Hello, and welcome
to Jesus for Asia Now.
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I'm Natalie Wood,
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and my husband Jon and I
would like to share something
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a little
different with you today.
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You know, honey,
normally we focus on
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one of the
projects of Jesus for Asia,
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where we've talked about
the overview of Jesus for Asia,
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but today we want to share
something a little different.
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Yeah, we want to kind
of go behind the scenes
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or not behind the
scenes, but look at the reason
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why we're doing
what we are doing.
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Look at the
biblical foundations,
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the underpinnings,
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the theology of missions really.
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Okay.
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And you've given
the study a title.
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Yes.
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It's part one of...
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The reason why I've chosen
this title is that, you know,
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when we were first
doing this mission work,
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we were having a
wonderful time and being blessed
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and enjoying,
taking the gospel to people
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that have never
heard the gospel before
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and realizing
the Lord was in this
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and we're realizing a
blessing of the Lord's presence
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as He open doors and
allowed us to overcome obstacles
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in taking the gospel.
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We were like, why
isn't more people doing this,
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and started to realize and
started to feel like the...
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We didn't hear
much about missions,
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we didn't hear too
many sermons about missions
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and the call to go
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and things like
that in our churches
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and I started thinking,
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you know, is
missions really in the Bible
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or is that just
something I like to do.
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You know, of course...
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Or is that just like one text,
you know, Matthew 18, yeah.
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Yeah, the great commission
"go ye into all the world,"
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is that the reason
why we are doing it
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or is there more to it
and so also as I started,
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as we started getting
involved with missions
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and foreign
missions specifically.
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We started reading the
Bible a little bit differently,
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because the burdens that we felt
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in seeing the
need, seeing people,
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I mean it's one thing
to hear about a lost people
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that have no access, I guess,
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it's another thing to
see them and another names
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and make friends there
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and the burden starts to
become a lot more personal,
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lot more real.
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Right and when you see,
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and you have a chance to
be a part of telling them.
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Then that becomes even more real
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and more of a burden,
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because then you
know the kind of joy
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that the other people
are missing out on this.
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Yes, especially
when their eyes light up,
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you know, when they get
this, wow, God loves me.
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Wow!
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You know, that's awesome.
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And so, I started
reading the Bible...
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As I was reading the Bible,
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I started seeing more of
these themes in the Bible
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that I've never seen
before, so looking at the Bible,
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reading the Bible
through a missional
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what they call hermeneutic
or putting on missions' glasses
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and reading the Bible
with a missions' mindset.
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You know, lot of
times we read the Bible
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from different mindsets
like a salvational mindset.
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You know, we read the
Bible to see Christ and His...
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in the way that He has laid
out through the Old Testament
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and the New Testament
for me to find salvation
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to connect with God
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and to have that the
blessing of God in my life
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of His presence in my life.
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We read the
Bible for that purpose,
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but when we
start reading the Bible
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from a missional purpose,
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all kinds of
stuff start coming out,
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and it's very
rich and very fruitful,
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and very
encouraging and very exciting,
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and so I started
thinking, it seems as though...
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Theology in North
America Christianity
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seems as though it's got
a little bit of a blind side
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towards this angle of the Bible
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and theology, our theology
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that's come out of that.
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Missions is not
really part of it.
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We hear the command to
go and so therefore, okay,
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there is
something we have to do,
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but where is it in
our theological bedrock,
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shall we say, there
is a blind side there.
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It's more optional. Exactly.
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Missions is a
very optional thing.
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Yeah, optional,
short term, you know,
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all those kinds of...
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minimum, minimizing type
of words apply to mission.
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It's not expected, you
know, there are some churches
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where missions is expected thing
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in of growing that person.
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In most churches, Adventist
Christian Churches today,
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it's not expected,
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it's something that
you do if you want to,
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but it's not really a part
of, we don't groom our children
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or youth going through
schools to be missionaries.
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We groom them to have good
jobs and so I was struggling...
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Which is sad, you know,
Mrs. White had a statement
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that I read one time that says
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"We're to raise our
children to be missionaries
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to the isles of the sea,
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and it's like we've
completely lost that concept.
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Do we have to go to Mrs.
White to find those themes?
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No. You know, and that's what...
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And that's what
we are doing today.
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So let's go
ahead and get started.
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Well, after reading
through all this stuff,
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I've started seeing
stuff come alive in the Bible.
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Start seeing
patterns of the Bible,
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just amazing and I
realize, I need to write a book.
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And the title of this
book as we think okay,
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you've got missions
and you've got the gospel.
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You've got the gospel
and you've got missions.
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But after reading through
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what we are gonna
talk about today...
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And, you know, and
other places in the Bible.
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Yeah.
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I believe that missions
and the gospel go together.
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Okay.
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And the title of the book
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if I ever get
around to writing it,
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it's gonna be the
centrality of missions
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in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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So that's kind of
the title of the show,
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is that missions
is actually central
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in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Okay, and this is
one of the studies
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that you have done.
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Yes, yes.
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Okay, so we are gonna
start out in Matthew 24.
