Love For The Lost

So, two weeks ago we talked about the gospel and what the gospel means. And today they are

doing it in Sunday school, eh? And Betty and someone else perhaps, or maybe just Betty,

Betty and Wibby. Betty and Wibby have come up with this little thing—that was Anna and

Betty—they came up with this little thing where the kids will be making this, where

it tells you, defines the gospel. But it's done so well that even the grown-ups should

perhaps have this, because it really tells you everything we learned two weeks ago made

into a little thingy. Yeah? So, if you need more of these, talk to Betty and Anna. They

are thinking of copywriting it, so get it before they decide to charge you for it. Yeah?

So two weeks ago we talked about the gospel. Last week we talked about praying so that

the spread or the witness to the resurrected Christ may begin to happen. And we said we

would have, just like Ruah, we would have a time of prayers at church together. And

so we will talk about that today and how we are going to go about it. But before we go

into that, we need to just realize that a lot of what we do must come out of this idea

called love, not duty. And so, just want to explore this idea of love for the lost, love

for the lost. So if you go to Romans 10, 1, Romans 10, 1, Romans 10, 1. This is Paul speaking

and after that we will go to Romans 9, 2 and 3. And so it says in Romans 10, 1, brothers,

my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. And

then if you go to 9, verse 2 and 3, it says there that I have great sorrow and unceasing

anguish in my heart, for I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ

for the sake of my brothers. Those are my own race, the people of Israel. That's a crazy

statement to make, eh? On one hand he's saying I long to see the ones that I belong to. He

came out of Israel and he longs to see Israel saved. On the other hand, and I don't understand

this, I don't know if you are able to grasp it where he's saying that I would rather be

cursed and cut off for the sake of my brothers so that they get saved even if I was cursed

and cut off. And he knows what eternal damnation looks like. And it's not exaggeration. He's

making a statement there saying I would rather be cut off and cursed so that the rest of

Israel could be saved. And so when it comes to salvation of others, for us it's not very

emotional guys. And yet both God and Paul and others had an understanding of salvation

that had emotion. Our understanding, our grasp of salvation, our grasp of salvation for others,

especially if they're not dad or mom or sister or brother, is often devoid of emotion, is

often devoid of emotion. And yet here is a man saying that he feels deep anguish. He

feels sorrow. He feels anguish. There's something missing, right? Because I haven't felt deep

anguish or sorrow. I might feel that if it was my dad or my mom, my sister or brother,

but they're saved. But outside of that, that's not the emotion I begin to feel. Jesus was

this way. He stands and looks at Jerusalem in Luke chapter 13 and he says, oh Jerusalem,

Luke 13 · chapter mention

oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem,

chapter 13 and he says, oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, how I've longed to gather you

as the hen would gather her chicks. There was longing there. There was yearning. Isaiah

62 verse one, if you read the, I think it's the New Living Translation, it says that because

I love Israel, I long to bring her into my fold. So there seems to be this idea of love

which causes God to do stuff. He rarely does it out of duty, rarely does it because he

is God. He doesn't do it because he is God. He does it because of this thing that he is,

which is holy, which is love, which is joy. Any questions on that? Do you recognize that

perhaps we are devoid of that emotion that's connected to salvation? And he's talking about

all of Israel and this was the same Israel that was beginning to persecute him for having

changed lanes, going from his strong Jewishness to Christianity and yet that's the way he

feels. And so face up to the fact that perhaps there is a lack and that lack must be bridged.

Otherwise even prayer at some point will get down. Nothing like praying with passion, right?

The passion is fueled by truth and emotion. So is there sorrow, is there sorrow for the

perishing? It sounds like a very Christian question but there's no other way to put it.

Is there sorrow for the perishing? Is there desire for their conversion? Is there desire

for their conversion? And is there fervent prayer for their salvation? And if no, then

how do you cultivate a heart? That's what we look at today. How do you cultivate a heart

that has emotion connected to it? Any questions? Do you think there is need for emotion or

do you think there is need for emotion? And if there is need for emotion, then how do

you get there? It's just facts and truth. There is a blooming need for emotion. God

cannot be clinically divided. He is truth, he is emotion, he is very relational. And

you cannot be relational without emotion and passion. It's impossible. It's based in truth

but it carries with it. Joy and love and compassion, all emotions. Questions? The reason I'm saying

questions is we must confront the fact that this is not our cup of tea. Yeah? But like

so many other changes that God has brought in our lives, he'll bring another amazing

change. Yeah? Yep. Let us pray. No, I'm just kidding. Okay. First one. Remember the plight

of the unsaved. Remember the plight of the unsaved. John 3.36. John 3.36. John 3.36.

