Participants: Laurence Burn
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000700
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01:01 Good morning.
01:03 Are you happy to be here this morning? 01:05 Isn't it a good Sabbath? 01:06 I'm so glad to be here with you this morning. 01:10 Now I want to tell you a story, a mission story 01:13 from the island of Papua New Guinea. 01:15 How many of you have ever heard of Papua New Guinea? 01:18 Now that's an island down in the South Pacific. 01:21 And for eight years, my family 01:23 and I lived among a primitive tribal group 01:27 that lived deep in the jungles of that country. 01:31 I want to tell you this morning about a girl, 01:33 she was probably about eight years old. 01:35 How many people, 01:37 kids are eight years old this morning? 01:38 She was about your age if you're around eight. 01:41 And I'm gonna call her name Jenny. 01:43 Jenny lived with her mommy and her daddy 01:46 along the May River, 01:49 and Jenny was from the Iwan tribe. 01:52 The Iwan people are people that they have a few of the things 01:56 that you have here. 01:58 They live in the jungle in bush houses 02:01 and they don't have many clothes. 02:03 And she and her family lived there along the river 02:06 in the village of mommy. 02:08 They needed to go plant a garden 02:10 and planting a garden in New Guinea 02:12 is a very hard task 02:13 because the Iwan people get in their canoe 02:16 and they paddle up or down the river to the place 02:18 where their garden spot is going to be 02:20 and then they cut down big trees 02:22 and they fall over and then they let them dry 02:25 and then they burn it all up and clean it up. 02:28 And so one day, Jenny and her mommy 02:30 and her daddy and her friends 02:32 and uncles and brothers and sisters, 02:34 they went up to their garden spot. 02:36 And they were working very hard with their bush knives, 02:39 cleaning and burning. 02:41 They worked all morning and it was getting later 02:43 and later into the afternoon and finally, 02:46 Jenny's mommy said to her, 02:48 "Why don't you and your friends get together, 02:51 build a fire and cook our sweet potatoes for us?" 02:56 And so that's just what they did. 02:58 Here in the United States, 03:01 we usually don't let children play 03:02 with fire very much, do we? 03:05 And there's a good reason for that. 03:06 But in New Guinea, children are often, 03:08 they're responsible for building the fires 03:10 and cooking the food often. 03:11 So Jenny and her friends, they gathered up some sticks 03:14 and they built a nice big fire there in the jungle. 03:18 And they got it going, 03:20 and they were beginning to cook their food 03:22 when somebody said this. 03:24 They said, "Hey, why don't we see 03:28 if we can jump over the fire?" 03:32 And they said, "Oh, yeah, that would be a good idea. 03:35 Let's see if we can do that." 03:37 And so, somebody got back and they, 03:41 they ran and they jumped over the fire 03:43 and then somebody else ran and they jumped over the fire. 03:46 And then Jenny got ready to jump over the fire. 03:48 But you know what the problem was? 03:51 All Jenny had for clothes was a grass skirt. 03:56 And Jenny, she came running up and she jumped 03:58 and she went right over the fire. 04:00 And then she got to the other side 04:02 and they all stopped and they turned around 04:03 and they said, "Oh that was such fun. 04:04 Let's do it again." 04:06 And so that's just what they did. 04:08 One person ran and they jumped. 04:10 The next little boy ran and he jumped. 04:12 And then Jenny got ready 04:14 and she came running up to the fire. 04:16 And just as she got there, Jenny tripped 04:19 and fell right into the fire. 04:22 And do you know, that instantly her grass skirt 04:25 just caught fire and she was enveloped 04:28 in fright flames and she fell out of the fire 04:30 was rolling on the ground, 04:32 and they were trying to get the flames out 04:34 and she was crying and screaming 04:35 and Jenny was burned very, very badly. 04:38 It was terrible. 04:40 Well, her mommy and daddy, they didn't know Jesus. 04:42 Nobody on the May River knew Jesus 04:44 when we move there. 04:46 But her mommy and daddy looked at Jenny 04:49 and they knew she was burned so badly. 04:51 They didn't know what to do. 04:53 And they said, "You know, 04:54 we've heard there's a missionary, 04:56 somebody that lives many hours down river. 04:59 Why don't we take Jenny to see that family?" 05:02 And so Jenny and her mommy and daddy 05:05 put Jenny into a log canoe, 05:08 and they paddled for about six hours. 05:11 They paddled and paddled and paddled 05:13 until they got to the little place 05:16 where we lived along the May River. 05:18 And when they carried Jenny up the hill, I was just so sad. 05:22 I can tell you, it was terrible, 05:23 because the fire had just burned her skin 05:26 just so terribly, 05:28 and by the time they got her to us, 05:29 her skin was just falling off of her body, 05:32 from the middle of her back all the way to her ankles. 05:35 And I looked at Jenny and I said this to myself, 05:38 I said, "There's just no way Jenny is ever going to live 05:41 because we were not a hospital." 05:43 And I'm not a doctor. 05:45 And we just didn't know what to do 05:48 but we just took Jenny in 05:50 and we began to try and treat her. 05:51 We had a little clinic there where we did our best 05:53 to help people. 05:55 And so, every day we got Jenny, we tried to bathe her, 05:59 and we put bandages on her 06:01 and we got some medicine to try and help her skin 06:04 but in New Guinea, you see, 06:05 it's so hot and it's so humid that 06:08 sometimes even a little tiny cut 06:11 will become a big tropical ulcer. 06:13 And here Jenny was without any skin 06:16 all the way from the middle of her back to her ankles. 06:20 And I knew that the only way Jenny would ever live 06:23 would be if Jesus helped her. 06:26 And so every day as we would gather around her 06:29 and we would give her treatments 06:31 and take off her bandages, and it would hurt her so bad. 06:33 And we would kneel beside Jenny with her family 06:37 and we would pray and we would pray 06:39 and we would pray. 06:40 And even we would ask Jesus, "Please Jesus. 06:42 Won't you help Jenny?" 06:44 And do you know what happened? 06:47 Jenny was healed. 06:50 Jesus saved her life. It was amazing. 06:54 Today, Jenny's still alive and she has a crooked leg, 06:57 her leg never was able to straighten back out, 06:59 but the most amazing thing was this, 07:02 was that every day as we prayed by Jenny, 07:05 her mommy and her daddy were watching us. 07:08 And they knew that their spirits 07:11 just could have never helped 07:14 someone injured as badly as Jenny. 07:16 And so after two months of our praying 07:18 and in treating and working with Jenny, 07:21 as we were getting ready to send her home, 07:23 her mommy and her daddy came to me, 07:25 and this is what they said. 07:26 They said, "John, your God is very powerful. 