So it's a little warm here, is it? Okay? If I take my jacket off.
Good.
I told the soccer coach, I said, if you let me use one of the socceries, I'll preach in it.
Yeah, everybody is doing fine. I saw.
Daniel and Noah and Elsie.
On Friday.
Let's see, on Friday. Thank you. And
They look like they're doing great, this supposed weekend at a mass that I know. There's all sorts of stuff playing today, and there's a picnic later on, which I won't be at.
And I think they've all gained 5 pounds. I don't know if that helped to you at all.
Putting on weight, but.
Dining room.
Eddie. Miss is just.
A meeting.
Put it like that, but I can't eat there.
And you know it's like I walked through there, and I breathe, and I put on a pound. So I just you know I meet with students, and I talk with them, but I try not to eat anything there, but they're having a great place, and everybody's enjoying it. I do notice that with some students, however, they're starting to get this glazed look on their faces like.
They want me to read all of that.
And that's just one class. So I have a freshman in one of my classes, and I noticed that.
He already is starting to come into the reality of college life.
You know it's fun, but there's business to be done, too.
So.
You know
One.
Question, now.
Coming up at the chapel, and everything.
Has always been.
Sort of.
Why are we here? I mean, what does God really want? I remember thinking about that in my teens.
Kind of the family I grew up in, and everything.
It's like, so what is really going on.
What what does want from us? And are there some directions? Is there some meaning to all of this stuff that's going on? And I was kind of growing up in a little chaos, but you know, I think that that is still always an important question, and I think that God is always very interested in us.
Refocusing.
Because we need to do that. There are so many things like that happen.
And.
So the the question sort of is, I know it's sort of an obvious answer in a way.
But.
What is it that God does with us and for us?
That helps us to refocus and show us what our way is. How easy is it for us to be diverted! And my voice sounds very.
Ominous, right now.
Well, so that's what we're gonna be talking about a little bit. And you know, one thing that Jesus said to his disciples right at the end before he died before he died in John 17. That's how we're gonna be preaching on. But it's just a it's a verse that you guys know that you've probably heard 1,000 times.
But Jesus says.
Sanctify them in the truth.
Your word.
Is truth.
Now, when we think of the idea of sanctify it, you know, make holy set apart, and everything but.
That being set apart is just more than being set apart. It's more than just being different. It's the idea that that is what protects us. That is what keeps us healthy. That is what gives us our balance.
The idea of the Word of God and the truth of God.
Isn't something that we should ever really be relaxed with, because it's always meant to be there and help us, and to give us balance.
Now.
You've probably heard me say, and you would probably testify to the fact, too, that I am.
Bipolar. I believe I'm spiritually bipolar, but I think you are too.
You know, so we're we're all in the same boat, you know. We can be very good, and we can be very awful. But the thing is now that the Holy Spirit lives within us, or we and we have the Word of God, and we can understand it. It's the idea that this is what God is using to help us. This is what God uses to protect us. This is what God uses to keep us balanced. This is what God uses.
To keep us healthy and compassion. This is what God uses to keep us focused and on track.
And the thing is in my experience many years. Whether it was as a missionary.
Or serving as shepherd in churches in the United States. One of the hardest things for people to do is be in the Word of God. I know I had to struggle for years.
Become.
Very, very regular in the Word of God, and I know that it's hard for you.
So, anyway, we'll talk about that a little bit, but it's going to come up in the text.
So turn the Romans. Chapter 13.
The Book of Romans is a great book.
You should read it once a year. If you read in the One-year Bible you already have.
And the thing is, we need to be reminded again. Our minds, our souls, our hearts, are just not capable of holding on to all the truth that God gives us, so we need to constantly be washing ourselves.
With the Word of God.
If you want to put it like that in the Holy Spirit, brings things up. Well. The Book of Romans. What Paul is talking about in the.
8 chapters.
Is, he's talking about this amazing plan of God to change our lives and to get us to the place where we can become His children.
