Moore College Student David Robinson

Speaker: Steve Jeffrey

Date: 16th March 2013

00:00:00 --> 00:00:00 Good morning, everyone.
00:00:01 --> 00:00:03 It's nice and echoey.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:04 My name's David.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06 It's great to be with you here this morning
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 as we look forward to an exciting week,
00:00:08 --> 00:00:09 hopefully, that we've all got together,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 this week of college mission and St Paul's mission.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:13 It's going to be a lot of fun.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 I guess the question that that raises is,
00:00:16 --> 00:00:20 what is it that actually causes a bunch of reclusive Bible
00:00:20 --> 00:00:24 students to crawl out from behind the books for this brief week
00:00:24 --> 00:00:25 and come out to Chatswood?
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 Or even more confusing, what is it
00:00:28 --> 00:00:32 that causes a bunch of otherwise right-thinking individuals
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 such as yourselves to let us in the door,
00:00:35 --> 00:00:36 never mind even inviting us?
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 Of course, the answer, as we've touched on, is mission, isn't it?
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 I'm sure you've heard a bit about it over the last few weeks.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:44 I know we have.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 You see, at the college, we're convinced,
00:00:48 --> 00:00:49 just as you are as a church,
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 that it's incredibly important that we get out and about
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 and tell anyone who will listen this wonderful message of Jesus,
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 of his death, his resurrection,
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 the wonderful message of forgiveness that that brings to us.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 But I guess I want to ask, why is that important?
00:01:06 --> 00:01:07 Why are we going to the effort this week?
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 And why is it that we'd love as many of you as possible to be involved?
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 Well, this morning, as we consider this meeting
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 between Philip and the Ethiopian there in Acts 8,
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 we're going to find an answer to this question.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 And I hope that as we go through this story,
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 if you're not convinced of the importance of mission,
00:01:24 --> 00:01:25 you will be by the end of it.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:29 If you're convinced, I hope that you'll be reminded of why it's so important,
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 maybe reinvigorated for the coming week.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:33 So with that in mind, let's turn to that passage
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 as we wrestle with that question together.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 You'll find it helpful to keep it open in front of you.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 And as we turn there, the first thing we can take from it
00:01:41 --> 00:01:45 is that God has a message which he wants people to understand.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 God has a message which he wants people to understand.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:50 Now, to really see this,
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 we've got to start all the way back at the beginning of the book,
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 back there in chapter 1, verse 8.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:57 By this point, Jesus has come.
00:01:57 --> 00:01:58 He's lived his life.
00:01:58 --> 00:01:58 He's died.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:00 He's been raised from the dead.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:05 But before he goes back to heaven to wait there until he comes again,
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 he tells his disciples what's going to happen from there,
00:02:08 --> 00:02:09 gives them the rundown.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 And he says to them, there in 1.8,
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
00:02:16 --> 00:02:17 and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem
00:02:17 --> 00:02:21 and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 And so with those words ringing in our ears
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 as we go through this story,
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 we need to understand God is intending on working through
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 these very ordinary men, his disciples,
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 to bring his message to the absolute ends of the earth.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 And so even in this story as we consider it,
00:02:39 --> 00:02:40 we're expecting big things from God, aren't we?
00:02:40 --> 00:02:44 We're expecting to see that God himself will be at work
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 at making the opportunities happen,
00:02:46 --> 00:02:47 at making this message spread,
00:02:48 --> 00:02:49 and he doesn't disappoint us.
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 And so in verse 26, we see him telling this man,
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 Philip, head down to this road in the middle of nowhere
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 in the desert that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 And Philip goes off, as he's told.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 And as he's travelling, he crosses paths
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 with this Ethiopian eunuch there in verse 27.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 Now, there's a few things we're told about this eunuch.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 First of all, we're told he's a fairly important guy.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 I don't think being the high-ranking official
00:03:17 --> 00:03:18 for the Ethiopian Queen is that impressive now,
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 but I take it it must have been a bit more
00:03:21 --> 00:03:22 of an impressive thing back then.
