Loving our Community Tim Sheerman from STREETWORK
Series: Mission Month
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 15th May 2016
Passage: Jeremiah 29:1-7
00:00:00 --> 00:00:00 Let's pray.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:06 God, as you led me in my preparation,
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 would you take the reins now and speak through me?
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 Would your Holy Spirit have its way in this service?
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 And would your will be done?
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 And at the end of it, would you be glorified?
00:00:18 --> 00:00:18 Amen.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:24 Longer than I can remember,
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 people have said to me,
00:00:27 --> 00:00:28 don't judge a book by its cover.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:32 Yet when you walk through a bookstore like Borders
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 or if there's a bookstore left in your neighbourhood,
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 how frequently you don't get past the cover
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 when you're trying to decide which book you're going to buy.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 Every book is literally covered in things
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 designed to entice us to purchase.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 There's reviews, there's decoration and art,
00:00:47 --> 00:00:48 a short blurb, even a sticker
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 indicating that it's one of Oprah's favourite things.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 All of these parts of the cover
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 very much drew us to judge the book,
00:00:57 --> 00:00:58 yet still we preach the proverb,
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 don't judge a book by its cover.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 Similarly, when we choose a piece of fruit
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 or vegetables at the supermarket
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 or at the farmer's market if you're cool,
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 we are naturally drawn to better looking pieces of fruit, yeah?
00:01:12 --> 00:01:13 The ones that have symmetry,
00:01:14 --> 00:01:15 the ones that don't have any blemishes
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 and there's lots and lots of colour.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 Even though the funny looking one
00:01:19 --> 00:01:20 that you probably grew yourself
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 has just as much nutritional content
00:01:22 --> 00:01:23 and just as much flavour.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 Still we say, don't judge a book by its cover.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 Let me posture this idea.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 What we see compels us to choose.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:36 I'm going to say that again
00:01:36 --> 00:01:37 because I'm trying to make a point.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:42 What we see compels us to choose.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:45 I was recently standing,
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 enjoying the last of the summer fruit,
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 picking myself out a couple of peaches.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 I had this grand scheme of taking the wife
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 to the beach for a peach.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:56 It's a cheap, simple date.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 Boys, I don't have a patent on it.
00:01:58 --> 00:01:58 You can use that.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:00 Go for it.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 A peach at the beach.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:04 It's good value.
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 As I was trying to choose the best peach
00:02:08 --> 00:02:09 from the selection,
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 a lady who was a little older than myself
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 decided she wanted to stand between me and the peaches.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:18 She wanted to sidle in sideways.
00:02:19 --> 00:02:20 Problem was,
00:02:20 --> 00:02:21 there's about six inches between me
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 and the peach display, yeah?
00:02:25 --> 00:02:26 I had to get out of her way
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 and I was quite excited to go
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 and tell Tanya the story of this lady
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 just having to squeeze in
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 to get to the peaches first.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:36 I couldn't stop her.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:38 The peaches were very compelling.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:39 They were very good looking.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:41 And as I said earlier,
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 what we see compels us to choose.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 Sadly, I was not compelled to befriend this lady.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:48 Yeah?
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 Instead, I just quickly went and told Tanya,
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 you won't believe what just happened at the peaches
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 and pointed the lady out.
00:02:57 --> 00:02:58 Good or bad,
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 what we see compels us to choose.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:03 I grew up on a small farm
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 about 30 minutes south of Dubbo.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:07 Everybody say Dubbo.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:09 Good.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:10 Just checking.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 I had an amazing childhood.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:13 I have two older brothers
00:03:13 --> 00:03:14 who are very musical
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 and a little sister
00:03:16 --> 00:03:17 who was different
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 for all sorts of non-tonka truck
00:03:19 --> 00:03:20 girly playing reasons.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:20 Right?
