Believe and Speak
Series: Mission Month 2013
Speaker: Andrew Lubbock
Date: 12th May 2013
Passage: 2 Corinthians 4:13-18
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 I've already described that the activities that we do on campus are kind of based around
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 small group meetings and faculties.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:10 And every third week, the small group has to organise itself to do evangelism.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:17 And this particular day, I was heading to the engineering faculty, pedalling my bicycle,
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 riding my bike between my place and the faculty.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:24 And as I went, my phone started to buzz in my pocket.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:30 And every buzz was another member of the group telling me that they couldn't make it that day.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:32 It buzzed a fair bit.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:38 And by the time I got to the faculty, the last message had arrived to confirm for me that
00:00:38 --> 00:00:39 I was going to be alone that day.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:41 No one was coming.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:47 And it's not the first time that I've had to do things on my own, because we've understood,
00:00:47 --> 00:00:52 we've realised that part of our job is the Lord sending us there to be an example of people
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 who will stand for Jesus and who will carry on.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 And that day, sitting in the faculty, when the last message came through and I was alone,
00:00:59 --> 00:01:07 I sat there kind of wrestling with God, angry again, that here I was, this Australian guy
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 who left a fantastic country to go to Italy.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 And a lot of Italians, they say to us, you are nuts.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:16 Why?
00:01:16 --> 00:01:20 Whatever possessed you to think about leaving Australia to come to our country?
00:01:20 --> 00:01:21 They say that all the time.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 They just can't believe that we've done such a dumb thing.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:30 And so I wrestled that day thinking, Lord, I've left a great country, Australia.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:31 I've come to this country.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:32 We've suffered a whole bunch of different things.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:38 And here I am again, alone, seeking to tell about Jesus to Italians when all the Italians
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 can't turn up to do it.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 And I was praying and thinking, Lord, what should I do?
00:01:45 --> 00:01:45 Should I just go home?
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 I've got an extra hour and a half up my sleeve that I didn't think I had.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:57 And then, once again, it became clear to me, no, that if the Lord Jesus is Lord of all life
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 in Australia, he certainly is Lord of all life in Italy.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:05 And that means all the students that I can see walking to and fro in front of me while
00:02:05 --> 00:02:11 I'm sitting on that bench in the engineering faculty in Florence, he's Lord of them as well.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 So that means I have to speak.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 So I said, all right, Lord, help me.
00:02:19 --> 00:02:19 I will speak.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 And I started praying for the guy who was sitting there next to me.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 And I opened my mouth and introduced myself.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:27 And I said that I was from the GBU.
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 And would he like to talk about Jesus?
00:02:30 --> 00:02:31 And he said, yes.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:36 And I'd love to say that after talking with that guy for an hour, he just was kneeling
00:02:36 --> 00:02:40 on the floor, you know, waiting for me to help him pray the prayer and commit his life
00:02:40 --> 00:02:41 to Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:42 He didn't do that.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:51 In fact, he walked away fairly pumped up with his, I guess, his intelligence and his ability
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 to rebut some of the things that I said.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:58 And in effect, I learned in that hour that he was his own God because he wasn't going
00:02:58 --> 00:03:03 to let anyone else in to mess up the scheme that he had going on.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:11 But the thing that moved me to speak and the thing that must move us to speak is the knowledge
00:03:11 --> 00:03:19 and the belief, our trust in the fact that Jesus is Lord of all the universe, there, everywhere
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 and here.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:27 Would you join me again as we pray and seek the Holy Spirit's intervention right now in
00:03:27 --> 00:03:31 our minds and our hearts as we look at the word of God and we seek to really understand
00:03:31 --> 00:03:35 that Jesus is this Lord and Savior and we can believe him, we need to believe him and we
00:03:35 --> 00:03:36 need to speak that out.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:37 Let's pray.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 Father, thank you for this awesome opportunity to be together now.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:47 We pray, Holy Spirit, that you would open our hearts and our minds to the truth that
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 is in this word, the truth about the Lord Jesus.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:57 That he really is risen, that he reigns and he will return and that we need to speak that
00:03:57 --> 00:03:58 out.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 Help us to not only understand these things, but to do them.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:06 And we pray it for your glory and the sake of the salvation of others.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:08 In Jesus' name.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:09 Amen.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:09 Amen.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:14 If you've got a handout, you can follow the outline that's printed there for you.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 The talk is entitled Believe and Speak.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 And we're looking just at these verses that have been read for us from 2 Corinthians 4,
00:04:21 --> 00:04:22 verses 13 to 18.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:28 And the big point, like I've already said, is that God has raised this Jesus from the dead
00:04:28 --> 00:04:32 and he will raise those who trust in this risen Jesus.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:39 That's what God is urging us to believe, because it's true, and speak out.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:47 The first point there, as you can see, is why you would speak and what you would say.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:53 And essentially, it's just saying again what I've already said, that God has the power to
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 protect and give life in Jesus Christ.
