WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.040 We're going to read out of the book of Luke chapter 00:00:02.040 --> 00:00:04.900 10, so if you can join me now, I'll be reading 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:07.580 Luke chapter 10, and if you could put it up, 00:00:07.580 --> 00:00:12.179 verse 1. Luke chapter 10 in verse 1 through verse 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:18.059 3. Amen. How many of you are ready for the Word 00:00:18.059 --> 00:00:21.420 of God today? I'm going to ask you again, how 00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:25.079 many of you are ready? Amen. The Word of God 00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:28.679 follows... After these things, the Lord appointed 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:34.119 70 others also and sent them two by two before 00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:38.859 his face into every city and place where he himself 00:00:38.859 --> 00:00:43.240 was about to go. Then he said to them, the harvest 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:49.280 truly is great, but the laborers are few. Therefore, 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:53.719 pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:59.039 into his harvest. Go your way. Behold, I send 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:05.599 you out as lambs among wolves. I'm going to speak 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:09.280 for a few moments on the thought, the mission 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:14.959 beyond, the mission beyond. Amen. And if we have 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:16.480 the video ready, we're going to go ahead and 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:18.359 show a quick video. So invite your attention. 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:29.980 Since 2013. I have been baptized since 2009. 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:36.260 I came to Christ really in just trying to find 00:01:36.260 --> 00:01:39.939 myself. I was invited by some friends when I 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:42.500 was in high school and I started coming to this 00:01:42.500 --> 00:01:44.420 apostolic church. And I didn't know what was 00:01:44.420 --> 00:01:46.920 going on at the time because everything felt 00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:50.900 so new to me. I grew up Catholic and I grew up 00:01:50.900 --> 00:01:53.640 in that tradition. So everything was different. 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:56.780 And when I got here, I didn't understand what 00:01:56.780 --> 00:02:00.500 the Holy Spirit was, speaking in tongues, really 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:03.400 praising and worshiping God. One of the things 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:05.579 I remember the most in the beginning was just 00:02:05.579 --> 00:02:07.840 having my hands down here because I couldn't 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:12.539 lift them up. And ultimately, I realized it was 00:02:12.539 --> 00:02:15.379 because I wasn't free. But when I got closer 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:18.580 to being baptized, it was a difficult time. And 00:02:18.580 --> 00:02:21.659 I think I struggled because my family didn't 00:02:21.659 --> 00:02:26.620 understand. the decision that I was making. Not 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:30.599 only giving my life to Christ, but being part 00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:35.360 of a different faith. But it was here where I 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:38.599 experienced God and the relationship with Him 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:43.120 and felt His Spirit. And I received the gift 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:46.840 of the Holy Spirit. And it was something that 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:48.580 I couldn't look away from. It wasn't something 00:02:48.580 --> 00:02:51.680 that I could turn my back from. And so I committed 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:56.020 myself and I stayed true to it, even though maybe 00:02:56.020 --> 00:03:00.000 the family dynamic didn't change. And, you know, 00:03:00.020 --> 00:03:03.699 it wasn't the easiest transition, but it was 00:03:03.699 --> 00:03:07.759 the biggest blessing because it was being part 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:11.340 of this church, giving my life to God that brought 00:03:11.340 --> 00:03:14.439 me other blessings, including my wife and my 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:18.759 child now. And so I'm extremely blessed that 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:22.469 I... belong to a church that not only understands 00:03:22.469 --> 00:03:25.669 our different walks of life, but embraces them. 00:03:25.870 --> 00:03:28.770 And it's a place where you can come and really 00:03:28.770 --> 00:03:31.710 not only experience the love of Jesus Christ, 00:03:31.930 --> 00:03:36.550 but also activate your gifts and be able to contribute 00:03:36.550 --> 00:03:39.710 to the kingdom of God. And that's why I continue 00:03:39.710 --> 00:03:43.110 to serve God and continue to be a member of City 00:03:43.110 --> 00:03:47.310 Light Church. God bless you. Amen. Let's clap 00:03:47.310 --> 00:03:52.319 our hands. We want to thank Brother Jose. He's 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:54.020 not here today, but we want to thank him for 00:03:54.020 --> 00:03:57.439 sharing his story like some of you others have 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:00.780 done. And I really appreciate hearing these stories. 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:06.979 Some of us have maybe never even heard or understood 00:04:06.979 --> 00:04:09.759 where people are coming from. But as I've said, 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:14.400 behind every story like this was someone living 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:18.399 on mission who reached and evangelized and shared 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:22.480 the gospel. And this is what this moment has 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:24.980 been all about in our church is understanding 00:04:24.980 --> 00:04:28.819 how once we start to live on mission, once we 00:04:28.819 --> 00:04:31.180 really begin to embody the mission of Christ 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:34.899 in our life, to evangelize, to share the gospel, 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:37.899 to share the love of God, to expand his kingdom, 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:41.279 imagine how many more people like that we can 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:44.259 reach. Amen, somebody. Imagine how many more 00:04:44.259 --> 00:04:47.300 lives we can touch and transform. So what we're 00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:50.379 going to do today is spotlight. a commissioning 00:04:50.379 --> 00:04:54.259 moment in Luke 10, which is very similar to the 00:04:54.259 --> 00:04:57.360 one that we've looked at in prior sermons in 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:01.759 Mark chapter 6. I've spent a considerable amount 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.600 of time, both on Sunday and in our midweek mentoring, 00:05:04.699 --> 00:05:09.959 looking at Mark 6. But Luke 10 is very much in 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:14.379 the same theme, very similar in some ways and 00:05:14.379 --> 00:05:18.259 also different in others to the commissioning. 