& the joy of all people
Series: Vision Month
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 29th November 2015
Passage: Psalm 43:1-5
00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 The foundation of Christian joy is profoundly deeper than things going well in life.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 Where does it come from?
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 Let me give you a bunch of suggestions.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:17 Number one, it's taught by Jesus.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 Luke 6, blessed are you when men hate you.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:26 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy because great is your rewarded heaven.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:36 You see, far as Jesus is concerned, troubles compound your interest in heaven, which goes on for eternity.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 Second, it comes from the Holy Spirit.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 That is, joy doesn't come from your efforts.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:43 It doesn't come from your imagination.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 It doesn't come from your family upbringing.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:46 It doesn't come from your DNA.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 You're not wired a particular way.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:49 It doesn't come from a psychiatrist.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 It doesn't come from your medication.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:55 The fruit of the Spirit is joy, Galatians 5.22.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 Third, it comes from belonging to the kingdom.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:04 Remember when Jesus sent the 72 disciples out as his witnesses in Luke chapter 10,
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 and they had great success, and they came back filled with joy.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 They're like, man, it was fantastic.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:12 Things happened you wouldn't believe.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 And Jesus said, that's right.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 He said, I saw Satan fall like lightning.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:23 I gave you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions, and nothing's going to harm you.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 So, Jesus agreed.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:27 You were successful.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:33 However, he said, do not rejoice that the Spirit submit to you,
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 Fourthly, it comes from faith.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:40 That is, from believing God.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:41 Romans 15.13.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:48 Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, in trusting.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:53 Fifthly, it comes from seeing and knowing Jesus, the Lord, as Lord.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:54 Philippians 4.4.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 Rejoice in the Lord always.
00:01:56 --> 00:02:05 Sixthly, it comes from fellow believers who work hard to help you focus on these sources of joy
00:02:05 --> 00:02:06 rather than deceitful circumstances.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 2 Corinthians 1.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 We are workers with you for your joy.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 Seventhly, where does joy come from?
00:02:15 --> 00:02:21 Seventhly, it comes from the sanctifying effects of hard times.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:22 Romans 5.3.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:27 We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance,
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 perseverance character, and character hope.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:35 Or, as we saw a few weeks ago, a number of weeks ago, James 1.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds,
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:49 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:57 So the very foundation of Christian joy is that our names are written in heaven.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 It's everything that we have as a gift from God.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 It's not good circumstances in life.
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 And I want to dwell on that little bit for that bit.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 Number seven, for a bit, I think.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:16 Because that's the situation for most of us is when things go bad, all of a sudden joy leaves.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:25 This is what this world needs so much.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:30 Christian joy and difficult times are not mutually exclusive.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:38 So I want to focus on Psalm 43 because we see the issue there and how to overcome the issue as well.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:45 That is, how do we fight for joy when our circumstances aren't helping us get joy?
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 Verse 1, Psalm 43.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 Verse 1 describes what is going on in the psalmist's life.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:57 Verse 2 describes what's going on in his soul in response to the situation.
00:03:58 --> 00:03:58 Verse 1,
00:03:58 --> 00:04:13 What makes his situation painful is that he has enemies and they're oppressing him.
00:04:13 --> 00:04:14 They are ungodly people.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:19 They are threatening his life or in some way making it just plain miserable.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 Verse 2 describes what's going on in his soul.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 You are God my stronghold.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:27 Why have you rejected me?
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 Why do I go about mourning oppressed by the enemy?
00:04:32 --> 00:04:38 Now, what is most striking about his soul is that it's divided.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:45 Part of his heart, it seems, is right now taking refuge in God.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 God has not let him go and he has not let God go.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:53 But he is perplexed as to why God would allow his enemies to get the upper hand on me.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 When he says, why have you rejected me?
00:04:56 --> 00:05:02 He simply means, why have you turned your back on me and let the enemy make me miserable?
