Participants:
Series Code: PME
Program Code: PME250531S
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00:10 ♪ 00:21 >> ♪ I will sing of the mercies 00:24 of the Lord forever ♪ 00:26 >> ♪ I will sing 00:28 >> ♪ I will sing 00:29 >> ♪ I will sing 00:31 >> ♪ I will sing 00:32 ♪ I will sing of the mercies 00:35 of the Lord forever ♪ 00:37 ♪ I will sing of the mercies 00:40 of the Lord ♪ 00:42 ♪ With my mouth 00:45 will I make known ♪ 00:48 ♪ Your faithfulness 00:50 ♪ Your faithfulness 00:53 ♪ With my mouth 00:56 will I make known ♪ 00:58 ♪ Your faithfulness 01:01 to all generations ♪ 01:05 ♪ I will sing of the mercies 01:08 of the Lord forever ♪ 01:11 >> ♪ I will sing 01:12 >> ♪ I will sing 01:13 >> ♪ I will sing 01:15 >> ♪ I will sing 01:16 >> ♪ I will sing of the mercies 01:19 of the Lord forever ♪ 01:22 ♪ I will sing of the mercies 01:24 of the Lord ♪ 01:27 >> ♪ All the hosts of the angels 01:30 sing God's praise forever ♪ 01:32 ♪ For the things he has done 01:38 >> ♪ All the hosts of the angels 01:40 sing God's praise forever ♪ 01:43 ♪ All the hosts of the angels 01:46 sing God's praise ♪ 01:48 ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh 01:54 ♪ Your faithfulness 01:57 ♪ Your faithfulness 01:59 ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh 02:05 ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh 02:12 ♪ I will sing of the mercies 02:15 of the Lord forever ♪ 02:18 >> ♪ I will sing 02:19 >> ♪ I will sing 02:20 >> ♪ I will sing 02:22 >> ♪ I will sing 02:23 >> ♪ I will sing of the mercies 02:26 of the Lord forever ♪ 02:29 ♪ I will sing of the mercies 02:31 of the Lord ♪ 02:44 >> Let's stand and pray 02:45 together. 02:51 Dear Father... 02:55 thank you for inviting a call 02:59 to each one individually. 03:01 We're here. 03:04 Thank you for being a God 03:08 who's not afraid to come low. 03:11 And, Lord, I pray 03:12 that our hearts would open 03:15 our garage doors 03:18 and invite all of you inside. 03:21 Lord, be with those 03:22 who are struggling. 03:24 Be with those who are hurting. 03:25 Be with those 03:26 who cried this week. 03:27 Be with those who are confused. 03:29 Be with those who are hurting. 03:31 Lord, and we want to thank you 03:32 for the joys that you give us. 03:36 Mingle the human with the divine 03:39 in this worship service. 03:41 We pray this in Jesus' name. 03:42 Amen. 03:43 >> Amen. 03:45 [ "Great is Thy Faithfulness" 03:47 begins ] 03:49 ♪ 03:58 ♪ 04:07 ♪ 06:43 [ "Hosanna" begins ] 06:46 ♪ 10:22 [ "Above All" begins ] 10:24 ♪ 10:34 ♪ 10:44 ♪ 13:45 [ "I Hear the Savior Say" 13:47 begins ] 13:49 ♪ 16:36 ♪ 16:46 >> In the blink of an eye, 16:48 this sermon series 16:49 has been completed. 16:54 It's not quite true. 16:56 This is part seven of our series 16:58 entitled ChurchWorks. 17:00 And, indeed, this is the final 17:01 installment here today. 17:03 It has not gone by 17:04 in the blink of an eye. 17:05 In fact, if you weren't here in 17:06 January, you might not 17:07 have made the beginning, 17:09 the part one installation. 17:10 So let me tell you 17:12 where we have been. 17:13 Let's take a brief tour 17:15 of this series. 17:17 In part one, we took a look at 17:20 how the gates of Hell 17:21 shall fall, and we looked at 17:23 a foundational fact 17:24 of the Christian's life, 17:26 and that is this -- that God's 17:27 church is to be organized. 17:30 Now, for some people, 17:31 that's not an earth-shattering 17:32 announcement. 17:33 For others, it is because, 17:34 too often, when we do something 17:36 for God, we think, 17:37 "Well, it's just for God. 17:38 He'll forgive me, 17:39 so it can be sloppy." 17:41 The truth is, 17:42 Jesus gave his all for us. 17:43 And as we just finished 17:44 singing there, 17:45 we need to give our all for him, 17:46 give him our best 17:47 because it is for God. 17:49 And part of that means 17:50 that His church is 17:51 to be organized. 17:53 Not hyper organized, 17:54 not organized 17:56 like a bureaucratic structure 17:57 overflowing with red tape, no, 17:59 but instead organized as simply 18:01 and effectively as possible 18:03 to achieve our mission. 18:05 You know, such gospel order 18:06 leads to a number of benefits. 18:08 It keeps the main thing 18:09 the main thing. 18:11 Our mission is to share 18:12 Jesus Christ in the context 18:13 of the three angels' 18:14 messages with the world, 18:15 and good organization keeps 18:17 that front and center for us. 18:20 It makes mission fulfillment -- 18:21 good organization makes 18:22 mission fulfillment 18:23 the responsibility of the many 18:25 and not just the few. 18:26 And it does that 18:28 by distributing real power 18:29 throughout the church. 18:31 Good organization, 18:32 furthermore, reduces 18:33 or eliminates a church's 18:35 weaknesses, 18:36 and it recognizes the giftedness 18:38 of individual members 18:39 and deploys them 18:40 into ministry accordingly. 18:42 Spectatorship can thus 18:44 be dramatically reduced, 18:45 and member fulfillment and 18:47 fruitfulness can skyrocket. 18:48 That, in large part, 18:51 is how the gates of hell 18:52 will finally fall. 18:54 God's people, in God's church, 18:56 organized, working together 18:57 as one person, 18:59 taking the battering ram 19:00 of the gospel to the fortresses 19:02 of evil and overcoming them. 19:06 In part two, we looked carefully 19:09 at the Great Omission. 19:11 There we started by recognizing 19:12 that too many churches are 19:13 content to simply baptize 19:15 someone, and then they omit 19:16 to help that person 19:17 become what actually 19:18 Jesus intends them to be, 19:20 and that is a genuine, 19:21 mature disciple of Jesus. 