Southland Compassion: Will Hall

Welcome to His Story Our Story, a fresh podcast series

of interviews, testimonies, messages, and anecdotes where a range of

people from all walks of life share their journey as

they've traveled with Jesus. Here at Southland Church and Pasaden Adelaide,

our heart and mission is to pursue the presence of

God through a Christ centered, Bible based, spirit filled church.

We disciple and equip people to make a positive difference

for the Kingdom of God and impact every area where

God places them. So sit back, grab a cup of

tea or coffee, unless, of course, you're driving where both

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We pray that you are blessed and encouraged as you

listen to His Story Our Story.

Everyone ready to hear the word. I've got a good

teaching for you today. I think it's a word in

season for Southland. Let me just start with some prayer.

Would you just put your hands out in front of you.

I really sense the presence of the Holy Spirit during

that worship, and he's still here now, So Father God,

we just come into your presence again. Lord, We know

that you're here. We ask that you speak. Lord. We

don't want to hear words. We want revelation. Lord. We

don't want to just hear another sermon that we can

just encourage people in sort of fluffy ways. But Lord,

we want to hear a word from heaven. God. We

want to get direction from you for us as individuals

and for us as a church. So Holy Spirit, would

you lead us? God? Would you take my words and

my meditations and all the stuff that we're going to

talk about today, and would it just land in the

hearts of people here, in your people, the church. And

we pray this in Jesus name. And everyone said amen

and amen, let's get into it somewhere between your first

breath and your last breath. We're all trying to work

out while we're breathing. It's true, isn't it? A few

years ago? Actually, yes, a lie. Twenty seven years ago.

I got a phone call from my sister. She was distraught,

she was crying, she was sobbing, and I was thinking, oh, man,

what's happened, you know? And she says Dad's in the

Madame hospital, and and straight away I felt kind of

that feeling inside just creep up, and I remember just going, man,

I've been waiting for this day all my life. My

dad was born in nineteen eleven, worked that one out.

He had me at sixty seven. He died at eighty eight.

And on that day, my sister said, come to Madam

right now because he's iron. So I jump in the

car and I remember the weekend before. As I'm driving down,

I'm like, man, my dad said said this to me

the week before, will thanks for sharing Jesus with me.

I know where I'm going and I'm driving there and

I'm thinking, oh Jesus, I'm glad I had that big

convo last week, you know what I mean. I drive

all out of man and I get out the car.

I run up. I'd run into the emergency room. My

mom and my sister and my dad is in the

emergency room bed and half his face had shut down.

He's had a stroke. It couldn't move it. But soon

as I walked in, he said, son, Son, come here,

And I walked up to him and I just started crying,

right started crying. And he never said this, not unless

I jogged him to say it. He start just said

it straight away, Son, I love you. I love you.

Now You're gonna do something for me you gotta take

care of mom, you gotta take care of your older sister,

and you go take care of a younger sister and

don't let anything come between you. And then as he's

struggling and everyone's there, everyone's weeping, everyone's crying. Have you

ever heard a last breath before? Oh? Powerful? And he

breathed his last breath and then we all just lost it. Friends,

when you say that someone's last words are powerful, I

remember my dad's words all the time, to love my mom,

to take care of my sister's and he said this

as well. He goes, because you're the man of the

house now, and I was only a nineteen year old. Friends,

there's a scripture that I want to bring up to you,

and you've got to know, really, really well. It's called

the Great Commission. Anyone not Yeah, Jesus's last words are

happening here. He didn't die in this moment. You know

what he did. He ascended to heaven. He's defeated death.

And this is what he says. His disciples have gathered,

and he says this just before he goes to capture

everyone's attention and to let them know the mission before them.