Here's what it says. Whoever believes in the sun has eternal life but whoever rejects

the sun will not see life for God's wrath remains on them. So the plight of the unsaved

is very simple. They forfeit their life. They are not going to be saved. They are going

to be destroyed. They are going to be destroyed. They are going to be destroyed. They are going

to be destroyed. They are going to be destroyed. They are going to be destroyed. That's not

what's happened, no. Yeah? Yes. So whatever lies within God remains on them. So the plight

of the unsaved is very simple. They forfeit. They forfeit eternal. They forfeit eternal

life and they are under God's wrath. Another word for it, anger. It's something we don't

this is reality. Not unfortunately. Fortunately this is reality. It is a fear of not going

to heaven that drove me to the Lord. Then I learned how to love Him. But this is the

plight of the unsaved. So let's take the city of Richmond for example. There are 223,000

people in Richmond. Out of the 223,000 people in Richmond, 54% are Chinese, 8% are East

Indian, 8% are Filipino, 30% are made up of Caucasians and Japanese and other cultures.

The most prominent religion is Buddhism. Actually the most prominent religion in Richmond is

people don't believe in anything. 52% don't believe in anything. Then it's Buddhism,

then it's Catholicism, then it is Hindus and Sikhs, then it's Islam and then other

small religions. So let's take that city for example. So anybody who is not saved in

Richmond then, at some point will forfeit eternal life and will be under the wrath of

God. If you do not receive Christ as Lord, and it's not about going to church, it's

not about going to church. If you haven't received Christ as Lord and He's not the

master of your life, then you forfeit eternal life and you're under the wrath of God. So

we forget that plight. We forget that plight. I saw a video on Instagram that we couldn't

show today, but it's about this guy talking about twins in the womb. And so one twin turns

to the other and says, hey do you think there's life after delivery? And the other twin says,

nah it ends here. So the twin says, but what if there's light, it's so dark in here, maybe

there's light outside. Kid says, nah. The other twin says, no. No light out there. It's

like this. What about this mother that we are wombed in? We'll get to see her face to

face. She's all around us, but we'll actually get to see her face to face. And the other

twin says, how do you know there's a mother? There's no mother out there. Maybe this is

just a sack of water that we're living in. One of the twins says, but what if these feet

can begin to walk and this mouth can begin to speak? And the other twin says, logically

there is no such chance. Scientifically, look at us. Swimming around in water and not being

able to do anything, this ain't going to happen. And you listen to these two twins talking

to each other and you realize how dumb it is to think that there is nothing after this.

If you're one of them, I go back to my previous sentence, how dumb it is to think that there

is nothing after this. Going back to what we were talking about, one who does not receive

Christ, one who rejects Christ, will not see eternal life. They will forfeit eternal life

and they will be under God's wrath as in anger. Sometimes we need to remember the plight of

people to get emotions stirred. Questions? Any questions guys? So we have to keep in

sight the terrible reality of an eternity without Christ. I had a friend who died five,

six years ago. He was with me in school and he knew I was a Christian. I was not born

again. I came from a Christian family. I knew enough about Christ because I went to Sunday

school and stuff like that. Years later, he came from a Hindu background, years later

he becomes a believer. The first time we met, his question to me was just this. Before he

said anything else, he was glad to see me and the first question he asked was, hey Jacob,

you were a Christian, how come you didn't tell me anything about Jesus? You were with

me for five years and you didn't tell me a word about Jesus. His complaint was I missed

out because you didn't. Then I told him I didn't really believe in Jesus. I was born

again much later after I left school and all this stuff. But that is the plight. I pray

God, I'm not trying to send us on a guilt trip. I'm trying to help us understand that

a plight of an unbeliever should perhaps help me feel the urgency and the emotion and the

passion to do what I need to do. That's just one aspect. It's not the only aspect. Any

questions? Now you can see why Paul says, I have great sadness and great anguish. I would

rather be cursed myself and not go and have this eternal life so that my brothers can

go and gain it. Next one. 1 Timothy 1, 15 to 16. If you want to read it from the message,

1 Timothy 1, 15 to 16. 1 Timothy 1, 15 to 16.

Here's what it says from the message. Here's a word you can take heart and depend on. Jesus

Christ came into the world to save sinners. I am proof, public sinner number one, of someone

who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off, evidence of

his endless patience to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever. Beautiful,

eh? One more time. Here's a word you can take to heart and depend on. Jesus Christ came

into the world to save sinners. I am proof, public sinner number one, of someone who could

never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off, evidence of his endless

patience to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever. So one of the things

that should drive me is shouldn't, shouldn't be a person who is not a sinner. I think that

he or she tastes what I eat on a daily basis. Be it a friend or be it a stranger, I mean,

you're going up the elevator and you have this Tim Hortons cookie and there's this little

kid that comes in with his mum and you've got two cookies and one looks at, the kid

begins to look at your cookie and you know you don't want to give it. But what do you

do? You give it because you want someone else to have a taste. Anybody you meet, I mean,

I've been on, in an elevator with pizza and I had to share my pizza. Why? Because the

smell is so overwhelming and it's stuffed crust and it's straight out of pizza. And

they look at me and they, they do that. What do you do? You have to open it in? Give it.

