WEBVTT 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:04.019 If you want to open your Bible to John chapter 17, that's where we're going to be together today. 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:07.280 In John chapter 17, a beautiful section of scripture. 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:14.160 This is that last section of Jesus' interaction with his disciples before he goes to the cross. 00:00:14.360 --> 00:00:21.360 This chapter 17 is, this is the last chapter before Jesus is taken in, and chapter 18 to this mock trial, which 00:00:21.360 --> 00:00:23.320 will lead to his crucifixion. 00:00:24.260 --> 00:00:26.960 And these final moments, they're sacred, precious moments. 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:34.220 Like you think if you know the end of your days are near, you're still lucid able to communicate, those final words that 00:00:34.220 --> 00:00:41.180 you share with the people, loved ones around you are precious, cherish moments. 00:00:41.220 --> 00:00:48.320 So this is kind of the time in life, if you know you're spending your final moments with someone where you just want to lean in to hear what's on their heart and cherish those final 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:48.760 words. 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:52.880 And that's, these moments with Jesus, the last things that Jesus chooses to do. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:58.960 And the very last thing that Jesus does in John chapter 17 is he chooses to pray. 00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:04.900 And in John chapter 17, this is the longest recorded prayer we have of Jesus. 00:01:05.239 --> 00:01:08.200 Theologians have referred to this as the high priestly prayer. 00:01:08.460 --> 00:01:11.760 I like to just dumb it down a little bit and just call it the Lord's prayer. 00:01:12.140 --> 00:01:18.910 I realized the high priestly prayer reveres the position that Jesus has for us in being our intercessor before the father. 00:01:19.360 --> 00:01:26.360 But quite honestly, I love to refer to this as the Lord's prayer, because I feel like we've incorrectly dubbed Matthew chapter six the Lord's prayer, 00:01:26.380 --> 00:01:29.260 our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done. 00:01:29.380 --> 00:01:30.440 That is not the Lord's prayer. 00:01:30.740 --> 00:01:36.680 That is Jesus teaching his disciples to pray after his disciples asked him, "Lord, how can we pray?" That's the disciples' prayer. 00:01:36.700 --> 00:01:39.100 You want to know the Lord's prayer, this is John 17. 00:01:39.100 --> 00:01:46.240 The end of his life the last thing Jesus chooses to do with his disciples is to spend time in prayer, which elevates for us, I think the importance of 00:01:46.240 --> 00:01:50.640 prayer, but not only that, we get to see what's on the heart of God as he prays. 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:59.180 And if you want to learn how to pray or if you want to be a strong prayer warrior, you need to learn how 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:00.200 to pray the heart of God. 00:02:00.220 --> 00:02:04.700 And there's no better place to learn how to pray the heart of God than to see God's very heart as he prays. 00:02:05.800 --> 00:02:07.580 And in John 17, that's it. 00:02:07.700 --> 00:02:12.900 And here's what God chooses to pray for, he chooses to pray for you. 00:02:14.880 --> 00:02:22.880 It's a beautiful thought to consider the last thing on Jesus's mind before he goes to the cross it's you, and 00:02:22.880 --> 00:02:23.620 it's me. 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:30.360 He prays for you and I, and it shows at the end of his life, we're still on the heart of God. 00:02:30.460 --> 00:02:37.660 It teaches us how to really depend on the Lord as we see Jesus himself depending on the father here 00:02:37.660 --> 00:02:38.740 in prayer. 00:02:38.760 --> 00:02:44.700 And he even highlights for us really, I think when living the Christian life areas of our life we should focus on. 00:02:44.780 --> 00:02:51.880 Because when you think in this moment, okay, at the end of Jesus's life, Jesus prays for you, we could 00:02:51.880 --> 00:02:55.460 ask the question, what specifically does he pray for you? 00:02:57.220 --> 00:03:05.300 And in seeing what Jesus prays us, it gives us and really highlights for us areas of the Christian life that we should consider important 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:09.860 for us as we live our lives intentionally for the Lord. 00:03:09.880 --> 00:03:15.840 And so in John 17, this is what we discovered together is what Jesus prays for us. 00:03:15.940 --> 00:03:19.600 We're going to look in verse nine, but I'm actually going to jump ahead just a little bit. 00:03:19.640 --> 00:03:22.370 I'm going to start with verse 18, and we're going to go all the way back to verse nine. 00:03:22.860 --> 00:03:30.240 And you're going to see it in John 17, when Jesus starts to pray, in the very beginning of his prayer, he starts talking about himself before 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:30.700 the Lord. 00:03:30.700 --> 00:03:34.160 He really only prays for himself in one verse, and at the beginning of John 17. 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:41.580 And then when he gets to verse nine, he says, "I'm praying for them." Hey, you see a transition in his prayer in verse nine, and then 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:42.940 he does it again in verse 20. 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:46.080 So you really see three parts of this prayer that Jesus is praying. 00:03:46.100 --> 00:03:50.160 We're picking up right here in the middle of Jesus's prayer, verse nine, as it relates to us. 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:53.590 But I want to skip ahead to verse 18, give you the first blank in your notes here. 00:03:54.100 --> 00:03:56.800 Jesus prays for us, but he prays for our mission. 00:03:57.420 --> 00:04:04.800 In John 17, verse 18 it says, "Just as you sent me into the world, I also sent them 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:11.920 into the world." Jesus' heart for you in this moment is thinking about the mission that he's called you 00:04:11.920 --> 00:04:12.640 to in this world. 00:04:12.640 --> 00:04:16.740 Jesus' desire is for you to live in this mission that Christ calls you to do. 00:04:16.820 --> 00:04:22.019 Now when you think in terms of this word mission, we immediately often think of job that needs accomplished. 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:29.780 But what I think is important to remember as we look at the mission that Jesus calls us on is Jesus' mission is not about fulfilling a 00:04:29.780 --> 00:04:30.680 program. 00:04:30.840 --> 00:04:32.600 Jesus' mission is about people. 00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:34.920 Jesus' heart is for people. 00:04:34.980 --> 00:04:37.100 The mission that we're on is for hearts. 