WEBVTT

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 The scripture reading comes from Jeremiah chapter 29.

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 Please follow along on the screen, the bulletin, or your own Bible.

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 Starting in verse 1, we read,

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 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem

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 to the surviving elders of the exiles,

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 and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people,

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 whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

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 This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs,

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 the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen,

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 and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem.

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 The letter was sent by the hand of Elisa, the son of Shaphan,

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 and Gamariah, the son of Hilkiah,

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 whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

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 It said,

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 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,

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 to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

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 Build houses and live in them.

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 Plant gardens and eat their produce.

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 Take wives and have sons and daughters.

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 Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage,

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 that they may bear sons and daughters.

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 Multiply there and do not decrease,

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 but seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile,

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 and pray to the Lord on its behalf,

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 for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

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 For thus says the Lord of hosts,

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 The God of Israel,

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 do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you,

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 and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,

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 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name.

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 I did not send them, declares the Lord.

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 For thus says the Lord,

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 When 70 years are completed for Babylon,

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 I will visit you,

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 and I will fulfill to you my promise,

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 and bring you back to this place.

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 For I know the plans I have for you,

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 declares the Lord,

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 plans for welfare and not for evil,

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 to give you a future and a hope.

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 Then you will call upon me,

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 and come and pray to me,

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 and I will hear you.

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 You will seek me and find me,

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 when you seek me with all your heart.

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 I will be found by you,

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 declares the Lord.

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 And I will restore your fortunes,

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 and gather you from all the nations,

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 and all the places where I have driven you,

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 declares the Lord.

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 And I will bring you back to the place

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 from which I sent you into exile.

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 This is the word of God.

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 Great.

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 Thank you, Betty.

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 Well, good morning, everybody.

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 It is great to see you again.

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 If you are at the community center or online,

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 welcome.

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 If you are visiting us for the first time,

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 it's really great to have you.

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 Thanks for joining us this morning.

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 My name is Kevin,

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 and I'm one of the elder pastors here

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 with Watermark.

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 Why don't we pray together?

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 We'll just pray briefly,

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 and then we'll dive into this passage together.

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 Heavenly Father, as we come this morning,

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 we haven't come just for a pep talk.

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 We haven't come just to hear

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 a little bit of advice for our lives.

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 We've come to hear from you,

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 the living God,

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 the majestic and awesome and glorious one.

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 God, as we look at this wonderful passage

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 in Jeremiah 29,

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 won't you speak to us?

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 God, I pray you'll speak to every one of us

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 here at Ebenezer,

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 every one of us at the community center,

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 those at home.

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 God, won't you drive your word into our hearts

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 and give us a vision for what you've called us to

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 and the life you've called us to live in this city.

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 Why you've placed us in Hong Kong for such a time as this.

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 God, I pray that these won't just be the words

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 of human ideas or thoughts.

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 This will be your word, God, coming from your heart.

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 Speak to us, we pray,

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 in your wonderful and glorious name.

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 Amen.

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 I wonder if you have ever received an unexpected letter

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 or maybe a surprising email.

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 In 2011, I one day received a surprising email,

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 out the blue,

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 from a lady that,

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 a real estate agent that had previously

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 helped Claire and I buy a little apartment in Cape Town.

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 And the email went like this.

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 The subject line was in capital letters,

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 said offended.

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 And then this was the email.

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 This is a screenshot of the actual email.

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 It says,

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 Hi, Kevin.

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 You sent me a Twitter response

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 from a photo you have found of me.

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 I take great offense at what you've said

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 on your Twitter post to me.

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 You profess yourself to be the greatest follower of God.

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 Well, I don't think so.

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 After what you've posted on your Twitter wall,

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 you're a false person.

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 Erica, P.S., send regards to your wife and family.

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 No, she didn't say that for us.

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 There wasn't any regards being sent.

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 And what had happened was that

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 in my very short-lived Twitter account,

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 someone had hacked my account

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 and sent a message to a whole lot of contacts

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 saying,

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 I found this embarrassing photo of you

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 and I'm going to post it online.

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 Ha, ha, ha.

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 And this person had received this

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 and was very upset

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 about this supposed picture I had found of her.

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 Today we are starting this series

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 looking at the book of Daniel.

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 And we're not actually going to get into Daniel today.

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 We're going to start Daniel 1 next week.

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 We're going to look at this passage in Jeremiah 29

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 because it kind of sets up the context

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 of what's happening in the book of Daniel.

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 And as far as surprising or bizarre letters go,

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 Jeremiah 29 is one of the most bizarre letters

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 that anyone would have received.

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 Jeremiah 29 verse 11

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 is a very, very famous verse in the Bible.

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 And it's certainly a favorite for Christians

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 who love making Christian merchandise.

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 You know, T-shirts and coffee mugs

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 and coasters and notebooks and pens

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 and all sorts of other things.

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 Because this verse is,

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 I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.

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 Plans for peace and not for evil.

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 Plans to give you a hope and a future.

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 And so Christians throughout the ages

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 have loved this verse.

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 It's one of those verses we attach to

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 all sorts of things

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 as a kind of promise of God's kindness to us.

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 The only problem is that

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 if those mug manufacturers or T-shirt manufacturers

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 actually knew the context

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 and the plans that God had for His people,

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 they might start looking for another verse.

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 Because what were the plans that God had for His people?

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 Well, there was something like this.

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 Israel's arch enemies, the Babylonians,

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 are going to march into Judah,

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 siege Jerusalem,

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 destroy the city walls,

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 burn down all the buildings,

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 raise the temple to the ground,

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 burn it flat,

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 steal all the articles out of the temple,

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 anything of gold or silver,

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 and then march the people of Israel

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 back to Babylon

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 where they will serve their arch enemies

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 as slaves for the next 70 years.

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 For I know the plans that I have for you,

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 says the Lord.

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 These are not the kind of plans

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 that Israel wanted.

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 Now the reason why this is happening

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 is because for hundreds of years,

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 the nation of Israel,

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 particularly the southern kingdom of Judah,

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 has been in constant rebellion against God,

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 constantly denying Him,

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 rejecting Him,

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 going their own way,

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 and God has sent prophet after prophet

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 warning them

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 against their tolerance of sin

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 and their lack of repentance,

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 but to no avail.

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 They don't want to listen.

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 And so Isaiah 30 captures this.

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 Look at what Isaiah 30 says.

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 It says,

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 Thus says the Lord God,

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 the Holy One of Israel,

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 In repentance and rest,

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 you will be saved.

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 In quietness and in trust

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 will be your strength.

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 But you were unwilling.

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 You said,

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 No, we will run away on horses.

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 Therefore, you will run away as exiles.

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 You said,

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 We will ride on swift steeds.

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 Therefore, your pursuers will be swift.

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 God's calling His people back to Him

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 and they say,

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 No thanks.

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 We think we'll look after ourselves.

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 And the consequence of this

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 is utterly disastrous.

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 Friends, maybe just as a side note here,

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 you may be here this morning

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 and think,

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 If only those Christians knew

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 what is going on in my life.

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 If only they really knew.

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 I know how this game works.

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 I arrive at church on Sunday.

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 I speak the right language.

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 I say the right things.

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 And nobody has a clue.

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 Friends, God says that

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 He will not be mocked.

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 You can't sow or invest in destruction

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 without getting a return on that investment.

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 You sow to destruction,

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 you'll yield destructive patterns of life.

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 And that's what's happening here.

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 Having invested in destruction,

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 they're getting a return on their investment.

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 And as is always the case,

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 it always is more than what they bargained for.

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 And so,

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 because of Judah's constant rejection of God,

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 God has brought the Babylonians against him.

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 And the Babylonians are his instrument

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 for judgment and discipline.

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 You may remember,

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 this is what the whole book of Habakkuk is all about.

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 We started preaching through it a few years ago.

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 And so,

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 the Babylonians come

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 and they overthrow Judah

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 and they take these people back to Babylon.

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 And Nebuchadnezzar,

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 the king of Babylon,

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 does this in three stages.

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 The first one is 605 BC.

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 The second one,

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 about nine years later,

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 598 BC.

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 And then the second one,

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 10 years later,

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 586 BC.

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 And in the second instance,

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 what he does is he comes

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 and he takes the king

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 and the queen

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 and all the cultural

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 and political

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 and economic elites.

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 He removes them from Jerusalem

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 and he takes them back to Babylon.

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 And there he introduces them

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 into a re-education program.

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 He wants to re-educate them

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 according to Babylonian values

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 and customs and belief

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 to indoctrinate them in their ways.

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 And that's how Daniel,

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 that we're going to look at next week,

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 ends up in Babylon.

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 He works in the kind of palace.

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 And so Nebuchadnezzar takes him back to Babylon

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 and there he starts working

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 in Nebuchadnezzar's palace.

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 But what happens is that

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 Nebuchadnezzar installs

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 his own puppet king

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 on the throne in Jerusalem,

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 a man by the name of Zedekiah.

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 But soon Zedekiah rebels

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 against Nebuchadnezzar

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 and says,

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 I'm going to do things my own way.

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 And so Nebuchadnezzar comes

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 a third time,

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 586 BC,

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 and this time he finishes off the job

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 once and for all.

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 And the Bible tells us

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 that when Nebuchadnezzar came

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 and destroyed Jerusalem,

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 this last,

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 this third time,

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 he was absolutely ruthless.

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 And so what he does

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 is Zedekiah,

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 this king,

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 feels like,

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 let's run away.

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 And so in the middle of the night,

00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:19.899
 he and his bodyguards

00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:21.039
 find a gap in the wall

00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:22.320
 and they try and escape

00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:23.500
 out of the city of Jerusalem

00:11:23.500 --> 00:11:25.240
 when the Babylonians

00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:26.159
 have besieged it.

00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:29.120
 And Nebuchadnezzar catches this king

00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:30.860
 and as punishment,

00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:31.580
 what he does

00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:33.620
 is he kills Zedekiah's children

00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:34.840
 in front of his eyes

00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:36.840
 and then he pokes out his eyes

00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:37.899
 so that the last thing

00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:38.659
 that he sees,

00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:39.799
 his lasting memory,

00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:41.299
 is that of his own children

00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:42.979
 being killed in front of him.

00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:44.579
 And then after that,

00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:47.079
 Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem

00:11:47.079 --> 00:11:47.899
 absolutely.

00:11:48.219 --> 00:11:49.539
 He burns every building,

00:11:49.959 --> 00:11:51.199
 he destroys the temple,

00:11:51.579 --> 00:11:52.959
 he steals all the articles,

00:11:53.259 --> 00:11:55.779
 everything religious and sacred

00:11:55.779 --> 00:11:56.819
 to the people of Jerusalem,

00:11:56.939 --> 00:11:58.639
 he steals and takes it back to Babylon

00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:01.199
 and he marches the people of Jerusalem

00:12:01.199 --> 00:12:02.679
 back to Babylon

00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:05.099
 and makes them his slaves,

00:12:05.219 --> 00:12:05.939
 his exiles.

00:12:05.940 --> 00:12:09.260
 One pastor,

00:12:09.620 --> 00:12:11.040
 a man by the name of Stephen Rain,

00:12:11.880 --> 00:12:12.820
 said it like this,

00:12:12.920 --> 00:12:14.820
 it is impossible to exaggerate

00:12:14.820 --> 00:12:16.400
 the trauma of the events

00:12:16.400 --> 00:12:17.280
 that unfolded

00:12:17.280 --> 00:12:19.000
 with the overflow of Jerusalem.

00:12:19.640 --> 00:12:21.520
 Everything of value to these people

00:12:21.520 --> 00:12:22.320
 whether physical,

00:12:22.580 --> 00:12:23.140
 emotional,

00:12:23.400 --> 00:12:23.880
 spiritual

00:12:23.880 --> 00:12:26.160
 had been ripped away from them.

00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:29.940
 Psalm 137 captures

00:12:29.940 --> 00:12:31.020
 some of the gravity

00:12:31.020 --> 00:12:31.980
 of what they felt.

00:12:32.140 --> 00:12:34.280
 Listen to what Psalm 137 says,

00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:35.199
 the people of God

00:12:35.199 --> 00:12:36.819
 are marched off to Babylon

00:12:36.819 --> 00:12:37.959
 and this is what they write.

00:12:38.579 --> 00:12:39.659
 By the waters of Babylon

00:12:39.659 --> 00:12:41.100
 we sat down and wept

00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:43.039
 when we remembered Zion.

00:12:43.199 --> 00:12:44.059
 Zion is Jerusalem.

00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:45.679
 On the willows there

00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:47.720
 we hang up our liars and our harps.

00:12:48.339 --> 00:12:49.539
 For there our captors

00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:50.839
 required of us songs.

00:12:51.299 --> 00:12:52.740
 Our tormentors mirthed

00:12:52.740 --> 00:12:53.519
 and of its laughter.

00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:54.459
 They said to us,

00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:56.699
 sing us one of those songs of Zion.

00:12:57.299 --> 00:12:59.459
 The Babylonians are laughing at Jerusalem

00:12:59.459 --> 00:12:59.720
 and said,

00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:01.240
 hey, don't you guys like singing

00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:02.539
 those Hebrew songs?

