WEBVTT 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:08.689 Kia ora, and welcome to the St. Francis Church 00:00:08.689 --> 00:00:11.490 Sermon Podcast. We're so glad that you've joined 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.789 us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would 00:00:14.789 --> 00:00:17.690 encounter God's presence, be refreshed in your 00:00:17.690 --> 00:00:20.429 faith, and equipped for everyday life with Jesus. 00:00:21.109 --> 00:00:24.129 As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:27.739 Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For 00:00:27.739 --> 00:00:30.739 more info about who we are and what God is doing 00:00:30.739 --> 00:00:36.500 among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:42.920 peace. Morning family on this winter morning. 00:00:45.899 --> 00:00:51.159 Yes, the earlier service they noticed that I've 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:53.479 been wearing a jacket the last two weeks and 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:57.729 set a short sleeve so they must... Realise it's 00:00:57.729 --> 00:00:59.969 getting a bit colder. But it's lovely to have 00:00:59.969 --> 00:01:02.829 that change of weather. As Dave mentioned, the 00:01:02.829 --> 00:01:05.909 seasons that help us move forward or settle in 00:01:05.909 --> 00:01:09.310 as well. I just want to take us back to last 00:01:09.310 --> 00:01:12.569 week briefly. We had Corpus Christi where we 00:01:12.569 --> 00:01:18.010 celebrated. In that we saw love given, love shown 00:01:18.010 --> 00:01:22.549 through Christ's body. His dying and giving himself 00:01:22.549 --> 00:01:27.129 to us. And that leads very well into... the readings 00:01:27.129 --> 00:01:32.329 that we've got today. But before we move forward, 00:01:32.370 --> 00:01:34.290 I want to ask you a question before we go anywhere 00:01:34.290 --> 00:01:37.510 else this morning. And it's not a warm -up question. 00:01:37.989 --> 00:01:39.930 It's a question that everything else is going 00:01:39.930 --> 00:01:44.549 to be built on. And it's this. What is God actually 00:01:44.549 --> 00:01:52.629 like? Not, what do you know about God? What has 00:01:52.629 --> 00:01:55.329 he actually been like as far as you can tell? 00:01:56.620 --> 00:02:01.299 Is he warm or cold? Does he move toward people 00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:05.540 or does he wait to actually be found? Does he 00:02:05.540 --> 00:02:07.500 feel something when he looks at the world or 00:02:07.500 --> 00:02:10.900 is he more like a distant CEO running the universe 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:19.659 from a long way away? These aren't just theological 00:02:19.659 --> 00:02:24.520 questions for us. They're personal ones. Because 00:02:25.699 --> 00:02:28.379 Really, the God you actually believe in, not 00:02:28.379 --> 00:02:31.000 the one that you could describe in a statement 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:34.400 of faith, but the one who lives in the back of 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:38.139 your mind when things get hard, that's the one 00:02:38.139 --> 00:02:43.520 who shapes how you live, how you go about your 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:48.520 life. So we have two passages in front of us 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:51.699 today. They come from very different places. 00:02:52.580 --> 00:02:56.139 One is a letter, one is a gospel. But together, 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.219 they actually do one thing. They show us the 00:02:59.219 --> 00:03:04.159 heart of God, what it's like, what it does, and 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:08.259 what it looks like when it gets into us. There's 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:10.759 the three movements, and here's the spine of 00:03:10.759 --> 00:03:13.840 all the three. The heart of God receives, the 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:16.800 heart of God feels, and the heart of God sends. 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:21.520 So with that, let's go through this message. 