1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,080 Brant site or in Kitchener. Really glad to have you joining 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:05,840 us this morning is we have a special morning this morning, 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:10,440 not just because it's snowed, although our guest speaker here 4 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,720 this morning because he comes from the West Coast, is very 5 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,760 impressed that you Ontarians would brave the Blizzard out 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,800 there and make it out today. I'm shocked there's anyone in 7 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:22,200 this room right now. He is. 8 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:24,200 Unbelievable. We had this discussion. 9 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:29,200 So Jeremy Johnson, who's with us today, Jeremy is one of the 10 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:32,759 senior pastors at Village Church, which is a multi site 11 00:00:32,759 --> 00:00:36,920 church started out in BC, although now you've got you've 12 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,040 got sites across three different provinces right in Calgary and 13 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:43,680 in Oakville here in Ontario as well. 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:45,280 We're really excited to have Jeremy. 15 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:49,800 Not only is he a pastor at Village, but Jeremy has also 16 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:52,480 been deeply involved as an ambassador for international 17 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:56,760 justice ministries. So IJM for a number of years. 18 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,000 And so Jeremy is going to speak to us this morning on the topic 19 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,239 of biblical justice because our Christmas offering this year is 20 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:08,480 really going to be focused on us as a congregation, how we can 21 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:10,800 take part in that. So I'm happy to turn it over to 22 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:12,200 Jeremy. Let's give him a big round of 23 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:13,320 applause as he comes this morning. 24 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:19,040 Thanks, Derek. Well, good morning Forward 25 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:20,600 Church. You've such a great church, 26 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,560 getting to know your leaders and a lot of your team here this 27 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:26,880 year actually. And then this morning, what an 28 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:28,680 amazing church. So it's an honor for me to be 29 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:31,640 able to be here this morning. Yes, my name is Jeremy, senior 30 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,000 pastor at Village Church out on the West Coast. 31 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,960 But I was actually born just a little down the four O 1 in 32 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:42,680 London. So I have some history here and 33 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:48,440 I am still a die hard Leafs fan. I don't talk about it a lot out 34 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:52,280 there, but hopefully this isn't being recorded or anything, 35 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,360 right. I, I'm a huge Blue Jays fan, of 36 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,680 course, still a huge Blue Jays fan. 37 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,320 We're not going to talk about any of that this morning, of 38 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,600 course, recent events. But I try and get to a game 39 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,760 every time I come back to Ontario, I try to get to a game. 40 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,240 So I was here recently meeting with some pastors in the summer 41 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,120 and so I got a chance to go to a a game. 42 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:15,440 But I'm a massive introvert actually, so there's nothing 43 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:19,800 better for me than free night, go down and see a Jays game all 44 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,560 by myself, just me in the game. Now if you don't know about 45 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,640 baseball, it's a funny thing. Baseball is designed to do 2 46 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:30,240 things. It's designed to make you really 47 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:32,880 bored and it's designed to make you really hungry. 48 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,480 That's how baseball games work. That's why they're so long. 49 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:37,640 That's why they have the inning structure. 50 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:39,040 It's make you bored and make you hungry. 51 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,840 So here I am at the game and I'm snacking away, you know, going 52 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:47,480 pretty hard here, like hot dogs and Pepsi's and one of the big 53 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:49,600 family Cracker Jacks. And it gets to about the 6th 54 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:54,560 inning and I'm still going. So I go out in search of a new 55 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,800 snack and I find the greatest snack I think I've ever found at 56 00:02:57,800 --> 00:02:59,640 a baseball game, which is, I don't know if you've seen these, 57 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:04,000 it's the helmet, like the actual baseball helmet full of soft 58 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:05,520 serve ice cream. You've seen these. 59 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:07,920 It's unbelievable. It's like the size of an actual 60 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:11,840 man's helmet full of soft serve ice cream. 61 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:13,200 It's incredible. The greatest thing I've ever 62 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,400 found. So I, you know, now I have no 63 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,360 one with me. So I have 0 accountability 64 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,360 around my life choices in this evening, of course. 65 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,480 So I, I buy this thing and I go back to my seat and I sit down 66 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:25,880 and I'm, I'm going away and I'm thinking you could wear the 67 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:27,240 helmet. It's a real helmet. 68 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,640 You'd have to, you know, lick the, lick it clean, of course, 69 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:34,240 because there's nowhere to clean it, which would kind of be 70 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,440 psychotic. But anyways, so here I am. 71 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:43,040 I'm licking it clean. And I, I, I kind of noticed 72 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:45,920 there's there, there's someone watching me in a row. 73 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:47,840 You know, you get that feeling. You just know it's happening. 