07:31 Your God has saved our Jenny's life. 07:34 Please won't you come to our village 07:37 and teach us about Jesus too?" 07:40 And so that's just what we did. 07:41 And today, if you go to Papua New Guinea, 07:44 and you go up the Sepik River, 07:46 and then you go up the May River, 07:47 all the way up deep into the jungle 07:50 to the little village of Mami. 07:53 You'll find right there 07:54 in that little village that Jenny, 07:56 and her mommy and daddy, and brothers and uncles, 07:58 and many of her friends worship Jesus every Sabbath, 08:00 just like we do. 08:02 You can go back to your seats. 08:07 As everyone finds their seats and sits down, 08:11 I want to ask a very, very serious question. 08:14 It's not a trick question. 08:18 I'm not trying to play any games. 08:19 It's an honest, serious question that 08:22 I want to ask if it's a serious subject. 08:24 And if you think that you can point me 08:27 in the right direction, or you can point me 08:29 to the right person and point me to the right place 08:31 where I can get the answer to this question, 08:33 I just want you to raise your hand 08:35 if you think you can help me out in any way. 08:37 And that question is this. Who is Jesus? 08:45 I'll be honest, the first hand that 08:47 I saw raised was a little girl in the middle. 08:51 It was a first hand that I saw. 08:52 Can anybody tell me who Jesus is? 08:57 I'm seeing more hands. 08:59 Can anybody point me 09:00 in the right direction, at least? 09:02 I'm seeing more hands. 09:06 I represent the world. 09:10 I represent people of all different nationalities, 09:13 all different languages. 09:15 I represent people of all different cultures, 09:18 of all different beliefs 09:19 and all different walks of life. 09:21 People who have gone through much, 09:22 people who have gone through very little. 09:25 You represent God's Church. 09:28 You represent His people, you represent His servants, 09:33 His reapers. 09:35 I am the fruit. 09:37 And if anybody asks you, who is Jesus? 09:41 You should have an answer for them. 09:43 And it should be a clear answer. 09:45 It's something I've thought about because for a long time, 09:47 I didn't have an answer ready. 09:49 And by the grace of God I do now 09:52 and not everybody's going to come up to you 09:54 and ask you who is Jesus? 09:56 Some people are too embarrassed to ask, 10:00 some people think they know, but they're wrong. 10:04 Because they have this very, very mean spirited idea 10:06 of who God is. 10:08 So when somebody asks you who is Jesus? 10:10 As you listen to the song, please think about 10:12 what your answer will be to them. 10:25 It's the name 10:27 Above all names 10:32 And who will declare it 10:36 Who will declare it 10:39 It's the name 10:41 Above all names 10:46 And who will shout it 10:49 To a dying world 10:58 Who will declare My name? 11:04 And who will shout My name 11:07 In the midst of the nations 11:11 And who will take The shield of faith 11:14 and the sword of My word 11:18 And declare My name 11:20 To a dying world? 11:25 He who has declared me 11:28 Thus far 11:31 Will walk in even greater power 11:38 Though the sands of time Are running out 11:44 But my name will be declared 11:47 In this final hour 11:52 I am Jehovah! 11:54 I Am that I Am! 11:58 And my trumpet Shall soon call out 12:06 I formed the worlds With a whisper 12:12 But I'm getting ready 12:15 I'm getting ready I'm getting ready 12:21 To shout! 12:28 It's the name 12:30 Above all names 12:35 And we will declare it 12:39 We will declare it 12:41 It's the name 12:43 Above all names 12:48 And we will shout it 12:52 To a dying world 13:01 It's my will to possess 13:03 All of your life 13:08 I'll take it all 13:10 so surrender to Me 13:13 For I'm building an army 13:17 To go in My Name 13:20 And My words in your mouth 13:23 Shall set the captives free 13:28 I am Jehovah! 13:30 I Am that I Am! 13:33 And My trumpets 13:35 Shall soon call out 13:41 I formed the worlds 13:44 With a whisper 13:47 But I'm getting ready 13:51 I'm getting ready I'm getting ready 13:57 To shout! 14:03 It's the name 14:06 Above all names 14:11 And we must shout it 14:14 To a dying world 14:29 It's the name above all names 14:36 And we must declare it 14:40 We must declare it 14:42 It's the name 14:44 Above all names 14:49 And we must shout it 14:52 To a dying world 15:10 Well, I must say, the Lord has blessed 15:14 Brother Bennett with a beautiful voice. 15:17 And it's good to see that 15:18 he's praising the Lord with that ability. 15:22 I invite you to open up your Bibles 15:24 and read along with me, 15:27 Matthew 10:37-39. 15:33 I'll be reading out of the New King James. 15:43 "He who loves father or mother more than Me, 15:47 is not worthy of Me. 15:49 And he who loves son or daughter more than Me, 15:52 is not worthy of Me. 15:53 And he who does not take his cross 15:56 and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 16:00 He who finds his life will lose it. 16:03 And he, who loses his life for My sake, will find it." 16:26 Morning church. Morning. 16:31 It's a privilege to have a few moments to talk about 16:35 one of my favorite subjects, 16:37 subject of a mission. 16:41 I'm also delighted to be here with my family. 16:45 You know, the longer that I live, 16:46 the more that I realized how important our families are. 16:51 That when all is said and done, 16:55 the greatest treasure that we will take with us 16:58 is the legacy that we've left behind 17:00 in the lives of our family. 17:03 And I just had the privilege of spending two days 17:05 with my children in Chicago, 17:08 my wife had to go to a conference. 17:09 And so, we spent two days 17:11 just playing father children together. 17:13 And I want to tell you, 17:15 that's some of the richest moments, 17:17 isn't it? 17:18 To be able to be a dad with your children, 17:21 and to delight in them and to enjoy them 17:23 and to know that, 17:24 that God created us for this, 17:27 to be one, to be a family together. 17:30 But as I think about that picture, 17:31 I want to remind each of you today that 17:33 that you have a heavenly Father, 17:36 who delights in you, 17:38 who wants to journey life together with you. 17:42 And I want to ask you to just take a moment with me 17:46 as we begin our journey in this 11 o'clock hour, 17:51 to ask that God, 17:53 our Father, to reveal Himself to us through His Word. 17:57 That's my prayer. Let's pray. 17:59 Dear Heavenly Father, I know that, 18:01 that my father heart is just a shadow of yours. 18:06 That my desire to be with my children 18:08 and to love them and to know them. 18:11 And for them to know me 18:13 is but a faint reflection of Your desire 18:17 that we know You and love you 18:21 and that You love us. 18:23 Father, I ask that You would draw back 18:24 the curtain through my feeble lips, 18:27 that You would open our hearts 18:28 and shine the light of Your truth into us that 18:31 as we worship together, we would discover your face 18:35 and know that we have indeed a Father, 18:38 in Jesus' name, amen. 18:41 It is one thing to talk about missions. 