Participants:
Series Code: GYC
Program Code: GYC180010A
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00:01 Music...
00:33 My name is Seth Schaffer, 00:34 I'm the Vice President of Communications 00:36 and I'm glad that you all are here this morning. 00:37 If you have your Bibles with you, 00:40 if you wouldn't mind turning with me to Romans chapter 8, 00:45 we're going to be reading verses 31 and 32. 00:49 Pause... 00:51 more pause... 00:54 And it says, 00:57 "So what are we going to say about these things? 01:00 If God is for us, who is against us? 01:04 He didn't spare His own Son, 01:06 but gave Him up for us all, 01:08 won't He also freely give us all things with Him?" 01:13 Pause... 01:17 Let's go ahead and pray. 01:18 Pause... 01:22 "Dear God, thank you for getting us through another night... 01:25 for waking us up this morning. 01:27 I want to ask that You will be with each participant here. 01:31 Help them to continue to have a good time 01:35 and to learn the things that you want them to learn. 01:38 I want to ask that You will be with our Speaker, Michael Goetz, 01:41 this morning, give him the words to say 01:43 and be with us all throughout the rest of today 01:47 and help everything to run smoothly 01:50 with both what people see and behind the scenes 01:53 in Your name, amen. " 01:54 Piano... 02:09 Jesus, keep me near the cross, 02:16 There a precious fountain 02:22 Free to all, a healing stream, 02:28 Flows from Calvary's mountain. 02:34 In the cross, a trembling soul, 02:40 Love and mercy found me; 02:47 There the bright and Morning Star 02:53 Sheds its beams around me. 03:01 In the cross... 03:05 in the cross 03:09 in the cross, 03:13 in the cross 03:16 be my glory ever, 03:25 Jesus, keep me near the cross, 03:30 Till my ransomed soul shall find 03:37 it's at rest 03:41 Find rest beyond the river. 03:51 Piano... 03:54 Near the cross! O Lamb of God, 04:00 Bring its scenes before me; 04:06 Help me walk from day to day, 04:12 With its shadows o'er me. 04:18 In the cross, in the cross, 04:24 Be my glory ever, 04:31 Till my ransomed soul shall find 04:38 Rest beyond the river. 04:44 Near the cross I'll watch and wait 04:49 Hoping, trusting ever, 04:54 Till I reach the golden strand, 04:59 Just beyond the river. 05:08 In the cross 05:11 in the cross... 05:14 In the cross 05:16 in the cross... 05:19 In the cross 05:22 be my glory ever, 05:32 piano... 05:38 Jesus keep me near the cross 05:45 Till my ransomed soul shall find 05:51 piano... 05:56 Rest beyond 06:03 the river. 06:10 Near the 06:17 cross. 06:22 Pause... 06:27 "Jesus, thank you for the cross 06:32 and we pray that today... 06:37 today and today and today you would keep us near 06:45 that our lives like the Centurion... 06:48 we would recognize Who You are 06:51 because of our nearness... our proximity... 06:56 our focus on the cross. 06:58 May it be that you through the power of that moment 07:06 now speak to us... open Your Word... 07:10 have Your way 07:12 gentle arrow... 07:14 a gentle tap or an arrow to our heart, 07:16 in the name of Jesus, amen. " 07:20 Pause... 07:23 My friend, Craig Harding, 07:28 President of the Riverside Farm Institute in Zambia, Africa, 07:34 tells a story 07:37 and I've just got to tell you. 07:41 He said there along the river 07:46 one day a guy found a dead hippo 07:51 pause... 07:54 on the shore of the river and so he decided to cut it up 07:56 and sell the meat. 07:58 He didn't want anybody else to find his treasure 08:02 or interrupt him so he... 08:06 he went home quickly and got his... 08:08 his ox and his cows together 08:10 to pull this dead hippo home. 08:13 Took them down to the river, 08:16 latched on that that hippo corpse, 08:21 began to lead his oxen up the bank. 08:25 Pause... 08:27 well, as soon as all the slack was out of line, 08:30 and in fact the... the rope began to pull on the hippo, 08:34 the "dead" hippo woke up. 08:37 To his surprise, it was just a heavy sleeper. 08:44 Pause... 08:46 problem is... is now his cows are tied to a hippo. 08:50 Pause... 08:53 Tragedy unfolds before his eyes 08:59 as the hippo pulls his cows into the river 09:03 and the crocodiles finish them off. 09:09 Pause... 09:12 Moral of this story... 09:15 don't ever assume a hippo is dead. 09:20 Pause... 09:22 Grab your Bibles... 09:24 Pause... 09:26 you probably can't guess what book of the Bible 09:29 we're going to, 09:30 you should just leave... leave your marker... 09:35 leave your little ribbon right there in the book of Acts. 09:38 Pause... 09:40 Theme of this Conference 09:42 Acts chapter 8... 09:47 I re-read this book of Acts this fall. 09:54 read it and re-read it and just salivated on it. 09:59 Pause... 10:02 I discovered things I had not seen before 10:05 as is often the case when we read and re-read Scripture. 