WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Love For The Lost Publishing Date: 2025-03-02T05:04:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/love-for-the-lost/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:17.240 So, two weeks ago we talked about the gospel and what the gospel means. And today they are 00:00:17.240 --> 00:00:25.340 doing it in Sunday school, eh? And Betty and someone else perhaps, or maybe just Betty, 00:00:25.340 --> 00:00:33.500 Betty and Wibby. Betty and Wibby have come up with this little thing—that was Anna and 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:38.660 Betty—they came up with this little thing where the kids will be making this, where 00:00:38.660 --> 00:00:43.660 it tells you, defines the gospel. But it's done so well that even the grown-ups should 00:00:43.660 --> 00:00:49.600 perhaps have this, because it really tells you everything we learned two weeks ago made 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:56.600 into a little thingy. Yeah? So, if you need more of these, talk to Betty and Anna. They 00:00:57.100 --> 00:01:04.100 are thinking of copywriting it, so get it before they decide to charge you for it. Yeah? 00:01:04.900 --> 00:01:11.900 So two weeks ago we talked about the gospel. Last week we talked about praying so that 00:01:13.260 --> 00:01:18.680 the spread or the witness to the resurrected Christ may begin to happen. And we said we 00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:25.680 would have, just like Ruah, we would have a time of prayers at church together. And 00:01:26.060 --> 00:01:32.100 so we will talk about that today and how we are going to go about it. But before we go 00:01:32.100 --> 00:01:37.420 into that, we need to just realize that a lot of what we do must come out of this idea 00:01:37.420 --> 00:01:44.420 called love, not duty. And so, just want to explore this idea of love for the lost, love 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:51.560 for the lost. So if you go to Romans 10, 1, Romans 10, 1, Romans 10, 1. This is Paul speaking 00:02:00.440 --> 00:02:07.440 and after that we will go to Romans 9, 2 and 3. And so it says in Romans 10, 1, brothers, 00:02:07.740 --> 00:02:14.260 my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. And 00:02:14.260 --> 00:02:21.260 then if you go to 9, verse 2 and 3, it says there that I have great sorrow and unceasing 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:28.460 anguish in my heart, for I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:33.900 for the sake of my brothers. Those are my own race, the people of Israel. That's a crazy 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:40.960 statement to make, eh? On one hand he's saying I long to see the ones that I belong to. He 00:02:44.640 --> 00:02:51.640 came out of Israel and he longs to see Israel saved. On the other hand, and I don't understand 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:58.720 this, I don't know if you are able to grasp it where he's saying that I would rather be 00:02:58.720 --> 00:03:04.420 cursed and cut off for the sake of my brothers so that they get saved even if I was cursed 00:03:04.420 --> 00:03:11.420 and cut off. And he knows what eternal damnation looks like. And it's not exaggeration. He's 00:03:11.860 --> 00:03:16.100 making a statement there saying I would rather be cut off and cursed so that the rest of 00:03:16.100 --> 00:03:22.660 Israel could be saved. And so when it comes to salvation of others, for us it's not very 00:03:22.660 --> 00:03:29.660 emotional guys. And yet both God and Paul and others had an understanding of salvation 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:36.840 that had emotion. Our understanding, our grasp of salvation, our grasp of salvation for others, 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:48.360 especially if they're not dad or mom or sister or brother, is often devoid of emotion, is 00:03:48.760 --> 00:03:55.760 often devoid of emotion. And yet here is a man saying that he feels deep anguish. He 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:05.240 feels sorrow. He feels anguish. There's something missing, right? Because I haven't felt deep 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:12.240 anguish or sorrow. I might feel that if it was my dad or my mom, my sister or brother, 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:19.240 but they're saved. But outside of that, that's not the emotion I begin to feel. Jesus was 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:28.240 this way. He stands and looks at Jerusalem in Luke chapter 13 and he says, oh Jerusalem, 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:33.240 oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:37.940 chapter 13 and he says, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, how I've longed to gather you 00:04:37.940 --> 00:04:44.940 as the hen would gather her chicks. There was longing there. There was yearning. Isaiah 00:04:45.280 --> 00:04:52.280 62 verse one, if you read the, I think it's the New Living Translation, it says that because 00:04:54.360 --> 00:05:01.360 I love Israel, I long to bring her into my fold. So there seems to be this idea of love 00:05:03.440 --> 00:05:08.440 which causes God to do stuff. He rarely does it out of duty, rarely does it because he 00:05:08.440 --> 00:05:15.280 is God. He doesn't do it because he is God. He does it because of this thing that he is, 00:05:15.280 --> 00:05:22.280 which is holy, which is love, which is joy. Any questions on that? Do you recognize that 00:05:26.960 --> 00:05:32.000 perhaps we are devoid of that emotion that's connected to salvation? And he's talking about 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:36.680 all of Israel and this was the same Israel that was beginning to persecute him for having 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:43.680 changed lanes, going from his strong Jewishness to Christianity and yet that's the way he 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:52.720 feels. And so face up to the fact that perhaps there is a lack and that lack must be bridged. 00:05:54.760 --> 00:06:01.760 Otherwise even prayer at some point will get down. Nothing like praying with passion, right? 00:06:02.200 --> 00:06:09.200 The passion is fueled by truth and emotion. So is there sorrow, is there sorrow for the 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:26.840 perishing? It sounds like a very Christian question but there's no other way to put it. 00:06:26.840 --> 00:06:33.840 Is there sorrow for the perishing? Is there desire for their conversion? Is there desire 00:06:33.840 --> 00:06:40.840 for their conversion? And is there fervent prayer for their salvation? And if no, then 00:06:40.840 --> 00:06:47.840 how do you cultivate a heart? That's what we look at today. How do you cultivate a heart 00:06:51.760 --> 00:06:58.760 that has emotion connected to it? Any questions? Do you think there is need for emotion or 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:07.560 do you think there is need for emotion? And if there is need for emotion, then how do 00:07:10.840 --> 00:07:17.840 you get there? It's just facts and truth. There is a blooming need for emotion. God 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:25.720 cannot be clinically divided. He is truth, he is emotion, he is very relational. And 00:07:27.080 --> 00:07:34.080 you cannot be relational without emotion and passion. It's impossible. It's based in truth 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:41.480 but it carries with it. Joy and love and compassion, all emotions. Questions? The reason I'm saying 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:52.600 questions is we must confront the fact that this is not our cup of tea. Yeah? But like 00:07:52.600 --> 00:07:59.600 so many other changes that God has brought in our lives, he'll bring another amazing 00:08:03.400 --> 00:08:10.400 change. Yeah? Yep. Let us pray. No, I'm just kidding. Okay. First one. Remember the plight 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:29.600 of the unsaved. Remember the plight of the unsaved. John 3.36. John 3.36. John 3.36. 