WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.980 everyone. Israel Falau is a famous rugby player who was on a $4 million contract. He quoted 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:15.200 a verse from the Bible on Twitter. I'll show it on the screen now. This is what Israel 00:00:15.200 --> 00:00:21.780 Falau actually said on Twitter, in addition to the meme and the Bible first. Those who 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:27.820 are living in sin will end up in hell unless you repent. Jesus Christ loves you and is 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:33.399 giving you a time to turn away from your sin and come to him. It's a warning message 00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:40.719 of impending danger and a call to repentance. This message angered a lot of people from the 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:47.640 LGBTQI community, Rugby Australia, who is the governing body of rugby, and to the sponsors 00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:54.780 and Israel Falau's personal sponsors. Furthermore, it even angered some Christians. And just two 00:00:54.780 --> 00:01:00.780 days ago, we've heard that Rugby Australia has terminated his contract. So there are many 00:01:00.780 --> 00:01:06.379 questions that we would like to ask of this situation. Why is this post causing so much 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:13.859 offence? What does it mean for me? Have a look at the list of sins up on the screen. I've 00:01:13.859 --> 00:01:21.620 struggled with at least one of them, even now. So what does God actually want from us? What 00:01:21.620 --> 00:01:27.320 does repentance really look like? What does it mean to be grieved by our sin and say sorry 00:01:27.320 --> 00:01:34.400 to God and to live for him? We also need to think about what does it mean to preach the message 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:41.439 of repentance in this day and age, given there's so much opposition. Jonah 3 alludes to all these 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:48.159 topics, and we need God's help to understand it. So let us pray so that we can do so. Dear God, 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:54.259 as we come to the topic of repentance, and as we come to your word, help us to understand 00:01:54.259 --> 00:01:59.819 it so that we can repent, believe in your word, and know how to proclaim it for your sake. I 00:01:59.819 --> 00:02:07.120 pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So when we look at Nineveh's repentance, there are two parts 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:14.560 to this reaction. The people's repentance, and how the king reacted to this repentance, and how he 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:20.259 commanded the repentance to continue. So let us look at the first one, the repentance of Nineveh's 00:02:20.259 --> 00:02:26.599 people. For those who were not at church the last couple of weeks, I'll try to summarize what's 00:02:26.599 --> 00:02:33.920 been happening in the book of Jonah. In chapter one, God told Jonah to preach against Nineveh, 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:41.640 and Jonah tried to run away as far as possible by boat, and God caused the storm to rise up. 00:02:41.639 --> 00:02:48.439 Jonah realized that he was in the wrong, so he told the sailors to throw him in the ocean, 00:02:49.259 --> 00:02:56.379 where God graciously rescued him by using a big fish. In chapter three, God called him to proclaim 00:02:56.379 --> 00:03:03.639 to Nineveh, and we can see the message that Jonah preached from verse four. So looking at verse four, 00:03:03.739 --> 00:03:10.399 we can see that Jonah began by going a day's journey into the city, proclaiming 40 more days, 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:17.280 and Nineveh will be overthrown. And we can see how each person in Nineveh responded to this message. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:24.680 The Nineveh believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, 00:03:25.040 --> 00:03:31.340 are put on sackcloth. So what does it mean for someone to put on sackcloth and fast? 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:37.840 So sackcloth is something that's rough and plain. I can't find any sackcloth to illustrate this, 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:44.780 so I'll use a modern, somewhat transcultural equivalent. And you know, 25 kilogram rice bag. 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:50.520 Imagine putting that on me right now. That's not something that you'll wear every day. It's not 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:55.280 very flashy, and it's actually not a fashion statement. So what does it mean in the Old Testament 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:02.920 to put on sackcloth? In the Old Testament, it means it's a sign of mourning, or someone trying 00:04:02.920 --> 00:04:09.520 to lower themselves and debase themselves, or the fact that they want to repent. So the idea 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:17.420 of fasting is similar, that they want to carry the idea of mourning and repentance. So the word 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:24.879 repentance means turning away from sin. And we can see how the Nineveh repented