1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,560 Thank you, Howard Smith, who is filling in on the organ for us today. 2 00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:11,600 We are grateful for those who have substituted at the organ over the last few months as we 3 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:16,000 have sought a permanent replacement for an organist. 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:21,640 You continue to pray for John Benham as he conducts that search, will you? 5 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,980 Very important to have that person in place as the fall commences. 6 00:00:25,980 --> 00:00:34,760 Now would you open your Bibles with me to the book of Exodus chapters 5 and 6. 7 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:40,280 The power of one person to make an impact on a nation was proved this last week once 8 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:45,380 again in the stirring oratory of Jesse Jackson. 9 00:00:45,380 --> 00:00:51,520 One doesn't have to agree with his ideas to admire the force of his personality and 10 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,840 the power of his speaking. 11 00:00:54,840 --> 00:01:00,600 For good or for ill, depending upon your perspective, he is making an impact upon his political 12 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,960 party and upon our country. 13 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:11,160 And most especially is he impacting his own people, our black fellow citizens. 14 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:19,800 3500 years ago, God's people, the sons of Israel, were in slavery in Egypt. 15 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,240 Their yoke of oppression was heavy. 16 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,480 They cried unto God in their affliction. 17 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:34,440 And God raised up a leader, a deliverer in the person of Moses. 18 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:40,440 In a way that has spanned the century since then, Moses made an impact for God in that 19 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:42,760 generation. 20 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:50,840 God prepared his servant and then in his own way and in his own time, he used him to make 21 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:57,080 history and to bring redemption for his people. 22 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:05,600 Today God is calling out a people to be his witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth. 23 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:12,600 Let me remind you of the words of the apostle Peter as he describes the impact that God 24 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:14,720 intends for us to have. 25 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:26,640 You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. 26 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:30,280 Those terms are taken directly out of the Old Testament. 27 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:36,120 They referred initially to Israel, but came to refer to the church, to us in this age 28 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:38,200 as well. 29 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:46,320 He says, you are all of these things that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who 30 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:51,000 has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 31 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,640 That ladies and gentlemen is our mission. 32 00:02:54,640 --> 00:03:00,680 That we might proclaim the excellencies of the God who has called us out of darkness 33 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:01,680 into light. 34 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:13,280 He goes on to explain, for you were once not a people, but now you are the people of God. 35 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:18,400 You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 36 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:24,800 The reason that we have received mercy is that we might make an impact for Christ in 37 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:29,920 our generation by proclaiming his excellencies. 38 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:36,200 Therefore he has called us out of darkness to know his light and his salvation. 39 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:44,440 Every saved person is such a witness, not just ministers and missionaries. 40 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:48,960 He has put all of us here to make a difference in our generation. 41 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:55,920 Few, if any, will have the fame of Moses, frankly. 42 00:03:55,920 --> 00:04:02,640 But each of us is just as important as Moses in our service for God. 43 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:10,720 God's plan for your life and for mine in his scheme of things is just as important 44 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:15,680 as what Moses accomplished 3,500 years ago. 45 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:22,600 God has called us to have an impact for his sake in our generation. 46 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:32,080 No one person is the whole impact, but each is a part of the movement of God in this world, 47 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:37,240 a movement which will ultimately culminate human history. 48 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:42,960 If we would serve God in a way to make that impact that God has designed, then I believe 49 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:50,360 we must grasp four essentials that come to us out of our text today in Exodus chapters 50 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,400 5 and 6. 51 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,360 I don't have time this morning to read all of our texts, so I'm going to trust that 52 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:04,040 you will follow along closely with me as we work our way through these two chapters. 53 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:09,920 Four essentials if we would make the impact for God that he has planned for us to make 54 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,260 in our generation. 55 00:05:12,260 --> 00:05:17,240 Essential number one, we must accept our mission. 56 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:20,700 We must accept our mission. 57 00:05:20,700 --> 00:05:25,160 In verse 1 of chapter 5, afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, 58 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:32,080 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may celebrate a feast 59 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:34,320 to me in the wilderness. 60 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,760 Pharaoh basically said no, and they said to him in verse 3, 61 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,040 The God of the Hebrews has met with us. 62 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:47,920 Please let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the 63 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:54,720 LORD our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with sword. 64 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:59,800 They accepted the mission that God gave to them, Aaron and Moses did. 65 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:04,560 But let's suppose for the moment that they had not done so. 66 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:11,800 Let's suppose that Moses had said no there in the wilderness on Mount Sinai when God 67 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:18,880 appeared to him, and had made that no stick by being stubborn and refusing to do what 68 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:21,200 God wanted him to do. 69 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:26,680 I'll guarantee you that Moses would not have been a punctuation mark in the history of 70 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,920 the world. 