WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.000 Father and Jesus Name are God. I ask you right now to take my 2 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:09.039 words and just put them on the wind of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. 3 00:00:09.320 --> 00:00:12.039 God, I think you right now that you're going to hear These people 4 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:14.480 are going to hear you, not me. God, I think you right 5 00:00:14.519 --> 00:00:17.079 now, you're going to move hearts, You're going to move lives. Lord 6 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:20.039 Jesus, I thank you for that in Jesus name, and everybody said, 7 00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:28.160 Amen, God is so good, all right. A story is told of 8 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:35.280 a family holding sorry on holiday by the sea, and of a sweet child 9 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:40.280 playing with her younger brother in the open plateau on the edge of the ocean. 10 00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:44.439 They began a playful game of chase. The giggles and laughter turned into 11 00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:48.600 shrieks of fear as the earth gave way and the two tumbled thirty feet down 12 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:54.159 a steep crag, landing in the underbush along the shoreline of the crashing tide. 13 00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:58.200 Their older brother ran for help. The family gathered at the top, 14 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:02.759 knowing that time was short to rescue the children from the surging tide. As 15 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:06.239 the trapped children were crying out in fear and desperation, the father got a 16 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:10.079 rope from his supplies and made a plan. One of them would go over 17 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:12.239 the edge tied to the end of the rope, while the others holding the 18 00:01:12.359 --> 00:01:17.239 rope would let him down. They looked at each other, knowing that this 19 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:22.439 was a defining moment. Decisions made and actions taken would be recounted for years, 20 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:26.159 and the storyline would be won either of strength, courage and bravery, 21 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:33.040 or weakness, fear and great loss. Everyone's lives were at stake. Those 22 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:37.159 below would be lost, the ones going over the edge would be at great 23 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:41.319 risk, and those standing at the top would be called on for great effort 24 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:46.159 and sacrifice if all were to be saved. It was decided that the youngest 25 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:49.359 or the oldest son would drop over the edge and his father and the father 26 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:53.920 and the rest of the family would hold the rope. There was no tree 27 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:57.879 to tie off to, so it required everyone to be all in. The 28 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:00.519 oldest son had never done such a thing and knew that now was not the 29 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:05.719 time to back down, but to step forward. Time was short and strategies 30 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:08.919 were made. The children below were wet, cold and desperate. One wrong 31 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:13.159 move and they would topple into the sea. Too much more time and the 32 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:16.319 sea would take hold of them. They were helpless and headed towards eternity. 33 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:21.039 Without intervention, the son took the rope and tied it around his waist and 34 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:23.520 adjusted it. The rest of the family grasped the other end of the rope, 35 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:29.319 and with the father at the anchor position, they knew each one needed 36 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:32.360 to give it all they had. They could not give up, they could 37 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:37.599 not fail at all. Hinged on their grit and determination, every single one 38 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:40.520 of them, they lowered the sun over the edge. As the waves crashed 39 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:44.879 and the children cried out below. The family couldn't see the progress, but 40 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:49.639 they but could only listen as the sun called out the situation. It was 41 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:53.080 slow going, and their strength held. As the sun reached the children, 42 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:55.879 he fastened them to the rope. They all held on to each other and 43 00:02:55.919 --> 00:03:00.000 the signal was given to begin hoisting them up. The burden was heavier. 44 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:05.280 The weight on the of the precious cargo took its toll upon those on top. 45 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:08.520 Extra help was needed, but none was to be found. Their backs 46 00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:13.800 were weary and their hands began to bleed, but they would not let go. 47 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:20.520 Slowly, they pulled and held, pulled and held, pulled and held, 48 00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:24.240 regardless of the costs to themselves, because it wasn't about themselves, it 49 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:29.039 was about the lives on the other end of the rope. At times their 50 00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:31.599 feet would slip and they felt they were nearing the edge themselves. After what 51 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:36.639 seemed an eternity, they succeeded, and up over the edge tumbled the three 52 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:42.400 children, whose lives were worth all the sacrifice. They had succeeded. The 53 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:46.800 oldest had been willing to go over the edge into the unknown. Others remained 54 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:51.960 at the top and held the rope. Those facing tragedy