in verses 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:32.279 six to nine. For having had a look at how each of the people at Nineveh repented, let's look 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:38.420 at what it means to repent together. The word corporate means the whole body. So the word 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:44.719 corporate repentance means how a whole group of people repented together, usually done by 00:04:44.719 --> 00:04:51.060 the direction of a leader. So when you read Jonah chapter three, verses six to nine, you can 00:04:51.060 --> 00:05:00.800 see how the king directed all the people at Nineveh to repent. So the claim then is issued 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:07.259 by a royal proclamation to get everyone to repent. The king, in effect, is trying to get everyone 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:13.259 to repent together or corporately. So we might not be that familiar with the idea of corporately 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:20.340 repenting. But we can see that in the Old Testament. We can see that most clearly in the book of Psalms. 00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:26.579 Psalms. But there's a whole category of Psalms called corporate laments, where the whole community 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:32.879 of Israel is led by the leader to, you know, some lament. Although the king isn't a believer, 00:05:33.019 --> 00:05:39.719 we can see that in his speech where he tried to get the people to repent. He called the whole 00:05:39.719 --> 00:05:46.359 community to repent, to put on sackcloth and to fast. And in these verses, we can clearly 00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:52.379 see that these actions are meant to be an act of repentance and not just acts of mourning, 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:58.439 but what the king says in chapter three, verse eight. In chapter three, verse eight, he says, 00:05:59.500 --> 00:06:05.100 let them give up their ways, their evil ways and violence. And that's a concrete expression 00:06:05.100 --> 00:06:11.520 of their repentance. And we can assume that everyone in Nineveh listened to the king because 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:17.939 God relented from bringing his judgment to Nineveh. So that's a really amazing transformation. 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:25.079 To understand how significant it is, we need to know what the Assyrians are like. The Assyrians 00:06:25.079 --> 00:06:31.859 for the capital at Nineveh were known for their violence. In fact, they became very successful 00:06:31.859 --> 00:06:38.539 by being violent and conquered everyone around them. So for the king to tell everyone to give 00:06:38.540 --> 00:06:43.560 up their violence, it's for them to give up their identity and for them to give up the 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:50.280 ways that made them successful. So there's one question we need to ask. Did the Assyrians 00:06:50.280 --> 00:06:56.480 really repent? So if you look at the evidence from the book of Jonah and also the rest of the 00:06:56.480 --> 00:07:06.840 Old Testament, the answer is yes and no. The Nineveh of the generation repented once, but in 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:13.359 the generation that followed, we saw that it didn't produce long-lasting ultimate repentance. 00:07:14.899 --> 00:07:20.620 We can find out from the Old Testament and even the book of Jonah. Firstly, we can see 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:28.579 that it's just by the way that the king addressed God. In verse 9, the kings of Assyria said, 00:07:28.579 --> 00:07:36.859 God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish. 00:07:37.479 --> 00:07:44.699 So you might wonder why I highlighted the word God. The word God used here is the word Elohim, 00:07:44.979 --> 00:07:51.219 the generic term for God. So where is the sailors in chapter 1 when they cried out to God? They 00:07:51.220 --> 00:07:59.600 said, they actually cried out to the Lord Yahweh, the personal name of God. And the king here just 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:06.840 know God as a generic God that is powerful and not a God that he personally served and worshipped. 00:08:08.520 --> 00:08:15.280 Secondly, we will look at the motive that the king gave for repentance. Looking at the same verse, 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:23.859 we can see that the king wanted to avoid disaster. The first line says, God may yet relent with 00:08:23.859 --> 00:08:30.919 compassion and turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish. He wanted the people 00:08:30.919 --> 00:08:37.240 to believe in God because he wanted to avoid disaster for his city. And it's not because 00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:43.639 he wanted to believe in a God that he wanted to serve and relate to. Thirdly, ultimately, we can see 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:51.819 the Assyrians went back to their violent ways. So the book of Jonah was written between 786 and 746 BC. 00:08:53.080 --> 00:09:00.419 So the mere 30 to 70 years later, the Assyrians returned to the violent ways. And we can see 00:09:00.419 --> 00:09:06.919 that because they completely destroyed Israel. So it's conceivable that some of the people in 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:15.039 the city would have seen how the Assyrians acted towards Israel. So the very fact that you can see the 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:22.399 violence enacted by the Assyrians, you can see that the Ninevites didn't have a long-lasting repentance. 