Isn't it, isn't it required that I share parts of my life, the splendor of what I have? What

do you have? What's the, what's the, what's the most precious thing that you have with

God? Ask yourself that question. What's the most precious thing on a daily basis that

you experience, that you taste? For me, it would be the ability to communicate with God,

the ability to talk, the ability to hear, the ability to have a friend, the ability

to go and seek help, the ability to receive it, the ability that every time I pray, there

is hope that things will happen. Gosh, man, what would we do without that? How do people

survive? How did we survive? What is it that you can give a taste of to a friend? What

are we trying to get at? How do we love the lost? A taste to a friend or a stranger. That's

what Paul's trying to say. Listen, I'm public proof. I'm evidence. Any questions? Should

not he or she have a taste of what I eat on a daily basis? Think of, think of the persistence

of a stranger or a friend that led you to the Lord. Think of the persistence of a stranger

or a friend that led you to the Lord. How many times did you reject what they offered?

How many times did you say no and yet they persisted? Why? Because they were desperate

that you have a taste. They were desperate that you have a taste. There's, you know,

on one hand there's the world that lives in despair and then there's this desperation

that should grab my heart which I pray God it does. A desperation. It's not duty bound.

It's not I'm a Christian therefore I have to witness to Christ. I want to go a step

further. Nothing wrong with that. But what if we went a step further and had the same

reasons as Christ? Which is, but I made them. They're made in my image. I love them. I

love them just like you love your child. What if that became the ultimate motivation? That's

what you're trying to get at. Loving the lost because somewhere inside something happens

and emotions click. Love is an act of the will but is expressed through emotions. Love

is an act of the will but it's expressed through emotions. Love that is sheer emotional will

change from day to day as the person changes. But love is the act of the will but it is

expressed through emotions. Men, listen to that eh? Women have a slightly easier time

with that. But men, listen to that. I know you're willing to lay your life down for your

wife but occasionally express it with a smile. Yeah? I'll lay down my life. You don't know

it but I could lay down my life for you. Yes but what can you do today? Express it eh?

See? Yeah so it's two extremes right? You've got one side that is just overwhelmingly expressive

but it lacks the act of the will where the person changes, love changes. Next one. I

love this one. The spirit loves dark places. The spirit loves dark places. He doesn't just

think it's nice. He doesn't just like it. He loves it. The spirit loves dark places.

Genesis 1, 2 opens with a dark place. Where is he? He's brooding over a dark place. He

loves dark places. Isaiah 60 verse 1 and 2. What does it say? Dark place? Great, I'll

Isaiah 60:1

be there. Listen to this quote which will so resonate with us now. It was by this guy

called John Wesley. So he arrives in Newcastle in the UK in 1742 and this is what he writes.

I was surprised. So much drunkenness, so much cursing, so much swearing even from the mouths

of little children. I'd never seen and heard so much cursing before in such a short time

and I thought to myself, surely this place is right for him who came not to call the

righteous but the sinners to repentance. Brilliant eh? He hears more cursing, more swearing,

more drinking in a short period of time like he's never heard it before and his immediate

response is, ashaks, this is ripe. This is fertile ground for the one who came not to

save this righteous but to save the sinners. And so the Holy Spirit loves dark places and

if you find him and you in a dark place, you know you're meant to be there to usher in

hope. Love dark places. Do not be put off by it.

Imagine the dark places you and I came from. Imagine the dark places you and I came from

and the spirit of God was there continuously. Continuously. Dark places of religion, dark

places of drugs, dark places of struggling with emotions, struggling with mental problems,

struggling with an inability to break, struggling with the idea of love, struggling with other

religious beliefs. Dark places and then he was there, he was there, he was there. You

know how long he was there for me? He was there for 26, 27 years. Knocking every year,

bringing someone into my life to tell me, hey there's me, there's me, there's me, there's

me. 27 years. He loves dark places. Every time you see something like that, let your

heart rise like John Wesley's heart rose saying this is right, this is fertile ground. Any

questions? You know it's like those guys who begin to go into the dark because they're

not scared, the darker it is the more they want to kick backsides. It's that kind of

thing. It should rouse passion in you. No? Thank God I know you're listening and that

you grasp and you understand and you believe and you practice. Thank God, this is the grace

of God given to me. Otherwise, it would be very difficult preaching. But thank God I

know that. Any questions guys? Because at the end of the day, the Spirit of God goes

into those areas and I pray that if you don't have the courage to go in there, that you

follow those that have courage. Follow those that have courage and it will thrill you.