00:05:04 --> 00:05:08 Now, I think that's not an uncommon experience among many Christians.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 A divided heart, a torn heart.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 I'm not saying that we should have the experience.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 I'm just saying that many Christians do.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:21 And so we are not as joy-filled as we might possibly be.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:34 And so let's look at this man in Psalm 43 and the practical steps he takes against this divided heart and fighting for joy.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 He begins the psalm by crying out to God.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 He's crying out against the circumstances and asking God to change them.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:52 It's not wrong to pray that God would rescue us from our enemies, whether they are people or natural disasters or disease or bad relationships or multitude of things.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:57 It's right and good to pray for deliverance and for rescue and for healing.
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 And so he does that.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:16 But, but, the desire for vindication and rescue and healing can be just a purely natural desire.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:21 Everybody wants to be vindicated and rescued and healed.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:27 There is nothing particularly Christian about that in and of itself.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:36 It doesn't take a spiritual work of God in a person's life to want their enemies to be defeated and to escape the mess that they're in.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:42 And so while he prays for that, it isn't the main thing that he prays for.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:47 The other two things that the psalmist does here are not natural.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:52 They are not something that anyone would do without the work of God in their lives.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 The first is in verse 3.
00:06:54 --> 00:07:15 That's an amazing prayer.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:25 Notice that there is not a whiff here of praying for rescue from a tough situation because something far greater is at stake for this psalmist.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:37 There is a much more important victory to be won than a victory over disaster or cancer or bankruptcy or city traffic or property prices or Queensland State of Origin team.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 That's what the psalmist is fighting for right now here.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 His prayer takes him on four stages.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 First in verse 3, send forth your light and your truth.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 Let them guide me.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 He confesses that he needs God to lead him.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:53 Why is that?
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 Because he's in the dark.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 He knows he's in the dark because his heart is divided.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 God is his refuge, but he feels forsaken.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 He feels rejected.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 And he knows that's not what God is like.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:11 He is praying for spiritual light, spiritual illumination.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:22 He's praying that God would rescue him, not from his enemies, but from a far more dangerous situation.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:30 And that is a darkness that causes the world to look much more attractive than it is.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:41 And causes the greatness and the splendor and the majesty of God to bit by bit dimly fade away.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:50 The second stage of his prayer is that by this light and truth, God would lead him to his holy dwelling.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 Second half of verse 3,
00:08:52 --> 00:09:09 The altar is the place where the blood of the animal sacrifice was sprinkled to make atonement for the people and God forgave their sins.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:16 In other words, the light of God here, the guiding of God, takes him to the truth of his sinfulness,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:20 takes him to the place of atonement and forgiveness.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:28 For the Christian, for us, this side of the cross, Jesus Christ crucified, risen and standing before the throne of God,
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 he is our altar.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 That's the place where we go.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:36 The light of the gospel leads us to Christ, to the altar, to the cross.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:44 And there our hearts are further enlightened to see our sin and our wonderful forgiveness that we have in him.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 The security that we have in him.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:52 Then the third stage of the prayer is that this light and truth,
00:09:53 --> 00:09:58 having seen his sinfulness and his forgiveness by God,
00:09:59 --> 00:10:03 would lead him to God as his exceeding joy.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 Verse 4,
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 To God my joy and my delight.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:13 The final goal of life is not forgiveness.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:21 The final goal of life is not even God's good gifts.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:25 It's not vindication by another human being.
00:10:25 --> 00:10:34 The final goal of life is God himself experienced as your exceeding joy.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 That's the goal of life.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:47 Every joy that does not have God as the central gladness of the joy is a hollow joy
00:10:47 --> 00:10:51 and it will burst like a bubble in the end.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 Isn't this amazing?