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We're gonna be talking
about Matthew 24 and 25 today.
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That's correct.
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So in one half hour show,
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we're gonna go through
two big chapters in the Bible.
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Okay.
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But what we are gonna
do is we're gonna step back
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and kind of do an overview.
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We're gonna look at it
from a bird's eye perspective.
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I know that many of our viewers
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are familiar with
those two chapters,
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but we're gonna
do a brief overview.
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Matthew 24, as you know,
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is starting out
with the Temple Mount.
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The disciples show
Jesus these massive stones
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and they say, you know,
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isn't this
something to be proud about.
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And Jesus is like well,
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actually let me tell you a
little bit of what's coming.
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None of these stones
are gonna be standing, yeah,
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in a very short time.
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And so they're
like, what's gonna happen
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and what's gonna be
the sign of your return
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and so he goes into this amazing
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and beautiful prophetic thing
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that kind of blends
and goes back and forth
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that has dual applications
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between the time of
the disciples' lives
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and the sweeping earth's history
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up until today and beyond.
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And so, he starts out with
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nations shall rise against
nations, I mean, nation...
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Those are prophecies of doom,
and destruction, and gloom.
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Yeah, and pestilences and wars,
and all these kinds of things.
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But then he says
something very interesting,
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he says those things are not
the end, the signs of my end.
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The end is not yet, yeah.
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The end is not yet. Yeah.
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So what is the
sign of Jesus return?
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Matthew 24:14.
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Which is...
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"And this gospel of the kingdom
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shall be
preached in all the world
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for a witness unto all nations,
and then shall the end come."
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Right, exactly.
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So that's kind of in the middle.
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Right.
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I mean, he starts out
with all these prophecies
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and then he goes to
that and then there is more.
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More sweeping prophecies.
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But that, even that in
itself is a sweeping prophecy.
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So when you see I believe,
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when we see the
challenges in the world
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getting enveloped
with more and more strife
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and bloodshed,
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that's not so much a
sign of Jesus coming.
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That's just a sign that
the world is getting worst.
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Then we should be more serious.
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Absolutely, and the true sign
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is taking the
gospel to the world.
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So what that means is
that the world will continue
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to get worse and worse and worse
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until the gospel is
preached to the whole world.
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And that's a
scary thought. Yeah.
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Well, you consider it
scary but the truth is that
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there is a lot of
opportunity out there for us
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to get involved with God's work.
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And so it's a
blessing thought too.
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There is a lot of,
lot of blessings in store
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just awaiting,
and so you look at...
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So we're in the prophecies...
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Yeah, you get the
big sweeping prophecies
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and then you start into
the personal application
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because you go from
the big sweeping prophecies
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and can you imagine
the disciples sitting there
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listening to...
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Yeah, all those
persecution and...
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You can imagine
how they felt like,
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in fact I think in John
where one of the disciple says,
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"Lord, now are you
gonna set up your kingdom.
00:08:49.69\00:08:52.59
Now that You've
risen from the dead
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and You've done all this
miracles, we believe You.
00:08:54.36\00:08:56.33
Now you gonna
set up your kingdom."
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And so in their
mind they are like,
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no we want You
to come like soon,
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like in a couple of months.
00:09:04.94\00:09:07.44
Yeah, get this done.
00:09:07.48\00:09:09.21
Yeah, and we can go to
heaven and so I can imagine
00:09:09.24\00:09:12.81
that their fear and their
trepidation just increased
00:09:12.85\00:09:16.38
as Jesus started to say about
all these sweeping prophecies,
00:09:16.42\00:09:20.42
and so they are thinking
how are we gonna survive this.
00:09:20.46\00:09:24.66
And so I believe
Jesus answers that question.
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Okay.
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And how to
survive the end times.
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He starts from the introduction,
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then goes through this
big sweeping prophecies,
00:09:31.90\00:09:34.07
and then he turns it personal.
00:09:34.10\00:09:35.64
He makes it personal,
then goes to Matthew 25,
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and Matthew 25 is
totally different.
00:09:40.68\00:09:42.91
And this is a thing
that kind of threw me off
00:09:42.94\00:09:44.71
for a while because it's
so different from Matthew 24.
00:09:44.75\00:09:48.65
It seems like it's
two different sermons...
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Yeah.
00:09:50.35\00:09:51.32
But then you read and
he didn't go anywhere else
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and his audience didn't change,
00:09:53.49\00:09:54.92
and it wasn't like there
was a night in the middle.
00:09:54.96\00:09:57.43
Nothing, it was like,
he is just continuing on.
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There is no break
between 24 and 25.
00:10:00.83\00:10:03.40
So all of 24 and
all of 25 is one sermon.
00:10:03.43\00:10:06.40
So what's the link
between the end time
00:10:06.43\00:10:09.34
because he's talking about
future end times in Matthew 25
00:10:09.37\00:10:13.14
with all these three parables.
00:10:13.17\00:10:15.64
And I believe is
that Jesus is making
00:10:15.68\00:10:17.81
a personal application
responding to the question,
00:10:17.85\00:10:20.78
how are we gonna
survive these end times?