00:05:18.649 --> 00:05:22.370 that Jesus did in Mark 6, because we see that 00:05:22.370 --> 00:05:27.110 here in this moment in Luke 10, Jesus appointed 00:05:27.110 --> 00:05:31.389 groups of people, teams of two, and sent them 00:05:31.389 --> 00:05:34.810 out. But just for your consideration, let me 00:05:34.810 --> 00:05:38.089 just very briefly show you just some of the differences. 00:05:38.170 --> 00:05:42.329 In Mark 6, we see that they were given minimal 00:05:42.329 --> 00:05:46.449 instruction. So the ones that Jesus sent out, 00:05:46.569 --> 00:05:49.750 those teams of two, Got very minimal instructions. 00:05:49.949 --> 00:05:51.970 Didn't get a lot of directions. Didn't get a 00:05:51.970 --> 00:05:55.350 lot of pointers. Basically, he just sent them 00:05:55.350 --> 00:05:59.290 out like sink or swim, guys. But in Luke 10, 00:05:59.430 --> 00:06:03.470 we see Jesus giving more detailed instructions 00:06:03.470 --> 00:06:06.910 in training. If you read the entirety of that 00:06:06.910 --> 00:06:10.149 context there, he goes through a lot more instruction 00:06:10.149 --> 00:06:16.129 to what to do and how to do it. In Mark 9, we 00:06:16.129 --> 00:06:18.730 see that the disciples preached a very simple 00:06:18.730 --> 00:06:21.610 message of repentance. They just went from village 00:06:21.610 --> 00:06:25.050 to village just saying, you're wrong and you 00:06:25.050 --> 00:06:27.189 gotta be right. That's basically what they preached, 00:06:27.209 --> 00:06:29.490 you know, repent. Just a message of repentance. 00:06:29.810 --> 00:06:32.949 But in Luke 10, the teams go out and preaching 00:06:32.949 --> 00:06:35.649 still, but the message is a little different. 00:06:35.709 --> 00:06:38.370 Now they're preaching a bit more about the kingdom 00:06:38.370 --> 00:06:42.529 of God. So the message went from just a straightforward. 00:06:43.379 --> 00:06:46.740 message of repentance to now with this bigger 00:06:46.740 --> 00:06:50.000 group of people. Now they're preaching more about 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:56.040 the kingdom of God and his love, his power that's 00:06:56.040 --> 00:07:00.000 coming. And our message today is the same. Just 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.519 like that first group that went out in Mark 6, 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:05.579 we're still preaching repentance, but we're also 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:09.459 like the group in Luke 10. preaching the kingdom 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:12.560 of God. And I believe that when you marry those 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:15.500 two messages together, the message of that first 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:18.600 smaller group and the message of that larger 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:21.160 group, that's the message that we are preaching 00:07:21.160 --> 00:07:24.259 here today in the 21st century. We still preach 00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:27.459 that people must turn from sin and turn to God. 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:30.339 Amen? We still preach that. We still preach that 00:07:30.339 --> 00:07:33.139 Jesus is king. Amen? He's king of kings. How 00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:35.379 many of you know that? He's the Lord of lords. 00:07:36.269 --> 00:07:38.949 We still preach that there is salvation in his 00:07:38.949 --> 00:07:41.889 name. Amen. This is our message today. We get 00:07:41.889 --> 00:07:44.490 excited about this. This is who we are. This 00:07:44.490 --> 00:07:47.509 is what it's all about. We still preach that 00:07:47.509 --> 00:07:51.410 lives can be changed and transformed and families 00:07:51.410 --> 00:07:53.430 can be restored. How many know we preach this 00:07:53.430 --> 00:07:56.170 and we mean it with all of our hearts? This is 00:07:56.170 --> 00:07:58.350 not just make -believe. We're not just, you know, 00:07:58.389 --> 00:08:02.250 wishing upon a star. This is not a wishing well 00:08:02.250 --> 00:08:05.389 religion. I hope it all turns out okay. No, we 00:08:05.389 --> 00:08:08.949 believe. that this message is powerful and we 00:08:08.949 --> 00:08:11.290 preach it with all of our hearts, that lives 00:08:11.290 --> 00:08:14.689 can be healed, that God can heal people of their 00:08:14.689 --> 00:08:16.970 physical ailments. How many of you know God's 00:08:16.970 --> 00:08:20.529 a healer today? Amen. And that sinners can be 00:08:20.529 --> 00:08:23.730 born again. And so this is our message. The message 00:08:23.730 --> 00:08:27.709 has not changed at all. And Luke 10 gives us 00:08:27.709 --> 00:08:30.610 a powerful picture of how that message begins 00:08:30.610 --> 00:08:35.139 to expand from just a few. Into the hearts of 00:08:35.139 --> 00:08:39.200 many. And now it's expanding and it's broadening 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:42.480 its scope of influence throughout the known world 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:45.779 at that time. It all starts with Jesus. Everything. 00:08:45.940 --> 00:08:48.779 It starts with the Lord Jesus. And then it begins 00:08:48.779 --> 00:08:53.039 to move through the 12 apostles or the 12 disciples 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:56.399 at that time. And then it broadens. So let me 00:08:56.399 --> 00:08:59.299 show you this, how how the mission expands. And 00:08:59.299 --> 00:09:02.980 if I want to, if I can today, just. For a few 00:09:02.980 --> 00:09:06.460 moments, give you some, I guess, just help you 00:09:06.460 --> 00:09:09.860 to see in a broader sense, a bigger picture on 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:11.740 how the mission expands. This might be a little 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:13.279 hard to read depending on where you're sitting, 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:15.799 but I'll try to go through this so you can see 00:09:15.799 --> 00:09:19.559 that it is the purpose of God in His church, 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:23.600 among His people, to move us from being formed 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:29.279 or from formation onto... Jesus started with 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.500 12, but he didn't stop there. He expanded that 00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:37.100 strategy by assembling a broader team of 70 people. 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:41.960 So he went from six groups or six teams of two, 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:45.980 and he multiplied that to 35 teams. That's a 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:48.360 big leap. That's a big leap right there. I mean, 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:53.899 he multiplied that to 35 teams of two. And this 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:56.799 is what Jesus... This is how he moves. This is 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:01.899 how he operates. How many know God does big things? 