10:10 When we... when we meditate and allow prayerful study 10:15 and slow digestion 10:18 we'll discover things 10:20 so, in the center of this book... 10:25 in the center of the book of Acts, 10:28 the movements of the early church... 10:32 I was just amazed to discover there is... 10:37 there is a clear DNA of the early church... 10:41 there are characteristics of the early church, 10:45 of the movement that I had not seen 10:47 and I want to introduce one of them to you this morning. 10:51 We'll go to breakfast 10:53 but I'm going to give you three exhibits. 10:56 Pause... 10:58 The characteristic of the church 11:00 is that it was an "arise and go church" 11:05 it just... it arose and went, 11:07 it just got up... and got gone 11:10 pause... 11:12 more pause... 11:14 but how and where and to whom 11:17 I believe is of interest that has lessons for us 11:26 pause... 11:28 Exhibit A... 11:30 you want to go to the chapter 8... book of Acts... 11:35 pause... 11:39 I find myself often attempting to do the work of God 11:44 by assessing the receptiveness of the recipient. 11:49 That is... I find myself thinking, 11:53 "Would that would be productive or not 11:58 based on who is on the other end... " 12:02 I evaluate them... 12:05 pause... 12:08 moral of the story... never assume the hippo is dead 12:14 and Acts proves it. 12:19 Acts chapter 8 and verse 26. 12:24 "Now the angel... 12:26 or an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, 12:28 saying, Arise and go... " 12:30 you're going to catch this over and over and over 12:34 and Beloved, the Bible didn't have... 12:36 didn't have "bold" "control b" or "control I" 12:41 or "control u" 12:43 or a highlighter to highlight the important points. 12:47 It used within the text tools 12:52 to communicate to us importance... 12:56 one of them is repetition 12:58 and you will find this line repeated 13:00 through the center of the book of Acts, 13:02 "Arise and go... arise and go. " 13:05 It seems to be the message of heaven. 13:07 Pause... 13:11 and you'll be interested to know 13:12 that while they're all heavenly messengers, 13:15 they are different... 13:17 one is the Lord... one is an angel... 13:19 the Holy Spirit... 13:21 but they're all saying the same thing. 13:23 Heaven is saying the same thing. 13:25 "Arise and go... " 13:28 Pause... 13:31 before we get ahead of ourselves, 13:33 let's look at these exhibits. 13:34 "Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, 13:36 Arise and go toward the south along the road 13:39 which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. " 13:41 This is desert... 13:43 Luke always... he loves to tell us 13:48 what's... where stuff is... 13:51 and... and... and locations... 13:53 Luke is very careful in his... in his gospel 13:58 to tell us where the shepherds were 14:00 when Jesus was born, 14:01 where the thieves are when Jesus is crucified... 14:04 he's very careful, 14:06 so, he's saying to Philip, or about Philip... 14:09 "Go... and you're going to go into the desert. " 14:13 Now if there was a... a mission for the church, 14:17 it wouldn't be to the desert. 14:21 There's no one there, "but go... " 14:25 this is the desert... 14:27 "So, Philip arose and went. 14:30 And behold a man of Ethiopia, 14:32 a eunuch of great authority... " 14:35 an operative word there, "great authority 14:38 under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, 14:41 who had charge of all her treasury, 14:42 and had come to Jerusalem to worship... " 14:45 verse 28... "was returning. 14:47 And sitting in his chariot, 14:49 he was reading Isaiah the prophet. " 14:51 Then the Spirit said to Philip, 14:54 'Go near and overtake this chariot. '" 14:57 Pause... 15:00 Verse 30, "... ran to him, 15:02 and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, 15:05 'Do you understand what you are reading?'" 15:07 Verse 31... "How can I, unless someone guides me? 15:10 He asked Philip to come and sit with him. 15:12 The place in the Scripture which he read was this... " 15:16 and then it goes into the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah. 15:20 Pause... 15:22 Did you... did you just picture this? 15:25 "Philip, get up and go... go to the desert... " 15:32 "Oh God, this isn't good planning... 15:36 this isn't a good strategy... " 15:38 but Philip... Philip arose and went... 15:41 now he's standing in the desert 15:44 and the narrative invites us into this picture 15:48 that he was there when no one else was there. 15:52 In other words, Philip landed in the desert, 15:55 he took a one-way flight to the desert... 15:58 he lands in the desert and it is desert. 16:01 Pause... 16:03 nothing... 16:04 pause... 16:07 and then, came along a chariot 16:09 and this Eunuch of great authority... 16:14 the Treasurer of the Queen 16:16 and he's flying down this highway 16:23 with important business certainly to attend to 16:28 and the Spirit says to Philip, 16:30 "Philip, I want you to catch up to him... " 16:35 pause... 