Okay, well, I think
we're almost all seated.
00:01:01.51\00:01:04.89
This is what they
usually call the graveyard shift
00:01:04.92\00:01:07.57
because you've all
eaten and the temptation
00:01:07.60\00:01:10.34
will be during this
message to close your eyes
00:01:10.37\00:01:12.74
and meditate on the
words that are being spoken.
00:01:12.77\00:01:16.18
Do your best to
keep them open, okay.
00:01:16.21\00:01:18.22
I'll try and help
you as much as I can.
00:01:18.25\00:01:20.63
Let us just bow
our heads once more
00:01:20.66\00:01:23.11
and ask the Lord to lead us
as we study the Bible together.
00:01:23.14\00:01:27.09
Loving Father in
heaven, thank You so much
00:01:27.12\00:01:30.22
for everything that
You have done here today
00:01:30.25\00:01:33.50
and in our hearts
00:01:33.53\00:01:34.93
and as we have gathered
once more this afternoon
00:01:34.96\00:01:37.41
to study the Bible together,
we invite the Holy Spirit
00:01:37.44\00:01:41.21
to take the
message of Holy Scripture
00:01:41.24\00:01:44.42
and to make it real
to us this afternoon.
00:01:44.45\00:01:47.09
I pray that You would
help our spiritual imagination
00:01:47.12\00:01:50.36
to pick up and to take
note of what is going on here
00:01:50.39\00:01:54.17
and I pray that the
lesson which we learn
00:01:54.20\00:01:56.32
from the study of Your Word
00:01:56.35\00:01:58.32
be one that
would be life changing,
00:01:58.35\00:02:00.09
one that we will walk
out and put into action
00:02:00.12\00:02:02.88
as we leave the church later.
00:02:02.91\00:02:05.11
We ask this now
00:02:05.14\00:02:06.49
and we ask it in
the name of Jesus,
00:02:06.52\00:02:08.62
whom we love, amen.
00:02:08.65\00:02:11.67
My subject this afternoon, I
have entitled We Do Not Well.
00:02:11.70\00:02:17.00
And the story begins like this.
00:02:17.03\00:02:20.07
The Syrian army had
surrounded the city of Samaria.
00:02:20.10\00:02:24.41
There was a very,
very serious siege going on
00:02:24.44\00:02:27.74
so much so that the people
inside the city of Samaria
00:02:27.77\00:02:32.20
were literally
starving to death.
00:02:32.23\00:02:35.06
This is a good sermon to
preach after we've all being fed
00:02:35.09\00:02:37.82
because otherwise
you'd be sitting there
00:02:37.85\00:02:39.27
getting hungry on me,
00:02:39.30\00:02:40.67
but I invite you
to take your Bibles
00:02:40.70\00:02:42.89
and turn with me
to read the story,
00:02:42.92\00:02:45.00
just to set the
table a little bit.
00:02:45.03\00:02:47.47
Come over to
the Book of 2 Kings.
00:02:47.50\00:02:49.87
And in 2 Kings I would like
you to notice with me chapter 6
00:02:49.90\00:02:54.30
and listen to how
the Bible describes
00:02:54.33\00:02:57.24
just how
serious this famine was.
00:02:57.27\00:02:59.88
2 Kings Chapter 6
00:02:59.91\00:03:02.44
and we will read
from verse 25-29.
00:03:02.47\00:03:07.78
2 Kings Chapter 6, we
begin reading verse 25.
00:03:07.81\00:03:14.74
If you're there say
amen. All right, that's good.
00:03:14.77\00:03:18.13
It says here, "And there
was a great famine in Samaria,
00:03:18.16\00:03:22.22
and indeed, they besieged it,
00:03:22.25\00:03:24.10
until a donkey's head was
sold for 80 shekels of silver,
00:03:24.13\00:03:29.56
and one-fourth of a
kab of dove's droppings
00:03:29.59\00:03:32.80
for five shekels of silver.
00:03:32.83\00:03:35.78
Then, as the king of Israel
was passing by on the wall,
00:03:35.81\00:03:40.25
a woman cried out to him,
saying, 'Help, my lord, O king.'
00:03:40.28\00:03:44.87
And he said, 'If the
Lord does not help you,
00:03:44.90\00:03:47.33
where can I find help for you,
00:03:47.36\00:03:49.24
for the threshing
floor or from the winepress?'
00:03:49.27\00:03:53.11
Then the king said to
her, 'What is troubling you?'
00:03:53.14\00:03:56.23
And she answered, 'This
woman said to me, give your son,
00:03:56.26\00:04:00.35
that we may eat him today,
00:04:00.38\00:04:02.22
and we will eat my son tomorrow.
00:04:02.25\00:04:04.77
So we boiled my son and ate him,
00:04:04.80\00:04:07.15
and I said to
her on the next day,
00:04:07.18\00:04:08.87
give your son,
that we may eat him,
00:04:08.90\00:04:11.07
but she has hidden her son.'"
00:04:11.10\00:04:14.38
Now I don't know about you
00:04:14.41\00:04:16.42
but I don't function
too well without food.
00:04:16.45\00:04:19.94
I know it may not
look like I eat a lot
00:04:19.97\00:04:22.43
but when I'm
hungry, my mood changes
00:04:22.46\00:04:25.34
and I just can't do
anything until I've eaten.
00:04:25.37\00:04:28.61
I believe I get
this gene from my dad,
00:04:28.64\00:04:31.11
he's part-- well, he's Samoan
00:04:31.14\00:04:33.61
and Samoans are
happiest when they're fed, amen.
00:04:33.64\00:04:37.95
So whenever I go traveling,
for example when I come here
00:04:37.98\00:04:42.59
the first thing my dad asks
me when I call him on the phone
00:04:42.62\00:04:45.93
is not, you know,
how's everything going
00:04:45.96\00:04:47.89
or how are you doing?
00:04:47.92\00:04:49.24
He asks me, what are you eating?
00:04:49.27\00:04:50.73
'Cause that's all
he's interested in.
00:04:50.76\00:04:52.65
So I have taken to
photographing my food
00:04:52.68\00:04:55.16
everywhere I go
just because I know
00:04:55.19\00:04:56.84
that's all he's
gonna be interested in
00:04:56.87\00:04:58.46
when I see him again.
00:04:58.49\00:05:00.27
But, friends, at
least I have food
00:05:00.30\00:05:02.22
to photograph in a little while
00:05:02.25\00:05:04.15
whenever I'm
hungry. These leprous men
00:05:04.18\00:05:07.46
are facing a very,
very different situation.
00:05:07.49\00:05:10.94
The insanity and
the horror of the famine
00:05:10.97\00:05:14.43
that is gripping this
city of Samaria is so great,
00:05:14.46\00:05:17.92
mothers are
boiling their children.
00:05:17.95\00:05:21.08
That is just terrible.
00:05:21.11\00:05:22.90
And you what, the
sad thing is is that
00:05:22.93\00:05:25.17
Moses told the
people, in Deuteronomy,
00:05:25.20\00:05:28.15
if you read the
Book of Deuteronomy,
00:05:28.18\00:05:30.03
he said that, if
they forsook God,
00:05:30.06\00:05:32.59
if God's people forsook
Him then they would end up
00:05:32.62\00:05:35.98
experiencing
things just like this.
00:05:36.01\00:05:38.82
It is a sad day
when God's people
00:05:38.85\00:05:41.78
turn their backs on Him.
00:05:41.81\00:05:44.09
Listen to what
Prophets and Kings says
00:05:44.12\00:05:45.85
concerning this
famine, Mrs. White writes,
00:05:45.88\00:05:49.51
"Never had
Israel been brought into
00:05:49.54\00:05:51.83
so great a strait
as during this siege.
00:05:51.86\00:05:55.46
The sins of the
fathers were indeed
00:05:55.49\00:05:57.26
being visited upon the children
and the children's children."
00:05:57.29\00:06:01.30
But, friends, in the
midst of a day of utter
00:06:01.33\00:06:04.04
and complete hopelessness,
00:06:04.07\00:06:05.98
God's prophets
spoke a word of hope.
00:06:06.01\00:06:08.79
We find what
Elisha says in Chapter 7.
00:06:08.82\00:06:11.86
Let's read
together from verse 1.
00:06:11.89\00:06:14.88
Then Elisha said,
"Hear the word of the Lord.
00:06:14.91\00:06:18.10
Thus says the
Lord, tomorrow about
00:06:18.13\00:06:21.20
this time a seah of fine flour
shall be sold for a shekel,
00:06:21.23\00:06:25.88
and two seahs of
barley for a shekel,
00:06:25.91\00:06:28.44
at the gate of Samaria.
00:06:28.47\00:06:30.12
So an officer on
whose hand the king leaned
00:06:30.15\00:06:32.57
answered the man of
God, and said, 'Look,
00:06:32.60\00:06:35.28
if the Lord would make windows
in heaven, could this thing be?'
00:06:35.31\00:06:39.61
And he said, 'In
fact, you shall see it
00:06:39.64\00:06:41.70
with your eyes, but
you shall not eat of it.'"
00:06:41.73\00:06:45.95
And now we reach the story
00:06:45.98\00:06:48.15
which I am dying to
share with you this afternoon.
00:06:48.18\00:06:50.94
Let's read verse 3,
00:06:50.97\00:06:52.88
"Now there were four leprous men
00:06:52.91\00:06:55.56
at the entrance of the gate
and they said to one another,
00:06:55.59\00:06:59.46
'why are we sitting
here until we die?'"
00:06:59.49\00:07:03.74
Friends, we
don't know their names
00:07:03.77\00:07:06.02
but we know their crisis.
00:07:06.05\00:07:08.72
This miserable,
wretched, leprous congregation
00:07:08.75\00:07:13.20
of four men is shut
outside the city gate.
00:07:13.23\00:07:17.25
They are shut outside
from all contact with society
00:07:17.28\00:07:21.36
and they're dying.
Not only are they dying
00:07:21.39\00:07:24.90
from the rotting, diseased,
corruption of their flesh,
00:07:24.93\00:07:29.02
but they're dying
00:07:29.05\00:07:30.30
because they're starving as well
00:07:30.33\00:07:32.47
and they're starving simply
because nobody in the city
00:07:32.50\00:07:36.41
has any garbage to let
over the walls to feed them.