00:10:54 --> 00:11:01 Here is a man threatened by enemies, feeling danger from his adversaries,
00:11:01 --> 00:11:06 and yet he knows that the ultimate battle in his life is not the defeat of his enemies.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 It's not the escaping from natural catastrophe.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 It's not the healing from cancer.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 The ultimate battle is,
00:11:14 --> 00:11:18 Will God be my exceeding joy?
00:11:18 --> 00:11:28 Will God be the gladness at the heart of all of my joys?
00:11:28 --> 00:11:36 Samuel Rutherford was a Scottish minister who was born about 1600.
00:11:37 --> 00:11:43 He became the Presbyterian pastor at Anworth in Scotland in 1627.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:48 When the Anglicans gained power over the Scottish church,
00:11:48 --> 00:11:53 Rutherford was imprisoned for two years in Aberdeen for nonconformity.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 So it's not the highest point of Anglican church history.
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 But he survived, which was a miracle,
00:12:00 --> 00:12:08 to preach again and to serve on the council that wrote the famous Westminster Confession,
00:12:10 --> 00:12:16 which says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:20 But while he was in prison, he wrote letters,
00:12:20 --> 00:12:25 about 220 letters preserved from his two years in prison,
00:12:26 --> 00:12:34 and the spirit of those letters is radiant with glory and the all-sufficiency of Christ.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:40 On his way to prison in Aberdeen, he wrote this,
00:12:40 --> 00:12:45 I go to my king's palace in Aberdeen.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:49 And king, capital K, means Jesus' palace in Aberdeen.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:56 Tongue, pen, and wit cannot express my joy.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 And that joy overflowed.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:05 One person said of Rutherford in prison for those two years
00:13:05 --> 00:13:09 that he was impatient of earth, he was intolerant of his sin,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:14 he was wrapped with a continual contemplation of one unseen face,
00:13:15 --> 00:13:22 the face of Christ, finding his happiness in Christ's returning smile on him.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:28 That was his experience in prison, Sal, for two years.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:33 His joy flowed out of his absorption in Jesus.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:42 The final stage of this psalmist's prayer is that this light and truth
00:13:42 --> 00:13:48 would lead him to express this joy that he feels in God.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 Verse 4, at the end of it,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 I will praise you with a harp, O God, my God.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:58 C.S. Lewis says in his book on the Psalms,
00:13:58 --> 00:14:02 We delight to praise what we enjoy
00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 because the praise not merely expresses,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:10 but it completes the enjoyment.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 It is its appointed consummation.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:24 That is, praising God for his glory is the goal.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 Joyful praise of God.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:33 And so it's not wrong to say that we were made for God.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 It's not wrong to say we were made for joy.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 It's not wrong to say we were made to worship.
00:14:39 --> 00:14:47 But it's more fully true to say we were made to enjoy God
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50 with overflowing joyful worship.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 That's the ultimate goal of life,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 which is why it sits there in our mission statement.
00:14:59 --> 00:15:04 We exist for the joy of all people as they find it in Christ.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:09 Now, friends, it is true that our hearts are often sluggish.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:13 We do not feel the depth or the intensity of affections and joy
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 that are appropriate for God and his cause.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:21 And so if right now you're stuck in a rut of joylessness as a Christian,
00:15:21 --> 00:15:28 let me give you a few aids to rekindle joy in your soul.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:34 That is, I want these things to help you to fight for joy in your life.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:39 The context of these aids is that joy is a fruit of the work of the Spirit.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 Romans 15, 13 says,
00:15:45 --> 00:15:49 May the God of hope fill you with joy, with all joy and peace,
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 as you trust him,
00:15:50 --> 00:15:54 so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
00:15:54 --> 00:16:01 So the first aid to joy is that the Holy Spirit uses the word of God
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 to create joy in our hearts.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:07 Again, a little bit earlier in Romans 15, verses 4 and 5,
00:16:08 --> 00:16:12 we see that God gives encouragement and endurance through the Scriptures.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 That is, God is the source,
00:16:15 --> 00:16:21 and the Scriptures are the means where he delivers that encouragement and that endurance.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 And the same truth applies for joy.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 In Romans 15, 13,
00:16:28 --> 00:16:32 it speaks of the God of hope filling us with joy
00:16:32 --> 00:16:36 as we trust what he has revealed about his glory.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 So you have no hope,
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 because joy is a work of the Holy Spirit,
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 you have no hope of getting Christian joy in your life
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 if your face is not planned in the Scriptures
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 reminding you of the glory of God.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 No hope whatsoever.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 Secondly,
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 confess the sin of joylessness,
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 or the sin causing joylessness.