16:37 more pause... 16:41 I can picture myself back in high school 16:44 going door to door 16:46 doing literature evangelism. 16:49 Pause... 16:51 Unequivocally, one of the best and most powerful ministries 16:56 we can engage in. 16:58 Pause... 17:01 However, I will admit to you 17:03 that as I would look down the street 17:06 and see a car pulling out of the driveway, 17:11 I would think to myself, 17:14 "Hoo... they're not going to be home. " 17:18 Pause... 17:20 I was rebuked. 17:21 A colleague of mine working across the street 17:25 when he saw one on my side of the street pulling out, 17:29 began to run... 17:31 that's the case here... 17:35 pause... 17:37 come on, if ever there was a time 17:39 to just let them go... here's a man of great authority, 17:43 he's wealthy, well above the economic class 17:47 of... of Philip. 17:49 He's of great authority... he's a politician... 17:54 he's a wealthy businessman... 17:57 he's a celebrity 18:01 pause... 18:04 in the culture... 18:06 and Philip standing very awkwardly 18:10 in the desert beside the highway 18:14 has this Eunuch fly by him 18:17 and the Spirit says, "Run... " 18:21 pause... 18:26 Beloved, if there was ever a time to... to... to... 18:29 to... to dialog with God and to... 18:31 to say... "God, these rich... important... busy people... 18:36 they don't have time for... for me... 18:39 they're stuck up... stuck on themselves... " 18:43 but the Spirit knew what Philip didn't... 18:47 and at that exact moment, 18:51 this man is reflecting on a Messianic prophecy. 18:57 Pause... 19:00 Exhibit B... 19:02 one more chapter... 19:04 I'm telling you... these are rapid fire in the book of Acts, 19:06 Acts chapter 9, 19:08 Acts chapter 8... Philip... 19:10 Acts chapter 9 verse 10, 19:13 pause... 19:16 "Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus 19:18 named Ananias; 19:20 and to him the Lord said in a vision, 'Ananias. ' 19:25 And Ananias said, 'Here I am, Lord. '" 19:29 It's funny... Ananias sets the example. 19:34 Pause... 19:36 Our question often is, "Where are you Lord?" 19:40 Pause... 19:41 when it should be, "Here am I... " 19:43 pause... 19:46 So, the Lord said to him, "Arise and go... " 19:49 did you catch that? 19:50 Last time it was an angel to Philip... 19:52 to Ananias... 19:53 now it is the Lord, He shows up, 19:55 they're all saying the same thing... 19:57 "Arise and go to the street called Straight, 20:00 and inquire at the house of Judas 20:04 for one called Saul of Tarsus, 20:07 for behold, he is praying. 20:10 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in 20:13 and putting his hand on him, 20:14 so that he might receive his sight. " 20:16 This time, Luke dials this incident to the conversation 20:20 and Ananias answered, "Lord, hold... hold the phone... 20:25 do you know who you're talking about? 20:27 I have heard many things about this man, 20:29 how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 20:32 And here he has authority from the chief priests 20:35 to bind all who call on Your name. 20:37 But the Lord said to him, 20:38 'Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine 20:41 to bear My name before the Gentiles, kings, 20:43 and the children of Israel. " 20:44 Pause... 20:47 "Here am I... " 20:50 pause... 20:52 William Barclay comments on this and says, 20:56 Ananias is really one of the forgotten heroes 21:00 of the New Testament. 21:02 He's the one that reached out... 21:05 pause... 21:08 it was his only convert, it was worth it, huh? 21:10 Pause... 21:12 But if ever there was one to whom you would not go, 21:18 it was Saul of Tarsus. 21:20 Pause... 21:22 more pause... 21:25 he was... he was destroying... 21:27 hurting families... destroying the church... 21:30 he was persecuting... 21:32 he was sarcastic against the movement, 21:35 it wasn't just that he was... 21:37 he was just on the other end of the spectrum 21:40 he was against it and everyone knew 21:44 he'll bind you... 21:46 he'll break up your family... 21:48 he will send you to... he will hurt you... 21:52 pause... 21:55 if ever there was an unlikely candidate to go to, 21:58 to arise and go to... 22:00 it would have been Saul of Tarsus, 22:02 but God said, "Go... " 22:06 and the only qualification that... 22:08 that the Lord gives Ananias is that he's praying... 22:12 pause... 22:14 he's praying... 22:16 that's enough evidence to move on. 22:19 Pause... 22:22 more pause... 22:25 Exhibit A... 22:26 pause... 22:28 rich, wealthy, important. 22:31 Exhibit B... 22:34 one who is absolutely, totally against the Movement. 22:41 Pause... 22:43 more pause... 22:47 Exhibit C... 22:49 let's turn the page again in your Bibles to Acts chapter 10 22:53 pause... 22:57 here in the center of the book of Acts, 22:58 we find it repeated over and over and over... 23:03 almost as if God is trying to tell His church something. 