74 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,000 So I look over kind of like, yeah. 75 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,560 And there's two women. There's women. 76 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,000 They're just staring at me. And I think their, their faces 77 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:01,920 were like half awe and half judgement with how I describe 78 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:03,360 it. And I could tell she wanted to 79 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:04,680 say something. So I waited. 80 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:09,400 And she just goes, you are an eating machine. 81 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,040 This is what she says to me. I have, we have never seen 82 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:14,480 anything like this in our life, right? 83 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:18,480 It's like the 6th inning. And I don't know if that's a 84 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:20,440 compliment or not. I'm not sure how you're supposed 85 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,080 to take that at moment. Now here's the thing, just they 86 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,280 knew nothing about me. They knew nothing about my life. 87 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:28,600 They knew nothing about my story, anything, whatever. 88 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:30,400 All they knew about me was what they saw. 89 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:32,400 What they saw was what they knew. 90 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:34,160 And that's all that mattered. I could have sat there and 91 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,640 explained to them, you know, I try to eat healthy, you know, I, 92 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,880 I care about fitness, whatever. I could have, you know, said all 93 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:42,680 these things, it wouldn't have mattered, right? 94 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:46,280 They saw what they saw. And that's just how it goes for 95 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:50,880 us as Christians today in our culture, people see us and they 96 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,720 see what they see, and that's how they form their opinions 97 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,560 about us. Doesn't really matter sometimes 98 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,240 what we say. It's what they see us do that 99 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:03,920 ends up giving them the impression of what we are like, 100 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,240 what the church is like, what Christianity is like, what God 101 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,480 is like. You know, there's a study done 102 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,760 really recently actually, and it looked at people who don't go to 103 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:18,240 church and just said, why, Why don't you go? 104 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:21,160 And one of the number one reasons why people reported they 105 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:23,600 don't go to church is because they think the church is just 106 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,880 full of hypocrites and they just don't want to be associated with 107 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,160 hypocrites. That interesting. 108 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:34,480 So I think that's a problem, but maybe an opportunity, an 109 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,280 opportunity for us when it comes to the conversation around 110 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,480 justice. You know, our world loves the 111 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,640 idea of justice. Like our culture right now loves 112 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,440 the idea of justice. We see it everywhere, social 113 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:54,240 justice, environmental justice, online justice, just kind of 114 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,720 just people yelling at each other, you know, in comment 115 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:59,680 sections. But culture loves justice. 116 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,400 They do. It just doesn't have any, any 117 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:06,240 good reason for why justice matters. 118 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:12,160 There's no cultural foundation for the point of pursuing 119 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:16,000 justice. But we know that there's a point 120 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,720 to it because for us as the church, as Christians, justice 121 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:24,480 isn't just an idea. Justice is actually the very 122 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:28,680 nature of God himself. We're going to look this morning 123 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:33,320 at Proverbs 2115. It's a great short little 124 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:37,200 proverb and it's so profound. I just love this proverb. 125 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,400 So let's take a look at it. Proverbs 2115. 126 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:42,120 Here's what it says. I'll read it for you. 127 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:50,800 It says when justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but 128 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:56,360 terror to evil doers. When justice is done, it is a 129 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:00,240 joy to the righteous, but terror to evil doers. 130 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,920 What a profound little proverb. When justice is done, the first 131 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:09,640 word when is very important. This proverb, it reminds us that 132 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:13,160 there is justice and there's injustice in our world. 133 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:19,840 It's not a theoretical question. There are real wrongs that need 134 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:24,240 to be set right. Some days, I don't know if 135 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,480 you're like me, it can feel like the injustice is just winning. 136 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:32,120 The problems of the world seem so immense. 137 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:37,160 The injustices around us seem so impossible to even think about 138 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:39,800 tackling. Did you know that there are 139 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,600 actually more people in slavery today in the world than ever at 140 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:44,920 any other point in human history? 141 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:48,840 Isn't that crazy? All the progress, all of 142 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,800 everything. Sometimes it just feels like the 143 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:57,360 evil, the injustice, is winning. And how can we possibly be 144 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:01,840 equipped to solve any of these massive problems? 