1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,600 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. 2 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,720 How do we know where to find answers to the toughest questions in life? 3 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,160 While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search and how do we discover 4 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:23,160 this truth? 5 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:30,280 Today, in this teaching podcast, John Metter, lead pastor of Cross City Church, takes a 6 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:41,960 specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth for the life we're searching for. 7 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:42,960 Well good morning. 8 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,480 We wish you to take your Bibles today and turn to Philippians chapter one today, Philippians 9 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:47,480 one. 10 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:51,040 I want to talk to you about completing the mission. 11 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,880 Most of you know that we've been in the book of Philippians for quite some time. 12 00:00:53,880 --> 00:01:00,160 We finished Philippians four last week, but I'm jumping back into the first chapter today 13 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:05,880 because I want us to focus on just a few lines that are so important for us understanding 14 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:07,080 how to complete our mission. 15 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:09,520 By the way, why do we have a mission Sunday? 16 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,520 This is mission Sunday in case you haven't picked up on that yet. 17 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:13,680 The messaging is everywhere. 18 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,760 Hopefully you've got a mission booklet that's been handed out. 19 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,360 So in one hand have your Bible and the other have your mission booklet and maybe in the 20 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,000 back pocket a pocket book. 21 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,600 But all these things are going to be contributing to our mission and getting us the gospel 22 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:30,160 around the world. 23 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:35,640 But really why we have a mission Sunday is because this is at the heart of what we do. 24 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:40,480 What we do is not just simply gathering for worship and studying the scriptures and growing 25 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:45,160 together, but we also are about the mission of taking the gospel to people that haven't 26 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:47,000 heard the gospel yet. 27 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,680 Whether that be across town, another part of Ulysses or Dallas Fort Worth, whether that 28 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:56,560 be in another state, whether it be another nation or even the uttermost part of the world, 29 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:58,200 that is our mission. 30 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,360 So we're going to take some time and talk about what our mission is. 31 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,320 You know, if people are hungry, we know the mission is to get them food. 32 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:08,720 If people are thirsty, we know the mission is to get them water. 33 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:13,600 If people are lost, the mission is to get them the gospel of Jesus Christ. 34 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,480 We know that because we were once lost and then we're found, we were blind, but now we 35 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,000 see and we have a relationship with Jesus Christ. 36 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,200 So the mission is what we're talking about today. 37 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,620 And I'm going to ask that you stand with me as we have a reading of God's word beginning 38 00:02:27,620 --> 00:02:33,000 in chapter one, verse three. 39 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:37,500 Paul is in this prison, riding to the church of Philippi. 40 00:02:37,500 --> 00:02:41,760 If you remember, Philippi is the very first church on the other side of the Macedonian 41 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:42,760 vision. 42 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:48,280 Paul is in Troas and he sees the vision to come across, even though he's sought to go 43 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,520 different ways with the gospel, the Holy Spirit is sitting there, you can't go there, but 44 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,920 he sees this Macedonian vision, goes across the Aegean Sea and lands in a place that we 45 00:02:56,920 --> 00:02:58,760 now know as Philippi. 46 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:00,120 And there the gospel began. 47 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,920 So this is the first church in Europe as the gospel goes westward and then northward and 48 00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:07,840 eventually across to us. 49 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:12,440 Imagine for just a moment with me what that would be like if the gospel had have gone 50 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:17,680 the other direction instead of our direction and your life would be radically different, 51 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:18,680 I would suppose. 52 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:21,560 So I'm very grateful for the direction that God gave Paul. 53 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,880 And here it is at Philippi, he's riding back to the church now from prison. 54 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:30,960 Here he says this, verse three, I thank my God and all my remembrance of you, always 55 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:37,040 offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all in view of your participation 56 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:41,680 in the gospel from the first day until now. 57 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:47,160 For I am confident of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will perfect 58 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,920 it until the day of Christ Jesus. 59 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:51,920 It's an amazing passage. 60 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:57,000 Father, today I pray that you would give us all the insight we need, Holy Spirit, I pray 61 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:01,840 you would illuminate, shine light on this text so that we might know what we need to 62 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:07,640 know about our lives, about our mission and about you fulfilling that mission through 63 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:08,640 us. 64 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:13,520 Today help us to get our sights on others around the world that needs the gospel. 65 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,400 We ask this in Jesus' name we pray. 66 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,600 All God's people said amen. 67 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:18,600 Please be seated. 68 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:25,600 It might be tempting for you to ask me why do you keep coming back to the book of Philippians 69 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,000 and of course the Philippians book is a phenomenal letter. 70 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,400 It's just a short letter, just four chapters. 71 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,520 But in those four chapters are so many powerful principles for living life. 72 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:41,360 As a matter of fact, as I started this series earlier on in the book of Philippians, I took 73 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:45,760 time to walk through what I consider the top 10 verses in Philippians. 74 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:47,720 Have you ever ranked things like top 10? 75 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,360 Do you have top 10 list of football teams? 76 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,160 Of course that's different after yesterday. 77 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:57,680 Or a top 10 list of restaurants you eat at or a top 10 list of whatever it might be. 78 00:04:57,680 --> 00:04:59,280 You all have a top 10 list. 79 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:03,960 I have a top 10 list of Bible verses that are in the book of Philippians. 80 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:09,280 And when I put this top 10 together, I realized in looking back that these are not just the 81 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:13,840 top 10 verses in the book of Philippians, but for some of us, these are some of our 82 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:17,360 favorite verses in the entire Bible. 