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:36.600 Here's what it says. Whoever believes in the sun has eternal life but whoever rejects 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:43.600 the sun will not see life for God's wrath remains on them. So the plight of the unsaved 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:52.840 is very simple. They forfeit their life. They are not going to be saved. They are going 00:08:52.880 --> 00:08:59.880 to be destroyed. They are going to be destroyed. They are going to be destroyed. They are going 00:09:00.040 --> 00:09:05.040 to be destroyed. They are going to be destroyed. They are going to be destroyed. That's not 00:09:05.040 --> 00:09:12.040 what's happened, no. Yeah? Yes. So whatever lies within God remains on them. So the plight 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:20.840 of the unsaved is very simple. They forfeit. They forfeit eternal. They forfeit eternal 00:09:21.020 --> 00:09:28.020 life and they are under God's wrath. Another word for it, anger. It's something we don't 00:09:29.880 --> 00:09:35.160 this is reality. Not unfortunately. Fortunately this is reality. It is a fear of not going 00:09:35.160 --> 00:09:41.920 to heaven that drove me to the Lord. Then I learned how to love Him. But this is the 00:09:41.920 --> 00:09:48.680 plight of the unsaved. So let's take the city of Richmond for example. There are 223,000 00:09:48.680 --> 00:09:58.280 people in Richmond. Out of the 223,000 people in Richmond, 54% are Chinese, 8% are East 00:09:58.280 --> 00:10:07.200 Indian, 8% are Filipino, 30% are made up of Caucasians and Japanese and other cultures. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:13.760 The most prominent religion is Buddhism. Actually the most prominent religion in Richmond is 00:10:13.760 --> 00:10:18.200 people don't believe in anything. 52% don't believe in anything. Then it's Buddhism, 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:23.840 then it's Catholicism, then it is Hindus and Sikhs, then it's Islam and then other 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:30.040 small religions. So let's take that city for example. So anybody who is not saved in 00:10:30.040 --> 00:10:37.940 Richmond then, at some point will forfeit eternal life and will be under the wrath of 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:44.840 God. If you do not receive Christ as Lord, and it's not about going to church, it's 00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:48.440 not about going to church. If you haven't received Christ as Lord and He's not the 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:56.240 master of your life, then you forfeit eternal life and you're under the wrath of God. So 00:10:56.940 --> 00:11:03.940 we forget that plight. We forget that plight. I saw a video on Instagram that we couldn't 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:13.240 show today, but it's about this guy talking about twins in the womb. And so one twin turns 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:19.120 to the other and says, hey do you think there's life after delivery? And the other twin says, 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:26.120 nah it ends here. So the twin says, but what if there's light, it's so dark in here, maybe 00:11:26.520 --> 00:11:32.440 there's light outside. Kid says, nah. The other twin says, no. No light out there. It's 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:39.440 like this. What about this mother that we are wombed in? We'll get to see her face to 00:11:40.200 --> 00:11:45.960 face. She's all around us, but we'll actually get to see her face to face. And the other 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:49.360 twin says, how do you know there's a mother? There's no mother out there. Maybe this is 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:56.360 just a sack of water that we're living in. One of the twins says, but what if these feet 00:11:57.800 --> 00:12:03.880 can begin to walk and this mouth can begin to speak? And the other twin says, logically 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:10.280 there is no such chance. Scientifically, look at us. Swimming around in water and not being 00:12:10.280 --> 00:12:15.240 able to do anything, this ain't going to happen. And you listen to these two twins talking 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:22.240 to each other and you realize how dumb it is to think that there is nothing after this. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:30.000 If you're one of them, I go back to my previous sentence, how dumb it is to think that there 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:38.000 is nothing after this. Going back to what we were talking about, one who does not receive 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:49.320 Christ, one who rejects Christ, will not see eternal life. They will forfeit eternal life 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:57.580 and they will be under God's wrath as in anger. Sometimes we need to remember the plight of 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:07.000 people to get emotions stirred. Questions? Any questions guys? So we have to keep in 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:23.320 sight the terrible reality of an eternity without Christ. I had a friend who died five, 00:13:23.380 --> 00:13:30.380 six years ago. He was with me in school and he knew I was a Christian. I was not born 00:13:30.380 --> 00:13:34.100 again. I came from a Christian family. I knew enough about Christ because I went to Sunday 00:13:34.100 --> 00:13:38.580 school and stuff like that. Years later, he came from a Hindu background, years later 00:13:38.580 --> 00:13:43.100 he becomes a believer. The first time we met, his question to me was just this. Before he 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:47.740 said anything else, he was glad to see me and the first question he asked was, hey Jacob, 00:13:47.740 --> 00:13:50.900 you were a Christian, how come you didn't tell me anything about Jesus? You were with 00:13:50.900 --> 00:13:57.900 me for five years and you didn't tell me a word about Jesus. His complaint was I missed 00:13:58.680 --> 00:14:05.680 out because you didn't. Then I told him I didn't really believe in Jesus. I was born 00:14:07.680 --> 00:14:12.240 again much later after I left school and all this stuff. But that is the plight. I pray 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:17.760 God, I'm not trying to send us on a guilt trip. I'm trying to help us understand that 00:14:17.760 --> 00:14:24.240 a plight of an unbeliever should perhaps help me feel the urgency and the emotion and the 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:31.240 passion to do what I need to do. That's just one aspect. It's not the only aspect. Any 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:39.240 questions? Now you can see why Paul says, I have great sadness and great anguish. I would 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:45.280 rather be cursed myself and not go and have this eternal life so that my brothers can 00:14:45.280 --> 00:14:52.280 go and gain it. Next one. 1 Timothy 1, 15 to 16. If you want to read it from the message, 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:09.240 1 Timothy 1, 15 to 16. 1 Timothy 1, 15 to 16. 