00:10:20.82\00:10:22.58
Okay, so in Matthew 25,
we have three parables...
00:10:22.62\00:10:26.22
We got the virgins...
00:10:26.25\00:10:27.29
Right.
00:10:27.32\00:10:28.29
Ten virgins, and then
we go into the talents,
00:10:28.32\00:10:31.06
and then the final one
is the sheep and the goats.
00:10:31.09\00:10:33.56
Which is kind of
a judgment scene.
00:10:33.60\00:10:35.06
Exactly. Okay.
00:10:35.10\00:10:36.20
But there is a little bit
of judgment of in all of that.
00:10:36.23\00:10:37.90
In all of them. Yeah.
00:10:37.93\00:10:39.43
So, but I believe
that all of Matthew 25
00:10:39.47\00:10:43.14
is summarized in
Matthew 24:45, 46.
00:10:43.17\00:10:47.24
So the whole chapter
is in those two verses
00:10:47.28\00:10:50.05
and he uses the
entire chapter of Matthew 25
00:10:50.08\00:10:52.71
to unpack those two verses.
00:10:52.75\00:10:54.72
So we're gonna look at
that, but this is the transition
00:10:54.75\00:10:57.52
Matthew 24:44 says,
"Therefore be ye also ready."
00:10:57.55\00:11:05.13
Okay and the question that
automatically comes up is...
00:11:05.16\00:11:08.73
How? How?
00:11:08.76\00:11:10.30
How do I be ready? Okay.
00:11:10.33\00:11:13.40
So let's go ahead and look
into answering that question.
00:11:13.44\00:11:17.01
Okay, but you notice
that it's not get ready,
00:11:17.04\00:11:20.18
it's be ready, so...
00:11:20.21\00:11:22.58
Being is like
staying or a continual...
00:11:22.61\00:11:26.51
Yes, exactly, so how do I stay
00:11:26.55\00:11:28.92
in a continual
state of readiness.
00:11:28.95\00:11:31.89
Verse 45, let's
look at verse 45.
00:11:31.92\00:11:34.56
"Who then is a
faithful and wise servant,
00:11:34.59\00:11:36.89
whom his Lord hath
ruler over his household,
00:11:36.93\00:11:39.56
to give them
meat in due season."
00:11:39.59\00:11:41.83
But who is he talking about,
00:11:41.86\00:11:43.03
let's identify
some of these items.
00:11:43.06\00:11:45.50
Terms, some of the terms, okay.
00:11:45.53\00:11:46.97
Yeah, so first of all servant.
00:11:47.00\00:11:50.04
Servant was the
servant of the Lord,
00:11:50.07\00:11:51.67
so we would think it's
somebody serving the Lord
00:11:51.71\00:11:54.84
so in a gospel perspective
00:11:54.88\00:11:56.85
that would be
the church members,
00:11:56.88\00:11:59.05
they're those that
claim Christianity.
00:11:59.08\00:12:01.15
Exactly, so the servant
in this verses is the church
00:12:01.18\00:12:04.19
or even me.
00:12:04.22\00:12:05.45
Right. Personal application.
00:12:05.49\00:12:07.46
Exactly. Okay.
00:12:07.49\00:12:08.42
So then the next
term in there is the Lord,
00:12:08.46\00:12:11.16
who is the Lord and I
think that's pretty easy.
00:12:11.19\00:12:13.19
Yeah, it would be God or Christ.
00:12:13.23\00:12:15.00
Yes. So the Lord is Christ.
What about the householder?
00:12:15.03\00:12:18.77
What is God's household?
00:12:18.80\00:12:21.70
Well, normally we
think of God's household
00:12:21.74\00:12:24.24
as those that
actually claimed Him already,
00:12:24.27\00:12:26.71
but in Ezekiel 18:4 it
says, "all souls are mine"
00:12:26.74\00:12:32.08
and he is very
specific about that
00:12:32.11\00:12:33.65
so we've interpreted this
00:12:33.68\00:12:36.62
as the household
being the whole world.
00:12:36.65\00:12:39.15
Yeah, you know,
I've known people
00:12:39.19\00:12:40.62
that grew up their whole lives
00:12:40.66\00:12:42.29
and met Jesus when
they are in their 20's
00:12:42.32\00:12:44.43
and they recognize the man
00:12:44.46\00:12:46.70
that they accept as having been
with them since they were born
00:12:46.73\00:12:51.40
and seeing how the
evidence of God working
00:12:51.43\00:12:54.37
in other people's lives
that never accepted Christ.
00:12:54.40\00:12:57.97
So I believe that God is working
00:12:58.01\00:12:59.61
and claims every
soul on the earth as His.
00:12:59.64\00:13:04.35
Candidate for the kingdom.
Actually know who he is.
00:13:04.38\00:13:06.85
If ever.
00:13:06.88\00:13:07.85
So the household I
believe is the whole world.
00:13:07.88\00:13:10.42
Okay. Okay.
00:13:10.45\00:13:11.99
So what's the
job of the servant?
