WEBVTT 00:00:09.419 --> 00:00:14.300 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:16.600 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.739 --> 00:00:19.800 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:23.000 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.199 you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.059 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.059 --> 00:00:35.670 by this week's sermon. Today we get to conclude 00:00:35.670 --> 00:00:38.109 this series on servants devoted to God and I 00:00:38.109 --> 00:00:42.090 pray has been a blessing, encouragement as you've 00:00:42.090 --> 00:00:45.710 got to walk together through these past few months. 00:00:46.670 --> 00:00:49.670 If you missed any of the studies, you can access 00:00:49.670 --> 00:00:52.490 them through our app or the website with the 00:00:52.490 --> 00:00:55.929 PowerPoints, videos, audio, set of notes, everything 00:00:55.929 --> 00:01:00.710 available for you. And today we are going to 00:01:00.710 --> 00:01:05.900 be exploring Some of the experiences that the 00:01:05.900 --> 00:01:08.719 first Christians had as they started serving 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:11.739 the Lord. So before we start, let's pray together. 00:01:16.900 --> 00:01:24.959 What a beautiful time, Lord, of worship. And 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:29.060 after everything we have proclaimed. I'm just 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:31.180 asking you, Lord, use me in your power and in 00:01:31.180 --> 00:01:36.379 your grace as we study your word. Use it for 00:01:36.379 --> 00:01:41.459 what you envision. In the name of our Lord Jesus, 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:47.079 we pray. Amen. In this study of servants devoted 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:49.879 to God, one of the things that we discovered 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:53.379 is that God saved us for much more than just 00:01:53.379 --> 00:01:58.019 dying and going to heaven. He has things in mind 00:01:58.019 --> 00:02:00.780 that he wants to accomplish through you and in 00:02:00.780 --> 00:02:03.980 you. He wants us to live for kingdom impact. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.280 And therefore, for those of us who follow Jesus, 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:12.460 we're not just children of God adopted into his 00:02:12.460 --> 00:02:15.580 family, but we see ourselves as servants devoted 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:20.139 to God. People who love God and serving with 00:02:20.139 --> 00:02:23.860 devotion. And that's the equation. What drives 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:26.240 me is my love for God and what I do out of that 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:28.300 love for God is that I serve God with devotion 00:02:28.300 --> 00:02:33.020 and whatever He has for me to do. And that has 00:02:33.020 --> 00:02:36.159 characterized the movement of Christianity from 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:40.939 the very beginning. The first Christians, as 00:02:40.939 --> 00:02:43.120 we'll discover in the book of Acts, faced different 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:45.479 things, different challenges. And one of them 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:48.900 was the aspect of perspective. And that is what's 00:02:48.900 --> 00:02:51.439 going to be the focus of the study today. The 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:55.930 perspective. Of the kingdom. And what do I mean 00:02:55.930 --> 00:02:59.270 by perspective? Well perspective matters a lot. 00:02:59.990 --> 00:03:03.629 If you are traveling with your kids. In a short 00:03:03.629 --> 00:03:05.590 trip that you should arrive. You know within 00:03:05.590 --> 00:03:08.129 an hour or two. And your kids keep asking. Are 00:03:08.129 --> 00:03:10.310 we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there 00:03:10.310 --> 00:03:13.590 yet? You know that perspective matters right? 00:03:13.710 --> 00:03:15.590 Because if they just knew. Yeah it's just another 00:03:15.590 --> 00:03:18.289 hour. It will be okay. They will stop asking. 00:03:19.610 --> 00:03:23.460 But. If we have the wrong perspective, we may 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:27.020 do things that actually are not very nice, and 00:03:27.020 --> 00:03:30.020 we can become deterred from really focusing on 00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:35.099 what matters most. And ever since we were young, 00:03:35.219 --> 00:03:37.439 one of the first questions we were asked growing 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:39.860 up was, what do you want to do when you grow 00:03:39.860 --> 00:03:44.340 up? It's like, what do I want to do when I grow 00:03:44.340 --> 00:03:48.620 up? You know, that first question was not, what 00:03:48.620 --> 00:03:51.639 does God want you to do? when you grow up that 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:55.060 was another question was it very different so 00:03:55.060 --> 00:03:58.400 from the very beginning it was framed to us that 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:03.099 life is about what i want to do with my life 00:04:03.099 --> 00:04:11.000 my career my plans my future my money my time 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:18.740 my kingdom and Therefore, we have lived our lives 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:21.699 working very hard, studying very hard, and doing 00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:26.699 lots of things very hard, so I can have the name 00:04:26.699 --> 00:04:28.839 and the reputation and the money and the stability 00:04:28.839 --> 00:04:32.839 and the future that I so much think I deserve 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:37.980 or desire. But then when we come to know Christ, 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:41.600 and we start following Jesus, He starts talking 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:44.480 about him being the king and about seeking his 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:47.360 kingdom first. And it's like, wait, wait a second. 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:52.120 How does that work? And now he challenges us 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:55.980 to have to change the perspective for which we 00:04:55.980 --> 00:04:59.019 live life and embrace the perspective of the 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:02.699 kingdom. And the perspective of the kingdom is 00:05:02.699 --> 00:05:07.199 not about me. The perspective of the kingdom 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:11.660 is about God. And therefore, we learn to live 00:05:11.660 --> 00:05:15.819 with eternal perspective in the kingdom. Because 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:19.199 before, when I was building my kingdom, it was 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:21.620 all about having these plans, these ideas. And 00:05:21.620 --> 00:05:24.259 God, you are sitting out there. You are the person 00:05:24.259 --> 00:05:26.259 in charge. You have all the money and resources 00:05:26.259 --> 00:05:32.439 and power. So, would you bless my plans? Because 00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:36.000 that's your job, right? So, if I'm nice to you, 00:05:36.060 --> 00:05:39.389 would you be nice to me? And just bless these 00:05:39.389 --> 00:05:42.310 things I have because it will be very nice if 00:05:42.310 --> 00:05:45.550 these things happen. And that's how I live life. 00:05:45.850 --> 00:05:49.829 God is there to bless me. But once you start 00:05:49.829 --> 00:05:52.110 changing perspective in the kingdom, you realize 00:05:52.110 --> 00:05:56.009 that actually I am here to be a blessing to God's 00:05:56.009 --> 00:06:04.430 kingdom. And it's like, what? Disorienting a 00:06:04.430 --> 00:06:07.129 little bit at the beginning. And in fact, the 00:06:07.129 --> 00:06:10.009 apostle John wrote to Christians about this because 00:06:10.009 --> 00:06:13.410 it was very significant for their walk with Christ 00:06:13.410 --> 00:06:16.910 that they will have the right perspective. And 00:06:16.910 --> 00:06:20.329 what he tells the Christians at the beginning 00:06:20.329 --> 00:06:24.589 is this. Do not love the world, guys. Not the 00:06:24.589 --> 00:06:27.790 things it offers you. For when you love the world, 00:06:27.910 --> 00:06:30.649 you do not have the love of the Father in you. 00:06:31.110 --> 00:06:35.029 For the world offers only a craving for physical 00:06:35.029 --> 00:06:40.199 pleasure. A craving for everything we see. A 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:43.920 pride in our achievements and possessions. And 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:47.459 these three things are not from the Father. They're 00:06:47.459 --> 00:06:50.699 from the world. This is about your kingdom, not 00:06:50.699 --> 00:06:54.060 God's kingdom. And this world is fading away 00:06:54.060 --> 00:06:57.920 along with everything that people crave. But 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:00.699 anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:05.699 Yeah, he's telling them, look, you've been trained 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:08.019 to live like this. And now you have to start 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:13.300 thinking about God, what he cares about, what 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:16.800 he desires, what are his priorities. And now 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:19.819 you start shifting to make his priorities your 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:22.519 priorities. And instead of having God investing 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:25.240 in you, you start investing in God's kingdom. 