00:04:37.520 --> 00:04:38.500 Jesus came on mission. 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:45.720 It says to us in this verse that he was sent into this world, and his mission was not to just achieve a program, his 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:47.580 mission wasn't just simply a duty. 00:04:47.880 --> 00:04:51.080 The driving force behind his mission was the hearts of people. 00:04:51.080 --> 00:04:53.020 Jesus was after your heart. 00:04:53.060 --> 00:04:59.960 The mission that he calls us to in this world is not about accomplishing or conducting a task, that could be a part of it. 00:05:00.020 --> 00:05:06.790 But Jesus has primary interest is in the heart of people in this world, and so our mission is about hearts. 00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:12.200 Now when you look at this word sent one, you might be wondering why in the world I'm talking about mission when it says the word sent. 00:05:13.320 --> 00:05:19.200 But in the word, in the Latin word for sin, it's actually the word missio, which is where we get this word mission. 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:22.880 Jesus is calling us to live on mission. 00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:28.480 All of our hearts are engaged towards mission. 00:05:29.380 --> 00:05:35.280 Let me say it like this, living on mission is written on your heart and on my heart. 00:05:36.900 --> 00:05:37.460 How do I know that? 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:41.160 Because all of us want our lives to matter. 00:05:42.580 --> 00:05:44.860 We don't wake up in the morning and like, you know what I'll really want to do? 00:05:44.860 --> 00:05:48.620 I just want to blow it, and I just want to waste the time that God has given me. 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:50.320 The gift of life, that's what I'm looking forward to. 00:05:50.540 --> 00:05:51.720 That's not the pursuit of our life. 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:53.440 I don't think that's what brought you here this morning. 00:05:53.440 --> 00:05:56.360 Why you're here is because you want your life to matter. 00:05:56.360 --> 00:06:03.420 The way your life matters is to understand the purpose for which you were created, and the purpose for which you were created is found in the mission that God has 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:05.050 designed you for. 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:09.640 And so God has created us to be sent, or to be on mission. 00:06:09.640 --> 00:06:14.520 And so in a nutshell, what we're saying is everyone is a missionary for the Lord. 00:06:14.620 --> 00:06:16.610 This is not a title dubbed to some. 00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:22.660 This is what it means to belong to Jesus is that you are on mission, therefore making you a missionary. 00:06:22.660 --> 00:06:26.100 Or we could say it this way, everyone is a minister for Christ. 00:06:27.780 --> 00:06:30.960 All of us have this calling to live in the world. 00:06:30.960 --> 00:06:32.280 It's not exclusive to some. 00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:39.440 And the mission of God's people, the mission of the church is found in the gospel, that is the proclamation of the victory. 00:06:39.580 --> 00:06:41.740 The word gospel means good news. 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:45.080 It's the celebration statement of what Jesus has done for us. 00:06:45.180 --> 00:06:48.820 That Christ has pursued us, that Jesus has died for us on the cross. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:56.080 And he's resurrected from the grave showing that he has been victorious, and now his people can live in that victory because Jesus promised 00:06:56.080 --> 00:06:58.600 us that we have life in him too. 00:06:59.100 --> 00:07:06.580 So we live on mission as ministers of the gospel, this proclamation of the victory for which Jesus has called 00:07:06.580 --> 00:07:06.940 us to. 00:07:08.080 --> 00:07:15.160 I love just, and maybe another way of thinking about it, in 2 Corinthians five, 20, the apostle Paul refers to the calling of the church, not 00:07:15.160 --> 00:07:19.860 necessarily as missionary as though that is true, but he uses this word, ambassador. 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:26.500 The idea of an ambassador is that you represent the interest of the king. 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:35.060 So any ambassador in this world, we send ambassadors as a country to other countries in this world, or united States will 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:36.020 send bassers. 00:07:36.080 --> 00:07:41.400 But when an ambassador goes to another country, he doesn't just represent necessarily the interest of the United States. 00:07:41.620 --> 00:07:46.080 He does, but his primary interest is in the agenda of the president of the United States. 00:07:48.420 --> 00:07:55.520 And we think about what it means for us to go in this world on mission as ambassadors for Christ, we represent the king, 00:07:55.520 --> 00:07:57.880 the message he desires for us to herald. 00:07:58.340 --> 00:08:01.440 The value of the church is found in the message it's carrying. 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:06.760 And when the church loses sight of its purpose or its mission, it's not even worthy of the ground, that it stands on. 00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:11.680 God calls us to live on mission. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:17.020 Jesus' prayer for us is that we would live on mission. 00:08:17.880 --> 00:08:19.750 So why would we not want to live, right? 00:08:20.200 --> 00:08:24.060 This is our calling, this is what matters. 00:08:25.140 --> 00:08:27.500 You're made for something greater than simply self. 00:08:27.960 --> 00:08:34.730 You have the cure, the solution to the soul, the healing for which God has created us, the purpose for which you were designed. 00:08:34.760 --> 00:08:43.840 The church carries that message to not be faithful to that, why 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:46.080 would we not want to be faithful to that? 00:08:50.040 --> 00:08:54.280 Recently, I was on a plane trip from Salt Lake City to Washington, DC. 00:08:54.300 --> 00:09:01.580 I had to go speak at a church, and there was this great idea, the place I was going purchased, my plane ticket to go to speak and 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:08.980 I had a lot to do the day before, so they said to me, they called me and they said that we'll just book a Red Eye for you and you can sleep on the flight there. 00:09:09.700 --> 00:09:13.760 And when you get there, then you'll be, you're somewhat refreshed. 00:09:13.760 --> 00:09:15.150 You need to take a little nap, you can take a nap and speak. 00:09:15.700 --> 00:09:18.270 And I got on this flight, just so happened this flight was overbooked. 