Well, it's that time again. It's time for a nice cup of hot
Joe with yours truly. Joe Kirby, if you've never found
this channel before, this is my Christian channel where I seek
to reach Christians Particularly, I've got another
channel which many of you might have seen before, which is
called Off the Curb Ministries and that's particularly aimed at
unbelievers. But this channel here is a is a
channel where I just want to teach the Bible very gently.
No sensationalism, no sort of trying to grab people and hook
people in. Let's just look at the word of
God together and see what the Lord does.
And today I've actually got a bit of an interesting topic for
you. I know this isn't going to reach
lots and lots of people, but I'm okay with that.
And the reason is this. I have a very special place in
my heart for people who have autism or additional needs in
general, and I want to talk about that.
As Christians, how do we support people with additional needs and
autism? Because something wonderful has
happened recently, at least something I've been observing,
and it's sorry, I just need to clear my throat.
I've been noticing that there's been many, many autistic people
who are coming to faith. It just seems to be happening.
I think it's through the Internet, but then they're
coming into our churches and we're meeting them, and it's
just a wonderful thing. And if you know anything about
me, you'll know. Before I went into full time
Christian work, I actually used to support a young man who had
autism in the classroom as a teaching assistant.
And if you know anything about me, you'll know that I've got
friends and even family members who have autism.
So it's something that's very dear to my heart.
And I want us to think as Christians, how do we support
these people? How do we look after these
people and how do we make them feel like they're included in
our in our body? Because they are.
They're they're definitely included in the body of Christ.
So let's get some coffee and let's think about three things
of how we can support autistic people.
If you've not got your coffee yet, please do pause the video.
Go and get yourself a a nice warm cup of coffee.
I'm drinking Malaysian coffee today, you know, because I am a
very fancy man and you know, my wife just bought me it.
So let's try this. If anyone's watching from
Malaysia, please let me know as well.
So the first thing I'd like us to consider is this.
We really do need to make sure that we make time for people
with additional needs. Now, it's very easy for us as
Christians when we go to church or when we, you know, we we go
out into the world. It's very easy for us to just
only make time for people who we like or who are like us.
But the Bible says something very, very different.
The Bible says whether people have got additional needs,
whether they're homeless, whoever they are, we need to
make time for them. Jesus said this in Matthew 25,
verse 40. Sorry, that is way too hot.
I've just burnt my lip, assuredly I say to you in as
much as you did it for one of the least of these, my brethren,
you did it for me also or you did it to me.
And it's this idea, you know, where we've got people who are
lonely, they need looking after, they need love.
And you might not have the desire to do that.
I hope you've got the desire naturally with inside you to to
want to help these people and to to love them.
But if you don't have that desire naturally inside of you,
remember, if you give a cup of water, if you spend time with
them, say a kind word, you're doing it for the Lord Jesus
Christ. And the flip side also applies.
If you mock, if you laugh at one of these children with
additional needs, if you ignore them, if you did it to the least
of these, well, you did it to me too.
You did it to the Lord Jesus too.
I've got a friend and he's a wonderful evangelist in our
local area and he actually has a son who went to my school.
Actually, he was much younger than me, but I remember them
coming into our primary school and doing an assembly because he
was an evangelist even back then, my friend, and he was
doing telling people, all the children about Jesus.
But one time he came in and he told us about his son who would
be starting. He was just five years old at
the time and his son had this, had this illness called, I think
it's hydrocephalus, the way you pronounce it, but it's basically
where they have an enlarged forehead.
I think it's lots of fluid on the brain.
I'm not a doctor, so don't quote me on that.
And they said about this, this man's son, he won't last a few
seconds. As soon as he's born, he won't
live. And yet what happened in the
Lord's grace, he lived. Then the doctor said, oh, he
won't make it to five years old. Well, as you know already, he
made it to five years old. This is years ago.
I think the young man's about 20 now and he's still alive right
now. But my friend is an evangelist.
Do you know what he'd tell you if if you asked him on this
whole issue of people with additional needs, he'd say that
we need them in society because they help us more than we help
them. And I've got to agree with that.
My my wife used to work in a in a special needs school.