And so, Romans. Chapter 8, is a great chapter. There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
And he starts talking about the Holy Spirit, and how important the Holy Spirit is.
To our walk in Jesus Christ.
And then he's.
Talks about the plan of redemption for the nation of Israel, how the Gentiles and the Jews work together, and he says, God has worked this together, and he basically says, never even mind about how he did it.
It's kind of like the message in job today. Job Center today in the one-year Bible, and Job's message to Job is is, Trust my wisdom. You don't understand how I did it, but here's the thing. If you know me, trust me.
Because I bring it to such an intricate and wise.
Place.
That everything will work out perfectly.
And it's gonna work out for the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel will fulfill what God said they would do.
Okay? And that's in the Bible, too.
And so when you get to Chapter 12.
This is the great thing. Where, therefore, we are supposed to.
Let's just read this. I peel to you, therefore, brethren, based on the last 11 chapters. I appeal to you, therefore, brethren.
By the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
And then he goes into. Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. He goes on and on. We know all of that. So, as a result of all this wonderful stuff that God has done, this amazing playing, the intricacies of which we could never understand.
You know God. And now, he says, present your bodies as a living sacrifice.
Now, Chuck Swindall used to say, the only thing wrong with the living sacrifice is, it keeps crawling off the altar.
The dead one stays on the altar. The living one, you know, is like, what am I doing up here? What time do we eat?
We need to stay in the altar. We need to keep following the Lord. And that's why, in these next couple of chapters Paul brings this orientation, and this is actually the Spirit of God. This is God loving us and saying, Okay, people.
We all have the tendency to get off this.
This assembly in Rome had the tendency to get off course a little bit, and so what Paul is bringing, what the Holy Spirit is bringing is a little bit of correction, and you have a weird chapter 13.
It is the weird chapter 13.
It's like, Okay, I understand all the holy things that you've been talking about. But now, why are we talking about government? Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.
You know what? I'll bet it was an election year.
What do you.
Everybody was worried about who's gonna be on the throne. And who's gonna vote for this guy? And who's gonna vote for that guy? The problem was in room. You didn't vote for anybody.
You didn't have a choice.
And the interesting thing here is that all of what Paul is going to be saying is very applicable to us.
But the thing was, he was saying it in a place where the government was already gone to seed.
And there was no right of the people. So.
What Paul is going to say here is very important. He says.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there's no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God, and you go.
Paul, have you looked at the world.
Or God? Have you looked at the world.
It's like, do you see what's going on here?
Very interesting.
Paul is saying kind of what, in a way, he's applying what he said in.
The last 11 chapters, and in chapter 12. But he's saying God is in control.
God is in control. So what you need to do.
Give you the skinny on. This is just.
Focus on following me.
That's all you need to do.
And he's actually gonna give the answer here that God gave to Job in the Book of Job.
He says, therefore, whoever resists the authority resists what God is appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment, for rulers are not a terror, to good conduct, but to bad.
So the the whole idea here is this, if God has put them there to kind of.
Hold the infrastructure together one way or another.
What is our job?
To become overly worried about who gets into office to become overly worried about the demands that government makes on us.
Or is it simply.
To follow, God.
Under the rad.
See when you get to first, st Timothy, and he gives you this verse that we all know.
That we should all be praying for rulers and authorities and kings, and whoever's in power.
Read the next verse, so that we may live a quiet and peaceable life.
Basically flying under the radar and working the plan of salvation, talking to our neighbors, obviously praying for these people. Obviously, whenever we have contact with them, things that are seasoned with salt, but good behavior.
Living as people who are free from this life, free from all the demands of this thing.
And are free in Jesus Christ. And what that does is, it gives you credibility, it gives you credibility on the one hand, and on the other, it allows you to keep on working with people. This is why the church is thriving right now.
In.
In countries where there's no freedom.
Like in China, or even in North Korea, or even in Iran, or even in Iraq, or even in Afghanistan.
Why?
Because.