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:07.460 He starts small, but then it's always in his 00:10:07.460 --> 00:10:11.700 plan, in his will, to expand. God does big things. 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:15.940 He starts small, but then from that small point, 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:20.679 he expands. And so he moved from that initial... 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:25.220 small nucleus of 12 disciples, and he began to 00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:28.440 multiply. Now, this is a powerful pattern that 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:32.679 I want for you to try to grasp today with your 00:10:32.679 --> 00:10:37.480 mind, with your spirit. How Jesus' model, how 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:42.919 his strategy begins to play out as his kingdom 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:46.700 expands, as his purpose begins to manifest in 00:10:46.700 --> 00:10:51.100 our life. Now, the 12, the 12. I believe represent 00:10:51.100 --> 00:10:54.059 leadership. Now, when I'm saying leadership, 00:10:54.299 --> 00:10:57.159 I don't mean those that have a title of a leader. 00:10:57.700 --> 00:11:01.019 A leader is technically anybody who goes first. 00:11:02.340 --> 00:11:04.320 Like remember when you and your friends were 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:06.240 going, it was a hot day and you're about to jump 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:07.519 in the pool and everyone was like, who's going 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:10.120 to go first? How many of you were the first one 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:11.600 that went, well, if no one's going, I'm going, 00:11:11.740 --> 00:11:14.620 huh? You jump in. Whether you realize it or not, 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:16.399 you were a leader right there in that moment. 00:11:16.730 --> 00:11:18.929 And then everyone said, well, if he's going, 00:11:19.049 --> 00:11:21.610 I'm going. And I'm making a bigger splash than 00:11:21.610 --> 00:11:23.669 he did. And that's basically what a leader is. 00:11:23.669 --> 00:11:25.690 A leader is not somebody that, oh, I've got a 00:11:25.690 --> 00:11:28.549 title, I've got a badge, my name's on the website. 00:11:28.690 --> 00:11:30.509 No, that's not what a leader is. A leader is 00:11:30.509 --> 00:11:33.809 someone who's willing to go first so that others 00:11:33.809 --> 00:11:37.279 can follow. And so the leaders here were the 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:40.600 12 disciples. They were trailblazers. They carried 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:42.740 the burden early. They didn't know what they 00:11:42.740 --> 00:11:45.120 were getting themselves into. They were learning 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:48.320 as they go. And what they did in the process 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:51.820 was help establish a pattern that others could 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:54.299 follow. That's what the leaders did, the initial 00:11:54.299 --> 00:11:57.379 12. And Jesus started with them, but he didn't 00:11:57.379 --> 00:12:00.240 stay there. As the mission began to expand to 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:03.350 a broader group of people, The names of which 00:12:03.350 --> 00:12:05.669 that we don't know. We don't know all these 70. 00:12:05.769 --> 00:12:08.970 The Bible doesn't tell us. It doesn't list them 00:12:08.970 --> 00:12:11.669 all down, who they were. But they were part of 00:12:11.669 --> 00:12:14.730 a broader body of people. And I believe that 00:12:14.730 --> 00:12:17.190 this represents that broader body, the broader 00:12:17.190 --> 00:12:21.990 scope of the congregation, everybody. And what 00:12:21.990 --> 00:12:24.309 this shows us is that whether you're a leader, 00:12:24.769 --> 00:12:27.490 Whether you're someone who's on the front line, 00:12:27.710 --> 00:12:30.509 someone who's on the cutting edge, or whether 00:12:30.509 --> 00:12:32.350 you're someone who's just sort of, I'm going 00:12:32.350 --> 00:12:34.090 to kind of wait to see how this thing works out. 00:12:34.149 --> 00:12:36.669 I'm going to see, I'm going to let somebody work 00:12:36.669 --> 00:12:39.350 out all the kinks and iron it out, and then I'll 00:12:39.350 --> 00:12:43.110 go, you know. Let somebody else kind of, you 00:12:43.110 --> 00:12:46.190 know, get all the loose screws tightened, and 00:12:46.190 --> 00:12:49.360 then eventually I'm going to jump in. And eventually 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:51.639 I'm going to get involved. And that's okay because 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:54.259 there's going to be different phases. And you've 00:12:54.259 --> 00:12:56.320 got those that are going to be part of the broader 00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:00.659 body. But the bottom line is everybody at some 00:13:00.659 --> 00:13:04.919 point must or is called to get involved in the 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:07.559 mission of expanding God's kingdom. Somebody 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:10.720 say amen today. All right, so the work expands. 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:14.279 The body is activated. Every aspect of the body 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:19.100 is now fully employed in the work of reaching 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:21.220 people with the gospel. Isn't that beautiful? 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:25.159 Jesus doesn't want anybody to get left out. Somebody 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:27.519 says, oh, little old me, what can I say? Yes, 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:29.740 you, and you're, what can I say? God wants to 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:33.379 use that small, shy, bashful voice. God wants 00:13:33.379 --> 00:13:35.120 to, and if you say, well, I'm a little, you know, 00:13:35.139 --> 00:13:37.039 a little over the top. You know, not too many 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:38.919 people, you know, I come in hot and I come in 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:40.700 heavy. Well, that's all right. You know, we'll 00:13:40.700 --> 00:13:41.980 work on you. We'll tone you down a little bit 00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:44.799 when needed. Hallelujah. But God can use everybody, 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:47.679 and he wants to use everybody. Your gifts, your 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:50.679 talents, your abilities. Amen? You're all part 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:52.960 of the team here today. And the beautiful thing 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:55.600 about this is that no matter where you see yourself, 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:58.480 so I, you know, I like to wait or I like to see 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:01.370 or I like to feel things out. There's a place 00:14:01.370 --> 00:14:03.990 for everyone today. The important things that 00:14:03.990 --> 00:14:06.990 we see, the kingdom of God is expanding. It's 00:14:06.990 --> 00:14:09.610 advancing. Amen. So let me give you three bullet 00:14:09.610 --> 00:14:12.289 points today that I want you to take home with 00:14:12.289 --> 00:14:14.409 you. I want you to pray about these things. I 00:14:14.409 --> 00:14:17.350 want you to, amen, to really give your heart 00:14:17.350 --> 00:14:19.090 and your soul to this because I know that we're 00:14:19.090 --> 00:14:20.929 on board. We want to grow. How many of you want 00:14:20.929 --> 00:14:23.710 to grow? Come on, let me get a stronger amen. 00:14:23.889 --> 00:14:26.830 How many of you want to grow? Amen. I want to 00:14:26.830 --> 00:14:29.370 see this place filled up with new people that 00:14:29.370 --> 00:14:31.070 God is going to say, but he's going to use us 00:14:31.070 --> 00:14:34.090 to do it. First point is the mission. I'm talking 00:14:34.090 --> 00:14:36.710 about the mission is beyond. And first of all, 00:14:36.710 --> 00:14:40.269 it's beyond the familiar. It's beyond the familiar. 