WEBVTT 00:00:09.399 --> 00:00:14.240 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.519 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.699 --> 00:00:19.739 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:22.920 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:27.140 you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our 00:00:27.140 --> 00:00:30.980 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:30.980 --> 00:00:35.979 by this week's sermon. Welcome. We've been on 00:00:35.979 --> 00:00:39.179 a bit of a series, right? We've been on a series 00:00:39.179 --> 00:00:43.320 looking at ECB's mission, who we are as a church, 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:48.000 and that is to make disciples for global impact. 00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:51.119 And we started in part one almost four weeks 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:53.840 ago. Does anybody remember what that was about? 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:00.200 Well, shared services, yes, but being rooted. 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:05.969 Then we moved on to? So we planted, rooted. Last 00:01:05.969 --> 00:01:08.810 week, come on, starts with a G, ends with a rowing. 00:01:09.930 --> 00:01:14.430 Growing. And then this week, naturally, the result 00:01:14.430 --> 00:01:18.870 would be fruitful. And so as we look at or as 00:01:18.870 --> 00:01:21.769 we hear this word fruitful, many of us might 00:01:21.769 --> 00:01:24.170 think of images like me. I think of images of 00:01:24.170 --> 00:01:26.390 my grandma's garden and my grandpa's backyard 00:01:26.390 --> 00:01:29.129 that had peach trees and apples and they had 00:01:29.129 --> 00:01:31.709 cherry trees. And in the summertime, if it was 00:01:31.709 --> 00:01:33.950 a good season, then I'd be able to climb the 00:01:33.950 --> 00:01:37.010 cherry tree and pick ice cream buckets full of 00:01:37.010 --> 00:01:41.109 cherries. We're not talking about bananas, and 00:01:41.109 --> 00:01:43.989 we're not talking about apples. If you're super 00:01:43.989 --> 00:01:46.170 spiritual, you might be thinking, oh, I know 00:01:46.170 --> 00:01:49.609 what fruitfulness is. It's this spiritual checklist 00:01:49.609 --> 00:01:53.250 of good Christian behavior. No, we're not talking 00:01:53.250 --> 00:01:56.170 about that either. However, as we open Scripture, 00:01:56.530 --> 00:02:01.730 we see that fruitfulness is far more than personal 00:02:01.730 --> 00:02:06.620 performance. It's about God's life in us overflowing 00:02:06.620 --> 00:02:09.520 to the world. It's about living in alignment 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:14.120 with him, with God's heart for all people. It's 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:17.759 a posture of abiding, being connected to Christ. 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:20.740 It's a posture of being available to his spirit 00:02:20.740 --> 00:02:24.919 working in and through us so that our lives become 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:27.979 these channels of his blessing that goes out 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:32.520 to us from the very beginning of time. God's 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:35.680 design was that humanity, which includes you 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:39.439 and I, would be fruitful, that we would multiply, 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:43.379 and that we would fill the earth with his glory. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:48.719 And that design has never changed. And so fruitfulness 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:51.900 is not just about being good, about me being 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:55.479 good. It's actually about God's beauty. It's 00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:59.389 about God's goodness. or God being glorified 00:02:59.389 --> 00:03:03.770 through us so that others might be blessed. In 00:03:03.770 --> 00:03:06.530 other words, it means that others get to have 00:03:06.530 --> 00:03:10.150 a glimpse of who God is, something that is beyond 00:03:10.150 --> 00:03:13.849 ourselves, to see the one who actually planted 00:03:13.849 --> 00:03:19.669 us, who has rooted us, and who grows us. And 00:03:19.669 --> 00:03:23.789 so this imagery matters as we talk about moving 00:03:23.789 --> 00:03:29.030 from seed to fruit. A seed that is planted and 00:03:29.030 --> 00:03:34.009 watered, that puts down roots and grows, doesn't 00:03:34.009 --> 00:03:41.289 stop there. The goal of a seed is fruit. Multiplication 00:03:41.289 --> 00:03:46.169 to bloom. But here's the tension. Many of us 00:03:46.169 --> 00:03:48.150 feel like this. Does anyone know what this is? 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:52.439 It's a dandelion. It's one of those seeds. You 00:03:52.439 --> 00:03:55.539 blow it and it kind of puffs and goes out. Many 00:03:55.539 --> 00:03:58.979 of us can feel like we're a floating seed. We're 00:03:58.979 --> 00:04:04.000 busy, but not necessarily fruitful. And we wonder 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:07.900 if this movement is ever possible to end us in 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:10.159 a place of where we're actually going to be rooted. 00:04:10.860 --> 00:04:13.979 And beyond that, we might wonder if our lives 00:04:13.979 --> 00:04:18.509 even matter. Some even think that fruitfulness 00:04:18.509 --> 00:04:21.750 is actually for a special class of people, pastors, 00:04:22.089 --> 00:04:26.300 missionaries, the spiritual elites. But Jesus 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:29.600 reminds us in John chapter 15, verse 16, you 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:34.139 did not choose me, but I chose you. I knew you 00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:37.120 before you were born. I knew you in your mother's 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:40.019 womb and I appointed you. I've given you gifts. 00:04:40.139 --> 00:04:42.319 I've given you talents. I've given you abilities. 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:45.459 I've given you a purpose and a place so that 00:04:45.459 --> 00:04:48.759 you might go and bear fruit and not just fruit, 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:54.560 but fruit that will last. And so that's not spoken 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:57.079 to just a few of people or for the disciples 00:04:57.079 --> 00:05:02.079 of that time. But the question is, what kind 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:07.870 of fruit will our lives bear? The answer to this 00:05:07.870 --> 00:05:11.370 question is answered in Scripture. And today 00:05:11.370 --> 00:05:13.310 we're going to look at a few of these moments 00:05:13.310 --> 00:05:16.329 or these movements where we see God from creation 00:05:16.329 --> 00:05:19.149 all the way to the cross, beyond this image of 00:05:19.149 --> 00:05:22.089 the future, and then land us in today where we 00:05:22.089 --> 00:05:26.129 see God's intended purposes for our lives and 00:05:26.129 --> 00:05:30.509 how he's always been on mission and inviting 00:05:30.509 --> 00:05:34.360 us into it. And so we begin. With this first 00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:37.920 movement in creation, we were created to be fruitful 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:42.060 by design. But the struggle is that in our world, 00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:46.180 people chase meaning. And in this chase of meaning, 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:49.459 we settle for survival. And as we settle for 00:05:49.459 --> 00:05:53.240 survival, we begin to believe that life is random. 