18:44 It's easy actually, actually it's easy 18:46 to talk about missions, isn't it? 18:48 It's fun to hear mission stories 18:51 and to watch mission movies. 18:55 But to actually live a life of mission 18:57 is a little more challenging. 19:00 Adventist Frontier Missions, as you may know 19:02 has a almost a preposterous mission. 19:06 The reason that Adventist Frontier Missions 19:08 exist is to reach the unreached. 19:13 And we add this little caveat that 19:14 it comes out of the book Education from the chapter, 19:16 The Life Work, not only to just reach 19:19 the unreached in the world, 19:20 but to reach them in this generation. 19:24 And I grew up with that picture in mind, 19:28 I grew up thinking how important it is for us 19:31 to take the gospel to the whole world 19:33 and our generation because I wanted to see Jesus 19:35 to come in my time. 19:38 And I still do, don't you? 19:41 I want to be alive when Jesus comes. 19:45 Well, one day I was listening to John Kent, 19:48 and he helped me 19:50 to see another dimension to that 19:51 and that's this simple statement, 19:53 "The reason that 19:54 we have to reach this generation 19:56 in this generation is because this generation 19:57 is the only generation 19:59 that can reach this generation." 20:02 Let me run that by you again. 20:04 "The reason that we've got to reach this generation 20:06 in this generation 20:07 is because this generation is the only generation 20:10 that can reach this generation." 20:13 The serious implications of that, friends, 20:15 is that if we don't do it, 20:18 those who die in this generation 20:20 have lost their chance. 20:22 And they depend wholly on the mercy of God, 20:25 and the life that they've lived that they have. 20:28 And so the mission challenge to take the gospel 20:32 to the whole world and in our generation 20:34 is definitely a compelling mission 20:37 and a mission worth living for. 20:39 I enjoy my work at Adventist Frontier Missions. 20:42 There's no two days that are alike. 20:46 But behind all the challenges and all the wonderful problems 20:49 that we work through 20:50 when you work in an organization 20:52 is the compelling call to take the gospel 20:56 to the world in this generation. 20:58 Now we work with a church, 20:59 the Seventh-day Adventist Church 21:01 and we're fiercely loyal to cooperating 21:05 and partnering with the mission 21:06 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 21:08 And you know, the Seventh-day Adventist Church 21:10 was established on the premise of mission. 21:13 We're just listening to the lives... 21:15 There's a set of CDs that 21:17 the Ellen White Estate has put out, 21:19 or the church had put out 21:20 that described the lives of our founders. 21:22 And I want to tell you, these people lived 21:24 with a passion for mission. 21:26 Our organizational denomination was born 21:29 out of this passion for mission. 21:34 And if I had to ask you today, do we value missions? 21:37 You would raise your hands. Anyone here not value missions? 21:40 Let me put it that way. 21:41 Because it's kind of like 21:43 motherhood and apple pie, right? 21:44 We believe in missions. 21:46 Here's a question that I have for you. 21:48 If there's so much passion and support for missions 21:50 within the church, I'd like to ask you a question. 21:53 Why is it that Adventist Frontier Mission 21:56 is only sending about five missionaries 21:59 to reach on people, 22:00 unreached people groups every year. 22:02 Only five. 22:03 That's about how many we've been doing. 22:06 And we spend hours recruiting, 22:07 we go to places, invite people we go to... 22:09 There's this great need 22:11 and we talk about that almost 6,000 unreached language 22:15 groups that we have yet to be penetrated, 6,000. 22:18 Do you realize that if Adventist Frontier Mission 22:20 sends five missionaries every year, 22:22 it's gonna take us 1,500 years to get 22:25 6,000 unreached language groups. 22:28 We're not going to do it in this generation. 22:29 So something's got to change. 22:33 Something's got to change. 22:37 And as I've tried to wrestle with this phenomenon, 22:40 and I'm looking, not pointing the finger at you, 22:42 the church because we are the church, right? 22:44 I am a member of this body that's called to this mission 22:47 as I've tried to wrestle with the question why, 22:50 why is it so difficult? 22:51 Why does it take so long for people to make a decision? 22:54 My heart and mind is gravitated back to this text 22:57 that we read for our scripture reading time 22:59 and time again. 23:02 I'd like to invite you to look at it with me 23:03 one more time. 23:05 Matthew Chapter 10. 23:07 It just so happens that this passage that we read, 23:12 comes from a missions rally that Jesus Himself is holding. 23:17 He's just called His disciples 23:19 and He's sending them out on their first mission trip. 23:21 And these are His instructions. 23:23 And He ends with this very difficult passage. 23:28 Matthew 10:37, 23:30 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me 23:31 is not worthy of Me. 23:33 Anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me 23:35 is not worthy of Me. 23:36 And anyone who does not take up his cross, 23:39 and follow Me is not worthy of Me." 23:41 And then that final verse, 23:42 "Whoever finds his life will lose it. 23:46 But whoever loses his life 23:49 for My sake, will find it." 23:53 Now, I don't know about you, 23:54 but when I first came across this passage, 23:58 I felt like there was an intensity 24:00 here that may be inappropriate. 24:03 I mean, here Jesus is asking us to love our parents 24:05 and our children less than Him. 24:07 And I don't know, and this may be an illustration 24:10 that some might appreciate, some may not. 24:12 But it almost felt like, I don't know 24:14 if you've ever sat next to somebody 24:15 who just consumed a whole clove of garlic. 24:18 You know, you eat and you sit next to them 24:19 and they talk to you and it's like, 24:21 it's just overpowering, 24:22 you know, unless you've done the same. 24:23 And I remember reading 24:25 this passage and saying, "Jesus, 24:26 it's just a little too pungent. 24:28 What are you saying to me? 24:30 How can I understand this passage? 24:33 Could it be that you just need a backhoe 24:35 from the garlic a little bit, you know, 24:36 step, step back, Jesus." 24:40 But you see, Jesus says this without apology. 