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 I sold my cows
00:03:23 --> 00:03:24 and I moved to Sydney
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 the day after my final HSC exam,
00:03:27 --> 00:03:28 taking on the apprenticeship
00:03:28 --> 00:03:29 as a cabin maker in Bankstown.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:31 I wanted to live in this mystical land
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 my brothers had told me about
00:03:33 --> 00:03:34 called Castle Hill.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 Even though I understand now,
00:03:36 --> 00:03:36 geographically,
00:03:36 --> 00:03:37 they're very far apart,
00:03:37 --> 00:03:38 from a country boy,
00:03:39 --> 00:03:40 I thought I'd just live in Castle Hill
00:03:40 --> 00:03:41 and commute to Bankstown every day.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 And I did for four years.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:48 This magical place,
00:03:48 --> 00:03:49 Castle Hill,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:50 was a mystical land
00:03:50 --> 00:03:51 my brothers had told me about,
00:03:51 --> 00:03:52 filled with big adventures
00:03:52 --> 00:03:53 and pretty girls
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 and big houses
00:03:55 --> 00:03:56 and all those sorts of things
00:03:56 --> 00:03:57 a 17-year-old boy
00:03:57 --> 00:03:57 leaving home
00:03:57 --> 00:03:58 wants to experience.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:00 I was there,
00:04:00 --> 00:04:01 I wish I was there
00:04:01 --> 00:04:02 for a more spiritual explanation,
00:04:03 --> 00:04:04 although in hindsight,
00:04:04 --> 00:04:05 I see God's hand
00:04:05 --> 00:04:06 weaving a path
00:04:06 --> 00:04:07 through my life,
00:04:08 --> 00:04:09 which included leading me
00:04:09 --> 00:04:10 to my wife in the hills.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 Just saying that now,
00:04:13 --> 00:04:13 though,
00:04:13 --> 00:04:14 actually is quite funny.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:16 It makes me laugh out loud.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:18 Being a country boy,
00:04:18 --> 00:04:19 you don't have the faintest idea
00:04:19 --> 00:04:20 beyond school
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 or beyond my barbed-wired imagination
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 that I was very quickly
00:04:25 --> 00:04:26 out of my league
00:04:26 --> 00:04:27 once I arrived in Sydney
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 and I quickly started to miss home.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:32 I even drove home for weekends
00:04:32 --> 00:04:33 with boots full of fireworks,
00:04:34 --> 00:04:35 things you can buy in Bankstown,
00:04:35 --> 00:04:36 whenever I could afford.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:39 As much as I enjoyed
00:04:39 --> 00:04:40 the adventure of living in Sydney,
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 I felt as if it was living
00:04:43 --> 00:04:44 in somewhere very unfamiliar
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 and for the first time ever
00:04:46 --> 00:04:47 in my life,
00:04:47 --> 00:04:48 I felt like I was in exile.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:51 And maybe you felt
00:04:51 --> 00:04:51 something similar.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 Maybe you've worked abroad.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:54 Maybe you've studied abroad.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 Maybe you've taken a contract
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 away from loved ones.
00:04:58 --> 00:04:59 The whole time,
00:04:59 --> 00:05:00 you just can't wait
00:05:00 --> 00:05:01 to come home, yeah?
