1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:10,080 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amatai, saying, 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:17,000 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, 3 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,680 for they wickedness has come up before me. 4 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:27,040 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of 5 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:31,000 the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found 6 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,760 a ship going to shout Tarshish, and so he paid them the fare, 7 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:39,120 and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the 8 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:43,600 presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great 9 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:51,560 wind on the sea, and there was a mighty Tempest on the sea, and 10 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:56,840 every man cried out to his God, and through the cargo that was 11 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,440 in the ship into the sea to lighten its load. 12 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:07,400 But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had 13 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:18,970 lain down, and was fast asleep. Thank you, Rowan. 14 00:01:18,970 --> 00:01:19,970 Good morning. Good morning, Steve. 15 00:01:20,970 --> 00:01:25,530 Do you have your Bible? I hope you have found Jonah by 16 00:01:25,530 --> 00:01:28,650 now. Give you some time or you can do 17 00:01:28,650 --> 00:01:31,210 like I did and you get one of the Bibles of these little, you 18 00:01:31,210 --> 00:01:32,930 know J for Jonah. There we go. 19 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,400 The reason why I would love for you to open up to the book of 20 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:39,800 Jennifer yourself is because I would love for you to see 21 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,040 something of what I believe God is wanting to do in our midst in 22 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:45,800 and through the word. Because a lot of the time you 23 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,360 can see me, but I want you to see the word of God to the city 24 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,120 this morning and over the weeks coming. 25 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:56,920 So please love for you to bring your Bible and a pen notebook if 26 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:01,600 you want to take notes highlight and underline, but you heard the 27 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:05,240 context this morning. You probably know the story 28 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:06,640 without it even being read to you. 29 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,760 The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amatai and the 30 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:15,360 word was that the city of Nineveh is in trouble. 31 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,200 Deeply, deeply steeped in this wickedness and God wanted to 32 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,120 rescue them and say calls Jonah and Jonah says thanks but no 33 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,960 thanks. I'm busy on that day, heads off 34 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:29,360 to Tarshish, and to get his attention, God sends the storm. 35 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,560 I want to reread this verse here because this is where I'm going 36 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:37,760 to anchor it this morning. This is Jonah one verse five in 37 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,240 the NRV. I think this is the 1984 38 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,880 version. All the sailors were afraid and 39 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,400 each cried out to their own God. They threw the cargo into the 40 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,120 sea to lighten the ship, but Jonah had gone below the deck 41 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,560 where he laid down and fell into a deep sleep. 42 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,920 If you have a pen with you in your Bible, underline the word 43 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:56,320 afraid. All the sailors were afraid. 44 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,280 So this is a beautiful Hebrew word. 45 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:01,440 It's got lots of texture and colour didn't didn't quite 46 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,040 translate so well into English. Afraid. 47 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,120 It means to be afraid. It means to be terrified 48 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:10,640 actually, but it also means to to have a fear that comes with 49 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:15,720 reverence and awe. Kind of like we would say, you 50 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:17,840 know, in church we talk about the fear of the Lord. 51 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:21,520 It has some of that texture to this word afraid, which means 52 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,120 that the sailors weren't just looking at a big storm thinking, 53 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,360 oh, here we go. This is our end. 54 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:29,840 They were joining some dots here. 55 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:32,880 You see, in verse 10, we actually found that Jonah was 56 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,680 telling the people, you know, maybe he was boarding and I 57 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,040 think, oh, you're coming on holiday with us to Tasha. 58 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,040 She like, no, I'm running from God. 59 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,080 And maybe they they're joining some dots enough to see when the 60 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,720 storm arises. There's a nice Afrikaans word 61 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:49,720 that comes to mind that I can't use in church. 62 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,160 You come it. They were joining these dots, 63 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,120 going like, Jonah, what's happening here? 64 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,240 They were afraid, they were terrified, but it was a 65 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,800 reverence and awe of what was happening on this side. 66 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:03,800 And you need to get that. And the reason why I spend some 67 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:08,000 time here is because Jonah was doing the exact opposite. 68 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:13,320 As far away from Nineveh, Tarsus was so as far away from the fear 69 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:17,839 of the Lord Jonah was because it says here, but Jonah, I like big 70 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,360 butts, but not this one. But Jonah had gone below deck 71 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,240 where he laid down and fell into deep sleep. 72 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,120 Now, I always thought that Jonah, you know, I mean, he sort 73 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:32,320 of rushed out of the presence of God, you know, packed a light 74 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:34,600 lunch, climbed him to the ship. He was a little bit tired, so he 75 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,520 went to sleep. And while he was asleep, all of 76 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:39,120 heaven broke loose right in front of him. 77 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:42,440 But actually, Bible scholars believe it was the other way 78 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:47,800 round, that the storm happened. And in light of the storm, he 79 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,040 went to go sleep. See, because the word that is 80 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:54,680 used there is the word radam. Radam is a lot more to do with 81 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:59,360 rebellion than rest. So picture this essentially 82 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:03,800 Jonah's probably having his light lunch, enjoying the sea 83 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,240 breeze. The storm breaks out and you 84 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,560 know, like when your teacher said don't, and you're like, 85 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:16,280 don't tell me what to do. That rose up in Jonah. 