00:13:02.839 --> 00:13:03.919
 Sing us one of your songs

00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:05.299
 about how great God is.

00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:08.019
 How shall we sing

00:13:08.019 --> 00:13:08.759
 the Lord's song

00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:09.699
 in a foreign land?

00:13:09.699 --> 00:13:11.419
 O daughter of Babylon

00:13:11.419 --> 00:13:13.000
 doomed to be destroyed

00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:14.839
 blessed shall he be

00:13:14.839 --> 00:13:16.000
 who repays you

00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.459
 for what you have done to us.

00:13:20.099 --> 00:13:21.259
 Derek Kidner

00:13:21.259 --> 00:13:22.879
 an Old Testament scholar

00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:23.899
 says this,

00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:26.419
 every line of this psalm

00:13:26.419 --> 00:13:29.039
 is alive with pain.

00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:32.939
 God's people

00:13:32.939 --> 00:13:35.480
 are in a foreign land

00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:38.299
 being ruled by some people

00:13:38.299 --> 00:13:39.699
 that they don't love and respect

00:13:39.699 --> 00:13:42.480
 and their hearts are alive

00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:43.219
 with pain

00:13:43.219 --> 00:13:45.439
 because they are away

00:13:45.439 --> 00:13:46.219
 from their homeland

00:13:46.219 --> 00:13:47.519
 and in foreign territory.

00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:49.559
 They are living as exiles

00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:50.299
 in Babylon.

00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:50.439
 Babylon.

00:13:54.179 --> 00:13:55.759
 What should God's people do

00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:57.279
 when they address changes

00:13:57.279 --> 00:13:58.399
 from Israel

00:13:58.399 --> 00:13:59.319
 to the heart

00:13:59.319 --> 00:14:00.199
 of the pagan district?

00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:01.620
 Well,

00:14:01.719 --> 00:14:02.939
 what we have before us

00:14:02.939 --> 00:14:03.699
 is a letter

00:14:03.699 --> 00:14:04.599
 that Jeremiah

00:14:04.599 --> 00:14:06.719
 writes to the exiles

00:14:06.719 --> 00:14:07.500
 in Babylon.

00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:09.719
 When Nebuchadnezzar

00:14:09.719 --> 00:14:10.399
 took the people

00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:10.839
 to Babylon,

00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:12.299
 he took all the cultural

00:14:12.299 --> 00:14:13.000
 leaders who said,

00:14:13.099 --> 00:14:14.059
 but he left behind

00:14:14.059 --> 00:14:15.279
 the poorest of the poorest.

00:14:15.359 --> 00:14:16.319
 He left behind those

00:14:16.319 --> 00:14:16.839
 that he thought

00:14:16.839 --> 00:14:17.979
 were insignificant.

00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:19.360
 And one of those

00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:20.360
 is Jeremiah the prophet.

00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:22.200
 So Jeremiah is in Jerusalem.

00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:23.840
 It's all been destroyed.

00:14:23.980 --> 00:14:25.200
 There's just smoldering

00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:26.960
 buildings around him.

00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:28.860
 The cities are ruined.

00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:30.220
 But he writes a letter

00:14:30.220 --> 00:14:31.820
 to the exiles in Babylon.

00:14:32.440 --> 00:14:33.620
 And what does God

00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:34.580
 want to say to them?

00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:35.440
 Well,

00:14:35.460 --> 00:14:37.080
 that's what Jeremiah 29

00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:37.980
 is all about.

00:14:38.220 --> 00:14:38.399
 Now,

00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:40.480
 throughout the Bible,

00:14:40.680 --> 00:14:42.080
 Babylon is described

00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:42.920
 as the symbol

00:14:42.920 --> 00:14:44.320
 of all that is evil

00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:45.000
 and pagan

00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:45.659
 and wicked

00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:46.360
 and wrong

00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:47.300
 with the world.

00:14:47.299 --> 00:14:48.959
 Remember Genesis 11,

00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:50.339
 there's the Tower of Babel.

00:14:50.459 --> 00:14:51.539
 That is the precursor

00:14:51.539 --> 00:14:52.120
 to Babylon

00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:53.919
 where the people said,

00:14:54.219 --> 00:14:54.859
 who is God?

00:14:55.079 --> 00:14:56.199
 We'll be our own gods.

00:14:56.599 --> 00:14:57.659
 Let's make a monument

00:14:57.659 --> 00:14:58.620
 to our own glory.

00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:00.459
 In Daniel chapter 4,

00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:01.919
 there's Nebuchadnezzar.

00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:02.839
 One day he comes out

00:15:02.839 --> 00:15:03.479
 on the balcony

00:15:03.479 --> 00:15:04.199
 of his house.

00:15:04.599 --> 00:15:05.759
 He looks over Babylon

00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:07.240
 and this is what he says.

00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:09.279
 Is this not great Babylon,

00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:10.819
 which I have built

00:15:10.819 --> 00:15:12.120
 by my mighty power

00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:13.479
 as a testimony

00:15:13.479 --> 00:15:14.359
 for the glory

00:15:14.359 --> 00:15:15.679
 of my majesty?

00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:17.620
 Everything about Babylon

00:15:17.620 --> 00:15:19.099
 rings with power

00:15:19.099 --> 00:15:19.979
 and arrogance

00:15:19.979 --> 00:15:22.239
 and it's the very heart

00:15:22.239 --> 00:15:23.379
 of the city of man.

00:15:24.319 --> 00:15:24.620
 And so,

00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:25.979
 what would God

00:15:25.979 --> 00:15:26.599
 want to say?

00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:26.959
 Well,

00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:27.620
 in this letter,

00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:28.579
 God says something

00:15:28.579 --> 00:15:29.439
 very surprising

00:15:29.439 --> 00:15:30.839
 because he tells

00:15:30.839 --> 00:15:31.699
 the people of Israel

00:15:31.699 --> 00:15:32.859
 to make themselves

00:15:32.859 --> 00:15:33.739
 at home

00:15:33.739 --> 00:15:34.819
 in Babylon

00:15:34.819 --> 00:15:36.439
 because God

00:15:36.439 --> 00:15:37.259
 in his sovereignty

00:15:37.259 --> 00:15:38.319
 has sent them there

00:15:38.319 --> 00:15:39.399
 so that God

00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:40.659
 can build his city,

00:15:40.779 --> 00:15:41.639
 the city of God,

00:15:41.719 --> 00:15:43.059
 right in the heart

00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:44.259
 of the city of man.

00:15:44.259 --> 00:15:46.120
 In a sense,

00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:47.159
 Nebuchadnezzar

00:15:47.159 --> 00:15:48.039
 takes these people

00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:48.740
 back to Babylon

00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:50.639
 but in a far greater sense,

00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:51.460
 actually God

00:15:51.460 --> 00:15:51.819
 is the one

00:15:51.819 --> 00:15:52.600
 who sent them there,

00:15:52.659 --> 00:15:53.559
 not as exiles

00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:54.559
 but as missionaries.

00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:56.259
 God has sent

00:15:56.259 --> 00:15:57.200
 his people there

00:15:57.200 --> 00:15:58.639
 to build the city

00:15:58.639 --> 00:15:59.120
 of God

00:15:59.120 --> 00:15:59.879
 in the heart

00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:01.279
 of the city of man.

00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:02.799
 And that's the main point

00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:03.700
 of Jeremiah's letter

00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:04.500
 is that

00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:05.840
 there being in Babylon

00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:07.620
 is not some cosmic mistake.

00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:08.620
 It's not because

00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:09.860
 God fell asleep one day

00:16:09.860 --> 00:16:10.360
 and Satan

00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:11.639
 quickly overcame him.

00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:12.840
 It's not because

00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:14.580
 Satan overcame God.

00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:15.819
 God's people

00:16:15.819 --> 00:16:16.480
 are in Babylon

00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:18.879
 by his sovereign will.

00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:20.340
 God is under control

00:16:20.340 --> 00:16:21.179
 and therefore

00:16:21.179 --> 00:16:22.580
 God can be trusted.

00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:24.539
 And that despite

00:16:24.539 --> 00:16:25.559
 how things appear,

00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:27.419
 God has plans

00:16:27.419 --> 00:16:28.319
 for his people

00:16:28.319 --> 00:16:29.419
 even in the midst

00:16:29.419 --> 00:16:30.539
 of Babylon.

00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:32.419
 I have plans

00:16:32.419 --> 00:16:32.699
 for you

00:16:32.699 --> 00:16:33.220
 in purposes

00:16:33.220 --> 00:16:33.980
 says the Lord.

00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:35.879
 Plans for your welfare.

00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:37.700
 Plans for your prosper.

00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:38.740
 Plans to give you

00:16:38.740 --> 00:16:39.220
 a hope

00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:40.340
 and a future.

00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:42.120
 But as God's going to say

00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:43.379
 this is only going to happen

00:16:43.379 --> 00:16:44.580
 if you trust me

00:16:44.580 --> 00:16:45.720
 if you live

00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:47.139
 radically faithful lives

00:16:47.139 --> 00:16:47.620
 to me

00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:48.899
 in the heart of Babylon

00:16:48.899 --> 00:16:50.700
 as you surrender

00:16:50.700 --> 00:16:51.720
 and submit to me.

00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:52.980
 And friends

00:16:52.980 --> 00:16:53.480
 that's actually

00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:54.240
 what the whole book

00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:54.720
 of Daniel

00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:55.660
 is all about.

00:16:55.940 --> 00:16:56.860
 It shows us

00:16:56.860 --> 00:16:57.960
 what does it look like

00:16:57.960 --> 00:16:58.580
 to live

00:16:58.580 --> 00:16:59.680
 as God's people

00:16:59.680 --> 00:17:00.399
 in the midst

00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:01.620
 of an ungodly world.

00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:02.440
 Okay?

00:17:03.139 --> 00:17:03.620
 Now

00:17:03.620 --> 00:17:05.319
 let's dive into this passage

00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:05.920
 and see

00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:07.120
 what it says.

00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:08.100
 Before we do that

00:17:08.100 --> 00:17:08.700
 one last thing.

00:17:10.679 --> 00:17:11.359
 God's letter

00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:12.139
 to the people

00:17:12.139 --> 00:17:12.579
 in Babylon

00:17:12.579 --> 00:17:13.179
 says

00:17:13.179 --> 00:17:14.759
 you might be here

00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:15.779
 because of

00:17:15.779 --> 00:17:16.740
 some other agenda

00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:18.419
 but I've sent you here

00:17:18.419 --> 00:17:19.220
 because I've got plans

00:17:19.220 --> 00:17:19.779
 for your life.

00:17:20.439 --> 00:17:20.740
 And friends

00:17:20.740 --> 00:17:21.259
 that's actually

00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:22.480
 the same for us today.

00:17:23.259 --> 00:17:24.339
 You may be in Hong Kong

00:17:24.339 --> 00:17:25.459
 because your company

00:17:25.459 --> 00:17:26.159
 sent you here

00:17:26.159 --> 00:17:27.019
 for a year or two.

00:17:27.439 --> 00:17:28.099
 You may have come

00:17:28.099 --> 00:17:28.720
 to Hong Kong

00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:29.919
 on a two year contract.

00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:31.720
 You may have come here

00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:33.759
 to get some work experience

00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:34.839
 or to travel the world

00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:35.839
 for some other reason.

00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:37.359
 But in another sense

00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:39.059
 if you're a follower of Jesus

00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:40.319
 God has sent you here

00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:41.220
 because you've got a plan

00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:42.179
 and a purpose for your life.

00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:43.779
 God has sent you here

00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:45.819
 to this great city

00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:46.980
 the Pearl of the East

00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:48.220
 this fragrant harbor

00:17:48.220 --> 00:17:49.519
 as a missionary

00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:50.839
 to build the city of God

00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:51.539
 in the midst

00:17:51.539 --> 00:17:52.799
 of the city of man.

00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:54.179
 And so let's see

00:17:54.179 --> 00:17:55.240
 what God says

00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:56.200
 to his people here.

00:17:57.639 --> 00:17:58.399
 Three things

00:17:58.399 --> 00:17:59.220
 we're going to see today.

00:17:59.319 --> 00:17:59.859
 The first one

00:17:59.859 --> 00:18:00.579
 God says is

00:18:00.579 --> 00:18:02.279
 put down your roots.

00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:04.119
 Put down your roots.

00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:05.200
 Look at what God says

00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:06.779
 in verse 4 to 9.

00:18:06.779 --> 00:18:08.019
 He says

00:18:08.019 --> 00:18:09.319
 Thus says the Lord of hosts

00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:10.299
 the God of Israel

00:18:10.299 --> 00:18:11.779
 Build houses

00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:12.879
 and live in them.

00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:14.180
 Plant gardens

00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:15.700
 and eat of their produce.

00:18:16.379 --> 00:18:17.019
 Take wives

00:18:17.019 --> 00:18:18.099
 and have sons and daughters.