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:23.940 And as the flight gets ready to take off, and to that point I'm popping my headphones and I'm gearing to asleep. 00:09:24.060 --> 00:09:29.870 And as a lean back to go to sleep, someone taps on my shoulder, and it's the flight attendant. 00:09:30.040 --> 00:09:37.140 And they gave me this information, valuable information and they say, the person beside of you, who's already asleep, they have grand mal's seizures. 00:09:37.380 --> 00:09:42.500 If they happen to have one while we take off, we want you to buzz us to let us know. 00:09:42.520 --> 00:09:43.560 And I'm thinking, great. 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:50.600 So that's the most unrelaxing thing that you're supposed to be told, right, before you go to [inaudible 00:09:48] this person could die beside of me if I don't do 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:51.540 my job now. 00:09:51.540 --> 00:09:53.230 And I booked this flight in order to sleep. 00:09:53.540 --> 00:09:56.240 And I'm not kidding, three seconds into the air, guess what happens? 00:09:57.240 --> 00:10:00.340 Massive, massive seizure, and so I hit. 00:10:00.400 --> 00:10:02.180 I do my job, and I hit my button. 00:10:02.640 --> 00:10:08.540 And then the flight attendants comes over, and they check on the person and they realize that this is a serious situation. 00:10:08.860 --> 00:10:10.410 So they do what they do on planes. 00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:13.470 When there's a serious situation they ask, is there a doctor on board? 00:10:13.620 --> 00:10:13.780 Right? 00:10:13.780 --> 00:10:15.520 Or anyone, any medical staff on board? 00:10:15.780 --> 00:10:23.180 And just so happens there's one doctor on board on this overbooked flight, and this doctor comes up and he has to commandeer 00:10:23.180 --> 00:10:24.160 the entire row. 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:26.720 And they lay this person in the floor. 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:34.840 And really, this is just a story about me complaining to get to a point, but I end up on this flight with the doctor 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:36.300 who gets up overbooked flight. 00:10:36.340 --> 00:10:39.080 This doctor who gets up and there's, that he takes the entire row. 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:42.980 So that means there's two of us needing one seat, and now only one seat available. 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:45.360 And the lady, the person beside me is a lady. 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:49.120 So I do the code of chivalry being a guy and I say, "You know what? 00:10:49.180 --> 00:10:54.330 You can have this flight." Nevermind, I got to speak in the morning, and I have to stand out the entire flight. 00:10:54.820 --> 00:11:00.200 The entire flight from midnight to 4:00 AM from here to DC, I am standing up, and that's not the point. 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:07.200 The point is this, to say this, the doctor became a valuable tool 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:11.420 as an instrument to be used for the life of this person. 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:12.700 It was a very serious situation. 00:11:13.180 --> 00:11:17.300 You can feel bad for me by the way, but a very serious situation. 00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:18.770 It was a horrible message. 00:11:19.180 --> 00:11:26.180 The next morning, when I got there, I was a little too out in the outer space for not 00:11:26.180 --> 00:11:31.280 getting enough rest, but the doctor became a valuable tool in the preservation of the life of that person. 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:39.340 Could you imagine you have the ability to help someone in that situation and someone asks for your help and you just choose 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:39.980 to sit there? 00:11:41.020 --> 00:11:43.240 I'm a little tired, this is Red Eye flight, I need to sleep. 00:11:44.640 --> 00:11:53.140 Now, if someone else will do it, because you think about the preciousness of the message that you possess, I 00:11:53.140 --> 00:11:57.090 would say it's more valuable than the doctor on that plane. 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:01.520 Yes, life is important, but we're talking about eternal life. 00:12:03.420 --> 00:12:10.460 We're talking about life forever in the message that you've been given, and Jesus' interest in your life is to 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:12.480 see the value of that message. 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:15.560 He didn't come haphazardly. 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:18.150 He came and gave it all. 00:12:19.560 --> 00:12:23.600 You could know the beauty of who he is from now on all into eternity. 00:12:23.820 --> 00:12:27.850 And not just that message would stay with you, but be shared through you. 00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:29.520 It's the healing of the soul. 00:12:31.260 --> 00:12:35.600 For all of eternity and on the heart of God is that message would perpetuate. 00:12:37.480 --> 00:12:44.080 That and not just in the first century, in his death, but it continue in his people because they see the sacredness of what Christ is about. 00:12:45.520 --> 00:12:47.560 Jesus prays for our mission. 00:12:48.760 --> 00:12:53.060 And not only that, Jesus also prays for unity while on mission. 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:55.780 This is point number two, he prays for our unity while on mission. 00:12:55.820 --> 00:13:02.820 You see this, and starting in verse nine is just peppered throughout this section, verse nine and verse 12, that I ask on their behalf, this is the beginning of 00:13:02.820 --> 00:13:03.520 his prayer, right? 00:13:03.520 --> 00:13:06.350 The middle of the transition I told you Jesus prays in three parts. 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:09.730 Verse nine, marks the second part of this prayer, "I ask on their behalf. 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:17.340 I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you have given me, because they are yours." You see this collective 00:13:17.340 --> 00:13:23.880 family God's building here, verse 10, "And all things that are mine are yours and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them. 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:31.380 I am no longer going to be in the world and yet they themselves are in the world, and I'm coming to you, Holy father, keep them in your 00:13:31.380 --> 00:13:36.650 name, the name which you have given me so that they may be one just as we are. 00:13:36.660 --> 00:13:42.560 While I was with them, I was keeping them in your name, which you have given me, and I guarded them. 00:13:42.560 --> 00:13:45.250 And not one of them perished, except the son of destruction... 00:13:45.660 --> 00:13:46.620 Talking about Judas... 