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:21.520 Here's what it says from the message. Here's a word you can take heart and depend on. Jesus 00:15:21.520 --> 00:15:28.160 Christ came into the world to save sinners. I am proof, public sinner number one, of someone 00:15:28.160 --> 00:15:34.440 who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off, evidence of 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:38.960 his endless patience to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever. Beautiful, 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:44.720 eh? One more time. Here's a word you can take to heart and depend on. Jesus Christ came 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:51.000 into the world to save sinners. I am proof, public sinner number one, of someone who could 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:57.320 never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off, evidence of his endless 00:15:57.320 --> 00:16:04.240 patience to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever. So one of the things 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:11.240 that should drive me is shouldn't, shouldn't be a person who is not a sinner. I think that 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:22.240 he or she tastes what I eat on a daily basis. Be it a friend or be it a stranger, I mean, 00:16:34.920 --> 00:16:39.960 you're going up the elevator and you have this Tim Hortons cookie and there's this little 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:44.140 kid that comes in with his mum and you've got two cookies and one looks at, the kid 00:16:44.140 --> 00:16:47.500 begins to look at your cookie and you know you don't want to give it. But what do you 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:53.340 do? You give it because you want someone else to have a taste. Anybody you meet, I mean, 00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:57.500 I've been on, in an elevator with pizza and I had to share my pizza. Why? Because the 00:16:57.500 --> 00:17:02.780 smell is so overwhelming and it's stuffed crust and it's straight out of pizza. And 00:17:02.780 --> 00:17:08.680 they look at me and they, they do that. What do you do? You have to open it in? Give it. 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:15.160 Isn't it, isn't it required that I share parts of my life, the splendor of what I have? What 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:19.240 do you have? What's the, what's the, what's the most precious thing that you have with 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:24.200 God? Ask yourself that question. What's the most precious thing on a daily basis that 00:17:24.200 --> 00:17:30.480 you experience, that you taste? For me, it would be the ability to communicate with God, 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:34.340 the ability to talk, the ability to hear, the ability to have a friend, the ability 00:17:34.340 --> 00:17:39.920 to go and seek help, the ability to receive it, the ability that every time I pray, there 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:47.080 is hope that things will happen. Gosh, man, what would we do without that? How do people 00:17:47.080 --> 00:18:02.200 survive? How did we survive? What is it that you can give a taste of to a friend? What 00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:11.460 are we trying to get at? How do we love the lost? A taste to a friend or a stranger. That's 00:18:11.460 --> 00:18:24.020 what Paul's trying to say. Listen, I'm public proof. I'm evidence. Any questions? Should 00:18:24.020 --> 00:18:32.100 not he or she have a taste of what I eat on a daily basis? Think of, think of the persistence 00:18:32.100 --> 00:18:38.160 of a stranger or a friend that led you to the Lord. Think of the persistence of a stranger 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:43.900 or a friend that led you to the Lord. How many times did you reject what they offered? 00:18:43.900 --> 00:18:48.420 How many times did you say no and yet they persisted? Why? Because they were desperate 00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:56.040 that you have a taste. They were desperate that you have a taste. There's, you know, 00:18:56.040 --> 00:19:00.860 on one hand there's the world that lives in despair and then there's this desperation 00:19:00.860 --> 00:19:07.140 that should grab my heart which I pray God it does. A desperation. It's not duty bound. 00:19:07.140 --> 00:19:11.740 It's not I'm a Christian therefore I have to witness to Christ. I want to go a step 00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:15.540 further. Nothing wrong with that. But what if we went a step further and had the same 00:19:15.540 --> 00:19:22.020 reasons as Christ? Which is, but I made them. They're made in my image. I love them. I 00:19:22.020 --> 00:19:30.580 love them just like you love your child. What if that became the ultimate motivation? That's 00:19:30.580 --> 00:19:34.260 what you're trying to get at. Loving the lost because somewhere inside something happens 00:19:34.260 --> 00:19:40.480 and emotions click. Love is an act of the will but is expressed through emotions. Love 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:48.700 is an act of the will but it's expressed through emotions. Love that is sheer emotional will 00:19:48.700 --> 00:19:54.200 change from day to day as the person changes. But love is the act of the will but it is 00:19:54.760 --> 00:20:01.760 expressed through emotions. Men, listen to that eh? Women have a slightly easier time 00:20:04.040 --> 00:20:09.360 with that. But men, listen to that. I know you're willing to lay your life down for your 00:20:09.360 --> 00:20:15.560 wife but occasionally express it with a smile. Yeah? I'll lay down my life. You don't know 00:20:15.560 --> 00:20:22.560 it but I could lay down my life for you. Yes but what can you do today? Express it eh? 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:31.200 See? Yeah so it's two extremes right? You've got one side that is just overwhelmingly expressive 00:20:41.560 --> 00:20:48.560 but it lacks the act of the will where the person changes, love changes. Next one. I 00:20:48.560 --> 00:20:55.560 love this one. The spirit loves dark places. The spirit loves dark places. He doesn't just 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:09.640 think it's nice. He doesn't just like it. He loves it. The spirit loves dark places. 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:15.680 Genesis 1, 2 opens with a dark place. Where is he? He's brooding over a dark place. He 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:21.560 loves dark places. Isaiah 60 verse 1 and 2. What does it say? Dark place? Great, I'll 00:21:21.560 --> 00:21:28.560 be there. Listen to this quote which will so resonate with us now. It was by this guy 00:21:31.520 --> 00:21:38.520 called John Wesley. So he arrives in Newcastle in the UK in 1742 and this is what he writes. 00:21:39.520 --> 00:21:46.000 I was surprised. So much drunkenness, so much cursing, so much swearing even from the mouths 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:52.400 of little children. I'd never seen and heard so much cursing before in such a short time 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:57.160 and I thought to myself, surely this place is right for him who came not to call the 00:21:57.160 --> 00:22:03.040 righteous but the sinners to repentance. Brilliant eh? He hears more cursing, more swearing, 00:22:03.040 --> 00:22:07.360 more drinking in a short period of time like he's never heard it before and his immediate 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:14.400 response is, ashaks, this is ripe. This is fertile ground for the one who came not to 00:22:14.560 --> 00:22:21.560 save this righteous but to save the sinners. And so the Holy Spirit loves dark places and 00:22:21.840 --> 00:22:26.840 if you find him and you in a dark place, you know you're meant to be there to usher in 00:22:26.840 --> 00:22:33.840 hope. Love dark places. Do not be put off by it. 00:22:37.360 --> 00:22:44.360 Imagine the dark places you and I came from. Imagine the dark places you and I came from 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:52.240 and the spirit of God was there continuously. Continuously. Dark places of religion, dark 00:22:52.800 --> 00:22:59.000 places of drugs, dark places of struggling with emotions, struggling with mental problems, 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:03.240 struggling with an inability to break, struggling with the idea of love, struggling with other 00:23:03.280 --> 00:23:09.000 religious beliefs. Dark places and then he was there, he was there, he was there. You 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:15.400 know how long he was there for me? He was there for 26, 27 years. Knocking every year, 00:23:15.400 --> 00:23:19.600 