Servants Devoted to God - Part 7: The Perspective of the Kingdom | Pastor Pablo Morales

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. Today we get to conclude

this series on servants devoted to God and I

pray has been a blessing, encouragement as you've

got to walk together through these past few months.

If you missed any of the studies, you can access

them through our app or the website with the

PowerPoints, videos, audio, set of notes, everything

available for you. And today we are going to

be exploring Some of the experiences that the

first Christians had as they started serving

the Lord. So before we start, let's pray together.

What a beautiful time, Lord, of worship. And

after everything we have proclaimed. I'm just

asking you, Lord, use me in your power and in

your grace as we study your word. Use it for

what you envision. In the name of our Lord Jesus,

we pray. Amen. In this study of servants devoted

to God, one of the things that we discovered

is that God saved us for much more than just

dying and going to heaven. He has things in mind

that he wants to accomplish through you and in

you. He wants us to live for kingdom impact.

And therefore, for those of us who follow Jesus,

we're not just children of God adopted into his

family, but we see ourselves as servants devoted

to God. People who love God and serving with

devotion. And that's the equation. What drives

me is my love for God and what I do out of that

love for God is that I serve God with devotion

and whatever He has for me to do. And that has

characterized the movement of Christianity from

the very beginning. The first Christians, as

we'll discover in the book of Acts, faced different

things, different challenges. And one of them

was the aspect of perspective. And that is what's

going to be the focus of the study today. The

perspective. Of the kingdom. And what do I mean

by perspective? Well perspective matters a lot.

If you are traveling with your kids. In a short

trip that you should arrive. You know within

an hour or two. And your kids keep asking. Are

we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there

yet? You know that perspective matters right?

Because if they just knew. Yeah it's just another

hour. It will be okay. They will stop asking.

But. If we have the wrong perspective, we may

do things that actually are not very nice, and

we can become deterred from really focusing on

what matters most. And ever since we were young,

one of the first questions we were asked growing

up was, what do you want to do when you grow

up? It's like, what do I want to do when I grow

up? You know, that first question was not, what

does God want you to do? when you grow up that

was another question was it very different so

from the very beginning it was framed to us that

life is about what i want to do with my life

my career my plans my future my money my time

my kingdom and Therefore, we have lived our lives

working very hard, studying very hard, and doing

lots of things very hard, so I can have the name

and the reputation and the money and the stability

and the future that I so much think I deserve

or desire. But then when we come to know Christ,

and we start following Jesus, He starts talking

about him being the king and about seeking his

kingdom first. And it's like, wait, wait a second.

How does that work? And now he challenges us

to have to change the perspective for which we

live life and embrace the perspective of the

kingdom. And the perspective of the kingdom is

not about me. The perspective of the kingdom

is about God. And therefore, we learn to live

with eternal perspective in the kingdom. Because

before, when I was building my kingdom, it was

all about having these plans, these ideas. And

God, you are sitting out there. You are the person

in charge. You have all the money and resources

and power. So, would you bless my plans? Because

that's your job, right? So, if I'm nice to you,

would you be nice to me? And just bless these

things I have because it will be very nice if

these things happen. And that's how I live life.

God is there to bless me. But once you start

changing perspective in the kingdom, you realize

that actually I am here to be a blessing to God's

kingdom. And it's like, what? Disorienting a

little bit at the beginning. And in fact, the

apostle John wrote to Christians about this because

it was very significant for their walk with Christ

that they will have the right perspective. And

what he tells the Christians at the beginning

is this. Do not love the world, guys. Not the

things it offers you. For when you love the world,

you do not have the love of the Father in you.

For the world offers only a craving for physical

pleasure. A craving for everything we see. A

pride in our achievements and possessions. And

these three things are not from the Father. They're

from the world. This is about your kingdom, not

God's kingdom. And this world is fading away

along with everything that people crave. But

anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

Yeah, he's telling them, look, you've been trained

to live like this. And now you have to start

thinking about God, what he cares about, what

he desires, what are his priorities. And now

you start shifting to make his priorities your

priorities. And instead of having God investing

in you, you start investing in God's kingdom.

That change of priorities, that change of perspective

is something that started happening, you say,

organically at the beginning of the church. The

perspective of the kingdom started being just

manifested from the moment the first Christians

started following Christ. You must remember that

as we studied earlier that as the apostles preached

the gospel in Jerusalem, the first time that

Peter preached the gospel, how many people got

to know Christ? 3 ,000, you must remember that

by now. And that started a huge movement from

the beginning right there in Jerusalem. But then

it spread from there to other parts of the empire.