00:13:47.040 --> 00:13:54.180 So that the scriptures would be fulfilled." So you see, in all of these phrases, this collective idea of being united in Christ together, 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:55.580 the saying it's a team effort. 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:04.080 When I want to think about the beauty of Alpine Bible Church, and I think the great things that God has done for through this church in our history, in 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:11.120 my minds, the greatest things that I've seen accomplished here at ABC has not been done by an individual, but a team that's worked together for the cause 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:11.540 of Christ. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:20.020 There is power in numbers, and Jesus understands this, that he doesn't gift us to live as individuals in this world, but he calls us 00:14:20.020 --> 00:14:27.300 to be a collective unit, moving for his glory together as a team, that when the Bible often talks about you, it refers to you 00:14:27.300 --> 00:14:27.860 plural. 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:30.970 That it's about all of us and what God wants to do in us, and through us together. 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:36.620 And so Jesus, he not only prays for our mission, but he prays for the unity of our mission. 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:43.800 In fact, if I just highlighted some of these thoughts as he goes through it he says, that of those whom you have given me because they, our are 00:14:43.800 --> 00:14:44.400 yours. 00:14:45.920 --> 00:14:53.020 I mean, just think of the sacredness of that thought that you belong to God, that you're 00:14:53.020 --> 00:14:53.500 his. 00:14:53.540 --> 00:15:00.880 And this is not to be at any detriment to the world is if God isn't concerned for the rest of the world, and only exclusively concerned 00:15:00.880 --> 00:15:02.040 for you as his church. 00:15:02.220 --> 00:15:04.320 We know that God loves the world. 00:15:04.340 --> 00:15:07.660 God cares about people that are lost because God pursued them. 00:15:08.580 --> 00:15:14.380 In fact, in Matthew chapter five and verse 44, Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies. 00:15:15.780 --> 00:15:23.020 In the gospel of Luke in chapter 23 and verse 34, at the end of Jesus' life, as they're mocking Jesus and they're rolling dice for 00:15:23.020 --> 00:15:31.100 his clothing, Jesus says, "Father, forgive them because they know not what they do." God's heart is 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:31.550 for people. 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:38.940 And as he carries that heart for people he looks to what he cherishes, which is his church because he gave his life for the church. 00:15:41.780 --> 00:15:44.900 Nothing more special to Christ than the church. 00:15:45.780 --> 00:15:52.350 You think about the uniqueness of that, like in your life, if you're married and I ask you, do you love your spouse? 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:59.820 Your answer's going to be yes, and it would be wrong with me to conclude simply because you love your spouse in a unique way that therefore you hate the world. 00:16:02.880 --> 00:16:09.980 You love people of this world, but you recognize the uniqueness of having a spouse, what 00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:11.670 it means to cherish that relationship. 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:19.280 And this is Jesus in these moments cherishing that relationship, and recognizing the privilege for 00:16:19.280 --> 00:16:25.260 you and for I to be able to call ourselves as belonging to the Lord, they, our are yours. 00:16:27.140 --> 00:16:29.000 Special to God is his church. 00:16:29.060 --> 00:16:36.080 And he says in verse 10, "All things that are mine are yours." And I love the intimacy of this thought 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:43.240 when Jesus is reflecting on his relationship to the Father, this idea of unity is seen so much between father and son, that all that 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:47.640 Jesus has he offers it to the father and the same to the father. 00:16:48.060 --> 00:16:55.040 This unity is built by not holding anything back, but offering all of that they are between one another. 00:16:55.680 --> 00:17:01.940 And I look at this passage and I think the same, or I ask the same thing for my own life is this where I am in God? 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:09.380 If God is praying for unity for me towards him and unity among us, is what I have truly given over 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:12.180 to God, completely? 00:17:12.300 --> 00:17:18.700 Martin Luther from the reformation, not in the 1900, but Martin Luther, he once remarked about this verse. 00:17:18.740 --> 00:17:25.829 He said, I doubt anyone's ever lived in human history that can fully say that this verse has been true with their lives. 00:17:27.859 --> 00:17:34.100 That all that I have, all that I have is yours. 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:40.980 And sometimes we do ministry at the church, I ask people a common question. 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:43.960 When someone leads a ministry here you may have been asked this. 00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:47.220 If you have been asked this, act like this is new. 00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:50.600 If you haven't been asked this, please know that this is not my illustration. 00:17:50.820 --> 00:17:54.840 I stole this from someone, but I hear after you repeat things a few times you can claim it as your own. 00:17:55.040 --> 00:17:59.180 So here goes my star, so this is where I offend you, okay? 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:06.420 But this is what I ask [inaudible 00:18:01] I'll come to people and I ask when you want to do ministry here at the church, are you a chicken or a 00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:06.760 pig? 00:18:07.540 --> 00:18:10.700 And you're like, "I'm option C." What's options C? 00:18:10.800 --> 00:18:12.630 I don't want to be a pig, that's offensive. 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:14.620 I don't want to be a chicken or a pig. 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:15.380 Is there a right answer? 00:18:15.780 --> 00:18:19.880 I want you to know when it comes to doing ministry, there is a right answer here, are you a chicken or a pig? 00:18:20.080 --> 00:18:26.900 And you think about this illustration as it relates to ministry, I know none of you really want to walk out being a farm animal. 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:35.220 And probably most likely if you're vegetarian or a vegan, this is very offensive, or Jewish cause a pig's not kosher, but are 00:18:35.220 --> 00:18:36.060 you a chicken or a pig? 00:18:36.100 --> 00:18:40.840 When you think about a chicken, a chicken comes along and lays an egg. 00:18:40.840 --> 00:18:43.500 And it's nice when chickens lay eggs, you get eggs and chickens move on. 