Next one. This is an odd one. We think it's very Christainy and heavenly and Jesusy but

it's real. Ponder and participate in the joy of heaven when one repents. When one repents

and turns to Christ. We hear this and we think to ourselves every time you hear a preacher

talk about it, oh the angels are rejoicing in heaven at the sight of the sinner who has

turned to the Lord. You think what in the world does that have to do with me? And yet

let's go to the scriptures and then put yourself in the picture and you'll see. So if you go

to Luke 15, verse 7 and verse 10. Luke 15, verse 7. I tell you that in the same way there

Luke 15:7 Luke 15:7

will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous

persons who do not need to repent. Verse 10. In the same way I tell you there is rejoicing

in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Guys think of it

this way. What do you think happened with the Father, Son and the Spirit when you turned?

I just think of that and it makes me weep. That at some point in 1988 or 89 when I turned

and I repented, what do you think it did to the Father's heart? What do you think it did

to the Holy Spirit? What do you think it did to Jesus? I'm not even talking about emotions

or feelings or imagination. Isaiah 53 talks about it. It talks about how Jesus will thrill

at the labor of love on the cross now seeing results. It's scriptural. It's not imagination.

What was it like? Sorry Tia, I'll lower my volume a little. I'll try. I get excited Tia.

What can I do? And then the volume goes up. So what did it look like when you got saved?

What did it look like when Pawan got saved? What did it look like when good people like

Derek got saved? The same. One was stuck in religion. The other one was stuck in the

church. Some other kind of rot. But the rejoicing in the heart of the Father, in the heart of

the Son, in the heart of the Holy Spirit over me was ridiculous. They were so glad I was

back. And then it says the angels rejoice too. Why? Because we have no idea how much

they are at work in the salvation of each person because in Hebrews chapter 1 it says

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

that these are ministers of the wind that minister to those that will inherit salvation.

God only knows how many times they were actively involved in our salvation sent on errands

by God orchestrating circumstances so that we end up in certain places and do not end

up in certain places and have our lives preserved instead of our lives dead. And they rejoice.

Some of them rejoicing, my God, thank God Pawan saved. That was a lot of work. Chava

Chava.

Grasp the joy of being used by God to bring a person from death to eternal life. Grasp

the joy of being used by God to bring a person from death to eternal life. Paul goes so far

as to say in 1 Thessalonians 2.19 if you read the passion translation or message or any

of those versions it talks about how he says hey you are ones that I brought to the Lord

and you are my joy, you are my crown, you are my boast. These are the words he uses

that you are my joy, you are my crown, you are my hope, you are my boast. It's almost

like he's talking about his own children. 1 Thessalonians 2.19. Questions?

Okay, next one. One of the things we need to do is just ask. Pray that your love for

the lost will abound. 1 Thessalonians 3.12. 1 Thessalonians 3.12. Ask for it. I lack it.

Sometimes you need to ask for it. Father, you know what, if I get a chance I'll share

the gospel with someone but it's not love that compels me. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians

5, it's impossible for me not to do that because the love of God just compels me. We'll pray

that today that the love of God compels us and you may think the prayer is really not

going to help. It'll help like everything else has helped. Thank God we are not looking

for instant transformation. Those are miracles. Conditions of the heart are a work. Remember

daddy, the condition of the heart is a work. What do you mean the condition of the heart

is a work? It is you cooperating with the ungrudging, fully given power of the spirit

to change. And how much have we changed? There's nobody here who hasn't been transformed by

the power and the love of God. Your lives are different. And here's another area where

he'll begin to change this. And once you begin to change, the way to keep the change going

is very simple guys. Small steps. Do something to sustain the change in small steps. When

the door dash guy leaves the stuff at your door and says, I am here, just say something

more than thank you. Small steps. Small steps. Love is sustained by small steps. Ask your

wife, we're waiting for that day, 14th of February to do something phenomenal for the

wifey and then you realize, oh shucks, what about the 364 days later in between? Then

you wonder why she isn't reacting the way she's supposed to react. I'm talking like

I know what I'm talking about but here's the point. Here's the point. Do small things

to sustain love and love begins to increase. Do small things to sustain love and love begins

to increase. It's the best way to fuel love. Small things. Ask for it and then begin this

journey. Sometimes it's a large tip. Sometimes it's sharing a pizza while going up the elevator.

Sometimes it's smiling at a person that hasn't. I know this sounds corny but it is true. I

remember a man who was physically in bad shape, terribly handicapped, had all kinds of problems

and he was sitting before this pastor and the pastor prays and he just prays one line.

