WEBVTT 00:00:09.449 --> 00:00:14.289 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.289 --> 00:00:16.589 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand 00:00:16.589 --> 00:00:19.809 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.109 --> 00:00:22.989 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:22.989 --> 00:00:27.190 you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our 00:00:27.190 --> 00:00:31.030 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.030 --> 00:00:34.960 by this week's sermon. I want to propose to you 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:38.420 today that belonging begins with hospitality. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:42.899 And if belonging begins with hospitality, I've 00:00:42.899 --> 00:00:52.780 got a question. Who belongs at God's table? See, 00:00:52.899 --> 00:00:55.880 today, and over the course of this next week, 00:00:55.899 --> 00:00:59.200 churches and communities around the world are 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:04.739 recognizing World Refugee Day. Many people, when 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:08.379 you hear words like refugee and asylum seeker 00:01:08.379 --> 00:01:11.260 and displaced person, you might think of something 00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:14.519 like a statistic or maybe a headline or politics 00:01:14.519 --> 00:01:18.120 and borders and crises happening somewhere else. 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:22.159 But before we talk about refugees, I want us 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:25.299 to talk about something that every human being 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:33.359 longs for. What do you think it is? Anyone? Belonging. 00:01:34.980 --> 00:01:38.280 Belonging. Because if we're honest, every single 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:41.219 one of us knows what it feels like to be an outsider. 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:46.760 I want you to put your hand up if you moved from 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:49.760 a country outside of Thailand to come here. How 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:51.560 many of you moved countries to come to Thailand? 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:53.599 Put it up. Hold it up high. Raise your hand. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:57.620 Look around. That's a lot of us. Now, don't put 00:01:57.620 --> 00:02:00.609 it down. Be good students. Now, keep your hand 00:02:00.609 --> 00:02:04.890 up if you remember what it felt like those first 00:02:04.890 --> 00:02:07.469 few weeks and months. If you're like, I still 00:02:07.469 --> 00:02:11.090 know that feeling. It's there. A new culture. 00:02:11.289 --> 00:02:16.449 Sorry, I spat. A new language. New customs. New 00:02:16.449 --> 00:02:19.650 systems. New relationships. Maybe some of you 00:02:19.650 --> 00:02:21.389 are like, no relationships. Put your hands down. 00:02:21.969 --> 00:02:24.569 I don't know if you remember what it felt like 00:02:24.569 --> 00:02:28.289 to try to figure out where to shop. How things 00:02:28.289 --> 00:02:33.889 worked, who to trust, where you fit. You were 00:02:33.889 --> 00:02:38.310 looking for something called belonging. Now imagine 00:02:38.310 --> 00:02:44.150 that same feeling, except you cannot go home. 00:02:45.729 --> 00:02:49.810 Imagine that same uncertainty, except your future 00:02:49.810 --> 00:02:54.009 remains unclear. Imagine that you move not because 00:02:54.009 --> 00:02:58.819 of opportunity, but because of necessity. And 00:02:58.819 --> 00:03:01.639 so today and over this week, we remember those 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:04.580 around the world that are living in that reality. 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:10.520 And more importantly, we remember a God who welcomes 00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:14.259 strangers, a God who invites outsiders to his 00:03:14.259 --> 00:03:17.360 table, a God who turns strangers into family 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:23.610 because belonging begins with hospitality. And 00:03:23.610 --> 00:03:26.349 I think no one demonstrates hospitality better 00:03:26.349 --> 00:03:29.229 than Jesus does. And so if you've got your Bible 00:03:29.229 --> 00:03:31.689 or on your phone, maybe it's here, you can flip 00:03:31.689 --> 00:03:35.710 to Luke chapter 14. And we're going to look at 00:03:35.710 --> 00:03:38.990 what Luke tells us through Jesus as he reflects 00:03:38.990 --> 00:03:41.610 on something that he did. So there's a dinner, 00:03:41.729 --> 00:03:47.550 there's a table, there's a question. And before 00:03:47.550 --> 00:03:49.330 we get to the parable itself, I think we need 00:03:49.330 --> 00:03:51.689 to understand what's happening in this room right 00:03:51.689 --> 00:03:55.680 now. Not here, but in the story. Luke chapter 00:03:55.680 --> 00:04:00.379 14, verse 15 to 24. So Jesus is attending a dinner 00:04:00.379 --> 00:04:03.180 hosted by a prominent Pharisee, which I think 00:04:03.180 --> 00:04:05.219 is crazy in and of itself. So he's hanging out 00:04:05.219 --> 00:04:08.300 with a really deeply religious person who understands 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:10.319 all of the rules, the do's, the don'ts, what 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:12.500 it is that you think makes you a right, good 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:16.389 person. And he's at this dinner with a prominent 00:04:16.389 --> 00:04:20.810 Pharisee, and his story isn't so much about food, 00:04:20.870 --> 00:04:23.170 because it's going to be about belonging, but 00:04:23.170 --> 00:04:26.069 the story is about status. It's about those who 00:04:26.069 --> 00:04:29.329 get the invite. It's about those who deserve 00:04:29.329 --> 00:04:32.310 a seat at the sable. I'm so sorry, my voice is 00:04:32.310 --> 00:04:38.889 loud. But in fact, I would suggest to us today 00:04:38.889 --> 00:04:42.160 that... In this story is one question that kind 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:45.399 of hangs over the entire chapter. And the question 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:48.980 is what I began with. Who belongs at God's table? 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:52.439 And the religious leaders, I did it again, think 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:55.980 they know the answer. The respected people in 00:04:55.980 --> 00:04:58.259 this story think they know the answer. And the 00:04:58.259 --> 00:05:00.560 people with status, they think they know the 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:04.069 answer. But Jesus is about to challenge almost 00:05:04.069 --> 00:05:07.069 everything it is that they believe because earlier 00:05:07.069 --> 00:05:10.410 in this chapter before we get here, Jesus heals 00:05:10.410 --> 00:05:14.449 a man that everybody else had overlooked. And 00:05:14.449 --> 00:05:18.170 then as he's at the dinner, he notices that guests 00:05:18.170 --> 00:05:21.829 are competing for the best seat in the house. 