145 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:07,320 I remember a few years ago, it was the middle of the night at 146 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,960 home and I was woken up by our, our house alarm. 147 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:13,840 Our house alarm went off. And of course, that's not really 148 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,760 what you want to be waking up to, Of course, is your home 149 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:18,320 alarm going off in the middle of the night. 150 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:21,360 So I, I got out of bed and I hit the keypad things. 151 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:23,880 We had a thing in our, our bedroom and I turned it off. 152 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:25,760 And of course, the next thing that happens is you get a phone 153 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:27,720 call. So you get a phone call. 154 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,560 I pick it up and it's the alarm company and the the alarm 155 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:32,600 company, you know, they're on the phone. 156 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,840 They say hello, your, your alarm just went off. 157 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:40,120 Said yes, that's correct. I turned it off. 158 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:41,799 Seems like we're good. Yeah, they said OK. 159 00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:45,120 Is everything OK? I thought, huh, that's a good 160 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:47,960 question. It's 3:00 AM and my alarm just 161 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:51,320 went off and I'm upstairs. I don't know if everything's OK. 162 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,640 Actually, the alarm just went off and the guy on the other 163 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,600 line goes on the other end of the line says OK, can you go 164 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,560 ahead and check for me? But everything's OK. 165 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,400 I thought, hold on a SEC. This is where I realized the 166 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,040 whole home and alarm company system is kind of a scam. 167 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:11,840 Sorry. Is the plan when my alarm goes 168 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:15,640 off in the middle of the night that I go downstairs and just 169 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,760 confront whoever it might be that is armed downstairs? 170 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:22,440 Is that the plan right now? And that was the plan. 171 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:26,480 So I I felt very ill equipped. I'm not the kind of guy ready 172 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:28,040 for combat, I'll just put it that way. 173 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:31,600 And so I don't want to look bad in front of my wife, of course. 174 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,120 So I'm just going, Yeah, of course, yeah, no problem. 175 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:37,280 I'll go down and take care of whoever this is, you know, so I 176 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,040 making lots of noise getting to the stairs hopefully and 177 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:42,480 listening. Please don't be anyone down 178 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:43,880 there, you know, turns out there's no one down there. 179 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,000 But I was very ill equipped. I didn't feel ready for what I 180 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,400 was being called to do. The problem seemed a lot bigger 181 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:55,880 than something I could handle. But the word when in this 182 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:01,120 proverb isn't an if. It also, for us as Christians, 183 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:08,120 carries the certainty of what God is doing when God brings 184 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:13,640 justice in His name. Ultimately, this verse points 185 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:18,960 beyond our efforts. It points to the certainty of 186 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,640 what God is doing when God brings justice in his name. 187 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:28,520 It's pointing to God's character because from the beginning to 188 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:33,760 the end, the story of Scripture is the story of a God who is 189 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:40,080 setting all things right. In Exodus 34, God reveals 190 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:43,360 himself to Moses and he says a few words about himself. 191 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,960 This is what he says and describing himself, he says the 192 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:54,040 Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and 193 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:58,520 abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast 194 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:02,400 love for generations, forgiving iniquity and transgression and 195 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:07,240 sin. But who will by no means clear 196 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:11,520 the guilty? Our God is love. 197 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,200 He describes that in that little explanation of himself for many 198 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,760 sentence, many, many words. But that love all ends up 199 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:23,480 looking like justice. Justice isn't something that God 200 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:28,000 just decides to do. It's who He is. 201 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:34,800 His character, his actions, his words, all of it are perfectly 202 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:39,880 aligned together in this idea of pure justice. 203 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:44,760 That's why we as Christians can be confident that in the end, 204 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:52,400 God will set all things right. I've got to visit field workers 205 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,080 with International Justice Mission out around the world. 206 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,920 This idea is how a field worker in an IJM office in the 207 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:06,520 Philippines can keep rescuing children that are caught in the 208 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:12,320 online sexual exploitation of kids, knowing that there are 209 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:16,040 still thousands and thousands more that are trapped and need 210 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,640 rescuing. How do they possibly go on? 211 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:21,760 How do they possibly keep doing this? 212 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,880 Because they know that justice for Christians is not a 213 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:32,120 hypothetical, it's grounded in God's very character. 214 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:36,920 And that's how we as the Canadian church, we can be bold 215 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,440 because we're not working towards a possibility. 