00:03:24 --> 00:03:25 However, more importantly for what we're saying,
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 what we need to understand today,
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 is that we're told two other things.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:31 First of all, that he's involved in the Jewish faith
00:03:31 --> 00:03:35 and somehow he's just been up to Jerusalem
00:03:35 --> 00:03:36 where he's worshipping,
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 and as he comes back, he's reading the book of Isaiah,
00:03:39 --> 00:03:40 part of the Hebrew Scriptures,
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 something that we will find in our Old Testament there.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 However, jarring with that is the fact
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 that he's also a eunuch.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:49 We're told he's a eunuch.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:51 Now, I'll assume you know what that is
00:03:51 --> 00:03:52 rather than going into it,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:54 but suffice to say, gentlemen,
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 you don't want to be one.
00:03:57 --> 00:03:58 Now, the reason that's significant, though,
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 is that if we go back to Deuteronomy 23, verse 1 there,
00:04:01 --> 00:04:02 part of the Jewish law,
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 we see that eunuchs essentially
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 can never be full members of God's people.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 Added to this is the fact that he's an Ethiopian,
00:04:12 --> 00:04:12 not a Jew.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:13 He's a Gentile.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 So there's a further barrier there, isn't there?
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 He will always be an outsider
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 simply by virtue of who he is among God's people.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 Well, as this man's travelling back from Jerusalem
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 and he and Philip cross paths,
00:04:29 --> 00:04:30 God tells Philip,
00:04:30 --> 00:04:31 look, head over near the chariot.
00:04:32 --> 00:04:32 And so he does.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 And he gets close enough to hear him reading.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:36 And what he's reading there
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 is from the book of Isaiah in verse 30.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 Sorry, and in verse 30, he says,
00:04:41 --> 00:04:41 Philip says,
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 do you understand what it is that you are reading?
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 Now, it's worth just pausing for a moment here
00:04:47 --> 00:04:48 to ask ourselves
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 how it is that God has brought this situation about
00:04:51 --> 00:04:52 because he's at work everywhere, isn't he?
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 We've seen that's what he intends to do
00:04:55 --> 00:04:56 back in chapter 1, verse 8.
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 That's what he's telling us.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:02 And here we see Philip sent down by God.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 He comes across this Ethiopian's path.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:09 Sorry.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 And it's God who has put this book
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 in the Ethiopian man's hands, isn't it?
00:05:15 --> 00:05:16 This whole situation,
00:05:16 --> 00:05:17 we're seeing God working
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 to make his message known.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 It's God who's acting here.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 And so Philip asks the question of him
00:05:24 --> 00:05:25 in verse 31.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:26 Or in verse 30,
00:05:26 --> 00:05:27 do you understand what you're reading?
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 Which brings the response from the Ethiopian
00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 there in verse 31.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 Which brings us really to the heart of the passage
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 and then to our second point.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 That is that Jesus is the message
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 that God wants people to understand.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 And we see there in verse 31,
00:05:42 --> 00:05:43 the Ethiopian replies and says,
00:05:44 --> 00:05:44 how can I?
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 Unless someone explains it to me.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 And so he invited Philip to come up
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 and sit with him.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 I wonder, how did you become a Christian?
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 If we went around this room right now
00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 and asked that question
00:05:58 --> 00:05:59 to everyone individually,
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 I'm sure we'd have as many stories
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 as we have people in here.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 God uses an amazing array of circumstances
00:06:06 --> 00:06:06 and of experiences
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 to bring people to himself.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 But for all these different experiences
00:06:10 --> 00:06:11 that we might have,
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 there'd be at least one thing
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 that all of us have in common.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 And that is that someone
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 will have taken the time
00:06:18 --> 00:06:19 to explain this message to you.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:20 To teach it to you.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 Just think about it for a minute.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 It may be that you grew up
00:06:24 --> 00:06:25 with Christian parents
00:06:25 --> 00:06:26 who have taught you the gospel
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 for longer than you can remember.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 It may be that you had a friend
00:06:31 --> 00:06:32 in school or somewhere else
00:06:32 --> 00:06:33 that invited you along
00:06:33 --> 00:06:34 to a youth group,
00:06:34 --> 00:06:35 to a church service.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:36 And it was there
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 that you first heard the gospel.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:41 It may be that someone
00:06:41 --> 00:06:42 approached you completely out of the blue,
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 just walked up to you and said,
00:06:44 --> 00:06:45 let's talk.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 Or that you approached them.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:49 At the very least,
00:06:50 --> 00:06:51 you will have had to pick up a Bible
00:06:51 --> 00:06:52 and start reading this message
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 for yourself, wouldn't you?