00:14:40.450 --> 00:14:43.169 You see, let me tell you that for many of us, 00:14:43.250 --> 00:14:47.990 church is a familiar place. It's a familiar place. 00:14:48.009 --> 00:14:51.669 This is a familiar setting. OK, this is worship 00:14:51.669 --> 00:14:54.860 is familiar. Some of you are so good at worship, 00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:58.379 you don't even read the songs, the lyrics anymore 00:14:58.379 --> 00:15:01.600 because you know it by heart. How many of you, 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:03.480 you know the song by heart, but you still read 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:06.259 the words like all the time, huh? That's me. 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:09.340 I know the song already, but there I am reading 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:11.200 it like making sure I don't miss one word, right? 00:15:12.139 --> 00:15:16.460 You know, we're so familiar with it. Right. We're 00:15:16.460 --> 00:15:18.139 familiar. We're familiar with worship. Some of 00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:20.139 you, you're so familiar with the preaching. You 00:15:20.139 --> 00:15:21.779 know, some of you know, you know pastors preach 00:15:21.779 --> 00:15:24.240 so well. I know what pastor's going to say next. 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:27.779 And then when I don't, you're like, oh, he went 00:15:27.779 --> 00:15:29.399 somewhere. I thought he was going to go this 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:32.480 way. And he went that way. And we're so familiar 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:36.279 with preaching. And if you've been here for any 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:38.460 length of time, then you're familiar with the 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:41.879 faces that you see. Amen? From Sunday after Sunday. 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:45.480 And let me tell you, familiarity is not bad. 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:49.320 Right? It's why you go back to that same restaurant. 00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:51.220 I know you heard things about the restaurant, 00:15:51.259 --> 00:15:53.320 but you keep going back to that same restaurant. 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:57.179 Why? Because they already know you there. Huh? 00:15:57.419 --> 00:15:59.460 And how many of you, some of you are too young, 00:15:59.460 --> 00:16:00.720 you probably don't even have a place like this 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:02.759 yet, where they don't even have to give you the 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:06.799 menu. They know what you want. I'll take the 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:11.240 usual. You know, and sometimes I go to a restaurant, 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:13.659 they give me a menu, and it's all for formalities. 00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:16.519 It's like we're playing restaurant. They're playing 00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:18.580 restaurant right now. And they already know what 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:21.120 I'm going to order because that's how, it's nice 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:24.440 to go because it's comforting, right? It's comforting. 00:16:24.539 --> 00:16:26.779 We don't have to get to know each other anymore. 00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:29.259 It's like we're past all of that. It's comforting. 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:32.379 And we like that. Now, the only problem with 00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:34.899 that is that in the spiritual sense, if we get 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:37.879 too comfortable. and we get too predictable, 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.059 and we get too, we tend to get passive. We tend 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:44.059 to lose the fire. We tend to lose the passion. 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:47.000 We tend to lose, and then we become more inward 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:50.100 focused. Now everything is about my comfort. 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:55.120 how it makes me feel, how it makes me think. 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:58.299 And so church was never supposed to be like that. 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:01.240 See, we walk a fine line in our church where 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:03.940 we want you to be comfortable, we want you to 00:17:03.940 --> 00:17:07.099 be at home, but we don't want you to become lukewarm. 00:17:08.589 --> 00:17:10.990 There's a fine line between being comfortable 00:17:10.990 --> 00:17:13.430 and at home somewhere and becoming lukewarm, 00:17:13.529 --> 00:17:16.089 losing the fire that God put in you with his 00:17:16.089 --> 00:17:19.009 spirit and losing the drive and the motivation 00:17:19.009 --> 00:17:22.049 to serve God with all of your heart. And so we've 00:17:22.049 --> 00:17:24.170 got to be very careful that we never lose sight 00:17:24.170 --> 00:17:26.750 of what this is all about. This is not simply 00:17:26.750 --> 00:17:29.730 about padding our seats so that we get more comfortable. 00:17:29.930 --> 00:17:32.849 It's about filling the seats with new people 00:17:32.849 --> 00:17:35.569 who might bump you over into a row that you're 00:17:35.569 --> 00:17:38.210 not used to sitting, who might step on your shit. 00:17:38.190 --> 00:17:40.630 choose on the way in and you got to forgive them 00:17:40.630 --> 00:17:42.950 and say oh they don't know but but that's all 00:17:42.950 --> 00:17:46.069 right because growth is going to shake us out 00:17:46.069 --> 00:17:48.789 of our comfort zones amen it's going to cause 00:17:48.789 --> 00:17:54.289 us to do things a little differently so i like 00:17:54.289 --> 00:17:56.650 familiar things but we can't get stuck there 00:17:56.650 --> 00:18:00.970 we gather here not just to gather we gather in 00:18:00.970 --> 00:18:02.809 here you know why so that we can go out there 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:07.079 We gather in here so that we can take what we 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:10.859 have received. Amen. Because I pray. You know 00:18:10.859 --> 00:18:13.019 what I pray? That every Sunday you come and you 00:18:13.019 --> 00:18:15.680 receive something. You have got, if you're not 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.200 receiving something, my God, maybe we got to 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:20.599 start there. Because you got to receive something. 