216 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:47,120 We partner with a promise, a promise of God's good and 217 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,080 perfect justice. So what exactly does God's 218 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:53,920 justice look like? Well, we've talked about how 219 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:56,440 it's not really partial, it's not really optional. 220 00:12:56,680 --> 00:12:59,640 He doesn't sit on a justice committee where they're deciding 221 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:00,960 whether there's going to be justice. 222 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:04,400 This is his nature. His justice looks like, as we 223 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:09,120 read in Exodus, love in action, love that rescues, love that 224 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:13,320 restores, and love that reform. So let's just break it down for 225 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,000 a SEC, how God's pure justice looks. 226 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,080 So the first part of God's pure justice is this, that his 227 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:23,640 justice rescues and restores. In Luke 10, we get this great 228 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:27,120 story from Jesus of the Good Samaritan famous story. 229 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,080 Sure. Most of you are familiar with 230 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,040 the story. A man is beaten, he's left for 231 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:36,240 dead, the side of the road in a ditch, and a priest just walks 232 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,200 by. A Levite just walks by and of 233 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:43,920 course the Samaritan stops. But what's the Samaritan do in 234 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:46,720 the story? The Samaritan doesn't just pull 235 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:50,880 this this person out of the ditch, you know, dust them off a 236 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:54,640 little bit and then pat them on the head and come on their way. 237 00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:01,280 He tends to his wounds. He puts him on his own donkey. 238 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:07,840 He even pays for his care and then he promises to return and 239 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,640 check in on him later. That is a picture of biblical 240 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:14,160 justice. That's a picture of God's pure 241 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:16,320 justice. It doesn't just stop at rescue. 242 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:23,200 It continues into restoration. A number of years ago, I also 243 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,760 got to visit an aftercare home for girls. 244 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:32,320 This was in South Asia, in India and to a girls rescued from the 245 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:35,080 sex industry in in in a city in in India. 246 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:39,560 And the first time I went, IJM was showing me around and they 247 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:41,760 said, you know, we have dreams for this place, but it's a 248 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:43,280 really tough place for these girls. 249 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:49,320 It was I was sad. It was dark, it felt kind of 250 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:54,680 neglected and underfunded. So it wasn't enough to just 251 00:14:54,680 --> 00:15:00,280 rescue these girls, but then put them in a system that was 252 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:05,720 broken, that wasn't right. So what we did was IGN stepped 253 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,200 in and they wanted to do more the rescue. 254 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,120 How did they do the work of God's holistic look at justice 255 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:15,400 in the world? And so I got to actually visit 256 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,080 it again a couple years later, and it was astounding to see the 257 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,640 difference now. It was a totally different 258 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:24,360 place. It was light, there was safety. 259 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:28,760 There's a feeling of hope. The girls were full of joy. 260 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:34,080 Because justice in the biblical sense always moves towards 261 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:38,480 wholeness. OK, what else does God's justice 262 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:40,640 do? Well, God's justice also 263 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,240 condemns. Now, this is the part that 264 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,360 culture doesn't love. Sometimes we don't love the idea 265 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:51,560 of God's condemning just justice. 266 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:55,320 We love the rescue part, not so much the judgment part. 267 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:56,960 Unless it's someone you know we don't like. 268 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:01,120 Maybe. But Exodus 34 reminded us God 269 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,200 will by no means clear the guilty. 270 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,840 Why? Because his love demands it. 271 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:14,920 A God who loves cannot look at exploitation and depression and 272 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:18,640 violence and simply shrug. We can't. 273 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,600 One of the most important aspects of how I've seen this 274 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,120 work out in our partnerships around the world, and 275 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:30,480 specifically definitely with AJM, is how they're helping 276 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:36,640 justice systems solve the problem of keeping perpetrators 277 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,160 accountable. So last year I got to be at a 278 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:44,560 dinner with prosecutors and judges who talked about the 279 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,560 importance of criminals facing real consequences for their 280 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:52,160 actions and how through training, seminars and advocacy 281 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,040 efforts for victims, what International Justice Mission 282 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,560 was able to do is actually help increase the convictions 283 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,880 happening in the country and the sentences for those crimes. 284 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:04,480 Because you see, God's not indifferent. 