00:18:18.299 --> 00:18:19.440
 Take wives to your sons

00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:20.440
 and give your daughters

00:18:20.440 --> 00:18:21.039
 in marriage

00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:22.339
 that they may bear

00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:23.079
 sons and daughters.

00:18:23.500 --> 00:18:24.299
 Multiply there

00:18:24.299 --> 00:18:25.960
 and do not decrease.

00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:28.019
 When the Israelites

00:18:28.019 --> 00:18:29.359
 first went to Babylon

00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:31.859
 a bunch of the religious leaders

00:18:31.859 --> 00:18:32.460
 were saying

00:18:32.460 --> 00:18:33.720
 just relax

00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:35.220
 God's just letting off

00:18:35.220 --> 00:18:35.799
 some steam

00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:37.359
 he just needs to calm down

00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:39.139
 we'll only be here

00:18:39.139 --> 00:18:40.000
 a year or two

00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:41.419
 and then we'll go back

00:18:41.419 --> 00:18:41.960
 to Israel

00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:43.240
 and everything will be fine.

00:18:44.059 --> 00:18:45.379
 And what they were really saying

00:18:45.379 --> 00:18:46.940
 was just sit on your hands

00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:47.680
 sit tight

00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:49.440
 don't get too involved

00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:50.119
 in the city

00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:51.480
 let's just stay

00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:52.579
 in our Jewish bubble

00:18:52.579 --> 00:18:54.000
 here on the waters of Babylon

00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.440
 and pretty soon

00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:56.359
 things will go back

00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:56.759
 to the way

00:18:56.759 --> 00:18:57.559
 that we've known them.

00:18:58.500 --> 00:19:00.000
 But Jeremiah writes

00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:00.559
 and he says

00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:01.220
 no, no, no

00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:02.539
 don't let those false prophets

00:19:02.539 --> 00:19:03.220
 deceive you

00:19:03.220 --> 00:19:05.380
 God is going to plant you here

00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:06.740
 for 70 years

00:19:06.740 --> 00:19:08.160
 and he's asking you

00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:09.200
 to take root here

00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:10.720
 and the reason is

00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:11.740
 because God has got

00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:12.460
 plants for you

00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:13.700
 God wants you to know

00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:14.740
 things about him

00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:16.220
 and about yourselves

00:19:16.220 --> 00:19:18.360
 that you'll only discover

00:19:18.360 --> 00:19:19.460
 as you put down

00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:20.120
 your roots

00:19:20.120 --> 00:19:21.980
 and as you plant yourselves

00:19:21.980 --> 00:19:23.279
 here in the city

00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:24.059
 of Babylon.

00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:25.880
 God wants you to discover

00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:26.980
 who he is

00:19:26.980 --> 00:19:28.360
 and who you are

00:19:28.360 --> 00:19:30.480
 but you'll only find that out

00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:31.559
 as you live lives

00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:33.000
 of radical faithfulness

00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:33.460
 to him

00:19:33.460 --> 00:19:35.940
 even in this ungodly world.

00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:36.660
 Look what he says

00:19:36.660 --> 00:19:37.380
 in verse 12.

00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:38.539
 He says

00:19:38.539 --> 00:19:40.700
 then you will call upon me

00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:42.220
 and come and pray to me

00:19:42.220 --> 00:19:43.240
 and I will hear you

00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:44.839
 then you will seek me

00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:45.579
 and find me

00:19:45.579 --> 00:19:46.440
 when you seek me

00:19:46.440 --> 00:19:47.279
 with all your heart.

00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:48.740
 The problem with Israel

00:19:48.740 --> 00:19:49.420
 is that they have not

00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:50.339
 been seeking God

00:19:50.339 --> 00:19:51.339
 they've been seeking

00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:52.460
 all sorts of other gods

00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:54.220
 that's why they're in Babylon

00:19:54.220 --> 00:19:55.460
 because they've gone

00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:56.120
 their own way

00:19:56.120 --> 00:19:57.079
 and God says

00:19:57.079 --> 00:19:58.120
 as you put down

00:19:58.120 --> 00:19:58.680
 your roots

00:19:58.680 --> 00:20:00.660
 as you make yourself

00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:01.519
 at home here

00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:03.360
 then you will find out

00:20:03.360 --> 00:20:04.080
 what it means

00:20:04.080 --> 00:20:05.279
 to be my people

00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:06.680
 in this broken world.

00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:09.700
 Friends, it's one thing

00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:10.340
 to be faithful

00:20:10.340 --> 00:20:12.299
 to God in Jerusalem

00:20:12.299 --> 00:20:14.500
 the epicenter of Jewishness.

00:20:14.600 --> 00:20:15.279
 You've got the temple

00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:16.440
 you've got the rabbis

00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:17.299
 you've got the symbols

00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:18.660
 you've got the Torah

00:20:18.660 --> 00:20:20.120
 no, that's one thing

00:20:20.120 --> 00:20:21.440
 but to be faithful

00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:21.920
 to God

00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:22.640
 in the heart

00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:24.080
 of the city of man

00:20:24.080 --> 00:20:25.019
 the heart of Babylon

00:20:25.019 --> 00:20:26.480
 that's another thing

00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:27.019
 altogether.

00:20:28.060 --> 00:20:28.380
 But friends

00:20:28.380 --> 00:20:28.860
 isn't that true

00:20:28.860 --> 00:20:29.540
 for us as well?

00:20:30.320 --> 00:20:30.860
 It's one thing

00:20:30.860 --> 00:20:31.900
 to be faithful to God

00:20:31.900 --> 00:20:33.340
 to sing of His covenant promises

00:20:33.340 --> 00:20:33.880
 to say

00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:35.120
 great is your name

00:20:35.120 --> 00:20:36.660
 here on Sunday morning

00:20:36.660 --> 00:20:37.980
 you've got the band

00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:38.960
 you've got followers

00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:40.140
 of Christ around you

00:20:40.140 --> 00:20:41.300
 but what about

00:20:41.300 --> 00:20:42.380
 in the office place?

00:20:43.020 --> 00:20:43.520
 What about

00:20:43.520 --> 00:20:44.500
 in the courts of law?

00:20:45.380 --> 00:20:46.000
 What about

00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:46.820
 in home?

00:20:47.220 --> 00:20:47.740
 What about

00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:48.620
 in the classrooms?

00:20:49.540 --> 00:20:50.540
 That's where it really counts

00:20:50.540 --> 00:20:51.560
 that's where God wants us

00:20:51.560 --> 00:20:52.660
 to be the people of God

00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:53.880
 even in the midst

00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:55.100
 of an ungodly world

00:20:55.100 --> 00:20:56.700
 that's where it really counts.

00:20:57.380 --> 00:20:58.559
 And so look at what God says here

00:20:58.559 --> 00:20:58.840
 He says

00:20:58.840 --> 00:20:59.759
 put down your roots

00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:00.880
 build houses

00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:02.620
 how many know

00:21:02.620 --> 00:21:04.259
 that if you buy a house

00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:05.960
 and then 70 years time

00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:07.140
 everyone's going to leave

00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:08.319
 you're probably not going to get

00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:08.920
 a good return

00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:09.480
 on your house

00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:09.779
 right?

00:21:10.180 --> 00:21:10.980
 The Babylonians

00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:11.559
 are not going to pay

00:21:11.559 --> 00:21:12.140
 top dollar

00:21:12.140 --> 00:21:12.880
 for those houses

00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:14.039
 when suddenly

00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:15.000
 the market is flooded

00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:16.440
 there's plenty of houses

00:21:16.440 --> 00:21:16.980
 on the market

00:21:16.980 --> 00:21:17.960
 He says

00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:19.200
 build houses

00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:20.019
 plant gardens

00:21:20.019 --> 00:21:20.960
 eat the produce

00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:21.860
 be fruitful

00:21:21.860 --> 00:21:22.640
 and multiply

00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:23.819
 multiply

00:21:23.819 --> 00:21:25.119
 and do not decrease

00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:26.139
 Now quick question

00:21:26.139 --> 00:21:28.519
 what does that remind you of?

00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:30.579
 Where else in the Bible

00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:31.240
 does God say

00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:31.939
 be fruitful

00:21:31.939 --> 00:21:32.740
 and multiply?

00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:34.419
 In

00:21:34.419 --> 00:21:36.179
 Genesis 1

00:21:36.179 --> 00:21:36.419
 right?

00:21:36.500 --> 00:21:37.359
 The Garden of Eden

00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:39.039
 What's God saying here?

00:21:39.679 --> 00:21:41.039
 He's saying in a sense

00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:42.240
 I want you to bring

00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:42.819
 Eden

00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:44.259
 into Babylon

00:21:44.259 --> 00:21:46.279
 I want you

00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:47.019
 my people

00:21:47.019 --> 00:21:47.960
 to bring the kingdom

00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:48.659
 of heaven

00:21:48.659 --> 00:21:50.559
 on here on earth

00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:52.279
 God is saying

00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:53.079
 I want you to build

00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:54.000
 the city of God

00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.000
 right here

00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:56.159
 even in the midst

00:21:56.159 --> 00:21:57.500
 of the city of man

00:21:57.500 --> 00:21:59.099
 Now friends

00:21:59.099 --> 00:21:59.639
 what does that mean

00:21:59.639 --> 00:22:00.759
 for us here in Hong Kong?

00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:03.039
 Well one of the phenomena

00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:04.019
 of big cities

00:22:04.019 --> 00:22:04.799
 is that

00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:06.240
 so many people

00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:07.579
 move into the city

00:22:07.579 --> 00:22:08.299
 into a big city

00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:08.919
 like Hong Kong

00:22:08.919 --> 00:22:10.859
 in order to use the city

00:22:10.859 --> 00:22:12.299
 for what we can get from it

00:22:12.299 --> 00:22:14.000
 rather than invest

00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:14.839
 in the long term

00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:15.679
 good and health

00:22:15.679 --> 00:22:16.240
 of the city

00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.440
 and so many people

00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:17.879
 we think

00:22:17.879 --> 00:22:18.700
 hey I'm here

00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:19.559
 it's

00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:21.119
 my company sent me here

00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:21.919
 it's an opportunity

00:22:21.919 --> 00:22:22.940
 to grow personally

00:22:22.940 --> 00:22:23.839
 or professionally

00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:24.980
 it's an opportunity

00:22:24.980 --> 00:22:25.960
 to make some money

00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:27.000
 before I go home

00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:28.039
 it's an opportunity

00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:28.759
 to travel

00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:29.740
 and see the world

00:22:29.740 --> 00:22:30.759
 all that

00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:32.179
 without contributing

00:22:32.179 --> 00:22:33.079
 to the long term

00:22:33.079 --> 00:22:34.019
 health of the city

00:22:34.019 --> 00:22:36.779
 but what we see here

00:22:36.779 --> 00:22:37.679
 is that

00:22:37.679 --> 00:22:38.179
 what happens

00:22:38.179 --> 00:22:39.440
 if we're to see ourselves

00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:40.659
 not just as those

00:22:40.659 --> 00:22:41.740
 who use the city

00:22:41.740 --> 00:22:42.960
 but as missionaries

00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:44.179
 sent into the city

00:22:44.179 --> 00:22:45.440
 for its well being

00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:46.220
 and for its good

00:22:46.220 --> 00:22:47.179
 what happens

00:22:47.179 --> 00:22:47.960
 if God wants

00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:48.659
 to send us

00:22:48.659 --> 00:22:49.159
 to Hong Kong

00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:49.880
 not just for what

00:22:49.880 --> 00:22:50.860
 we can get from it

00:22:50.860 --> 00:22:51.860
 but actually how

00:22:51.860 --> 00:22:52.620
 we can contribute

00:22:52.620 --> 00:22:53.320
 towards it

00:22:53.320 --> 00:22:55.600
 and what that means

00:22:55.600 --> 00:22:56.440
 is that Christians

00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:57.740
 actually we need to learn

00:22:57.740 --> 00:22:58.700
 how to be a

00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:00.279
 counter-cultural influence

00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:00.940
 in the heart

00:23:00.940 --> 00:23:01.560
 of the city

00:23:01.560 --> 00:23:03.560
 where we're not just

00:23:03.560 --> 00:23:04.460
 using the city

00:23:04.460 --> 00:23:05.340
 for our own benefit

00:23:05.340 --> 00:23:06.759
 we're not isolating

00:23:06.759 --> 00:23:07.540
 from the city

00:23:07.540 --> 00:23:08.180
 in our own little

00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:08.860
 Christian bubbles

00:23:08.860 --> 00:23:10.340
 but neither are we

00:23:10.340 --> 00:23:12.120
 so part of the city

00:23:12.120 --> 00:23:12.800
 that we adopt

00:23:12.800 --> 00:23:13.500
 its values

00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:14.580
 as part of our own

00:23:14.580 --> 00:23:15.860
 rather what God

00:23:15.860 --> 00:23:16.440
 wants us to do

00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:17.759
 is to go into the cities

00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:19.099
 and yet stay distinct

00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:19.640
 from the city

00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:20.200
 because we have

00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:21.339
 our own Christian values