00:07:28.269 --> 00:07:31.750 That change of priorities, that change of perspective 00:07:31.750 --> 00:07:34.850 is something that started happening, you say, 00:07:34.930 --> 00:07:38.990 organically at the beginning of the church. The 00:07:38.990 --> 00:07:41.790 perspective of the kingdom started being just 00:07:41.790 --> 00:07:45.790 manifested from the moment the first Christians 00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:48.910 started following Christ. You must remember that 00:07:48.910 --> 00:07:52.410 as we studied earlier that as the apostles preached 00:07:52.410 --> 00:07:54.569 the gospel in Jerusalem, the first time that 00:07:54.569 --> 00:07:56.709 Peter preached the gospel, how many people got 00:07:56.709 --> 00:08:00.199 to know Christ? 3 ,000, you must remember that 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:04.339 by now. And that started a huge movement from 00:08:04.339 --> 00:08:06.699 the beginning right there in Jerusalem. But then 00:08:06.699 --> 00:08:08.959 it spread from there to other parts of the empire. 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:11.519 And as we studied last time, we saw the church 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.420 of Antioch in the north and how that became a 00:08:14.420 --> 00:08:17.279 multicultural church. And then from that place, 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:19.980 lots of churches were planted throughout the 00:08:19.980 --> 00:08:24.699 empire. That's how the movement of Christianity 00:08:24.699 --> 00:08:30.620 began in the first century. But what we see from 00:08:30.620 --> 00:08:33.840 the very beginning is how these first Christians 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:37.279 were able to participate in this movement because 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:42.399 their perspective had changed. And you go to 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:45.759 the beginning right there in Acts chapter 4, 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:49.940 and it describes it this way. All the believers 00:08:49.940 --> 00:08:54.500 were one in heart and mind. Wow, that's very 00:08:54.500 --> 00:08:58.779 important. They were pursuing the same thing. 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:04.700 Their allegiance was about the same thing. And 00:09:04.700 --> 00:09:06.720 even though they came from very different places, 00:09:07.019 --> 00:09:11.399 they all were united by this. They have one heart 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:16.080 and one mind. No one claimed that any of their 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:18.879 possessions was their own, but they shared everything 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:24.029 they had. With great power, the apostles continued 00:09:24.029 --> 00:09:26.990 to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, 00:09:27.129 --> 00:09:30.610 and God's grace was so powerfully at work in 00:09:30.610 --> 00:09:34.250 them all, that there were no needy persons among 00:09:34.250 --> 00:09:39.169 them. For from time to time, those who owned 00:09:39.169 --> 00:09:43.610 land or houses sold them, brought the money from 00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:46.789 the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and 00:09:46.789 --> 00:09:52.220 it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:55.340 a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called 00:09:55.340 --> 00:10:00.200 Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, sold 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:03.019 a field he owned and brought the money and put 00:10:03.019 --> 00:10:05.360 it at the apostles' feet. And that's the end 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:08.539 of that chapter. And he introduces Barnabas as 00:10:08.539 --> 00:10:11.620 one of the guys that was part of this group of 00:10:11.620 --> 00:10:13.559 Christians that were saying, you know, I have 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:16.279 all these houses, I have all this land, it's 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:19.110 just sitting there. You know, I might as well 00:10:19.110 --> 00:10:22.549 invest it for the kingdom. And they sold it and 00:10:22.549 --> 00:10:25.789 took the resources and made it available to the 00:10:25.789 --> 00:10:28.669 apostles. And they were able to start funding 00:10:28.669 --> 00:10:32.330 different things, which one of them was helping 00:10:32.330 --> 00:10:38.110 those that were in need. And Barnabas is introduced 00:10:38.110 --> 00:10:44.470 here as a person who was known as a son of encouragement. 00:10:45.680 --> 00:10:47.799 These were the type of guy that you like to hang 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:50.519 out with because spending time with him, you're 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:55.860 always left encouraged. They spoke words of truth. 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:58.019 They were kind. They were generous. They were 00:10:58.019 --> 00:11:01.659 thoughtful. This is the person that showed up 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:04.899 for a coffee with you and said, hey, I heard 00:11:04.899 --> 00:11:07.360 it was your birthday yesterday, so I have a little 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.399 gift for you. And it's like, wow, how thoughtful. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:15.539 This was a guy that got the nickname. Son of 00:11:15.539 --> 00:11:22.000 encouragement. And they all began like all of 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:26.779 us did. With our worldly perspective, our kingdom, 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:30.659 and suddenly changed. And now these guys are 00:11:30.659 --> 00:11:34.399 being generous, they are joyous, they are having 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:36.419 all of these different things. Where does that 00:11:36.419 --> 00:11:40.259 come from? You know, for outsiders, when they 00:11:40.259 --> 00:11:43.220 see that, they say they lost their mind. Why 00:11:43.220 --> 00:11:46.620 are you going to sell that house? Keep it. It's 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:49.700 like a waste of money what you're doing. What? 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:52.799 Did they brainwash you or what? Are you in a 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:57.000 sect? All these different things. Because from 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:59.259 outside it may look that what they are doing 00:11:59.259 --> 00:12:02.879 is completely out of their mind. But what they 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:06.360 don't understand. Is that these people have encountered 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:10.980 Christ. And they belong to a new kingdom. And 00:12:10.980 --> 00:12:14.750 in this new kingdom. When the Lord moves, things 00:12:14.750 --> 00:12:19.529 happen. And provision happens. And the desire 00:12:19.529 --> 00:12:22.690 to give happens. And the desire to invest happens. 00:12:22.990 --> 00:12:25.269 And paying attention to somebody else's need 00:12:25.269 --> 00:12:27.809 that before I would overlook, now I notice it. 00:12:27.809 --> 00:12:29.690 And the Holy Spirit says, I want you to do something 00:12:29.690 --> 00:12:32.289 about it. And now you feel compelled to do it. 00:12:32.309 --> 00:12:36.929 Not obligated, but you want to. And all of these 00:12:36.929 --> 00:12:41.080 things started happening at the beginning. It's 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:44.919 beautiful because they were united with a vision. 00:12:45.700 --> 00:12:48.379 And therefore they were also united in action. 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:52.779 And when we're united in vision, united in action, 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:57.879 we call that synergy in leadership studies. Synergy 00:12:57.879 --> 00:13:00.860 is what we can accomplish together is greater 00:13:00.860 --> 00:13:03.539 than what each one of us can accomplish alone. 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:10.279 At ECB, we say that the very reason, the very 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:13.259 core purpose for which we are here in Thailand 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:19.340 is to make disciples for global impact. Everything 00:13:19.340 --> 00:13:24.340 we are is towards that goal. Do you believe in 00:13:24.340 --> 00:13:28.320 that? Making disciples for global impact? Do 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:33.240 you believe that is worth it? I believe so. I 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:36.019 believe that it's worth being here. Rather than 00:13:36.019 --> 00:13:39.580 being close to my family in Dallas or in Guatemala 00:13:39.580 --> 00:13:41.659 or wherever they are now, whatever countries 00:13:41.659 --> 00:13:46.200 they live in. Because when God calls you and 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:49.919 He places you, that's the best place to be, investing 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:54.480 in God's kingdom. And when we together as a community 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:59.610 are united behind this common purpose, And then 00:13:59.610 --> 00:14:02.750 our action is aligned with all of that. Synergy 00:14:02.750 --> 00:14:05.769 happens. And when synergy happens, there's power. 