71 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:38,280 He would have died an unknown shepherd, an ancient Midian. 72 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:43,680 He would have missed all that God had for him. 73 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:48,880 But however reluctantly, he did accept his mission. 74 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:57,120 He did return to Egypt, and along with Aaron, his older brother, he was used by God to affect 75 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:04,680 several nations of people, the Israelites, the Egyptians, and several nations that then 76 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:09,960 were living in the land of Canaan, the land God had promised to them, and who were eventually 77 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:15,360 displaced during the time of conquest. 78 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:20,920 Because Moses accepted the mission God had given to him, he made an impact not only on 79 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,320 Israel but other nations of people as well. 80 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:32,440 Indeed Egypt was among the most powerful nations in the world in that day. 81 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:37,160 Did Moses ever make an impact? 82 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:39,660 Accepting our mission is essential too. 83 00:07:39,660 --> 00:07:46,920 If our short lives would have maximum impact for the glory of God, God knows what he has 84 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:55,920 in his will, a sign for us to do, and he has gifted us that we might do that. 85 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,000 That is true regarding us as a church. 86 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,600 God has given us as a church a mission to accomplish. 87 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:08,440 Thus far we have stated our mission in four terms that you have seen before but which 88 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,600 I'm going to bring before you again today. 89 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:18,880 The first part of our mission is evangelism, which we have defined as presenting the gospel 90 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:23,280 to those without a genuine understanding of it. 91 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:28,360 Whether that be here across the street in the city of Roseville or in your neighborhood 92 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:33,640 where you live in another suburb or if it be in the uttermost parts of the earth, evangelism 93 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:37,360 is part of what we're all about. 94 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:43,720 Presenting the gospel to those without a genuine knowledge of what it means to be saved. 95 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:50,200 We've also said that our mission is about fellowship, the second key word. 96 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:57,800 We have defined fellowship as bringing together members of the body in meaningful relationships. 97 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:06,120 We are told that it is essential that a person coming into a church make between six to eight 98 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:10,040 of those meaningful relationships within the first year that he's there. 99 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:16,840 If he doesn't, he will likely go on somewhere else. 100 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:21,120 Fellowship is essential to all of us, and part of our goal as a church is to create 101 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:22,660 fellowship. 102 00:09:22,660 --> 00:09:25,040 All of us have to be involved in that. 103 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:30,480 It's not something that they do, it's something that we do in creating meaningful relationships 104 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:32,160 within the body. 105 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:36,600 Thirdly, we have said that part of our mission is edification. 106 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:43,720 That is, building up each other to know Christ more intimately and to serve Him more fruitfully. 107 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:47,800 We believe that the body is here to build up one another. 108 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:52,840 My essential job as the pastor of the church is to equip the saints to the work of the 109 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:53,840 ministry. 110 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:58,400 We are not among those churches that believe that the pastor is hired to do the ministry. 111 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:03,040 For the pastor and the pastoral staff are hired to be equippers of the saints who are 112 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:04,960 to do the work of the ministry. 113 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:06,680 That's biblical. 114 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:11,520 And so edification is part of our mission as a church. 115 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,840 That is, building up each other. 116 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:19,880 And then finally, but certainly not least important, is worship. 117 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,340 Worship is part of our reason for being here. 118 00:10:23,340 --> 00:10:29,640 We have defined worship as living daily in the light of Christ's presence and gathering 119 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:34,200 with other believers to share that joy and bring praise to Him. 120 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:38,840 Worship is not something that merely happens an hour on Sunday morning, but worship is 121 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:42,600 an everyday experience as we live in fellowship with the living God. 122 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:48,000 And when we gather together on Sunday morning and Sunday night, too, by the way, we are 123 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:52,960 gathering to share the overflow of our lives. 124 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:57,720 God has accumulated and built up through the week in our walk with God. 125 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:01,160 And honestly and frankly, if there's been nothing through the week, there would be very 126 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:05,240 little on Sunday morning or Sunday night. 127 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:11,960 Worship is only meaningful when we're together, if it's meaningful when we're alone with 128 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:13,620 God. 129 00:11:13,620 --> 00:11:17,120 We have a mission as a church that God has given to us. 130 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:22,400 And I think that those four words that have been outlined now for a couple of years as 131 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,600 a part of our mission are encompassing words. 132 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:30,120 And I think also that they're worthy of our best efforts. 