19:24 Now, what is that? 19:25 What is a genuine, 19:26 mature disciple of Jesus? 19:27 Well, we went through 19:28 the New Testament, and we looked 19:29 at a number of texts there. 19:30 We discovered there are 19:32 at least eight characteristics 19:33 of a genuine, 19:34 mature disciple of Jesus, 19:35 and we summed it up 19:36 with this statement. 20:04 I'd like to be that kind of 20:05 disciple, wouldn't you? 20:06 I mean, this is the journey 20:07 that Jesus calls 20:08 every single Christian to be on. 20:11 And no wonder -- no wonder -- 20:13 simple, effective organization 20:16 is required in God's church 20:17 because these kinds of disciples 20:19 don't just happen by accident. 20:22 In part three, 20:24 we opened up a thoroughly 20:25 provocative topic. 20:27 We talked about the need 20:28 for ministers to rule, 20:29 and we talked 20:30 about settled pastors. 20:33 Settled pastors are what 20:34 most Christian churches 20:35 in the global West, including 20:36 Adventist churches, have today, 20:37 and in case you weren't here, 20:38 let me just remind you 20:39 the definition. 20:40 A settled pastor is one 20:41 who usually stays 3 to 7 years 20:43 over a given church. 20:44 They do most of the preaching 20:45 and the teaching, 20:46 the marrying and the burying. 20:47 They chair committees, 20:48 they put out fires, 20:49 and 3 to 7 years later, they 20:50 move to another church, 20:51 and they do it all over again. 20:53 Almost every church 20:55 in the West, Adventist or 20:56 otherwise, has settled pastors. 20:58 And yet, shockingly, 21:00 the settled pastor role is 21:01 not found anywhere 21:03 in the New Testament. 21:04 It is completely absent from it. 21:07 And because of that absence, 21:09 early Adventism, 21:10 we learned for the first 60 21:11 to 70 years of its existence 21:12 also did 21:14 not have settled pastors. 21:16 Indeed, as the title 21:17 of part three said, 21:19 "Ministers are to rule 21:20 in God's church." 21:23 But we discover those ministers 21:24 are not settled pastors. 21:27 Instead, the New Testament 21:28 ideal is a plurality 21:29 of every member ministry led 21:31 by elders within 21:32 the local church and overseen 21:34 by the apostolic ministry 21:35 outside of the local church 21:37 an apostolic ministry 21:38 that has real authority 21:39 over the local church. 21:42 And when this arrangement is 21:43 followed, spectatorship tends 21:45 to drop dramatically, member 21:46 ministry tends to explode, 21:48 and new churches are planted 21:50 with marvelous regularity. 21:52 It's almost as if God knew 21:54 what he was doing 21:55 when he organized his church. 21:58 In part four, 22:00 we looked carefully 22:03 at Adventist history, 22:05 specifically at 22:06 how and, most importantly, 22:07 why our pioneers did not settle 22:09 pastors over churches. 22:10 Now, this was quite a journey. 22:11 If you were here that Sabbath, 22:12 you may recall, for those of you 22:14 that were unaware of our history 22:15 in regard to settled pastors 22:16 and not having them, I mean, 22:18 afterwards some of you 22:19 had to take a number of Tylenol, 22:20 a cool sip of lemonade, 22:21 fanning yourself 22:22 to come back down to earth. 22:23 I mean, it was it was 22:24 quite a moment there. 22:26 We also discovered, though, 22:28 that even in early Adventism, 22:30 for all of its success 22:31 without settled pastors, 22:33 there eventually came a call 22:34 to move towards 22:35 settled pastorates, 22:37 and it was in that context 22:38 that I shared with you 22:39 a pivotal quote 22:40 from A.G. Daniels. 22:42 A.G. Daniels was 22:43 General Conference president. 22:44 In 1922, A.G. Daniels 22:46 was voted out of office, 22:47 but not anything 22:48 to do relating to 22:48 settled pastors, 22:49 but he and Ellen White 22:51 were the strongest opponents 22:53 of settling pastors 22:54 over our churches. 22:56 And in 1912, he said this 22:58 at a ministerial 22:59 institute in Los Angeles. 23:01 He said... 23:45 And then I summarized it 23:46 with words of my own. 24:32 This was and remains a big deal. 24:35 The Adventist West has gotten 24:37 itself into a pickle. 24:38 Settled pastors rarely lead 24:40 to widespread, sustained growth, 24:42 and they remain very expensive. 24:45 The role of the settled pastor 24:46 tends to stifle church planting 24:47 and create 24:48 spectators in the pews, 24:50 and that is why part four 24:51 ended with an appeal 24:53 of what God is looking for. 24:54 God is looking for 24:55 one final revolution 24:57 in His church, 24:59 a revolution that sees a return 25:01 to lay ministry as the rule 25:03 rather than the exception. 25:04 A revolution that sees a return 25:06 to ministers as 25:07 primarily being church planters. 25:09 A revolution 25:11 that the Holy Spirit can use to 25:12 actually achieve what now, 25:14 in the West, at least, 25:15 seems impossible. 25:16 The finishing of the work 25:18 of reaching the world 25:19 with the good news of 25:19 Jesus Christ 25:20 as found in his three angels. 25:24 And even as we accept 25:25 that early Adventism 25:26 appropriately made exceptions 25:28 at large institutions 25:29 like this one right here 25:30 and settled pastors there 25:31 out of necessity, 25:33 we must nonetheless do our best 25:35 to approximate 25:36 the New Testament ideals 25:38 of lay leadership, lay ministry, 25:40 and church planting 25:41 to the absolute 25:41 best of our ability. 