00:03:23.049 --> 00:03:25.129 Firstly, let's begin with that first one, the 00:03:25.129 --> 00:03:29.189 heart of God receives. Paul has spent four chapters 00:03:29.189 --> 00:03:33.870 of Romans building a case. And now in chapter 00:03:33.870 --> 00:03:36.909 five, he lands it. And here's what it looks like 00:03:36.909 --> 00:03:39.710 when the heart of God has done its work in the 00:03:39.710 --> 00:03:43.370 human life. For he says, therefore, since we 00:03:43.370 --> 00:03:46.189 have been justified through faith, we have peace 00:03:46.189 --> 00:03:49.870 with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through 00:03:49.870 --> 00:03:53.099 whom... we have gained access by faith into his 00:03:53.099 --> 00:04:00.020 grace in which we now stand. Justified through 00:04:00.020 --> 00:04:03.780 faith. Someone's come and stood for us, taken 00:04:03.780 --> 00:04:07.240 upon themselves what we should have received, 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:11.000 but they have done that, and that is Jesus. And 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:13.479 in this, we have peace with God. We have access 00:04:13.479 --> 00:04:18.990 to grace. The word access here... was used for 00:04:18.990 --> 00:04:23.529 being brought into the presence of a king. You 00:04:23.529 --> 00:04:27.329 don't walk in uninvited. You're led in by someone 00:04:27.329 --> 00:04:30.870 who has a right to take you there. Paul was saying, 00:04:30.949 --> 00:04:34.970 that's what Jesus has done for you. You have 00:04:34.970 --> 00:04:38.050 been brought in to the presence of the king, 00:04:38.209 --> 00:04:42.329 to the presence of God. And then Paul rises at 00:04:42.329 --> 00:04:46.529 the line that everything turns on. God's love 00:04:46.529 --> 00:04:49.509 has been poured into our hearts through the Holy 00:04:49.509 --> 00:04:55.329 Spirit who's been given to us. That word poured 00:04:55.329 --> 00:04:59.790 out, we hear it should echo from some weeks back 00:04:59.790 --> 00:05:04.490 as well. In Greek, it's not a gentle word. It's 00:05:04.490 --> 00:05:08.790 not a trickle, not a careful measure. It's the 00:05:08.790 --> 00:05:12.149 same word used in Acts 2. When the Spirit falls 00:05:12.149 --> 00:05:15.490 at Pentecost and it's poured out. It's flooded. 00:05:15.569 --> 00:05:19.129 It's lavished on the people there. The heart 00:05:19.129 --> 00:05:22.769 of God doesn't ration love. The heart of God 00:05:22.769 --> 00:05:27.230 overflows with love to his creation and to us. 00:05:28.029 --> 00:05:31.389 And then Paul pushes to this sentence in the 00:05:31.389 --> 00:05:34.769 whole passage. But God demonstrates his own love 00:05:34.769 --> 00:05:37.689 for us in this. While we were still sinners, 00:05:37.750 --> 00:05:47.079 Christ died for us. Not at... At our best. Not 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:50.920 on a good day. Not mid -comeback story, well, 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:55.240 I'll come now for you and die for you. Paul doesn't 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:57.519 say, well, we were trying. He doesn't say, well, 00:05:57.660 --> 00:06:01.420 we're halfway there. He says, well, we were at 00:06:01.420 --> 00:06:06.860 our worst. Where we were actively opposed to 00:06:06.860 --> 00:06:11.040 him. We were indifferent to him or just distracted 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:16.889 to care. That he existed. That's when Jesus moved. 00:06:19.050 --> 00:06:21.310 Paul has a word for that condition. He calls 00:06:21.310 --> 00:06:28.250 it sin, not just mistakes. The sin that you hear, 00:06:28.389 --> 00:06:34.389 it's really a posture. As Dave invited us to 00:06:34.389 --> 00:06:37.529 take that posture to come into and receive from 00:06:37.529 --> 00:06:41.769 God, sin takes a posture. of actually turning 00:06:41.769 --> 00:06:45.649 away. It's a choice that we have. That's a posture. 00:06:45.810 --> 00:06:48.870 No, I do not want to do that. I'm going to do 00:06:48.870 --> 00:06:54.189 this. The heart of God moved toward us at the 00:06:54.189 --> 00:06:57.149 worst possible moment in our lives. When we were 00:06:57.149 --> 00:07:00.490 at our most broken distance or most unlikely 00:07:00.490 --> 00:07:06.550 us. This is what the heart of God is like. It 00:07:06.550 --> 00:07:09.250 doesn't wait for you and I to be impressive. 00:07:10.060 --> 00:07:12.819 It actually moves first. It takes the initiative. 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:18.220 It gives first and it loves first. N .T. Wright 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:21.680 wrote this, that the love of God is not a sentimental 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:26.000 feeling. It is a divine energy poured into human 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:29.759 hearts by the Spirit, transforming not just what 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:34.220 we believe, but what we are capable of becoming. 