133 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:34,000 We have a long way to go in accomplishing that mission, don't we? 134 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:38,240 And the further you get involved in the ministry, the more you see how much further we need 135 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:39,240 to go. 136 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:40,240 But that's fine. 137 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,840 It means that we must trust God and depend upon Him. 138 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,800 God didn't give us a mission to accomplish it in our own strength, but He intends for 139 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:54,520 us to do it in the grace, the resources, the strength which He provides. 140 00:11:54,520 --> 00:12:01,040 But I have to ask this question, you who are a member of Grace Church, you who are an attender 141 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:08,920 and I hope progressing toward membership, will you accept this mission? 142 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:12,260 Do you believe in this mission? 143 00:12:12,260 --> 00:12:17,320 Do you believe in the four words we just talked about? 144 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:21,400 Because this church will only have the impact that God has planned for it to have to the 145 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:28,880 extent that every person who calls Grace Church his home says, that is my mission. 146 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,520 I accept that mission. 147 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:38,440 But it's also true of us individually. 148 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:44,120 God has a mission for you personally as well as a mission with a body of people. 149 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:45,680 God has a design for your life. 150 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:51,120 He has a life message that He is designing and building into you to deliver to those 151 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:54,240 He brings you into contact with. 152 00:12:54,240 --> 00:13:01,820 Are you young man, young woman seeking the will of God for your life? 153 00:13:01,820 --> 00:13:06,280 Is that your highest priority, your number one purpose to know what God wants you to 154 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:07,400 do? 155 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,860 You might do that with all of your might and strength. 156 00:13:10,860 --> 00:13:14,600 I beg of you to make it so. 157 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:19,200 To make God's mission in your life your number one priority and then not to be sidetracked 158 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:25,560 by anything and then miss God's best. 159 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:30,920 Seek the will of God above everything else and then do that knowing that that is what 160 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:36,520 will make you supremely happy in life too by the way. 161 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:43,400 The Apostle Paul said, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 162 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:50,040 What we need today as individuals is a heavenly vision of what God wants us to do. 163 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:54,880 When we have pretty well run our course as Paul was at the point he made that statement, 164 00:13:54,880 --> 00:14:01,800 may we like him be able to say, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, the mission 165 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,120 God gave to me. 166 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:08,840 If you and I wish to make an impact in our world, an impact God has designed for us to 167 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:15,640 make, then we must first of all accept the mission that God has given to us. 168 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:20,880 Secondly, we must anticipate the opposition. 169 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:26,200 In our text there is both expected and unexpected opposition. 170 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:33,120 The expected opposition of course is from Pharaoh who responds in verse two to the mission 171 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:41,640 of Moses and Aaron, who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? 172 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:49,520 You have to understand that Pharaoh considered himself deity as did the people of Egypt. 173 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:56,560 And so he sees himself as one God answering to another God, the God of the Jews. 174 00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:01,100 Who is Yahweh? 175 00:15:01,100 --> 00:15:10,200 I do not know Yahweh, besides I will not let Israel go. 176 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:15,760 He elaborates upon that then, verses four through nine, makes their burden even greater 177 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:17,480 in their bondage. 178 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:23,480 Here we see the hardened heart of Pharaoh exposed. 179 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:28,760 May I say that such is ever the spiritual condition of the heart of the unregenerate 180 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,840 person, hardness. 181 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:39,280 And unless the Spirit of God sovereignly works in that heart, it will not respond to God 182 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:45,280 because there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God, says the Word 183 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:47,680 of the Lord. 184 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:53,720 The hardened heart of man is the natural heart, and that is the heart we see of Pharaoh, and 185 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,840 he opposes this mission. 186 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:01,120 But in the middle of the chapter, actually toward the end of the chapter, we see also 187 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,240 opposition come from an unexpected source. 188 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:08,620 It's from some of the Jews themselves who were foremen. 189 00:16:08,620 --> 00:16:14,640 There were taskmasters, referred to in verse 10, who were Egyptian. 190 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:20,680 But in addition to that, there was another layer of overseers of the Israelites called 191 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:25,520 foremen, verse 14, who were the sons of Israel. 192 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:32,520 These were Jews, you see, who had been appointed by the Egyptians over their brothers. 193 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:39,000 And they were upset with what had taken place, the harder slavery. 194 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:45,200 And so they appealed their case directly to Pharaoh, who mocked them and called them lazy. 195 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:50,720 He said that was their basic problem, had them beaten. 196 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:53,980 They came out from the presence of Pharaoh. 197 00:16:53,980 --> 00:16:57,880 Moses and Aaron were waiting on them, verse 20. 198 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:04,240 And they said to Moses and Aaron, verse 21, may the Lord look upon you and judge you, 199 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:10,240 for you have made us odious in Pharaoh's sight and in the sight of his servants to put a 200 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,960 sword in their hand to kill us. 201 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:20,200 And so now here are some of Moses and Aaron's own people who have turned on them. 202 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:26,960 From a human perspective, we might be able to understand why they felt the way they did. 203 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:32,520 They had heard the message that Moses came to deliver. 