Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. Welcome. We've been on
a bit of a series, right? We've been on a series
looking at ECB's mission, who we are as a church,
and that is to make disciples for global impact.
And we started in part one almost four weeks
ago. Does anybody remember what that was about?
Well, shared services, yes, but being rooted.
Then we moved on to? So we planted, rooted. Last
week, come on, starts with a G, ends with a rowing.
Growing. And then this week, naturally, the result
would be fruitful. And so as we look at or as
we hear this word fruitful, many of us might
think of images like me. I think of images of
my grandma's garden and my grandpa's backyard
that had peach trees and apples and they had
cherry trees. And in the summertime, if it was
a good season, then I'd be able to climb the
cherry tree and pick ice cream buckets full of
cherries. We're not talking about bananas, and
we're not talking about apples. If you're super
spiritual, you might be thinking, oh, I know
what fruitfulness is. It's this spiritual checklist
of good Christian behavior. No, we're not talking
about that either. However, as we open Scripture,
we see that fruitfulness is far more than personal
performance. It's about God's life in us overflowing
to the world. It's about living in alignment
with him, with God's heart for all people. It's
a posture of abiding, being connected to Christ.
It's a posture of being available to his spirit
working in and through us so that our lives become
these channels of his blessing that goes out
to us from the very beginning of time. God's
design was that humanity, which includes you
and I, would be fruitful, that we would multiply,
and that we would fill the earth with his glory.
And that design has never changed. And so fruitfulness
is not just about being good, about me being
good. It's actually about God's beauty. It's
about God's goodness. or God being glorified
through us so that others might be blessed. In
other words, it means that others get to have
a glimpse of who God is, something that is beyond
ourselves, to see the one who actually planted
us, who has rooted us, and who grows us. And
so this imagery matters as we talk about moving
from seed to fruit. A seed that is planted and
watered, that puts down roots and grows, doesn't
stop there. The goal of a seed is fruit. Multiplication
to bloom. But here's the tension. Many of us
feel like this. Does anyone know what this is?
It's a dandelion. It's one of those seeds. You
blow it and it kind of puffs and goes out. Many
of us can feel like we're a floating seed. We're
busy, but not necessarily fruitful. And we wonder
if this movement is ever possible to end us in
a place of where we're actually going to be rooted.
And beyond that, we might wonder if our lives
even matter. Some even think that fruitfulness
is actually for a special class of people, pastors,
missionaries, the spiritual elites. But Jesus
reminds us in John chapter 15, verse 16, you
did not choose me, but I chose you. I knew you
before you were born. I knew you in your mother's
womb and I appointed you. I've given you gifts.
I've given you talents. I've given you abilities.
I've given you a purpose and a place so that
you might go and bear fruit and not just fruit,
but fruit that will last. And so that's not spoken
to just a few of people or for the disciples
of that time. But the question is, what kind
of fruit will our lives bear? The answer to this
question is answered in Scripture. And today
we're going to look at a few of these moments
or these movements where we see God from creation
all the way to the cross, beyond this image of
the future, and then land us in today where we
see God's intended purposes for our lives and
how he's always been on mission and inviting
us into it. And so we begin. With this first
movement in creation, we were created to be fruitful
by design. But the struggle is that in our world,
people chase meaning. And in this chase of meaning,
we settle for survival. And as we settle for
survival, we begin to believe that life is random.
But scripture couldn't be any more opposite to
this. In the very first chapter of scripture,
God speaks blessing. purpose over humanity. He
says in Genesis chapter 1, God blessed them and
said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill
the earth and subdue it. God is speaking this
before humanity has even been created, before
there's sin, before there's the fall. Fruitfulness
by design before creation is not a reward for
our good behavior, but the original design of
humanity. To bear God's image and fill the earth
with his glory, his goodness, as creator, as
redeemer. And this idea, this term of fruitfulness
actually comes from the meaning that carries
not just biological reproduction, but the idea
of flourishing and abundance and multiplication.