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 That's why you would believe and that's why you would speak.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:03 It's interesting that Paul cites Psalm 116.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:09 So he's drawing back into the Old Testament to find some connection point with what he's doing
00:05:09 --> 00:05:14 and saying as he lives and as he writes to the Corinthians.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 Please do turn with me to Psalm 116.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:21 It's really important that we look at that together, because it helps us understand
00:05:21 --> 00:05:28 that God is faithful even in the midst of trial and turmoil
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 that comes because of following him.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 Please do turn with me to Psalm 116.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 Where God tells us this through the psalmist.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:41 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 He heard my cry for mercy.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:47 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 And it's in a tricky situation.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 The cords of death entangled me.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 The anguish of the grave came upon me.
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 Then I called on the name of the Lord.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 O Lord, save me.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 The Lord is gracious and righteous.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:05 Our God is full of compassion.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 The Lord protects the simple-hearted.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 When I was in great need, he saved me.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:25 I believed.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 And this is the sentence that Paul quotes.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 And you might have a footnote similar to mine.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:34 It says,
00:06:34 --> 00:06:48 It's an awful moment in the psalmist's life.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:59 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:04 O Lord, truly I am your servant.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 You have freed me from my chains.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 I will sacrifice a thank-offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 Praise the Lord.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 The psalmist is in the midst of trouble and difficulty.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:27 And what does he do?
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 He cries out to this God that he knows,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 who is powerful and faithful,
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 to sustain him.
00:07:33 --> 00:07:37 Why would you speak and what would you say?
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 Well, you would tell about this great God,
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 this great powerful God.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 And we see the reason that Paul gives in verse 14.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 But I wanted to ask someone who has a loud voice
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 to read out for us, please, verses 13 and 14.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:51 Preferably from an English Bible.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 Because otherwise I won't understand it.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 Or you could read Italian.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 Someone, 13 and 14?
00:08:01 --> 00:08:02 I will.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:03 Great.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 Loud voice, please.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:07 That's all right?
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 Forgive you.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 We have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 I believe and so I spoke.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 We also believe and we also speak.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 Knowing that he who reigns the Lord Jesus
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 will raise us also with Jesus
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 and bring us with you into his presence.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 Excellent.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 My version has in verse 14 because,
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 I think Nick's version was,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 knowing that.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 But he says,
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 we believe and we speak
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 from the dead will also raise us with Jesus
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 and present you with us
00:08:47 --> 00:08:48 in his presence.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 So what they're banking on is this.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 God has showed that he is powerful
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 because he's raised Jesus from the dead.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 And on the strength of that,
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 they put all they have on Jesus
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 knowing that he is powerful enough,
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 or the one who's raised Jesus is powerful enough
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 to raise them
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 who've trusted the one who raised Jesus
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 and he is powerful enough
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 to raise those who trust in the message
00:09:15 --> 00:09:16 that they are proclaiming.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 I've already mentioned it,
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 but it's a Colum Buchanan line that I'm stealing.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 I'll put all I have on Jesus.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 I will put all I have on Jesus.
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 That's what Paul's saying.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 He is convinced that Jesus is risen from the dead
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 and it's not only powerful enough for them,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 but it's powerful enough for everyone who trusts him.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 I just want to pause for a second here
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 and make a brief observation
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 about what this tells us regarding Jesus himself
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 and why Jesus is so trustworthy,
00:09:48 --> 00:09:51 why Nick's song and the chorus is so cool,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:53 why Jesus is it.