204 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:37,720 And now instead of the deliverance, they've gotten harder work to do, indeed almost impossible 205 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:39,560 work to do. 206 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,640 And so they were upset and angry about it, and their appeal to Pharaoh had failed. 207 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,960 And so they took it out upon Moses and Aaron. 208 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:53,120 I want you to be sure that if you accept your mission, and you make a determination in your 209 00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:59,840 heart to serve God, you will have opposition. 210 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:04,000 You underscore that and you write it down in your mind because it's true. 211 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:08,280 You can anticipate opposition. 212 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:15,180 As much as you underscore it, I want to also warn against developing a persecution complex. 213 00:18:15,180 --> 00:18:17,360 But the fact is we will have opposition. 214 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:21,000 Our Lord Jesus Himself warned about this. 215 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,320 Listen to His words. 216 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:29,840 If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. 217 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:31,360 Remember a word that I said to you. 218 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:33,980 A slave is not greater than his master. 219 00:18:33,980 --> 00:18:41,440 If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. 220 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:45,000 Those are the words of our Savior Himself. 221 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:51,160 He said, the world will persecute you because they do not recognize me. 222 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:55,640 Because they hate me, they will hate you. 223 00:18:55,640 --> 00:19:02,560 And so the Apostle of the Church, the Apostle Paul, established churches on his first missionary 224 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:03,560 journey. 225 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:11,120 And as he went back to strengthen them and to encourage them, these were the words that 226 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:13,080 he spoke. 227 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:18,720 Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. 228 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:20,920 Those are encouraging words. 229 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:28,160 Yes, they are because it's a word that reminds us that tribulation is a part of what we're 230 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:29,640 called to do in this world. 231 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:32,280 We're called to suffer. 232 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:36,880 And as we accept our mission, there will be opposition that will persecute us and will 233 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:38,560 cause us to suffer. 234 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:43,520 Now these are purely academic words for the most part in our culture or have been up to 235 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:44,520 this point. 236 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:48,560 Things may change. 237 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:52,440 And then the words again of the Apostle Paul as he recounts to the Ephesian elders his 238 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,280 own service. 239 00:19:54,280 --> 00:20:02,080 He says, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came 240 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:06,520 upon me through the plots of the Jews. 241 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:13,040 Here we have the greatest of the apostles, the man whose mission it was to put down the 242 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:17,280 foundation of the church in the Gentile world. 243 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,480 And what is his experience? 244 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:29,640 Tears and plots against his life by those who opposed him. 245 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:34,560 Perhaps the most difficult kind of opposition to deal with though is the kind that Moses 246 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:38,160 and Aaron faced from the foreman. 247 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:44,760 That is opposition from those who are our brothers, from others who profess to be Christians 248 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:46,760 in our day. 249 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:52,000 One expects it from the enemy in the world, but one does not often expect it from those 250 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:58,000 who should have the same vision and the same commitment but don't. 251 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:02,640 Let me guarantee you that any enterprise which is intended to deliver people from Satan's 252 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:08,120 hold will stir up persecution and affliction. 253 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:13,080 The Pharaoh of souls is not going to look the other way. 254 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:18,840 He is not going to roll over and play dead just because we happen to get serious about 255 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,200 our mission. 256 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:31,680 When his subjects face the possibility of being delivered from his bondage, he is going 257 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:39,520 to enter into active, energetic, vicious opposition. 258 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:44,320 We often don't like to think of things going from bad to worse, but sometimes they do. 259 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,600 That was the case, wasn't it, with Aaron and with Moses. 260 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:54,480 And yet in the end, God's mission was accomplished just as today, folks, even though opposition 261 00:21:54,480 --> 00:22:04,000 may come to us in the office building, the classroom, in the church, in the world, even 262 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:09,440 though opposition may come, in the end, God's mission will be accomplished if we trust Him 263 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:14,320 and are not intimidated by the opposition. 264 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:21,240 If you and I are serious about making an impact for God in our generation, we must anticipate 265 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,460 the opposition. 266 00:22:23,460 --> 00:22:28,560 And when it comes, not run with our tail between our legs. 267 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:35,640 A third essential if we wish to make an impact for God is that we must abandon ourselves 268 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:36,640 to the Lord. 269 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:42,280 Did you get that? 270 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:45,840 We must abandon ourselves to the Lord. 271 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:56,320 When He assigns a task, He is going to do it with a view to our growth, not to our comfort. 