00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:24.759 But not just so that you can be a reservoir that's 00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:27.859 constantly receiving. But so that you can be 00:18:27.859 --> 00:18:32.690 a river that as you receive, you release. So 00:18:32.690 --> 00:18:35.390 as the water, as the word comes in, you step 00:18:35.390 --> 00:18:38.210 out of these doors and then you release on the 00:18:38.210 --> 00:18:41.029 workplace. You release on the campus. You release 00:18:41.029 --> 00:18:44.109 in the park. You release here or there what God 00:18:44.109 --> 00:18:47.650 has placed in your life. Amen, somebody. This 00:18:47.650 --> 00:18:50.509 is what Christ is calling us to do. So Jesus, 00:18:50.710 --> 00:18:56.150 he confronts us in our comfort. In Luke, he says, 00:18:57.410 --> 00:19:00.650 Luke says that he sent them out two by two, right? 00:19:00.730 --> 00:19:03.430 We've been talking about tag teams and two by 00:19:03.430 --> 00:19:07.549 two, working together with someone else in our 00:19:07.549 --> 00:19:11.250 church to go and to be a light. He sent them 00:19:11.250 --> 00:19:15.250 out two by two before his face into every city 00:19:15.250 --> 00:19:18.930 and place where he himself was about to go. Now, 00:19:18.930 --> 00:19:21.390 that's a key verse there, and that's a key phrase. 00:19:22.429 --> 00:19:24.410 I'm not going to talk too much about the two 00:19:24.410 --> 00:19:25.930 by two because, man, you're probably tired of 00:19:25.930 --> 00:19:27.829 hearing me saying that already. But we'll come 00:19:27.829 --> 00:19:31.849 back to that in another time. But I'm really 00:19:31.849 --> 00:19:34.029 interested in the fact that he sent them out, 00:19:34.109 --> 00:19:36.509 the Bible says, into every city, every place 00:19:36.509 --> 00:19:39.329 where he was about to go. That's key right there. 00:19:40.089 --> 00:19:42.849 Where he himself was about to go. That means 00:19:42.849 --> 00:19:48.069 that Jesus, that Jesus had places in mind that 00:19:48.069 --> 00:19:52.319 he was about to go. Jesus is on the move. You 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:55.779 know, God is not a stagnant God. You know, God's 00:19:55.779 --> 00:19:59.240 on the move. God is having his spirit is moving. 00:19:59.500 --> 00:20:03.619 Amen. And so the fact that he sends them to places 00:20:03.619 --> 00:20:07.259 that he was about to go tells us that he had. 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:12.720 He had people in mind. He had cities in mind. 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:16.000 He had homes. He had families in mind that he 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:18.740 was going to reach. And so he sends these people 00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:22.799 out to go and to begin to share the gospel. And 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.319 what they are doing is they are preparing the 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:30.480 way. This is what evangelism is. This is what 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:34.460 being an ambassador of Christ is. It's not that 00:20:34.460 --> 00:20:37.869 we go and that we save people. No, it's that 00:20:37.869 --> 00:20:41.750 we go and prepare the way. When you talk to somebody, 00:20:41.950 --> 00:20:44.650 when you pray with somebody, when you share the 00:20:44.650 --> 00:20:47.150 word of God with somebody, when you give your 00:20:47.150 --> 00:20:49.910 testimony to somebody, what you are doing is 00:20:49.910 --> 00:20:54.210 you are preparing the way so that God can reach 00:20:54.210 --> 00:20:58.029 them when he wants to reach them. Amen. We prepare 00:20:58.029 --> 00:21:01.029 the way. And so I am calling, the Holy Ghost 00:21:01.029 --> 00:21:04.210 is calling us today to go and to prepare the 00:21:04.210 --> 00:21:07.440 way. Amen. To get out of the familiar. You know 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:09.079 what I don't want to be? I don't want to be just 00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:12.559 a Sunday saint. Amen. I don't want to just be 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:14.799 a Sunday saint. I don't want to just be a spiritual 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:18.779 spectator and watch from the stands, watch from 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:21.240 the bleachers. And some of us, man, we're in 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:23.039 the nosebleeds. How many of you know where the 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.420 nosebleeds are at in a stadium? You ever been 00:21:25.420 --> 00:21:27.539 in a nosebleed the other day or not too long 00:21:27.539 --> 00:21:30.299 ago? I got the cheapest tickets I could find. 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:32.019 And you know where they were at? They were in 00:21:32.019 --> 00:21:35.150 the nosebleeds. They call them the nosebleeds 00:21:35.150 --> 00:21:36.970 because the air is thin up there when you're 00:21:36.970 --> 00:21:40.869 in the last level, the last balcony, right? It's 00:21:40.869 --> 00:21:44.569 like the air is thin. And some of us, man, hallelujah, 00:21:44.630 --> 00:21:46.809 we're in the nosebleeds section of the church. 00:21:47.509 --> 00:21:49.980 Whoo! Hallelujah. Let it get quiet when I say 00:21:49.980 --> 00:21:52.579 it's on. We're in the know. We're so far from 00:21:52.579 --> 00:21:54.619 what God is doing. We're just, we're comfortable 00:21:54.619 --> 00:21:56.839 over here, you know. We're just, you know, buying 00:21:56.839 --> 00:21:59.059 popcorn or whatever. We're just, hey, I'm right 00:21:59.059 --> 00:22:01.920 here. At least I'm here. We say, at least I made 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:04.420 it. Well, God is saying, I want you to be more 00:22:04.420 --> 00:22:06.740 than just in the stands or in the bleachers or 00:22:06.740 --> 00:22:09.700 sitting on the sidelines. I want you to get into 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:13.740 the game. I want you to get into what I'm doing. 00:22:13.779 --> 00:22:15.440 How many of you want to be where God is moving? 00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:17.660 Amen. Why don't we clap our hands and let's get. 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:22.539 God. I have praise today. Amen. Number two is 00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:24.680 the mission moves beyond the few. Someone say 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:30.059 the few. The few. The few. Jesus, you know, he 00:22:30.059 --> 00:22:31.980 could have stopped right there with the 12. He 00:22:31.980 --> 00:22:34.180 said, you know, I like this. I've got my team. 00:22:34.670 --> 00:22:38.470 I've got the 12. You men have been equipped. 00:22:38.890 --> 00:22:42.369 I have spent time. I've whipped you into shape. 