00:05:22.410 --> 00:05:26.529 And so in Luke 14, 13 to 14, he then turns to 00:05:26.529 --> 00:05:30.790 the host and he says, when you give a banquet, 00:05:31.689 --> 00:05:37.910 Invite the poor. Invite the crippled. Invite 00:05:37.910 --> 00:05:42.949 the lame and the blind. And maybe in this room 00:05:42.949 --> 00:05:45.069 this doesn't sound particularly shocking because 00:05:45.069 --> 00:05:47.769 you're like a really good person. But at this 00:05:47.769 --> 00:05:50.209 time, in that place, it would have been shocking 00:05:50.209 --> 00:05:54.209 because hospitality in that culture at that time, 00:05:54.310 --> 00:06:00.329 it was transactional. So you invited people who 00:06:00.329 --> 00:06:04.170 could repay you, people who could help you, people 00:06:04.170 --> 00:06:06.750 who could increase your status, give you some 00:06:06.750 --> 00:06:10.209 good face. But Jesus introduces something in 00:06:10.209 --> 00:06:13.009 this moment which is entirely different, a kingdom 00:06:13.009 --> 00:06:17.350 hospitality, a grace -filled hospitality, a hospitality 00:06:17.350 --> 00:06:22.189 that creates belonging. And so one of the guests 00:06:22.189 --> 00:06:26.339 says, verse 15, I hear it like this, blessed 00:06:26.339 --> 00:06:29.240 is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:32.420 of God. I don't know why I used an English accent 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:35.439 to try to sound pretentious, but I feel like 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:38.660 that's what it would have sounded like. And so 00:06:38.660 --> 00:06:40.920 at first glance, it might sound a little bit 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:44.259 spiritual, but I wonder if Jesus hears something 00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:47.639 underneath the statement. Something like, well, 00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:51.579 of course I'm going to be there. We're God's 00:06:51.579 --> 00:06:57.680 people. We're the insiders. We belong. And that's 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:01.000 when Jesus tells this parable. He says, a certain 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:05.000 man was preparing a great banquet and invited 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:08.480 many guests. And at the time of the banquet, 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:10.860 he sent his servant to tell those who had been 00:07:10.860 --> 00:07:15.000 invited, hey, come, everything is now ready. 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:22.360 Just pause here for a moment. This, the banquet 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:26.680 is ready. The feast, all of the food is being 00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:30.040 prepared. The host has done all of the work. 00:07:30.139 --> 00:07:33.759 The invitation goes out. The guests have contributed 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:40.920 nothing. That's the gospel right there in a really 00:07:40.920 --> 00:07:45.350 great picture image. The welcome to us comes 00:07:45.350 --> 00:07:48.350 before there's any kind of performance. The invitation 00:07:48.350 --> 00:07:51.230 comes before there's any kind of achievement. 00:07:51.490 --> 00:07:54.870 Grace comes before there's any kind of response. 00:07:55.290 --> 00:07:58.529 And God doesn't say, clean yourself up and then 00:07:58.529 --> 00:08:01.209 get to the party. No, no, no. He says, come. 00:08:02.029 --> 00:08:04.350 And so think about the whole of the story of 00:08:04.350 --> 00:08:06.449 scripture. If you've never read it before, from 00:08:06.449 --> 00:08:10.370 front to back here, again and again, God creates 00:08:10.370 --> 00:08:13.089 space for people to dwell with him. It starts 00:08:13.089 --> 00:08:15.449 in the garden, then it moves to the ark, and 00:08:15.449 --> 00:08:17.870 then it hits the tabernacle, and then the temple, 00:08:18.009 --> 00:08:20.610 and then Christ, and then the church, and then 00:08:20.610 --> 00:08:23.910 one day we talk about new creation. And so the 00:08:23.910 --> 00:08:28.230 story in scripture is all about God making room 00:08:28.230 --> 00:08:32.690 for his people. Because hospitality is at the 00:08:32.690 --> 00:08:38.509 very heart of God. And every single heart longs 00:08:38.509 --> 00:08:44.169 for what only God can ultimately provide. A space 00:08:44.169 --> 00:08:52.070 to belong. A place at his table. A place in his 00:08:52.070 --> 00:09:00.469 family. A place in his kingdom. But then, Something 00:09:00.469 --> 00:09:04.309 surprising happens. The invited guests begin 00:09:04.309 --> 00:09:08.850 to make excuses. One has purchased land, which 00:09:08.850 --> 00:09:10.809 is a little bit crazy. He's like, hey, I got 00:09:10.809 --> 00:09:13.090 to go check on my land that I just bought. Like, 00:09:13.129 --> 00:09:14.990 wouldn't you check on your land before you buy? 00:09:16.429 --> 00:09:18.870 The other one's like, yo, I've got some great 00:09:18.870 --> 00:09:22.029 oxen that I need to go look at. I'm like, okay, 00:09:22.129 --> 00:09:23.809 so you bought the oxen and now you're just going 00:09:23.809 --> 00:09:26.129 to go look at the oxen? That's a bit of an interesting 00:09:26.129 --> 00:09:29.250 story to me. Another one's got some family commitments. 00:09:29.830 --> 00:09:32.950 But what's interesting here is that Jesus doesn't 00:09:32.950 --> 00:09:36.250 just describe bad people. He's describing distracted 00:09:36.250 --> 00:09:40.330 people. See the field, this work that they've 00:09:40.330 --> 00:09:43.629 got to go to. It's not sinful. The business isn't 00:09:43.629 --> 00:09:46.649 sinful. The marriage isn't sinful. The problem 00:09:46.649 --> 00:09:48.710 is, and I'm going to repeat this because I think 00:09:48.710 --> 00:09:51.289 it's worth repeating, is that sometimes good 00:09:51.289 --> 00:09:54.549 things become more important than the invitation 00:09:54.549 --> 00:09:58.730 of the king. sometimes good things become more 00:09:58.730 --> 00:10:04.529 important than the invitation of the king. And 00:10:04.529 --> 00:10:06.629 I think that might be one of the greatest dangers 00:10:06.629 --> 00:10:09.129 for us, that the greatest threat to following 00:10:09.129 --> 00:10:14.950 Jesus is not rebellion, but distraction. So we 00:10:14.950 --> 00:10:16.950 become busy. We get a little bit comfortable. 00:10:17.230 --> 00:10:19.600 We get a little bit successful. And we're occupied 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:22.480 with really good things. And somewhere along 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:26.200 the way, the invitation of the king becomes less 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:29.299 important than everything competing for our attention. 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:36.100 Binu, nice to see you. We move to this next part 00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:38.279 of the story, which is really cool. The outsiders, 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:41.879 they're invited. So the story here kind of like... 00:10:42.279 --> 00:10:45.139 takes a shocking redirection. And in the story, 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:47.879 the owner of the house becomes angry and he orders 00:10:47.879 --> 00:10:50.759 the servant, go out quickly, go out quickly into 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:52.720 the streets, into the alleys of the town and 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.779 bring in the poor, bring in the crippled, bring 00:10:55.779 --> 00:10:58.340 in the blind, bring in the lame. And if you're 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:00.360 like, Didn't you just say that? Yeah, I did. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:02.659 Because that's what was just appearing a few 00:11:02.659 --> 00:11:05.100 verses later. Jesus had mentioned them earlier. 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:08.679 These are the very people who are often overlooked. 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:11.120 These are the people that we assume they don't 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:13.200 belong. These are the people who could never 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:18.139 repay the invitation. And these are the people 00:11:18.139 --> 00:11:25.029 that the king invites. Why? Because the kingdom 00:11:25.029 --> 00:11:29.750 of God is not built on reciprocity. It's built 00:11:29.750 --> 00:11:34.149 on grace. See, the world says, invite people 00:11:34.149 --> 00:11:36.769 who can give you something back. And then the 00:11:36.769 --> 00:11:39.950 kingdom says, welcome people because you're welcomed. 