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:43.170 The heart of God, and we are the ones that it 00:07:43.170 --> 00:07:47.189 actually moves toward. Before we even asked for 00:07:47.189 --> 00:07:51.769 it, before we were even ready, the heart of God 00:07:51.769 --> 00:07:56.430 has already been here. We know that because we 00:07:56.430 --> 00:07:59.089 are created in the image of God and the Holy 00:07:59.089 --> 00:08:03.990 Spirit dwells within us. Often we start off the 00:08:03.990 --> 00:08:09.620 point that God is out there. He's as close as 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:16.259 your breath right now. The heart of God has already 00:08:16.259 --> 00:08:21.959 been here. But also the heart of God feels. We 00:08:21.959 --> 00:08:25.779 move now from Paul's letter and we go into the 00:08:25.779 --> 00:08:28.860 gospel reading today. And we don't get abstract 00:08:28.860 --> 00:08:32.440 theology here. We get Jesus walking through villages, 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:37.879 looking at people, feeling something. It says 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:40.480 in Matthew 9 that Jesus went through all the 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:43.919 towns and villages, teaching in the synagogues, 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:45.899 proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:49.700 healing every disease and illness. When he saw 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:52.820 the crowds, he had compassion on them because 00:08:52.820 --> 00:08:56.539 they were harassed and helpless like sheep without 00:08:56.539 --> 00:09:03.139 a shepherd. That word compassion, it literally 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:07.000 means to be moved in the gut. The bowels. In 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:10.659 the ancient world, the gut was where the deepest 00:09:10.659 --> 00:09:14.279 emotion lived. It wasn't in the head or not even 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:16.539 in the heart. It was in the very core of the 00:09:16.539 --> 00:09:20.460 person. Just like you have that gut feeling. 00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:25.879 This is where it comes from. Compassion. When 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:28.740 your stomach moves, like when you're going down 00:09:28.740 --> 00:09:32.220 a quick drop or something, you feel it in your 00:09:32.220 --> 00:09:38.000 gut, don't you? Not your head. See, this word 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:41.559 here that's used in this passage, Jesus doesn't 00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:44.659 just notice the crowds that are around him. He 00:09:44.659 --> 00:09:47.360 doesn't process them efficiently from a distance 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:50.259 saying, I know what's happening over there. He 00:09:50.259 --> 00:09:55.120 is physically moved by what he sees. And what 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:59.139 does he see? Well, it's told us, harassed people, 00:09:59.379 --> 00:10:02.000 thrown around, battered, and people that were 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:06.059 exhausted. These are people who've been beaten 00:10:06.059 --> 00:10:10.720 up by the life, by systems, by leaders who promised 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:14.279 to care for them and didn't. We know that as 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:19.259 well, don't we? They're also harassed and helpless. 00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:25.220 Helpless is literally thrown down, lying there, 00:10:25.240 --> 00:10:28.840 not able to get up on their own. He sees that 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:33.419 and his compassion, his gut moves. Now here's 00:10:33.419 --> 00:10:35.879 the thing about this passage that I don't want 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:38.419 us to actually miss because it's a long one. 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:41.419 When Jesus feels compassion, he doesn't sit down 00:10:41.419 --> 00:10:43.840 and have a private moment with his feelings. 