bringing someone into my life to tell me, hey there's me, there's me, there's me, there's 00:23:19.600 --> 00:23:26.600 me. 27 years. He loves dark places. Every time you see something like that, let your 00:23:27.600 --> 00:23:34.600 heart rise like John Wesley's heart rose saying this is right, this is fertile ground. Any 00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:50.720 questions? You know it's like those guys who begin to go into the dark because they're 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:58.720 not scared, the darker it is the more they want to kick backsides. It's that kind of 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:06.720 thing. It should rouse passion in you. No? Thank God I know you're listening and that 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:13.720 you grasp and you understand and you believe and you practice. Thank God, this is the grace 00:24:23.320 --> 00:24:30.320 of God given to me. Otherwise, it would be very difficult preaching. But thank God I 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:37.960 know that. Any questions guys? Because at the end of the day, the Spirit of God goes 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:43.480 into those areas and I pray that if you don't have the courage to go in there, that you 00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:50.480 follow those that have courage. Follow those that have courage and it will thrill you. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:57.480 Next one. This is an odd one. We think it's very Christainy and heavenly and Jesusy but 00:25:06.800 --> 00:25:13.800 it's real. Ponder and participate in the joy of heaven when one repents. When one repents 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:27.920 and turns to Christ. We hear this and we think to ourselves every time you hear a preacher 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:36.240 talk about it, oh the angels are rejoicing in heaven at the sight of the sinner who has 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:41.360 turned to the Lord. You think what in the world does that have to do with me? And yet 00:25:41.360 --> 00:25:46.200 let's go to the scriptures and then put yourself in the picture and you'll see. So if you go 00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:53.200 to Luke 15, verse 7 and verse 10. Luke 15, verse 7. I tell you that in the same way there 00:26:01.640 --> 00:26:07.640 will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:12.440 persons who do not need to repent. Verse 10. In the same way I tell you there is rejoicing 00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:17.920 in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Guys think of it 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:24.920 this way. What do you think happened with the Father, Son and the Spirit when you turned? 00:26:26.080 --> 00:26:33.080 I just think of that and it makes me weep. That at some point in 1988 or 89 when I turned 00:26:35.600 --> 00:26:42.080 and I repented, what do you think it did to the Father's heart? What do you think it did 00:26:42.080 --> 00:26:47.080 to the Holy Spirit? What do you think it did to Jesus? I'm not even talking about emotions 00:26:47.080 --> 00:26:53.320 or feelings or imagination. Isaiah 53 talks about it. It talks about how Jesus will thrill 00:26:53.320 --> 00:27:00.320 at the labor of love on the cross now seeing results. It's scriptural. It's not imagination. 00:27:04.340 --> 00:27:11.240 What was it like? Sorry Tia, I'll lower my volume a little. I'll try. I get excited Tia. 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:18.400 What can I do? And then the volume goes up. So what did it look like when you got saved? 00:27:20.360 --> 00:27:27.360 What did it look like when Pawan got saved? What did it look like when good people like 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:37.720 Derek got saved? The same. One was stuck in religion. The other one was stuck in the 00:27:41.560 --> 00:27:47.520 church. Some other kind of rot. But the rejoicing in the heart of the Father, in the heart of 00:27:47.520 --> 00:27:51.880 the Son, in the heart of the Holy Spirit over me was ridiculous. They were so glad I was 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:58.880 back. And then it says the angels rejoice too. Why? Because we have no idea how much 00:28:00.600 --> 00:28:04.600 they are at work in the salvation of each person because in Hebrews chapter 1 it says 00:28:04.800 --> 00:28:11.800 that these are ministers of the wind that minister to those that will inherit salvation. 00:28:13.320 --> 00:28:18.960 God only knows how many times they were actively involved in our salvation sent on errands 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:23.800 by God orchestrating circumstances so that we end up in certain places and do not end 00:28:23.800 --> 00:28:30.800 up in certain places and have our lives preserved instead of our lives dead. And they rejoice. 00:28:31.800 --> 00:28:38.800 Some of them rejoicing, my God, thank God Pawan saved. That was a lot of work. Chava 00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:45.440 Chava. 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:58.080 Grasp the joy of being used by God to bring a person from death to eternal life. Grasp 00:28:58.080 --> 00:29:05.080 the joy of being used by God to bring a person from death to eternal life. Paul goes so far 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:12.440 as to say in 1 Thessalonians 2.19 if you read the passion translation or message or any 00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:19.440 of those versions it talks about how he says hey you are ones that I brought to the Lord 00:29:19.760 --> 00:29:26.760 and you are my joy, you are my crown, you are my boast. These are the words he uses 00:29:26.760 --> 00:29:31.560 that you are my joy, you are my crown, you are my hope, you are my boast. It's almost 00:29:31.560 --> 00:29:38.560 like he's talking about his own children. 1 Thessalonians 2.19. Questions? 00:29:42.280 --> 00:29:49.280 Okay, next one. One of the things we need to do is just ask. Pray that your love for 00:29:49.280 --> 00:29:56.280 the lost will abound. 1 Thessalonians 3.12. 1 Thessalonians 3.12. Ask for it. I lack it. 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:09.200 Sometimes you need to ask for it. Father, you know what, if I get a chance I'll share 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:13.480 the gospel with someone but it's not love that compels me. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:20.480 5, it's impossible for me not to do that because the love of God just compels me. We'll pray 00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:25.600 that today that the love of God compels us and you may think the prayer is really not 00:30:25.600 --> 00:30:32.360 going to help. It'll help like everything else has helped. Thank God we are not looking 00:30:32.360 --> 00:30:38.880 for instant transformation. Those are miracles. Conditions of the heart are a work. Remember 00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:43.760 daddy, the condition of the heart is a work. What do you mean the condition of the heart 00:30:43.760 --> 00:30:50.480 is a work? It is you cooperating with the ungrudging, fully given power of the spirit 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:55.600 to change. And how much have we changed? There's nobody here who hasn't been transformed by 00:30:55.600 --> 00:31:00.280 the power and the love of God. Your lives are different. And here's another area where 00:31:00.280 --> 00:31:07.280 he'll begin to change this. And once you begin to change, the way to keep the change going 00:31:07.640 --> 00:31:13.840 is very simple guys. Small steps. Do something to sustain the change in small steps. When 00:31:13.840 --> 00:31:20.440 the door dash guy leaves the stuff at your door and says, I am here, just say something 00:31:20.440 --> 00:31:27.440 more than thank you. Small steps. Small steps. Love is sustained by small steps. Ask your 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:34.440 wife, we're waiting for that day, 14th of February to do something phenomenal for the 00:31:38.840 --> 00:31:45.280 wifey and then you realize, oh shucks, what about the 364 days later in between? Then 00:31:45.280 --> 00:31:50.080 you wonder why she isn't reacting the way she's supposed to react. I'm talking like 00:31:50.080 --> 00:31:56.440 I know what I'm talking about but here's the point. Here's the point. Do small things 00:31:56.440 --> 00:32:02.000 to sustain love and love begins to increase. Do small things to sustain love and love begins 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:09.000 to increase. It's the best way to fuel love. Small things. Ask for it and then begin this 00:32:09.320 --> 00:32:16.320 journey. Sometimes it's a large tip. Sometimes it's sharing a pizza while going up the elevator. 