00:14:06.389 --> 00:14:10.509 Because in that place, God provides his power, 00:14:10.610 --> 00:14:14.190 his resources. He entrusts you with more responsibility. 00:14:15.429 --> 00:14:19.850 Synergy is very amazing, but it's also very fragile. 00:14:21.230 --> 00:14:24.610 Because you cannot accomplish this synergy that 00:14:24.610 --> 00:14:27.429 they were experiencing at the beginning. If you 00:14:27.429 --> 00:14:32.919 don't start. By changing your perspective. And 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:36.440 the perspective of the kingdom is eternal perspective. 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:42.220 Not earthly. We live for much more than just 00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:47.250 the here and now. So as they start following 00:14:47.250 --> 00:14:50.289 Jesus, and they start experiencing these things, 00:14:50.429 --> 00:14:52.710 and they start living for impact, and more people 00:14:52.710 --> 00:14:55.129 start coming to know Christ, and now there's 00:14:55.129 --> 00:14:57.629 a church in Antioch that is established, and 00:14:57.629 --> 00:15:00.269 then in Ephesus, and then in Corinth, and in 00:15:00.269 --> 00:15:03.470 Greece, in all these areas, the impact started 00:15:03.470 --> 00:15:06.950 growing beyond what they could imagine. And the 00:15:06.950 --> 00:15:09.529 Apostle Paul writes in the letter to the Ephesians 00:15:09.529 --> 00:15:13.649 about this synergy. He uses the imagery of the 00:15:13.649 --> 00:15:18.200 human body. And this is how he puts it, as he's 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:21.019 experiencing this synergy that is happening in 00:15:21.019 --> 00:15:22.940 the movement of the first Christians. He says, 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:26.639 look, when people are using their time, their 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:28.679 resources, their giftedness, and they're all 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:34.309 doing their part, it's like a human body. God 00:15:34.309 --> 00:15:37.110 makes the whole body fit together perfectly, 00:15:37.350 --> 00:15:41.389 and each part of its own special work, it helps 00:15:41.389 --> 00:15:44.409 the other parts grow, so that the whole body 00:15:44.409 --> 00:15:49.950 is healthy and growing and full of love. What 00:15:49.950 --> 00:15:52.289 is motivating all of these people to do all of 00:15:52.289 --> 00:15:56.129 these things? It says there they're motivated 00:15:56.129 --> 00:16:03.240 by love. It is the love of God. That is the source 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:06.679 for love for anything else. Love for the needs 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:11.320 of others. Love for other people. Love for certain 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:14.159 causes. Everything emerges from that love for 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:18.340 God. And that is the foundation. And when every 00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:22.480 part is doing their role. And everybody is united 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:26.340 by this common love for God. That's how things 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:31.370 begin. You may have noticed that. I'm limping 00:16:31.370 --> 00:16:34.250 a little bit, and this knee here, I hurt it last 00:16:34.250 --> 00:16:37.809 night. I have this laminate floor in our apartment 00:16:37.809 --> 00:16:40.710 that is separating a little. Have you seen that 00:16:40.710 --> 00:16:43.830 happen? So I learned to fix that by going, and 00:16:43.830 --> 00:16:47.169 it comes together again. Except that I think 00:16:47.169 --> 00:16:50.110 that yesterday I did it too hard, and now my 00:16:50.110 --> 00:16:52.669 knee is hurting, you know? But this knee is very 00:16:52.669 --> 00:16:56.289 nice. This knee looks at the other one and says, 00:16:56.330 --> 00:16:58.409 don't worry, I'll compensate, so I can walk like 00:16:58.409 --> 00:17:01.679 this now, you see? And my whole body adjusts 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:04.859 because every part of the body is doing their 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:06.940 part. Nobody says, well, it's not my fault that 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:08.859 you did it too hard, so now it's your problem. 00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:13.640 No. Synergy. The whole body working together. 00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:17.660 It builds itself up in love. That was the beginning 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:25.720 of the church. And that can be us. But for that, 00:17:27.500 --> 00:17:30.839 Eternal perspective is at the core. If we lose 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:35.240 the perspective, everything falls apart. That's 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:38.460 why here, what you see the Christians experiencing 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:41.500 after it begins in Jerusalem and starts spreading 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:44.720 throughout the Roman Empire, and they start having 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:47.680 greater impact because God is working through 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:52.480 them. In the mid -40s, so calculate maybe... 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:55.720 Over 10 years, between 10 -15 years after Jesus 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:58.539 died and resurrected, there's a famine that takes 00:17:58.539 --> 00:18:01.740 place in the area of Judea. And it affects the 00:18:01.740 --> 00:18:05.099 area of Jerusalem. So not only they have been 00:18:05.099 --> 00:18:08.299 suffering from persecution in Jerusalem, but 00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:09.859 now the Christians are being affected by the 00:18:09.859 --> 00:18:13.200 famine. So what the Apostle Paul does, is that 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:15.859 as he is visiting all of these different places, 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:21.380 and churches are being established, now he thought, 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:24.279 you know what? Let me visit the churches that 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:27.119 we established and tell them about what's happening 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:30.900 in Jerusalem so they can also help. And we are 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:33.640 going to manage the resources to provide for 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:36.079 the needs in Jerusalem. So they collected resources 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:38.900 and they were sending them to Jerusalem to help 00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:43.720 the Christians there. But what we read in Acts 00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:46.160 was descriptive. This is what happened. This 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:48.680 is what they did. And this is how they did it. 00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:52.099 It's just telling you. A description of a picture 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:54.859 of what happened. But here, the Apostle Paul, 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:56.859 what he's going to do is he's going to write 00:18:56.859 --> 00:19:00.279 to the Corinthians about collecting these resources. 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:03.880 And this is going to be prescriptive, not just 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:07.200 descriptive. It's prescriptive. This is why we 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:10.099 do this. This is how we're going to do it. This 00:19:10.099 --> 00:19:12.640 is what we do. So now he's giving instructions. 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:17.000 And in this descriptive passage in Corinthians, 00:19:18.190 --> 00:19:22.450 He starts really defining this perspective of 00:19:22.450 --> 00:19:25.470 the kingdom of how is that we see our resources, 00:19:25.470 --> 00:19:29.410 our time, our giftedness. How is it now that 00:19:29.410 --> 00:19:32.650 we as servants devoted to God need to look at 00:19:32.650 --> 00:19:36.609 all of these things? So we're going to read the 00:19:36.609 --> 00:19:40.549 passage here in Corinthians as we understand 00:19:40.549 --> 00:19:42.849 the famine that took place right there in Judea 00:19:42.849 --> 00:19:47.289 and Jerusalem. And first I'm just going to read 00:19:47.289 --> 00:19:50.539 it. But then after I read it, we will reflect 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:53.759 on three core convictions that define the eternal 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:58.059 perspective. What that looks like for us. So 00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:03.880 let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Hey Corinthians, 00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:07.740 so nice to see you again. Servants devoted to 00:20:07.740 --> 00:20:12.460 God. There's something I want you to remember. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:19.019 Remember this. A farmer who plants only a few 00:20:19.019 --> 00:20:23.799 seeds will get a small crop. But the one who 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:30.160 plants generously will get a generous crop. You 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:33.180 must each decide in your heart how much to give. 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:38.759 And don't give reluctantly. Don't also give in 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:41.460 response to pressure. If you're going to give, 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:46.269 only give out of that love for God. Because you 00:20:46.269 --> 00:20:48.930 know what? Something that God loves? Oh, God 00:20:48.930 --> 00:20:53.849 loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God 00:20:53.849 --> 00:20:58.049 will generously provide all you need. Then you 00:20:58.049 --> 00:21:01.529 will always have everything you need and plenty 00:21:01.529 --> 00:21:06.529 left over to share with others. For God is the 00:21:06.529 --> 00:21:09.049 one who provides seed for the farmer and then 00:21:09.049 --> 00:21:13.289 bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide. 00:21:14.279 --> 00:21:17.880 And he will increase your resources. And then 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:22.119 produce a great harvest of generosity in you. 00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:28.039 Yes. You will be enriched in every way so that 00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:33.539 you can always, always be generous. And when 00:21:33.539 --> 00:21:37.059 we take your gifts to those who need them. Oh. 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:43.869 They will praise you. No, no, no. When I. Take 00:21:43.869 --> 00:21:49.869 this to them, they will thank God. So two good 00:21:49.869 --> 00:21:52.250 things will result from this ministry of giving. 00:21:52.869 --> 00:21:55.990 On the one hand, the needs of the believers in 00:21:55.990 --> 00:21:58.470 Jerusalem will be met. And on the other hand, 00:21:58.529 --> 00:22:02.549 they will joyfully express their thanks to God. 00:22:03.109 --> 00:22:06.450 And as a result of your ministry, they will give 00:22:06.450 --> 00:22:10.970 glory to God for your generosity to them and 00:22:10.970 --> 00:22:16.480 to all believers. They will realize this. And 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:19.380 it will prove to them that you are obedient to 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:23.000 the good news of Christ. Because the only reason 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:26.700 why you are doing this. Is because you share 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:31.420 the same love for Jesus. And they will pray for 00:22:31.420 --> 00:22:36.240 you. With deep affection. Because of the overflowing 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:41.539 grace God has given to you. Thank God for this 00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:47.690 gift. Too wonderful. For words. And this is how 00:22:47.690 --> 00:22:52.329 he ends. The section. He's talking to Christians. 00:22:52.549 --> 00:22:56.410 Who have been told to build your kingdom. And 00:22:56.410 --> 00:22:58.910 ask God to bless you. And now he's telling them 00:22:58.910 --> 00:23:01.829 remember. We are investing in God's kingdom. 00:23:02.250 --> 00:23:05.349 And we are channels of God's blessings to others. 00:23:06.109 --> 00:23:09.970 That's how it works. And in this whole beautiful 00:23:09.970 --> 00:23:13.250 section, he could have said, hey guys, don't 00:23:13.250 --> 00:23:17.589 be selfish. Come on, share what you have. And 00:23:17.589 --> 00:23:20.430 maybe he would have come up with a strategy like 00:23:20.430 --> 00:23:25.970 some of those prosperity theology radio programs 00:23:25.970 --> 00:23:28.029 that will start saying, look, if you give me 00:23:28.029 --> 00:23:31.269 $100, God is going to provide you $1 ,000. So 00:23:31.269 --> 00:23:33.650 the more money you send me, the better. He could 00:23:33.650 --> 00:23:36.549 have come up with an idea of manipulating people. 00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:43.099 But that's not the kingdom. He says if you're 00:23:43.099 --> 00:23:45.160 going to give. Make sure that you're giving out 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:50.200 of joy. Because it's not just a need that we're 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:55.339 meeting. It's a king that we are serving. And 00:23:55.339 --> 00:23:58.640 when all of this happens. He says there's a spiritual 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:02.220 dimension that takes place. And people get pointed 00:24:02.220 --> 00:24:05.019 to God. There's joy in them. There's joy in you. 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:07.880 This is an amazing story. Spiritual synergy that 00:24:07.880 --> 00:24:11.839 happens when we do this right. And I remember 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:16.559 experiencing that. When I was serving in Dallas, 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:20.480 there was a friend that had some extra resources. 00:24:20.660 --> 00:24:23.460 And she said, Pastor Pablo, I have these resources, 00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:26.960 but I want to keep them there and only use them 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:31.240 when there's a special need. And I trust you, 00:24:31.339 --> 00:24:34.660 so I want to ask you. If there's any moment that 00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:37.019 you see a special need, can you let me know and 00:24:37.019 --> 00:24:40.700 we'll channel the resources to address it. And 00:24:40.700 --> 00:24:44.640 I remember that I had gone to a presentation 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:47.880 from one of the missionaries that we supported 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:51.500 as a ministry. And he was talking about the ministry 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:54.480 that we're doing to serve the refugee community 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:57.559 in Dallas. And it was a great presentation, but 00:24:57.559 --> 00:25:00.299 I could not avoid looking at his laptop and thinking, 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:05.920 that's an old laptop. Very old and slow. Like, 00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:13.279 this guy needs another laptop. So I thought, 00:25:13.980 --> 00:25:17.279 the little light bulb of the Holy Spirit turning 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:23.640 on there. It's like, that's a need. So I talked 00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:25.960 to my friend. I said, this guy needs a new laptop. 00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:29.460 I see he, you know, I do presentations all the 00:25:29.460 --> 00:25:32.819 time. you do not need to be dealing with all 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:36.359 these technological dinosaurs. You need the latest 00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:39.460 thing, you plug it in, it works, all good, you 00:25:39.460 --> 00:25:43.240 know. So she said, fine, let's get him a laptop. 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:48.299 So I invited him and we went to this place. I 00:25:48.299 --> 00:25:50.400 told him, can you go with me? I want to go to 00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:53.819 this electronic store called Micro Center, for 00:25:53.819 --> 00:25:56.799 those of you that are from Texas. I think that 00:25:56.799 --> 00:25:59.440 Micro Center closed down by now. But anyway, 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:04.759 we went there and we walked to the computer area. 00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:07.599 It had all these computers, you know, PCs and 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:10.779 Macs, all of them, right? All the laptops. And 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:13.160 as we are there, now I'm so excited because I 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:16.000 want to tell him. I said, look, we're here to 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:21.380 buy a laptop for you. But this is the deal. Get 00:26:21.380 --> 00:26:25.400 the laptop that you really want. Don't look at 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:28.230 prices. Just which one is the one you really, 00:26:28.309 --> 00:26:33.509 really want? So he picked the laptop he wanted. 00:26:33.950 --> 00:26:42.509 It was a Mac. And then, you know, I was so excited 00:26:42.509 --> 00:26:45.410 that we could provide this for him. And I grabbed 00:26:45.410 --> 00:26:48.750 it, paid for it, did everything, you know. And 00:26:48.750 --> 00:26:50.950 when I shared it with my friend later, she was 00:26:50.950 --> 00:26:53.250 so excited too. Because this is what she wanted 00:26:53.250 --> 00:26:56.970 to see. Not just... Wasted money, but invested 00:26:56.970 --> 00:27:01.930 in kingdom impact. But as we were leaving that 00:27:01.930 --> 00:27:05.109 electronic store, the missionary looks at me 00:27:05.109 --> 00:27:12.450 and says, Pastor Pablo, I was praying to God 00:27:12.450 --> 00:27:22.230 for a new laptop last week. And here I am. I'm 00:27:22.230 --> 00:27:33.150 so encouraged. That synergy. I didn't know he 00:27:33.150 --> 00:27:37.349 was praying for that. My friend didn't know the 00:27:37.349 --> 00:27:41.650 guy. She just had money. I didn't have the money. 