00:07:36.44\00:07:39.73
They never gave
the lepers good food,
00:07:39.76\00:07:41.70
they just gave
them the scraps that
00:07:41.73\00:07:43.18
they weren't interested in.
00:07:43.21\00:07:45.39
And the famine so
great, of course nothing
00:07:45.42\00:07:47.26
has been coming over the wall.
00:07:47.29\00:07:49.66
But, friends, as they sit
there outside the city gate
00:07:49.69\00:07:52.82
and they look at each
other with these bloodshot eyes,
00:07:52.85\00:07:56.86
they say to one
another in hoarse whispers,
00:07:56.89\00:08:00.41
why sit we here until we die?
00:08:00.44\00:08:04.06
You know that's a
good question to ask.
00:08:04.09\00:08:07.78
Oh, that we too would be done
00:08:07.81\00:08:10.41
with doing nothing, amen.
00:08:10.44\00:08:12.28
Oh, that we too
would rather move forward
00:08:12.31\00:08:14.62
than stand still.
00:08:14.65\00:08:16.00
Oh, that we
would fear sitting down
00:08:16.03\00:08:18.62
and doing nothing.
00:08:18.65\00:08:20.37
Why sit we here until we die?
00:08:20.40\00:08:24.32
There is power
enough in that question,
00:08:24.35\00:08:26.49
that thought,
that ought to start
00:08:26.52\00:08:28.42
a great revival
among God's people.
00:08:28.45\00:08:31.54
Everyday thousands
are ruined by inactivity,
00:08:31.57\00:08:35.96
instead of
singing that good old hymn
00:08:35.99\00:08:38.63
like a mighty army
moves the church of God,
00:08:38.66\00:08:41.99
we have changed the words
00:08:42.02\00:08:43.24
and we're singing a hymn
that sounds more like this,
00:08:43.27\00:08:45.96
like a mighty tortoise
moves the church of God,
00:08:45.99\00:08:49.33
brothers and
sisters we are treading
00:08:49.36\00:08:51.61
where we've often trod.
00:08:51.64\00:08:53.33
We're not making any progress.
00:08:53.36\00:08:55.73
Notice with me verse 4,
"If we say," they continue,
00:08:55.76\00:09:00.54
"'We will enter the
city, the famine is in the city
00:09:00.57\00:09:03.81
and we shall die there.
00:09:03.84\00:09:05.68
And if we sit here, we die also.
00:09:05.71\00:09:08.27
Now therefore,
come, let us surrender
00:09:08.30\00:09:10.84
to the army of the Syrians.
00:09:10.87\00:09:12.75
If they keep us
alive, we shall live,
00:09:12.78\00:09:15.66
and if they kill
us, we shall only die.'"
00:09:15.69\00:09:19.75
I love how the cogitation
00:09:19.78\00:09:22.39
of these four
men ends in action.
00:09:22.42\00:09:25.84
They didn't just think about it
00:09:25.87\00:09:27.53
and then let that
thought pass them by,
00:09:27.56\00:09:29.99
not only they thought about
it and then they moved forward
00:09:30.02\00:09:32.86
and did
something on that action.
00:09:32.89\00:09:35.49
How many good decisions
00:09:35.52\00:09:37.97
get murdered in the
pews of our churches
00:09:38.00\00:09:40.58
before the people
leave the building
00:09:40.61\00:09:42.67
because they choose not
to act upon the conviction
00:09:42.70\00:09:46.21
that comes to their hearts
as the spirit is speaking?
00:09:46.24\00:09:50.07
Verse 5, "And
they rose at twilight
00:09:50.10\00:09:53.39
to go to the
camp of the Syrians,
00:09:53.42\00:09:55.38
and when they had
come to the outskirts
00:09:55.41\00:09:57.51
of the Syrian camp,
to their surprise"--
00:09:57.54\00:10:00.70
How many people were there?
00:10:00.73\00:10:02.75
"No one was there.
00:10:02.78\00:10:04.43
For the Lord had
caused the army of the Syrians
00:10:04.46\00:10:07.76
to hear the noise of chariots
and the noise of horses,
00:10:07.79\00:10:12.05
the noise of a great army,
00:10:12.08\00:10:13.84
so that they
said to one another,
00:10:13.87\00:10:15.78
'look, the king of
Israel has hired against us
00:10:15.81\00:10:18.78
the kings of the Hittites
00:10:18.81\00:10:20.13
and the kings of the
Egyptians to attack us!'
00:10:20.16\00:10:23.46
Therefore they arose
and fled at twilight,
00:10:23.49\00:10:26.16
and left the camp intact,
their tents, their horses,
00:10:26.19\00:10:30.31
and their donkeys, and
they fled for their lives."
00:10:30.34\00:10:35.06
This is absolutely incredible.
00:10:35.09\00:10:38.21
When God delivers, He really
delivers His people, amen.
00:10:38.24\00:10:43.97
But notice here what unbelief
is doing to God's people
00:10:44.00\00:10:48.18
because unbelief
is holding the people
00:10:48.21\00:10:50.23
in the city of Samaria captive.
00:10:50.26\00:10:52.62
This is what Spirit of
Prophecy says, it says,
00:10:52.65\00:10:54.64
"Every failure on the
part of the children of God
00:10:54.67\00:10:58.66
is due to their lack
of faith, every failure."
00:10:58.69\00:11:02.74
Samaria sits in
the twilight, shut up
00:11:02.77\00:11:05.99
and it's as
though the men inside
00:11:06.02\00:11:08.03
are locked inside an iron cage
00:11:08.06\00:11:10.79
because they believe that
they are surrounded by an enemy
00:11:10.82\00:11:14.22
when that enemy has taken fright
00:11:14.25\00:11:17.08
because they have been
scared off by an imaginary army.
00:11:17.11\00:11:20.39
Isn't that amazing?
00:11:20.42\00:11:21.59
This is the
most amazing picture.
00:11:21.62\00:11:23.91
And because that army
has taken off, Samaria,
00:11:23.94\00:11:27.76
while the people are
going to bed at night
00:11:27.79\00:11:30.20
covering with fear and starving
because they have no food,
00:11:30.23\00:11:34.96
just outside the
walls of their city
00:11:34.99\00:11:39.16
lies an abundance of
a hundred thousand men,
00:11:39.19\00:11:42.02
an abundance that
belonged to an army
00:11:42.05\00:11:44.17
of a hundred thousand men
00:11:44.20\00:11:46.03
and it's just sitting
there, nobody is touching it.
00:11:46.06\00:11:49.73
Friends, God is able to
work in mysterious ways, amen.
00:11:49.76\00:11:54.53
He goes above and beyond
our highest expectations.
00:11:54.56\00:11:59.44
Nothing is impossible for God.
00:11:59.47\00:12:02.29
I heard a story just
recently and I know it's true
00:12:02.32\00:12:05.38
because they shared at
the Adventist Media Network
00:12:05.41\00:12:08.21
and everything that comes
00:12:08.24\00:12:09.52
through there is
usually very true.
00:12:09.55\00:12:12.84
We had a
delegation go from the AMN
00:12:12.87\00:12:15.08
and they went to
Brazil to investigate
00:12:15.11\00:12:17.93
how our media
network over there operates
00:12:17.96\00:12:21.28
and they came back
with an incredible story.
00:12:21.31\00:12:23.84
There was an
Adventist student in Brazil,
00:12:23.87\00:12:26.57
he was at a secular university
and an exam which he had to sit
00:12:26.60\00:12:30.87
was being offered on Sabbath.
00:12:30.90\00:12:33.24
So he asked if they
could change the day
00:12:33.27\00:12:35.68
from Sabbath to
another day and the university,
00:12:35.71\00:12:39.02
the professors or whoever he--
00:12:39.05\00:12:40.44
the board that
was taken to said,
00:12:40.47\00:12:42.15
no, we can't change the day.
00:12:42.18\00:12:44.24
Well, word of this got
00:12:44.27\00:12:46.61
to a very wealthy
Adventist in Brazil.
00:12:46.64\00:12:49.82
When he heard
about this problem that
00:12:49.85\00:12:52.44
the student was facing,
00:12:52.47\00:12:53.91
he went ahead and
bought the university.
00:12:53.94\00:12:57.14
He then sacked the staff
that prevented the student
00:12:57.17\00:13:00.89
from having his exam changed
00:13:00.92\00:13:03.01
and the student was
able to sit their exam.
00:13:03.04\00:13:05.96
So God, nothing is
impossible with God,
00:13:05.99\00:13:08.66
if there is a
mountain He can move it, amen.
00:13:08.69\00:13:11.55
And He moved it
for the city of Samaria
00:13:11.58\00:13:13.62
but the funny thing,
00:13:13.65\00:13:14.88
the ironic thing
about this story is that
00:13:14.91\00:13:17.99
even though God has
just liberated His people,
00:13:18.02\00:13:21.21
in perhaps one of
the most amazing ways
00:13:21.24\00:13:23.66
that God had ever
worked for His people
00:13:23.69\00:13:25.66
in all of human
history, right here,
00:13:25.69\00:13:28.89
because they had a
famine of faith in their hearts,
00:13:28.92\00:13:32.25
they continue to live in a way
00:13:32.28\00:13:38.79
that doesn't show
that they have any idea
00:13:38.82\00:13:41.23
of the God that
they are serving.
00:13:41.26\00:13:43.26
The famine of faith in
their hearts mirrored the famine
00:13:43.29\00:13:47.63
that they were
experiencing in their stomachs.
00:13:47.66\00:13:50.98
Notice what we see
now, verse 8, I love this.
00:13:51.01\00:13:55.08
"And when these lepers came
to the outskirts of the camp,
00:13:55.11\00:13:58.16
they went into one
tent and ate and drank,
00:13:58.19\00:14:01.14
and carried from it
silver and gold and clothing,
00:14:01.17\00:14:04.92
and went and hid them,
and then they came back
00:14:04.95\00:14:07.04
and entered another tent,
00:14:07.07\00:14:08.72
and carried
some from there also,
00:14:08.75\00:14:10.51
and went and hid it."
00:14:10.54\00:14:15.06
The curtain rises in
verse 8, upon a new scene
00:14:15.09\00:14:20.38
and in my minds eye I
like to imagine things
00:14:20.41\00:14:22.94
when I read them in the Bible,
00:14:22.97\00:14:24.14
like to watch like a
Bible movie in my mind.