86 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:19,680 So he didn't, you see, because God didn't say, well, go to 87 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:21,800 Nineveh and he said, now I'm going to stay here, right here 88 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:25,720 in Jerusalem with my family. He ran this rebellion. 89 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:29,520 Now he sees the storm come up and he's still like, you bring 90 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,840 your best. I'll show you who's boss. 91 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:36,280 I'm going to go sleep. You can wipe this boat out. 92 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,040 Radam. That's that's Radam. 93 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:43,440 And I want to go after the Radam in our hearts this morning to 94 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:46,560 bring it into our context. And my kids were really, really 95 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:48,120 small. I remember one afternoon I was 96 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:50,000 sitting working and. And my son came to me. 97 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:51,120 He wanted to. Yeah. 98 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:52,680 He was didn't have homework at that stage. 99 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,800 So he wants to go play in the garden and it's like, Dad, can I 100 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,320 go play? Like, yeah, go for it, go play. 101 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:01,840 Few minutes later he comes back and Dad said, OK, if I jump on 102 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:05,520 the trampoline, I'm like, yes, jump on the trampoline. 103 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:07,360 Yeah. Few minutes later he comes back. 104 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:10,000 Can I go down the slide? I'm like, seriously, just go and 105 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:11,800 play. And when he came in and said I 106 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:16,400 want to go and jump in the pool, I'm like, just play as just stay 107 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:18,320 in the garden. You know, those are your 108 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:19,960 parameters. Play. 109 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:25,560 I don't care what you do. But when 5:00 came, it was bath 110 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,360 time. Now all of a sudden, it wasn't 111 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:30,480 any longer. Just you. 112 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,360 Do you go enjoy. Now all of a sudden, things 113 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:36,800 changed. You know that proverbial. 114 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,480 You're not in that bath by the time I counted 3. 115 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,200 But it's the same dead. Same son, same home, same day. 116 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:49,520 But something's changed. And in that moment, if there was 117 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,080 radam in my son's heart, there would be consequences. 118 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,000 If there was radam in a different season where it was 119 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:57,960 just going to play, it's no big deal. 120 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:03,400 But you see, Radam basically rears its head in a moment when 121 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:10,040 God calls us, when God leans in and he says, OK, three CR, let's 122 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:16,680 take Galatians to the city. I'm not. 123 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,440 That's not really me, you know, I'm an introvert. 124 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,200 You know how bad these oaks are, Radam, Have you not heard the 125 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:29,440 cry of the city? Radam? 126 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:32,280 I want to redeem and rescue and restore. 127 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:35,120 Radam. I was at the game last night. 128 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:41,240 You're I saw I saw the dark underbelly of the Afrikaner them 129 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:42,720 in our city. You know, it's like, Lord, I 130 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:44,440 want nothing to do with that Radam. 131 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:51,560 Or he brings the city to our front door and we'll put a lock 132 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:53,280 and chain. Radam. 133 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,960 And you know the crazy thing about that little word, radam 134 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,200 and the nuances about that word pops up. 135 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:05,560 I found 17 times just in the first chapter of Jonah. 136 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,640 Not the word, but the idea, the heart behind it. 137 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,080 This. No, no, not me. 138 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,720 Do you know who I am? Right. 17 times. 139 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,120 So we're going to be here for a while as I unpack the ordinary. 140 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,160 I want to lump them all, all three together and three major 141 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,920 themes that pop up. And here's the 1st I am Jonah. 142 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:28,280 This Radam is in me when I just don't care. 143 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,000 What you find with Jonah when you read the book over and over 144 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,159 and over again as we've been doing these last few days is you 145 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:41,640 find he is so self obsessed. He's completely absorbed in his 146 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:48,120 own world to the point where he says let the city burn, I care. 147 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:51,960 And then right there in the middle of the storm, he says let 148 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,720 the sailors drown. I just don't care. 149 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:00,200 You know what? You know how many Nigerians 150 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,960 there are in Pretoria? You know they all these scams, 151 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,920 let the city burn. Sure. 152 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:12,040 You know the the racism in the heart of the middle-aged white 153 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:13,960 man. Let the city burn. 154 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:16,720 ANCDA. Do you know who they are? 155 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,120 Just let them. This is the heart of Jonah. 156 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:23,080 This is Radam in my heart. There's a Scottish minister, his 157 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,040 name's Hugh Martin. He says in the verse where it 158 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,800 says he went down below decks and fell into a deep sleep. 159 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,120 He translated, he fell into a sleep of self pity. 160 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:40,160 Can I hear an A Nah, sleep of self pity. 161 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,840 I don't know if you've ever heard a narrative from someone. 