00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:57.139 But scripture couldn't be any more opposite to 00:05:57.139 --> 00:06:00.040 this. In the very first chapter of scripture, 00:06:00.459 --> 00:06:05.000 God speaks blessing. purpose over humanity. He 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:07.720 says in Genesis chapter 1, God blessed them and 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:13.360 said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:17.560 the earth and subdue it. God is speaking this 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:20.899 before humanity has even been created, before 00:06:20.899 --> 00:06:24.930 there's sin, before there's the fall. Fruitfulness 00:06:24.930 --> 00:06:29.129 by design before creation is not a reward for 00:06:29.129 --> 00:06:32.910 our good behavior, but the original design of 00:06:32.910 --> 00:06:37.389 humanity. To bear God's image and fill the earth 00:06:37.389 --> 00:06:40.769 with his glory, his goodness, as creator, as 00:06:40.769 --> 00:06:44.519 redeemer. And this idea, this term of fruitfulness 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:46.980 actually comes from the meaning that carries 00:06:46.980 --> 00:06:50.220 not just biological reproduction, but the idea 00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:53.360 of flourishing and abundance and multiplication. 00:06:55.319 --> 00:06:59.060 Humanities, our vocation from the beginning of 00:06:59.060 --> 00:07:03.899 time was, is, and will be to reflect God and 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:11.860 spread his life. If you're like me or if you're 00:07:11.860 --> 00:07:14.019 like some people that are in this room at one 00:07:14.019 --> 00:07:17.600 time or even in this moment has felt a sense 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:22.399 of longing, know this, that your longing for 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:27.120 significance isn't a mistake because you and 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:30.980 I, we were created for fruit. And from the beginning 00:07:30.980 --> 00:07:36.199 of time, God intended human life, you, I, we, 00:07:36.379 --> 00:07:42.939 to overflow. And not just exist. And so we were 00:07:42.939 --> 00:07:48.000 created by design to reflect God's heart for 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:52.680 humanity. But this starts in the garden and it 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:56.420 moves to his people. And so we see Israel called 00:07:56.420 --> 00:08:02.259 as a nation to be a blessing. The struggle is 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:05.500 that God's people then and now are tempted to 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:09.060 turn inward. And in this attempt to be turned 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:13.100 inwards, we think that blessing is just for ourselves. 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:17.360 Except scripture, again, is abundantly clear 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:22.500 that God's blessing is not meant to be just for 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:26.660 us. It's always meant to be outward facing. In 00:08:26.660 --> 00:08:30.660 Genesis chapter 12, God tells Abraham, I will 00:08:30.660 --> 00:08:40.759 bless you. And so Abraham's family here was chosen 00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:45.220 for the sake of the nations, not just for themselves, 00:08:45.379 --> 00:08:48.899 because God's mission was always outward facing, 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.320 not inward, not about keeping blessing to himself, 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:57.860 but outward facing. I will bless you. And all 00:08:57.860 --> 00:09:02.179 peoples on earth. We continue in Exodus at Sinai, 00:09:02.179 --> 00:09:05.480 Israel. The nation is called to be a kingdom 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:09.460 of priests. Priests then were meant to stand 00:09:09.460 --> 00:09:13.539 in the gap. and be between God and people, to 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:16.600 mediate God's presence to them. And so Israel's 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:19.379 vocation, their purpose in this moment, was to 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:22.139 mediate God's presence to the world, that God's 00:09:22.139 --> 00:09:24.200 presence would come in and through them, that 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:26.759 when the nations looked at Israel, they would 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:30.639 be introduced to the person... Yahweh to God 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:33.980 that they would know God in such a way in such 00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:36.399 an intimate way that the language that they use 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:39.559 about knowing Yahweh would confuse the nations 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:41.879 because they said the way that you say you know 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:44.720 God is as though you have an intimate relationship 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.440 like you're married to them That's what they 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:50.120 had been called to. And in that, the world was 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:52.620 to look at them and know that there was a God 00:09:52.620 --> 00:09:55.980 who wasn't just for them, but was for the Israelites, 00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:59.360 but was for all. And so in Isaiah, he continues, 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:03.519 and God tells his servant, I will make you a 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:06.559 light for the Gentiles that my salvation might 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:11.860 reach to the ends of the earth. Israel's identity 00:10:11.860 --> 00:10:18.600 was always missional. From creation to this moment, 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:22.159 God's purpose was missional. He was on mission 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:25.379 for his people and he invited his people to be 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:28.240 his vessel, to be the place of movement in which 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:32.500 he would be revealed to humanity. Chosen, absolutely, 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:37.120 but chosen to be a conduit of blessing. And so 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:42.259 his mission was and it is always outward facing 00:10:42.259 --> 00:10:47.779 because fruitfulness, I'll say it again, was 00:10:47.779 --> 00:10:52.600 never just for insiders. God's people are always 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:55.779 called to look outward towards the nation, towards 00:10:55.779 --> 00:10:58.299 the world, towards our neighbor, towards our 00:10:58.299 --> 00:11:01.100 community. And the same temptation that they 00:11:01.100 --> 00:11:04.279 faced then, to keep the blessing inward, it's 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:07.120 for me. It's the same temptation that we face 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:14.159 today. And so, will we turn out? If we continue 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:16.799 following this Missio Dei, the mission of God 