00:09:55 --> 00:09:58 Because Jesus' resurrection actually confirms
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 Jesus' identity as the eternal king,
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 the king that God promised to David
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 on the eternal throne of his people.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 If you want to in your own time,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 you can have a look at Matthew 28,
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 verses 18 to 20,
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 and Jesus says there in verse 18,
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 all power, and it's arisen Jesus talking,
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 all power in heaven and earth has been given to me.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 He's not saying it before his resurrection,
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 he's saying it after.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 Jesus' resurrection confirms God's power
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 to raise believers.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 It confirms Jesus to be true
00:10:32 --> 00:10:36 because if Jesus had not been raised,
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 he would have been a liar.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 So it confirms actually Jesus' power,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 the power of Jesus' own words,
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 his own resurrection,
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 confirms that he should be believed.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 Jesus is trustworthy
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 and the risen God.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 Close the bracket.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 Now, listen carefully to this.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:58 Without the resurrection,
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 there is nothing to believe.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 Without the resurrection of Jesus,
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 there is no Christianity.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 Without the resurrection of Jesus,
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 Jesus is a liar.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 On campus,
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 when I'm talking with people,
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 I get to a certain point in the conversation
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 and I say something like this.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 I just want to be really transparent with you
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 and I want you to understand who we are
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 so that you're not feeling fooled
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 and so that you can know
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 if you want to take this conversation further,
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 you can or not.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 We're from the Gruppi Biblici Universitari,
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 the university Bible groups.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 Our motto is sharing Jesus
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 from student to student.
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 So Jesus is at the center of everything we do.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 We're not trying to build a new church.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 We're not trying to create a new institution.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 We don't want to establish
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 a new student group on campus
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 and really,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 we don't care about the GBU.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 What we want to talk to you about
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 is Jesus
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 and we want to talk to you about
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 one thing about Jesus.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 Do you think he's alive?
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 Do you think he's risen?
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 And because I'm a foreigner
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 and I've had to learn
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 the Italian language,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 I kind of muck around a bit saying,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 I'm using the conditional language here, right?
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 I'm using the conditional tense.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 If Jesus is alive,
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 then it changes everything.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:28 If Jesus is alive,
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 then he has the solution
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 to our common problem.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:34 He's overcome death.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 But if Jesus is not alive,
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 then
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 I'd be happy to go back to Australia yesterday
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 and stay there
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 and live there
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 and die there.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 But if Jesus really is alive,
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 I will go wherever God wants me to go
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 because if it's good for me
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 and it really is true,
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 then it's good for you
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 and it's good for everybody.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 It's important in Italy
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 that we talk about
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 the resurrection of Jesus
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 because otherwise
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 Jesus is just left
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 as one of
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 a hundred,
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 if not a thousand,
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 other gods and saints
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 and lesser deities.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 He's someone who got close.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:23 But who knows
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 if he got close enough?
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 Good guy.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 Top guy.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:29 But
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 is he the risen Lord
00:13:31 --> 00:13:31 of all the earth
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 in the mind of the average Italian?
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 No.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:35 He's not.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 So he doesn't have the power
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 to save if he's not risen.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 He can't be saved
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 if he's not Lord.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 It's important in Italy.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 It's important here too
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 where you live.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 The guy who dropped off the car
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 that we're currently using,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 we got talking
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 and it turns out
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 that he grew up
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 in country Australia
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 having a Roman Catholic experience.
00:13:58 --> 00:13:58 as he grew.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 Convinced that God was there
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 but doesn't really know
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 how going to Mass
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 makes him any closer
00:14:07 --> 00:14:07 to that God
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 that he knows is there
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 but can't really be sure
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 how to connect with.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 And I said to him,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 of course it came out
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 that we were in Italy.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 He was doing a favor
00:14:17 --> 00:14:17 for my brother-in-law
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 giving us this car
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 so that he didn't really
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 know much about us.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 And I said,
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 we're missionaries in Italy.
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 He said,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 wow.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 And in the course
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 of conversation
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 I said,
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 you know what the really
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 big deal is
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 for me being a missionary
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 or being a Christian?
00:14:32 --> 00:14:32 He said,
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 no, what's that?
00:14:34 --> 00:14:34 Well,
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 the kicker for me
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 is that Jesus is risen.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:42 Because if he's not,
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 then I'd love to forget it
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 because it makes my life
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 a great deal more difficult
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 being a missionary in Italy.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 But if he's alive,
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 that changes everything.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 And this guy said to me,
00:14:57 --> 00:14:57 yeah,
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 you know,
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 I've never thought about it
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 like that before.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 Start thinking about it.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 But what about you?