00:32:17.080 --> 00:32:24.080 Sometimes it's smiling at a person that hasn't. I know this sounds corny but it is true. I 00:32:25.080 --> 00:32:32.080 remember a man who was physically in bad shape, terribly handicapped, had all kinds of problems 00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:37.920 and he was sitting before this pastor and the pastor prays and he just prays one line. 00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:42.080 He says, oh God, I just thank you for this man and before he can complete the sentence 00:32:42.080 --> 00:32:47.840 he bursts into tears and the reason he bursts into tears and this is in this book called 00:32:47.840 --> 00:32:52.160 To Serve with Dignity or something by this guy called R.C. Sproul and so he begins to 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:56.920 weep because that is the first time someone looked at him in those years and said thank 00:32:56.920 --> 00:33:01.920 you for this man. Nobody had yet called him a man because of his deformities. That is 00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:08.920 all it took. One word. We do not know. Love is sustained by little actions. So pray that 00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:15.920 your love for the lost will abound. First Thessalonians 3.12. Then act on your loving 00:33:31.360 --> 00:33:38.360 desire as small as it is. Next one. This is an important one. Get back to the beginning 00:33:38.920 --> 00:33:45.920 of the mentality or if you haven't yet gone there, get to the mentality of seeking not 00:33:51.120 --> 00:33:58.120 just saving the lost. More and more churches, including this one, are okay about saving 00:33:58.120 --> 00:34:05.120 the lost but Jesus didn't say I came to save the lost. He said I came to seek them and 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:12.480 then save them. You see that in John 19.10. He talks about coming to seek and save the 00:34:20.080 --> 00:34:27.080 lost. So it isn't about a person who is not going to save the lost. It is about a person 00:34:28.600 --> 00:34:34.600 saying everybody is welcome but it is being alert on mission in highways and byways instead 00:34:34.600 --> 00:34:41.000 of saving the lost there is a need to go back to the mentality of seeking. Because it is 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:48.000 love for the lost that joins you to God in his pursuit. The Zekiah story is classic. 00:34:48.800 --> 00:34:55.800 He seeks him. He seeks him to save him. He seeks him to save him. I don't seek to save 00:34:56.800 --> 00:35:03.800 anymore. If they come my way, sure. But I seek to save. That is something else. That 00:35:07.080 --> 00:35:11.960 comes not because you have an encounter or an opportunity. That comes because there is 00:35:11.960 --> 00:35:18.960 a desire to go out and seek. And seek how that happens in your daily life. That is the 00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:32.800 daily places. At the airport. At work. On your way back from work. In the bus. Some 00:35:35.400 --> 00:35:39.720 guys do it easily. Some guys find it more difficult. The ones who find it more difficult 00:35:39.720 --> 00:35:46.720 will have to call out for love. Duty sucks. Love spurs on. Anything you love you will 00:35:46.720 --> 00:35:53.720 do. Anything you love you will overcome the obstacle. Anything you love you will prioritize. 00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:06.840 I remember reading the parable of the lost coin and the person changed the way the parable 00:36:09.240 --> 00:36:15.200 is understood so that we grasp it better now. Imagine a five cent coin going under your 00:36:15.200 --> 00:36:20.520 sofa. You watch it fall out of your hand and go under the sofa and it's gone deep 00:36:20.520 --> 00:36:26.680 under that sofa that needed three people to bring it in. Yeah. And now it's gone under 00:36:26.680 --> 00:36:32.520 the sofa and you're looking at it and you immediately know you ain't going to go get 00:36:32.520 --> 00:36:39.280 that coin out from under the sofa because there's only a five cent coin. And yet something 00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:45.360 begins to stir up in you. Becken you. And so you go. You first crawl on your knees. 00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:50.680 You use the coat hanger to pull it out. Nothing's working. You know what has to be done. That 00:36:50.680 --> 00:36:56.040 blooming thing has to be lifted up. You call Derek. You call Don. It's pointless. So then 00:36:56.040 --> 00:37:03.040 you go get some others and finally you get a edge of the sofa. You pull it out and you 00:37:04.040 --> 00:37:11.040 find the coin. And here's what the guy said. It is not the intrinsic value. What gives 00:37:11.040 --> 00:37:18.040 the coin value is the one who seeks it. It may only be a five cent coin. But what gives 00:37:18.440 --> 00:37:25.440 the coin value is the one who seeks it. And then every time you confer value on someone 00:37:25.440 --> 00:37:33.440 or something because you seek it, something happens to that person. Love for the lost. 00:37:55.800 --> 00:38:02.800 Will open your ears and eyes to the condition of people that you don't see, that you're 00:38:15.960 --> 00:38:22.960 blind to. I was sharing this story last night of how this very wealthy man, a very rich 00:38:25.440 --> 00:38:31.600 businessman, this happened in the UK, very wealthy businessman who would go to work every 00:38:31.600 --> 00:38:36.640 day and he was a type that was very fastidious in terms of the route he takes, the shop he 00:38:36.640 --> 00:38:42.120 stops for a newspaper, the time he leaves his home, the time he gets to the office. 00:38:42.120 --> 00:38:47.240 And he'd always take the same route. He lived in a gated community, kind of cut off from 00:38:47.240 --> 00:38:52.380 the world. And then one day he leaves home and the road that he normally takes to work 00:38:52.380 --> 00:38:57.420 is under construction and there's a detour. So he decides to take a detour. So he takes 00:38:57.420 --> 00:39:02.980 a detour and it drives him through a very poor part of town. As he's driving through 00:39:02.980 --> 00:39:08.180 this poor part of town, and he's not a passionate Christian or something, he's born again, but 00:39:08.180 --> 00:39:12.980 he knows how to balance his Christianity and the rest of his life so that everything goes 00:39:12.980 --> 00:39:19.980 well. And so he's driving through this part of town and he begins to hear wailing. And 00:39:23.380 --> 00:39:28.780 he can't understand it. Just wailing and he stops at a newspaper shop because he still 00:39:28.780 --> 00:39:32.220 has to buy a newspaper and it's an unfamiliar place and he goes to buy a newspaper and he 00:39:32.220 --> 00:39:36.780 asks the shopkeeper, can you hear it? And the guy says, what? And he says, can't you 00:39:36.780 --> 00:39:40.900 hear the wailing? And he says, no. And so he gets into his car, drives home. For the 00:39:40.900 --> 00:39:45.460 next five days he has to do that because the roads are shut. And every time he drives through 00:39:45.460 --> 00:39:50.140 this neighborhood he can hear the wailing. On the sixth day, Saturday, he decides he 00:39:50.140 --> 00:39:54.780 has to go play golf, but instead of playing golf he goes back to this neighborhood and 00:39:54.780 --> 00:39:59.340 he can hear it again. He goes and talks