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:44.259 And so the invitation expands even further to 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:46.620 the roads, to the country lanes, to the outsiders, 00:11:46.860 --> 00:11:49.820 the unexpected, the forgotten, and the people 00:11:49.820 --> 00:11:53.240 that nobody imagined sitting at the king's table 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:56.080 are invited. And I think while I was reading 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:57.759 this and preparing, I was like, I've got to be 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:00.860 careful. Because it's easy at this point in the 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:03.159 story then to immediately begin to think about 00:12:03.159 --> 00:12:05.620 somebody else like all those. Like, oh, maybe 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:07.820 a refugee, maybe an asylum seeker. I think he's 00:12:07.820 --> 00:12:09.820 talking about displaced people, migrants, the 00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:12.000 marginalized. And I think that there's truth 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:15.440 in that. But before we think about them, Paul 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:18.879 forces us to think about ourselves. And in Ephesians 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:22.039 chapter 2, verse 12 and 13, we're reminded that 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:25.860 we were the strangers. He says this, remember, 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:28.909 Paul. Right into the Ephesians. Remember that. 00:12:28.970 --> 00:12:31.389 At that time, you were separate from Christ. 00:12:31.629 --> 00:12:34.309 You were excluded from citizenship. You were 00:12:34.309 --> 00:12:37.909 like a foreigner without hope, without a God 00:12:37.909 --> 00:12:43.009 in the world. But now in Christ, Jesus, you who 00:12:43.009 --> 00:12:46.250 were once far away, have been brought near by 00:12:46.250 --> 00:12:51.370 the blood of Christ. Who's Paul talking about? 00:12:53.409 --> 00:12:55.809 This is interactive Sunday. Who's he talking 00:12:55.809 --> 00:12:59.639 about? He's talking about us. He's not talking 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:02.059 about someone else. He's talking about us. We 00:13:02.059 --> 00:13:05.879 were the strangers. We were the foreigners. We 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:09.019 were the outsiders. We were far from God. And 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:12.960 yet Christ brought us near. And before we ever 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:16.179 welcomed anyone else is Christ who welcomed us. 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:21.500 And the cross then is God's ultimate act of hospitality. 00:13:23.370 --> 00:13:25.990 In that moment, Jesus didn't just invite people 00:13:25.990 --> 00:13:30.549 to his table. He gave his life right there so 00:13:30.549 --> 00:13:32.870 that there would be a place for us at the table. 00:13:33.210 --> 00:13:36.529 And so that brings us back to the question that 00:13:36.529 --> 00:13:43.090 I began with. Who belongs at God's table? So 00:13:43.090 --> 00:13:46.909 according to Jesus, not just the insiders, not 00:13:46.909 --> 00:13:49.710 just the successful, not just the respectable, 00:13:49.889 --> 00:13:54.419 not just the religious. but anybody welcomed 00:13:54.419 --> 00:13:59.519 by Christ. See, hospitality creates belonging. 00:14:00.419 --> 00:14:04.159 And because Christ welcomed us, we are welcome. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:10.240 I want to invite our way team and some fancy 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:13.440 sign holders to help bring this from 30 ,000 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:17.200 feet right down to this moment. We spent the 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:19.519 last few minutes talking about God's table, and 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:22.639 we're asking a simple question. Who belongs at 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:27.759 God's table? And so the invitation, it's wider 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:31.899 than most of us realize. And the welcome is also 00:14:31.899 --> 00:14:37.279 bigger. Lindsay, over to you. Thank you for the 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:41.360 sign. Am I here or there? I think you're after 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:45.460 James. Okay, thank you. Hi, good morning. I'm 00:14:45.460 --> 00:14:49.019 Lindsay. I serve with our Displaced People Support 00:14:49.019 --> 00:14:52.299 Ministry here at ACB, and that includes refugees 00:14:52.299 --> 00:14:55.600 and asylum seekers. I've always felt called to 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:57.740 global work, but I didn't know exactly what that 00:14:57.740 --> 00:15:01.179 would look like. I studied global health and 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:04.299 was certified in maternal and child health. And 00:15:04.299 --> 00:15:06.440 then when I came here with my husband, Jonathan, 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:11.379 we welcomed four kids into our family. Now the 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:15.269 issues that we had seen before... that called 00:15:15.269 --> 00:15:17.269 us to global work we saw through the eyes of 00:15:17.269 --> 00:15:23.590 a parent. World Refugee Day is recognized globally 00:15:23.590 --> 00:15:27.090 each June. A refugee is someone who had to flee 00:15:27.090 --> 00:15:31.070 their home country and cannot return safely for 00:15:31.070 --> 00:15:34.110 fear of persecution. The theme of this year's 00:15:34.110 --> 00:15:36.950 World Refugee Day is belonging begins with hospitality. 00:15:38.470 --> 00:15:41.509 This fits so well with ECB's mission for everyone 00:15:41.509 --> 00:15:46.029 to belong, become, and be. The people on stage 00:15:46.029 --> 00:15:48.889 with me walk alongside displaced people, and 00:15:48.889 --> 00:15:52.190 we're going to look at some numbers. I'm so much 00:15:52.190 --> 00:15:55.370 a numbers person, but behind the numbers are 00:15:55.370 --> 00:15:59.070 people, and these people have families, stories, 00:15:59.350 --> 00:16:03.070 skills, hopes, and fears. Let's remember that. 00:16:03.830 --> 00:16:06.850 Our first number is the global population. There 00:16:06.850 --> 00:16:14.789 are about 8 .2 billion people in the world. have 00:16:14.789 --> 00:16:20.230 been forcibly displaced. Thank you. Zooming in 00:16:20.230 --> 00:16:24.429 to Thailand, there are about 72 million of us 00:16:24.429 --> 00:16:31.250 living here. Next, of the people living in Thailand, 00:16:31.490 --> 00:16:34.330 about more than 87 ,000 of those are displaced 00:16:34.330 --> 00:16:39.830 people. Thanks. Zooming in, we're going to look 00:16:39.830 --> 00:16:43.919 at our own ECB family. Here, there are more than 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:46.259 1 ,200 people that are part of our community. 00:16:46.779 --> 00:16:50.419 And of those, more than 100 are displaced members 00:16:50.419 --> 00:16:53.740 that are connected here. These people are not 00:16:53.740 --> 00:16:57.960 strangers. They're part of our family. To put 00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:00.399 that in perspective, it's about 1 in 12 of us 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:07.599 had to flee and cannot return to our home country. 00:17:08.190 --> 00:17:11.430 The numbers that we saw got smaller as we zoomed 00:17:11.430 --> 00:17:14.450 in, but the opportunity got greater. Do we just 00:17:14.450 --> 00:17:17.670 learn the numbers, or do we invite these family 00:17:17.670 --> 00:17:20.829 members to the table? You may have noticed a 00:17:20.829 --> 00:17:23.390 bookmark this morning on your chair. It's not 00:17:23.390 --> 00:17:27.869 someone else's. It's for you. We pray that it 00:17:27.869 --> 00:17:32.089 reminds you to pray for displaced people, but 00:17:32.089 --> 00:17:35.069 also that it encourages you to ask God how he 00:17:35.069 --> 00:17:38.059 would have you respond. Belonging begins with 00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:40.599 hospitality, and we all have a role to play. 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:58.980 Thank you. Statistics matter. Thanks, Lindsay, 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:02.480 for caring about numbers. Because you said it, 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:05.480 behind every one of those numbers is a person. 