24:42 "Anyone who loves his father more than Me 24:44 is not worthy of Me. 24:46 And anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me 24:48 is not worthy of Me." 24:50 Jesus, what is it that 24:51 You are saying and then, and then, 24:53 as I was reflecting on this one day, 24:54 the Holy Spirit led my mind to contemplate what it means, 25:01 what this commitment means, 25:02 what Jesus calling us to our commitment, 25:04 He's calling us to make 25:06 what it means in the context of marriage. 25:10 In other words, how many of you would 25:12 like to be married to somebody 25:13 who loves their mother or father more than you? 25:18 Wouldn't that be amazing experience? 25:19 You come back from the honeymoon. 25:22 And your spouse says, you know, 25:23 "I've really enjoyed our time together, 25:24 but I'm gonna go spend 25:26 the next week with Mom and Dad, 25:27 I'm just missing them a little bit." 25:29 There's something wrong with that picture, right? 25:30 Because when you get married, you cut the apron strings 25:33 and you let your parents become a separate entity 25:37 and you are now ushered into a new reality. 25:41 Husband and wife becoming one flesh. 25:44 How many of you would like to be married to 25:48 someone who loves your children more than you? 25:52 "Honey, if you want to come home, that's fine. 25:55 Food's in the refrigerator. 25:56 But I just love the kids and we're fulfilled right here, 26:00 just the four of us or the three of us together, 26:03 and you know, when you come, that's fine. 26:05 If not, we were happy. 26:07 Month and years, you just come 26:09 when you feel like it, you can sleep in the attic." 26:15 Something wrong with that picture, right? 26:17 That's not marriage. 26:18 Marriage is where the primary relationship 26:20 is husband and wife, right? 26:24 So my question is, could it be that Jesus 26:27 is looking for a marriage relationship 26:29 with us? 26:31 Is that what He's looking for? 26:33 Anyone who loves his son or daughter more, 26:35 anyone who loves his father or mother 26:37 more is not worthy of Me. 26:40 I remember reflecting on this. 26:42 My wife and I did our premarital counseling 26:44 with Nancy Van Pelt, 26:47 who is a marriage and family counselor. 26:50 We wanted the best. 26:51 We wanted to have the best preparation 26:53 and so we spent a weekend with her 26:55 and I remember in one of her books, 26:57 she talked about seven stages that you go through 26:59 when you're going through the dating phases. 27:02 First phase, she says is called the "Friendship Stage," 27:05 and when you start the college years, 27:07 as I worked as a college chaplain 27:09 you'd see this happening is where groups of people 27:12 would kind of gather together around interests. 27:13 You know, the pre med students 27:15 would sit on this side of the cafeteria. 27:17 And the kids who like outdoor activities 27:19 would arrange Sabbath 27:20 and Sunday afternoons to the beach, 27:23 kind of gather around in affinity groups. 27:25 That's the friendship stage in dating. 27:28 Get together because you're like one another. 27:31 Well, after you spend time mingling with each other 27:33 and these affinity groups for a while, something happens. 27:36 And we move to the next step, 27:39 which is just called "Casual Dating." 27:42 So we go from friendship stage to casual dating, 27:44 and this is where it becomes a little more intentional. 27:46 It's not just a free flow, 27:47 it's would you like to join this group 27:50 to go in this event and do this activity together? 27:53 So you can see that so from just being friends, 27:56 to moving to intentionally doing things together, okay. 28:00 Then the next stage, stage number three 28:01 in the process of moving towards marriage, 28:07 as Nancy Van Pelt suggested, 28:09 is she calls "Special Dating." 28:14 And when you're in a college environment 28:15 and you're working with singles, 28:16 what often happens is, that there's these events 28:19 that this student association prepares and they, 28:21 you know, maybe the spring banquet 28:23 or the Valentine's banquet, 28:25 and what will happen is one person 28:26 or the other will invite the other 28:28 to the banquet to come to a special event together. 28:33 And you understand that, that there's a higher level 28:35 of commitment to the relationship. 28:36 And this couple is looking at each other 28:39 and considering whether there's a possibility here, 28:41 whether or not this relationship 28:43 could be terminal, 28:44 whether it's the final relationship, 28:45 you know what I'm saying? 28:47 And so they're checking each other out, 28:48 and they go to the banquet, but we understand that 28:51 when you take somebody to a banquet, if that's, 28:53 if you're at this stage at the special dating stage, 28:56 when you take somebody to a banquet, 28:57 you understand that you can go 29:00 with somebody else to a banquet next week. 29:03 Now the person that you took 29:04 maybe just a little bit bent out of shape, 29:06 they may have had hopes that that this would be 29:09 more than just that event. 29:10 But what we understand that it's still appropriate 29:12 to be dating around, to have other friends 29:16 when you have the special dating. 29:19 Well, there's the next step when it becomes inappropriate. 29:20 That's what we call "Steady Dating." 29:26 This is where you say to the other person, 29:30 "Could we do this exclusively?" 29:32 And there's all kinds of ways to do it, you know, 29:34 little hints, notes, whatever. 29:36 But the understanding in the relationship is that 29:38 we have now passed from doing this 29:41 kind of on a temporary basis 29:42 or basis of going to different events, 29:44 to actually we like each other enough to think about 29:47 doing this for the rest of our lives. 29:49 And let's try that on for size. 29:51 And so we've come exclusive, 29:52 and you understand that there's no engagement, 29:54 there's no talk of marriage yet. 29:56 But the understanding is that 29:58 they are moving in that direction 29:59 and often in American culture, 30:01 couples will start walking hand in hand in public. 30:03 And the reason for that 30:05 is that when we walk hand in hand in public, 30:06 we're sending a public message, "We're connected look, 30:10 don't touch the other person. 30:11 They belong to me. I'm holding their hand." 30:16 By the way, that's why I hold my son's hands too 30:18 because I want no one to, he's mine, don't take him. 30:22 Well, you walk this journey for a little while 30:26 and something happens. 30:28 We move to the next phase, which is the fifth phase. 30:31 And what Nancy calls this phase is the "Engaged" 30:34 to be engaged phase. 30:37 And this is where you ask the big questions, you know, 30:39 the important questions, you take her to meet. 30:43 He takes her to meet his family, 30:45 just to make sure that the family 30:46 because you understand when you get married, 30:47 you marry the entire family, right? 30:49 You're not just marrying a person, 30:51 you marry the whole history and all the family dynamics 30:53 they will become yours. 