WEBVTT 00:00:04.139 --> 00:00:05.780 Hello and welcome back to the Potter's House 00:00:05.780 --> 00:00:08.560 Seminar Podcast. This is a special series from 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:10.900 our Prescott Conference that just recently occurred. 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:13.599 The theme of the conference was Into the Unknown 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:17.100 and the scripture for the theme was Romans 15, 00:00:17.339 --> 00:00:21.120 20 -21. I have made it my aim to preach the gospel 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:26.320 to whom he was not announced. So this is a powerful 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:29.829 series of... sermons from leaders in our fellowship 00:00:29.829 --> 00:00:32.429 to include Greg Mitchell, Joe Campbell, Richard 00:00:32.429 --> 00:00:36.369 Ruby, Sergey Golubev, and others along with that. 00:00:36.450 --> 00:00:39.710 So please enjoy and listen along to these powerful 00:00:39.710 --> 00:00:43.429 sermons from leaders in our fellowship. Slavery 00:00:43.429 --> 00:00:47.770 had to be fought. There had to be an aggression 00:00:47.770 --> 00:00:52.070 about it. He tried to raise money. He tried to 00:00:52.070 --> 00:00:55.520 influence politicians. Finally, He raised his 00:00:55.520 --> 00:01:00.479 own army from among his sons. In years before 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:04.000 the Civil War in Kansas, an era called Bleeding 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:08.019 Kansas, he fought a battle, 1856, called the 00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:11.719 Battle of Black Jack. He led his sons against 00:01:11.719 --> 00:01:16.540 a pro -slavery force in Kansas that some people 00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:19.420 have called, as you look back, they say that 00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:24.890 was actually possibly the first battle. of the 00:01:24.890 --> 00:01:29.209 Civil War. John Brown was an evangelical Christian, 00:01:29.390 --> 00:01:32.290 and he said over and over, and I quote, I have 00:01:32.290 --> 00:01:37.969 a sacred obligation to strike a death blow to 00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:42.269 slavery. Eventually, after losing one son in 00:01:42.269 --> 00:01:47.349 battle, another injured, he led an unsuccessful 00:01:47.349 --> 00:01:51.870 raid against Harper's Ferry in Virginia. He failed. 00:01:52.650 --> 00:01:56.329 He was captured by the state of Virginia, tried 00:01:56.329 --> 00:02:01.530 for treason and hung, died as a martyr for the 00:02:01.530 --> 00:02:06.109 cause of abolition and in the years preceding 00:02:06.109 --> 00:02:09.409 the Civil War. But what's interesting is that 00:02:09.409 --> 00:02:14.650 he was widely dismissed by both the North and 00:02:14.650 --> 00:02:17.370 the South as a madman. They called him a lunatic. 00:02:18.169 --> 00:02:22.280 He died as a martyr. But his enduring legacy 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:28.400 is that his mission to free those in bondage 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:32.000 just might have been the spark that actually 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:35.400 triggered the Civil War and the emancipation 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:39.159 of the slave in the United States. Now, the scripture 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:40.979 that we're going to read this morning is about 00:02:40.979 --> 00:02:45.259 another man who very similarly was denounced 00:02:45.259 --> 00:02:50.530 as a madman, died as a martyr. But as a missionary, 00:02:50.909 --> 00:02:54.569 he changed the world. I want to preach this morning 00:02:54.569 --> 00:02:58.090 a very simple message. I don't have any great 00:02:58.090 --> 00:03:00.310 deep revelation, but I want to preach about the 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:03.650 madman and the martyr and the missionary. And 00:03:03.650 --> 00:03:07.210 I hope if I can do my job, by the time I'm done, 00:03:07.270 --> 00:03:11.270 maybe there's one person in here that you'd volunteer 00:03:11.270 --> 00:03:15.009 to go and we'd send you out. And that's my aim. 00:03:15.050 --> 00:03:16.469 Just so you know, that's what I'm aiming at. 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:18.860 So if you're feeling nervous already, just go 00:03:18.860 --> 00:03:27.659 to the bathroom. Acts chapter 26, verse 19. Therefore, 00:03:27.879 --> 00:03:31.599 King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:35.659 vision, but declared first to those in Damascus 00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:38.340 and in Jerusalem, throughout all the region of 00:03:38.340 --> 00:03:41.460 Judea and then to the Gentiles, that they should 00:03:41.460 --> 00:03:44.280 repent and do the works befitting repentance. 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:48.060 For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple 00:03:48.060 --> 00:03:51.639 and tried to kill me. Therefore, having obtained 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:55.379 help from God, to this day I stand witnessing 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:59.379 both to small and great, saying no other things 00:03:59.379 --> 00:04:02.479 than those which the prophets and Moses said 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:06.199 would come, that the Christ would suffer, that 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:08.120 he would be the first to rise from the dead, 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:11.340 and he would proclaim light to the Jewish people 00:04:11.340 --> 00:04:15.889 and to the Gentiles. Verse 24. Now as he thus 00:04:15.889 --> 00:04:18.990 made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, 00:04:19.129 --> 00:04:23.430 Paul, you are beside yourself. Much learning 00:04:23.430 --> 00:04:28.910 is making you mad. The madman, the martyr, and 00:04:28.910 --> 00:04:31.910 the missionary. Let's talk first for a few minutes 00:04:31.910 --> 00:04:37.430 about the madman. Now our scripture exposes what 00:04:37.430 --> 00:04:41.790 the world thinks of missionaries and of missionary 00:04:41.790 --> 00:04:44.779 movements and really of our fellowship. Here 00:04:44.779 --> 00:04:47.699 is Festus, this famous outburst. Paul, you're 00:04:47.699 --> 00:04:51.639 mad. You're out of your mind. He's accusing him 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:54.180 of being insane. But why? What is the statement? 