25:44 Nothing less. 25:45 Nothing else will do. 25:49 Which brought us to part five. 25:52 One of the reasons 25:53 that the New Testament church 25:54 in early Adventism 25:55 could do so well without 25:56 settled pastors is 25:58 because they experienced 25:59 a much higher level 26:00 of genuine Christian community 26:01 within their local churches. 26:03 You'll recall, we pointed out 26:05 that the success of 26:06 both the New Testament Church 26:08 and of early Adventism 26:09 for those first 60 to 70 years, 26:10 I mean, it defies explanation, 26:12 according to current norms. 26:13 By modern standards, 26:15 you have to have 26:15 a settled pastor. 26:16 Otherwise, you're not even a 26:18 church, almost, in some places. 26:20 And yet those churches thrived. 26:22 How did they do it? 26:25 Part of the answer -- 26:26 definitely a big part 26:27 of the answer -- 26:28 is that they had excellent, 26:29 genuine Christian community 26:31 in their local churches. 26:33 Now, we took a long look 26:34 in the New Testament 26:35 to see what this kind of 26:36 community looked like, 26:37 and we found it had 26:38 at least four characteristics. 26:40 Genuine Christian community has 26:42 Christ at its center, 26:43 not a charismatic preacher, 26:45 not another idea or a goal 26:47 or a cause, nothing like that. 26:48 Jesus and Jesus alone 26:49 is at its center. 26:50 Genuine Christian community is 26:51 where members 26:52 sacrificially care for one 26:54 another as Jesus would 26:55 if he were in their place. 26:57 Genuine Christian community is 26:58 where members thrive 26:59 through appropriate 27:00 accountability to one another. 27:02 And done correctly, it's home. 27:04 It's a taste of heaven to come. 27:07 You know, this kind of 27:08 community is so good. 27:10 Not only were we human beings, 27:12 as we discovered in 27:13 the first part of Genesis, 27:14 created specifically 27:15 for this kind of community. 27:17 But such community enables us 27:19 to find a deeper relationship 27:20 with Jesus and more fuel 27:23 to help us help others 27:25 to have a relationship 27:26 with Jesus, as well. 27:29 Which led to a question. 27:31 In the absence 27:31 of settled pastors, 27:33 how specifically did 27:34 early Adventism achieve 27:35 this kind of community? 27:37 And in part six, 27:38 we found the answer. 27:41 They did it by thinking small. 27:44 Oh, they thought big, too, 27:45 there's no doubt about it, 27:46 but they also thought small. 27:48 Small group ministry was 27:49 integral to the New Testament 27:50 church, and it was 27:51 to the early Adventist church, 27:52 as well, 27:53 primarily through something 27:54 called the social meeting. 27:56 We looked extensively 27:57 at the New Testament roots 27:58 of small group ministry, 27:59 as well as the rationale for 28:00 and the practice of 28:01 the social meeting. 28:03 That social meeting, 28:04 it simply was 28:05 the most important meeting 28:06 that any local 28:07 Adventist church ever had, 28:09 period, full stop. 28:11 The social meeting had nearly 28:12 all of the core functions 28:13 of discipleship 28:14 that took place in it. 28:15 Evangelism took place there. 28:17 New believers 28:18 that came into the church 28:19 through the social meeting 28:20 learned how to pray 28:21 and how to testify, the basic 28:22 skills of discipleship. 28:24 More experienced believers grew 28:26 to maturity 28:27 as they heard the testimonies 28:28 of wizened saints 28:29 around the circle 28:30 and as they mentored those 28:31 new to the faith. 28:33 I shared with you that I've been 28:34 to well over 100 social meetings 28:35 myself, and nearly all of those 28:37 have been powerful discipleship 28:38 experiences with Christ, 28:40 with fellow believers, 28:41 and with new believers 28:42 coming into the faith. 28:44 I have been greatly encouraged, 28:45 as I've heard how many of you 28:46 are wanting to start 28:47 social meetings, 28:48 either here, right here at PMC, 28:50 or at other places in the world. 28:52 If you are intrigued 28:53 by this idea and you missed it 28:54 the first time, 28:55 there's a QR code 28:56 here on the screen. 28:58 You can hold your phone up, 28:58 you can get -- you can 28:59 click on that QR code. 29:01 It will take you to that 29:02 four-page starter kit 29:03 that I put together. 29:04 A very simple way 29:05 that you can start 29:06 social meetings of your own 29:08 in your sphere of influence. 29:12 Which brings us to today. 29:18 With all that we have covered 29:20 in this series so far in mind, 29:23 what can be said now 29:25 that will aptly position us 29:26 to take next steps? 29:29 You know, these next steps -- 29:30 I've been talking to you 29:31 about them 29:32 throughout this series. 29:33 The elders have been meeting 29:34 for months, prayerfully putting 29:36 together a new draft 29:38 of a mission statement, 29:39 a new draft for a strategy 29:40 for ministry for Pioneer. 29:42 That has been -- the draft stage 29:43 has been completed. 29:44 It was submitted to three 29:45 town hall meetings. 29:46 Those are now completed, 29:47 as well. 29:48 Lots of good feedback came back. 29:49 That will now go back to 29:50 the elders. 29:51 They will digest this. 29:52 They'll send a recommendation 29:53 to the church board, 29:54 and once the church board 29:55 has voted on this, 29:56 we will begin implementation 29:58 in earnest in the fall. 30:00 Lots of prep work 30:01 over the summer. 30:03 And with this in mind, 30:04 what will help us 30:05 as we prepare for this 30:07 coming new season of ministry? 30:09 Well, I believe there are 30:10 at least three things, 30:13 and the first is a caution. 