162 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:47,760 You know, you have a conversation with someone and 163 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,120 it's almost like there's there's this well rehearsed paragraph of 164 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:55,720 excuses you ever had that you just, you know, that this excuse 165 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,080 has run its course. It's, it's worn into the 166 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:00,360 carpets. He or she has used it so many 167 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:01,960 times. You know, like you, you're at 168 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,080 work and you have a new employee in the department, but she's 169 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,160 like unhinged. She's properly prickly. 170 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:10,760 And so you sit it down. You're like, hey, listen, you 171 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:14,680 know, causing a little bit of a fracas here amongst the staff. 172 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:16,760 And then she starts, Yeah. But you don't understand. 173 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:19,720 You know, my boyfriend broke up with me like 19 months ago. 174 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:22,400 And, you know, I was overlooked in high school and I was, I was 175 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:24,640 meant to be a head girl, but they didn't even make me a, a 176 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,080 prefect. And actually, I was bullied and 177 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:29,880 and, you know, overlooks quite a bit as you're still like, whoa, 178 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:30,960 OK. Like what? 179 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:33,960 No, you're an idiot and you're treating people badly. 180 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,960 Can we deal with that? Yeah, but you've got and or 181 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:40,280 someone's business is tanking and you sit down with them a 182 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,240 little bit of business rescue and it's like, yeah, you know, 183 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,800 the apartheid government and, you know, Eskom and, you know, 184 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,080 then you sit with someone and they're treating their wife 185 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:50,520 badly in his job. And my parents were divorced and 186 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:52,440 my dad actually left home when I was eight. 187 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,880 It's just, it just slides off the tongue, you know, with me. 188 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:58,080 It's you know why God doesn't love me? 189 00:10:58,080 --> 00:10:59,920 It's because I did this. I did that. 190 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:04,600 I was just a disappointment. I was a well rehearsed 191 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:09,840 narrative. What Hugh Martens calls it is a 192 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:15,760 sleep of self pity. While the city burns and the 193 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:22,160 sailors drown, we hide behind our narrative of self pity and 194 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:26,080 we just don't care. Welcome to church. 195 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:27,520 I'm sorry you brought your parents today. 196 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:34,360 I don't know if you know the name Jacob, Abraham, Isaac and 197 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:37,560 Jacob. Jacob's got a very interesting 198 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:40,520 narrative. It comes as a point in his life. 199 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:45,200 He, he had twelve sons back in the ancient Near East. 200 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:47,320 This was how you extended your legacy. 201 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:53,000 Plus they didn't have TV. So he's having sun #12 and his 202 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,960 wife dies in childbirth. And it's horrific. 203 00:11:57,560 --> 00:12:01,360 It's painful. And she goes through such trauma 204 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,200 that it actually kills her. But before she dies, she said, 205 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,680 my son will be called sun #12 is going to be called Ben O Nai. 206 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,560 Ben means son, O Nai, means of my sorrow. 207 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:18,480 That's his narrative. Son of my sorrow. 208 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:23,400 Imagine being son of my sorrow. It's like, hey, guys, we've got 209 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,080 a new kid joining us in class today. 210 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:28,560 His name is Beno Nye, son of my sorrow. 211 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:32,000 And they're like, who's sorrow? He killed his mom. 212 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:34,040 Sure. Yeah. 213 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:36,760 So scootch across. You're not sharing my homework. 214 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,640 Or we come supper time. And they said, oh, son of my 215 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:44,160 sorrow, can you pray for supper, since Mom's not here to pray. 216 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:50,080 It's like, talk about a narrative, you know what I'm 217 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:54,920 saying? That's what he was called Ben 218 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,920 and I. And in my head, I don't quite 219 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,120 know how it transpired, but in my head, they're having the 220 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:04,960 funeral for Jacob's wife. And he's and he's grieving and 221 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:07,040 the family's there and everyone's in tears. 222 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,560 And Ben and I is probably crying in the corner still. 223 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:16,440 And he probably said something like, you know, this was my 224 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:21,000 everything, love at first sight. She meant the world to me. 225 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,400 I honoured the pain because it cost her her life. 226 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:28,360 But I will not honour the narrative that she's speaking 227 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:31,840 over this boy. He will not be called Ben Onai. 228 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:36,080 He will called Benjamin no longer son of my sorrow, but son 229 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:40,560 of my right hand, some of my favor, some son of light, not 230 00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:44,360 darkness, son, son of hope and future, not sorrow. 231 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:50,720 Because I'm the Father, I dictate the narrative over my 232 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:53,520 son's life, just like our Heavenly Father over you and I. 233 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:59,560 From now on, he'll be called Benjamin, son of my strength. 234 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:05,720 And you know why he does that? Because Jacob himself had a name 235 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:10,200 change moment. No, Jacob means I'm sorry. 236 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,080 It's all the Jacobs here. My son's middle name is Jake. 237 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,320 So we feel your pain. It means to be a supplanter, 238 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:19,360 schemer, deceiver. He'll grabber. 