23:08 Pause... 23:10 Acts chapter 10: 23:13 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, 23:17 a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 23:22 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, 23:25 who gave alms generously to the people, 23:28 and prayed to God always. 23:29 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision 23:32 an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!" 23:36 And when he observed him, 23:38 he was afraid, and said, 'What is it Lord?' 23:40 So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms 23:42 have come up as a memorial before God, 23:44 now send men to Joppa, 23:46 and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. " 23:49 And so they did... 23:52 they went to Joppa... 23:55 jump down now to verse 18, 23:59 "And they called and asked whether Simon, 24:03 whose surname was Peter, was lodging there. 24:06 While Peter thought about the vision... " 24:09 he had just been sleeping on the... the rooftop... 24:11 you remember the sheep... the crazy animals... 24:14 "Can't eat them Lord... " 24:15 gone... back down... 24:17 "Can't eat them... I still can't eat... " 24:19 now he's thinking about the vision... 24:22 the Spirit said to him... 24:24 so it was an angel with Philip... 24:26 it was the Lord with Ananias... 24:28 and now with Peter... "The Spirit says, 24:30 'Behold, three men are seeking you. 24:32 Arise therefore, and... '" 24:34 oh Beloved, 24:37 this is Exhibit C... 24:40 we got to start back at A. 24:42 "Arise and... " Audience: "Go... " 24:45 Arise and go... 24:48 pause... 24:50 that seems to be the message of heaven for the Church. 24:55 Listen, "Arise and go doubting nothing... " 25:01 pause... 25:06 God must have known 25:07 that Peter would have doubted. 25:11 "Wait a minute, wait a minute... wait a minute, 25:13 he's... he's... he leads this Italian regiment, 25:17 he's a Gentile. " 25:18 Pause... 25:19 God must have known that there were reasons 25:22 that Peter could have come up with 25:24 to not go... 25:25 "God, I have another assignment... 25:26 you have actually... 25:28 I was supposed to... " 25:29 there must have been reasons that God knew 25:32 would come to Peter's mind 25:33 and if not good reasons, 25:34 there would have been reasons from the devil. 25:36 If we are waiting for a time in which we no longer have hooks 25:41 to hang our downtime, that time will never come. 25:45 Pause... 25:46 "Arise and go... 25:51 doubting nothing... " 25:54 if ever there was a case 25:56 that these people would not be interested, 25:58 it would have been these cases, 26:02 a wealthy, important figure... 26:07 an individual who was publicly against this Christ 26:16 pause... 26:18 persecuting those who claimed Him. 26:21 Pause.. 26:22 this would be paramount to... to a Communist dictator... 26:28 someone who said, "No, that is not of ours... " 26:31 a persecutor... 26:32 pause... 26:36 or a... a point person... 26:44 pause... 26:46 a soldier... a Gentile soldier... 26:49 if ever there was a case it would have been these... 26:54 these were improbable, impossible situations 26:58 for choosing Jesus. 27:00 Pause... 27:02 What were the results? 27:04 What were the results, Beloved, 27:06 of the most impossible situations 27:08 that Luke could record... 27:10 Philip was... 27:12 or the Ethiopian was baptized... 27:13 Paul was baptized... 27:15 Cornelius... and a whole circle of people were baptized 27:20 all because a disciple of Jesus decided to obey the command 27:25 to arise and go to the end 27:28 to what seemed impossible or improbable 27:31 or at least on their... 27:34 from their perspective they went... 27:38 this fact that Luke shares with us 27:43 is a signal testimony to the power and impartiality 27:47 of a gospel of Christ 27:48 which is still, today, the power of God 27:53 for the salvation of everyone... 27:55 everyone... 27:58 the impossible and the improbable... 28:01 red, yellow, rich, black, white, poor, 28:04 Islamic, Atheist... 28:05 pauper and politician... 28:07 it's for everyone... 28:09 pause... 28:11 more pause... 28:14 some more pause. 28:17 Three Exhibits... 28:21 back-to-back-to-back... 28:24 different messengers 28:27 but all repeating the same message... 28:30 "Arise and go... " 28:32 could it be that heaven dreams of a church 28:36 that has within its DNA 28:38 an approach that just gets up and goes 28:45 pause... 28:49 even to unlikely opportunities 28:53 where the gospel is sure to be the underdog, 28:55 pause... 28:58 but in every one of these underdog situations, 29:02 the gospel wins... there must be something to it. 29:06 Think about it... 29:09 think about these situations, a desert highway... 29:12 Saul of Tarsus? 29:16 a Gentile's home... 29:19 pause... 29:21 Peter certainly could have told God, "Well, God... 29:24 if He was willing to send messengers, why... 29:26 why couldn't you have just sent him here? 29:29 Why do I have to go there into his home?" 29:32 Pause... 