to his pastor. He knows that something needs 00:39:59.340 --> 00:40:05.420 to be done. Eventually that guy can't but walk around that part of the neighborhood 00:40:05.420 --> 00:40:10.820 and as he walks about the neighborhood he begins to hear the condition of people. He 00:40:10.820 --> 00:40:17.820 buys six apartments there and with those six apartments he begins to reconstruct the plight 00:40:18.340 --> 00:40:24.140 of the neighborhood. It goes on for years. That neighborhood becomes a model of how things 00:40:24.140 --> 00:40:27.260 should be done. The government now wants to pour in money. They ask him to go to other 00:40:27.260 --> 00:40:31.660 neighborhoods and he says, no, this is what God has given me. But something happened to 00:40:31.660 --> 00:40:38.660 him. He began to hear wailing. Another preacher, well known, who again is from the UK. He goes 00:40:40.260 --> 00:40:46.140 to a particular church and he can hear screaming. He can hear weeping. He can hear distress 00:40:46.220 --> 00:40:49.580 and he goes to the church and he says, is there a funeral nearby? They say no, there's 00:40:49.580 --> 00:40:56.580 no funeral nearby. But every time he would go he would begin to feel this. And so he 00:40:58.300 --> 00:41:02.460 calls the church that he's going to, about 40 or 50 people, and he begins to talk to 00:41:02.460 --> 00:41:06.940 them. And he says to them, can you go in the neighborhood and can you listen to people 00:41:06.940 --> 00:41:10.500 and actually listen to their stories? And as they begin to listen to their stories they're 00:41:10.500 --> 00:41:14.420 surprised at the distress and the despair in the neighborhood. That church began with 00:41:14.420 --> 00:41:19.020 40 or 50 people. In a matter of four or five months they had 1200 people who would gather 00:41:19.020 --> 00:41:25.700 and then go out into the neighborhood because they actually could hear the sound, hearing 00:41:25.700 --> 00:41:30.220 the sound. Hearing the sound that either heaven allows you to hear or hearing the sound that 00:41:30.220 --> 00:41:37.220 God continuously hears. God hears sounds. I can hear the sound of the Israelites laboring 00:41:38.220 --> 00:41:45.220 under the whips of the Egyptians. I can hear the sound of oppression. This is something 00:41:46.420 --> 00:41:52.300 he hears. Guys, the day you and I hear it, it'll take your heart and make it whatever 00:41:52.300 --> 00:41:58.380 God wants it to be. When we sing that song it says, break my heart and make it yours. 00:41:58.380 --> 00:42:05.380 The day you hear, you won't be able to survive it. Why? Because we are people who are not 00:42:07.380 --> 00:42:12.060 people who are God who have been given a new heart and a new spirit. Yeah? It's not even 00:42:12.060 --> 00:42:19.060 hard heartedness. It's just that we don't hear. But once you hear, it doesn't matter 00:42:19.220 --> 00:42:24.100 who you are, it doesn't matter what stage of Christianity you are in. We have new hearts 00:42:24.100 --> 00:42:28.660 and we have new spirits. We've been given hearts of flesh. The hearts of stone have 00:42:28.660 --> 00:42:33.540 been taken away. It doesn't matter how busy you are, where you are in your Christianity. 00:42:33.540 --> 00:42:39.760 You hear these sounds as you walk, I won't be possible to resist it. It'll break your 00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:46.060 heart and mold it to his. It'll just be such a natural thing. We've got to ask for it, 00:42:46.060 --> 00:42:53.060 guys. Why? Because heart change is the best propellant for anything in the kingdom. That 00:42:53.060 --> 00:43:00.060 happens, it's like a joy. So we'll ask for that. Father, let me hear. I want to hear 00:43:03.540 --> 00:43:10.540 it. As I drive through, and we'll pick a place and begin this. It'll help us shed, 00:43:19.380 --> 00:43:25.980 or it'll shred our prejudices. It'll also shred our prejudices. It'll enlarge our hearts. 00:43:25.980 --> 00:43:32.980 It'll pave the road that we walk with tears. William Booth, the guy who started the Salvation 00:43:33.180 --> 00:43:40.180 Army. Let me read you this. This guy writes, and he's writing, in my 20s, during a period 00:43:45.140 --> 00:43:51.860 of pastoring, I loved to go past the Salvation Army building, which was the largest one outside 00:43:51.860 --> 00:43:58.860 of London. There's a huge block of stone at the front. Chiseled in one stone it says, 00:43:59.500 --> 00:44:06.500 William Booth of the Salvation Army opened this core. Then it gives the date of 1910. 00:44:07.700 --> 00:44:14.700 In a second stone beneath it, it says, Kate and Mary Jackson, officers in this core. It 00:44:16.380 --> 00:44:22.060 was in this poor city where they spin and weave cotton into cloth, and the whole town 00:44:22.060 --> 00:44:27.900 was on poverty level. Kate and Mary Jackson labored for a couple of years, and nothing 00:44:28.220 --> 00:44:35.220 happened. Those girls worked diligently and went to bed exhausted at night. So they wrote 00:44:35.340 --> 00:44:42.340 to William Booth, would you kindly move us to another station? We are so tired and disheartened. 00:44:42.700 --> 00:44:48.740 We've tried everything that we've been taught to do. Please move us to another location. 00:44:48.740 --> 00:44:55.740 Booth sent a telegram back with two words, try tears. Try tears. They did. And they said, 00:44:58.220 --> 00:45:04.740 they saw revival come. Those girls went to Travelling Prayer, not just prayer, but Travelling 00:45:04.740 --> 00:45:11.740 Prayer, prayer with anguish in it. This is written by this famous preacher from long 00:45:11.780 --> 00:45:18.780 ago called Leonard Ravenhill, and he writes, the road to revival is often paved with tears 00:45:19.060 --> 00:45:25.020 and brokenness. The road to revival is often paved with tears and brokenness. Once we start 00:45:25.020 --> 00:45:32.020 hearing these sounds, it'll be in a change case. And some of our smug prejudices will 00:45:32.540 --> 00:45:39.540 be shred. We have prejudices. We have prejudices against the young that drive fancy cars that 00:45:39.740 --> 00:45:44.140 were given to them by their parents. We have prejudices against the rich. We have prejudices 00:45:44.140 --> 00:45:49.420 against the poor. We have prejudices against the last group of immigrants that came and 00:45:49.420 --> 00:45:54.300 seem to have a lot of money and buy big houses while we are still struggling to buy a house. 00:45:54.300 --> 00:45:58.860 We have prejudices against certain ethnicities. We have prejudices against how people drive, 00:45:58.860 --> 00:46:05.860 not realizing that we drive exactly like that. We have prejudices. And those prejudices prevent 00:46:07.660 --> 00:46:14.660 God from pursuing people because it stops us. We have prejudices against people stuck in 00:46:17.060 --> 00:46:24.060 religions that are sometimes offensive, sometimes violent, but they grew up in it. 00:46:25.060 --> 00:46:32.060 Hearing these sounds will help us shred our prejudices. And if you say you have not prejudices, 00:46:40.260 --> 00:46:47.260 you haven't looked in the mirror for a while. 00:46:55.300 --> 00:47:02.300 Last scripture, Jonah. Jonah 4, 9-11. Jonah is sitting in a desert. Nineveh that he prophesied 00:47:14.180 --> 00:47:21.340 would be destroyed has been spared because the people in Nineveh repented. Jonah is upset. 00:47:21.340 --> 00:47:28.340 He's sitting under a tree that God caused to grow and it's giving him shade. But just 00:47:28.460 --> 00:47:34.540 as he was beginning to enjoy the shade of the tree, a worm comes and starts eating up 00:47:34.540 --> 00:47:41.540 the tree. And now the shade goes. And Jonah is upset. And that's the story, Jonah 4, 9-11. 