This is what he said to them. Then Jesus came

to them and said, all authority in heaven and on

earth had been given to me. As to Jesus, therefore

go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in

the name of the Father and of the Son of

the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that

I've commanded you. And surely I am with you always

to the very end of the age. This is Jesus's

last words. Do you think they were important? Do you

think the disciples when they heard Jesus say this go, oh,

this is a big moment. Or do you think they

just heard it went ah, no, biggie, oh man. You

know what happened. As soon as they heard these words,

they were full of passion, full of intentionality, full of

the Holy Spirit. In ten days time, and all of

a sudden, they go all in on this mission. Do

you know that almost all the disciples died except for

one John who wrote from Patmos for revelations, and then

first John also all the rest they heard this message

and they died for it. Ten days later. You know

what happens. The Holy Spirit comes poured out on all flesh,

and all of a sudden, there's like revival and everyone

these words were echoing in their heads. All the people

started to bring the money to the apostles and said, hey,

here's all the money from the houses and the property.

We're going all in on this. Acts two Amazing and

Acts five. I love it. All these guys they get

whipped and scorned for preaching the gospel. You know what

they did. They cheered that. They're cheered all the way out. Afterwards,

he said, Praise the Lord. We were treated like Jesus

was treated. Why because of this great commission? You see

the first martyr in Acts seven, and all of a sudden,

Stephen's there and they're getting stone or what's he doing?

Is he upset about it? You no, it says his

face shone like the sun Father. Forgive them amazing? Why

because they're sold out for this mission? What's the mission?

To go make disciples? I haven't am I preaching anyone today?

You and me go make disciples? Friends. Do you know

why you're breathing? Because God loves you. God loves you,

and he says, join me in loving the world. God

loves you, and He's gonna pour that love all over you.

And he died on a cross for you, and then

he rose all the dead from you, and then he

ascended to heaven for you. And then he sent the

Spirit to you. And then he says, now join me

in this gospel mission. So if you're thinking what am

I here for? This is what you're here for. If

you're a visitor, what are you gonna hear? A message today?

That's gonna encourage you? It's gonna lift your spirits? Friends,

today' letns to be speaking about the three spaces of mission.

We're gonna be looking at the apostle. Paul. All that

stuff was happening throughout the Book of Acts, and we

get to Acts seventeen. This is seventeen years some say

twenty one after the ascension of Jesus, and the passion

is still going and the joy of going out and

preaching Jesus to the world is still happening. And now

Paul is involved formerly known as Saul. To this, I'm

going to give you three points. Are you ready to

go into the text today? We're going to go quick.

We don't have heaps of time. I can't go too deep,

but just hold on tight. You're ready. In Athens, while

Paul was waiting for them in Athens. He was greatly

distressed to see that the city was full of idols.

So he reasoned in a synagogue with both the Jews

and the god fearing Greeks, as well as in the

marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

A group of epicuring and stoic philosophers began to debate

with him, and some of them asked, what is this

babbler Chrya say? Others remarked, he seems to be advocating

for foreign gods. They said this because Paul was spreaching

the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they

took him and they brought him to a meeting of

the ara Pagus, where they said to him, may we

know what this new teaching is all about that you

are presenting. You are bringing I love this line some

strange ideas to our ears, this resurrection stuff, and we

would like to know what they mean. We're starting verse sixteen.

This is the why behind Paul going into Greece, into

the city of Athens, a city that didn't have any

churches in it. It says this in verse sixteen. While

Paul was waiting for them in Athens. Who's the them

who's waiting for Silas and Timothy. He was greatly distressed,

everyone say, greatly distressed to see that the city was

full of idols. Paul gets to the city that is

going to come and preach the good news to and

the first thing he does is his heart's broken. He's

looking at the city, going, man, there's all these people here.

They don't know Jesus, and they're worshiping all these idols

around Greece, all these statues, all these statues that had

eyes that couldn't see. Is that, yeah, can't hear nothing.