239 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:22,360 But then Jacob came face to face. 240 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:27,480 He had an encounter with a God who changes names, a God who 241 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,000 changes narratives. And he was no longer called 242 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,640 Jacob. He was called Israel, the 243 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:40,720 victorious God, and because he had been transformed, he was 244 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:44,960 able to transfer it. Because he had a name change, 245 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:48,680 because he had a narrative change, it was transferable. 246 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,800 And here's the problem. When I am Jonah is if I have not 247 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:59,160 been transformed, I cannot transfer it to a city that needs 248 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:01,320 to hear about the God of Galatians. 249 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:06,520 The God of grace needs to hear a gospel and needs to see the 250 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,120 transforming power in our lives. But because we do nothing with 251 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:15,000 what we hear, and we run around the same mountains and we vomit 252 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,240 out the same narrative and oh, you just don't understand. 253 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,880 What is not transformed cannot be transferred. 254 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,880 And if the God of Pretoria is calling you and I to bring the 255 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,880 good news, that good news needs to lay a hold of our hearts 256 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:34,360 first. I'm Jonah when I just don't 257 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,480 care. I just don't care because I've 258 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:40,000 done nothing with what I've heard. 259 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,160 I've set for weeks under the preached word. 260 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:47,360 I've set for weeks saturated by the gospel. 261 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:51,040 I've set for weeks unpacking and understanding the grace of God. 262 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:54,040 But I've done nothing with it. So it hasn't changed my 263 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,360 narrative, which means I have nothing to offer the world. 264 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:01,240 Yeah, but you don't understand. No. 265 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:04,920 No, no, no, no. You're Jonah. 266 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,840 I'm Jonah. And if I'm really honest, I just 267 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:11,960 don't care. Right down. 268 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,720 See, it's 5:00. God is calling us. 269 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:22,240 And it begins thus applying the gospel that we've heard all 270 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,680 these weeks to ourselves so that we can stand. 271 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,400 The Bible says the earth came by the blood of the Lamb and the 272 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:32,040 word of their testimony. We carry no weaponry, no power, 273 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:33,880 no presence. At least we're applying the 274 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:35,960 gospel. What have you done with what 275 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:39,400 you've heard? Are you a different person who 276 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:41,040 went into the book of Galatians with us? 277 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:45,600 Or you're going around the same mountain because you just refuse 278 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:50,120 to be transformed? That is why we're Jonah when we 279 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,560 just don't care. Second thing I see, it doesn't 280 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:59,000 get any lighter. I'm Jonah when I'm completely 281 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:04,560 unaware in verse six, the captain comes to him and 282 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:06,400 basically says, how can you sleep? 283 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,800 We're all going to die. The sky is falling. 284 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,640 The sky is falling, he said, and you're asleep. 285 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:16,960 How can you be asleep? How can you cling to your radam? 286 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:20,200 We're all going to die. But you see, what I find 287 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:22,720 fascinating here is he calls him the captain. 288 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:25,839 It's highly likely that Jonah didn't even know his name. 289 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:30,400 Thinking back afterwards when he's writing down this accounts 290 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,720 that we get to preach from and and study and learn from 291 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:36,960 probably for like what's his name? 292 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:39,240 I think you told me I don't know. 293 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,440 Not only didn't he care, he he was completely unaware. 294 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,880 He never factored into the fact that this wasn't just a captain. 295 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,080 This was highly likely a husband, maybe even a father, 296 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,560 definitely a son, and a crew full of people who are about to 297 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:02,800 perish because he simply didn't care, wasn't aware, didn't weigh 298 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:04,680 on him. I don't know if you know one of 299 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,040 the biggest changes that we've had in architecture when it 300 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,640 comes to home design in our generation, and you're in my 301 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:13,320 generation. The biggest change, the biggest 302 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,840 shift in architecture in our homes was that the veranda that 303 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:21,360 used to be at the front door has become a deck in the backyard 304 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,560 that is right down when it comes to being aware of and caring for 305 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:29,200 our city. It's an incredible picture 306 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:32,200 because we've changed. We used to love sitting. 307 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:34,960 The generations before used to love sitting on that veranda. 308 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:38,400 See the kids play. Oh, I hear your your son's 309 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:40,280 gotten engaged. It's so wonderful. 310 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:42,640 Shame. Is Jason out of hospital yet? 311 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,480 How did the exams go as a veranda? 312 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:50,360 But now we're at the back. Yeah, that's right. 313 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:53,440 Done sitting on the deck. You know, I don't know about 314 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:55,440 you. I'm an introvert, so I've got an 315 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:57,200 excuse. I don't know about you. 316 00:18:57,640 --> 00:18:59,720 Build those walls higher. Thank you very much. 317 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:03,000 If I could have COVID back, if you can give us lockdown, that 318 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,000 would be highly appreciated. Build those walls higher. 319 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,040 You know, sit on that back deck there. 320 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,880 Maybe move deeper into the estate. 