30:54 So you want to check it out. 30:56 Make sure that you fit in and she fits in 30:57 and the family likes it. 30:58 And then she does the same 31:00 and you have this backward and forth, 31:01 and you ask the questions like, you know, 31:03 you're having a casual conversation of, 31:05 you know, a quick lunch 31:07 and the thoughts been on your mind, 31:08 you know if you ever had children, you know, 31:12 I was just wondering 31:14 how many children you'd have, you know, 31:15 that's one of the questions, right? 31:17 Got to make sure that you're not a five child person 31:20 marrying a one child person you know, 31:21 that would be a bit of a family problem there. 31:24 Or a no child person marrying a 15 child person 31:26 and just keep going until the Lord stops, you know, 31:29 that's just, you got to make sure 31:30 you're compatible. 31:33 The next important decision, 31:35 one of the elements that I love is 31:37 which way you hang the toilet paper, you know? 31:40 And you can save yourself a lot of trouble 31:42 if you make sure you ask these important questions 31:44 because the only right way is out, right? 31:48 Half the congregation shaking their head 31:49 because they like you to run down the wall 31:51 and when you, you know, you just can't find them. 31:57 Got to ask the important questions. 31:58 Well, after you settle 31:59 the important questions in your mind, 32:01 you move to the next stage. 32:02 And at this stage we call "Engagement." 32:06 And generally in American culture, 32:10 there has to be three things 32:11 in order for engagement to be official. 32:12 Number one, first step in the engagement process 32:15 is going to make 32:20 a public announcement. 32:22 There's no such a thing, friends, 32:25 as a secret engagement. 32:28 By the way, young ladies, if a man comes to you and says, 32:31 if you're single, and he says, 32:32 "Can we be engaged, but let's not tell anybody, 32:34 you go tell him to get psychological counseling 32:36 and to come back to you when he's ready." 32:39 Because he's just messing with your mind. 32:40 He's not ready to make the commitment. 32:42 He just doesn't want anybody else 32:43 to have your commitment. 32:45 The next step, after public announcement 32:47 everybody we're getting married 32:49 after you've asked the question, 32:51 the next thing is a significant gift. 32:54 And what is the gift about? 32:55 In some circles, it's a diamond ring 32:57 and other circles my brother in law 32:59 gave his girlfriend, 33:02 soon to become fiance at that time, a piano. 33:05 What does it simply say? 33:06 It's simply saying, I am committed to you. 33:08 I'm moving in, I'm making an investment in you. 33:11 I was a little tickled. 33:13 The other day, I was flying back 33:14 from speaking engagement. 33:16 And I sat across from a Norwegian lady airhostess, 33:22 just a precious encounter that God gave us. 33:27 And we were busy talking, 33:28 just had a wonderful conversation. 33:30 She said, you know, in Norway, 33:31 people don't get married anymore. 33:36 And the reason is that, 33:37 that so many people are getting divorced, 33:39 that they just live together. 33:41 And I suspect that you know, 33:43 they actually have a special name for this. 33:44 And as I was reflecting on it, 33:46 I was thinking how ironic it is because she was saying that 33:49 when you don't have the marriage commitment, 33:51 your relationship lasts longer. 33:53 So when you're not committed, you're more committed. 33:55 I was wrestling with that. 33:56 But she said this and this just shows 33:59 the misunderstanding within culture, 34:00 she says, "I really don't like the whole engagement process. 34:03 It's kind of like a guy buys a girl a ring, 34:04 puts it on a finger and puts on layaway 34:06 until they get married." 34:09 Isn't that interesting? Different way of looking at it. 34:12 So we're not putting the other person on layaway, 34:14 we're actually expressing 34:15 the magnitude of our commitment on the person. 34:18 I mean, that's what a Judeo-Christian 34:20 from a Judeo-Christian perspective, 34:21 that's what we're doing. 34:25 Well, of course, the next phase 34:28 is where you get married, right? 34:29 So you're engaged now and you get married. 34:31 And here's the deal. 34:33 You have two people 34:34 who are two separate individuals, 34:35 and we understand they're separate 34:37 until you reach a certain point, 34:39 and then we consider them one. 34:40 And I want to ask you today, what is that point? 34:43 You've been to many weddings, you've seen people 34:46 join their lives together in marriage. 34:49 And I want to ask you the question, 34:51 as a pastor I've done this. 34:52 You have a wedding ceremony. 34:53 Everyone's seated in the audience. 34:55 Dressed up nicely, bride and groom come down 34:57 and there's a ceremony 34:59 and then there's a certain point 35:00 in the wedding when we make the transition 35:02 from being engaged to be married, 35:04 what is that point? 35:06 Anybody like to help me out? 35:10 When you make, when you say the vows, right? 35:12 You say the vows, you're making a pledge 35:15 to one another before these witnesses 35:17 and before God, 35:18 and we understand that that is the transition 35:20 from being a couple to being a unit, 35:24 to being one. 35:25 And if I was conducting a wedding, 35:28 and we got to the point 35:30 just before the vows were said, and the groom said to me, 35:34 "Pastor, I'm not ready." 35:39 I would say to him, "Are you sure?" 35:43 And if he said to me, "I'm sure." 35:44 Then I would say, ladies and gentlemen, 35:48 one of the two has just told me that they're not ready. 35:51 I'm sorry. 35:52 We're going to postpone the wedding 35:54 until we've sorted out what's going on here. 35:56 I want to thank you for coming today. 35:58 What do you want to do with the cake? 36:00 We're going to go and eat the cake 36:02 just to celebrate being together 36:03 but we understand, friends, 36:05 you know, eat the reception dinner 36:07 or whatever, we understand that it's okay 36:09 until the moment, right? 36:11 And everyone goes wow what a waste, 36:12 but then we shake our heads and say 36:14 rather before than after, right? 36:16 We understand and we have that understanding 36:17 but what's the after? 36:19 Well, the after is that you say your vows, 36:21 you say something like this, "I, Laurence George Burn, 36:24 take you Lowes Greta Lolo 36:27 to be my wife, for better or for worse, 36:29 for richer or for poorer, for fatter or for thinner, 36:33 in sickness and in health until when? 36:36 Until when? Until death do us part. 36:40 Friends, do you understand that when you get married, 36:42 you make a death commitment to the other person. 36:45 Have you ever thought of it like that? 36:48 That is the death covenant. You're saying? 36:50 You're saying, "Honey, 36:51 I love you more than life itself. 