30:20 Number one, without Jesus and 30:22 the filling of His Holy Spirit, 30:24 all the organization and 30:25 community and social meetings 30:27 and non-settled pastors and 30:28 church planting in the world 30:29 mean absolutely nothing. 30:33 Zero. Nothing. 30:36 These are not magic. 30:37 The methods that we have been 30:38 talking about in this series, 30:40 this is not something 30:41 you can just kind of plug it 30:41 in without Jesus 30:43 and expect there to be success. 30:45 In fact, Jesus himself, 30:46 John 15:5, 30:47 he made it quite clear. 30:48 He said, "Apart from me 30:49 you can do --" how much? 30:51 Nothing. 30:51 "Apart from me, 30:52 you can do nothing." 30:53 Nothing of spiritual 30:54 significance that's going to 30:55 last for the kingdom can be done 30:56 apart from Jesus Christ. 30:58 These things are 30:59 not plug and play. 31:00 We must be filled with Christ, 31:02 with His Holy Spirit. 31:05 That is the non-negotiable. 31:07 And pity the poor church or 31:08 individual 31:10 who tries to take these methods 31:11 and implement them apart from 31:13 the filling of the Holy Spirit. 31:14 You see, if that is the case, 31:16 if someone seeks 31:17 to do these methods apart 31:18 from the filling 31:19 of the Holy Spirit of Jesus, 31:20 the worst thing that 31:21 could happen is "success." 31:24 The worst thing 31:24 that could happen 31:25 is that people would 31:26 be attracted because of that. 31:28 Because if Jesus isn't in it, 31:30 you're not attracting them 31:31 to Jesus. 31:34 Without Jesus in the filling 31:35 of His Holy Spirit, 31:36 all the organization and 31:37 community and social meetings 31:38 and non-settled pastors 31:40 and church planting in the world 31:40 mean absolutely nothing. 31:42 But, number two, with Jesus 31:47 and the filling of 31:48 His Holy Spirit, 31:49 wide adoption of such methods 31:51 can make them powerful engines 31:53 that will turn the world upside 31:54 down and usher 31:55 in the second coming of Christ. 31:58 Again, Jesus himself 31:59 speaks about this very dynamic. 32:01 Let me put it on the screen 32:02 here, the full verse now, 32:02 John 15:5. 32:04 Jesus says, "I am the vine, 32:05 you are the branches. 32:07 If you remain in me 32:08 and I in you, you will bear --" 32:10 how much fruit? 32:12 That's a great word. 32:13 You will bear much fruit. 32:14 This is not going to be 32:14 a skimpy harvest here. 32:15 Much fruit, Jesus said. 32:16 This is a promise. 32:19 It's a promise from God Himself. 32:22 So let us pray daily, 32:24 each of us, for the filling 32:25 of God's Spirit. 32:26 Don't let a day go by 32:27 without asking for it. 32:28 Let us pray by name 32:29 for the former 32:30 and the latter rains 32:31 of the Holy Spirit, 32:32 and make whatever changes are 32:33 necessary for them to fall 32:34 on us and fill us. 32:36 And then -- and then -- changes 32:39 like the ones we've discussed 32:40 in this series will make 32:41 a marvelous difference, 32:42 the likes of which many 32:43 of us have never seen. 32:48 Which brings us to number three. 32:52 The definition of insanity 32:54 stubbornly remains the same -- 32:56 doing the same thing over 32:56 and over, 32:58 yet expecting different results. 33:00 If we in the West 33:01 want to see Jesus come in 33:02 our lifetime, 33:03 we must correctly change 33:06 how we do discipleship, 33:07 both personally and corporately. 33:11 And this is not just my opinion. 33:14 If you turn in your Bibles, 33:15 please, John 5:1. 33:18 John, the fifth chapter, 33:19 beginning with verse 1, 33:20 page 717, in the red pew Bible, 33:22 which is somewhere nearby 33:23 where you're at. 33:24 7-1-7. 33:25 Page 717, John 5:1. 33:30 Famous story here found only in 33:32 the Gospel of John. 33:33 Jesus is about to perform 33:35 a miracle at a place called 33:38 the Pool of Bethesda. 33:39 Now, some of you, as like me, 33:41 have been to what they think 33:43 is one of the most likely 33:44 locations there in Jerusalem 33:45 for the Pool of Bethesda. 33:46 And it's just -- it's 33:47 just fascinating to think, 33:48 you know, the thing that 33:49 happened there, the story 33:51 that is still being told today, 33:52 and so impactful, 33:54 including for what 33:55 we are talking about right now 33:57 with this third point. 33:58 John 5:1. 34:00 "Sometime later," 34:01 my Bible says, "Jesus went up 34:03 to Jerusalem 34:04 for a feast of the Jews. 34:06 Now there is in Jerusalem 34:07 near the Sheep Gate a pool, 34:08 which in Aramaic 34:09 is called Bethesda 34:11 and which is surrounded 34:12 by five covered colonnades. 34:14 Here a great number of 34:15 disabled people used to lie -- 34:17 the blind, the lame, 34:18 the paralyzed. 34:20 One who was there 34:21 had been sick for 38 years. 34:24 When Jesus saw him lying there 34:26 and learned that he had been 34:26 in this condition 34:27 for a long time, 34:28 he asked him, 34:30 'Do you want to get well?' 34:33 'Sir,' the man replied, 34:34 I have no one 34:35 to help me into the pool 34:36 when the water is stirred. 34:38 While I am trying to get in, 34:39 someone else 34:41 goes down ahead of me.'" 34:43 Pause there please. 34:48 Some ancient manuscripts 34:50 of the Old Testament offer 34:52 a couple of verses there -- 34:53 your Bible might footnote it -- 34:54 where it notes 34:55 the local mythology of what 34:57 this man is referring to. 34:59 There was a legend 35:00 that an angel would come down 35:02 and stir the waters of the Pool 35:04 of Bethesda, 35:06 and that the first person 35:07 into the pool would be healed. 