321 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:14,440 So they've got to, you know, do fingerprints and eyeballs and 322 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:16,640 give some blood before they come anywhere near my home. 323 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,480 Hire a few extra PAS between you and your problem. 324 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,840 I mean your staff. Distract yourself with your cell 325 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,400 phone while you sit at the robots until it goes green so 326 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,560 that you can rush past the beggar into your home and hide 327 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,640 on your deck the pina colada and enjoy the sunset. 328 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:36,400 And thank Jesus for his goodness and His blessing on your life. 329 00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:41,280 It's alive and well in the church, is it not? 330 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:46,880 It's alive and well in my heart. True story. 331 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:52,560 We're going to take one step lower and I'm going to read you 332 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:56,680 something from Ezekiel 16. Do you know what the sin of 333 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:59,000 Sodom was? You know, Sodom and Gomorrah, we 334 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,720 always think the sin of Sodom was the sexual indiscretion. 335 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:08,040 When Ezekiel 1649 says now this was the sin of your sister 336 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:13,720 Sodom, she was arrogant, overfed and unconcerned while the 337 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:15,960 oppressed and needy suffered outside her door. 338 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:19,960 Kevin Phonet gave a prophetic word last year, I think it was 339 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,640 October, saying that he believes that God is going to send the 340 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:26,000 city to our front door. What if God does that? 341 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:27,600 And he has been doing that already? 342 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:30,840 But what if God does that? Will he find, will they find a 343 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,760 safe place? Will they find a place like 344 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,320 Sodom that was unaware and unconcerned? 345 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:41,720 I am Jonah when I just don't care and when I'm completely 346 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,040 oblivious, unaware to the problems of those around me. 347 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,200 Milt Cunningham tells an incredible story. 348 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,840 He's a pastor and he was travelling, had a bit of an 349 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:53,520 emergency. So it was one of those cases 350 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:56,840 where he arrived at the airport, bought the ticket and boarded. 351 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:00,120 So he didn't get a chance to book the, you know, aisle seat 352 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:01,280 or window seat or whatever he liked. 353 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:03,120 He ended up right slap bang in the middle. 354 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:08,520 He had a young girl on his left who he says had downs and then 355 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:10,240 there was an empty seat on on the right. 356 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,240 And so he's a large guy. So he's looking at the door, 357 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:14,920 hoping, hoping that he's the last one to come through and he 358 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,880 can get the aisle seats and he can sort of sleep his way to his 359 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,040 destination. He said while he's watching, you 360 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:25,160 know, trying not to make it obvious, the girl with Down 361 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:27,160 syndrome, she's got headphones on and she's drawing what have 362 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,040 you. She takes her headphones off and 363 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:32,240 turns them and says, do you brush your teeth? 364 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:38,720 She's like, yeah, I do, my girl. I do brush my teeth every day, 365 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:40,160 all the time. She's like, that's very good. 366 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:42,440 It's important to brush your teeth and you mustn't miss it. 367 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,600 Morning and evening. It's like, yes, my girl, I do. 368 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:47,320 That puts the headphones back on. 369 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,520 She's another world. He takes a quick glance at that. 370 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,800 The front door. Next thing the headphones are 371 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:54,720 off and she looks him. Do you smoke? 372 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,000 No, my girl, I don't smoke. I've never smoked. 373 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:00,440 Actually, no one in my family smokes. 374 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:02,320 That's not my smell, that's just smelling. 375 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:04,720 No, no, she's like, that's very good. 376 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,200 Because smoking can kill you. You mustn't smoke. 377 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:11,040 Thanks, Michael. Don't worry, I don't smack 378 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:12,760 headphones back on into own wall. 379 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:15,400 He looks up and as he looks up, there's some movement at the 380 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:17,640 front there, you know, the air hostesses are turning to the 381 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:21,200 door. He's like, please, no turns. 382 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:26,240 And she's looking at him again. Do you love Jesus says, oh, my 383 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,720 girl, I love him so much. Actually, you know what I do? 384 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:33,920 It's my privilege to tell people about how much Jesus loves them 385 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,360 and watch while they awaken to this idea and fall in love with 386 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:40,800 him over and over again. That's that's what I do. 387 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,680 So yes, to answer your question, yes, I love Jesus. 388 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:49,280 She's like, that's good because Jesus loves you and he loves me 389 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,560 and I love him so much too. Hitman's on back into Iron 390 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,440 World. He looks up and there's this guy 391 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:59,600 sitting right next to Big Boy Key and he looks like he's just 392 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:00,840 come out of a bar. His. 393 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:05,120 Yeah, life is he's a little punch drunk and then alcohol 394 00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:09,720 drunk. It seems he's lost his owl seat. 395 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,640 But it's OK. He'll sort of snuggle up and 396 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:15,440 make his way. And all of a sudden he gets 397 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:22,880 these owls ask him if he brushes his teeth. 