People are still reaching out to their neighbor. They're not allowing themselves to be so effective emotionally by these other things. They believe that God is really in control, and they have the calmness of heart to show love to their neighbor with the wrong person.
That person can get them in trouble.
What's trouble?
Trouble is.
Winding up in jail. Trouble is.
Your family winding up in jail.
And all of the things in between people who have lost their jobs and all of this, but they have the freedom of Jesus Christ, and all they have is the ability to rely on God and God in His Word through His Spirit, through His love, allows them.
To keep their focus and their balance in life.
Why are we here?
What are we supposed to be doing?
And that's what Paul in the spirit are telling the Romans here is like, Yeah, I don't like the Roman. I probably wouldn't have liked it either.
You know, there's a lot of things in, you know. It's.
It's this thing where.
We need to keep our focus. Paul is just saying, Keep your focus.
You know, there are a lot of people worked up about this upcoming election. And what's going to happen if those guys went.
The reality is.
If we know our Bibles, and we do.
We know which way things are going.
It's going to get much darker before it gets better.
Persecution is going to become a worldwide thing. We have been held off. It's great that we have a vote.
Who did they vote for in North Korea?
Nobody.
Who did they vote for in China?
Nobody.
They don't get a vote in China.
So what we do is we can leverage.
The good things I got is given us, but never lose focus of the fact that.
It may have to get a lot darker here.
Before people will be open.
And open their hearts to hope.
If it gets so dark they need a light, and if you're the guy with the flashlight.
You know you don't. It doesn't matter who God uses. It's the idea. If you're the one who is focused, if you're the one who's balanced. If you're the one who's willing to share your faith in all the darkness.
They'll come to the flashlight because people need light.
And so he says that these governmental authorities, even the Romans, even North Korea.
Even China are the ones that God has let happen. I know that Satan's kind of in control of that, but not really.
God allows it, and everything is working toward this perfect plan, whether we understand it or not. So what do we do? We keep loving and trusting God.
He says, here, would you have no fear? The one who is an authority? Then do what is good, and you'll receive his approval.
I think that works in every country.
I really do.
For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong.
Be afraid!
For he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is the servant of God and avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake of conscience.
For the sake of conscience. Well, that you don't do anything wrong.
But certainly that you obey God.
And if God says.
To the Government.
But keep working the gospel. That's what you need to do. But if you violate that, probably you're going to get yourself in trouble if you read Peter, he talks about this all the time. If you're going to be persecuted, be persecuted for the right reason, but not because you lipped off.
Liping off is the enemy.
And too many politicians off anyway, and Christians too. By the way.
Okay.
For because of this you also pay your taxes for the authorities of God attending to this very thing. Now strike an American in the heart. How do you do it? Taxes.
Right.
2 things that are invable in life. Ben Franklin said them death.
And taxes.
How did Paul know to go after this issue, or how did the Holy Spirit know to do it? And he says.
Therefore.
Pay all of them. What is? Do them.
Taxes to whom taxes are due.
Revenue to whom revenue is due.
Respect to whom respect is owned.
Honor, tomb, honor is due.
You know, when I was in the Air Force.
You know, it's just like in business or any other place, even somebody in your neighborhood.
Right.
The point is.
You can. There, there may be something you don't like about a person. There may be something that use the military, just as the only example.
We were always told to salute.
What that person represent?
What they represent.
Is somebody who has authority.
In the say United States Air Force. That person may not have been a great person, but we were told.
Even if you don't like him, you salute the uniform.
And the reality is is that we need to respect government.
I was in a church one time. You're kind of new in a church, and you're trying to find the groups and Buddy up. And all this kind of stuff, and I'm a shepherd in that church, and everything.
The only way to get into the in crowd in that church was to Bash Obama.
And I couldn't do it. I wouldn't do it.
I mean it kind of initially, right at the outset, put me on the trading Obama jokes. And so I said, Hey, guys, we need to respect them. He's the President. Well, do you know what he's like?