Humanities, our vocation from the beginning of
time was, is, and will be to reflect God and
spread his life. If you're like me or if you're
like some people that are in this room at one
time or even in this moment has felt a sense
of longing, know this, that your longing for
significance isn't a mistake because you and
I, we were created for fruit. And from the beginning
of time, God intended human life, you, I, we,
to overflow. And not just exist. And so we were
created by design to reflect God's heart for
humanity. But this starts in the garden and it
moves to his people. And so we see Israel called
as a nation to be a blessing. The struggle is
that God's people then and now are tempted to
turn inward. And in this attempt to be turned
inwards, we think that blessing is just for ourselves.
Except scripture, again, is abundantly clear
that God's blessing is not meant to be just for
us. It's always meant to be outward facing. In
Genesis chapter 12, God tells Abraham, I will
bless you. And so Abraham's family here was chosen
for the sake of the nations, not just for themselves,
because God's mission was always outward facing,
not inward, not about keeping blessing to himself,
but outward facing. I will bless you. And all
peoples on earth. We continue in Exodus at Sinai,
Israel. The nation is called to be a kingdom
of priests. Priests then were meant to stand
in the gap. and be between God and people, to
mediate God's presence to them. And so Israel's
vocation, their purpose in this moment, was to
mediate God's presence to the world, that God's
presence would come in and through them, that
when the nations looked at Israel, they would
be introduced to the person... Yahweh to God
that they would know God in such a way in such
an intimate way that the language that they use
about knowing Yahweh would confuse the nations
because they said the way that you say you know
God is as though you have an intimate relationship
like you're married to them That's what they
had been called to. And in that, the world was
to look at them and know that there was a God
who wasn't just for them, but was for the Israelites,
but was for all. And so in Isaiah, he continues,
and God tells his servant, I will make you a
light for the Gentiles that my salvation might
reach to the ends of the earth. Israel's identity
was always missional. From creation to this moment,
God's purpose was missional. He was on mission
for his people and he invited his people to be
his vessel, to be the place of movement in which
he would be revealed to humanity. Chosen, absolutely,
but chosen to be a conduit of blessing. And so
his mission was and it is always outward facing
because fruitfulness, I'll say it again, was
never just for insiders. God's people are always
called to look outward towards the nation, towards
the world, towards our neighbor, towards our
community. And the same temptation that they
faced then, to keep the blessing inward, it's
for me. It's the same temptation that we face
today. And so, will we turn out? If we continue
following this Missio Dei, the mission of God
and this arc from creation to the cross, we see
in Jesus, he is the fruit for the world. The
struggle that disciples had then, and some of
us do in looking at Jesus now, is that we think
that fruitfulness then is just reserved for a
spiritual elite kind of person. And if you're
like me, again, I'm just revealing my humanness
and these wonderings at times, like can my life
ever really change? Can God ever really use my
life? The great news is, is that scripture and
the Bible tells us, or the Bible tells me so,
yes. Jesus fulfills and he redefines what fruitfulness
is. He reminds us in John 3, verse 16, which
is such a classic and famous text among Christians,
that God so loved the world. And then sometimes,
because we really want to hammer at home, we
say, for God so loved me. For God so loved me,
and God so loved this nation, and God so loved
the world. The scope of God's mission is not
for Israel alone, is not for me alone, is not
for Christ and his disciples alone at that moment.
The cross in this time became this pivot point
where God's love breaks outward to all peoples.
Jesus continues with a parable. It's a story
about... Something that tells a spiritual truth.
That's what a parable is. And he's talking about
these soils. And he begins to explain that the
seed, the seed is the word of God. And the seed
on good soil stands for those with a noble and
a good heart. Those who hear the word. Those
who retain it. And by preserving, they produce
a crop. And he talks about fruitfulness of 30,
60, 100 times. Because fruitfulness is multiplication.
But what's interesting is if we remember that
Jesus was speaking these words to the disciples.
He was nearing the end of his life. The cross
was a few days in front of him. He was trying
to reveal this to the disciples. They were pretty
fearful for the world that was going to exist
without his physical presence. And their purpose
in this moment, Jesus was trying to move them.