were saved. The 55 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:58.240 story of that day became their history, and their history that story was to 56 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:06.800 be told over and over again. William Carey was born in England in seventeen 57 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:13.639 sixty one. He was born into a family whose father was a weaver by 58 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.439 trade. He loved school when he grew up, he loved school. He 59 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:19.800 started school, he started going to school and studied hard, and he loved 60 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:24.040 it. He absolutely loved school, but he was only able to attend until 61 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:28.560 his twelfth year, when he was twelve years old. At that point he 62 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:31.920 needed His parents took him out of school and put him into an apprentice to 63 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:36.279 become a cobbler because the family needed the finance. Well, his love for 64 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:41.720 learning did not end. He had a passion for books and he read everything 65 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:48.800 he could get his hands on. He loved books on travel, he loved 66 00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:55.360 books on other places and countries and adventure. He would read everything he could 67 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:59.120 get his hands on. He had another love, and that other love was 68 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:03.680 for languages. He spent his any time that he had outside of his apprenticeship 69 00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:09.040 learning about languages, different languages, learning them. By the time he was 70 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:12.519 sixteen, people, by the time he was do you remember being sixteen? 71 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:20.079 What were you doing at sixteen? Let's get my driver's license. I was 72 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:25.920 studying the Dol book right. Well, this young man by the age of 73 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:31.759 sixteen was fluent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew at the age of sixteen. 74 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:41.720 So he continued to do his apprenticeship and graduated became the town cobbler there. 75 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:45.439 But that wasn't the end of William Carey. Let me just say that where 76 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:47.519 you're at right now, the job that you're in is not the end of 77 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:53.600 you. It is the means to the end for the purpose of God. 78 00:05:53.639 --> 00:06:01.040 For your life is why you are on this earth. So he got married 79 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:05.879 and he had a couple of children. Sweet lovely wife named Dorothy, Dorothy 80 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:11.759 and William. But he knew he wasn't finished, and so he felt the 81 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:14.480 call to go into ministry. And so he took on a pastor of a 82 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.560 small local church, and that was really the passion of his life. He 83 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:23.240 did his cobblering, his shoemaking, right, y'all know that cobbler is the 84 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:26.879 one that makes the shoes. He did that all week so that he could 85 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:30.160 spend the weekends with the Kingdom, with the people of God, and he 86 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:33.480 would study the Word, and he would study the Word. And as he 87 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:35.879 was getting into the Bible, and as he was getting to the Word, 88 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:41.160 he found that there was a certain passage that wouldn't let go of him. 89 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:44.519 How many of you have ever had a passage that won't let go of you. 90 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:46.399 You think you're the one reading the Bible, the Bible is reading you. 91 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:53.920 In reality, that passage that he was so enamored with and so taken 92 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:59.519 with was Matthew twenty eight, verses eighteen through twenty. Then Jesus came to 93 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:02.120 them and said, and all authority in heaven and on earth was given to 94 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:08.560 me. Therefore go and make decisions at disciples of all nations, baptizing them 95 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:11.720 in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and 96 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:15.879 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with 97 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:21.519 you always to the end of the age. That passage gripped his soul. 98 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:27.639 And it is very, very unique because during this time, in the seventeen 99 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:31.920 hundreds, the church had begun to believe a lie, the church in general. 100 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:35.279 Can you believe that the church can believe a lie? Sometimes the enemy 101 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:41.079 can get in. And what had happened was is people had gotten into the 102 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:46.120 church and had said that the Great Commission was just for the disciples and the 103 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:53.120 apostles. It wasn't for them today. But William Carey couldn't let go of 104 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:56.399 that scripture. And so the next Sunday he got up and preached on it 105 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:59.959 again, and the next Sunday and the next Dudy he started annoying the peace 106 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:03.879 people. The people started getting literally annoyed. Everybody say annoyed? Have you 107 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:07.879 ever been annoyed by the preacher? Has the preacher ever just bugged you by 108 