God says, Respect them.
Now you know that I think, even in our culture, that carries a lot of weight.
You may not like who the President is. You may not like the people who are running.
But we still need to respect. We need to respect people. Why? Because they're great. People know, because God says so.
And he says so right here. Now, how in the world this is? Why, I think again, the one year Bible read it every year it always comes in handy. Not that there's always something breaking around. I.
When do we read this like in.
Beginning of August or something. But the point being is, we need to have that in our.
We're not here to change.
The government.
We're here.
To give.
The good news to us people who are living in darkness.
So then Paul moves out. Now, he said. His piece is, if you're just going to be crass, he's just saying, Be quiet.
Or as I grew up, hearing so often shut up.
God's in control.
Just go with God.
Okay. So then he says, Oh, no one to anything except to love each other.
For the one who loves.
Has fulfilled the law for the commandments.
And then go down to verse 10. Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
And I just want to camp on that word neighbor again. What is God's plan for you?
It would be great if God's plan for you was to go to.
South America and minister. It would be great if God's plan for you was to go to.
Administer.
You could do. You can actually do that. I mean, if you know teaching English as a second language, you can get into all sorts of places you can get into Muslim countries. It would be great.
If all of you would just become missionaries. But here's the deal you already are.
You're a missionary to the people that got us put around you.
Because in God's sovereignty they are there by no accident. You may not like the person in the next cubicle. You may not like the person who works in the next bay in the garage. You may not like that person. God has put them there.
And so the question is.
Can you love your neighbor.
See when we think of all the commands that Jesus gives us, we're thinking about.
He says, not to smoke.
I know it's in there somewhere. I'll.
Don't smoke, I don't smoke so I'm a good Christian.
I remember Howard Hendricks saying, we define Christianity by all the things we don't do. He says. I know a whole community of people, and in Dallas who don't do any of those things.
Laurel, land, memorial, park.
Those people don't do nothing, they must be perfect.
Well, that was Howard Hendrick.
Point is.
The point is the commandments that God gave us.
Are almost all aimed at loving your neighbor.
In giving up the good news. Jesus himself.
Says.
To his disciples. In John 14, he says.
I'm not going to be talking with you very much more because the rule of this world is coming. He has nothing on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I have loved the Father.
Now God didn't command Jesus to not smoke.
Alright, or to not.
Do any of those other things. He commanded Jesus to follow him.
And to keep giving testimony. And that's why Paul, says Timothy, remember Jesus Christ, who gave the good testimony in the presence of Pontius Pil.
What was God's command of Jesus?
Ann's commands to us, too.
Love your neighbor.
Love them, don't you? Don't have to hit them over the head with the gospel.
And buy them in.
Become friends with them.
Do something. I mean it keeps going on. But all I'm saying is that this is what Paul is aiming at here, and then it really goes wild because he talks about.
Loving your neighbor, and then verse 11, he says, besides this, you know the time.
That the hour has come for you to awake from sleep.
For salvation is nearer to us now.
Then, when we 1st believed.
You can go into.
Probably 85, maybe 90% of the churches in the United States.
Hey, Jesus is coming back, and they go. Yeah, I know.
Yeah. It's yeah. I got that one.
I mean, yeah, we started talking about that. What like in the seventies? Or you know, it was a big thing, and people started fighting about it and whatever. And then the eighties, we stopped talking about it. In the nineties. We basically, it became like the wallpaper on the wall.
You know. And now it's like, Yeah.
No.
We are supposed to live in the expectation of our Lord coming back.
The grace of God that bring salvation has appeared to all men, teaches at the 9 godly, less. We should live wholly.
Righteously and godly in this present world, looking for the return of our blessed art.
This was one of the 1st verses I learned like about 80 years ago, and so I've kind of messed up a little bit. But you get.
Looking for the blessed hope and the glorious of our Lord.
Jesus Christ.
Every day.
Every.
Day.
You don't.