And as we studied last time, we saw the church

of Antioch in the north and how that became a

multicultural church. And then from that place,

lots of churches were planted throughout the

empire. That's how the movement of Christianity

began in the first century. But what we see from

the very beginning is how these first Christians

were able to participate in this movement because

their perspective had changed. And you go to

the beginning right there in Acts chapter 4,

Acts 4 · chapter mention

and it describes it this way. All the believers

were one in heart and mind. Wow, that's very

important. They were pursuing the same thing.

Their allegiance was about the same thing. And

even though they came from very different places,

they all were united by this. They have one heart

and one mind. No one claimed that any of their

possessions was their own, but they shared everything

they had. With great power, the apostles continued

to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,

and God's grace was so powerfully at work in

them all, that there were no needy persons among

them. For from time to time, those who owned

land or houses sold them, brought the money from

the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and

it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph,

a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called

Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, sold

a field he owned and brought the money and put

it at the apostles' feet. And that's the end

of that chapter. And he introduces Barnabas as

one of the guys that was part of this group of

Christians that were saying, you know, I have

all these houses, I have all this land, it's

just sitting there. You know, I might as well

invest it for the kingdom. And they sold it and

took the resources and made it available to the

apostles. And they were able to start funding

different things, which one of them was helping

those that were in need. And Barnabas is introduced

here as a person who was known as a son of encouragement.

These were the type of guy that you like to hang

out with because spending time with him, you're

always left encouraged. They spoke words of truth.

They were kind. They were generous. They were

thoughtful. This is the person that showed up

for a coffee with you and said, hey, I heard

it was your birthday yesterday, so I have a little

gift for you. And it's like, wow, how thoughtful.

This was a guy that got the nickname. Son of

encouragement. And they all began like all of

us did. With our worldly perspective, our kingdom,

and suddenly changed. And now these guys are

being generous, they are joyous, they are having

all of these different things. Where does that

come from? You know, for outsiders, when they

see that, they say they lost their mind. Why

are you going to sell that house? Keep it. It's

like a waste of money what you're doing. What?

Did they brainwash you or what? Are you in a

sect? All these different things. Because from

outside it may look that what they are doing

is completely out of their mind. But what they

don't understand. Is that these people have encountered

Christ. And they belong to a new kingdom. And

in this new kingdom. When the Lord moves, things

happen. And provision happens. And the desire

to give happens. And the desire to invest happens.

And paying attention to somebody else's need

that before I would overlook, now I notice it.

And the Holy Spirit says, I want you to do something

about it. And now you feel compelled to do it.

Not obligated, but you want to. And all of these

things started happening at the beginning. It's

beautiful because they were united with a vision.

And therefore they were also united in action.

And when we're united in vision, united in action,

we call that synergy in leadership studies. Synergy

is what we can accomplish together is greater

than what each one of us can accomplish alone.

At ECB, we say that the very reason, the very

core purpose for which we are here in Thailand

is to make disciples for global impact. Everything

we are is towards that goal. Do you believe in

that? Making disciples for global impact? Do

you believe that is worth it? I believe so. I

believe that it's worth being here. Rather than

being close to my family in Dallas or in Guatemala

or wherever they are now, whatever countries

they live in. Because when God calls you and

He places you, that's the best place to be, investing

in God's kingdom. And when we together as a community

are united behind this common purpose, And then

our action is aligned with all of that. Synergy

happens. And when synergy happens, there's power.

Because in that place, God provides his power,

his resources. He entrusts you with more responsibility.

Synergy is very amazing, but it's also very fragile.

Because you cannot accomplish this synergy that

they were experiencing at the beginning. If you

don't start. By changing your perspective. And

the perspective of the kingdom is eternal perspective.