272 00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:02,840 When He gives us a mission, it will challenge us and it will stretch us beyond what we can 273 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:11,000 do, we think, so that then we can experience the joy of His faithfulness in providing for 274 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,920 us. 275 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:20,080 We will only experience that joy of His faithfulness though if we learn to abandon ourselves to 276 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:33,040 Him and die to self, the death that seems impossible in the American culture, in a culture 277 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:38,360 which ethic is, be true to yourself. 278 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:43,160 God's word says die to self. 279 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:50,240 When Moses faced his opponents, his recourse was to return to the Lord. 280 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:56,920 We see that in the end of chapter 5 and verse 22, he returned to the Lord and said, oh Lord, 281 00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:57,920 why? 282 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:01,640 Have you ever felt that way? 283 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:11,360 I want you to notice the honest questions and the complaint that Moses delivers to God. 284 00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:16,640 Lord, why has Thou brought harm to this people? 285 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,520 God, wait a minute. 286 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,320 You said to me You're going to deliver them. 287 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:23,560 Why have you brought harm? 288 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:27,560 It gets a little more personal. 289 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:30,040 Why didst Thou ever send me? 290 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:35,000 Have you ever felt that way? 291 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:40,040 Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, He has done harm to this people and 292 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:43,280 Thou has not delivered Thy people at all. 293 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:47,160 Now Moses is not rude. 294 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:48,160 He's tactful. 295 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:52,360 He's also very transparent with God. 296 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:53,880 He's just pouring out his heart to the Lord. 297 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:54,880 This is how he feels. 298 00:24:54,880 --> 00:25:02,920 I want you to notice that he doesn't attack his opponents. 299 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:04,440 He doesn't try to defend himself. 300 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:10,920 In fact, if there's one thing that characterizes Moses throughout his many difficulties, even 301 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:14,680 with the people of God, it was that he didn't try to defend himself. 302 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:15,680 Why? 303 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:20,080 Because he was a man who was abandoned to the Lord. 304 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,800 He had gotten so far out there on the end of the branch, that's the only thing he could 305 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:26,480 do. 306 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:28,600 Here he comes to God and he begins to pray. 307 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:32,920 Notice God's gracious response to Moses. 308 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:37,840 First of all, in verses 1 to 5 of chapter 6, a response to Moses, and then in verses 309 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:44,960 6 through 8, it's a response through Moses to the sons of Israel. 310 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:49,680 In both responses, he basically says the same thing. 311 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,680 I am, therefore I will. 312 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:58,840 I want you to notice how many times those two phrases are used. 313 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:03,640 I am and I will. 314 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,840 I am, of course, is his redemption name. 315 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:13,440 It is the name of God as one who keeps his covenants with his people. 316 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:19,080 Notice in verse 3, he says, I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, 317 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,200 as El Shaddai. 318 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:29,880 But by my name Yahweh, I did not make myself known to them. 319 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:31,400 Time out for just a moment. 320 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:33,080 They did know that name. 321 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:38,960 God had used that name before, but what God is saying is I have never acted out this name. 322 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:43,440 I have never fully exposed it and revealed it before now. 323 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:46,120 So what he's basically saying to Moses is this. 324 00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:50,000 Yeah, you're in a tough spot, Moses. 325 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:54,960 The experience you're going through is difficult, but I am going to give you new insight into 326 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:58,880 me through this. 327 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:05,560 I'm going to give you understanding of me that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob didn't have. 328 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:06,560 You're going to get it. 329 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:12,600 Isn't it great to know that when we go through the tough times, part of that is that God 330 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:17,280 is, the reason for it is that God is going to show us something of himself, a new insight, 331 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:22,080 new understanding of him. 332 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,040 Verse 5 he says, basically I haven't forgotten, Moses. 333 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:29,880 He says, here's what I want you to say to the sons of Israel. 334 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,720 Say to them, I am the Lord. 335 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:38,520 Notice he says that in verse 6, verse 7 and verse 8. 336 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:43,760 This little dictated paragraph to the sons of Israel begins with I am the Lord and it 337 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:45,800 ends with I am the Lord. 338 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:53,960 And in between those two pieces of bread, he sandwiches in seven I wills. 339 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:58,320 He says, I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 340 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:00,440 I will. 341 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,080 I will deliver you from their bondage. 