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 In the first of today's scriptures,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:05 the author speaks
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 to a people in foreign lands
00:05:07 --> 00:05:08 longing for home,
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 longing for their promised land.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12 Except instead of mentoring
00:05:12 --> 00:05:12 through the steps
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 to urgently return home,
00:05:15 --> 00:05:16 they do something else.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:18 Gordon Fee puts it,
00:05:18 --> 00:05:18 the book of Jeremiah
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 is a collection of oracles,
00:05:20 --> 00:05:20 mostly poetry,
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 mostly against Judah and Jerusalem.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:24 This is a crazy time
00:05:24 --> 00:05:25 for Judah and Jerusalem.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 And there isn't a time
00:05:28 --> 00:05:29 for a full history lesson
00:05:29 --> 00:05:30 or a mansplaining.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 But Jeremiah and,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 but Jerusalem and Judah
00:05:33 --> 00:05:33 found themselves
00:05:33 --> 00:05:34 a soccer ball
00:05:34 --> 00:05:35 between Egypt and Babylon.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:38 As the both of them
00:05:38 --> 00:05:39 were jockeying
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 for the possession
00:05:40 --> 00:05:40 of all the lands
00:05:40 --> 00:05:41 along the Mediterranean there.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:44 Jeremiah 29
00:05:44 --> 00:05:45 is written shortly after
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 as the scripture gave us
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 the context
00:05:47 --> 00:05:48 in the first section.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:49 Nebuchadnezzar just brought
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 an end to the three-month reign
00:05:51 --> 00:05:52 of Jehoiakim
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 and carried off
00:05:53 --> 00:05:54 the people to exile.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:55 Jehoiakim was one
00:05:55 --> 00:05:56 we didn't spend much time on
00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 in Sunday school, right?
00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 I think he was in
00:05:58 --> 00:05:59 the flannel board collection
00:05:59 --> 00:05:59 of characters.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:01 Jehoiakim was only there
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 for three months
00:06:02 --> 00:06:02 as the ruler.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 What's really interesting
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 is that the exiles
00:06:06 --> 00:06:07 long for home.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:09 And Jeremiah speaks
00:06:09 --> 00:06:10 in this instance
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 of God's pro-exile stance.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:16 Spoiler alert,
00:06:16 --> 00:06:17 the pro-exile bit
00:06:17 --> 00:06:18 is contrary
00:06:18 --> 00:06:19 to a couple of prophets
00:06:19 --> 00:06:20 from the earlier chapter
00:06:20 --> 00:06:21 who died.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 Double spoiler alert.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:25 Jeremiah comes out
00:06:25 --> 00:06:26 very strong in verse 4.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:27 Let me read for you.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 This is what the Lord Almighty,
00:06:29 --> 00:06:30 the God of Israel,
00:06:30 --> 00:06:31 says to all those
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 I carried into exile
00:06:33 --> 00:06:34 from Jerusalem to Babylon.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 Build houses
00:06:36 --> 00:06:37 and settle down.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:38 Plant gardens
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 and eat what they produce.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:41 Marry and have
00:06:41 --> 00:06:42 sons and daughters.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:43 Find wives for your sons.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:44 Give your daughters
00:06:44 --> 00:06:45 in marriage
00:06:45 --> 00:06:45 so that they too
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 may have sons and daughters.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 Increase in number there.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:49 Do not decrease.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:51 Also,
00:06:51 --> 00:06:52 seek the peace
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 and prosperity
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 of the city
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 to which I have carried
00:06:55 --> 00:06:56 you into exile.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 Pray to the Lord
00:06:57 --> 00:06:58 for it
00:06:58 --> 00:06:59 because if it prospers,
00:07:00 --> 00:07:00 you too
00:07:00 --> 00:07:01 will prosper.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 God carries them
00:07:05 --> 00:07:06 into exile.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:10 I love that.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:11 God carries them.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 On the eve of a federal election
00:07:14 --> 00:07:15 here in Australia,
00:07:15 --> 00:07:16 Facebook news feeds
00:07:16 --> 00:07:17 are being filled
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 with many Christian friends
00:07:18 --> 00:07:19 of mine
00:07:19 --> 00:07:20 crying at the death
00:07:20 --> 00:07:21 of our Christian governance
00:07:21 --> 00:07:21 and laws.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 Does it scare you
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 that God could carry us
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 as a nation
00:07:25 --> 00:07:25 into exile?
00:07:27 --> 00:07:28 Into a country
00:07:28 --> 00:07:29 that could be different
00:07:29 --> 00:07:29 to what you grew up in?
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 I actually get excited
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 and draw hope
00:07:33 --> 00:07:34 from the practical application
00:07:34 --> 00:07:35 of verse 7.