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 Whatever your experience,
00:06:56 --> 00:06:56 whatever your story
00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 and the particulars of that,
00:06:58 --> 00:06:59 you needed to hear this message
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 and understand it
00:07:01 --> 00:07:02 in order to believe it.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 You needed to be told, didn't you?
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 Now the Ethiopian man,
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 he gets this.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:10 He knows he doesn't understand
00:07:10 --> 00:07:10 what he's reading,
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 but he wants to.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:13 And so he invites Philip
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 to come up into the chariot
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 and explain this passage
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 from Isaiah for him.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 And as we continue to read there
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 in verses 32 and 33,
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 we see the passage he's reading
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 is from Isaiah 53.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:27 It's part of that wonderful,
00:07:28 --> 00:07:29 long passage
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 that we just had read to us earlier.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 Now we can probably assume
00:07:33 --> 00:07:34 that on a long journey like that,
00:07:34 --> 00:07:35 he's reading more than
00:07:35 --> 00:07:35 the couple of lines
00:07:35 --> 00:07:36 that are quoted there.
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 and we'll have read at least
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 the stuff that comes before,
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 including these lines
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 in verses 5 and 6,
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 where Isaiah says,
00:07:45 --> 00:07:46 but he was pierced
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 for our transgressions.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:48 He was crushed
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 for our iniquities.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:51 The punishment
00:07:51 --> 00:07:52 that brought us peace
00:07:52 --> 00:07:52 was upon him
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 and by his wounds
00:07:54 --> 00:07:54 we are healed.
00:07:55 --> 00:07:56 We all like sheep
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 have gone astray.
00:07:57 --> 00:07:58 Each of us has turned
00:07:58 --> 00:07:59 to his own way
00:07:59 --> 00:08:00 and the Lord
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 has laid on him
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 the iniquity of us all.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 Now for those of us
00:08:05 --> 00:08:06 here today
00:08:06 --> 00:08:07 that have been fortunate enough
00:08:07 --> 00:08:08 to have been taught
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 well over a long period of time,
00:08:10 --> 00:08:10 to have known
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 what Jesus did on the cross,
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 we read that
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 and it just screams out
00:08:14 --> 00:08:14 Jesus, doesn't it?
00:08:16 --> 00:08:17 Just think about it briefly.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 We have a man here
00:08:18 --> 00:08:19 who was,
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 he was pierced,
00:08:20 --> 00:08:20 crushed,
00:08:22 --> 00:08:22 it was done
00:08:22 --> 00:08:23 as a punishment,
00:08:25 --> 00:08:25 it was a punishment
00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 for sins
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 and it buys us
00:08:29 --> 00:08:29 peace with God.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:31 We have here words
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 that were written
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 700 odd years
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 before Jesus came
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 and walked this earth
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 yet what we were reading
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 could well have been taken
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 straight from the New Testament,
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 couldn't it?
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 Used to describe
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 exactly what Jesus did
00:08:42 --> 00:08:42 on the cross
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 and in fact
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 these are words
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 that we see springing up
00:08:46 --> 00:08:47 throughout the New Testament
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 which the authors use
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 for exactly that purpose
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 and it's just for the testament
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 to the fact
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 that God is working
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 his plan out here.