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:48.840 But a pig, a pig has to give its life. 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:54.660 In order to reap what a pig has to offer on a farm the pig gives it's life. 00:18:56.320 --> 00:19:03.400 And when you think about doing effective ministry for the Lord, I think those are the kinds of service the Lord seeks, all that 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:05.140 I have is yours. 00:19:06.860 --> 00:19:11.800 When it comes to Jesus, are you a chicken or are you a pig? 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:15.480 Do you simply just show up [inaudible 00:19:15] go? 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:24.160 Or do you see the heart of God fully invest in you and that he has given you everything and your response back to him it's to give all that you are to 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:24.780 the Lord? 00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:30.420 He goes on from there and he says, if they themselves are in the world... 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:34.560 I love this verse 11, because Jesus is saying, look, I'm no longer going to be in the world. 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:42.300 And the focus here was on Christ, and what he comes to accomplish is as if God's attention now diverts from what Jesus has come to fulfill, 00:19:42.420 --> 00:19:43.820 and now he thinks about us. 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:48.830 And now they are in the world, and my heart is for their success as they're here in this world. 00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:53.920 And he refers to us being in this world is that we're in the name of the father, in his name. 00:19:53.920 --> 00:20:01.240 And this means all of the authority and power that we are called to accomplish is found in the possession of God's identity. 00:20:01.300 --> 00:20:08.420 We carry his identity in this world because we're his ambassadors and his representation of what he desires 00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:11.300 to accomplish in this world. 00:20:11.340 --> 00:20:16.420 And then he says, they may be one just as we are one. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:23.650 All that I have is yours, and that they themselves may be one as we are one. 00:20:25.220 --> 00:20:30.200 And guys, this is not talking about uniformity, right? 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.700 God doesn't, I don't think, god doesn't seek uniformity with us in everything. 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:36.170 There are things the church stands for that matters. 00:20:36.260 --> 00:20:42.400 There is a belief in which we stand upon that matters, but not to the point that God looks for uniformity. 00:20:42.900 --> 00:20:43.620 Uniformity is boring. 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:52.280 God's made us all uniquely, given us all different gifts, but what God does desire is unity that we may be one just as he 00:20:52.280 --> 00:20:53.260 is one. 00:20:53.260 --> 00:20:56.110 And we think about the idea of walking in unity. 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:58.140 Let me give you this illustration. 00:20:59.060 --> 00:21:04.340 And you got to work, and you've got colleagues, and acquaintances that you have throughout your day. 00:21:04.340 --> 00:21:05.980 And those are important relationships. 00:21:06.260 --> 00:21:11.920 Like you got to, if you've got a job and you've got colleagues you work with and you get paid to do that job, you want to work well with your colleagues. 00:21:12.560 --> 00:21:16.480 But when it comes to the type of unity that God calls his people to, it's more than just colleagues. 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:22.800 God refers to you as brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:21:24.380 --> 00:21:25.780 We're brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:21:26.860 --> 00:21:33.900 And I heard a great illustration on this last week, that the power of understanding really what brothers and sisters means, one of the best illustrations 00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:35.380 you can think of is maybe in the military. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:41.960 They refer to themselves as brothers in arms, or brothers and sisters in arms. 00:21:42.140 --> 00:21:49.180 And you see this, not this kind of attitude, and not just in the military, but then the police force, and firefighters, they 00:21:49.180 --> 00:21:56.460 all have this sort of comradery about them because they see the significance of the mission that's before them, and they know how important 00:21:56.460 --> 00:21:57.600 it is that they be successful. 00:21:58.320 --> 00:22:03.280 And in order to be successful, they've got to have each other's back because they need the team to accomplish the goal. 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:12.980 And more than just acquaintances or colleagues, like what God calls us to in this world, we fight a spiritual battle and 00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:15.400 that spiritual battle requires each other. 00:22:17.300 --> 00:22:20.280 And we're more than just people that show up in a crowd that kind of sit together. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:24.780 The Bible refers to us as brothers and sisters that have each other's back. 00:22:24.780 --> 00:22:28.720 Like in this room this morning, right now, there are people there have to be among a crowd like this. 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:36.140 There are people that are struggling, and God calls us to be one as 00:22:36.140 --> 00:22:36.830 he is one. 00:22:38.120 --> 00:22:43.780 To see each other, the preciousness of your life and your value in Jesus, that Jesus would give his life for you. 00:22:44.320 --> 00:22:51.400 And to understand the importance of the mission that he calls us on, that we would walk in this unity as brothers and sisters in 00:22:51.400 --> 00:22:55.030 arms for the cause of Christ. 00:22:56.200 --> 00:23:02.650 And then he says this, as you think about that illustration, this is incredible, that not one of them perished. 00:23:03.860 --> 00:23:09.290 They go into battle for Christ, and everyone walks off that field. 00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:12.750 Not one of them perished. 00:23:15.600 --> 00:23:20.200 You think about what it means to be in his name, that authority that Jesus carries you through. 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:22.170 Not one of them perished. 