00:27:41.690 --> 00:27:47.490 I just knew the guy. But the Holy Spirit. Works 00:27:47.490 --> 00:27:50.009 through all of these things. And there's joy. 00:27:52.910 --> 00:27:58.049 When we serve God with eternal perspective. Instead 00:27:58.049 --> 00:28:02.569 of thinking my kingdom, he says you need to now 00:28:02.569 --> 00:28:06.309 start thinking about God's kingdom. And God's 00:28:06.309 --> 00:28:10.569 kingdom works differently than yours. You have 00:28:10.569 --> 00:28:13.950 to have eternal perspective. And it looks like 00:28:13.950 --> 00:28:18.009 this. You can choose to be a pond that collects 00:28:18.009 --> 00:28:21.309 all the water and all the rain. And yeah, you 00:28:21.309 --> 00:28:23.549 will have some fish there and some birds that 00:28:23.549 --> 00:28:25.710 will benefit from it. But that's the end of your 00:28:25.710 --> 00:28:33.579 impact. Your kingdom. Or you can be. A river. 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:38.019 There's always water flowing. But wherever you 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:43.519 are. Everything you touch. Brings life. That's 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:49.019 God's kingdom. And when you live. Only focus 00:28:49.019 --> 00:28:51.759 on your kingdom. The perspective is always earthly. 00:28:53.099 --> 00:28:55.619 But when you are living for God's kingdom, the 00:28:55.619 --> 00:28:58.640 perspective is always moving, always going to 00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:01.140 different places, always having impact that goes 00:29:01.140 --> 00:29:05.880 beyond what you can understand or imagine. Living 00:29:05.880 --> 00:29:08.619 for God's kingdom with eternal perspective resembles 00:29:08.619 --> 00:29:12.279 being that river with the living water, which 00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:15.160 is the Holy Spirit. And when he prompts, and 00:29:15.160 --> 00:29:17.700 when he directs, and when he provides, the Apostle 00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:20.259 Paul says, He will always give you everything 00:29:20.259 --> 00:29:23.240 you need to accomplish his purpose. And you will 00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:29.299 always be able to be generous. Like a friend 00:29:29.299 --> 00:29:32.140 of mine here in Thailand. He would say you can 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:39.740 never out give God. And for some people they 00:29:39.740 --> 00:29:41.700 look at this and say you Christians are just 00:29:41.700 --> 00:29:45.279 out of your mind. Don't you know that giving 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:49.690 money is wasting money? Accumulate it. How do 00:29:49.690 --> 00:29:52.269 you know that you didn't need that house? Why 00:29:52.269 --> 00:29:54.809 did you sell this Barnabas? What's going to happen 00:29:54.809 --> 00:29:57.369 when you retire? Who's going to take it? Where 00:29:57.369 --> 00:30:00.349 are you going to live now? And it's like completely, 00:30:00.589 --> 00:30:09.089 it's just beyond. It makes no sense. So there 00:30:09.089 --> 00:30:12.309 was a young man, Jim Elliot, that he graduated 00:30:12.309 --> 00:30:16.319 from college. Very smart guy with lots of potential. 00:30:16.759 --> 00:30:20.960 And he says, you know what? I want to pursue 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:23.839 this career. I want to go all the way to the 00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:27.599 jungle in Ecuador to reach out to a group called 00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:30.319 the Alcas that they do not know Christ. I know 00:30:30.319 --> 00:30:32.220 it's risky. I know there's not a lot of money 00:30:32.220 --> 00:30:36.079 in it. But that's what I want to do with my life. 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:42.480 And he eventually married a college classmate. 00:30:42.940 --> 00:30:45.980 Her name was Elizabeth Elliot, who became a very 00:30:45.980 --> 00:30:49.740 famous, prolific writer. Why? Because as they 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:54.039 went there to serve, the August that they wanted 00:30:54.039 --> 00:30:59.599 to reach out to with the gospel killed Jim and 00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:02.940 some of his friends. And Elizabeth became a widow 00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:11.329 right there. But as people were questioning him, 00:31:11.349 --> 00:31:13.269 saying, really, you want to do that? Isn't that 00:31:13.269 --> 00:31:16.329 wasting your life like that? What about your 00:31:16.329 --> 00:31:18.190 career? Why don't you just stay here in the U 00:31:18.190 --> 00:31:20.750 .S.? Why don't you just find a church, you know, 00:31:20.750 --> 00:31:24.529 pastor a church, do something different? So he 00:31:24.529 --> 00:31:29.410 wrote this that became a very famous quote. He 00:31:29.410 --> 00:31:36.069 is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain 00:31:36.069 --> 00:31:41.240 what he cannot lose. That's eternal perspective. 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:48.359 Living to invest in God's kingdom for kingdom 00:31:48.359 --> 00:31:54.700 impact is eternal. Everything else is passing 00:31:54.700 --> 00:32:05.680 away. But this won't. This perspective as it 00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:10.460 changes. There are three areas that are very 00:32:10.460 --> 00:32:16.279 clear. And as we follow Jesus, and if we're going 00:32:16.279 --> 00:32:19.299 to be servants devoted to God, that are experiencing 00:32:19.299 --> 00:32:24.059 synergy as we serve together, we have to make 00:32:24.059 --> 00:32:27.160 sure that these three perspectives have shifted 00:32:27.160 --> 00:32:30.920 in our mind and in our heart. The first one of 00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:35.190 those perspectives has to do with my role. Because 00:32:35.190 --> 00:32:38.309 in my kingdom, my role is that I am the king 00:32:38.309 --> 00:32:41.630 and I own everything I have. It's my money, my 00:32:41.630 --> 00:32:46.269 time, my career, my plans, my future. It's mine. 00:32:47.329 --> 00:32:50.990 I am the owner of all of these things. And therefore, 00:32:51.089 --> 00:32:54.049 every time that I invest in something, I get 00:32:54.049 --> 00:32:57.349 all the credit. And the praise because this is 00:32:57.349 --> 00:32:59.630 all mine. And I'm not obligated to share with 00:32:59.630 --> 00:33:04.240 anybody. And when I share, it means I'm a good 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:12.200 person. But not so in the kingdom of God. In 00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:15.579 the kingdom of God, our role is not that of owners. 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:23.140 We are managers. We are administrators. We are 00:33:23.140 --> 00:33:28.380 stewards. And that's why what the apostle Paul 00:33:28.380 --> 00:33:32.660 tells the Corinthians, he says, guys, God is 00:33:32.660 --> 00:33:35.480 the one who provides seed for the farmer and 00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:38.980 then bread to eat. You know, and he's talking 00:33:38.980 --> 00:33:41.079 to this Corinthian during breakfast, and the 00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:43.400 guy is eating the bread, and he says, what do 00:33:43.400 --> 00:33:45.740 you mean, Paul? Yeah, that bread that you're 00:33:45.740 --> 00:33:49.019 eating, God provided it for you. No, that's not 00:33:49.019 --> 00:33:52.000 true. My wife made it. I just saw her here in 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:55.440 the kitchen making this bread. And Paul says, 00:33:55.539 --> 00:33:58.720 wait, so what did she use to make that bread? 00:33:59.220 --> 00:34:05.779 Flour? Flower of what? Wheat. And what did she 00:34:05.779 --> 00:34:10.619 use to make the flower from the wheat? The seed, 00:34:10.780 --> 00:34:13.159 the wheat, the seed. What else would she use? 00:34:14.139 --> 00:34:17.679 And where did that seed come from? From the field 00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:22.179 over there? But where did that plant come from? 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:33.099 Who made that plant? Oh. God I guess. Yes. God. 00:34:34.440 --> 00:34:37.019 Without the plant there is no seed. Without seed 00:34:37.019 --> 00:34:39.079 there is no flower. Without flower there is no 00:34:39.079 --> 00:34:41.739 bread. Without bread you have nothing on your 00:34:41.739 --> 00:34:45.840 hand to eat. And who provided that bread then 00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:54.860 for? God. Do you realize that everything that 00:34:54.860 --> 00:35:00.759 you are. All the giftedness that you have. Any 00:35:00.759 --> 00:35:03.340 area that you can say I'm an expert on this topic. 00:35:03.480 --> 00:35:07.099 Or I'm smart. Anything like that. Do you know 00:35:07.099 --> 00:35:11.219 where it comes from? From the one who made you. 00:35:12.599 --> 00:35:17.159 So stop taking the credit. Do you know that all 00:35:17.159 --> 00:35:20.460 the opportunities that came before you. Do you 00:35:20.460 --> 00:35:22.380 know who is the person that guides you to be 00:35:22.380 --> 00:35:30.679 at the right time at the right place? God. This 00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:37.360 is the air I breathe. Your very presence. Do 00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:41.480 you realize that the breath that we breathe comes 00:35:41.480 --> 00:35:45.159 from God without the breath of life? You have 00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:49.360 no life at all? I would fall dead here on this 00:35:49.360 --> 00:35:53.139 stage if it wasn't because of God. I cannot control 00:35:53.139 --> 00:36:03.079 my heartbeat. I do not even own my life. The 00:36:03.079 --> 00:36:07.599 perspective on the kingdom says that I am the 00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:11.380 one who is receiving all these things from God. 00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:15.219 And I'm just managing them for God's purposes. 