00:14:24.17\00:14:27.77
In my minds eye I can see
00:14:27.80\00:14:29.40
these four lepers
stealing silently and softly
00:14:29.43\00:14:32.91
in the twilight
into this enemy camp.
00:14:32.94\00:14:35.92
I mean, they've
got nothing to lose.
00:14:35.95\00:14:37.63
If they sat
outside the city walls,
00:14:37.66\00:14:39.89
well, they're gonna die
00:14:39.92\00:14:40.96
and if they go
into the Syrian camp,
00:14:40.99\00:14:42.51
well, at least the
Syrians might be merciful
00:14:42.54\00:14:45.18
but if they die, well,
it was nothing, nothing new.
00:14:45.21\00:14:48.60
But anyway I can hear them
as they come into this camp
00:14:48.63\00:14:51.57
and they're trembling,
00:14:51.60\00:14:52.92
softly Simian,
your tread is so loud,
00:14:52.95\00:14:56.24
you'll wake the dead if
you keep walking like that.
00:14:56.27\00:14:58.92
Yeah, cut it out, guys.
00:14:58.95\00:15:01.46
If they're sleeping,
let's not wake them up.
00:15:01.49\00:15:04.58
So as they continue
to tiptoe into the camp,
00:15:04.61\00:15:08.79
they didn't realize that
they could've walked as loudly
00:15:08.82\00:15:12.05
as they pleased for
there was no one inside.
00:15:12.08\00:15:15.63
There's an interesting
verse in the Book of Proverbs,
00:15:15.66\00:15:17.83
Proverbs 28:1, it says this,
00:15:17.86\00:15:20.84
"The wicked flee
when no one pursues,
00:15:20.87\00:15:24.30
but the righteous are
as bold as a lion," amen.
00:15:24.33\00:15:29.54
Well, they come
to the first tent
00:15:29.57\00:15:31.76
and one of them, one
of the lepers he enters
00:15:31.79\00:15:34.19
that tent very cautiously
expecting at any moment
00:15:34.22\00:15:37.71
for a sentry to come
and strike off his head
00:15:37.74\00:15:40.42
or at least call
him to attention.
00:15:40.45\00:15:42.79
But not a voice is heard.
00:15:42.82\00:15:44.82
The sound of horses can be heard
00:15:44.85\00:15:46.43
as they pull against
the chains that bind them
00:15:46.46\00:15:48.67
but apart from that
everything is still quiet.
00:15:48.70\00:15:52.29
Guys, guys, come over
here, come in here and see this.
00:15:52.32\00:15:57.10
There is nobody home.
00:15:57.13\00:15:59.63
And then another
voice comes back,
00:15:59.66\00:16:01.44
you've got to be kidding.
00:16:01.47\00:16:02.75
Are you serious?
00:16:02.78\00:16:04.26
Nobody's in the tent.
00:16:04.29\00:16:05.71
Yes, come in here
and see, come quick.
00:16:05.74\00:16:08.55
And so cautiously
all four ragged lepers
00:16:08.58\00:16:14.26
step inside this tent
00:16:14.29\00:16:16.59
and sure enough,
the tent is empty.
00:16:16.62\00:16:20.39
And what is even more remarkable
00:16:20.42\00:16:22.30
about this whole experience
00:16:22.33\00:16:24.56
is that right
there in front of them
00:16:24.59\00:16:26.66
sitting on the
table is a hot meal,
00:16:26.69\00:16:29.87
ready and waiting
for them, nutmeat stew.
00:16:29.90\00:16:33.92
They can't believe it.
00:16:33.95\00:16:35.34
And so they needed
no discussion to decide
00:16:35.37\00:16:39.14
what they would
do with the stew,
00:16:39.17\00:16:40.36
they just sat down
and ate and ate and ate
00:16:40.39\00:16:43.49
until they were full.
00:16:43.52\00:16:45.14
They looked around them in
the tent and they could see,
00:16:45.17\00:16:47.28
wow, there's some really
nice Syrian garments in here,
00:16:47.31\00:16:51.48
so they started
to dress themselves
00:16:51.51\00:16:53.72
in the Syrian robes.
00:16:53.75\00:16:55.58
And as they looked
around further they saw that
00:16:55.61\00:16:57.72
there was gold and
silver, spoils of war
00:16:57.75\00:17:00.80
just lying around the tent.
00:17:00.83\00:17:02.79
They said, guys, let's bank this
00:17:02.82\00:17:05.74
and so they took
all of these things
00:17:05.77\00:17:08.59
and they banked their
bounty the old fashioned way.
00:17:08.62\00:17:11.92
The Bible says they told
us they went and hid them.
00:17:11.95\00:17:14.42
In ancient times
they'd go dig a hole
00:17:14.45\00:17:16.61
and bury it,
that's how they banked it.
00:17:16.64\00:17:18.96
You just would want to remember
where you put it, wouldn't you?
00:17:18.99\00:17:21.92
Anyhow, after they
finished in the first tent,
00:17:21.95\00:17:25.41
they decided, well,
let's try another tent
00:17:25.44\00:17:28.06
and so they again,
they cautiously step
00:17:28.09\00:17:31.06
along to a second
tent, they look inside
00:17:31.09\00:17:35.05
and again they find that
the second tent is empty also
00:17:35.08\00:17:39.56
and again there
is a meal sitting,
00:17:39.59\00:17:42.70
waiting, ready for them.
00:17:42.73\00:17:44.71
Tova, chocolate
so good ice cream,
00:17:44.74\00:17:48.01
ginger beer, vegetarian pizza,
00:17:48.45\00:17:51.10
all the things
that I really love.
00:17:51.13\00:17:52.92
They're all just
sitting there on a table
00:17:52.95\00:17:54.96
inviting them to come and eat
00:17:54.99\00:17:57.03
and so they eat
until they content
00:17:57.06\00:17:59.44
and they eat and drink
00:17:59.47\00:18:00.85
and carry away as
much gold as they can.
00:18:00.88\00:18:04.60
You and I
cannot begin to imagine
00:18:04.63\00:18:07.83
the delirious joy
that must have overwhelmed
00:18:07.86\00:18:12.03
these four guys
in such abundance.
00:18:12.06\00:18:16.16
On and on throughout the night
00:18:16.19\00:18:19.35
they continue this
process, they ate and ate
00:18:19.38\00:18:22.48
and took and took as
much as they could carry
00:18:22.51\00:18:25.81
how the tables have turned.
00:18:25.84\00:18:27.86
They woke up that
morning without a cent,
00:18:27.89\00:18:30.39
they were
starving, they literally went
00:18:30.42\00:18:33.17
from rags to riches.
00:18:33.20\00:18:35.41
They were now dressed
in some of the finest robes
00:18:35.44\00:18:38.96
that could be
found, all in a single day.
00:18:38.99\00:18:42.39
When God provides
He really provides
00:18:42.42\00:18:45.94
and He provides like God.
00:18:45.97\00:18:48.58
Friends, faith, we can
take a little note from this,
00:18:48.61\00:18:51.72
that faith is always a
venture, like for these lepers,
00:18:51.75\00:18:55.26
it was a venture for them
to step into the Syrian camp
00:18:55.29\00:18:59.04
but faith is always a
venture that God honors.
00:18:59.07\00:19:02.93
God always honors
faith and faithfulness.
00:19:02.96\00:19:07.51
And I want you
to just pause here
00:19:07.54\00:19:09.14
and reflect, I can't help
00:19:09.17\00:19:11.14
but notice as I
think on this story,
00:19:11.17\00:19:13.93
how true it is of the
gospel when you think about it.
00:19:13.96\00:19:18.06
Because we too,
the Bible tells us
00:19:18.09\00:19:20.44
in the Book of Isaiah,
in Isaiah Chapter 1 it says,
00:19:20.47\00:19:23.36
the whole head is
sick, we are spiritual lepers
00:19:23.39\00:19:26.81
apart from Jesus, we
suffer with the leprosy of sin
00:19:26.84\00:19:30.38
and there have been many lepers
who come to God or at least
00:19:30.41\00:19:33.80
before they come to
Him they are afraid of Him
00:19:33.83\00:19:36.38
because they think that
God will not be merciful,
00:19:36.41\00:19:38.56
that God will not be gracious,
00:19:38.59\00:19:39.98
that He will
want to destroy them
00:19:40.01\00:19:42.05
and so it keeps them back.
00:19:42.08\00:19:43.61
But when that sinner takes
a step in faith towards Jesus,
00:19:43.64\00:19:48.29
when they come to Jesus
00:19:48.32\00:19:49.75
and accept Him as
their personal savior
00:19:49.78\00:19:52.30
and forever
friend, what do they find?
00:19:52.33\00:19:54.47
They find amazing grace,
they find blessed assurance,
00:19:54.50\00:19:59.23
they find wonderful peace, amen.
00:19:59.26\00:20:02.34
They find more than
they could ever imagine
00:20:02.37\00:20:05.39
and the Bible tells us
that He exchanges our rags
00:20:05.42\00:20:10.17
for His robe of
righteousness, amen.
00:20:10.20\00:20:13.35
And in light of an offer
like that coming from Jesus,
00:20:13.38\00:20:16.47
why would we want to
hold on to our own rags.
00:20:16.50\00:20:19.32
This is why the
Bible says in Isaiah 55:1,
00:20:19.35\00:20:23.95
the Bible says, "Ho,
everyone who thirsts,
00:20:23.98\00:20:27.13
come to the waters
and you who have no money,
00:20:27.16\00:20:30.49
come, buy and eat.
00:20:30.52\00:20:32.51
Yes, come, buy wine
and milk without money
00:20:32.54\00:20:35.72
and without price," amen.
00:20:35.75\00:20:37.77
Ephesians 3:8 says
this, it talks about
00:20:37.80\00:20:40.63
the unsearchable
riches of Christ.
00:20:40.66\00:20:44.55
Now Google is a
very good search engine
00:20:44.58\00:20:47.25
but it cannot search
fully the riches of Christ
00:20:47.28\00:20:51.45
that God makes
available to those
00:20:51.48\00:20:53.55
who accept Him and love Him.
00:20:53.58\00:20:56.14
When I do that,
that was a amen moment.
00:20:56.17\00:20:59.12
Don't miss the amen moment.