He says, oh God, I just thank you for this man and before he can complete the sentence

he bursts into tears and the reason he bursts into tears and this is in this book called

To Serve with Dignity or something by this guy called R.C. Sproul and so he begins to

weep because that is the first time someone looked at him in those years and said thank

you for this man. Nobody had yet called him a man because of his deformities. That is

all it took. One word. We do not know. Love is sustained by little actions. So pray that

your love for the lost will abound. First Thessalonians 3.12. Then act on your loving

desire as small as it is. Next one. This is an important one. Get back to the beginning

of the mentality or if you haven't yet gone there, get to the mentality of seeking not

just saving the lost. More and more churches, including this one, are okay about saving

the lost but Jesus didn't say I came to save the lost. He said I came to seek them and

then save them. You see that in John 19.10. He talks about coming to seek and save the

lost. So it isn't about a person who is not going to save the lost. It is about a person

saying everybody is welcome but it is being alert on mission in highways and byways instead

of saving the lost there is a need to go back to the mentality of seeking. Because it is

love for the lost that joins you to God in his pursuit. The Zekiah story is classic.

He seeks him. He seeks him to save him. He seeks him to save him. I don't seek to save

anymore. If they come my way, sure. But I seek to save. That is something else. That

comes not because you have an encounter or an opportunity. That comes because there is

a desire to go out and seek. And seek how that happens in your daily life. That is the

daily places. At the airport. At work. On your way back from work. In the bus. Some

guys do it easily. Some guys find it more difficult. The ones who find it more difficult

will have to call out for love. Duty sucks. Love spurs on. Anything you love you will

do. Anything you love you will overcome the obstacle. Anything you love you will prioritize.

I remember reading the parable of the lost coin and the person changed the way the parable

is understood so that we grasp it better now. Imagine a five cent coin going under your

sofa. You watch it fall out of your hand and go under the sofa and it's gone deep

under that sofa that needed three people to bring it in. Yeah. And now it's gone under

the sofa and you're looking at it and you immediately know you ain't going to go get

that coin out from under the sofa because there's only a five cent coin. And yet something

begins to stir up in you. Becken you. And so you go. You first crawl on your knees.

You use the coat hanger to pull it out. Nothing's working. You know what has to be done. That

blooming thing has to be lifted up. You call Derek. You call Don. It's pointless. So then

you go get some others and finally you get a edge of the sofa. You pull it out and you

find the coin. And here's what the guy said. It is not the intrinsic value. What gives

the coin value is the one who seeks it. It may only be a five cent coin. But what gives

the coin value is the one who seeks it. And then every time you confer value on someone

or something because you seek it, something happens to that person. Love for the lost.

Will open your ears and eyes to the condition of people that you don't see, that you're

blind to. I was sharing this story last night of how this very wealthy man, a very rich

businessman, this happened in the UK, very wealthy businessman who would go to work every

day and he was a type that was very fastidious in terms of the route he takes, the shop he

stops for a newspaper, the time he leaves his home, the time he gets to the office.

And he'd always take the same route. He lived in a gated community, kind of cut off from

the world. And then one day he leaves home and the road that he normally takes to work

is under construction and there's a detour. So he decides to take a detour. So he takes

a detour and it drives him through a very poor part of town. As he's driving through

this poor part of town, and he's not a passionate Christian or something, he's born again, but

he knows how to balance his Christianity and the rest of his life so that everything goes

well. And so he's driving through this part of town and he begins to hear wailing. And

he can't understand it. Just wailing and he stops at a newspaper shop because he still

has to buy a newspaper and it's an unfamiliar place and he goes to buy a newspaper and he

asks the shopkeeper, can you hear it? And the guy says, what? And he says, can't you

hear the wailing? And he says, no. And so he gets into his car, drives home. For the

next five days he has to do that because the roads are shut. And every time he drives through

this neighborhood he can hear the wailing. On the sixth day, Saturday, he decides he

has to go play golf, but instead of playing golf he goes back to this neighborhood and

he can hear it again. He goes and talks to his pastor. He knows that something needs

to be done. Eventually that guy can't but walk around that part of the neighborhood

and as he walks about the neighborhood he begins to hear the condition of people. He

buys six apartments there and with those six apartments he begins to reconstruct the plight

of the neighborhood. It goes on for years. That neighborhood becomes a model of how things

should be done. The government now wants to pour in money. They ask him to go to other

neighborhoods and he says, no, this is what God has given me. But something happened to

him. He began to hear wailing. Another preacher, well known, who again is from the UK. He goes

to a particular church and he can hear screaming. He can hear weeping. He can hear distress

and he goes to the church and he says, is there a funeral nearby? They say no, there's

no funeral nearby. But every time he would go he would begin to feel this. And so he

calls the church that he's going to, about 40 or 50 people, and he begins to talk to

them. And he says to them, can you go in the neighborhood and can you listen to people

and actually listen to their stories? And as they begin to listen to their stories they're

surprised at the distress and the despair in the neighborhood. That church began with

40 or 50 people. In a matter of four or five months they had 1200 people who would gather

and then go out into the neighborhood because they actually could hear the sound, hearing

the sound. Hearing the sound that either heaven allows you to hear or hearing the sound that

God continuously hears. God hears sounds. I can hear the sound of the Israelites laboring

under the whips of the Egyptians. I can hear the sound of oppression. This is something

he hears. Guys, the day you and I hear it, it'll take your heart and make it whatever

God wants it to be. When we sing that song it says, break my heart and make it yours.