00:22:42.490 --> 00:22:45.009 You're the Navy SEAL. You're the Green Beret. 00:22:45.089 --> 00:22:46.829 You're the best of the best. Why would I want 00:22:46.829 --> 00:22:49.390 to expand? He could have stopped right there 00:22:49.390 --> 00:22:53.289 and said, I've got this special team of special 00:22:53.289 --> 00:22:57.990 spiritual forces. But he didn't stop there. The 00:22:57.990 --> 00:23:02.470 Bible says that he appointed 70 others also. 00:23:03.849 --> 00:23:08.569 Someone say others also. Yeah, that means Jesus, 00:23:08.630 --> 00:23:13.109 that means that he went and he reached out to 00:23:13.109 --> 00:23:17.170 others who maybe didn't see themselves as a part 00:23:17.170 --> 00:23:21.089 of God's movement. Maybe didn't see themselves 00:23:21.089 --> 00:23:25.269 as being useful in the hands of God. But he recruited 00:23:25.269 --> 00:23:29.309 them and he called them. And this means that 00:23:29.309 --> 00:23:32.329 there were more people there. That were maybe 00:23:32.329 --> 00:23:34.710 sitting on the sidelines, kind of watching from 00:23:34.710 --> 00:23:36.950 a distance. People that say, you know, man, that 00:23:36.950 --> 00:23:38.910 12, man, they're awesome. Let's pray for them. 00:23:39.009 --> 00:23:42.289 No, Jesus said, hey, no, you. I want you and 00:23:42.289 --> 00:23:44.029 you and you. I don't know how he called them 00:23:44.029 --> 00:23:47.029 out. He said, I want everybody that's here to 00:23:47.029 --> 00:23:50.150 get involved. I'm going to send all of you out. 00:23:50.190 --> 00:23:52.410 You're not just here to spectate. You're not 00:23:52.410 --> 00:23:54.509 just here to see what the latest sermon is going 00:23:54.509 --> 00:23:56.569 to be, what the latest song is. I wonder if they're 00:23:56.569 --> 00:23:58.650 going to sing that new song. No, you're here 00:23:58.650 --> 00:24:01.829 to be equipped. You're here to be a part of the 00:24:01.829 --> 00:24:05.609 expansion of my kingdom. And so I want everybody 00:24:05.609 --> 00:24:08.369 to get involved. And at that point, imagine the 00:24:08.369 --> 00:24:10.069 70 that were there were like, hey, whoa, whoa, 00:24:10.109 --> 00:24:12.470 time out, man. I just came for like a, I came 00:24:12.470 --> 00:24:16.950 for a talk here today. I just came for a pep 00:24:16.950 --> 00:24:20.309 rally. Jesus is here. I just came to be healed. 00:24:20.769 --> 00:24:23.589 I don't know. I didn't sign up for all of this. 00:24:23.690 --> 00:24:26.529 Amen. Come on now, somebody. I didn't sign up 00:24:26.529 --> 00:24:28.390 for all of this. I thought I was just supposed 00:24:28.390 --> 00:24:32.470 to come and... Where are we going to eat after 00:24:32.470 --> 00:24:35.089 this? I don't know. But the bottom line is that 00:24:35.089 --> 00:24:37.630 no, you're not just here to spectate. You're 00:24:37.630 --> 00:24:40.990 not just here to kind of look and feel what's 00:24:40.990 --> 00:24:43.789 going on and just kind of read the room. No, 00:24:43.849 --> 00:24:46.470 you're here because God has brought you here. 00:24:46.650 --> 00:24:49.690 And by the way, I am commissioning you, hello 00:24:49.690 --> 00:24:54.809 somebody, to go and spread the gospel. The mission 00:24:54.809 --> 00:24:56.970 of God was never meant to be carried just by 00:24:56.970 --> 00:25:00.940 a select few people. And some have that mentality. 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:04.640 They think that way about church and about the 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:06.980 work of God and about ministry. They think, well, 00:25:07.099 --> 00:25:10.240 you know, only certain people can do those types 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:13.019 of things. No, everybody has something they can 00:25:13.019 --> 00:25:17.079 contribute. Jesus wants us to understand that 00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:21.539 the harvest is too big. It's too great. It's 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:25.880 too serious for only a select few in the church 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:30.609 to do the work. There's too many people. And 00:25:30.609 --> 00:25:33.309 reason being is because your neighbor doesn't 00:25:33.309 --> 00:25:36.089 live in the neighborhood that you do. And your 00:25:36.089 --> 00:25:38.809 friend doesn't go to the job that you do. No, 00:25:38.910 --> 00:25:42.670 you go to your job that you do. You have and 00:25:42.670 --> 00:25:44.890 know certain people that I don't. There are people 00:25:44.890 --> 00:25:48.650 in your life that I have never met and probably 00:25:48.650 --> 00:25:52.549 never will meet unless God ordains it and brings 00:25:52.549 --> 00:25:55.210 us together, so I will. But there's people that 00:25:55.210 --> 00:25:59.099 God has put in your path. That is your harvest, 00:25:59.140 --> 00:26:02.039 your mission field, your place of influence. 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:06.019 And so Jesus said the harvest is great, but the 00:26:06.019 --> 00:26:09.400 laborers are few. Let me tell you, we have to 00:26:09.400 --> 00:26:11.619 correct the thinking that many have is that, 00:26:11.619 --> 00:26:14.619 you know, man, they're just, we would grow, but 00:26:14.619 --> 00:26:17.180 there's just no soul. There's no people that 00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:20.660 know. There's no, the problem is not the harvest. 00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:25.319 Amen. The problem is a shortage of laborers. 00:26:27.320 --> 00:26:29.859 There's plenty. There's plenty out there. There's 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:34.000 plenty. But the reality is, is that we have to 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:36.079 awaken ourselves to this. I'll be just a few 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:37.839 more moments and I'll be done. Jesus said to 00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:41.279 pray for laborers. Amen. He said, pray to the 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:42.720 Lord of the harvest. You know that you and I 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:46.619 have been called to pray for the Lord of the 00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:50.099 harvest to send forth laborers. Amen. How many 00:26:50.099 --> 00:26:52.900 of you are willing to pray that prayer? But I'm 00:26:52.900 --> 00:26:54.660 going to warn you right now that when you pray 00:26:54.660 --> 00:26:58.700 that prayer. Sometimes God answers by sending 00:26:58.700 --> 00:27:02.980 you. You know, sometimes, Lord, I really wish 00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:07.579 you would send somebody over there, God. God, 00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:10.400 those people need you so bad. Put it in somebody's 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:14.640 heart. And God is saying, God will answer your 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:18.299 prayer by sending you. And putting that burden 00:27:18.299 --> 00:27:22.079 and putting that desire in your heart. Say, me, 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:26.920 God? You want to use me? You want to use my voice? 00:27:26.980 --> 00:27:28.900 Do you want to use my life? Let me tell you, 00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:31.559 the mission that God has for this church, City 00:27:31.559 --> 00:27:35.019 Light Church right here, is bigger than what 00:27:35.019 --> 00:27:39.539 one pastor can do. It cannot rest on one pastor. 