00:07:36 --> 00:07:37 Seek peace
00:07:37 --> 00:07:37 and prosperity
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 for where God
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 has carried you.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 Pray to the Lord
00:07:41 --> 00:07:41 for it
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 because if your city
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 prospers,
00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 you too
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 will prosper.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:48 As Streetwork,
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 we work
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 to help young people
00:07:51 --> 00:07:52 turn their life around.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:52 We do whatever
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 it takes.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 Whatever it takes,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:55 we'll do it.
00:07:57 --> 00:07:57 A recent review
00:07:57 --> 00:07:58 of the work
00:07:58 --> 00:07:58 we do at Streetwork
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 by PwC,
00:08:00 --> 00:08:00 if you're cool,
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 but Price Waterhouse
00:08:01 --> 00:08:02 and Coopers,
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 if you don't know
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 who PwC is,
00:08:04 --> 00:08:04 show that the work
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 we did in that one year
00:08:06 --> 00:08:07 here in the North Shore
00:08:07 --> 00:08:08 of Sydney,
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 mostly Chatswood,
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 saved the local community
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 just over $8 million.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:15 And we did that
00:08:15 --> 00:08:16 on a shoestring budget.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:17 Youth Week
00:08:17 --> 00:08:17 is cheap.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:19 I'm regularly reminded
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 when I open
00:08:20 --> 00:08:20 my bank balance.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:24 We see young people
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 starting on the
00:08:25 --> 00:08:25 trajectory of life
00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 of crime
00:08:26 --> 00:08:27 transform into
00:08:27 --> 00:08:28 contributing members
00:08:28 --> 00:08:28 of the community.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 It's a really
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 rewarding job,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 but it's also
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 a living testimony
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 of how
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 seeking for peace
00:08:36 --> 00:08:36 and prosperity
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 in your local area
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 brings prosperity
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 for all the community.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 I've moved
00:08:42 --> 00:08:42 by the ongoing support
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 of so many
00:08:44 --> 00:08:44 in the community,
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 many of whom
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 aren't even church people.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:48 They're just motivated
00:08:48 --> 00:08:49 to see this community
00:08:49 --> 00:08:49 prosper.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:52 Also,
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 I think the idea
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 of exile
00:08:54 --> 00:08:54 can be strangely
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 foreign to us
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 as many of you
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 will have grown up
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 here in the North Shore,
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 lived your entire life
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 here in the local area.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 Maybe you were even
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 here at St. Paul's
00:09:04 --> 00:09:05 in 1980
00:09:05 --> 00:09:06 when Peter Hobbs,
00:09:06 --> 00:09:07 a member of this church,
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 birthed Street Work
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 with the help of
00:09:10 --> 00:09:10 many members
00:09:10 --> 00:09:11 of this church,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:11 I believe.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:14 See,
00:09:14 --> 00:09:15 when I moved to
00:09:15 --> 00:09:15 Castle Hill
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 back in 1999,
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 the Young Adults Ministry
00:09:19 --> 00:09:19 was called Embassy.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:22 I loved this so much.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:23 I shared earlier
00:09:23 --> 00:09:24 how much I liked,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 I felt like I was
00:09:25 --> 00:09:26 in exile moving to Sydney
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 from my homeland
00:09:28 --> 00:09:28 of Dubbo,
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 which sounds funny
00:09:29 --> 00:09:30 to say.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 Here was a community
00:09:33 --> 00:09:33 that acknowledged
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 as citizens of heaven,
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 we were all exiles
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 in a strange land.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:40 And the Hills District
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 definitely qualifies
00:09:41 --> 00:09:41 as strange lands.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 But here on earth,
00:09:44 --> 00:09:45 here in Chatswood,
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 was where God
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 had carried us.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 And while our citizenship
00:09:49 --> 00:09:50 was secured
00:09:50 --> 00:09:51 by what Christ had done
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 on the cross,
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 our job was not yet done.
