1 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:10,720 Right, we are continuing in our series in the book of Two 2 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:12,640 Corinthians. We're in chapter 5. 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,120 Today and I'm going to be reading verse 11 to 6. 4 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:17,800 Verse 2. If you've got a Bible, it'd be 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:19,120 great if you. Opened it. 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:21,400 I always say it's. Great to read along with me 7 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,640 because my reading isn't always the best. 8 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:25,760 So here we go. It's. 9 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,760 Going to come up on the screen. And but yeah. 10 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:33,200 Please read along with me, it says, Since then we know what it 11 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,040 is to fear the Lord. We try to persuade others. 12 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:40,680 What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your 13 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,240 conscience. We are not trying to commend 14 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,600 ourselves to you again, but I've given you the opportunity to 15 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:51,120 take pride in us so that you can answer those who take pride in 16 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,480 what is seen rather than what is in the heart. 17 00:00:54,760 --> 00:01:00,760 If we are out of our minds, as some say, it is for God, if we 18 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:02,840 are in our right mind, it is for you. 19 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:07,520 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that 20 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,360 one died for all, and therefore all died. 21 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:15,400 He who died for all, that those, those who live should no longer 22 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:20,440 live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised 23 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,000 again. So from now on we regard no one 24 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,880 for a worldly point of view, though we once regarded Christ 25 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:33,200 in this way, so do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in 26 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,840 Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new 27 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,240 is here. All this is from God who 28 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,880 reconciles us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry 29 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,800 of reconciliation. That God was reconciling the 30 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,600 world to Himself through Christ, not counting people sin against 31 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,120 them, and He has committed to thus the ministry of 32 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,000 reconciliation. We. 33 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:06,320 Therefore are ambassadors, as though God was making his appeal 34 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,080 through us. We implore you on Christ's 35 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:11,680 behalf be reconciled to God. God made him. 36 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:15,560 Who? Who had no sin to be sin for us, 37 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:19,040 so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 38 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:23,480 As God's coworkers, we urge you not to receive God's grace and 39 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:25,720 vain. But he says, in the time of my 40 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,160 favour I heard you, and the day of salvation he helped you. 41 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,840 I tell you, now is the time of God's favour now. 42 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:36,800 Is the day of salvation. Lord Jesus, I thank you, Lord 43 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,160 God, for all that you have done for us. 44 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,560 Lord Jesus, I thank you, Lord God, that Jesus Christ you came 45 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,760 and that today, Lord God, we can declare with you that today is 46 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:51,760 the day of salvation. Lord Jesus, that you have made 47 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,000 us. You've made a way that we can be 48 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,560 made right with God, that our sin can be dealt with, that we 49 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,160 can have a relationship with you, Lord Jesus. 50 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,960 And I pray, Lord God, that if there's anyone here or anyone 51 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:07,400 who listens to this Lord Jesus who doesn't know you or is once 52 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,840 knew you and us, turn their back on you, Lord Jesus, I pray, Lord 53 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,760 God, that you would draw them back into relationship with you 54 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,840 once again. Lord Jesus, you came so that we 55 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:17,520 could have eternal life with you. 56 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,800 And Lord God, I pray that each and everyone of us would, as we 57 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,720 sung in worship, would surrender our lives to you and take hold 58 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:29,840 with both hands this opportunity to have a life and life with you 59 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:30,960 eternal. Amen. 60 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,560 Amen. So I want to ask you to start 61 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:41,320 off with what is a Christian? What does it mean to be a 62 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,920 Christian? Now, last time I asked you a 63 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,160 couple of questions and I gave a couple of bad answers. 64 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:49,560 And so I'm going to give you a couple of bad answers again. 65 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:51,760 So what does it mean to be a Christian? 66 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:57,520 These are bad answers. To be a good person, bad answer. 67 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,080 Yeah, exactly. And it another bad, bad answer. 68 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:05,960 To be a Christian means that you go to church to be a good 69 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:07,760 Christian. To be a Christian means that you 70 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,320 pray. To be a Christian means you 71 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:15,480 serve and you give. Now all these things are good. 72 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:20,240 Now if you, if you are a Christian, we are, we are called 73 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,800 to live to a higher standard. If you are a Christian, we are 74 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:28,680 called to meet together as the body, to gather, to prioritise 75 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:31,440 the gathering of the Saints, to come together on Sundays, to 76 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,720 meet together in midweek groups. We're we're asked to do that. 77 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,400 If we're a Christian, we're called to pray, we're called to 78 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:39,920 seek God, to pray, pray to Jesus. 79 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,560 If we're a Christian, we're called to use our gifts and 80 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:47,440 talents to serve one another, to give to what Christ is doing. 81 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,680 But that's not what it means to be a Christian. 