Your purpose is not just survival, but your purpose
is for mission. And so for us then, Christ's
fruitfulness, it's not optional. It's promised.
It's not because we're capable. It's because
we abide in him. And his scope then for the disciples
was the same for us now. The scope is the world.
So it's not because we're capable. It's not.
Because we've got it all together. But because
we abide in him and he begins to develop this
in us. And so we continue. Jesus ascends. We
spoke about it probably a few months ago now.
He's on the mountaintop with his disciples. And
they think, you're going to bring a revolution,
right? And he says, it's not for you to know
the time and the place for that. Priorities are
misapplied. I'm not going to overthrow the empire
as you thought. But he calls them to be witness
to the nations. And so the movement then moves
from creation. Israel. Jesus. And now witnesses,
the sent out ones. And if... Again, you're like
me, and you read scripture, or you read stories
like this about the disciples, or Jesus and the
church, and you think, man, those are extraordinary
people. But no. I'm too ordinary. No. Mission
is for others. No. Interruptions, those are kind
of annoying. But as we look at the book of Acts,
we see how the gospel actually begins to spread
and hits the nations, us being one of them. In
Acts chapter 1, verse 8, Jesus, he promises the
Holy Spirit and says, hey, it's going to empower
you to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.
Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth.
In Acts chapter 2, there's this group of people
that hear the gospel in their own languages.
This is a huge hit because the empire at that
time had tried to make one language forever.
everybody to speak. And all of a sudden the gospel
comes and everybody's hearing it in their languages.
And the Romans at that time would have been like,
what is going on? This is how things get out
of hand. And they don't just bring the gospel
in one language, but from that space, they go
to Turkey, Turkey, they go to Libya, they head
out from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Mediterranean,
Middle East, and they head into Europe and then
fill up. is on the road, and he's interrupted.
How dare God interrupt our plans and purposes?
And on this road, this desert road, he's interrupted,
and he meets an Ethiopian official. And the gospel
spreads to Africa. So now it's the Middle East,
the Mediterranean, Europe, and Africa. And then
Peter in Acts chapter 10 comes to this realization
when he has this dream that Jesus didn't just
come for the Jewish people. He came for the Gentiles.
And he didn't just come for a Gentile. He came
for one that would murder. People who would believe
in followers of the way. And so to believe that
God could come and speak in a vision or a dream
to a murderer was unreal. We talked about Paul.
A murderer of Christians. I think of gladiator.
And people being dragged into these spaces. Christians
being mauled by lions. And here, Paul. Most religious
at that time. Well studied in scripture. One,
I think it's crazy that he thought that that
was acceptable to his God. And then two, he's
met on the road to Damascus. He's blinded and
God tells him, I'm going to do something with
your life. The gospel makes it to Asia. Thank
you, Paul. 2 Peter 3, 9, Peter later then writes,
the Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance. Now to some
of us who have been around for some time, this
might all seem normal. Of course, God's always
been on mission for everybody. But no, that's
not. That's not what was thought or understood.
If it was and everybody got it, then we wouldn't
have to keep being reminded of it over and over
and over again. And so the gospel as we see then
is not spread primarily through fancy programs.
No. It's spread. Through ordinary disciples.
A disciple is a student, an ordinary person.
Diaspora movements, a scattering, which is persecution,
oppression. It's spread by spirit -led interruptions.
And I wonder if that's the same today. I think
it is. I think that's how it's spreading today
in workplaces, in families, in neighborhoods,
in conversations that feel small but actually
bear eternal fruit. It's happening when somebody
is working in an embassy and thinks, I think
I could bring the gospel to my people in their
own language, so why don't we bring Alpha here?
