Faith for Another

Hey guys. Hello, hello. Okay, so the most unreasonable and the most expensive transfer

that ever occurred in the universe is the exchange of the Lamb of God, His blood for

a people. That's the, it's not just the most expensive, it's the most unreasonable transfer

that ever happened in the history of the universe that the blood of the Lamb of God was given in

exchange of a people that He redeemed, in exchange of a people that He was killing.

Even in soccer or baseball, even sport or hockey, you can eat any pro league. You have teams and

teams buys and they sell players. If you as a team, if you want to buy a player, what happens is

they'll say, okay, I want to buy Josh. Josh is 25 years old. He's got 30 million dollars stacked on

him. I'm like, I'm going to buy Josh. So I have to buy him into my team. I have to not only pay

his wages, so he's very expensive. It's like a million dollar a month. So I have to pay his wages,

plus on top of the wages that I have to pay him, I have to pay a transfer fee to the club from where

I'm buying him. That happens. And then as Josh grows old when he's 35, you don't need him anymore

in the team. So it's free transfer. That's what Prashanth is doing. For the last three years, I've been

playing on his team. Like this is true story. And then this year Prashanth is like, you're not good

anymore because Bishop came along. Ouch. So on a free transfer, he doesn't allow me to play anymore.

But really, if you think about it,

the most expensive and the most unreasonable transfer exchange that ever occurred in the

history of the universe is a bishop, sorry, or a Nick or myself or one of us or all of us have been

purchased, redeemed, bought into the family of God. And in exchange of that was given the blood of the lamp.

If you go to Acts chapter 20 and 28,

Acts 20 · chapter mention

this is God

telling leaders and who were in headship of that community there. He's saying,

pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in whom the Holy Spirit made you overseers

to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Let's book of Acts chapter 20 verse 28.

Acts 20:28

So that's how God is looking at his body. He looks at the body and he says,

every one of us, because the blood of the lamp was shed for a people and for all of us. So when

God looks at us, he looks at us and goes, all of the blood of the lamb was shed for him and for me

and for you and for us and for everyone who believes in him and for others who don't believe

in him just yet. So when you look around, you see the value that God has attributed to me,

the value that God has attributed to each one of us, it's the most expensive transfer that ever was.

The blood of the lamb of God for him in exchange for a redeemed, rescued people.

Now every morning, I want to think about it and I want us to think about it this way,

every morning from the east to the west and the north to the south, every continent, every nation,

every tongue, every tribe, as the song said a few minutes ago, there is the echo from the heaven

over a people crying out, this is my people and that's not just those of us who are here

under this roof, that same hard cry from heaven is for those of them who are outside of these four walls.

It's the same hard cry and that's what God wants us to look at today because over the last week,

God has been talking to me and

this has been on my heart for a few days now. So I want to share this with us in that there is a

hard cry that's God's hard cry that's over all nations, all tribes, all tongue, everyone, those

of us inside here and those of us who haven't known him just yet, it's the same hard cry because the

blood that was shed was not just for me and us, the blood that was shed was for everyone.

The only difference, the only difference is that there are people who haven't recognized that just

yet, we have recognized it and because we have recognized it, we have become part of the family

of God and for those who haven't recognized it, the blood of the lamb was still shed for them,

he was sacrificed for them, they just haven't recognized it just yet. Let's go to Zechariah

Zechariah 8:7

chapter 8 verse 7 and 8, Zechariah chapter 8 verse 7 and 8, if someone can read this that'd be great.

Zechariah 8:7

Zechariah chapter 8, 7 and 8.

Zechariah 8 · chapter mention

This is what the Lord Almighty said, I will save my people from the countries of the East and the West.

I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.

Can you read that again Chris please?

This is what the Lord Almighty said, I will save my people from the countries of the East and the West.

I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.

So that's what we're going to look at today. Jacob has been walking us through Zechariah 8

and the two verses that it talks about and if you haven't read it just yet, read it please because that's what we're going to look at for the first little bit.

There is a heart cry and that's the cry of the Lord and he is saying,

my people, I'm going to rescue them from the East country and I'm going to rescue them from the West country

and I'm going to bring them into the midst of Jerusalem.

That is what I'm going to do. That's my promise for you.

I'm going to do that and that's my heart not just for those of you who are in Jerusalem,

not just for those of you who are part of the community.

My heart is reaching out to everyone and I want these people who haven't just recognized me yet,

I want them to be in my house and I'm going to bring them from the East country.