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:58.379 Verse 19, he says, I was faithful to preach the 00:04:58.379 --> 00:05:02.500 gospel to the Jews and to the Gentiles. Now, 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:05.139 we don't know because we can't cross -examine 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:09.360 Festus. But is it possible that the reason he 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:12.439 thought Paul was out of his mind was because 00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:16.459 he made this public statement, I am going to 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:19.480 minister to people that are not my own. Because 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:23.279 we know the Jews in that day, they had no dealings 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:26.420 with foreigners. And now Paul says, I am going 00:05:26.420 --> 00:05:30.300 to preach to the Gentiles. Is it possible that 00:05:30.300 --> 00:05:33.879 that's why Festus thought he was a madman? It's 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:35.980 interesting, that's what happened to John Brown. 00:05:36.500 --> 00:05:41.600 Most pro -slavery southerners simply could not 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:45.319 believe that a white man would fight for the 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:48.269 freedom of the slave. In their minds, they were 00:05:48.269 --> 00:05:51.470 subhuman. They were little more than property. 00:05:51.769 --> 00:05:54.550 And the idea that this white man would, they 00:05:54.550 --> 00:05:57.889 couldn't comprehend it. That did not jive with 00:05:57.889 --> 00:06:00.910 their view of the world. And so the only conclusion 00:06:00.910 --> 00:06:05.110 they can come to, he's got to be insane. But 00:06:05.110 --> 00:06:06.910 let's think about the world that we live in right 00:06:06.910 --> 00:06:11.209 now. You know, our world talks a lot about compassion, 00:06:11.509 --> 00:06:14.910 doesn't it? And that's essentially all it does 00:06:14.910 --> 00:06:18.879 on the subject. We talk about it. People post 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:22.839 videos about it. We have seminars about it. We 00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:26.139 live in a world where we talk, talk, talk about 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:30.139 compassion, and yet the basic societal ills get 00:06:30.139 --> 00:06:32.899 worse every year, don't they? Because our world 00:06:32.899 --> 00:06:35.540 talks about compassion, but it doesn't actually 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:40.139 have it. It's only a theory or an idea to them. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:44.439 And so because of that, they can little comprehend 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:47.920 that you are willing to give up your life to 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:50.960 go minister to people that aren't like you. Every 00:06:50.960 --> 00:06:53.720 pioneer in here and certainly every missionary, 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:56.220 you've had that conversation. You're telling 00:06:56.220 --> 00:06:59.600 a workmate or someone that you're moving. What 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:01.199 are you going to do? I'm going to go start a 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:04.920 church. You're going to do a what? But why? Do 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:06.939 you know someone there? I don't know anyone there. 00:07:07.319 --> 00:07:10.240 Why are you going? You're not the same color 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:13.379 as those people. You don't speak this. They can't 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:16.800 comprehend it because our world talks about compassion, 00:07:17.060 --> 00:07:19.899 but they don't have it. And so when someone gets 00:07:19.899 --> 00:07:22.600 up on Thursday night, when a young couple stands 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:25.100 up and says, I'm going to give my life for another 00:07:25.100 --> 00:07:28.680 nation, the world says, you're insane. We cannot 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:32.759 comprehend what you're doing. So the world dismisses 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:38.100 us as madmen because they must. If we aren't 00:07:38.100 --> 00:07:41.779 insane, then what we're saying might be right. 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:47.639 And just like the pro -slavery southerners, They 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:49.379 cannot comprehend that. That doesn't fit with 00:07:49.379 --> 00:07:54.500 their worldview. So you have to be insane. But 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:57.500 it's not just the world, is it? It's the church 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:02.180 world too. The religious world sees the missionary 00:08:02.180 --> 00:08:04.439 as a madman. You know, in any other movement. 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:10.839 Missionaries, they are, they're the weird ones. 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:14.860 Some of you have met missionaries before. You 00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:19.019 know, they're the odd duck. You're like, oh. 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:21.779 Now, I understand as I'm saying that, there's 00:08:21.779 --> 00:08:27.519 people going, it's you. Yes, I resemble that 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:31.519 remark. But in the church world, missionaries, 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:34.940 they are the fractional percentage, the marginalized 00:08:34.940 --> 00:08:37.940 few. The missionaries never get on the stage 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:41.379 in the church world. They never show up at the 00:08:41.379 --> 00:08:44.019 big events. All you get is the superstars because 00:08:44.019 --> 00:08:47.379 that's not really what the church world is about. 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:49.620 You know what's fascinating about this man, John 00:08:49.620 --> 00:08:54.879 Brown, is that even in the North, even among 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:59.460 many abolitionists, he was dismissed as a madman. 