83 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:23,240 Out of 66 books, this book has so many quotable verses that I want to remind you of some of 84 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:24,840 those just to appreciate the Word of God. 85 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:26,360 I'll put on the big screen here. 86 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:31,120 By the way, if you know these verses and if these verses mean something to you, when I 87 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,640 read them, I want you to read them out loud to me as well. 88 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:35,640 All right? 89 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,280 I'm not going to read all the verses, but I'm going to read the portion that's most 90 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:39,280 familiar with it. 91 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:41,960 For example, we just read verse 6. 92 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:46,560 It says, he who began a good work and you will complete it even to the day of Christ 93 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:47,560 Jesus. 94 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:52,320 But if you keep going in Philippians chapter 1, you'll come to verse 21. 95 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:54,680 Read this one with me if this is one of your favorites. 96 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:59,040 For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 97 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,840 Man, I don't know how many times that's been meaningful to me. 98 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:06,480 Earlier this year when I went through a bout with cancer, that's the first verse that came 99 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:10,640 to my mind and it became very powerful to me during that time. 100 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:13,760 Or Philippians chapter 2 verses 10 and 11, everybody knows this one. 101 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:19,640 At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess Jesus Christ 102 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,120 is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 103 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:23,680 You know that verse well. 104 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,640 What about Philippians chapter 2 verse 13? 105 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:31,640 It is God who is at work in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. 106 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,560 Often when we ask ourselves, what is God doing around me? 107 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:36,320 Well that's what's happening right there. 108 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,320 God is working in you to bring about a great result. 109 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:42,360 What about Philippians chapter 3 verse 10? 110 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:47,400 That I may know Him, Paul said, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of 111 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:49,080 His suffering. 112 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:53,920 And then Philippians 3 verse 14, I press on towards the goal or the prize of the upward 113 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:56,960 call of God in Jesus Christ. 114 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:02,760 Philippians 4, 4, say this one with me, rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. 115 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,040 Man, that's the perfect perspective in life. 116 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,160 We talked about that a few weeks ago. 117 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:11,200 And then Philippians chapter 4 verse 6, this is the prescription for us when we're anxious. 118 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:15,720 Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication. 119 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,200 With Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 120 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:24,760 Philippians 4, 13, everybody knows this one, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens 121 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:25,760 me. 122 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:30,840 And then last week we looked at chapter 4 verse 19, my God shall supply all your needs 123 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,040 according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. 124 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:38,880 Man, what a great top 10 list in the book of Philippians. 125 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:43,000 It's so filled with truth but so filled with application at the same time. 126 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,320 And that's what we're looking at today. 127 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:47,960 God gave Paul the Macedonian vision. 128 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:52,280 He came across to Philippi and there he met a woman on the seashore because there wasn't 129 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:57,640 really a synagogue there for people to worship and he met with her and she came to Christ. 130 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,920 Her name was Lydia, we'll talk about her in just a few moments. 131 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:05,280 And as the church began to grow with that conversion and others, Paul wrote back to 132 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:06,520 them while he was in prison. 133 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:12,520 They're helping him by meeting his physical needs and he's writing back like only an apostle 134 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:15,600 can write back to the church that God used him to plant. 135 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:19,160 And I want you to see what he said to them in these three verses today. 136 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:21,920 The first thing he said is extremely simple today. 137 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,960 The first thing he said was, first, thank God for you. 138 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:30,000 Paul said, I thank God for you in the church at Philippi. 139 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:37,360 He said literally, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering a prayer 140 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,720 with joy in my every prayer for you all. 141 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,680 Now you're going to see this unfolding and I've mentioned this before in the book of 142 00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:50,960 Philippians, the you, the you word, the personal pronoun, Y-O-U, is in the plural almost every 143 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:51,960 one of those times. 144 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:56,280 And I'm not saying this just because I'm from Texas and preaching to a Texas congregation, 145 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:00,560 but literally this can be interpreted, translated, you all. 146 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:03,520 Somebody say y'all with me, y'all. 147 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:06,800 You all abbreviated y'all. 148 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:08,120 Literally that's what he says there. 149 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:14,080 I thank my God in all my remembrance of y'all, always offering prayer with joy in my every 150 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,920 prayer for y'all. 151 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:17,920 It's corporate. 152 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:23,760 Sure, that means you as an individual is who Paul has in mind and individuals within that 153 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,800 church is who Paul has in mind, but he had in mind the whole church. 154 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:33,400 Can I tell you something about the church of Jesus Christ as I've experienced it? 155 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:39,320 After 40 years of ministry, I've experienced so many blessings from the body of Christ 156 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:43,360 that when I think of the church, I think with thanksgiving in my heart. 157 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,600 When I pray for the church, I pray with thanksgiving in my heart. 158 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:50,720 I know there are people out there that say the church hurt me or the church did me wrong. 159 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:51,920 I know there are many of those. 160 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:56,600 I don't discount that people sometimes in the body of Christ can be meaner than junkyard 161 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,680 dogs sometimes, and they need to be rebuked for that. 162 00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:05,360 But the bottom line is when I look back over 40 years, I can say with Paul, I thank God 163 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,400 for every remembrance of you. 164 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:16,080 See, the body of Christ, the church, the called out ones representing Christ, they do a really 165 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:21,360 good job of loving one another as the body of Christ and being on mission together. 