WEBVTT 00:00:02.260 --> 00:00:05.259 Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:07.660 want to thank you for joining us today and we 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:10.179 hope you find today's sermon impacting as you 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:12.699 listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk. 00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:15.980 To find service times and watch messages online, 00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:20.120 see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now, 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:28.800 enjoy this week's message. Thank you. You're 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:33.960 very kind. And might I just add a little to that 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:40.679 moment you gave to Memorial Day because as an 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:45.259 Australian, your Memorial Day isn't just about 00:00:45.259 --> 00:00:51.679 America. It's about the entire free world. The 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:56.259 reality is this. Australia would not exist today 00:00:56.259 --> 00:01:00.700 in its present form. if America had not arisen 00:01:00.700 --> 00:01:06.340 in the Second World War and turned the tide. 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:11.540 We had a very close relationship. My Helen's 00:01:11.540 --> 00:01:16.859 auntie was a radio singer in Melbourne during 00:01:16.859 --> 00:01:22.079 the Second World War and an American Marine on 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:26.680 R &R in Melbourne met her. And Helen's auntie 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:29.659 married an American Marine who was involved in 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:37.280 the liberation of the Pacific. And I sat with 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:40.180 him on a number of occasions and heard him share 00:01:40.180 --> 00:01:45.659 of both the horror and the sacrifice that allowed 00:01:45.659 --> 00:01:49.900 nations like Australia to continue to exist. 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:56.819 We owe you a profound... debt of gratitude. And 00:01:56.819 --> 00:02:00.500 we are grateful for this great nation. There 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:07.420 is a saviour and there is a devil. And the devil 00:02:07.420 --> 00:02:11.180 would love to eradicate nations who make worship 00:02:11.180 --> 00:02:15.419 and the ministry of the gospel one of their priorities. 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:19.280 He'd love to eradicate those nations and bring 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:22.280 the entire earth under the darkness of unbelief. 00:02:23.939 --> 00:02:28.360 Never underestimate, you probably don't, we don't, 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:31.539 underestimate the significance of the existence 00:02:31.539 --> 00:02:37.800 of the United States of America. Fight for her 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.319 because as you do, you don't just fight for your 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:44.259 nation, you fight for the free world and I need 00:02:44.259 --> 00:02:48.120 you to know we are grateful. Father, I pray a 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:51.020 blessing upon this nation and I pray a blessing 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:54.580 upon... those who today are remembering, those 00:02:54.580 --> 00:03:01.099 who gave their lives in the midst of conflict 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:05.159 and those who didn't give their lives in that 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:09.199 they returned but gave years of their life to 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:11.419 do what others would never have wanted to do. 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:14.780 I give you thanks and it is my prayer that this 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:19.300 nation will stand and arise in her strength and 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:24.319 in her power. under the gospel of Jesus Christ 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:32.580 and let her prosper in Jesus' name. Amen. Just 00:03:32.580 --> 00:03:35.819 thought I'd throw that in there for free and 00:03:35.819 --> 00:03:39.719 much appreciate the opportunity to be with you. 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:42.719 It's a very extraordinary thing. My life was 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:46.710 profoundly touched. by Frank DiMuzio and Kevin 00:03:46.710 --> 00:03:49.189 Connor was in many ways, many of you might even 00:03:49.189 --> 00:03:52.229 know who Kevin Connor is because Kevin was such 00:03:52.229 --> 00:03:56.330 a significant person in the life of Frank DiMuzio, 00:03:56.490 --> 00:04:00.729 obviously, providing him with a wife and also 00:04:00.729 --> 00:04:04.210 being the head of the Bible College there, which 00:04:04.210 --> 00:04:10.090 Frank graduated from. And Frank DiMuzio was on 00:04:10.090 --> 00:04:12.430 eight different occasions our major speaker in 00:04:12.430 --> 00:04:15.280 Melbourne. for a pastor's conference that we 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:18.819 called Intermen. And as a result, we knew both 00:04:18.819 --> 00:04:21.160 Frank very well. And of course, Kevin Connor 00:04:21.160 --> 00:04:24.579 pastored very close to the church where we were. 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:28.139 And Kevin, I saw Kevin Connor as a father in 00:04:28.139 --> 00:04:31.800 my life. And to think that I have the privilege 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:34.079 of coming and standing here as part of the fruit 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:38.720 of the extended ministry of those two godly men, 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:44.310 it is a profound privilege. shake your pastor's 00:04:44.310 --> 00:04:48.329 hand because this is a very precious congregation 00:04:48.329 --> 00:04:51.209 and to be able to get up early this morning along 00:04:51.209 --> 00:04:55.009 with Jesus and get involved in a prayer meeting 00:04:55.009 --> 00:04:58.250 this morning. This is a house of prayer and I 00:04:58.250 --> 00:05:01.689 want to commend you for that and think it's a 00:05:01.689 --> 00:05:03.670 great privilege to be able to share from this 00:05:03.670 --> 00:05:06.750 pulpit today. I want to talk to you, share with 00:05:06.750 --> 00:05:10.370 you today a very simple message. A conversation 00:05:10.370 --> 00:05:15.980 that changed my entire life. And if you've ever 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:17.920 done the Search for Life, I'll give you a little 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:20.980 link between that course that has been shared 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:24.699 here, the Search for Life, and this message, 00:05:24.699 --> 00:05:28.379 because I would not be standing here and I would 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:31.120 not have ever created Careforce Life Keys if 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:33.480 it hadn't been for a number of things. One, the 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:36.139 girl that I met and married, and secondly, a 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:39.100 conversation with a university student that took 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:43.189 place many, many years ago during my... university 00:05:43.189 --> 00:05:47.389 training and I today simply want to share in 00:05:47.389 --> 00:05:50.470 appreciation for a conversation that changed 00:05:50.470 --> 00:05:53.170 my life and is having an influence at least on 00:05:53.170 --> 00:05:55.470 some of you today because all I ever wanted to 00:05:55.470 --> 00:05:58.410 be in life was a school teacher. I never wanted 00:05:58.410 --> 00:06:02.350 to be a pastor. I grew up in a home where my 00:06:02.350 --> 00:06:05.470 father was a teacher and from childhood my dream 00:06:05.470 --> 00:06:09.149 was to be a high school teacher in Australia. 