342 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:05,560 I will. 343 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:11,640 I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 344 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:15,880 Outstretched arm meaning that God was going to actively work on their behalf. 345 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,040 I will take you for my people. 346 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:19,440 I will. 347 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:20,920 I will be your God. 348 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:27,440 You shall know that I am the Lord your God who brought you out from under the burdens 349 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:28,440 of the Egyptians. 350 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:35,360 And I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 351 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:41,760 I will give it to you for a possession. 352 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:47,840 You think about those seven I wills, you will see some wonderful parallels to salvation. 353 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,560 I will bring you out from the burdens of the Egyptians. 354 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:56,140 Egypt in the Bible always stands for the world symbolically. 355 00:28:56,140 --> 00:29:01,480 God is saying to us when we are saved that he will bring us out from the burdens of the 356 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:02,480 world. 357 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:04,200 I will deliver you from that bondage. 358 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:07,000 I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. 359 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:13,320 My friend is that not a picture of Calvary? 360 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:14,540 I will be your God. 361 00:29:14,540 --> 00:29:16,260 You will know that I am. 362 00:29:16,260 --> 00:29:19,040 I will bring you to the land that I swore to give you. 363 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:22,080 I will give you those possessions. 364 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:27,680 Referring to our heavenly home and inheritance. 365 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:31,080 We can trust ourselves to such a God as this. 366 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:35,120 We can. 367 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,800 We can abandon ourselves to him. 368 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:44,560 But I want you to know that doesn't necessarily mean that our circumstances will do an immediate 369 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:45,960 180 degree turn. 370 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,160 Look at verse 9. 371 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:54,240 Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of 372 00:29:54,240 --> 00:30:00,480 their despondency and cruel bondage. 373 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:07,960 For disillusioned servants who give themselves to the Lord, God gives several reminders. 374 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:13,240 Minder number one, he reminds of his faithful sufficiency. 375 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:19,560 Four times in this conversation with Moses he says to him, I am the Lord. 376 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:26,440 I am all that is necessary as the occasion arises, Moses. 377 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:29,080 You're troubled? 378 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:32,480 You think I failed? 379 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:35,520 I am the Lord. 380 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:41,480 You may be confused at the moment, but I am the Lord. 381 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:45,640 He also reminds of his unchangeable purpose in verse 8. 382 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:51,880 From Abraham on, that purpose was to give the people of Israel that piece of real estate 383 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:54,040 that we call Palestine. 384 00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:57,960 God has not yet fully done it, but I want to tell you that one day God is going to give 385 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,920 that to the Jewish people before time ends. 386 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:07,880 God has an unchangeable purpose and covenant with them, and he will fulfill it. 387 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:16,160 He says, you may be discouraged, but remember my purpose is unchangeable. 388 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:23,120 He reminds disillusioned servants also of his gracious mission. 389 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:28,040 In the end of chapter 6 and then into the first part of chapter 7, he reiterates to 390 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:33,840 Moses who is now really down, that he has a job to do. 391 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:36,400 He has work to do and needs to get with it. 392 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:38,760 He says, Moses, you are to go to Pharaoh. 393 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:43,720 You are to say, let my people go. 394 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:48,180 When you and I are down, it's good for us to be reminded that God has graciously given 395 00:31:48,180 --> 00:31:50,960 us a mission too. 396 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:57,720 I wonder if that isn't hinted at in what happened at the cross with Jesus, where it says in 397 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:03,840 Hebrews chapter 12, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. 398 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:11,840 In the time of his suffering, what was it that caused the Lord Jesus to suffer so faithfully? 399 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:16,920 It was that he was reminded of his mission, that joy that was set before him of bringing 400 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:19,840 many sons to glory. 401 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:25,840 When he saw that mission again, when that mission was refreshed in his spirit, he endured 402 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:30,440 the cross, despising its shame. 403 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:35,320 For disillusioned servants, God also reminds of his eternal motive, which is found in chapter 404 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:43,480 7 and verse 5, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. 405 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:49,580 God's eternal motive, my friend, is his own glory and honor. 406 00:32:49,580 --> 00:32:52,240 That is entirely what motivates him. 407 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:58,640 It is not proud, it is not selfish, it is absolutely right and pure. 408 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:06,840 It is God's eternal motivational force that he, the eternal sovereign God, might be glorified, 409 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:08,080 and rightly so. 410 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:15,760 And he says, this is my motive that I be glorified. 411 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:20,040 But we must conclude, and I do that with pointing to you to one more essential. 412 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:26,120 If you and I would make an impact for God, we must appreciate our heritage. 