166 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:26,720 I don't know where I would be without those people who love me and pray for me and counsel 167 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:31,800 with me and sometimes rebuked and reproved me and helped me and encouraged me at other 168 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,520 times when I was a young boy, even to the present day. 169 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:39,320 I don't know what I would be or where I would be without people lifting me up in prayer 170 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:44,480 when I was at critical junctions in my life when I was facing health or any other decision 171 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:46,100 or crossroads. 172 00:10:46,100 --> 00:10:48,200 And I knew the body of Christ was praying for me. 173 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:53,580 I can say with Paul, I thank God for my every remembrance of you. 174 00:10:53,580 --> 00:10:54,580 So he thanks them. 175 00:10:54,580 --> 00:10:58,480 He opens us up by thanking them. 176 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:02,120 You know, the body of Christ is extremely diverse. 177 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:06,960 We're from all kinds of places, all kinds of backgrounds, all kinds of history, and 178 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,600 we're brought together by the blood of Jesus Christ. 179 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,120 It's a beautiful picture. 180 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:17,960 When I'm reading about the book of Acts and I'm reading about the church at Philippi, 181 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:27,680 specifically in Acts 16, you read about the individuals that first came to faith at Philippi. 182 00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:31,760 Lydia, a seller of purple. 183 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:36,440 And the idea behind that is she sold garments to wealthy people. 184 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:39,640 Purple was reserved only for royalty or wealthy people. 185 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:44,640 And so here's Lydia waiting on the seashore, even though she doesn't know Paul is coming. 186 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:46,720 She's there with others worshiping God. 187 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,640 The Bible says she wasn't a believer yet, but she was a worshiper of God. 188 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:56,280 Most likely followed Judaism to a degree until she learned about the Messiah who fulfilled 189 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:57,880 the prophecies of the Old Testament. 190 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:00,520 And then she came to faith in Jesus. 191 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:04,560 Lydia became not only one of the most generous and hospitable people in the New Testament 192 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:08,200 church, but she was also the first convert. 193 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:16,240 Later on, others suggest that she was a significant leader in the New Testament church at Philippi. 194 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:20,920 And the very next conversion you read about in Acts 17 is a slave girl with a spirit of 195 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:23,060 divination. 196 00:12:23,060 --> 00:12:24,060 Here's a slave girl. 197 00:12:24,060 --> 00:12:29,080 She's owned by somebody because she's demon-possessed and she's telling other people's fortunes 198 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:35,640 and she's making a fortune for people that are her handlers, that own her, so to speak. 199 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,480 And Paul recognizes what's going on. 200 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,640 There's incredible and rich history behind this. 201 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:46,440 He actually uses the word Python, which is our transliteration today, Python, to describe 202 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:52,680 the spirit of divination, which really is an allusion to the oracle at Delphi and the 203 00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:54,640 protector of that oracle at Delphi. 204 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:58,520 You have to dive into Greek mythology to really embrace what's going on. 205 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:05,440 But here she was, a promoter of that kind of mythology and then a fortune teller that 206 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:08,480 others were making money as a result of. 207 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:14,640 Paul literally confronted her with the gospel, cast the demon out of her and caused an uproar. 208 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:19,920 She was free, but now everyone wanted Paul to be put to death or put in prison. 209 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:21,960 And so he is in prison. 210 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:26,920 And in prison, the third convert is the Philippian jailer in Acts chapter 16. 211 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:28,800 Remember that story? 212 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,240 Paul and Silas are singing in prison. 213 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:35,560 They're worshiping God and an earthquake comes and the jail cell opens and the Philippian 214 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:40,920 jailer is standing there, probably a former Roman Empire soldier retired to Philippi, 215 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:42,000 which many of them did. 216 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,280 And here he is watching this earthquake and seeing these cells open up and Paul is now 217 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:49,000 free and he's in fear of his life. 218 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,680 And so he says, asking the greatest question in the book of Acts, what must I do to be 219 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:54,680 saved? 220 00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:56,560 And what does Paul do? 221 00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:59,200 Remember the missionary, he shares what he needs to do to be saved. 222 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:00,760 And he comes to faith in Jesus. 223 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:05,160 He watches Paul's wounds and the Bible says that night the Philippian jailer and his family 224 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:09,040 were baptized because he had come to faith in Jesus Christ. 225 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:14,880 Now Paul's probably got these three very diverse people in mind as well as many other people 226 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:22,040 in mind when he says, I thank God for every one of you and praying with joy in my every 227 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:28,840 remembrance of you all, no matter who you were, no matter who you were following, you've 228 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,080 come to faith in Jesus. 229 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:36,640 So my greatest experiences in life have been on mission fields or mission trips where I've 230 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:41,280 gone to people I didn't know and shared the gospel of someone I didn't know and became 231 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:45,820 brothers and sisters of those people that I formerly didn't know because they responded 232 00:14:45,820 --> 00:14:47,440 to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 233 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:52,120 My first mission trip was with my father and the church he passed her to a place called 234 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:56,280 Tic Nass Pass, New Mexico. 235 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:02,280 Tic Nass Pass is near the Four Corners region of New Mexico and Arizona and Colorado and 236 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:03,280 Utah. 237 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:05,800 I mean, it's desolate desert. 238 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,320 And I was 17 years old and they gave me the keys to a 15 passenger van. 239 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:10,320 I don't know why. 240 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,120 They must have run out of somebody responsible. 241 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:18,560 And I drove that van from household to household on a reservation, a Navajo reservation, and 242 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:21,920 I picked up kids and brought them back to a vacation Bible school where we shared the 243 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:23,640 gospel with them. 244 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:28,880 It was there that I realized you meet people you wouldn't ordinarily meet while on mission 245 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,640 for God and learn to have a love for them. 246 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:36,740 In fact, I learned how to say I love you in the Navajo language, a yo anishinaab, if anyone's 247 00:15:36,740 --> 00:15:40,240 ever curious and you want to say I love you to a significant other. 248 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:42,800 In Navajo it's a yo anishinaab. 