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 We were in exile
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 and it was a good thing.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 Being a part of Embassy
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 was what got me involved
00:10:03 --> 00:10:03 in volunteering
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 with young people
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 17 years ago now.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 and it's led me
00:10:08 --> 00:10:08 to being involved
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 with youth ministry
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 and youth work
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 ever since.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:14 My experience
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 as a young adult
00:10:15 --> 00:10:16 in that ministry
00:10:16 --> 00:10:16 was one of two
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 defining experiences
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 God carried me into
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 in that season.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 The other was
00:10:22 --> 00:10:22 as an apprentice.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 As an apprentice
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 cabinet maker,
00:10:25 --> 00:10:26 I also became friends
00:10:26 --> 00:10:27 with a guy named James.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 And James was
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 from Lakemba.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:31 And James,
00:10:31 --> 00:10:32 which is a much more
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 sensible place
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 to commute from,
00:10:34 --> 00:10:34 yeah,
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 to Bankstown.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 James was from Lakemba
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 and James had
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 daily normal habits
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 the likes of which
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 most of us in this room
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 would rarely encounter.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 From substance abuse,
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 he collected weapons,
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 he had an inappropriate
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 expertise
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 in hydroponics
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 and what I can only
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 describe as a genuine
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 sex addiction.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 James was the polar
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 opposite of my upbringing
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 and my church world
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 and we strangely ended up
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 the best of friends.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 James used to steal my phone
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 on lunch breaks
00:11:04 --> 00:11:04 and he would call
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 the girls from my church
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 that I liked.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 He would ask them
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 why we hadn't had sex
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 and if I was gay.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 Stuff that probably
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 shocked them
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 and if I'd been able
00:11:14 --> 00:11:14 to stop him,
00:11:15 --> 00:11:15 I would have.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 But they were genuine
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 questions he couldn't
00:11:18 --> 00:11:18 make sense of
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 because of how different
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 our lives were.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 I think my world
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 was as confusing to James
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 as James was to me.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 I even brought him
00:11:26 --> 00:11:26 to church once
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 and he genuinely
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 was too afraid
00:11:28 --> 00:11:28 to come in.
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 He sat in the car,
00:11:29 --> 00:11:31 both of us sat in the car
00:11:31 --> 00:11:31 while he smoked
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 some cigarettes
00:11:32 --> 00:11:32 and we listened
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 to the singing inside.
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 Later that night,
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 James rang me
00:11:36 --> 00:11:36 and said,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:36 Tim,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 can you go back
00:11:38 --> 00:11:38 to church
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 and light a candle
00:11:39 --> 00:11:39 for me?
00:11:40 --> 00:11:40 I said,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 James,
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 you should have
00:11:42 --> 00:11:42 come in,
00:11:42 --> 00:11:42 mate.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 It's really not
00:11:43 --> 00:11:43 that kind of church.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 I still haven't
00:11:48 --> 00:11:48 had the privilege
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 of introducing
00:11:49 --> 00:11:49 James to Jesus.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:50 We talk regularly
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 over Facebook
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 when we don't
00:11:52 --> 00:11:52 see each other.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 I know he's
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 going to meet Jesus.