Mouths that can't come and talk to you and help you,

hands that can't reach out and hug you and take

care of you. And he's stressed out. In the message,

it says man, he was angry. He was angry that

people didn't know this saving grace of Jesus. In another

translation that says man, he was depressed. He's just going,

I can't believe all these people don't know Jesus. What

happened to Paul? He got knocked off a horse. He

was called Saul. He meets Jesus on the Damascus road

and he has a conversion moment. He wants everyone in

the world to have that kind of moment, like, have

you had a conversion moment? Anyone here? Yeah? Me too. Man,

I used to be a rap back. Now I'm a

preacher in the church, right, Friends, Can I ask you

a question, when was the last time you got stressed

out when you saw people out in the world not

knowing Jesus this morning, at school, at work, everywhere you go.

I live in down South. Every day I go down South.

I look at people in colin age. You know what

I see? Oh, you know what I'm talking about. I

see unhappiness, I see anxiety, I see sadness. I see poverty.

Not level five popty, but a poverty that I just go. Man,

Before you can do anything about joining God in the

Great Commission, he's got to break your heart. You gotta

look at the world that you're in, look at the

spheres of influence that you have, and look at their

lives and go, Man, I am so blessed to have

Jesus in my life. I need to be the presence

of Jesus to them. Amen. Man, every time I walk around,

I'm seeing people and my heart's getting broken. You've got

to have a broken heart, just like the apostle Paul,

before you jump into this mission, it says this. In

verse sixteen, while they were waiting for them in Athens,

he was greatly distressed to see that the city was

full of idols. In verse seventeen, it says this, so

he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God

fearing Greeks friends. This is the first space of mission

for Paul. At the start of Act seventeen in Lunika, Paul,

it says, goes into the synagogue first. In Berea, the

next town that he goes into, he goes into the

synagogue first. In Athens. When he goes into Greece, he

goes into the synagogue first. Why did he go to

the synagogue first? If you want to reach Greeks, why

go to the synagogue. Who's in the synagogue Jews? Why

did he go to the synagogue first? Anyone? Why he

went to the jew first? Why did he go there first?

There's lots of reasons why. There's lots of reasons why.

One reason is this, he had a conversion moment, and

he wants them to have a conver moment. Right. Second

idea he has identified Jesus as the Messiah. He was

a pharisee to pharisees. Now I'm gonna get my teach

on this morning. And then when a ready to get taught.

He was a pharisee of pharisees. And all of a

sudden he goes in there and he's proving to them, Hey,

you know, you know there's there's some some scholars, so

there's forty to fifty prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. I o'thers

say there's three hundred to four hundred prophecies that Jesus

fulfilled to be the Messiah. And he goes through the scriptures.

He knows to tore it back to the front the

pent check the first five books of the Bible. He can,

you can cite them by memory. And he proves to

them in the synagogue that Jesus is the sent one,

the Messiah. That's the second reason. The third reason is this,

That's what I reckon. You know why he went to

the synagogue first, It was his home. He knew it.

He spent all of his time there, He got all

of his training there. I knew him there. He was

the pharisee of Pharisees. Remember it was his home. Friends,

you know what our first space is. You're in it.

It's church. Well, you're not in it. It's a gathering.

It's a gathering of believers. The first space of mission

for Paul was the synagogue. The first space of mission

for us is the church. Friends, Can I ask you

a question? Do you have a church? I hope? So

if you're a visitor here and you're looking for a church,

you've come to the right place. Welcome home. The synagogue

was home for Paul. This needs to be a home

for us. For you, you're gonna love the church. Can

I tell you who loves the church anyone? Do you

know who loves the church more than you? Guys? Jesus

he loves the church. Do you know what? I loves

the church because he's the groom and where the bride.

Jesus doesn't just love church. He identifies as the church.

So if you mess with my wife, guess what, you

mess with me? Because we're one. Right, if you mess

with the church, you mess with Jesus. When Paul was

persecuting the church, right, he's persecuting the church. When Paul

has this moment with Jesus. Jesus comes to him and

he says this. He goes, why are you persecuting me?