00:06:09.769 --> 00:06:14.410 I passed my year 12s and won an education department 00:06:14.410 --> 00:06:17.790 scholarship to university that paid my way through 00:06:17.790 --> 00:06:21.089 what you'd call college. We called it university. 00:06:21.490 --> 00:06:25.110 And I was training to be a commerce teacher and 00:06:25.110 --> 00:06:28.470 grew up going to church. So there was never a 00:06:28.470 --> 00:06:30.569 time when I don't remember that I kind of believed 00:06:30.569 --> 00:06:33.589 the Bible and was being discipled in a Lutheran 00:06:33.589 --> 00:06:43.439 church. a believer. But I'd never actually connected 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:46.079 what I was hearing to a lot of the things that 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:49.500 were going on in my life. In my first year university, 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:53.000 I was arrested for siphoning petrol out of a 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:59.100 policeman's car. But I had always felt that it 00:06:59.100 --> 00:07:02.160 wasn't a serious problem because I was using 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:05.319 the petrol to drive to choir practice on a Thursday 00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:10.759 night. I would regularly steal my lunch from 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:13.540 the university cafeteria. I had simply developed 00:07:13.540 --> 00:07:17.319 a way of getting my lunch for free. And for some 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:20.980 reason, that never seemed to be a severe contradiction 00:07:20.980 --> 00:07:23.939 that I'd be in church on Sunday and stealing 00:07:23.939 --> 00:07:29.000 stuff during the week. But I was a believer and 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:31.800 I thought that that was covering the bases pretty 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:35.220 well. I was certainly not a follower of Jesus 00:07:35.220 --> 00:07:38.459 Christ. I was not a disciple, but I was a church 00:07:38.459 --> 00:07:41.879 -going believer. Now, Helen and I met each other 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:44.480 in high school, and about the end of my first 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:47.220 year, I was sitting on my car in a main street 00:07:47.220 --> 00:07:50.759 in Melbourne, and across my heart breathed a 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:53.579 question. I wonder what happened to Helen. I 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:56.379 wonder what happened to Helen Tew. That was her 00:07:56.379 --> 00:08:00.079 name, T -E -W. When I first heard her name, I 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:03.680 thought she was Chinese, Helen Chu, but no, she 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:07.339 actually had an English background. And I drove 00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:09.800 around to her house, and she was in a little 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:13.259 bit of an emotional crisis, and I presented myself 00:08:13.259 --> 00:08:16.060 as the knight in shining armour, having come 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:20.120 to save her from her miserable life. And as a 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:23.639 result, I invited her out, and within seven days, 00:08:24.350 --> 00:08:27.509 I knew I had found a girl with whom I could build 00:08:27.509 --> 00:08:30.829 a future. She was a believer. She had a very 00:08:30.829 --> 00:08:34.230 precious background. And although her family 00:08:34.230 --> 00:08:36.809 were not believers, she had had an encounter 00:08:36.809 --> 00:08:39.750 with Jesus in the backyard at the age of four 00:08:39.750 --> 00:08:43.929 and had grown up being discipled by a godly Anglican 00:08:43.929 --> 00:08:47.570 minister in her neighbourhood. And as a teenager, 00:08:47.629 --> 00:08:50.870 she had to sneak out of the house to get to church. 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:56.059 And as a result, I now had, as a second year 00:08:56.059 --> 00:08:59.100 university student, a beautiful girlfriend. I 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:02.100 had a car because I had a scholarship. I had 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:04.620 a little money in my pocket. I owned a rifle. 00:09:04.700 --> 00:09:07.740 I had a set of golf clubs. And life was pretty 00:09:07.740 --> 00:09:12.120 much wonderful. I was doing a little bit of university 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:15.940 and doing a lot of sport on the side. And Helen 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:19.690 and I began our relationship. Now, I would visit 00:09:19.690 --> 00:09:22.269 her church, her Anglican church, and she would 00:09:22.269 --> 00:09:25.730 come to my Lutheran church. But her Anglican 00:09:25.730 --> 00:09:28.789 minister was a little different from the experiences 00:09:28.789 --> 00:09:32.909 that I'd had in church. I had three godly Lutheran 00:09:32.909 --> 00:09:37.009 pastors. And I just thank God for the influence 00:09:37.009 --> 00:09:39.309 they had on my life. They were good and wonderful 00:09:39.309 --> 00:09:42.409 men. And the Bible was preached faithfully in 00:09:42.409 --> 00:09:45.909 our church. But I'd never heard a testimony in 00:09:45.909 --> 00:09:50.129 my life. Lutherans didn't do that. You went to 00:09:50.129 --> 00:09:53.870 church and you went home. And she had an Anglican 00:09:53.870 --> 00:09:56.409 minister that used to invite people in to share 00:09:56.409 --> 00:09:59.570 their experiences with God. Well, I didn't know 00:09:59.570 --> 00:10:03.070 anybody who had had experiences with God. And 00:10:03.070 --> 00:10:06.409 as a result, this was a new event for me. And 00:10:06.409 --> 00:10:10.799 listening to those testimonies shook me up. Because 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:12.899 I realised that there was a difference between 00:10:12.899 --> 00:10:15.799 someone who is a believer and siphons petrol 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:18.799 out of other people's cars and someone who's 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:22.080 actually walking with the Lord. And I began to 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:24.899 appreciate that there was a kind of Christianity 00:10:24.899 --> 00:10:30.039 with which I was not that familiar. And one night, 00:10:30.179 --> 00:10:34.500 one of these testimonies, a young man was sharing 00:10:34.500 --> 00:10:37.830 how he'd had an encounter with the Lord. And 00:10:37.830 --> 00:10:39.750 he'd woken up in the night and he was deeply 00:10:39.750 --> 00:10:42.809 overwhelmed or distressed by his sins. And he'd 00:10:42.809 --> 00:10:45.110 called on the name of the Lord and the Lord had 00:10:45.110 --> 00:10:48.210 met with him. And out of