29:34 Why? 29:35 That doesn't seem very likely. 29:37 Pause... 29:40 Think about the creative God we serve, 29:42 pause... 29:44 Who made over 400,000 different types of plants 29:48 that produce flowers... 29:50 He made three million different species of animals 29:55 including 75 thousand different kinds of bugs. 30:01 Pause... 30:05 This creative God has an imagination 30:09 where doesn't it seem reasonable 30:12 that He would then actually create scenarios 30:16 in which the gospel seems like it would be unlikely 30:22 to be successful 30:24 and then it proves itself by being successful. 30:29 What if God is behind the scenes 30:33 orchestrating difficult situations 30:38 so that He can get the glory? 30:42 Pause... 30:44 What if God says, "I want to make this... 30:46 this... this so difficult... 30:48 I want to use a very secular or Atheistic 30:52 or combative culture 30:55 and I want my disciples to go into it... " 31:00 it's almost a 100% probable that it will fail 31:05 but He knows what we don't. 31:07 What if God delights in using the most unlikely circumstances 31:16 to bring about salvation? 31:19 He doesn't want just the... the regular... 31:21 regular where someone comes asks for Bible Study... 31:24 go through all 19 or 27 Bible Studies 31:27 then they say, on the bap... 31:29 on the study for baptism, 31:31 "Yes, I would like to be baptized. " 31:32 You set a date... the pastor... 31:34 what if... what if that's fine and well and exciting, 31:37 what if the Evangelistic Series is good? 31:40 But God says, "Hmmm... oh... 31:45 I'd like to... chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk, 31:50 watch this... 31:52 and all of heaven watches... 31:57 "Wow! another one... " 32:01 chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk, 32:03 pause... 32:05 what if heaven delights in creating unique, special, 32:10 exciting... but very improbable situations? 32:16 Pause... 32:19 God does... 32:22 consider this... God does not... in any one of these situations 32:27 go directly to the people. 32:29 Pause... 32:31 In every one of the situations, heaven goes to the messenger 32:36 and then the messenger has to go to the... to the recipient. 32:39 "Cut off the middle man, God... 32:42 just go straight there... 32:44 leave us in our happy, pappy sofas and just go tell them 32:50 there must be something else there. " 32:55 "No... " he says, "I need you to arise and go, 32:57 I'll come to you but then you go to them. " 33:00 I have a hunch... 33:02 I have a hunch, it comes from... 33:05 from 2nd Corinthians chapter 12. 33:08 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 9. 33:12 He said to me, verse 9, 2nd Corinthians chapter 12, 33:17 "My grace is sufficient for you, 33:20 for My strength is made perfect in your weakness. 33:22 Therefore most gladly 33:24 I will rather boast in my infirmities, 33:26 that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 33:28 Therefore, I take pleasure in my infirmities. 33:30 in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, 33:33 for Christ's sake. 33:34 For when I am weak, then I am strong. " 33:38 Pause... 33:39 God doesn't take away the weakness. 33:42 He doesn't take away the infirmity, 33:45 but through the weakness... through the infirmity... 33:48 He is strong. 33:49 So, I have a hunch that in every one of these Exhibits, 33:55 Peter and Ananias and Philip, they had a weakness 33:59 for that particular situation, 34:03 maybe Philip couldn't run very fast, 34:05 and so, when the Spirit said, "run" 34:07 Philip said, "Huh? I got to run?" 34:11 Maybe Ananias had a claustrophobia, 34:14 get in a small room... 34:16 "In a small room with a persecutor? Can't do it... 34:19 Can't do it, 34:20 send me to preach in front of crowds, God, 34:22 but I can't go into a small room. 34:24 I can't do one-on-one, 34:25 you know how I get with one-on-one. " 34:27 Every one of these... we know Peter... we know Peter, 34:31 he could never say the right thing 34:32 and especially to the Gentiles, 34:33 so don't send Peter who says the wrong things to Gentiles, 34:37 just don't do that... 34:39 we know... we know Peter is... 34:43 but... but... my hunch is that in every one of these, 34:46 Philip, Ananias and Peter... they all had a weakness 34:48 that somehow directly tied in 34:52 to the unique situation that God had created 34:55 for the gospel to win him. 34:57 That is... when God did His chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk, chuk, 35:01 pause... 35:04 the angels who know us very well must have said, 35:10 "Hoooo... but... but you know God... " 35:15 "Yes, I know, and that's why I'm going to use him 35:20 and I'm going to use her 35:21 because she can't speak up front 35:23 and he... he can't... he can't make... 35:26 he can't... he can't do this, 35:28 but that's why I'm going to use him. " 35:31 My hunch is that God in His creative mind 35:34 specifically uses weaknesses we have 35:38 to create dynamic improbable situations... 