The day you hear, you won't be able to survive it. Why? Because we are people who are not

people who are God who have been given a new heart and a new spirit. Yeah? It's not even

hard heartedness. It's just that we don't hear. But once you hear, it doesn't matter

who you are, it doesn't matter what stage of Christianity you are in. We have new hearts

and we have new spirits. We've been given hearts of flesh. The hearts of stone have

been taken away. It doesn't matter how busy you are, where you are in your Christianity.

You hear these sounds as you walk, I won't be possible to resist it. It'll break your

heart and mold it to his. It'll just be such a natural thing. We've got to ask for it,

guys. Why? Because heart change is the best propellant for anything in the kingdom. That

happens, it's like a joy. So we'll ask for that. Father, let me hear. I want to hear

it. As I drive through, and we'll pick a place and begin this. It'll help us shed,

or it'll shred our prejudices. It'll also shred our prejudices. It'll enlarge our hearts.

It'll pave the road that we walk with tears. William Booth, the guy who started the Salvation

Army. Let me read you this. This guy writes, and he's writing, in my 20s, during a period

of pastoring, I loved to go past the Salvation Army building, which was the largest one outside

of London. There's a huge block of stone at the front. Chiseled in one stone it says,

William Booth of the Salvation Army opened this core. Then it gives the date of 1910.

In a second stone beneath it, it says, Kate and Mary Jackson, officers in this core. It

was in this poor city where they spin and weave cotton into cloth, and the whole town

was on poverty level. Kate and Mary Jackson labored for a couple of years, and nothing

happened. Those girls worked diligently and went to bed exhausted at night. So they wrote

to William Booth, would you kindly move us to another station? We are so tired and disheartened.

We've tried everything that we've been taught to do. Please move us to another location.

Booth sent a telegram back with two words, try tears. Try tears. They did. And they said,

they saw revival come. Those girls went to Travelling Prayer, not just prayer, but Travelling

Prayer, prayer with anguish in it. This is written by this famous preacher from long

ago called Leonard Ravenhill, and he writes, the road to revival is often paved with tears

and brokenness. The road to revival is often paved with tears and brokenness. Once we start

hearing these sounds, it'll be in a change case. And some of our smug prejudices will

be shred. We have prejudices. We have prejudices against the young that drive fancy cars that

were given to them by their parents. We have prejudices against the rich. We have prejudices

against the poor. We have prejudices against the last group of immigrants that came and

seem to have a lot of money and buy big houses while we are still struggling to buy a house.

We have prejudices against certain ethnicities. We have prejudices against how people drive,

not realizing that we drive exactly like that. We have prejudices. And those prejudices prevent

God from pursuing people because it stops us. We have prejudices against people stuck in

religions that are sometimes offensive, sometimes violent, but they grew up in it.

Hearing these sounds will help us shred our prejudices. And if you say you have not prejudices,

you haven't looked in the mirror for a while.

Last scripture, Jonah. Jonah 4, 9-11. Jonah is sitting in a desert. Nineveh that he prophesied

would be destroyed has been spared because the people in Nineveh repented. Jonah is upset.

He's sitting under a tree that God caused to grow and it's giving him shade. But just

as he was beginning to enjoy the shade of the tree, a worm comes and starts eating up

the tree. And now the shade goes. And Jonah is upset. And that's the story, Jonah 4, 9-11.

And God says to him, so you're upset. What are you upset about? And God is saying to

him, listen, you're upset not because a plant died. You're upset because the shade went

away. And he says, I'm a gardener. I'm the one who raised this plant. I'm the one who

watered it. I'm the one who made it grow. You're upset that shade is gone? What do you

think I feel when a plant that I raised, that I took care of, that I brought up is now withering

and dying? What do you think I should feel? And then he goes on to say, how do you think

I should feel about the 120,000 or more in Nineveh? You want destruction? How can I do

that? How can I think like that? My heart is unable to think like that or feel like

that about something that I have raised. As it withers and dies, it bothers me. That's

what God is saying in Jonah 4, 9 to 11. Oh, if I could have this kind of a heart, you

would be so blessed because I pastor this church. Oh, if you would have this heart,