You know, when I read so like in the history books and all this kind of stuff in myology, they call the 18 hundreds the great century.
Send out so many missionaries, and there was so much evangelism going on in the world, and there were so many people just like flying into death.
Into Africa trying to make something work in Africa. The missionaries were dying like flies, you know. It was great century, I guess. Maybe that's why it was a great century. It wasn't because of that, you know why they were doing it is because somewhere involved in all of that, they got the idea that Jesus is coming back. The Bible became.
Instead of a half close book, it became a fully open book, because they discovered.
The return of the Lord, and they discovered an understanding of prophecy, and they could finally understand.
Revelation, and how it all fits together, and it created power. That's why the brethren.
Is stuck in the mud, as some of them were.
There were great evangelists. Why? Because they believed Jesus was coming back.
He's coming back.
He doesn't tell us when he's coming back, but he says you should have that expectation. Dl. Moody was kind of a moving object, but when he discovered that Jesus was coming back before the rapture the man just is like he kicked into afterburner.
And we go. Yeah, I know that.
Yeah. She's coming back.
Yeah, I was saying, it's like for an unbeliever. Yeah, Jesus is coming back. What.
Well, you know, he came the 1st time. Well, okay, I know about Christmas and all that. Well, here's the rest of the story. He's coming back.
The the message of the disciples was, The kingdom of God is coming. Get ready, repent! Do something.
He's coming.
Here we go. Yeah, I know. Don't worry about that, Paul says.
Besides this, you know the time.
This is why the Word of God is so important to be in the Word of God.
You know the time.
It's coming.
He's coming.
Time is running out.
For mankind on this planet.
And everyone will have to stand before judgment. Well, I won't.
See, Jesus is coming for me.
Because he loves me, and he does, and I'm not trying to make light of that. But.
So much of our Christianity all over. The place is about me.
About well, us.
But what about them?
What about Jesus's love for the lost sheep that he would leave a hundred over here, and he would go after that one. What about that? What about the Jesus who said, I have come to seek and to save that which is lost? How much like our Lord are we? The disciples should be just like his Lord Jesus laid it all out.
So that he could win lost people. So what are we supposed to be doing.
That's the answer to their question, isn't it?
And he's coming back, and they don't know it.
If you knew the bridge was out, wouldn't you try to stand on the road somewhere and just flag people down? You may look like an idiot, but at least you would be trying. I mean, not to look like an idiot. I look like that all the time, but the point being is that at least you would be trying to slow them down.
We need to try to slow them down. Folks.
That's what God has brought people in your network of relationships.
At least try to slow them down with cake, slow them down with barbecue. Slow them down, I mean. I had a bunch of stuff yesterday slowed me down, but the point being.
The point being is, it's love.
In its relationship.
They are far more likely to listen to you if they think you'd like them.
See it.
Almost all of evangelism, you know.
Paul Branson.
Everybody knows Nate Ramps. Nate Brampton never preached here.
No! Oh.
If he does wear a helmet.
Seriously. He will walk. If you got him miked up, he will walk down. He'll talk to you. He'll talk right over your head at you.
And you, too. Nobody escapes. He is just mobile.
Well, anyway. So that's Nate. But I met his dad. Paul worked in Senegal for 7 years before he ever saw.
First.st
Person come to Christ.
7 years.
But all he did in that time, and all the things that got asked him to do was build relationship with people.
Relationship, relationship, relationship. Bang in his head against the wall, crying out.
God! What does it take to crack the code here? What do I do? And God moved him to do? Amazing.
Creative things. And the thing is, you might look at it all and say, Well, it's Tinker Toy, except for the length of what God drove him to do. But what you do is you praise God in.
This is what.
God can do with any ordinary person who.
Builds relationship and takes the time. I've heard of people in churches that were being ministered to by their next-door neighbor for 4 years before they came to Christ.
We just need to start doing it.
So.
He says, the night is foregone, the day is at hand, so let us cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light.