He didn't say church, did he? He said, why are

you persecuting me? Why did he say that? Because Jesus

and the church are together in Ephesians five, and are

lots of weddings around this text, and it says that

you know, he's the groom and where the bride. What

that is all about really is about. God loves the

church and it's one the thing that's going to continue

on into the next world into when this kingdom comes,

is what the church. The church is going to continue

one people. We have to love the church. We have

to volunteer at the church. We have to give to

the church. We have to go with the flow of

the vision at church. The church is the first space

of mission. And some people say this to me, will

I've been hurt by the church. I'm sorry if that's

happened to you. It happens. It's full of people that

are broken, and sometimes we mess things up. But we

have to know that Jesus still wants us to be

a part of the church. So I pray for your healing.

But would you take it up today. On another level,

love your church. I hear this too often. Will I

love Jesus. I love Jesus, Oh good, but don't like

the church. You know the old jokes, Oh you love

his face, but you don't like his body. I'm like, look,

I'm sorry, but I hate one as well. Oh I

love the Kingdom. More liberals will say that, but I

don't like the king. All that stuff, all that is together,

the King, Jesus, the Church and the Kingdom, they're all one.

We have to just be loved by God and be

submissive to him because he's amazing. Amen. So the first

space is this? For Paul, it was the synagogue. For us,

the first space of mission is what here's the church.

And let me give you a word of caution. The

other day I had a lady send to me, send

me a link and said, will you check out my

relational website and jumped onto it. Started looking at it

was fantastic, gave us some feedback. But something happened. As

soon as you look up things online, the algorithm listens

to you. That's like the computer right for some of

us who are maybe not as tech savvy, and all

of a sudden, on my phone on. Everything was relational sites, right,

dating sites. I was like, honey, it's not what you think.

I am not looking anywhere else except my eyes on you.

And all of a sudden, I saw on my Instagram

feed this lady and she said how to win a man?

And I was like, well, I've got some friends. You

need to do that. So I clicked on it. Right,

I listened to it and this is American lady and

she says, hey, if you want to win a man,

do you know what you gotta do? So I was

like this, what you gotta do is you got to

imitate that man. If he speaks in a certain way,

then you speak in a certain way. If he moves

his hands in certain ways, then you move your hands

in certain ways. And I was like interesting, interesting, And

then she went on and at first I was thinking, no,

this is crazy. But then she kept going and I

started to think of people who were married that look

like each other. Don't look at him now, don't look

at him now. You know the brother and sister couples.

Is anyone saying them, Oh, come on, we can have

some fun church coming, Oh your brother and sister a couple?

And then I started googling that and that that's a

real phenomenon, and it's a real thing. People are saying

that we love people who look like us, who talk

like us. So what are people looking for? They're looking

for themselves. Who you're looking for? I'm looking for someone

sort of bored, you know. Oh not many women, I know,

but okay, okay, you know what I mean. We were

looking and then I remember I started googling and I

found this other site saying people get animals that they

look like and all I should have I should show

you all the photos. It was hilarious. I was there.

I was, oh, my goodness, it looks just like that dog.

And then I remember there's a lady that walks in

my neighborhood. And I mean this graciously, right, she has

a greyhound. That's all I have to say. Right, she

looks just like the greyhound. Oh my lord. I was like, Lord,

must have been thinking, where's this point going. Don't worry,

I'm gonna land it. Another time. I was in San

Francisco in twenty eighteen and I'm walking around the city

streets and I'm like, man, this city, this city is amazing.

And as I'm walking around on like the people here

I did just so handsome, gorgeous and wow wow. I

get back to Australia and I sit down with my

mom and I say, Mom, if I had to live

anywhere in the world, I would love to live in

San Francisco. And she goes, will, do you know why

you want to live in San Francisco. That's how my

mom talks exactly right. This is Filipino. And I said why.

She goes because there are lots of Bilipidos there. And

I was like, really, lots of Pilipinos there, And she goes,

will in in San France, In California, there is Pilipinos

everywhere because it's the biggest population outside of the Philippines.

And I was like, wow, no, wonder I liked it

because all the people look like me. Right. Friends, Have

you ever met someone and you just thought, man, I

like them? Could it be because they look like you? Right? Oh?

