're going to take a little bit of time to look at together this morning. 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:03.000 And we're going to look at the story and then we're going to actually go beyond this story. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:07.000 We're going to ask a couple of different questions as we move past this story. 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:11.000 But I want to give you a bit of background as we start on this particular situation. 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:15.000 Did you know that the road that is being talked about, this road from Jerusalem to Jericho, 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:21.000 is a 38 kilometer of road, stretch of road that runs between these two cities? 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.000 And you can see in this image here, that is what the road looks like. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:28.000 It's not what we think of when we think of a road, you know, I mean, it's pretty rocky. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:33.000 It looks pretty dangerous, pretty, pretty difficult road to navigate. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:38.000 And this road was not only dangerous because of this kind of rugged terrain that was there, 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:47.000 but it was also dangerous because there were robbers and thieves that would wait for vulnerable people who traveled down that particular road. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:55.000 And as people would come down that road, if the robbers and the thieves felt they were able, they would set upon people and they would basically assault them. 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:57.000 They would rob them and they would leave them for dead. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:02.000 And this is what happens with this man that is traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:07.000 He's making his way down this difficult road when all of a sudden people come out of the rocks. 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:10.000 They beat him and it's a vicious attack. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.000 They don't just knock him to the ground and take his wallet. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:16.000 They viciously beat him. It's a savage attack. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:20.000 He's almost killed. He's left for dead. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.000 In all likelihood, this man was left bloodied and broken. 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:29.000 If you look at the next scene, maybe this is kind of what would what you would have seen if you were coming down that road a little bit later on. 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:36.000 Somebody literally sprawled in the road, covered in blood, beaten and left to die. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:45.000 And this scene is so bad that when the priest comes down the road and he sees this man in the road, he does see him, but he doesn't see him. 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:49.000 But he doesn't stop. He just keeps on going by. 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:53.000 And then the Levite comes and the Levite, too, sees him. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:58.000 But he doesn't stop either. He hurries on by. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:05.000 And I think a question I found myself asking myself as I've reflected on this passage is would I have stopped? 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:07.000 Would I have stopped? 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:08.000 Would you have stopped? 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:14.000 Would you have crossed over to the road where this man was lying beaten and dying? 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:17.000 Or would we walk on by? 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:22.000 Because if we're really honest, if we think about it, we encounter situations all the time, don't we? 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:32.000 We encounter situations in a place like Hong Kong where we see something and we think, you know, that's not really my business or I'm not really equipped to deal with that. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:35.000 And so we walk on by. 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:45.000 And what I've been coming to understand more and more on the journey of my life is that, you know, as Christians, as we walk down the roads of our lives, 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:50.000 we don't only have to look up in order to see the work of Jesus. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:59.000 More importantly, Jesus is wanting us to look down, to lower our eyes and to actually see the people who are left on the road. 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:09.000 To see people like this man, to see people like those in your neighborhoods that maybe live under underpasses or live in cardboard boxes on the street. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.000 Jesus doesn't want us to look up and look away. 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:13.000 He wants us to look down. 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:15.000 He wants us to see them. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.000 He wants us to realize that they are people just like you and I. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:26.000 They are somebody's son, somebody's daughter, someone's father, someone's brother or someone's sister. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:33.000 And in the work I do with International China Concern, we are constantly forced to look down. 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:44.000 We're constantly forced to look into some of the most difficult kind of situations that you could imagine and to step towards these places of pain and suffering. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:48.000 So I'm not necessarily crossing the road to a man that has been beaten. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:59.000 But what I am doing, I'm walking into a government center where there are 150 or 200 children that will die within a period of weeks because of the lack of care. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:03.000 It's a different experience, but it's the same thing. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:11.000 It's that crossing into places of pain and suffering, places that we don't want to go, that we find difficult, that make us feel uncomfortable. 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:18.000 And yet these are the very places that Jesus is calling you and I to go to. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:28.000 And when we do that, when we step into these places, we show those that need our help that there is a God in heaven that sees them. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:42.000 That there is a God in heaven who is their father, that feels a broken heart because of their circumstance, that wants to come into their circumstance and to bring love and healing and restoration and forgiveness. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:54.000 The world needs to know that there is a God like that, that there is a father that loves them, that there is one who gave his life for them. 00:11:54.000 --> 00:12:04.000 And so because of that, the staff of International China Concern, me and my team, we don't walk by government welfare centers. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:07.000 We don't walk by broken families that have children with disabilities. 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:09.000 We walk towards them. 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:11.000 We walk into their homes. 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:13.000 We walk into the rooms where they live. 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:14.000 We walk into their pain. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:16.000 We walk into their sorrow. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:19.000 And we become messengers of hope. 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:29.000 It was 1993, which is now a very long time ago, 31 years ago, that I first walked into a Chinese welfare center. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:33.000 I was 22 years old when I had this experience. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:36.000 And I remember walking through that welfare center. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:39.000 I had no understanding of what I was going to see at all. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:44.000 It was the first time I'd ever seen children with disabilities up close. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:46.000 And I remember walking into a baby room. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:51.000 And there was a room with lots of different cribs and cots in that room. 