And I'll read through this list real quick. I think somebody read something similar to this during the breaking of the bread.
It, but.
The point is at the end.
Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexuality or sexuality, not in quarantine or jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify.
Its desires.
The bottom line is this.
Put on Jesus.
That's what we all need to do.
We kind of get coaxed in to forgetting about Jesus.
And our our.
Spiritual life becomes sort of like.
Normal in some respects.
And but imagine that every day you needed to stand before Jesus.
And look at him, and say, Lord.
I'm putting on the pseudo I'm putting you on. I'm putting on my spiritual armor. That would even be a step in the right direction.
Today, before I go out, I need to get myself ready.
And Paul's put on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's really hard to forget the mission. It's really hard to forget why we're here. It's hard to forget our balance in everything else.
If we're putting on Jesus every day.
Very very important stuff. Here.
So what I want to encourage you to do.
Is? Do it?
The thing is is that God has given us.
An amazing book. His love for you.
And for me is so.
Vast, is so genuine, is so intense.
That we can't even imagine.
How great it is for us.
And as a father he is.
Just like you would. You're wanting to see your children. Jesus, as a Savior, says.
I want to see you pass me.
How does that work? Well.
Jesus says, I'm the way the truth in life, and no man comes. The Father by me.
And Thomas, and he says, You know the way that I'm going, and Thomas is Lord, where are you?
Where are you going? We don't even know where you're going. How can we know the way? And he says I am that way. The truth in life, and no man comes to the father but by me. If you'd have known me, you would have known the father. And then Philip says those immortal words.
Lord chose a father will be satisfied. Jesus says, then.
He says.
He who has seen me has seen the father.
He says, even if you don't believe me, believe the works that I've done in greater works than these, will you do.
Because I go to the father. If you ask anything in my name I will give it to you. So the thing is.
Jesus is.
I want you to do more.
I want you to go way beyond me.
I want you to have that same.
Power. I want you to have that.
Part, I want you to pursue the father the way I've been pursuing the father, and it's all possible.
So let me give you a couple of things. I'm just gonna read these off, and probably those who have heard me talk before they will.
Kind of understand where I'm going to. Thing is.
Honestly.
It could be that there are some people here out of shape that I really don't think they can do it.
How many people here have seen the movie Rocky.
You know where he's this auto-shaped guy, and he needs to get himself in shape. I'm not gonna tell you to get the glass of egg yolks.
And all that. That was just yuck.
But anyway, we do need to get in shape. And here's how you start the most natural way in the world.
Be regularly daily in the Word of God.
I recommend the one year Bible.
Because it's just sort of like you wake up with one working brain cell, and before you have your cup of coffee you can go to your Bible, you can open it up and you figure out where you need to be.
Usually today's date.
And then, by the time you have that second cup and the other.
Brain cell kicks in.
You're sitting there with God. Here's the thing. You're not in the word per se. You're sitting at Jesus'.
And you're in communion with him, and the Holy Spirit is there, drawing your spirit together with His. That's what you need.
And he has designed it, that it is through the.
That that happens.
And I just don't understand it. You know. It's just like you say to people, be in the Word of God. You know you don't have to be in every day, you know. Otherwise it's legalism.
And it's like.
Well, what if you love Jesus? Is that legalism.
You know, it's like somebody tells me.
Well, Dan, you don't need to be with your wife every day. Well, I love my wife.
Yeah, but you don't need to be.
With your wife every day. You should be away from her someday. But I love my wife. I want to be with my wife. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with loving Jesus and wanting to be with Jesus and see? That's what develops in that.
Where your heart is right. Next to his.
And he's teaching you through the word.
So that that, I think, is point number one.
The other thing.
Pre
And in preying about the right things.
Yeah.
I am not. I've had a lady come up to me one time in a church, and she said to me, Dan.
It is no worship, service.
Unless we recite the Lord's Prayer.
It was like, Oh, dear.
You know. Now, here's the thing. I really think.