I would be so blessed because you're part of this church. Now you understand why Paul

says, I'm compelled by love. I can't sit. Imagine for a second if any of these parents

lost sight of their child for more than a minute and a half. Panic, eh? That's his heart

towards the Hindu, the Muslim, the Christian, the Jew, the Afghani, the Iraqi, the Israelite,

the Bangladeshi, the Indian, the Chinese. That's the same heart. Oh, if we could grab

this. Prayer? Oh my God. That would be something else, eh? Pick out of these the one that you

think will get your mojo going. How do you expect me to feel as a gardener who tended

and watched the plant grow only to see it wither and die? Can you Jonah instead ask

your way, because whenever you ask you receive, can you instead Jonah ask your way into the

compassion I have for the 120,000 who live in ignorance and darkness whose destruction

pains me? Guys, before we talk about, so how do we go about this time of prayer that lies

ahead of us this month, here's something that we have to change, eh? We are very good at

tuning into heaven, but we are very good at getting out of that in seconds. We can't get

out of that. We've got to change that. If you want to be alert to the sounds of God,

then the gravity of what is around us and the love that God wants us to distribute has

to take on greater meaning. One of the things that is nice about Acts 29 is the freedom

we have and the camaraderie we have and the back slapping friendships we have. Yeah? And

that's good. You can back slap Judah and Judah will back slap you back. Yeah? Only

don't hit him too hard. But the point is this, we've got this free ability, but one of the

things that's happening because of that is we quickly get out of a zone. You'll see that

as soon as the service is over, the somberness, the sometimes tangible presence and the holiness,

sometimes the weight of what we are talking about, in instant it disappears. And we go

into just sometimes sarcasm, sometimes joking that is, please don't think I'm saying joking

ain't fun. It's my favorite thing to do. So this goes against the grain of everything

I want to do. But we've got to change because then you'll find suddenly everything has to

be re-ignited because you go into a different kind of zone. I'm not saying don't indulge

in this kind of friendship, but be aware. Because from now till about, I usually, I

mean by the time you sleep tonight it will be 12 or 1 o'clock. Between now and 1 o'clock,

we are not aware of what's happening around us. We will be aware tomorrow when we get

together. We will be aware when we go out to do something in Wally. We will be aware

when we go out to do something in Richmond. But between when we finish and when we go

to sleep there's hardly an awareness. And that then prevents us from hearing sounds.

Just be aware of that, eh? Because we can create subcultures between a service getting

over and going to bed. We've got to prevent that. Subcultures are sometimes talking a

certain way or talking in a certain language. I'm deliberately picking on this because I

hear it all around. This must stop. Linguafranca, English. Stick to it. Young people on one

side, the older on one side and then the middle ones with the middle ones. Just be aware

of that. It contains us. It allows us to be alert. Any questions on that before we

move on? Yesterday George and I were having a discussion and we realized that one of the

common methods that he uses, and I'm sure I used to, to convey anything is sarcasm.

And Derek and Donna, my favorite. People to be sarcastic with. I'm going off topic but

it is important because if we are to take on the hearing of the things of God and the

sounds of God then we have to realize that in the midst of our joking I should still

be able to hear the sound. Otherwise I miss out on things. So God can only have me when

I'm in a zone. I'm partly responsible for what has happened here. I'll try to change.

I really want to because what is at stake is much larger. Any questions guys? Okay.

So here's what we'll do for the next, let's say till October and then once it gets cold

again we'll think. So one of the cities that is the gateway to greater Vancouver is obviously

Richmond. For the next at least four to five weeks, and I've already mentioned this, I

have already spoken to the leaders of the house churches. We'll take 15 to 30 minutes

of the time, 15 minimum, 30 I'd be surprised if you got to 30 because 15 minutes of prayer

is like very, very long. I'm sorry I'm not being silly. I'm just saying you'll be surprised

that if you're not spinning your wheels 15 minutes is enough time to pray solid prayers.

You know it's almost impossible for people here. I mean there are what 70 of us here.

It's impossible for even 20 to find the time to pray. But in our churches that meet on

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we can do that. Everybody gets a turn to pray.

And then at the end of March after the retreat we'll join here and we'll have two or three

nights of such furious prayer fueled by what you have learned because it'll be scriptural.

It'll be specific. Your leaders already have the scriptures. They have specific places

to pray for. For the city of Richmond, for the 223,000, for 54% of the Chinese, for 8%

of the South Asians, for the Buddhists, for the Catholics praying, oh God, that you would

do something in the midst and look forward to a summer of baptisms. A summer of baptisms

where people young and old in Richmond, especially the young, we'll have to take them to Steveston

and there'll be baptisms. Imagine with me guys. And at some point break out into a small

smile or just go, hmm, just to encourage me. Yeah? But imagine this. Thanks for the two

yas and the three homes. It was very encouraging. But just imagine this. So when you get together

tomorrow for what we meet tomorrow, quest or pursuit? Pursuit? Okay. I still don't have

the names right. So when tomorrow pursuit meets, your leaders will give you scriptures.