It happens when a high school student says, well,
most of my friends don't know Jesus. I'm kind
of the only one here. Why don't we start praying
for the school? And eventually, through praying
for their school, they're given an opportunity
to open Open a club, and that club leads to not
just a dozen, but hundreds of people within their
school coming to faith, inclusive of history
teachers and biology teachers. It looks like
one of the greatest returns of a generation to
the gospel, Gen Z. It looks like one of our ministry
partners, our outreach partners, House of Blessing,
a space for teenage kids whose parents are in
prison to have hope for a life and a future because
somebody thinks that teenagers who have imprisoned
parents deserve something better. It looks like
Brody, one of our youth, who is discipled through
here, who goes on a missions trip with YWAM to
America, gets called back here and put in her
heart to help come alongside a school that's
providing access to those who don't have education.
It looks like, A, one of our youth leaders here,
but who's also a missionary to Thailand, who
grew up in a Buddhist family. Her dad is a monk,
and God meets her and sends her on mission into
our community, in our city, in our country. You
can meet her. She's downstairs today. It looks
like hope for the handicapped. Another one of
our outreach partners. Phenomenally talented
young women in corporate jobs who look at a group
of people within our community and think, the
handicapped are pushed to the side. They're told
they don't have the competencies that are required
to make a difference in the world. We don't just
want to speak the hope of Jesus into them. We
want to give them hope as well. And so they begin
to employ them and train them in something. Guys,
it's happening. It looks like Siloam, another
one of our outreach partners, just a small town
gal from Canada, here for 20 plus years now,
opens a home for boys with mental disabilities
who don't have an opportunity for access to education,
competency development, because there's too many
in the system. And she says, I'll make a home.
I'll become like a mom and create space for these
people to not just have dignity, but to also
know Christ. That's how it spreads. In workplaces,
in families, in neighborhoods, in conversations
that feel small. But there's eternal fruit. And
so this moves even future forward to new creation.
This imagery of fruit, of healing for the nations
comes in the book of Revelation. Revelation is
an interesting text where when you open it and
you begin to read it, you can both be overwhelmed
and confused by it. But thankful for the Holy
Spirit who leads us to truth and smart people
who help us understand it. But contextually,
you've got this guy named John who's being exiled
to Patmos probably because he was preaching the
gospel and talking about things that upset the
kingdom and the empire at the time. And so we've
got to silence this guy and we put him here.
And I wonder if it's because of solitary confinement
that he begins to have this crazy vision. But
John sees the brokenness of the world. And like
us, we can see the brokenness of the world. We
can see wars. We can see injustice. We can see
factured relationships. We can even begin to
feel this weariness inside of our own souls.
And we wonder, will any of the good that I do
last? Will any of the good that I see God doing
make a difference? Is fruitfulness temporary?
Do our small acts of faith even matter? But John's
final vision in Revelation answers that question
with an overwhelming yes. In Revelation chapter
22, he says this, on each side of the river stood
the tree of life bearing crops of fruit, yielding
its fruit every month, very fruitful tree. And
the leaves of the tree, are for the healing of
the nations. Remember here, Paul, John, isn't
just writing some sort of escape fantasy novel
that is like, oh, this is going to make the people
feel really good. No. It's written to a group
of persecuted Christians that are under Roman
rule. They're marginalized. They're oppressed.
They're tempted to despair. And here John isn't
just offering some sort of false hope for survival.
He gives them a glimpse of the ultimate reality,
a city, a city filled with God's presence, a
city with a river that's overflowing from the
throne with a tree whose fruit never fails. This
is wild, a tree that heals nations. And if we
drill into this a little bit more, we see that
the Bible story begins with With a tree in the
garden. Remember? Garden of Eden. Lost because
of sin. Genesis chapter 3. And here it ends.
With a tree. In a city. restored and its purpose
is for the healing of the nations. And so what
was lost in Eden is even more than restored in
Christ. And so what happens here is John, when
he's caught up in this vision, which starts in
Revelation chapter four, notice what happens.
He runs out of language. He's saying stuff. It's
like Jasper. It's like a rainbow. It's like a
sea of glass. It's like this. It's like that.
There's no, there's not enough words that he
can find to describe what it is that he's seeing
and the images begin to pile up. Streets of gold,
gates of pearl, a city without night. And here
it's not just about these literal building materials,
it's about this indescribable holiness. And holiness
means to be set apart, it's otherness. It's John
like grasping for words and he can't come up
with them. It's like he's coming up short. And
so the spirit is saying here, this is beyond
what you can imagine. It's holy. It's other.