36:53 As a matter of fact, 36:54 I can't think of myself apart from you, even death. 36:58 The only thing that could separate me 37:00 from you would be death." 37:03 Now as I was thinking about this one time, 37:05 I was doing a week of prayer, 37:06 and I was talking about how Jesus calls us 37:08 to make this commitment. 37:10 I was reminded of the Old Testament, 37:12 what was the consequence for adultery? 37:16 Death, and I was thinking, oh, that's incredible. 37:18 When I commit adultery, 37:19 I'm basically saying bring it on. 37:22 I made this death commitment to you. 37:26 The only other commitment that I've made 37:27 that's larger is buying a house. 37:29 You know, we have this huge debt 37:31 to some bank that owns a house 37:33 and we're paying them every month. 37:34 But you know, the wonderful thing 37:36 about a house even though it's such a large commitment 37:37 is that you can sell the house, right? 37:40 With marriage, it's final. There's no selling. 37:42 It's just it, that's it, 37:43 there is it, that's done, marriage. 37:46 It's a death commitment. 37:53 One of the questions that I have wrestled 37:55 with as I've thought about this is could it be 37:56 that part of the reason that there's so 38:00 little power in the church? 38:03 Could one of the reasons be that 38:05 that we're still dating around with God. 38:08 You know, some of us want to come on the weekends 38:09 and see Him 38:11 and dress up nicely to be with Him 38:12 and then we want other friends through the week. 38:16 That's called the dating stage, right? 38:18 Or the friendship stage or the casual dating stage 38:20 or maybe some of us have said, you know, 38:21 it's about time I get my life in line with Jesus. 38:23 And you start making 38:25 those little steps and you start saying, 38:26 you know, could we hold hands in public 38:28 and you come out and you say, 38:29 but you haven't stepped across the line. 38:30 And here's the thing, God is too much of a gentleman 38:36 to have children with people out of wedlock. 38:40 And could that be the reason 38:41 why there's so few spiritual children 38:43 in our churches? 38:46 Do you understand? 38:47 And this confronts me every time. 38:49 We have a group of missionaries coming through. 38:50 We just sent three student missionaries 38:53 over to Africa. 38:54 Do you understand that becoming a missionary 38:56 is a dangerous thing? 38:59 I'm thinking, we're kneeling, Adventist Frontier Mission, 39:02 here's this young girl Nicole Van Allen, 39:04 parents are kneeling around and we're kneeling 39:06 and I'm thinking one day I may have to do this. 39:08 I may have to send my daughter 39:10 to another country and entrust her to God. 39:13 You know, and it's, you feel vulnerable, 39:15 I was feeling vulnerable for the parents, I was saying, 39:17 "Why do we do this, this is a dangerous thing. 39:19 Why do we put people's lives at stake like this?" 39:21 We're in the business 39:23 of putting people's lives at stake? 39:24 And I was reminded of this passage 39:26 that comes from the book, 39:29 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 39:30 I don't know if some of you may not appreciate 39:32 C.S. Lewis's Narnia series, 39:37 but there's one passage in there that 39:39 that just resonates with me. 39:41 And here's the story. 39:42 There's a group of children 39:44 who go through a cupboard into another country, 39:46 and there's talking animals in this country 39:48 and it's a long story but very simple 39:50 to come down to the point where I want to quote 39:54 C.S. Lewis, there's a group of children 39:56 and they've met a talking beaver. 39:58 Okay, and they're living in this country 40:00 where it's always winter and never Christmas, 40:03 because there's a spell that's been cast over the land. 40:07 And the beavers tell the children that Aslan, 40:10 who represents Christ is on the move, 40:12 that he's coming to restore things, 40:13 that he's coming back. 40:15 He's gonna set things right. 40:17 And the fact is, that prophecy is being fulfilled in the myth 40:20 that there's four children, 40:22 and there's an ancient prophecy. 40:23 And the children start talking about this Aslan, 40:24 who is he, what does he do? 40:26 And they discover that he's a lion. 40:29 And the children say, "He's a lion. 40:32 Is he safe?" 40:34 And the beaver wrinkles up his nose 40:36 and he says, "Safe? 40:38 Friend, he's a lion. Of course, he's not safe." 40:42 And then he smiles and says, 40:45 "He's not safe, but he's good." 40:49 And I want to suggest to you friends today 40:50 that as we look into the face of Jesus Christ, 40:53 as we look into the face of a heavenly Father, 40:55 we see a wildness there that sometimes terrifies us. 40:58 You see, our God is not a safe God, 41:00 but a good God. 41:03 If that was not true, then He would have chosen 41:07 another way to save us, wouldn't He? 41:09 But you understand that 41:11 when Jesus went through Gethsemane, 41:12 He wasn't doing the safe thing, 41:13 he was doing the good thing for us. 41:16 Friends, I want to suggest to you 41:18 that there's so little power in the church 41:19 because we haven't come to the point of loving more 41:21 than life itself. 41:24 As a matter of fact, 41:25 within our culture, within our society, 41:27 the desire to live, the desire to survive 41:30 is something that has held as a core value. 41:32 And I would like to suggest, 41:34 if we haven't thought about this carefully, 41:35 I want to suggest that the core value to survive 41:38 supersedes our value of mission. 41:44 We'll spend hours watching movies on people 41:48 who are in dangerous places and watch how they make it 41:50 because we want to know 41:52 how we can make it in everyday life. 41:54 That's what television is all about, right? 41:55 Teaching people to survive. 41:58 If you'll just take this Advil, you will survive the day. 42:02 You just drink this cup up, you just eat our product 42:05 and you'll be able to survive, 42:06 you'll be able to make it another day. 42:08 You buy this car and you'll be 42:11 pushed to the head of the survival pack. 42:13 Survivor. 42:15 We take our student missionaries 42:17 on a weekend retreat. 42:19 And we wanna simulate what it's going to be like 42:21 out in the mission field 42:22 and it's basically a survival weekend. 42:24 Can they make it? Can they make it together? 42:26 Can they make it without cracking, 42:28 without getting angry or without losing it? 42:31 And so we put them through a number of very, 42:33 very difficult situations. 42:35 And one of the young ladies said, 42:36 it's all about threes. 42:39 If you've got three seconds to live, 42:41 then what you got to think about 42:43 is all you need is a will to live. 42:45 If you've got, if you've got three minutes 42:48 the most the top priority is air. 42:50 If you've got three hours 42:51 and she goes on three days that the top priority is water, 42:55 three weeks, the top priority is food. 42:56 And three months, if you can make it three months 42:58 you can probably survive. 