Have you met someone and you're like, man, I don't

like them at all. Maybe it's because they don't look

like you. Are you picking up what I'm putting down? Friends?

You know what happens in church? Churches start to look

the same, They start to talk the same. Everyone in

the church is the same. That's one of the that's

one of the dangers that we're having in church. I

go to church, it's forty churches every year, and some churches,

bless you, there's different people here. That means the Gospel

is alive. But if everyone in the room looks the same, talks,

the same, acts the same, it's all the same, same, same,

then we're not doing the mission, right, are you with me? So, friends,

in the first space, you've got to make it a

home for you, but you gotta also make it a

home for the person who was not yet a Christian.

And guess what that I look like you. They're gonna

come in with funky language and funky behaviors and funky everything.

And he got to love them and make a home

for them in that first space. So the first space

for Paul was a synagogue. The first space for us

is the church. Church. Ah, let me be an agitated today.

Let me add this in there. Do you know what

we do in church? We want to win the world

for Jesus. But often I feel like people are trying

to just win Christians for church. Oh oh, come on, now,

is it true? We want to win the world for Jesus.

But most of the time we're like, we just get

to some more Christians to come to our church. You

know what Jesus wants. He doesn't want this to be

a fortress. He wants us to be a home, a hospital.

Come home, You're welcome here. We love you here. God

wants you here. If I preaching anyone, come on, all right,

So let's go to the second one. In verse seventeen,

it says, so reason with them in the synagogue, with

both Jews and God fearing Greeks. That's the first space

of mission. Ah. I love this quote. Churches that become

passionate about the people outside their walls will be far

more effective than the churches that are only passionate about

keeping the few people inside their walls. That's carrying Nuhoff.

I love that you have to be passionate about the

people outside of the walls and inside of the walls. Yeah,

you gotta love everyone here, but we've gotta love people

to come in here too and join us. So he

reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God fearing Greeks,

as well as in the marketplace. Everyone say marketplace. The

next two points, go real quick, day by day with

those who happened to be there. That's the second space

of mission. Paul had to go into the marketplace. What

was Paul doing in the marketplace preaching? He was looking

for God at work in people's lives, and you talk

to them about Jesus. Come on the marketplace. Where does

the marketplace begin? As soon as you take your first

step out of church, you're in the marketplace. When you

go to work, you're in the marketplace. When you take

the train ride to work, you're in the marketplace. When

he goes shopping, you're in the marketplace. The marketplace is

where you're life into sex with the secular. We got

to go into the marketplace, friends, and we're going to

look for God at work. I loved it. In Acts seventeen,

what Paul did? He saw up there a god, said,

unknown God, and he said, there's Jesus in your midst.

He pointed to a statue in Greece in Athens and said,

right there, that's Jesus, the creative of the world. And

they were like, really, he identified Jesus in their midst.

You know what you have to do in the marketplace?

Do you know what you have to be in the marketplace.

You got to be Jesus to answer everything. Maybe give

you two scriptures. The first one is this Matthew five seventeen.

It says, let your light shine before all people, that

they may see your good deeds and praise your Father

in Heaven. I love this. Let your light shine. What

happens when you let your light shine? He shines on you,

and you reflect it out into the marketplace. As soon

as you walk out in the marketplace, his love shines

on you, and you reflect it out into the marketplace.

He loves you, You love the world. He's generous to you.

You be generous to the world. He's kind to you.

You be kind to the world. It's very simple, isn't it.

They'll see your good deeds and I won't thank you

because you'll say it wasn't me. He loved me first,

and all we have to do is point and say

it's him. He's so good. Let your light shine. Another

one is be the fragrance of Christ. Remember the fragrance.

I was once in a video store and this lady

walked past, and I was like, Oh, you ever smelt

something that just really captured you When you've been with Jesus.

You know what happens. You walk out into the marketplace

and go they go, oh know why you're smiling one

of those people from Southland, aren't you. Yeah, you're very joyful,

You're very happy, you're very loving, you're very caring. People

like the fragrance. People need to catch the whiff of

God on your life. You have to be understand. It's

very simple. And by the way, this is a big idea.