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:54.000 And each one of those cribs and cots didn't hold one baby. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:57.000 There were at least four babies in each of those cribs and cots. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:02.000 And I would walk from bed to bed to bed and look down into the faces of these babies. 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:07.000 And I would see babies that were a few days old or a few weeks old that were dying. 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:08.000 They were malnourished. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:09.000 They were starving. 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.000 They were covered in skin diseases. 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:13.000 And they were wasting away. 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:16.000 I'd never seen anything like that before. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:20.000 And I went from that place into another room where there were toddlers. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:23.000 A little bit like some of the kids that were just running around here earlier on. 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:28.000 But instead of running around and having fun and laughter, that room was silent. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:32.000 It was quiet because these toddlers were tied onto chairs. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:35.000 They were bound at the wrists and bound at the feet. 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:36.000 And they couldn't move. 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:41.000 And all they would do was rock backwards and forwards for some kind of stimulation. 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:46.000 And they would be sat in those chairs for about 14 hours every single day. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:50.000 I went to another room where there were older children also tied onto chairs. 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:53.000 And they were like living skeletons. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:55.000 They were totally malnourished. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.000 And when I bent down to look into their eyes to try and make that sense of connection, 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:02.000 there was no way to make any kind of connection. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.000 Because they'd already given up the will to live. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:06.000 They knew that death was coming for them. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:12.000 They knew that they only had days, maybe some of them even hours, before they would die. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:17.000 And everywhere I looked in that place, all I could see was death. 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:22.000 The reality was 90% of the children would die within two or three months. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:25.000 And then new children would come in and then those children would die. 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:29.000 And then new children would come in and then those children would die. 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:35.000 And I learned that day that across the nation of China, there were children with disabilities 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.000 whose parents loved them but who were unable to cope. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:42.000 And they would reach a point where they couldn't, they didn't know what to do. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:44.000 And they would choose then to abandon their child. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:47.000 And that child would end up in a government welfare centre. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:50.000 And they wouldn't receive care but they would eventually deteriorate. 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:52.000 And then they would die. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:54.000 And it was hard to see. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:55.000 And it was hard to bear. 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:59.000 It was actually heartbreaking and overwhelming. 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:02.000 And I knew that I wanted to turn away from that circumstance. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:05.000 A little bit like a priest or a Levite in the story. 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:08.000 I wanted to kind of see it and not see it. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:09.000 Do you know what I mean? 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:13.000 I wanted to kind of say, I've seen it but I want to walk on by. 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.000 I don't want to cross over and go into the midst of it. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.000 It's too painful. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:24.000 But I also knew in my heart that God was asking, asking me. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:28.000 That God is asking us to not walk on by. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:30.000 To cross over. 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:32.000 To step into those circumstances. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:39.000 Jesus in the story of the Good Samaritan goes on to talk about the Samaritan. 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:41.000 The man who does stop. 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:43.000 The man who does see. 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:45.000 The man who does cross over the road. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:50.000 And begin to provide help to this man that has been wounded and beaten. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:53.000 And we read that the man's wounds are so severe. 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:57.000 That rather than just simply patching him up and sending him on his way. 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:00.000 The Samaritan has to get him on his own donkey. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.000 He has to take him to an inn. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.000 He has to pay for care. 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:07.000 And he doesn't even know if the money he's given is going to be enough. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:09.000 So he promises that he'll come back. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:11.000 And he'll pay more if more is needed. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:14.000 And so this Samaritan does what is needed. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:18.000 He provides that room, that place of safety. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:22.000 He provides the care that is needed so that this man can recover. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:29.000 And this is then when Jesus asked the teacher of the law who had originally asked him the question. 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:34.000 Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:38.000 And of course the teacher of the law says it's the Samaritan. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.000 It's the one who stopped. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.000 It's the one who crossed the road to help. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:52.000 I remember that when I left that welfare center on that first day, that first visit where I'd seen all of those children. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:56.000 I went back to the room that I was staying in and I began to pray. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:00.000 I began to pray that God would do something to change this circumstance. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:01.000 I couldn't bear it. 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:06.000 I couldn't bear the idea that children were being born, abandoned and then would die. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:08.000 I don't believe that that's God's will. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:10.000 Every single one of you has been born. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:12.000 You have been knit together in your mother's womb. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:14.000 It has a plan and a purpose for your life. 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:16.000 I hope you believe that. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:20.000 If that is true for you, it is true for every child in an orphanage in China. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:22.000 God knit them together in their mother's womb. 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:25.000 He loves them and he has a plan and a purpose for them. 