00:13:12.02\00:13:13.92
To give them their
meat in due seasons
00:13:13.96\00:13:16.59
so give, to give, so
that's like the job, yeah.
00:13:16.62\00:13:21.23
So what is the meat
in due into season then?
00:13:21.26\00:13:23.73
Well, meat is
something that you are eating
00:13:23.77\00:13:25.37
and in other places
and scripture we learned
00:13:25.40\00:13:27.20
that that's like spiritual food,
00:13:27.24\00:13:28.64
it's the physical name
00:13:28.67\00:13:30.74
is applied as
spiritual food also,
00:13:30.77\00:13:32.41
so that would be something that
00:13:32.44\00:13:34.14
people need to
survive to know God.
00:13:34.18\00:13:36.08
Okay.
00:13:36.11\00:13:37.15
So present truth...
00:13:37.18\00:13:39.15
Oh, there you go. Due season...
00:13:39.18\00:13:40.25
Meat in due season would be...
00:13:40.28\00:13:41.58
Due season would be timely
00:13:41.62\00:13:43.25
or when they
needed or in the present.
00:13:43.28\00:13:45.75
Before they die. Right.
00:13:45.79\00:13:48.36
So it will be the
gospel before they die.
00:13:48.39\00:13:51.13
Right.
00:13:51.16\00:13:52.16
So meat in due
season or present truth.
00:13:52.19\00:13:53.66
Okay.
00:13:53.70\00:13:54.73
So then verse 46
of Matthew 24 says...
00:13:54.76\00:13:58.73
"Blessed is that servant,
00:13:58.77\00:14:00.17
whom his lord when he
cometh shall find so doing."
00:14:00.20\00:14:03.51
Okay.
00:14:03.54\00:14:04.51
So what should the
church or you and I be doing
00:14:04.54\00:14:08.98
when Jesus
comes the second time?
00:14:09.01\00:14:11.08
Giving the gospel to the world.
00:14:11.11\00:14:13.95
Wow!
00:14:13.98\00:14:16.52
So that's how to
survive the end times.
00:14:16.55\00:14:18.55
Yeah.
00:14:18.59\00:14:20.46
So what does Matthew 25
have to do with all of these?
00:14:20.49\00:14:23.46
All right, so
let's go into Matthew 25.
00:14:23.49\00:14:25.16
The first parable in
Matthew 25 then is...
00:14:25.19\00:14:28.33
The ten virgins...
00:14:28.36\00:14:30.10
Five of them had enough oil
00:14:30.13\00:14:32.60
and five of them
didn't have enough oil.
00:14:32.63\00:14:34.97
But they all had some
oil, and they are all virgins.
00:14:35.00\00:14:38.31
Right, so they had
the proper doctrines,
00:14:38.34\00:14:40.74
they had the truths...
00:14:40.78\00:14:42.24
They were
unspotted from the world,
00:14:42.28\00:14:44.75
so these are church members
00:14:44.78\00:14:46.68
that have a
measure of the Holy Spirit.
00:14:46.72\00:14:49.78
So these are people that
are not out in the world,
00:14:49.82\00:14:52.72
these are people
that are in Christ
00:14:52.75\00:14:54.92
and have accepted salvation,
00:14:54.96\00:14:56.99
and they have received
Christ and the Holy Spirit.
00:14:57.03\00:15:00.13
Okay.
00:15:00.16\00:15:01.20
So what's the
difference between the five?
00:15:01.23\00:15:03.73
Some had more...
00:15:03.77\00:15:04.80
Some just had
more. And some didn't.
00:15:04.83\00:15:06.37
That's the only
difference. Right.
00:15:06.40\00:15:08.14
Was that an
important difference?
00:15:08.17\00:15:09.67
Oh, yeah, because
that was out of darkness
00:15:09.70\00:15:11.91
for those that didn't.
00:15:11.94\00:15:13.31
Okay, so is it important for me
00:15:13.34\00:15:15.04
and for you to
have that extra oil?
00:15:15.08\00:15:17.05
Yes, I think it's
vitally important.
00:15:17.08\00:15:19.28
Okay, so the question then
that comes out of this parable
00:15:19.31\00:15:23.12
is how do we get more oil?
00:15:23.15\00:15:25.59
That is a good question.
How do we get more oil?
00:15:25.62\00:15:28.39
How do we get more oil?
00:15:28.42\00:15:29.46
Yeah, that's a
life or death question.
00:15:29.49\00:15:31.86
And the truth is I've
heard a lot of sermons
00:15:31.89\00:15:34.03
preached about
this particular parable,
00:15:34.10\00:15:37.63
and they come up with a lot of,
00:15:37.67\00:15:39.43
you know, good
ways to get more oil,
00:15:39.47\00:15:41.37
get more of the Holy Spirit
00:15:41.40\00:15:42.34
but what I'm
interested is in this context,
00:15:42.37\00:15:46.01
in this sermon
what does Jesus say
00:15:46.04\00:15:49.14
is the way to get
more oil in the your lamps.
00:15:49.18\00:15:52.58
Okay.
