Restore

series called Restored.

Wanna start a new series called Restored.

Does anyone know where Derek hides the pens?

Pardon?

Oh, his brother should know it's not necessary, so sorry.

You know where it is, Marcus?

Yeah, I think they're in the right.

Thanks.

Yeah, of all the places.

That's enough?

Yeah, that's enough.

Okay, so starting a new series called Restored.

Yeah, kinda excited about this.

And this is just the intro.

So if you could think of God having a master plan,

then this is what God's master plan has been

for the last little while.

And his master plan is, I, God, am bringing,

I, God, am bringing back,

I, God, am bringing the world back,

I, God, am bringing the world back.

Into a forgiven relationship with myself,

into a forgiven relationship with myself.

Each line that I write today is so potent

that I have been going over these notes

without exaggeration about 10 or 11 times

and I still can't wrap my head around it.

Why am I telling you that?

Because if you can spend time wrapping your head around it,

it'll really help the church.

So write, perhaps this is one of those times

when you can write and learn,

because sometimes that's easier.

I, God, am bringing, if God has a master plan

that he's been engaged in for the last while, it is this.

That I, God, am bringing the world back

into a forgiven relationship with myself.

And I'm putting away, or setting aside,

and I'm putting away

everything that alienates,

that alienates or makes an enemy of man.

Alienates or makes

man an enemy.

And in the process, I give multiple opportunities

for people to respond.

I don't think he calls us folks.

For people, or maybe he does, people to respond.

So that's his master plan,

and that has been what he's been doing for a while.

Second Corinthians 5, 17 to 20,

speaks of it as not reckoning

or counting their sins against them.

And so, sorry, I'll repeat these lines a few times,

but the master plan of God for the last little while

has been, I, God, am bringing the world

back into a forgiven relationship with myself.

With myself, put in a with there.

And I'm putting away everything that alienated them,

that was meant, that caused enmity.

I'm putting it away, and I'm giving man

multiple opportunities to respond.

This is God's plan.

Now here's what God wants of the church

in terms of this plan.

God's plan for the church calls us

to be a microcosm of this.

If this is God's plan, he wants the church

or the people of God

to be a microcosm

and a demonstration

of what a people who are forgiven and restored look like.

That's how the church fits into this plan.

God's plan calls for the church

to become a microcosm of and a demonstration

of this cosmic reconciliation that he has worked

through the death of Christ.

All things have been made new.

The old has passed away, the new has come.

Creation groans for the day when even all

that has been subjected to futility will become new.

That the sons of God will be manifested.

That the old heaven and earth will pass away.

Everything will become new.

But while we wait for that, God's plan is,

I've been calling a people to myself,

and let's just take this body now.

I've been calling a people to myself

who on Sundays meet under this roof

and I want them to be a microcosm of or a sample of

and a demonstration of what it would look like

when a people are bought, washed, forgiven, and restored.

What would that look like?

That is God's intent with the church

and it isn't a new intent.

If you go to Exodus 16, sorry, Exodus 19,

verse three and verse six, it says that

God is speaking to Israel ages ago,

thousands and thousands of years ago.

He says to them, listen, I bore you up on eagle's wings

and I brought you out of the bondage of Egypt

so that I could call you to myself as a kingdom of priests.

And then in 1 Peter 2, 9, he says

that, but you are a peculiar people,

a holy nation, a royal priesthood,

so that you may show forth my praises.

The whole intent is, can I present to the world

a microcosm or a sample that they can come and taste

and see, ah, so this is what a community

of believers looks like.

And that's why I'm calling this series Restored,

because what are the characteristics of a restored people?

The problem is the world is looking

or seeking to find God's address

and they're not finding it,

cause he is invisible in the people

that he happily resides in.

And the people that he resides in expect them

to come to the church for two hours on a Sunday to find him.

And that ain't gonna work.

People are seeking, eh, people are seeking God,

but they're not finding him in the community

that he actually resides in 24-7.

He's invisible amongst them.

And so they are expected then to come for two hours

to Pilgrim at 1.40 on a Sunday,

which is a highly inconvenient time for anybody on any day,

particularly Sundays.

When God has always desired the church

to be a microcosm and a demonstration

of what a people who are forgiven and restored look like.

Any questions before we call?

People won't come into a building to find him

when he actually resides in a community,

but unfortunately he's invisible.

Any questions before we call?

Hey, Marcus, any chance that you can locate the eraser too?

It was?

Yeah.

Any questions guys?

This is super important to understand, eh,

that this is the master plan.

Okay.

So to accomplish God's plan, to accomplish God's plan,

the church must first show,

the church must first show what it is.

The church must first show what it is,

as in we are a restored,

community made up of,

community of people,

you know, restored community of God,

or community of people, whatever the word be.