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:20.220 and this arc from creation to the cross, we see 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:24.899 in Jesus, he is the fruit for the world. The 00:11:24.899 --> 00:11:27.559 struggle that disciples had then, and some of 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:30.000 us do in looking at Jesus now, is that we think 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:33.519 that fruitfulness then is just reserved for a 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:37.490 spiritual elite kind of person. And if you're 00:11:37.490 --> 00:11:40.110 like me, again, I'm just revealing my humanness 00:11:40.110 --> 00:11:43.629 and these wonderings at times, like can my life 00:11:43.629 --> 00:11:48.110 ever really change? Can God ever really use my 00:11:48.110 --> 00:11:52.230 life? The great news is, is that scripture and 00:11:52.230 --> 00:11:54.549 the Bible tells us, or the Bible tells me so, 00:11:54.649 --> 00:12:00.700 yes. Jesus fulfills and he redefines what fruitfulness 00:12:00.700 --> 00:12:04.360 is. He reminds us in John 3, verse 16, which 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:07.779 is such a classic and famous text among Christians, 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:13.539 that God so loved the world. And then sometimes, 00:12:13.659 --> 00:12:15.639 because we really want to hammer at home, we 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:20.490 say, for God so loved me. For God so loved me, 00:12:20.590 --> 00:12:23.809 and God so loved this nation, and God so loved 00:12:23.809 --> 00:12:27.610 the world. The scope of God's mission is not 00:12:27.610 --> 00:12:30.690 for Israel alone, is not for me alone, is not 00:12:30.690 --> 00:12:32.889 for Christ and his disciples alone at that moment. 00:12:32.929 --> 00:12:36.309 The cross in this time became this pivot point 00:12:36.309 --> 00:12:39.750 where God's love breaks outward to all peoples. 00:12:40.470 --> 00:12:43.649 Jesus continues with a parable. It's a story 00:12:43.649 --> 00:12:46.139 about... Something that tells a spiritual truth. 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:48.460 That's what a parable is. And he's talking about 00:12:48.460 --> 00:12:51.720 these soils. And he begins to explain that the 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:55.220 seed, the seed is the word of God. And the seed 00:12:55.220 --> 00:12:58.639 on good soil stands for those with a noble and 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:01.899 a good heart. Those who hear the word. Those 00:13:01.899 --> 00:13:05.019 who retain it. And by preserving, they produce 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:08.399 a crop. And he talks about fruitfulness of 30, 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:12.740 60, 100 times. Because fruitfulness is multiplication. 00:13:14.509 --> 00:13:17.610 But what's interesting is if we remember that 00:13:17.610 --> 00:13:20.669 Jesus was speaking these words to the disciples. 00:13:20.710 --> 00:13:23.169 He was nearing the end of his life. The cross 00:13:23.169 --> 00:13:25.389 was a few days in front of him. He was trying 00:13:25.389 --> 00:13:28.169 to reveal this to the disciples. They were pretty 00:13:28.169 --> 00:13:30.970 fearful for the world that was going to exist 00:13:30.970 --> 00:13:34.470 without his physical presence. And their purpose 00:13:34.470 --> 00:13:37.129 in this moment, Jesus was trying to move them. 00:13:37.149 --> 00:13:40.529 Your purpose is not just survival, but your purpose 00:13:40.529 --> 00:13:44.960 is for mission. And so for us then, Christ's 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:51.179 fruitfulness, it's not optional. It's promised. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:54.340 It's not because we're capable. It's because 00:13:54.340 --> 00:13:59.879 we abide in him. And his scope then for the disciples 00:13:59.879 --> 00:14:03.000 was the same for us now. The scope is the world. 00:14:03.379 --> 00:14:07.019 So it's not because we're capable. It's not. 00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:09.320 Because we've got it all together. But because 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:12.080 we abide in him and he begins to develop this 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:16.779 in us. And so we continue. Jesus ascends. We 00:14:16.779 --> 00:14:19.419 spoke about it probably a few months ago now. 00:14:19.539 --> 00:14:22.200 He's on the mountaintop with his disciples. And 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:23.600 they think, you're going to bring a revolution, 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:26.039 right? And he says, it's not for you to know 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:29.700 the time and the place for that. Priorities are 00:14:29.700 --> 00:14:31.659 misapplied. I'm not going to overthrow the empire 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:35.039 as you thought. But he calls them to be witness 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:37.879 to the nations. And so the movement then moves 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:46.139 from creation. Israel. Jesus. And now witnesses, 00:14:46.460 --> 00:14:50.440 the sent out ones. And if... Again, you're like 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:52.840 me, and you read scripture, or you read stories 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:54.820 like this about the disciples, or Jesus and the 00:14:54.820 --> 00:14:56.960 church, and you think, man, those are extraordinary 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:03.860 people. But no. I'm too ordinary. No. Mission 00:15:03.860 --> 00:15:07.919 is for others. No. Interruptions, those are kind 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:11.919 of annoying. But as we look at the book of Acts, 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:14.940 we see how the gospel actually begins to spread 00:15:14.940 --> 00:15:18.059 and hits the nations, us being one of them. In 00:15:18.059 --> 00:15:21.019 Acts chapter 1, verse 8, Jesus, he promises the 00:15:21.019 --> 00:15:22.980 Holy Spirit and says, hey, it's going to empower 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:25.899 you to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. 00:15:25.940 --> 00:15:28.720 Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth. 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:31.519 In Acts chapter 2, there's this group of people 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:34.080 that hear the gospel in their own languages. 00:15:34.139 --> 00:15:37.039 This is a huge hit because the empire at that 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.220 time had tried to make one language forever. 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:41.600 everybody to speak. And all of a sudden the gospel 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:44.340 comes and everybody's hearing it in their languages. 00:15:44.460 --> 00:15:46.460 And the Romans at that time would have been like, 00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:49.299 what is going on? This is how things get out 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:51.860 of hand. And they don't just bring the gospel 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:54.480 in one language, but from that space, they go 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:57.320 to Turkey, Turkey, they go to Libya, they head 00:15:57.320 --> 00:16:00.700 out from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Mediterranean, 00:16:01.179 --> 00:16:03.360 Middle East, and they head into Europe and then 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:06.519 fill up. is on the road, and he's interrupted. 