249 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:44,240 Why did I learn to say that? 250 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:51,520 Because that's all I needed to say to those kids and add to that God loves you. 251 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:52,880 And it made an impact on my life. 252 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:57,720 I still remember the faces of some of those people I saw who later came to faith in Jesus. 253 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:02,120 I remember going to the University of Illinois while in college on a mission trip and meeting 254 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:06,120 some college students that had never heard the gospel in their whole lives and being 255 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,160 able to share the gospel with them. 256 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:12,480 I remember going to the west coast of the United States, Corvallis, Oregon, one of the 257 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:18,760 most unchurched places in America and having a revival there in a church there and seeing 258 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:21,800 people that never heard the gospel before come to faith in Christ. 259 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:27,960 Those people I think about sometimes when I thank God for my remembrance of those opportunities. 260 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:34,100 When I've gone to India I've seen things I've never imagined seeing in my life. 261 00:16:34,100 --> 00:16:41,760 Or to Cabrera in Kenya last year where we saw the largest flum in the world and came 262 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:43,720 and brought the gospel to them. 263 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:48,320 It's amazing how God takes us and uses us whether we go or whether we pray or whether 264 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:50,000 we give for that to happen. 265 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,960 He uses all of us to take the gospel to every place in the world and every place we do that 266 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:59,680 and share the gospel with people that it brings great joy to us and certainly great joy to 267 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:02,640 the apostle that people come to faith in Jesus. 268 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:07,120 In 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 Paul is writing to another church but here's what he says 269 00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:08,120 about them. 270 00:17:08,120 --> 00:17:11,360 He says, for who is our hope or joy or exultation? 271 00:17:11,360 --> 00:17:13,060 Is it even you? 272 00:17:13,060 --> 00:17:17,320 Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming for you are 273 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:20,080 our glory and our joy? 274 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:21,080 Look at me for just a moment. 275 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:25,200 There are very few things that will bring you greater joy than the fact that you can 276 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:29,600 help somebody else come to know the Jesus that brings you joy. 277 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:34,160 There are very few things in life that mean more to you than that. 278 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:37,520 It's not an attempt to put a guilt strip on you to share the gospel. 279 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:41,920 It's just the opportunity you have to share the gospel brings incredible joy. 280 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:46,340 The greatest joy we can have is to know that others either close to us or those who are 281 00:17:46,340 --> 00:17:51,840 far from us learn to follow the Jesus that we love so much. 282 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:53,040 I don't share this message. 283 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,360 I don't think you share this message out of sense of obligation as much as you do out 284 00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:58,920 of a sense of reality. 285 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,040 Jesus Christ is your Savior. 286 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:02,040 He's your Lord. 287 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:03,520 He's the one that directs you and guides you. 288 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:04,520 He's your protector. 289 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:05,640 He promises heaven for you. 290 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:09,320 You do that and you share that with other people because you know what it brings to 291 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:10,320 you. 292 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,320 And Paul said, I thank God for every one of you. 293 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:17,200 And then the second thing he says to them is in verse five, he says, thank you for your 294 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:18,200 participation. 295 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:25,160 He said, I thank my God for every one of you all in view of your participation in the gospel 296 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:30,320 from the first day till now, the word participation in the Greek is koinonia. 297 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:33,560 Most of us know that that means fellowship or sharing. 298 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:35,840 And this sense is sharing. 299 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:40,480 He said, in the sense that you shared the burden of taking the gospel to the world from 300 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,120 the first day that I shared it with you onward. 301 00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:45,320 Now, why is this important? 302 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:50,000 Well, over the course of the weekend, I wrote a statement down that reminds me of why it's 303 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:55,480 so important to participate together to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. 304 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:56,680 Here's what I wrote. 305 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:04,120 If God exists and he does, and if he speaks and he does, and if he spoke to us through 306 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:11,840 the scripture, which he has and through his son, which he has, then eternity is inevitable. 307 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:16,800 And there is one way to heaven that every person must know about before they die. 308 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:20,680 And we are on mission to tell them that. 309 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:26,160 If all those things are true, then we're on perpetual mission until Jesus comes back to 310 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:30,200 tell others about Jesus Christ. 311 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:31,400 And we're in partnership. 312 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:36,680 That word koinonia means you're closely linked with other people who are doing this. 313 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:37,800 And we do have this in common. 314 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:42,640 We may be very different in who we are, our backgrounds, our skin color, whatever our 315 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,920 social economic status might be or might not be, we all have this together. 316 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:53,000 We are fellow believers in Jesus Christ and we are on a common mission together to take 317 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:54,800 the gospel to the world. 318 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,440 You're on common mission together. 319 00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,040 We are. 320 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:00,040 Amen. 321 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:06,560 You know, there's something about being on mission together with other people that draws 322 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:08,840 you closer to them. 323 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,520 I mean, I've worshiped in churches in Brazil where I didn't know anyone, but I had a common 324 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,920 connection with them that we worship the same Jesus Christ. 325 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,120 I've been on a mission trip with people that I hadn't met before I went on the mission 326 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:25,400 trip and there's just this camaraderie that's there that is just distinct and unique. 327 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:30,560 Normally in our secular world, we talk about the camaraderie of serving as soldiers on 328 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:35,080 some mission where we're liberating people in the world somewhere. 329 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:39,680 You come back from the fight, your brother or sister has your back and you're in that 330 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:40,920 common battle together. 331 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:46,280 I see that same kind of connection, but with an eternal focus when we are on mission together, 332 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:50,800 when we serve in a church together, when we go places together with the mission of Jesus 333 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:52,320 Christ at heart. 334 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,280 This is not just mission trip work we're talking about. 