00:09:00.269 --> 00:09:05.070 They would not accept his idea of aggressive 00:09:05.070 --> 00:09:09.789 abolitionism. But why was that? Why is it that 00:09:09.789 --> 00:09:12.590 even though they technically believed the same 00:09:12.590 --> 00:09:15.950 thing, why did they dismiss him as a madman? 00:09:17.210 --> 00:09:22.629 Because they talked about it and he did it. Right? 00:09:22.669 --> 00:09:25.389 If you read the history, there's several fantastic 00:09:25.389 --> 00:09:29.149 books written about the Civil War and the years 00:09:29.149 --> 00:09:32.470 leading up to it. The Zealot and the Emancipator 00:09:32.470 --> 00:09:35.990 is a very good one. But it's interesting. You 00:09:35.990 --> 00:09:38.710 read about these northern politicians. They would 00:09:38.710 --> 00:09:41.590 give speeches. We need to free the slave. And 00:09:41.590 --> 00:09:42.629 someone's like, let's do it. And they're like, 00:09:42.649 --> 00:09:46.590 whoa, whoa, whoa. I mean, you know. What I meant 00:09:46.590 --> 00:09:50.259 was we need to talk about it. We need to vote 00:09:50.259 --> 00:09:53.340 about it. And John Brown's there, let's do it. 00:09:55.240 --> 00:09:57.419 So they said, okay, well, hold on there, buddy. 00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:01.379 You know, maybe not now, maybe, you know, in 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:07.460 10 years or. And so, because he was doing what 00:10:07.460 --> 00:10:09.799 they were talking about, he had to be dismissed 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:13.440 as a madman. Because if they didn't call him 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:17.679 a madman, what were they? They were cowards. 00:10:18.860 --> 00:10:22.220 If John Brown was in his right mind, then the 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:25.580 rest were cowards. They weren't doing what needed 00:10:25.580 --> 00:10:29.279 to be done. So he had to be dismissed. Listen, 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:33.000 that is just like how the church world regards 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:37.879 us, especially our fellowship, pioneers, missionaries, 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:42.580 any genuine evangelistic movement has to be dismissed 00:10:42.580 --> 00:10:46.379 as madmen. We've got to be crazy people. What 00:10:46.379 --> 00:10:49.940 do they call us? Radicals, fundamentalists. They 00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:55.769 can't just call us Christians. The Bible that 00:10:55.769 --> 00:10:59.070 I read teaches me that Christians will lay down 00:10:59.070 --> 00:11:03.309 their life for the unsaved. But see, if that's 00:11:03.309 --> 00:11:05.610 true, then what does that make the church world? 00:11:07.190 --> 00:11:13.190 Cowards. Entitled cowards, as Pastor Torrey preached. 00:11:14.190 --> 00:11:18.210 So they have to label us. We have to be mad men. 00:11:19.070 --> 00:11:23.830 Did you hear about those crazy people? They sent 00:11:23.830 --> 00:11:29.210 who into where? But you know, even within our 00:11:29.210 --> 00:11:33.070 church, if you've pastored any number of years, 00:11:33.230 --> 00:11:38.389 there are people inside our churches that really 00:11:38.389 --> 00:11:42.690 don't care for what we do. There can be a despising 00:11:42.690 --> 00:11:47.250 spirit. And every year, every six months, the 00:11:47.250 --> 00:11:50.509 drumbeat of church planting, world evangelism. 00:11:50.549 --> 00:11:52.549 There's people that they come to church, they 00:11:52.549 --> 00:11:54.529 love Jesus, but they don't love what we love. 00:11:55.269 --> 00:11:59.110 And it bothers them. It gets under their skin. 00:11:59.169 --> 00:12:01.230 They get a little irritated when you get up to 00:12:01.230 --> 00:12:04.470 take a world evangelism pledge. When conference 00:12:04.470 --> 00:12:06.690 is over and you're raving, oh, you wouldn't believe. 00:12:06.809 --> 00:12:12.789 Like, oh, pastor, seriously? We are just a little 00:12:12.789 --> 00:12:17.730 bit crazy to them. So let's talk then about the 00:12:17.730 --> 00:12:22.950 martyr. Listen, if you want to do anything for 00:12:22.950 --> 00:12:25.710 the kingdom of God, you're going to have to give 00:12:25.710 --> 00:12:29.269 up something. There's no other way around it. 00:12:29.669 --> 00:12:32.629 In our church, one of the things I love is we 00:12:32.629 --> 00:12:35.409 do an open question and answer session about 00:12:35.409 --> 00:12:39.279 every second month. After a Sunday evening service 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:42.080 is over, we'll put out a box for people to put 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:44.399 anonymous questions in. It's for teenagers and 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:49.220 teens and 20s. So about every second month, I 00:12:49.220 --> 00:12:52.539 will spend time. I'll spend one and a half, sometimes 00:12:52.539 --> 00:12:54.919 two hours just answering. I got to tell you, 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:57.539 I love answering questions, just sitting with 00:12:57.539 --> 00:13:01.240 people. And man, I get questions about everything, 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:06.480 doctrine, the Bible. issues in life. Our community 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:10.659 is filled with violence and abuse. We get deep 00:13:10.659 --> 00:13:14.399 questions. Just a week ago Sunday, we had our 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:18.080 last Q &A, and one of the questions in there 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:23.460 was, Pastor, I want to preach the gospel, but 00:13:23.460 --> 00:13:27.299 I also want to pursue my dreams. How do I balance 00:13:27.299 --> 00:13:31.559 the two of those things? And the answer is, you 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:37.740 can't. Those two things don't get balanced. It's 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:40.240 one or the other. You're going to have to make 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:42.899 up your mind that you're willing to give up something 00:13:42.899 --> 00:13:45.279 if you're going to do the will of God. Listen, 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:50.220 sacrifice is the fertilizer of every great thing 00:13:50.220 --> 00:13:53.320 that ever grows in the kingdom of God. We don't 00:13:53.320 --> 00:13:56.919 get it for nothing. It doesn't just show up magically. 