00:09:24.699 --> 00:09:31.620 So it leads to an important question. The Ninevites mourned, they fasted, and they gave up on the evil ways. 00:09:31.620 --> 00:09:40.159 If that's not real repentance, what is? And the important question for us is, how do we know that we have 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:48.620 truly repented? So let's look at our repentance. Our working definition of what repentance is, is the 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:56.740 turning away from sin. To understand the true nature of repentance, let's look at the book of Thessalonians 00:09:56.740 --> 00:10:06.360 from chapter 1, verses 8 to 10. We'll start from verse 8. They tell you how you have turned to God 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:13.419 from idols to serve the living and true God. So from here we can see the act of repentance. 00:10:15.659 --> 00:10:23.720 It has the implicit meaning of turning away from sin towards something. So the people here, they've 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:33.300 turned away from sin towards God. So let's look at what that means for us. When we sin, do we try to 00:10:33.300 --> 00:10:41.420 repent by trying to stop the act of sinning out of fear of going to hell? We can see that from the 00:10:41.420 --> 00:10:51.139 example of Nineveh, that that might not produce a long-lasting repentance. In contrast, the people of 00:10:51.139 --> 00:10:57.480 Thessalonica showed that the evidence of true repentance. We can see that they didn't only 00:10:57.480 --> 00:11:05.139 believe in the God of judgment, but the Lord who saved them and that they want to serve. I'll read 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:11.960 verses 9 to 10 again and highlight a different bit. In verse 10, it says, they tell how you have 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:19.879 turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his son, whom he has 00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:26.980 raised from the dead, Jesus who rescued us from the coming wrath. Can you see how that's a 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:32.299 completely different attitude to repentance? So I'll try to illustrate this point by using 00:11:32.299 --> 00:11:39.539 an example that younger people will get. And I sort of understood as well, since I'm not too old yet. 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:47.159 I joined the Facebook group called Subtle Christian Traits. Yep, everyone laughs. It's good. 00:11:48.219 --> 00:11:55.360 This is where young people discuss various issues and share jokes that Christians will find funny. 00:11:55.740 --> 00:12:00.839 And since they didn't set an age barrier, they let me join, which is good. There's a recent set of 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:10.139 posts that's asked, is it a sin to... So that's one random post. Is it a sin to read the Bible in Klingon? 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:18.220 And some of these are pretty trivial or funny, but some of these are serious questions that people ask. 00:12:18.780 --> 00:12:26.420 Someone asked, is it a sin to have a tattoo? All of these are good and valid questions, 00:12:26.419 --> 00:12:33.039 but in light of repentance, it misses a point. Repentance isn't just about giving up sins. 00:12:33.979 --> 00:12:36.860 Repentance is about changing your entire life's direction. 00:12:38.579 --> 00:12:46.379 So to answer all these random posts, someone on that Subtle Christian Trait group posted something 00:12:46.379 --> 00:12:55.299 very helpful. They wanted us to ask the question instead, is it glorifying to God to do something? 00:12:55.299 --> 00:13:01.740 This is real repentance, not just the act of giving up on our sins, but to live for God. 00:13:03.079 --> 00:13:08.639 In other words, repentance and faith aren't two separate things, but they're two sides of the same coin. 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:18.799 So let's apply this to ourselves. If there's a sin that we all need to corporately repent of together, 00:13:19.579 --> 00:13:24.379 it's probably greed. And greed might not mean the accumulation of wealth, 00:13:24.379 --> 00:13:32.939 for some of us, it might mean putting yourself first in pursuing material things and consumerism. 00:13:35.740 --> 00:13:36.899 It might take another form. 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:45.639 So my struggle with greed is not in the form of being tempted to put my trust in the security that wealth brings. 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:47.679 I'll tell you why I struggle with this. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:53.000 So my parents gave up promising careers in Hong Kong to migrate to Australia. 00:13:54.199 --> 00:13:59.220 And with my dad in particular, he gave up a job as an engineer to work as a handyman. 00:14:00.460 --> 00:14:08.819 But five years after migrating in 1993, my mom was diagnosed with stomach cancer and was given a 4% chance to survive. 