00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:18.219 That's why the apostle Paul continues and he 00:36:18.219 --> 00:36:24.380 says, but people. Who long to be rich fall into 00:36:24.380 --> 00:36:27.380 temptation and are trapped by many foolish and 00:36:27.380 --> 00:36:30.780 harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and 00:36:30.780 --> 00:36:34.400 destruction. For the love of money is the root 00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:37.420 of all kinds of evil. And some people craving 00:36:37.420 --> 00:36:40.940 money have wandered from the true faith and pierced 00:36:40.940 --> 00:36:45.099 themselves with many sorrows. Because everything 00:36:45.099 --> 00:36:48.929 is about them, them, them, them, them. And now 00:36:48.929 --> 00:36:52.309 you have to control everything. And when you 00:36:52.309 --> 00:36:54.650 are the one that controls everything and owns 00:36:54.650 --> 00:36:58.650 everything, you cannot sleep at night. All the 00:36:58.650 --> 00:37:04.369 worries keep you up. And he says, I've seen that, 00:37:04.429 --> 00:37:07.769 Timothy. I've seen these people that their goal 00:37:07.769 --> 00:37:10.889 in life is not to live for kingdom impact. It's 00:37:10.889 --> 00:37:13.210 just to make more and more and more and own more 00:37:13.210 --> 00:37:16.840 and more and more and more. See, there's nothing 00:37:16.840 --> 00:37:20.500 wrong in having more. The problem is when that 00:37:20.500 --> 00:37:24.579 is the goal. Having more is simply a means to 00:37:24.579 --> 00:37:30.199 serve God more. And that's the difference. That's 00:37:30.199 --> 00:37:34.000 why the Apostle Paul says, Timothy, I noticed 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:35.880 that in the church you are serving, there's lots 00:37:35.880 --> 00:37:38.239 of, several people that have lots of resources. 00:37:38.679 --> 00:37:41.780 Write this to them. And this is what he writes. 00:37:42.300 --> 00:37:45.849 Teach those who are rich in this world. Not to 00:37:45.849 --> 00:37:49.809 be proud. Not to trust in their money, which 00:37:49.809 --> 00:37:53.210 is so unreliable. The trust should be in God 00:37:53.210 --> 00:37:57.309 who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 00:37:57.849 --> 00:38:01.789 Tell them to use their money to do good. They 00:38:01.789 --> 00:38:04.510 should be rich in good works and generous to 00:38:04.510 --> 00:38:08.610 those in need. Always being ready to share with 00:38:08.610 --> 00:38:13.730 others. Teach them. To change the way they are 00:38:13.730 --> 00:38:16.869 looking at the money that they are holding. To 00:38:16.869 --> 00:38:19.429 realize it's not God. It's not their source of 00:38:19.429 --> 00:38:21.989 trust. This is something that God has simply 00:38:21.989 --> 00:38:24.989 provided for them. So that they can be a river. 00:38:25.949 --> 00:38:31.909 And bless others with it. I'm glad that he wrote 00:38:31.909 --> 00:38:35.610 that. Because he is reminding us we are stewards. 00:38:35.710 --> 00:38:39.329 No owners. And when we understand that. And that 00:38:39.329 --> 00:38:44.329 perspective changes. Now, God can entrust us 00:38:44.329 --> 00:38:46.690 with more power, more impact, more resources. 00:38:48.610 --> 00:38:51.570 But when we keep saying, no, mine, no, mine. 00:38:52.929 --> 00:39:00.730 How can God give us more? There's a name that 00:39:00.730 --> 00:39:06.409 I admired. Her name is Hope Talen. Hope is with 00:39:06.409 --> 00:39:11.000 the Lord today. She's not with us anymore. But 00:39:11.000 --> 00:39:14.659 she has served the Lord with her husband. Faithfully. 00:39:15.940 --> 00:39:19.800 Then her husband died. And she became a widow. 00:39:21.559 --> 00:39:25.280 And as she was getting older. And living by herself. 00:39:25.519 --> 00:39:28.800 All her kids were grown up. She was feeling. 00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:33.440 God I want to serve you. Give me a ministry. 00:39:34.679 --> 00:39:38.860 And she was hungry for relevance. She didn't 00:39:38.860 --> 00:39:42.320 want to just. grow old and grow irrelevant at 00:39:42.320 --> 00:39:45.380 the same time. So she was just praying, God, 00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:50.280 give me a ministry. And she was visiting a friend. 00:39:50.320 --> 00:39:52.679 I believe that it was in New York during that 00:39:52.679 --> 00:39:56.059 time. And as she was staying with the friend 00:39:56.059 --> 00:39:59.119 during those days in that trip, the friend said 00:39:59.119 --> 00:40:01.940 to her, you know, I have a friend who is a missionary 00:40:01.940 --> 00:40:05.260 working in Mexico City. And he's going to stay 00:40:05.260 --> 00:40:07.949 with us for a couple of days here. Because he's 00:40:07.949 --> 00:40:09.949 visiting some of the supporting churches in the 00:40:09.949 --> 00:40:15.769 area. So that missionary friend. His name is 00:40:15.769 --> 00:40:20.630 Nelson. He happened to be my father. And he was 00:40:20.630 --> 00:40:22.750 visiting this area. The supporting churches. 00:40:23.210 --> 00:40:26.090 And he meets this elderly lady. And they talk. 00:40:26.250 --> 00:40:28.030 And they learn about all these different things 00:40:28.030 --> 00:40:32.090 that were happening. At the end of that visit. 00:40:33.909 --> 00:40:40.670 Hope said. You are my new ministry. You are the 00:40:40.670 --> 00:40:44.550 answer to my prayer. And from that moment on, 00:40:44.750 --> 00:40:48.070 this lady that we had no idea she existed before, 00:40:48.230 --> 00:40:52.489 part of the kingdom, she became known as Abuelita 00:40:52.489 --> 00:40:56.650 Hope, which means Grammy Hope. She gained the 00:40:56.650 --> 00:41:00.489 love of all the people in our church in Mexico 00:41:00.489 --> 00:41:03.150 because, you know, even though she was older, 00:41:04.909 --> 00:41:06.889 You know, as people get older and say, hey, can 00:41:06.889 --> 00:41:11.250 you fly four hours? And it's like, really? It's 00:41:11.250 --> 00:41:14.630 like carrying luggage, just waiting in line and 00:41:14.630 --> 00:41:18.469 sitting. Then my back will hurt. It's like, I 00:41:18.469 --> 00:41:21.070 don't really want to travel, you know. Just leave 00:41:21.070 --> 00:41:24.230 me in my home. I'm happy at home. You know, some 00:41:24.230 --> 00:41:27.090 people get like that. Well, not hope. Hope was 00:41:27.090 --> 00:41:29.510 ready to get in the airplane. She went to Mexico. 00:41:29.590 --> 00:41:32.510 She visited the church. She went to see the ministry 00:41:32.510 --> 00:41:35.269 with the homeless, the street children that the 00:41:35.269 --> 00:41:38.469 church was helping with. And she went back to 00:41:38.469 --> 00:41:42.210 the States and she was managing her resources. 00:41:42.329 --> 00:41:44.849 And one day she said, you know what? I realized 00:41:44.849 --> 00:41:47.409 that I don't need this big house anymore. It 00:41:47.409 --> 00:41:49.889 fulfilled its purpose. I don't need it anymore. 00:41:51.719 --> 00:41:54.059 So she decided that she was going to sell the 00:41:54.059 --> 00:41:56.619 house, move to a one -bedroom apartment, and 00:41:56.619 --> 00:41:59.219 she started using all those extra resources that 00:41:59.219 --> 00:42:03.679 now she had to be able to invest in different 00:42:03.679 --> 00:42:09.780 ministry initiatives that needed resources. So 00:42:09.780 --> 00:42:12.739 the day she went to be with the Lord, all of 00:42:12.739 --> 00:42:17.539 us that knew her knew that this world had lost 00:42:17.539 --> 00:42:22.690 a very impactful servant devoted to God. And 00:42:22.690 --> 00:42:26.769 there was both sadness because she was no longer 00:42:26.769 --> 00:42:29.210 with us, but joy because she was with her Savior 00:42:29.210 --> 00:42:37.070 that she loved. This is eternal perspective. 00:42:38.449 --> 00:42:42.090 This is when I realize I'm not a pond and I'm 00:42:42.090 --> 00:42:45.889 a river. I do not own the water. I'm just a place 00:42:45.889 --> 00:42:50.309 of flow. I'm just a steward of God's resources. 00:42:53.869 --> 00:42:58.489 Are you the owner? Or are you the steward? Are 00:42:58.489 --> 00:43:03.309 you the pond? Or are you the river? The second 00:43:03.309 --> 00:43:07.070 conviction is that we have a new purpose. Because 00:43:07.070 --> 00:43:09.650 before when I was building my kingdom, the purpose 00:43:09.650 --> 00:43:13.530 was to make sure that everybody knew me, my name, 00:43:13.570 --> 00:43:17.070 my reputation, and everything that I could do. 00:43:17.150 --> 00:43:20.590 So I registered my name in all possible networking. 00:43:21.579 --> 00:43:25.099 Apps there. And I put all my credentials and 00:43:25.099 --> 00:43:28.900 everything. So everybody will know how good I 00:43:28.900 --> 00:43:33.059 was. And then if I ever gave anything to anybody. 