00:20:59.15\00:21:00.83
All right, let's
read together verse 9,
00:21:00.86\00:21:03.52
"Then they said to one another,
'we are not doing right.
00:21:03.55\00:21:09.87
This is a day of good
news and we remain silent.
00:21:09.90\00:21:13.27
If we wait until morning light,
00:21:13.30\00:21:15.56
some punishment
will come upon us.
00:21:15.59\00:21:18.54
Now therefore come let us go
00:21:18.57\00:21:20.96
and tell the King's household.'"
00:21:20.99\00:21:24.67
The Bible doesn't
tell us how many tents
00:21:24.70\00:21:27.58
they went through
before they finally had
00:21:27.61\00:21:30.03
this amazing
thought strike them.
00:21:30.06\00:21:33.71
But suddenly it occurs to them
00:21:33.74\00:21:35.69
or at least it
occurred to somebody,
00:21:35.72\00:21:37.80
guys, what we're
doing isn't patriotic?
00:21:37.83\00:21:42.42
In fact, guys, what we're
doing, it is scarcely human.
00:21:42.45\00:21:46.85
How can we sit
here enjoying a feast
00:21:46.88\00:21:52.37
and hoarding wealth untold.
00:21:52.40\00:21:56.03
When our friends, our
family, our loved ones,
00:21:56.06\00:22:02.12
our people are starving to death
00:22:02.15\00:22:05.14
just a stone throw
away from where we are.
00:22:05.17\00:22:10.46
And this thought
just they cannot shake it.
00:22:10.49\00:22:13.42
Suddenly pictures
as they reflect on
00:22:13.45\00:22:15.56
what they're saying
here, pictures of Samaria
00:22:15.59\00:22:18.55
and the people
there of the hollow eyes
00:22:18.58\00:22:20.92
and the hideous meals
00:22:20.95\00:22:22.78
that they're
eating there come to mind.
00:22:22.81\00:22:25.72
They remember the king
00:22:25.75\00:22:27.24
who has sackcloth
under his royal robes.
00:22:27.27\00:22:30.92
In fact, the
Hebrew of the passage
00:22:30.95\00:22:33.25
could be translated like this,
00:22:33.28\00:22:35.23
it could be saying this
is a day of good tidings
00:22:35.26\00:22:38.69
and we hold our
peace, that is a sin.
00:22:38.72\00:22:45.13
And if we continue
before morning like this,
00:22:45.16\00:22:47.95
then some
punishment may come upon us
00:22:47.98\00:22:50.68
because of what we're doing.
00:22:50.71\00:22:52.82
Now it's interesting
as I did a little bit
00:22:52.85\00:22:54.91
if research on this passage,
00:22:54.94\00:22:56.80
I find this moment in the story,
00:22:56.83\00:22:58.73
one of the most remarkable.
00:22:58.76\00:23:00.77
But as I've done a
little bit of research,
00:23:00.80\00:23:02.90
I discovered
something interesting in that
00:23:02.93\00:23:04.62
is if you read the
writings of Josephus,
00:23:04.65\00:23:07.79
Josephus tells us
that he believes one
00:23:07.82\00:23:11.38
of these four lepers was
a man by the name of Gehazi,
00:23:11.41\00:23:15.48
the foremost servant of Elisha,
00:23:15.51\00:23:18.02
who had received
the leprosy from Naaman,
00:23:18.05\00:23:20.21
remember that story?
00:23:20.24\00:23:21.51
This touch is very
interesting, if this is true.
00:23:21.54\00:23:24.64
And so Jewish
white writings continue
00:23:24.67\00:23:28.19
to go on further to say that
00:23:28.22\00:23:29.64
they also believe
that the three men
00:23:29.67\00:23:32.06
who are with Gehazi
were possibly his sons.
00:23:32.09\00:23:36.28
So if that is
true, if this is Gehazi
00:23:36.31\00:23:38.82
who has already been
punished because of greed,
00:23:38.85\00:23:41.36
well, it would
make sense to me that
00:23:41.39\00:23:43.14
he was most probably the one
00:23:43.17\00:23:45.40
upon, well, for whom
the penny dropped first.
00:23:45.43\00:23:48.27
He was the one that woke up
to what they were doing first.
00:23:48.30\00:23:51.62
And as they
realized and they sat
00:23:51.65\00:23:53.61
and they pondered
this incredible thought,
00:23:53.64\00:23:56.32
We do not well when
this is a day of good news.
00:23:56.35\00:23:59.06
They realized that
something needed to be done
00:23:59.09\00:24:02.95
because if they
were to delay now,
00:24:02.98\00:24:04.78
well, if they were
to hold this secret
00:24:04.81\00:24:07.47
for just a matter of 24 hours,
00:24:07.50\00:24:10.48
hundreds might die of starvation
00:24:10.51\00:24:12.83
within the walls of the city.
00:24:12.86\00:24:14.57
This was a message
that demanded urgency.
00:24:14.60\00:24:19.04
And, friends, I hope
you're realizing that
00:24:19.07\00:24:21.07
there is a very strong
application coming through here
00:24:21.10\00:24:25.09
for you and I
right now this afternoon,
00:24:25.12\00:24:27.56
because we have a
King's household as well.
00:24:27.59\00:24:30.94
We are part of
the King's household.
00:24:30.97\00:24:34.04
And it is a great
company, a multitude
00:24:34.07\00:24:36.84
that exists all
around the world,
00:24:36.87\00:24:39.87
they live in every
corner of this planet,
00:24:39.90\00:24:42.54
they're in
Brisbane, they're in Sydney,
00:24:42.57\00:24:45.22
they're in New
Zealand, they're in China,
00:24:45.25\00:24:47.81
they're in the
islands, they're in Africa,
00:24:47.84\00:24:49.61
they're in every
country of this world.
00:24:49.64\00:24:52.64
People need to hear
the message of salvation
00:24:52.67\00:24:56.41
and the secret which we know,
00:24:56.44\00:24:58.77
we know about this
wonderful bounty that
00:24:58.80\00:25:01.30
God has prepared
for those who love Him.
00:25:01.33\00:25:04.04
It is up to us to go and tell.
00:25:04.07\00:25:07.96
We who know best
the grace of Christ
00:25:07.99\00:25:11.32
and who know what God can do
00:25:11.35\00:25:13.41
for those who have been
defiled by the leprosy of sin.
00:25:13.44\00:25:17.34
We have a story
that must be told
00:25:17.37\00:25:20.01
and we heard his
message about how--
00:25:20.04\00:25:22.09
that is a story that we
should tell this morning.
00:25:22.12\00:25:24.96
We do not well to hold
our peace in times like this.
00:25:24.99\00:25:30.52
Verse 10, so they went
00:25:30.55\00:25:33.22
and they called to the
gatekeepers of the city
00:25:33.25\00:25:36.19
and told them saying,
"We went into the Syrian camp
00:25:36.22\00:25:39.34
and surprisingly
no one was there--
00:25:39.37\00:25:41.24
not a human sound only horses
00:25:41.27\00:25:43.63
and donkeys tied,
and the tents intact."
00:25:43.66\00:25:46.63
And the gatekeepers called out
00:25:46.66\00:25:48.09
and they told it to the
King's household inside.
00:25:48.12\00:25:52.13
I do not know of
a finer illustration
00:25:52.16\00:25:54.62
of what it means
to be a preacher,
00:25:54.65\00:25:57.18
of what it means to be witness,
00:25:57.21\00:25:59.38
of what it means
to be a Christian.
00:25:59.41\00:26:02.20
We were not called to
philosophize or theorize,
00:26:02.23\00:26:06.41
we were called to be witnesses,
00:26:06.44\00:26:08.89
we were called to
go to a dying world,
00:26:08.92\00:26:11.73
a world that is starving
for lack of the bread of life
00:26:11.76\00:26:15.12
and say there is
a way to be saved
00:26:15.15\00:26:17.78
and Jesus is the only way.
00:26:17.81\00:26:21.12
We have that
message, we are witnesses,
00:26:21.15\00:26:23.47
we are heralders,
we are proclaimers.
00:26:23.50\00:26:26.13
And you might not think that
00:26:26.16\00:26:27.65
God could use
you to be a witness
00:26:27.68\00:26:29.97
but friends, God often
uses the most unlikely people.
00:26:30.00\00:26:34.15
A good witness
is just like a sign,
00:26:34.18\00:26:37.16
a sign in order to be
effective it doesn't matter
00:26:37.19\00:26:40.52
if the sign is old or
young, pretty or ugly,
00:26:40.55\00:26:44.21
it just has to point
in the right direction
00:26:44.24\00:26:47.63
in order to be understood
00:26:47.66\00:26:49.34
and if you are
continually living a life
00:26:49.37\00:26:52.22
that is pointing to Jesus,
00:26:52.25\00:26:54.17
then you are a good
witness, God can use you.
00:26:54.20\00:26:57.95
I will never forget,
00:26:57.98\00:26:59.44
at the time when I
was at an AYC in Cannes
00:26:59.47\00:27:02.41
and Pastor Torres,
some of you might know
00:27:02.44\00:27:04.56
Pastor Louie Torres, he got up
00:27:04.59\00:27:06.06
and he was preaching a sermon
00:27:06.09\00:27:07.87
on how rejects
make good evangelists
00:27:07.90\00:27:11.43
and as he was
preaching his sermon,
00:27:11.46\00:27:13.46
he looked down and he
saw me in the audience
00:27:13.49\00:27:15.25
and he said take
Miss Fong for example,
00:27:15.28\00:27:18.75
if God can use
her He can use anyone.
00:27:18.78\00:27:21.41
I didn't know whether to
be flattered or flattened.
00:27:21.44\00:27:23.83
But it's true, God uses anybody
00:27:23.86\00:27:28.76
and that is exactly what
we're finding here in the story.
00:27:28.79\00:27:32.61
We must not keep
the gospel to ourselves
00:27:32.64\00:27:35.95
and that's-- the
gospel means good news.
00:27:35.98\00:27:38.72
Do we have good news to share?
00:27:38.75\00:27:40.87
I mean we've spent the
last few days listening
00:27:40.90\00:27:43.51
to wonderful messages
about what God offers to us
00:27:43.54\00:27:47.23
in His word so we
have a story to tell.