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 He's directing the situation
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 because it's hard to imagine
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 that at this point
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 any other passage
00:09:01 --> 00:09:01 of scripture
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 that this man
00:09:03 --> 00:09:03 could be reading
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 would point so clearly
00:09:04 --> 00:09:05 towards Jesus
00:09:05 --> 00:09:08 and yet right at that moment
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 that's what he's reading
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 but the Ethiopian man
00:09:12 --> 00:09:12 doesn't yet know
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 what we know
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 sitting here today.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:15 He hasn't heard
00:09:15 --> 00:09:16 about the cross,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:18 he doesn't know
00:09:18 --> 00:09:18 the connection
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 between what he's reading
00:09:20 --> 00:09:20 there in Isaiah
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 and what Jesus
00:09:21 --> 00:09:22 has only just done
00:09:22 --> 00:09:25 and so in verse 34
00:09:25 --> 00:09:26 he asks Philip,
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 tell me please
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 who is the prophet
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 speaking about
00:09:29 --> 00:09:30 himself or someone else?
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 And we're told
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 in verse 35
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 that Philip starts there
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 and answers him
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 by explaining
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 the good news of Jesus
00:09:39 --> 00:09:39 from that passage.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 That is who the prophet
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 is speaking of
00:09:43 --> 00:09:43 isn't it?
00:09:43 --> 00:09:43 Jesus.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 You see God
00:09:46 --> 00:09:46 has this message
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 that he wants people
00:09:48 --> 00:09:48 to understand
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 the message of Jesus
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 and it says Philip
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 takes that chance
00:09:52 --> 00:09:52 to walk up
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 to the chariot there
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 and ask a very simple
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 question of this man
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 that that message
00:09:58 --> 00:09:59 is explained
00:09:59 --> 00:10:00 to a person
00:10:00 --> 00:10:00 who would otherwise
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 not have grasped it
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 at this point.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:03 God has used
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 a very ordinary man,
00:10:05 --> 00:10:05 Philip,
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 to make this message known.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 And we see
00:10:10 --> 00:10:10 the message spreading
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 just as Jesus
00:10:11 --> 00:10:11 says it would
00:10:11 --> 00:10:12 in 1.8.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 This Ethiopian man
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 can understand
00:10:16 --> 00:10:16 because someone
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 has explained
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 the message to him.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 Well as they travel
00:10:21 --> 00:10:21 we see
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 I guess some time
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 passes there
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 between verses 35
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 and 36
00:10:25 --> 00:10:26 as the two men talk.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:27 Who knows
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 how that conversation
00:10:28 --> 00:10:28 went?
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 Who knows exactly
00:10:30 --> 00:10:30 what questions
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 the Ethiopian's asking?
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 Who knows what
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 responses Philip
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 is giving?
00:10:36 --> 00:10:36 All we know
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 is that Philip
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 is explaining
00:10:38 --> 00:10:38 the message of Jesus
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 at this time
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 and by the time
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 we get to verse 36
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 this man's life
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 has been changed.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 They come across
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 some water.
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 Our Ethiopian friend
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 there is baptised.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 Philip's taken away
00:10:51 --> 00:10:51 at that point.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 Who knows how exactly.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:54 But he's able
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 to rejoice
00:10:55 --> 00:10:55 isn't he
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 the Ethiopian?
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 His life
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 has been changed
00:10:58 --> 00:10:58 by this message.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:00 Can you just imagine
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 the joy he felt?
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 Imagine the joy
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 he feels
00:11:04 --> 00:11:04 as he comes
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 to realise
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 that the fact
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 that he's a Gentile
00:11:07 --> 00:11:07 rather than a Jew
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 is not a barrier
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 between him
00:11:09 --> 00:11:09 and God.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 The fact
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 that he's a eunuch
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 is not a barrier
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 between him
00:11:15 --> 00:11:15 and God's people
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 doesn't make him
00:11:16 --> 00:11:16 an outsider.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 Just imagine
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 the joy
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 he feels
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 as he comes
00:11:22 --> 00:11:22 to realise
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 Jesus has died
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 in his place.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:25 That whatever
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 his life
00:11:26 --> 00:11:26 has looked like
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 he can be forgiven
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 because of that.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 This is a life
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 changing message
00:11:32 --> 00:11:32 isn't it?