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 In Psalm 32,
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 King David had no joy
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 while he failed to deal with the sin in his life.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:11 But also acknowledge that joylessness is dishonoring to God,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 denies his love,
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 his control over your lives.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:19 Joylessness in the Christian is functional atheism.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:24 German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:28 who rejected the existence of and the value of objective truth,
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 he was a major critic of religion,
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 and especially Christianity,
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 once said about Christians
00:17:36 --> 00:17:40 that he would be inclined to believe in a redeemer,
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 and the Christian redeemer,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:46 if the redeemed looked a little bit more redeemed.
00:17:46 --> 00:17:50 He thought,
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 he actually said,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:56 that if what Christians believe was true,
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 what they say is true,
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 deserving of hell,
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 rescued by the Lord Jesus,
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 completely free grace,
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 eternity in his presence,
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 he said,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 if that was true,
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 that is the best news imaginable,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 your whole life is conformed to that news,
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 he said,
00:18:15 --> 00:18:18 but based on the faces of the Christians that I see,
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 it's clearly not true.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:25 And so,
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 I want to encourage you to acknowledge the coldness of your heart.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 Don't,
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 don't say it doesn't matter how you feel.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 Don't get stuck in a rut and say,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 just don't have any joy there,
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 but that's okay,
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 I'll get to heaven eventually.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 Third aid to joy is to trust God.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 Romans 15,
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 13 speaks of God,
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 filling us with joy and peace as we trust him.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:50 Consider the amazing statement of Romans 8, 28,
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 in all things,
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 God works for good of those who love him.
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 He is at work in all the circumstances of life
00:18:56 --> 00:19:00 to bring about good for those who love him.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 And that is a source of joy,
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 even in difficulty.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06 A fourth aid to joy is to take the long view in life.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 The Bible consistently affirms
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 that the focal point of our joy
00:19:10 --> 00:19:13 should be our hope of the eternal inheritance
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 that we have in Jesus.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 The fifth aid to joy,
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 according to 1 Thessalonians 5,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 is to give thanks in all circumstances.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:25 Not necessarily thankful for all circumstances,
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 but certainly in the midst of every circumstance.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:32 Be thankful that God is working in this circumstance.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 Be thankful for his past deliverances.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 Thankful that God will not burden you
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 beyond what you can bear,
00:19:38 --> 00:19:41 and his grace is sufficient for you to bear it.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 Give thanks.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:42 Thanks.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 And so, I want to say,
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 with the work of the Spirit in your life,
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 the choice is yours.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 We can be joyless.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 We can be joyful.
00:19:56 --> 00:19:59 We can go through life bored, glum, complaining,
00:19:59 --> 00:20:02 or we can rejoice in the Lord,
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 in our names being written in heaven,
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 in the hope of an eternal inheritance.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:11 Joy, despite the circumstances of life,
00:20:11 --> 00:20:15 is both the duty and the privilege of the Christian.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:22 Joyfulness is to experience the power of the Holy Spirit
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 within us in every circumstance.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 And let me tell you,
00:20:26 --> 00:20:30 it declares to a watching world that needs joy.
00:20:31 --> 00:20:34 It declares that our God reigns,
00:20:35 --> 00:20:38 and that Jesus is magnificent.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 So friends,
00:20:40 --> 00:20:43 St. Paul's exists to know Jesus,
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 to treasure Jesus,
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 to represent Jesus for God's glory,
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 and the joy of all people.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 Your joy, my joy,
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 joy of Chatswood and beyond.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 That's why we exist.