00:27:47.26\00:27:50.92
Yes, what the lepers did,
00:27:50.95\00:27:52.88
I want you to know
too, was a bold thing,
00:27:52.91\00:27:56.59
but note that they did
what they did unanimously
00:27:56.62\00:28:00.48
and they did it instantaneously.
00:28:00.51\00:28:02.46
You say,
Charissa, why do you say
00:28:02.49\00:28:04.68
it was a bold
thing for the lepers
00:28:04.71\00:28:07.33
to go back to Samaria
and tell this good news.
00:28:07.36\00:28:11.26
Well, keep in
mind lepers weren't
00:28:11.29\00:28:13.87
exactly the most
popular people in town,
00:28:13.90\00:28:16.59
they were social outcasts.
00:28:16.62\00:28:18.29
They were cut off
from their community.
00:28:18.32\00:28:20.77
In fact, many of their families
probably within the city
00:28:20.80\00:28:24.88
have held
funerals for these guys
00:28:24.91\00:28:27.72
because as far
as they're concerned
00:28:27.75\00:28:30.63
they're dead to them.
00:28:30.66\00:28:32.13
And so for them
to go back to a city
00:28:32.16\00:28:34.48
that has despised them,
00:28:34.51\00:28:36.27
to a city that
has shut them off,
00:28:36.30\00:28:38.40
that has cut them off,
that has shut them out,
00:28:38.43\00:28:41.00
that took courage
but it took compassion.
00:28:41.03\00:28:44.36
But they went back
00:28:44.39\00:28:46.40
because they
had a sense of duty,
00:28:46.43\00:28:50.15
they felt upon them rested
the duty of saving Samaria
00:28:50.18\00:28:54.95
and for that
they wasted no delay
00:28:54.98\00:28:56.83
because as the
sun reddened the sky
00:28:56.86\00:29:00.02
they knew that
lives were at stake.
00:29:00.05\00:29:02.80
To waste time was
to sacrifice life.
00:29:02.83\00:29:09.67
So they rose up
and went and told.
00:29:09.70\00:29:13.77
Now here's where this
message gets its feet.
00:29:13.80\00:29:16.73
Because if, for this story,
00:29:16.76\00:29:19.74
if these men felt
such a solemn sense of duty
00:29:19.77\00:29:24.39
to announce their
news to a perishing city,
00:29:24.42\00:29:29.02
how much more should
we feel a sense of duty
00:29:29.05\00:29:34.18
to share our news
with a perishing world.
00:29:34.21\00:29:39.08
As Edmund Burke once said,
he said, all that is necessary
00:29:39.11\00:29:43.37
for the triumph of evil
is that good men do nothing.
00:29:43.40\00:29:48.48
Now if we were to
translate this story
00:29:48.51\00:29:50.96
into a modern day parable
00:29:50.99\00:29:52.50
and suppose
there was a community
00:29:52.53\00:29:54.58
in outback of Australia
and within this community
00:29:54.61\00:29:57.60
there was one man who
had a whole cupboard full of,
00:29:57.63\00:30:01.63
let's say, canned baked beans,
00:30:01.66\00:30:03.77
tin baked beans and
nobody else had any food,
00:30:03.80\00:30:07.45
we would think
that what that guy did
00:30:07.48\00:30:09.97
if he didn't share his
food with everybody around him
00:30:10.00\00:30:12.89
because they were
dying of starvation,
00:30:12.92\00:30:15.32
we would think
that what he was doing
00:30:15.35\00:30:16.54
was inhumane, correct?
00:30:16.57\00:30:18.81
We would think that
guy was really, really bad
00:30:18.84\00:30:21.76
and we'd want some justice,
go and share your baked beans.
00:30:21.79\00:30:24.76
But listen,
Ellen White says this,
00:30:24.79\00:30:27.42
when you think about
that the sin of Simons
00:30:27.45\00:30:31.43
when you know something
00:30:31.46\00:30:32.75
she says in
Testimonies Volume 8,
00:30:32.78\00:30:35.31
she says, Christians are
daily repeating this sin.
00:30:35.34\00:30:42.54
A little boy was traveling
with his parents one day
00:30:42.57\00:30:46.69
and they were traveling
along this mountainous road
00:30:46.72\00:30:50.00
and as they were
driving along this road,
00:30:50.03\00:30:52.23
suddenly a car sped
up and overtook them,
00:30:52.26\00:30:56.26
and as the car sped
up and overtook them
00:30:56.29\00:30:58.04
there was a bend in the road
00:30:58.07\00:30:59.26
and another car came
around the corner, bang.
00:30:59.29\00:31:02.05
Cars collided and it was
a very, very bad accident,
00:31:02.08\00:31:06.05
the little fellow he
saw a body flying one way.
00:31:06.08\00:31:09.30
I mean, it was really bad.
00:31:09.33\00:31:11.75
Well, the family kept driving
00:31:11.78\00:31:13.86
and nobody
really had much to say,
00:31:13.89\00:31:16.08
it was a very sobering sight
that this family had witnessed,
00:31:16.11\00:31:19.49
but as they continue to
drive, they got home that night
00:31:19.52\00:31:23.15
and the parents they
tried to comfort him,
00:31:23.18\00:31:26.15
tried to say things
that would put him at ease
00:31:26.18\00:31:29.41
and they put him to bed,
00:31:29.44\00:31:31.23
but as time went on
it was very apparent that
00:31:31.26\00:31:33.81
the little fellow
just wasn't going to sleep.
00:31:33.84\00:31:36.35
So his father went into the room
00:31:36.38\00:31:38.12
and said, "Son, why
don't you try to sleep?"
00:31:38.15\00:31:40.51
And the little boy
with his eyes wide open,
00:31:40.54\00:31:43.22
he broken to tears
and he said, "Daddy,
00:31:43.25\00:31:46.40
when people die can we sleep?"
00:31:46.43\00:31:52.12
If we believed as
strongly that men and women
00:31:52.15\00:31:56.49
without the bread of life
that comes to us in the Word,
00:31:56.52\00:32:00.29
that comes down from heaven.
00:32:00.32\00:32:01.56
If we believed that to keep
this to ourselves was a sin,
00:32:01.59\00:32:05.54
then wouldn't we
too be more earnest
00:32:05.57\00:32:08.27
and more urgent in sharing
our faith with other people.
00:32:08.30\00:32:12.37
We would
struggle to remain silent.
00:32:12.40\00:32:15.88
As I read the
Spirit of Prophecy,
00:32:15.91\00:32:17.52
I have found some
really good quotes
00:32:17.55\00:32:19.50
and I've been struggling
to try and choose the ones
00:32:19.53\00:32:22.20
that I thought
was most appropriate
00:32:22.23\00:32:23.79
because there's so much.
00:32:23.82\00:32:25.41
Listen to this,
"My brother, my sister,
00:32:25.44\00:32:28.94
is it nothing to you to
know that everyday souls
00:32:28.97\00:32:32.44
are going down into the
grave unwarned and unsaved.
00:32:32.47\00:32:37.09
Ignorant of their
need of eternal life
00:32:37.12\00:32:39.28
of the atonement made
for them by the savior.
00:32:39.31\00:32:42.70
Listen to what Spurgeon said,
00:32:42.73\00:32:44.35
I was telling my workshop
the other day that Spurgeon,
00:32:44.38\00:32:46.89
one of the greatest
Baptist preachers of all time,
00:32:46.92\00:32:49.82
one of the greatest preachers
I think of all time, full stop.
00:32:49.85\00:32:53.48
He was a man who was so consumed
00:32:53.51\00:32:55.76
with a love for Jesus,
00:32:55.79\00:32:56.92
he had a passion for
souls and it gripped him.
00:32:56.95\00:33:00.18
I told them in my
workshop that Spurgeon
00:33:00.21\00:33:02.89
was so consumed
with his love for Jesus
00:33:02.92\00:33:04.80
that one night he broke out
00:33:04.83\00:33:06.77
into a sermon on
Jesus in his sleep.
00:33:06.80\00:33:10.04
His wife woke up, took
notes, handed them to him
00:33:10.07\00:33:14.74
when he woke up the next morning
00:33:14.77\00:33:16.22
and he went down
for the tabernacle
00:33:16.25\00:33:17.74
and preached the sermon.
00:33:17.77\00:33:19.21
That's how much
Spurgeon loved Jesus.
00:33:19.24\00:33:21.35
You go-- you can Google
00:33:21.38\00:33:22.44
his sermons online and read them
00:33:22.47\00:33:25.06
there's some gold
in what he has to say.
00:33:25.09\00:33:27.45
But listen to what he says.
00:33:27.48\00:33:29.42
Now, I'm gonna
use some old English.
00:33:29.45\00:33:30.61
"If sinners will be damned,
00:33:30.64\00:33:33.07
at least let them leap
to hell over our bodies.
00:33:33.10\00:33:36.71
And if they will
perish, let them perish
00:33:36.74\00:33:38.61
with our arms about their knees,
00:33:38.64\00:33:40.54
imploring them to
stay, if hell must be filled
00:33:40.57\00:33:44.21
at least let it be filled
in the teeth of our exertions
00:33:44.24\00:33:47.77
and let not one go there
unwarned and unprayed for."
00:33:47.80\00:33:54.62
A minister conversed with a man
00:33:54.65\00:33:57.08
who was
professing to be a Christian.
00:33:57.11\00:33:59.86
He asked him, have you
united with the church?
00:33:59.89\00:34:02.20
Have you joined
the church of God
00:34:02.23\00:34:03.84
and he said,
well, no, I didn't think
00:34:03.87\00:34:05.80
there was a need to,
00:34:05.83\00:34:06.88
the dying thief
never joined the church.
00:34:06.91\00:34:09.83
Well, the pastor
continued, he said, well,
00:34:09.86\00:34:12.20
have you talked to
your neighbors about Christ,
00:34:12.23\00:34:14.15
do you talk to
them about the gospel?
00:34:14.18\00:34:16.70
He said, why no, the dying thief
00:34:16.73\00:34:19.12
never talked to his
neighbors abut Jesus.
00:34:19.15\00:34:21.99
Well, the pastor said,
do you go on missions then?
00:34:22.02\00:34:24.45
Do you give money to missions
if you don't talk to people
00:34:24.48\00:34:26.72
maybe you support
the work of the church?
00:34:26.75\00:34:29.94
The man said,
no, the dying thief
00:34:29.97\00:34:32.71
never supported
missions, why should I?