I'm going to bring them from the North, from the South, from the West and the East and they will be in my church.

They will be part of my family. They will be part of my body and that's God's covenant.

And that's what God is interested in.

And so we're going to look at this over the next few minutes to see,

Father, how do I partner with you if this is your heart for your people?

And as I said, the only difference, and this is important for us,

the only difference is that I have recognized, we have recognized the sacrifice that has happened.

Those who haven't, they just haven't recognized it yet.

That's the only difference.

As soon as they recognize that the blood of the Lamb was shed for them, they become part of the family.

There is no greater sinner and lesser sinner, we know that.

As soon as they recognize the blood that was shed, they become part of the family of God.

Now there is a difference in knowing this and being this.

Because we grew up in church or because we've known God for so long

or because we have read the scripture and we just get it,

it's easy for us to have this in our mind.

It's easy for us to have this in our head as knowledge, but not here in our heart.

So that's the first thing.

It's not enough for us to know this because this is the gospel and we know it.

It's not enough for us to know this.

We have to carry the heart of God.

It's not enough for us to know that there is a people that need redemption.

It's not enough for us to know that I am saved and God has plans for me to use me to reach out to others.

It's not enough for me to know this.

I have to now step one step forward and say, I want to carry your heart God.

God is saying I'm going to reach out, I'm going to bring people into the midst of Jerusalem.

And I'm going to say, you're going to say, yeah, I know that I understand that, but that's not enough.

I want to come closer to you and I want to carry this heart that you have for people.

And I want to live that, this life, carrying this heart.

It's not a daily thing, it's not a weekly thing.

It's every minute, every minute of my life.

I want to carry the heart that God has for his people who haven't recognized him just yet.

So God's plan for us at Acts 29 and God's plan for his sons and daughters is that both intentionally and unconsciously we will carry his heart.

So we have to carry his heart intentionally and as we carry his heart intentionally, we do it unconsciously.

So I don't have to then get up every morning and say, today I'm going to do this.

We start with intention so that it becomes unconscious.

In an unconscious way, we do this all the time.

So God's plan for me and God's plan for us is that we become a people who every day, every minute, all of our lives,

carry his heart intentionally and unconsciously so that God can then use us to bring people who are in the East, West, North, South into Jerusalem and build his church.

And those who hear the cry of God and carry his heart, those are the ones who will create pathways for people to reach back to Jerusalem.

Knowing is not enough and that's the first thing.

Knowing this is not enough for us.

We have to carry his heart and when we carry his heart and we respond to the cry of God for people who are not just saved, not yet saved,

then we become people who create pathways into Jerusalem for others.

We create pathways.

We carry his nature.

We create pathways.

People come because the pathway is being laid out by one, by two, by three, by four, by many.

I'm so encouraged when Diana shared the story she shared because this is exactly what we're going to talk about today.

This is for all of us.

So then I have to know again, not just with my head, but with my heart, that God is doing this and that when I'm in the grocery shop at Superstore buying stuff,

there are people standing in front of me in the line, there are people standing behind me.

When I am at a busy place watching white caps getting hammered, that's still happening.

There are people around me who really, really need God.

And it's something that I'm intentional about, but it's nature to me because I'm carrying God's heart.

That's where we need to be.

And when we do that, we create pathways for people to come into Jerusalem.

Let's go to Exodus chapter 33, verses 7 to 11.

Exodus 33:7–11

Exodus chapter 33, 7 to 11.

Exodus 33 · chapter mention

Can someone read that please?

Exodus 33, 7 to 11.

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting.

And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.

Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up and each would stand at his tent door

and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent.

When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent,

and the Lord would speak with Moses.

And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent,

all the people would rise up and worship each at his tent door.

Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.

When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant, Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart the tent.

Let's draw this.

So we have, this is where Israel lives, and there are lots of tents.

That's a big one, because that's daunt.

It needs more room.

So that's the camp.

What Moses would do is he'd go from here, he'd pitch the tent outside the camp.

And when Moses goes, he goes there, and he has this, as Emily was singing earlier,

he has these face to face meetings with God, face to face.

He's talking with God as a friend.

God is talking back to him as a friend.

And these meetings happen at the tent right here outside of the camp.

And when these meetings happen, this is the difference.

So we've talked about it's not enough knowing it in my mind, in my head.

It is important for me to carry the heart of God.

And this is the difference.

So you see there is a camp, and then Moses goes out, pitches the tent outside,

and he has face to face meetings with God here in this tent.