00:43:33.199 --> 00:43:35.760 I make sure that we took a selfie. You know. 00:43:36.719 --> 00:43:41.860 Like I do here. You know. You know. And then 00:43:41.860 --> 00:43:44.920 posting all of this in my social media so that 00:43:44.920 --> 00:43:47.380 people will know that I gave so much for this 00:43:47.380 --> 00:43:50.320 cause and how much of a good person I am. Because 00:43:50.320 --> 00:43:54.940 all of that is PR, right? And the more people 00:43:54.940 --> 00:43:58.960 realize that I'm a good guy and I care for people 00:43:58.960 --> 00:44:03.159 and I'm smart and all of these things, then my 00:44:03.159 --> 00:44:05.920 business, my kingdom will increase. And that's 00:44:05.920 --> 00:44:09.699 good for business. So I would only invest in 00:44:09.699 --> 00:44:12.820 things. That will benefit me. You say, so how, 00:44:12.920 --> 00:44:16.659 what is in there for me? Oh, I guess, okay, here. 00:44:17.019 --> 00:44:21.639 But let's do the selfie. And it was all about 00:44:21.639 --> 00:44:27.000 accumulating more for me so that my fame will 00:44:27.000 --> 00:44:34.059 grow. But not so in the kingdom. The Apostle 00:44:34.059 --> 00:44:37.579 Paul tells the Christians in Corinth, yes, you 00:44:37.579 --> 00:44:40.659 will be enriched in every way. So that you can 00:44:40.659 --> 00:44:44.519 always be generous. You always have to give. 00:44:44.599 --> 00:44:47.420 If you have, you can give. If you give, God gives 00:44:47.420 --> 00:44:49.780 you. And then you are a channel like that. As 00:44:49.780 --> 00:44:53.739 I said, my friend quoted for me, you can never 00:44:53.739 --> 00:44:58.900 out give God. But then he says, and when we take 00:44:58.900 --> 00:45:01.820 your gifts to those who need them, what will 00:45:01.820 --> 00:45:06.179 happen? What will be the outcome? They will thank 00:45:06.179 --> 00:45:11.800 God. Because we're always pointing people to 00:45:11.800 --> 00:45:16.199 God. So that they know that God cares for them. 00:45:16.300 --> 00:45:19.360 So that they know that God loves them. So that 00:45:19.360 --> 00:45:23.039 they know that God heard their prayer. So that 00:45:23.039 --> 00:45:26.400 they fall in love with God. Because it is God 00:45:26.400 --> 00:45:32.880 whom they need, not me. They need to know how 00:45:32.880 --> 00:45:37.719 great God is, not how great I am. In the kingdom 00:45:37.719 --> 00:45:41.739 of God, we do not live for our glory. We live 00:45:41.739 --> 00:45:46.219 for the glory of the one who died for us and 00:45:46.219 --> 00:45:50.360 made us part of his kingdom. We point people 00:45:50.360 --> 00:45:56.179 to him. Every opportunity, we do that. Because 00:45:56.179 --> 00:45:59.300 when people come to know God and they realize 00:45:59.300 --> 00:46:03.079 how much he loves them, their lives will be transformed. 00:46:05.679 --> 00:46:08.820 So in the kingdom of God, we need to make God 00:46:08.820 --> 00:46:13.320 known. It's about his fame, not our fame. And 00:46:13.320 --> 00:46:16.699 the moment we make it about us, synergy is lost. 00:46:21.460 --> 00:46:25.159 When we were in Dallas, we took a trip, a mission 00:46:25.159 --> 00:46:28.039 trip from people in our church to the border 00:46:28.039 --> 00:46:32.300 town in Mexico. The border area in Mexico right 00:46:32.300 --> 00:46:34.639 there in the area of McAllen on the other side 00:46:34.639 --> 00:46:37.880 is called Reynosa. And this is desert. This is 00:46:37.880 --> 00:46:41.739 very dry but also very hot. Hotter than here. 00:46:44.000 --> 00:46:48.500 And we wanted to do a project there so we contacted 00:46:48.500 --> 00:46:50.559 some local people and they said, you know, there's 00:46:50.559 --> 00:46:53.519 a school here, a public school. They need help. 00:46:53.539 --> 00:46:55.659 It would be great if you could come and help 00:46:55.659 --> 00:46:57.719 do a little upgrade for the place. So we did. 00:46:57.760 --> 00:47:00.440 We went there, did the upgrade, painted the walls, 00:47:00.699 --> 00:47:04.500 fixed the tables, the chairs. We did some repairs. 00:47:04.659 --> 00:47:08.840 We fixed the bathrooms. It was like a whole big 00:47:08.840 --> 00:47:12.500 project. And this was not a Christian place. 00:47:12.579 --> 00:47:16.239 It was just a public school. And at the end of 00:47:16.239 --> 00:47:19.940 the event, The principal of the school was so 00:47:19.940 --> 00:47:23.039 appreciative, and he had done a meal for us, 00:47:23.059 --> 00:47:25.460 and he wanted to encourage us. And he started 00:47:25.460 --> 00:47:31.099 saying to us how impactful it was for him that 00:47:31.099 --> 00:47:34.519 we are very good people, that he wishes there 00:47:34.519 --> 00:47:40.039 were more very good people like us. So when he 00:47:40.039 --> 00:47:43.440 stopped talking, since I was leading that trip, 00:47:45.039 --> 00:47:47.199 I stood in front of the whole group and I said, 00:47:47.219 --> 00:47:50.260 you know, we're not doing this because we're 00:47:50.260 --> 00:47:56.360 good people. We're just like you. But we're doing 00:47:56.360 --> 00:48:01.159 this because we love God and God loves you. And 00:48:01.159 --> 00:48:08.719 we want you to know God. And that reframed the 00:48:08.719 --> 00:48:11.230 whole thing. Because that was the reason of what 00:48:11.230 --> 00:48:14.190 we were doing. You don't want to leave that place 00:48:14.190 --> 00:48:17.349 thinking, oh, they think that we are such good 00:48:17.349 --> 00:48:20.909 people. Because yeah, we are. Good job, guys. 00:48:21.309 --> 00:48:26.090 We are good people. Give me five. That's not 00:48:26.090 --> 00:48:34.510 the kingdom. It's about God and His fame. Which 00:48:34.510 --> 00:48:39.119 fame are you pursuing? Your own? Or the Lord's? 00:48:40.800 --> 00:48:47.400 Are you a pond or a river? The final thing has 00:48:47.400 --> 00:48:53.280 to do with the milestone. Most of us were taught 00:48:53.280 --> 00:48:56.659 that we need to work very hard so that we can 00:48:56.659 --> 00:48:59.699 retire early. And then we can retire with lots 00:48:59.699 --> 00:49:02.860 of resources so that we can die well. So you 00:49:02.860 --> 00:49:05.579 don't want to be a burden to anybody. And also 00:49:05.579 --> 00:49:10.219 keep... Enough resources in the bank. So you 00:49:10.219 --> 00:49:12.920 work hard. You retire early. So that you can 00:49:12.920 --> 00:49:17.139 die well. And that's the milestone that we are 00:49:17.139 --> 00:49:20.820 preparing for. Great. I die well. Mission accomplished. 00:49:21.099 --> 00:49:28.460 Check. But not with the kingdom. When God has 00:49:28.460 --> 00:49:31.599 saved us. And he has called us to be part of 00:49:31.599 --> 00:49:34.179 his kingdom. The Bible says that when we die, 00:49:34.300 --> 00:49:36.480 we will go to be with Christ, which is better 00:49:36.480 --> 00:49:41.119 by far. But as we are with Christ, there's going 00:49:41.119 --> 00:49:44.719 to be a moment in which because we are saved 00:49:44.719 --> 00:49:47.639 and because we are with him, there will be a 00:49:47.639 --> 00:49:50.420 moment now in which we will have to give a personal 00:49:50.420 --> 00:49:57.079 account to Christ for the way we serve him here 00:49:57.079 --> 00:50:01.119 in the kingdom. Kind of like a performance review. 00:50:03.199 --> 00:50:07.019 And at that moment, the truth will come all the 00:50:07.019 --> 00:50:09.820 way to the surface. And when the Apostle Paul 00:50:09.820 --> 00:50:12.420 writes about this, he tells the Corinthians, 00:50:12.760 --> 00:50:17.119 so whether we are here in this body, alive, or 00:50:17.119 --> 00:50:21.219 away from this body, meaning dead, our goal is 00:50:21.219 --> 00:50:26.360 the same. Our goal is to please God. For we must 00:50:26.360 --> 00:50:29.860 all stand before Christ to be judged. We will 00:50:29.860 --> 00:50:32.380 each receive whatever we deserve for the good 00:50:32.380 --> 00:50:35.920 or evil we have done in this earthly body. And 00:50:35.920 --> 00:50:38.920 he tells the Romans, yes. Each of us will give 00:50:38.920 --> 00:50:42.099 a personal account to God. We are accountable 00:50:42.099 --> 00:50:46.400 to God. Did you realize that? So what you do 00:50:46.400 --> 00:50:51.420 here and now matters because it has eternal consequences. 00:50:53.579 --> 00:50:56.039 This is not about you being saved or not being 00:50:56.039 --> 00:50:58.579 saved. You are saved. This is why this applies 00:50:58.579 --> 00:51:03.039 to you. It's about giving an account to Christ. 00:51:04.139 --> 00:51:08.619 So whether that day will show if you honor him 00:51:08.619 --> 00:51:16.800 or not. Because we live to honor God. Not to 00:51:16.800 --> 00:51:19.179 keep appearances so that people will think something 00:51:19.179 --> 00:51:24.199 of us. This day is at the forefront of every 00:51:24.199 --> 00:51:29.920 servant devoted to God. It determines how you 00:51:29.920 --> 00:51:34.280 face the present. Because you know the consequence 00:51:34.280 --> 00:51:40.059 of that day is coming. And this made the entire 00:51:40.059 --> 00:51:45.269 difference for Kay. Kay was preparing to do her 00:51:45.269 --> 00:51:48.170 Sunday school class that Sunday. And she read 00:51:48.170 --> 00:51:50.989 this article in a magazine about the crisis of 00:51:50.989 --> 00:51:54.250 AIDS in Africa. And she started looking at pictures 00:51:54.250 --> 00:51:56.449 of all these women that were there suffering. 00:51:56.730 --> 00:51:58.969 All the orphaned children that were suffering. 00:51:59.269 --> 00:52:01.630 All of it because of AIDS. And she had no idea 00:52:01.630 --> 00:52:04.210 about it before. But there was something that 00:52:04.210 --> 00:52:08.989 happened on that moment. She felt compelled to 00:52:08.989 --> 00:52:12.230 learn more about it. And as she started reading 00:52:12.230 --> 00:52:16.300 it. She felt like, I need to go and visit that 00:52:16.300 --> 00:52:19.659 place. So she flew to Mozambique later. And she 00:52:19.659 --> 00:52:22.599 says that she was attending a church there to 00:52:22.599 --> 00:52:28.199 understand the epidemic. And she says that there's 00:52:28.199 --> 00:52:31.659 a woman dying of AIDS that has her child and 00:52:31.659 --> 00:52:35.300 walks into the church and gives the baby to the 00:52:35.300 --> 00:52:38.440 pastor and says, Pastor, Please take care of 00:52:38.440 --> 00:52:41.059 my child because I have no one else to take care 00:52:41.059 --> 00:52:45.000 of my child and I am dying of AIDS. And at that 00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:49.300 moment, Kay says, that changed me forever. From 00:52:49.300 --> 00:52:51.639 that point on, she felt compelled that God was 00:52:51.639 --> 00:52:54.659 calling her to do something about it. And she 00:52:54.659 --> 00:52:58.039 says, once you know, you cannot not know anymore. 