And if you spend a day with a group of Down syndrome children
or Down syndrome people, I'm telling you whatever worries,
whatever you were concerned about before, they will all go
away because they are the most joyful, loving people and a lot
of special needs children who were in the school that Emma
worked at. They were in so much pain, and
yet they'd always be smiling. They'd always have have a joy
about them. And you will know that if you
spend time with them. In fact, my mother-in-law
actually is what's called APA. She's a personal assistant, and
she lets different children with additional needs come and stay
in her house and she looks after them.
And one of them. I won't name the girl, but we've
known her for many, many years. And me and Emma, we used to
teach drama to children with additional needs as well.
And I remember once I just thought, you know, I was in the
corner. No one was looking at me and I
started to pick my nose. And so this girl called me out
straight away and said, Joe, stop picking your nose.
And then the rest of the class erupted in laughter.
Now that was probably 12 years ago and every time I see her
still to this day, she always says, Joe, stop picking your
nose and sometimes it can be in rather embarrassing things.
In fact, on our wedding day, this girl came.
She came to the wedding. I'm sorry, I'm laughing at it
myself. But she came to the wedding day,
and in the middle of my, my speech, as as as the groom, she
shouted out. Stop picking your nose.
So, you know, they really do create a lot of joy and a lot of
laughter. OK, And something else I wanted
to show you as well as this. We again, as Christians, this is
something. Perhaps it's something maybe I
only struggle with or something that perhaps I only notice every
now and then. But I think we have a problem,
don't we, in that we do like to be around the higher people in
society. We like to be around those who
are, you know they've got high status.
Well, Jesus hates that when it's inside of us, that that mindset.
And in fact in in Luke Chapter 11, if you've got a Bible,
please turn there. He said something about the
Pharisees who always wanted to be seen with with the finest
people in the world. You said this Luke 11, verse 43.
Woe to you Pharisees for you love the best seats in the
synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
Now why do I share that verse with you?
Let me just have a little sip. Hopefully it won't burn my mouth
this time. They make some good coffee in
Malaysia. I share that verse with you for
this reason. At church, sometimes we might
want to hang around with the cool kids, or maybe in a social
situation. At school, we might want to be
seen with the cool kids, or the preacher, or the pastor, or
people who have status. And yet, very often, very sadly,
I've seen it. Older people, especially with
autism, they're left sitting on their own and no one wants to
speak to them because they're different or because it might be
difficult to enter into a conversation.
Please, please don't be that Christian at church who just
walks past the person with additional needs.
Please make time for them and don't always want the best seats
with the the finest people. And even if this person doesn't
have additional needs, there's all there's always people at
churches or at conferences or in situations where you know that
they're not the most popular person, they're not the most
entertaining person. No one really wants to speak to
them. But don't let them eat their
meals on their own. Don't let them be the person who
sat on their own. No, you be the person who wants
to speak to them. And don't just do it as well
because the Lord Jesus Christ would want you to do it.
Pray for a desire to love those people, because I'll tell you,
they can teach you just as many things, if not more, than these
high and mighty people who you might want to associate with.
OK, the second thing I'd like us to consider when it's about
befriending people with autism or additional needs is this,
Don't be offended. One thing, for instance, is you
might think that autistic people are a little bit rude.
You know, they they speak their mind that there's no filter,
they'll just speak and and get straight to the point.
Again, when I was working in the school, I remember once I was,
you know, helping this, this young man with his writing.
And I was talking away to him and he just turned around and
said your breath smells. I honestly didn't know what to
say. So I said, well, what does it
smell of? And he said, I don't know, what
are you asking me? But, you know, obviously
everyone for the rest of the day had been thinking, yeah, Joe,
your breath absolutely stinks. You need a Tic Tac, like donkey
would say in Shrek, please, you know, stop breathing on us.
Your breath is so stinky. And yet this this young man with
autism told me the straight truth.
Don't be offended by that. And again, it's it's a very
broad spectrum. Not all autistic people are the
same. But don't be offended by those
things. Don't be offended if they
struggle to make eye contact with you.
That again, can be something that people with autism struggle
with. They're not being rude, it's
just part of who they are. Another thing is as well, if
it's difficult to make conversation or they only give
you one word answers, you don't have to always feel like you
need to, you know, have conversation all of the time.