And while that's happening, there are people, Israelites, here in the camp,

they look at Moses from the entrance of their tent.

So from here, I'll be looking at Moses, seeing Moses is going,

and I'm going to wait here at the tent.

And as soon as I see the cloud of pillar coming down,

I'm going to fall on my knees and I'm going to worship God.

So this kept happening.

You have the people here at the camp, and then Moses goes in.

But the thing is, Joshua, as we know, he went with Moses,

and Joshua has seen these conversations that Moses has had with God.

So it's no surprise that as soon as Moses is out of the picture,

then there is a Joshua, and Joshua knows the heart of God.

How does he know the heart of God?

Because he has seen and heard what God has been talking about his people

back at the camp to Moses, because he's here.

He's looking and hearing and seeing all that conversation here

about a people who live here.

And so it's natural for Joshua to then carry the heart of God

because he has heard it, he has seen it,

he has heard what God thinks about his people.

And in chapter 33, this is just after the golden calf was made,

so it starts off there, and then it doesn't end there.

Joshua continued to carry the heart of God.

So we are then the difference between head knowledge

and the difference between...

And again, whenever the people wanted to go to the tent, they could.

So you could, any time you're seeking God, you could go to the tent.

The second verse, I think, says that.

So here is the difference, and this is why I picked up these verses.

The difference between...

The difference between knowing this in my head

and carrying the heart of God

is knowing this just in my head

and having face-to-face meetings with God.

That's the difference.

The only way I can carry the heart of God

is if I have face-to-face meetings with God

and continue, start to share the heart of God for other people.

So it's not enough for me then to have this.

It's important for me to have face-to-face meetings

so that I start, continue to carry the heart of God,

not just for me, but for others.

So to summarize this, we are then called to be carriers of his heart.

We have his spirit living inside of us.

It's different from the days of Moses.

We have his spirit residing in me, living in me.

And so we are to be carriers of his heart

so that it doesn't matter if it's Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday,

7 a.m., 8 p.m., 10 p.m., 12 midnight, 3 a.m.

It doesn't matter.

I know intentionally and unconsciously

that God is bringing a people from the West Country and the East Country,

from the North and the South, into Jerusalem.

And that's his heart, and I continue to carry his heart for other people.

So that's the start.

That's where we are building everything from.

So next thing, we have to be a carrier of God's spirit.

So next thing, Jacob has always taught about first principles.

Whenever, if you go back and look at Genesis,

there are things that happen for the first time.

And there is much for us to discover there,

because that's the first time it was mentioned.

And God has to show us more there, so keep digging and you'll find more.

So I've been reading Luke, the Gospel of Luke, over the last few days.

And in the story that surrounds the birth of Jesus,

there are a few things that happen.

We know Mary, we know Joseph, we know Elizabeth, we know Zechariah,

we know the shepherds, we know the angels.

These are stories we know very well.

But almost as a first principle, as the New Testament story begins,

there are two people whose names are mentioned.

Simeon and Anna.

They are basically nobodies.

They don't have a huge role in the story that's happening.

But there is a Simeon, and Simeon is in the temple.

And Jesus is being brought to the temple by his parents.

And Simeon knows in his heart that the promise that he has been waiting for is here.

And there is one thing that is told about Simeon, in Luke chapter 1 or 2, I think.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

There is one thing that's told about Simeon.

It says, Simeon was righteous and devout, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting for the consolation of Israel.

Simeon was righteous, Simeon was devout, but he was waiting for this to happen.

Because see, it was not about him.

It was about a people and God put in his heart, and he carried the heart of God, saying,

I am waiting, God, when is this happening?

When is the rescue of a people that you put together on earth happening?

I'm going to wait for this, I'm going to wait for this, I'm going to wait for this, and here comes Jesus.

And as soon as that happens, he knows Jesus is here, and he is excited, he goes and prays and blesses Jesus.

That's one thing.

And then there is Anna.

Again, Anna is a prophetess, she is a widow, she has, there is one thing that's told about Anna in the scripture.

It says, she would not depart from the temple.

And again, she did not depart from the temple because she had personal reasons, that's good.

But it was outside of that, again, she was waiting for the redemption of Israel.

And it burned her heart.

It burned Simeon's heart.

And so they've been waiting and waiting and waiting so that there would come a day when the Messiah would come and things would change.

Why are we looking at Simeon and Anna?

Because that's the beginning of the story that we continue to live in.

And God chose two people like this because all they did was they had the heart of God for Israel.