82 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,840 So to be a Christian, actually a guy called Nicodemus in John 83 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:59,840 chapter 3 comes to Jesus. And Nicodemus was one of the 84 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:03,600 most experienced, well known teachers of his day. 85 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:08,320 And he came to Jesus and he says to Jesus, what must I do to be 86 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,880 saved? Jesus, go on, you tell me, rabbi 87 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:16,160 to rabbi, teacher to teacher, how do you believe that I 88 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,960 receive the Kingdom of God? How will I have eternal life? 89 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,920 And Jesus answer kind of perplexed him for a bit because 90 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,240 Jesus says you need to be born again. 91 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,440 You need to be born of water and born of the spirit. 92 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:31,960 And Nicodemus is kind of freaked out by this. 93 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,640 He's like, Jesus, I'm an old man. 94 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:38,240 That just doesn't work. I can't be born again. 95 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:43,760 And so Jesus explains to him. He says whoever believes in me 96 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,840 will not perish but have eternal life. 97 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,400 What he's saying is, is if we believe in Jesus, then we are 98 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:57,320 born again, that we are made new, as Paul says in this 99 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:00,280 passage here, that we are a new creation. 100 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,840 It's OK. So to be a Christian means to be 101 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:05,480 born again, which means to believe. 102 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:06,880 But what does it mean to believe? 103 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:12,240 I mean, does it mean that I believe that Jesus is king just 104 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:14,480 as much as I believe that we have a Labour government? 105 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,000 Is that what it means to believe? 106 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:20,000 Come on, Is that what it means to believe? 107 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,160 No, no, actually Scripture tells us. 108 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:25,480 Come on, let's have some, let's have some feedback here. 109 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:30,040 Jesus, Jesus text, doesn't he? He says that if the Bible tells 110 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,200 us that even Satan, even the demons, even the gods of this 111 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:37,040 world, they know that God is king, that Jesus would go around 112 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,160 to place to place and he'd set people free from demonic 113 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:42,120 oppression. And the demons, as they'd come 114 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,320 out of these people, they'd cried, Jesus, you are the Son of 115 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,600 God. They knew who he was. 116 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:50,680 See, Satan knows that Jesus is king. 117 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,000 Satan knows that he is all powerful. 118 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:59,360 Satan has really good doctrine. He does so that doesn't make us 119 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:00,800 a Christian. That doesn't mean that we 120 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:02,760 believe. That's not what Jesus talking 121 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,920 about when he says if you believe in me, you will have 122 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:09,120 eternal life because we know that Satan and all his demonic 123 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,040 forces at the end of time are we thrown in the fiery lake and 124 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,960 they will have be no more. That's not what it means to be 125 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,800 to believe. And to believe, Scripture tells 126 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:24,800 us, is not just to acknowledge that Jesus Lord, not just to 127 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:33,040 acknowledge that he is God, but actually to treasure him, to see 128 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:38,400 that he is infinitely valuable. To desire to follow him, to 129 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:42,360 desire to cherish Him and do what He asks us to do. 130 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:44,400 To give up everything because we've been talking about 131 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:50,960 already. For him to long to gaze, to be 132 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:56,880 in the presence of Him, to lay down our rights, to have Him, as 133 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:01,240 David said, better as one day to realise that better as one day 134 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:05,160 with him is better than a million days doing something 135 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,880 else. That's what it means to believe. 136 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:13,200 See Satan, He knows who God is. He knows how much power he has. 137 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:19,640 He has not submitted to him. He does not follow him. 138 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:24,480 See, belief is to fall down upon our knees in worship, desiring 139 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:28,880 nothing but to be with him, to be surrounded, to be satisfied 140 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:37,799 by the King of all kings. You see, to believe it means to 141 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:42,320 worship, to believe. You cannot believe without 142 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:44,200 worshipping, without submitting yourself. 143 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,680 So you can. You can have the best voice, you 144 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:51,640 can sing the best songs, you can sing to Jesus all day long, but 145 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,120 if you have not submitted yourself to Him, if you do not 146 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:57,760 follow Him, you're not worshipping. 147 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,240 You're just singing a nice tune, but you're not worshipping Him. 148 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:06,240 Church. Are you worshippers? 149 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,960 Are you a worshipper? Is anyone a worshipper? 150 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:14,960 We all got an extra hour in bed and we're all asleep. 151 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,080 We are. We're called to be worshippers. 152 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:26,160 See the gospel, the gospel, the gospel tell the Bible tells us 153 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:28,960 the gospel message, the gospel message, which is that Genesis 154 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:33,440 1, God created everything. He created everything. 155 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,520 Everything we see, everything that we don't see, he created. 156 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:42,640 And then Genesis 2 and God, God takes this Adama, this soil, 157 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:48,960 this mud, and he uses it, He moulds it and he makes it into 158 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:52,200 an atom and he breathes life into it. 159 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,040 And he takes this atom, this man, and he goes and puts him in 160 00:09:56,040 --> 00:10:00,480 a garden paradise, this mountaintop garden paradise. 161 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,440 He places him there and he places this atom as a 162 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:09,640 representation for all mankind. And he says to Adam, he says to 163 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:14,160 man, he says, you can choose to follow me, which leads to life, 164 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,040 or you can choose to disobey me. You can choose to live for 165 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:20,720 yourself, which ultimately leads to death. 