00:15:52.61\00:15:53.78
You would think that if he
is telling you to have more oil
00:15:53.82\00:15:57.55
that then he would then
tell you how to have more oil.
00:15:57.59\00:16:00.76
Okay. And I think...
00:16:00.79\00:16:02.16
So I'm assuming
then the next parable.
00:16:02.19\00:16:04.09
Yes, we look at
the next parable,
00:16:04.13\00:16:06.09
the talents of
how to get more oil.
00:16:06.13\00:16:08.26
All right.
00:16:08.30\00:16:09.36
Now you notice there is
a lot of similarities here.
00:16:09.40\00:16:12.40
You have a Lord,
you have servants.
00:16:12.43\00:16:15.07
The Lord is gone for a long time
00:16:15.10\00:16:16.97
and the servants have something
00:16:17.01\00:16:19.14
and then there is a
judgment in the end when...
00:16:19.17\00:16:21.28
The Lord comes back. Exactly.
00:16:21.31\00:16:23.14
And so the Lord gives
these people the servant,
00:16:23.18\00:16:25.78
he give them some talents.
00:16:25.81\00:16:27.12
Now the talent we think,
you know, what's a talent,
00:16:27.15\00:16:29.92
that's like was that a
quarter, you know, dollar?
00:16:29.95\00:16:33.32
It's not much
but in the old times
00:16:33.36\00:16:35.36
a talent was actually
worth about working man's wage
00:16:35.39\00:16:39.56
for his entire life.
00:16:39.59\00:16:41.76
Wow! That's a lot of money.
00:16:41.80\00:16:42.96
A huge amount of
money, you know, million,
00:16:43.00\00:16:44.93
billion dollars something
I don't know, one of those.
00:16:44.97\00:16:47.20
Depends on what kind
of job you have obviously.
00:16:47.24\00:16:49.17
Obviously, yeah, but
let say a billion dollars,
00:16:49.20\00:16:51.07
so it's a
significant amount of money
00:16:51.11\00:16:53.61
that they were given.
00:16:53.64\00:16:54.68
Even the guy with
one talent, that's huge.
00:16:54.71\00:16:56.51
That was still
significant, yeah.
00:16:56.54\00:16:58.75
And so you look at the...
00:16:58.78\00:17:00.05
what these
servants did with the money
00:17:00.08\00:17:02.05
while the Lord was gone.
00:17:02.08\00:17:03.72
Two of them invested,
one of them kept it safe.
00:17:03.75\00:17:06.65
He says, you know, I'm
going to keep this thing safe
00:17:06.69\00:17:09.66
and I value it,
it's so valuable,
00:17:09.69\00:17:11.86
I'm gonna hang on to it
00:17:11.89\00:17:12.99
and nobody else is
gonna steal it from me.
00:17:13.03\00:17:15.50
So he kept the faith. He
kept what was given to him.
00:17:15.53\00:17:18.83
He kept those doctrines.
00:17:18.87\00:17:19.90
He kept it with
him the whole time
00:17:19.93\00:17:22.40
and when the Lord came again,
00:17:22.44\00:17:26.14
he was able to
give it to Him, say,
00:17:26.17\00:17:27.78
this is what you gave me, I
hung on and I stay faithful.
00:17:27.81\00:17:32.28
But the lord said...
00:17:32.31\00:17:35.02
Out of
darkness. Out of darkness.
00:17:35.05\00:17:37.55
"You wicked and
slothful servant!
00:17:37.59\00:17:39.32
Wicked and
slothful servant, yeah.
00:17:39.35\00:17:40.92
So what did the
other two servants do?
00:17:40.96\00:17:43.69
They actually invested theirs.
00:17:43.73\00:17:45.79
And what happened
to their investment?
00:17:45.83\00:17:47.13
It doubled. Yeah, so they grew.
00:17:47.20\00:17:49.23
So the one that had
two will have two more,
00:17:49.26\00:17:51.80
and the one that had five
had five more, so it grew.
00:17:51.83\00:17:54.74
So what's the lesson here
that when we invest, it grows.
00:17:54.77\00:18:00.08
So it doesn't matter
how much we start with,
00:18:00.11\00:18:02.21
if we invest, it grows.
00:18:02.24\00:18:03.58
Exactly, so then
putting these things together,
00:18:03.61\00:18:06.05
in the first
parable we had the oil.
00:18:06.08\00:18:08.08
So do we invest the
oil in the trade market,
00:18:08.12\00:18:11.05
in the stock market, I
mean, how does this work?
00:18:11.09\00:18:13.69
Where do we invest in?
00:18:13.72\00:18:15.06
That's the next question. Right.
00:18:15.09\00:18:17.66
And that is a
good question also.
00:18:17.69\00:18:19.26
Yes, which I believe is answered
00:18:19.29\00:18:21.93
in the third parable.
00:18:21.96\00:18:23.60
Okay, the parable of
the sheep and the goats.
00:18:23.63\00:18:25.30
Yes, and what is
the deciding factor?