that, it's a bit like, 00:10:48.230 --> 00:10:51.509 you know, my chains fell off, my heart was free. 00:10:51.570 --> 00:10:54.870 I rose, went forth and followed thee, as Charles 00:10:54.870 --> 00:10:58.809 Wesley says in his hymn. And he said, now I can't 00:10:58.809 --> 00:11:01.409 help tell everybody about Jesus and I want to 00:11:01.409 --> 00:11:03.809 share Christ. And I was sitting there thinking, 00:11:03.950 --> 00:11:07.139 yuck. You know, that's embarrassing, talking 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:10.500 about Jesus all the time. And I realised I don't 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:14.159 talk about Jesus ever. There's something different 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:18.320 about him and me and his testimony shook my cage. 00:11:18.539 --> 00:11:21.720 And later that evening, Helen's minister sidled 00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:24.360 up behind me quietly and he said, tell me young 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:28.080 man, where are you with the Lord? Do you know 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:30.279 in 18 years of going to church, no one had ever 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:34.259 asked me that question. And being asked, it shook 00:11:34.259 --> 00:11:37.600 me again. And I responded by saying, oh, well, 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:40.240 I used to have my doubts, but now I'm right in 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:43.340 there. And I realised I haven't got a clue where 00:11:43.340 --> 00:11:46.799 I stand with the Lord. And as I drove Helen home 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:49.220 that night, I was shaken. It was like all the 00:11:49.220 --> 00:11:51.379 little worms were getting out of the box and 00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:55.419 creating for me an emotional tension. And I didn't 00:11:55.419 --> 00:11:58.799 know how to answer the question. And I wondered, 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:01.360 how would you ever know? where you stood with 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:03.200 the Lord. I guess I'd come to the conclusion 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:05.960 that the Bible's true, but you'll never really 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:08.440 know it until you die. And then you'll see heaven 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:10.799 and then you'll say, oh, it's all true. Because 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:14.720 that was to me, my expectation. And someone's 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:17.679 asking me where I stand with the Lord and I haven't 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:20.840 got a clue how to even answer the question. Good 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:22.539 Lutheran voice should have been able to answer 00:12:22.539 --> 00:12:25.080 that question. But over the next three weeks, 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:28.730 that upset prepared me for an encounter. And 00:12:28.730 --> 00:12:31.090 over the next weeks, I kept pushing the worms 00:12:31.090 --> 00:12:33.269 back into their box. Get back in there. It's 00:12:33.269 --> 00:12:37.370 all okay. Life is good. And I went to my own 00:12:37.370 --> 00:12:40.289 Lutheran church three weeks later. And we had 00:12:40.289 --> 00:12:44.049 a visiting Lutheran pastor who preached an extraordinary 00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:49.889 message on hell. And as I sat there and he unpacked 00:12:49.889 --> 00:12:54.990 eternity separated from the presence of God, 00:12:55.250 --> 00:13:00.210 my heart trembled. He did a great job. In fact, 00:13:00.210 --> 00:13:05.149 he preached that message in 1968. And I can still 00:13:05.149 --> 00:13:08.230 remember one thing that he said as clear as a 00:13:08.230 --> 00:13:11.830 bell. He said the worst two words that will ever 00:13:11.830 --> 00:13:17.029 be uttered in hell are the words, if only. If 00:13:17.029 --> 00:13:21.350 only I'd listened. If only I'd obeyed, if only 00:13:21.350 --> 00:13:24.730 I'd received him, if only I'd followed, if only 00:13:24.730 --> 00:13:27.889 I'd taken it seriously. Jesus said there'll be 00:13:27.889 --> 00:13:33.450 weeping and gnashing of teeth. Some will weep 00:13:33.450 --> 00:13:36.230 and some will be angry. How dare you do this 00:13:36.230 --> 00:13:39.149 to me? And others will be saying, why didn't 00:13:39.149 --> 00:13:43.250 I listen? Why didn't I take it seriously? And 00:13:43.250 --> 00:13:47.990 as that sermon unfolded, he tore my heart open. 00:13:48.620 --> 00:13:52.620 And I sat there that day, I was terrified because 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:55.799 I'd already appreciated three weeks earlier, 00:13:55.860 --> 00:13:58.960 I don't know where I stand with the Lord. And 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:02.159 that sermon presented me with the recognition, 00:14:02.360 --> 00:14:06.600 Al, you better find out. You better resolve this 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:10.360 because we're talking about eternal issues here. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:15.259 And as a result, I found myself deeply shaken. 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:18.659 Now, I was working in a quarry during my university 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:22.740 vacation. And so the next day, the Monday, I 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:27.759 went off to my university job in the quarry, 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:30.940 driving a big Euclid truck up and down the quarry 00:14:30.940 --> 00:14:34.340 all by myself, sitting in that truck for the 00:14:34.340 --> 00:14:37.419 next days, thinking through what that message 00:14:37.419 --> 00:14:40.299 had said to my heart. And saying to yourself, 00:14:40.620 --> 00:14:43.940 Al, you've got to get it sorted out where you 00:14:43.940 --> 00:14:46.139 stand with God. And the question I was asking, 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.379 well, how would you know where you stood with 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:51.460 God? So I started to prepare what I thought was 00:14:51.460 --> 00:14:53.980 a bit of a tick list of what it would mean if 00:14:53.980 --> 00:14:56.059 I was really a serious follower of the Lord. 00:14:56.220 --> 00:14:58.399 Now, the first thing I thought of was money. 00:14:58.740 --> 00:15:03.279 You know, God's nearly always broke. They tell 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:05.360 you that in church, you know. And I thought, 00:15:05.419 --> 00:15:07.379 Lord, if I was to give you more money, that's 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:11.080 got to count for something. And I'll up my giving 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:14.700 a little. I'll be happy to increase. And I put 00:15:14.700 --> 00:15:17.299 that, that's got to be a tick. And I started 00:15:17.299 --> 00:15:19.980 working my way through a list of things I felt 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:24.480 I could do that might kind of improve the quality 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:28.559 of my discipleship. And the last one I came up 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:32.639 with was brilliant. Sunday school. Sunday school. 