166 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,880 And we know the story, don't we? Genesis chapter 3, Adam, man, he 167 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,720 chose, he chose death. He chose death. 168 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:33,040 He chose to live his own life. He chose to live life without 169 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:37,120 God as king. And Genesis and the rest of 170 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:41,280 Genesis all the way to Chapter 11 is about how depraved, how 171 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:44,680 bad people just keep getting worse and worse and worse and 172 00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:48,160 worse as we keep trying to do things on our own. 173 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,120 And if you're there thinking I could, I would have done things 174 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,920 better if you placed me in a garden paradise, I would have 175 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:56,960 lived perfectly. No, you wouldn't. 176 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:03,120 You wouldn't. Don't be deluded if you believe 177 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:05,880 it for a second, ask if you're married, ask your partner. 178 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:09,280 You would definitely will not. You would not. 179 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:16,680 None of us would you see and then Chapter 11 of Genesis, we 180 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:20,040 read it that God gives us over. So theologians call it a kind of 181 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,960 the great divorce that God gives up. 182 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,200 He says I'm no longer be going to be your God. 183 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,160 I'm not going to be your God, mankind, but straight after 184 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,640 that, because God is good, because he is loving, he picks 185 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:40,680 two people, Abraham and Sarah, and he says through you I'm 186 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:43,360 going to create a new nation, a new people. 187 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:47,720 And he supernaturally births the nation of Israel, the nation of 188 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:51,480 Israel, which were meant to be a people who God could, could 189 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:58,080 bring man, woman back to him, a people who he who who would use 190 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,760 to save the world. You see, when we disobeyed, when 191 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:06,880 Adam disobeyed, when we disobey, there's a chasm caused between 192 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:11,560 US and God, between him and his goodness that we cannot cross on 193 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:18,000 our own. And God supernaturally births 194 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:22,720 into being the nation of Israel to be his way of healing that 195 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:28,320 rift, of making a way back. But if you read, if you read the 196 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,280 if you read the scriptures, you read the Old Testament, you find 197 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:35,880 that not only does Israel fail, actually Israel, they need the 198 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,520 saviour just as much as we do. They need a saviour. 199 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:41,880 They mess up, they don't follow gods. 200 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:49,520 And so the Old Testament is left with a world in darkness, a 201 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:57,000 world without hope, a world abandoned, a world without God. 202 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:02,480 That's you and me. That's where Paul comes in. 203 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:09,920 He says you were lost. You were once one of Adam's 204 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,320 rebellious race. See, no matter where you were 205 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,920 born, what skin colour you have, we are all the race of Adam. 206 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:22,840 We are all his race and he Paul says that in Adam all die. 207 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:33,840 All die but God Hallelujah. But God it says he says in in in 208 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:37,560 verse 15. He says for Christ his love 209 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:42,320 compels us because we are convinced that one died for all 210 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:47,080 and therefore all died and he died for oh, he's talking about 211 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,720 Jesus here, that those who live should no longer live for 212 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:55,440 themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again. 213 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:59,080 You see, we were lost. We were hopeless, we were dead 214 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:06,640 as Adam's race, but God, but he sent Jesus, Jesus Christ who 215 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:13,120 died in our place, who died so that we, if we have faith in 216 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:15,400 him, if we believe in him, he says we died. 217 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,840 If you're a Christian, you have died to your old self, you've 218 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:23,840 died to Adam's race and now you have been raised again in 219 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,160 Christ. That's why we baptise people, 220 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:28,840 that's why we baptise them. When we baptise people, we don't 221 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:32,320 baptise people before they become Christians, we baptise 222 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:36,160 them after they've become Christians because baptism is a 223 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,240 symbol And that you die to your old self. 224 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:44,320 The old self that was in Adam is dead and now you are alive again 225 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:47,680 as Christ raised to life. You are a raised to life and now 226 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:52,200 you are no longer an Adam but you are in Christ, you are his, 227 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:57,080 you belong to him. Yes God love to see the 228 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:58,240 awakening heart. Brilliant. 229 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:09,440 See Jesus in living the perfect life that none of us could live. 230 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:12,320 See, death didn't have a claim over him. 231 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:19,280 Death had no claim over Jesus. But he chose to die. 232 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:25,560 He chose to surrender his life. Jewish guards, Roman centurions, 233 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:28,520 nails did not hold him on the cross. 234 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:34,320 He held himself on the cross. He sacrificed his own life, gave 235 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:39,920 his own life up so that as Martin Luther called the great 236 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:46,040 exchange, so that all our dross, all our disobedience, every day 237 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:50,160 that we live, every moment that we live, not acknowledging Jesus 238 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,120 Christ as King. All of that disobedience was 239 00:15:54,120 --> 00:16:00,640 placed upon him and then his eternal obedience was then 240 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,760 placed upon us. So Paul writes that we are, we 241 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:05,960 are. He's the the image that we are 242 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,000 now clothed. You are now dressed in Christ. 243 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:11,880 So you may do things that are wrong. 244 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:13,520 You may think things that are wrong. 