00:10:44.980 --> 00:10:51.500 He prays. And then he acts. It says in Matthew 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:55.120 9, 37 and 8 that he said to his disciples, the 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.720 harvest is printable, but the workers are few. 00:10:58.019 --> 00:11:01.210 Ask the Lord of the harvest. Therefore, to send 00:11:01.210 --> 00:11:05.929 out workers into this harvest field. The heart 00:11:05.929 --> 00:11:10.909 of God feels and then it moves. The gut feeling 00:11:10.909 --> 00:11:16.309 is never the end of the story. It's what calls 00:11:16.309 --> 00:11:18.870 us into action. It's always the beginning of 00:11:18.870 --> 00:11:21.789 a movement toward the person, toward the problem, 00:11:21.909 --> 00:11:30.080 toward God in prayer. Dallas Willard said it 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:32.580 like this, that compassion is not a virtue, it 00:11:32.580 --> 00:11:36.500 is a commitment. When Jesus felt compassion, 00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:39.200 he didn't stay still. The gut feeling was always 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:42.100 the beginning of a movement toward the person, 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:51.740 toward the problem, toward God. And here's a 00:11:51.740 --> 00:11:55.879 connection that ties these two passages together. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:59.179 Romans 5. says the love of God has been poured 00:11:59.179 --> 00:12:03.860 into our hearts, has been flooded into us. And 00:12:03.860 --> 00:12:07.840 Matthew 9 shows what that love looks like when 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:10.860 it's actually in someone. And working, it looks 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:14.019 like being moved in the gut by what moves God. 00:12:16.019 --> 00:12:19.120 Again, if we understand and know and believe 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:22.559 that we're created in the image of God, what 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:26.309 moves him moves us. What moves God when he sees 00:12:26.309 --> 00:12:28.929 compassion in people around them should move 00:12:28.929 --> 00:12:31.870 us. We should have that gut -wrenching feeling. 00:12:34.429 --> 00:12:38.710 This means something for us. That if you've genuinely 00:12:38.710 --> 00:12:41.690 received what Romans 5 is actually describing, 00:12:41.789 --> 00:12:44.990 if the love of God has actually been poured into 00:12:44.990 --> 00:12:48.409 us, we should expect to start feeling what Jesus 00:12:48.409 --> 00:12:53.620 feels when he looks at the world. Now, in some 00:12:53.620 --> 00:12:57.259 of our circumstances, it could be a lonely colleague, 00:12:57.460 --> 00:13:00.779 or it could be the neighbour who never comes 00:13:00.779 --> 00:13:02.500 out, and you're aware of it, but you've done 00:13:02.500 --> 00:13:05.559 nothing about it, or the person who's fine on 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:11.559 the surface, but clearly, clearly isn't. We start 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:15.639 to see them differently, as they may see us differently. 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:19.970 We don't see them as problems. But as people, 00:13:20.029 --> 00:13:22.350 the heart of God is already moving toward them. 00:13:26.990 --> 00:13:30.330 And from that feeling, the heart of God sends. 00:13:33.210 --> 00:13:37.350 Now this is the part where we think it's left 00:13:37.350 --> 00:13:41.250 down to a few. The disciples were talking about, 00:13:41.370 --> 00:13:43.049 you know, who do we send in the harvest? And 00:13:43.049 --> 00:13:47.570 then Jesus prays and then sends them. So you're 00:13:47.570 --> 00:13:53.080 going to be sent. Jesus feels what he feels and 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:58.440 then he acts on it. He calls, as we know, 12 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:01.080 ordinary people, fishermen, a tax collector, 00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:04.779 a zealot, and he does two things. He gives them 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:10.460 his authority and then he sends them out. It 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:13.700 says in Matthew 10, Jesus called his 12 disciples 00:14:13.700 --> 00:14:18.059 to him and he gave them authority to drive out 00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:21.230 impure spirits and to heal every disease and 00:14:21.230 --> 00:14:24.809 illness. And then they're followed in the instruction. 