Not earthly. We live for much more than just

the here and now. So as they start following

Jesus, and they start experiencing these things,

and they start living for impact, and more people

start coming to know Christ, and now there's

a church in Antioch that is established, and

then in Ephesus, and then in Corinth, and in

Greece, in all these areas, the impact started

growing beyond what they could imagine. And the

Apostle Paul writes in the letter to the Ephesians

about this synergy. He uses the imagery of the

human body. And this is how he puts it, as he's

experiencing this synergy that is happening in

the movement of the first Christians. He says,

look, when people are using their time, their

resources, their giftedness, and they're all

doing their part, it's like a human body. God

makes the whole body fit together perfectly,

and each part of its own special work, it helps

the other parts grow, so that the whole body

is healthy and growing and full of love. What

is motivating all of these people to do all of

these things? It says there they're motivated

by love. It is the love of God. That is the source

for love for anything else. Love for the needs

of others. Love for other people. Love for certain

causes. Everything emerges from that love for

God. And that is the foundation. And when every

part is doing their role. And everybody is united

by this common love for God. That's how things

begin. You may have noticed that. I'm limping

a little bit, and this knee here, I hurt it last

night. I have this laminate floor in our apartment

that is separating a little. Have you seen that

happen? So I learned to fix that by going, and

it comes together again. Except that I think

that yesterday I did it too hard, and now my

knee is hurting, you know? But this knee is very

nice. This knee looks at the other one and says,

don't worry, I'll compensate, so I can walk like

this now, you see? And my whole body adjusts

because every part of the body is doing their

part. Nobody says, well, it's not my fault that

you did it too hard, so now it's your problem.

No. Synergy. The whole body working together.

It builds itself up in love. That was the beginning

of the church. And that can be us. But for that,

Eternal perspective is at the core. If we lose

the perspective, everything falls apart. That's

why here, what you see the Christians experiencing

after it begins in Jerusalem and starts spreading

throughout the Roman Empire, and they start having

greater impact because God is working through

them. In the mid -40s, so calculate maybe...

Over 10 years, between 10 -15 years after Jesus

died and resurrected, there's a famine that takes

place in the area of Judea. And it affects the

area of Jerusalem. So not only they have been

suffering from persecution in Jerusalem, but

now the Christians are being affected by the

famine. So what the Apostle Paul does, is that

as he is visiting all of these different places,

and churches are being established, now he thought,

you know what? Let me visit the churches that

we established and tell them about what's happening

in Jerusalem so they can also help. And we are

going to manage the resources to provide for

the needs in Jerusalem. So they collected resources

and they were sending them to Jerusalem to help

the Christians there. But what we read in Acts

was descriptive. This is what happened. This

is what they did. And this is how they did it.

It's just telling you. A description of a picture

of what happened. But here, the Apostle Paul,

what he's going to do is he's going to write

to the Corinthians about collecting these resources.

And this is going to be prescriptive, not just

descriptive. It's prescriptive. This is why we

do this. This is how we're going to do it. This

is what we do. So now he's giving instructions.

And in this descriptive passage in Corinthians,

He starts really defining this perspective of

the kingdom of how is that we see our resources,

our time, our giftedness. How is it now that

we as servants devoted to God need to look at

all of these things? So we're going to read the

passage here in Corinthians as we understand

the famine that took place right there in Judea

and Jerusalem. And first I'm just going to read

it. But then after I read it, we will reflect

on three core convictions that define the eternal

perspective. What that looks like for us. So

let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Hey Corinthians,

2 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

so nice to see you again. Servants devoted to

God. There's something I want you to remember.

Remember this. A farmer who plants only a few

seeds will get a small crop. But the one who

plants generously will get a generous crop. You

must each decide in your heart how much to give.

And don't give reluctantly. Don't also give in

response to pressure. If you're going to give,

only give out of that love for God. Because you

know what? Something that God loves? Oh, God

loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God

will generously provide all you need. Then you

will always have everything you need and plenty

left over to share with others. For God is the

one who provides seed for the farmer and then

bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide.

And he will increase your resources. And then

produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

Yes. You will be enriched in every way so that

you can always, always be generous. And when

we take your gifts to those who need them. Oh.

They will praise you. No, no, no. When I. Take

this to them, they will thank God. So two good

things will result from this ministry of giving.

On the one hand, the needs of the believers in

Jerusalem will be met. And on the other hand,

they will joyfully express their thanks to God.

And as a result of your ministry, they will give

glory to God for your generosity to them and

to all believers. They will realize this. And

it will prove to them that you are obedient to

the good news of Christ. Because the only reason

why you are doing this. Is because you share

the same love for Jesus. And they will pray for

you. With deep affection. Because of the overflowing

grace God has given to you. Thank God for this

gift. Too wonderful. For words. And this is how

he ends. The section. He's talking to Christians.