00:14:08.820 --> 00:14:14.160 And by God's praise, she's still alive, so you guys don't have to worry about me or her. 00:14:14.640 --> 00:14:16.980 She's still growing strong today, so praise God for that. 00:14:18.100 --> 00:14:24.760 But what that meant for us as a family is, we've been on a single income since 1993, from that point onwards. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:29.400 As a result, I've always lived with sort of a siege mentality. 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:32.139 I hated to be wasteful. 00:14:33.199 --> 00:14:36.539 And if you need an evidence of it, you can see it in the car that I drive. 00:14:36.819 --> 00:14:38.100 It's older than some of you. 00:14:38.699 --> 00:14:39.799 It's from the year 2000. 00:14:40.939 --> 00:14:44.860 So I find it hard to waste, and I wanted to be secure in my wealth. 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:51.899 I had to work really hard to be generous and to give up my trust on material security. 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:55.939 And God has changed me slowly, and he's still growing me in this area. 00:14:55.940 --> 00:14:59.840 And each of us would have a different struggle with greed. 00:15:00.920 --> 00:15:03.100 And each of us would work through it differently. 00:15:04.020 --> 00:15:09.300 But in this mission month, as we've alluded to, let's use the pledge cards that we were given today 00:15:09.300 --> 00:15:14.260 and pray about it and bring our pledges back next week, 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:17.200 not just as an act of generosity. 00:15:17.660 --> 00:15:19.580 It's actually an act of serving God. 00:15:20.380 --> 00:15:23.860 Ask us, is it glorifying for us to use our money this way? 00:15:23.860 --> 00:15:23.940 Okay. 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:30.139 So let's think about how we can actively use our money to serve our true and living God. 00:15:31.580 --> 00:15:34.019 So I'm only testing on the tip of the iceberg here. 00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:40.580 After this mission month, our church is going to go through a series called Wealth on Purpose. 00:15:41.659 --> 00:15:46.639 It will reinforce the idea of how we can proactively turn from serving ourselves 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:51.600 towards serving God in our resources, our time, our talents, and our treasures. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:57.680 So having looked at what repentance looks like, let's look at the third point. 00:15:58.340 --> 00:15:59.639 How do we preach repentance? 00:16:02.060 --> 00:16:10.840 One of the most memorable quotes I've seen on Facebook about the Israel Folau saga goes something like this. 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:16.360 People are now offended by a message that they think is not true, 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:19.360 about a God that they think is not there, 00:16:20.340 --> 00:16:24.220 condemning you for a sin that you think you haven't committed, 00:16:25.680 --> 00:16:28.960 sending you to hell, a place you don't think is real. 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:32.840 So if you think about it, 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:38.139 the Israel Folau tweet is basically a similar message that Jonah preached, 00:16:39.400 --> 00:16:41.040 a warning about impending disaster. 00:16:42.420 --> 00:16:45.580 Given our current context of increasing opposition to the gospel, 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:48.160 how do we share this gospel of repentance? 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:56.980 Let's look at how the repentance of the Thessalonians helped them share the good news of Jesus. 00:16:57.740 --> 00:16:59.639 We will pick it up from verse 8. 00:17:01.319 --> 00:17:06.599 The Lord's message rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia. 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:10.019 Your faith in God has become known everywhere. 00:17:11.139 --> 00:17:13.460 Therefore, we do not need to say anything about it, 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:17.460 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:24.319 They tell you how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God. 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:31.180 So we can see here that repentance has been known everywhere 00:17:31.180 --> 00:17:33.559 because of how they lived. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:37.940 So when a whole group of people repent and change the way they live 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:42.240 from serving themselves or their idols and to serve the living and true God, 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:45.920 it creates the context for gospel conversation. 00:17:47.460 --> 00:17:52.120 So this has two implications for us in the way that we do evangelism right now. 00:17:52.980 --> 00:17:58.720 So firstly, we need to have people know us personally and not just on social media. 00:18:00.019 --> 00:18:05.220 If we display true repentance in a personal context, 00:18:06.220 --> 00:18:08.240 it makes for effective sharing of the gospel. 