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 He's been looking
00:11:56 --> 00:11:56 for him
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 but he's still
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 not ready to let go
00:11:58 --> 00:11:58 of some of those
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 things that hold
00:12:00 --> 00:12:00 him back
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 even though
00:12:02 --> 00:12:02 he knows
00:12:02 --> 00:12:02 they heard him.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:05 It was great
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 being carried
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 into exile
00:12:07 --> 00:12:07 into a place
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 like that
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 and meeting
00:12:09 --> 00:12:09 someone like
00:12:09 --> 00:12:09 James.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 For a good
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 little church
00:12:12 --> 00:12:12 boy like me,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 James was
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 unique but
00:12:14 --> 00:12:14 the reality
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 is,
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 our city
00:12:16 --> 00:12:16 is full
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 of Jameses.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 I pastored
00:12:19 --> 00:12:19 with Tanya
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 here in Chatswood
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 for many years.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:22 I was a youth
00:12:22 --> 00:12:22 pastor.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:23 Tanya was the
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 worship pastor
00:12:24 --> 00:12:24 at a church
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 the other side
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 closer to Willoughby
00:12:26 --> 00:12:28 and we worked
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 on the same
00:12:29 --> 00:12:29 streets I now
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 work on as a
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 youth worker
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 except now
00:12:32 --> 00:12:32 the cafes
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 that I always
00:12:33 --> 00:12:33 used to have
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 my pastoral
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 meetings in,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 I know the
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 kids that deal
00:12:37 --> 00:12:37 drugs in them.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 Sometimes they're
00:12:39 --> 00:12:39 armed.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 Apparently they'd
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 always been there.
00:12:43 --> 00:12:43 They'd been there
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 for years and years
00:12:44 --> 00:12:44 and years but I
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 just didn't
00:12:45 --> 00:12:45 recognize them
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 before when I
00:12:46 --> 00:12:46 was busy with
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 my flock and
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 my songs and
00:12:48 --> 00:12:48 my sermons.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 They were
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 invisible to me.
00:12:55 --> 00:12:55 Please don't
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 think that's a
00:12:56 --> 00:12:56 cheap shot at
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 clergy either.
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 Each has our
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 crucial role in
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 this God-ordained
00:13:01 --> 00:13:01 exile, yeah?
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 Clergy and you.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 My point is that
00:13:06 --> 00:13:06 on the North Shore
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 we don't think we
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 have a problem.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:08 We don't talk
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 about it.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 Our leading
00:13:10 --> 00:13:10 politicians are
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 from here and
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 we don't know
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 why our issues
00:13:13 --> 00:13:13 are invisible.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 I keep dragging
00:13:15 --> 00:13:15 out crazy
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 conspiracy theories
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 about house
00:13:17 --> 00:13:17 prices and
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 things and why
00:13:18 --> 00:13:18 we don't talk
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 about our
00:13:19 --> 00:13:19 problems.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 Here in
00:13:22 --> 00:13:22 Chatswood we
00:13:22 --> 00:13:22 have some of
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 the highest
00:13:23 --> 00:13:23 incidents of
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 shoplifting,
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 drug use and
00:13:26 --> 00:13:26 sexually transmitted
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 diseases among
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 young people per
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 capita in the
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 entire country.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 We think those
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 problems are out
00:13:33 --> 00:13:33 west or in
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 Dubbo, right?
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 Not only are we
00:13:37 --> 00:13:37 seemingly unaware
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 but when preparing
00:13:39 --> 00:13:39 this sermon I
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 spent ages praying
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 about whether it
00:13:41 --> 00:13:41 was even
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 appropriate to
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 share this with
00:13:44 --> 00:13:44 you from the
00:13:44 --> 00:13:44 pulpit.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 Would it be a
00:13:47 --> 00:13:47 cool thing to
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 tweet and go
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 back to normal
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 or is it
00:13:50 --> 00:13:50 something that
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 might touch a
00:13:51 --> 00:13:51 nerve and call
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 you to action?
00:13:54 --> 00:13:54 Some of you
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 might be
00:13:55 --> 00:13:55 interested to know
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 that within 500
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 metres of the
00:13:57 --> 00:13:57 train station in
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 Chatswood there
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 are 16 illegal
00:13:59 --> 00:13:59 brothels.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 Does that
00:14:02 --> 00:14:02 terrify you?
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 That's a stone's
00:14:04 --> 00:14:04 throw from here
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 literally.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:09 Thankfully Jesus
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 calls us not
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 just share the
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 BuzzFeed article
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 about him but
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 into action and
00:14:15 --> 00:14:15 doing something.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 In today's second
00:14:17 --> 00:14:17 scripture from
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 Matthew 5, you
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 are the salt of
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 the earth but if
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 that salt loses
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 its saltiness how
00:14:24 --> 00:14:24 can it be made
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 salty again?