It's different. It's set apart. And so even the
angels in this moment simply cry, holy or set
apart. Unlike anything that we can imagine, holy.
And here's the connection to us. This same Jesus
who will make all things new and is already at
work in us. And as we gaze at him, we are transformed.
And scripture says to us, be holy as I am holy.
And Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 3, verse
18. He says, and we all. We contemplate, we think
on with unveiled faces the Lord's glory and we're
being transformed into his image with ever increasing
glory. Even as we think and we consider and we
engage with him, he is transforming us. So that
when... When the world looks at us, when the
world looks at you, when the world looks at me,
they see something that they can't quite explain.
They see lives of love. That's the opposite of
what we're seeing today. They see lives of forgiveness.
They see lives of generosity. They see lives
of peace. They see lives of courage. And they
say, holy. What's wrong with you? Angels did
the same thing, but they weren't thinking a bad
word. This is other. We can't think of any other
word than this is other. So holy, out of this
world, holy, I can't describe what this is. Holy,
it's like nothing I've ever seen before. Holy,
this is indescribable. Holy, what's wrong with
you? Where does that come from? And yes, In my
text here, when I created this, I had this box,
and I had created the words outside of the box,
and I'm so glad they don't even have the box
there, because I think that's exactly it. It's
kind of sad, but it's the reality that love is
outside of the box. It's outside of the norm.
Forgiveness, outside of the box, outside of norm.
Generosity, courage, peace. So when they say,
holy, what's wrong with you? Where does that
come from? This makes me think of a moment in
my own life when I was a high school kid. I had
just come to Jesus. I was living in Canada at
the time on mountain sides. And so like high
school kids did at that time. We had these things
called bush parties and we had the bush parties
in the bush because the police couldn't get to
the bush easily. And so if we saw dust coming,
then we knew they were coming and we'd shut down
and then we'd move to Tim Hortons where all the
best and baddest parties happened. But I had
a few friends there. As I met Jesus, I felt like
I needed to be where my friends were, but I needed
to do it wise. And so I would bring a back scratcher
and a pack. of Nestea iced tea. That's how I
partied in high school. I'm not calling any of
our high school students to go and do this. I
don't know if I do the same. Anyways, in that
space, I got to walk along friends who were making
really poor decisions with their lives. And one
of these friends, they're actually twins and
they came from a very spiritual family and spiritual,
not in the sense that they are Christians, but
they were very much interested in nature and
jewels and gems and all of those kinds of things.
And there was a number of times when I had to
drive their vehicle home with them in it and
get my parents to come pick me up. But there
were moments when they drove me home after school,
not intoxicated. And one of these times that
they dropped me at home, I was about to get out
of the vehicle. And one of the girls kind of
looked at me. She says, I have a question. I'm
like, sure. She's like, what's wrong with you?
I was like, I'm not sure how to take that. What
do you mean? And she's like, what's wrong with
you? Why are you like this? And I guess if I
was like a really good Christian, I would have
said, well, that's the fruit of the Spirit. It's
like love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness,
kindness, and self -control. And the fruit of
the Spirit is not a coconut. No, I don't know
if you guys know that song. But it wasn't a moment
where I began to describe these things that probably
didn't make sense to them. It was a moment to
reflect on and be like, God, I haven't tried
to be anything but you. I don't know what that
looks like or means, but these people just put
it into words. Holy, what's wrong with you? And
so we know the answer when people say, holy,
what's wrong with you? It is Christ in us, the
hope of glory. And so this fruit that we bear
now, acts of love and service and witness, these
are not wasted. They're actually signs of this
tree that is coming. They're previews of this
healing of the nations. And the fruit that we
now have points forward to this eternal fruit
until the day when all people, scripture tells
us, all tribe, every tongue, every nation are
healed in the presence of the lamb. And so that
brings us to today, ECB's call to fruitfulness.