00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:22.640
 even as we live

00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:23.379
 in the city

00:23:23.379 --> 00:23:24.900
 and live for its well being

00:23:24.900 --> 00:23:25.740
 and its benefit

00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:27.960
 Tim Keller says this

00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:29.740
 Christians should demonstrate

00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:30.640
 what an alternative

00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:31.859
 human culture

00:23:31.859 --> 00:23:33.039
 one that's based

00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:33.680
 on the gospel

00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:34.720
 can look like

00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:36.420
 Christians should demonstrate

00:23:36.420 --> 00:23:37.440
 in the heart of Hong Kong

00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:38.559
 what does it look like

00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:39.400
 to use money

00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:40.180
 and sex

00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:40.859
 and power

00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:42.000
 not just

00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:43.220
 for our own benefit

00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:44.379
 not to use others

00:23:44.379 --> 00:23:45.500
 how to prop ourselves up

00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:46.579
 but how do we use

00:23:46.579 --> 00:23:46.900
 our money

00:23:46.900 --> 00:23:47.519
 how do we use

00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:47.980
 our power

00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:48.779
 for the well being

00:23:48.779 --> 00:23:49.359
 and the blessing

00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:50.380
 of others

00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:53.039
 friends obviously

00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:54.099
 our city Hong Kong

00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:54.799
 has gone through

00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:56.039
 massive changes

00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:57.579
 everything's up in the air

00:23:57.579 --> 00:23:59.859
 and there's so many

00:23:59.859 --> 00:24:00.619
 questions that are

00:24:00.619 --> 00:24:01.440
 on people's minds

00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:03.019
 and one of the questions

00:24:03.019 --> 00:24:03.900
 that as Hong Kong

00:24:03.900 --> 00:24:04.819
 as many of us

00:24:04.819 --> 00:24:05.799
 are asking is

00:24:05.799 --> 00:24:07.599
 where is my future

00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:08.160
 secure

00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:10.319
 should I be

00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:11.400
 should I stay here

00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:12.119
 should I look

00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:12.839
 to move

00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:14.200
 now friends

00:24:14.200 --> 00:24:14.620
 I want to say

00:24:14.620 --> 00:24:15.360
 that's not

00:24:15.360 --> 00:24:16.539
 the wrong question

00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:16.779
 to ask

00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:17.480
 that's not a bad

00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:17.960
 question

00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:19.160
 as Christians

00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:20.360
 we should be responsible

00:24:20.360 --> 00:24:21.140
 we've got to be responsible

00:24:21.140 --> 00:24:21.920
 for our families

00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:23.120
 we've got to be responsible

00:24:23.120 --> 00:24:24.500
 for our aging parents

00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:25.620
 and so that's not

00:24:25.620 --> 00:24:26.400
 a bad question

00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:27.059
 to ask

00:24:27.059 --> 00:24:28.559
 but maybe one of the

00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:29.340
 questions that God

00:24:29.340 --> 00:24:30.240
 wants us to ask

00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:31.220
 in addition to that

00:24:31.220 --> 00:24:31.500
 is

00:24:31.500 --> 00:24:33.360
 God are you possibly

00:24:33.360 --> 00:24:34.900
 asking me to stay here

00:24:34.900 --> 00:24:36.299
 for the long term

00:24:36.299 --> 00:24:36.880
 well being

00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:37.500
 and the blessing

00:24:37.500 --> 00:24:38.140
 of the city

00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:39.819
 God is it possible

00:24:39.819 --> 00:24:40.519
 that you're asking

00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:41.340
 me to be here

00:24:41.340 --> 00:24:42.480
 and to contribute

00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:43.740
 to the long term

00:24:43.740 --> 00:24:44.799
 good of the city

00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:46.360
 and you know what

00:24:46.360 --> 00:24:47.559
 that's going to cost

00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:49.079
 involve great sacrifice

00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:49.960
 that's going to

00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:51.180
 involve great cost

00:24:51.180 --> 00:24:52.680
 but remember what

00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:54.059
 John the apostle

00:24:54.059 --> 00:24:54.900
 says about Jesus

00:24:54.900 --> 00:24:55.839
 in John chapter 1

00:24:55.839 --> 00:24:56.779
 he says

00:24:56.779 --> 00:24:57.339
 Jesus

00:24:57.339 --> 00:24:58.860
 the word became

00:24:58.860 --> 00:24:59.339
 flesh

00:24:59.339 --> 00:25:00.299
 and dwelt

00:25:00.299 --> 00:25:01.200
 amongst us

00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:02.480
 the actual Greek

00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:02.880
 this is

00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:03.980
 Jesus pitched

00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:04.860
 his tent

00:25:04.860 --> 00:25:05.779
 amongst us

00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:06.880
 Jesus didn't just

00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:07.480
 helicopter

00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:09.180
 into Jerusalem

00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:10.400
 at age 30

00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:10.840
 and say

00:25:10.840 --> 00:25:11.540
 right

00:25:11.540 --> 00:25:12.340
 let's get this

00:25:12.340 --> 00:25:13.700
 show going

00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:14.060
 right

00:25:14.060 --> 00:25:15.320
 Jesus

00:25:15.320 --> 00:25:16.780
 takes on

00:25:16.780 --> 00:25:17.360
 our nature

00:25:17.360 --> 00:25:18.519
 Jesus takes on

00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:19.160
 flesh and blood

00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:20.519
 and Jesus is born

00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:21.280
 into this world

00:25:21.280 --> 00:25:22.140
 as a human being

00:25:22.140 --> 00:25:23.920
 with all the brokenness

00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:24.960
 all the insecurity

00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:26.080
 all the fears

00:25:26.080 --> 00:25:27.100
 all the dangers

00:25:27.100 --> 00:25:28.500
 Jesus came

00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:29.400
 and pitched

00:25:29.400 --> 00:25:29.900
 his tent

00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:30.180
 as well

00:25:30.180 --> 00:25:31.460
 he laid down

00:25:31.460 --> 00:25:31.940
 his roots

00:25:31.940 --> 00:25:32.880
 he got involved

00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:33.880
 in the heart

00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:34.920
 of what is going on

00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:35.960
 so that Jesus

00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:36.780
 could really bring

00:25:36.780 --> 00:25:37.880
 the kingdom of God

00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:38.880
 to the kingdom of the world

00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:39.940
 that Jesus could bring

00:25:39.940 --> 00:25:40.940
 the city of God

00:25:40.940 --> 00:25:42.600
 into the city of man

00:25:42.600 --> 00:25:44.260
 Jesus came

00:25:44.260 --> 00:25:45.820
 and dwelt amongst us

00:25:45.820 --> 00:25:47.220
 and Jesus says

00:25:47.220 --> 00:25:48.680
 as his disciples

00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:49.140
 he says

00:25:49.140 --> 00:25:50.040
 come and be with me

00:25:50.040 --> 00:25:51.820
 come and follow me

00:25:51.820 --> 00:25:54.060
 come and become like me

00:25:54.060 --> 00:25:55.680
 come and do the things

00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:56.260
 that I did

00:25:56.260 --> 00:25:58.240
 put your roots down

00:25:58.240 --> 00:25:59.140
 in the city

00:25:59.140 --> 00:26:00.280
 for it's good

00:26:00.280 --> 00:26:01.240
 okay

00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:02.740
 so put down your roots

00:26:02.740 --> 00:26:03.800
 second thing is this

00:26:03.800 --> 00:26:04.940
 Jesus says

00:26:04.940 --> 00:26:06.100
 Jeremiah says

00:26:06.100 --> 00:26:07.360
 seek the welfare

00:26:07.360 --> 00:26:08.180
 of the city

00:26:08.180 --> 00:26:09.680
 look at verse 7

00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:10.120
 with me

00:26:10.120 --> 00:26:12.360
 Jeremiah writes

00:26:12.360 --> 00:26:13.360
 to these exiles

00:26:13.360 --> 00:26:13.920
 in Babylon

00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:14.740
 and he says

00:26:14.740 --> 00:26:16.259
 seek the welfare

00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:16.759
 of the city

00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:17.740
 where I've sent you

00:26:17.740 --> 00:26:18.519
 into exile

00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:20.180
 for in its welfare

00:26:20.180 --> 00:26:21.320
 you will find

00:26:21.320 --> 00:26:22.340
 your own welfare

00:26:22.340 --> 00:26:24.940
 now the word welfare

00:26:24.940 --> 00:26:26.160
 here is the Hebrew word

00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:26.660
 shalom

00:26:26.660 --> 00:26:27.140
 okay

00:26:27.140 --> 00:26:28.519
 and shalom

00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:31.039
 doesn't just mean

00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:31.700
 peace

00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:33.620
 it means a holistic

00:26:33.620 --> 00:26:34.759
 harmony

00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:37.539
 that is involved

00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:38.519
 that touches

00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:39.379
 every area

00:26:39.379 --> 00:26:39.980
 of our lives

00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:41.099
 so shalom

00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:41.839
 means this

00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:43.299
 harmonious flourishing

00:26:43.299 --> 00:26:44.079
 this well being

00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:45.519
 personally and psychologically

00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:46.460
 so harmony

00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:47.099
 within myself

00:26:47.099 --> 00:26:48.099
 spiritually

00:26:48.099 --> 00:26:48.960
 harmony with me

00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:49.440
 and God

00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:50.599
 relationally

00:26:50.599 --> 00:26:51.440
 harmony with

00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:52.500
 those in my life

00:26:52.500 --> 00:26:53.900
 even culturally

00:26:53.900 --> 00:26:54.619
 and socially

00:26:54.619 --> 00:26:56.019
 harmony in society

00:26:56.019 --> 00:26:57.759
 and it's where

00:26:57.759 --> 00:26:58.619
 all of life

00:26:58.619 --> 00:26:59.200
 is marked by

00:26:59.200 --> 00:26:59.859
 this fullness

00:26:59.859 --> 00:27:00.819
 this rest

00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:01.619
 this peace

00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:02.440
 this harmony

00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:03.720
 that every human being

00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:04.279
 longs for

00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:05.320
 it's the garden

00:27:05.320 --> 00:27:05.820
 of Eden

00:27:05.820 --> 00:27:07.940
 now one of the main

00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:08.840
 points of scripture

00:27:08.840 --> 00:27:10.440
 is that the deep

00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:10.980
 harmony

00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:12.000
 the soul rest

00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:12.799
 that all of us

00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:13.240
 long for

00:27:13.240 --> 00:27:13.840
 that we spoke

00:27:13.840 --> 00:27:14.500
 about last week

00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:16.220
 this deep shalom

00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:17.120
 that our hearts

00:27:17.120 --> 00:27:17.779
 long for

00:27:17.779 --> 00:27:19.580
 is never found

00:27:19.580 --> 00:27:20.440
 apart from God

00:27:20.440 --> 00:27:20.840
 himself

00:27:20.840 --> 00:27:22.180
 remember our scripture

00:27:22.180 --> 00:27:22.720
 last week

00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:23.400
 Jesus says

00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:24.840
 come to me

00:27:24.840 --> 00:27:25.840
 all you who are

00:27:25.840 --> 00:27:26.960
 weary and heavy laden

00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:28.960
 and I will give you rest

00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:31.620
 the grand narrative

00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:32.219
 of scripture

00:27:32.219 --> 00:27:33.339
 is that we are

00:27:33.339 --> 00:27:34.879
 created to be

00:27:34.879 --> 00:27:35.739
 at shalom

00:27:35.739 --> 00:27:36.279
 with God

00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:37.019
 but because of our

00:27:37.019 --> 00:27:37.639
 sin we've been

00:27:37.639 --> 00:27:38.319
 cut off from God

00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:39.000
 and we separated

00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:39.439
 from him

00:27:39.439 --> 00:27:40.839
 and now we live

00:27:40.839 --> 00:27:41.500
 with a state of

00:27:41.500 --> 00:27:42.059
 restlessness

00:27:42.059 --> 00:27:42.859
 in our hearts

00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:44.539
 remember Augustine's

00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:45.159
 great quote

00:27:45.159 --> 00:27:46.479
 we were made

00:27:46.479 --> 00:27:47.339
 for you oh God

00:27:47.339 --> 00:27:47.939
 and our hearts

00:27:47.939 --> 00:27:48.759
 will always be

00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:49.219
 restless

00:27:49.219 --> 00:27:50.099
 until they find

00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:50.599
 their rest

00:27:50.599 --> 00:27:51.179
 in you

00:27:51.179 --> 00:27:52.379
 and so

00:27:52.379 --> 00:27:53.439
 look at what God

00:27:53.439 --> 00:27:54.559
 says to the

00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:55.159
 exiles

00:27:55.159 --> 00:27:55.839
 who are living

00:27:55.839 --> 00:27:56.659
 in the heart

00:27:56.659 --> 00:27:57.559
 of the city of man

00:27:57.559 --> 00:27:58.979
 in pagan Babylon

00:27:58.979 --> 00:28:00.059
 he says

00:28:00.059 --> 00:28:01.299
 I've sent you there

00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:03.179
 that you may seek