There are six scriptures to pray with for specific things in Richmond that you will

pour your heart into, that you will love and pray. When you drive into Richmond, because

there's almost nobody who doesn't drive into Richmond at least once a week. Richmond seems

to be the place that everybody goes through, unless you're living in Coquitlam or sorry,

Shireen, unless, sorry, I forgot. I just thought there was nobody in Coquitlam, but there is.

So everybody drives through Richmond and you'll find a strange thing happening. As you drive

through Richmond, you will find that you drive slowly and that you drive aware. And you ask

God, can I hear sounds? That you begin to look at people and realize this is a city

that is given to me. When you see a young person, you begin to realize that it is possible

that there'll be many that will come for baptism. That this summer will be a summer that will

be really splashy. Splashy in terms of what we'll do in Richmond and splashy in terms

of the number of people that will be baptized. Why Richmond? I don't know. I don't know.

But it is what God has chosen at present and we'll run with it. Every time you drive, yesterday

at 10 o'clock in the night I had to go to Richmond. And as soon as I crossed the bridge

I was aware that I was in a city that God is saying, hey, let me show you what I can

do when you guys begin to pray for this city. And so does it stop with Richmond? I pray

God no. I pray God that so many are baptized that we'll have another vast army to raise

and that you will be involved in raising them and that it'll spread. I think if I preach

blind I'd be more encouraged. So here are some scriptures that I want you to look at

before you come to the churches on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. One

of them is the one I just showed you. Read them eh? Jonah 4, 9 to 11. It deals with the

heart. Romans 10, 8 to 15. It deals with active feet and words of truth. Acts 26, 16 to 18.

Open eyes. Open the eyes of people so that they go from dark to light. First of all,

open the eyes of people so that they go from dark to light. First of all, open the eyes

of people so that they go from dark to light. Then the heart. Open the eyes of people so

that they go from dark to light. Then the heart. Open the eyes of people so that they

go from dark to light. And the heart. Open the eyes of people so that they go from dark

to light. Then the heart. Open the eyes of people so that they go from dark to light.

And then we do this for three or four weeks and after the retreat we come together and

you will see you pray.

You will see you pray in a way that this church has not prayed, not because of more teaching

but because of practice.

Not because of more teaching but because of the change of heart.

Not because of more teaching but because of love.

You will see you pray differently.

Just as God has brought us to a place in worship now where there is an abandon, where anybody

who comes in sees it and is able to participate in the same way God will do this with, pray.

And then let's assume that this dream, this godly imagination of young and old being baptized

during the summer months, let's imagine for a second that it is real.

I've seen it.

I've seen it at Third Beach and Second Beach and Stanley Park when I came here in 1993.

I'd go and watch.

I'd be in awe as people would come and get baptized.

Just imagine that for a second.

When that begins to happen, we will be in a place where as they come in, you will be

able to give them what you already have.

There's this movie called Jesus Revolution.

It's worth watching.

It's okay.

Yeah.

Greg Laurie, the guy in the movie, is still doing pretty strong.

Yeah, it's a true story.

Any questions?

Any questions?

No?

All good?

Okay.

Let's just, what if he, instead of praying, sang Hear the Sound?

But can you think of Richmond as you sing it?

Yeah?

And if necessary, change the words.

And then as we finish that song, what if the guys were doing music, just sing that chorus

of Open Up the Doors, and you again think of Richmond.

Can that be a joint prayer?

Yeah?

Can you ask God that, Father, can I hear what's happening?

Can you ask God that I can imagine how you rejoiced when I got saved?

I want to be part of that for somebody else.

Can you ask God, Father, compel me, not because of duty, not because I'm a Christian, but

because of love?

Can you ask for that?

Can you ask, can you look at any of those reasons and pick one?

Yeah?

So let's end that way, yeah?

And then tomorrow, day after, and the days after, engage in this.

As you come, take 15 to 30 minutes.

15 minutes is minimum, 30 minutes would be a lot, but try and see if you can begin to

pray using those scriptures.

And you may only be able to do two or three scriptures, but use them.

What's my favorite thing that I want from God?

I'd say, one would be, I want to get back the mentality of seeking, not just saving,

seeking, that's one.

And then the other thing I want to do is hear what God hears.

I want to hear.

And to be able to hear, I must become aware.

Guys, yeah, that's it.

Do you guys want to come back up, Tony?

And do that one song and then go to the chorus of the other one.