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 What about you?
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 Because often we can be confused
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 as Christians.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 And we might not be super clear
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 about what the centre
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 of Christianity is.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 And this is what I meant.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 There was a meeting
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 that I had one time
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 with a key student
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 as part of the GBU group.
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 And the lights were starting
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 to come on for me
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 about what I should be doing
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 and what should be
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 some of the key things
00:15:34 --> 00:15:34 that I should be doing
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 with students.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:35 And I said to him,
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 look,
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 if I give you two minutes
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 to share the central message
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 of Christianity with me,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:43 what are you going to say?
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 And what are you going to say
00:15:45 --> 00:15:45 with your friends?
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 And I said,
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 would you mind doing that
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 just as a bit of an exercise?
00:15:50 --> 00:15:50 It's not a test.
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 He said, yep, yep.
00:15:52 --> 00:15:52 I said, right,
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 time starts now.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 Stop.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 I said, thanks.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 Can I just reflect
00:16:04 --> 00:16:04 something back to you?
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 I said, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 I said, you didn't mention Jesus.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 He's like,
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 oh, yeah, right.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 But not only did he not
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 mention Jesus,
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 the resurrection
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 was nowhere in sight.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 Paul's big point here,
00:16:22 --> 00:16:22 resurrection,
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 game on.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 No resurrection.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:27 Forget it.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 If I can borrow something
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 from the circus in Rome.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 What about you?
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 What do you say
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 when you've got two minutes
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 to share the message
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 of Christianity
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 with people you know?
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 And I'm challenging about this
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 because it's become obvious
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 to me that we need
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 to really understand
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 that the resurrection of Jesus
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 changes everything.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 And you need to understand
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 that too,
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 and we'll see why.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 Because without this difference,
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 without the resurrection
00:16:57 --> 00:16:57 of Jesus,
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 Christianity is just like
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 any other religion.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 Just a set of rules,
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 kind of some good examples,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 but it goes nowhere
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 in the end
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 because it has no eternal value.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 There's no guarantee
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 that by doing Christian stuff,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:10 you're going to actually
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 overcome death
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 and have eternal life.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 Without the resurrection,
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 Christianity is just like
00:17:15 --> 00:17:15 any other religion,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 but because of the resurrection,
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 there is believing hope.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 It changes everything.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 And in keeping with
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 the title of this talk,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 Believe and Speak,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 it means not only
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 is it something worth believing,
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 but it's worth speaking about.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 That's why you would speak
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 and that's what you would say.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 You would talk about
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 Jesus' resurrection
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 and it's no mistake
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 that Paul talks about that here.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 I'd invite you to study
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 the book of Acts again
00:17:40 --> 00:17:40 in your own time
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 and just see how much
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 they talk about the resurrection.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 They don't talk a whole bunch
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 about the crucifixion.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 They talk much more
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 about the resurrection
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 because that's the thing
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 that confirms that Jesus
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 really should be listened to
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 and that his death
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 actually did what
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 it should have done.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 And Paul goes on,
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 the goal of what he's doing
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 is also to bless others
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 and glorify God.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 This is the second point.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 We've already looked at,
00:18:04 --> 00:18:04 haven't we,
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 that we've established
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 that he refers to the psalmist
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 in Psalm 116
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 because it really sums up
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 what they are experiencing.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 When you read from
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 the start of chapter 4,
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 you see he's talking about
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 trials and suffering
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 and being perplexed,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 being crushed.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 And this is because
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 of following Jesus.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 But he wants to keep
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 on telling others
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 about Jesus
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 for their sake
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 that they might be blessed
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 and for the glory of God.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:30 Can someone read up
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 verse 15 please?
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 It doesn't matter
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 what version it is.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 Verse 15 please.