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:42.940 It cannot rest on one platform. It cannot rest 00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:46.859 on one small group of people. It's got to extend 00:27:46.859 --> 00:27:50.920 beyond that. It's supposed to be for it can rest 00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:53.440 on a faithful few. Now, thank God. We're thankful 00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:56.680 for the faithful few. Amen. Thank God. But that's 00:27:56.680 --> 00:28:00.039 not where it stays. It's got to expand to the 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:03.099 rest of the broader body till everybody gets 00:28:03.099 --> 00:28:06.259 involved in some way or another. I'm being a 00:28:06.259 --> 00:28:09.460 witness for Christ. Amen. Somebody say amen today. 00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:12.339 Now, I'm going to tell you something before I 00:28:12.339 --> 00:28:14.140 move on to my last point. Where's the third point? 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:17.839 Wait, it's coming. It's coming. All right. I'm 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:19.420 going to tell you something. And this is just, 00:28:19.500 --> 00:28:22.440 this is something what God has placed in my heart 00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:25.839 today. And I say it respectfully. If all we have 00:28:25.839 --> 00:28:27.859 is a few, so be it. We'll work with what we've 00:28:27.859 --> 00:28:31.839 got. Because I have determined in myself, we're 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:34.799 going to have revival. Amen. We're going to see 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:37.160 God move. We're going to see life transform. 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:40.319 So if all we've got is just a small handful, 00:28:40.579 --> 00:28:43.599 then we're going to roll with what we've got. 00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:48.160 We're going to go, but so be it. But I say that 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:53.160 to say this, but can you imagine what would happen 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:59.380 if all of us said, you know what? No, away with 00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:03.559 this, you know, a few and no more. Imagine if 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:07.160 all of us, everybody got on board, what kind 00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:12.579 of harvest would we see? Amen. I believe we would 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:15.000 have a greater harvest. I believe we would see 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:17.460 more lives transformed. I believe we would have 00:29:17.460 --> 00:29:20.160 greater revivals and greater miracles that God 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:23.259 would do in our midst. Amen. And somebody might 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:25.740 say, well, I don't know. I'm not that qualified. 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:28.599 I haven't, you know, I don't have a Bible college 00:29:28.599 --> 00:29:31.240 degree or, you know, I'm not, I haven't been 00:29:31.240 --> 00:29:33.579 trained as much. Listen, you don't have, not 00:29:33.579 --> 00:29:35.460 everybody's going to be, you know, Peter, James, 00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:37.700 and John, right? Not everybody is going to be 00:29:37.700 --> 00:29:41.059 one of the apostles. That's okay. But everyone 00:29:41.059 --> 00:29:44.400 can play a part. God can take whatever knowledge 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:47.880 you have, whatever experience you have, whatever, 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:50.920 hallelujah, whatever God has given you and use 00:29:50.920 --> 00:29:53.400 it for his glory. Come on, clap your hands and 00:29:53.400 --> 00:29:55.460 let's give God some praise today. Hallelujah. 00:29:55.740 --> 00:30:00.660 This is what God wants to do in our lives. And 00:30:00.660 --> 00:30:03.160 so it's not going to rest in just the hands of 00:30:03.160 --> 00:30:06.220 a few. There's a saying that we have, right? 00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:09.970 God doesn't call the qualified. But he qualifies 00:30:09.970 --> 00:30:14.069 the called. So don't worry about your qualifications. 00:30:15.109 --> 00:30:19.589 If God has called you, he'll qualify you. He'll 00:30:19.589 --> 00:30:22.349 give you what you need. And that's all that God's 00:30:22.349 --> 00:30:25.349 looking for. Amen? Somebody say amen today. Number 00:30:25.349 --> 00:30:28.829 three is that the mission is beyond the fear. 00:30:28.950 --> 00:30:34.230 Now, Jesus says something here that they must 00:30:34.230 --> 00:30:37.380 have. While everything was going good, I think 00:30:37.380 --> 00:30:39.079 people were feeling good about themselves. There 00:30:39.079 --> 00:30:40.720 was kind of like this energy that was building 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:44.220 as Jesus was commissioning. I almost think of 00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:46.279 like a coach getting, you know, his team around. 00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:47.920 They're all huddled up and he's pumping them 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:49.500 up. You know, he's telling them, you know, you're 00:30:49.500 --> 00:30:52.019 going to go. And man, the energy must have been 00:30:52.019 --> 00:30:55.339 lively as Jesus was calling these people and 00:30:55.339 --> 00:30:56.859 telling them, you know, we're going to change 00:30:56.859 --> 00:31:00.039 the world. Right. Man, who wants people there? 00:31:00.119 --> 00:31:03.539 I want to be a part of that now. And then he 00:31:03.539 --> 00:31:06.700 says something that just might have thrown them 00:31:06.700 --> 00:31:10.859 off a little bit. Because at the end, he tells 00:31:10.859 --> 00:31:12.900 them, after he said, I'm sending you out. This 00:31:12.900 --> 00:31:14.200 is going to be great. It's going to be awesome. 00:31:14.819 --> 00:31:16.339 Everything's going to, we're going to change 00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:19.720 the world. He says in verse 3, he said, behold. 00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:22.240 In other words, hold up. I got one more thing 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:25.839 to tell you. What's that, coach? Jesus, I send 00:31:25.839 --> 00:31:28.359 you out as lamb among the wolves. God bless you. 00:31:29.539 --> 00:31:33.299 Whoa, wait a minute, huh? Bring up the keyboardist. 00:31:34.140 --> 00:31:37.440 I send you out as lambs among the wolves. And 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:39.779 that must have been like, whoa, wait a minute. 00:31:39.819 --> 00:31:41.740 Why didn't you tell us that at the beginning? 