335 00:20:55,280 --> 00:21:02,600 Paul says, I thank God for you as an individual who works together with me as an apostle to 336 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:04,800 get the news out. 337 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:09,400 I want you to think with me for a moment about Lydia beyond that moment when she came to 338 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:10,400 faith in Jesus. 339 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:14,600 Think about her growing in her faith and think about her the next year and the next year 340 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,480 where she just really began to open up her home, which was where the first church was 341 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:19,560 planted. 342 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:21,280 Her generosity was obvious. 343 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:25,900 We see allusions to that in the scripture and her leadership skills began to be put 344 00:21:25,900 --> 00:21:30,060 to work in that church, that first church in Philippi. 345 00:21:30,060 --> 00:21:32,440 Think about the slave girl who had been set free. 346 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:37,800 All of a sudden she was once in bondage, now she's free to know that Jesus has set her 347 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:42,160 free, to understand the prophecies of the Old Testament that pointed to him. 348 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:43,160 Now she's growing. 349 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:48,800 Now she's praying to the Most High God instead of using some demon spirit to give fortunes 350 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:51,020 and tell fortunes and make money. 351 00:21:51,020 --> 00:21:55,880 Now she's freed from those who were her masters and now she's only serving the Lord Jesus 352 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:56,880 Christ. 353 00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:58,640 Think of her as a young girl growing up. 354 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:04,200 All of a sudden all kinds of possibilities are open to her because of the gospel of Jesus. 355 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:08,800 Think about the retired Roman soldier who was a Philippian jailer who thought he was 356 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:13,600 going to die because Paul was out of prison but didn't die. 357 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:17,720 Instead God used him in a powerful way and he led his whole family to faith in Jesus. 358 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:23,240 Think about him growing and reaching out and becoming a vibrant person in that church at 359 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:24,240 Philippi. 360 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:26,400 Paul is writing to people like that and more. 361 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:31,480 I thank God for my every remembrance of you especially in view of your participation in 362 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:37,000 the gospel from the first day until now. 363 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:42,800 The phrase your participation refers to the way they served, gave, prayed and were willing 364 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,780 to go with the gospel. 365 00:22:45,780 --> 00:22:48,920 That brings me to you. 366 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:52,880 I want you to take a moment and open the other book that you have in front of you and that's 367 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:55,880 the mission book for just a second. 368 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:57,560 It's this book that I hope you got when you came in. 369 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:00,320 If not maybe you can look on with your neighbor. 370 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,480 I encourage you to read every page of this book. 371 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:03,480 Take it home. 372 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:04,960 Keep it in your Bible or your card or your home. 373 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:10,640 Wherever you keep your significant pieces of paper and pray over it. 374 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,240 But I also want you to open it up to the very center page. 375 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:18,080 You'll see this page because it looks like this and we're going to put it on the screen. 376 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:23,920 I want to show you where you have participated in the last year with us with the gospel 377 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:25,720 of Jesus Christ. 378 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,560 This serves as a reminder that we're always on missions. 379 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:34,580 Statistics and numbers help us to know where that mission is going, who is hearing and 380 00:23:34,580 --> 00:23:37,280 what kind of money are we devoting to this. 381 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,480 If you look at the upper left, you can just start right there by knowing something that's 382 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:42,480 very very important. 383 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:48,600 Ten percent of everything you give as a church is given to missions through the cooperative 384 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:50,480 program at the Southern Baptist Convention. 385 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:57,760 That's about $700,000 annually that we give right to the cooperative program. 386 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,680 On top of that, everything you give to Cross City missions, ten percent breaks down to 387 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:07,640 Six Stones, ten percent to Kids Beach Club, ten percent to Mid-Cities Women's Clinic and 388 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:14,880 seventy percent to on-spot mission trips that we help fund you to go on. 389 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,360 Six Stones has incredible numbers this year. 390 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:22,640 We tell the story of its founding as it was started on this stage. 391 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:29,960 Literally in 2009, I asked this congregation to commit to $250,000 a year for the first 392 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,400 three years of its existence and then we did it again, did it another three years and we 393 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:35,800 just keep on helping Six Stones. 394 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:37,600 But look at what's going on. 395 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:45,980 Last year alone, all these numbers, 3,000 students served, 715 Six Stones volunteers. 396 00:24:45,980 --> 00:24:48,640 Look at all the families served in so many different ways. 397 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:54,680 New Hope, Pantry, 8,400 people last year found food and clothing. 398 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:58,040 Kids Beach Club, listen, you may not know this about Kids Beach Club but they now have 399 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:04,440 500 million households watching the Kids Beach Club Gospel presentations every week. 400 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:05,760 Can you imagine that? 401 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:12,120 Not 500, 500 million in all kinds of languages across the world. 402 00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:15,640 Look on the upper right hand corner. 403 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:20,240 We can celebrate that anytime you want to. 404 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:21,360 Look on the upper right hand corner. 405 00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:25,160 Mid-Cities Women's Clinic began here after a message by Jimmy Draper all these years 406 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:26,160 ago. 407 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:31,640 More than 79,000 clients served since 1984. 408 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:33,960 So many Gospel presentations this past year. 409 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,200 Over 1,000, 1,500 women were served. 410 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:42,320 A thousand babies were saved last year in Mid-Cities Women's Clinic. 411 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:44,360 Yeah. 412 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:46,320 International Mission Board, this keeps coming. 413 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:50,360 Some of the biggest numbers come from the International Mission Board where we've seen 414 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:59,000 more than 269,000 people disciples but 879,000 people heard the Gospel through 4,000 missionaries 415 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,680 in every nation of the world. 416 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:07,200 And then the lower right, Athe River, where we're very involved in a new project. 417 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:12,840 Last year you gave $358,000 on missions under the author at the end of the year and we've 418 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:16,080 seen more than 1,400 professions of faith. 419 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:18,680 156 people have been baptized. 