00:18:36 --> 00:18:51 Thank you.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 So he says,
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 we're going to keep
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 doing this
00:18:54 --> 00:18:57 and as we do it,
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 it's for your benefit
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 because as they keep
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 preaching Christ,
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 the grace of God,
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 the news of God's
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 unmerited favor,
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 the news of God's
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 mercy goes out
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 and the people
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 who hear it
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 and they believe it,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 they're brought in.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 And the effect
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 in their life
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 is one of being
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 overjoyed
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 at being released
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 from the uncertainty
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 of death
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 and the fear of death.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 This thanksgiving
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 at knowing
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21 that there is a God
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 and that God
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 loves them
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 and they can know
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 that God
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 and they can be
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 connected to that God
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 forever.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 and the joy
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 that they experience
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 and the release,
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 the freedom from sin
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 and the liberation
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 from this uncertainty
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 and God's judgment
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 wells up in them
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 as thanksgiving.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 But that's pretty good.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 That's a personal effect
00:19:44 --> 00:19:44 for the people
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 who are receiving
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 Jesus Christ as Lord
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 but what it does
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 is glorify God.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 So what happens
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 when a person
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 is actually hearing
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 about Jesus
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 being the risen Lord
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 of the universe
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 and accepting that
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 they are being brought
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 into a worship
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 of God
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 and it works like this.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 As Christ is proclaimed
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 his truthfulness
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 which shows itself
00:20:09 --> 00:20:11 in actually being raised again
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 it points to the fact
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 that there is a God
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 and that God is true
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 and he's eternal
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 and he's loving.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 He cares about right and wrong
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 and he cares about you.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 And in all that process
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 God goes
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 that's right.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 That's what I'm like.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 And it's only right
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 that you should understand me
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 as that right,
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 loving,
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 holy God
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 who's shown himself
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 in the Lord Jesus
00:20:41 --> 00:20:44 and I want to bring you in.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 Come in.
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 God is glorified
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 and Paul is,
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 he wants to be on that train.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:55 He wants to be with it.
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 He wants to be on that program.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 He wants to keep that happening
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 and he will not take a backward step.
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 Cherie is a woman
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 that Sarah has been meeting with
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 over the last couple of years now
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 and Sarah shared a little bit
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 of that story this morning.
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 Cherie is someone
00:21:14 --> 00:21:16 who has struggled
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18 with depression
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 and great uncertainty
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 relating to
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 life after death,
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 judgment.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 But as Sarah
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 has been able to sit
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 and be very patient with her
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 opening the scriptures
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 and studying Jesus together,
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 getting to know Jesus together,
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 Cherie has been liberated.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 And it's a beautiful thing
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 to see in the life
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 of a person
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 when they really do understand
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 how God has made peace
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 through the blood of Jesus
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 and how that's been confirmed
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 by his resurrection.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 And the joy comes out.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 The freedom is there.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 The clarity of mind
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 actually occurs
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 and it's like,
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 whoa,
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 I'm seeing now.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 And this has been,
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 we've been watching this
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 and praying for this
00:22:00 --> 00:22:02 in Cherie's life.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 A brother in our,
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 in my Bible study group,
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 church Bible study group
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 in Florence,
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 I think summed it up
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 really well
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 when we were studying Acts
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 one night
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 and he said,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 you know,
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 it really seems to me
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 that evangelism
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 is much more
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 like giving a gift.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 Telling Jesus
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 is much more
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 about giving a gift
00:22:19 --> 00:22:22 rather than some crazy thing
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 that we really feel
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 burdened by
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 and we can never
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 really get to doing.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:29 And I think he's right
00:22:29 --> 00:22:31 because we're seeing it in Paul.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 He won't take a backward step.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 He will keep going
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 because he wants
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 to give that gift.
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 That gift has come to him
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 and he didn't deserve it.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 He wasn't looking for it.
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 He didn't want to take it.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 God said,
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 here it is.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 Jesus says it to him
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 on the road.
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 He receives it
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 and he knows
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 he can never give it away.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 He's not going to lose it
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 but he wants to give it.
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 He wants to make sure
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 that other people
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 get it as well.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 Italy is a place
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 that needs that gift.
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 And I think Australia
00:22:59 --> 00:23:01 is not far behind it.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 We've got 0.2%
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 of people
00:23:05 --> 00:23:05 who are non-Roman Catholic
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 Christians in Italy.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 Australia,
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 I don't know,
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 5, 6%
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 that might kind of
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 fall into that category.
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 believers
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 who are in churches.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 But there's this
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 great confusion
00:23:15 --> 00:23:18 in Italy
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 because Jesus
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 is not Lord.
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 He's not presented
00:23:21 --> 00:23:23 as who he actually is
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 and people are left
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 in their confusion,
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 in their fear.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 But it's a question
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 for us,
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 isn't it?