You have to embody Jesus. Francis Asisi said this, preach

the gospel and if necessary, use words. Now he also

said use words by the way. Some people take him

out of context. But you have to make sure that

when you walk into rooms, people go they're different, and friends,

you're different. Your gorgeous, you're kind, you're humble. So the

first part of the second one is you've got to

show Jesus everywhere you go. Yeah, the second one one

Peter three point fifteen that says this, always be prepared

to give an answer to everyone who asked to give

a reason for the hope that you have. Always be

prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have.

Are you ready? Are you ready? And you have to

do that with gentleness and respect. So one sense, you

have to shine, you have to show it. On the

other sense, you have to be ready to say it.

You have to show it and you have to say it.

You have to demonstrate it, and you have to proclaim it.

Proclaim the gospel, be good news. Be ready. Let me

give you some stories to give in a little illustration.

I was in Colinade the other day. I bought with

the kids and this lady in Dota Spa. It was

there a few years ago, and she every time she

saw me, she'd always go and wave to me right

and I'll go, hey, how are you good to see

you again? And she goes, We'll just stop for a second.

I just I've just noticed that you have this blue

green aura about you. And I was like, really, well,

thank you for noticing. Now. In the old days, you

know what I would have done. I would have thought, oh, gee,

that's not really Christian. But now I'm looking for God

at work. Since she said that holy Spirit game of

this line, he goes, you know what, I didn't always

have that blue green aura. At nineteen Jesus came into

my life. That's when it began that's a long story,

and maybe next time we'll have a coffee. And we

walked off and she was say, oh, I know the

rest of the story. Next time I saw her, I say, well, oh,

let's have a coffee. We sat down and I got

to share my story. Always be ready, right, always be ready.

I met this lady once and I was in the marketplace,

and every day I would always be, you know, sharing

Jesus with her. But often she would ask questions and

I would always challenge her. This one time she comes

to me and she says, will I'm going out with

the girlfriends on the weekend, And said where youre going?

She goes, I'm going to an expo that starts with

an s. Oh can you say that in church? We did?

All right? All right? She goes, so I'm going to

an expo me yeah, And I was like, oh really.

She goes, yeah, all the girlfriends are going. It's going

to be fun. I was like, oh okay, And I've

been sharing Jesus with her. So I said to her,

can I just can I just lean into this moment

for a second. She goes, yeah, Because I said, have

you seen the signage on Hailey Street? She goes na.

I said, underneath it says something we've been talking about

heaven and hell and light and dark and God and

the devil. And she's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I said,

it's under that sign sex bo and that says join

the dark side. She was like oh. I said, can

I give you a challenge before you go with your

girlfriends on Sunday? Why don't you ask God the Holy Spirit?

She would call him higher power at that time. And

I said, ask Jesus to tell you if he wants

you to go or not go. She goes, okay, And

I was waiting all weekend right because I knew that

God would speak. I get to Monday morning and I

said to her, what happened? Did you go? And she goes,

now can go? I said, what can you go? She goes.

I just kept hearing this voice saying don't go, and

this she said. I tried to go. I got in

the car want one of the girls and was on

the way there and the voice got louder don't go.

So got out of the car and I went home

and I said, well done. So what did you hear?

She goes. All the way home, I saw crosses. I

counted sixteen crosses. I said, you know what's happening. The

Holy Spirit God is reaching out to you. He's talking

to you. He's wooing you to him. She was like,

really said, he loves you so much. It's crazy, isn't it.

He's invisible, but he speaks. He's inaudible, but you can

hear him. Friends, you have to help people. You have

to be spiritual translators of the Holy Spirit to people.

Don't judge him, don't use all kinds of words. I'll

start with spiritual language and then it will move to

faith language, and then it will move to Jesus language.

But that's what I'm doing. Another time, I was at

the basketball court just the other day and I loved it.