285 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:10,800 The reason he hates injustice is because it destroys what he 286 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:14,880 loves. And this should actually be good 287 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:18,920 news for our culture. This should be something that we 288 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,359 talk about. This should be something we 289 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:26,640 should be proud of. God's justice will not fail. 290 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,040 And this is where the idea of biblical justice differs from 291 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,200 just cultural ideas of social justice. 292 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:38,720 Social justice is often reactive. 293 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:43,000 There's no real fixed moral point. 294 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,480 It's really just chasing shadows. 295 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:51,880 But biblical justice flows from a God who is perfectly loving 296 00:17:52,760 --> 00:18:00,200 and so therefore perfectly just. So our call is not to be judges. 297 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:05,640 Our call is to simply act like the God that we serve, 298 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:11,360 reflecting his justice through our compassion, our courage to 299 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:14,160 fight, and the truth that we stand for. 300 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:17,840 But even that isn't the full picture of God's justice. 301 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:19,520 God's justice does something else. 302 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:24,800 God's justice reforms. It reforms the systems that 303 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:30,400 perpetuate injustice. It's not enough to rescue 304 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:35,560 individuals or just punish offenders if the environment 305 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:39,000 still produces the injustice and depression, right? 306 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,760 I have two sons. They are both in grade one. 307 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,200 They are twins. And this is not a hypothetical 308 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,240 situation. If one of them were to take, you 309 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:55,960 know, a hockey stick and just smash the other one in the face 310 00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:00,480 with it, they're boys. That's what happens. 311 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,120 You know, when I was to take my one son who just got hit in the 312 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:05,960 face, he's crying. And I take him away and I say, 313 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:07,680 oh, are you OK? And I make sure he's OK. 314 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:12,200 And I say, look, we're putting your Pokémon away for the night 315 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:14,360 or something, right, As a punishment, you know, for, for 316 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:16,640 my other son. But then I just said to my hurt 317 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,280 son, all right, we'll go back. And my other son's still 318 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:22,440 standing there, you know, with a stick in his hand. 319 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:25,160 I'm not. That's not justice. 320 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,600 I got to take the stick. I got to change the environment 321 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,400 or I haven't actually made justice whole. 322 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:36,920 So that's why I love when I hear these stories of, say, 323 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:42,040 Guatemala, where in Guatemala, what we've seen in our 324 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:48,680 partnership with IJM is laws and government practices actually 325 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:53,840 being written into code based on biblical principles of dignity 326 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:58,280 and protection that have been cut and pasted out of the IJM 327 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:02,000 manuals. Changing the environment, 328 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:05,800 changing the system. That is true justice. 329 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,440 That's the ripple effect of God's justice. 330 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,760 It actually transforms environments. 331 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,840 Now, it's a crazy section of the Bible, but in Revelation 18 and 332 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:20,560 19, there's this picture that's painted of this vision that John 333 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,880 gets, and it's this crazy vision that's representing how God is 334 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,000 going to set things right in the new creation. 335 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,440 And what happens in those chapters, what we see is the 336 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:38,320 righteous are rescued, the wicked are judged, and the evil 337 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,200 systems of Babylon are destroyed. 338 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:45,960 A holistic approach. And then all of the oppressed 339 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,520 and the Saints rejoice because sin and injustice are finally 340 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,280 gone. And that's the hope that we as 341 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:56,280 Christians can live for and the justice that we are called to 342 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,680 live out. OK, so back to the the proverb. 343 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:05,160 We when justice is done, we get 2 responses, 2 responses. 344 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:09,800 A joy to the righteous, but terror to evil doers. 345 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,760 Joy and terror. Let's look at joy for a minute. 346 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:21,200 Those who look like Christ rejoice when justice is done. 347 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:28,080 Why? Because we've been forgiven, 348 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:35,640 forgiven by Christ, and we understand, hopefully, mercy and 349 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:42,000 grace and love. So justice should naturally for 350 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:49,480 us bring unbridled joy. We should love seeing justice 351 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:51,920 being done. We should be excited about 352 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,280 seeing justice done. You know what brings my son's 353 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:58,160 unbridled joy? Candy and Pokémon. 354 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:01,480 They don't even, you know, this is fascinating. 355 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:02,880 They don't. They told us they don't even 356 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,760 want to go to Disneyland anymore because they want to go to 357 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:08,520 Japan. That's interesting. 