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:13.360 what he wants to say all the time? Come on, so right, 109 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:18.000 oh, my good chase is bugged right now? Probably so he would get 110 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:20.959 up. In fact, the people got so annoyed that one of the board 111 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:24.680 members came up to him, the guy who writes the checks, right, 112 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:30.399 and he said, postor carry. I am going to tell you right now 113 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:35.039 that if the Good Lord wants to save the heathen in these distant lands, 114 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:39.399 he'll do it himself without the help of you or me. And William Carey 115 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:43.360 said, oh, I got some more work to do. So he went 116 00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:46.480 home and planned the next sermon, got up the next Sunday and annoyed them 117 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:52.200 again that the lost are lost and dying and need to hear the word of 118 00:08:52.240 --> 00:09:00.480 the Lord. He began to feel a deep burden for India. India started 119 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:03.960 leaping off the pages, and he knew with all of his reading, he 120 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:07.399 knew that India was lost and in deep darkness. They were embroiled in idle 121 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:15.159 worship that was just filled with evil in this country. This country was completely 122 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:18.960 lost in darkness. But he felt like he must go. He knew though, 123 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:20.840 that if he went to India, he could not go there alone. 124 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:26.000 India would eat him alive. He knew he needed help, so we went 125 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:31.080 to one of his associates there at the church. One of his friends who 126 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:35.159 had been actually not annoyed as he was preaching, but instead was eating up 127 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:39.600 every word. His name was Andrew Fuller. And he went to Andrew Fuller 128 00:09:39.639 --> 00:09:45.320 and he said, Andrew, I believe very strong that the Lord is calling 129 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:50.000 me to India. I believe very strongly that Matthew twenty eight is for today 130 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:54.559 and for now. And if we don't, who will? And he said 131 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:58.600 to him, he said to him, He said to him, India is 132 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:05.159 a very deep, black, dark pit filled with beautiful, precious jewels. 133 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:11.679 If I am willing to go down into the pit, will you hold the 134 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:18.559 rope for me? Will you hold the rope? He knew he couldn't do 135 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:28.879 it alone, and so Andrew Fuller said yes. William Carey packed up his 136 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:31.279 lovely wife, Dorothy, and his three children and they got on a steamship. 137 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:37.480 And for five months they were on that steamship to reach India. It 138 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:41.600 was terrible, the horrible things that happened on that ship. They arrived, 139 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:46.799 they got out, they got immediately sick. This place was filled with malaria, 140 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:50.279 a heat, all sorts of germs and disgusting things. And they even 141 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:56.399 lost one of their children within that first year, little Dorothy, who her 142 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:01.600 mind was weak. When he married her, he knew that he was a 143 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:05.200 man of great patience and of great love. But once they got to India, 144 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:09.559 within that first year, she lost her mind entirely. She went incredibly 145 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:13.919 insane, and there was no place to put her. So he cared for 146 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:18.759 her. And what she would do is that she would follow him around at 147 00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:22.120 the house and out in the marketplace, everywhere he would go and mock him 148 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:28.960 and yell at him and scream at him. But the man of patience and 149 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:35.639 love and determination loved her in spite of for the first seven years he had 150 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:43.279 zero fruit, not one soul saved, not one soul cared. He was 151 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:48.919 there banging it out because God had called him. During that seven years. 152 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:54.240 In the midst of all that he was fighting, he decided that he needed 153 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:56.759 to learn the language. So he learned all as many languages as he possibly 154 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:01.399 could, the dialects of that area. Then those you know what he did, 155 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:07.960 he actually wrote out and made up. He wrote the alphabet for these 156 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:11.720 languages in the area. They did not have any written alphabet, so he 157 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:18.399 made up a written alphabet. He wrote dictionaries off of the words that he 158 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:22.519 would write out and figure out. This man was a genius in the midst 159 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:24.679 of the pressure, in the midst of the hard times. This man was 160 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:28.039 working so hard for the kingdom. He did this, he wrote, He 161 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:31.919 translated the Bible. Then, come on, people, how many of you 162 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:37.000 can have the