And that's God's cry over our lives as well, that I will have, that we will have the heart of God for others.

We will carry that.

We will live with that every day of our lives, intentionally and unconsciously.

So there are three things.

And we'll finish with those three things.

So the sacrilege, chapter 8, 7 and 8, I'm going to summarize it.

Let's say there is a cry of God that says, my people, that's his cry.

He says, I'm their God.

He saves them and they respond and say, yeah, you are our God.

So that's sacrilege, chapter 7 and 8.

God first cries out.

He first says, you're my people, you're my people.

I am your God.

And then they recognize it.

And in response, they say, yes, you are our God.

So this thing is what God is doing.

And we are part of the story.

I am part of the story.

You're part of the story.

All of us are part of this story.

Diana was this week part of the story.

And this is all we're going to talk about today.

And just to summarize this, I'm going to say if we have a topic for what we are looking at, it's going to be summarized as faith for another.

Faith for another.

Romans chapter 12 talks about the fact that each of us, we have a measure of faith.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

And may suggest us that that measure of faith is not just for us.

That measure of faith is enough for those around us.

And so this happened.

This thing happening.

My people, I am their God.

And I think it's a lot of people responding here.

God happens when the people of God operates, lives every day with faith, not just for themselves, but with faith for another.

Because the measure of faith I have and the measure of faith you have is more.

It's more than what I need and more than what you need.

It is for another.

We can almost say that the only economy where the more you spend, the richer you become is God's economy.

Because in God's economy, the currency is faith.

The more I spend, the richer I become.

It doesn't reduce.

I am not deprived of the faith currency.

The more I spend, the richer I become.

The more I spend, the richer I become in God's economy.

So this faith is not just to be used for myself because I carry the heart of God.

My faith is for another.

So we're going to look at three keys to being equipped for encounters that await us in the world like Diana was talking about.

Just three keys that will equip us for encounters that await us in the world.

The first one, and I talked about it already, but

first one, carry his heart.

So another way to understand this.

My face to face with God equips me for the encounters that await me.

My face to face with God equips me for the encounters that await me.

It's almost like one of the ways I understand it.

My cup runs over, my cup runs over so that what's over and above and I don't need is for others.

It's more than I need.

My cup runs over.

I need what I have in my faith, but there is more in my faith that I can expect that I can use up for other people.

And so I carry his heart, number one.

And there are so many scriptural references we can use for face to face conversations like we were singing.

The best one is look at the life of Jesus.

Jesus would depart to desolate places and he would have conversations with God.

And that's where everything comes from.

My relationship, my face to face with God is from where everything is driven.

And again, talking about the head knowledge and carrying in this heart.

God is not worthy of praises.

God is not worthy of pursuit.

God is not worthy of devotion.

He is worthy of complete devotion.

He is worthy of highest praise.

He is worthy of unadulterated pursuit.

And I mean, this has been this line that God's been using that in my mind, in my heart to show me that, man, like, there is so much more here because praise and devotion and pursuit.

Sometimes we like praise, devotion, pursuit.

God is not just worthy of that.

God is worthy of highest praise.

God is worthy of complete devotion.

God is worthy of unadulterated, poor, pure pursuit.

That's what God is worthy of.

And I mean, this thing has been on my heart because I find it difficult to break away from devotion to complete devotion.

What is devotion versus complete devotion?

And that's a journey that I'll be on.

That's a journey that we'll be on, where we'll be like, Father, devotion is not enough.

Praise is not enough.

Pursuit is not enough.

I have to pursue you.

I have to pursue you that this is an unadulterated, pure pursuit.

I have to give you praise.

And it's not just praise.

It's the highest praise.

I have to be devout to you, but it's not being devoted to you.

It's you have complete because complete devotion because you've already offered.

That is what we mean by carrying his heart.

We're more and more, more and more.

God is saying, this is not enough.

This is not enough.

This is not enough.

Come one step closer.

Come two steps closer.

This is where I want you to be because I want you to not just know this.

I want you to carry my heart for people.

Let's read Luke chapter five, 17 to 20.

The gospel of Luke chapter five was a 17 to 20.

So we're going to look at three stories.

This is the first story.

What are we talking about?

Do we have faith for another?

Can someone read that?

One day it was teaching Pharisees and teachers of law,

what comes from every village, valley, and from Judea and Ruth when we're sitting here,

and the power of the Lord was present for him to feel sick.

So men came carrying a parable on a mat and tried to take it to the Holy State before Jesus.