245 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:17,240 You may sometimes live your day and not acknowledge that Jesus 246 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,960 Christ is king over your life, but that's not who God sees. 247 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:27,080 God sees the perfect, wonderful, obedient life of Christ clothing 248 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,960 you. You see, if you believe in 249 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,080 Christ, if you follow him, if you've submitted to him as your 250 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:38,400 Lord and Saviour, you are no longer in Adam, but you are now 251 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:41,760 in Christ. The old you has gone. 252 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,760 There is a new creation. Christ says. 253 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:51,360 Paul says God made him, Jesus, who didn't have sin, who didn't, 254 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,320 who had no sin to become sin. Why? 255 00:16:55,840 --> 00:17:00,880 So that you and I through faith could become the righteousness 256 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,120 of God. That's who you are. 257 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,720 I don't know if you feel like that this morning, but if you 258 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:11,920 are a believer in Christ, if you are his, you are righteous. 259 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:15,560 You have the righteousness of Christ upon you. 260 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,920 Your life has been exchanged for His. 261 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:25,280 He goes on and he says therefore, if anyone is in 262 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:30,520 Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new 263 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,560 is here. All this is from God who 264 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:38,160 reconciles us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry 265 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,560 of reconciliation that God was reconciling the world to himself 266 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:46,120 in Christ, not counting people sin against them. 267 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:49,800 Do you know, church, that when you mess up, God does not have a 268 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,600 tally chart? You may have messed up this 269 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:55,440 morning. You had an extra hour to do so 270 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:59,120 God did not come when you did not come here with God with a 271 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,000 clipboard saying, OK, these are things that you need to repent 272 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,600 of before you can come and enjoy My presence. 273 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:08,440 He's not counting your sin. There is no guilt. 274 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:13,080 There is no shame upon you. It is done at the foot of the 275 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:18,280 cross. See, once you are far off, but 276 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:23,080 now through faith in Jesus Christ, you are his. 277 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,600 You have unlimited access from not just when you die, you have 278 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,720 unlimited access from the moment you believe to Christ. 279 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,800 You have unlimited access to life as he calls it, life to the 280 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,160 full. See, Christ changed everything 281 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:45,800 upon the cross and the day that you met him, your life was never 282 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:50,320 ever going to be the same again. You see, through Jesus Christ 283 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,000 you have freedom, you have forgiveness. 284 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:59,760 Your guilt and shame is gone. You are adopted into a brand new 285 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:02,040 family. He calls you a son. 286 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,760 He calls you a child of the King of Kings. 287 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:07,520 You are as as the New Testament says you are a St which means 288 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:12,480 you are a holy one. Now that Christ's sacrifice has 289 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:20,280 been, the guilt is gone. You have forever to enjoy life. 290 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:24,760 As we looked at last time. We have life with Him and that 291 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:28,280 is the point of the gospel, to have life with him. 292 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:31,560 I mean, how amazing is life in Jesus Christ? 293 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,920 Isn't it good? It is so good. 294 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:37,720 I mean, don't you just like, don't you just love the fact 295 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,000 that Jesus has chosen you, that you are in him? 296 00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:41,800 Don't you just want to tell people about him? 297 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:45,240 Don't you just want to tell how amazing he is? 298 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:48,480 How wonderful he is to shout it out from the rooftops that Jesus 299 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:51,440 Christ is the King and he loves me and he loved you. 300 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:53,400 He saved me and he can save you as well. 301 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,040 How wonderful it is to know Jesus. 302 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:00,640 How wonderful. No wonder when we when we become 303 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,800 a Christian, something amazing happens. 304 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:08,440 We want to tell people some of us are better than that than 305 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:11,200 others. Some of us are just better 306 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:16,200 talking than others, full stop. But actually we want to tell 307 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:20,480 people about Jesus, and that's exactly what Jesus wants. 308 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:27,680 Is he Jesus? See, Jesus has called, has said 309 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:34,400 that he is that treasure and that he has called us to go and 310 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:38,640 tell the world about the treasure that we have. 311 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,680 So that's why Jesus said, now you have received, don't hold 312 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:48,920 it, but go. You have eternity in your 313 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:53,920 hearts, don't you keep it there, but tell the world about this 314 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:59,640 eternity that you have found. He says, He says here that we 315 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:04,400 are called each and every single one of us that knows Jesus to go 316 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:09,000 into all the world and be Christ's ambassadors, being the 317 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:14,520 voice of God, declaring to them that there is a Saviour who 318 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:21,040 loves them. See, God has promised that the 319 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,200 whole world is going to be changed into His glory. 320 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:29,160 Hosea, as the waters cover the sea, and as far as I know the 321 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:33,840 sea is made-up of water, the glory of God will cover the 322 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,640 whole earth. But how? 323 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:43,560 How is he going to do that? Paul says. 324 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:49,720 We therefore are Christ's ambassadors, as though God were 325 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:52,880 making his appeal through US. Who's he making his appeal 326 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,880 through? Through us, Through you and me. 327 00:21:56,600 --> 00:22:00,880 We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. 