00:23:22.280 --> 00:23:26.600 Had a great situation last week that really drove this thought home. 00:23:26.600 --> 00:23:29.680 Or yesterday, it was, that drove this home for me. 00:23:29.840 --> 00:23:37.040 Stacy went to go do something with a group of ladies yesterday, and then I had something I needed to get done and I asked her this perplexing question 00:23:37.040 --> 00:23:44.280 in my life, I said, "Well, you're going to go do that, but how am I going to go get this done?" And she says to me, "You got to take the kids." 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:50.060 And I immediately without even thinking about I look back at and I was like, all of them, all of them?" Right? 00:23:50.280 --> 00:23:57.000 And I watch how she goes about her life, and I watch the kids go with her and it's like single fall line and they do everything. 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:59.580 And then that you give me control and it's like herding cats, right? 00:23:59.820 --> 00:24:02.620 I grab the kids and I'm like, I'll take them wherever I got to go. 00:24:02.620 --> 00:24:09.440 If I get to the grocery store, I'm like the commander before we get in, everyone keep a hand on the cart, no one touch anything, no one ask me to buy anything. 00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:10.320 We're going in, we're going out. 00:24:10.320 --> 00:24:11.020 And that's it. 00:24:11.020 --> 00:24:11.260 Let's... 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:18.320 And I think to myself like, if I leave with four kids and I come back with three, 75% is passing in most places. 00:24:18.340 --> 00:24:18.480 Right? 00:24:19.140 --> 00:24:26.460 And when I think about the Lord in this passage, and I consider the amount of children he's got versus what I've got I'm like, three 00:24:26.460 --> 00:24:27.380 forces, good. 00:24:27.380 --> 00:24:33.570 And God's like, all of them, all of them, I'm coming home with all of them. 00:24:34.420 --> 00:24:35.580 Do you know how much you matter to me? 00:24:35.580 --> 00:24:36.540 You're not going to be left. 00:24:36.600 --> 00:24:37.670 There's no one left behind. 00:24:37.940 --> 00:24:39.160 Not one will perish. 00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:40.280 All of them are with me. 00:24:40.580 --> 00:24:43.940 And then he gives this great thought at the end, so that scripture would be fulfilled. 00:24:46.620 --> 00:24:54.000 He's highlighting for us the significance of God's promises that we think about the importance of unity and the calling of mission, that 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:58.420 when God gives you a promise in his word God will fulfill his promises. 00:25:00.080 --> 00:25:01.500 So that scripture would be fulfilled. 00:25:01.500 --> 00:25:08.740 He peppers these thoughts often throughout the Bible so that we remember how important just God's word is for us, how sacred it is to 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:11.340 us, that God accomplishes what he says. 00:25:12.840 --> 00:25:16.240 And for me, this elevates the sacredness of just reading God's word. 00:25:17.220 --> 00:25:23.360 And when you think about religions in this world, most religions are books produced by one guy at one time. 00:25:25.040 --> 00:25:32.100 Most religions lack a history of any ancient manuscripts to validate the writings of their books to begin with, but not the 00:25:32.100 --> 00:25:32.360 Bible. 00:25:34.860 --> 00:25:43.920 Not the Bible, 66 books, over 40 authors, three continents, three languages, one theme, one 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:53.480 theme, and a history of manuscripts to see how God's word has been preserved and transmitted throughout the centuries, all 00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:54.300 of it fulfilled. 00:25:55.760 --> 00:26:02.960 And Jesus says it like this when it comes to unity, here's why, but now I am coming to you talking to the Father, and these things I speak in this world so that they may have 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:04.260 my joy made full in themselves. 00:26:05.800 --> 00:26:09.340 Jesus' interest is your joy, your joy. 00:26:09.340 --> 00:26:16.460 And when your soul rests in this mission, knowing that it can be completed in Christ and it makes a difference for all of eternity, the lives of people, 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:22.000 starting with you, that God cares for you, that God pursues you, that God calls you his own. 00:26:22.020 --> 00:26:24.700 And that God puts you on a team to care for each other. 00:26:24.700 --> 00:26:31.960 And they care for you that you find in this the satisfaction and joy of living a life that matters because God has written mission on 00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:35.280 your heart because you want to live a life that matters. 00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:43.060 Point number three, he prays against the opposition to our mission. 00:26:45.580 --> 00:26:49.120 God, prays against the opposition to our mission, which really, it deals with your identity. 00:26:49.300 --> 00:26:56.380 But in verse 14, he says, "I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the 00:26:56.380 --> 00:27:04.540 world, even as I am not of the world." It's easy to get distracted when 00:27:04.540 --> 00:27:06.450 you get concerned about what other people think. 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:12.860 And Jesus recognizes that there's going to be a pressure from the world. 00:27:14.940 --> 00:27:22.320 Negative thoughts, negative way of reacting is a great way to get you off of 00:27:22.320 --> 00:27:24.670 the positive mission that Jesus calls you on. 00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:33.420 All these opinions about all these awful things in this world is a great way to get your focus off the mission that God calls you on. 00:27:35.420 --> 00:27:43.100 Jesus prays for us from the distraction that can come with this, and his interest is that we remain focused on our identity 00:27:43.100 --> 00:27:43.740 in him. 00:27:43.780 --> 00:27:46.600 And the world will come at you, and I love the way he says this. 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:54.220 He says, "I have given them your word, and the world has hated them." Let me just say it to us this way, standing 00:27:54.220 --> 00:28:01.240 for Jesus means you will stand against the things of this world, but it's important to remember that their battle 00:28:01.240 --> 00:28:05.060 is not with you, but with the truth of who God is. 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:13.540 And that's what Jesus is saying to us in verse 14, "I have given them your word, and it's your word that they really hate." Their 00:28:13.540 --> 00:28:18.020 battle is with not you, but Christ. 00:28:18.560 --> 00:28:19.300 You're just the messenger. 00:28:21.540 --> 00:28:28.560 Now, I'm saying that guys, we have a tremendous tool in having the word of God, but that doesn't give us an excuse to leverage the word to beat people 00:28:28.560 --> 00:28:29.210 up. 00:28:30.260 --> 00:28:31.380 It's not a tool to abuse people. 