And in a place like this where we've got nice
lights and sound, it might look like, oh, we've
got tons of money. And as we've seen over the
last four weeks, we've got hundreds of people
that are leaning in to serve. You might ask,
is there a place for me? Or, like I've done,
you might easily reduce the church to a place
that we simply gather. Rather than act as a people
who are sent. God has always been ascending God.
Creation. Israel. Jesus. New creation. Today.
From creation to Acts to Revelation, the story
is clear. God's mission has always been for all
people carried through his people. It means we're
part of it. And so we've been talking over this
last month. of what it means to belong, to be
planted in Christ, to be rooted in community.
We've been talking about what it means to grow.
We're growing as disciples. We're being transformed
by his word, which convicts, which reproves us,
and which moves us to spaces of love, of God,
of ourself, of other people. And today we look
at this idea of being and fruitfulness, to be
witnesses, to bear fruit that feeds the world.
And so ECB does not exist for just gathering.
and just growing, though those are essential
parts of it, we exist to also go, to mobilize.
And mobilization then, as you've seen, not just
this day, but as you've seen over the last number
of weeks, people saying yes to what God's doing
inside of them, those are all examples of that.
It's not just for a few. It's for everyone, everywhere.
As Christ's ones. And so today, as you came in,
you probably walked by some outreach partners'
tables. You maybe saw some missionaries that
were there. And the reminder to me when I looked
at them this morning was that is not the end.
I kind of feel like they're like a jumping board.
They're like a catalyst. And they're a reminder
that we're all invited into a much bigger mission.
Look, see, they're already going right now. Go.
I can't wait. Go be. But this is it. Real fruitfulness
actually happens when ordinary people, you and
me from ECB, begin to live missionally in Bangkok,
in Thailand, and beyond. That changes a child's
opportunity in a classroom. It looks like a refugee
to another brother or sister in Christ who has
just arrived and doesn't know what to do. It
looks like a prisoner who's being rehabilitated,
leading another one to Christ. It looks like
a volunteer who's teaching Thai, math, or English
with one of the outreach partners. help support.
It looks like a mom from within our community
saying, there's a lot of moms that don't have
connection and belonging. I'm going to do that.
It looks like somebody who was from China, who
comes to Thailand, who feels like I'm here for
more than business is called to be a church planter
who starts an alpha parents group at their high
school and then launches a badminton ministry.
It looks like bench inviting people to pickleball.
And thinking that through sport and activity,
inclusive of saying in Siri and Bangkok Discipleship
Center, using sport as a means of reaching in,
it looks like a doctor being called out of their
space there to be serving in counseling. It looks
like a PTA member who's like, there's a lot of
families here who just feel like they're missing
connection again. I'm going to create a space
of belonging. And so I ask, I ask, What kind
of fruit is your life producing? If it's everyone,
to everywhere, as Christ's ones, what kind of
fruit is he producing in me? What kind of fruit
is he producing in you? Because remember, Jesus
says, I chose you. I appointed you to go and
bear fruit and fruit that will Last. And so for
some of us, that fruit is going to look like
contributing. We're like, we've got time and
money, and so we're going to contribute, we're
going to serve, we're going to give, and we're
going to support. But that's the easy thing to
do. Actually, ECB is fantastic at that. We're
very generous. We can always be more generous
with our money, but ECB is incredibly generous
with their funds. For others of us, we need to
look like we're not just outwardly but actually
inwardly and practically collaborating. We're
joining hands with other people. So there's a
ton of people downstairs that you can contribute
to. There's a ton of people downstairs that you
can say, I'm not just going to give something
to you, but I'm going to actually look to collaborate
and join in something with you. But there are
others of us that are in this place. see that
there is lots of really good things happening,
but something in your heart sees a gap and you're
like, I'm looking for an organization that's
doing this. Can't find it. Looking for a person
who's doing this. Look, can't find it. You've
looked to contribute. You've looked to collaborate.