420 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,120 21,400 people heard the Gospel. 421 00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:25,680 We've discipled or walked through discipleship lesson with more than 36,000. 422 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:30,360 This is what your participation of the Gospel did this last year and I am thankful for you 423 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:36,320 and I want to take a moment and just thank the Lord that we've all been able to be involved. 424 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,000 Amen. 425 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:42,480 Keep this near you so you can pray and remember. 426 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:48,080 Let me just say I'm standing here today to say thank you. 427 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:53,520 Thank you that you're willing to give, to pray, to go. 428 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:55,720 Thank you that you're willing to meet the challenge. 429 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:56,960 I've learned this about this church. 430 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:58,040 It's just amazing. 431 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:03,000 This church likes meeting big Gospel challenges. 432 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,740 We love it when someone presents a challenge to us and say, hey, we need to go and get 433 00:27:06,740 --> 00:27:10,840 into India and this particular part of the world and we need to move and send money and 434 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:12,440 go and we do that. 435 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:13,440 It's really incredible. 436 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:15,880 Listen to me very carefully. 437 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:18,560 Every number I've given you has a receipt attached to it. 438 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:23,400 We are transparent in our finances and when you give something to a thing, it goes to 439 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,040 that thing and nowhere else. 440 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:27,520 That's important to us. 441 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:28,520 That's our history. 442 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:35,000 That's what we do. 443 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,880 Last year when you gave $358,000, this was amazing to me. 444 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:46,560 Over 40 days from Mission Sunday, which was in November last year to the end of the year, 445 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:48,240 $358,000. 446 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:53,720 When that money was given, I was astounded at the amount. 447 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:55,380 I was surprised at the amount. 448 00:27:55,380 --> 00:27:58,880 We had a big goal, but you had never been to Athie River. 449 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:00,020 You'd never been to Cabara. 450 00:28:00,020 --> 00:28:04,880 You'd never been to those places and yet you saw a need and you gave so significantly. 451 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:06,760 It meant so much. 452 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:12,000 The first that popped out to me about that offering was a fragrant aroma. 453 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,280 That's in the book of Philippians. 454 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:17,800 When the church of Philippi gave to Paul, he said, that's a well pleasing sacrifice. 455 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:18,800 It's pleasing to God. 456 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:19,800 It's a fragrant aroma. 457 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,400 In other words, your giving smells real good right now. 458 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:24,400 That's what he said. 459 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:25,400 It's cause for rejoicing. 460 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:33,960 Paul says thirdly, not only do we thank you and not only do we thank you for your participation, 461 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,120 but thirdly, let's complete the mission. 462 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:38,120 Let's complete the mission. 463 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:39,880 Now we're in verse six. 464 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:45,440 He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 465 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:48,000 Now let's do the literal translation. 466 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:55,520 He who began a good work in you all will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 467 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,080 If you're saying, pastor, now I claim that verse for myself, that's an individual verse. 468 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:03,880 Well, anything that's spoken to a whole church is also applicable to one member in the church. 469 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:06,040 But this is the whole church verse. 470 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:09,200 Paul said to Philippi, you've got a mission. 471 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:12,880 You're going to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. 472 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:16,120 I don't know all the church of Philippi was on mission about. 473 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,480 All that God wanted to use her for, I don't know. 474 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:19,480 It wasn't a big church. 475 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:25,000 A church of about 100 to 150 people, but it was a gateway church in that the gospel came 476 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:31,400 through Philippi to the rest of the Western European world and then onward from there. 477 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:38,320 And Paul was saying, you are a significant player in the role of kingdom progress. 478 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,920 And I want to say that to you as well. 479 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:46,280 When this church was planted in 1904, they had no idea that they would be a significant 480 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:51,000 player in the world of causing the gospel to go forth to the end of the earth. 481 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:56,260 There were only 18 people in the city of Ulysses when it started. 482 00:29:56,260 --> 00:29:58,080 And there were four that started the church. 483 00:29:58,080 --> 00:29:59,080 So they had big vision. 484 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:00,080 We're going to double. 485 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,120 We're going to triple. 486 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:05,720 First business meeting when they built the preschool, they voted to build two preschool 487 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:06,800 beds instead of one. 488 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,040 That's big vision. 489 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:10,600 But God placed this church here. 490 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:12,160 The city grew up around us. 491 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:19,320 DFW airport came in and over the years, this church has been a significant role in helping 492 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:20,720 grow the kingdom of God. 493 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:22,000 I'm so grateful for that. 494 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:29,200 The 120 year anniversary just blew me away in how God has worked so powerfully over 120 495 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:30,200 years. 496 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:37,640 But I'm here to say to you today, that may be history, but we're not done yet. 497 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:43,240 It's important for us to know that that prayer, I'm confident that he who began a good work 498 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:45,840 in you all will complete it into the day of Christ Jesus. 499 00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:48,040 That's my prayer. 500 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:50,400 That's my prayer for us. 501 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:54,560 And I don't know how long it'll be before Christ comes back, but I'm starting to preach 502 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:58,240 on the next week and I'm going to hope it's really soon. 503 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:02,960 But until that day, we continue to complete our mission. 504 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:07,440 In 1 Thessalonians, which I've been reading this week, I can't wait to share this with 505 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:08,440 you. 506 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:12,880 Chapter four, verse 16, the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and with 507 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:16,880 the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first 508 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:22,240 and we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with him in the air to meet the 509 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:23,240 Lord in the clouds. 