If you just sit with them and if you just have company with them,
I'm telling you that will mean the world to them.
Just spend time with them. There doesn't always have to be
conversation. And also, if they want some time
alone, if they're perhaps they're struggling to regulate
their emotions because they've had a stressful day or they're
very anxious, just again, just be patient, be gracious, and
just be there for them. The next thing is this something
and and and if you are autistic and you're watching this, please
just let me know if I've got anything wrong and let me know
if there's any other thoughts. Anything else you might add to
this list of how people can, you know, support you and and be
there for you because we all need encouragement.
But the other thing is this is you need to make sure at times
it's good to to reassure people with autism.
Now, again, this isn't every autistic person, but the
autistic people who've I've had the privilege to spend time
with, very often they can sort of struggle to to they they feel
like you don't like them or there can be a real anxiety.
They're always overthinking, worrying about different things.
And if you just give them the time of day and just reassure
them on whatever they're worrying about or give them a
kind word, a compliment, I'm telling you it'll be more
precious to them than a bar of gold.
And that's really what I want to say to to you today is that, you
know, the wonderful thing about the church is this.
In the body of Christ we have people from all different
backgrounds, all different colours, all different creeds,
all different abilities. And the wonderful thing is that
Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of them.
You tell me, another institution where you get all kinds of
people of all ages, you get elderly people with children,
you get black, white, Chinese, Indian, all kinds of people, all
with the same heartbeat that Jesus Christ died on a cross for
me. And the wonderful thing is if
Jesus Christ went to the cross and he died for all people.
I really do believe that When I read the scripture I believe
world means world. I believe Jesus Christ died when
it says for the cosmos, for for all the people in the world.
He was the propitiation not just for our sins only, but for the
whole world. He died for, for those people
with Down syndrome, with special needs.
He He died for for the rich man, Richard Branson.
He died for Mr. Beast on YouTube.
He died for all these people. And so if Jesus was willing to
go to the cross, if he was willing to to be on, be in agony
there to take the worst punishment possible, the wrath
of God for our sin, if he was willing to do that for that
person, that must mean whichever person you come across, whether
it's in the street, in church, that person is precious in Jesus
eyes. And if they're precious to the
Lord Jesus Christ, please, please make sure they're
precious to you also and spend time with them.
Let me leave you with one final thought.
If you do watch my main channel, you've probably heard me tell
this illustration before, but Edward had Down syndrome.
And the boys and girls in Edward's class, they used to
tease him a lot. They used to make fun of him
because he was different. And one day, Edward's teacher
said, we're going to do a little task.
I'm going to give you a jar now, OK?
And I want you to get things inside of your jar.
I want you to go into the field and put anything that reminds
you of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ inside of of
of the clear jar. So one boy went out and he came
back to the teacher, and he, he had a butterfly inside of the
jar. Oh, miss it.
It reminds me of new life. Another little girl came back
and and she had a little flower in in the in the jar.
And it's this is the beauty, the growth of the resurrection.
And then Edward came back and he brought back in his jar
absolutely nothing. And again the boys and girls
like you know, they're laughing, they're ha ha, Edward's got it
wrong again. Edward's made a mistake again.
And the teacher was even a little bit confused.
Edward, you do realise what I asked you to do?
And Edward said rather boldly, yes, but Miss, the tomb was
empty. That's why I came back with
nothing in my jar. And my dear friend, why do I
tell you that story? Well, not only to remind you
that the tomb really was empty and Jesus is risen from the
dead, but also, as my friend said earlier, we really do need
people with additional needs, because they see the world in a
different in a different way. They see the world clearly often
and some of the most finest people in this world have been
autistic, have had additional needs and they've done amazing
things that you and I could could never do.
So please just make sure that we love them and we make time for
them. And if you have got additional
needs, I want you to know you're very, very welcome on this
channel anytime. I'm very grateful that you also
watch the videos. God bless you all.
And if you would like to see a video all about prayer and also
about if you feel like you're drifting away from God and and
you're you're even doubting whether you're a Christian,
perhaps watch this video here. It might just encourage you.
God bless you all and please do consider subscribing.
Thank you again and I'm going to have my coffee now.