hardest time just reading the Bible through? Once? He translated 163 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:41.679 the Bible into three of those languages. Then after about five years or six 164 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:48.639 years, with all of his manuscripts, they burned in a fire. Okay, 165 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:50.519 I'm done, put me on the next ship, head me home. 166 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:56.200 I'm done. But you know what he said, I'm gonna do it again, 167 00:12:56.200 --> 00:13:00.919 and this time I'm gonna do better. Lord for you. He refined 168 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:05.919 his his He refined it all, He refined his translations. He did it 169 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:13.120 again. Three after seven years, three Bibles were translated. All that time, 170 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:18.120 he had no clue about what was happening at home. He thought he 171 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:22.000 was alone doing his best. But I am here to tell you that at 172 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:28.320 home, Andrew fell Fuller took his job very seriously. He began to preach. 173 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:33.440 He began to go around to other churches, preaching the Great Commission, 174 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:39.240 waking up the church, shifting the church in the West back towards the Great 175 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:41.919 Commission. It took him a while, but he made a change, and 176 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:46.519 those churches began to take up the cause, and their hearts began to stir, 177 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:52.240 and they began to weep for the lost. And one day, after 178 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:56.039 seven years, a steamer pulled up and three families got off that steamer, 179 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:01.639 Three families that had decided that it was their calling to go to India. 180 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:13.039 Can you imagine what William Carey felt that day? Money started coming. By 181 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:18.960 the time he died forty years later, forty years later, he had learned 182 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:30.120 written out forty two forty two languages and dialects, and translated the Bible for 183 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:35.519 them. By the time he died, forty two new languages of Bibles. 184 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:41.639 What a man he is considered, Yes, he is considered to be the 185 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:46.360 father of the modern mission missionary movement. And believe, can you imagine taking 186 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:58.840 starting from being one voice in England and changing it. What I hear from 187 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:09.919 the what I hear from this story is the importance for us to understand that 188 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:20.840 the lost are lost, that the lost are lost. It's important for us 189 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:28.799 that as we go about our lives as they did in England, busy lots 190 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:35.360 to do. We have to understand that the Bible is telling us that the 191 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:43.759 lost are lost and we are needed. That the lost are crying out, 192 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:50.279 but we don't always hear it. Our worlds are too loud, there's too 193 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:54.200 much clamor there's too much going on. We're too busy trying to make our 194 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:56.399 way. But your passage, you'll just give it up. I have to 195 00:15:56.440 --> 00:16:02.080 make my life work first. Absolutely you do. And God is ever so 196 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:07.559 involved in your personal life to help you with your personal life. But there's 197 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:11.399 something in the Kingdom that asks us to listen a little farther than our own 198 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:18.480 needs that are crying out. There's something in the heart of God that says, 199 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:22.200 honey, I'll take care of your needs when you start taking care of 200 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:30.879 someone else's the lost or lost. Romans three twenty three says that all have 201 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:36.200 sinned and falls short of the glory of God. Romans thirteen ten says everyone 202 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:40.320 who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The concept of 203 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:47.759 salvation in the Bible either saved, salvation save comes up over three hundred times. 204 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:52.559 Saving someone is very vital to the Kingdom of God. What are we 205 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:59.279 saving them from? We're saving them from hell. There is a hell. 206 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:07.960 I can't sugarcoat it. I'm sorry people. There is a hell we walk 207 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:11.920 in daily. Hell. Hell is any time that we're disconnected from our Father, 208 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:17.240 God, who made us and knows how we should work. And when 209 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:22.400 we're separated from him, we will die. We will fall into hell on 210 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:26.319 a daily basis. When William Carey arrived on the shores of India, they 211 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:30.559 did not know anything about God. They knew nothing about the heavenly Father. 