00:20:57 --> 00:21:00 I want to encourage you to participate in joy
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 right now by giving.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:06 We are going to pledge our giving
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 for the next year,
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 plus also for our project,
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 just to give you up to speed.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:14 Parish Council set a 5% increase in our budget.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 This is not disconnected from joy,
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 by the way.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:21 May you experience the joy of giving.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 Parish Council has set a target
00:21:25 --> 00:21:28 of $10 a week
00:21:28 --> 00:21:32 next year as general offertory,
00:21:32 --> 00:21:36 and also to raise $28 today
00:21:36 --> 00:21:40 for three student ministers.
00:21:41 --> 00:21:43 James, who's been a free gift to us,
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 all year,
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 the guy needs to be fed.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 And so,
00:21:48 --> 00:21:51 we're looking to feed James
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 and Victor,
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 who's in the Chinese congregation,
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 who's Cantonese speaker,
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 and also David,
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 who will be coming,
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 who's a Mandarin speaker.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 $28 today.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 Let me tell you,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 as we do every year,
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 Staff and Parish Council
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 lead the process.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 And they pledge to me
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 before today.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:12 Now,
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 I want you to bear in mind,
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 as Nick said before,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:17 $10 is what we raised last year
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 on this day.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 And so,
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 $28 was like,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 you know,
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 wow.
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 And I just remember saying,
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 well, look,
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 whatever we get would be fantastic.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 You know,
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 not expecting
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 what God might do amongst us,
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 and that's my lack of faith there.
00:22:35 --> 00:22:40 Staff and Parish Council
00:22:40 --> 00:22:43 pledged just short of $5.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:46 It's just Staff and Parish Council,
00:22:46 --> 00:22:49 just short of $5 before today.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 That's 50% of what we're looking for.
00:22:52 --> 00:22:56 And they gave
00:22:56 --> 00:22:59 $18.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 Nearly twice as much
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 as what we received last year.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 $18
00:23:04 --> 00:23:07 for the project.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 So, Jimmy,
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 more Maccas next year, buddy.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 After the morning service
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 this morning,
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 I had a look at the pledge cards,
00:23:19 --> 00:23:23 and our two morning services
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 plus Staff and Parish Council
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 have so far pledged
00:23:25 --> 00:23:28 $9 a week
00:23:28 --> 00:23:31 of our $10 target.
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 And
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 we are just
00:23:35 --> 00:23:39 $430 short.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:46 $430 short
00:23:46 --> 00:23:50 of $45.
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 Now,
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 you might be sitting there going,
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 oh, fantastic.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 The heavy lifting's done.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 I want to say to you,
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 I want to encourage you
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 to join
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 in the joy
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 of what God has been doing with us
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 as a church
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 and where he's taken us
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 to this point.
00:24:16 --> 00:24:18 $9,
00:24:18 --> 00:24:20 we have not pledged
00:24:20 --> 00:24:20 that much
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 since 2011.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 Since 2011.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 And I don't ever recall
00:24:28 --> 00:24:31 hitting $28,
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 let alone currently
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 just short of $45.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 The money is not going
00:24:37 --> 00:24:37 to be wasted,
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 clearly.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 I said to
00:24:39 --> 00:24:41 some people this morning,
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 we are very close,
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 potentially God willing,
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 the beginning of 2017,
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 to employ
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 a full-time
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 Chinese pastor
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 on this rate.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 So,
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 praise God.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 And I want to encourage you
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 to participate
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 with us
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 in that process
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 and still
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 give generously
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 tonight,
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 knowing that God
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 has been overwhelmingly
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 generous to us
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 in himself,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 but also
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 this day
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 already.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 Praise God.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 Thank you.