00:18:06.509 --> 00:18:10.390 People matter to God. And so before we move on, 00:18:10.390 --> 00:18:13.069 I'd like us to do something together. And this 00:18:13.069 --> 00:18:16.029 might feel a little bit unusual, but I think 00:18:16.029 --> 00:18:19.470 it'll help us see something important. So I'm 00:18:19.470 --> 00:18:21.509 going to push two questions together in order 00:18:21.509 --> 00:18:26.009 to create a safe space. Number one, put your 00:18:26.009 --> 00:18:30.750 first finger up. Put your second finger up. When 00:18:30.750 --> 00:18:36.660 I tell you, if you are number one, which is an 00:18:36.660 --> 00:18:40.000 asylum seeker, a refugee, or a displaced person, 00:18:40.140 --> 00:18:43.099 that's number one. I'm going to ask you to stand. 00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:49.079 Not yet. Number two, this is you. If you're a 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:52.559 close friend of someone who's an asylum seeker, 00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:56.880 a refugee, or a displaced person. So on three, 00:18:57.000 --> 00:19:01.500 if you're an asylum seeker, a refugee, a displaced 00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:04.660 person, would you stand? And if you are a close 00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:07.319 friend, Of somebody who is an asylum seeker. 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:10.240 A refugee. Or a displaced person. Would you stand? 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:18.200 I will stand. One. Two. Three. Stand. Yeah. Okay. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:19.720 We're going to go a layer deeper. Stay standing. 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:24.859 If you know. Don't sit down. If you know someone. 00:19:25.619 --> 00:19:28.490 Somewhere in the world. who has been displaced 00:19:28.490 --> 00:19:31.789 from their home because of war, because of persecution, 00:19:32.269 --> 00:19:35.589 because of violence, because of disaster or conflict, 00:19:35.710 --> 00:19:39.490 would you stand as well? Do you know somebody 00:19:39.490 --> 00:19:48.369 somewhere else? Okay. I want you to look around. 00:19:48.650 --> 00:19:53.230 Like, really look around. Take a moment. Look 00:19:53.230 --> 00:19:56.529 to your left. And look to your right. Look in 00:19:56.529 --> 00:20:01.589 front of you, look behind you. What do you see? 00:20:04.730 --> 00:20:08.509 I think we see something that maybe we rarely 00:20:08.509 --> 00:20:14.049 talk about. We're more connected than we realize. 00:20:15.890 --> 00:20:19.369 So the reality is, you can sit down, that this 00:20:19.369 --> 00:20:23.829 isn't just somebody else's story. This is actually... 00:20:25.289 --> 00:20:28.970 Our story. This isn't just somebody else's problem. 00:20:30.869 --> 00:20:36.329 Because these aren't strangers. They're friends. 00:20:36.710 --> 00:20:39.069 They're life group members. They're volunteers. 00:20:39.390 --> 00:20:42.130 They're neighbors. They're parents. They're students. 00:20:42.210 --> 00:20:44.410 They're children. They're co -workers. They're 00:20:44.410 --> 00:20:46.569 people who are worshiping beside us and in front 00:20:46.569 --> 00:20:48.970 of us. They're people who are made in the image 00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:51.970 of God. People who are loved by God. People who 00:20:51.970 --> 00:20:56.380 are invited to God's table. And that brings us 00:20:56.380 --> 00:20:58.400 back to that question that we've been asking 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:03.859 this morning. Who belongs at God's table? According 00:21:03.859 --> 00:21:07.259 to Jesus, I think probably more people than we 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:12.980 realize. The kingdom is a bit surprising in that 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:16.660 sometimes it forces us to come face to face with 00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:19.099 the reality that the kingdom is actually bigger 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.720 than our categories. It's bigger than our assumptions. 00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:28.750 And the kingdom, is always making room. And one 00:21:28.750 --> 00:21:31.869 of the beautiful things about ECB is that many 00:21:31.869 --> 00:21:36.670 people who once felt alone have begun to feel 00:21:36.670 --> 00:21:40.650 that they've found a place of belonging. And 00:21:40.650 --> 00:21:42.529 they've found a place of belonging not because 00:21:42.529 --> 00:21:48.970 ECB is some sort of picture -perfect oasis. But 00:21:48.970 --> 00:21:51.150 we're a group of people who realize that Christ 00:21:51.150 --> 00:21:53.950 has welcomed us. And so we're trying, we're attempting 00:21:53.950 --> 00:21:57.190 to learn how to welcome other people. And we're 00:21:57.190 --> 00:21:59.170 going to hear one of those stories now in a video. 00:21:59.210 --> 00:22:02.309 A story of belonging, somebody who found family, 00:22:02.450 --> 00:22:04.910 a story of discovering a place at the table. 00:22:05.349 --> 00:22:08.410 And so as you listen, I want you to consider 00:22:08.410 --> 00:22:14.549 two questions. Who helped me belong? And who 00:22:14.549 --> 00:22:36.190 am I helping belong? Hello everyone, I come from 00:22:36.190 --> 00:22:39.690 Somalia. When I arrived in Thailand, I finally 00:22:39.690 --> 00:22:44.170 felt safe, but I still felt like a stranger and 00:22:44.170 --> 00:22:48.089 alone. When I came to ECP, people welcomed me 00:22:48.089 --> 00:22:52.390 with kindness. They helped me find friendship, 00:22:52.630 --> 00:22:56.029 support, people who truly care about me. Their 00:22:56.029 --> 00:22:59.490 encouragement gave me strength during difficult 00:22:59.490 --> 00:23:03.210 times. Because of this community, I no longer 00:23:03.210 --> 00:23:07.009 feel alone. I feel like I have a family here, 00:23:07.150 --> 00:23:10.990 people with kind hearts who care for and support 00:23:10.990 --> 00:23:14.289 one another. This church helped me feel that 00:23:14.289 --> 00:23:17.329 I truly belong. And I wanted to leave you with 00:23:17.329 --> 00:23:21.690 this verse, Matthew 25, 35. I was a stranger 00:23:21.690 --> 00:23:31.349 and you welcomed me. Thank you. Well, I love 00:23:31.349 --> 00:23:34.119 that. Simple. like straight to the point, I was 00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:38.900 a stranger and you welcomed me. See, something 00:23:38.900 --> 00:23:42.960 like that, it's powerful because belonging is 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:47.900 powerful. Every human longs for that. We want 00:23:47.900 --> 00:23:50.359 to be known. We want to be accepted. We want 00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:53.240 to be heard. We want to know that there is a 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:57.519 place for us. And when we find belonging, something 00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:01.759 begins to change inside of us. What I like is 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:04.420 as I read the scripture, I'm reminded that belonging 00:24:04.420 --> 00:24:08.279 was actually never meant to be a place that was 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:10.480 like the finish line. It's like I arrived. I 00:24:10.480 --> 00:24:15.039 belong. I'm seen. I have family. It was meant 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:17.539 to be the starting point. And if you look at 00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:20.559 families and friendships and the church and certainly 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:24.059 the kingdom of God, we see that Jesus doesn't 00:24:24.059 --> 00:24:26.480 just invite people to come and belong, but he 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:30.250 invites people to become. And so if we go back 00:24:30.250 --> 00:24:33.750 to that first question, who belongs at God's 00:24:33.750 --> 00:24:37.369 table? The answer that emerges is anybody who's 00:24:37.369 --> 00:24:40.430 been welcomed by Christ. But then another question 00:24:40.430 --> 00:24:43.230 comes from that. What happens after they belong? 00:24:43.529 --> 00:24:46.130 What happens after somebody finds a seat at the 00:24:46.130 --> 00:24:48.829 table? What happens after somebody experiences 00:24:48.829 --> 00:24:51.329 grace? And what happens after somebody becomes 00:24:51.329 --> 00:24:55.230 part of the family of God? And scripture shows 00:24:55.230 --> 00:25:00.819 us transformation, growth. formation and discipleship. 