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:09.320 How dare God interrupt our plans and purposes? 00:16:09.700 --> 00:16:13.360 And on this road, this desert road, he's interrupted, 00:16:13.460 --> 00:16:18.149 and he meets an Ethiopian official. And the gospel 00:16:18.149 --> 00:16:21.629 spreads to Africa. So now it's the Middle East, 00:16:21.789 --> 00:16:25.389 the Mediterranean, Europe, and Africa. And then 00:16:25.389 --> 00:16:27.990 Peter in Acts chapter 10 comes to this realization 00:16:27.990 --> 00:16:31.690 when he has this dream that Jesus didn't just 00:16:31.690 --> 00:16:34.769 come for the Jewish people. He came for the Gentiles. 00:16:34.809 --> 00:16:36.970 And he didn't just come for a Gentile. He came 00:16:36.970 --> 00:16:41.110 for one that would murder. People who would believe 00:16:41.110 --> 00:16:43.549 in followers of the way. And so to believe that 00:16:43.549 --> 00:16:46.269 God could come and speak in a vision or a dream 00:16:46.269 --> 00:16:49.009 to a murderer was unreal. We talked about Paul. 00:16:49.909 --> 00:16:52.710 A murderer of Christians. I think of gladiator. 00:16:52.809 --> 00:16:55.850 And people being dragged into these spaces. Christians 00:16:55.850 --> 00:17:00.750 being mauled by lions. And here, Paul. Most religious 00:17:00.750 --> 00:17:03.330 at that time. Well studied in scripture. One, 00:17:03.409 --> 00:17:05.069 I think it's crazy that he thought that that 00:17:05.069 --> 00:17:09.559 was acceptable to his God. And then two, he's 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:12.779 met on the road to Damascus. He's blinded and 00:17:12.779 --> 00:17:16.160 God tells him, I'm going to do something with 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:20.720 your life. The gospel makes it to Asia. Thank 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:26.420 you, Paul. 2 Peter 3, 9, Peter later then writes, 00:17:26.500 --> 00:17:30.559 the Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:36.049 but everyone to come to repentance. Now to some 00:17:36.049 --> 00:17:38.230 of us who have been around for some time, this 00:17:38.230 --> 00:17:40.309 might all seem normal. Of course, God's always 00:17:40.309 --> 00:17:43.190 been on mission for everybody. But no, that's 00:17:43.190 --> 00:17:45.950 not. That's not what was thought or understood. 00:17:46.329 --> 00:17:49.470 If it was and everybody got it, then we wouldn't 00:17:49.470 --> 00:17:52.630 have to keep being reminded of it over and over 00:17:52.630 --> 00:17:56.250 and over again. And so the gospel as we see then 00:17:56.250 --> 00:17:59.710 is not spread primarily through fancy programs. 00:18:00.390 --> 00:18:05.099 No. It's spread. Through ordinary disciples. 00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:08.000 A disciple is a student, an ordinary person. 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:10.960 Diaspora movements, a scattering, which is persecution, 00:18:11.420 --> 00:18:15.599 oppression. It's spread by spirit -led interruptions. 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:19.500 And I wonder if that's the same today. I think 00:18:19.500 --> 00:18:21.920 it is. I think that's how it's spreading today 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:25.880 in workplaces, in families, in neighborhoods, 00:18:26.059 --> 00:18:28.960 in conversations that feel small but actually 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:31.640 bear eternal fruit. It's happening when somebody 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:34.059 is working in an embassy and thinks, I think 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:35.619 I could bring the gospel to my people in their 00:18:35.619 --> 00:18:37.720 own language, so why don't we bring Alpha here? 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.480 It happens when a high school student says, well, 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:42.539 most of my friends don't know Jesus. I'm kind 00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:45.160 of the only one here. Why don't we start praying 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:47.160 for the school? And eventually, through praying 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:48.599 for their school, they're given an opportunity 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:51.880 to open Open a club, and that club leads to not 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:54.339 just a dozen, but hundreds of people within their 00:18:54.339 --> 00:18:56.279 school coming to faith, inclusive of history 00:18:56.279 --> 00:18:59.539 teachers and biology teachers. It looks like 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:02.579 one of the greatest returns of a generation to 00:19:02.579 --> 00:19:06.380 the gospel, Gen Z. It looks like one of our ministry 00:19:06.380 --> 00:19:09.200 partners, our outreach partners, House of Blessing, 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:11.839 a space for teenage kids whose parents are in 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:15.359 prison to have hope for a life and a future because 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:17.960 somebody thinks that teenagers who have imprisoned 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:20.839 parents deserve something better. It looks like 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:23.960 Brody, one of our youth, who is discipled through 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:26.839 here, who goes on a missions trip with YWAM to 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:29.400 America, gets called back here and put in her 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:32.960 heart to help come alongside a school that's 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:35.279 providing access to those who don't have education. 00:19:36.140 --> 00:19:39.099 It looks like, A, one of our youth leaders here, 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:41.339 but who's also a missionary to Thailand, who 00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:43.619 grew up in a Buddhist family. Her dad is a monk, 00:19:43.740 --> 00:19:46.759 and God meets her and sends her on mission into 00:19:46.759 --> 00:19:49.779 our community, in our city, in our country. You 00:19:49.779 --> 00:19:53.119 can meet her. She's downstairs today. It looks 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:55.140 like hope for the handicapped. Another one of 00:19:55.140 --> 00:19:57.380 our outreach partners. Phenomenally talented 00:19:57.380 --> 00:20:00.400 young women in corporate jobs who look at a group 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:03.099 of people within our community and think, the 00:20:03.099 --> 00:20:05.599 handicapped are pushed to the side. They're told 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:07.759 they don't have the competencies that are required 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:09.700 to make a difference in the world. We don't just 00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:12.000 want to speak the hope of Jesus into them. We 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.700 want to give them hope as well. And so they begin 00:20:14.700 --> 00:20:17.059 to employ them and train them in something. Guys, 00:20:17.099 --> 00:20:20.250 it's happening. It looks like Siloam, another 00:20:20.250 --> 00:20:22.650 one of our outreach partners, just a small town 00:20:22.650 --> 00:20:25.490 gal from Canada, here for 20 plus years now, 00:20:25.569 --> 00:20:28.049 opens a home for boys with mental disabilities 00:20:28.049 --> 00:20:31.230 who don't have an opportunity for access to education, 00:20:31.410 --> 00:20:33.670 competency development, because there's too many 00:20:33.670 --> 00:20:35.509 in the system. And she says, I'll make a home. 00:20:35.589 --> 00:20:37.930 I'll become like a mom and create space for these 00:20:37.930 --> 00:20:40.450 people to not just have dignity, but to also 00:20:40.450 --> 00:20:45.640 know Christ. That's how it spreads. In workplaces, 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:48.039 in families, in neighborhoods, in conversations 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:53.019 that feel small. But there's eternal fruit. And 00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:56.039 so this moves even future forward to new creation. 