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:11.339 That's why in the Mission Month booklet, 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:14.599 please pick one up on the way out, 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:15.779 or even now you want to, 00:18:15.859 --> 00:18:16.720 but on the way out is better, 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:18.700 because otherwise it would be quite chaotic. 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:20.480 But pick one up now, 00:18:20.779 --> 00:18:21.700 well, not later, sorry, I mean, 00:18:22.120 --> 00:18:23.180 but pick one up later. 00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:28.220 I've listed six ways how we can engage in frontline mission, 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:32.380 both in the way that we live and the way that we speak. 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:37.140 It's by intent that through community groups 00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:40.320 that we'll work through these six areas as we pray together 00:18:40.320 --> 00:18:43.360 and encourage each other to keep doing this. 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:46.380 So these are the six areas that we are trying to work through 00:18:46.380 --> 00:18:50.240 and show how this helps out the way that we share the gospel. 00:18:51.040 --> 00:18:52.400 The first two points, 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:56.040 modelling godly character and making good work, 00:18:57.040 --> 00:19:00.160 shows the importance of those around us 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:01.960 seeing the evidence of true repentance 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:04.620 and an active life of following Jesus. 00:19:05.600 --> 00:19:06.960 The next three points, 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:09.160 ministering grace and love, 00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:10.660 moulding culture, 00:19:11.360 --> 00:19:14.120 and being a mouthpiece for truth and justice, 00:19:15.840 --> 00:19:17.519 shows the importance of living for Jesus 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:19.100 and its outward impact. 00:19:20.420 --> 00:19:22.620 It is through deliberate actions in this area 00:19:22.620 --> 00:19:27.000 that people see the repentance of following Jesus, 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:32.119 how that shows our practical love and concern for other people. 00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:34.819 So it's in this context 00:19:34.819 --> 00:19:37.900 that we can be a good messenger of the gospel 00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:39.680 and an effective messenger of the gospel. 00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:42.299 So secondly, 00:19:42.579 --> 00:19:43.900 to create these contexts, 00:19:44.660 --> 00:19:46.980 we actually need to get people to know us. 00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:50.000 So I'd encourage you to get in the habit 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:51.599 of hosting meals, 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:53.619 social, sporting events, 00:19:53.619 --> 00:19:55.779 where a whole group of Christians 00:19:55.779 --> 00:19:58.699 can meet with a whole group of non-Christians 00:19:58.699 --> 00:20:02.479 so they can see Christians in a social occasion. 00:20:03.719 --> 00:20:04.819 So that's what's been recommended 00:20:04.819 --> 00:20:06.239 from Sam Chan's book 00:20:06.239 --> 00:20:08.619 that I've been recommending since last year. 00:20:09.159 --> 00:20:09.939 In chapter two, 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:11.459 he outlines some of the principles 00:20:11.459 --> 00:20:12.939 on how we can do that. 00:20:14.259 --> 00:20:15.239 And I want to show you 00:20:15.239 --> 00:20:17.899 how we've borrowed these principles 00:20:17.899 --> 00:20:18.859 and put it into action. 00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:21.419 On Friday morning, 00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:23.199 in our English class ESL, 00:20:24.339 --> 00:20:25.459 we've invested time 00:20:25.459 --> 00:20:26.979 so that the students can get to know us. 00:20:28.479 --> 00:20:30.339 In the intermediate class, 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:31.259 Andrew and I 00:20:31.259 --> 00:20:33.339 have been asking the students 00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:34.399 to prepare messages 00:20:34.399 --> 00:20:37.139 on how they can introduce themselves 00:20:37.139 --> 00:20:39.599 and how they feel about living in Australia. 00:20:41.319 --> 00:20:42.259 Through morning tea 00:20:42.259 --> 00:20:43.199 and through our lessons, 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:45.039 we also illustrate things 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:45.819 from our own life 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:46.619 in our context 00:20:46.619 --> 00:20:48.219 so they get to know us 00:20:48.219 --> 00:20:49.119 and other teachers. 00:20:50.739 --> 00:20:51.500 For some of them, 00:20:51.659 --> 00:20:52.599 some of them for a term, 00:20:52.719 --> 00:20:54.259 some of them for more than a year, 00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:56.579 they slowly warm up to the Bible 00:20:56.579 --> 00:20:58.979 and they get more curious 00:20:58.979 --> 00:21:00.759 to learn more from it. 00:21:00.979 --> 00:21:01.759 So last week, 00:21:02.659 --> 00:21:03.239 I started 00:21:03.239 --> 00:21:05.959 the Investigating Christianity course 00:21:05.959 --> 00:21:08.239 and about two-thirds of the class 00:21:08.239 --> 00:21:09.779 stayed behind to study the Bible. 