00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:35.919 Brilliant, Alan. Brilliant. Because, see, this 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:40.679 was my desire. I wanted to go to heaven, but 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:44.220 I didn't want to be a fanatic. My plan was to 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:47.059 be a secret agent for God all the days of my 00:15:47.059 --> 00:15:52.840 life. I will fly under the radar, and when I 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:56.080 die, I'll end up in heaven, but I'll be just 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:59.379 inside. The gates will close and touch me right 00:15:59.379 --> 00:16:03.639 on the backside. People will turn around with 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:06.759 a shocked look and say, we never thought we'd 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:10.700 see you here, mate. And I'd say, oh no, me and 00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:13.639 Jesus was like that. I was a secret agent for 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:17.580 God. And I was planning, I'll live that kind 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:21.639 of secret. discipleship life and I'll be okay. 00:16:21.700 --> 00:16:24.559 And then I came up with the best idea of all, 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:28.360 Sunday school. Sunday school, brilliant thinking, 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:31.820 Alan. You're training to be a teacher. And Sunday 00:16:31.820 --> 00:16:34.980 school happens in church on Sunday. No one's 00:16:34.980 --> 00:16:37.779 gonna know where you are, but Jesus will know. 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:41.519 And as a result, I can teach the widowed children 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:45.159 about Jesus and then be normal all through the 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:49.220 week. I mean, how much suffering does it take 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:51.220 to get into heaven? I'm prepared to be a Sunday 00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:56.879 school teacher, man. That is dedication. I was 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.379 getting my tick list together and I was starting 00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:02.460 to feel pretty good about it. I can be that kind 00:17:02.460 --> 00:17:05.700 of Christian. I can pull that off. I came home 00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:08.960 from the quarry on a Thursday afternoon. I showered. 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:11.880 I'm gonna pick up Helen and take her out. I got 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:14.480 right near the front door and as I put my hand 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:19.529 on the doorknob, God spoke to me in here as clear 00:17:19.529 --> 00:17:23.549 as a bell. And he simply said to me, I want you 00:17:23.549 --> 00:17:27.109 to be a minister. Well, I got to promise you 00:17:27.109 --> 00:17:32.390 that wasn't on my list. A minister. I immediately 00:17:32.390 --> 00:17:35.069 saw myself dressed as a Lutheran minister with 00:17:35.069 --> 00:17:37.450 my black stuff on and the colours around my neck. 00:17:37.549 --> 00:17:43.450 And I burst into tears. Oh God. Oh God, a minister. 00:17:43.589 --> 00:17:48.630 Shoot me now. Shoot me now. I was horrified. 00:17:48.630 --> 00:17:51.670 I went round to Helen's house. I took her outside 00:17:51.670 --> 00:17:54.369 in the garden. I said, I think God wants me to 00:17:54.369 --> 00:17:56.690 be a minister. She cried. She didn't want to 00:17:56.690 --> 00:18:02.509 marry a minister. I hate to say it, but I've 00:18:02.509 --> 00:18:07.410 got a reverse testimony. You've heard those testimonies? 00:18:07.410 --> 00:18:10.769 I was down and I was low and broken and Jesus 00:18:10.769 --> 00:18:13.809 came and lifted me up. Well, I was doing great. 00:18:19.500 --> 00:18:22.279 all baby. I mean I had a scholarship and a beautiful 00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:24.519 girlfriend and a car and a rifle and the golf 00:18:24.519 --> 00:18:28.279 clubs and life was fantastic and Jesus came along 00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:35.859 and wrecked my entire life. And so now I'm a 00:18:35.859 --> 00:18:38.200 university student with a call of God on his 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:40.299 life and I want to tell you I was miserable. 00:18:40.980 --> 00:18:44.619 And as a result the next day I was on a jackhammer 00:18:44.619 --> 00:18:49.700 at the quarry and I And I got up and went to 00:18:49.700 --> 00:18:54.680 work and I was just traumatised. A minister. 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:58.160 I was on a jackhammer all day drilling holes 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:01.720 in big rocks to pop them with dynamite. And I 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:05.460 cried for four hours. Oh God. And I'm trying 00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:08.700 to figure out how to disobey God and get to heaven. 00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:13.980 Now because I was a university student it only 00:19:13.980 --> 00:19:16.849 took four hours to work that out. You're not 00:19:16.849 --> 00:19:19.970 going to be able to pull that off, Al. And at 00:19:19.970 --> 00:19:23.390 half past 11 in that morning, standing on a rock 00:19:23.390 --> 00:19:25.769 with a jackhammer in my hand, I said to God, 00:19:25.849 --> 00:19:29.269 I'm going to hate every minute of this, but if 00:19:29.269 --> 00:19:31.910 I have to, I'll do it. Now the angels were probably 00:19:31.910 --> 00:19:33.970 weeping. Somebody write that down. That's one 00:19:33.970 --> 00:19:37.809 of the most moving testimonies of salvation I've 00:19:37.809 --> 00:19:41.309 ever heard. But that's exactly where I was. And 00:19:41.309 --> 00:19:45.500 as a result, over the next year, I would wrestle 00:19:45.500 --> 00:19:49.460 with this call of God upon my life. And in the 00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:52.460 following year, I was just at the end of my university, 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.799 about to go out into my teaching career. And 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:59.740 I was studying in the university library, trying 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:02.539 to get ready for one of my final exams. And the 00:20:02.539 --> 00:20:05.220 call of God was weighing on my heart and I was 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:09.559 just overwhelmed by it. Filled with fear, filled 00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:11.460 with apprehension, just felt like it was the 00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:15.430 impossible. claim upon my life and it was so 00:20:15.430 --> 00:20:19.690 distressing I just couldn't study and I said 00:20:19.690 --> 00:20:21.769 to God you've got to leave me alone I've got 00:20:21.769 --> 00:20:25.930 to get this exam done or else I'll never get 00:20:25.930 --> 00:20:27.789 out of here I'll be here at university for the 00:20:27.789 --> 00:20:30.549 rest of my life Lord give me a break and I'm 00:20:30.549 --> 00:20:33.529 trying to find some peace so I can study and 00:20:33.529 --> 00:20:36.829 I noticed on the university diary for the day 00:20:36.829 --> 00:20:41.740 that there was going to be a Lutheran lunchtime 00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:44.339 service in the religious centre at the uni on 00:20:44.339 --> 00:20:47.259 that day. And I thought, I'm willing to do anything. 