00:28:33.280 --> 00:28:38.420 It's an instrument that God's given us to declare to people in order to see them set free in Jesus, just like we were. 00:28:39.480 --> 00:28:44.760 And it's only by the grace of God and the love of Christ that we've come to a place to acknowledge that our soul needs it. 00:28:45.800 --> 00:28:52.940 And so we have opportunity to not lose focus in recognizing the importance of sharing this world where that it's 00:28:52.940 --> 00:28:56.940 not a battle with us, but it's a battle with the Lord. 00:28:57.000 --> 00:29:02.140 And we're here to help people find victory in that battle by surrendering their lives to Christ. 00:29:03.940 --> 00:29:04.480 We don't fight people. 00:29:06.340 --> 00:29:08.100 Alpine Bible Church does not stand to fight people. 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:11.480 Alpine Bible church exists to fight for people. 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:17.120 And we call it a soldiers onto a battlefield, we're after prisoners of war. 00:29:17.380 --> 00:29:24.500 And those prisoners have been captivated by the thoughts of this world and the things of Satan, and God calls us in a loving, 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:28.340 gracious way to engage this world with the truth of who Christ is that they could be set free. 00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:31.620 He prays against the opposition. 00:29:32.940 --> 00:29:40.100 In verse 15, he goes on and says, "I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one." So Jesus 00:29:40.100 --> 00:29:47.220 is saying, look, if my job and your life was to simply save you as soon as you called on me, I would have removed you from this world. 00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:54.640 But God's got a mission for you to proclaim that gospel, that freedom in this world so that people, other people can find it, too. 00:29:54.860 --> 00:30:01.720 But I love verse 15, and this is a great prayer to think, like I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:05.450 Like if you've got a child that's turning 16, it's a great prayer, right? 00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:07.800 God, keep them safe, right? 00:30:07.840 --> 00:30:10.540 You've got a child going to college, Lord, please. 00:30:10.540 --> 00:30:13.040 Verse 15 becomes your memory verse, doesn't it? 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:16.140 You start worrying about your kids, keep them from the evil. 00:30:16.140 --> 00:30:17.520 And this is a great prayer. 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:19.400 I love sometimes how this translate. 00:30:19.520 --> 00:30:26.420 Well, I don't really love it, but how this translate into cultural Christianity, we develop these strange subcultures sometimes in Christianity. 00:30:26.420 --> 00:30:30.860 Growing up in the Bible belt, I've seen Christians take this verse and do some weird things with it. 00:30:31.280 --> 00:30:38.600 And maybe you are even guilty of it, I could probably be guilty of this that I'm about to tease, but you ever get to that place where people are praying and you got this difficult 00:30:38.600 --> 00:30:45.680 thing come on and they're like, Lord, Lord, just put a hedge of protection, or just give them a hedge of 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:46.200 protection? 00:30:46.200 --> 00:30:52.080 Like all of a sudden, Jesus, you're going to be out in this battlefield and Satan's going to running that, just see, I'm going to take them out all and he's going to stop. 00:30:52.440 --> 00:30:54.910 There is a hedge around [inaudible 00:30:54] like this hedge. 00:30:55.080 --> 00:30:58.120 If you're going to pray for someone's protection, pick something better than a hedge. 00:30:58.120 --> 00:31:00.100 The hedge keeps nothing out, right? 00:31:00.120 --> 00:31:01.400 You want to pray for someone security? 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:02.760 Don't pray hedge. 00:31:02.840 --> 00:31:05.960 Prayer's like, for whatever they make, a bulletproof vessel, I'll pray for that. 00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:08.590 And a foot deep, like don't just pray for hedges. 00:31:08.740 --> 00:31:10.690 Hedges, they do nothing, right? 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:13.620 But let me read this verse, keep them from the evil. 00:31:13.660 --> 00:31:18.130 And here's what I think is important to know, spasm on you there for a little bit. 00:31:18.890 --> 00:31:25.960 What's important to know is that what this prayer is telling us is not necessarily that God's going to keep 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:26.620 us from hard things. 00:31:30.310 --> 00:31:38.620 I think God's prayer is that we would continue to find our identity in him rather than the temptation of finding our identity in Satan, or 00:31:38.620 --> 00:31:39.460 the things of this world. 00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:42.220 God, keep them secure. 00:31:44.420 --> 00:31:46.780 God, help them see the importance of who they are. 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:56.440 God, help their identity to be rooted in us, the father and the son would pray, not 00:31:56.440 --> 00:31:57.200 in the things of this world. 00:31:59.000 --> 00:31:59.830 Don't let them get sidetracked. 00:32:02.060 --> 00:32:02.720 Don't let them get distracted. 00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:06.860 Don't let them think it's just about hedges. 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:11.420 Keep them secure in me. 00:32:13.600 --> 00:32:19.080 This is Jesus' interest because when hard things happen it's easy to get distracted. 00:32:21.300 --> 00:32:27.180 When people give you their opinions, it becomes easy to be concerned about what they think rather than what Jesus thinks. 00:32:30.260 --> 00:32:35.060 Focus on your mission, that's what Jesus is saying because this is what brings freedom. 00:32:36.800 --> 00:32:43.120 What God calls us to in this world is to redeem our culture, to redeem the world. 00:32:43.260 --> 00:32:45.300 Everything created doesn't belong to Satan. 00:32:46.840 --> 00:32:48.380 Everything created belongs to Jesus. 00:32:49.860 --> 00:32:56.460 Everything good in this world belongs to Jesus, and it's our place in this world to show the world how to glorify God through it. 00:32:58.040 --> 00:32:58.560 It's all Jesus'. 00:33:00.100 --> 00:33:03.420 And we have the opportunity to just help this world see how to honor God in it. 00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:06.380 And he says, they are not of this world, even as I am not of this world. 00:33:06.380 --> 00:33:07.000 Let me get the last point. 00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:11.140 He prays for our foundation to our mission. 00:33:12.140 --> 00:33:18.400 Remember in verse 18, where we started, just as you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world? 