00:14:26.090 --> 00:14:31.490 So as you go, proclaim this message. The kingdom 00:14:31.490 --> 00:14:34.549 of heaven has come near. Heal the sick, raise 00:14:34.549 --> 00:14:37.669 the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive 00:14:37.669 --> 00:14:40.710 out demons, freely you have received, freely 00:14:40.710 --> 00:14:49.950 give. We don't have leprosy around us and things 00:14:49.950 --> 00:14:53.210 like that. But there are other things here. There 00:14:53.210 --> 00:14:55.830 are strongholds of fear, anxiety, loneliness, 00:14:56.490 --> 00:15:02.769 lack of peace. You have the authority in the 00:15:02.769 --> 00:15:06.789 name of Christ. He's given it to you to go and 00:15:06.789 --> 00:15:12.990 help and have compassion with people. To give 00:15:12.990 --> 00:15:16.909 them words of encouragement. Any part of scripture 00:15:16.909 --> 00:15:20.220 you find that. To feed them. the love of God 00:15:20.220 --> 00:15:25.620 through who you are in him. It says at the very 00:15:25.620 --> 00:15:30.679 end, freely you have received, freely give. You 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:34.059 can't charge anyone anything of this. You can't 00:15:34.059 --> 00:15:40.080 say, oh, no, not really yet. It's not mine. Well, 00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:42.519 it isn't ours. It's been freely given to us. 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:47.120 That is the entire logic of the sending in one 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.100 sentence. The heart of God has poured love into 00:15:50.100 --> 00:15:54.940 you, into me, freely before any of us have actually 00:15:54.940 --> 00:16:02.340 earned it. Before you ask for it. So go and let 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:07.080 it pour out the same way. Notice what he doesn't 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:13.299 say. He doesn't say, go when you're ready. Go 00:16:13.299 --> 00:16:17.259 when your faith is stronger. Go when you've sorted 00:16:17.259 --> 00:16:20.059 out your doubts, you've sorted out your history, 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:26.940 your baggage, your personality type. He says, 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:35.659 go as you are. Go as you are today. Because what 00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:38.299 you need for the going, I've actually already 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:43.019 given it to you. This isn't about, us being all 00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:46.220 sorted out before being sent, it's being available, 00:16:46.419 --> 00:16:53.399 ready for God to send you. And often that's in 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:57.659 moments when we're least expecting it. For those 00:16:57.659 --> 00:17:01.240 who want to sit with Matthew 10 and these later 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:04.579 verses here, there's this third layer that Jesus 00:17:04.579 --> 00:17:08.720 builds in, and it's worth for us to name it. 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:14.789 Jesus actually tells them, How to go. All right? 00:17:15.750 --> 00:17:20.670 Giving you authority, they'll go out. It's not 00:17:20.670 --> 00:17:23.509 just that they should go, but he says you to 00:17:23.509 --> 00:17:29.450 go light. You carry no extra bag, no backup plan. 00:17:30.509 --> 00:17:34.210 Find people of peace in each place. People who 00:17:34.210 --> 00:17:36.849 are open, ready, and people who are receptive. 00:17:37.609 --> 00:17:40.930 And go deep with them rather than moving on quickly. 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:46.920 And then he prepares them, as he does for us, 00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:52.180 for something harder. He says not every door 00:17:52.180 --> 00:17:56.180 is going to be open to you. Some people won't 00:17:56.180 --> 00:17:58.740 want to hear it. You're going to face opposition 00:17:58.740 --> 00:18:01.380 or disagreement. There will be moments when you 00:18:01.380 --> 00:18:06.140 feel completely out of your depth. And he doesn't 00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:09.019 say that to frighten them or for us. He says 00:18:09.019 --> 00:18:11.380 it because he wants them to go in with their 