398 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:24,920 So he says, my my little friend over here wants to know if you 399 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,480 brush your teeth. He says, yes, my girl, I brush 400 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:29,200 my teeth. You know, she doesn't even put 401 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:30,920 the headphones on. She says straight back at him, 402 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:35,160 do you smoke? No, no, I don't smoke. 403 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:40,920 And again, do you love Jesus? And he leans back. 404 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,120 And the Milt said, like, the whole plane just got very dark. 405 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:52,200 And he said in this deep, rough, bitter voice, he said, no, no, I 406 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,880 do not. And Milt is sitting there. 407 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,000 He's like, yeah, he's just gone dark. 408 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:58,880 She won't look away. There's nowhere to look. 409 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:02,600 You know, do your thing past a man. 410 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:08,960 Yeah, they're like, yes, flip, this is going to be a long 411 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:12,880 flight. And then this guy said, but I 412 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:15,360 wish I did. And then he starts telling me. 413 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:19,120 He says how his life is falling apart, his business business 414 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:21,240 going, and he doesn't know if his marriage is going to make 415 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,280 Christmas. And he had the worst fight with 416 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:26,120 his daughter just before she went off to college, college. 417 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,280 And he says this, He said, I wish I just there was someone 418 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:33,360 who could help someone I could cry out to, someone who could 419 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:35,200 wade into this mess. And then he said this. 420 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:38,000 I just don't know how to get to him. 421 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:43,720 And then you spend the next two or three hours, three out just 422 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:47,760 how to get him because that Isle became aware. 423 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,880 I'm when I do not care and I'm Jonah when I'm unaware. 424 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:59,960 The right next to me is someone just wants to know how to get to 425 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,200 Jesus. And here I stand by someone 426 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:05,240 who's studied to tell you how to do just that. 427 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,760 But because I'm unaware, I just don't care. 428 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,040 And I sleep on the plane and the opportunity is missed. 429 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,680 I'm just like Jonah when I don't care when I'm unaware. 430 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:23,720 And I'm like Jonah I am Jonah when my life is devoid of prey. 431 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,000 Now that was the thing, and this is the thing I want to draw out 432 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,680 and leave you with because it really struck me as odd. 433 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:36,760 He doesn't pray entirety of the storm. 434 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,880 He doesn't pray. The sailors do. 435 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,800 Verse six, the captain went to Jonah and said, how can you 436 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:48,120 sleep, Radam? How can you, Radam and his 437 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,600 charge to Jonah, get up and call on your guard. 438 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:55,600 See, we see. We see where I was explaining to 439 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,000 you that the sailors were afraid. 440 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:02,960 The next thing it says and they cried out to their gods small G 441 00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:06,680 but here he says you call out to your God capital G. 442 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:11,480 He recognized something that Jonah had resources that they so 443 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:15,120 desperately needed. But Jonah flat out refused to 444 00:26:15,120 --> 00:26:18,960 bring his resources to be on the situation in the most simple but 445 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:25,600 yet most powerful thing and that is pray just refused to pray. 446 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:31,360 I don't know if you know this, but you are a priest. 447 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:33,960 The Bible talks about the priesthood of all believers, 448 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:38,600 which means that you and I are meant to be priests to the city. 449 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:44,240 You know the two primary roles of priests, firstly was to enter 450 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:48,240 the presence of God. That is your responsibility. 451 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,040 If you call yourself a Christian, you're a priest, and 452 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:55,760 your responsibility is to use that privilege of pressing into 453 00:26:55,760 --> 00:27:01,000 the presence of God. Your second responsibility is to 454 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,480 take that presence to the people of the city. 455 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:07,160 Those were the two primary responsibilities of priests. 456 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:12,400 And then you're meant to take the needs of the people back 457 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:17,280 into the presence of God. But when Radalmus presence in 458 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:21,640 our hearts and tell me what to do, don't ask me about my quiet 459 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,240 time. I don't want to bring a Bible to 460 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:27,760 church. Then we've got nothing to take 461 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:31,400 to the people of the city because you don't really want to 462 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,320 go back there. You're not actually aware and 463 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:35,800 you don't care. So you've got nothing to take 464 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,160 into the presence of God. And so the fundamental purpose 465 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:43,040 of your place in this city is left on the sideline because of 466 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,080 radon. And someone said the other day 467 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:49,760 said if God were to answer all your prayers, they're talking 468 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:51,880 about prayer. We'll draw out a whole bunch 469 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:53,840 more over the next few weeks, but I want to draw out on this 470 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,080 one thing. If God were to answer your 471 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,840 prayers, like all the prayers that you prayed over the last 472 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:00,160 seven days. All right, Yeah. 473 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,200 I don't know. If you watch Bruce Almighty, he 474 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,480 becomes like God for a day and he gets all these prayer 475 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:09,320 requests emailed through to him and he just says yes to all. 476 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,120 If God were to do that for you, the prayers that you prayed over 477 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:16,920 the last seven days, would the city even notice? 478 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:22,480 I know you've just heard it. I've had to carry this all week 479 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:25,360 hilt. Would the city even notice? 