00:28:03.179 --> 00:28:04.240
 the shalom

00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:05.720
 the peace

00:28:05.720 --> 00:28:06.940
 the prosperity

00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:08.200
 of Babylon

00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:09.919
 now

00:28:09.919 --> 00:28:11.559
 what does that mean

00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:13.279
 what does that mean

00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:14.399
 for us here in Hong Kong

00:28:14.399 --> 00:28:17.460
 God says to us

00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:18.099
 watermark

00:28:18.099 --> 00:28:19.539
 I've called you

00:28:19.539 --> 00:28:20.339
 to Hong Kong

00:28:20.339 --> 00:28:21.879
 not just to enrich

00:28:21.879 --> 00:28:22.319
 yourselves

00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:23.059
 not just to get

00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:23.899
 some experience

00:28:23.899 --> 00:28:25.379
 I've called you

00:28:25.379 --> 00:28:25.980
 to seek

00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:26.720
 the shalom

00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:27.839
 and the blessing

00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:28.720
 the welfare

00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:29.819
 of this city

00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:31.339
 while we live here

00:28:31.339 --> 00:28:33.019
 what does that mean

00:28:33.019 --> 00:28:34.259
 well it means a couple

00:28:34.259 --> 00:28:34.600
 of things

00:28:34.600 --> 00:28:35.600
 the first thing it means

00:28:35.600 --> 00:28:35.940
 is

00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:37.100
 on the one hand

00:28:37.100 --> 00:28:37.980
 it means proclaiming

00:28:37.980 --> 00:28:38.440
 the gospel

00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:40.559
 this is the essence

00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:41.339
 of who we are

00:28:41.339 --> 00:28:42.940
 we are a gospel

00:28:42.940 --> 00:28:44.500
 proclaiming community

00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:45.839
 friends if you're not

00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:46.799
 a Christian this morning

00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:48.000
 that might sound

00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:48.519
 bigoted

00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:49.579
 and judgmental

00:28:49.579 --> 00:28:50.279
 and arrogant

00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:51.900
 that we go out there

00:28:51.900 --> 00:28:52.660
 telling everyone

00:28:52.660 --> 00:28:53.440
 that we're right

00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:54.140
 and that they're wrong

00:28:54.140 --> 00:28:55.839
 but that's not the heart

00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:57.120
 of evangelism at all

00:28:57.119 --> 00:28:58.479
 the reason we want

00:28:58.479 --> 00:28:59.299
 to tell people

00:28:59.299 --> 00:29:00.039
 about the gospel

00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:01.159
 is because of what

00:29:01.159 --> 00:29:02.039
 Jeremiah says here

00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:03.659
 we want the shalom

00:29:03.659 --> 00:29:04.699
 we want the well-being

00:29:04.699 --> 00:29:05.619
 we want the peace

00:29:05.619 --> 00:29:06.159
 of our city

00:29:06.159 --> 00:29:07.539
 and we know

00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:08.359
 that there'll never

00:29:08.359 --> 00:29:09.199
 be true peace

00:29:09.199 --> 00:29:10.079
 apart from

00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:12.079
 reconciliation with God

00:29:12.079 --> 00:29:13.119
 remember what

00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:14.039
 Martin Lloyd-Jones says

00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:15.319
 you'll never have

00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:16.799
 the peace of God

00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:18.139
 without first being

00:29:18.139 --> 00:29:19.559
 at peace with God

00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:20.879
 the reason we go

00:29:20.879 --> 00:29:22.039
 and proclaim the gospel

00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:23.039
 is because our city

00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:25.059
 is so unrestful

00:29:25.059 --> 00:29:26.460
 our city is full

00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:27.200
 of restlessness

00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:28.460
 and we long

00:29:28.460 --> 00:29:29.240
 for our neighbors

00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:29.879
 and our family

00:29:29.879 --> 00:29:30.539
 and our colleagues

00:29:30.539 --> 00:29:31.200
 and our friends

00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:32.559
 to experience the deep

00:29:32.559 --> 00:29:33.339
 shalom that God

00:29:33.339 --> 00:29:33.980
 wants for them

00:29:33.980 --> 00:29:35.519
 and so we are a gospel

00:29:35.519 --> 00:29:36.839
 proclaiming community

00:29:36.839 --> 00:29:38.940
 the only way for everyone

00:29:38.940 --> 00:29:39.679
 or anyone

00:29:39.679 --> 00:29:41.700
 to have real lasting peace

00:29:41.700 --> 00:29:42.799
 is through believing

00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:43.639
 what Jesus did

00:29:43.639 --> 00:29:44.179
 on the cross

00:29:44.179 --> 00:29:45.500
 confessing our need

00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:45.899
 for him

00:29:45.899 --> 00:29:47.200
 and coming to him

00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:48.240
 in faith and repentance

00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:50.059
 and so that's why

00:29:50.059 --> 00:29:51.079
 at Watermark Mission

00:29:51.079 --> 00:29:52.019
 is at the very heart

00:29:52.019 --> 00:29:52.740
 of what we do

00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:54.420
 because we are gospel

00:29:54.420 --> 00:29:55.599
 proclaiming community

00:29:55.599 --> 00:29:57.240
 but that's not the only

00:29:57.240 --> 00:29:58.259
 thing God asks us to

00:29:58.259 --> 00:29:59.539
 because he also asks us

00:29:59.539 --> 00:30:00.960
 to live out the gospel

00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:02.160
 in other words

00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:03.640
 we proclaim the gospel

00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:04.319
 with word

00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:05.380
 but we also proclaim

00:30:05.380 --> 00:30:06.640
 the gospel with deed

00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:08.299
 we as Jesus did

00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:09.740
 we go out teaching

00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:10.400
 and proclaiming

00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:11.039
 who God is

00:30:11.039 --> 00:30:12.019
 but we also go out

00:30:12.019 --> 00:30:13.460
 doing good to our city

00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:15.859
 friends we are called

00:30:15.859 --> 00:30:17.059
 to proclaim the gospel

00:30:17.059 --> 00:30:18.079
 in word and deed

00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:19.120
 and that means

00:30:19.120 --> 00:30:19.799
 that Christians

00:30:19.799 --> 00:30:21.480
 we work for the peace

00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:22.940
 and the security

00:30:22.940 --> 00:30:24.779
 and the justice

00:30:24.779 --> 00:30:26.220
 and the prosperity

00:30:26.220 --> 00:30:27.559
 of the entire city

00:30:27.559 --> 00:30:29.700
 not just Christian communities

00:30:29.700 --> 00:30:31.980
 it means that

00:30:31.980 --> 00:30:33.279
 as citizens of heaven

00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:34.720
 Christians should be

00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:36.279
 the very best citizens

00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:37.059
 of Hong Kong

00:30:37.059 --> 00:30:39.180
 the very best citizens

00:30:39.180 --> 00:30:39.819
 of Hong Kong

00:30:39.819 --> 00:30:41.180
 because we walk

00:30:41.180 --> 00:30:41.740
 in the footsteps

00:30:41.740 --> 00:30:42.500
 of the one

00:30:42.500 --> 00:30:44.480
 who laid down his life

00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:45.819
 even for his enemies

00:30:45.819 --> 00:30:47.779
 think about that

00:30:47.779 --> 00:30:48.380
 for a second

00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:50.860
 God's called us here

00:30:50.859 --> 00:30:51.979
 as citizens of heaven

00:30:51.979 --> 00:30:53.899
 to be the very best citizens

00:30:53.899 --> 00:30:55.339
 of Hong Kong

00:30:55.339 --> 00:30:57.459
 I don't know if you remember

00:30:57.459 --> 00:30:58.439
 a few weeks ago

00:30:58.439 --> 00:30:59.399
 we were preaching

00:30:59.399 --> 00:31:00.279
 through Matthew's gospel

00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:01.659
 and we got to Matthew chapter 9

00:31:01.659 --> 00:31:04.079
 and Jesus is having a meal

00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:05.299
 with some tax collectors

00:31:05.299 --> 00:31:07.419
 and some sex workers

00:31:07.419 --> 00:31:08.719
 and a bunch of other people

00:31:08.719 --> 00:31:10.299
 and the religious leaders

00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:11.979
 come to Jesus' disciples

00:31:11.979 --> 00:31:12.619
 and they say

00:31:12.619 --> 00:31:14.939
 how can your rabbi

00:31:14.939 --> 00:31:16.359
 be having a meal

00:31:16.359 --> 00:31:17.740
 with those scumbags

00:31:17.740 --> 00:31:19.859
 with those people

00:31:19.859 --> 00:31:21.279
 surely

00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:22.440
 how can Jesus

00:31:22.440 --> 00:31:23.279
 associate with them

00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:24.940
 and Jesus says

00:31:24.940 --> 00:31:26.180
 this is the very reason

00:31:26.180 --> 00:31:26.620
 I've come

00:31:26.620 --> 00:31:28.819
 I've come to bring peace

00:31:28.819 --> 00:31:29.359
 to the city

00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:29.920
 I haven't come

00:31:29.920 --> 00:31:30.680
 just to hang out

00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:31.440
 with those that have got it

00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:32.079
 all together

00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:34.180
 I've come to call

00:31:34.180 --> 00:31:35.120
 sinners to repentance

00:31:35.120 --> 00:31:36.039
 I've come to bring

00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:37.160
 wholeness and shalom

00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:39.660
 to those that need it

00:31:39.660 --> 00:31:40.720
 Jesus says

00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:41.859
 the reason he came

00:31:41.859 --> 00:31:42.759
 is to bring shalom

00:31:42.759 --> 00:31:43.819
 his restorative

00:31:43.819 --> 00:31:44.620
 redemptive

00:31:44.620 --> 00:31:45.779
 healing shalom

00:31:45.779 --> 00:31:46.480
 to the pain

00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:47.279
 and the brokenness

00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:48.480
 of our world

00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:49.680
 and friends

00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:50.879
 as challenging as it is

00:31:50.879 --> 00:31:51.799
 that's what God

00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:53.500
 calls us to as well

00:31:53.500 --> 00:31:54.859
 and so what does that

00:31:54.859 --> 00:31:55.700
 look like practically

00:31:55.700 --> 00:31:57.119
 well it means

00:31:57.119 --> 00:31:58.220
 that as Christians

00:31:58.220 --> 00:31:59.039
 we're always looking

00:31:59.039 --> 00:31:59.740
 for an opportunity

00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:00.819
 to tell people

00:32:00.819 --> 00:32:01.319
 about Jesus

00:32:01.319 --> 00:32:03.759
 it means the Uber driver

00:32:03.759 --> 00:32:05.779
 he's stuck with you

00:32:05.779 --> 00:32:06.960
 you've got 10 minutes

00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:07.319
 with him

00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:08.599
 he's not going to go anywhere

00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:10.259
 well I guess he's got

00:32:10.259 --> 00:32:10.940
 the steering wheel

00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:11.940
 maybe he could go somewhere

00:32:11.940 --> 00:32:13.480
 maybe he could hijack you

00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:14.099
 and take you somewhere

00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:15.500
 but it means telling people

00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:15.899
 about Jesus

00:32:15.899 --> 00:32:16.459
 the driver

00:32:16.459 --> 00:32:17.399
 the taxi driver

00:32:17.399 --> 00:32:18.299
 our neighbours

00:32:18.299 --> 00:32:19.059
 it means giving out

00:32:19.059 --> 00:32:19.959
 Christian books to those

00:32:19.959 --> 00:32:21.000
 it means inviting people

00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:22.319
 to outreach opportunities

00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:24.019
 we're always looking out

00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:25.480
 for ways to help people

00:32:25.480 --> 00:32:26.819
 find true and lasting peace

00:32:26.819 --> 00:32:28.339
 but you know what it also means

00:32:28.339 --> 00:32:30.039
 it means paying a fair

00:32:30.039 --> 00:32:31.219
 and adequate wage

00:32:31.219 --> 00:32:32.719
 to those that work for us

00:32:32.719 --> 00:32:34.359
 whether those in our home

00:32:34.359 --> 00:32:36.279
 or whether those in the office

00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:38.299
 it means paying

00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:39.159
 and treating people

00:32:39.159 --> 00:32:40.159
 with dignity and honour

00:32:40.159 --> 00:32:42.579
 it means foreign domestic helpers

00:32:42.579 --> 00:32:43.659
 that work for Christians

00:32:43.660 --> 00:32:45.200
 should be the most honoured

00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:47.019
 and respected foreign domestic workers

00:32:47.019 --> 00:32:47.600
 in our city

00:32:47.600 --> 00:32:49.000
 friends it means

00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:50.060
 rather than spending