358 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:12,840 They have in their heads, for some reason, this idea that 359 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:18,200 Japan is like a large town just full of Pokémon and candy, which 360 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,240 might be true. I don't know. 361 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:23,960 Anyways, it's crazy. Don't want to go to Disneyland? 362 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:29,240 The church should be the loudest voice fighting for justice and 363 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:31,800 celebrating when it happens. Too often. 364 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:35,520 We talk about as the church pointing people to the Kingdom 365 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:38,520 of God, we're pointing people to the Kingdom of God. 366 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:42,880 But pointing doesn't mean in this that kind of a theological 367 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,480 context. It doesn't mean pointing to them 368 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:47,840 to something like directing them over here. 369 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,800 Pointing them to the Kingdom of God means we embody the Kingdom 370 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:53,800 of God. That's what it means. 371 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:57,000 We embody the Kingdom. This is how God's Kingdom breaks 372 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,640 into our world through the church. 373 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:05,000 We don't just tell people, we actually begin to create a world 374 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:09,040 that is the Kingdom of God, where we live in it every day. 375 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,640 People should see the justice of God by how we as the church 376 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:16,520 live, not just by what we're saying or pointing people to. 377 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:20,680 And that's why in Revelation 18, it warns the church, It says 378 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:25,120 come out of Babylon, my people, lest you take part in her sins. 379 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:30,240 Babylon is representing a system of exploitation, of power used 380 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:32,680 for control of the self, to exploit others. 381 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:37,240 And so for Christians, coming out of Babylon, I think for us 382 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,800 in Canada means not being indifferent. 383 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:46,640 Being different in Canada means not being indifferent. 384 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,520 We can't look away from the injustice that's done globally. 385 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:54,840 We can't look away from the injustice that's being done even 386 00:23:54,840 --> 00:24:00,640 in our own backyard. Canada represents one of the top 387 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:05,280 Four Nations in the world consuming online sexual sexual 388 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:06,960 exploitation of children material. 389 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:12,720 Indigenous women and others are trafficked at far higher rates 390 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,920 than other groups. This isn't something that's just 391 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,560 someone else's problem somewhere else. 392 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:25,680 Injustice is our problem, and as the church, we have to care. 393 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:30,480 Imagine, though, if the reputation of the Canadian 394 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:35,080 church was one of righteous joy at justice being done. 395 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:41,000 If people looked at us and they said those are the ones who 396 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:45,560 fight for the vulnerable, those are the ones who rejoice when 397 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:49,720 the oppressed go free, those are the ones who are making it 398 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:52,880 happen. Imagine if that was how our 399 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,760 country saw us. That would be game changing for 400 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:59,560 our witness. Rodney Stark once wrote that the 401 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:05,280 early church actually exploded in growth because it was 402 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:09,920 compassionate in the face of suffering and injustice, plagues 403 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:13,800 and poverty and persecution. The church didn't run from it. 404 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:15,960 They were the only ones who stayed. 405 00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:19,400 They ran toward it. And that's part of what exploded 406 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:21,520 the church in the early centuries. 407 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,440 This could be that kind of moment for us as the Canadian 408 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:30,480 church. But when justice is done, 409 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:35,560 there's a second response. It's a terror, A terror to evil 410 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,840 doers. I remember one of my professors 411 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:44,440 at Regent College years ago used to say the Gospel is good news, 412 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:49,800 but it's also bad news. Sounds pretty heretical, but 413 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:54,240 what he means is it's good news for those who receive it, but 414 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,800 it's bad news for those who resist it. 415 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:04,440 When the systems of Babylon all collapse in Revelation 18, when 416 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,840 exploitation loses its power, you know what the wicked do? 417 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:10,680 It says. They weep and wail. 418 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,880 They weep and wail. That's a sobering moment that 419 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:18,280 actually challenges me. I hope it challenges you because 420 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,160 it asks us a pretty profound question. 421 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:29,280 Would we, would I really rejoice at God's justice being done, or 422 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,360 would I mourn at what that might cost me? 423 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:37,800 Would you really rejoice at God's justice being done or 424 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:40,400 would you mourn at what it might cost you? 425 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:46,120 Would we celebrate the fall of Babylon or would we miss the 426 00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:51,160 comforts that it gives us? It's a sharp call to self 427 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:57,040 examination to let God shape our hearts so that we love justice 428 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:01,760 more than our own convenience. But I don't think we need to 429 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,320 dwell in conviction on this. Remember, God is, yes, a God of 430 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:09,080 justice, but also God of mercy. Like Exodus 34, it said, 431 00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:14,240 merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding and steadfast 432 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,360 love. He knows that we as this church 433 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:19,160 aren't perfect. He knows that we're in a process 434 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:22,720 of being sanctified. Yet He still asks us in our 435 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:27,280 imperfectness to partner with Him in this work in the world. 