A Christian guy comes out and all these young guys

have been playing basketball with are going, I think he's

a Christian. They noticed him straight away because you just

shone different. His name's Joshua and Sinys I met him.

I was like, he is a Christian, and it was

so funny. All of a sudden, all these these you know,

young Hack and West, you know, sort of tough guys

playing with me. They're like they're like spooking me. The

guy comes over and he goes, hey, Will, Will's a

pastor and we reckon, you're a Christian. He goes, how

did you know? I mean? It said on there some

Christian slogan right on his T shirt. Well the T shirt,

but just I don't know. You got that thing that

Will has? Right, they're identifying something. And then all of

a sudden, one of the guys who I've been reaching

out to, he goes, oh, man, you're gonna love Will.

This will sound like I'm talking myself up, but this

is what God was doing in this moment. Right, all

of a sudden, he goes, you know what happened? This guy?

He I didn't know him, but he gave a car

to my sister who he met at a cafe. My

kids prayed one day and said, Dad, we should give

out car to Taylor at the cafe. I said, oh,

it's worth a bit of money. Don't we think we

should keep it? And they were like, no, give it away,

and I was like, who told you that? You're like

God did? I was like, oh, crakey, all right, And

then we went and gave it to a rite. He

started crying. It was a mazing moment. I then go

to this basketball court. That guy I meet, it's her brother,

and he starts sprooking to the Christian guy who just

got here. Will state, he's brought us all basketballs and

we're playing all the time. Yeah, we weren't allowed to

swear on the court when he's here. You know, we

got to be encouraging. That's one of the rules, you

know what I mean. And all of a sudden, it's

the atmosphere. I'm bringing church into the marketplace. I'm bringing

Jesus into the marketplace. I'm identifying what the Holy Spirit's

doing in their lives. You should see. I write a

ne semester to the guy the other day. I said,

you got a job. You know why? Because God loves

you and he is after you. He gets really in

the text. He said, yeah, how do I know he

sent me? He goes, dude, I'm crying right now. He goes,

Ever since you came to my life, things has gotten better.

It's not me. I don't think Will's cool. I never

want to come up with this idea. It's Jesus. He

loves people, he wants people. He's drawing all people to himself,

and we have to pick it up and we have

to translate it for people. Are you with me? So

the first space is a home for us, It's a

home for the not yet Christian. It prepares us for

the second space. The second space is the marketplace. It's

here that we have to show and share Jesus. We

have to demonstrate him and we have to proclaim him.

And then we get to the third space and it's

a beautiful space. Then they took him and brought him

to a meeting where they said to him, may we

know what this new teaching is that you are presenting.

You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and

we would like to know what they mean. The third

space is this you get invited into their life. That

he got invited to a meeting. What that translates to

us is when you start hanging out with people in

the marketplace, they'll say, would you come over for dinner?

Can we talk about Jesus a bit more? I have

so many questions. I've really noticed stuff in your life

and how you talk. They want to know more. It's

the third space of mission. It's when they invite you

into their life. Is they want with me? We have

dinner often with a wife and a daughter who's aiding,

and that invite me into their space. They invited themselves

into our space, the third space. A right. They were like,

can we come over for dinner? I said why, I

want to talk about Jesus. I love what you keep talking.

I love what your family's about. There's something about you, guys.

I said, that's God. That's good. So they come over

and they ask questions and we unpack the scriptures and

they said, what's the gospel? I said, let me bring

you to a scripture and we'll work through it. And

then I work out what the gospel is. Friends, when's

the last time you got invited into the third space.

When's the last time someone said, hey, you want to

have lunch with me after work dinner? When's the last

time someone invited you into their cubicle and said, hey,

can you talk to me about Jesus. When's the last

time someone said to you, man, I want to know

more about your church Southland. I'm investigating Jesus and I

want to know more. Friends, we need to reawaken the

third space again, because we're active, loving, giving, generous kind

in the second space, you'll get the invites to go

into the third let me finish with this, the sound

of the third space, the found of the sound of

the third space, that says this in verse thirty three, Oh,

don't have it. At that Paul left the council. Some

of the people became followers of Paul and believed right.