00:20:56.140 --> 00:20:59.119 This imagery of fruit, of healing for the nations 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:06.799 comes in the book of Revelation. Revelation is 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:08.819 an interesting text where when you open it and 00:21:08.819 --> 00:21:11.000 you begin to read it, you can both be overwhelmed 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:14.500 and confused by it. But thankful for the Holy 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:16.920 Spirit who leads us to truth and smart people 00:21:16.920 --> 00:21:19.859 who help us understand it. But contextually, 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:23.359 you've got this guy named John who's being exiled 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:26.180 to Patmos probably because he was preaching the 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:28.339 gospel and talking about things that upset the 00:21:28.339 --> 00:21:30.380 kingdom and the empire at the time. And so we've 00:21:30.380 --> 00:21:32.200 got to silence this guy and we put him here. 00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:34.880 And I wonder if it's because of solitary confinement 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:39.750 that he begins to have this crazy vision. But 00:21:39.750 --> 00:21:42.470 John sees the brokenness of the world. And like 00:21:42.470 --> 00:21:45.690 us, we can see the brokenness of the world. We 00:21:45.690 --> 00:21:49.309 can see wars. We can see injustice. We can see 00:21:49.309 --> 00:21:52.109 factured relationships. We can even begin to 00:21:52.109 --> 00:21:55.089 feel this weariness inside of our own souls. 00:21:55.190 --> 00:22:00.150 And we wonder, will any of the good that I do 00:22:00.150 --> 00:22:03.250 last? Will any of the good that I see God doing 00:22:03.250 --> 00:22:06.410 make a difference? Is fruitfulness temporary? 00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:13.460 Do our small acts of faith even matter? But John's 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:16.980 final vision in Revelation answers that question 00:22:16.980 --> 00:22:21.700 with an overwhelming yes. In Revelation chapter 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:26.240 22, he says this, on each side of the river stood 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:31.180 the tree of life bearing crops of fruit, yielding 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:34.740 its fruit every month, very fruitful tree. And 00:22:34.740 --> 00:22:38.390 the leaves of the tree, are for the healing of 00:22:38.390 --> 00:22:44.450 the nations. Remember here, Paul, John, isn't 00:22:44.450 --> 00:22:47.190 just writing some sort of escape fantasy novel 00:22:47.190 --> 00:22:49.690 that is like, oh, this is going to make the people 00:22:49.690 --> 00:22:52.589 feel really good. No. It's written to a group 00:22:52.589 --> 00:22:55.289 of persecuted Christians that are under Roman 00:22:55.289 --> 00:22:57.369 rule. They're marginalized. They're oppressed. 00:22:58.109 --> 00:23:00.910 They're tempted to despair. And here John isn't 00:23:00.910 --> 00:23:03.569 just offering some sort of false hope for survival. 00:23:03.789 --> 00:23:06.970 He gives them a glimpse of the ultimate reality, 00:23:07.329 --> 00:23:10.910 a city, a city filled with God's presence, a 00:23:10.910 --> 00:23:13.509 city with a river that's overflowing from the 00:23:13.509 --> 00:23:18.869 throne with a tree whose fruit never fails. This 00:23:18.869 --> 00:23:22.650 is wild, a tree that heals nations. And if we 00:23:22.650 --> 00:23:25.349 drill into this a little bit more, we see that 00:23:25.349 --> 00:23:28.140 the Bible story begins with With a tree in the 00:23:28.140 --> 00:23:32.019 garden. Remember? Garden of Eden. Lost because 00:23:32.019 --> 00:23:36.319 of sin. Genesis chapter 3. And here it ends. 00:23:37.160 --> 00:23:42.289 With a tree. In a city. restored and its purpose 00:23:42.289 --> 00:23:45.130 is for the healing of the nations. And so what 00:23:45.130 --> 00:23:48.950 was lost in Eden is even more than restored in 00:23:48.950 --> 00:23:52.410 Christ. And so what happens here is John, when 00:23:52.410 --> 00:23:54.670 he's caught up in this vision, which starts in 00:23:54.670 --> 00:23:57.390 Revelation chapter four, notice what happens. 00:23:57.569 --> 00:24:00.069 He runs out of language. He's saying stuff. It's 00:24:00.069 --> 00:24:03.109 like Jasper. It's like a rainbow. It's like a 00:24:03.109 --> 00:24:05.650 sea of glass. It's like this. It's like that. 00:24:05.750 --> 00:24:08.269 There's no, there's not enough words that he 00:24:08.269 --> 00:24:11.180 can find to describe what it is that he's seeing 00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:14.920 and the images begin to pile up. Streets of gold, 00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:20.420 gates of pearl, a city without night. And here 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:23.140 it's not just about these literal building materials, 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:28.299 it's about this indescribable holiness. And holiness 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:32.460 means to be set apart, it's otherness. It's John 00:24:32.460 --> 00:24:36.839 like grasping for words and he can't come up 00:24:36.839 --> 00:24:39.420 with them. It's like he's coming up short. And 00:24:39.420 --> 00:24:42.279 so the spirit is saying here, this is beyond 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:46.180 what you can imagine. It's holy. It's other. 00:24:46.339 --> 00:24:50.180 It's different. It's set apart. And so even the 00:24:50.180 --> 00:24:53.940 angels in this moment simply cry, holy or set 00:24:53.940 --> 00:24:57.160 apart. Unlike anything that we can imagine, holy. 00:24:59.339 --> 00:25:03.839 And here's the connection to us. This same Jesus 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:12.259 who will make all things new and is already at 00:25:12.259 --> 00:25:19.599 work in us. And as we gaze at him, we are transformed. 00:25:19.660 --> 00:25:24.279 And scripture says to us, be holy as I am holy. 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:27.619 And Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 00:25:27.619 --> 00:25:31.680 18. He says, and we all. We contemplate, we think 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:36.200 on with unveiled faces the Lord's glory and we're 00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:40.500 being transformed into his image with ever increasing 00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:45.119 glory. Even as we think and we consider and we 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:51.619 engage with him, he is transforming us. So that 00:25:51.619 --> 00:25:55.319 when... When the world looks at us, when the 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:57.779 world looks at you, when the world looks at me, 00:25:57.819 --> 00:26:01.539 they see something that they can't quite explain. 