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 If you've come
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 to understand
00:11:35 --> 00:11:35 this message
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 this gospel
00:11:36 --> 00:11:36 of Jesus
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 and all that
00:11:37 --> 00:11:37 he has done
00:11:37 --> 00:11:37 for you
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 you know that.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:39 You know
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 that it's Jesus
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 and what he has
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 done that changes
00:11:42 --> 00:11:42 lives.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:46 Jesus is the message
00:11:46 --> 00:11:46 that God wants
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 us to understand.
00:11:49 --> 00:11:49 But the question
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 we need to ask
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 is how does this
00:11:51 --> 00:11:51 help us for mission
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 this week?
00:11:53 --> 00:11:53 And I think
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 the answer to that
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 lies in that question
00:11:55 --> 00:11:57 that the Ethiopian
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 asks back in verse 31.
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 How can I know
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 unless somebody
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 explains it to me?
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 As I'm sure
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 you're all aware
00:12:04 --> 00:12:04 every few years
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 the government
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 takes a census.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 You've probably
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 all partaken
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 in many of them
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 and that involves
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 a huge questionnaire
00:12:11 --> 00:12:11 of all sorts
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 of questions
00:12:12 --> 00:12:12 to everyone
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 in the country.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 Very time consuming
00:12:14 --> 00:12:14 and annoying
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 but they do
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 what they've got
00:12:16 --> 00:12:16 to do.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 Now in Chatswood
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 in the last census
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 about 19 or 20%
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 of the people
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 surveyed said
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 they belong
00:12:24 --> 00:12:24 to some form
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 of Bible believing
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 Christian denomination.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 Someone that takes
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 this gospel message
00:12:29 --> 00:12:29 of Jesus seriously.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 Now the reality
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 is that the number
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 is probably far
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 less than that
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 but even if we
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 assume it's right
00:12:36 --> 00:12:36 for a minute
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 that's one in five
00:12:38 --> 00:12:38 people.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 That's only one
00:12:40 --> 00:12:40 in five people
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 at best.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 Think about
00:12:43 --> 00:12:43 what that means
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 just for a minute.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:45 It means as you
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 walk out this door
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 today,
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 as you drive home,
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 as you go about
00:12:49 --> 00:12:49 your business
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 in Chatswood,
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 you can safely
00:12:52 --> 00:12:52 assume that as many
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 or at least
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 80% of the people
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 you come across
00:12:55 --> 00:12:55 do not know
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 this message,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 do not understand
00:12:57 --> 00:12:57 this message.
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 That's 80%
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 out of the people
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 that you work with,
00:13:02 --> 00:13:02 the people
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 that you chat with
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 when you're dropping
00:13:04 --> 00:13:04 the kids off
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 at school every morning,
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 of the people
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 you play weekend
00:13:08 --> 00:13:08 sports with,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 the people
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 you socialise with,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:11 80%,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 a number that
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 likely includes
00:13:14 --> 00:13:14 large numbers
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 of your best friends,
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 maybe even members
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 of your family,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 those nearest
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 and dearest to you.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 Many of them
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 that simply just
00:13:23 --> 00:13:23 do not know
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 this gospel message,
00:13:25 --> 00:13:25 do not know
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 the forgiveness
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 that you know,
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 do not have
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 the hope of heaven
00:13:29 --> 00:13:29 that you have.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 This is exactly
00:13:32 --> 00:13:32 why we need
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 to be doing mission,
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 isn't it?
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 It's safe to assume
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 the vast majority
00:13:36 --> 00:13:36 of the people
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 we come in contact
00:13:38 --> 00:13:38 with day in,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 day out,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 simply don't know
00:13:41 --> 00:13:41 this message.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 They don't know
00:13:42 --> 00:13:42 the gospel.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 But we do.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 If we're sitting
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 in this place
00:13:47 --> 00:13:47 for any length
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 of time,
00:13:48 --> 00:13:48 then I can assume
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 you have heard
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 this gospel message
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 taught faithfully.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 Even this morning
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 in just the confessions,
00:13:55 --> 00:13:55 the songs,
00:13:56 --> 00:13:56 the prayers,
00:13:57 --> 00:13:57 it's been everywhere,
00:13:58 --> 00:13:58 hasn't it?