328 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:07,160 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that we might 329 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:13,000 become the righteousness of God. As God's Co workers, we urge you 330 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,680 not to receive God's grace in vain. 331 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:17,840 I mean what does he mean by that? 332 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:23,080 Receive in in vain? Well the Father to the Father, 333 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,440 the Father Spirit, Son, they have eternity lived in perfect 334 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:33,320 community. See, they didn't create the 335 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:36,560 earth, the stars, the planets, the animals, you and me, because 336 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,960 they were lonely. Actually, the Bible teaches us 337 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:45,440 that God created us because he wanted to have community with 338 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,280 us. He didn't need us, but he wanted 339 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,480 to invite us in to that community. 340 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:59,480 But because of our sin, because of that chasm, something needs 341 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:04,760 to be done. And so Jesus comes, his 342 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,760 attorney. Sacrifice makes the way. 343 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,440 God wants a family. Jesus makes a way. 344 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:15,800 But there's a whole load of people who don't know him. 345 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:21,000 How are they going to know that Jesus made a way to the Father? 346 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:24,080 How are they going to know that they need to get to the Father? 347 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,280 We must tell them. How will they know unless 348 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:32,640 someone tells them how are they here unless someone preaches you 349 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:38,200 see between this community we've got and being lost as people. 350 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:43,200 Jesus made a way but to so that they can hear is your mouth. 351 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:50,000 Your mouth is how people are going to hear everyone point to 352 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,880 your mouth. This is how God is going to save 353 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,520 the world. Now say it. 354 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:03,760 This is how God is going to save the world. 123 again like you. 355 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:12,320 Believe it one more time. It's true. 356 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,200 Now I know some of you still don't believe it, but it is 357 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,560 true. This is how God plans to save 358 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,520 the world. Through your mouth. 359 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,040 Through your mouth. See here. 360 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:29,000 His plan is to send us, Paul says as ambassadors. 361 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:34,480 Ambassadors speak on behalf of the ruler who they came from. 362 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:41,480 So when you open your mouth, you speak in the name of Jesus. 363 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,120 Don't believe me? Here's Peter. 364 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:51,040 Peter says, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy 365 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,520 nation, God's special possession. 366 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,720 You are chosen church. Every single one of you has been 367 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:00,360 chosen. You are a royal priesthood. 368 00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:03,680 That means you are a ruler with Christ, that you have access to 369 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:05,520 him. You are holy. 370 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:09,240 You are set apart. You are special to God. 371 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:14,640 Why, that you might declare the praises of him who called you 372 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:19,200 Christ Jesus out of darkness in to wonderful light. 373 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:22,200 See, Jesus is the light of the world, but he turns around and 374 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:26,840 he says, you church, you my church are the light of the 375 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,960 world's. See, a Christian is someone who 376 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,880 surrenders their life to King Jesus, who does what he wants 377 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,960 them to do, who pledges their loyalty to him, and then goes 378 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,560 and tells people how amazing he is. 379 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,880 That's what it means to be a Christian, to declare the love, 380 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:46,960 the wonder that I have been forgiven, that I have been set 381 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:50,960 free, that Jesus loves me. See, Paul says that we are 382 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:57,080 ambassadors of Christ. He doesn't say some of you are 383 00:25:57,080 --> 00:25:59,880 ambassadors and some of you aren't. 384 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,680 He doesn't say some of you are cool to open your mouth and tell 385 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,480 people about Jesus and some of you are not. 386 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:10,200 You guys can cheer them on. No, no, no, he says. 387 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,560 We all are. Actually, Paul wraps it up in 388 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:17,080 our identity that you are forgiven, that you are free, 389 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:22,280 that you are a new creation, that you are a declarer of 390 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,800 truth, that you are an ambassador of Christ Jesus. 391 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,360 That's what it means to be a Christian. 392 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:34,080 See, we are called to be Christ's ambassadors. 393 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:40,480 And so I want to look at just as we end on how Jesus showed us 394 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:45,240 how to be ambassadors, how Jesus showed us how to open our mouths 395 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:48,040 and declare the wonders of who he is. 396 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:51,960 So if you've got a Bible, just go back a few pages to the book 397 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:53,800 of John. We're going to be John 4, 398 00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:57,880 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, if you know the New Testament, John 399 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:00,200 four. And we're going to look at a 400 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:05,120 conversation that Jesus has with a woman. 401 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:12,680 And now there's a there's loads of cultural things that we could 402 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,600 get into why this is such an amazing conversation, but we're 403 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:20,120 going to leave all that. And but in verse 23, they have 404 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:24,240 this they're having this conversation about water. 405 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:26,720 They're having this conversation about worship. 406 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:33,200 And Jesus says, says to the lady, when they start talking 407 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:40,520 about worship, he says, yet a time is coming when and has now 408 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:46,520 come when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and 409 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:52,440 in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. 