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:30.000 And I found myself praying and saying, God, you know, these kids are not meant to die. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.000 They're meant to live out the purposes that you have for them. 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:35.000 And I'd seen this. 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:36.000 I'd seen them. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:38.000 I knew something needed to be done. 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.000 And I began to pray. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:43.000 And I said, God, where is your church? 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:47.000 Lord, where are the people that can come and make a difference? 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:48.000 I wanted somebody else out. 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:50.000 I wanted somebody else to cross the road. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.000 I didn't want to cross the road. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:55.000 I'd seen them like the priest and the Levite. 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:57.000 But I didn't want to cross the road. 00:17:57.000 --> 00:17:58.000 Felt too difficult. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:00.000 And it does. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:07.000 When you encounter situations in your own community in this city or maybe in China that touch your heart in this way, 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:10.000 it feels difficult, feels overwhelming. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.000 And so I prayed, God, where is your church? 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.000 Where are your people? 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:20.000 And that still small voice spoke clearly and powerfully and said, David, you're here. 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.000 What will you do? 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:26.000 What will you do? 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:30.000 Will you cross the road to help or will you walk on? 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:35.000 That was a hard place to have to sit before God and to wrestle with my own heart. 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:40.000 Because if we're honest, most of us will have to wrestle with our hearts in these circumstances. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.000 We will have to ask ourselves, can I do this? 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:44.000 Am I willing to do this? 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.000 Am I willing to be faithful to God? 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:53.000 Am I willing to follow and be obedient to him when it takes me to a place that's maybe full of pain and suffering and difficulty? 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:56.000 Am I willing to do that? 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:57.000 And I had to wrestle with that myself. 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.000 It wasn't just an easy answer. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:02.000 But I was being called in that moment. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:08.000 I didn't really realize it then, but I was being called in that moment to live out two particular things. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:15.000 To cross the road and to be a person of mercy and also a person of justice. 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:20.000 And we as the church are called to be people of mercy. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.000 And we are called to be people of justice. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:29.000 The body of Christ is the vessel through which mercy and justice flows into this world. 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:32.000 Mercy is what happens within us. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:34.000 What is fostered within us. 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:39.000 What grows up within us in response to a need that we see when our heart is touched. 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:41.000 Mercy should be our go to response. 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:45.000 It's that feeling that says I must cross the road and go help. 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:47.000 We are called to be those people. 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:50.000 People of mercy that will cross the road and go help. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:53.000 To encounter those people in distress. 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:57.000 And I'm going to share a little very quick video with you now. 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:00.000 And it's a video of a boy called Tao Tao. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.000 A boy that we work with. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:05.000 And it'll tell you a little bit of his story. 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:07.000 And then I'm going to come back and talk about him. 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:11.000 Tao Tao is just like any other 10 year old boy. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:14.000 He's lively, talkative and loves play-go. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:17.000 The only difference is he has muscular dystrophy. 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:20.000 And his family is extremely poor. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:23.000 Tao Tao lives with his dad and grandparents. 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:26.000 His mum left when he was just a few months old. 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:29.000 There are no disability services in his rural village. 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:32.000 It's hard for his family to look after him. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.000 That's why generous friends like you sent ICC's team to help. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:40.000 Bringing the support, encouragement and tools that he needs to thrive. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.000 One day it will be hard for Tao Tao to use his arms and legs. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:50.000 But right now he can learn to walk, play and enjoy life. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:52.000 So that's Tao Tao. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:57.000 A little boy living in a rural community, miles from the city. 00:20:57.000 --> 00:21:01.000 Born with a life defining and what ultimately will be a life ending disease. 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:03.000 Muscular dystrophy. 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:09.000 And when ICC's team, some of my team came to this village, to this young boy. 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:11.000 Tao Tao couldn't walk. 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:13.000 He was lying on a bed all day. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:16.000 He was sick, really, really unwell. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:18.000 Every day he was getting weaker. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:21.000 And the reality is he was moving towards death. 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:22.000 And his family were desperate. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.000 They didn't know what to do. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.000 They didn't know what to do at all. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:33.000 So what does it look like then to bring mercy into the life of a child like Tao Tao? 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:36.000 For us it meant taking Tao Tao to the hospital. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.000 We took him to the local hospital. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:44.000 We were able to make sure he got the medication that he needed to slow down the progression of the disease that he had. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:51.000 It meant sending some of our physical therapists who work for my organization to go to his home on a regular basis. 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:56.000 And to work with him each day so that he could build up his physical strength. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:03.000 It meant supporting his parents because his parents were desperate and terrified and didn't know how to help him. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:06.000 So we came alongside and counseled his parents. 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:10.000 We were able to train them so that they know how to look after him properly. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:18.000 And as you could see in that video, that isn't a boy now that's lying on a bed unable to do anything sick and weak. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:22.000 That is a little boy that is moving around the farm walking again. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:26.000 That has joy that is being loved and cared for by his family. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:34.000 Mercy for Tao Tao looks like us crossing the road so that we can take that journey with him and his family. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:39.000 To help bring life to him and his family so that they can find hope. 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:44.000 And today Tao Tao and his family are doing really, really well. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:46.000 Yeah, they've got a tough future ahead. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:47.000 It's not going to be easy. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:50.000 You know, Tao Tao will not live a full life. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:55.000 But we have been part of his journey of helping bind up the wounds that he and his family have. 00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.000 Because of that disease Tao Tao has. 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:02.000 And now they're not just a family that is surviving. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:05.000 They are a family that is thriving. 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:07.000 When we are people of mercy. 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:08.000 When we cross the road. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:09.000 When we get involved. 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:12.000 When we bring God's love into circumstances. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:18.000 We are part of bringing Christ transformation into the lives of the people that we touch. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:21.000 That is who we are called to be as the church. 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:24.000 That is who we are called to be. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:31.000 But I also want to consider another question that's related to this story of the Good Samaritan this morning. 00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:33.000 And the question is this. 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:36.000 At what point are we going to look at a dangerous road? 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:40.000 A road of violence like the one from Jerusalem to Jericho. 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:43.000 At what point are we going to look and say, you know what? 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:45.000 That road needs to be made safe. 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:51.000 We need to make that road safe so that when people come down it next time, they don't get robbed. 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.000 They don't get beaten. 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:57.000 Because if we don't make the road safe, what happens? 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:59.000 It happens again. 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:00.000 And again. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:01.000 And again. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:02.000 And again. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:03.000 And again. 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:07.000 So Jesus calls us to respond with mercy to the immediate need. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:12.000 But he also calls us to be people of justice and to bring justice into these circumstances. 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:14.000 And justice is this. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:25.000 Justice is when we look at a road like that and we say we need to make that road safe so that everybody that comes down that road in future is going to be safe. 00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:31.000 They don't have to have the same experience as the man that was robbed and the man that was beaten. 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:37.000 We don't have to continue to have situations where people are found on the road left for dead. 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:40.000 People can walk that road in safety. 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:50.000 So justice causes us to look at these kind of circumstances like the road from Jerusalem to Jericho or the experience of children with disabilities in China. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:25:01.000 And it causes us to ask the question, how do we bring justice to them so that they don't end up in a situation that they don't need to be in so that they can stay strong and healthy? 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:10.000 How can we make the road safe so that people who travel on that road do not have to live in the fear that they will be the next casualty? 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.000 This is the work of justice and this too is the work of the church. 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:18.000 We are people of mercy and we are meant to be people of justice. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:23.000 So, yes, we meet the need, but we then ask the question, how do we stop that from happening again? 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:30.000 What do we do as the church so that these children, so these people cannot go through these same experiences? 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:36.000 And we know that we're meant to be this, this way, these people, because in Micah 6, 8, it tells us this. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:42.000 It tells us in Micah 6, 8, he has shown you, O mortal, what is good. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.000 And what does the Lord require of you? 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:50.000 To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:58.000 To act justly, to be people of justice, to love mercy, to be people of mercy and to walk humbly with our God. 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:08.000 So, mercy reaches into the immediate direct need, but justice addresses the issues that cause that need so that they don't keep on happening. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:16.000 For ICC, justice, in our work, justice seeks to deal with the situation that causes the abandonment of children. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:31.000 We believe that not only do we take love and compassion and mercy into the lives of families that are struggling, but we need to be part of solving the problem that causes these families to ultimately make the decision to abandon. 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:36.000 So, justice seeks to create the supports around families like Tau Tau. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:42.000 It seeks to create the systems so that families like Tau Tau's don't have to go through those experiences again. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:51.000 And as we bring this kind of justice, we are bringing the kingdom of God into being in their lives, within their communities. 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:57.000 And biblical justice, it flows right from the heart of God and it flows through you and I. 00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:03.000 And it puts right those things that need to be put right within our communities and within our societies. 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:15.000 And so, for us as a church, biblical justice is when we refuse to settle for less than what we believe God has determined to be fair and just for all of those around us. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:17.000 Let me read that again because it's worth listening to. 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:29.000 For us as the church, biblical justice is when we refuse to settle for less than what we believe God has determined to be fair and just for all, for everyone around us. 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:38.000 Justice and mercy can transform the lives of children in China, but they can transform the lives of people in Hong Kong. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:41.000 They can transform the lives of people in your community. 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:48.000 They can transform the lives of people that now, maybe last week or last month, you walked by. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:54.000 You maybe passed by somebody and you thought, oh, man, I wish we could do something to help that person, but it's too difficult. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:28:00.000 Just keep going. Mercy and justice is the means through which you can transform those lives. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:08.000 It is because we are compelled, we are asked by God to no longer walk by, but to get involved. 