35:40 it's not just the recipients that are improbable, 35:42 but it's us... on our end 35:45 we're improbable in that situation, 35:47 pause... 35:52 my dream as a high-school-age young person 35:56 was to go into Law Enforcement. 35:58 God asked me to give up that dream 36:00 to go into Pastoral Ministry. 36:03 Pause... 36:05 I made that decision... went into Pastoral Ministry... 36:08 graduated from the University of Mark Morales 36:12 came back to the States and within months 36:16 the local police department put out a message, 36:18 they needed someone that they could train 36:22 to work street patrol on a part-time basis 36:25 but then would... this is right after 9/11 36:28 so this is a few years ago, 36:29 but that would be available in crisis situations 36:31 bilingual... "We need someone bilingual... 36:36 we need someone that can deal with emotional support 36:39 that wants to work the street patrol... " 36:42 and God opened that door and said, 36:45 "Because you gave me your dream... 36:47 because you surrendered your dream to me... 36:50 I'm going to give it back to you. " 36:52 Pause... 36:54 I went to work for the Police Department... 36:55 still carry a badge... 36:57 they let me keep it... 36:59 pause... 37:03 one night, working with the Canine Unit, 37:07 it was about 11 o'clock, 37:09 we get a call of an active robbery in progress 37:13 at a convenient store, 37:14 the clerk was able to get the license plate on the car, 37:17 we are dispatched to the residence 37:20 that is connected with that registration, 37:23 the house is dark... 37:26 I still remember the Street name Factory Road... 37:29 house is dark... 37:31 there was an alleyway behind it, 37:34 we're... we're set up in the back... 37:36 there are officers that are set up in the front, 37:38 we're just going to sit on the house for a minute 37:40 to figure out what happened, 37:41 I have a... I call it a "healthy respect" of the dark, 37:47 let's just be honest, I'm afraid of the dark, 37:51 pause... 37:53 we're sitting there at 11 o'clock at night 37:55 with an armed robber somewhere in the vicinity 37:58 pause... 38:00 in the back we sit... myself and the... other officer 38:05 and this man exits the building 38:07 fits the description... he exits the house... 38:09 fits the description... 38:10 so we identify ourselves 38:12 and he takes off down the dark alleyway. 38:14 We begin a foot pursuit, we radioed in 38:17 but there... after we leave our car, 38:21 they're not able to receive our transmissions 38:22 so they lose contact with us, 38:24 we could still hear them, they couldn't hear us, 38:26 pause... 38:28 more pause... 38:30 in this dark alley... not my favorite place to be... 38:33 we find out later the... that the armed robber was... 38:36 was with a screw driver 38:38 but at that point, we didn't know... 38:39 could have been a gun... a knife... 38:41 pause... 38:45 I remember though hearing over the radio 38:47 the sergeant 38:50 as we're in this dark alley 38:53 looking for which direction the suspect went 38:57 I remember the sergeant coming over the radio, 39:00 having not heard back from us, our radios weren't transmitting 39:02 giving the most authoritative command 39:06 that can come over a radio, 39:09 "All units to the last-known location... 39:12 if you're off-duty if you're doing something else, 39:17 if you're engaged in some other activity, 39:18 you drop everything and go there, 39:21 and in a moment, 39:23 the night sky lit up with sirens... 39:26 and just it seemed like seconds later, 39:29 there converging on our location were men and dogs... 39:35 muscles and guns... and... and they were all there for us 39:40 pause... 39:43 and I felt invincible... 39:45 even in my weakness, standing in a... 39:48 it was still the dark alley, I still had a fear of the dark, 39:50 but I felt invincible. 39:53 Beloved, there is still a Commander in heaven 39:56 pause... 39:58 Who will send all units to our location, hallelujah... 40:03 so go... arise and go. 40:07 The Poet Edith Lillian Young says there's only one... 40:13 there's just one letter between disappointment 40:16 and His appointment, 40:17 "Change one letter, then I see 40:19 That the thwarting of my purpose 40:21 Is God's better choice for me. 40:23 His appointment must be a blessing, 40:25 Though it may come in disguise, 40:27 For the end from the beginning 40:28 Open to His wisdom lies. 40:30 Disappointment and His Appointment... 40:32 just change one letter... " 40:34 for you, your weaknesses might be a disappointment 40:37 but you change the letter and it becomes His appointment 40:39 hallelujah. 