Yeah, I mean, when it becomes tradition like that, you've lost the whole point of it. But the Lord's Prayer is a great prayer, because it's a few words that tell you basically everything you need for orientation. It's sort of like taking a tuning fork and hitting it and then going like this. And oh, Ok, that's the right tune there. So what do you have in the Lord's Prayer?
I have a Father in heaven, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It's a coming. Give us a day, our daily bread, everything that we need.
Maybe not everything we want, but everything we need.
Is given to us by God.
Forgiving other people, boy that gets in so many people's way.
The the amount of.
Mental energy, emotional energy we give because somebody snubbed us, bringing it right back to God and say, God, for your sake I will forgive this person.
And and help me to get the relationship right if that's even possible. But if it's not.
I'm giving this back to you.
Lead me not into temptation. I am a weak person, you are weak people, we all are weak, even with the Holy Spirit in us. We need God helping us every day.
And then keep me from the Evil One. Jesus said, I've given him your word, and the Word has hated you because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the even one. How often do we pray that God will bind the enemy.
We don't.
You realize where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name? There am I in the midst of them.
If 2 of you on earth agree about anything that they asked for, my Father in heaven will give it to you.
That is about the harvest.
For we're 2 or 3 are gathered in my name. In the midst of them, after Jesus rose from the dead.
In that one scene where Thomas wasn't in the room.
He says, whatever you bind on earth in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, you'll be loose than heaven.
He gave him authority. We have authority. We need to start using that authority.
I mean, we just walk into trouble without even realizing it.
But we have that authority. That's why he put us on earth. That's why he's left us here.
So.
Being at his feet.
Pre.
Remembering that we have that authority crying out.
Crying out.
I often think, and I'll say this, I think the.
The work or the blessing. The glory, seeing the glory of God, goes to those.
Who pester God.
To death.
Right.
Asking, seeking, knocking.
Like. Keep knocking at the door.
In Jesus. This is why he's telling them. Keep knocking at the door.
Paul.
Branson kept knocking at the door for 7 years.
And God answered his prayer.
George.
Knocking at the door, you read a life of faith, who here has.
Not red a Life of faith. By George! Mu.
You need to read that book.
It is really a great book, and you start picking up his anxiety as he's writing about it. I mean, it's like live anxiety. Years removed. But somehow, coming through those pages.
Begging God, and asking God incessantly.
And what did God do?
Well you could. On one hand, you can see, he answered. On the other hand.
He showed him His glory.
That's how we see God's glory in the harvest.
By asking and seeking, and for that neighbor, or for that open door, or for this thing to happen, so that these people can understand who Jesus is and what God does.
Is, he says. I'm not going to show you a sign. I'm going to show you my glory. My glory is, you are standing right in front of me, and it's not like you. Go.
Wow! It's like, Oh, God!
That's what Moses needed, right? He didn't ask for another sign. Hey? Could you part the Red Sea again?
I forgot that what that was like. I didn't. Yeah, I didn't have my iphone out. I didn't take a picture or anything. Could you do it again?
No, he says.
Show me your glory.
That's what we need, and that's what you see in the harvest.
Love your neighbor.
And you know, right next to that I put this little thing stop hauling water to the sea.
You know we come in here and we're meant to motivate each other. We're meant to motivate each other and help each other. Kind of heal up a little bit here and renew the vision of our love for Jesus Christ. But actually it's the vision of the mission, so that when we go out and we get beat up. We can come back here next week, and people can try to knit us together again. And but that's what this is for.
But what we do, I think most churches is Sunday morning is basically hauling water to the sea. We don't haul it out to the dry and dusty places where it needs to be. We just.
Pour it out here.
But we need to take it out there. I just recently heard a message. It was actually a very good.
Evangelistic message.
Given entirely to Christians.
And you know what I thought. I've read enough Moody to understand. This is what Moody did whenever he heard a preacher like that, what he would do is he would find a venue, and then he would invite that guy in and say no.