00:18:25.33\00:18:27.17
Remember, the deciding
factor between the wise
00:18:27.20\00:18:29.67
and the foolish
virgins was who had more oil
00:18:29.70\00:18:32.27
or who had the extra oil.
00:18:32.31\00:18:34.41
The deciding
factor between the foolish
00:18:34.44\00:18:37.35
and the good
servants was who invested
00:18:37.38\00:18:40.32
and who had more a return
on what he had been given.
00:18:40.35\00:18:43.72
Right.
00:18:43.75\00:18:44.79
Okay, so then what
is the deciding factor
00:18:44.82\00:18:46.55
in the final scenario,
00:18:46.59\00:18:48.39
the final
scenario, the Lord comes
00:18:48.42\00:18:50.33
and He separates the
sheep from the goats, okay.
00:18:50.36\00:18:53.40
And the only dividing factor is,
00:18:53.43\00:18:57.03
Inasmuch as he have done it
00:18:57.07\00:18:58.90
or not done it unto
least of these my brethren
00:18:58.93\00:19:01.34
and you have done it
or not done it to me.
00:19:01.37\00:19:03.41
The least of this my...
00:19:03.44\00:19:04.77
Brethren. So he is
talking about people.
00:19:04.81\00:19:08.34
Right, brethren, people.
00:19:08.38\00:19:10.68
So what you've been given,
when you're given salvation
00:19:10.71\00:19:14.08
is the Holy Spirit
connection with Jesus,
00:19:14.12\00:19:17.05
and the Holy Spirit
helps you to unlock the riches
00:19:17.09\00:19:19.45
of the treasury of heaven
in the Bible, in the Word.
00:19:19.49\00:19:21.79
The truths.
00:19:21.82\00:19:22.82
And now the question is
what do you do with that?
00:19:22.86\00:19:25.29
What do I do with that?
00:19:25.33\00:19:27.03
Do I keep it for myself
as my own personal blessing?
00:19:27.10\00:19:30.13
Do I start to invest it
and I have to invest it into...
00:19:30.17\00:19:34.14
Other people. Exactly.
00:19:34.17\00:19:36.50
Especially the least.
00:19:36.54\00:19:39.04
Those that know the least,
00:19:39.07\00:19:40.21
that we think of the
least which in my mind
00:19:40.24\00:19:42.74
that's the unreached.
00:19:42.78\00:19:43.91
Those that have no
access to the gospel.
00:19:43.95\00:19:46.11
There are 6,000 people groups
00:19:46.15\00:19:50.15
that technically have
no access to the gospel.
00:19:50.19\00:19:52.29
There is over 2 billion
people in the world today
00:19:52.32\00:19:55.26
that have no
access to the gospel.
00:19:55.29\00:19:56.99
In other words, they
are living in a people group
00:19:57.03\00:19:58.79
or a society or a place
00:19:58.83\00:20:00.63
where they don't have access
00:20:00.66\00:20:02.40
to even know that
the gospel exists,
00:20:02.43\00:20:04.67
that Jesus Christ exists.
00:20:04.70\00:20:06.87
And so those, we
don't know their names,
00:20:06.90\00:20:09.10
we don't know who they
are, they're unreached.
00:20:09.14\00:20:11.41
We don't speak their languages,
where there is no missionary;
00:20:11.44\00:20:14.21
there is no
portion of the scripture
00:20:14.24\00:20:15.61
or of any other
religious truth...
00:20:15.64\00:20:19.41
Yeah, these are the people
00:20:19.45\00:20:20.82
that I think we
think of the least,
00:20:20.85\00:20:22.92
and these are the ones as
we invest into their lives
00:20:22.95\00:20:27.12
then what happens?
00:20:27.16\00:20:28.59
Then we receive more,
00:20:28.62\00:20:30.56
in return our connection
with God is increased.
00:20:30.59\00:20:33.36
Exactly, because think about it,
00:20:33.40\00:20:35.13
like if I'm going to
go share with somebody
00:20:35.16\00:20:37.60
that's never
heard a gospel before,
00:20:37.63\00:20:39.47
all of a sudden I feel like...
00:20:39.50\00:20:40.64
Or even if I'm going to
share with someone who may have.
00:20:40.67\00:20:43.20
I mean, even if it's
my neighbor next door.
00:20:43.24\00:20:45.24
That's right or my family.
00:20:45.27\00:20:46.91
My daughter, my
son, Lord, help me.
00:20:46.94\00:20:49.71
Right, we have a
reason to be connected to Him.
00:20:49.74\00:20:52.58
We have a reason, ask
for more of the Holy Spirit,
00:20:52.61\00:20:54.88
and then when we see Him work
through us to reach somebody,
00:20:54.92\00:20:59.29
it's like a feast,
that's like my faith grows,
00:20:59.32\00:21:02.29
my spiritual life
grows, my connection
00:21:02.32\00:21:04.53
and my capacity
for the Holy Spirit
00:21:04.56\00:21:06.49
and for service grows.
00:21:06.53\00:21:09.06
Sounds familiar? Yeah.