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:07.180 They see lives of love. That's the opposite of 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:10.779 what we're seeing today. They see lives of forgiveness. 00:26:11.640 --> 00:26:15.160 They see lives of generosity. They see lives 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:18.740 of peace. They see lives of courage. And they 00:26:18.740 --> 00:26:24.940 say, holy. What's wrong with you? Angels did 00:26:24.940 --> 00:26:26.740 the same thing, but they weren't thinking a bad 00:26:26.740 --> 00:26:31.460 word. This is other. We can't think of any other 00:26:31.460 --> 00:26:34.140 word than this is other. So holy, out of this 00:26:34.140 --> 00:26:37.539 world, holy, I can't describe what this is. Holy, 00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:40.160 it's like nothing I've ever seen before. Holy, 00:26:40.259 --> 00:26:44.559 this is indescribable. Holy, what's wrong with 00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:50.140 you? Where does that come from? And yes, In my 00:26:50.140 --> 00:26:54.759 text here, when I created this, I had this box, 00:26:54.940 --> 00:26:57.579 and I had created the words outside of the box, 00:26:57.660 --> 00:26:59.539 and I'm so glad they don't even have the box 00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:02.880 there, because I think that's exactly it. It's 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:05.799 kind of sad, but it's the reality that love is 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:07.940 outside of the box. It's outside of the norm. 00:27:08.619 --> 00:27:11.660 Forgiveness, outside of the box, outside of norm. 00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:17.579 Generosity, courage, peace. So when they say, 00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:22.440 holy, what's wrong with you? Where does that 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:25.859 come from? This makes me think of a moment in 00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:28.420 my own life when I was a high school kid. I had 00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:31.640 just come to Jesus. I was living in Canada at 00:27:31.640 --> 00:27:34.200 the time on mountain sides. And so like high 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:37.430 school kids did at that time. We had these things 00:27:37.430 --> 00:27:40.109 called bush parties and we had the bush parties 00:27:40.109 --> 00:27:42.170 in the bush because the police couldn't get to 00:27:42.170 --> 00:27:45.210 the bush easily. And so if we saw dust coming, 00:27:45.250 --> 00:27:46.869 then we knew they were coming and we'd shut down 00:27:46.869 --> 00:27:49.130 and then we'd move to Tim Hortons where all the 00:27:49.130 --> 00:27:53.210 best and baddest parties happened. But I had 00:27:53.210 --> 00:27:57.170 a few friends there. As I met Jesus, I felt like 00:27:57.170 --> 00:27:59.390 I needed to be where my friends were, but I needed 00:27:59.390 --> 00:28:03.410 to do it wise. And so I would bring a back scratcher 00:28:03.410 --> 00:28:07.589 and a pack. of Nestea iced tea. That's how I 00:28:07.589 --> 00:28:10.109 partied in high school. I'm not calling any of 00:28:10.109 --> 00:28:12.289 our high school students to go and do this. I 00:28:12.289 --> 00:28:15.430 don't know if I do the same. Anyways, in that 00:28:15.430 --> 00:28:18.150 space, I got to walk along friends who were making 00:28:18.150 --> 00:28:21.170 really poor decisions with their lives. And one 00:28:21.170 --> 00:28:23.450 of these friends, they're actually twins and 00:28:23.450 --> 00:28:26.349 they came from a very spiritual family and spiritual, 00:28:26.410 --> 00:28:28.009 not in the sense that they are Christians, but 00:28:28.009 --> 00:28:30.450 they were very much interested in nature and 00:28:30.450 --> 00:28:33.029 jewels and gems and all of those kinds of things. 00:28:33.929 --> 00:28:36.109 And there was a number of times when I had to 00:28:36.109 --> 00:28:38.329 drive their vehicle home with them in it and 00:28:38.329 --> 00:28:40.329 get my parents to come pick me up. But there 00:28:40.329 --> 00:28:42.630 were moments when they drove me home after school, 00:28:42.710 --> 00:28:46.849 not intoxicated. And one of these times that 00:28:46.849 --> 00:28:49.650 they dropped me at home, I was about to get out 00:28:49.650 --> 00:28:53.230 of the vehicle. And one of the girls kind of 00:28:53.230 --> 00:28:55.910 looked at me. She says, I have a question. I'm 00:28:55.910 --> 00:29:00.950 like, sure. She's like, what's wrong with you? 00:29:02.830 --> 00:29:06.690 I was like, I'm not sure how to take that. What 00:29:06.690 --> 00:29:10.029 do you mean? And she's like, what's wrong with 00:29:10.029 --> 00:29:14.410 you? Why are you like this? And I guess if I 00:29:14.410 --> 00:29:15.890 was like a really good Christian, I would have 00:29:15.890 --> 00:29:19.130 said, well, that's the fruit of the Spirit. It's 00:29:19.130 --> 00:29:22.069 like love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, 00:29:22.250 --> 00:29:24.490 kindness, and self -control. And the fruit of 00:29:24.490 --> 00:29:27.710 the Spirit is not a coconut. No, I don't know 00:29:27.710 --> 00:29:30.720 if you guys know that song. But it wasn't a moment 00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:34.079 where I began to describe these things that probably 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:36.319 didn't make sense to them. It was a moment to 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:39.440 reflect on and be like, God, I haven't tried 00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:45.119 to be anything but you. I don't know what that 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:47.099 looks like or means, but these people just put 00:29:47.099 --> 00:29:52.440 it into words. Holy, what's wrong with you? And 00:29:52.440 --> 00:29:56.500 so we know the answer when people say, holy, 00:29:56.839 --> 00:30:02.190 what's wrong with you? It is Christ in us, the 00:30:02.190 --> 00:30:07.730 hope of glory. And so this fruit that we bear 00:30:07.730 --> 00:30:12.029 now, acts of love and service and witness, these 00:30:12.029 --> 00:30:15.869 are not wasted. They're actually signs of this 00:30:15.869 --> 00:30:18.950 tree that is coming. They're previews of this 00:30:18.950 --> 00:30:22.700 healing of the nations. And the fruit that we 00:30:22.700 --> 00:30:26.119 now have points forward to this eternal fruit 00:30:26.119 --> 00:30:29.059 until the day when all people, scripture tells 00:30:29.059 --> 00:30:32.700 us, all tribe, every tongue, every nation are 00:30:32.700 --> 00:30:37.180 healed in the presence of the lamb. And so that 00:30:37.180 --> 00:30:41.799 brings us to today, ECB's call to fruitfulness. 00:30:42.890 --> 00:30:45.369 And in a place like this where we've got nice 00:30:45.369 --> 00:30:48.650 lights and sound, it might look like, oh, we've 00:30:48.650 --> 00:30:51.049 got tons of money. And as we've seen over the 00:30:51.049 --> 00:30:54.349 last four weeks, we've got hundreds of people 00:30:54.349 --> 00:30:58.990 that are leaning in to serve. You might ask, 00:30:59.190 --> 00:31:04.589 is there a place for me? Or, like I've done, 00:31:04.730 --> 00:31:09.490 you might easily reduce the church to a place 00:31:09.490 --> 00:31:13.539 that we simply gather. Rather than act as a people 00:31:13.539 --> 00:31:22.180 who are sent. God has always been ascending God. 00:31:24.180 --> 00:31:31.839 Creation. Israel. Jesus. New creation. Today. 