00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:50.279 I'll go to a lunchtime service to try and get 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:53.380 some peace. So down I went to get some peace 00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:56.920 and I sit down in the university religious centre 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:59.359 waiting for the service to start and the service 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:01.779 starts and it went on and it was absolutely meaningless 00:21:01.779 --> 00:21:05.059 to me. But while I'm sitting there, a young man 00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:08.980 just came and sat down beside me. Now there's 00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:11.779 people sitting around us. And at the end of the 00:21:11.779 --> 00:21:14.359 service I was distressed because I'd hoped it 00:21:14.359 --> 00:21:17.119 would make a difference and it didn't. And the 00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:19.299 guy who was doing the service packed up and he 00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:22.039 was about to leave and because I was so distressed 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:25.119 I didn't move. I just sat there in that religious 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:29.180 centre. And the guy beside me didn't leave either. 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:32.400 He just opened his bag, got out his lunch and 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:35.660 started to eat his lunch and he asked me a question. 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:39.059 He said, how's life? Now that's an interesting 00:21:39.059 --> 00:21:42.240 thing. If you want to share your faith, just 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:46.359 don't leave a conversation too soon. Because 00:21:46.359 --> 00:21:48.880 the Bible says, out of the abundance of the heart, 00:21:48.900 --> 00:21:50.799 the mouth speaks. And the moment he asked me 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:52.960 that question, how are you? I just began spilling 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:56.099 it out. Oh, I'm terrible. I'm trying to study 00:21:56.099 --> 00:21:58.599 and I can't study because God's got a call upon 00:21:58.599 --> 00:22:01.319 my life and he wants me to minister and I don't 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:03.500 want to be a minister. And I just poured it all 00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:07.049 out. I can never tell you how much I thank God 00:22:07.049 --> 00:22:09.430 that that guy just happened to turn up and sit 00:22:09.430 --> 00:22:12.769 on that seat on that day. The sovereignty of 00:22:12.769 --> 00:22:16.130 God in your life is one of the greatest gifts. 00:22:16.190 --> 00:22:18.529 I wonder why you're here this morning. I wonder 00:22:18.529 --> 00:22:20.990 why you're sitting in your seat and I'm standing 00:22:20.990 --> 00:22:24.890 up here sharing my story. You think all that's 00:22:24.890 --> 00:22:28.569 necessarily just a coincidence of circumstances? 00:22:30.089 --> 00:22:32.589 You may well be sitting here today never expecting 00:22:32.589 --> 00:22:35.769 to hear what I'm about to say to you. But you're 00:22:35.769 --> 00:22:38.930 here because God passionately loves you. And 00:22:38.930 --> 00:22:41.069 he's got you sitting in a seat today to hear 00:22:41.069 --> 00:22:44.509 something that perhaps you deeply need to hear. 00:22:45.130 --> 00:22:49.069 And we started a conversation together. And here 00:22:49.069 --> 00:22:51.329 was a young man who was preparing to be a missionary. 00:22:51.529 --> 00:22:54.309 And he asked me the question. Well, that's a 00:22:54.309 --> 00:22:56.250 fantastic thing. You want to be a minister? I 00:22:56.250 --> 00:22:59.480 said, no, no, it's awful. I don't want to be 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:01.539 a minister. He said, why not? And I said, well, 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:04.819 because I just don't want to. And he asked me 00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:08.380 a question. He said, are you a believer? And 00:23:08.380 --> 00:23:12.299 I said, well, sure. Well, tell me, mate, what 00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:15.000 do you believe? Well, I'm a Lutheran. You ask 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:17.880 me that question, I can tell you. Well, I believe 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:20.839 in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and 00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:24.180 earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only son, our 00:23:24.180 --> 00:23:26.240 Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:28.900 of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, 00:23:28.940 --> 00:23:31.220 was crucified, dead and buried. He descended 00:23:31.220 --> 00:23:33.579 into hell. Third day he rose again from the dead. 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:35.339 He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:37.460 of God, the Father Almighty. From thence he shall 00:23:37.460 --> 00:23:41.700 come to judge the living and the dead. Believe 00:23:41.700 --> 00:23:43.539 in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, 00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:45.579 the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, 00:23:45.660 --> 00:23:47.519 the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting. 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:53.940 Do you think I'm saved? He said, oh, it's possible. 00:23:57.779 --> 00:24:01.440 He said, man, that's a lot of believing you got 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:03.799 going on there, man. That's quite impressive. 00:24:04.619 --> 00:24:06.839 And I said, yeah, well, I believe it. I believe 00:24:06.839 --> 00:24:10.359 it all, you know. He said, well, that's wonderful, 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:14.160 but you don't want to be a minister. No. I said, 00:24:14.220 --> 00:24:16.599 I'm just wondering if maybe in all that believing 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:19.920 you've kind of missed a little bit. Well, which 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:23.609 bit? You said it there, right there. I believe 00:24:23.609 --> 00:24:25.710 in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven 00:24:25.710 --> 00:24:29.109 and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only son, 00:24:29.390 --> 00:24:33.690 our Lord. You know, you might have missed that 00:24:33.690 --> 00:24:40.549 bit. Lord. You know, the earliest Christian confession 00:24:40.549 --> 00:24:42.809 didn't have that many words in it. That's a lot 00:24:42.809 --> 00:24:45.390 of words. The Apostles' Creed's a great, great 00:24:45.390 --> 00:24:48.529 confession of faith, but that took my 150 years 00:24:48.529 --> 00:24:51.730 to get that one sorted out. Right there at the 00:24:51.730 --> 00:24:53.890 beginning, it was a lot simpler than that. In 00:24:53.890 --> 00:24:56.210 fact, the whole Christian confession came down 00:24:56.210 --> 00:25:00.470 to four words, Jesus Christ is Lord. And maybe 00:25:00.470 --> 00:25:02.710 I'm just wondering if perhaps you might have 00:25:02.710 --> 00:25:04.430 just missed that a little bit. And I'm wondering, 00:25:04.490 --> 00:25:08.170 what do you think that word means in his title, 00:25:08.309 --> 00:25:10.950 the Lord Jesus Christ? And I said, well, I guess 00:25:10.950 --> 00:25:14.049 it's a title, you know, like Professor James 00:25:14.049 --> 00:25:20.230 Brown or Apostle Jim Smith. Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:20.289 --> 00:25:22.150 I mean, if he did have Lord in there, he'd only 00:25:22.150 --> 00:25:24.390 have two names and it wouldn't really work that 00:25:24.390 --> 00:25:28.990 well. I think you might've missed something there, 00:25:29.029 --> 00:25:33.789 man. Because that word carries content. The word 00:25:33.789 --> 00:25:37.890 Lord means that he is the owner. He's the master. 00:25:38.910 --> 00:25:43.390 He is the one with supreme power and authority. 00:25:44.349 --> 00:25:48.920 He's the one who rules. He's the supreme being. 00:25:49.099 --> 00:25:52.160 He's the one with dominion. He's the one with 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:56.200 power and with authority. In fact, put it in 00:25:56.200 --> 00:26:00.980 simple words, he's the boss. The essence of the 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:05.740 gospel is revealed in his name, the Lord Jesus 00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:10.079 Christ. The word Lord, he is the one who has 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:13.200 all authority. He rules and he reigns forever. 00:26:14.109 --> 00:26:17.549 And the one who rules and reigns forever has 00:26:17.549 --> 00:26:22.289 a name. And his name is Jesus, Joshua, which 00:26:22.289 --> 00:26:26.549 means he will save his people from their sins. 00:26:26.750 --> 00:26:29.930 And he is also the Christ who has been anointed 00:26:29.930 --> 00:26:33.369 by the Father with power and authority to save 00:26:33.369 --> 00:26:36.349 and to heal and to rule. And this is the one 00:26:36.349 --> 00:26:41.859 who is inviting you onto his ministry team. Could 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:44.619 we get a little bit excited about that? And the 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:52.279 answer, not yet. He said, the thing that you're 00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:58.759 missing here, Al, is that your saviour is your 00:26:58.759 --> 00:27:02.740 Lord. In fact, that's the only way Christ has 00:27:02.740 --> 00:27:07.099 ever been presented to the world. Now, you might 00:27:07.099 --> 00:27:10.250 have lost the word Lord in there somewhere. but 00:27:10.250 --> 00:27:14.309 that's how Christ was always presented. In fact, 00:27:14.309 --> 00:27:17.450 just listen to the way the angels presented him 00:27:17.450 --> 00:27:21.910 to the shepherds in Luke chapter two. For they 00:27:21.910 --> 00:27:26.329 came to say, for today in the city of David, 00:27:26.390 --> 00:27:30.130 there has been born for you a saviour who is 00:27:30.130 --> 00:27:37.390 Christ the Lord. The apostles proclaimed it in 00:27:37.390 --> 00:27:41.210 Acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost. It 00:27:41.210 --> 00:28:00.589 goes to the core of being saved because Romans 00:28:00.589 --> 00:28:04.980 10 verse nine says to us, If you confess with 00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:11.180 your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your 00:28:11.180 --> 00:28:13.700 heart that God has raised him from the dead, 00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:21.000 you will be saved. Philippians chapter two. God 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:24.019 has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the 00:28:24.019 --> 00:28:26.859 name which is above every name so that the name 00:28:26.859 --> 00:28:40.900 of Jesus... Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory 00:28:40.900 --> 00:28:45.259 of God the Father. The Apostle Peter put it this 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:55.329 way, 1 Corinthians puts it this way, for us there 00:28:55.329 --> 00:28:59.490 is but one God, the Father, from whom are all 00:28:59.490 --> 00:29:05.869 things, and we exist for him, and one Lord, Jesus 00:29:05.869 --> 00:29:11.569 Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist 00:29:11.569 --> 00:29:16.470 through him. Then 2 Corinthians puts it this 00:29:16.470 --> 00:29:21.130 way, for we do not preach ourselves, but Christ 00:29:21.130 --> 00:29:27.750 Jesus as Lord. And Revelation puts a bow on the 00:29:27.750 --> 00:29:30.230 whole thing when it says, and these will wage 00:29:30.230 --> 00:29:33.750 war against the Lamb and the Lamb will overcome 00:29:33.750 --> 00:29:40.470 them because he is Lord of Lords and King of 00:29:40.470 --> 00:29:44.329 Kings. He said, Al, you got a problem, mate. 00:29:44.529 --> 00:29:48.160 I'll tell you what your problem is. You're trying 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:55.200 to marry a dishwasher. It might be your problem, 00:29:55.259 --> 00:29:57.859 not likely in a church like this where the Word 00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:00.440 of God is preached so plainly and relentlessly. 00:30:00.940 --> 00:30:03.940 But you see, I went to church for 18 years and 00:30:03.940 --> 00:30:07.900 I was trying to marry a dishwasher. I had no 00:30:07.900 --> 00:30:10.720 idea I was doing it until that young man sat 00:30:10.720 --> 00:30:14.319 beside me and clarified for me who Jesus Christ 00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:19.160 was. really was in the mind of a true believer. 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:25.519 Al, you're trying to marry a dishwasher. You 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:29.880 see, the gospel doesn't present Jesus as a saviour 00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:36.279 disconnected from his lordship. Imagine this, 00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:39.900 Al. You're going to get married. You're standing 00:30:39.900 --> 00:30:43.400 at the altar. And the bride comes in her beauty 00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:46.099 and stands alongside you. And the pastor says, 00:30:46.299 --> 00:30:50.900 Alan, will you have this woman make your confession? 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:56.960 So I said, I, Alan, take you, Helen, to be my 00:30:56.960 --> 00:31:05.180 legal and permanent dishwasher. Now, there's 00:31:05.180 --> 00:31:07.079 going to be a moment where the pastor will stop 00:31:07.079 --> 00:31:10.170 and say, excuse me, what did you just say? I 00:31:10.170 --> 00:31:15.069 take this woman to be my, tell me, I lost the 00:31:15.069 --> 00:31:17.549 word. Thank you. Thank you, sweetheart. When 00:31:17.549 --> 00:31:21.490 I lose a word, that woman has it for me. I thank 00:31:21.490 --> 00:31:26.730 you. My lawful wedded dishwasher. If the pastor 00:31:26.730 --> 00:31:29.230 doesn't stop me, she's gonna stop me. Excuse 00:31:29.230 --> 00:31:32.930 me, what did you say? Well, I receive you as 00:31:32.930 --> 00:31:38.789 my lawful wedded dishwasher. I don't think you 00:31:38.789 --> 00:31:42.029 understand what you're doing here, mate. You 00:31:42.029 --> 00:31:49.049 can't marry a dishwasher. You marry a wife. And 00:31:49.049 --> 00:31:51.509 if you're lucky, she might wash dishes occasionally. 00:31:54.430 --> 00:32:00.950 But you can't marry a dishwasher. And that's 00:32:00.950 --> 00:32:03.589 exactly what you're trying to do with the Lord 00:32:03.589 --> 00:32:08.970 Jesus Christ. You see, here's the problem. Christ 00:32:08.970 --> 00:32:11.269 is not presented to you as your dishwasher. He 00:32:11.269 --> 00:32:14.250 is presented to you as your Lord and Saviour. 00:32:15.950 --> 00:32:20.950 And the gospel is a dear thickie, not a sun thickie. 