When the children of Michael waited for Jesus because of the crowd,

they went up on the roof and the Lord had already wrapped through the tiles

and in the middle of the crowd, prayed before Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, friend, your sins are forgiven.

That's good. Thank you.

So that's the first story, a story all of us know.

There are four men, and I love the fact that,

number one, this story is the first story in the gospel of Luke

where you see someone being healed on account of someone else's faith.

The paralytic is being healed not on account of his faith.

He's being healed on account of someone else's faith.

And this is the first story in the gospel of Luke where this happens.

So again, going back, there is so much more that God is showing us from the story.

I love the fact that the four people who are bringing this paralytic to Jesus,

their names we don't know.

We don't know where they come from.

Typically, we look at all the gospels, you know where people come from.

It says this is where they're from.

So in here, it doesn't say where exactly they come from.

They are complete unknowns, and here they are, they're carrying on their shoulders a bed,

and on this bed is the paralytic.

He probably cannot move at all because I can think culturally.

I would think that really, Eastern culture is very similar to Asia and India and stuff like that.

If he can move somewhere, man, like you won't be on a bed.

They'll probably just carry you like this.

If you're on the bed and that's how you're being moved, he probably can't move much at all.

I don't know if he could speak.

Maybe he could, maybe he could not.

But one thing we know, he didn't have enough faith perhaps.

But his friends had enough faith.

And think about that conversation.

They would be like going to him and be saying, I've heard about this Jesus.

He's a miracle worker.

I saw him doing miracles here.

Man, we're here to kind of take you to Jesus.

We're going to put you on a bed.

We're going to take you to where Jesus is.

Because I believe with what I saw and with what I experienced that Jesus can heal.

And they put him on a bed.

They take him.

And here's the thing.

In the story, it talks about the struggles they have to go through to get to Jesus.

Because it's very crowded again.

In the Middle Eastern context, when you think of even the room where it's crowded,

don't think that there is any space.

There would be no space.

Like Jesus may be here and there may be people right here.

There would be no space at all.

So think of them carrying this guy on the bed, coming to the entrance of the house, saying,

we'd like to come in.

People would be like, are you crazy?

Like there is no room inside.

How are you going to carry a bed inside?

It's just not going to happen.

But what I like about the story is that while these guys, while these four people are carrying this man,

what they are doing is they are carrying the heart of God for that man.

It's by no chance may I suggest that in the story they have to carry this man on a bed.

It's by no chance may I suggest that this is happening because God is showing,

God is saying that, hey, my, your faith that has to be used for others.

The first step is that you carry my heart.

And in carrying the bed, so to speak, it's almost for me like they are carrying the heart for God,

for that man in their journey to where Jesus was.

We'll stop there for that.

Carrying his heart.

Second.

Actually, I'll share a story.

So this was maybe two weeks ago, a friend, two, three weeks ago, a friend of mine and I'm going to be chatting

and he's 50, 60 years old and he's been having a hard time with his job situation.

And he says, I'm tired.

I'm tired that I have to prove people that I'm worthy of a job.

I'm tired of doing this.

I have everywhere to go, even in my current job, I have to prove to people that I'm good.

I'm tired of doing this.

We had this conversation and sitting down, I told them, I'm so convinced that God cares.

And I'm so convinced that if you tell God like this is the job I want, he can give you that job where you don't have to prove it anymore.

God is able. Why?

Because I'm so convinced that he loves you enough.

I'm convinced about this and let's pray.

Let's pray and see what happens.

So as soon as I got back from India, I got a Monday, I get a phone call and this friend says, Hey, I got a job.

And the job is so good that I went in for the interview and they interviewed me.

And guess what?

I asked them if they need references and they said they don't need references.

And this is the thing, because I've been like trying to prove people that I'm worthy.

And here comes a job that God is giving and God is saying that, Hey man, I don't need your references.

I'm going to give me a job without references.

Why? Because this is what you've been asking for.

You've been asking for a job where you don't have to prove yourself.

Guess what? Here is a job.

Why? Because I love you.

And this is what we are doing where we create pathways for God, pathways for others to Jerusalem so that they can discover the heart of God more and more.

Carrying his heart.

I'm so glad again that you shared that story, Diana.

Because even in Diana's story, what happens is there's one thing she's sharing because that's what she knows about God.

And she shares that.

And we sometimes don't know the power of God's stories.

We sometimes don't know the power of scripture, the power of truth, which can set people's lives free.

There's so much to this and that we don't have we don't need any extra words.