00:21:09.10\00:21:12.07
And this goes along
perfectly with Matthew 28
00:21:12.10\00:21:15.07
where it says, "Go
into all the world,
00:21:15.10\00:21:17.91
and lo, I am with you always."
00:21:17.94\00:21:19.94
Right, that promise is
contingent upon the going.
00:21:19.97\00:21:23.91
Right, the
promise of His presence.
00:21:23.95\00:21:25.88
So the moral of the story is
of this Matthew 24 and 25 is...
00:21:25.91\00:21:30.82
That we need to
make the mission,
00:21:30.85\00:21:32.79
God's mission to the
world our top priority,
00:21:32.82\00:21:36.19
especially seeking the
least of this until He comes.
00:21:36.22\00:21:42.40
And whether we live
or die before He comes,
00:21:42.43\00:21:45.97
we'll be prepared
for the end times.
00:21:46.00\00:21:47.84
Yeah. Exactly.
00:21:47.87\00:21:49.84
We'll be
prepared for His coming.
00:21:49.87\00:21:51.47
Yeah.
00:21:51.51\00:21:52.97
Seek ye first the kingdom of God
00:21:53.01\00:21:55.38
and His righteousness
and all these other things
00:21:55.41\00:21:58.21
including
preparation for the end times,
00:21:58.25\00:22:00.25
including preparation
for Jesus' second coming,
00:22:00.28\00:22:04.09
including life spent in heaven.
00:22:04.12\00:22:07.76
All these things
will be added unto you.
00:22:07.79\00:22:11.59
That's powerful. Yeah.
00:22:11.63\00:22:13.29
And every time we go through it,
00:22:13.33\00:22:15.76
it just strikes me
again how powerful it is.
00:22:15.80\00:22:18.10
Yeah, so you can see
how all of Matthew 25,
00:22:18.13\00:22:20.67
all three parables
is contained packed up
00:22:20.70\00:22:23.37
in those two little
verses Matthew 24:45 and 46.
00:22:23.41\00:22:28.08
Right.
00:22:28.11\00:22:29.31
The servant, you
know, he is jobless...
00:22:29.34\00:22:30.88
Giving present truth...
00:22:30.91\00:22:31.95
Giving present truth
until the Lord comes,
00:22:31.98\00:22:34.65
and so that's our job.
00:22:34.68\00:22:36.22
As we see the
beauty, as we see the joy,
00:22:36.25\00:22:38.55
as we the experience the joy,
00:22:38.59\00:22:40.29
but we still
look around the world
00:22:40.32\00:22:42.12
and there is still
so much pain and poverty
00:22:42.16\00:22:44.19
and suffering in the world today
00:22:44.23\00:22:46.46
and that's like you wonder
why, why is there so much,
00:22:46.49\00:22:51.00
but we felt in this quote
00:22:51.03\00:22:52.57
which kind of puts
it all into perspective.
00:22:52.60\00:22:55.57
"The Lord saw that
it was essential for us
00:22:55.60\00:22:57.57
to be surrounded with the
poor, who in their helplessness
00:22:57.61\00:23:00.71
and need would lay
claim to our ministration.
00:23:00.74\00:23:04.35
They would be an aid to us
00:23:04.38\00:23:06.25
in perfecting
Christian character,
00:23:06.28\00:23:08.62
for in providing
food for their tables
00:23:08.65\00:23:11.42
and clothing for their
bodes, we would cultivate
00:23:11.45\00:23:14.56
the attributes of
the character of Christ."
00:23:14.59\00:23:17.43
Wow! Wow!
00:23:17.46\00:23:19.79
So helping others isn't
just a nice thing for them
00:23:19.83\00:23:24.57
or even just a
nice thing for us to do,
00:23:24.60\00:23:26.80
it's actually part of
perfecting Christian character.
00:23:26.84\00:23:30.01
Becoming like Christ.
00:23:30.04\00:23:31.97
So the church, you
and I, we need that,
00:23:32.01\00:23:34.24
we need to open our eyes
to the poor, to the poverty,
00:23:34.28\00:23:38.28
to the areas of the
world that have great need,
00:23:38.31\00:23:40.92
not only
physically but spiritually.
00:23:40.95\00:23:43.25
Which is the
purpose of Jesus for Asia
00:23:43.28\00:23:45.02
as we started out the
show talking about, you know,
00:23:45.05\00:23:47.92
we do all these projects in Asia
00:23:47.96\00:23:50.66
not just because
it's a good thing to do
00:23:50.69\00:23:53.33
but because it's part
of becoming like Christ.
00:23:53.36\00:23:57.07
Exactly, and so what we
do here in North America
00:23:57.10\00:23:59.87
and the purpose of the show
isn't primarily to raise money.
00:23:59.90\00:24:04.14
It's to engage
people with this process
00:24:04.17\00:24:07.24
that Christ has set up
to prefect our character.