480 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:30,000 And so I looked at my week. There would be hands that would 481 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,280 be blessed because they prepared food. 482 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,200 There would be one or two headaches that would be eased 483 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:38,200 and kids exams that would go better. 484 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:42,320 And I would have parked at all the best parking spots right by 485 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:45,120 the front door. If God had answered all my 486 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:53,960 prayers that I prayed in the last seven days and you, would 487 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:56,400 the city have featured in your prayers at all? 488 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:02,280 Does the city feature in my prayers at all? 489 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:08,600 Am I bringing my resources to bear access to the King of 490 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:14,400 Kings, the God who spoke all of existence into being with a word 491 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:19,320 I'm saying, Father this. You know why I'm not? 492 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,640 The Bible says from the overflow of your heart, your heart, the 493 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:24,480 mouth speaks the NRV. Actually, I like it. 494 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:28,760 The NRV says the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 495 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:33,920 There's nothing of the city in our hearts. 496 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:38,640 That's why the mouth speaks of what the heart is full of. 497 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:42,320 The heart is full of me, my needs, myself, obsessed, 498 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:46,120 absorbed, small, shrunken, introvert world. 499 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:49,200 Because my heart is full of that. 500 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:55,320 That's what comes out in prayer. And what we need, what this city 501 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:59,080 needs is for you and I to have an encounter with the presence 502 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:01,200 of God. See, don't hear what I'm not 503 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:03,200 saying. To use a lovely old phrase we 504 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:05,920 used to say every Sunday. Don't hear what I'm not saying. 505 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:12,160 The answer to this issue where I am Jonah is not more programs. 506 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:17,400 The answer to this issue that I am Jonah is the presence of God, 507 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:20,720 an encounter with God because the Bible says we are to love 508 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:23,800 the Lord our God with all our hearts, our minds, our strength 509 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:28,640 and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves. 510 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:33,640 And it begins here and encounter with the God who changes names, 511 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:39,800 the God who changes narratives so that we being transformed can 512 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:43,520 transfer it into our city. And so I want to call you 513 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:48,680 through TR to stand in the gap for the city begin there. 514 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,440 There are so many things in so many areas. 515 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:53,840 If there are two and a half thousand people here, there are 516 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:58,520 250,000 different iterations of how to actually wade into the 517 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:00,960 needs of the city that will come. 518 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:05,320 The way we need to start is an encounter with the living God on 519 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:12,240 our knees in prayer. Now I know men doesn't come 520 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,200 natural. You know, the last time you read 521 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,680 was when you left my trick and pray. 522 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:20,760 It's a very namby pamby kind of thing. 523 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,600 I know. Let me share this with you. 524 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,720 I was watching a movie after a Sunday night after preaching. 525 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,280 I like to watch something where everything gets destroyed. 526 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:36,360 There's bombs, you know, sort of like numb myself, you know that 527 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,080 all the stress and anxiety or whatever of a suddenly just go 528 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:42,280 into whether it's John Wick four or Mission Impossible or 529 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:43,880 something like that. You know, there needs to be lots 530 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,400 of guns, lots of explosions. And the one Sunday night I was 531 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:48,320 watching and there's a technology, I don't know many of 532 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:50,960 you know about this, but it's where you basically paint a 533 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:55,560 target with laser and you stand there, you've, you've been 534 00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:57,600 cornered by the enemy, whatever the case might be. 535 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:01,320 And there's a machine gun nest and you paint that target with 536 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:03,360 your laser. And then they're able to send a 537 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:07,400 drone and the drone releases a missile and it's is centered on 538 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:09,320 the target that you're painting with A laser. 539 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,480 And the incredible technology is that you can use it an unmanned 540 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:15,440 drone. They have these machines that 541 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,920 basically sit behind you on wheels and they just wait for 542 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:20,920 you to paint a target and then they launch. 543 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:23,600 And the, the accuracy of that is sublime. 544 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:26,400 It's phenomenal technology, modern technology. 545 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,480 And I was watching that, and I suddenly realized that's exactly 546 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:36,200 what prey is. Men, could I ask you just paint 547 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:42,120 a target? Father, there's this person at 548 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,000 the office going through this situation. 549 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:51,000 Can I just paint that target? Can you send your presence? 550 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,480 Can you send the right things to say? 551 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:58,240 Can you send finances? Can you send a softening of her 552 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:00,800 husband's heart or whatever? Just just paint a target. 553 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:03,080 Just paint a target. Me. 554 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,920 As God shows you things in this city, can you and I paint the 555 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:10,080 target? Let's not be Jonah. 556 00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,400 Let's be Jesus to the city and paint the target. 