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:16.470 eyes open. Because the heart of God sends, but 00:18:16.470 --> 00:18:21.710 it doesn't send naively. It sends prepared. I'm 00:18:21.710 --> 00:18:24.990 sending you out like sheep among wolves. And 00:18:24.990 --> 00:18:26.990 then immediately, but the one who stands firm 00:18:26.990 --> 00:18:31.670 to the end will be saved. And this is for all 00:18:31.670 --> 00:18:33.890 of us to really hear this bit and don't worry 00:18:33.890 --> 00:18:39.470 about what to say. If I've done it, I know you've 00:18:39.470 --> 00:18:42.700 done this. You practice what you're going to 00:18:42.700 --> 00:18:50.759 say to someone. That's right. It's like the practicing 00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:52.680 gets rid of all the words you shouldn't be saying. 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:55.960 And then the Lord gives you the words to say 00:18:55.960 --> 00:19:00.420 or not to say. And there could be silence. It 00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:04.819 will be given to you in that moment. Because 00:19:04.819 --> 00:19:07.819 we don't know what that moment will be. So we 00:19:07.819 --> 00:19:11.069 trust on the words to be given to us. The sending 00:19:11.069 --> 00:19:15.390 is not abandoned. The heart of God goes with 00:19:15.390 --> 00:19:20.490 you into the hard places. Michael Frost, from 00:19:20.490 --> 00:19:22.390 his book Surprise the World, he says it this 00:19:22.390 --> 00:19:26.069 way. Jesus does not call us to do things for 00:19:26.069 --> 00:19:29.910 him. He calls us to be with him. And from that 00:19:29.910 --> 00:19:34.750 withness, to go as his presence into the ordinary 00:19:34.750 --> 00:19:42.509 places of everyday life. That matches what's 00:19:42.509 --> 00:19:46.549 been told in scripture. He'll give us the words 00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:48.970 to speak in the moment that we need to say them. 00:19:50.529 --> 00:19:55.349 We have been given authority in Jesus to do the 00:19:55.349 --> 00:19:58.609 things that he said that he did and we can do 00:19:58.609 --> 00:20:01.789 too. So what does that look like for us this 00:20:01.789 --> 00:20:04.710 week? Or any week? Not in the abstract, right 00:20:04.710 --> 00:20:07.210 here in Hillcrest or wherever we may be moving 00:20:07.210 --> 00:20:12.500 into during the week. It could look like something, 00:20:12.660 --> 00:20:17.140 or someone at work, you've been meaning to actually 00:20:17.140 --> 00:20:21.759 ask how they're doing, but you haven't. So you 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:25.240 finally ask them, how are you? How are you really 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:28.019 going? Or maybe it's a neighbour you've waved 00:20:28.019 --> 00:20:30.539 to for two years but never spoken to, or the 00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:34.359 ones that are moving into the street. Today's 00:20:34.359 --> 00:20:37.960 the day to do it. Or this is the moment to actually 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:43.119 do it. The person in the row behind you who seems 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:46.480 fine but isn't, you notice. The person beside 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:50.420 you or in front of you this morning. And you 00:20:50.420 --> 00:20:55.799 stay. And you check in on them. It's like ordinary 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:59.420 courage. And that ordinary courage is not a program, 00:20:59.579 --> 00:21:04.019 it's not an event. Just the heart of God in you 00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:07.299 that dwells there flowing outward to the people 00:21:07.299 --> 00:21:09.869 there. Because that's what, A heart that's been 00:21:09.869 --> 00:21:14.990 filled eventually does. So I want to bring these 00:21:14.990 --> 00:21:19.029 three things home for us. How the heart of God 00:21:19.029 --> 00:21:24.410 receives. In Romans 5, that before you ask, before 00:21:24.410 --> 00:21:27.130 you earn it, before you're ready, there is love 00:21:27.130 --> 00:21:30.930 poured out. Christ dying while we're still a 00:21:30.930 --> 00:21:33.710 mess, and maybe a mess later today or during 00:21:33.710 --> 00:21:37.079 the week, his love is poured into you. That's 00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:39.740 what God is actually like, not waiting at a distance, 00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:45.400 