40:41 So, arise and go... 40:43 God is not interested in our ability 40:46 you know, He's interested in our availability. 40:50 pause... 40:52 But the book of Acts argues very clearly and cogently 40:56 that there must be embedded in the Christian DNA 40:59 and a church that's Spirit-led must have the modus operandi 41:07 to rise and to go 41:10 even to unexpected, out-of-the-box, unheard of, 41:13 impossible, beyond-our-comfort-zone ways... 41:16 we must go... 41:17 pause... 41:19 and I believe heaven delights in the unique... 41:22 in the unusual... 41:24 in the unexpected... 41:25 come on, we're going to have eternity to tell stories... 41:29 heaven doesn't want every story to be the same, 41:31 it wants unique stories, 41:33 "Hey, come this Friday night for a Sabbath vespers, 41:35 we've got a story you've never heard of before" 41:38 pause... 41:41 God is creative enough to create scenarios 41:45 and situations that are absolutely unheard of 41:49 and He'll pull it off. 41:51 One of my favorites... 41:53 a young lady I have never met, she attended Andrews University, 41:57 I pastored there at Andrews University, 41:59 but we never crossed paths, I read her story though, 42:02 and I'll forever keep it. 42:04 Her name is April, this is her story: 42:09 "It was 12:30 a. m. 42:11 and I intended to sprawl out on the empty seats beside me 42:14 on the way from LA to D.C." 42:16 so she was taking a red-eye flight, 42:18 "As soon as I saw him fumbling down the aisle 42:20 bumping passengers along the way, 42:22 I knew he was my seatmate... " we've all been there, 42:24 "sat down... 42:26 'name's Billy, I'm on my way to a Conference,' he said, 42:30 as he continued to chatter, 42:32 I wondered if he would ever come up for air, 42:34 this guy's crazy... yet he had a strange joy about him. 42:38 He turned to me, he said, 'What was your name again?' 42:42 "April, I replied... April Groobe. " 42:44 'Excuse me... ' he stuttered... 'I didn't quite catch that. ' 42:48 I repeated my name more clearly 42:50 emphasizing the 'B' in the Groobe 42:52 that most mistake for a 'V' he looked puzzled... 42:55 puzzled... as if I was lying. 42:56 Pause... 42:58 'I can't believe it' he muttered, 43:00 'you don't know me, but I know you, 43:01 I know how you think and I know how you feel, 43:04 and if it weren't for you, 43:05 I don't know what would have become of me, 43:07 April, it is a pleasure to meet you. '" 43:08 Pause... 43:11 April says: "Here's the story, 43:13 as I had stepped off a plane from Chile to Panama, 43:17 three years earlier, 43:20 it would only be a short time until I realized 43:23 my precious book was missing. 43:24 I had been reading, 'Search for God Knows What' 43:27 it had changed my life 43:28 and when I'd come... 43:30 when I had come close to giving up on Christianity... 43:32 so I had written many notes in that book 43:35 about my thoughts and reflections 43:37 there weren't even margins anymore, 43:40 little did I know, 43:42 as I was standing now off the plane, 43:45 that very moment, 43:46 a man named Billy was taking my seat I had recently vacated. 43:50 Billy was coming home a year earlier, 43:52 he had enough of his parents and work 43:54 so he took off... headed to Brazil and later to Peru, 43:56 on his journeys he realized the similarity everywhere he went, 43:59 there was always pain... there was suffering... 44:01 Billy had long ago given up on God and His loving nature, 44:05 'No God would allow such pain,' he thought, 44:07 pause... 44:10 when there was nowhere else to go, 44:11 Billy hiked to the nearest airport in Chile... 44:13 bought a ticket back to the States, 44:15 he had become an Atheist 44:16 and wanted everyone in America to know. 44:18 Pause... 44:21 As Billy searched for the earphones in the pouch 44:23 in front of him, he discovered, instead, a book 44:25 filled with notes and devotions. 44:27 His first instinct was to laugh at the sincerity of the reader, 44:31 but was drawn to the written words inside. 44:33 Billy had never known what he truly wanted 44:35 but somehow he knew he wanted the same things 44:37 the note writer had wanted. 44:39 He returned to the beginning of the book 44:41 and began to read cover to cover. 44:43 Billy finished the book early the next morning, 44:46 as he turned the last page, 44:48 he saw my name scrawled in a hurried cursive. 44:52 Slowly he closed the book... stared at the worn cover 44:55 and put it back exactly where he found it. 44:57 He closed his eyes and began to think. 