00:32:22.009 --> 00:32:25.650 Two Greek words for covenant. Want to buy your 00:32:25.650 --> 00:32:28.450 motorbike? You tell me how much you want for 00:32:28.450 --> 00:32:31.269 it. $3 ,000? Oh, I'm not buying that much. No, 00:32:31.349 --> 00:32:33.779 no, that's too much. I'll offer you two. Well, 00:32:33.859 --> 00:32:36.279 I'm not selling it for two. How about we go for 00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:38.900 two and a half? Oh, okay. That's a sunthiki, 00:32:39.099 --> 00:32:43.339 a negotiated agreement. You need to understand 00:32:43.339 --> 00:32:46.119 something, Al. A relationship with Jesus Christ 00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:50.900 is not a negotiated agreement. It's not a sunthiki. 00:32:51.299 --> 00:32:55.380 It's a diathiki. A diatheke is a covenant from 00:32:55.380 --> 00:32:59.759 a superior to an inferior. You can accept it. 00:32:59.799 --> 00:33:04.059 You can reject it, but you cannot negotiate it. 00:33:04.420 --> 00:33:10.420 And you're trying to negotiate a covenantal relationship 00:33:10.420 --> 00:33:14.500 with God. And that's why you're struggling so 00:33:14.500 --> 00:33:17.619 much. And I'm thinking, why did it take this 00:33:17.619 --> 00:33:21.460 long for somebody To say that to me, he said, 00:33:21.500 --> 00:33:25.299 Alan, you cannot have Jesus Christ as your saviour 00:33:25.299 --> 00:33:32.299 if you will not embrace him as your Lord. The 00:33:32.299 --> 00:33:35.440 Bible says, be doers of the word, not hearers, 00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:39.240 only deceiving your own self. I spent a lot of 00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:42.920 years deceiving my own self, believing lots of 00:33:42.920 --> 00:33:46.160 things about Jesus to take away my sins, but 00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:50.039 never connected it to his lordship. And by the 00:33:50.039 --> 00:33:53.559 grace of God, a boy sat beside me in a critical 00:33:53.559 --> 00:33:57.160 moment of my life. He explained to me, you can't 00:33:57.160 --> 00:34:01.109 marry a dishwasher. Now, Jesus will wash you 00:34:01.109 --> 00:34:04.829 from your sins, but you have to embrace him in 00:34:04.829 --> 00:34:08.349 a slightly different way. Listen to it in the 00:34:08.349 --> 00:34:30.800 words of Jesus himself. Did we not prophesy in 00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:34.119 your name and in your name drive out demons and 00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:37.659 in your name perform many miracles? And then 00:34:37.659 --> 00:34:42.340 I will tell them plainly, oh God, I never knew 00:34:42.340 --> 00:34:48.340 you. Away from me, you evildoers. Jesus put it 00:34:48.340 --> 00:34:51.639 this way in Luke 6 verse 46. Why do you call 00:34:51.639 --> 00:34:56.340 me Lord, Lord, but you do not do the things that 00:34:56.340 --> 00:35:02.440 I say? That was me. I'm telling you about a conversation 00:35:02.440 --> 00:35:04.579 that changed my life. Without that conversation, 00:35:04.860 --> 00:35:07.900 I wouldn't be here today. You know, Jesus said 00:35:07.900 --> 00:35:10.960 to his critics, let me tell you a parable. What 00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:15.420 do you think of this parable? He said, there 00:35:15.420 --> 00:35:18.260 was once a man who had two sons. And the father 00:35:18.260 --> 00:35:21.019 came to the first and he said, son, I want you 00:35:21.019 --> 00:35:23.860 to go and work in my vineyard today. And the 00:35:23.860 --> 00:35:31.150 son replied, I'd rather not. But afterward, He 00:35:31.150 --> 00:35:33.550 deeply regretted what he said to his father and 00:35:33.550 --> 00:35:36.750 he changed his mind and decided to go to the 00:35:36.750 --> 00:35:41.289 vineyard. I am that son. The father approached 00:35:41.289 --> 00:35:43.949 the second son and said the same to him. The 00:35:43.949 --> 00:35:46.449 son replied, Father, I will go and I will do 00:35:46.449 --> 00:35:50.110 as you said. But he never did. He didn't go to 00:35:50.110 --> 00:35:52.889 the vineyard. Now tell me which of these two 00:35:52.889 --> 00:35:56.530 sons did the will of the father? They answered 00:35:56.530 --> 00:35:58.510 him the first one and Jesus said, you're right. 00:35:59.099 --> 00:36:02.400 For many sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes 00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:05.659 are going into God's kingdom ahead of you. Sin 00:36:05.659 --> 00:36:09.820 will not keep you out of heaven if it is accompanied 00:36:09.820 --> 00:36:14.199 with repentance. and a cry to the King of kings 00:36:14.199 --> 00:36:18.340 and the Lord of lords, let your name be my salvation. 00:36:18.340 --> 00:36:22.280 Let your blood be my salvation. It's not sin 00:36:22.280 --> 00:36:25.340 that will keep you out of heaven. It is a failure 00:36:25.340 --> 00:36:29.219 to embrace Christ as Lord. And if you'll embrace 00:36:29.219 --> 00:36:33.079 him as Lord, he will be your saviour and he will 00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:38.300 wash you from your sins. Jesus said, John came 00:36:38.300 --> 00:36:40.960 to show you the path of goodness and righteousness, 00:36:41.300 --> 00:36:45.460 yet the despised and the outcasts believed him, 00:36:45.599 --> 00:36:50.199 but you did not. When you saw them turn, you 00:36:50.199 --> 00:36:55.940 neither repented of your ways nor believed his 00:36:55.940 --> 00:37:00.340 words. I am that son. I'm here because someone 00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:03.039 sat beside me in a university religious centre 00:37:03.039 --> 00:37:05.699 and said to me, you can't marry a dishwasher. 00:37:06.800 --> 00:37:10.980 And I was trying. And it's so frustrating because 00:37:10.980 --> 00:37:13.500 you can't find the peace of God down that pathway. 00:37:14.199 --> 00:37:17.000 You can't find relief. You can't find release. 00:37:17.099 --> 00:37:19.320 You can't find deliverance down that pathway. 00:37:20.119 --> 00:37:24.300 And that day I made a decision. If his lordship 00:37:24.300 --> 00:37:33.440 is tied to salvation, here I am. Let me sing 00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:38.710 to you a little song. I tried to get Jackie to 00:37:38.710 --> 00:37:41.989 play this because she would do a better job than 00:37:41.989 --> 00:37:44.829 me. The problem is Jackie's never heard this 00:37:44.829 --> 00:37:49.369 before, which is proof that I'm older than she 00:37:49.369 --> 00:37:57.250 is. Let me sing you a song, A Blast From The 00:37:57.250 --> 00:39:04.690 Past. Can you hear that? Would you sing it with 00:39:04.690 --> 00:39:48.960 me? Take a seat for just a minute. There was 00:39:48.960 --> 00:39:52.619 a man who bought an apartment once. Thought, 00:39:52.659 --> 00:39:54.199 you know what I'll do? I'll buy an apartment, 00:39:54.260 --> 00:39:59.199 I'll get a tenant and I'll earn some rent. So 00:39:59.199 --> 00:40:01.579 he bought the apartment and he installed some 00:40:01.579 --> 00:40:03.460 tenants. At the end of the first month, he came 00:40:03.460 --> 00:40:07.579 to the tenant's door and he knocked. The tenant 00:40:07.579 --> 00:40:09.800 came out and saw, oh, are you the owner? Yes, 00:40:10.059 --> 00:40:13.159 he said. Oh, fantastic, he said. I've got something 00:40:13.159 --> 00:40:16.659 for you. Takes a backward step and begins to 00:40:16.659 --> 00:40:24.400 sing. You are the owner. You are the owner. You 00:40:24.400 --> 00:40:27.800 have bought this apartment. You are the owner. 00:40:29.420 --> 00:40:35.539 Every knee shall bow. Every tongue confess that 00:40:35.539 --> 00:40:40.820 you are the owner. Shut the door and went inside. 