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:18.000 One of the aspects of the work that I do that has grown a lot over the last few years has been this kind of justice work with families that are raising children with disabilities. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:24.000 So every year in China, there are 900,000 babies that are born with disabilities. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:26.000 OK, think about that. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:32.000 What's the population of Hong Kong? About 6 million? 7 million? 7.5. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:41.000 OK, so approximately every eight years in China, there are enough children born with disabilities to fully populate Hong Kong. 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:46.000 OK, so think of every single person in this city being somebody with a disability. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:51.000 That's what happens in China in the space of a period about seven or eight years. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:29:00.000 And for every single one of those families, they begin a journey that is just as dangerous as the man who was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.000 When they set out on that journey, they may set out with some hope. 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:10.000 But very quickly, they look around for the support and the care that they need in order to raise a child with a disability in China. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:16.000 And they begin to realize that there are no services, that there is stigma, there is prejudice. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:22.000 They find themselves living in poverty and any hope that they had gradually begins to decline. 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:25.000 And often these families, they reach a breaking point. 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:33.000 The mother will maybe walk out and leave or the father walks out and leave or both parents walk out and leave and the child is left with grandparents. 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:39.000 Or perhaps the child ends up sitting in a room all day with no care and no love, just staring at four walls. 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:47.000 The work that ICC does, the justice work that we do, is we build a system of teams that identify these families. 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:50.000 These families that are desperate and at risk. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.000 And our teams go out, teams of social workers, physical therapists, special educators. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:57.000 They go out and they find these families in their homes. 00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:05.000 They knock on the door and they don't say it this way, but when that knock on the door comes, it literally means hope has arrived. 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:08.000 Because here are people that will walk the journey with you. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:13.000 Here are people that are crossing the road to step into your circumstances and your pain. 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:21.000 And we can help take these families from breaking point and desperation to places of hope and places of love. 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:25.000 A few years ago, we heard the story of a mother. 00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:26.000 Let's see, we heard the story. 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:28.000 A few years ago, we met a mother and daughter. 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:31.000 Her name, the little girl's name is Ja Shin. 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:33.000 We're going to get the photograph up in a minute. 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:41.000 After Ja Shin was born, her mother realized that Ja Shin was basically not developing the way a normal child would develop. 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:48.000 So she took her daughter to the doctor and the doctor basically told her that Ja Shin had developmental disabilities. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:54.000 And her mother, hearing that news, wanted to get Ja Shin all of the support she could possibly get. 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:57.000 She began to look around to try and find that support. 00:30:57.000 --> 00:30:59.000 She looked for doctors that could help. 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:00.000 She looked for special educators. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:02.000 She looked for therapists. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:04.000 She couldn't find anybody. 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:05.000 Nobody was willing to help. 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:06.000 Nobody could help. 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:09.000 And so Ja Shin's mum grew more and more desperate. 00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:14.000 And she began to feel completely helpless and totally hopeless. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:18.000 She couldn't find the help she needed and she was alone and desperate. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:26.000 So Ja Shin's mother made the really painful decision that she would end her daughter's life. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:28.000 And then she would commit suicide. 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:31.000 That was the plan. 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:36.000 So that lovely little girl and her mum, basically, it was going to be death. 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:38.000 That was what was going to happen. 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:45.000 But just before that could happen, one of our teams was able to meet Ja Shin and her mother. 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:53.000 We were able to cross over the road into their circumstances, cross over the road into her home, cross over the road into the pain of their lives. 00:31:53.000 --> 00:32:01.000 And our social workers and physical therapists and special educators were able to walk that journey with Ja Shin and her mum. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:10.000 And this little girl, when she was given the support that she needed, the changes were amazing how she began to develop and learn. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:20.000 And Ja Shin's mother began to realize that there was hope for the future, that she didn't have to walk this journey alone because somebody had crossed over the road rather than just walking on by. 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:34.000 And families like Ja Shin's family are so appreciative of this kind of support of just somebody that will stop, somebody that will say, I see you, somebody that will say, I will walk this journey with you. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:40.000 And as we send in our teams to work with these families, the transformation is amazing. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.000 Ja Shin's mother is now one of our biggest advocates in the city of Changsha today. 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:51.000 She will tell anyone and everyone that has a child with a disability, there's a hope, there's a plan, there's people that can help you. 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:56.000 You need to contact ICC. You need to go talk to them because they can walk this journey with you. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:33:02.000 We do not doubt at all. We do not doubt that God's heart is for this family. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:07.000 He has a plan for them. He has a plan for Ja Shin. He has a plan for Ja Shin's mother. 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:14.000 And we get to walk the journey to help restore them and bring them to that place of strength and health. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:20.000 When we set up programs like this, this is not only bringing mercy, but it is bringing justice. 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:26.000 It is creating a way to stop families having to go through these kind of experiences all the time. 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:33.000 And it's necessary because I said there are 900,000 babies every year that face these kind of difficulties. 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:38.000 Today, there are very few children that are being abandoned because they have disabilities. 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:44.000 More and more families in China are choosing to keep their children and to raise them because they love their kids. 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:50.000 They don't want to abandon their son or their daughter, but they feel a great sense of desperation. 