00:25:00.839 --> 00:25:03.759 And that's what the early church looked like. 00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:07.660 And so if we go to Acts chapter 2, we see that 00:25:07.660 --> 00:25:10.920 the disciples devoted themselves to the apostles' 00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:14.799 teaching and to fellowship and to the breaking 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:20.319 of bread. You notice what happens after the people 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:23.599 come to faith. I like this. They didn't just 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:26.880 like keep attending. But the Bible says they 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:30.779 devoted themselves. They gathered and they learned 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:33.940 and they prayed and they worshipped and they 00:25:33.940 --> 00:25:36.539 shared life together and they served one another. 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:41.000 They were becoming something. Or maybe perhaps 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:44.519 more accurately, they were becoming someone. 00:25:46.099 --> 00:25:52.259 A follower of Jesus. People who are shaped by 00:25:52.259 --> 00:25:55.700 the Spirit. People who become more like Christ. 00:25:55.980 --> 00:25:59.559 And they don't simply attend church. They don't 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:02.759 simply just believe certain things. But they 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:06.460 are transformed. And what I like, again, about 00:26:06.460 --> 00:26:09.240 the Bible is we're introduced to these people 00:26:09.240 --> 00:26:11.619 called disciples, which is another word for student. 00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:14.180 Somebody who follows somebody. And they're a 00:26:14.180 --> 00:26:16.799 perfect example. Think about who Jesus invited 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:18.519 for a moment. If you've read it, you're like, 00:26:18.539 --> 00:26:20.259 oh yeah, I know. And if you didn't, then don't 00:26:20.259 --> 00:26:25.109 be surprised. Fishermen. Tax collectors, political 00:26:25.109 --> 00:26:27.069 zealots. Do we have any of those in the house 00:26:27.069 --> 00:26:31.210 today? No? Okay, but you're invited too. People 00:26:31.210 --> 00:26:34.609 with flaws, people with baggage, people who were 00:26:34.609 --> 00:26:37.670 often totally misunderstood and people who misunderstood 00:26:37.670 --> 00:26:42.049 Jesus. Jesus welcomed every single one of them. 00:26:42.109 --> 00:26:44.369 And he didn't just leave them where he found 00:26:44.369 --> 00:26:46.750 them, which some of us would be okay with that. 00:26:46.829 --> 00:26:50.910 Like great savior. Yup. Lord in control of my 00:26:50.910 --> 00:26:54.130 life. Nope. Jesus taught them. He challenged 00:26:54.130 --> 00:26:56.509 them. He corrected them. He encouraged them. 00:26:56.529 --> 00:26:59.089 And then he sends them. And over time we see 00:26:59.089 --> 00:27:01.710 that he transformed them. And so for us, that's 00:27:01.710 --> 00:27:04.490 what discipleship is. And that's why belonging 00:27:04.490 --> 00:27:08.560 matters so much because transformation. rarely 00:27:08.560 --> 00:27:12.799 happens in isolation. If you've ever experienced 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:15.140 growth in your life, it's likely because you've 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:17.160 been in relationships with people. There's been 00:27:17.160 --> 00:27:20.140 a community. This transformation often happens 00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:22.960 around tables. It happens when people begin to 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:26.079 walk alongside each other. It happens when people 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:29.000 pray together, when we serve together, when we 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:32.299 learn together, when we worship together. It 00:27:32.299 --> 00:27:36.099 happens when we make room for each other. And 00:27:36.099 --> 00:27:39.019 I think, Again, as I was preparing, I think that's 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:42.319 why I love the vision of ECB so much. Do you 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:46.140 remember what it is? Making disciples for global 00:27:46.140 --> 00:27:50.240 impact. Because we don't just want you to come 00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:53.420 and attend. That's not what this is about. We 00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:57.259 want people to belong, yes. But we don't simply 00:27:57.259 --> 00:27:59.720 want people to come and belong. We want people 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:03.019 to become. to become more like Jesus, to grow 00:28:03.019 --> 00:28:05.799 in faith, to grow in your character, to grow 00:28:05.799 --> 00:28:09.019 in love and obedience and in purpose. And what's 00:28:09.019 --> 00:28:11.420 cool is that as we begin to experience belonging, 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:15.000 it begins to create becoming. And this happens 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:18.880 because Christ is changing us. And so we are 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:24.140 transformed. And transformation, if you look 00:28:24.140 --> 00:28:27.109 at your own life or just like a plant, It doesn't 00:28:27.109 --> 00:28:29.609 happen all at once. And it's not like grow, grow, 00:28:29.690 --> 00:28:34.009 grow, grow. And then something comes. I mean, 00:28:34.049 --> 00:28:37.849 it usually happens like one step at a time. One 00:28:37.849 --> 00:28:40.470 relationship at a time. One act of obedience 00:28:40.470 --> 00:28:44.670 at a time. One day at a time. And so the next 00:28:44.670 --> 00:28:47.009 story that we're going to hear is a story of 00:28:47.009 --> 00:28:50.049 becoming. A story of somebody discovering that 00:28:50.049 --> 00:28:53.329 following Jesus is not just about finding a place 00:28:53.329 --> 00:28:56.420 to come and belong. That was good. but it's also 00:28:56.420 --> 00:29:00.079 about becoming the kind of person that God created 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:04.039 them to be. And so as you listen to the story, 00:29:04.119 --> 00:29:07.519 I want you to consider this question. How is 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:30.400 Jesus changing me? It's the journey of moving 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:34.660 from who I was to who God is calling me to be. 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:38.099 This is my story from suffering to contentment. 00:29:38.519 --> 00:29:42.720 Three and a half years ago, I came to ECB, not 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:46.400 realizing that God was already at work in my 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:50.220 life. As I listened to his word, my heart began 00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:54.359 to stir, and God taught me to trust in his providence. 00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:58.769 There was a time I felt lost. Without certainty, 00:29:59.170 --> 00:30:03.269 without a place to truly belong. But in Christ, 00:30:03.369 --> 00:30:07.630 I found more than hope. I found a home. Through 00:30:07.630 --> 00:30:10.869 serving in church, the Holy Spirit changed my 00:30:10.869 --> 00:30:14.569 heart, teaching me humility and giving me a deep 00:30:14.569 --> 00:30:18.750 desire to know God more. Through studying and 00:30:18.750 --> 00:30:22.809 growing, my life has been filled with truth and 00:30:22.809 --> 00:30:27.339 joy. Today, I stand. transformed and content, 00:30:27.619 --> 00:30:31.480 not by what I have done, but by what God has 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:35.619 done in me. And he used this church, this family 00:30:35.619 --> 00:30:39.680 that has loved me, supported me and encouraged 00:30:39.680 --> 00:30:43.859 me to show me that in Christ, I am no longer 00:30:43.859 --> 00:30:48.480 lost. I belong. Thank you, ECB, this wonderful 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:59.660 community of brothers and sister in Christ. One 00:30:59.660 --> 00:31:02.119 of the things I really like about that testimony 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:06.319 is that it reminds us that transformation doesn't 00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:09.319 happen alone. It points to the community. It 00:31:09.319 --> 00:31:11.299 happens through relationships and in community. 