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 Now, if you haven't
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 heard of Jesus,
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 if you don't understand
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 all that he has done,
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 then can I please
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 encourage you
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 to talk to someone
00:14:06 --> 00:14:06 before you go.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:07 We would love
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 nothing more
00:14:08 --> 00:14:08 than to help
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 you understand.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 But if you do
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 know this message,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 and if your life
00:14:15 --> 00:14:15 has been changed,
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 turned upside down
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 for the best
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 by it,
00:14:19 --> 00:14:19 well then we need
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 to ask ourselves,
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 how will the people
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 out there
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 that don't know it
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 come to understand
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 it if we won't
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 explain it to them?
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 They're certainly
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 not looking,
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 most of them.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 How will they know
00:14:30 --> 00:14:30 if we won't tell?
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 Now, a number
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 of years ago now,
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 my life was changed
00:14:35 --> 00:14:35 profoundly.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 When I went to go
00:14:37 --> 00:14:37 and get married,
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 and part of that
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 was sitting down
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 at the local church
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 with a group of people,
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 and we talked
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 about the gospel.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 And as we went,
00:14:46 --> 00:14:46 I'm someone who's
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 always thought
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 that I understood it,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 but as we went,
00:14:51 --> 00:14:51 I realised I'd
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 misunderstood the gospel
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 in profound ways.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 My wife,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:56 on the other hand,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 came from a background
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 where she knew
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 nothing of Jesus.
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 It had never been
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 part of her childhood,
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 and quite frankly,
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 the last thing she
00:15:03 --> 00:15:03 thought she wanted
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 to be doing
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 with her Thursday nights
00:15:05 --> 00:15:05 was sitting around
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 talking to a bunch
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 of people about Jesus.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:08 That was not what
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 she thought she wanted.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:11 But see,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 as those people
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 explained it to us,
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 and we came to understand
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 this message of Jesus,
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 it's changed our lives
00:15:17 --> 00:15:17 immensely.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 Even if we didn't
00:15:20 --> 00:15:20 think we would be,
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 we are now profoundly
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 grateful for the people
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 who took the time
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 and the effort
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 to do that.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 We'd never have known
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 had they not explained it.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 We weren't trying to.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 This Ethiopian man
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 would never have known
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 this message
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 had someone not
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 explained it to him.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:38 We've got to take
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 seriously the fact
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 that the majority
00:15:40 --> 00:15:40 of the people
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 that we're out there
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 with in Chatswood
00:15:42 --> 00:15:42 every day
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 will not come
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 to know this message
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 if people like us
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 are not prepared
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 to get out there
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 and tell them.
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 That's why we're
00:15:53 --> 00:15:53 on mission.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 We have the most
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 important message
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 that anyone could
00:15:57 --> 00:15:57 ever need to hear,
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 even if they don't
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 realise they need it yet.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 That is why this church
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 and many others
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 like it across our world
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 will continue
00:16:05 --> 00:16:05 to tell people
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 about this message
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 until there's no world
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 to tell it to.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 That's why we're here
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 this week.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 That's why we'd love
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 as many of you
00:16:14 --> 00:16:14 as possible
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 to come and join us
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 in that work.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:18 And to that end
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 will you pray with me?
00:16:25 --> 00:16:25 Father,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 we do thank you
00:16:26 --> 00:16:26 for all that you
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 have done in Christ
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 that we might be forgiven.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:30 We ask now
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 that as we head out
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 into Chatswood
00:16:32 --> 00:16:32 this coming week
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 and beyond
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 that you would be acting
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 to make this wonderful
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 gospel message known.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 Please prepare people,
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 soften their hearts
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 so that they might
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 respond
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 and give us courage
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 to take the opportunities
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 that are presented to us
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 to explain this gospel.
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 And we ask this
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 for your glory.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:51 Amen.
00:16:51 --> 00:17:06 and we ask this
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 talking about
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 there are
00:17:09 --> 00:17:09 questions
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 that you
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 have we
00:17:13 --> 00:17:13 have
00:17:13 --> 00:17:13 and find this
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 wonderful
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 love