436 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,800 Because God's justice does always cost something, right? 437 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,360 Look at what he did. It cost Jesus his life. 438 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:39,960 It always cost something. When Jesus said in Matthew 16 to 439 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,560 take up your cross, he's not just talking about dying. 440 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:48,080 He's talking about living a certain way, living differently, 441 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:52,160 living sacrificially, laying down our comfort so that others 442 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:56,120 might find freedom. When Paul says he's been 443 00:27:56,120 --> 00:28:01,600 crucified with Christ, he means he's literally killing the life 444 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:03,960 that he had and cared about before Christ. 445 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:07,240 And he's now living a whole different kind of existence 446 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,560 where he says Christ now lives in and through me. 447 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,880 He now embodies the life of Christ in his actions, in his 448 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:18,720 heart, the character of God. And he does so, he says by 449 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:24,960 faith, faith that the cost is worth more than the price to 450 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,960 follow the call. That's what we have to wrestle 451 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:32,120 with. Now imagine a church full of 452 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:36,880 people who have taken up their cross, who have crucified their 453 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:41,000 old lives, now live through Christ's power and character, 454 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:45,040 all with huge, huge faith in what God can do, not for 455 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:47,680 themselves, but for others, and most certainly for the 456 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:48,920 oppressed. Wouldn't that be amazing? 457 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,560 What could that church do? But that's what the Kingdom of 458 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:54,360 God looks like. That's what we are called to 459 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:56,280 look like. That's what the cross 460 00:28:56,280 --> 00:29:01,560 accomplishes, rescue, freedom and restoration, and we see that 461 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:04,240 in God. It's always worth the cost. 462 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:08,720 If it was for Him, it certainly is for us. 463 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:15,520 A few years ago, I was at a global prayer gathering in 464 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:20,240 Baltimore with International Justice Mission and my church 465 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:23,480 Village Church had partnered with IJM for years and we had 466 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,600 funded or helped fund 2 field offices in the country of India. 467 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:33,080 1 was fighting the sex trafficking exploitation of kids 468 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:37,040 in brothels and on the streets in Kolkata and the other was 469 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:42,080 fighting against a system of bonded work slavery in the city 470 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:45,920 and area of Chennai. And I got to walk those streets. 471 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:50,360 I got to see those places. I got to see, you know, what 472 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:52,720 the, the streets and the brothels and the, the brick 473 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:54,200 kilns and everything looked like. 474 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:58,880 I got to meet survivors. And then years later, I'm 475 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:03,560 standing at this convention in Baltimore as thousands of IJM 476 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:07,080 staff are all gathered together from all around the world to 477 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:11,440 hear a report on these two specific areas and what had been 478 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:14,120 achieved. And when they announced the 479 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:18,000 findings in these two areas, the room of thousands of workers 480 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:22,560 just erupted. Here's what an independent third 481 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:26,480 party auditor found after all of the work the village got to 482 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:28,520 partner in directly in these two areas. 483 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:34,640 In Kolkata, they found that there were now 0 minors in the 484 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:36,680 red light districts, in brothels in the whole city. 485 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:42,720 Children no longer for sale in one of the worst red light areas 486 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:47,680 in all of South Asia. That was actually done and still 487 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:51,400 today in Chennai, they reported a third party audit reported 488 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:57,600 bonded labor slavery had been reduced to 0 or nearly zero in 489 00:30:57,600 --> 00:30:59,760 Chennai, in the targeted regions around. 490 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:05,640 You know what that meant? It meant over 300,000 people 491 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:11,240 rescued and the system changed so millions protected in the 492 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:15,120 future. This is the kind of impact that 493 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:19,840 is actually possible. And so I stood there 494 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:25,160 overwhelmed, not just because of my church's partnership in these 495 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:31,440 initiatives, but because I was seeing with my own eyes what can 496 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:37,320 happen if God's people believe He can actually do what He says. 497 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:43,880 If we just have faith, there's literally nothing, nothing that 498 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:47,680 is off the table for our God. Anything is possible. 