00:34:32.74\00:34:35.23
And that's when
the minister said,
00:34:35.26\00:34:36.53
well, my friend, the
difference between you
00:34:36.56\00:34:39.30
and the dying thief is
that he was a dying thief,
00:34:39.33\00:34:41.71
you're a living one.
00:34:41.74\00:34:44.36
I think some of us have
been robbing God of a service.
00:34:44.39\00:34:47.53
I mean, there
are souls out there
00:34:47.56\00:34:49.42
that needs somebody
to say something to them,
00:34:49.45\00:34:52.04
to be a helping hand to
them and we are just robbing God
00:34:52.07\00:34:55.00
of an
opportunity to save a life,
00:34:55.03\00:34:57.17
because we refuse
not to lift a finger.
00:34:57.20\00:35:01.19
We have got to
lay our lives down
00:35:01.22\00:35:04.36
for the purposes of God.
00:35:04.39\00:35:06.72
This is not about a picnic.
00:35:06.75\00:35:09.32
This is not about a
happy Sabbath every week.
00:35:09.35\00:35:12.52
This is not an invitation
to continuously good times.
00:35:12.55\00:35:16.55
You and I are living
in the middle of a war.
00:35:16.58\00:35:19.80
Lives are at stake.
00:35:19.83\00:35:22.07
There is an eternal destiny
00:35:22.10\00:35:23.38
for every human
being on the planet
00:35:23.41\00:35:25.32
that is weighing in the balance,
00:35:25.35\00:35:27.23
we need to do something.
00:35:27.26\00:35:29.43
The time demands action.
00:35:29.46\00:35:32.35
I can't help but
think of a sermon
00:35:32.38\00:35:34.21
that I heard of a preacher
00:35:34.24\00:35:36.15
by the name of
the Carter Conlon,
00:35:36.18\00:35:38.16
shortly after
September 11 and the attacks,
00:35:38.19\00:35:41.61
we all know about those.
00:35:41.64\00:35:42.89
He said this, "My
mind is forever branded
00:35:42.92\00:35:46.61
with the story that I
heard of police officers
00:35:46.64\00:35:49.80
from the city of New
York, as people were fleeing
00:35:49.83\00:35:52.83
from a crumbling building
00:35:52.86\00:35:55.17
there were police
officers and firemen
00:35:55.20\00:35:57.31
and others who were running
towards the building saying,
00:35:57.34\00:36:00.81
run for your life,
at their own peril.
00:36:00.84\00:36:04.29
And in some cases he
said, I believe that they knew
00:36:04.32\00:36:07.14
that they were going to die
but there was a sense of duty.
00:36:07.17\00:36:11.90
Oh, that our sense of
duty would not be any less
00:36:11.93\00:36:15.22
for your kingdom
than were these firemen
00:36:15.25\00:36:18.07
and police
officers who are running in
00:36:18.10\00:36:20.52
to a burning
building to save lives.
00:36:20.55\00:36:25.14
Would to God,
that the church of God
00:36:25.17\00:36:27.65
would realize the urgency
of the hour in which we live.
00:36:27.68\00:36:34.00
Christ's Object
Lessons, page 303,
00:36:34.03\00:36:36.40
"Multitudes are perishing.
00:36:36.43\00:36:39.93
But how few of the
professed followers
00:36:39.96\00:36:41.79
of Christ are
burdened for these souls.
00:36:41.82\00:36:44.73
The destiny of a
world hangs in the balance,
00:36:44.76\00:36:47.74
but this hardly
moves those who claim
00:36:47.77\00:36:50.38
to believe the
most far-reaching truth
00:36:50.41\00:36:52.81
ever given to mortals.
00:36:52.84\00:36:54.63
There is a stupor, a paralysis,
upon the people of God,
00:36:54.66\00:36:59.02
which prevents
them from understanding
00:36:59.05\00:37:01.29
the duty of the hour."
00:37:01.32\00:37:03.69
Sometimes I wonder if
perhaps, that God had,
00:37:03.72\00:37:06.70
if He had told us that
the gospel was a secret,
00:37:06.73\00:37:10.30
maybe it might
have spread more quickly
00:37:10.33\00:37:12.77
'cause we're good at
sharing the secrets, aren't we?
00:37:12.80\00:37:16.66
But you know what, ants,
I think when the Bible says,
00:37:16.69\00:37:19.56
"Go to the ant, thou
sluggard, and be wise."
00:37:19.59\00:37:22.15
Ants make the best evangelists.
00:37:22.18\00:37:24.71
If you ever leave
something on your kitchen sink,
00:37:24.74\00:37:27.71
all that takes is for one ant
to find your marmite sandwich
00:37:27.74\00:37:33.60
because we all like marmite.
00:37:33.63\00:37:35.59
And you would-- that one ant
00:37:35.62\00:37:37.10
finds the marmite
sandwich and that ant goes back
00:37:37.13\00:37:40.28
and it bumps into every
friend that they can find
00:37:40.31\00:37:42.71
and tells them,
there's a sandwich over here
00:37:42.74\00:37:45.26
and they all
come and have a party
00:37:45.29\00:37:47.45
around your sandwich.
00:37:47.48\00:37:49.07
You know what?
00:37:49.10\00:37:50.13
Evangelism is like the ant,
00:37:50.16\00:37:52.50
and evangelism
is like the lepers,
00:37:52.53\00:37:55.27
evangelism is just one beggar
00:37:55.30\00:37:57.73
telling other beggars
about where they found bread.
00:37:57.76\00:38:02.60
1 Corinthians
Chapter 9, let's go there.
00:38:02.63\00:38:04.87
1 Corinthians 9:16.
00:38:04.90\00:38:11.39
1 Corinthians 9:16.
00:38:11.42\00:38:18.30
This is the words of Paul.
00:38:22.95\00:38:25.96
Listen to the passion
with which he writes, he says,
00:38:25.99\00:38:28.82
"For if I preach the
gospel, I have nothing to boast
00:38:28.85\00:38:32.18
of for necessity
is laid upon me."
00:38:32.21\00:38:35.37
He had this burden for souls.
00:38:35.40\00:38:37.42
"Yes, woe is me if I
do not preach the gospel."
00:38:37.45\00:38:43.27
He had this burden to preach.
00:38:43.30\00:38:45.72
And you know what?
00:38:45.75\00:38:46.78
Sometimes when we preach,
00:38:46.81\00:38:48.32
when we share, when we witness,
00:38:48.35\00:38:50.05
we may not see the results
of our activity straight away.
00:38:50.08\00:38:53.73
But come over to
Isaiah Chapter 55.
00:38:53.76\00:38:57.09
This is the verse
that I claim often.
00:38:57.12\00:38:59.55
Isaiah 55:10 and 11.
00:38:59.58\00:39:04.76
Isaiah 55:10-11.
00:39:04.79\00:39:12.15
"For as the rain comes
down, and the snow from heaven,
00:39:13.10\00:39:16.64
and do not return
there, but water the earth,
00:39:16.67\00:39:19.65
and make it bring forth and bud,
00:39:19.68\00:39:21.86
that it may give
seed to the sower
00:39:21.89\00:39:24.12
and bread to the eater.
00:39:24.15\00:39:25.90
So shall My word be that
goes forth from My mouth,
00:39:25.93\00:39:29.85
it shall not return to Me void,
00:39:29.88\00:39:32.40
but it shall
accomplish what I please,
00:39:32.43\00:39:34.67
and it shall
prosper in the thing
00:39:34.70\00:39:36.82
for which I sent it."
00:39:36.85\00:39:39.50
I just want to
share a couple of stories
00:39:39.53\00:39:41.92
that make these
verses real for me.
00:39:41.95\00:39:46.23
I'm very privileged to
be joined this afternoon
00:39:46.26\00:39:48.63
by some family
members, I've got my aunt
00:39:48.66\00:39:51.75
and uncle here
and my mum's here.
00:39:51.78\00:39:53.88
I've got my grandparents
here and that's very special.
00:39:53.91\00:39:56.61
We have been-- when
I come to Queensland,
00:39:56.64\00:39:59.42
I go to my grandparent's
house and I have a holiday.
00:39:59.45\00:40:02.66
I mean, as soon as I come
to Queensland it's the same,
00:40:02.69\00:40:05.53
every time it's the
same, I just feel this peace.
00:40:05.56\00:40:08.03
Come over me, I'll leave
all my problems in Sydney.
00:40:08.06\00:40:10.85
But, now I'm gonna go
back there soon but anyway,
00:40:10.88\00:40:14.51
but I came to my
grandparent's house
00:40:14.54\00:40:16.39
and this week
I-- we were spending
00:40:16.42\00:40:18.29
some time together
and we were sharing,
00:40:18.32\00:40:21.47
one evening, we
were talking about
00:40:21.50\00:40:23.12
how we came into the message
00:40:23.15\00:40:24.84
and grandma was
telling her story
00:40:24.87\00:40:27.60
and I hope if I
get anything wrong,
00:40:27.63\00:40:29.98
she's right there
she'll correct me,
00:40:30.01\00:40:31.83
but there was a man that
must have gone door knocking
00:40:31.86\00:40:35.14
to appeal for missions.
00:40:35.17\00:40:36.33
And I think my grandma's
mum, so my great grandmother
00:40:36.36\00:40:39.92
she made a donation
and they left an Appeal
00:40:39.95\00:40:43.21
for Missions
magazine in her home,
00:40:43.24\00:40:45.37
my great grandmother's house.
00:40:45.40\00:40:47.11
And that
magazine, grandma tells me,
00:40:47.14\00:40:49.65
in those days was a lot thicker
than the Signs of the Times.
00:40:49.68\00:40:52.13
It was like this
big and it was large
00:40:52.16\00:40:55.20
but when my grandma
went to her mom's place
00:40:55.23\00:40:58.10
and she saw that magazine
there, something inside her
00:40:58.13\00:41:01.97
just said to her you
must have that magazine.
00:41:02.00\00:41:04.84
You've got to have
it. So she asked her mom
00:41:04.87\00:41:07.30
could she take
it and her mom said
00:41:07.33\00:41:08.76
sure she could have it.