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:01.379 understood this instinctively and he was willing 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:05.179 to give his life for the call. Acts 20, 22 to 00:14:05.179 --> 00:14:09.740 24. And see, now I go bound in the spirit to 00:14:09.740 --> 00:14:12.659 Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen 00:14:12.659 --> 00:14:16.639 to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:20.740 in every city, saying that chains and tribulation 00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:25.460 await me, but none of this moves me, nor do I 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:29.179 count my life dear to myself. so that I may finish 00:14:29.179 --> 00:14:33.960 my race. What is he saying? He says, I don't 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:38.360 care if it costs me everything. I just want to 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:41.460 do something for the kingdom of God. Isn't that 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:50.179 why we're here this week? Hallelujah. When John 00:14:50.179 --> 00:14:53.679 Brown was on trial in Virginia, they tried him 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:58.389 for treason. against the Confederacy. He made 00:14:58.389 --> 00:15:00.610 this statement. He said, now if it is deemed 00:15:00.610 --> 00:15:04.789 necessary that I should forfeit my life for the 00:15:04.789 --> 00:15:08.169 furtherance of the ends of justice and mingle 00:15:08.169 --> 00:15:11.009 my blood further with the blood of my children 00:15:11.009 --> 00:15:14.409 and with the blood of millions in this slave 00:15:14.409 --> 00:15:18.330 country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, 00:15:18.490 --> 00:15:24.759 cruel, and unjust enactments, I submit. so let 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:33.559 it be done. Now, while literal martyrdom is rarely 00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:38.679 asked for these days, and I'm okay with that, 00:15:38.779 --> 00:15:45.120 the spirit of the martyr is absolutely necessary. 00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:51.200 Each and every one of us is going to have to 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:54.620 answer the question, What will you give for the 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:59.200 cause? What will you give for the cause? For 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:02.679 some, you're going to lay down your dreams, career 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:07.799 aspirations to pursue the higher calling of the 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:11.500 gospel of Jesus Christ. For some, you're going 00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:15.600 to have to lay down established successful ministries 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:19.000 to go and pioneer again or to be a missionary 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:22.429 in another nation. Can we talk for a minute? 00:16:22.909 --> 00:16:26.529 I've had the privilege. I am, you know, when 00:16:26.529 --> 00:16:28.789 Pastor Torrey is talking about being born on 00:16:28.789 --> 00:16:31.850 third base, I think I was born further than that. 00:16:31.909 --> 00:16:36.750 I think God knew. Poor Heimberg, man. If I don't 00:16:36.750 --> 00:16:39.129 help him, he's not going to get anywhere. I've 00:16:39.129 --> 00:16:42.710 been so blessed in life. I was able to be a missionary 00:16:42.710 --> 00:16:46.629 so far twice. We first went to India. I want 00:16:46.629 --> 00:16:49.570 to be honest with you. That was very easy because 00:16:49.570 --> 00:16:57.860 we were young. We had nothing. We had three small 00:16:57.860 --> 00:16:59.879 children, which means if we move anywhere, it's 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:01.460 a package deal. They're with us. Let's go, kids. 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:03.179 Where are we going? Doesn't matter. Shut up and 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:08.200 get in the car. We're going to Burger King. Surprise, 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:19.359 it's India. Now, I in no way want to belittle 00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:22.420 this. We need young couples that will go. Thank 00:17:22.420 --> 00:17:24.680 God. We need young families. I'll go. You don't 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:26.259 even know what you're volunteering for. You just 00:17:26.259 --> 00:17:28.000 stand up on Thursday. Yeah, it's me. I'll go. 00:17:28.500 --> 00:17:33.019 Do it. We need it. But I want to tell you, that 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:38.180 was much easier. We were in India for two and 00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:40.619 a half years, left a church there, came back. 00:17:40.619 --> 00:17:44.039 We're in the U .S. for about 11 years. But, you 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:46.019 know, time goes on. We grow up. Our kids grow 00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:49.359 up. We had more kids. Kids moved out, get married. 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:52.859 Our first grandchild was born, bought a house. 00:17:53.579 --> 00:17:56.019 I was pastoring the church in Gallup, New Mexico, 00:17:56.140 --> 00:17:58.740 which is a conference church. There's some kind 00:17:58.740 --> 00:18:02.779 of dignity there, like position. I had a good 00:18:02.779 --> 00:18:08.339 income, had a great life. People would call me 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:12.700 and invite me to preach for them. You know, when 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:16.000 I went to India, it was an upgrade. It was like, 00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:18.940 yeah. I'm not working a job pastoring a church. 00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:20.680 You want to be a full -time pastor just like 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:28.200 that? Sign me up. But see, it's a little different 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:33.880 going when you're a little older. My wife and 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:36.180 I, we're very blessed. We have five grandchildren. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:41.400 And with the exception of six months, we have 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.220 never lived on even the same continent as our 00:18:44.220 --> 00:18:48.549 grandchildren. See, it hits way different than 00:18:48.549 --> 00:18:53.170 when we went the first time. Like I said, I don't 00:18:53.170 --> 00:18:55.690 want to belittle the sacrifice of young pastors 00:18:55.690 --> 00:18:59.250 that go, but you know, sometimes we need some 00:18:59.250 --> 00:19:04.430 experienced ministers that would go. We will 00:19:04.430 --> 00:19:07.210 be in trouble if we ever get to the place where 00:19:07.210 --> 00:19:12.640 only the young respond. We need sometimes some 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:16.279 men and couples with experience, maybe to go 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:19.900 into a new nation or a new city and break some 00:19:19.900 --> 00:19:23.319 ground. Some ministers that you've got some scars 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:27.140 and the wisdom that comes with it to go and pioneer 00:19:27.140 --> 00:19:30.440 in a place that maybe a younger man may not be 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:36.200 able to. But the promise is that the spirit of 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:41.380 the martyr has the power to move people. You 00:19:41.380 --> 00:19:45.240 know, everyone dies, right? But not all who die 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:51.519 are martyrs. It's how you live that determines 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:56.039 whether or not you die a martyr. John Brown, 00:19:56.259 --> 00:20:00.700 when he had finished his trial and he had been 00:20:00.700 --> 00:20:03.920 sentenced to hang, he wrote in one of his last 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:08.940 letters to his wife, I am quite cheerful. in 00:20:08.940 --> 00:20:12.680 view of my approaching end, being fully persuaded 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:18.359 that I am worth inconceivably more to hang than 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:22.539 to any other purpose. But the reason is he had 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:27.980 a sense of the pulse of what was happening in 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:31.319 the nation, and he knew that one martyr's death 00:20:31.319 --> 00:20:35.650 would trigger something. He knew that his death 00:20:35.650 --> 00:20:39.529 could galvanize something in the nation. Listen, 00:20:39.589 --> 00:20:42.309 when you have that kind of a spirit, you will 00:20:42.309 --> 00:20:47.849 make impact not only where you go, but from where 00:20:47.849 --> 00:20:52.150 you leave. On Thursday night, listen to me, every 00:20:52.150 --> 00:20:54.789 missionary that stands on this stage on Thursday 00:20:54.789 --> 00:20:57.529 night, we understand they're going to make impact 00:20:57.529 --> 00:21:00.710 in the various nations they go into. But you 00:21:00.710 --> 00:21:02.900 need to see there's another impact. When they 00:21:02.900 --> 00:21:05.400 stand up and walk down the aisle, they're going 00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:07.640 to have an impact here. There's going to be a 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:10.680 young man or a young woman, a convert, who looks 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:12.619 and identifies with them. And they're going to 00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:16.339 say, I could do this. If they're going, I could 00:21:16.339 --> 00:21:18.259 go. Or they're going to see that you went into 00:21:18.259 --> 00:21:20.900 that nation and God will put something in their 00:21:20.900 --> 00:21:24.960 mind or in their spirit. Listen, when you give 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:28.579 yourself to do the will of God, it's not just 00:21:28.579 --> 00:21:31.759 what is accomplished in your hands, but it's 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:34.039 in the wake you leave, the influence that is 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:39.980 made. In this era when Brown made his reign on 00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:43.359 Harper's Ferry, Henry David Thoreau, made this 00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:46.039 statement. He said, It was the best news our 00:21:46.039 --> 00:21:49.319 nation has ever heard. It has already quickened 00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:53.220 the feeble pulse of the North and infused more 00:21:53.220 --> 00:21:57.440 and more generous blood into her heart and veins 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:01.259 than any number of years of prosperity could. 00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:08.480 I believe that one of the things that makes our 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:10.640 fellowship great, and of course there are many, 00:22:12.109 --> 00:22:13.849 But I believe one of the things that makes our 00:22:13.849 --> 00:22:16.130 fellowship so great is that it was built by men 00:22:16.130 --> 00:22:20.769 and women who left some things to build some 00:22:20.769 --> 00:22:25.809 things. Some of our heroes are couples who left 00:22:25.809 --> 00:22:30.809 opportunities to go be missionaries. People who 00:22:30.809 --> 00:22:34.130 left good churches. All the stories we've heard. 00:22:34.150 --> 00:22:36.410 We've heard about Pastor Campbell leaving Chandler 00:22:36.410 --> 00:22:40.940 to go to Malaysia. We know of Pastor Payne leaving 00:22:40.940 --> 00:22:45.730 Gallup to go to Australia. We know all the stories, 00:22:45.829 --> 00:22:49.009 Dwayne and Frostine Renz, when they left thriving 00:22:49.009 --> 00:22:52.470 work in Las Vegas to go to South Africa. Even 00:22:52.470 --> 00:22:55.410 Pastor Mitchell going to Beachboro twice. They 00:22:55.410 --> 00:22:57.309 left, it wasn't like they're sitting around, 00:22:57.549 --> 00:23:00.190 you know, listen, every conference pastor has 00:23:00.190 --> 00:23:02.970 this experience. You're in conference and someone 00:23:02.970 --> 00:23:05.049 comes to you, you just saw their last gold sheet. 00:23:05.210 --> 00:23:07.349 You know, there's three people in church, but 00:23:07.349 --> 00:23:11.259 they have a family of seven. And he's like, Pastor, 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:13.460 I just really feel I need to be a missionary. 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:18.019 Yeah. You're really feeling like you want a new 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:22.160 church. But see, our fellowship was built by 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:24.500 men that left good churches to go build something 00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:31.630 new. It moves us. Because that spirit, it's inculcated 00:23:31.630 --> 00:23:35.069 into us. It's in our DNA. If we could do a fellowship 00:23:35.069 --> 00:23:38.309 blood test, you would find in there the spirit 00:23:38.309 --> 00:23:41.890 of the martyr and that spirit of sacrificial 00:23:41.890 --> 00:23:46.710 giving and leaving. So let's talk then finally 00:23:46.710 --> 00:23:54.369 about the missionary. When you look at Paul's 00:23:54.369 --> 00:24:00.109 life, it is tempting. to get his legacy wrong. 