212 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:33.519 Do you know what they were doing all the time. They were burning their 213 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:37.759 widows ladies in this room. If your husband happens to die, they would 214 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:41.200 look at you and say you're the reason that he died, and they would 215 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:48.559 burn you the next day. When William Carey landed on those shores of India, 216 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:52.200 if you were to have twins, twins were born, they would kill 217 00:17:52.240 --> 00:18:00.160 them with in just a little bit because they saw them as evil. The 218 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:06.759 people of India were living in a hell every day. There's a daily hell. 219 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:11.039 We walk next to people all the time. They're living in a hell 220 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:23.880 daily. Under addictions, under pornography, under emotional bondages, people are walking 221 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:29.759 in a hell every day. I was listening to John MacArthur tell the story 222 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:33.599 that about three years ago he was getting up to his preach at his church 223 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:40.720 in La Grace Community Church, and he felt impressed to read Psalm one oh 224 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:45.279 seven, which speaks about the brokenness of the prisoners and how God wants to 225 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:49.400 set you free to save you. And as soon as he the service went 226 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:53.559 on worship and prayer and praise and sermon, and all of a sudden, 227 00:18:53.559 --> 00:18:56.799 when he said Amen, there was a young man at the very back that 228 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:00.000 ran down the aisle. No, lie, I am not lying to you. 229 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:03.279 About six three handsome young man, skinny skinny skinny ran up to him 230 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:06.880 said please, pastor, please, pastor, can I speak to someone? 231 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:08.480 Can I speak to someone? He said, go ahead, I'm here for 232 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:15.319 you, he said. My name is Robert Lagerstrom. I am the head 233 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:25.640 of the La Gay Pride Parade. I've been diagnosed with AIDS. I've been 234 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:32.119 given six to eight weeks to live. I don't want to die. I'm 235 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:36.680 scared to die. What will happen when I die? I've been begging everyone 236 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:40.960 around me to please save me from this hell that I can't get any peace 237 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:44.880 from. I can't die. What will happen when I die. Nobody can 238 00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:48.079 give me any hope, and one of them had said, go to Grace 239 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:53.480 Community Church, maybe they can help you. He led him to the Lord 240 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:59.839 that day. The next week he was in the water baptism tank giving his 241 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:07.279 testimony of the salvation that he had experienced. Absolutely, the lost are lost 242 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:11.160 in seventeen hundreds and the eighteen hundreds, nineteen hundreds, and in the two 243 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:15.160 thousands. They might look different, they might be in the midst of something 244 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:19.240 different, but they are lost. And the Bible says very clearly that anyone 245 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:25.319 who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. We have to 246 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:30.480 hear it. I know Craig spoke of it. As we're driving down the 247 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:33.079 road and we see the homeless camps, we see the problems. When we 248 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:37.440 see the issues, can we not get angry at the issues and at the 249 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:41.599 people, but can we hear the brokenness behind it and begin to intercede for 250 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:52.039 their souls because they are lost, the lost or lost, the lost or 251 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:59.839 lost. There's another word that appears constantly in the Bible right next to salvation, 252 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:04.400 saved save. It's the theme, it's the theme of this whole book. 253 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:11.960 And that other word is called redemption. Oh, because that's the heart 254 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:17.519 of God. That's the heart of God. Over three hundred times redeemed or 255 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:22.079 redemption is in there. And what's very very interesting, we have to know 256 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:26.119 the heart of God is not to send people to hell when they're evil. 257 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:33.160 The heart of God is to break evil and release them from that and bring 258 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:40.119 them into relationship with Him and to heaven for eternity. That's God's heart. 259 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:47.000 We have to rewrite what people think because they're not thinking truth. There's heresy 260 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:52.440 out there, just like that heresy about the Great Commissioning Man. There's little, 261 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:56.799 tiny scriptures, little verses tucked in there all throughout the Bible that talks 262 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:03.599 about and it has the phrase before the creation of the world, and wherever 263 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:07.559 those verses are the talk about before the creation of the world. What we're 264 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:14.160 doing is we're having a little we're peeking in to something that we don't none 265 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:18.960 of us know about, which is what was before God said let there be 266 00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:25.640 light. And what it does is it describes God's heart. In Matthew, 267 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:32.359 it says, before the creation of the world, God loved he had compassion. 