413 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:34,120 Do you notice with me that in the middle of chapter 6, this time of tremendous stress 414 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:40,920 in Moses' life, that God leads him as he is recording it to write down the genealogy of 415 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:46,760 himself, beginning in verse 14 down through verse 27? 416 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:52,200 What an odd place for a genealogy. 417 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:54,240 It cuts right into the middle of the narrative. 418 00:33:54,240 --> 00:34:00,240 What concludes there in verses 12 and 13 picks up in verses 28 and 29. 419 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:06,760 Why did the Holy Spirit put down the genealogy here? 420 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:15,040 I think it was a reminder to Moses of his own heritage, where he had come from. 421 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:22,100 The written heritage and genealogy here proves his rightful place to leadership, the authority 422 00:34:22,100 --> 00:34:25,400 that was given to him as a son of Levi. 423 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:29,800 I want to say to you that in the midst of your battles, my friend, it is good for you 424 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:34,000 to be reminded of your spiritual roots too. 425 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:38,720 You and I follow in a spiritual train of men and women who have served Christ with everything 426 00:34:38,720 --> 00:34:42,440 that they've had. 427 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:48,240 Can we dare do less than that? 428 00:34:48,240 --> 00:34:55,320 We serve in the train of Ignatius, Ignatius who was the bishop of Antioch, who was a friend 429 00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:59,140 of John, the beloved apostle. 430 00:34:59,140 --> 00:35:04,240 His attitude is reflected in this statement that he made back in the first century. 431 00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:09,200 I would rather die for Christ than rule the whole earth. 432 00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:15,220 Leave me to the beasts that I may by them be a partner of God. 433 00:35:15,220 --> 00:35:18,160 Welcome nails and cross. 434 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:22,440 Welcome broken bones, bruised body. 435 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:29,440 Welcome all diabolic torture if I may but obtain the Lord Jesus Christ. 436 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:35,600 In 107 A.D. he was thrown to the lions. 437 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:40,080 We follow in the train of people like Ignatius, my friend. 438 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:48,360 You and I today follow in the train of Polycarp, who but a few years after Ignatius, and of 439 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:55,560 whom he was a friend, was burned at the stake. 440 00:35:55,560 --> 00:36:02,200 And when he was asked to renounce his faith in Jesus Christ, Polycarp replied, 86 years 441 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:07,060 have I served him and he hath done me no wrong. 442 00:36:07,060 --> 00:36:12,320 How can I speak evil of my king who saved me? 443 00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:15,880 And with that he was taken out and burned alive. 444 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:20,960 We follow in the train of Polycarp. 445 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:27,840 We follow in the train of Christastum, John of Antioch, who was called the Golden Mouth, 446 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:36,380 who in the fourth century was reared in Antioch and became the Archbishop of Constantinople. 447 00:36:36,380 --> 00:36:44,160 He preached about sin in high places and the Empress Eudoxia banished him because she said 448 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:47,280 that he had insulted her. 449 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:49,560 Soon he was recalled but not tamed. 450 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:53,760 He continued his strong preaching against sin until he was banished again to the desert 451 00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:55,680 where he died. 452 00:36:55,680 --> 00:37:02,440 We follow in the train of Christastum as well as in the train of Columba, who in the sixth 453 00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:09,200 century was born in Ireland and was a missionary in Scotland until it is said the whole island 454 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:11,200 turned to Christ. 455 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:15,920 He probably had more to do with influencing the British Isles for Christianity than any 456 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:20,600 other single man until the days of John Wesley. 457 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:30,760 We follow in the train of Columba and of William Tyndale, who 900 years later was a part of 458 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:35,600 the Reformation who translated the Bible into English. 459 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:41,160 He preached against the sin and errors of the Church of his day and was tried for treason 460 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:43,760 and heresy against the Church. 461 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:49,600 He was condemned and degraded from his holy orders and then was strangled and his body 462 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:50,600 was burned. 463 00:37:50,600 --> 00:38:00,200 His last words of prayer were, Lord, open the eyes of the King of England. 464 00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:08,720 We follow today in the train of William Tyndale and of William Carey, the father of the modern 465 00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:10,960 missionary movement. 466 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:14,760 William Carey, who was so poor that all he could do was be an assistant to a shoemaker. 467 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:20,600 He was a cobbler, but a man who was brilliant and though he had a limited education before 468 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:26,440 he was 20 years of age, while he was a teenager, he mastered Dutch, French, Greek, Latin, and 469 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:32,000 Hebrew as well as his own English language. 470 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:36,880 His burden was to see his own denomination, the Baptist denomination, become missions 471 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:38,480 minded. 472 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:43,600 And he was told, sit down, young man, when God sees fit to convert the heathen, He will 473 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:46,000 do so of His own accord. 474 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:52,000 That only fired in him more burden for missions. 475 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:57,640 He helped organize the English Baptist Missionary Society and was one of the first missionaries 476 00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:01,240 to the country of India. 477 00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:05,720 You and I follow in the train of people like this and time does not permit us to talk about 478 00:39:05,720 --> 00:39:16,200 Adoniram Judson, who laid down two children and a wife in Burma and then himself died 479 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:22,840 later at a younger age because of his ill health due to his service there. 480 00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:30,120 He said, I will not leave Burma until the cross is planted here forever. 481 00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:34,520 You and I follow in the train of people like this. 482 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:37,080 What about our spiritual heritage? 