35:10 Now, I cannot 35:11 imagine a more abusive picture 35:14 of God than this. 35:16 In this scenario, 35:17 for a healing to take place, 35:19 people that, by definition, 35:21 are there because 35:22 they cannot move well 35:24 are put in a situation 35:26 where they must move well if 35:27 they wish to be healed by God. 35:29 I mean, I don't know what kind 35:30 of picture of God that leaves 35:31 you with, but it can't be a 35:31 positive one, right? 35:33 And so, you know, 35:34 a puff of wind comes by, right? 35:36 And the waters are "stirred," 35:38 and everybody tries 35:40 to make a dash for this, 35:41 and those maybe whose legs 35:42 are still working and other 35:43 parts of their body need 35:44 healing, you know, they rush in. 35:45 I'm going to guess there were 35:46 people that drowned in this 35:47 pool. 35:48 I mean, it was a pathetic scene. 35:55 And this poor man, 35:57 most likely paralyzed, 35:59 we don't know 36:00 how many years he's been there. 36:01 It's been a long time. 36:03 Over and over again, 36:05 when that water 36:06 has been stirred from something, 36:08 he has done his best, 36:09 trying to claw his way 36:10 to get to that pool. 36:13 And he did it over and over 36:15 and over and over again, 36:18 hoping for different results. 36:24 Now, I'm not saying 36:25 that this man was insane, 36:26 but I'll bet he sure felt 36:28 like it on more than one 36:28 occasion. 36:30 I mean, this is pathetic. 36:35 And then Jesus. 36:38 Jesus, the one who, 36:41 years and years and years 36:42 earlier, had formed mankind out 36:44 of the dirt of the ground, 36:46 the perfect artist, 36:47 had put together the limbs 36:49 of humanity 36:50 and knew exactly what it took 36:51 to make them work perfectly, 36:53 Jesus shows up, 36:55 and he knows that the only thing 36:57 that will save this man 36:59 was doing something different. 37:03 And who better equipped 37:05 to point out the direction 37:07 of this change, the direction 37:08 of this difference, 37:09 than Jesus Himself, 37:10 and he does. 37:12 Verse 8, John 5. 37:14 "Then Jesus said to him, 37:16 'Get up! 37:18 Pick up your mat and walk.' 37:22 At once the man was cured. 37:26 He picked up his mat and 37:28 walked." 37:33 Ladies and gentlemen, 37:34 the best way to get different, 37:36 better results in life 37:39 is to follow Christ's commands. 37:43 That man looked up to Jesus, 37:45 heard the command, 37:47 took him at his word, 37:48 and he was healed. 37:50 And did you notice there is 37:51 no record that 37:52 this man consulted his feelings 37:54 in regard to doing what 37:55 Christ had asked him to do. 37:57 There's no record of, 37:58 "You know what? Hmm. 37:59 This feels awfully strange. 38:01 The command is clear from Jesus, 38:02 but I've never done 38:04 it this way before. 38:05 We don't do things here 38:06 at the pool like this. 38:07 I'm not sure I feel 38:09 this is the right move." 38:10 We have none of that. 38:11 There's no record 38:12 of this man consulting 38:14 his feelings in this regard. 38:16 Instead, the sick man took Jesus 38:19 at his word, 38:20 embraced this change, 38:21 and willed to walk, 38:24 and Jesus provided the strength. 38:26 The result was a fully 38:27 functional man, 38:28 where, a millisecond 38:29 before, there had been 38 years 38:30 of paralysis and fear. 38:33 And again, I say, 38:34 my friends here at Pioneer, 38:36 wherever you may be listening to 38:37 this, the same gift of healing 38:39 can belong to the church 38:40 if we are willing to embrace 38:43 and believe 38:44 and act on Christ's command. 38:47 Do you see 38:48 how this dynamic works, 38:49 this paralyzed man 38:50 who's now healed? 38:51 Do you see what he 38:52 is teaching us here? 38:53 Let me give you a couple 38:54 examples. 38:56 Don't wait to feel 38:58 like starting a devotional life. 39:01 Okay? If you don't currently 39:02 have one, don't wait until you 39:03 feel like starting a devotional 39:04 life. 39:05 God has already given us 39:06 the command that we're to walk 39:07 with Him day in and day out. 39:09 We're to be with Him, 39:10 to spend time in His word 39:10 and in prayer. 39:11 That's already been done. 39:12 Don't wait to feel 39:14 like starting a devotional life. 39:15 Instead, choose 39:16 to make the change, 39:18 ask for God's strength, 39:19 and then take the actions 39:20 necessary to start one, 39:21 whether you feel 39:23 like it's going to work or not, 39:26 and when you take the action, 39:28 God will supply 39:29 the strength that is needed. 39:31 This is faith in action. 39:32 This is part 39:33 of righteousness by faith. 39:34 Another example -- don't wait 39:35 to feel like you can start 39:37 or join a small group 39:38 or a social meeting. 39:40 Ask God for -- 39:41 Ask Him for His strength, 39:42 believe that He has given it 39:43 to you, and take the actions 39:45 necessary to do it, 39:46 whether you feel 39:47 like it's gonna work or not, 39:48 and as you take the action, 39:49 God will supply 39:51 the strength that is needed. 39:53 This is this divine transaction 39:54 that takes place between earth 39:56 and heaven, between us and God. 39:58 We are to live by faith 39:59 in God and His Word, 40:00 not by sight, 40:01 not by how we feel. 40:03 We are to trust in Christ's 40:04 commands and then take the steps 40:06 in the right direction, 40:07 whether we feel like it or not, 40:08 and then 40:10 God supplies the strength. 40:13 And what is true 40:13 for the individual 40:15 is also true for 40:16 the corporate church. 40:17 If the church will look up to 40:19 Jesus, take Him at His word, 40:22 not consulting their tepid 40:24 and variable feelings. 40:25 It too can be healed. 