410 00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:56,960 You see, before I get into exactly what Jesus, Jesus Jesus 411 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:01,520 says and how he, this woman is saved, I want you just to notice 412 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:04,680 here that they've been having this, this conversation of do 413 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:07,120 you worship on this mountain or do we worship on that mountain? 414 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:09,640 Our people worship here. You say you should worship 415 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,600 there. And Jesus says a time's coming 416 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:14,400 without and it's come when that won't matter. 417 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:20,720 But know this, the Father is seeking worshippers. 418 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:28,560 So what that means is for us, as we go, as we open our mouth, as 419 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:31,880 Jesus said for the Great Commission, we don't go alone. 420 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:36,440 God isn't going here You go church, go and tell the world 421 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:38,880 about me and good luck. You're on your own now. 422 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:44,680 No, no, he says, I am with you. Jesus says in the Great 423 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:48,160 Commission, I am with you, the Father. 424 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:53,600 You're going, you're speaking. But the Father is the one who is 425 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:59,880 seeking worshippers. So the lost will be found 426 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,480 because God has ordained that lost people will be found 427 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:08,840 because he is looking for them and he's not looking for them 428 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:11,240 like you might look for your keys. 429 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:13,960 And when you've lost them and you can't find them, he's not 430 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:15,840 looking for them because he doesn't know. 431 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:17,920 I have no idea where these people are. 432 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:21,480 That's not what he's saying. He's like, where are my keys? 433 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:25,160 Well, I put them down, I can't find them and I no, no, no, He 434 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:28,360 knows. He knows where the lost people 435 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:30,480 are. He knows where His chosen sheep 436 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,760 and He sends us to go and get them. 437 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:42,120 He says in John 10 I have other sheep that are not of of this 438 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:46,760 sheep pen sheep being Christians, I must bring them in 439 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:48,640 also. He brings them in through the 440 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:51,880 cross. They too will listen to my 441 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:53,480 voice. How do they hear His voice? 442 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:59,040 Through you speaking? And there shall be 1 flock and 1 443 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:04,000 shepherd. See when you speak, when you say 444 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:07,480 words like come and though Jesus. 445 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,880 Why don't you join me at church this weekend? 446 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:20,280 Christ is speaking through you when you speak. 447 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:28,680 Dead hearts come to life. When you speak, the lost are 448 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:34,000 saved. When you speak, the hurting, the 449 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:38,280 sick, the bound up are free and healed. 450 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:41,600 Not because there's anything special with your voice. 451 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:48,240 That's because when you speak, Jesus speaks through you. 452 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,200 Jesus is speaking. You are his ambassadors. 453 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:55,600 And actually, Jesus will flip it on its head and he says that. 454 00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:01,440 So don't worry when people reject you, when people tease 455 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:07,560 you, when people hate you for speaking truth, for saying that 456 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:13,920 you love me, they're not rejecting you, they're rejecting 457 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:17,320 me. He says they're rejecting me, 458 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:27,760 they hate me. But between God wanting a family 459 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:32,240 and Christ making a way is your mouth. 460 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:39,160 It's your mouth. And as an ambassador, as a 461 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:44,400 spokesperson for gods, we get the privilege of speaking. 462 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:49,800 And as we speak, seeing the Holy Spirit move, and as the Holy 463 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:54,240 Spirit moves, it creates a hunger in those that we're 464 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:59,000 speaking to that we may get conversations like Nicodemus, 465 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:02,840 what must I do to be saved? Like this woman we're going to 466 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:07,720 read who's thirsty, Who's hungry for something more. 467 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:17,840 So how does Jesus do that? He says, well, he meets this 468 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:21,200 woman first, doesn't he? But what I want us to notice 469 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:25,000 right at the beginning of this chapter, it says now he, that's 470 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,920 Jesus had to go through Sumeria. Now if you don't know geography, 471 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:34,200 Judea is in the South. Galilee, where Jesus spent most 472 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,000 of his time was in the north. In between was Sumeria. 473 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:40,080 So it says here now we had to go through Sumeria to get to 474 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:41,040 Galilee. OK. 475 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,320 Or the other way round. I can't remember where he's 476 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:45,520 going. But anyway, he had to go through 477 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:48,240 it. Do you know what every other Jew 478 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:51,080 they went round took a longer trip to go round. 479 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:56,000 So when it says now we have to go through Sumeria, No, he 480 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,400 didn't. No one else did. 481 00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:01,360 See if he's talking to his disciples one day and saying, 482 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:03,440 right, we're going for a journey, we have to go through 483 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:04,960 Sumeria. They'd look at each other and 484 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:08,080 go, Jesus, No, we don't. No one goes through Sumeria. 485 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:10,280 We don't like them, they don't like us. 486 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:13,120 So we don't do it. We don't go through Sumeria. 487 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:15,280 They don't go. They don't like us, we don't 488 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,280 like them. No one goes through Sumeria. 489 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:21,800 But but this, this sense this, I have to go through Sumeria. 