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 It is no longer
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 good for anything
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 except to be
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 thrown out and
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 trampled underfoot.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 How good is salt?
00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 Tanya and I
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 lived nearly
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 three years in
00:14:38 --> 00:14:38 exile in
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 Southern California.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 The whole time
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 we took Australian
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 salt with us.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:44 You can laugh at
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 that because it's
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 funny that we did.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 They have every
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 kind of salt you
00:14:48 --> 00:14:48 can imagine there.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 In fact the
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 supermarket had a
00:14:50 --> 00:14:50 whole aisle of
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 salt and
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 variations of salt
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 but we liked
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 this pink
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 Australian salt
00:14:55 --> 00:14:55 which I can't
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 even remember
00:14:56 --> 00:14:56 the name of.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 Yeah, the Murray
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 River salt and
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 it's complicated but
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 it was our little
00:15:01 --> 00:15:01 bit of home and
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 dinner every night
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 while we were in
00:15:03 --> 00:15:03 exile.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:07 Good salt,
00:15:07 --> 00:15:07 there's nothing
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 better than it.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 Salt comes in
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 different shapes,
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 sizes, different
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 colours, different
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 origins, textures,
00:15:13 --> 00:15:13 you name it, it
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 exists, you can
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 find it.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 The important
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 character of salt
00:15:17 --> 00:15:17 that defines it as
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 good salt though is
00:15:19 --> 00:15:19 its saltiness,
00:15:19 --> 00:15:19 yeah?
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 Salt's ability to
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 taste salty.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 Added to a soup,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 it goes from bland
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 to I need more of
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 that, you know.
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 Tanya likes to
00:15:30 --> 00:15:30 sprinkle it on top
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 of her cheese on
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 toast which turns a
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 lazy dinner into oh
00:15:33 --> 00:15:33 my gosh can I
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 have more of
00:15:34 --> 00:15:34 that, it's
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 delicious.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 Good salt has
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 that effect.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 Jesus continues in
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 514,
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 you are the light
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 of the world,
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 a town built on
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 a hill cannot be
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 hidden, neither do
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 people light a lamp
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 and put it under a
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 bowl, instead they
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 put it on its stand
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 and it gives light to
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 everyone in the
00:15:55 --> 00:15:55 house.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 In the same way
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 let your light shine
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 before others that
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 they may see your
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 good deeds and
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 glorify your
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 father in heaven.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 I'm going to be
00:16:07 --> 00:16:07 really honest with
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 you here, when I
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 read this I don't
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 see a call for me
00:16:11 --> 00:16:11 Tim to go and
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 enroll in apologetics
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 class.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 You might and
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 that's good if you
00:16:17 --> 00:16:17 hear that, go do
00:16:17 --> 00:16:17 that.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 I see a call to go
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 do something salty,
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 something seen,
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 something that
00:16:25 --> 00:16:25 glorifies our
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 father in heaven.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 I think in 17
00:16:29 --> 00:16:29 years of youth
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 ministry I'm now
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 full of stories of
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 young people I've
00:16:33 --> 00:16:33 been blessed to
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 introduce to Jesus.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 Ironically, I was
00:16:37 --> 00:16:37 recently going over
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 my transcript from
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 my Bachelor of
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 Theology and I
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 failed apologetics
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 the first time
00:16:42 --> 00:16:42 around.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 I'm terrible at
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 it, the theory,
00:16:47 --> 00:16:50 but I'm sorting
00:16:50 --> 00:16:50 that out at the
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 moment, second
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 time around.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 Right back at the
00:16:54 --> 00:16:54 start of this
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 sermon I talked
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 about books and
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 fruit and veggies
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 and I postured this
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 point, what we see
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 compels us to
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 choose, yeah?