40:27 The church's mobility 40:28 can be restored, 40:30 its withered discipleship 40:31 muscles, weakened 40:32 with disease and lack 40:33 of use, will swell 40:34 with new strength. 40:35 And though some churches 40:36 on the planet 40:37 may have lain dormant for decade 40:38 after decade, 40:39 by taking Christ at His Word 40:42 and by his strength 40:43 and making the changes necessary 40:45 for revival and reformation 40:47 and effectiveness, 40:49 a wholesale transformation 40:51 really can happen. 40:53 We really can become all 40:55 that Jesus has always dreamed 40:57 we could be if we take Christ 41:01 at His word 41:02 and make the correct change. 41:08 You know, there's been some 41:09 pretty heavy slogging 41:10 going through this series. 41:11 We have dove deep on 41:12 a variety of occasions. 41:14 So I thought I would finish 41:15 this series with a story 41:17 that will put a smile 41:18 on your face, I suspect, 41:19 and I hope 41:20 a lesson deep in your heart. 41:24 Many years ago, yea, verily, 41:25 in the last millennium, 41:26 when I was in college, 41:28 I took a year off 41:29 to be a student missionary 41:31 on the island of Pohnpei. 41:33 Now, Pohnpei, if you don't know 41:33 where Pohnpei is, 41:35 you start at Los Angeles, 41:36 you go to Hawaii, 41:37 you keep going generally 41:38 westerly for 41:39 about 900 more miles, 41:40 and if you aim the right 41:41 direction, you'll see Pohnpei. 41:43 Pohnpei is a garden paradise. 41:44 Beautiful island there. 41:45 When I was there, 41:47 there were still portions of it 41:48 that were largely primitive. 41:49 It was hard work. 41:50 Student missionaries there 41:51 at Pohnpei worked very hard. 41:53 We didn't get much time off, 41:54 maybe a few hours on Sunday, 41:56 but once -- as far as I know, 41:58 it was just once -- we got 42:01 the entire weekend off, 42:04 and it was because the church 42:05 was taking a camp-out. 42:06 The local church there 42:08 with mostly Pohnpeians, 42:09 some from other countries 42:10 and other islands 42:11 that were there, 42:12 they decided to take a camp-out. 42:14 Now, when you already live 42:16 in a tropical paradise, 42:17 the places you get to go for 42:18 a camp-out exceed 42:19 almost anything 42:20 you can find here 42:21 in the lower 48 United States. 42:22 I mean, there's some beautiful 42:23 places in the States, 42:25 but we got to go to Ant Atoll. 42:28 Now, Ant -- A-N-T, like the 42:29 critter on the ground, 42:31 Ant was a privately owned atoll. 42:33 Most of the property in those 42:34 days, at least in Pohnpei, 42:35 was all privately owned. 42:37 And we asked permission to go. 42:39 It was granted, 42:39 and so the whole church got in 42:40 fishing boats, 42:41 and we went out aways 42:43 from Pohnpei itself 42:44 and landed on this atoll there. 42:46 And it was beautiful. 42:49 Beautiful white-sand beaches. 42:51 I mean, picture the best 42:52 postcard you can imagine 42:54 and then tear it up 42:55 because it's nothing 42:56 like what it actually was there 42:57 on Ant Atoll. 42:58 It was gorgeous. 42:59 So we get there 43:00 and go up on the beach there. 43:02 There's really no structures. 43:03 Nobody lives there, 43:04 at least not year round. 43:06 What structures there were 43:07 had been blown away by a typhoon 43:08 a few months earlier. 43:10 And so we put our bags up 43:11 in the middle of the atoll 43:12 there, came back down, 43:14 and I sit down to relax. 43:17 I mean, this is -- this is -- 43:18 this is -- this is beautiful. 43:20 White sand, blue sky, 43:21 the sun is overhead, 43:22 the palm branches 43:23 are gently swaying in 43:25 the breezes there. 43:26 And the water -- of course, 43:27 the water is beautiful. 43:28 Don't picture ocean breakers. 43:30 This is a -- 43:31 There's a channel here, 43:31 and across from Ant, 43:33 there was another smaller atoll, 43:34 so just, you know, lapping 43:35 against the shore. 43:37 Beautiful, beautiful, 43:38 beautiful setting. 43:41 And as I am basking in this -- 43:42 this natural glory, 43:45 I look off to my right, 43:46 up the channel, 43:48 and the water begins to boil. 43:54 Geothermal? 43:55 I mean, what -- 43:55 I'm trying to think how it 43:56 could possibly be that -- 43:58 I mean, this was a big patch 43:59 of water, too -- pr-pr-pr-pr! 44:03 So I got up and I asked, 44:05 I said -- I asked one of the 44:06 church members, said, "What -- 44:07 What is that?" 44:09 He said, "Mr. Anderson, fish." 44:12 Said, "Fish?" 44:14 "Tuna." 44:16 "Tuna." 44:18 And they explained to me 44:19 that about this time 44:20 every year there would be 44:22 tuna runs up and down, 44:24 including in places 44:25 right here next to Ant Atoll. 44:27 In other words, 44:28 that boiling was not geothermal 44:30 vent coming up from somewhere. 44:31 This were hundreds, 44:32 in some cases, 44:33 even thousands of tuna fish 44:34 that were just having a -- 44:35 I don't know if it was a 44:36 convention, maybe they were 44:37 having elections. 44:37 I have no idea. 44:38 But the tuna were here and 44:41 just swimming up and down here. 44:43 I mean, this was fascinating. 44:45 So I went down by 44:45 the water to kind of get 44:47 a better look at all these fish 44:48 going by. 44:49 And about then, I look around, 44:51 and I see some of the locals 44:53 there, the church members, 44:54 they were slicing 44:56 fresh palm branches lengthwise 44:57 in half 44:58 and then tying them together. 45:00 And they'd already 45:01 it was quite long by this point. 45:03 I said, "What are you doing?" 45:05 And he said, "Well, 45:06 Mr. Anderson, 45:08 we are going to catch fish, 45:10 and you are going to help us." 45:13 "Oh. All right." 