00:32:50.060 --> 00:32:51.620
 our entire budget on ourselves

00:32:51.620 --> 00:32:53.160
 maybe setting aside a portion

00:32:53.160 --> 00:32:54.940
 to support and finance

00:32:54.940 --> 00:32:55.660
 and underwrite

00:32:55.660 --> 00:32:57.180
 those that are doing good work

00:32:57.180 --> 00:32:57.680
 in our city

00:32:57.680 --> 00:32:58.460
 and prospering

00:32:58.460 --> 00:32:59.640
 and bringing back the peace

00:32:59.640 --> 00:33:00.700
 and the shalom of our city

00:33:00.700 --> 00:33:02.720
 it means extending grace

00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:03.360
 and forgiveness

00:33:03.360 --> 00:33:05.240
 to those that have hurt us

00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:06.140
 or wronged us

00:33:06.140 --> 00:33:07.560
 seeking reconciliation

00:33:07.560 --> 00:33:09.040
 friends it means

00:33:09.040 --> 00:33:09.880
 helping women

00:33:09.880 --> 00:33:11.000
 that have been abused

00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:12.300
 and used by men

00:33:12.299 --> 00:33:13.019
 for their bodies

00:33:13.019 --> 00:33:14.700
 to get out of the slavery

00:33:14.700 --> 00:33:15.740
 of the sex industry

00:33:15.740 --> 00:33:17.819
 and to find work

00:33:17.819 --> 00:33:18.480
 and employment

00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:19.519
 that is full of dignity

00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:20.259
 and honour

00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:21.899
 friends it means

00:33:21.899 --> 00:33:23.740
 opening up our lives

00:33:23.740 --> 00:33:24.440
 and our hearts

00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:25.460
 and maybe even our homes

00:33:25.460 --> 00:33:27.119
 to those that are considered outsiders

00:33:27.119 --> 00:33:28.319
 those that are part

00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:29.279
 of another ethnicity

00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:30.220
 or another race

00:33:30.220 --> 00:33:31.279
 those that are part

00:33:31.279 --> 00:33:31.740
 of a different

00:33:31.740 --> 00:33:32.960
 socio-economic bracket

00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:34.799
 it means maybe fostering

00:33:34.799 --> 00:33:35.639
 vulnerable children

00:33:35.639 --> 00:33:36.259
 in our city

00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:37.960
 maybe even adopting

00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:38.539
 a child

00:33:38.539 --> 00:33:39.759
 that doesn't have a family

00:33:39.759 --> 00:33:41.460
 it means coming alongside

00:33:41.460 --> 00:33:42.400
 single moms

00:33:42.400 --> 00:33:43.339
 and teenage moms

00:33:43.339 --> 00:33:43.779
 and saying

00:33:43.779 --> 00:33:45.539
 I know your life is tough

00:33:45.539 --> 00:33:47.099
 and we want to come inside

00:33:47.099 --> 00:33:48.019
 and be there for you

00:33:48.019 --> 00:33:48.819
 and support you

00:33:48.819 --> 00:33:49.619
 and to love you

00:33:49.619 --> 00:33:50.980
 and do what we can

00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:51.740
 to bring shalom

00:33:51.740 --> 00:33:52.279
 and peace

00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:53.640
 to your life

00:33:53.640 --> 00:33:55.980
 friends for some people

00:33:55.980 --> 00:33:57.160
 and Christians

00:33:57.160 --> 00:33:57.940
 should be at the forefront

00:33:57.940 --> 00:33:58.440
 of this

00:33:58.440 --> 00:34:00.240
 it means maybe even

00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:01.079
 lobbying government

00:34:01.079 --> 00:34:02.440
 or setting up a work tank

00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:03.200
 or an NGO

00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:04.700
 or some kind of

00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:05.480
 program

00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:06.359
 to ensure

00:34:06.359 --> 00:34:07.000
 there's just

00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:08.059
 and equitable laws

00:34:08.059 --> 00:34:08.739
 and policies

00:34:08.739 --> 00:34:10.000
 in Hong Kong

00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:11.440
 it means fighting

00:34:11.440 --> 00:34:12.039
 for the rights

00:34:12.039 --> 00:34:12.659
 of refugees

00:34:12.659 --> 00:34:13.779
 and asylum seekers

00:34:13.779 --> 00:34:15.239
 in our city

00:34:15.239 --> 00:34:17.400
 Tim Keller says this

00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:18.820
 and this is really profound

00:34:18.820 --> 00:34:19.460
 and I want us to think

00:34:19.460 --> 00:34:20.000
 about this

00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:21.380
 as Christians

00:34:21.380 --> 00:34:23.159
 we don't just use

00:34:23.159 --> 00:34:23.940
 the resources

00:34:23.940 --> 00:34:24.639
 of the city

00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:25.420
 to build

00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:26.659
 a great big church

00:34:26.659 --> 00:34:28.539
 actually Christians

00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:29.579
 use the resources

00:34:29.579 --> 00:34:30.619
 within the church

00:34:30.619 --> 00:34:31.259
 to build

00:34:31.259 --> 00:34:32.159
 a great city

00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:34.360
 let me say that again

00:34:34.360 --> 00:34:35.759
 as Christians

00:34:35.759 --> 00:34:36.739
 we don't use

00:34:36.739 --> 00:34:37.459
 the resources

00:34:37.459 --> 00:34:38.479
 of the city

00:34:38.479 --> 00:34:39.899
 to build the church

00:34:39.899 --> 00:34:41.019
 so that we can get

00:34:41.019 --> 00:34:41.399
 a bigger

00:34:41.399 --> 00:34:42.239
 and more powerful

00:34:42.239 --> 00:34:42.959
 and stronger

00:34:42.959 --> 00:34:44.659
 and more famous church

00:34:44.659 --> 00:34:45.479
 we're not trying

00:34:45.479 --> 00:34:46.199
 to build our name

00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:47.819
 actually as Christians

00:34:47.819 --> 00:34:49.199
 we use the resources

00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:50.359
 that God has given us

00:34:50.359 --> 00:34:52.059
 to advance

00:34:52.059 --> 00:34:52.779
 and cultivate

00:34:52.779 --> 00:34:53.679
 the prosperity

00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:54.599
 and the blessing

00:34:54.599 --> 00:34:55.459
 and the shalom

00:34:55.459 --> 00:34:56.479
 of our city

00:34:56.479 --> 00:34:58.259
 the goal of Watermark

00:34:58.259 --> 00:34:58.919
 is not just to have

00:34:58.919 --> 00:34:59.519
 a great church

00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:00.659
 it's to have a great city

00:35:00.659 --> 00:35:01.879
 and that's why

00:35:01.879 --> 00:35:03.059
 God has planted us here

00:35:03.059 --> 00:35:04.839
 and so Jeremiah writes

00:35:04.840 --> 00:35:05.340
 and he says

00:35:05.340 --> 00:35:07.120
 seek the shalom

00:35:07.120 --> 00:35:07.960
 the welfare

00:35:07.960 --> 00:35:09.059
 of your city

00:35:09.059 --> 00:35:10.680
 for in its welfare

00:35:10.680 --> 00:35:12.280
 you will find your own

00:35:12.280 --> 00:35:13.240
 and isn't that amazing

00:35:13.240 --> 00:35:14.579
 that God says

00:35:14.579 --> 00:35:15.940
 the shalom

00:35:15.940 --> 00:35:16.760
 that so many of us

00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:17.420
 long for

00:35:17.420 --> 00:35:18.600
 isn't found

00:35:18.600 --> 00:35:19.860
 as we divorce ourselves

00:35:19.860 --> 00:35:20.440
 from the city

00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:21.160
 and live in our

00:35:21.160 --> 00:35:22.059
 Christian babbles

00:35:22.059 --> 00:35:23.160
 and just work for

00:35:23.160 --> 00:35:24.019
 a Christian organization

00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:24.600
 and only have

00:35:24.600 --> 00:35:25.300
 Christian friends

00:35:25.300 --> 00:35:26.880
 actually the shalom

00:35:26.880 --> 00:35:27.539
 and the blessing

00:35:27.539 --> 00:35:28.640
 that we long for

00:35:28.640 --> 00:35:29.519
 is found

00:35:29.519 --> 00:35:30.220
 as we work

00:35:30.220 --> 00:35:31.039
 with God

00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:31.720
 in the midst

00:35:31.720 --> 00:35:32.240
 of our city

00:35:32.240 --> 00:35:33.300
 and bring the kingdom

00:35:33.300 --> 00:35:33.740
 of God

00:35:33.740 --> 00:35:34.560
 to our world

00:35:34.560 --> 00:35:36.519
 as we join God

00:35:36.519 --> 00:35:37.019
 in bringing

00:35:37.019 --> 00:35:38.340
 the city of God

00:35:38.340 --> 00:35:39.500
 to the city of man

00:35:39.500 --> 00:35:41.080
 in that very place

00:35:41.080 --> 00:35:42.000
 is where we find

00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:42.800
 the shalom

00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:43.400
 and the blessing

00:35:43.400 --> 00:35:43.980
 and the peace

00:35:43.980 --> 00:35:44.800
 that we long for

00:35:44.800 --> 00:35:46.640
 friends

00:35:46.640 --> 00:35:47.560
 you'll never find

00:35:47.560 --> 00:35:48.260
 the peace

00:35:48.260 --> 00:35:48.800
 that your heart

00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:49.500
 longs for

00:35:49.500 --> 00:35:50.760
 simply by going

00:35:50.760 --> 00:35:51.320
 on holidays

00:35:51.320 --> 00:35:52.420
 and sitting on the beach

00:35:52.420 --> 00:35:53.820
 you'll find it

00:35:53.820 --> 00:35:54.740
 by joining God

00:35:54.740 --> 00:35:55.600
 in what he's doing

00:35:55.600 --> 00:35:56.900
 in this city

00:35:56.900 --> 00:35:58.420
 as we join him

00:35:58.420 --> 00:35:59.340
 seeking the blessing

00:35:59.340 --> 00:35:59.940
 of our city

00:35:59.940 --> 00:36:01.500
 is that okay

00:36:01.500 --> 00:36:02.600
 does that make any sense

00:36:02.599 --> 00:36:04.460
 okay

00:36:04.460 --> 00:36:06.099
 I've got one last point

00:36:06.099 --> 00:36:06.900
 let's see if we can

00:36:06.900 --> 00:36:07.980
 revive it

00:36:07.980 --> 00:36:08.480
 okay

00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:09.079
 so

00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:10.279
 firstly

00:36:10.279 --> 00:36:11.440
 put down your roots

00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:12.699
 make this city home

00:36:12.699 --> 00:36:13.900
 ask God

00:36:13.900 --> 00:36:14.440
 is this

00:36:14.440 --> 00:36:15.400
 God do you want me

00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:15.900
 to stay here

00:36:15.900 --> 00:36:16.500
 for the long haul

00:36:16.500 --> 00:36:16.960
 secondly

00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:18.299
 seek the shalom

00:36:18.299 --> 00:36:19.779
 the wholeness

00:36:19.779 --> 00:36:20.980
 the blessing

00:36:20.980 --> 00:36:22.079
 the city of God

00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:22.519
 in our city

00:36:22.519 --> 00:36:23.440
 third thing is this

00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:24.400
 look at what

00:36:24.400 --> 00:36:25.739
 Jeremiah says

00:36:25.739 --> 00:36:28.639
 pray for the city

00:36:28.639 --> 00:36:30.599
 pray for the city

00:36:30.599 --> 00:36:31.699
 look at the way

00:36:31.699 --> 00:36:32.239
 that Jeremiah

00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:33.079
 phrases it here

00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:33.519
 he says

00:36:33.519 --> 00:36:34.799
 pray to the Lord

00:36:34.799 --> 00:36:35.960
 on behalf

00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:36.900
 of the city

00:36:36.900 --> 00:36:38.500
 now that language

00:36:38.500 --> 00:36:39.920
 is almost priestly

00:36:39.920 --> 00:36:41.779
 Jeremiah isn't just saying

00:36:41.779 --> 00:36:43.039
 pray for the city

00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:44.460
 and he's certainly

00:36:44.460 --> 00:36:45.119
 not saying

00:36:45.119 --> 00:36:45.880
 do what

00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:46.659
 Jonah did

00:36:46.659 --> 00:36:47.460
 remember Jonah

00:36:47.460 --> 00:36:48.759
 he goes to Nineveh

00:36:48.759 --> 00:36:49.940
 and he tells them

00:36:49.940 --> 00:36:50.779
 about God

00:36:50.779 --> 00:36:51.339
 and the gospel

00:36:51.339 --> 00:36:52.860
 and then he retreats

00:36:52.860 --> 00:36:53.460
 and he sits up

00:36:53.460 --> 00:36:53.940
 on a hill

00:36:53.940 --> 00:36:55.339
 and he kind of says

00:36:55.339 --> 00:36:55.940
 okay God

00:36:55.940 --> 00:36:57.460
 let's see you nail

00:36:57.460 --> 00:36:58.119
 these guys

00:36:58.119 --> 00:37:00.579
 and Jonah

00:37:00.579 --> 00:37:01.380
 if he prays

00:37:01.380 --> 00:37:01.840
 for the city

00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:02.400
 he's praying

00:37:02.400 --> 00:37:02.760
 that God

00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:03.639
 will smite them

00:37:03.639 --> 00:37:03.920
 right

00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:05.860
 but what does

00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:06.800
 God say to Jeremiah