00:31:11.380 --> 00:31:14.460 It happens because somebody makes room at a table, 00:31:14.579 --> 00:31:17.339 somebody reaches out, another person listens, 00:31:17.400 --> 00:31:20.980 and somebody begins to walk alongside another. 00:31:21.640 --> 00:31:26.200 And so God changes lives through people. I like 00:31:26.200 --> 00:31:29.789 that. He uses imperfect people. He uses willing 00:31:29.789 --> 00:31:33.369 people, people who choose the love, people who 00:31:33.369 --> 00:31:35.630 choose to welcome, people who choose to walk 00:31:35.630 --> 00:31:40.230 with others. Over the last number of years since 00:31:40.230 --> 00:31:43.730 my wife and kids have been at ECB, I've come 00:31:43.730 --> 00:31:46.690 to appreciate that so much of what ECB does is 00:31:46.690 --> 00:31:50.410 not alone. God's brought partners to come alongside 00:31:50.410 --> 00:31:54.490 us as a church who faithfully serve, who advocate 00:31:54.490 --> 00:31:58.390 for, who walk with displaced people every single 00:31:58.390 --> 00:32:02.690 day. And one of those partners is Life Raft International. 00:32:03.730 --> 00:32:07.190 Many of you might know them. Many of you may 00:32:07.190 --> 00:32:10.089 have volunteered with them. Many of you may have 00:32:10.089 --> 00:32:12.990 prayed for them. Many of you may have supported 00:32:12.990 --> 00:32:15.589 their work. Some of you in this room are advocates. 00:32:16.329 --> 00:32:19.210 And today I've invited our sister, Yvette Rivera, 00:32:19.470 --> 00:32:22.890 to join us. And she's going to share with us. 00:32:23.009 --> 00:32:25.170 I've asked her to share three simple things. 00:32:25.309 --> 00:32:29.029 Help us understand. Offer us a little bit of 00:32:29.029 --> 00:32:32.390 hope to see hope. And help us understand how 00:32:32.390 --> 00:32:36.009 ordinary followers like you and me can participate 00:32:36.009 --> 00:32:39.750 in what he's up to. Can you welcome Yvette as 00:32:39.750 --> 00:32:48.559 she comes? Good afternoon, church. I'm really 00:32:48.559 --> 00:32:53.980 happy to be here. I've been leading Life Raft 00:32:53.980 --> 00:32:58.960 for quite a few years. I've been here since 2012. 00:32:59.660 --> 00:33:03.500 And one of the things that sometimes we forget 00:33:03.500 --> 00:33:09.099 about refugees is that they come to a new country 00:33:09.099 --> 00:33:12.640 in search of safety. It's not because they're 00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:14.519 looking for a better life or they want something 00:33:14.519 --> 00:33:17.819 new or different. They're looking for safety. 00:33:17.940 --> 00:33:21.119 Staying back home means that they risk their 00:33:21.119 --> 00:33:25.519 life and the life of their families. And refugees 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:28.279 that are coming to Thailand, they come to the 00:33:28.279 --> 00:33:31.000 surprise that Thailand doesn't recognize refugees. 00:33:31.420 --> 00:33:33.819 So that means that they don't have access to 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:38.380 some of the basic needs like medical, education, 00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:42.559 the right to work. So that's very complicated 00:33:42.559 --> 00:33:46.400 to be able to live a normal life when you don't 00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:49.799 have access to some of those basic things. And 00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:51.880 when I meet refugees, one of the things that 00:33:51.880 --> 00:33:56.559 I'm reminded is that they have God -sized problems. 00:33:57.019 --> 00:34:00.680 And it's encouraging in the sense that we have 00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:04.740 to cling to God to be able to find ways to support 00:34:04.740 --> 00:34:08.940 and to walk alongside our refugee friends. So 00:34:08.940 --> 00:34:12.139 once they're here and not having that recognition, 00:34:12.260 --> 00:34:16.619 it means that there is a fear of arrest. So they 00:34:16.619 --> 00:34:19.119 don't have the fear of persecution in the sense 00:34:19.119 --> 00:34:21.860 of where they left home, but there is a fear 00:34:21.860 --> 00:34:26.420 of being arrested. And that can be very paralyzing 00:34:26.420 --> 00:34:32.280 here. One of the powers of the church is community, 00:34:32.480 --> 00:34:35.519 is friendship, is relationship, what we're talking 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:39.440 about today. And when I first came here, one 00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:45.119 of the first refugees that I met, he came by 00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:48.800 himself and he came to one of our church gatherings. 00:34:49.139 --> 00:34:53.159 And we started talking. He never mentioned that 00:34:53.159 --> 00:34:56.960 he was a refugee. And after the service, I invited 00:34:56.960 --> 00:35:00.139 him to come to dinner with us. And he told me, 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:02.869 sis. I want to go, but I don't have money to 00:35:02.869 --> 00:35:05.610 pay for my meal. I was like, oh, don't worry 00:35:05.610 --> 00:35:08.949 about that. We got you. So he came and he had 00:35:08.949 --> 00:35:12.230 dinner with us. And from that moment, this beautiful 00:35:12.230 --> 00:35:16.429 journey of seeing a church love and embrace him 00:35:16.429 --> 00:35:20.469 was so impactful. It reminded me why it's so 00:35:20.469 --> 00:35:23.949 important for us to walk with people and in a 00:35:23.949 --> 00:35:28.039 deep way. As he built relationships, people started 00:35:28.039 --> 00:35:30.679 giving him opportunities to build skills and 00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:33.639 highlighted a specific skill that he was good 00:35:33.639 --> 00:35:37.139 at. And he devoted himself years in doing that 00:35:37.139 --> 00:35:41.840 well. And he was known here in Thailand for that 00:35:41.840 --> 00:35:46.239 skill. And people go to him and looking for support. 00:35:46.599 --> 00:35:50.420 And he ended up leaving Thailand through that 00:35:50.420 --> 00:35:53.389 skill that he developed. And there are two things 00:35:53.389 --> 00:35:55.889 that I observe and I've seen in other families. 00:35:56.150 --> 00:35:59.869 The first thing is that everything about him, 00:35:59.989 --> 00:36:03.690 it was a reminder that he didn't belong. He wasn't 00:36:03.690 --> 00:36:07.989 Asian. He couldn't blend in. He barely spoke 00:36:07.989 --> 00:36:14.329 English. And throughout eight years, I saw him 00:36:14.329 --> 00:36:17.949 build this beautiful confidence. He would walk 00:36:17.949 --> 00:36:20.829 the streets of Thailand, of Bangkok, as if he 00:36:20.829 --> 00:36:24.550 owned it. Very confident. And that confidence 00:36:24.550 --> 00:36:29.690 wasn't rooted in people welcoming him first. 00:36:29.889 --> 00:36:34.690 It was rooted in the knowing that he belonged 00:36:34.690 --> 00:36:41.329 to God. That he, his home, was God himself. And 00:36:41.329 --> 00:36:44.429 I believe that this sense of belonging has to 00:36:44.429 --> 00:36:47.090 start there. It has to start with this. Because 00:36:47.090 --> 00:36:51.769 think about it. We belong. To the creator of 00:36:51.769 --> 00:36:55.610 all things. That's incredible. And I ask God 00:36:55.610 --> 00:36:58.869 to show me. What does that mean every day that 00:36:58.869 --> 00:37:01.550 I am a child of God? There's a freedom that comes 00:37:01.550 --> 00:37:04.710 in knowing that. And the second thing in his 00:37:04.710 --> 00:37:08.570 life that impacts me. Is the power of walking 00:37:08.570 --> 00:37:12.289 with people who see you. Who say, hey, you're 00:37:12.289 --> 00:37:14.949 really good at this. And gives you the opportunity 00:37:14.949 --> 00:37:20.070 to grow that skill. to build it, and to launch 00:37:20.070 --> 00:37:24.849 you into it. And that's the power that we have 00:37:24.849 --> 00:37:28.269 as a church, that we're able to walk alongside 00:37:28.269 --> 00:37:31.650 our friends, not trying to fix the problems, 00:37:31.730 --> 00:37:33.670 because as I said, they're God -sized problems, 00:37:33.809 --> 00:37:38.010 but we seek to the one who can fix it, who can 00:37:38.010 --> 00:37:41.250 walk with us in the journey. And the beautiful 00:37:41.250 --> 00:37:44.369 thing is that I get to see God's work in it, 00:37:44.429 --> 00:37:47.949 that starting... From when he came to Thailand. 