00:41:08.79\00:41:10.20
She took it home and she read it
00:41:10.23\00:41:12.09
and in the back of that magazine
00:41:12.12\00:41:14.27
was a little form
that you could fill in
00:41:14.30\00:41:16.04
and send away
for a correspondence
00:41:16.07\00:41:18.13
Bible study course.
00:41:18.16\00:41:20.31
My grandma started
studying the truths of the Bible
00:41:20.34\00:41:23.84
through a correspondence
Bible study course
00:41:23.87\00:41:26.87
and that wasn't easy for her
00:41:26.90\00:41:28.75
because my grandpa
who is sitting here--
00:41:28.78\00:41:30.59
he was a very
dedicated catholic man
00:41:30.62\00:41:34.19
and that caused some
problems in the home,
00:41:34.22\00:41:35.78
but grandma, she
continued to study the word
00:41:35.81\00:41:39.28
and she said, this
is the amazing thing,
00:41:39.31\00:41:41.35
but one night she was
feeling really troubled
00:41:41.38\00:41:44.78
about what was going on
00:41:44.81\00:41:46.37
and the trouble that
all of these new truths
00:41:46.40\00:41:48.57
were causing and
she was so nervous
00:41:48.60\00:41:51.94
but she sat there on her bed
00:41:51.97\00:41:53.29
and she said to
us, she said she felt,
00:41:53.32\00:41:55.75
as she sat there
she felt like these arms
00:41:55.78\00:41:58.38
came around her and
a voice spoke to her
00:41:58.41\00:42:00.31
and said, "Don't
worry, don't worry."
00:42:00.34\00:42:02.99
The next day, guess what,
00:42:03.02\00:42:06.00
she discovers the
truth about the Sabbath
00:42:06.03\00:42:08.83
and as she
discovers the Sabbath truth,
00:42:08.86\00:42:10.91
it began to shine a
light on all other truth.
00:42:10.94\00:42:14.02
Suddenly everything
began to fall into place
00:42:14.05\00:42:16.78
and later she went
forward in baptism,
00:42:16.81\00:42:19.54
became a baptized
Seventh-day Adventist
00:42:19.57\00:42:22.19
all because somebody
went to her mom's home
00:42:22.22\00:42:26.65
and left the magazine there.
00:42:26.68\00:42:29.08
That's all they did.
00:42:29.11\00:42:30.28
And now grandma is in the church
00:42:30.31\00:42:31.71
and now grandpa got baptized
and my great grandmother,
00:42:31.74\00:42:35.42
she came around as well.
00:42:35.45\00:42:37.35
And you know what,
I wouldn't be here,
00:42:37.38\00:42:39.30
I wouldn't be here,
if that man hadn't gone
00:42:39.33\00:42:42.45
and left that
magazine at that house.
00:42:42.48\00:42:45.10
You and I just don't
know, what the little things
00:42:45.13\00:42:47.78
that we do, the
little witness that we do,
00:42:47.81\00:42:49.64
will do for somebody
else, I think heavens going be
00:42:49.67\00:42:52.33
a really
wonderful place to visit
00:42:52.36\00:42:54.48
when we get
there, but you might say,
00:42:54.51\00:42:56.82
well, Charissa
that's easy for you to say
00:42:56.85\00:42:59.05
but sometimes I just
don't feel like witnessing.
00:42:59.08\00:43:02.81
Well, I tell you what?
00:43:02.84\00:43:03.89
God can work with
people like you as well
00:43:03.92\00:43:06.95
because He works
with me like that.
00:43:06.98\00:43:09.27
I think I might have
shared this once before
00:43:09.30\00:43:11.17
but I'll share it again.
00:43:11.20\00:43:12.94
I was coming back from a
youth conference in Guam,
00:43:12.97\00:43:16.16
sorry in Pohnpei
which is in Micronesia.
00:43:16.19\00:43:18.55
Do you know
about that, Micronesia?
00:43:18.58\00:43:20.76
I don't even know Micronesia
existed till I went there.
00:43:20.79\00:43:23.74
But got back from
this wonderful time
00:43:23.77\00:43:26.57
we had there, God really moved,
00:43:26.60\00:43:28.21
it was a wonderful
program, came back to Guam
00:43:28.24\00:43:31.22
and then I flew
from Guam to Cairns,
00:43:31.25\00:43:33.69
and I landed in Cairns
at 11:30 in-- at night.
00:43:33.72\00:43:38.33
And when I
landed I was so excited
00:43:38.36\00:43:39.98
to be back in the country,
to be back in Australia,
00:43:40.01\00:43:42.45
I could use my
money, I could use my phone,
00:43:42.48\00:43:45.29
I could plug my charger in
the wall without an adaptor.
00:43:45.32\00:43:47.82
There's just no place like home.
00:43:47.85\00:43:50.19
And I came off the
plane and I heard my name
00:43:50.22\00:43:53.17
come over the
loudspeaker it said
00:43:53.20\00:43:54.70
"Charissa Fong,
will you please come
00:43:54.73\00:43:56.68
to the baggage
department, immediately."
00:43:56.71\00:43:58.84
And I was so thrilled
because I thought to myself
00:43:58.87\00:44:00.93
they're
welcoming me home as well.
00:44:00.96\00:44:03.80
Well, it turns out I'd
left my iPad on the plane
00:44:03.83\00:44:06.39
so I went, got the
iPad and then I came down
00:44:06.42\00:44:09.96
and I needed to go
over to the domestic airport
00:44:09.99\00:44:12.51
to catch my flight to
Sydney, the next morning
00:44:12.54\00:44:15.95
and so I looked over
but it was late at night
00:44:15.98\00:44:18.01
and I didn't want to
walk over there by myself.
00:44:18.04\00:44:20.46
Because even though I
could, yeah never mind,
00:44:20.49\00:44:23.36
so I just didn't go
there by myself and I saw a man
00:44:23.39\00:44:26.91
in the distance
dragging a suitcase
00:44:26.94\00:44:28.71
and he was an older
man, I thought to myself
00:44:28.74\00:44:30.51
well he looks safe
so I'll follow him.
00:44:30.54\00:44:33.03
I followed him at a distance,
00:44:33.06\00:44:34.62
we went into
the domestic airport
00:44:34.65\00:44:36.72
and nobody was around,
00:44:36.75\00:44:38.07
just the
cleaners so I felt great.
00:44:38.10\00:44:40.15
I went and found a seat next
to a power socket on the wall,
00:44:40.18\00:44:44.13
plugged my phone in,
began texting my family
00:44:44.16\00:44:46.73
and friends, "don't
worry, I'm nearly home."
00:44:46.76\00:44:48.97
You can be
excited, telling them.
00:44:49.00\00:44:51.48
Anyway, this man came
and there are heaps of seats
00:44:51.51\00:44:56.44
available in this
airport, but he came and he sat
00:44:56.47\00:44:59.42
right next to me, just two
seats between us in this airport
00:44:59.45\00:45:03.60
and I was a little bit
annoyed because I'm thinking,
00:45:03.63\00:45:05.91
you know this is night time,
00:45:05.94\00:45:07.57
we don't really
want to talk right now
00:45:07.60\00:45:08.93
there's plenty of
seats for you to choose from.
00:45:08.96\00:45:10.87
You didn't need to come
and sit next to me but he did.
00:45:10.90\00:45:14.08
Anyway, I smiled at him
00:45:14.11\00:45:16.20
and continued texting my friends
00:45:16.23\00:45:19.05
and then he said to me, "So,
ah, where did you come from?"
00:45:19.08\00:45:22.81
I said, "I've just
come from Pohnpei,"
00:45:22.84\00:45:24.47
kept texting, he
said, "Ah, so did I."
00:45:24.50\00:45:26.84
"So that's
interesting," kept texting.
00:45:26.87\00:45:29.03
He said "What were
you doing in Pohnpei?"
00:45:29.06\00:45:31.25
"Oh," I said "I was
at a youth conference."
00:45:31.28\00:45:33.43
"Oh, who is the
youth conference,
00:45:33.46\00:45:35.07
where was it held,
sorry where was it held."
00:45:35.10\00:45:36.69
I said I was in the
Seventh-day Adventist school
00:45:36.72\00:45:38.88
and kept texting.
00:45:38.91\00:45:40.20
He said, "Oh, yeah, what's-are
you Seventh-day Adventist?"
00:45:40.23\00:45:42.63
I said, "Yes," kept texting.
00:45:42.66\00:45:44.47
"What's a
Seventh-day Adventist?"
00:45:44.50\00:45:46.19
And I was in the
middle of the text message,
00:45:46.22\00:45:48.23
it was midnight and I
didn't feel like talking to him.
00:45:48.26\00:45:52.18
I mean my mission trip had ended
00:45:52.21\00:45:54.26
when I landed in Cairns.
00:45:54.29\00:45:55.46
I thought my mission was over
00:45:55.49\00:45:57.59
but you know what,
when we serve the Lord,
00:45:57.62\00:46:00.21
every trip we
take is a mission trip.
00:46:00.24\00:46:02.81
Because you meet
starving people everywhere,
00:46:02.84\00:46:04.81
but I wasn't thinking straight.
00:46:04.84\00:46:06.69
I'm not telling you to copy me,
I'm telling you what not to do.
00:46:06.72\00:46:10.22
So he asks me, "What is
a Seventh-day Adventist"
00:46:10.25\00:46:13.00
at midnight and so I love it
when people ask this question
00:46:13.03\00:46:17.12
because I get so excited,
I never know where to start.
00:46:17.15\00:46:20.39
So I stopped
texting and I said to him,
00:46:20.42\00:46:22.28
"Well, are you a Christian?"
00:46:22.31\00:46:24.05
He said, no, but,
oh sorry he said yes.
00:46:24.08\00:46:27.12
And I said, "Well,
what kind of a Christian?"
00:46:27.15\00:46:28.96
He says, "I'm not really
with any religious persuasion,
00:46:28.99\00:46:32.06
but I've read the Bible
through from cover to cover."
00:46:32.09\00:46:34.97
So I knew that he was seeking.
00:46:35.00\00:46:37.16
Anyway, we began
this conversation
00:46:37.19\00:46:39.98
in the airport, I
began talking to a man
00:46:40.01\00:46:42.65
that I didn't
even want to talk to.
00:46:42.68\00:46:45.64
We talk for four hours,
00:46:45.67\00:46:47.60
we finished at
4:30 in the morning.