00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:56.000 They are like people on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, lying there, bloodied and beaten, 00:33:56.000 --> 00:34:02.000 waiting for someone to come along and to help pick them up and move them along on that journey. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:09.000 And we are so grateful in ICC that we get to be part of that journey, to be able to not just walk with one or 10, 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:14.000 but walk with hundreds and hundreds of children every year so that they can know that hope, 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:18.000 to walk with hundreds and hundreds of families every year. 00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:28.000 God has given ICC an opportunity in China to be able to be a good Samaritan to hundreds of families that desperately need help. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:34.000 And there are more and more opportunities to continue to grow that particular work that we do. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:38.000 This is the kind of work that you and I are called to do. 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:43.000 I'm not talking about you all need to go to China and join ICC, although you are very welcome. 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:44.000 You're all very welcome. 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:48.000 What I'm talking about is this is the kind of work we're called to do right here. 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:50.000 This is who we are called to be right here. 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.000 You are called to be people of mercy and justice right here. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:59.000 You are called to open your eyes and not just see and walk on by, 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:02.000 but to see and cross the road and get involved. 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:08.000 You're called to bring the mercy and the love of God into broken, hard situations. 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:17.000 You're called to bring the justice of God into those situations by working to try to change the system that allows them to happen. 00:35:17.000 --> 00:35:32.000 We believe that as we do this, as we live out being people of justice and mercy, this becomes the greatest testimony to the love of God, to the presence of God, to the desire of God that we all be in relationship with him. 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:36.000 So today you've heard this message. 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:41.000 You've heard about, you know, the man on the road from Jericho, Jerusalem to Jericho. 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:44.000 You've heard about how you've heard about jashing. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:49.000 You have to ask yourself the question, who is your neighbor? 00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:50.000 Who is my neighbor? 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:52.000 I want you to take that away. 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:53.000 I want you to think about it. 00:35:53.000 --> 00:35:58.000 And don't ask that question like the man who was the teacher of the law did. 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:01.000 He asked that question because he wanted to justify himself. 00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:03.000 In other words, he wanted an out. 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:07.000 He wanted to find a way to say, oh, my neighbor is just this small group of people here. 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:17.000 We're being challenged to ask this question about who is our neighbor so that we can have our eyes opened and that God can show us who our neighbors truly are. 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:22.000 Maybe you look at this and you think children in China are not my neighbor. 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:24.000 Well, maybe that's the case. 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:28.000 If God is not putting you on putting that on your heart, then that's fine. 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:35.000 But if that God isn't putting children in China on your heart, then you need to ask him, who are the people that he does want to put on your heart? 00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:44.000 Our culture will tell us, our culture will tell us that we don't owe anybody anything, that that person over there is not connected to me. 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:47.000 They're not part of my church, they're not part of my family, they're not part of my community. 00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:50.000 And culture will want you to conform to that. 00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:52.000 But we are not called to conform as Christians. 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:56.000 In Romans 12, it says, do not be conformed to the pattern of this world. 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:58.000 The pattern of this world will tell you not to care. 00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:01.000 The pattern of this world will tell you not to get involved. 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:04.000 But it goes on to say, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:12.000 That renewing of your mind is allowing the Holy Spirit to come in and open your eyes to be able to see who your neighbor truly is. 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:19.000 Not to live the way culture calls you to live, but to live the way the kingdom of God calls you to live. 00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:23.000 The reality is there are those in this world that need us to be their neighbors. 00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:25.000 They need us to cross the road. 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.000 And I want to challenge you to be those people of mercy and justice. 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:31.000 And you can do that. 00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:33.000 You can do that through partnering with us. 00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:37.000 You know, I would really want to encourage you to pray for the work that we do. 00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:38.000 You guys know China. 00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:41.000 You know that China is not an easy place to do ministry. 00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:42.000 It's hard. 00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:43.000 We face a lot of challenges. 00:37:43.000 --> 00:37:45.000 So please pray for us. 00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.000 That's something that you can do that can make a real difference for the work that we do. 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:53.000 If you're interested, you can learn about how to sponsor a child with us. 00:37:53.000 --> 00:38:01.000 You can get involved in making a difference to a particular child in a family or one that is being cared for in a residential home that ICC runs. 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:06.000 Or one of the things you can do if you want to do something local here is we have an event every year called Walk the Wall. 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:08.000 You can see it on the screen there. 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:19.000 This is an opportunity where we gather people around Hong Kong to walk together in solidarity with the children of China that face these kind of painful and difficult situations. 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:21.000 You get to sign up online. 00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:24.000 You get to ask your friends and your family to sponsor you. 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:32.000 And you can help raise funds that enable us to not only continue the work that we're already doing, but to expand it and to impact the lives of even more children. 00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:40.000 And so November 23rd, if you're interested in learning more about that, you can scan the QR code and there's more information there that will help you. 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:51.000 But in closing, you know, may God enable you to not simply walk on by when you see situations of pain and suffering, whether they're in Hong Kong or whether they're in China. 00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:59.000 But may God enable you to stop and to see and to cross the road and may we live as vessels of God's mercy. 00:38:59.000 --> 00:39:04.000 Vessels of God's mercy and the people of justice that is called us to be. 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:06.000 And I'm going to be around after the service. 00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:10.000 So I'd love to be able to chat with you more if you want to learn any more about the work that we do. 00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:12.000 But let me close in prayer for us now. 