00:24:07.28\00:24:11.75
So that's what's so exciting
00:24:11.78\00:24:12.95
because as we
travel around in Asia
00:24:12.98\00:24:15.98
and we see these huge needs
00:24:16.02\00:24:18.79
and we document them
and we write the stories
00:24:18.82\00:24:21.39
and we take the film,
00:24:21.42\00:24:22.89
and we bring them back and
share them with our friends
00:24:22.92\00:24:25.53
and our family, and
whoever wants to be interested
00:24:25.56\00:24:28.60
in this kind of
stuff, they see the need,
00:24:28.63\00:24:30.53
they get involved and they
get to partake in that joy.
00:24:30.57\00:24:33.87
So I've got this little
video that we put together,
00:24:33.90\00:24:35.94
just a brief overview
of the different projects
00:24:35.97\00:24:38.71
that we have just in JFA.
00:24:38.74\00:24:41.08
There's a lot of different
ways and different ministries
00:24:41.11\00:24:43.24
where people can
get involved with,
00:24:43.28\00:24:44.95
but this is what we
have with Jesus for Asia.
00:24:44.98\00:24:47.48
You know, I get so
excited about all this stuff
00:25:49.38\00:25:51.25
what God is doing in the world
00:25:51.28\00:25:53.62
and still the huge possibilities
00:25:53.65\00:25:56.58
of what, you know,
00:25:56.62\00:25:58.19
God has laid out of smorgasbord
of needs in the world
00:25:58.22\00:26:01.52
that we can get involved
00:26:01.56\00:26:03.09
and you can almost
pick a place and go there.
00:26:03.12\00:26:06.43
When we see this kind
of video and we think wow,
00:26:06.46\00:26:09.23
a lots happening overseas
but when you go overseas,
00:26:09.26\00:26:11.93
it's hardly anything
happening compare to the need.
00:26:11.97\00:26:15.57
Those are just one, you know,
one little spot here and there.
00:26:15.60\00:26:18.91
It's not the entire country,
00:26:18.94\00:26:20.38
it's not the
entire people group,
00:26:20.41\00:26:21.78
it's not the entire language.
00:26:21.81\00:26:23.14
Exactly, so there is
so many more opportunities
00:26:23.18\00:26:25.15
for more people to get involved
00:26:25.18\00:26:26.78
for more funds to be
supporting those that have,
00:26:26.82\00:26:30.42
that are
involved that have gone.
00:26:30.45\00:26:32.59
You know, a lot of them will
say that we can do such more,
00:26:32.62\00:26:35.66
even our own
church denominations,
00:26:35.69\00:26:38.66
the leaders they
say, we're doing stuff
00:26:38.69\00:26:40.73
but if we had more
means, we could do so much more.
00:26:40.76\00:26:43.13
And so, I just want
to close with saying.
00:26:43.16\00:26:45.97
This is exciting,
this is God's plan,
00:26:46.00\00:26:47.94
and it's scripturally based
and it's solid in his heart,
00:26:47.97\00:26:51.77
and Jesus'
theology of the process
00:26:51.81\00:26:54.84
of receiving salvation
00:26:54.88\00:26:56.34
and then
investing that into others,
00:26:56.38\00:26:58.28
and as we do that it grows.
00:26:58.31\00:27:00.38
So as we go, His
spirit grows with us and in us
00:27:00.42\00:27:05.92
which of course
our own Danny Shelton,
00:27:05.95\00:27:09.16
you know, he
compacts all of that
00:27:09.19\00:27:11.83
into that one little statement.
00:27:11.86\00:27:13.46
The blessing is on the go.
00:27:13.50\00:27:14.83
That's right. It truly is. Yes.
00:27:14.86\00:27:19.07
Well, it's been
an interesting show.
00:27:19.10\00:27:20.60
I hope you've enjoyed
this little study with us,
00:27:20.64\00:27:23.64
and I would like to challenge
you to look in the Word of God
00:27:23.67\00:27:26.94
and see the places
where God talked so strongly
00:27:26.98\00:27:31.15
about His heart for the
lost, for the other nations,
00:27:31.18\00:27:35.02
for the kindreds and, you
know, sometimes you read a verse
00:27:35.05\00:27:39.29
and it's like, wow,
He really said that,
00:27:39.32\00:27:42.36
He really said that
about these other peoples,
00:27:42.39\00:27:45.09
and it's powerful,
00:27:45.13\00:27:47.60
and it's a
challenge to all of us.
00:27:47.60\00:27:49.73
If you would like
to help Jesus for Asia
00:27:49.76\00:27:51.63
move forward with these
projects to the glory of God
00:27:51.67\00:27:54.20
and the spreading
of His name in Asia,
00:27:54.24\00:27:56.27
please contact
us or you can send
00:27:56.30\00:27:58.31
your tax deductible
love gift to Jesus for Asia,
00:27:58.34\00:28:01.41
PO Box 1221,
Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315.
00:28:01.44\00:28:06.95
Call us at 423-413-7321,
00:28:06.98\00:28:10.79
or check out our
website at Jesus4asia.org.
00:28:10.82\00:28:13.82
God bless you until we
see you again next week
00:28:13.86\00:28:16.29
on Jesus for Asia Now.
00:28:16.32\00:28:17.93