00:37:48.090 --> 00:37:50.989 And things were so hard. So bleak. But then see 00:37:50.989 --> 00:37:54.690 that journey. Of where he is today. You could 00:37:54.690 --> 00:37:58.170 only say glory be to God. Because it is him who 00:37:58.170 --> 00:38:01.449 opened that door for him. And he uses us. His 00:38:01.449 --> 00:38:06.050 people. To do it. It's not alone. It's through 00:38:06.050 --> 00:38:10.369 us. And we've been partnering with ECB for 12 00:38:10.369 --> 00:38:13.710 years. This room is filled with people that I 00:38:13.710 --> 00:38:17.510 love. And that I've built friendships with. And 00:38:17.510 --> 00:38:20.050 I'm deeply thankful for the beautiful ways that 00:38:20.050 --> 00:38:24.530 you embrace and love refugees here. And there 00:38:24.530 --> 00:38:27.949 is an invitation to continue to do that. We have 00:38:27.949 --> 00:38:30.949 refugees. Not only those who are Christians and 00:38:30.949 --> 00:38:33.789 have been persecuted. But we also have refugees 00:38:33.789 --> 00:38:37.750 who don't know Jesus. That they're rejected because 00:38:37.750 --> 00:38:40.750 they're an ethnic minority. They're rejected 00:38:40.750 --> 00:38:45.110 because of their faith. And then they come here, 00:38:45.329 --> 00:38:49.170 thinking negative things about Christians. They 00:38:49.170 --> 00:38:52.590 come to a community that loves them, that cares 00:38:52.590 --> 00:38:56.239 for them, with no agenda. And it's impactful. 00:38:56.519 --> 00:38:59.739 And my prayer is that we continue to be that 00:38:59.739 --> 00:39:03.000 church so that they can see how good God is. 00:39:03.179 --> 00:39:06.159 And there's an open invitation for you guys to 00:39:06.159 --> 00:39:09.659 be involved and get to know some of our refugee 00:39:09.659 --> 00:39:13.960 friends and be able to serve. And I see how us 00:39:13.960 --> 00:39:18.079 living out our faith with courage. impacts them 00:39:18.079 --> 00:39:21.219 and they're able to see how good God is. So thank 00:39:21.219 --> 00:39:24.559 you for the partnership. Thank you for loving 00:39:24.559 --> 00:39:27.440 so well. And I will be, Rachel and I will be 00:39:27.440 --> 00:39:31.539 outside to talk to you guys. So thank you. Awesome. 00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:39.139 Thank you. Informational, yes. Inspirational, 00:39:39.300 --> 00:39:43.250 yes. Invitational, yes. When we're done, you 00:39:43.250 --> 00:39:45.849 can head downstairs, walk through the courseway. 00:39:45.969 --> 00:39:48.230 There are tables on the left -hand side. And 00:39:48.230 --> 00:39:51.230 you can think. And then you can act and consider 00:39:51.230 --> 00:39:56.610 how you might be able to engage. See, transformation 00:39:56.610 --> 00:40:01.010 spreads. One person welcomes another. One life 00:40:01.010 --> 00:40:03.690 impacts another. One disciple helps form another 00:40:03.690 --> 00:40:07.369 disciple. And so as we've been asking that question, 00:40:07.530 --> 00:40:10.849 who belongs at the table, we see that anybody 00:40:10.849 --> 00:40:15.130 who is welcomed by Christ belongs. And we ask, 00:40:15.269 --> 00:40:18.570 what happens when people belong? Well, we see 00:40:18.570 --> 00:40:21.769 that God begins to transform them. And then we 00:40:21.769 --> 00:40:24.769 arrive at this final question, which is, what 00:40:24.769 --> 00:40:31.369 do transformed people do? Do they simply stay 00:40:31.369 --> 00:40:37.880 seated at the table? We've arrived. Do they simply 00:40:37.880 --> 00:40:41.019 enjoy the blessing that they've received? Do 00:40:41.019 --> 00:40:44.840 they consume? Or does something else begin to 00:40:44.840 --> 00:40:50.900 happen? And again, Scripture is clear. People 00:40:50.900 --> 00:40:54.239 who have begun to be welcomed actually become 00:40:54.239 --> 00:40:57.860 people who begin to welcome other people. It's 00:40:57.860 --> 00:41:01.099 this natural outflow. People who have been transformed 00:41:01.099 --> 00:41:05.000 begin to help transform other people. People 00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:08.920 who have been loved begin loving others because 00:41:08.920 --> 00:41:12.880 God's plan isn't simply to just welcome people. 00:41:13.079 --> 00:41:17.349 His plan is to send people. Let's listen to his 00:41:17.349 --> 00:41:20.849 words in Matthew chapter 25 and then Romans 15 00:41:20.849 --> 00:41:25.230 when Paul talks to us. Matthew 25. Some of you 00:41:25.230 --> 00:41:27.190 might have heard this one before. He says, I 00:41:27.190 --> 00:41:31.070 was hungry. You know this one? I was hungry and 00:41:31.070 --> 00:41:34.590 you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and 00:41:34.590 --> 00:41:38.769 you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger 00:41:38.769 --> 00:41:42.630 and you invited me in. Some of you could keep 00:41:42.630 --> 00:41:46.250 on going. But if we stop there for a moment, 00:41:46.309 --> 00:41:52.530 notice what Jesus does not say. He doesn't say, 00:41:52.570 --> 00:41:58.329 I was a stranger and you noticed me from across 00:41:58.329 --> 00:42:04.590 the room. He doesn't say, I was a stranger and 00:42:04.590 --> 00:42:10.730 you agreed with me. He didn't say, I was a stranger 00:42:10.730 --> 00:42:15.800 and you felt sorry for me. He says, I was a stranger 00:42:15.800 --> 00:42:21.320 and you welcomed me. So for us, hospitality has 00:42:21.320 --> 00:42:24.300 to be more than awareness. Hospitality is an 00:42:24.300 --> 00:42:28.559 action. It's making room. It's opening our lives 00:42:28.559 --> 00:42:32.059 and it's reflecting the heart of God. And so 00:42:32.059 --> 00:42:37.159 the gospel is the story of God making room for 00:42:37.159 --> 00:42:40.559 people who never expected a seat at his table. 00:42:41.670 --> 00:42:45.070 And I think that when that truth begins to grip 00:42:45.070 --> 00:42:48.329 our hearts, something shifts, it changes. We 00:42:48.329 --> 00:42:53.110 stop asking, what can I get? And begin to ask, 00:42:53.309 --> 00:42:59.570 who can I welcome? We stop asking, well, who 00:42:59.570 --> 00:43:03.250 belongs in my circle? And we begin asking, who 00:43:03.250 --> 00:43:09.869 might God be inviting me to make room for? Because 00:43:09.869 --> 00:43:19.309 welcomed, People become welcoming people. Romans 00:43:19.309 --> 00:43:23.889 chapter 15 says, Accept one another then, just 00:43:23.889 --> 00:43:27.630 as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise 00:43:27.630 --> 00:43:31.449 to God. I like this. Paul doesn't say, Hey, hey, 00:43:31.469 --> 00:43:35.489 hey, hey, accept one another so that Christ will 00:43:35.489 --> 00:43:38.369 accept you. No, he flips it. He says, Christ 00:43:38.369 --> 00:43:42.469 accepted you. Therefore, accept one another. 00:43:42.809 --> 00:43:46.070 And so the gospel always comes first. Grace always 00:43:46.070 --> 00:43:50.110 comes first. Hospitality always begins with God. 00:43:50.329 --> 00:43:53.969 And because Christ has welcomed us, we welcome 00:43:53.969 --> 00:43:56.690 other people. Because Christ has transformed 00:43:56.690 --> 00:44:00.469 us, we help other people grow. Because Christ 00:44:00.469 --> 00:44:05.409 has sent us, we go. See, hospitality creates 00:44:05.409 --> 00:44:08.329 belonging and belonging creates becoming and 00:44:08.329 --> 00:44:12.880 becoming. It leads to being. And being leads 00:44:12.880 --> 00:44:16.420 us to welcome other people. Because of Christ, 00:44:16.519 --> 00:44:23.769 we are sent. So in God's kingdom... People always 00:44:23.769 --> 00:44:26.869 become participants. We become contributors and 00:44:26.869 --> 00:44:29.869 servants or ambassadors might be a word. People 00:44:29.869 --> 00:44:32.190 who were once welcomed become those who welcome. 00:44:32.349 --> 00:44:34.369 People who were once served become people who 00:44:34.369 --> 00:44:36.829 serve. People who were once invited become people 00:44:36.829 --> 00:44:41.050 who extend the invitation. And the next story 00:44:41.050 --> 00:44:44.449 is a story of that, a story of being and purpose 00:44:44.449 --> 00:44:47.130 and service, a story of somebody that discovered 00:44:47.130 --> 00:44:51.949 that God's invitation doesn't end at the table. 