268 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:37.359 The heart of God is compassion, and compassion is meant to be spent 269 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:42.839 on something besides itself. That's what makes it compassion, So that in itself 270 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:48.599 is the reason why God created you, because he wanted to have loving relationship 271 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:56.400 with you compassion. In Ephesians that says, before the creation of the world, 272 00:22:56.440 --> 00:23:03.279 he chose humanity, he chose you, he wants you. The Bible 273 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:11.119 says that before the creation of the world, Jesus was the lamb slain redemption, 274 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:19.680 and the whole plan is for God to have a close relationship with you, 275 00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:27.960 a human. Could it be that as that plan was laid before creation, 276 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:40.079 Could it be that all of creation was done within God's heart with redemption 277 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:45.240 in mind. Could it be that the mountains and the sky and the glorious 278 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:52.240 beauty out there is in God's heart and mind all made for redemption, crying 279 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:56.240 out to us saying, I am your heavenly Father, and I love you, 280 00:23:56.680 --> 00:23:59.440 and I am good, and I am beautiful. Look at what I 281 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:02.759 have done, Look at what I have done. Come to me. Could 282 00:24:02.839 --> 00:24:11.039 it be that you were created with redemption in mind, the redemption of your 283 00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:23.039 own soul first, but then that you would be in the storyline of continued 284 00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:29.720 redemption for others. Could it be that the reason that you are walking on 285 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:33.960 this planet. Could it be that you are here for a greater purpose than 286 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:40.880 for your own life and your own world and your own things, though God 287 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:47.759 is ever so interested in those. Could it be that we are here to 288 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:59.359 be written in to the redemption story of others? Could it be Carrie William 289 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:07.559 Carey tied off on the end of the rope and went Romans ten fourteen says, 290 00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:12.160 how then can they call on the one that they have not believed in? 291 00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:15.920 And how can they believe in the one in whom they have not heard? 292 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:21.200 And how can they hear without somebody preaching to them? And how can 293 00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:25.519 they preach unless they are sent? As it is written? How beautiful are 294 00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:30.400 the feet of those who bring good news? I would like to hope and 295 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:34.000 say and pray that in this room there are those that God is tugging on, 296 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:40.519 caring, caring for the loss. That maybe He might be calling you 297 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:42.960 to be the one to tie off and go over the edge. Maybe he 298 00:25:44.039 --> 00:25:47.799 would be maybe you would be the one that He is calling to maybe laid 299 00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:52.920 down the cobbler's hammer and take up the sword of the spirit. Maybe in 300 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:56.519 this room there might be one or two in here that he is calling to 301 00:25:56.680 --> 00:26:02.359 ministry, and I would say, people of God, if that is you, 302 00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:04.759 I'm not saying it's all of you. I'm not saying that that's where 303 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:08.319 you have to be. I'm also saying it doesn't necessarily mean it's always going 304 00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:12.279 to look like me up here preaching to somebody, because everywhere you go you 305 00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:15.519 are called amen. But I am saying that if he is calling you, 306 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:21.559 and he is saying you hear the voice of those crying out, you can 307 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:26.960 hear it. You can hear it beyond the clamor of life. And maybe 308 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:30.000 he is saying it's time for you to tie off the rope and go over 309 00:26:30.039 --> 00:26:38.960 the edge. I'm just putting it out there. Every generation needs a William 310 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:45.160 Carey. Every nation, every people, every tribe needs a William Carey, 311 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:49.000 somebody willing to go. But I will tell you that if that ain't you, 312 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:56.440 then the rest of us have got to grab onto the ropes, because 313 00:26:56.440 --> 00:27:00.400 every single one of you are involved in the Great Commission. There's no out, 314 00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:03.119 there's no out. Every single one of us is a place on the 315 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:07.119 rope to hold on to. If you are not one to go over the 316 00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:08.759 edge. And just let me tell you right now. If you are feeling 317 00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:11.880 that that might be you, I'm telling you you are in the house right 318 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:15.359 now of great rope holders. And if you come to me and say I 319 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:18.599 need to go, I think God is calling me. Guess what I'm gonna 320 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:21.480 do. I'm gonna take you right over the edge and I'm gonna kick you 321 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:25.519 off, and then I'm gonna hold the rope for you and you're gonna go. 322 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:33.400 Papa Ron and Mama Shirley came to us that first year. We needed 323 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:38.079 church members so bad, we needed live bodies. We had a bunch of 324 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:42.880 