00:24:01.730 --> 00:24:04.869 If you were to ask, you know, many Christians, 00:24:04.970 --> 00:24:06.990 many disciples, you know, what was Paul's legacy? 00:24:07.390 --> 00:24:09.349 We could come up with all kinds of ideas. He 00:24:09.349 --> 00:24:13.329 wrote this many books of the Bible. His apologetic 00:24:13.329 --> 00:24:18.819 defense of the gospel. He set out key doctrines, 00:24:18.819 --> 00:24:21.119 the doctrine of male leadership in the church. 00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:23.880 And we could go through all these things. That's 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:27.480 what Paul's legacy was. But if you were to ask 00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:32.920 Paul himself what his legacy was, he would say 00:24:32.920 --> 00:24:36.779 like he did in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 3. Clearly, 00:24:36.779 --> 00:24:42.279 you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us. 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:45.279 Written not with ink, but by the spirit of the 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:49.579 living God. Not on tablets of stone, but on tablets 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:53.000 of flesh. That is of the heart. What he's actually 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:56.799 saying, what is my greatest epistle? People. 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:00.460 What's the greatest impact? Forget the letters 00:25:00.460 --> 00:25:04.220 I wrote. Did you ever hear about Onesimus? Have 00:25:04.220 --> 00:25:06.420 you met this guy? He'd bring him in. I want you 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:09.759 to meet my latest convert. See, in his mind, 00:25:09.779 --> 00:25:12.819 the legacy was the people whose lives he's impact. 00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:17.079 If you were to ask your missionary heroes, maybe 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:21.680 do it this week. Go talk to Pastor Olson or Pastor 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:25.680 Campbell or Pastor Greg. Ask these men, what 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:31.069 was your impact in the nations? I'd be willing 00:25:31.069 --> 00:25:32.670 to bet you that none of these men would be like, 00:25:32.730 --> 00:25:34.930 well, let me tell you about the building I built. 00:25:36.789 --> 00:25:38.730 None of these men would be like, well, you know, 00:25:38.750 --> 00:25:43.150 there was this many churches. I bet you if you 00:25:43.150 --> 00:25:46.289 could catch them right, they'd get that far away 00:25:46.289 --> 00:25:47.710 look in their eyes and they would start telling 00:25:47.710 --> 00:25:51.769 you stories about people. Every disciple that's 00:25:51.769 --> 00:25:54.289 come up in the Prescott Church in the last 20 00:25:54.289 --> 00:25:58.410 years or so, we were raised on the stories of 00:25:58.410 --> 00:26:02.960 Pastor Greg's. We weren't raised on stories of, 00:26:03.019 --> 00:26:05.900 and I preached this amazing sermon. Now he would 00:26:05.900 --> 00:26:08.279 tell us, did I ever tell you about Michael Jacobs? 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:10.339 Let me tell you the story when he came into the 00:26:10.339 --> 00:26:12.059 church. Now I tell you the story about the guy 00:26:12.059 --> 00:26:13.539 that showed up with the knife sticking out of 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:20.400 his head. Because that's still what matters, 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:27.779 isn't it? It's the people. I have a treasure 00:26:27.779 --> 00:26:33.220 chest. full of treasured memories I've compiled 00:26:33.220 --> 00:26:37.740 over the years, packed to the brim of names and 00:26:37.740 --> 00:26:40.859 faces of people I've had the privilege to be 00:26:40.859 --> 00:26:45.079 in contact with. Our church in El Dorado Park 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:48.799 runs a rehab, a drug rehab program. It's modeled 00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:51.400 after what Pastor Sergei has been doing in Russia 00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:55.460 for many years. And there's always guys coming 00:26:55.460 --> 00:26:57.660 in. It's a one -year program, so whenever a man 00:26:57.660 --> 00:26:59.960 completes his year, we have a graduation. Just 00:26:59.960 --> 00:27:02.299 this past week, Monday night, we had our most 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:04.640 recent graduation. Three men were graduating. 00:27:05.240 --> 00:27:07.779 There's always a revolving cast of characters 00:27:07.779 --> 00:27:11.880 there. Morgan, Jason, and Sudesh. And when they 00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:14.000 graduate, we have a dinner. We have them testify. 00:27:15.259 --> 00:27:19.160 And Morgan is testifying about his life and the 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:24.460 insanity, the violence, all the chaos, telling 00:27:24.460 --> 00:27:27.420 this story. And you know what's crazy? You know 00:27:27.420 --> 00:27:29.319 how crazy someone's life is when they tell you 00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:32.119 certain stories with a straight face. Some stories, 00:27:32.140 --> 00:27:36.720 if I try, but he's like, yeah, so I was smoking 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:39.819 meth. And then we realized, well, we should sell 00:27:39.819 --> 00:27:43.960 it. That makes sense. Okay, I have a half Jewish 00:27:43.960 --> 00:27:45.920 father. I can get behind the business proposition. 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:48.200 Maybe she'd sell it. It makes way more sense. 00:27:48.299 --> 00:27:51.539 Buy it wholesale. Your supply is cheaper. No, 00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:56.359 this is, I'm getting off track. So we would go 00:27:56.359 --> 00:27:58.759 once a month. We would buy our supply, go, blah, 00:27:58.859 --> 00:28:00.900 blah, blah. Yeah, so one time we were going. 