43:00 But there's a profound paradox in Scripture, friends, 43:02 and that is that the people who fully embrace 43:07 the kingdom of God are non survivors, 43:11 people who give up the right to survive. 43:14 And here's the paradox, friends. 43:16 And that is that anyone in Scripture if you studied up, 43:19 those who hold on to their lives, 43:22 end up losing everything, and those who release it 43:25 and give it up change the world. 43:29 Let me give you a few examples. 43:31 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, right? 43:33 Oh, King Nebuchadnezzar, 43:35 our God is able to save us but what do they say? 43:38 If he doesn't? 43:40 We will not bow down to your image nor worship him. 43:45 What happened as a result of those non survivors, 43:47 those people who love God more than life itself 43:50 what happened as a result? 43:51 They were thrown into the fire, friends. 43:56 They went right into the fire. 43:59 Could they have died in the fire? 44:01 Absolutely yes. 44:02 As a matter of fact, 44:04 that was the purpose of the fire, 44:05 to kill them. 44:08 Why could they go into the fire, why? 44:10 But I'm going to suggest to you that Shadrach, 44:11 Meshach and Abednego had found a love 44:15 that was better than life itself. 44:20 Another example. 44:23 What about Stephen? 44:25 What happens to Stephen? 44:27 Steven goes before the Sanhedrin. 44:28 And he says some very foolish things, you know, 44:30 these are people who could kill him. 44:32 But he witnesses and he testifies, and he says, 44:34 "You, you need to repent because Jesus has come to... 44:38 Jesus came to save you and you crucified Him, 44:40 and they end up killing Stephen. 44:42 And what does he do? 44:43 He looks up and there's this glow around his face. 44:45 And Stephen, the first martyr becomes a world changer. 44:49 The other side of the story, 44:50 what about Ananias and Sapphira? 44:52 They try to hold on to a little bit of their life 44:53 and they end up losing everything. 44:55 What about King Saul 44:56 who try to hold on to his kingdom 44:57 and end up losing his whole kingdom? 44:59 Friends, I want to present to you a choice, 45:01 I don't think it's more important 45:03 to be a foreign missionary, 45:04 or a stay at home mission, okay? 45:06 Because if you, you're one of two things, 45:07 you're either a missionary or a mission field. 45:09 That's pretty common language in missions. 45:12 They either are missionary or mission field. 45:15 So I'm not saying that going over is some greatest, 45:18 greater challenge than staying here. 45:20 But I want to tell you this, if you decide to go over, 45:23 you're going to have to confront 45:24 the reality of dying, 45:26 that you're going to have to confront 45:27 if you're going to be effective missionaries here. 45:29 The benefit of going to another country 45:31 is that you've got to say, am I this crazy 45:33 to go to another place and to live on another land 45:35 and sell everything and go learn another language 45:37 and try and reach, reach this unreached people group 45:40 because they may not like me, they may be hostile to me. 45:42 You know, the benefit that we have 45:44 when we stay here is that 45:45 we can bury ourselves under a facade of missions 45:48 and think we're doing it. 45:50 We can be survivors better here than when we go overseas. 45:55 You know, if you go overseas, you might get malaria 45:59 or you might be killed with the gunshots 46:02 or there might be unrest in the country. 46:05 You understand what I'm saying. You might lose a child. 46:07 Dangerous things could happen to you 46:08 if you go overseas. 46:10 Don't go as a missionary, just stay right here. 46:11 Well guess what? 46:13 The advantages you can stay right here 46:14 and you can build your picket fence 46:16 and you can blare for retirement and you can, 46:18 you can have your three and a half children 46:20 and have a wonderful life and no ruffles and no... 46:23 You understand what I'm saying? 46:25 Could it be that Jesus is calling us today 46:29 just like He did the first disciples 46:31 in Matthew 4:18-20. 46:34 When he says, "Come follow Me 46:36 and I will make you fishers of men." 46:38 And you realize that out of those four 46:39 only one of them died a natural death 46:41 and that was after being thrown into a pot of boiling water. 46:45 Oil. Oil, thank you. 46:49 So when Jesus calls us when he bids us, 46:51 come follow and he says, "Come follow Me." 46:55 When He calls disciples, He says, "Come and die." 47:01 Now how do we do this? 47:02 How do we make this transition from being people 47:04 who are holding on to life? 47:05 Who are survivors, 47:07 who are saying how can I make it the next day 47:08 to living with abandon? 47:11 I think I found this love that is better than life. 47:15 Here's the key, friends. 47:16 Jesus never asks us to do anything that 47:19 He does not first offer to us. 47:23 Do you understand that Jesus today loves you 47:25 more than life itself? 47:27 Do you understand that 47:28 when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, 47:30 it was a choice between His Father and you, 47:31 and He chose you. 47:33 He says, Father's any other way that we can do this 47:35 so that I don't I'm gonna be separated from you. 47:36 Is there any other way, can you take this cup from me? 47:39 What was that cup? It was you, it was me. 47:43 So the marriage license, 47:44 friends is already signed half in blood. 47:47 I love you more than life itself. 47:50 When you read eschatology, you come back to this line 47:52 over and over again when God looks forward to the day 47:54 and He longs and yearns for the day, 47:56 when He can say," 47:57 I am their God and they are My people." 48:02 That's marriage language. 48:03 God wants to have 48:04 a marriage relationship with us, friends. 48:09 Do you realize that the final fear that 48:11 we all have to face is the fear of ourselves? 48:14 Why? Why are we afraid? 48:16 When you think about going door to door, 48:17 we get this little nervous feeling like, 48:20 why are we afraid? 48:21 I'll tell you why? We're afraid of ourselves. 48:24 I just learned this recently. I think it's fascinating. 48:26 You see there's certain this times 48:28 when we feel an emotion of fear. 48:32 And when we feel that, 48:33 we feel this certain emotion of fear, 48:35 we are afraid that 48:37 we will stop acting like ourselves. 48:38 We'll freak out, our voice will squeak, 48:41 we'll do something stupid. 48:42 And so we avoid that place. Whatever that place is for us. 48:47 How do you overcome that fear? Very simple. 48:51 And it's very difficult. 