Who have been told to build your kingdom. And

ask God to bless you. And now he's telling them

remember. We are investing in God's kingdom.

And we are channels of God's blessings to others.

That's how it works. And in this whole beautiful

section, he could have said, hey guys, don't

be selfish. Come on, share what you have. And

maybe he would have come up with a strategy like

some of those prosperity theology radio programs

that will start saying, look, if you give me

$100, God is going to provide you $1 ,000. So

the more money you send me, the better. He could

have come up with an idea of manipulating people.

But that's not the kingdom. He says if you're

going to give. Make sure that you're giving out

of joy. Because it's not just a need that we're

meeting. It's a king that we are serving. And

when all of this happens. He says there's a spiritual

dimension that takes place. And people get pointed

to God. There's joy in them. There's joy in you.

This is an amazing story. Spiritual synergy that

happens when we do this right. And I remember

experiencing that. When I was serving in Dallas,

there was a friend that had some extra resources.

And she said, Pastor Pablo, I have these resources,

but I want to keep them there and only use them

when there's a special need. And I trust you,

so I want to ask you. If there's any moment that

you see a special need, can you let me know and

we'll channel the resources to address it. And

I remember that I had gone to a presentation

from one of the missionaries that we supported

as a ministry. And he was talking about the ministry

that we're doing to serve the refugee community

in Dallas. And it was a great presentation, but

I could not avoid looking at his laptop and thinking,

that's an old laptop. Very old and slow. Like,

this guy needs another laptop. So I thought,

the little light bulb of the Holy Spirit turning

on there. It's like, that's a need. So I talked

to my friend. I said, this guy needs a new laptop.

I see he, you know, I do presentations all the

time. you do not need to be dealing with all

these technological dinosaurs. You need the latest

thing, you plug it in, it works, all good, you

know. So she said, fine, let's get him a laptop.

So I invited him and we went to this place. I

told him, can you go with me? I want to go to

this electronic store called Micro Center, for

those of you that are from Texas. I think that

Micro Center closed down by now. But anyway,

we went there and we walked to the computer area.

It had all these computers, you know, PCs and

Macs, all of them, right? All the laptops. And

as we are there, now I'm so excited because I

want to tell him. I said, look, we're here to

buy a laptop for you. But this is the deal. Get

the laptop that you really want. Don't look at

prices. Just which one is the one you really,

really want? So he picked the laptop he wanted.

It was a Mac. And then, you know, I was so excited

that we could provide this for him. And I grabbed

it, paid for it, did everything, you know. And

when I shared it with my friend later, she was

so excited too. Because this is what she wanted

to see. Not just... Wasted money, but invested

in kingdom impact. But as we were leaving that

electronic store, the missionary looks at me

and says, Pastor Pablo, I was praying to God

for a new laptop last week. And here I am. I'm

so encouraged. That synergy. I didn't know he

was praying for that. My friend didn't know the

guy. She just had money. I didn't have the money.

I just knew the guy. But the Holy Spirit. Works

through all of these things. And there's joy.

When we serve God with eternal perspective. Instead

of thinking my kingdom, he says you need to now

start thinking about God's kingdom. And God's

kingdom works differently than yours. You have

to have eternal perspective. And it looks like

this. You can choose to be a pond that collects

all the water and all the rain. And yeah, you

will have some fish there and some birds that

will benefit from it. But that's the end of your

impact. Your kingdom. Or you can be. A river.

There's always water flowing. But wherever you

are. Everything you touch. Brings life. That's

God's kingdom. And when you live. Only focus

on your kingdom. The perspective is always earthly.

But when you are living for God's kingdom, the

perspective is always moving, always going to

different places, always having impact that goes

beyond what you can understand or imagine. Living

for God's kingdom with eternal perspective resembles

being that river with the living water, which

is the Holy Spirit. And when he prompts, and

when he directs, and when he provides, the Apostle

Paul says, He will always give you everything

you need to accomplish his purpose. And you will

always be able to be generous. Like a friend

of mine here in Thailand. He would say you can

never out give God. And for some people they

look at this and say you Christians are just

out of your mind. Don't you know that giving

money is wasting money? Accumulate it. How do

you know that you didn't need that house? Why

did you sell this Barnabas? What's going to happen

when you retire? Who's going to take it? Where

are you going to live now? And it's like completely,

it's just beyond. It makes no sense. So there

was a young man, Jim Elliot, that he graduated

from college. Very smart guy with lots of potential.