44:58 Billy had no idea what he was going to do with his life 45:01 once he stepped off that plane but he had hope. 45:04 I couldn't help but cry when Billy finally explained to me 45:08 how he knew me... 45:09 I made an impact on a person without evening knowing it, 45:13 somehow, God used a 15-year-old girl 45:16 with a little help from her favorite author 45:19 to bring Billy back to God 45:20 who loves him more than anything, 45:22 God works in the most outrageous ways!" 45:25 Audience: Amen. 45:28 Arise and go GYC... 45:30 wh... what are we waiting for? 45:33 For all of our doubts to be dispelled, 45:36 for a clear path of certainty before us, 45:38 that time will never come, 45:42 so, to the rich businessman or to the celebrity 45:47 that everyone thinks is untouchable, 45:50 to the Saul of Tarsus who was persecuting your faith... 45:55 pause... 45:58 to the Gentile... 46:00 who clearly would have no interest in Christianity, 46:04 pause... 46:07 arise and go. 46:10 It was the DNA of the original church 46:13 and it will be the DNA of the final church. 46:16 Pause... 46:19 Young and old... men and women 46:22 who will arise and go to the end. 46:25 Pause... 46:28 Coincidently, 46:29 that's exactly where God said He would be with us till, 46:31 especially, he said... "I'll be with you always" 46:36 and especially when you go to the end. 46:39 Pause... 46:41 So, to those who are too busy... to important... 46:45 too agnostic... too different... 46:47 would we quit assuming the hippo is dead? 46:51 Pause... 46:54 There is life in the hippo... 46:57 Ellen White makes it very plain, 47:01 Acts of the Apostles... 47:03 "The greatest men of this earth are not beyond the power 47:07 of a wonder-working God. " 47:09 There are, in our world, many who are near the kingdom 47:15 than we suppose. 47:18 You look at them... 47:21 they're too indifferent, too agnostic... 47:24 too sarcastic... too busy... too rich... too... 47:27 There are those in our world... many that are in our world... 47:33 many who are near the kingdom of God than we suppose. 47:36 Arise and go... the hippo is not dead. 47:41 Don't assume... 47:43 don't assume because of their position... 47:45 because of their wealth... 47:47 because of their... of what you've heard them write 47:50 or heard them say, don't assume they're dead... 47:53 pause... 47:55 and that's where Romans... 47:56 Paul in Romans 8:31 just raises his hand and says, 48:00 "Ah um... ah um... what shall we say to those things? 48:06 If God is for us, 48:09 who can be against us?" 48:15 Piano... 48:18 Do you have a hippo in your life? 48:20 A neighbor... a family member... 48:24 a country... 48:25 a co-worker... 48:27 a classmate... 48:28 a people group... 48:30 is there a hippo that you can think of 48:34 that the Holy Spirit is putting on your mind, right now? 48:36 It's your hippo... 48:38 and you have always assumed 48:41 or you are assuming right now that it is dead... 48:43 there's no way... 48:45 is there a hippo that you are assuming is dead? 48:50 The Holy Spirit is just saying, "Tsk... tsk... tsk... tsk... 48:52 not so quick, Michael, not so quick... 48:55 I want you to arise and go... " 48:57 it's unlikely... it's improbable... 48:59 it's actually impossible but hallelujah... 49:03 is there a hippo in your life? 49:06 Someone... somewhere... some place... 49:09 and today you've heard the Spirit say to you, 49:15 "Arise and go. " 49:17 GYC, let's do it again, 49:19 let's do it again... but here's your moment... 49:24 between you and God... you know the hippo... 49:27 you know the person that you've written off... 49:33 assumed they were impossible, 49:35 it's out of your comfort zone, 49:37 it's a weakness you can't... you can't do... 49:39 somebody else has got to go there, 49:41 but God wants to use your weakness to show His strength, 49:45 He wants to use your weakness to... 49:47 your infirmity to show how strong and how creative 49:50 and how... how He can do the impossible. 49:54 Is there a hippo? 49:56 You'd like to stand today and say to God, 50:01 "I'm no longer going to assume my hippo is dead, 50:04 I'm going to arise and go... " 50:06 is there a hippo? 50:09 Do you have a hippo that you know about? 50:11 You don't have to share it but you know, 50:14 "This is my hippo... it's my children... 50:17 it's my parents... 50:19 it's that classmate... 50:20 it's that neighbor... 50:22 I've always assumed that they're dead... " 50:25 but that's not the message of the... 50:27 that's not the message of Acts, 50:28 the invitation from heaven is, "Arise and go... " 50:32 so go... 50:35 go to your hippo... 50:38 and in consecration this morning of our decision, 50:43 Caleb, lead us in this commitment to Him, 50:49 "I... I will go... 50:51 I will arise and go wherever you want me to go, O God. " 50:56 Let us sing together. 50:58 Song. 53:49 "And it shall come to pass in those last days, says God, 53:53 I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; 53:55 your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 53:57 your young men shall see visions 53:59 and your old men will dream dreams. 54:01 And on my menservants and on My maidservants 54:03 I will pour out My Spirit in those days... " 54:07 let it be, O God, in our generation, amen. |
Revised 2019-05-22