Among them was Dionysus, a member of the Arapagus, and

also a woman named Demarus. I love this. So the

first converts that Paul gets in Athens in Greece is Demaris.

You know what Demarus's name is. It's a bad name.

She's actually a prostitute. And God loves the unreached. God

loves the unlovable. God loves the marginalized. God loves the

people that no one else loves. That's one of the

first converts was Demarus, prostitute. The husband's name is Dionysus.

Do you know who the god of Dionysus is. He's

named after the Greek god of debauchery and wine. Pretty

cool name, huh. I'm Dionysus. Welcome to church, Dionysus. Jesus

loves you. This is the stuff that we need to

start getting involved with. The Holy Spirit's calling us to

go into these three spaces. Friends. And this is what

I love about compassion. Compassion knows the three spaces well,

and we have to be able to move from these

three spaces like that. We go to church, we get

fueled up, we get loved up, and we go out

into the world, the marketplace, and when then we go

share and show Jesus everywhere, and then we get invited

because we've built trust and respect with people, and they

invite you to the third space. Compassion moves in this

space really well. They start in the church and they

go out into the highways and the byways, and they

meet the extreme poor. They love them so much so

they invited them to homes and they say, hey, we

want to sponsor your child. And then all of a sudden,

they're moving between these three spaces. We need to move

between these three spaces with real excellence, with real ease,

by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's bring this

sermon to a close. Can the keyboarders come. It's got

to pray for you in a moment. But I reckon,

there's a bunch of people here sitting here thinking, Man,

I've got this friend at work. I reckon, God wants

me to be that presence to them, to listen to them,

to love them. What's their name? Who's the person that

the Holy Spirit is calling you to reach right now?

Who is it in your life that you go, Man,

gotta I gotta share the gospel with them? Who is it?

Do you have a name? Some of some of us

are hearing like, Man, I'm a bit rusty. Will It's okay.

God's going to be opening up doors for You're gonna

get invitations in the coming weeks, in the coming months,

in the coming years. And as you look around at

all these chairs, see these empty chairs, You're gonna start

filling up because as you hit that third space, you're

gonna invite them to your church and saying, you gotta

meet my friends, they're awesome. The church. You gonnaed to

meet the church. And all of a sudden, all these

chairs are gonna fill up. Would you put out your

hands in front of you in a posture of receiving Father, God,

we love you, Lord, we know that you love us. Lord,

Give us a heart for the losses. Give us a

heart for the people who are marginalized. Lord, give us

a heart for those who were forgotten. Give us a heart,

Give us a heart for people in our neighborhood, people

in our shopping centers that don't know you. Lord, create

in us such an overflowing church, and whenever we're meeting

with you, that we would step out into that marketplace

and we would just naturally flow in your spirit and

be light and love to everyone. Lord, help us to

go public in the marketplace with our faith. May we

not be private. Help us to shine bright that everyone

that meets us goes, man, there's something about those people

at Southland, they just use Jesus Holy Spirit. I just

pray right now that you would fill us up to overflowing,

that when we leave we could help but shine your love.

We couldn't help but be the hands and the feet of.

Christ serving your eyes for a moment. I remember the

first time I met Jesus. I was on a bus

and I'm riding home from this church.

And as I'm on the bus, says, this old lady

was sitting next to me, an elderly lady. And I

remember she looked at me and she did a take two.

She's like, look, then she went, I said, what what happened?

She goes, You're in love. You're in love, aren't you?

And I was like I just gave my life to

Jesus right, And I was like, yeah, I am, I am.

I can't remind you of your first love today. You

love your wife, you love your husband, you love your kids. Jesus.

Thank you for joining us today for his story, our story.

We hope you've enjoyed this episode and have been encouraged

and uplifted. If you would like to learn more about

Walking with God or Southland Church in Pasadena, Adelaide, please

visit our website at www dot Southland Church dot com

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