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 But let me add,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 what they see out
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 there will compel
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 them to choose.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 I think if you're
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 prepared to embrace
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 that we're living in a
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 post-Christian society,
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 you can then also
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 embrace that this is an
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 exciting time for the
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 church in this
00:17:16 --> 00:17:16 country.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 We shouldn't be
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 crying that it's
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 harder to get a
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 table at a cafe on a
00:17:20 --> 00:17:20 Sunday morning than a
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 pew in a church.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 We should be excited to
00:17:23 --> 00:17:23 actually face that
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 challenge and do
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 something about it,
00:17:25 --> 00:17:25 yeah?
00:17:25 --> 00:17:28 See, I believe
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 loving God and
00:17:29 --> 00:17:29 loving others is
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 things we have to
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 do.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 They're verbs,
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 doing words.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 That's how I was
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 brought up in
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 Dubbo in primary
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 school, right?
00:17:40 --> 00:17:40 A verb is a
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 doing word.
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 We need to be
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 salty.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 We need to go and
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 do salty, yeah?
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 Like salt is salty,
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 we need to be
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 loving, we need to
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 be seen.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 that what we do
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 may glorify he who
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 is worthy of all
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 glory.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 And what they see
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 will compel them to
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 choose.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 You can have an
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 impact on what they
00:18:04 --> 00:18:04 see.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 You don't need to
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 wait for church to
00:18:08 --> 00:18:08 present you with an
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 opportunity to do
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 something.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 You just have to do
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 something.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 One thing you could
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 do is to come and be
00:18:16 --> 00:18:16 a part of what we're
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 doing at Street
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 Work, particularly if
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 you failed apologetics
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 class like me.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 And we need people
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 to sit in prison
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 cells with young
00:18:22 --> 00:18:22 people that have
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 just been arrested.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 We need mentors for
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 young people that are
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 doing it tough.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 I really need people
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 who are happy just to
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 turn sausages on a
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 barbecue.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 You don't have to do
00:18:33 --> 00:18:33 everything.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 In fact, if the
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 recent movie is any
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 indication, Superman
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 really are unhelpful.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 We just have to do
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 something.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 Something salty.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 If you want to talk
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 more about it, let's
00:18:46 --> 00:18:46 come back this
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 afternoon at 3.30 and
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 Hugh and I are going
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 to talk to you about
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 that.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 I also ask that you
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 would pray for us at
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 Street Work, as we
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 did this morning.
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 Hold us on your
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 prayers.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 We regularly
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 encounter dangerous
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 situations.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:07 Yeah?
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 My staff, I'm the
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 manager.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 My staff are really
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 skilled, but we
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 frequently have weapons
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 and things involved in
00:19:13 --> 00:19:13 what we're doing.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 And please hold them
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 up in your prayers.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:23 As I come to a
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 conclusion with this
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 short message, I
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 actually want to sing
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 a song.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:29 And then I want to
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 give the microphone
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 back to Steve.
00:19:31 --> 00:19:35 this is a song that we
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 sung in my youth
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 ministry in Southern
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 California while I was
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 in exile there, while
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 Tanya was doing her
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 PhD.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 And this song is about
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 this very topic.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 And it's a song we used
00:19:46 --> 00:19:46 to sing in worship.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 And God used to do
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 something in the youth
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 ministry when we sang
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 this together.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 Now, you don't know it,
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 so I'm sorry.
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 If you do know it,
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 please sing with us.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 My prayer for you today
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 is that this song will
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 have a similar impact
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 in you.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 That on Pentecost
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 Sunday, the Holy
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 Spirit will touch you
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 in a way that inspires
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 you to do something
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 salty.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 Do something.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 And what they see will
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 compel them to choose.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:24 after serious
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 the time
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 is
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 that
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 the
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 who
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 heard
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 them
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 ano
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 myths
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 the
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 clip
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 fall
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 or
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 nad
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 Heute
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 little
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 month
00:20:42 --> 00:20:42 cado
00:20:42 --> 00:20:42 ďż˝