00:21:11.459 --> 00:21:12.419 That's just two days ago, 00:21:13.219 --> 00:21:14.959 we studied a passage from Romans 1 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:17.579 and some of you 00:21:17.579 --> 00:21:18.180 might have seen it 00:21:18.180 --> 00:21:19.120 on my Facebook post. 00:21:20.180 --> 00:21:21.660 It's a message on sin and judgment. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:24.340 So it has great potential 00:21:24.340 --> 00:21:25.180 to offend people. 00:21:26.340 --> 00:21:27.180 But although the passage 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:28.000 was so sober, 00:21:29.600 --> 00:21:30.319 the students were willing 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:31.360 to engage with the Bible 00:21:31.360 --> 00:21:33.640 and were really willing 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:34.299 to understand. 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:36.259 And one of the reasons 00:21:36.259 --> 00:21:38.400 is because they knew 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:39.860 that this message 00:21:39.860 --> 00:21:40.319 was delivered 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:41.039 in the context 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:41.720 of a relationship. 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:44.019 And I believe 00:21:44.019 --> 00:21:44.600 that all of us 00:21:44.600 --> 00:21:45.720 can do something similar 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:47.120 in our own 00:21:47.120 --> 00:21:47.980 frontline context. 00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:51.039 As people get to know you 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:52.980 and witness your repentance 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:55.000 and see how you live out 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:55.600 your life 00:21:55.600 --> 00:21:56.700 with concern 00:21:56.700 --> 00:21:57.880 for other people, 00:21:58.759 --> 00:21:59.539 you can invite people 00:21:59.539 --> 00:22:00.039 to church. 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:02.200 So one of the things 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:03.140 that I've made up 00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:04.720 and produced 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:05.920 is this invite. 00:22:06.819 --> 00:22:08.100 It's got all the 00:22:08.100 --> 00:22:09.160 frontline, 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:11.100 all the local mission activities 00:22:11.100 --> 00:22:12.400 that our church hosts 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:13.100 as well as 00:22:13.100 --> 00:22:13.900 the Sunday service. 00:22:14.900 --> 00:22:15.860 So if you can, 00:22:16.180 --> 00:22:16.820 grab these. 00:22:17.019 --> 00:22:17.980 There are stacks of them 00:22:17.980 --> 00:22:18.940 on the Connect desk. 00:22:19.720 --> 00:22:20.340 Get in the habit 00:22:20.340 --> 00:22:21.320 of using them 00:22:21.320 --> 00:22:23.480 in your personal context. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:24.480 Hand them out. 00:22:24.600 --> 00:22:25.460 If you don't have any more, 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:26.700 grab a whole heap more 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:27.440 and keep doing it. 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:29.480 And the thing is, 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:31.080 people are actually 00:22:31.080 --> 00:22:31.540 quite willing 00:22:31.540 --> 00:22:32.279 to go to church. 00:22:33.120 --> 00:22:34.759 So a lot of people 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:36.060 that haven't been to church, 00:22:36.059 --> 00:22:37.779 they assume that church 00:22:37.779 --> 00:22:39.279 is a club for Christians 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:40.659 so you have to be a Christian 00:22:40.659 --> 00:22:41.759 to be here. 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:43.460 But you know, 00:22:43.579 --> 00:22:44.960 we welcome everyone. 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:45.740 So get in the habit 00:22:45.740 --> 00:22:46.799 of inviting people 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:49.759 and use these 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:52.000 in relational context 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:52.599 so that people 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:53.579 can get to know Jesus. 00:22:55.139 --> 00:22:56.119 So as we looked at 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:57.079 repentance 00:22:57.079 --> 00:22:58.500 and how to preach repentance, 00:22:59.539 --> 00:23:00.220 Nick will lead us 00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:01.179 in a time of repentance 00:23:01.179 --> 00:23:01.639 together 00:23:01.639 --> 00:23:03.720 as we turn away 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:04.359 from our idols 00:23:04.359 --> 00:23:05.339 to serve the living 00:23:05.339 --> 00:23:05.980 and true God, 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:06.740 our Lord.