But God has put something inside of you and he's
calling you to create something. He's calling
you to pioneer. And so this is an encouragement
to us all. All of us should be contributing to
something. All of us should be looking to collaborate
and join hands with something. But there are
moments when contribution and collaboration isn't
enough that he calls us to create, to step out
in faith. And God says, I'm going to invite people
to contribute to what you're creating. I'm going
to call people to collaborate with you on what
it is that I'm calling you to create in this
moment. And so some of us are being called into
a space and a season where pioneering something
new is it. But here's the thing. Here's the thing.
Whatever it looks like, Whatever it looks like,
please, please, please, please, please do not
be a floating seed. Fruitfulness looks like abiding
in Christ because only he, only he can produce
this fruit that lasts. This happens through spaces
of belonging. It happens through spaces of becoming.
But then it looks like overflow. Fruitfulness
looks like overflow where the blessing that you've
received, that I have received, begins to flow
out of us from him. It doesn't stop with us,
but it flows through you to other people. It
looks like participation in God's mission, not
just for personal growth or because it's going
to look great on your CV or because you want
to be part of a good Christian club, but joining
him in his heart for our communities, our city,
our country, our world is part of his invitation
to us. It looks like healing both here and now
where small acts of love and justice begin to
point people towards the day when the tree of
life will heal the nations. And so for you and
I, a fruitful posture is not just being busy
or about being successful. It's about being available.
And when I hear that term, I remember an old
missionary couple who had spent 70 plus years
in the continent of Africa, pioneering church
planting in East and West and South Africa, there
since the turn of the 20th century. And I was
finishing my first year of college wondering,
what am I doing? Is this what I'm called to?
And they brought out some dessert, some frozen
freezer burnt ice cream, some dried brownies.
And we're like, here. It wasn't like Parker's.
And I was like, I'm going to eat this and enjoy
it because someone's made it. But then in kind
of... asking some different questions about where
and what. All of a sudden, Gerald, who's in my
Bible, he's right here. He passed away a few
years ago. Jer. He says, Zach, God doesn't care
about your abilities. He cares about your availability.
Make yourself available to God and watch as he
gives you the abilities. And then he kind of
talked about books and people and what not are
there. And I remember to continue to eat. And
at that moment, it kind of passed in one ear
and out the other. But it's one of those things
through the last 20 plus years of my life that
continues to bring me back and reminds me that
God is interested in my availability. And when
I make myself available to him, this fruitfulness
begins to come out of ordinary people like you
and I that are filled with this extraordinary
God -like thing inside of us. And we live in
such a way. Like a window where people get to
gaze through or like a piece of food where people
get to taste his kingdom. And when they see it
and when they taste it, they don't just see us,
but they see him and they say, holy, what's different
about you? And to me, that is fruitfulness. That
is fruit that feeds the world. It's not just
our partners and our missionary. It's all of
us. Because from the beginning of time to the
end in eternity, God is on mission for his people
and he's invited everyone. Say it with me. Everyone.
Everywhere. And so if everyone is sent everywhere
and you're new here and you're like, I don't
like, I just. came to this church for the first
time. And they're like, making me stand up. Like,
I'm not coming back. I'll give you a cookie,
okay? Downstairs. But here's the thing. Nothing
is wasted on God. And we say this in church sometimes.
Nothing is wasted on Him. And God's brought you
here by design, 100%. We believe that it's true.
We believe it's 100 % true that it's not a mistake
that God has brought you here, that you've sang
the songs that you've sang today, that you've
heard what it is that you've heard today, and
that you're standing hopefully around people
who are living a life that you're like, holy,
what's wrong with you? Because he's calling you
into that too. He's calling you into a life of
purpose and significance and calling. Actually,
scripture says that he came to give life and
life that's abundant. That means indescribable,
beyond anything that you could create on your
own. That's the kind of life that God invites
you and me into, everyone, everywhere. Thank
you for tuning in to the ECB Sermon Podcast.
Whether near or far, If you are looking for community
or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage
by sending us an email to office at ecb .asia.
If God is calling you to support our ministries,
you will find giving options on our website.
And remember to join us next week. God bless
you.