Use it on them.
See what that's like.
And some of these guys, some of these preachers. Their lives were completely changed by it because they were taking.
This message. That was really a great message about Jesus, and what he's done for us and everything. But they were taking it out to the desert.
They were taking it to lost people.
And when they saw.
What was happening to these lost people. As a result of that message. Of course they had Moody in the army of other people standing behind him.
They went.
Why wasn't I doing this before.
And that's what we need to do.
We need to.
Do something together. The one thing I wanted to say here.
Is, the church is supposed to work together in the harvest.
I hope that clock and back is right.
Okay, Courtney, I clocking back. I got 2 more minutes.
But here's the deal. Folks.
I heard of a church.
Where there's 1 guy in that church at over 3 years, over 3 years.
Has led 16 people to Christ.
So that's kind of the claim to fame of that church.
Let me tell you what, if you work together here.
You could see 10 at least.
12 people a year coming to Christ.
And that's just baby steps that's just getting.
Getting things in the role. But that is.
Creating.
A.
In outreach, creating a service for lost people.
We have lost the whole idea of evangelism. It used to be that Sunday night services were evangelistic, and how to do evangelism and how to.
Little by little bring lost person along. So they begin to trust God. It takes people being.
Hearing messages like that.
Where you're just exploring little things about God. It takes them about 6 months before they realize you know what.
I think what he's saying makes sense, and I think you must love me.
We try to do it on one blast. Boom!
In that just doesn't work. But if the church works together.
I know it's possible. I've seen it happen.
And the thing about that case that I just mentioned. That's 1 guy bringing 16 people to Christ.
I would rather have the whole church work together, so that everybody.
I'm just going to leave you at this one story. So in Germany the Lord did that for us for a year we were seeing a person a month coming to Christ.
And when I got up and preached I could see who was on deck.
It was. It was kind of exciting. It was fun, you know. I'll never forget that. But I remember this one guy, non-christian, his wife.
By the way, was the 1st person to come to Christ in our Church.
He comes to church one day, and he says.
What in the world are you guys doing here.
And I said, You know, Christoph, I asked myself that all the time, what are we doing here? I said so what's the problem? He says so, Kate and I. This morning.
You know, it's like 7, 30. We look at each other, and we say we're not going to go there.
All of a sudden Alex bursts in the room, and he says, What are you 2 doing in bed? Get up! I want to go to church.
You realize he's our Nonchurch people, right?
And Alex is saying he wants to get to the children's work.
So they kind of get up and all. They're all tangled, and they're walking into church.
And everything, and I go up to the children's workers.
And I see you guys are doing a great job. We're working together here.
Alex wanted to get here so bad because of whatever you're doing here.
He got his.
Parents right up out of bed, and they're mad at me. But that's okay. I can take it.
And we're working together.
Everybody is contributing.
And it means something.
And that's what a church needs to do is work together.
Heavenly Father. I thank you that you have given us the light of your Word, the light of your Spirit.
All the joy.
Of.
Being able to follow our Lord Jesus Christ into the harvest.
And I thank you.
That.
We can just all receive it as.
Your love for us.
That your word brings us balance.
That it tells us not to go this way, or to get diverted into that thing, but to keep our eyes.
On what is important, and that is.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, and His message of salvation for this world. Our lives are supposed to grow great in that.
That's where we see your power. That's where we see your glory. And that's where we experience.
Almost flesh on flesh. Certainly spirit on spirit.
The life of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And so I just pray that you would strengthen our hearts, even if it's baby steps. Get us in your word.
Get a supreme about the whole thing.
And get us to ask, seek, and knock.
For that neighbor or that person you put close to us that really needs to know about Jesus, and then give us ideas about how to work together.
To make it happen.
Maybe to have a separate service just for lost people, but to do something, to try something, to waive people down.
And wave them down with the love of Christ.
We just thank you for your love in Jesus. Name.
And remember the good students of Emas, and some of them could be. You.
Reading into this.