00:28:00.940 --> 00:28:02.740 It was me and my three friends. We went. It was 00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:05.059 a setup. They jumped us, killed my three friends 00:28:05.059 --> 00:28:07.000 right in front of me. So I had to run away. Anyway. 00:28:10.990 --> 00:28:13.049 And I always tell my wife, when we have the rehab 00:28:13.049 --> 00:28:16.130 graduations, I always get emotional. It's just 00:28:16.130 --> 00:28:19.269 like, here's this man. He's standing there. He 00:28:19.269 --> 00:28:22.670 is sharp. He's got a vest and a tie on. He looks 00:28:22.670 --> 00:28:24.630 like Pastor Ruby's about to preach, you know. 00:28:24.630 --> 00:28:28.450 He's set, you know. And we do the whole thing. 00:28:28.509 --> 00:28:29.869 Afterward, he comes up to me. He says, Pastor, 00:28:30.069 --> 00:28:31.670 thank you. And he said, Pastor, you know what? 00:28:32.450 --> 00:28:36.990 I think I'm called to preach. You know, this 00:28:36.990 --> 00:28:39.509 week, I'll have been a pastor 20 years. And I 00:28:39.509 --> 00:28:43.240 want to tell you. I would do it all over again 00:28:43.240 --> 00:28:47.619 just for Morgan. I would do it all over again 00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:55.599 for any one of these. I would do it again for 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:59.660 a Fabian or a Donovan, Brandon and Crystal. And 00:28:59.660 --> 00:29:02.799 I could go on, I could spend all week talking 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:05.960 about the people. Listen, because that's what 00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:09.859 matters. So we would deliver people from bondage. 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:16.359 I believe that we are in a precious moment in 00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:19.880 church and fellowship history right now. There's 00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:22.619 a season of prosperity in much of the Western 00:29:22.619 --> 00:29:25.920 world. But at the same time, we see the hint 00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:29.279 that some doors might be opening. You know, there's 00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:31.119 a guy, his name escapes me at the moment, but 00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:36.019 he keeps saying regime change. You know, regime 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:40.480 change in the Arab world right now. oh, what 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:43.980 a harvest field it could open. Hundreds of millions 00:29:43.980 --> 00:29:47.940 of people. Listen, we are at a precious moment 00:29:47.940 --> 00:29:51.420 where I believe we have the people, we have the 00:29:51.420 --> 00:29:55.279 resources, we have the open doors. Africa, the 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:59.640 continent of Africa alone has 21 nations with 00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:02.839 no fellowship church. We still have 82 nations 00:30:02.839 --> 00:30:05.240 in the world. That's the unknown. We're talking 00:30:05.240 --> 00:30:09.160 about into the unknown. It's those places. We 00:30:09.160 --> 00:30:12.319 need men and women who will respond young and 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:16.099 old. We need fresh faces. We need weathered, 00:30:16.099 --> 00:30:18.559 tried and true veterans who would go to their 00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:21.319 pastor and say, I'm willing. I'll go anywhere. 00:30:22.619 --> 00:30:26.039 Like Pastor Greg said last night, I'll sign the 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:28.400 bottom of the paper. You just put the destination 00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:33.259 on it. I want to tell you, even if the world 00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:37.279 forgets your name, heaven will never forget your 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:47.759 labor. Hallelujah. You know, most of the world 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:51.920 has no idea who John Brown is. It's a name lost 00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:55.200 to history, even in the United States. If he 00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:59.019 is remembered, it's a madman, a terrorist, or 00:30:59.019 --> 00:31:05.839 just a footnote. And yet, the impact of his life 00:31:06.890 --> 00:31:11.849 is still echoing on to this day. I want to just 00:31:11.849 --> 00:31:14.769 kind of tell this story, if you'll give me a 00:31:14.769 --> 00:31:19.809 moment. In 1856, three years before John Brown 00:31:19.809 --> 00:31:22.529 had really come to notoriety, before he died, 00:31:23.289 --> 00:31:28.509 William Steffi wrote a very simple song that 00:31:28.509 --> 00:31:31.109 became popular in Methodist churches. In those 00:31:31.109 --> 00:31:33.609 days, the Methodists were the ones that were 00:31:33.609 --> 00:31:38.559 very... abolitionist -minded in the north. And 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:41.359 it was very popular in their camp meetings. It 00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:45.480 was a very simple song. Two refrains and said, 00:31:45.700 --> 00:31:49.000 say, brothers, will you meet us? Say, brothers, 00:31:49.160 --> 00:31:51.839 will you meet us? Say, brothers, will you meet 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:56.500 us at Canaan's happy shore? And then they would 00:31:56.500 --> 00:31:58.619 go back through again and it would say, glory, 00:31:58.680 --> 00:32:01.910 glory, hallelujah, forever, evermore. Now this 00:32:01.910 --> 00:32:05.049 became popular in the freedmen churches. These 00:32:05.049 --> 00:32:06.869 were the freed slaves that made it to the north 00:32:06.869 --> 00:32:09.430 because it painted this picture of the kingdom 00:32:09.430 --> 00:32:12.289 of God as accepting everybody. Say brothers. 00:32:13.089 --> 00:32:15.490 It doesn't talk about where you're born or what 00:32:15.490 --> 00:32:18.349 color you are. And so this actually became an 00:32:18.349 --> 00:32:23.269 anthem of the abolitionist movement. After John 00:32:23.269 --> 00:32:27.369 Brown died, a curious thing happened. They began 00:32:27.369 --> 00:32:31.640 to add verses to that song. And it became a popular 00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:35.380 marching song for the northern soldiers. Verse 00:32:35.380 --> 00:32:39.019 1 of that song goes like this. Old John Brown's 00:32:39.019 --> 00:32:42.900 body lies moldering in the grave. While weep 00:32:42.900 --> 00:32:46.980 the sons of bondage whom he ventured all to save. 00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:50.460 But though he lost his life while struggling 00:32:50.460 --> 00:32:56.180 for the slave, his soul is marching on. I want 00:32:56.180 --> 00:33:00.009 you to imagine for a moment a company. of Union 00:33:00.009 --> 00:33:04.430 soldiers, shoulder to shoulder, marching into 00:33:04.430 --> 00:33:07.230 battle with this song on their lips. They would 00:33:07.230 --> 00:33:09.430 sing the songs as the cadence to keep time in 00:33:09.430 --> 00:33:13.589 their marches. Old John Brown's body lies a -moldering 00:33:13.589 --> 00:33:17.450 in the grave while weep the sons of bondage. 