00:31:32.750 --> 00:31:36.329 From creation to Acts to Revelation, the story 00:31:36.329 --> 00:31:41.849 is clear. God's mission has always been for all 00:31:41.849 --> 00:31:55.029 people carried through his people. It means we're 00:31:55.029 --> 00:32:00.650 part of it. And so we've been talking over this 00:32:00.650 --> 00:32:05.619 last month. of what it means to belong, to be 00:32:05.619 --> 00:32:09.460 planted in Christ, to be rooted in community. 00:32:09.940 --> 00:32:12.599 We've been talking about what it means to grow. 00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:16.619 We're growing as disciples. We're being transformed 00:32:16.619 --> 00:32:20.400 by his word, which convicts, which reproves us, 00:32:20.440 --> 00:32:23.259 and which moves us to spaces of love, of God, 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:26.940 of ourself, of other people. And today we look 00:32:26.940 --> 00:32:29.799 at this idea of being and fruitfulness, to be 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:33.900 witnesses, to bear fruit that feeds the world. 00:32:34.799 --> 00:32:40.339 And so ECB does not exist for just gathering. 00:32:41.069 --> 00:32:43.329 and just growing, though those are essential 00:32:43.329 --> 00:32:47.690 parts of it, we exist to also go, to mobilize. 00:32:47.829 --> 00:32:51.150 And mobilization then, as you've seen, not just 00:32:51.150 --> 00:32:54.029 this day, but as you've seen over the last number 00:32:54.029 --> 00:32:56.549 of weeks, people saying yes to what God's doing 00:32:56.549 --> 00:32:59.029 inside of them, those are all examples of that. 00:32:59.190 --> 00:33:05.369 It's not just for a few. It's for everyone, everywhere. 00:33:06.879 --> 00:33:10.839 As Christ's ones. And so today, as you came in, 00:33:10.900 --> 00:33:13.900 you probably walked by some outreach partners' 00:33:14.140 --> 00:33:16.420 tables. You maybe saw some missionaries that 00:33:16.420 --> 00:33:18.980 were there. And the reminder to me when I looked 00:33:18.980 --> 00:33:21.660 at them this morning was that is not the end. 00:33:22.460 --> 00:33:25.460 I kind of feel like they're like a jumping board. 00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:28.180 They're like a catalyst. And they're a reminder 00:33:28.180 --> 00:33:31.119 that we're all invited into a much bigger mission. 00:33:31.240 --> 00:33:33.380 Look, see, they're already going right now. Go. 00:33:34.059 --> 00:33:42.900 I can't wait. Go be. But this is it. Real fruitfulness 00:33:42.900 --> 00:33:46.400 actually happens when ordinary people, you and 00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:50.420 me from ECB, begin to live missionally in Bangkok, 00:33:50.779 --> 00:33:55.539 in Thailand, and beyond. That changes a child's 00:33:55.539 --> 00:33:58.559 opportunity in a classroom. It looks like a refugee 00:33:58.559 --> 00:34:01.319 to another brother or sister in Christ who has 00:34:01.319 --> 00:34:03.559 just arrived and doesn't know what to do. It 00:34:03.559 --> 00:34:05.799 looks like a prisoner who's being rehabilitated, 00:34:05.900 --> 00:34:07.920 leading another one to Christ. It looks like 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:10.400 a volunteer who's teaching Thai, math, or English 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:12.889 with one of the outreach partners. help support. 00:34:13.110 --> 00:34:15.590 It looks like a mom from within our community 00:34:15.590 --> 00:34:18.550 saying, there's a lot of moms that don't have 00:34:18.550 --> 00:34:20.949 connection and belonging. I'm going to do that. 00:34:21.090 --> 00:34:23.909 It looks like somebody who was from China, who 00:34:23.909 --> 00:34:26.250 comes to Thailand, who feels like I'm here for 00:34:26.250 --> 00:34:28.989 more than business is called to be a church planter 00:34:28.989 --> 00:34:31.829 who starts an alpha parents group at their high 00:34:31.829 --> 00:34:34.090 school and then launches a badminton ministry. 00:34:34.929 --> 00:34:41.389 It looks like bench inviting people to pickleball. 00:34:42.010 --> 00:34:44.469 And thinking that through sport and activity, 00:34:44.590 --> 00:34:49.269 inclusive of saying in Siri and Bangkok Discipleship 00:34:49.269 --> 00:34:51.789 Center, using sport as a means of reaching in, 00:34:51.869 --> 00:34:54.710 it looks like a doctor being called out of their 00:34:54.710 --> 00:34:57.690 space there to be serving in counseling. It looks 00:34:57.690 --> 00:35:00.429 like a PTA member who's like, there's a lot of 00:35:00.429 --> 00:35:02.610 families here who just feel like they're missing 00:35:02.610 --> 00:35:04.849 connection again. I'm going to create a space 00:35:04.849 --> 00:35:12.329 of belonging. And so I ask, I ask, What kind 00:35:12.329 --> 00:35:15.769 of fruit is your life producing? If it's everyone, 00:35:16.090 --> 00:35:19.869 to everywhere, as Christ's ones, what kind of 00:35:19.869 --> 00:35:24.010 fruit is he producing in me? What kind of fruit 00:35:24.010 --> 00:35:28.369 is he producing in you? Because remember, Jesus 00:35:28.369 --> 00:35:36.809 says, I chose you. I appointed you to go and 00:35:36.809 --> 00:35:43.019 bear fruit and fruit that will Last. And so for 00:35:43.019 --> 00:35:45.159 some of us, that fruit is going to look like 00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:47.360 contributing. We're like, we've got time and 00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:49.199 money, and so we're going to contribute, we're 00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:51.019 going to serve, we're going to give, and we're 00:35:51.019 --> 00:35:53.360 going to support. But that's the easy thing to 00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:56.159 do. Actually, ECB is fantastic at that. We're 00:35:56.159 --> 00:35:58.480 very generous. We can always be more generous 00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:00.619 with our money, but ECB is incredibly generous 00:36:00.619 --> 00:36:03.610 with their funds. For others of us, we need to 00:36:03.610 --> 00:36:06.530 look like we're not just outwardly but actually 00:36:06.530 --> 00:36:09.190 inwardly and practically collaborating. We're 00:36:09.190 --> 00:36:11.590 joining hands with other people. So there's a 00:36:11.590 --> 00:36:14.269 ton of people downstairs that you can contribute 00:36:14.269 --> 00:36:16.610 to. There's a ton of people downstairs that you 00:36:16.610 --> 00:36:18.130 can say, I'm not just going to give something 00:36:18.130 --> 00:36:20.210 to you, but I'm going to actually look to collaborate 00:36:20.210 --> 00:36:22.969 and join in something with you. But there are 00:36:22.969 --> 00:36:27.230 others of us that are in this place. see that 00:36:27.230 --> 00:36:29.909 there is lots of really good things happening, 00:36:29.969 --> 00:36:32.570 but something in your heart sees a gap and you're 00:36:32.570 --> 00:36:34.409 like, I'm looking for an organization that's 00:36:34.409 --> 00:36:37.230 doing this. Can't find it. Looking for a person 00:36:37.230 --> 00:36:40.150 who's doing this. Look, can't find it. You've 00:36:40.150 --> 00:36:42.150 looked to contribute. You've looked to collaborate. 00:36:42.489 --> 00:36:45.550 But God has put something inside of you and he's 00:36:45.550 --> 00:36:48.570 calling you to create something. He's calling 00:36:48.570 --> 00:36:51.309 you to pioneer. And so this is an encouragement 00:36:51.309 --> 00:36:53.469 to us all. All of us should be contributing to 00:36:53.469 --> 00:36:56.010 something. All of us should be looking to collaborate 00:36:56.010 --> 00:36:58.190 and join hands with something. But there are 00:36:58.190 --> 00:37:01.010 moments when contribution and collaboration isn't 00:37:01.010 --> 00:37:03.610 enough that he calls us to create, to step out 00:37:03.610 --> 00:37:06.309 in faith. And God says, I'm going to invite people 00:37:06.309 --> 00:37:09.230 to contribute to what you're creating. I'm going 00:37:09.230 --> 00:37:11.550 to call people to collaborate with you on what 00:37:11.550 --> 00:37:13.409 it is that I'm calling you to create in this 00:37:13.409 --> 00:37:16.110 moment. And so some of us are being called into 00:37:16.110 --> 00:37:18.429 a space and a season where pioneering something 00:37:18.429 --> 00:37:21.769 new is it. But here's the thing. Here's the thing. 