00:40:43.920 --> 00:40:45.679 The guy said, that's extraordinary. I'd never 00:40:45.679 --> 00:40:47.440 seen that before in my life. He said, maybe he's 00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:49.659 going to give me two months' rent next month. 00:40:49.800 --> 00:40:51.780 Turns up the end of the next month, knocks on 00:40:51.780 --> 00:40:56.639 the door. Opens the door. Sweetheart, it's the 00:40:56.639 --> 00:40:59.320 owner. Out comes the wife and two kids, and in 00:40:59.320 --> 00:41:02.320 four -part harmony, they begin to sing. You are 00:41:02.320 --> 00:41:06.340 the owner. You are the owner. Give him the whole 00:41:06.340 --> 00:41:09.900 thing, shut the door, and go inside. He says, 00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:12.639 I don't think they understand. Maybe they'll 00:41:12.639 --> 00:41:15.480 give me three months rent next month. He turns 00:41:15.480 --> 00:41:18.920 up on the third month, knocks on the door, and 00:41:18.920 --> 00:41:21.679 out comes the tenant. Oh, it's the owner. Out 00:41:21.679 --> 00:41:25.179 from the bushes come the neighbours and a 60 00:41:25.179 --> 00:41:29.860 -part band with choir, and they all begin to 00:41:29.860 --> 00:41:34.280 sing. You are the owner. You are the owner. You 00:41:34.280 --> 00:41:38.159 are the owner. You are the owner. Give him the 00:41:38.159 --> 00:41:41.840 entire thing. There will come a moment when he 00:41:41.840 --> 00:41:52.460 will say, shut up and pay me the money. Jesus 00:41:52.460 --> 00:41:57.099 is worth more than a song. Thank God for worship 00:41:57.099 --> 00:42:00.639 and thank God for the song. But he's actually 00:42:00.639 --> 00:42:04.440 the owner and he deserves everything. And one 00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:08.099 day he came to me and said, I want it all. I 00:42:08.099 --> 00:42:12.780 want your life. Somebody had to explain to me 00:42:12.780 --> 00:42:15.300 that he really is the owner and he wanted more 00:42:15.300 --> 00:42:18.199 from me than singing in the choir, having got 00:42:18.199 --> 00:42:23.579 there on stolen petrol. And by the grace of God, 00:42:23.619 --> 00:42:26.000 that young man changed my life. Now let me tell 00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:29.820 you one final thing. I never shared that story 00:42:29.820 --> 00:42:33.619 for 50 years. The first time I ever shared this 00:42:33.619 --> 00:42:35.880 story, I mentioned the young man's name. His 00:42:35.880 --> 00:42:39.869 name was Graham Willard Turton. At the end of 00:42:39.869 --> 00:42:41.630 the service, a man came up and said to me, that 00:42:41.630 --> 00:42:44.670 man's my uncle, 50 years down the track. He said, 00:42:44.710 --> 00:42:46.429 I'm going to tell my uncle that you had that 00:42:46.429 --> 00:42:48.909 impact on his life. And then we met together 00:42:48.909 --> 00:42:53.090 and we had lunch. I discovered that he didn't 00:42:53.090 --> 00:42:55.489 go out and become a missionary. He actually founded 00:42:55.489 --> 00:42:58.690 the Christian Schools Movement in the state of 00:42:58.690 --> 00:43:01.489 New South Wales in Australia and had a fantastic 00:43:01.489 --> 00:43:05.460 impact. But what really had moved him... But 00:43:05.460 --> 00:43:11.099 when he heard that Alan Myers, that conversation 00:43:11.099 --> 00:43:14.280 changed his life. His wife burst into tears because 00:43:14.280 --> 00:43:17.739 she was a Life Keys facilitator in his church. 00:43:18.380 --> 00:43:22.320 You mean my husband had that impact on Al? I 00:43:22.320 --> 00:43:24.719 said to him, I'm preparing a new version of The 00:43:24.719 --> 00:43:27.880 Search for Life. He said, I've been editing other 00:43:27.880 --> 00:43:30.579 people's material. If you'd like, I'd love to 00:43:30.579 --> 00:43:34.019 help you with The Search for Life. 50 years down 00:43:34.019 --> 00:43:37.400 the track, the young boy who touched my life 00:43:37.400 --> 00:43:42.159 in that religious centre helped me edit the updated 00:43:42.159 --> 00:43:45.280 version of The Search for Life. And if ever you 00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:47.559 do The Search for Life, you'll be encountering 00:43:47.559 --> 00:43:49.980 something of the heart of that young man. He 00:43:49.980 --> 00:43:53.659 died last year. I had the privilege of honouring 00:43:53.659 --> 00:43:56.860 him just before his death by making a video and 00:43:56.860 --> 00:43:58.960 expressing to him something of what I've shared 00:43:58.960 --> 00:44:01.539 with you here today. And I simply would love 00:44:01.539 --> 00:44:05.329 to know, If you're here today and maybe this 00:44:05.329 --> 00:44:08.809 has been helpful for you, maybe you too in some 00:44:08.809 --> 00:44:12.949 area of your life are trying to marry a dishwasher. 00:44:13.690 --> 00:44:17.670 Let me ask you a couple of questions. If Jesus 00:44:17.670 --> 00:44:21.269 Christ was to really be the Lord of your life, 00:44:21.369 --> 00:44:23.889 would you have to do something different with 00:44:23.889 --> 00:44:29.500 your money? If Jesus Christ was really the Lord 00:44:29.500 --> 00:44:32.619 of your life, would you have to adjust your sex 00:44:32.619 --> 00:44:39.219 life? If Christ was truly your Lord, would you 00:44:39.219 --> 00:44:43.539 have to take your purity more seriously? If Christ 00:44:43.539 --> 00:44:45.960 was the Lord of your life, would you love better? 00:44:46.579 --> 00:44:49.480 Would you love your wife, your husband, your 00:44:49.480 --> 00:44:52.800 mother, your father better if Christ was Lord? 00:44:55.019 --> 00:44:57.320 If Christ was Lord, would you handle your worst 00:44:57.320 --> 00:45:01.639 enemy just a little differently? If Christ was 00:45:01.639 --> 00:45:06.000 your Lord, would you forgive more quickly? Would 00:45:06.000 --> 00:45:08.519 you stop driving and texting at the same time? 00:45:10.780 --> 00:45:13.500 Would you clean up your room without your mother 00:45:13.500 --> 00:45:18.000 having to shout at you? Would you resolve conflict? 00:45:18.960 --> 00:45:23.139 Would you pray more passionately? Would you serve 00:45:23.139 --> 00:45:29.289 better? If Jesus Christ was Lord, oh God, be 00:45:29.289 --> 00:45:32.889 Lord in my life. And I pray over these people, 00:45:32.949 --> 00:45:38.130 be Lord for them also and in them. Oh my God, 00:45:38.329 --> 00:45:40.909 if we've been trying to marry a dishwasher, I 00:45:40.909 --> 00:45:47.570 turn to you in repentance and say, forgive me. 00:45:48.750 --> 00:45:53.329 You are the King. It was by your blood and your 00:45:53.329 --> 00:45:56.889 innocent and bitter sufferings and death that 00:45:56.889 --> 00:46:02.690 heaven opened to me. Because you are anointed, 00:46:02.769 --> 00:46:07.949 all things are possible through you. Change my 00:46:07.949 --> 00:46:13.590 heart, oh God. Change my heart. That your kingship 00:46:13.590 --> 00:46:18.349 would be honoured in my life. In Jesus' name. 00:46:19.340 --> 00:46:21.800 May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the 00:46:21.800 --> 00:46:24.699 Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious 00:46:24.699 --> 00:46:28.500 unto you. May the Lord lift up his countenance 00:46:28.500 --> 00:46:33.079 upon you and give you his peace. Thank you so 00:46:33.079 --> 00:46:34.900 much for the privilege of sharing a little of 00:46:34.900 --> 00:46:38.219 my story. And I pray it may for some of you be 00:46:38.219 --> 00:46:40.539 a moment that will really help you for the rest 00:46:40.539 --> 00:47:06.019 of your life. Amen. If you are in need of prayer, 00:47:06.139 --> 00:47:12.000 send us a text message at 541 -625 -1365. We 00:47:12.000 --> 00:47:13.179 would love to pray with you.