00:33:19.089 --> 00:33:22.710 Now, we also know that in the North, there were 00:33:22.710 --> 00:33:24.509 freedmen companies. There would have been entire 00:33:24.509 --> 00:33:28.160 companies. Of freed slaves, now northern soldiers 00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:30.960 marching into battle singing that song. Because 00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:34.680 John Brown was their hero. The first white man 00:33:34.680 --> 00:33:40.119 that gave his life for them. The song goes on. 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:45.740 Verse 4. John Brown was John the Baptist of the 00:33:45.740 --> 00:33:49.680 Christ we are to see. Christ who of the bondmen 00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:53.799 shall the liberator be. And soon throughout the 00:33:53.799 --> 00:33:57.940 sunny south. the slaves shall all be free, for 00:33:57.940 --> 00:34:03.779 his soul is marching on. John Brown forgotten 00:34:03.779 --> 00:34:14.019 by many, smeared by his enemies. I wonder if 00:34:14.019 --> 00:34:17.219 you were a southern soldier for the Confederacy. 00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:20.639 Maybe you were a Virginian soldier and you knew 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:23.199 Virginia hung John Brown. He's dead, but what 00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:30.030 is that I hear? Are they saying John Brown? And 00:34:30.030 --> 00:34:32.389 as they're echoing those voices across those 00:34:32.389 --> 00:34:35.869 battlefields, and soon throughout the sunny south, 00:34:36.090 --> 00:34:39.429 the slaves shall all be free. I wonder what that 00:34:39.429 --> 00:34:42.050 would do in the hearts of these men. You know, 00:34:42.070 --> 00:34:43.869 it's interesting to note that they didn't march 00:34:43.869 --> 00:34:49.090 into battle singing about Abraham Lincoln. They 00:34:49.090 --> 00:34:51.010 didn't march into battle singing about any of 00:34:51.010 --> 00:34:54.340 their politicians or any of their generals. They 00:34:54.340 --> 00:34:56.619 marched into battle singing about the one man 00:34:56.619 --> 00:35:02.179 who had enough gall to lay his life down for 00:35:02.179 --> 00:35:07.559 a cause. Then in November of 1861, there was 00:35:07.559 --> 00:35:10.719 a small skirmish fought in the outskirts of Washington, 00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:16.960 D .C. Julia Ward Howe heard the song and it moved 00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:21.099 her. She realized this isn't just... a song about 00:35:21.099 --> 00:35:23.440 the emancipation of the slave. This is a song 00:35:23.440 --> 00:35:26.960 about the emancipation of mankind. And she wrote 00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:30.579 a new set of lyrics. Mine eyes have seen the 00:35:30.579 --> 00:35:36.039 glory of the coming of the Lord. He is trampling 00:35:36.039 --> 00:35:38.360 out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are 00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:41.980 stored. He has loosed the faithful lightning 00:35:41.980 --> 00:35:47.340 of his terrible swift sword. His truth is marching 00:35:47.340 --> 00:35:54.619 on. Glory, glory, hallelujah. And if you are 00:35:54.619 --> 00:35:58.280 an American or if you follow, you pay attention 00:35:58.280 --> 00:36:00.019 to America, you probably know a few more of these 00:36:00.019 --> 00:36:03.920 verses, but I'll read just one more. In the beauty 00:36:03.920 --> 00:36:07.539 of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea 00:36:07.539 --> 00:36:13.179 with a glory in his bosom that transfigures you 00:36:13.179 --> 00:36:19.840 and me. As he died to make men holy, Let us die 00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:26.920 to make men free. Our God is marching on. We 00:36:26.920 --> 00:36:28.860 call this the battle hymn of the Republic, and 00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:32.800 we understand it's a song of liberation. Yes, 00:36:32.980 --> 00:36:35.719 in context, the liberation of the slaves, but 00:36:35.719 --> 00:36:38.039 actually it's the liberation of souls by Christ. 00:36:39.139 --> 00:36:44.139 And while John Brown's name is lost to history, 00:36:44.940 --> 00:36:48.320 I believe his blood still flows through our republic. 00:36:49.159 --> 00:36:53.900 That spirit. I don't care if you call me a madman. 00:36:54.039 --> 00:36:56.460 I don't care if I have to die as a martyr. I 00:36:56.460 --> 00:37:01.780 have a mission. And I believe that something 00:37:01.780 --> 00:37:04.900 very similar is true of our fellowship. Is that 00:37:04.900 --> 00:37:08.559 there is a blood that courses through us. It's 00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:12.760 the spirit of the madman, the martyr, the missionary. 00:37:14.159 --> 00:37:16.639 I want to say to every missionary or missionary 00:37:16.639 --> 00:37:23.579 to be, pioneer or pioneer to be, there is no 00:37:23.579 --> 00:37:27.800 guarantee about anything. There's no guarantee 00:37:27.800 --> 00:37:31.739 that your name will ever be in lights. If you 00:37:31.739 --> 00:37:34.360 go this week, if you volunteer to go as a missionary, 00:37:34.659 --> 00:37:36.739 there's no guarantee of a soft landing when you 00:37:36.739 --> 00:37:41.219 come home. There's no guarantee that one day 00:37:41.219 --> 00:37:45.739 people will sing your praises. There's no guarantee 00:37:45.739 --> 00:37:50.559 of financial success, but there is one guarantee. 00:37:51.619 --> 00:37:54.780 And that is that for every laborer that lays 00:37:54.780 --> 00:37:58.780 their life down for the cause, you will make 00:37:58.780 --> 00:38:02.760 impact. And one day, it might be said of you, 00:38:02.960 --> 00:38:07.760 that while Christ died to make men holy, you 00:38:07.760 --> 00:38:11.829 gave your life to make them free. Amen. That's 00:38:11.829 --> 00:38:13.590 all I have. Let's welcome our pastor as he comes.