00:37:06.800 --> 00:37:07.559
 he says

00:37:07.559 --> 00:37:08.119
 well Jeremiah

00:37:08.119 --> 00:37:09.559
 says to the exiles

00:37:09.559 --> 00:37:11.559
 pray on behalf

00:37:11.559 --> 00:37:12.639
 of the city

00:37:12.639 --> 00:37:14.220
 it's almost like

00:37:14.220 --> 00:37:14.840
 God is saying

00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:16.179
 these guys

00:37:16.179 --> 00:37:17.099
 need my mercy

00:37:17.099 --> 00:37:17.800
 and my grace

00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:19.139
 but they don't know

00:37:19.139 --> 00:37:20.119
 how to call out to me

00:37:20.119 --> 00:37:20.920
 but you do

00:37:20.920 --> 00:37:22.420
 so why don't you

00:37:22.420 --> 00:37:23.380
 pray for them

00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:24.519
 on their behalf

00:37:24.519 --> 00:37:25.400
 to me

00:37:25.400 --> 00:37:26.039
 for my grace

00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:26.699
 and my mercy

00:37:26.699 --> 00:37:28.519
 isn't that incredible

00:37:28.519 --> 00:37:30.639
 remember friends

00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:31.460
 the Babylonians

00:37:31.460 --> 00:37:32.279
 are Israel's

00:37:32.279 --> 00:37:32.879
 arch enemies

00:37:32.879 --> 00:37:33.779
 they've just burnt

00:37:33.779 --> 00:37:34.399
 down their city

00:37:34.399 --> 00:37:35.579
 they've pulled down

00:37:35.579 --> 00:37:36.059
 the walls

00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:37.059
 they destroyed

00:37:37.059 --> 00:37:37.659
 the temple

00:37:37.659 --> 00:37:39.399
 they've stolen

00:37:39.399 --> 00:37:40.119
 all the goods

00:37:40.119 --> 00:37:41.039
 they've desecrated

00:37:41.039 --> 00:37:41.939
 the holy place

00:37:41.939 --> 00:37:43.839
 and God

00:37:43.839 --> 00:37:44.279
 you want us

00:37:44.279 --> 00:37:44.859
 to do what

00:37:44.859 --> 00:37:45.259
 for them

00:37:45.259 --> 00:37:46.980
 you've got to be

00:37:46.980 --> 00:37:47.279
 kidding

00:37:47.279 --> 00:37:47.679
 right

00:37:47.679 --> 00:37:50.139
 friends

00:37:50.139 --> 00:37:50.619
 I know

00:37:50.619 --> 00:37:51.379
 that some

00:37:51.379 --> 00:37:52.039
 of us here

00:37:52.039 --> 00:37:53.480
 are

00:37:53.480 --> 00:37:55.199
 extremely

00:37:55.199 --> 00:37:56.000
 frustrated

00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:58.059
 even angry

00:37:58.059 --> 00:37:58.400
 maybe

00:37:58.400 --> 00:37:58.699
 at what

00:37:58.699 --> 00:37:59.239
 has happened

00:37:59.239 --> 00:38:00.000
 in our city

00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:00.860
 and the changes

00:38:00.860 --> 00:38:01.380
 that have taken

00:38:01.380 --> 00:38:01.900
 place

00:38:01.900 --> 00:38:03.159
 over the last

00:38:03.159 --> 00:38:03.739
 two years

00:38:03.739 --> 00:38:05.340
 and I must

00:38:05.340 --> 00:38:05.719
 confess

00:38:05.719 --> 00:38:06.239
 that as a

00:38:06.239 --> 00:38:06.539
 foreigner

00:38:06.539 --> 00:38:08.500
 I don't

00:38:08.500 --> 00:38:10.539
 I carry the city

00:38:10.539 --> 00:38:11.099
 so deeply

00:38:11.099 --> 00:38:11.760
 in my heart

00:38:11.760 --> 00:38:12.840
 but I know

00:38:12.840 --> 00:38:13.519
 that I probably

00:38:13.519 --> 00:38:14.440
 don't understand

00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:15.239
 and feel it

00:38:15.239 --> 00:38:15.800
 to the depth

00:38:15.800 --> 00:38:16.559
 of many of us

00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:16.780
 here

00:38:16.780 --> 00:38:20.139
 friends

00:38:20.139 --> 00:38:20.440
 God

00:38:20.440 --> 00:38:21.219
 asks us

00:38:21.219 --> 00:38:21.980
 to pray

00:38:21.980 --> 00:38:22.780
 on behalf

00:38:22.780 --> 00:38:23.460
 of our city

00:38:23.460 --> 00:38:25.740
 and I know

00:38:25.740 --> 00:38:26.619
 that's an incredibly

00:38:26.619 --> 00:38:27.440
 difficult thing

00:38:27.440 --> 00:38:28.400
 for some of us

00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:28.699
 maybe

00:38:28.699 --> 00:38:29.980
 but I want to

00:38:29.980 --> 00:38:30.619
 ask you this

00:38:30.619 --> 00:38:31.360
 do you think

00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:31.840
 that you could

00:38:31.840 --> 00:38:32.880
 possibly find

00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:33.340
 it in your

00:38:33.340 --> 00:38:33.780
 heart

00:38:33.780 --> 00:38:35.179
 to

00:38:35.179 --> 00:38:38.320
 trust the one

00:38:38.320 --> 00:38:38.619
 who

00:38:38.619 --> 00:38:39.340
 when he was

00:38:39.340 --> 00:38:39.920
 being nailed

00:38:39.920 --> 00:38:40.679
 to the cross

00:38:40.679 --> 00:38:41.400
 by his own

00:38:41.400 --> 00:38:41.920
 enemies

00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:44.179
 and his enemies

00:38:44.179 --> 00:38:45.139
 looked upon them

00:38:45.139 --> 00:38:46.380
 with a smirk

00:38:46.380 --> 00:38:47.139
 on their face

00:38:47.139 --> 00:38:49.340
 Jesus cried out

00:38:49.340 --> 00:38:49.840
 Father

00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:50.760
 forgive them

00:38:50.760 --> 00:38:51.699
 they know

00:38:51.699 --> 00:38:52.179
 not what

00:38:52.179 --> 00:38:52.639
 they do

00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:54.759
 and when

00:38:54.759 --> 00:38:55.500
 Jesus prayed

00:38:55.500 --> 00:38:55.939
 that prayer

00:38:55.939 --> 00:38:56.500
 he wasn't

00:38:56.500 --> 00:38:56.859
 saying

00:38:56.859 --> 00:38:58.219
 he wasn't

00:38:58.219 --> 00:38:58.699
 just praying

00:38:58.699 --> 00:38:59.539
 for a

00:38:59.539 --> 00:38:59.899
 blanket

00:38:59.899 --> 00:39:00.500
 amnesty

00:39:00.500 --> 00:39:01.099
 he wasn't

00:39:01.099 --> 00:39:01.579
 just saying

00:39:01.579 --> 00:39:02.259
 God

00:39:02.259 --> 00:39:02.659
 let's just

00:39:02.659 --> 00:39:03.019
 pretend

00:39:03.019 --> 00:39:03.419
 this whole

00:39:03.419 --> 00:39:03.639
 thing

00:39:03.639 --> 00:39:03.980
 hasn't

00:39:03.980 --> 00:39:04.359
 happened

00:39:04.359 --> 00:39:05.679
 he wasn't

00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:05.899
 just saying

00:39:05.899 --> 00:39:06.239
 let's just

00:39:06.239 --> 00:39:06.559
 sweep

00:39:06.559 --> 00:39:07.019
 their sins

00:39:07.019 --> 00:39:07.699
 under the rug

00:39:07.699 --> 00:39:09.000
 Jesus

00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:09.439
 was saying

00:39:09.439 --> 00:39:09.799
 God

00:39:09.799 --> 00:39:10.639
 these people

00:39:10.639 --> 00:39:11.279
 need your

00:39:11.279 --> 00:39:11.559
 grace

00:39:11.559 --> 00:39:11.839
 and your

00:39:11.839 --> 00:39:12.059
 mercy

00:39:12.059 --> 00:39:12.519
 but they

00:39:12.519 --> 00:39:12.899
 don't know

00:39:12.899 --> 00:39:13.199
 how to

00:39:13.199 --> 00:39:13.619
 call out

00:39:13.619 --> 00:39:13.960
 to you

00:39:13.960 --> 00:39:14.960
 and so

00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:15.199
 I'm

00:39:15.199 --> 00:39:15.480
 going to

00:39:15.480 --> 00:39:15.980
 call out

00:39:15.980 --> 00:39:16.239
 to you

00:39:16.239 --> 00:39:16.839
 that you

00:39:16.839 --> 00:39:17.419
 by your

00:39:17.419 --> 00:39:17.819
 grace

00:39:17.819 --> 00:39:18.980
 will reveal

00:39:18.980 --> 00:39:19.399
 yourself

00:39:19.399 --> 00:39:19.939
 to them

00:39:19.940 --> 00:39:20.639
 so that

00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:20.940
 they will

00:39:20.940 --> 00:39:21.740
 find you

00:39:21.740 --> 00:39:22.280
 and call

00:39:22.280 --> 00:39:22.760
 out to you

00:39:22.760 --> 00:39:23.019
 for the

00:39:23.019 --> 00:39:23.260
 grace

00:39:23.260 --> 00:39:23.500
 and the

00:39:23.500 --> 00:39:23.720
 mercy

00:39:23.720 --> 00:39:24.119
 that they

00:39:24.119 --> 00:39:24.460
 need

00:39:24.460 --> 00:39:25.460
 God

00:39:25.460 --> 00:39:25.760
 if you

00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:26.400
 leave them

00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:26.740
 to their

00:39:26.740 --> 00:39:27.340
 own devices

00:39:27.340 --> 00:39:27.740
 they're in

00:39:27.740 --> 00:39:28.260
 deep trouble

00:39:28.260 --> 00:39:29.240
 but they

00:39:29.240 --> 00:39:29.760
 need your

00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:30.099
 mercy

00:39:30.099 --> 00:39:30.420
 and they

00:39:30.420 --> 00:39:30.720
 don't know

00:39:30.720 --> 00:39:31.039
 how to

00:39:31.039 --> 00:39:31.460
 find you

00:39:31.460 --> 00:39:32.059
 so God

00:39:32.059 --> 00:39:32.960
 I ask

00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:33.159
 you

00:39:33.159 --> 00:39:33.980
 won't you

00:39:33.980 --> 00:39:34.420
 in your

00:39:34.420 --> 00:39:34.960
 mercy

00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:35.380
 won't you

00:39:35.380 --> 00:39:36.039
 pour out

00:39:36.039 --> 00:39:36.480
 your grace

00:39:36.480 --> 00:39:36.740
 in them

00:39:36.740 --> 00:39:37.019
 so that

00:39:37.019 --> 00:39:37.260
 they can

00:39:37.260 --> 00:39:37.840
 find you

00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:39.200
 friends

00:39:39.200 --> 00:39:39.480
 could we

00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:39.960
 not pray

00:39:39.960 --> 00:39:40.440
 the same

00:39:40.440 --> 00:39:40.700
 thing

00:39:40.700 --> 00:39:41.139
 for our

00:39:41.139 --> 00:39:41.420
 city

00:39:41.420 --> 00:39:44.019
 Father

00:39:44.019 --> 00:39:44.460
 forgive

00:39:44.460 --> 00:39:44.679
 them

00:39:44.679 --> 00:39:45.039
 they know

00:39:45.039 --> 00:39:45.440
 not what

00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:45.860
 you do

00:39:45.860 --> 00:39:47.280
 pray

00:39:47.280 --> 00:39:47.740
 to the

00:39:47.740 --> 00:39:48.000
 city

00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:48.740
 on behalf

00:39:48.740 --> 00:39:49.200
 of it

00:39:49.199 --> 00:39:50.359
 now

00:39:50.359 --> 00:39:50.799
 why does

00:39:50.799 --> 00:39:51.000
 God

00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:51.359
 ask us

00:39:51.359 --> 00:39:51.779
 to pray

00:39:51.779 --> 00:39:53.059
 I want

00:39:53.059 --> 00:39:53.199
 to give

00:39:53.199 --> 00:39:53.480
 us three

00:39:53.480 --> 00:39:53.739
 quick

00:39:53.739 --> 00:39:54.159
 reasons

00:39:54.159 --> 00:39:55.480
 one reason

00:39:55.480 --> 00:39:55.939
 is this

00:39:55.939 --> 00:39:56.279
 because

00:39:56.279 --> 00:39:56.839
 prayer is

00:39:56.839 --> 00:39:57.299
 powerful

00:39:57.299 --> 00:39:58.799
 you'll know

00:39:58.799 --> 00:39:59.179
 this very

00:39:59.179 --> 00:39:59.599
 famous

00:39:59.599 --> 00:39:59.799
 I've

00:39:59.799 --> 00:40:00.419
 mentioned

00:40:00.419 --> 00:40:01.239