00:23:31 --> 00:23:35 Are we speaking it out?
00:23:36 --> 00:23:39 Are we being led
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 to the same thing
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 that filled Paul's heart
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 and his life
00:23:42 --> 00:23:44 as he kind of captures it
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 in verse 15?
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 He's not going to stop it.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 Or this is for your benefit.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 And the final point
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 I've got
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 is the reason
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 to keep believing
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 and speaking
00:23:53 --> 00:23:55 is because this is
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 an eternal reality.
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 Look down again
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 with me please
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 at the passage
00:23:59 --> 00:24:01 from verses 16 to 18
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 and I'll read this time.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:26 I think this is a really
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 awesome reality check
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 for two reasons.
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 When we look at the contrasts
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 in these verses
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 we see on the one hand
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 a whole bunch
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 of difficult stuff.
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 He talks about losing heart.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 He says we do not lose heart
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 but he's talking about that
00:24:38 --> 00:24:41 because it's pretty easy
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 to start thinking
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 oh I'm just not sure.
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 I don't know if I can keep going.
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 I'm taking the knocks.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 He talks about wasting away.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 It's kind of the opposite
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 of all the advertising
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 you see around.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 It strikes us really
00:24:55 --> 00:24:57 in a big way
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 when we come back to Australia
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 and then when we return
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 to Italy.
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 The Italians are really
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 into well-being.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 Skin, appearance, beauty.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 Being thin.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 Not being too fat.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 And they talk about it
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 all the time.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 Come back to Australia
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 and it's kind of like
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 whoa it seems like
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 Australia's kind of
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 going down the Italian path.
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 Paul's not talking about
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 going to the gym
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 and he's not talking
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 about his own well-being.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 He's not talking about
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 the tablets that he can take
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 to pump himself up.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 He's actually talking
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 about the fact that
00:25:23 --> 00:25:27 they are wasting away
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 outwardly.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 And he talks about
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 troubles.
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 That's on one side.
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 That's the reality check
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 of the effect
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 of following Jesus
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 and the effect
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 of being involved
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 in the ministry
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 of telling out Jesus.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 The other side
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 he says,
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 have a look again.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 Verse 16.
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 We're wasting away
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 outwardly yet inwardly
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 we're being renewed
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 day by day.
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 We have light
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 and momentary troubles
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 but they're achieving
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 for us an eternal glory
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 that far outweighs them all.
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 So what do we do?
00:25:55 --> 00:25:57 We don't get weighed down
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 by thinking about
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 all the temporary things
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 but we look for
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 what is unseen,
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 what is eternal.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:04 That is the risen Jesus
00:26:04 --> 00:26:06 and what he promises.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 The great powerful God
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 who could raise
00:26:09 --> 00:26:11 this Jesus from the dead
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 and who will raise
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 from the dead
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 those who believe
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 in this risen Jesus.
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 In the six weeks
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 that we've been back
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 in Australia,
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 so far I've attended
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 two funerals.
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 I've been quite,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:25 two very different funerals.
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 The first,
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 the wife of Richard Chin
00:26:27 --> 00:26:30 who is the AFES
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 national director,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 Bronwyn.
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 She died about
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 three or four weeks ago
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 and then most recently
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 a family friend.
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 He died at the age
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 of about 72
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 and sitting in those funerals
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 it was a massive
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 reality check.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 It's pretty simple
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 isn't it?
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 The message of a funeral
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 often is that
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 this life is nothing.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 We can't hang on
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 to these things
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55 to make us live forever.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 It doesn't work that way.
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 Like Ecclesiastes said,
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 a funeral is a good place
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 to hang out
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 because it's a really
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 good wake-up call.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 It's a very good
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 wake-up call.
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 And Paul is saying
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 in the midst of
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 all this stuff,
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 all this trouble,
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 all this body
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 wasting away,
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 it's a reminder
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 he's drawn back
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 to ask why
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 and he's pointed
00:27:22 --> 00:27:24 back to the risen Jesus.
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 And he must
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 be involved
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 in this news
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 going out.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 I want to just
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 leave you with
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 this one last challenge
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 and you can pray
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 it for me as well.
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 My challenge is this.