45:15 So they explained to me 45:16 the plan. 45:17 The plan went like this. 45:18 You get all these palm branches. 45:20 They should be fresh because 45:21 old ones tend not to float. 45:22 Fresh ones tend to float. 45:23 And you tie them all together, 45:25 and it can be very, very long. 45:26 And the idea is, 45:28 is that a lead person will take 45:29 one of the ends of this line 45:32 of palm branches tied together, 45:33 and will swim out 45:35 into the channel 45:36 as the tuna are headed this way. 45:39 And the idea is to kind of 45:40 circle around them there, 45:42 because the person who was 45:43 explaining it, they told me, 45:44 they said the lead tuna fish 45:47 will see the floating 45:49 palm branch and not realize 45:51 that they can just swim 45:52 under this. 45:53 They will turn, and the whole 45:54 school will follow after them, 45:56 and then the swimmers 45:57 will come around behind 45:59 with these palm branches, 46:01 and they'll slowly move 46:03 the pod closer to the beach 46:05 until there's so many fish 46:07 so close to the shore 46:08 that you can just step 46:08 into the water and scoop 46:10 the fish out onto the beach. 46:14 And it was right then 46:15 that I knew exactly what was up. 46:18 Do you know what 46:19 a snipe hunt is? 46:21 [ Laughter ] 46:22 Yeah, that's all I'm gonna 46:23 say about that. 46:24 But I was pretty clear, 46:26 pretty clear 46:27 that there was a joke 46:28 about to be played and that 46:30 I was gonna be the one 46:31 suffering on the end of it. 46:31 Right? 46:32 There's no way 46:33 you can catch fi-- 46:34 These are good-sized tuna 46:35 that are out there, 46:36 and they're very fast, you know, 46:38 just all over the place. 46:39 Come on. I said, 46:41 "Okay, I'll watch." 46:43 He said, "No, no, no, 46:44 Mr. Anderson, we need you." 46:46 I said, "No, no, 46:47 I'll just be right here. 46:48 You go ahead." 46:48 "No, no, no, no, 46:49 you must go first." 46:53 I said, "Why?" 46:54 He said, "Because you are so 46:55 tall." 46:56 [ Laughter ] 46:58 I guess the idea is, 46:59 is that I could go out deeper. 47:00 I mean, I have no idea. 47:01 Because you're supposed 47:02 to swim out into the channel. 47:03 I said, "No, no." 47:04 "No, Mr. Anderson, you must go." 47:06 They kept begging. I said, "Oh. 47:08 All right. Okay. I'll go," 47:09 knowing that, you know, 47:10 there's no way 47:11 this is going to work. 47:13 So I get out there, 47:14 and I take my end 47:15 of the palm branch line, 47:16 and I go out, and I stand up 47:17 about my water at waist. 47:18 "Mr. Anderson, keep going. 47:20 Go further, go further." 47:22 Go out, and I get up to about my 47:23 chest, said, "Oh, Mr. Anderson, 47:25 keep going, go further!" 47:26 So I go out, 47:27 and I'm up to my neck, right? 47:28 I think, "This is as far 47:29 as I'm gonna go, right? 47:30 I'm not gonna go tread water 47:31 for half an hour, 47:32 waiting for tuna fish to come by 47:33 and get caught in 47:34 an impossible trap, right?" 47:36 So as I'm out there, they say, 47:37 "Oh, Mr. Anderson, 47:38 you must go further, 47:39 you must go further!" 47:41 "Okay." 47:42 So I go out, 47:43 and I'm treading water there, 47:44 and I'm trying to head out, 47:45 you know, to... 47:46 And then someone 47:47 on the shore says, "Look! 47:49 They're coming!" 47:52 And I looked, 47:54 and I got to tell you something. 47:54 What was a beautiful 47:55 "Wild Kingdom" moment 47:57 on the sand up there 47:58 is something very different 47:59 when you are eye level 48:00 with hundreds of tuna fish 48:01 that are coming at you at 48:02 about 30 miles an hour, right? 48:04 I'm like, "Oh, I can't 48:05 believe -- what did I -- 48:06 what am I doing?" Right? 48:07 And they're yelling on the 48:08 shore, "Go further, go further!" 48:09 Because, remember, you're 48:10 supposed to get out long enough 48:11 that you're in front, you're 48:13 well on the other side of the 48:14 school of tuna that's coming. 48:15 And I'm like, "They're headed 48:16 straight for me." 48:17 Oh! And then it was too late. 48:21 Yeah, I'm not even gonna ask for 48:22 a show of hands, 48:23 because I'm pretty sure none 48:23 of you have ever experienced 48:24 hundreds of tuna 48:26 invading your personal life. 48:27 I mean, this is -- 48:28 They're just -- just going by 48:30 my ears, and I mean, this is -- 48:32 I felt very clean afterwards. 48:34 This was like taking a bath, 48:35 a shower, scrub down, okay? 48:37 And they're all going past. 48:38 I could've sworn 48:39 that I heard the lead tuna say 48:41 something along the lines of, 48:42 "There's a sucker missionary 48:43 born every year right about this 48:44 time, right?" Okay. 48:45 [ Laughter ] 48:47 And it felt like eternity, 48:49 probably was only about 48:49 30 seconds. 48:50 I mean, they're cruising. 48:52 They are moving, going by. 48:56 The last one goes by, 48:58 I still have my palm branch. 48:59 [ Laughter ] 49:02 I swim back into the shore. 49:04 Without saying a word, 49:05 I hand my palm branch back, 49:06 and I walk up 49:07 to dry off in the sand, okay? 49:10 Ha ha. Joke's on me, right? 49:15 So I'm sitting up there, 49:15 drying off, 49:18 wondering how I was so lucky 49:19 to be selected as the subject 49:21 of this experiment 49:23 when there came another shout. 49:25 "Look! They're coming!" 49:29 And I looked up the beach, 49:30 and sure enough, 49:31 here was another school 49:33 of tuna headed this way. 49:37 And immediately, 49:39 locals who knew what 49:40 to do much better than I did, 49:43 swam quickly out 49:45 into the channel, 49:46 almost to the other side. 49:48 The school of tuna 49:49 came rushing down there, 49:51 and the lead 49:52 tuna fish apparently saw 49:54 a brick wall in front of him. 49:56 He turned towards the beach. 