And he says, you know what? I want to pursue

this career. I want to go all the way to the

jungle in Ecuador to reach out to a group called

the Alcas that they do not know Christ. I know

it's risky. I know there's not a lot of money

in it. But that's what I want to do with my life.

And he eventually married a college classmate.

Her name was Elizabeth Elliot, who became a very

famous, prolific writer. Why? Because as they

went there to serve, the August that they wanted

to reach out to with the gospel killed Jim and

some of his friends. And Elizabeth became a widow

right there. But as people were questioning him,

saying, really, you want to do that? Isn't that

wasting your life like that? What about your

career? Why don't you just stay here in the U

.S.? Why don't you just find a church, you know,

pastor a church, do something different? So he

wrote this that became a very famous quote. He

is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain

what he cannot lose. That's eternal perspective.

Living to invest in God's kingdom for kingdom

impact is eternal. Everything else is passing

away. But this won't. This perspective as it

changes. There are three areas that are very

clear. And as we follow Jesus, and if we're going

to be servants devoted to God, that are experiencing

synergy as we serve together, we have to make

sure that these three perspectives have shifted

in our mind and in our heart. The first one of

those perspectives has to do with my role. Because

in my kingdom, my role is that I am the king

and I own everything I have. It's my money, my

time, my career, my plans, my future. It's mine.

I am the owner of all of these things. And therefore,

every time that I invest in something, I get

all the credit. And the praise because this is

all mine. And I'm not obligated to share with

anybody. And when I share, it means I'm a good

person. But not so in the kingdom of God. In

the kingdom of God, our role is not that of owners.

We are managers. We are administrators. We are

stewards. And that's why what the apostle Paul

tells the Corinthians, he says, guys, God is

the one who provides seed for the farmer and

then bread to eat. You know, and he's talking

to this Corinthian during breakfast, and the

guy is eating the bread, and he says, what do

you mean, Paul? Yeah, that bread that you're

eating, God provided it for you. No, that's not

true. My wife made it. I just saw her here in

the kitchen making this bread. And Paul says,

wait, so what did she use to make that bread?

Flour? Flower of what? Wheat. And what did she

use to make the flower from the wheat? The seed,

the wheat, the seed. What else would she use?

And where did that seed come from? From the field

over there? But where did that plant come from?

Who made that plant? Oh. God I guess. Yes. God.

Without the plant there is no seed. Without seed

there is no flower. Without flower there is no

bread. Without bread you have nothing on your

hand to eat. And who provided that bread then

for? God. Do you realize that everything that

you are. All the giftedness that you have. Any

area that you can say I'm an expert on this topic.

Or I'm smart. Anything like that. Do you know

where it comes from? From the one who made you.

So stop taking the credit. Do you know that all

the opportunities that came before you. Do you

know who is the person that guides you to be

at the right time at the right place? God. This

is the air I breathe. Your very presence. Do

you realize that the breath that we breathe comes

from God without the breath of life? You have

no life at all? I would fall dead here on this

stage if it wasn't because of God. I cannot control

my heartbeat. I do not even own my life. The

perspective on the kingdom says that I am the

one who is receiving all these things from God.

And I'm just managing them for God's purposes.

That's why the apostle Paul continues and he

says, but people. Who long to be rich fall into

temptation and are trapped by many foolish and

harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and

destruction. For the love of money is the root

of all kinds of evil. And some people craving

money have wandered from the true faith and pierced

themselves with many sorrows. Because everything

is about them, them, them, them, them. And now

you have to control everything. And when you

are the one that controls everything and owns

everything, you cannot sleep at night. All the

worries keep you up. And he says, I've seen that,

Timothy. I've seen these people that their goal

in life is not to live for kingdom impact. It's

just to make more and more and more and own more

and more and more and more. See, there's nothing

wrong in having more. The problem is when that

is the goal. Having more is simply a means to

serve God more. And that's the difference. That's

why the Apostle Paul says, Timothy, I noticed

that in the church you are serving, there's lots

of, several people that have lots of resources.

Write this to them. And this is what he writes.

Teach those who are rich in this world. Not to

be proud. Not to trust in their money, which

is so unreliable. The trust should be in God

who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

Tell them to use their money to do good. They

should be rich in good works and generous to

those in need. Always being ready to share with

others. Teach them. To change the way they are

looking at the money that they are holding. To

realize it's not God. It's not their source of

trust. This is something that God has simply

provided for them. So that they can be a river.