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 There's a danger
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 for us
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 if we're already
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 following this risen Jesus,
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 the longer we wait
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 to speak out
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 what we believe
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 and what we know
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 about him,
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 the further away
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 our opportunities
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 will be
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 to tell others
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 about him.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 I've seen this
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 in Italy
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 and I know it
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 to be true here
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 because I've
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 experienced it myself.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 This is what
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 I'm talking about.
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 For evangelical
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 Christians in Italy,
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 like I've already said,
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 it can be very difficult
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 to actually live
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 in this massive
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 great ocean
00:28:04 --> 00:28:06 of people
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 who don't understand
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 who you are
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 and they don't really
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 care for who you are.
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 And the church,
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 as much as it's
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 God's blessing,
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 can become a place
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 where people really
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 take very severe,
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 deep refuge.
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 It's kind of like
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 the lifeboat.
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 They've been hauled
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 into it
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 and the last place
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 they want to go
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 back into
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 is the water
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 that they've just
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 been rescued from.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 But the challenge
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 with that is
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 they forget
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 why they're there
00:28:30 --> 00:28:33 and they just
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 become a club.
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 They enjoy
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 all the benefits
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 of that club
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 but they forget
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 about the founder
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 and that it's
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 up to him.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 And I think
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 people can be left
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 doing this.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 They sit around
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 thinking
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 about what
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 they think
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 other people
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 think.
00:28:52 --> 00:28:52 It's a bit
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 tricky that.
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 Sitting around
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 thinking about
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 what they think
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 other people
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 think.
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 And this is how
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 it goes.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 Ah, they hate
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 Christians.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 They don't want
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 to know.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 They're not
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 interested.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 They're going
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 to kill me.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:13 And in my
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 experience
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 that's not
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 true.
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 They just
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 don't know
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 Christians.
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 They don't
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 know Jesus.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 They really
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 want to
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 understand.
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 But the
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 longer we
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 wait, the
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 bigger the
00:29:24 --> 00:29:26 wall and
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 the less
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 ready we
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 are to
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 speak.
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 And I
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 think Paul's
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 encouragement to
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 us, to you
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 tonight, to me
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 tonight, to our
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 evangelical brothers
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 and sisters in
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 Italy, is to
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 speak it out.
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 Is to get back
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 to the fact that
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 Jesus really is
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 risen and that
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 there's much more
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 going on than
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 meets the eye in
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 being a Christian.
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 It can look pretty
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 poor on the
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48 outside, but the
00:29:48 --> 00:29:50 eternal reality is
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 astounding.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 Where are you at
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 with Jesus?
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 Where am I at
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 with Jesus?
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 Are you really
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 convinced that he's
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 risen?
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 What's going to
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 keep you going as a
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 Christian, but what's
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 going to move you to
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 come and be in
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 Italy with us?
00:30:03 --> 00:30:05 when you're on
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 your own?
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 The Italians
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10 aren't there, but
00:30:10 --> 00:30:12 Jesus is there, and
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 you're there.
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 That's enough.
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 Speak it out.
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 If we believe it,
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 we'll speak it out.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 And I want to
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 encourage you to
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 think about how you
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 might do that this
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 week and talk to
00:30:25 --> 00:30:27 each other about how
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 that's going.
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 Let's pray.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 Hallelujah, Father,
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 thank you so much
00:30:33 --> 00:30:35 for the chance
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 once again to look
00:30:35 --> 00:30:37 into the reality
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 of the Lord Jesus.
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 Thank you, Father
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 God, for calling
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 your servant Paul.
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 Thank you, Lord
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 Jesus, for calling
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 him, for filling
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 him with the Holy
00:30:45 --> 00:30:48 Spirit and testifying
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 and giving him such
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 a great understanding
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 that, Lord Jesus,
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 you really are
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 risen, that he was
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 never going to take
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 a backward step.
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 Please help us to
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 examine our hearts
00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 and our minds and
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 understand whether we
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 really believe that
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 you are risen, Lord
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 Jesus, or whether
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 we've got doubts, and
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 please help us deal
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 with those doubts.
00:31:04 --> 00:31:06 And we pray that you
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 would help us to speak
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 out the truth about
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 you, Lord Jesus.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 And I pray for your
00:31:10 --> 00:31:12 Italian people, that
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 they would do the
00:31:12 --> 00:31:14 same thing and help
00:31:14 --> 00:31:14 us to be in it
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 together, we ask in
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 Jesus' name.
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 Amen.