490 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:27,800 It's the same language as where, where he says in John 10, I have 491 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:34,600 sheep, I must bring them in. I must go through Sumeria, I 492 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,800 have sheep, I must bring them in. 493 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:44,480 See, he says I must go through Sumeria because he had to speak 494 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:50,360 because there was a woman there who was a lost sheep who he was 495 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:53,480 going to find. That's why he went through 496 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:58,320 Sumeria. Just think right now what people 497 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:04,160 in your life have spoken truth, have spoken love, have spoken 498 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:12,840 Christ into you. Every single one of them was an 499 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:17,840 ambassador sent from Christ to you. 500 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:24,639 Every single one of them was God's voice from him to you. 501 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,480 So that that ambassador might have been in the shape of a mum 502 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:30,520 or a dad. That might ambassador might have 503 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:34,480 been in the the shape of a friend or a work colleague or a 504 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:37,639 a fellow student at school or a complete stranger. 505 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:45,000 But he sent them to you to be an ambassador to you, because he 506 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:50,280 loved you, because he wanted you, because through them he was 507 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:55,199 calling you once a lost sheep, into his family. 508 00:34:55,560 --> 00:35:00,160 And their voice, through their voice, you heard the voice of 509 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,120 the Father. You heard the Holy Spirit 510 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:08,560 calling you home. So how does he do this for this 511 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:12,440 woman? Well, Jesus asks her, meets her, 512 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:17,440 sorry, he asks her for a drink. And then we read in verse 9 it 513 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:21,960 says the Samaritan woman said to him, you are a Jew and I am a 514 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,480 Samaritan woman. How can you ask for a drink? 515 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:26,320 That's that kind of stuff. If they don't like each other, 516 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:27,680 we're different, blah, blah, blah. 517 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:33,040 It says Jesus answered, if you knew the gift of God and whom it 518 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:38,400 is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he 519 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:40,680 would have given you living water. 520 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:44,160 Sir, the woman said you have nothing to draw with you. 521 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:46,160 You have a bucket, a cup, you don't have anything. 522 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:48,640 You know, how are you meant to get this and the water and the 523 00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:53,360 well is deep and I've been prised and lost where I was 524 00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:55,960 where, where can you get this? Where can I get this living 525 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:57,800 water? Are you greater than our Father 526 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:02,320 Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did 527 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:06,200 also his sons and his livestock? Jesus answered, Everyone who 528 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:09,000 drinks this water will be thirsty again. 529 00:36:09,240 --> 00:36:13,440 But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. 530 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:17,960 Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of 531 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:21,320 water welling up to eternal life. 532 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:30,800 See God, He was calling this Samaritan woman, and Jesus was 533 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:35,640 called to go through Sumeria to find her. 534 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,160 He was called to go through Sumeria, place that wasn't 535 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:46,200 welcoming, that didn't want him. The Jews were not welcome. 536 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:50,640 Jesus was not welcome. Let me tell you this. 537 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:52,680 Jesus isn't welcome in Blackpool. 538 00:36:52,720 --> 00:37:00,800 Eva, Jesus is not welcome here and that's why we go. 539 00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:06,680 Jesus wasn't welcome in Sumeria, but he went because they were 540 00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:09,760 lost sheep in Sumeria. If you read on the next few 541 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:13,840 verses, it tells us that this woman, after she's speaking to 542 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:18,840 Jesus, then all of a sudden the Father through the Spirit brings 543 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,680 her alive to Christ. She drops a bucket. 544 00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:24,440 She's forgotten about needing water, and she runs back to the 545 00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:27,800 town and without even knowing it, she becomes an ambassador. 546 00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:31,080 She goes back to the town because she believes in Christ. 547 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:33,440 She knows who he is. She knows he's the King, and she 548 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:36,120 wants to automatically, naturally just tell us about 549 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:38,080 him. And we read in the book of Acts, 550 00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:41,800 the apostles and Philip, they arrive in Sumeria. 551 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:46,720 And what they find when they get to Sumeria, they find people who 552 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:50,080 believe in Jesus. They have a church that's ready 553 00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:54,680 to go in Samaria already. And that's because she was 554 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:59,920 Christ's ambassador, opened her mouth, and through her mouth 555 00:38:00,720 --> 00:38:04,240 many others heard the voice of the Father. 556 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:07,920 They saw the Spirit at work in them. 557 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:14,080 See church. We are called to go to places 558 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:19,600 like Blackpool where Christ is not welcome, He is not welcome. 559 00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:24,120 But just because he is not welcome, that does not mean that 560 00:38:24,120 --> 00:38:26,080 the Father does not have lost sheep there. 561 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:32,560 Actually, Scripture tells us there are many lost sheep in our 562 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:35,600 town. There are many lost sheep in 563 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:38,280 Lytham, St. Anne's, in Poulton, in 564 00:38:38,280 --> 00:38:42,120 Fleetwood, in Poulton, in Wesham, there are many lost 565 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:47,280 sheep who have not yet come to the shepherd because they have 566 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:51,800 not heard His voice, because we have not yet spoken to them. 567 00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:57,320 Church. So he is calling you to go, to 568 00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:03,400 be his ambassadors, to lead them to him. 569 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:10,200 You see, over the next coming weeks and months, we are going 570 00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:14,320 to find ourselves at Wells, not physical wells. 