We don't need carefully thought out, very articulate words and philosophies.

It's the simplicity of the gospel and the simplicity of the truth that sets people free.

So that's carrying his heart.

Why don't you share your story really quickly?

The story that you told me about when you went to UBC and met with a friend.

Well, yeah.

So here's the story.

Okay.

Yeah, as Derek was saying this week, this past week, I went to school actually for another reason.

But it was just amazing how God just connected me with this guy who I hadn't seen for a long time.

He's such a friend.

His name is Nathan.

And when we met, Prashan knows it.

Yeah.

We met, we were just talking and I didn't really intend to say that I'm sharing the gospel,

but just by telling him, you know what, this is what God has been doing in my life.

And you know, just sharing, just to say God is good, you know, he's amazing.

Over lunch, you know, we sat down, we ate some lunch.

And yeah, afterwards he said, you know, it was so amazing.

It was so good that we met because I needed my spirituality to be revamped.

You know, and I was like, wow, God is so amazing.

Even when you don't plan it.

Yeah, he just does his work.

Yeah, he does his work.

Thank you.

And God is doing this every day.

Because there are so many people that we know about that we don't know about,

but he's just waiting for his stories to be released, for his truths to be released.

And all we're doing is, it's easy.

We're the four men carrying his heart.

They don't know our names sometimes.

They don't know where we come from.

Okay, the only thing we care about is that we carry his heart so that others can see it.

Second thing, carrying his heart is not enough.

We have to proclaim the truth.

Proclamation happens not just in words.

Proclamation happens in actions of life and in words and through words.

So as I carry God's heart, I live out in action the heart of God.

So proclamation doesn't happen just in words.

It happens in action and in words.

So we won't look at the story like we did the first story.

But if you need scriptural reference, this is the second story.

It's from Luke chapter 7, 1 to 10.

Luke 7 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 7, 1 to 10.

Luke 7 · chapter mention

This is the story of the centurion.

We know the story again.

The centurion, he has a servant.

And again, similar to the first story, there are two things that I really love about the centurion.

Number one, the centurion doesn't go, of course, to Jesus.

He sends the elders of the Jews to go to Jesus.

And the elders come.

And even though the centurion did not ask the people he sent to tell this to Jesus,

they tell one thing about the centurion to Jesus.

They say, this guy loves our nation and he loves people.

And he has a servant who needs help.

So that's the first thing we know about the centurion.

And this is verse 5.

So Luke 7, verse 5, I'll read it.

Luke 7:5

This is those who were sent by the centurion.

They said, for he, the centurion, loves our nation.

And he's the one who built us our synagogue.

To summarize the story that is in verses 6 to 10, the servant is healed because the centurion says from where he was.

And he sends this message to Jesus.

He says, hey, there are people under my authority.

When I ask him to, when I ask someone to go somewhere, they'll go there.

When I ask someone to come, they'll come.

They'll do what I say because I have authority.

And hey, Jesus, I know that you have authority.

And so I know that if you say, be healed, my servant will be healed.

There's another thing in verse 1, I think of Luke chapter 7 that talks about this guy's, this centurion's relationship with the servant.

Luke 7 · chapter mention

It says the servant was highly valued by the centurion, highly valued by the centurion.

And the reason we carry his heart and the reason we proclaim the truth is not just because we have to carry the heart and because we have to proclaim the truth.

It goes back to where we started.

The highest, the greatest exchange that ever, ever happened, the most expensive and the most unreasonable exchange that ever happened in the history of our universe was the blood of the slain lamb in exchange for a people.

And so as I carry his heart, as I proclaim the truth, like the centurion, as I highly value people I know, because they are highly valuable.

On account of the proclamation of the truth, both in actions and in words, God works in other people's life.

And that creates pathways for people to come back to Jerusalem.

That creates, in other words, pathways for people to come back to the father they didn't know they had.

Another scripture to go along with that is Zechariah chapter 8, 16.

Zechariah 8 · chapter mention

Zechariah chapter 8, 16.

Zechariah 8 · chapter mention

These are the things that you shall, this is God saying, these are the things that you shall do.

Speak the truth to one another.

Speak the truth to one another.

And when we proclaim the truth, and even as I was preparing for this, this is a story from another time.

I got tested in this last week.

Because the first point that I had under proclamation of the truth is, we cannot proclaim the truth if we fear man.

We cannot proclaim the truth if we fear man.

And what do we mean by fearing man?

It's number one, the fear that, how am I going to look when I say this?