48:55 We overcome that kind of a fear when we realize that 48:57 there's somebody who wants to be with us, 48:59 no matter what. 49:01 Somebody who loves us more than life itself, 49:03 somebody who cherishes us 49:04 whether our voice squeaks or not? 49:08 Just this past week, 49:09 I was invited to go door to door in Wenatchee. 49:13 And I've always been afraid of going out 49:15 and finding strangers. 49:16 And the Holy Spirit just washed over me 49:18 and I was going in as I've been flying in, 49:20 I've been looking at cities, 49:22 and I'm saying there's the farmlands, 49:23 and there's the people, and they're supporting them. 49:25 And there's the city 49:26 where everyone tells everyone what to do. 49:28 You know, they sit in the offices, 49:29 sending emails, you do this and send that cone over there 49:31 and grind it over there. 49:32 And so that's how a city works. 49:33 And then I was thinking, 49:35 what's this gonna look like when Jesus comes? 49:37 And I said, you know, it's gonna be incredible 49:38 when Jesus comes, 49:39 I'm going to be looking back on my day 49:41 in Wenatchee knocking on doors, 49:42 and I'm going to think about it differently, aren't I? 49:45 Because you see, once we're looking back on it, 49:47 it's not going to be, am I afraid? 49:49 Could I die? Could I lose something? 49:50 Could somebody think I'm an idiot? 49:52 No, that's not the question. 49:53 The question is, did I knock on enough doors? 49:56 Because then, by then the chances are passed. 50:00 So I want to invite you today to be become missionaries, 50:03 to hear the invitation of Jesus Christ who loves you, 50:06 by the way more than life itself. 50:08 And as a church, 50:10 as a people to rise up and to say, 50:13 "I'm done with living as a survivor. 50:16 I want to embrace the God 50:18 who loves me more than life itself. 50:21 I want to rise up and be a missionary, 50:23 whether it's here or overseas. 50:26 I want to face the fears that I have before the living God. 50:30 I'm gonna let Him teach me about His loving compassion 50:33 and kindness to me. 50:35 And you see, friends, by when that happens, 50:37 when we begin to love more than life itself, 50:41 we will become world changers. Why? 50:43 Because you see 50:44 the most powerful people in the world 50:45 are those who are not afraid to die. 50:49 You disagree with me, okay. 50:51 Terrorists, what do you do to a terrorist? 50:54 Listen, friend, 50:55 if you don't stop this nonsense, 50:57 we're going to put you in prison, 50:58 you may be there for the rest of life 51:00 and we also have this thing called capital punishment. 51:01 You could be killed. 51:03 You know what the terrorist says, 51:04 "Thank you. 51:06 I was planning to do that myself." 51:08 Why have terrorists changed the world 51:11 because terrorists are not afraid to die. 51:14 There was someone in the Old, in the New Testament 51:16 that had the spirit of a terrorist, 51:19 but it become that for Christ. 51:20 Turn with me to Acts, Acts Chapter 20. 51:30 Acts Chapter 20. 51:32 And I'd like to invite you to begin reading verse 19. 51:36 This is in the context of Paul, 51:38 the Holy Spirit's been calling him to go to Jerusalem, 51:40 people have been warning him don't go, 51:41 you're going to get into trouble, 51:43 you may even lose your life is what it says. 51:45 So then Acts Chapter 20 would help 51:49 if I was in the right place, it was 22, sorry. 51:52 20:22, "And now compel by the Spirit, 51:54 I am going to Jerusalem not knowing 51:56 what will happen to me there." 51:58 So the Holy Spirit is telling Paul 51:59 to go to Jerusalem 52:01 and he has no idea what's going to happen. 52:03 "I only know that in every city, 52:07 the Holy Spirit warns me that prison 52:08 and hardships are facing me." 52:10 Now, if you heard a voice telling you 52:12 to go to Baghdad, and this voice told you, 52:16 I don't know how the voice worked 52:17 or how the Holy Spirit work. 52:19 But if you had, if you had that experience, 52:21 wouldn't you question it? 52:22 Wouldn't you say, "Wait a minute, this is insane. 52:25 You know, I haven't got my life insurance plan in place yet." 52:27 But listen to Paul. 52:29 And of course, you understand Paul 52:31 has a relationship with Jesus, so that he knows I mean, 52:33 he's heard the voice of Jesus in everyday life. 52:36 Okay, verse 23, 52:37 "I only know that in every city, 52:39 the Holy Spirit warns me that 52:41 prison and hardships are facing me. 52:42 And then he has this verse 52:44 where Paul demonstrates that he's come to this place. 52:46 Verse 24. 52:48 "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me. 52:53 If only I may finish the race and complete the task 52:56 that Lord Jesus has given me, 52:58 that the task of testifying 53:01 to the gospel of God's grace." 53:04 Friends, it's time as a church 53:06 and we come to the place that Brother Paul led us to. 53:10 It's time that we come to the place that Paul led us to 53:12 because he had seen that place in Jesus Christ. 53:16 Are we at a place where we can say honestly 53:17 before God, that we, 53:19 my life counts nothing in the light of the privilege 53:23 of being called to share the good news of the gospel? 53:27 And so today, I present a challenge to you 53:28 the call, invitation. 53:31 Will you be a survivor or a non survivor? 53:35 Will you fit into the category of 53:36 or the camp of the Shadrachs, 53:38 Meshachs and Abednegos of history 53:40 or the Ananias and Sapphiras, we can just give this much. 53:44 Can only afford that much because we got to hold on. 53:49 It's time, friends, the hour has come 53:51 for the people of God to begin living with 53:53 reckless abandon for the cause of God. 53:56 Because one day everything else is not going to count. 53:59 Everything else is not going to count. 54:02 What does Jesus say anyone who loves his father or mother 54:04 more than Me is not worthy of Me. 54:06 What does He mean? Worthy of His love for us! 54:11 That He has loved that way. 54:13 So friends, the opposite is true. 54:16 If you love Him more than your mother and father, 54:19 if you want to love Jesus more than your children, 54:21 if you want to love Him more than your fear 54:23 of carrying the cross, 54:24 if you want to love Him more than life itself, 54:27 His invitation today is come on in. 54:30 Come and experience life that is so good that death, 54:34 even death can't take it away. 54:38 That's my prayer for you. Let's pray. 54:39 Dear Heavenly Father, I want to thank you today 54:42 and that in Jesus name, 54:47 You are calling us to discover something 54:52 that is so foreign to the ordinary capitalists 54:56 living in North America. 55:00 And as people we want to confess to You that 55:01 we've been holding on, we've been trying to survive. 55:06 Today, we want to love You more than life itself. 55:11 And we thank You that we can do that 55:12 because You have first loved us that way. 55:15 In Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2020-03-21