empty chairs. We had a few people come through the door, and let 325 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:47.559 me tell you, we love them because for Heaven's sake, you can't have 326 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:51.720 a church without live bodies, right And we're like, you know, to 327 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:52.839 every person that walked through the door. And then when they came up to 328 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:56.000 us and they said, I think we're supposed to go, I was like, 329 00:27:56.039 --> 00:28:00.640 no, you're not. No, say it ain't. So that is 330 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:03.240 a liar, that is a lion spirit on you. And then the Mahawans 331 00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:04.839 came and they said, you know, I think we need to go back. 332 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:08.240 No, you don't. What is up with this sending missionaries out. 333 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:14.680 I hadn't gotten it in my soul yet, but they went walking right off 334 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:15.640 the edge of the cliff or not. That rope was starting to go. 335 00:28:17.400 --> 00:28:21.160 I grabbed onto it and I started to pull. I didn't realize that if 336 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:26.400 I'm not going over the cliff, I'm holding a rope. There's only two 337 00:28:26.519 --> 00:28:30.759 places for you as a godly man and woman. Either you're over the edge 338 00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:38.599 or you're holding the rope. What would have happened if in that family with 339 00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:42.000 the older son over the edge and the children, the younger ones down there. 340 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:48.480 What would have happened if the other family members up top? What held 341 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:52.279 for a little bit but then got distracted? You know, I got my 342 00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:56.839 own thing going on. My back kind of hurts, kind of hurts my 343 00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:59.680 hand. I don't know if this is for me. I think I'm gonna 344 00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:02.039 go here, sit down on the frock. Oh, look at this rock. 345 00:29:02.119 --> 00:29:04.599 I think I need to polish this rock. I'm gonna sit right here 346 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:15.119 and just take care of mine. I will tell you right now, we 347 00:29:15.160 --> 00:29:18.000 have missionaries over the edge. We have people over the edge right now. 348 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:26.359 They're working hard. They're working hard, and I will tell you I will 349 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:34.640 preach until you are so annoyed here at new horizon. I will not give 350 00:29:34.759 --> 00:29:48.559 up until every hand is on the rope, every back is pulling, that 351 00:29:48.680 --> 00:29:56.279 your ears become a little bit more tuned into the lost, that wherever you 352 00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:06.720 go, you pray. Everywhere your foot goes for What does it say? 353 00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:11.119 How beautiful are the feet? You know, I don't spend a lot of 354 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:21.839 time trying to make my feet pretty, But he says, your feet when 355 00:30:21.880 --> 00:30:26.160 you get up and you go to work tomorrow, they're beautiful because they're carrying 356 00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:33.720 me everywhere you go. Will you be a church with me with your hands 357 00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:37.759 on the rope? What does it mean? It means to pray? It 358 00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:42.839 means to see the loss differently. They're not a problem, they're not a 359 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:53.000 burden, they're not failures. They're your brother and your sister. And we 360 00:30:53.039 --> 00:31:00.680 pray, pray, Pray for the nations, Pray for the law because they're 361 00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:08.839 lost, Pray think about them, give support them in any way you can. 362 00:31:10.599 --> 00:31:18.000 And this church is going to be a great commission church. That's all 363 00:31:18.039 --> 00:31:26.359 stand. Halleluiah, Thank you Jesus, Praise you Father. Have I annoyed 364 00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:41.599 you yet today? Well? Then I didn't do my job well enough Father 365 00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:45.720 God in Jesus name, I pray over my people. I pray that their 366 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:52.920 ears are open to the cries of the lost. I pray right now that 367 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:59.079 the people of this church are filled with your compassion. The people of this 368 00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:05.839 church have a heart that beats like your heart. The people of this church 369 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:12.480 are generous. The people of this church will go, the people of this 370 00:32:12.599 --> 00:32:15.680 church will give, and the people of this church will do. And it's 371 00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:22.359 not just social justice. We bring the gospel and that liberates the soul as 372 00:32:22.440 --> 00:32:30.960 well as fill the tummy and heal the body. Thank you, Father God. 373 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:35.920 I pray right now you're going to put callings on people's lives. Now, 374 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:37.559 not all of you are going to go. I'm not gonna let you 375 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:43.640 because I need you here too. But if God's putting a call on your 376 00:32:43.720 --> 00:32:52.279 life to be a minister, pastor, teacher, apostle, evangelist, what's 377 00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:57.960 the last one, prophet, God's got a call on your life, Lay 378 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:02.480 down the cobbler's hand hammer and pick it up. Let this church kick you 379 00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:09.079 off the edge and put you where you belong, where you can reach people. 380 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:17.400 That's where you belong. Every other person in this room grab the rope. 381 00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:27.759 Do what you can pray, give and love. Amen.