499 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:54,200 There is nothing that the church in Canada cannot do by the power 500 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,880 of Christ in US and the movement of His Holy Spirit through US. 501 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:04,880 Do you believe that earlier this earlier this year, I got to be 502 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:08,720 back in South Asia, this time in Kolkata again celebrating 503 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:10,200 everything I was just talking about. 504 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:14,440 And as we're celebrating, I learned about a crisis going on 505 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,000 right across the border in the neighboring country of 506 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,760 Bangladesh. Here it was similar to Kolkata, 507 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:24,600 the exploitation of children on the streets and in brothels, but 508 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:28,200 happening at an even greater scale than what we saw in 509 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,760 Kolkata. So the dream was pretty simple, 510 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:36,600 but impossible. Could we take everything we had 511 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,960 learned, everything we had proven, everything we had done 512 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:43,880 successfully in Kolkata and take that across the border to see 513 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:48,640 the same justice but this time at the scale of a nation? 514 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:54,440 We met with Ijms, national director for Bangladesh, and I 515 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:57,720 asked her what is the biggest prayer request you have so we 516 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:02,040 can pray this morning? She said we've been waiting for 517 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:06,400 three years, three years for the government paperwork to come in 518 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:09,440 so that we can be approved to actually start working. 519 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,240 We're all set up and ready to go, and we've been sitting here 520 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,720 for three years waiting for the paperwork. 521 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:20,840 So we prayed. A few minutes later, as we're 522 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:24,200 still talking, she suddenly stopped. 523 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:28,800 She pulled out her phone and she said the approval just came 524 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:37,740 through. Minutes after praying with her 525 00:33:38,220 --> 00:33:43,740 and asking God what would be the call for the Canadian church in 526 00:33:43,740 --> 00:33:46,180 this project in Bangladesh that happened. 527 00:33:46,180 --> 00:33:52,200 And in that moment I knew God's in this and we have a calling. 528 00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:56,000 We are called to play a part as a church, not just village 529 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,400 church. I think the Canadian church. 530 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:03,800 And I thought, what if, what if the Canadian church could be 531 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:10,440 written into the story of how an entire nation was transformed by 532 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:14,520 the justice of God? What if years from now, the 533 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:19,400 history books said that Bangladesh was transformed into 534 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:24,480 freedom for its children because the Canadian church stood up and 535 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:28,080 we attempted to do the impossible and then achieved it? 536 00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:32,960 That's the vision. That is the invitation to us 537 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:36,600 that God is putting forward for us as the Canadian church today 538 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:41,800 and forward. I ask, will you be a part of 539 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:45,120 seeing the dream of children in Bangladesh freed? 540 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:50,480 Will you join village church and churches all across Canada who 541 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:54,440 are saying yes to something absolutely historic together? 542 00:34:55,960 --> 00:35:02,640 Imagine the children rescued, Imagine the systems of the 543 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:09,720 country for oppression reformed, and imagine the witness of the 544 00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:13,160 Canadian church strengthened like never before to our 545 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:19,280 culture, that we might be known for the good we have done as a 546 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:23,400 demonstration of embodying God's Kingdom and character together 547 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:27,400 as his church. It's a massive task, yes. 548 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,160 Can God do it? Absolutely. 549 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:35,880 Because in the end, and Revelation 18 reminded us of 550 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:43,760 this, justice is an optional. Justice is inevitable, so we can 551 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:48,840 Live Today in full confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit, 552 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:55,480 the love of Christ, and the unstoppable justice of our great 553 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:59,000 and holy God. Would you join me in pray? 554 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:08,560 God, we first just honored you. We honor you, and we praise you 555 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:14,320 because of who you are. You are this perfect love. 556 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:18,840 You are this perfect justice. And so we humbly kneel and bow 557 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:22,400 before you and say you are great, you are holy. 558 00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:27,400 And God, we ask that you would continue to pour out your love 559 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,520 and justice into the world around us, here at home and 560 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:35,520 abroad around the globe. God, would you give us a vision 561 00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:39,480 that matches your vision? Would you give us a scope of 562 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,120 vision that matches your scope of vision? 563 00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:46,000 And would you give us a sold out confidence? 564 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:52,920 God, to the assurance that we find in you that you will make 565 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:57,640 things right and that you are making things right and that you 566 00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:00,440 ask us to participate with you. God give us by our Holy Spirit 567 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:04,960 confidence to do this work. Shape us also by your Spirit to 568 00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:08,560 look and be and act more like you and your Son Jesus Christ. 569 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:12,680 We pray all for your glory in Jesus name, Amen.