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:30.000 Father, thank you for this opportunity to just take a little time to dig into your word, to look at this story from Luke 10 and to see, Lord, the difference between what it means to be a person of mercy and justice that stops as opposed to those that just simply walk on by. 00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:33.000 And we know, Lord, that our culture calls us to be indifferent. 00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:40.000 But you in your kingdom call us to be those people of mercy and justice and to not be indifferent, but to cross the road. 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:52.000 So, Father, I want to pray for my brothers and sisters here today that you would bless them and encourage them, challenge them, and that you would enable them to step more fully into being the people of mercy and justice that you need them to be here in Hong Kong. 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:57.000 And we ask this in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 00:39:57.000 --> 00:39:58.000 Amen. 00:39:58.000 --> 00:39:59.000 Amen. 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:00.000 Thank you. 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:02.000 Let's have a round of applause for David. 00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:07.000 I'm going to ask you to stay right here for a little bit. 00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:13.000 We usually have a response song, but today I told Cubone and the band, we're going to have worship and respond in a different way. 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:14.000 Yeah. 00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:17.000 I'd love to hear a little bit more about David's personal story, his own journey. 00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:20.000 And maybe, yeah, we don't have time to do Q&A. 00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:21.000 I'd love for you guys to do that. 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:24.000 Please do chat with David and Katie afterwards. 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:27.000 But David, you've seen a lot of suffering. 00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:31.000 You've been through a lot of suffering, probably more than the average person. 00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:34.000 And how do you continue to persevere? 00:40:34.000 --> 00:40:39.000 What has suffering taught you to continue to persevere and do the work that you guys do? 00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:40.000 Yeah, thanks. 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:50.000 Yeah, you know, when I started ICC 32 years ago now, there was a tremendous amount of pain and suffering that I saw. 00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:59.000 I mean, I've literally seen babies that I cared for one day lying in a pile of garbage the next because they died overnight. 00:40:59.000 --> 00:41:02.000 You know, I've seen children starve to death. 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:05.000 I mean, horrible things. 00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.000 And I that that impacts and changes you if you allow it to. 00:41:09.000 --> 00:41:11.000 It'll either harden your heart or it'll soften it. 00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:14.000 If we take it to Jesus, it will soften our heart. 00:41:14.000 --> 00:41:14.000 00:41:14.000 --> 00:41:21.000 You know, one of the things I never expected was, you know, maybe about 10 years after I started ICC, I got married. 00:41:21.000 --> 00:41:25.000 I had my first child and then my second child came along when my second child was born. 00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:28.000 My second child was born with really complex disabilities. 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:36.000 And so an experience that I'd had out there in my ministry, some became actually part of my life and my family. 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:41.000 And so I actually began to live and experience a little of what families in China go through. 00:41:41.000 --> 00:41:48.000 The pain and the struggle of trying to raise a child with a disability that can't walk easily, that never speaks, 00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:52.000 that, you know, has a lot of intellectual disability as well as physical disability. 00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:54.000 It was a really challenging time. 00:41:54.000 --> 00:41:59.000 And, you know, through that time, it was it was it was hard. 00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:04.000 We we it stretched our faith in ways that I can't possibly ever imagine. 00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:07.000 And then when my son was three, he was diagnosed with cancer. 00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:14.000 And so, you know, suddenly this child that we loved, who we spent all our time caring for, 00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:17.000 was also now having to deal with a cancer journey as well. 00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:20.000 And he went through a year of cancer treatment. 00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.000 And that was very, very difficult and really forced me to question, 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:28.000 put forced me into a place where I had to answer the question, is God good? 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:29.000 Yeah. 00:42:29.000 --> 00:42:32.000 And that was I was hard to find an answer to. 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:34.000 And I really, really struggled. 00:42:34.000 --> 00:42:48.000 But there was a time when I was praying and God spoke very clearly to me and said, you know, you feel sometimes like you're just alone in the midst of this. 00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:51.000 But what you don't see is I'm carrying you. 00:42:51.000 --> 00:42:52.000 I have you. 00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:52.000 00:42:52.000 --> 00:43:01.000 You know, and that did something in my soul that has that gave me the knowledge of the goodness of God in a way that has never changed. 00:43:01.000 --> 00:43:06.000 And I needed that because as my son finished his cancer treatment, my wife was diagnosed with cancer. 00:43:06.000 --> 00:43:11.000 And so then I had another year of going through that cancer journey with her. 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:13.000 And we got to the end of that. 00:43:13.000 --> 00:43:16.000 And, you know, we were like, OK, we've done it. 00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:17.000 We've got through the end of this journey. 00:43:17.000 --> 00:43:18.000 We're going to be good. 00:43:18.000 --> 00:43:22.000 And and then within two years, cancer reoccurred for both of them. 00:43:22.000 --> 00:43:25.000 And so my second son passed away seven and a half years ago. 00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:28.000 And then my wife passed away two years ago. 00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:36.000 And so, you know, yeah, I've walked through a lot of suffering and a lot of pain, both in terms of ministry, but personally. 00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:41.000 But the knowledge of the goodness of God when you have it can hold you. 00:43:41.000 --> 00:43:48.000 It can allow you to walk through the most unbearable circumstances if we know that God is good. 00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:49.000 Yeah. 00:43:49.000 --> 00:43:52.000 And so I would always encourage anybody that's going through a hard time. 00:43:52.000 --> 00:44:00.000 If you're going to fight to hold on to anything and to deepen anything in a time of suffering, let it be the knowledge of the goodness of God. 00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:06.000 Because if you can stand on that reality that God is good, no matter what comes at you, you will stand. 00:44:06.000 --> 00:44:07.000 You will stand. 00:44:07.000 --> 00:44:13.000 And so, yeah, you know, and obviously, like I said, my wife passed away two years ago. 00:44:13.000 --> 00:44:16.000 Hard to go through that process and that loss. 00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:20.000 But there is joy and God rebuilds and restores. 00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:22.000 And I'm a happy person. 00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:26.000 I believe that God has a great future for me and for my other son. 00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:30.000 And we serve him and we have passion for God and a desire to give our lives for him. 00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:33.000 That is probably stronger through what because of what we've been through. 00:44:33.000 --> 00:44:34.000 Wow. 00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:35.000 Wow. 00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:38.000 Thank you, David, for sharing so vulnerably and powerfully. 