00:31:42.759 --> 00:31:46.480 Before you got me all excited. Before I put on 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:49.180 the uniform. Before I bought into it. Why didn't 00:31:49.180 --> 00:31:51.019 you tell me at the beginning? Well, because Jesus 00:31:51.019 --> 00:31:52.900 knows that if he tells us these things at the 00:31:52.900 --> 00:31:57.380 beginning, many of us, we would not. But he tells 00:31:57.380 --> 00:31:59.420 us at the end. By the way, I'm sending you out 00:31:59.420 --> 00:32:01.910 as lambs among the wolves. And they must have 00:32:01.910 --> 00:32:03.490 looked at each other and said, did you hear what 00:32:03.490 --> 00:32:06.109 he said? Did he think, did he say what I think 00:32:06.109 --> 00:32:08.509 I heard him say? Lamb among the wolves, why don't 00:32:08.509 --> 00:32:12.910 you send us out as lions among the wolves? I 00:32:12.910 --> 00:32:14.910 would have been much more excited about that. 00:32:14.990 --> 00:32:17.490 Like, you know, hear me roar. I'll be honest 00:32:17.490 --> 00:32:20.009 with you. These words do not sound very comforting. 00:32:20.109 --> 00:32:22.009 Right, Brother Ben? They don't sound very reassuring. 00:32:22.970 --> 00:32:26.410 Excuse me, lambs. Last time I checked, lambs 00:32:26.410 --> 00:32:30.049 don't have any claws. They don't have any fangs. 00:32:30.390 --> 00:32:33.069 They're not very fast. I mean, you know, they 00:32:33.069 --> 00:32:40.710 are basically defenseless animals. But Jesus 00:32:40.710 --> 00:32:44.829 was making a point. He was making a point that 00:32:44.829 --> 00:32:49.069 lambs are the perfect metaphor for you and I 00:32:49.069 --> 00:32:53.410 because lambs don't depend on themselves. Lambs 00:32:53.410 --> 00:32:55.509 do not overcome the wolves because they're stronger 00:32:55.509 --> 00:32:58.400 than the wolves. They don't overcome the wolves 00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:00.519 because they're more fiercer or because they 00:33:00.519 --> 00:33:03.480 have a killer instinct. No. They overcome the 00:33:03.480 --> 00:33:06.519 wolves, lambs, and sheep do because they belong 00:33:06.519 --> 00:33:10.660 to the shepherd. And when you belong to the shepherd, 00:33:10.839 --> 00:33:13.299 ooh, my God, I feel something in my heart right 00:33:13.299 --> 00:33:15.579 now. When you belong to the shepherd, you can 00:33:15.579 --> 00:33:18.759 say like the psalmist in Psalm 23, the Lord, 00:33:18.920 --> 00:33:25.079 come on, help me, is, the Lord is my shepherd. 00:33:25.819 --> 00:33:30.480 I shall not want. Amen. As I close, if you can 00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:33.400 come up, brother, here to the keyboard. For real. 00:33:33.559 --> 00:33:41.200 Hallelujah. This time. Amen. The Lord is my shepherd. 00:33:42.380 --> 00:33:45.180 And then in verse 4, my favorite part of Psalm 00:33:45.180 --> 00:33:48.460 23, he said, Yea, though I walk through the valley 00:33:48.460 --> 00:33:52.160 of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. 00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:55.829 You know what? Wolves are evil. I said, wolves 00:33:55.829 --> 00:33:59.089 are evil. Wolves are evil. They've got a killer 00:33:59.089 --> 00:34:01.309 instinct. You know, they're out to get me. They're 00:34:01.309 --> 00:34:03.769 hunting me down. They're in the way. They're 00:34:03.769 --> 00:34:06.470 resisting. I want to do the will of God. You 00:34:06.470 --> 00:34:08.309 know, I want to tell the world about Jesus. I 00:34:08.309 --> 00:34:10.429 want to tell my name. But there's wolves everywhere. 00:34:10.909 --> 00:34:13.210 And what do I do about the wolves? Well, let 00:34:13.210 --> 00:34:16.110 me tell you. I shall fear no evil, right? For 00:34:16.110 --> 00:34:18.429 you are with. How many of you know God is with 00:34:18.429 --> 00:34:23.039 you? Oh, come on. Help me out, somebody. I said, 00:34:23.059 --> 00:34:26.980 how many of you know that God is with you? God 00:34:26.980 --> 00:34:30.099 is with you. And he said, your rod and your staff, 00:34:30.179 --> 00:34:34.260 they comfort me. Guess what? My comfort, my comfort 00:34:34.260 --> 00:34:39.900 is not found in places of ease. My comfort is 00:34:39.900 --> 00:34:43.659 not found in places of lukewarmness. My comfort 00:34:43.659 --> 00:34:46.760 is found that even though I step out into a world 00:34:46.760 --> 00:34:50.059 full of wolves and a world of darkness where 00:34:50.059 --> 00:34:52.820 I've got a mission to spread the light, my comfort 00:34:52.820 --> 00:34:55.699 is found in the presence of God that is with 00:34:55.699 --> 00:34:59.639 me and guiding me and protecting me. Oh, hallelujah. 00:34:59.900 --> 00:35:04.059 He is my shelter. He is my calm in the midst 00:35:04.059 --> 00:35:06.559 of the storm. He is the God that goes before 00:35:06.559 --> 00:35:12.429 me. He is my... My safety. I invite us to stand 00:35:12.429 --> 00:35:18.110 today up on our feet. Hallelujah. I just, I feel 00:35:18.110 --> 00:35:22.150 so strongly in my heart and my spirit today that 00:35:22.150 --> 00:35:24.690 if there is, if there is somebody here in this 00:35:24.690 --> 00:35:28.670 place that's saying, you know, I'm willing to 00:35:28.670 --> 00:35:32.719 say yes to God. Somebody here today needs to 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:35.980 say yes to the Lord to use your life. And someone 00:35:35.980 --> 00:35:38.460 here needs to say yes to the Lord to come into 00:35:38.460 --> 00:35:41.380 your life like never before. But God is here 00:35:41.380 --> 00:35:43.699 right now. And this is what God wants to do. 00:35:43.739 --> 00:35:47.219 He wants to quiet the fears. He wants to quiet 00:35:47.219 --> 00:35:48.840 the fear right there where you're at. I feel 00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:51.960 God is moving throughout this place. I feel God 00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:54.739 is right where you are. We are at a moment right 00:35:54.739 --> 00:35:59.570 now where God is speaking into your life. God 00:35:59.570 --> 00:36:02.010 is speaking into your heart. God is speaking. 00:36:02.010 --> 00:36:06.030 I feel that. I feel it's happening right now. 00:36:06.070 --> 00:36:09.190 It's happening. It's happening right here. And 00:36:09.190 --> 00:36:11.769 you know, the only thing about wolves, this will 00:36:11.769 --> 00:36:13.590 just be the last thing I want to point out. The 00:36:13.590 --> 00:36:15.329 only thing about wolves, the only time a wolf 00:36:15.329 --> 00:36:19.050 is successful is when he attacks a sheep that 00:36:19.050 --> 00:36:23.099 has been separated from the flock. A sheep that 00:36:23.099 --> 00:36:26.380 has been isolated, that has fallen behind. You 00:36:26.380 --> 00:36:28.880 cannot afford. Hear me today, church. You cannot 00:36:28.880 --> 00:36:30.940 afford to fall behind what God is doing in this 00:36:30.940 --> 00:36:33.440 church. You cannot afford to break from the pack. 00:36:33.539 --> 00:36:35.199 You can't say, well, I'm going to let everybody 00:36:35.199 --> 00:36:37.340 else do it. I'm going to just keep doing my own 00:36:37.340 --> 00:36:40.829 thing. No, you are. You are serving yourself 00:36:40.829 --> 00:36:44.130 up for the wolf. You're an easy target. You're 00:36:44.130 --> 00:36:47.150 easy prey for the wolf to come and to snatch 00:36:47.150 --> 00:36:49.909 you. But that's why we have got to stay connected 00:36:49.909 --> 00:36:52.389 to the team. Amen. We got to go out in teams. 00:36:52.409 --> 00:36:55.949 We got to be together shoulder to shoulder. Hallelujah. 00:36:56.309 --> 00:36:59.710 And arm in arm and hand in hand. We are serving 00:36:59.710 --> 00:37:02.329 the Lord together. We are winning people together. 00:37:02.369 --> 00:37:04.489 How many of you believe in this, what I'm preaching 00:37:04.489 --> 00:37:05.090 here today?