And bless others with it. I'm glad that he wrote

that. Because he is reminding us we are stewards.

No owners. And when we understand that. And that

perspective changes. Now, God can entrust us

with more power, more impact, more resources.

But when we keep saying, no, mine, no, mine.

How can God give us more? There's a name that

I admired. Her name is Hope Talen. Hope is with

the Lord today. She's not with us anymore. But

she has served the Lord with her husband. Faithfully.

Then her husband died. And she became a widow.

And as she was getting older. And living by herself.

All her kids were grown up. She was feeling.

God I want to serve you. Give me a ministry.

And she was hungry for relevance. She didn't

want to just. grow old and grow irrelevant at

the same time. So she was just praying, God,

give me a ministry. And she was visiting a friend.

I believe that it was in New York during that

time. And as she was staying with the friend

during those days in that trip, the friend said

to her, you know, I have a friend who is a missionary

working in Mexico City. And he's going to stay

with us for a couple of days here. Because he's

visiting some of the supporting churches in the

area. So that missionary friend. His name is

Nelson. He happened to be my father. And he was

visiting this area. The supporting churches.

And he meets this elderly lady. And they talk.

And they learn about all these different things

that were happening. At the end of that visit.

Hope said. You are my new ministry. You are the

answer to my prayer. And from that moment on,

this lady that we had no idea she existed before,

part of the kingdom, she became known as Abuelita

Hope, which means Grammy Hope. She gained the

love of all the people in our church in Mexico

because, you know, even though she was older,

You know, as people get older and say, hey, can

you fly four hours? And it's like, really? It's

like carrying luggage, just waiting in line and

sitting. Then my back will hurt. It's like, I

don't really want to travel, you know. Just leave

me in my home. I'm happy at home. You know, some

people get like that. Well, not hope. Hope was

ready to get in the airplane. She went to Mexico.

She visited the church. She went to see the ministry

with the homeless, the street children that the

church was helping with. And she went back to

the States and she was managing her resources.

And one day she said, you know what? I realized

that I don't need this big house anymore. It

fulfilled its purpose. I don't need it anymore.

So she decided that she was going to sell the

house, move to a one -bedroom apartment, and

she started using all those extra resources that

now she had to be able to invest in different

ministry initiatives that needed resources. So

the day she went to be with the Lord, all of

us that knew her knew that this world had lost

a very impactful servant devoted to God. And

there was both sadness because she was no longer

with us, but joy because she was with her Savior

that she loved. This is eternal perspective.

This is when I realize I'm not a pond and I'm

a river. I do not own the water. I'm just a place

of flow. I'm just a steward of God's resources.

Are you the owner? Or are you the steward? Are

you the pond? Or are you the river? The second

conviction is that we have a new purpose. Because

before when I was building my kingdom, the purpose

was to make sure that everybody knew me, my name,

my reputation, and everything that I could do.

So I registered my name in all possible networking.

Apps there. And I put all my credentials and

everything. So everybody will know how good I

was. And then if I ever gave anything to anybody.

I make sure that we took a selfie. You know.

Like I do here. You know. You know. And then

posting all of this in my social media so that

people will know that I gave so much for this

cause and how much of a good person I am. Because

all of that is PR, right? And the more people

realize that I'm a good guy and I care for people

and I'm smart and all of these things, then my

business, my kingdom will increase. And that's

good for business. So I would only invest in

things. That will benefit me. You say, so how,

what is in there for me? Oh, I guess, okay, here.

But let's do the selfie. And it was all about

accumulating more for me so that my fame will

grow. But not so in the kingdom. The Apostle

Paul tells the Christians in Corinth, yes, you

will be enriched in every way. So that you can

always be generous. You always have to give.

If you have, you can give. If you give, God gives

you. And then you are a channel like that. As

I said, my friend quoted for me, you can never

out give God. But then he says, and when we take

your gifts to those who need them, what will

happen? What will be the outcome? They will thank

God. Because we're always pointing people to

God. So that they know that God cares for them.

So that they know that God loves them. So that

they know that God heard their prayer. So that

they fall in love with God. Because it is God

whom they need, not me. They need to know how

great God is, not how great I am. In the kingdom

of God, we do not live for our glory. We live

for the glory of the one who died for us and

made us part of his kingdom. We point people

to him. Every opportunity, we do that. Because

when people come to know God and they realize

how much he loves them, their lives will be transformed.