510 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:25,880 And so we will always be with the Lord. 511 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:27,680 Man, are you ready for that day? 512 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:29,560 I'm ready for that day. 513 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:31,520 That's talking about the rapture of the church. 514 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:35,440 About three weeks from now, I'm going to give you details about the rapture of the church, 515 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:37,840 not the day he's coming, but how he's coming. 516 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:38,840 That's what we'll talk about. 517 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:42,120 But until he comes, we're on mission, right? 518 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:46,320 Until Jesus comes, whether it's next week or next year, we're on mission to do everything 519 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:48,080 he's called to do. 520 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:50,820 And one day we'll stand before God in heaven. 521 00:31:50,820 --> 00:31:54,560 We won't be able to give anymore or go anymore or witness anymore. 522 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:59,360 We won't be interacting with anyone on earth anymore because our time is done and we'll 523 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,240 be standing with him, job complete. 524 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:06,400 Let's be busy till he comes doing what we're called to do. 525 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,600 That's what this is about. 526 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:14,720 That's what we need to be doing. 527 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:19,120 Beginning here, go as far as you can with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 528 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:21,500 That's our call. 529 00:32:21,500 --> 00:32:29,280 Last year, when I was in Kibera, I was brought into the slums of Kibera. 530 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,880 Again, the largest slums in the world. 531 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:35,960 Literally houses are built upon other houses that are made of cardboard, plywood, whatever 532 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:41,640 they can rummage up somewhere and kind of mow it together. 533 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:42,640 Very little privacy. 534 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:47,720 Most homes are about eight feet by 10 feet, the whole house. 535 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:50,840 Water is not available. 536 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:52,920 They can't drill in the ground to get it. 537 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:58,440 There are no clean sources of water anywhere near Nairobi, Kenya. 538 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:01,400 And so water has to be filtered, but they have no filters. 539 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:05,480 Tens of thousands of people that don't have access to filters, that don't have access 540 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:07,200 to water. 541 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:11,800 And what caught me was the smell and sight of their water source. 542 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:15,240 I want to play it on the screen for you. 543 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,040 This is the water of Kibera. 544 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:21,200 This is their only, only source of water. 545 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:31,560 If you look at that screen, you can see obviously it's filled with trash and garbage, sewage, 546 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,680 the animals, the dogs are all out there. 547 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:35,680 The people are out there. 548 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:41,280 In one of these video clips, you'll probably see a man standing there with a transparent 549 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:42,280 water bottle. 550 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:43,760 You know what he's doing? 551 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:49,680 He's going to find the place in that little sewage creek where he can find the cleanest 552 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:52,160 of the water that he can possibly find. 553 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:53,160 And that's his drinking water. 554 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:57,120 He's taking that home and his children are going to drink it and they're going to get 555 00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:03,440 sick and they have no source and there's no one there to help them. 556 00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:05,560 And the stench was horrendous. 557 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:10,680 I mean, I asked our sound guys, I asked our technicians, can we cause that kind of smell 558 00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:13,880 to happen in the worship center? 559 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:18,040 And the reason I said that is because until you smell it, it just doesn't hit you. 560 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:19,720 It just doesn't have the same impact. 561 00:34:19,720 --> 00:34:26,280 But when you smell it, you realize, wow, they have absolutely nothing. 562 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:31,040 And they drink that water every day and the bucket ministry and our ministry with them 563 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:38,920 involves going with these little water filters and a bucket and training them how to use 564 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:40,800 water filters. 565 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:44,200 The leader of the bucket ministry actually got a glass of water out of that creek you 566 00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:50,480 looked at and he held the glass of water up and the YouTube video today is unbelievable. 567 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:55,880 He poured it through the filter and he drank what was in that glass after it had been filtered. 568 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:57,520 And this filter actually works. 569 00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:01,560 You know, you can get this at Walmart or you can get this on Amazon for about 30 bucks. 570 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:04,120 When you go camping, you probably use something like that. 571 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:05,640 They can't get it. 572 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:06,640 They have no money. 573 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:08,560 They don't have internet. 574 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:11,920 They have no way of getting these water filters. 575 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:12,920 Government won't get it for them. 576 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:14,360 Nobody gets it for them. 577 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:17,240 But we get it for them. 578 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:22,480 And when you gave last year $358,000, that's what we did with that money. 579 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,460 We bought water filters, shipped them over there. 580 00:35:24,460 --> 00:35:25,460 We trained them. 581 00:35:25,460 --> 00:35:29,680 We shared the gospel with them as we trained them how to use the water filters. 582 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:31,680 They went home and they were overjoyed. 583 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:35,900 It was like the greatest gift you could give them was clean water for their families and 584 00:35:35,900 --> 00:35:37,800 for their children. 585 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:38,800 It was amazing. 586 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:42,520 And I said, your offering last year was a fragrant aroma. 587 00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:49,400 And I want to position that against the stench of that creek and to say your offerings are 588 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:54,000 like a fragrant aroma that overcomes the stench of the filthy water. 589 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:58,040 That's all they have until we show up. 590 00:35:58,040 --> 00:35:59,340 Wow. 591 00:35:59,340 --> 00:36:01,440 We have a big goal this year. 592 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:03,600 Our goal is bigger than it was last year. 593 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:09,440 We have a goal of $500,000 given over the next 50 days until Thanksgiving. 594 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:12,800 You know, there's 50 days until Thanksgiving. 595 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:20,280 And by the time we come back after Thanksgiving, we will want to raise $500,000 over 50 days 596 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:21,280 for this cause. 597 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,960 And if we do that, guess what happened? 598 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:29,520 It means that we'll be able to share the gospel 40,000 times with the people that we're going 599 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:33,800 to in that Nairobi area that are in the slums. 