Number two, there may be fear that, are they going to be offended when I say this?

And both those things will be huge hindrances to us proclaiming the truth.

So there cannot be fear of man in this.

And that's what face to face with God does.

Because faith to faith with God doesn't just give us, doesn't just have us carrying his heart.

It also gives us the confidence, the boldness like a Peter had.

It is one thing, it is one thing for Peter to say, Jesus, I'm going to die for you and then betray you.

And it is another thing for Peter in the Book of Acts, Chapter two, to stand boldly and proclaim that this is the risen Christ.

So it's one thing. And that's why carrying his heart is not enough.

We have to carry his heart and we have to proclaim the truth.

And when we proclaim the truth, one of the things that we need help with from God is that we will not fear man.

And second thing, all of that is done rooted in love.

All of the words we are saying, everything that we do, it's because we love them genuinely.

Because this is the only way and God loves them.

And I'm saying it not just because I have to say it.

I'm saying it in love.

Here is a scripture that I really love.

Can you go there? Mark, Chapter 16, verse 20.

Mark 16:20

That's the last chapter in Mark. Mark, Chapter 16, verse 20.

Mark 16:20

Here you go.

Ready? This is what it says.

So the Great Commission has just been given.

After the Great Commission, the last verse of Luke, Chapter 16 says,

Luke 16 · chapter mention

And they went out and preached everywhere.

So they carried his heart and they proclaimed the truth.

But here's what I love about this.

And they preached while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.

The Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.

So we are not working alone.

We are working with God because that's what we've been learning from Jacob over the last couple of years.

That we are building his church.

And so we are not building his church by ourselves.

Jesus is building his church.

And as Jesus is building his church, I am, we are partnering Jesus in what he is doing.

And this is the great thing that all we have to do is carry his heart and proclaim the truth.

Because Jesus worked with them.

And Jesus confirmed the message they were saying by accompanying signs.

And Jesus will do it.

Third.

And the last one.

Let's go to Zechariah.

Zechariah Chapter 3, Verse 5.

Zechariah 3:5

Render judgment.

If you go to Zechariah Chapter 3, Verse 5, Render.

Zechariah 3:5

R-E-N-D-E-R, Render.

Sorry, not Zechariah.

Sathaniah.

Sathaniah Chapter 3, Verse 5.

Sathaniah Chapter 3, Verse 5.

It says, The Lord within her is righteous.

He does no injustice.

Every morning he shows forth his justice.

Each dawn he does not fail.

But the unjust knows no shame.

Every morning.

We know that every morning there is mercy.

There are new mercies.

But every morning, along with that line, along with that line that all of us know that every morning there are new mercies.

God wants to remind us of something more to that.

Every morning, not only do we have new mercies from God.

Every morning, God shows forth his justice.

Every morning, God shows forth his justice.

And so it's not enough then to carry his heart.

It's not enough to just proclaim the truth.

We stand on the other side of the cross.

And because we stand on the other side of the cross,

God has given us the authority.

God has given us the calling that we can render judgment, judgments here on earth on behalf of him.

And so what's the story we can look at?

Let's go to the Book of Acts, Chapter 27, 34 and 35.

Acts 27 · chapter mention

The Book of Acts, Chapter 27.

Acts 27 · chapter mention

Did I say 24 or 25?

34 and 35, sorry.

Again, we won't look at the whole story, but this is the summary of what's happening.

Paul, he's on a ship.

There are other people with him.

Now talking about faith for another, this is going from faith for one, from faith for one to faith for 274 people.

Because on this ship are 276 people.

So it's not enough to carry this heart.

It's not enough to proclaim the truth.

God now has given us the authority to render judgment.

What does that mean in the context of this story?

In the context of this story, they're going to sink and they're going to die.

And when you read down to the verses that follow, there are some that know swimming,

and there are some that do not know swimming, like Don.

There are some that know swimming, there are some that don't know swimming.

So this is not a story where, oh yeah, you know, the ship wrecked and we would just go back to the shore.

No, people would die.

And Paul is sent to go to Rome.

And there is an angel that appears to Paul, because initially in the story, Paul told the centurion, another centurion in this case,

Paul told the centurion what to do, but he wouldn't listen to what Paul was saying.

And then Paul had a dream, and in the dream, God said, Paul, this is what you need to do.

And Paul then renders judgment on behalf of 274 or 276 people and says these things.

Therefore, I urge you to take some food, for it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.

And when he said these things, he took bread, giving thanks to God in the presence of all he brokered and began to eat.