So in the kingdom of God, we need to make God

known. It's about his fame, not our fame. And

the moment we make it about us, synergy is lost.

When we were in Dallas, we took a trip, a mission

trip from people in our church to the border

town in Mexico. The border area in Mexico right

there in the area of McAllen on the other side

is called Reynosa. And this is desert. This is

very dry but also very hot. Hotter than here.

And we wanted to do a project there so we contacted

some local people and they said, you know, there's

a school here, a public school. They need help.

It would be great if you could come and help

do a little upgrade for the place. So we did.

We went there, did the upgrade, painted the walls,

fixed the tables, the chairs. We did some repairs.

We fixed the bathrooms. It was like a whole big

project. And this was not a Christian place.

It was just a public school. And at the end of

the event, The principal of the school was so

appreciative, and he had done a meal for us,

and he wanted to encourage us. And he started

saying to us how impactful it was for him that

we are very good people, that he wishes there

were more very good people like us. So when he

stopped talking, since I was leading that trip,

I stood in front of the whole group and I said,

you know, we're not doing this because we're

good people. We're just like you. But we're doing

this because we love God and God loves you. And

we want you to know God. And that reframed the

whole thing. Because that was the reason of what

we were doing. You don't want to leave that place

thinking, oh, they think that we are such good

people. Because yeah, we are. Good job, guys.

We are good people. Give me five. That's not

the kingdom. It's about God and His fame. Which

fame are you pursuing? Your own? Or the Lord's?

Are you a pond or a river? The final thing has

to do with the milestone. Most of us were taught

that we need to work very hard so that we can

retire early. And then we can retire with lots

of resources so that we can die well. So you

don't want to be a burden to anybody. And also

keep... Enough resources in the bank. So you

work hard. You retire early. So that you can

die well. And that's the milestone that we are

preparing for. Great. I die well. Mission accomplished.

Check. But not with the kingdom. When God has

saved us. And he has called us to be part of

his kingdom. The Bible says that when we die,

we will go to be with Christ, which is better

by far. But as we are with Christ, there's going

to be a moment in which because we are saved

and because we are with him, there will be a

moment now in which we will have to give a personal

account to Christ for the way we serve him here

in the kingdom. Kind of like a performance review.

And at that moment, the truth will come all the

way to the surface. And when the Apostle Paul

writes about this, he tells the Corinthians,

so whether we are here in this body, alive, or

away from this body, meaning dead, our goal is

the same. Our goal is to please God. For we must

all stand before Christ to be judged. We will

each receive whatever we deserve for the good

or evil we have done in this earthly body. And

he tells the Romans, yes. Each of us will give

a personal account to God. We are accountable

to God. Did you realize that? So what you do

here and now matters because it has eternal consequences.

This is not about you being saved or not being

saved. You are saved. This is why this applies

to you. It's about giving an account to Christ.

So whether that day will show if you honor him

or not. Because we live to honor God. Not to

keep appearances so that people will think something

of us. This day is at the forefront of every

servant devoted to God. It determines how you

face the present. Because you know the consequence

of that day is coming. And this made the entire

difference for Kay. Kay was preparing to do her

Sunday school class that Sunday. And she read

this article in a magazine about the crisis of

AIDS in Africa. And she started looking at pictures

of all these women that were there suffering.

All the orphaned children that were suffering.

All of it because of AIDS. And she had no idea

about it before. But there was something that

happened on that moment. She felt compelled to

learn more about it. And as she started reading

it. She felt like, I need to go and visit that

place. So she flew to Mozambique later. And she

says that she was attending a church there to

understand the epidemic. And she says that there's

a woman dying of AIDS that has her child and

walks into the church and gives the baby to the

pastor and says, Pastor, Please take care of

my child because I have no one else to take care

of my child and I am dying of AIDS. And at that

moment, Kay says, that changed me forever. From

that point on, she felt compelled that God was

calling her to do something about it. And she

says, once you know, you cannot not know anymore.

Once you see, you cannot pretend that you didn't

see. Now your heart is hooked to that. And what

are you going to do? Say no because it's too

inconvenient. No because I have to fly too far.

No because that's not what I was planning. What

are you going to tell Jesus on the day of accountability

to him? It is that day that informs how we make

the decisions today. I cannot stand on that day

and say, well, Jesus, thank you for loving me

so much. You are awesome. But you know, that

day you asked me to do this and I had that desire.