00:52:58.579 --> 00:53:01.179 Once you see, you cannot pretend that you didn't 00:53:01.179 --> 00:53:05.920 see. Now your heart is hooked to that. And what 00:53:05.920 --> 00:53:09.260 are you going to do? Say no because it's too 00:53:09.260 --> 00:53:12.480 inconvenient. No because I have to fly too far. 00:53:12.679 --> 00:53:16.739 No because that's not what I was planning. What 00:53:16.739 --> 00:53:19.360 are you going to tell Jesus on the day of accountability 00:53:19.360 --> 00:53:26.079 to him? It is that day that informs how we make 00:53:26.079 --> 00:53:30.340 the decisions today. I cannot stand on that day 00:53:30.340 --> 00:53:32.159 and say, well, Jesus, thank you for loving me 00:53:32.159 --> 00:53:34.019 so much. You are awesome. But you know, that 00:53:34.019 --> 00:53:36.300 day you asked me to do this and I had that desire. 00:53:36.639 --> 00:53:39.219 I really couldn't do it because I'm not good 00:53:39.219 --> 00:53:43.199 with flying, you know. So if you had asked me 00:53:43.199 --> 00:53:45.099 to drive, that would have been fine. But hey, 00:53:45.159 --> 00:53:47.019 it's your fault. Why don't you ask me to drive 00:53:47.019 --> 00:53:51.519 instead? What am I going to tell God? Oh, it 00:53:51.519 --> 00:53:53.920 was too expensive. I didn't have the money. And 00:53:53.920 --> 00:53:57.159 therefore, you know, it was not possible to do 00:53:57.159 --> 00:54:01.670 it. Oh, but wait. You could have provided, right? 00:54:01.710 --> 00:54:05.010 But I didn't think about it until now. But yeah, 00:54:05.130 --> 00:54:08.150 so that's why I didn't do it. What are we going 00:54:08.150 --> 00:54:14.090 to tell the Lord who saved us on that day? We 00:54:14.090 --> 00:54:19.469 servants devoted to God live with eternal perspective. 00:54:20.690 --> 00:54:23.110 And when you live with eternal perspective and 00:54:23.110 --> 00:54:26.949 you invest in the kingdom, Then what Jesus said 00:54:26.949 --> 00:54:29.849 at the end of his ministry could be true of you 00:54:29.849 --> 00:54:33.070 and me. Do you know what Jesus prayed towards 00:54:33.070 --> 00:54:37.809 the end of his ministry on earth? It's right 00:54:37.809 --> 00:54:40.289 there in John chapter 17. Would you read it aloud 00:54:40.289 --> 00:54:44.929 with me? I brought glory to you here on earth 00:54:44.929 --> 00:54:50.789 by completing the work you gave me to do. Very 00:54:50.789 --> 00:54:57.230 powerful. When I am in my last breath. When I 00:54:57.230 --> 00:55:04.090 can no longer speak. Can I tell God. Mission 00:55:04.090 --> 00:55:08.710 accomplished. Everything you called me to do 00:55:08.710 --> 00:55:15.510 I did. Because you did it through me. Because 00:55:15.510 --> 00:55:21.510 you provided. Because you answered prayer. Because 00:55:21.510 --> 00:55:27.449 you. You're the king of my kingdom. I've accomplished 00:55:27.449 --> 00:55:34.449 everything you gave me to do. I do not know you, 00:55:34.610 --> 00:55:40.469 but those words would be awesome if that could 00:55:40.469 --> 00:55:47.250 be true of me. This is the perspective of the 00:55:47.250 --> 00:55:52.019 kingdom. Living with eternal perspective is the 00:55:52.019 --> 00:55:54.280 way of life in the kingdom. There's no other 00:55:54.280 --> 00:55:58.400 way. Because any other way will get in the way 00:55:58.400 --> 00:56:02.420 of synergy. And spiritual synergy matters too 00:56:02.420 --> 00:56:09.099 much to sacrifice it for my own kingdom. So as 00:56:09.099 --> 00:56:13.199 we serve the Lord together in this season, If 00:56:13.199 --> 00:56:15.440 you realize that God is calling you to invest 00:56:15.440 --> 00:56:18.000 more in the kingdom, to be more engaged in the 00:56:18.000 --> 00:56:20.480 kingdom with your time, with your resources, 00:56:20.599 --> 00:56:24.699 with your giftedness. One of the things that 00:56:24.699 --> 00:56:27.039 I wanted to do is give you the opportunity of 00:56:27.039 --> 00:56:30.219 letting us know because we don't get to talk 00:56:30.219 --> 00:56:33.360 with everybody all the time. And we don't get 00:56:33.360 --> 00:56:37.320 to read emails from everybody all the time. And 00:56:37.320 --> 00:56:39.159 there are moments in which you think, oh, I wish 00:56:39.159 --> 00:56:43.840 I could tell them this. And you haven't. So I 00:56:43.840 --> 00:56:46.360 have this QR code that will lead you to a Google 00:56:46.360 --> 00:56:49.420 form. It's a very simple form that has three 00:56:49.420 --> 00:56:55.059 questions. One is, is there any area of expertise 00:56:55.059 --> 00:56:59.699 that you have that you've been thinking, oh, 00:56:59.760 --> 00:57:03.599 I could help with this? You know, I'm an architect. 00:57:03.699 --> 00:57:05.260 I can help with anything that has to do with 00:57:05.260 --> 00:57:07.760 architecture. I'm an HR person. Do you need HR 00:57:07.760 --> 00:57:11.750 consulting? Any questions, let me know. I specialize 00:57:11.750 --> 00:57:14.610 in this or that or I have this experience. Is 00:57:14.610 --> 00:57:17.969 there any area of expertise that you think that 00:57:17.969 --> 00:57:20.769 God will call you to invest in the kingdom here 00:57:20.769 --> 00:57:24.309 at ECB? If so, let us know. No obligation. This 00:57:24.309 --> 00:57:27.969 is just to let us know. The second question is, 00:57:28.050 --> 00:57:31.250 do you have any resources that you have that 00:57:31.250 --> 00:57:33.110 you say, hey, you know, I could make this available 00:57:33.110 --> 00:57:35.570 for the ministry at ECB when needed. Just let 00:57:35.570 --> 00:57:40.289 me know. Anything. Sometimes people say, hey, 00:57:40.369 --> 00:57:43.050 I have an Airbnb. If you ever need a retreat 00:57:43.050 --> 00:57:45.690 or something, let me know. I can host up to 10 00:57:45.690 --> 00:57:48.210 people there. I will gladly make it available 00:57:48.210 --> 00:57:51.869 for ECB. There are things like that that we have 00:57:51.869 --> 00:57:54.949 no idea. You do not know that it will benefit 00:57:54.949 --> 00:57:56.949 us. We do not know that you have the resources. 00:57:57.269 --> 00:58:02.849 And there's no synergy, you see. And the last 00:58:02.849 --> 00:58:05.369 question is simply, hey, do you have any suggestions 00:58:05.369 --> 00:58:09.769 that you've been wanting to tell us? Again, this 00:58:09.769 --> 00:58:11.969 is for you if you're being prompted by God to 00:58:11.969 --> 00:58:13.690 say, oh yeah, yeah, let me do, let me scan that. 00:58:13.750 --> 00:58:15.909 It will be also in the PowerPoint, in the notes, 00:58:15.989 --> 00:58:21.650 in the app. But if you are struggling with the 00:58:21.650 --> 00:58:25.150 right perspective, the three common symptoms 00:58:25.150 --> 00:58:27.309 that you're going to experience that you have 00:58:27.309 --> 00:58:29.510 the wrong perspective is that you are self -centered. 00:58:29.550 --> 00:58:33.750 It's all about you and that's it. Your kingdom, 00:58:33.829 --> 00:58:37.750 your time, your plans. You never have enough 00:58:37.750 --> 00:58:40.809 time to engage in serving together because, you 00:58:40.809 --> 00:58:44.070 know, it's not your cup of tea. You are too busy. 00:58:44.250 --> 00:58:46.869 You are disengaged. You are not really serving 00:58:46.869 --> 00:58:50.409 in any impactful way. Or when you do, you complain. 00:58:50.789 --> 00:58:52.989 And you're a complainer. Oh, it's so difficult. 00:58:53.090 --> 00:58:55.030 I don't like these people. Look, they don't have 00:58:55.030 --> 00:59:00.579 it all together. Any of these things are a sign 00:59:00.579 --> 00:59:02.179 that you just don't have the right perspective. 00:59:02.280 --> 00:59:04.900 And if that's your heart, this is the time to 00:59:04.900 --> 00:59:10.099 come to God and say, God, would you shift my 00:59:10.099 --> 00:59:14.519 perspective so that we can be one in heart and 00:59:14.519 --> 00:59:19.760 mind? Help us be the river that you meant us 00:59:19.760 --> 00:59:25.860 to be. Lord, it is in your presence that we ask. 00:59:29.159 --> 00:59:31.840 That you will help us see what we couldn't see 00:59:31.840 --> 00:59:35.420 before. Lord help us have the right perspective. 00:59:37.260 --> 00:59:41.559 We are servants devoted to God. We are not kings 00:59:41.559 --> 00:59:46.260 of our kingdom. We are here Lord to be a blessing 00:59:46.260 --> 00:59:49.400 in your kingdom. And to be channels of everything 00:59:49.400 --> 00:59:53.360 that you have entrusted to us. We are here for 00:59:53.360 --> 01:00:00.789 you. Guide us. empower us, ignite within us a 01:00:00.789 --> 01:00:10.889 passion for your name. In Jesus' name. Thank 01:00:10.889 --> 01:00:13.829 you for tuning in to the ECB Sermon Podcast. 01:00:14.489 --> 01:00:18.110 Whether near or far, if you are looking for community 01:00:18.110 --> 01:00:22.050 or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage 01:00:22.050 --> 01:00:26.889 by sending us an email to office at ecb .asia. 01:00:27.719 --> 01:00:30.519 If God is calling you to support our ministries, 01:00:30.539 --> 01:00:33.219 you will find giving options on our website. 01:00:34.079 --> 01:00:37.460 And remember to join us next week. God bless 01:00:37.460 --> 01:00:37.699 you.