49:59 The swimmers on the outside 50:00 with the rest of the palm 50:01 branches came in behind 50:03 the school, and gradually 50:04 they brought that school in 50:05 until -- I kid you not -- 50:06 they brought them right up 50:07 into the shallows, 50:08 and children and adults 50:09 stepped into the surf, 50:11 and they threw the fish 50:12 up onto the beach. 50:18 Just like it was supposed 50:21 to be done. 50:28 Any guesses what was on the menu 50:29 for supper that night? 50:30 [ Laughter ] 50:32 Tuna, yes. Tuna. 50:35 Now, this was in my 50:35 carnivorous days, 50:37 and there was lots 50:38 of eating going on. 50:39 You know, in the islands, 50:40 you know, there's 50:41 various ways to prepare fish. 50:42 Sometimes they don't 50:43 prepare fish at all. 50:44 They just take it out 50:45 of the water and start eating. 50:47 But they were also cooking 50:48 some over the fire, 50:49 and there's not a lot of gutting 50:50 that goes on 50:51 or anything like that, 50:51 so the whole fish is plopped 50:53 down there. 50:54 And one of the -- one 50:54 of the members there, 50:55 his name was Keska, 50:56 a very nice man. 50:58 He came to me and he said, 50:59 "Mr. Anderson, 51:01 you must try some of the tuna." 51:06 And I looked at the fish, 51:07 all there, seared, looking 51:09 straight at me with its eyes. 51:12 And he said, "The best part is 51:14 between the eyes." 51:15 [ Laughter ] 51:18 Now, it's funny, because those 51:18 of you that like fish, 51:19 you are not doing that. 51:20 You're not doing that, right? 51:21 You're not, "Oh!" 51:22 No, no, no. 51:23 And he said, "It's the best 51:24 part." 51:24 I said, "Okay." 51:26 So I took my fingers, and the 51:28 fish was still a little bit hot. 51:29 I can still remember the 51:29 sensation. 51:31 I took it from between 51:32 its eyes there, 51:34 and I popped it into my mouth. 51:37 It was, far and away, 51:39 the sweetest, 51:40 best fish I had ever had. 51:44 In fact, it ruined me, 'cause 51:45 you came back to the States, 51:46 you'd open up a can of tuna, 51:47 you're like, "Oh, this is 51:47 garbage. 51:48 This is like cat food." 51:49 I mean, why am I -- 51:50 why am I eating this, right?" 51:52 I mean, it was phenomenal. 51:53 Just explodes with flavor 51:55 in your mouth like that, right? 51:58 Even though the method seemed 52:01 awkward and strange to me, 52:04 it turns out that it led 52:06 to a very plentiful harvest. 52:16 You know, too often, 52:19 when Matthew 24:14 is read -- 52:22 "And this gospel 52:23 shall be preached as a witness 52:23 to all nations, 52:24 and then the end will come." 52:27 Too often, "the end" is 52:30 interpreted in purely 52:32 negative terms. 52:34 Cities being destroyed, 52:35 earthquakes, famines, 52:36 pestilence, persecution. 52:40 You know, those things will be 52:40 part of the package. 52:41 But the real end 52:44 for Christians is Jesus. 52:48 That's the end for us. 52:51 There will be those other 52:52 things, yes, 52:53 but the end is Jesus. 52:55 What an incentive 52:57 to get into gospel gear 52:59 and do the things 53:00 that Jesus has asked us to do. 53:02 Because once the gospel 53:03 is preached to the whole world, 53:04 "and then the end will come," 53:06 Jesus will return. 53:08 This is a powerful thing, 53:09 the idea that 53:11 we can have a hand in speeding 53:13 the return of Jesus Christ. 53:15 So Jesus says, 53:16 essentially, "You only 53:18 have to finish the work once." 53:20 Just one time. Just finish it. 53:21 So give it all you have. 53:23 Get out in the water. 53:25 Even if the method seems 53:26 to be a little strange 53:27 and a little odd, 53:28 get out there, do your part. 53:30 And in the doing, 53:32 God will provide the strength, 53:33 and the harvest 53:34 will be abundant. 53:35 Because, you see, 53:37 when we do church filled 53:40 with Jesus' spirit in the way, 53:42 using the methods 53:43 that Jesus asked us to use, 53:44 it turns out 53:46 that the church works. 53:51 And the work of sharing 53:52 Jesus Christ with the planet 53:53 will be finished, 53:55 and the end will come, 53:57 and Jesus will come, 53:59 and we will at last go home. 54:03 May the Lord bless us mightily 54:05 beyond all that we can dream 54:06 or imagine, 54:08 as we seek to fulfill 54:09 His vision in our lives. 54:13 ♪ 54:23 ♪ 54:33 ♪ 54:43 ♪ 56:52 >> I'm Shane Anderson, 56:53 the lead pastor here 56:54 at Pioneer Memorial Church. 56:56 At Pioneer Media, 56:57 we have been blessed 56:58 by the financial support 57:00 that comes from our viewers like 57:01 you that enable us 57:03 to continue this ministry. 57:05 We've made a conscious decision 57:07 not to continually appeal to you 57:08 for that support. 57:10 However, keeping this ministry 57:11 going takes money 57:12 to support our staff and 57:14 technology needs. 57:15 If God has blessed you 57:17 and you would like to further 57:18 the work of this ministry, 57:19 we invite you 57:20 to partner with us. 57:22 You can donate on our website, 57:24 pmchurch.org. 57:26 Then click "giving" at the top. 57:28 Then select "media ministry." 57:31 Or call the number 57:32 877-HIS-WILL. 57:35 Again, that number is 57:36 877 the two words HIS-WILL. 57:40 My prayer is that the God 57:42 who has blessed 57:43 you will continue to pour 57:44 into your life the gifts 57:45 of His joy and His hope. 57:48 Thank you, and 57:49 I'm looking forward to seeing 57:50 you right here again next time. 57:59 ♪ 58:09 ♪ 58:19 ♪ |
Revised 2025-06-09