I really couldn't do it because I'm not good

with flying, you know. So if you had asked me

to drive, that would have been fine. But hey,

it's your fault. Why don't you ask me to drive

instead? What am I going to tell God? Oh, it

was too expensive. I didn't have the money. And

therefore, you know, it was not possible to do

it. Oh, but wait. You could have provided, right?

But I didn't think about it until now. But yeah,

so that's why I didn't do it. What are we going

to tell the Lord who saved us on that day? We

servants devoted to God live with eternal perspective.

And when you live with eternal perspective and

you invest in the kingdom, Then what Jesus said

at the end of his ministry could be true of you

and me. Do you know what Jesus prayed towards

the end of his ministry on earth? It's right

there in John chapter 17. Would you read it aloud

John 17 · chapter mention

with me? I brought glory to you here on earth

by completing the work you gave me to do. Very

powerful. When I am in my last breath. When I

can no longer speak. Can I tell God. Mission

accomplished. Everything you called me to do

I did. Because you did it through me. Because

you provided. Because you answered prayer. Because

you. You're the king of my kingdom. I've accomplished

everything you gave me to do. I do not know you,

but those words would be awesome if that could

be true of me. This is the perspective of the

kingdom. Living with eternal perspective is the

way of life in the kingdom. There's no other

way. Because any other way will get in the way

of synergy. And spiritual synergy matters too

much to sacrifice it for my own kingdom. So as

we serve the Lord together in this season, If

you realize that God is calling you to invest

more in the kingdom, to be more engaged in the

kingdom with your time, with your resources,

with your giftedness. One of the things that

I wanted to do is give you the opportunity of

letting us know because we don't get to talk

with everybody all the time. And we don't get

to read emails from everybody all the time. And

there are moments in which you think, oh, I wish

I could tell them this. And you haven't. So I

have this QR code that will lead you to a Google

form. It's a very simple form that has three

questions. One is, is there any area of expertise

that you have that you've been thinking, oh,

I could help with this? You know, I'm an architect.

I can help with anything that has to do with

architecture. I'm an HR person. Do you need HR

consulting? Any questions, let me know. I specialize

in this or that or I have this experience. Is

there any area of expertise that you think that

God will call you to invest in the kingdom here

at ECB? If so, let us know. No obligation. This

is just to let us know. The second question is,

do you have any resources that you have that

you say, hey, you know, I could make this available

for the ministry at ECB when needed. Just let

me know. Anything. Sometimes people say, hey,

I have an Airbnb. If you ever need a retreat

or something, let me know. I can host up to 10

people there. I will gladly make it available

for ECB. There are things like that that we have

no idea. You do not know that it will benefit

us. We do not know that you have the resources.

And there's no synergy, you see. And the last

question is simply, hey, do you have any suggestions

that you've been wanting to tell us? Again, this

is for you if you're being prompted by God to

say, oh yeah, yeah, let me do, let me scan that.

It will be also in the PowerPoint, in the notes,

in the app. But if you are struggling with the

right perspective, the three common symptoms

that you're going to experience that you have

the wrong perspective is that you are self -centered.

It's all about you and that's it. Your kingdom,

your time, your plans. You never have enough

time to engage in serving together because, you

know, it's not your cup of tea. You are too busy.

You are disengaged. You are not really serving

in any impactful way. Or when you do, you complain.

And you're a complainer. Oh, it's so difficult.

I don't like these people. Look, they don't have

it all together. Any of these things are a sign

that you just don't have the right perspective.

And if that's your heart, this is the time to

come to God and say, God, would you shift my

perspective so that we can be one in heart and

mind? Help us be the river that you meant us

to be. Lord, it is in your presence that we ask.

That you will help us see what we couldn't see

before. Lord help us have the right perspective.

We are servants devoted to God. We are not kings

of our kingdom. We are here Lord to be a blessing

in your kingdom. And to be channels of everything

that you have entrusted to us. We are here for

you. Guide us. empower us, ignite within us a

passion for your name. In Jesus' name. Thank

you for tuning in to the ECB Sermon Podcast.

Whether near or far, if you are looking for community

or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage

by sending us an email to office at ecb .asia.

If God is calling you to support our ministries,

you will find giving options on our website.

And remember to join us next week. God bless

you.