Beautiful, beautiful.

There are 274 people on this ship, and they don't know God, and they think some of them are going to die.

And here is Paul, who just heard from God what God is going to do with the 274.

So it's not just faith for another. This is faith for 274 people on that ship.

And God is saying, hey, they won't die.

And then Paul talks to them and tells them not a single hair on your head is going to fall off.

You are not going to die. And guess what? I'm going to break bread.

I'm going to break bread. What a great time to break bread, showing that, hey, the reason I'm doing this,

the reason I'm set to wrong, and the reason I can tell you that not a single hair will fall off because the judgment had already happened.

The lamb was slain and on my behalf because I have faith for you, because I have faith for 274 of you on this ship.

You are not going to die. And he says that. And none of them perished that day.

So it's not enough to carry his heart. It's not enough to proclaim the truth.

God is inviting us to render judgment on his behalf because he has already paid the price.

Someone may be in sin. Someone may be in sin. They may be in deep sin.

And that's maybe the reason why they are there.

But God is saying, you now have the authority to go to him and present to him.

Carry my heart as you go to him so that you're not just talking from your head, but you're talking from my heart.

And then you proclaim the truth. You say the truth because you don't fear him.

You don't fear others. You proclaim what I have put in you in your ways, simple ways, not articulate.

Doesn't matter. You just say it the way you know it, because my spirit is at work with you and my spirit will do what he will do.

And my spirit will make the truth be revealed to them and their eyes will open.

And hey, now it's not enough to just proclaim the truth because you have faith in you, not just for yourself.

You have faith in you for others as well. Like Paul had for 274 people.

Like Paul then had for the whole of Rome. You have faith in you for others.

And therefore, on my behalf, because I did this on the cross, go now and render judgment.

Because the lamb has been slain. His blood has been shed. You don't have to worry.

He has taken the judgment. He has died on behalf of this sinner.

And this sinner can now live because he, like you, is one of my people.

The only difference is that he hasn't recognized it just yet.

And I am sending you there so that he can recognize it.

We'll finish with one last verse.

This is Mark, chapter 16, verse 3.

Mark 16:3

But in the context of everything we've been hearing, I like this story too.

Because in this story, these women are going to the tomb.

And in the tomb, they're going there because they're hoping to see Jesus who is buried there.

They're hoping to see him who is dead. They believe.

And there they are on their way to this dark place, this tomb.

There is one question that they ask themselves. Who can roll away the stone?

Who can roll away that large stone that we saw a couple days ago?

Who can roll that away? Who will roll that away?

Because we are women. We won't get help from anyone there.

Who will roll that stone away? If I'm to read it, it says, Mark, chapter 16, verse 3.

Mark 16:3

Who can roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?

And the answer is Jesus already has.

Jesus already has. The large stone has been rolled back.

And as we go into the world for God encounters so that others can have God encounters,

we carry his heart, we proclaim the truth, we render judgment,

knowing that the stone has been rolled back, knowing that there are people in dark places.

However, in reality, their chains are broken.

They have to recognize it. And as soon as they recognize it, they know that their chains are broken.

And they become part of the kingdom. So we'll wrap up there.

If you want to pray with me.

Father, we thank you for your grace.

Father, we thank you. We thank you that this is your heart for all of us.

And thank you that the only thing that qualifies us is that your Spirit lives inside of us.

And your Spirit is in me. It's inside of all of us right here.

So we are fully qualified.

There is no question of being unqualified anymore.

Because all of us are qualified to do this.

I thank you, Father. And I say yes to the fact that I don't carry your heart well enough.

I want to carry your heart more.

And Father, that's my cry. That's our cry.

That when I speak, I don't want words to flow out from my mouth that comes from my head.

When I speak, I want words to flow out from my mouth that comes from your heart.

Father, when I speak, I want to proclaim your truth.

I don't want to be afraid of men. I want to be rooted in love.

I want to proclaim your truth so that they will know the one who I already know.

And Father, I know that this faith you've given me is not just for myself.

This faith that you've given me is for another, is for another 274.

It's for cities. It's for nations.

Because I believe and we believe that you have called us, Father, so that we will have faith for nations.

Faith for cities. We believe that you will work and you will change.

People will fall down on their knees and they'll say, Jesus is the only one.

He's the risen one. We have faith, Father.

Give us faith more so that we'll have a heart that carries it, that we will proclaim it,

and we'll render judgment because the Lamb has been slain.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.