00:47:42.580 --> 00:47:48.180 And God says to him, so you're upset. What are you upset about? And God is saying to 00:47:48.180 --> 00:47:55.180 him, listen, you're upset not because a plant died. You're upset because the shade went 00:47:55.300 --> 00:48:02.300 away. And he says, I'm a gardener. I'm the one who raised this plant. I'm the one who 00:48:02.980 --> 00:48:09.980 watered it. I'm the one who made it grow. You're upset that shade is gone? What do you 00:48:09.980 --> 00:48:16.100 think I feel when a plant that I raised, that I took care of, that I brought up is now withering 00:48:16.100 --> 00:48:21.860 and dying? What do you think I should feel? And then he goes on to say, how do you think 00:48:21.860 --> 00:48:28.860 I should feel about the 120,000 or more in Nineveh? You want destruction? How can I do 00:48:29.140 --> 00:48:33.980 that? How can I think like that? My heart is unable to think like that or feel like 00:48:33.980 --> 00:48:40.980 that about something that I have raised. As it withers and dies, it bothers me. That's 00:48:41.620 --> 00:48:48.620 what God is saying in Jonah 4, 9 to 11. Oh, if I could have this kind of a heart, you 00:48:49.660 --> 00:48:54.740 would be so blessed because I pastor this church. Oh, if you would have this heart, 00:48:54.740 --> 00:49:01.740 I would be so blessed because you're part of this church. Now you understand why Paul 00:49:01.740 --> 00:49:08.740 says, I'm compelled by love. I can't sit. Imagine for a second if any of these parents 00:49:16.940 --> 00:49:23.940 lost sight of their child for more than a minute and a half. Panic, eh? That's his heart 00:49:23.940 --> 00:49:30.940 towards the Hindu, the Muslim, the Christian, the Jew, the Afghani, the Iraqi, the Israelite, 00:49:35.500 --> 00:49:42.500 the Bangladeshi, the Indian, the Chinese. That's the same heart. Oh, if we could grab 00:49:44.500 --> 00:49:51.500 this. Prayer? Oh my God. That would be something else, eh? Pick out of these the one that you 00:49:51.500 --> 00:49:58.500 think will get your mojo going. How do you expect me to feel as a gardener who tended 00:50:02.140 --> 00:50:08.780 and watched the plant grow only to see it wither and die? Can you Jonah instead ask 00:50:08.780 --> 00:50:14.740 your way, because whenever you ask you receive, can you instead Jonah ask your way into the 00:50:14.740 --> 00:50:20.580 compassion I have for the 120,000 who live in ignorance and darkness whose destruction 00:50:20.660 --> 00:50:27.660 pains me? Guys, before we talk about, so how do we go about this time of prayer that lies 00:50:31.820 --> 00:50:38.820 ahead of us this month, here's something that we have to change, eh? We are very good at 00:50:41.980 --> 00:50:48.980 tuning into heaven, but we are very good at getting out of that in seconds. We can't get 00:50:50.580 --> 00:50:55.820 out of that. We've got to change that. If you want to be alert to the sounds of God, 00:50:55.820 --> 00:51:02.820 then the gravity of what is around us and the love that God wants us to distribute has 00:51:03.620 --> 00:51:10.620 to take on greater meaning. One of the things that is nice about Acts 29 is the freedom 00:51:11.340 --> 00:51:18.340 we have and the camaraderie we have and the back slapping friendships we have. Yeah? And 00:51:18.340 --> 00:51:23.060 that's good. You can back slap Judah and Judah will back slap you back. Yeah? Only 00:51:23.060 --> 00:51:29.740 don't hit him too hard. But the point is this, we've got this free ability, but one of the 00:51:29.740 --> 00:51:36.620 things that's happening because of that is we quickly get out of a zone. You'll see that 00:51:36.620 --> 00:51:43.620 as soon as the service is over, the somberness, the sometimes tangible presence and the holiness, 00:51:44.300 --> 00:51:49.300 sometimes the weight of what we are talking about, in instant it disappears. And we go 00:51:49.300 --> 00:51:56.300 into just sometimes sarcasm, sometimes joking that is, please don't think I'm saying joking 00:51:59.220 --> 00:52:03.820 ain't fun. It's my favorite thing to do. So this goes against the grain of everything 00:52:03.820 --> 00:52:10.260 I want to do. But we've got to change because then you'll find suddenly everything has to 00:52:10.260 --> 00:52:16.540 be re-ignited because you go into a different kind of zone. I'm not saying don't indulge 00:52:16.540 --> 00:52:23.540 in this kind of friendship, but be aware. Because from now till about, I usually, I 00:52:27.820 --> 00:52:32.140 mean by the time you sleep tonight it will be 12 or 1 o'clock. Between now and 1 o'clock, 00:52:32.140 --> 00:52:36.940 we are not aware of what's happening around us. We will be aware tomorrow when we get 00:52:36.940 --> 00:52:41.220 together. We will be aware when we go out to do something in Wally. We will be aware 00:52:41.220 --> 00:52:44.980 when we go out to do something in Richmond. But between when we finish and when we go 00:52:44.980 --> 00:52:51.980 to sleep there's hardly an awareness. And that then prevents us from hearing sounds. 00:52:56.860 --> 00:53:01.940 Just be aware of that, eh? Because we can create subcultures between a service getting 00:53:01.940 --> 00:53:08.940 over and going to bed. We've got to prevent that. Subcultures are sometimes talking a 00:53:10.460 --> 00:53:14.220 certain way or talking in a certain language. I'm deliberately picking on this because I 00:53:14.220 --> 00:53:21.220 hear it all around. This must stop. Linguafranca, English. Stick to it. Young people on one 00:53:24.420 --> 00:53:31.420 side, the older on one side and then the middle ones with the middle ones. Just be aware 00:53:31.940 --> 00:53:38.940 of that. It contains us. It allows us to be alert. Any questions on that before we 00:53:38.940 --> 00:53:45.940 move on? Yesterday George and I were having a discussion and we realized that one of the 00:53:46.380 --> 00:53:53.380 common methods that he uses, and I'm sure I used to, to convey anything is sarcasm. 00:53:53.380 --> 00:54:00.380 And Derek and Donna, my favorite. People to be sarcastic with. I'm going off topic but 00:54:04.740 --> 00:54:09.180 it is important because if we are to take on the hearing of the things of God and the 00:54:09.180 --> 00:54:14.260 sounds of God then we have to realize that in the midst of our joking I should still 00:54:14.260 --> 00:54:20.100 be able to hear the sound. Otherwise I miss out on things. So God can only have me when 00:54:20.100 --> 00:54:27.100 I'm in a zone. I'm partly responsible for what has happened here. I'll try to change. 00:54:27.260 --> 00:54:34.260 I really want to because what is at stake is much larger. Any questions guys? Okay. 00:54:36.940 --> 00:54:43.940 So here's what we'll do for the next, let's say till October and then once it gets cold 00:54:44.260 --> 00:54:51.260 again we'll think. So one of the cities that is the gateway to greater Vancouver is obviously 00:55:00.580 --> 00:55:07.580 Richmond. For the next at least four to five weeks, and I've already mentioned this, I 00:55:13.940 --> 00:55:20.940 have already spoken to the leaders of the house churches. We'll take 15 to 30 minutes 00:55:21.220 --> 00:55:28.220 of the time, 15 minimum, 30 I'd be surprised if you got to 30 because 15 minutes of prayer 00:55:29.060 --> 00:55:36.060 is like very, very long. I'm sorry I'm not being silly. I'm just saying you'll be surprised 00:55:36.220 --> 00:55:43.820 that if you're not spinning your wheels 15 minutes is enough time to pray solid prayers. 00:55:43.820 --> 00:55:48.620 You know it's almost impossible for people here. I mean there are what 70 of us here. 00:55:48.620 --> 00:55:53.660 It's impossible for even 20 to find the time to pray. But in our churches that meet on 00:55:53.660 --> 00:56:00.140 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we can do that. Everybody gets a turn to pray. 00:56:00.140 --> 00:56:05.260 And then at the end of March after the retreat we'll join here and we'll have two or three 00:56:05.260 --> 00:56:11.980 nights of such furious prayer fueled by what you have learned because it'll be scriptural. 00:56:11.980 --> 00:56:16.780 It'll be specific. Your leaders already have the scriptures. They have specific places 00:56:16.780 --> 00:56:23.780 to pray for. For the city of Richmond, for the 223,000, for 54% of the Chinese, for 8% 00:56:24.580 --> 00:56:29.080 of the South Asians, for the Buddhists, for the Catholics praying, oh God, that you would 00:56:29.080 --> 00:56:35.260 do something in the midst and look forward to a summer of baptisms. A summer of baptisms 00:56:35.260 --> 00:56:40.860 where people young and old in Richmond, especially the young, we'll have to take them to Steveston 00:56:41.020 --> 00:56:46.060 and there'll be baptisms. Imagine with me guys. And at some point break out into a small 00:56:46.060 --> 00:56:53.060 smile or just go, hmm, just to encourage me. Yeah? But imagine this. Thanks for the two 00:56:54.700 --> 00:57:01.700 yas and the three homes. It was very encouraging. But just imagine this. So when you get together 00:57:03.860 --> 00:57:10.700 tomorrow for what we meet tomorrow, quest or pursuit? Pursuit? Okay. I still don't have 00:57:10.700 --> 00:57:17.700 the names right. So when tomorrow pursuit meets, your leaders will give you scriptures. 