483 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:39,220 What about William Booth? 484 00:39:39,220 --> 00:39:47,600 What about Mary Slesser or Harry Ironside or W.B. Reilly of this very city by whom some 485 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:51,520 of you sitting here were baptized? 486 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:58,920 You and I follow people in a heritage and we must appreciate that. 487 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:07,160 Any impact for God that we have must be born with an appreciation for His work yesterday 488 00:40:07,160 --> 00:40:10,140 in previous generations. 489 00:40:10,140 --> 00:40:12,640 We do not stand alone. 490 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:21,680 We are not the only ones who have had opposition or who have had great opportunities. 491 00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:30,320 Times change, leaders change, but God is the same. 492 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:36,860 He does not change, nor do the principles by which He uses men and women. 493 00:40:36,860 --> 00:40:42,480 Those who understand their mission in life and to accept it and those who are yielded 494 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:48,640 to the will of God, whatever that means, those who are broken before God of their own abilities, 495 00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:56,320 their own selfish efforts and ambitions, those who are obedient to do what they can do and 496 00:40:56,320 --> 00:41:02,560 who are then willing to trust God for all of the rest. 497 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:09,920 God saves men and women from hell, which we deserve, and appoints us to make an impact 498 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:12,520 in our generation. 499 00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:15,680 Are you ready to have that kind of an impact? 500 00:41:15,680 --> 00:41:19,000 Do you meet the qualifying principles? 501 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:21,640 What is your mission? 502 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:28,480 Have you said, God, whatever it is, I'll do it? 503 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:34,440 I lay aside my selfish goals and what I want in life, and I recognize that the advancement 504 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:40,560 of your eternal kingdom is more important than anything that I might plan myself. 505 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:47,880 Are you willing to say, God, I don't know how in the world I can do that? 506 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:53,800 I will trust you. 507 00:41:53,800 --> 00:42:02,240 Brainerd, Minnesota is named after David Brainerd, who was born in 1718. 508 00:42:02,240 --> 00:42:04,040 Early in his life, he felt a call to ministry. 509 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:09,980 He was very impatient until the day that he could preach the gospel. 510 00:42:09,980 --> 00:42:15,840 His formal education was only three years at Yale, which at that time was an evangelical 511 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:18,880 school. 512 00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:23,200 After which he had to return home because of ill health. 513 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:29,560 He completed his studies through a private tutor, but then he turned down two pastorates 514 00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:35,360 in order that he might be a missionary to the American Indians. 515 00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:40,160 David Brainerd did his greatest work, it is said, by prayer. 516 00:42:40,160 --> 00:42:46,480 He was alone in the depths of the forests of primitive America, unable to speak the 517 00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:50,840 language of the Indians, but he spent whole days in prayer. 518 00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:57,800 It is said that once he preached through a drunken interpreter, a man so intoxicated 519 00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:03,980 he could hardly stand, and yet scores were converted through that sermon. 520 00:43:03,980 --> 00:43:11,280 He was plagued by ill health and by the hard conditions under which he lived, and he died 521 00:43:11,280 --> 00:43:16,240 at 29 years of age. 522 00:43:16,240 --> 00:43:17,760 He did not die in the forests. 523 00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:26,080 He died at the home of Jonathan Edwards, a far-famed evangelist and revivalist, to whose 524 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:32,540 daughter he had been engaged to be married. 525 00:43:32,540 --> 00:43:41,240 After his death, his diary, which was never written to be published, but which was published, 526 00:43:41,240 --> 00:43:47,640 was read by William Carey, and it was that diary that stimulated him to be burdened for 527 00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:49,080 India. 528 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:53,920 Robert Murray McShane read the diary and went to the Jews. 529 00:43:53,920 --> 00:44:01,200 Henry Martin read his diary and also went to Southeast Asia to India. 530 00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:09,520 What was it that the deep prayer life and communion with God of David Brainerd, who 531 00:44:09,520 --> 00:44:18,240 poured out his life in 29 years by the will of God, but who after he died still spoke? 532 00:44:18,240 --> 00:44:20,920 My friend, do you want to make an impact for God? 533 00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:25,160 You say, I am too small. 534 00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:26,680 I am insignificant. 535 00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:28,240 I cannot have a notable impact. 536 00:44:28,240 --> 00:44:30,440 Do not you ever think that? 537 00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:34,960 I wonder if Moses ever thought that. 538 00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:36,760 God can use whatever you are. 539 00:44:36,760 --> 00:44:38,560 He has put it into your hand. 540 00:44:38,560 --> 00:44:44,280 Will you give it to Him and say, yes, Lord? 541 00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:51,840 Let's bow together. 542 00:44:51,840 --> 00:44:57,680 Will you give yourself a fresh to Christ right now in these closing seconds? 543 00:44:57,680 --> 00:45:00,840 You may be here without the knowledge of Jesus Christ as your Savior. 544 00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:10,160 My friend, your need today is to repent of your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 545 00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:12,200 He died for you and rose again. 546 00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:15,800 That is the gospel. 547 00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:16,800 Will you receive the gospel? 548 00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:20,680 Will you receive Christ? 549 00:45:20,680 --> 00:45:27,660 If you say that you have done that, if you say you profess to be a Christian, then my 550 00:45:27,660 --> 00:45:30,960 fellow Christian, what about your mission in life? 551 00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:33,360 Are you on board? 552 00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:34,360 God's will? 553 00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:43,280 Father, I pray that every one of us will today be able to say yes to that question and will 554 00:45:43,280 --> 00:45:49,640 respond with yieldedness and brokenness before you to be that man, that woman you called 555 00:45:49,640 --> 00:45:54,680 us to be in this generation to make an impact for Jesus Christ. 556 00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:57,600 In His name we pray, amen.