 many times

00:40:01.239 --> 00:40:02.439
 I think

00:40:02.439 --> 00:40:02.719
 the

00:40:02.719 --> 00:40:03.759
 16th

00:40:03.759 --> 00:40:04.159
 century

00:40:04.159 --> 00:40:05.219
 John

00:40:05.219 --> 00:40:05.599
 Knox

00:40:05.599 --> 00:40:06.019
 is a

00:40:06.019 --> 00:40:06.899
 Presbyterian

00:40:06.899 --> 00:40:07.519
 pastor

00:40:07.519 --> 00:40:08.139
 in Scotland

00:40:08.139 --> 00:40:09.339
 and he

00:40:09.339 --> 00:40:09.639
 used to

00:40:09.639 --> 00:40:09.919
 pray

00:40:09.919 --> 00:40:10.439
 in Queen

00:40:10.439 --> 00:40:10.859
 Mary

00:40:10.859 --> 00:40:11.359
 the Queen

00:40:11.359 --> 00:40:11.819
 of England

00:40:11.819 --> 00:40:13.019
 she says

00:40:13.019 --> 00:40:13.599
 I fear

00:40:13.599 --> 00:40:14.179
 the prayers

00:40:14.179 --> 00:40:14.579
 of John

00:40:14.579 --> 00:40:14.879
 Knox

00:40:14.879 --> 00:40:15.559
 more than

00:40:15.559 --> 00:40:15.960
 all the

00:40:15.960 --> 00:40:16.460
 armies

00:40:16.460 --> 00:40:17.059
 of England

00:40:17.059 --> 00:40:17.759
 right

00:40:17.759 --> 00:40:19.199
 because

00:40:19.199 --> 00:40:19.699
 prayer is

00:40:19.699 --> 00:40:20.079
 powerful

00:40:20.079 --> 00:40:20.500
 and it

00:40:20.500 --> 00:40:20.880
 changes

00:40:20.880 --> 00:40:21.320
 things

00:40:21.320 --> 00:40:22.440
 and prayer

00:40:22.440 --> 00:40:22.880
 actually

00:40:22.880 --> 00:40:23.380
 works

00:40:23.380 --> 00:40:24.299
 and when

00:40:24.299 --> 00:40:24.880
 we pray

00:40:24.880 --> 00:40:25.279
 for our

00:40:25.279 --> 00:40:25.500
 city

00:40:25.500 --> 00:40:25.880
 God

00:40:25.880 --> 00:40:26.239
 hears

00:40:26.239 --> 00:40:26.440
 our

00:40:26.440 --> 00:40:26.719
 prayers

00:40:26.719 --> 00:40:26.980
 and he

00:40:26.980 --> 00:40:27.259
 does

00:40:27.259 --> 00:40:27.659
 things

00:40:27.659 --> 00:40:28.519
 prayer

00:40:28.519 --> 00:40:28.699
 is

00:40:28.699 --> 00:40:29.099
 powerful

00:40:29.099 --> 00:40:30.119
 the second

00:40:30.119 --> 00:40:30.420
 reason

00:40:30.420 --> 00:40:30.840
 is this

00:40:30.840 --> 00:40:31.940
 you pray

00:40:31.940 --> 00:40:32.340
 for what

00:40:32.340 --> 00:40:32.860
 you love

00:40:32.860 --> 00:40:33.259
 and you

00:40:33.259 --> 00:40:33.639
 love

00:40:33.639 --> 00:40:34.039
 what you

00:40:34.039 --> 00:40:34.320
 pray

00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:34.599
 for

00:40:34.599 --> 00:40:35.659
 it's

00:40:35.659 --> 00:40:35.840
 very

00:40:35.840 --> 00:40:36.159
 hard

00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:36.679
 to pray

00:40:36.679 --> 00:40:36.900
 for

00:40:36.900 --> 00:40:37.239
 someone

00:40:37.239 --> 00:40:37.960
 and despise

00:40:37.960 --> 00:40:38.199
 them

00:40:38.199 --> 00:40:38.880
 it's

00:40:38.880 --> 00:40:39.059
 very

00:40:39.059 --> 00:40:39.340
 hard

00:40:39.340 --> 00:40:39.880
 to pray

00:40:39.880 --> 00:40:40.099
 for

00:40:40.099 --> 00:40:40.360
 someone

00:40:40.360 --> 00:40:40.739
 and then

00:40:40.739 --> 00:40:41.099
 use

00:40:41.099 --> 00:40:41.579
 and abuse

00:40:41.579 --> 00:40:41.840
 them

00:40:41.840 --> 00:40:42.739
 you

00:40:42.739 --> 00:40:43.059
 pray

00:40:43.059 --> 00:40:43.279
 for

00:40:43.279 --> 00:40:43.440
 what

00:40:43.440 --> 00:40:43.559
 you

00:40:43.559 --> 00:40:43.779
 love

00:40:43.779 --> 00:40:44.219
 but also

00:40:44.219 --> 00:40:44.719
 as you

00:40:44.719 --> 00:40:45.039
 pray

00:40:45.039 --> 00:40:45.360
 for

00:40:45.360 --> 00:40:45.719
 someone

00:40:45.719 --> 00:40:45.960
 your

00:40:45.960 --> 00:40:46.699
 heart

00:40:46.699 --> 00:40:47.079
 grows

00:40:47.079 --> 00:40:47.239
 for

00:40:47.239 --> 00:40:47.440
 them

00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:48.079
 as

00:40:48.079 --> 00:40:48.300
 God

00:40:48.300 --> 00:40:48.639
 asks

00:40:48.639 --> 00:40:48.800
 us

00:40:48.800 --> 00:40:48.960
 to

00:40:48.960 --> 00:40:49.179
 pray

00:40:49.179 --> 00:40:49.380
 for

00:40:49.380 --> 00:40:49.519
 the

00:40:49.519 --> 00:40:49.800
 city

00:40:49.800 --> 00:40:50.360
 it'll

00:40:50.360 --> 00:40:50.639
 grow

00:40:50.639 --> 00:40:50.840
 our

00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:51.059
 own

00:40:51.059 --> 00:40:51.400
 heart

00:40:51.400 --> 00:40:51.579
 for

00:40:51.579 --> 00:40:51.739
 the

00:40:51.739 --> 00:40:51.980
 city

00:40:51.980 --> 00:40:52.420
 and even

00:40:52.420 --> 00:40:52.860
 the areas

00:40:52.860 --> 00:40:53.340
 of pain

00:40:53.340 --> 00:40:53.820
 and the areas

00:40:53.820 --> 00:40:54.039
 that we

00:40:54.039 --> 00:40:54.599
 find hard

00:40:54.599 --> 00:40:56.079
 but here's a third

00:40:56.079 --> 00:40:56.460
 reason

00:40:56.460 --> 00:40:58.619
 because not only is God

00:40:58.619 --> 00:41:00.699
 asking us to love and serve the city of Hong Kong

00:41:00.699 --> 00:41:04.300
 he's asking us to serve the city of Hong Kong in his way

00:41:04.300 --> 00:41:08.940
 Francis Schaeffer used to speak about doing the Lord's work

00:41:08.940 --> 00:41:10.239
 in the Lord's way

00:41:10.239 --> 00:41:13.779
 in other words what he's saying is we can go out in the city of Hong Kong

00:41:13.780 --> 00:41:18.240
 we can set up NGOs and start schools and plant churches and set up charities

00:41:18.240 --> 00:41:23.720
 but if we do it without deep meditation on the gospel if we do it without the dependence

00:41:23.720 --> 00:41:28.200
 that comes from prayer you know what will happen we'll do it self-righteously

00:41:28.200 --> 00:41:33.220
 we'll do it with self-sufficiency we'll do it in our own strength and you know what

00:41:33.220 --> 00:41:40.180
 we'll probably cause more harm than good Steve Corbett wrote a book 15 years ago

00:41:40.179 --> 00:41:45.919
 called when helping hurts and he spoke about how so many NGOs go into the cities and try

00:41:45.919 --> 00:41:50.699
 and do things but in the end they cause more damage than good because they do it in their

00:41:50.699 --> 00:41:52.619
 own self-righteousness and their own strength

00:41:52.619 --> 00:41:57.519
 and Steve Corbett says that when we do that we try to bring the kingdom of heaven to our

00:41:57.519 --> 00:41:59.179
 world without the king

00:41:59.179 --> 00:42:02.339
 friends we need to be people that pray

00:42:02.340 --> 00:42:08.640
 in this great city of ours that has gone through so much in the last two years

00:42:08.640 --> 00:42:11.800
 friends it's easier to complain than to pray

00:42:11.800 --> 00:42:15.980
 it's easier to mock and scoff and laugh and ridicule

00:42:15.980 --> 00:42:20.120
 and criticize than it is to labor and pray

00:42:20.120 --> 00:42:23.680
 it's easier to point with our finger than to get on our knees

00:42:23.680 --> 00:42:27.840
 but friends what our city really needs is not just more charity

00:42:27.840 --> 00:42:31.980
 and it's not just Christians that are going out and doing random acts of kindness

00:42:31.980 --> 00:42:34.780
 it's not just Christians trying to be good people

00:42:34.780 --> 00:42:37.920
 what this great city needs is the kingdom of God

00:42:37.920 --> 00:42:44.780
 it needs the presence and the power of the once crucified but now resurrected Christ who sits in glory

00:42:44.780 --> 00:42:51.640
 friends what this city needs is the life transforming power of the sovereign majestic glorious God

00:42:51.640 --> 00:42:53.900
 the God who gives life to the dead

00:42:53.900 --> 00:42:55.920
 and how's that going to happen?

00:42:56.559 --> 00:43:00.160
 it's going to happen as his church presences itself in the city

00:43:00.160 --> 00:43:03.019
 seeks the peace and the shalom of the city

00:43:03.019 --> 00:43:05.980
 but as we give ourselves to pray

00:43:05.980 --> 00:43:10.400
 Jeremiah writes this letter to the people of God

00:43:10.400 --> 00:43:12.579
 in the heart of the city of man

00:43:12.579 --> 00:43:15.820
 and he says go and put down your roots

00:43:15.820 --> 00:43:20.079
 seek the shalom and the welfare and the peace of the city

00:43:20.079 --> 00:43:22.720
 go and be people of prayer

00:43:22.719 --> 00:43:24.980
 may we do the same

00:43:24.980 --> 00:43:26.659
 let's pray together

00:43:26.659 --> 00:43:30.500
 oh heavenly father

00:43:30.500 --> 00:43:30.939
 we

00:43:30.939 --> 00:43:34.299
 God we come before you this morning

00:43:34.299 --> 00:43:37.819
 and we hear your word Lord

00:43:37.819 --> 00:43:40.819
 that you call us to this great city

00:43:40.819 --> 00:43:43.419
 not just for our own welfare

00:43:43.419 --> 00:43:45.079
 not just for our own good

00:43:45.079 --> 00:43:47.000
 you call us here God

00:43:47.000 --> 00:43:48.679
 not just to use the city

00:43:48.679 --> 00:43:50.299
 but to bless it

00:43:50.300 --> 00:43:53.220
 oh heavenly father we pray

00:43:53.220 --> 00:43:55.580
 come and stir our hearts God

00:43:55.580 --> 00:43:59.220
 to love and serve the great city of Hong Kong

00:43:59.220 --> 00:44:00.960
 the fragrant harbor Lord

00:44:00.960 --> 00:44:02.140
 the pearl of the east

00:44:02.140 --> 00:44:03.780
 we pray God that this city

00:44:03.780 --> 00:44:08.019
 will be infused with the fragrance of heaven Lord

00:44:08.019 --> 00:44:12.440
 Jesus come and have your way

00:44:12.440 --> 00:44:15.200
 but first we pray come and have your way in our own hearts God

00:44:15.199 --> 00:44:18.699
 God won't you come and shape us Lord

00:44:18.699 --> 00:44:20.679
 won't you come and form us

00:44:20.679 --> 00:44:23.899
 God won't you come and make us more like you

00:44:23.899 --> 00:44:28.739
 God we so need you here

00:44:28.739 --> 00:44:34.899
 Lord I pray for every one of us this morning

00:44:34.899 --> 00:44:35.839
 whether we're at home

00:44:35.839 --> 00:44:37.460
 whether we're at the community center

00:44:37.460 --> 00:44:38.619
 whether we're here at Ebenezer

00:44:38.619 --> 00:44:43.119
 won't you start to call us God

00:44:43.119 --> 00:44:47.400
 God we're convinced that you've called us here

00:44:47.400 --> 00:44:49.480
 for such a time as this

00:44:49.480 --> 00:44:51.599
 it's no coincidence that we're in Hong Kong

00:44:51.599 --> 00:44:53.059
 for this time this season

00:44:53.059 --> 00:44:57.960
 God won't you lead us

00:44:57.960 --> 00:44:59.739
 won't you help us

00:44:59.739 --> 00:45:04.900
 won't you speak to us God

00:45:04.900 --> 00:45:07.900
 help us to love our city

00:45:07.900 --> 00:45:08.820
 and to serve our city

00:45:08.820 --> 00:45:10.240
 help us God to bring

00:45:10.240 --> 00:45:12.240
 the kingdom of God

00:45:12.240 --> 00:45:14.639
 to the city of man

00:45:14.639 --> 00:45:19.860
 Christ come and have your way we pray

00:45:19.860 --> 00:45:23.220
 Amen