00:57:18.780 --> 00:57:25.780 There are six scriptures to pray with for specific things in Richmond that you will 00:57:26.660 --> 00:57:31.220 pour your heart into, that you will love and pray. When you drive into Richmond, because 00:57:31.220 --> 00:57:35.100 there's almost nobody who doesn't drive into Richmond at least once a week. Richmond seems 00:57:35.100 --> 00:57:40.100 to be the place that everybody goes through, unless you're living in Coquitlam or sorry, 00:57:40.100 --> 00:57:47.100 Shireen, unless, sorry, I forgot. I just thought there was nobody in Coquitlam, but there is. 00:57:47.780 --> 00:57:53.820 So everybody drives through Richmond and you'll find a strange thing happening. As you drive 00:57:53.820 --> 00:57:59.900 through Richmond, you will find that you drive slowly and that you drive aware. And you ask 00:57:59.980 --> 00:58:05.220 God, can I hear sounds? That you begin to look at people and realize this is a city 00:58:05.220 --> 00:58:10.140 that is given to me. When you see a young person, you begin to realize that it is possible 00:58:10.140 --> 00:58:13.780 that there'll be many that will come for baptism. That this summer will be a summer that will 00:58:13.780 --> 00:58:17.780 be really splashy. Splashy in terms of what we'll do in Richmond and splashy in terms 00:58:17.780 --> 00:58:24.780 of the number of people that will be baptized. Why Richmond? I don't know. I don't know. 00:58:25.020 --> 00:58:32.020 But it is what God has chosen at present and we'll run with it. Every time you drive, yesterday 00:58:32.940 --> 00:58:36.260 at 10 o'clock in the night I had to go to Richmond. And as soon as I crossed the bridge 00:58:36.260 --> 00:58:40.580 I was aware that I was in a city that God is saying, hey, let me show you what I can 00:58:40.580 --> 00:58:47.580 do when you guys begin to pray for this city. And so does it stop with Richmond? I pray 00:58:47.740 --> 00:58:54.740 God no. I pray God that so many are baptized that we'll have another vast army to raise 00:58:54.780 --> 00:59:01.780 and that you will be involved in raising them and that it'll spread. I think if I preach 00:59:07.260 --> 00:59:14.260 blind I'd be more encouraged. So here are some scriptures that I want you to look at 00:59:14.260 --> 00:59:21.260 before you come to the churches on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. One 00:59:29.460 --> 00:59:36.460 of them is the one I just showed you. Read them eh? Jonah 4, 9 to 11. It deals with the 00:59:36.460 --> 00:59:43.460 heart. Romans 10, 8 to 15. It deals with active feet and words of truth. Acts 26, 16 to 18. 00:59:43.460 --> 00:59:50.460 Open eyes. Open the eyes of people so that they go from dark to light. First of all, 01:00:04.460 --> 01:00:11.460 open the eyes of people so that they go from dark to light. First of all, open the eyes 01:00:13.460 --> 01:00:20.460 of people so that they go from dark to light. Then the heart. Open the eyes of people so 01:00:28.180 --> 01:00:35.180 that they go from dark to light. Then the heart. Open the eyes of people so that they 01:00:35.580 --> 01:00:42.580 go from dark to light. And the heart. Open the eyes of people so that they go from dark 01:00:49.740 --> 01:00:56.740 to light. Then the heart. Open the eyes of people so that they go from dark to light. 01:01:05.180 --> 01:01:15.540 And then we do this for three or four weeks and after the retreat we come together and 01:01:15.540 --> 01:01:17.900 you will see you pray. 01:01:17.900 --> 01:01:23.660 You will see you pray in a way that this church has not prayed, not because of more teaching 01:01:23.660 --> 01:01:26.600 but because of practice. 01:01:26.600 --> 01:01:29.920 Not because of more teaching but because of the change of heart. 01:01:29.920 --> 01:01:32.500 Not because of more teaching but because of love. 01:01:32.500 --> 01:01:34.560 You will see you pray differently. 01:01:34.560 --> 01:01:40.160 Just as God has brought us to a place in worship now where there is an abandon, where anybody 01:01:40.160 --> 01:01:46.960 who comes in sees it and is able to participate in the same way God will do this with, pray. 01:01:46.960 --> 01:01:58.120 And then let's assume that this dream, this godly imagination of young and old being baptized 01:01:58.120 --> 01:02:02.200 during the summer months, let's imagine for a second that it is real. 01:02:02.200 --> 01:02:03.200 I've seen it. 01:02:03.200 --> 01:02:09.000 I've seen it at Third Beach and Second Beach and Stanley Park when I came here in 1993. 01:02:09.000 --> 01:02:10.000 I'd go and watch. 01:02:10.000 --> 01:02:14.320 I'd be in awe as people would come and get baptized. 01:02:14.320 --> 01:02:16.480 Just imagine that for a second. 01:02:16.480 --> 01:02:21.200 When that begins to happen, we will be in a place where as they come in, you will be 01:02:21.200 --> 01:02:24.560 able to give them what you already have. 01:02:24.560 --> 01:02:28.840 There's this movie called Jesus Revolution. 01:02:28.840 --> 01:02:31.680 It's worth watching. 01:02:31.680 --> 01:02:32.680 It's okay. 01:02:32.680 --> 01:02:33.680 Yeah. 01:02:33.680 --> 01:02:39.480 Greg Laurie, the guy in the movie, is still doing pretty strong. 01:02:39.480 --> 01:02:42.280 Yeah, it's a true story. 01:02:42.280 --> 01:02:45.280 Any questions? 01:02:45.280 --> 01:02:50.280 Any questions? 01:02:50.280 --> 01:02:53.280 No? 01:02:53.280 --> 01:02:55.280 All good? 01:02:55.280 --> 01:02:56.280 Okay. 01:02:56.880 --> 01:03:06.400 Let's just, what if he, instead of praying, sang Hear the Sound? 01:03:06.400 --> 01:03:08.880 But can you think of Richmond as you sing it? 01:03:08.880 --> 01:03:09.880 Yeah? 01:03:09.880 --> 01:03:13.360 And if necessary, change the words. 01:03:13.360 --> 01:03:20.200 And then as we finish that song, what if the guys were doing music, just sing that chorus 01:03:20.200 --> 01:03:24.560 of Open Up the Doors, and you again think of Richmond. 01:03:24.560 --> 01:03:26.280 Can that be a joint prayer? 01:03:26.280 --> 01:03:27.600 Yeah? 01:03:27.600 --> 01:03:30.840 Can you ask God that, Father, can I hear what's happening? 01:03:30.840 --> 01:03:36.280 Can you ask God that I can imagine how you rejoiced when I got saved? 01:03:36.280 --> 01:03:38.780 I want to be part of that for somebody else. 01:03:38.780 --> 01:03:44.240 Can you ask God, Father, compel me, not because of duty, not because I'm a Christian, but 01:03:44.240 --> 01:03:46.240 because of love? 01:03:46.240 --> 01:03:47.840 Can you ask for that? 01:03:47.840 --> 01:03:51.760 Can you ask, can you look at any of those reasons and pick one? 01:03:51.760 --> 01:03:52.760 Yeah? 01:03:53.160 --> 01:03:57.960 So let's end that way, yeah? 01:03:57.960 --> 01:04:02.360 And then tomorrow, day after, and the days after, engage in this. 01:04:02.360 --> 01:04:04.160 As you come, take 15 to 30 minutes. 01:04:04.160 --> 01:04:08.800 15 minutes is minimum, 30 minutes would be a lot, but try and see if you can begin to 01:04:08.800 --> 01:04:11.480 pray using those scriptures. 01:04:11.480 --> 01:04:15.040 And you may only be able to do two or three scriptures, but use them. 01:04:15.040 --> 01:04:21.240 What's my favorite thing that I want from God? 01:04:21.240 --> 01:04:29.440 I'd say, one would be, I want to get back the mentality of seeking, not just saving, 01:04:29.440 --> 01:04:30.960 seeking, that's one. 01:04:30.960 --> 01:04:35.440 And then the other thing I want to do is hear what God hears. 01:04:35.440 --> 01:04:36.440 I want to hear. 01:04:36.440 --> 01:04:39.920 And to be able to hear, I must become aware. 01:04:43.920 --> 01:04:46.920 Guys, yeah, that's it. 01:04:46.920 --> 01:04:50.920 Do you guys want to come back up, Tony? 01:04:51.240 --> 01:04:57.920 And do that one song and then go to the chorus of the other one.