00:46:47.63\00:46:49.94
We went back and
forth and we did everything,
00:46:49.97\00:46:52.35
I don't know
what-- you heard me,
00:46:52.38\00:46:53.85
I was in the
panel here a minute ago
00:46:53.88\00:46:55.29
had nothing really to say,
00:46:55.32\00:46:57.00
but I don't know I
couldn't stop talking
00:46:57.03\00:46:58.86
to this man in the airport.
00:46:58.89\00:47:00.72
I don't know where
all the words came from.
00:47:00.75\00:47:02.08
I didn't know I knew so much,
we talked about the Sabbath,
00:47:02.11\00:47:05.09
we talked about
the state of the dead,
00:47:05.12\00:47:06.51
the Second Coming,
heaven and hell, the millennium.
00:47:06.54\00:47:09.51
We talked about
Revelation 3, Revelation 20,
00:47:09.54\00:47:12.50
Revelation 14,
Daniel 2, Daniel 7.
00:47:12.53\00:47:15.89
It was the most
unconventional Bible study ever,
00:47:15.92\00:47:19.19
but that man he
listened the whole time.
00:47:19.22\00:47:22.19
About 2 o'clock in the morning,
00:47:22.22\00:47:23.92
he started to fall asleep on me.
00:47:23.95\00:47:26.45
I said, "oh, Lord please,
00:47:26.48\00:47:28.07
this is the most
amazing conversation
00:47:28.10\00:47:29.91
I've ever had with anybody,
would you please wake him up."
00:47:29.94\00:47:33.81
And that's when
the Lord reminded me
00:47:33.84\00:47:36.86
that I had some
choc-chip cookies in my bag,
00:47:36.89\00:47:40.32
which I had bought
when I was in Pohnpei
00:47:40.35\00:47:42.28
'cause I was
craving processed food
00:47:42.31\00:47:45.02
and I had eaten the
whole packet, except for two.
00:47:45.05\00:47:48.04
So I said to this
man, his name was Wayne,
00:47:48.07\00:47:50.09
I said, "Wayne,
would you like a cookie."
00:47:50.12\00:47:51.57
He said, "Oh, yes."
00:47:51.60\00:47:52.63
So he had one, I had one we
both woke up and kept going.
00:47:52.66\00:47:56.60
It was just the
most amazing conversation
00:47:56.63\00:47:58.51
and as Wayne was
talking and we were talking,
00:47:58.54\00:48:01.97
he said to me at the
end of that conversation
00:48:02.00\00:48:04.24
that he believed
that our conversation
00:48:04.27\00:48:07.19
had not been an accident.
00:48:07.22\00:48:08.57
He believed that it had been
a, he didn't use these words
00:48:08.60\00:48:11.03
but it was to the
effect of a divine appointment
00:48:11.06\00:48:14.54
and he also said to me that
00:48:14.57\00:48:16.19
"what you say, I've
talked to a lot of people,
00:48:16.22\00:48:18.14
but what you say makes sense."
00:48:18.17\00:48:22.44
And you know what?
00:48:22.47\00:48:23.50
Our message does make
sense. It makes a lot of sense.
00:48:23.53\00:48:28.63
And, friends, when you
meet people, don't be like me,
00:48:28.66\00:48:32.10
don't be like me and feel tired,
00:48:32.13\00:48:34.04
someone else you
have to witness to.
00:48:34.07\00:48:35.59
No, have an
urgency in your soul,
00:48:35.62\00:48:38.73
here is a dying person
that needs the bread of life,
00:48:38.76\00:48:42.54
here is somebody
that I can bring to Jesus.
00:48:42.57\00:48:45.83
Listen to what Testimonies
Volume 8 says one line,
00:48:45.86\00:48:48.82
"Christ gave
himself for sinners."
00:48:48.85\00:48:53.07
Let that taught
sink into your mind.
00:48:53.10\00:48:55.45
Jesus gave himself for sinners.
00:48:55.48\00:48:59.22
Are we as a people asleep?
00:48:59.25\00:49:02.15
"Oh, if the young
men and young women
00:49:02.18\00:49:04.59
in our
institutions who are now unready
00:49:04.62\00:49:07.58
for the Lord's appearing,
00:49:07.61\00:49:09.09
unfitted to become
members of the Lord's family
00:49:09.12\00:49:11.71
could only discern
the signs of the times.
00:49:11.74\00:49:15.61
What a change
would be seen in them."
00:49:15.64\00:49:18.82
Friends, I believe that
00:49:18.85\00:49:20.26
we are seeing
some incredible things
00:49:20.29\00:49:22.39
that are happening
in our world right now,
00:49:22.42\00:49:24.69
and I don't want to take away,
00:49:24.72\00:49:26.68
I could, that's a
whole other subject,
00:49:26.71\00:49:28.26
so we won't go there,
00:49:28.29\00:49:29.34
but you're
watching the headlines
00:49:29.37\00:49:31.28
you're seeing what's happening
in the religious world.
00:49:31.31\00:49:33.71
We are so close,
the table is set,
00:49:33.74\00:49:37.07
everything is ready to go,
00:49:37.10\00:49:38.67
God is just holding
back the winds of strife.
00:49:38.70\00:49:41.58
Because He is
waiting for more people
00:49:41.61\00:49:44.55
to come to know Him
00:49:44.58\00:49:46.24
and He's counting on
us to share that news.
00:49:46.27\00:49:49.78
In closing, there was a flight
that crashed into a river.
00:49:49.81\00:49:55.22
It was the-- it
plummeted into Boston River
00:49:55.25\00:49:58.75
on the 13th,
January, several years ago
00:49:58.78\00:50:01.85
and as it did, there was a man
that was flung out of the plane
00:50:01.88\00:50:05.15
and he was flaming
around in this icy cold water.
00:50:05.18\00:50:08.93
Well, a helicopter pilot
came over and he was offering,
00:50:08.96\00:50:12.64
you know, a lifebuoy to people
00:50:12.67\00:50:14.50
in the water, to
try and get them up
00:50:14.53\00:50:17.34
and he got the buoy to this man
00:50:17.37\00:50:19.05
that was flaming
around in the water,
00:50:19.08\00:50:21.10
but as soon as that
man got that lifeline
00:50:21.13\00:50:25.17
guess what he did? He took
it and he gave it somebody else.
00:50:25.20\00:50:29.25
So they winched that person
up, dropped it again to him,
00:50:29.28\00:50:33.02
he took it gave
it to someone else,
00:50:33.05\00:50:35.20
five times they dropped
that lifeline to this man,
00:50:35.23\00:50:39.24
five times he took it,
gave it to someone else.
00:50:39.27\00:50:42.70
When he came back the sixth time
00:50:42.73\00:50:44.33
the man was gone, he
drowned, he was gone.
00:50:44.36\00:50:47.68
We do not know what he was--
00:50:47.71\00:50:49.78
who he was rather
but we know that this man
00:50:49.81\00:50:52.93
represents what
Jesus has done for us.
00:50:52.96\00:50:55.49
He gave himself for
the lives of all of us,
00:50:55.52\00:50:59.99
we owe it to others to
do something for them too.
00:51:00.02\00:51:03.78
I want to finish right here
00:51:03.81\00:51:06.00
and I would like to
finish with an appeal
00:51:06.03\00:51:08.84
and that is, God's house is
full but his field is empty,
00:51:08.87\00:51:14.74
who will go and
work in His field?
00:51:14.77\00:51:18.21
Would you just
close your eyes with me
00:51:18.24\00:51:20.26
as I finish with
a word of prayer.
00:51:20.29\00:51:22.97
Father in heaven, we
thank you Lord for Your word,
00:51:23.00\00:51:25.72
for the story of
these four lepers
00:51:25.75\00:51:28.18
and how you provided for them
a deliverance that was divine.
00:51:28.21\00:51:31.99
All they saw it was
deliverance from famine
00:51:32.02\00:51:34.17
but you gave them
clothes, and food,
00:51:34.20\00:51:36.77
and gold more than
they could've imagined.
00:51:36.80\00:51:39.21
I pray, Lord, that
as we reflect on this
00:51:39.24\00:51:42.02
and on the burden
that they had to share
00:51:42.05\00:51:44.00
the news with their city,
00:51:44.03\00:51:45.75
may this story
too inspire within us,
00:51:45.78\00:51:48.71
a necessity of
sharing the gospel
00:51:48.74\00:51:51.57
with those around
us in this community
00:51:51.60\00:51:53.51
because, Lord, if we hold
our peace, we do not well.
00:51:53.54\00:51:57.04
I pray that this conviction
00:51:57.07\00:51:58.65
will stir us to
action and I thank You Lord
00:51:58.68\00:52:01.19
for hearing our
prayer in Jesus' name, amen.
00:52:01.22\00:52:04.86
We're going to sing,
00:52:04.89\00:52:06.23
we're gonna try
and sing a song called
00:52:06.26\00:52:08.41
"My House is Full,
But My Field is Empty."
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May the words of this song
speak directly to your hearts.
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There is peace and contentment
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In my Father's house today
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Lots of food is on His table
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And no one is turned away
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There is singing and laughter
00:52:44.42\00:52:49.59
As the hours pass by
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What a hush calms the singing
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As the Father sadly cries
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My house is full
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But my field is empty
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Who will go and
work for Me today
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It seems my children
00:53:25.55\00:53:28.45
All want to stay around my table
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But no one wants
to work in my field
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Push away from the table
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Look out through the windowpane
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Just beyond the house of plenty
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Lies a field of golden grain
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And it's ripe unto harvest
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But the reapers, where are they?
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In the house
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Oh, can't the children
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Hear the Father sadly say
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My house is full
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But my field is empty
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Who will go
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And work for Me today
00:54:45.12\00:54:51.63
It seems my children
00:54:51.66\00:54:54.31
All want to stay around my table
00:54:54.34\00:55:00.57
But no one wants
to work in my field
00:55:00.60\00:55:08.31
My house is full
00:55:10.20\00:55:14.61
But my field is empty
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Who will go
00:55:19.33\00:55:21.38
And work for Me today
00:55:21.41\00:55:25.59
It seems my children
00:55:27.98\00:55:30.71
All want to stay around my table
00:55:30.74\00:55:37.03
But no one wants
to work in my field
00:55:37.06\00:55:44.66
No one wants to work in my field
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Who will go and work
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In my field
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Amen.
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