00:44:52.559 --> 00:44:56.980 It begins there. This is a story of a lady who 00:44:56.980 --> 00:44:59.880 left a nation where she was experiencing persecution, 00:45:00.099 --> 00:45:04.500 and she arrived in Thailand with nothing physically 00:45:04.500 --> 00:45:09.360 to give. She finds a church. She begins a discipleship 00:45:09.360 --> 00:45:13.300 journey on her own, belonging, becoming. And 00:45:13.300 --> 00:45:15.940 then she approaches her own community to see 00:45:15.940 --> 00:45:18.559 what kinds of challenges or needs exist there. 00:45:18.719 --> 00:45:21.400 And they help her come to an understanding that 00:45:21.400 --> 00:45:24.039 there are certain ages within the refugee community 00:45:24.039 --> 00:45:27.739 that don't really have access to education because 00:45:27.739 --> 00:45:29.719 of their age and their status. And she says, 00:45:29.840 --> 00:45:33.380 I'm an educator. I can help with that. And so 00:45:33.380 --> 00:45:36.239 she begins serving those within her own community 00:45:36.239 --> 00:45:39.340 who have been denied access to education. And 00:45:39.340 --> 00:45:42.599 so for me, what a beautiful picture of the kingdom 00:45:42.599 --> 00:45:46.360 of God. Not somebody just sitting on the sidelines 00:45:46.360 --> 00:45:49.760 being defined by some sort of label. Not just 00:45:49.760 --> 00:45:53.260 people known only by their circumstances. but 00:45:53.260 --> 00:45:56.159 people using their gifts, serving other people, 00:45:56.219 --> 00:45:59.699 building God's kingdom, reflecting Jesus. In 00:45:59.699 --> 00:46:03.099 church, this is what happens when hospitality 00:46:03.099 --> 00:46:07.699 does its work. Hospitality creates belonging. 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:10.719 Belonging creates becoming. Becoming leads to 00:46:10.719 --> 00:46:15.059 being. I'm going to preach for another 20 minutes 00:46:15.059 --> 00:46:20.039 until you say it, okay? And being. It leads us 00:46:20.039 --> 00:46:22.900 to welcome other people because welcomed people 00:46:22.900 --> 00:46:25.900 become welcoming people. And I think that's more 00:46:25.900 --> 00:46:28.260 than just like a nice phrase and we'll get hats 00:46:28.260 --> 00:46:30.420 and sell them to everybody later. But this is 00:46:30.420 --> 00:46:33.219 discipleship. This is the gospel. This is the 00:46:33.219 --> 00:46:35.940 kingdom of God. And so take a look back for a 00:46:35.940 --> 00:46:37.780 moment at where we've come from this morning. 00:46:37.840 --> 00:46:40.860 We began with the question, who belongs at God's 00:46:40.860 --> 00:46:44.659 table? Not just the outsiders. Sorry, not just 00:46:44.659 --> 00:46:47.480 the insiders. Not just the respectable people, 00:46:47.639 --> 00:46:50.179 not just the religious, not just the successful, 00:46:50.380 --> 00:46:53.340 but the invitation goes to the poor and the outsider, 00:46:53.420 --> 00:46:56.840 the forgotten, the overlooked, the people that 00:46:56.840 --> 00:46:59.960 nobody expected. And then Paul reminds us that 00:46:59.960 --> 00:47:02.920 we were strangers, we were foreigners, we were 00:47:02.920 --> 00:47:06.920 outsiders, and yet Christ brings us near. And 00:47:06.920 --> 00:47:09.300 then in Acts chapter 2, we're reminded that belonging 00:47:09.300 --> 00:47:12.099 isn't the destination, it's the beginning. God 00:47:12.099 --> 00:47:15.610 welcomes us and then he transforms us. And then 00:47:15.610 --> 00:47:18.809 Matthew 25 reminds us that transformed people 00:47:18.809 --> 00:47:21.769 begin living differently. They welcome, they 00:47:21.769 --> 00:47:24.969 serve, they make room, they extend the same kind 00:47:24.969 --> 00:47:28.309 of grace that they've received. And so all of 00:47:28.309 --> 00:47:31.289 that brings us to this moment. I want to invite 00:47:31.289 --> 00:47:37.789 you to reflect on a few questions. If we are 00:47:37.789 --> 00:47:43.389 welcomed, if I'm welcomed, how has Christ welcomed 00:47:43.389 --> 00:47:48.019 me? If I am transformed or I'm being transformed, 00:47:48.260 --> 00:47:53.860 who is God changing me to be? How is Christ changing 00:47:53.860 --> 00:47:59.739 me? And if we're sent, who is God inviting me, 00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:05.000 inviting you to welcome? I recognize that not 00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:08.179 all of us may be called to the same thing, but 00:48:08.179 --> 00:48:10.840 every one of us is invited to do something. Throughout 00:48:10.840 --> 00:48:12.960 the morning, we've talked about this idea of 00:48:12.960 --> 00:48:15.800 belonging. We've talked about the idea of becoming. 00:48:16.440 --> 00:48:20.300 We've talked about the idea of being. We've talked 00:48:20.300 --> 00:48:23.239 about hospitality. We've talked about God's invitation. 00:48:23.500 --> 00:48:26.659 We've talked about making room for other people 00:48:26.659 --> 00:48:31.179 because Christ made room for us. And so I want 00:48:31.179 --> 00:48:35.079 to leave you with three simple responses. See, 00:48:35.119 --> 00:48:38.519 some of us, some of us are called to give. We're 00:48:38.519 --> 00:48:41.849 here to support ministries, organizations. Maybe 00:48:41.849 --> 00:48:44.530 we can support people who are faithfully serving 00:48:44.530 --> 00:48:47.789 displaced communities here in Bangkok. Maybe 00:48:47.789 --> 00:48:50.889 people that are around the world. And so giving 00:48:50.889 --> 00:48:53.750 is one of the ways that we make room for other 00:48:53.750 --> 00:48:57.110 people. Not all of us can go and do something, 00:48:57.190 --> 00:49:00.829 but all of us can participate. The second one 00:49:00.829 --> 00:49:04.789 is this idea of grow. Say it with me, grow. Some 00:49:04.789 --> 00:49:10.090 of us need to grow. Maybe today, is an invitation 00:49:10.090 --> 00:49:13.010 to learn to build a relationship with another 00:49:13.010 --> 00:49:17.269 person. To learn somebody else's story, to pray 00:49:17.269 --> 00:49:20.449 differently, to step outside of your comfort 00:49:20.449 --> 00:49:23.670 zone, to move from sympathy to relationship, 00:49:23.789 --> 00:49:27.050 to move from knowing about people to actually 00:49:27.050 --> 00:49:31.250 knowing people. So perhaps the next step for 00:49:31.250 --> 00:49:34.690 you is simply to grow. And then there's others 00:49:34.690 --> 00:49:36.750 of you that are in this room that might be called 00:49:36.750 --> 00:49:40.829 to go, to serve, to volunteer, to mentor, to 00:49:40.829 --> 00:49:44.110 walk alongside somebody, to join what it is that 00:49:44.110 --> 00:49:48.610 God is already doing. And the invitation isn't 00:49:48.610 --> 00:49:51.130 to go to pretend to be some sort of rescuer. 00:49:51.329 --> 00:49:55.809 No, no. It's to go because you've been welcomed. 00:49:56.070 --> 00:49:59.190 And welcomed people become welcoming people. 00:50:00.239 --> 00:50:04.059 And so the invitation from Jesus to us today 00:50:04.059 --> 00:50:09.579 is to not simply attend the banquet. It's to 00:50:09.579 --> 00:50:13.099 help extend an invitation. It's to help make 00:50:13.099 --> 00:50:17.940 room at the table. Because one day, there will 00:50:17.940 --> 00:50:21.659 be people from every tribe, every tongue, every 00:50:21.659 --> 00:50:27.340 nation gathered around one king. And until that 00:50:27.340 --> 00:50:31.460 day, this is good, we have the privilege of helping 00:50:31.460 --> 00:50:36.139 people find their place at his table. So whether 00:50:36.139 --> 00:50:38.900 your next step is to give, to grow, or to go, 00:50:39.039 --> 00:50:43.099 take a step. Take a step because Christ made 00:50:43.099 --> 00:50:47.400 room for you. He made room for us. And now we've 00:50:47.400 --> 00:50:55.489 got an opportunity to make room for others. Thank 00:50:55.489 --> 00:50:58.429 you for tuning in to the ECB Sermon Podcast. 00:50:59.050 --> 00:51:02.750 Whether near or far, if you are looking for community 00:51:02.750 --> 00:51:06.650 or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage 00:51:06.650 --> 00:51:13.690 by sending us an email to If God is calling you 00:51:13.690 --> 00:51:16.429 to support our ministries, you will find giving 00:51:16.429 --> 00:51:20.230 options on our website. And remember to join 00:51:20.230 --> 00:51:22.309 us next week. God bless you.