571 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:18,960 We're going to find ourselves at metaphorical wells where people 572 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,960 will ask, what water do you have? 573 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:28,480 And we are going to be able to tell them of the water that 574 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:32,720 quenches all thirsts. We're going to be able to tell 575 00:39:32,720 --> 00:39:37,120 them about the King of Glory, the treasure that we have. 576 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:39,880 So that's what we've been talking about over the last few 577 00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:43,120 weeks, that we have this treasure locked up in jars of 578 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:48,400 clay, that we have a God who is far beyond our comprehension, 579 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:51,240 that He loves us, He chose us, He died for us. 580 00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:54,920 And we don't keep that to ourselves, but we get to share 581 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:59,880 that Christ has chosen in His sovereign will to use you and me 582 00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:04,720 as His mouthpieces to see many, many, many souls come to glory 583 00:40:04,720 --> 00:40:09,360 to know Him. So here's three questions. 584 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:17,720 I'm going to end on this church. Do you believe in Jesus? 585 00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:22,200 Do you believe? Is he your Lord? 586 00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:24,720 Is he your Saviour? Have you heard his voice and 587 00:40:24,720 --> 00:40:30,560 responded to him? Have you come to the fountain of 588 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:37,600 life and given your allegiance to King Jesus alone? 589 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:42,640 If you haven't, I'm going to give us an opportunity in a 590 00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:47,280 second to do that. But secondly, have you drifted? 591 00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:50,480 Do you know of a time when you did? 592 00:40:50,560 --> 00:40:54,480 You knew the Father's voice, you knew the Shepherd's voice, but 593 00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:56,080 you've been ignoring him of late. 594 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:02,680 You've stopped listening. Church, I want to give us an 595 00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:06,880 opportunity now to say right God, I mean business. 596 00:41:07,720 --> 00:41:12,200 I'm going to stop ignoring you and whatever you ask me to do, 597 00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:15,000 I'm going to do. I'm going to pledge my 598 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,640 allegiance again to you and follow you. 599 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:24,000 And thirdly, will you go? Will you go? 600 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:28,760 Jesus said I have people not of this fault. 601 00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:33,960 I have many people not not yet saved. 602 00:41:35,240 --> 00:41:39,160 We have a big old hall and we want a bigger one. 603 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:45,640 And there is plenty of space for more people who don't yet know 604 00:41:45,720 --> 00:41:47,800 Jesus. And we are desperate. 605 00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:51,920 We want, we want people to come and join from other churches. 606 00:41:51,920 --> 00:41:57,480 Yeah, we want workers to the harvest, but we're desperate for 607 00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:02,480 people who don't know Jesus to fall in love with him, to come 608 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:08,480 and see and savour him and like this woman, run back to where 609 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:12,160 they're from and say, come and meet a man who told me 610 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:16,320 everything about myself. Come and meet Jesus. 611 00:42:17,720 --> 00:42:20,840 So will you go? Will you be his ambassador? 612 00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:24,720 Will you call people from death to life? 613 00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:28,600 Will you sacrifice your life in the pursuit of others? 614 00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:35,600 Will you go to the Sumerias of this world, to our town where 615 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:41,040 Christ is not welcome, so that the Father might find lost sheep 616 00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:45,840 through you? As Isaiah said, as he saw the 617 00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:53,080 desperation of this world, his heart wasn't to say someone else 618 00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:56,600 is going to sort this out. You know, as he's in heaven's 619 00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:59,800 throne room, he didn't think, oh, there's people here way 620 00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:01,480 above my pay grade in this place. 621 00:43:01,720 --> 00:43:05,680 No, no, he burst out into the midst of the Father and he said, 622 00:43:05,760 --> 00:43:10,800 here I am, send me. Send me to the lost and the 623 00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:14,880 broken. So I'm going to pray. 624 00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:19,880 And whichever one of them is you, I want you to do business 625 00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:23,720 with gods because we're not coming here to hear a nice 626 00:43:23,720 --> 00:43:26,240 message and sing some nice songs and go out unchanged. 627 00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:30,640 We're here to hear the word of God so that we can go out there 628 00:43:30,720 --> 00:43:32,320 equipped with what we've received. 629 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:37,480 So Lord Jesus God, if you don't know Jesus, I'm just going to 630 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:40,160 pray and I'm going to ask you to pray along with me. 631 00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:45,200 So Lord Jesus, God, I admit I've, I've never heard, heard 632 00:43:45,200 --> 00:43:49,880 your voice before, but I recognise that being here, 633 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:54,680 listening to this message, being amongst your people, that you 634 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:59,000 are speaking to me, God. And I want to lay my life down 635 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:05,800 today and follow you God, I surrender all my rights to you, 636 00:44:05,800 --> 00:44:09,560 King Jesus, God, I thank you that you forgive me, that you 637 00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:12,520 accept me. And from this day on, I want to 638 00:44:12,520 --> 00:44:17,920 be yours and yours alone, Amen. And Lord God, for those of us 639 00:44:17,920 --> 00:44:21,160 who are, who have, who have been drifting, who've been wavering, 640 00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:25,480 looking left and right, Lord God, I pray right now that they 641 00:44:25,480 --> 00:44:27,880 would grab hold of you with both hands. 642 00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:31,520 They wouldn't mess around with you any longer being one Step 1 643 00:44:31,520 --> 00:44:35,080 foot in the world and 1 foot out, Lord God, but they would 644 00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:38,200 jump in, as although wonderfully put it last week. 645 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:42,920 Lord God, we want people who fully 2 feet jump in and say, 646 00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:47,000 Jesus, I'm here for you. And Lord God, I pray that you'd 647 00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:49,960 encourage us. Lord God, where some of us still 648 00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:53,400 don't believe that you could use our mouths, Lord God, you would 649 00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:56,360 help our unbelief. Lord Jesus, and even this week, 650 00:44:56,360 --> 00:45:01,320 even today, you give us opportunities to speak, to be 651 00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:06,600 ambassadors for you, to say words that bring life, to say 652 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:09,800 words that bring hope in hopeless situations. 653 00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:14,200 Lord Jesus, we commit ourselves to you, and we ask you for your 654 00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:16,680 Kingdom to come and your will to be done. 655 00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:17,600 Amen.