00:44:38.000 --> 00:44:39.000 Yeah. 00:44:39.000 --> 00:44:41.000 I mean, all glory to God for you. 00:44:41.000 --> 00:44:46.000 You are a living testament, guys. 00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:49.000 Like, it's not every day we get to encounter someone like this to stand here. 00:44:49.000 --> 00:44:51.000 And he's not he's not got a front arm. 00:44:51.000 --> 00:44:52.000 He's not lying. 00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:57.000 He's truly a man of joy, even in the midst of the suffering that we can't even comprehend. 00:44:57.000 --> 00:45:00.000 And I think that's the way that God moves like Jesus himself. 00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:02.000 He suffered for us. 00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:04.000 He is not immune to suffering. 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:08.000 And David, I honor you truly as a brother, as a church. 00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:09.000 Thank you. 00:45:09.000 --> 00:45:10.000 I can't imagine. 00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:15.000 But at the end, the joy that you have to persevere that produces character, that produces hope. 00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:17.000 And so kind of one last thing. 00:45:17.000 --> 00:45:19.000 How can we pray for ICC? 00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:20.000 How can we pray for you as a family? 00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:21.000 Yeah, thank you. 00:45:21.000 --> 00:45:22.000 Your son and ICC. 00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:27.000 So right now, my son is an atheist, which is kind of an interesting thing to go through. 00:45:27.000 --> 00:45:32.000 You know, and I think it's not a big surprise having lost his brother and having lost his mum. 00:45:32.000 --> 00:45:38.000 I think a lot of questions around like, you know, why is my life being the way it has been? 00:45:38.000 --> 00:45:39.000 Yeah. 00:45:39.000 --> 00:45:41.000 And he doesn't have much space in his life. 00:45:41.000 --> 00:45:43.000 God is not an angry atheist. 00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:45.000 He just doesn't believe. 00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:54.000 So if God puts him on your heart, please pray for my son, just for the Holy Spirit to really wake him up so that he can see the reality of who Jesus is. 00:45:54.000 --> 00:45:58.000 So that would be a personal prayer request and one that's very close to my heart. 00:45:58.000 --> 00:45:59.000 Jamie. 00:45:59.000 --> 00:46:00.000 Jamie. 00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:03.000 And then the second would be, you know, pray for our work in China. 00:46:03.000 --> 00:46:05.000 You know, there are so many opportunities. 00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:07.000 There are so many families that need help. 00:46:07.000 --> 00:46:11.000 And we constantly are meeting new people in new places. 00:46:11.000 --> 00:46:14.000 And there's always this desire to do more. 00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:17.000 So pray for God's blessing on the work that we do. 00:46:17.000 --> 00:46:23.000 Pray for people around the world to get behind us in supporting what we do and praying for what we do. 00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:25.000 China is a hard place to do work right now. 00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:32.000 You know, as you guys probably aware, you know, hundreds and hundreds of organizations have been closed down in China over these last five years. 00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:36.000 Seven years ago, there were 7,500 foreign NGOs working in China. 00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:38.000 Today, there are less than 500 left. 00:46:38.000 --> 00:46:42.000 And that's because the government has chosen to close many of them down. 00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:47.000 We're very fortunate and we're very blessed that we are there fully with the support of the Chinese government. 00:46:47.000 --> 00:46:49.000 But it's difficult. 00:46:49.000 --> 00:46:52.000 So pray for favor with the government as we continue to do our work. 00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:54.000 And you know what? 00:46:54.000 --> 00:46:58.000 Like I'll be in China tonight and tomorrow I'll be with the kids that we serve. 00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:02.000 And every time I look into their faces, it's worth it. 00:47:02.000 --> 00:47:03.000 Absolutely worth it. 00:47:03.000 --> 00:47:04.000 It's wonderful. 00:47:04.000 --> 00:47:05.000 Amazing. 00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:06.000 Amen. 00:47:06.000 --> 00:47:07.000 Amen. 00:47:07.000 --> 00:47:08.000 Well, thank you, David. 00:47:08.000 --> 00:47:08.000 00:47:08.000 --> 00:47:14.000 Seriously, guys, this is a rare moment for the gathering to be able to just witness the power of God move through someone. 00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:16.000 To be able to truly say the goodness of God is with us. 00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:20.000 Despite all that's happening, despite all that is continued to happen in China. 00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:26.000 And you're one of the very few organizations I know that are so Christ-centered at the heart of what you do with the government support, 00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:29.000 with even some of the financial support from them, which is incredible. 00:47:29.000 --> 00:47:31.000 And I think we have to, guys. 00:47:31.000 --> 00:47:33.000 It would be amazing if we can continue to just come around. 00:47:33.000 --> 00:47:35.000 David, pray for Jamie. 00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:36.000 And come around ICC. 00:47:36.000 --> 00:47:37.000 What it means. 00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:38.000 You could sponsor. 00:47:38.000 --> 00:47:39.000 You could support. 00:47:39.000 --> 00:47:40.000 We can walk. 00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.000 We all have a lot of networks, resources, and influences, and whatever. 00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:49.000 Let us pray and ask God what it means to cross the road. 00:47:49.000 --> 00:47:50.000 I would love the name of it. 00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:52.000 Let's pray for David as we wrap up. 00:47:52.000 --> 00:48:01.000 Father, we are so humbled and in awe to see something so supernatural. 00:48:01.000 --> 00:48:07.000 Lord, it is unnatural for any man to stand here and say the goodness of God prevails. 00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:17.000 Even losing his wife, losing his son, and seeing so many children that have the last, the lost, the least, that he served all over the years. 00:48:17.000 --> 00:48:21.000 Lord, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that this is possible. 00:48:21.000 --> 00:48:23.000 So we give you all the glory. 00:48:23.000 --> 00:48:27.000 And the same power that is in David can move in each of us right now. 00:48:27.000 --> 00:48:32.000 So God, I pray that we have more faith as a gathering to know what it means. 00:48:32.000 --> 00:48:36.000 Even when we go through the valley and the shadow of death. 00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:39.000 To know what it means that you are with us. 00:48:39.000 --> 00:48:44.000 And Lord, even now as a gathering, as a family, we pray for our brother Jamie. 00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:50.000 We pray that wherever he is, Lord, that he comes to know that he is loved. 00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:52.000 He is seen. 00:48:52.000 --> 00:49:01.000 And Lord, that his dad's faith, Lord, that he gets to see when witness firsthand can one day be imparted to him as well. 00:49:01.000 --> 00:49:04.000 And Lord, we lift up the whole organization of ICC. 00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:07.000 All the staff, all the children, all the families that they serve. 00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:09.000 Lord, may you continue to grant them favor. 00:49:09.000 --> 00:49:15.000 May you continue to, yeah, open our eyes to see the ways we can support, we can help, we can pray. 00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:20.000 Lord, it's like David and Goliath, Lord, it's a huge task ahead of us. 00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:21.000 It's a huge country. 00:49:21.000 --> 00:49:23.000 Our neighbor has so many needs. 00:49:23.000 --> 00:49:26.000 But Lord, with you, all is possible. 00:49:26.000 --> 00:49:29.000 And so, may we just take what we have, our five loaves and two fish. 00:49:29.000 --> 00:49:33.000 And we ask, Lord, that you break it, you bless it, and you multiply it. 00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:37.000 Just as you've done in David's life, may you do the same in each of our lives. 00:49:37.000 --> 00:49:39.000 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:40.000 Amen. 00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:41.000 Thank you, David. 00:49:41.000 --> 00:49:42.000 All right. 00:49:42.000 --> 00:49:44.000 Thank you again for everyone. 00:49:44.000 --> 00:49:45.000 See you next week.