600 00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:38,040 10,000 homes will be able to have this water filter system. 601 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:45,280 150,000 people will hear the gospel and we will see many of them come to faith in Jesus. 602 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:47,600 And we'll later baptize them. 603 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:52,840 It's really amazing what happens when you help someone and then share with them the gospel 604 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:57,920 of Jesus Christ that motivates you and then say to them, the people in the church that 605 00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:03,000 we came from love you and want you to know that Jesus has saved us. 606 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:06,720 Dear friend, that's what it means to be on a mission. 607 00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:12,040 And we challenge you to join us in that, to pray prayers that we've been praying for years. 608 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:13,040 Lord is this of you. 609 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:15,080 Lord, what's my part? 610 00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:17,920 And then Lord, bless your people so they can give. 611 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:21,760 I know sometimes it's tough to give, but I want you to think a little bit about what 612 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:23,680 they're going through. 613 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:29,560 And we're doing this mission, not just in Nairobi, Kenya, but we're also on mission 614 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:30,560 here. 615 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:34,800 We're calling for 500 volunteers to meet us in the next two weeks to work with CPR at 616 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:35,800 six dollars. 617 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:38,720 We want to be on mission and we want you to join us. 618 00:37:38,720 --> 00:37:41,600 How do you do that? 619 00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:46,720 Well, if you're going to give, it means you go online and be able to help us give. 620 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:47,720 There's a QR code. 621 00:37:47,720 --> 00:37:54,280 There's a way to find that on our website, cross city dot church slash 50 days. 622 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:55,920 Same way we said last year. 623 00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:57,560 This is how you can do it. 624 00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:00,320 And you pray about you and your family's involvement. 625 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:04,120 Maybe it means you give up a few cup of Cino's, a few Starbucks visits. 626 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:10,520 I don't know, but it's worth it to take clean water to the nations. 627 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:13,680 Let me just tell you what you do now. 628 00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:16,080 You don't feel the significance of. 629 00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:22,600 But one day standing before God, you will feel the significance, the eternal significance 630 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:29,280 of being on mission, participating with the church in the mission of taking the gospel 631 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:31,040 to the ends of the earth. 632 00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:36,440 That's what I'm asking you to look ahead to, to keep your mind on eternity. 633 00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:39,640 Paul says, I thank God for you. 634 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:42,560 I thank God for your participation. 635 00:38:42,560 --> 00:38:46,840 Let's finish the work, Jesus Christ comes back. 636 00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:47,840 You know, just a moment. 637 00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:49,440 I'm going to lead a word of prayer. 638 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:51,040 And after I pray, I'll dismiss you. 639 00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:53,080 But I'm going to give you several invitations. 640 00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:55,920 One, if you're a guest, I would love to visit with you personally. 641 00:38:55,920 --> 00:39:00,720 And I guess reception center right outside the center exit doors across that hallways 642 00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:01,720 that glass in room. 643 00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:03,640 I'll be in there in just a moment. 644 00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:06,040 I'd love to just meet you and say thank you for being here today. 645 00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:09,360 If you have questions about what we've said today, love to answer those questions. 646 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:10,760 That's number one. 647 00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:15,440 Number two, our commons area is set up so that you can personally become acquainted 648 00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:17,840 with all these different mission points. 649 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:20,200 We talked about CPR and 500 volunteers. 650 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:22,080 You can do that out there today. 651 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:23,440 We talked about the bucket ministry. 652 00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:27,320 You can you can meet with representatives of that and see exactly how we do that on 653 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:28,320 and on. 654 00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:29,800 We have a number of displays out there. 655 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:31,480 Just take time to browse through. 656 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,360 It'll be one of the most important 10 or 15 minutes of your day. 657 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,880 I promise you to see how we partner. 658 00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:40,000 Thirdly, I invite you back next week. 659 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:44,560 Next week, I start the series called Great Expectations about the return of Christ. 660 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:46,720 And we're going to talk about Old Testament prophecy. 661 00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:48,840 We're going to talk about where Israel is in prophecy. 662 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:52,040 We're going to talk about the the rapture that I mentioned a few moments ago. 663 00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:53,400 We'll talk about the Antichrist. 664 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:54,480 We'll talk about Armageddon. 665 00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:57,840 We'll talk about all those things beginning next Sunday morning. 666 00:39:57,840 --> 00:40:00,920 There's so much to look forward to in these days ahead. 667 00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:04,480 Would you stand with me as we have a word of prayer? 668 00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:13,440 Father, I thank you today for those in this room whom you brought to faith and you brought 669 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:18,120 to this family, this fellowship, this church. 670 00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:26,640 And Father, I thank you for them because they're now walking with us together with the gospel. 671 00:40:26,640 --> 00:40:28,120 I thank you for their spiritual lives. 672 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:31,880 I thank you for the growth that I pray they will be experiencing. 673 00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:37,400 I pray for the victories for them to experience those as well, day in and day out, the relationships 674 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:38,400 that they build. 675 00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:44,720 Father, I thank you for their participation in the gospel, how they've prayed, how they've 676 00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:48,400 gone or how they've given or how they plan to, Lord. 677 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:50,920 I thank you for them. 678 00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:54,040 Altogether we can make a big difference. 679 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:58,880 And then Father, I pray that you'll help us complete the work you've given us as a church. 680 00:40:58,880 --> 00:41:04,480 So much that you put in front of us, so many opportunities and we are able to go. 681 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:09,440 Father, meet that need so we can go as far as you lead us, Lord. 682 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:11,280 Complete your work even to the day of Christ Jesus. 683 00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:13,520 Lord, we look forward to your return. 684 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:15,560 We eagerly anticipate your return. 685 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:18,440 And Lord, we want to serve and be faithful to that day. 686 00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:20,280 I pray this for all of us in the room. 687 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:22,280 In the name of Jesus, I pray. 688 00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:29,280 Amen.