already moving towards you. And as the heart 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:48.940 of God receives, it also feels. And we see that 00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:51.000 in Matthew 9, where Jesus, walking through the 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:53.740 towns, looking at harassed, helpless people, 00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:58.220 got moved by what he sees. What will that be 00:21:58.220 --> 00:22:00.559 like for you as you're walking through the streets 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:04.920 in Hillcrest, Hamilton, or wherever you are as 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:11.039 you travel? That type of feeling that we saw 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:13.880 that Jesus had is not a God who manages the world 00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:16.880 from a safe distance. That is a God whose heart 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:20.519 is in it, is there for you right now at that 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:24.599 moment. And as the heart of God receives and 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:29.920 feels, it sends us. Just as God sent his son, 00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:35.910 we are sent out into the places. In Matthew 10, 00:22:36.029 --> 00:22:38.130 it's ordinary people. We heard that, fishermen, 00:22:38.450 --> 00:22:42.210 zealots, tax collectors, ordinary people in ordinary 00:22:42.210 --> 00:22:46.950 day lives who were given authority, sent out 00:22:46.950 --> 00:22:50.250 with the simplest logic in the world. Freely 00:22:50.250 --> 00:22:54.210 you have received, so freely give. Don't say 00:22:54.210 --> 00:22:56.130 to someone or in turning to you as you're before 00:22:56.130 --> 00:22:58.589 someone, I'm not going to give you this. I don't 00:22:58.589 --> 00:23:02.730 think you deserve it. Well, God's freely given 00:23:02.730 --> 00:23:06.930 to you first. So freely give. And here's what 00:23:06.930 --> 00:23:10.769 these three movements really add up to. The heart 00:23:10.769 --> 00:23:15.509 of God is not a closed system. It doesn't receive 00:23:15.509 --> 00:23:18.910 and keep. It receives and it overflows. It feels 00:23:18.910 --> 00:23:24.390 and it moves. It loves and it sends. Which means 00:23:24.390 --> 00:23:27.549 the question this morning is not, do you know 00:23:27.549 --> 00:23:32.250 about the heart of God? You might. Most of us 00:23:32.250 --> 00:23:35.710 here could describe it, but the question is this. 00:23:36.309 --> 00:23:38.990 Has the heart of God actually gotten into you 00:23:38.990 --> 00:23:48.430 and is it moving you? For in 1 John 4 .19, we 00:23:48.430 --> 00:23:52.849 hear these words, we love because he first loved 00:23:52.849 --> 00:23:57.109 us. So right at the end, that's all of it in 00:23:57.109 --> 00:24:00.190 six words. We love because he first loved us. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:03.900 It starts with him. It always starts with him. 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:08.119 The heart of God moves first. It pours first 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:14.339 and it loves first. And once it gets in, it tends 00:24:14.339 --> 00:24:21.400 to get out. That's the heart of God. Let us pause 00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:37.170 and pray and give thanks. Thank you, God, that 00:24:37.170 --> 00:24:39.150 you first reached out and you're always coming 00:24:39.150 --> 00:24:47.789 towards us. In our week that's ahead, when we 00:24:47.789 --> 00:24:50.869 have those gut -wrenching moments, when we see 00:24:50.869 --> 00:24:54.549 injustice around us or other things happening, 00:24:55.049 --> 00:25:01.450 may we remember your words that you first loved 00:25:01.450 --> 00:25:13.769 us freely, you have received freely, give. We 00:25:13.769 --> 00:25:17.349 are your people and you call us to love. You've 00:25:17.349 --> 00:25:21.609 given us the authority to pray and to heal all 00:25:21.609 --> 00:25:26.349 manner of things that you've done. May we be 00:25:26.349 --> 00:25:29.910 bold enough to live that way, to claim those 00:25:29.910 --> 00:25:31.750 things that you've given us in your name for 00:25:31.750 --> 00:25:44.009 the benefit and peace of others. For these things, 00:25:44.210 --> 00:25:48.589 for your life in us, we give you thanks. Amen.