557 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:16,960 I'll close with this. The guy's name is TS Mooney. 558 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:17,880 I don't know if you've heard of him. 559 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:21,280 He's a tiny little book that's been published on TS Mooney. 560 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:23,760 And hunt it down. I see you writing me. 561 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:26,760 I'll spoil the punchline of the book. 562 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:31,840 But he was a, he was a very ordinary, inconspicuous British 563 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:34,480 man. He was a banker and he was a 564 00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:38,160 bachelor, never got married. But when he got saved, he 565 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,560 decided he's going to get engaged with the church. 566 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:44,400 And so he went to them and asked, like, where do you need 567 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:45,400 help? And they said, well, actually, 568 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,280 we need help with Sunday school if it's not beneath you. 569 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,080 And he said, absolutely. He served in Sunday school for 570 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:54,760 50 years. TS Mooney And he had this little 571 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:58,360 class of young boys and he had this mission statement to the 572 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:00,160 boys. He said, I want to put a Bible 573 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:03,120 in every one of their hands, Jesus and every one of their 574 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:05,840 hearts and a purposeful life in every one of their heads. 575 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:11,560 And in the book, it tells of how a guy went to visit one of his 576 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,400 former Sunday school kids went to go visit him when he was in 577 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:16,679 the 70s. And he he's a British guy. 578 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:19,320 So he says the stodgy old home and he's wearing his slippers 579 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,719 and he sort of shuffles through. But he said, before you sit 580 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:26,159 anywhere, I want to take you through my, my showcase of 581 00:34:26,159 --> 00:34:28,159 rogues. He used to call them rogues. 582 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:31,960 And on his walls, he had a picture of every single person 583 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:36,080 who'd been through his Sunday school, not as little boys, but 584 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:39,239 as men. And this guy tells how he can 585 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:43,800 recognize there are High Court judges and famous surgeons 586 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:48,040 who've pioneered new procedures, and there's high school teachers 587 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:53,080 and plumbers and and preachers and lawyers and many recognised 588 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:56,639 from Parliament. And he said, I pray for these 589 00:34:56,639 --> 00:35:00,320 rogues every single day. He says I've been in constant 590 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:03,440 contact, just as I was with the youth talking to the guy who's 591 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:05,640 taken through his home, constant contact. 592 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:09,040 But most importantly, I always took them into the special 593 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:11,880 place. Their names were on my lips when 594 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:15,280 I went into the presence of God. And then he writes this. 595 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:17,400 He said he was challenged with this thought. 596 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:20,440 What is being built on the foundation of my prayers? 597 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:25,640 Generation of young men transformed. 598 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:30,000 Because he had been transformed, he could transfer it to the 599 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,360 power of prayer. And that is my question. 600 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:34,560 I will leave you with this. What is being built on the 601 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:38,040 foundation of your prayers? So he passes away. 602 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:42,600 The housekeeper, because he was a bachelor, finds him the next 603 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:46,160 day. He was dressed in a Sunday best, 604 00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:48,360 on his knees. He had slumped on his bed. 605 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:53,360 He had passed away in pray. You see, it was morning, it was 606 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:59,360 time to pray and he was praying. And so the housekeeper goes to 607 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:02,960 find some of the neighbours, calls him, and as they lift him 608 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:07,600 off his bed, a little book falls had been opened, the book full 609 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,960 of names of people that he prayed for, these rogues. 610 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:16,160 He entered into the presence of God with their names on his 611 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:18,320 lips. It is a familiar place. 612 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:23,080 It was morning, it was time to pray and he was praying. 613 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:26,920 See, I'm Jonah and I just don't care. 614 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:32,880 I don't care because I'm in a way and I dare not become aware 615 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:35,080 because my life is devoid of prey. 616 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:39,600 But if we start there, if we begin in the presence of God, 617 00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:43,960 the heart that he has for our city will become our heart. 618 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:47,920 And then we begin to have the faith and the grace to become 619 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:52,200 aware and to stir us to care. And in that place we become the 620 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:56,800 hands and feet for Jesus and our let me pray for us, and then 621 00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:01,160 we're done. Heavenly Father, I just want to 622 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:05,560 bring this magnificent city of Pretoria before you. 623 00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:10,400 Father, you know everything that goes on in every streets, in 624 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:12,840 every house, every home, every heart. 625 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:16,560 Lord, I pray that we would have an encounter with you of these 626 00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:19,840 next few weeks that would radically transform us and 627 00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:23,080 encounter in your presence where a heart for the city will be 628 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:25,720 birthed, where our narratives will be changed. 629 00:37:25,720 --> 00:37:29,480 Where you will equip us with the grace of God that the gospel 630 00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:33,800 would be on our lips, that we can do no other but share the 631 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:39,920 fresh bread that we have found. I pray for this great city we 632 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:42,760 would leave here, no longer as Jonah but as Jesus your hands 633 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:46,760 and feet, and that this city will be all the better for it in 634 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:47,480 Jesus name.