00:33:20.160 --> 00:33:26.740 That's the idea of mission, but I want you to see in verse 17 and 19, what this idea of mission is wrapped around because this is your foundation. 00:33:28.060 --> 00:33:30.920 He wraps this idea of mission around two thoughts of sanctification. 00:33:31.260 --> 00:33:32.940 He says, "Sanctify them in truth. 00:33:32.940 --> 00:33:40.420 Your word is truth." And then he says in verse 19, "And for their sakes, I sanctify myself so that they themselves also may be 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:47.660 sanctified in truth." When you think about verse 17, sanctify them by truth, thy word is truth, 00:33:48.060 --> 00:33:55.180 he's sharing for us the importance of the truth of God, the foundation for our lives, because the temptation is going to be verse 00:33:55.180 --> 00:34:01.800 14 to 16, when the world comes in, the world is going to encourage you to change the word of God in order to conform to it. 00:34:03.100 --> 00:34:09.000 But in verse 17, it's reminding us we don't change God's word, but rather God's word is what changes us. 00:34:11.500 --> 00:34:12.980 God's word is eternally true. 00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:18.400 God's word is intended to shape your life. 00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:25.370 I love when I think about the importance of God's word to think about God's words from the very beginning in Genesis. 00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:28.580 Genesis one, God said, let there be. 00:34:30.639 --> 00:34:32.239 And life came into existence, right? 00:34:32.239 --> 00:34:33.920 God said, let there be light, and there was light. 00:34:34.360 --> 00:34:36.320 God said, let there be a world, and there was a world. 00:34:36.400 --> 00:34:38.639 God said, let there be plants on the world, and there was plans in the world. 00:34:38.940 --> 00:34:40.139 When God spoke, there was life. 00:34:42.540 --> 00:34:46.100 And God's word is God speaking to us. 00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:49.699 And where his word is there is life. 00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:56.520 And you have opportunity to engage in the life of his word every day. 00:34:57.560 --> 00:35:00.580 And the importance of it in your life can't be... 00:35:00.720 --> 00:35:04.960 I don't think I overstated because over time, what we find is mission drifts and vision fades. 00:35:07.260 --> 00:35:14.280 Over time, without the reminder of who God is and the importance of him in our life, our mission in this world began to drift and our vision for 00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:15.600 things in Christ will fade. 00:35:17.100 --> 00:35:20.950 It's God's word that aligns our soul and the world just tries to distract us. 00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:31.040 And not only this, he reminds us in verse 17, "I sanctify myself so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth." 00:35:31.040 --> 00:35:33.200 Just tell you, God's word is not an end in of itself. 00:35:35.220 --> 00:35:38.000 The intentions of God's word is to lead you to Christ. 00:35:39.780 --> 00:35:43.900 It's great to have God's word, but not just stop at God's word. 00:35:44.940 --> 00:35:52.220 See, God's word as the instrument to introduce you and guide you into the beauty of a relationship with Jesus. 00:35:52.980 --> 00:35:59.760 God's word for us becomes a well of grace to connect to our creator and our savior, our king. 00:35:59.900 --> 00:36:01.960 The point of God's word is to lead us to Jesus. 00:36:03.500 --> 00:36:08.440 And this is what he says in verse 19, not only are sanctified by your word, which is true. 00:36:09.040 --> 00:36:12.740 They're sanctified in me through your truth. 00:36:13.340 --> 00:36:17.160 Coming to Jesus in relationship. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:25.140 Revelation, chapter two, verse four, the church of Ephesus, God said about the church of Ephesus that they were dedicated to the word of God, but in verse four, he said this, "But then 00:36:25.140 --> 00:36:32.420 I have this against you, that you have left your first love." 00:36:32.420 --> 00:36:35.120 What propels this mission? 00:36:36.660 --> 00:36:41.670 So that's just simply the calling of duty, it's the greatness of the one that we serve. 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:50.460 It's your love for Jesus that propels you to live this way, and the strength of that relationships that determines 00:36:50.460 --> 00:36:52.560 the urgency that you understand your mission. 00:36:53.660 --> 00:37:01.240 And so when you grow your heart for God and you grow in your love for God, you will grow in your mission for God, and your desire to see God's community living 00:37:01.240 --> 00:37:07.780 successfully for him in unity as you move from the distractions and you cling to his word. 00:37:09.780 --> 00:37:10.830 Just let me give you this last illustration. 00:37:12.460 --> 00:37:14.820 It got colder this week, so I thought I'd warm up your thoughts. 00:37:18.500 --> 00:37:25.520 There's a story of two Americans that went to an island, and that I think the story is in 00:37:25.520 --> 00:37:26.070 the South Pacific. 00:37:26.540 --> 00:37:28.380 They went to an island, and they were Christians. 00:37:29.860 --> 00:37:34.240 And while they were on this island, they got to have dinner with one of the tribal chiefs. 00:37:35.820 --> 00:37:42.860 And as they're having dinner, somewhere along the conversation, there was one of the American Christian spoke up and they were talking about living 00:37:42.860 --> 00:37:43.680 on mission. 00:37:43.680 --> 00:37:50.240 And he says, "I don't really feel the need to live on mission for the Lord with urgency, like God wants to rescue people, he can just do it. 00:37:50.280 --> 00:37:51.360 He doesn't really need me. 00:37:51.360 --> 00:37:59.380 I don't find the need to really live on mission to which the tribal chief responded and said, "You should." He 00:37:59.380 --> 00:38:06.520 said, "A couple of years ago, there was a Christian, came from your country to my island and they taught us about 00:38:06.520 --> 00:38:09.800 Jesus, and I embraced Christ. 00:38:12.120 --> 00:38:14.420 But before I embraced Christ, I was a cannibal. 00:38:16.120 --> 00:38:23.800 And tonight, rather than you being my dinner guests, you would have just been my dinner." The 00:38:23.920 --> 00:38:31.080 point for us is to think about the importance, the importance 00:38:31.260 --> 00:38:32.650 of the message that you carry. 00:38:34.780 --> 00:38:38.560 What this church does in this world is sacred. 00:38:41.080 --> 00:38:44.320 It makes an eternal difference in the life of people. 00:38:46.140 --> 00:38:53.160 It's a precious calling that God has given you, to live on mission for the joy that the Lord has 00:38:53.160 --> 00:39:00.520 provided and the relationship with him as we work together as brothers and sisters in Christ, not distracted by the things of this world, 00:39:01.740 --> 00:39:06.860 but coming to know, and walking in the beauty of who he is through his word.