00:37:21.789 --> 00:37:25.300 Whatever it looks like, Whatever it looks like, 00:37:25.320 --> 00:37:27.780 please, please, please, please, please do not 00:37:27.780 --> 00:37:34.960 be a floating seed. Fruitfulness looks like abiding 00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:40.079 in Christ because only he, only he can produce 00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:44.179 this fruit that lasts. This happens through spaces 00:37:44.179 --> 00:37:46.880 of belonging. It happens through spaces of becoming. 00:37:47.139 --> 00:37:50.280 But then it looks like overflow. Fruitfulness 00:37:50.280 --> 00:37:52.880 looks like overflow where the blessing that you've 00:37:52.880 --> 00:37:55.039 received, that I have received, begins to flow 00:37:55.039 --> 00:37:58.099 out of us from him. It doesn't stop with us, 00:37:58.159 --> 00:38:02.090 but it flows through you to other people. It 00:38:02.090 --> 00:38:05.389 looks like participation in God's mission, not 00:38:05.389 --> 00:38:07.489 just for personal growth or because it's going 00:38:07.489 --> 00:38:10.309 to look great on your CV or because you want 00:38:10.309 --> 00:38:12.630 to be part of a good Christian club, but joining 00:38:12.630 --> 00:38:15.309 him in his heart for our communities, our city, 00:38:15.369 --> 00:38:17.769 our country, our world is part of his invitation 00:38:17.769 --> 00:38:21.789 to us. It looks like healing both here and now 00:38:21.789 --> 00:38:25.929 where small acts of love and justice begin to 00:38:25.929 --> 00:38:28.829 point people towards the day when the tree of 00:38:28.829 --> 00:38:33.349 life will heal the nations. And so for you and 00:38:33.349 --> 00:38:37.250 I, a fruitful posture is not just being busy 00:38:37.250 --> 00:38:43.389 or about being successful. It's about being available. 00:38:44.130 --> 00:38:47.070 And when I hear that term, I remember an old 00:38:47.070 --> 00:38:49.769 missionary couple who had spent 70 plus years 00:38:49.769 --> 00:38:52.230 in the continent of Africa, pioneering church 00:38:52.230 --> 00:38:55.650 planting in East and West and South Africa, there 00:38:55.650 --> 00:38:58.980 since the turn of the 20th century. And I was 00:38:58.980 --> 00:39:01.079 finishing my first year of college wondering, 00:39:01.199 --> 00:39:04.280 what am I doing? Is this what I'm called to? 00:39:04.760 --> 00:39:08.340 And they brought out some dessert, some frozen 00:39:08.340 --> 00:39:14.179 freezer burnt ice cream, some dried brownies. 00:39:14.179 --> 00:39:16.559 And we're like, here. It wasn't like Parker's. 00:39:16.980 --> 00:39:19.920 And I was like, I'm going to eat this and enjoy 00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:22.900 it because someone's made it. But then in kind 00:39:22.900 --> 00:39:26.610 of... asking some different questions about where 00:39:26.610 --> 00:39:29.530 and what. All of a sudden, Gerald, who's in my 00:39:29.530 --> 00:39:31.230 Bible, he's right here. He passed away a few 00:39:31.230 --> 00:39:38.090 years ago. Jer. He says, Zach, God doesn't care 00:39:38.090 --> 00:39:42.170 about your abilities. He cares about your availability. 00:39:43.210 --> 00:39:46.210 Make yourself available to God and watch as he 00:39:46.210 --> 00:39:48.070 gives you the abilities. And then he kind of 00:39:48.070 --> 00:39:50.650 talked about books and people and what not are 00:39:50.650 --> 00:39:55.079 there. And I remember to continue to eat. And 00:39:55.079 --> 00:39:57.159 at that moment, it kind of passed in one ear 00:39:57.159 --> 00:39:59.420 and out the other. But it's one of those things 00:39:59.420 --> 00:40:02.079 through the last 20 plus years of my life that 00:40:02.079 --> 00:40:04.360 continues to bring me back and reminds me that 00:40:04.360 --> 00:40:08.239 God is interested in my availability. And when 00:40:08.239 --> 00:40:11.000 I make myself available to him, this fruitfulness 00:40:11.000 --> 00:40:14.619 begins to come out of ordinary people like you 00:40:14.619 --> 00:40:17.679 and I that are filled with this extraordinary 00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:21.460 God -like thing inside of us. And we live in 00:40:21.460 --> 00:40:24.760 such a way. Like a window where people get to 00:40:24.760 --> 00:40:27.119 gaze through or like a piece of food where people 00:40:27.119 --> 00:40:30.019 get to taste his kingdom. And when they see it 00:40:30.019 --> 00:40:32.840 and when they taste it, they don't just see us, 00:40:32.900 --> 00:40:38.780 but they see him and they say, holy, what's different 00:40:38.780 --> 00:40:43.699 about you? And to me, that is fruitfulness. That 00:40:43.699 --> 00:40:47.550 is fruit that feeds the world. It's not just 00:40:47.550 --> 00:40:50.750 our partners and our missionary. It's all of 00:40:50.750 --> 00:40:55.130 us. Because from the beginning of time to the 00:40:55.130 --> 00:40:58.750 end in eternity, God is on mission for his people 00:40:58.750 --> 00:41:03.150 and he's invited everyone. Say it with me. Everyone. 00:41:04.489 --> 00:41:09.550 Everywhere. And so if everyone is sent everywhere 00:41:09.550 --> 00:41:11.530 and you're new here and you're like, I don't 00:41:11.530 --> 00:41:13.730 like, I just. came to this church for the first 00:41:13.730 --> 00:41:16.550 time. And they're like, making me stand up. Like, 00:41:16.590 --> 00:41:19.929 I'm not coming back. I'll give you a cookie, 00:41:20.030 --> 00:41:24.050 okay? Downstairs. But here's the thing. Nothing 00:41:24.050 --> 00:41:27.869 is wasted on God. And we say this in church sometimes. 00:41:28.050 --> 00:41:30.329 Nothing is wasted on Him. And God's brought you 00:41:30.329 --> 00:41:34.619 here by design, 100%. We believe that it's true. 00:41:34.739 --> 00:41:37.380 We believe it's 100 % true that it's not a mistake 00:41:37.380 --> 00:41:39.659 that God has brought you here, that you've sang 00:41:39.659 --> 00:41:41.619 the songs that you've sang today, that you've 00:41:41.619 --> 00:41:43.559 heard what it is that you've heard today, and 00:41:43.559 --> 00:41:45.400 that you're standing hopefully around people 00:41:45.400 --> 00:41:48.039 who are living a life that you're like, holy, 00:41:48.219 --> 00:41:52.840 what's wrong with you? Because he's calling you 00:41:52.840 --> 00:41:56.110 into that too. He's calling you into a life of 00:41:56.110 --> 00:41:59.090 purpose and significance and calling. Actually, 00:41:59.130 --> 00:42:01.269 scripture says that he came to give life and 00:42:01.269 --> 00:42:04.030 life that's abundant. That means indescribable, 00:42:04.070 --> 00:42:06.050 beyond anything that you could create on your 00:42:06.050 --> 00:42:09.210 own. That's the kind of life that God invites 00:42:09.210 --> 00:42:18.110 you and me into, everyone, everywhere. Thank 00:42:18.110 --> 00:42:21.110 you for tuning in to the ECB Sermon Podcast. 00:42:21.809 --> 00:42:25.429 Whether near or far, If you are looking for community 00:42:25.429 --> 00:42:29.329 or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage 00:42:29.329 --> 00:42:34.170 by sending us an email to office at ecb .asia. 00:42:34.710 --> 00:42:37.789 If God is calling you to support our ministries, 00:42:37.889 --> 00:42:40.510 you will find giving options on our website. 00:42:41.329 --> 00:42:44.769 And remember to join us next week. God bless 00:42:44.769 --> 00:42:44.989 you.