The church must first show what it is,

and then the church must

show what it does.

What it does is good works.

So if you want to accomplish this plan,

if God wants to accomplish this plan through Acts 29,

Acts 29 will have to first show the world around it

what it is.

We will have to show the world that this is the sample

or the taste of a restored, redeemed people of God.

This is what we taste like.

This is the demonstration of all the things

that were accomplished when Jesus said it is finished.

Come into any of our houses,

check any of our marriages,

check any of our parenting,

check any of our widows, our singles, our spinsters,

our divorces, and you will see

what it is when a restored people

who are in relationship with the living God are like,

this must be what I aim for that we aim for.

When God was taking Israel to the wilderness,

his intent was, can I show them

that this is what a nation chosen by God looks like?

Doesn't matter where I take them,

this is what a nation chosen by God looks like.

And so that is the focus of God,

that should be the focus of the one

who's leading the church,

and that should be the focus of the church itself.

First, what we are, and second, what we do.

And this is where Jesus actually says,

and we always claim the scripture for ourselves

when actually Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus,

and he says, you are God's workmanship created for?

Good works in Christ.

We quickly take it and make it our own little purpose,

because we live in a highly individualized Christian society.

Sure, your good works and purpose is important,

but it is so insignificant

if it isn't part of the larger picture.

And so we are God's workmanship,

we are God's workmanship prepared for good works

before the foundations of the earth.

First, the church must show who we are,

what it is that we are, and second, what it is we do.

I mean, when you actually look at it,

what does a restored community look like?

What should a restored community look like?

Just imagine these things,

I'm just throwing out a few things.

Do we still have a problem with forgiveness,

with being forgiven, not even forgiveness?

Do we still have a problem with being forgiven?

We sing these songs, but when we do things wrong,

how do we handle guilt and sin?

How do we handle being forgiven?

How about knowing the Father

and behaving like sons and daughters?

How far have we gotten in that?

What does a grace-filled life look like?

What does Spirit-Empowered mean for Acts 29?

What is it to be living the life

of the Holy Spirit here on earth?

What does servanthood look like?

What does joy look like?

How well do we process things of the world, of life,

and of all other things through the word?

How much does the word affect the way we think?

How about signs and miracles?

How are we doing in that?

These are characteristics of a people

that have been restored and have a living relationship with God.

What it is must first be presented

before we indulge in good works,

because what we do normally is head for good works,

but we forget that there is another thing

that is more important, which is what,

or what the community should become like.

Christ will never use the church as a tool.

We keep saying that church is a primary vehicle

that Christ wants to use on the earth.

God never used Jesus as a primary vehicle or a tool.

Jesus simply loves the church.

He will never use the work.

He will never use the church as a tool

to accomplish his tasks.

He is so interested in us becoming a certain kind of people

before he will use us for good works.

Ephesians 4, 11 to 17 talks about this

again and again and again,

that we may attain the full stature of Christ.

What does this relationship of a restored people

with the living God look like?

How do I, I can't even say I, because it has to be us.

How do we, do we walk as ones forgiven?

I mean, there's that song, what's it called?

I then shall live, and I shall live again.

I will never walk again.

I will never walk again.

I will never walk again.

I will never walk again.

What's it called?

I then shall live as one who's been forgiven.

What does that look like?

How much guilt and shame and fear do we carry?

That's just basic 101.

I remember I had these huge debts

till about eight or nine years ago.

And I remember going to this lady's house

and she used to keep a tab of all the money

that I had to pay them back.

And this was in the other church I used to be at.

And finally one day, I paid off the last dollar

and she called me home.

I didn't even know that I'd paid the whole thing up.

And so she and her husband called me home

and she pulled out this paper and showed me

that I'd paid everything off, I'd paid extra.

And she said, Jacob, just wanted to call you

so that we can tear this up together.

And as she tore it up, you didn't know the relief I felt

at a debt being completely paid off.

I then shall live as one who's been forgiven.

I'll walk with joy knowing that my debts are paid.

That alone would make this community look different.

The way we handle guilt, shame, fear, pain

is still lacking.

My hope is that over the next few weeks,

we can try and understand that a restored community

should look a certain way so that it becomes a sample,

so that someone can lick the ice cream and say,

aha, so that's vanilla.

Which I dislike anyways.

That should be what it is.

Both a demonstration and a microcosm.

This was what Paul was trying to do

when he was writing his epistles to the different churches

saying, church, you've got to be this way.

Most of his letters would be what?

You've been rescued from an old way.

This is the new way of living.

Put on Christ.

Parents, this is the way you need to behave.

Young people, this is the way you need to behave.

Old people, this is the way you need to behave.

Marriages, this is the way you need to behave.

Servants, this is the way you need to behave.

He actually used to say old people in a nicer way.

He had these segments for everybody,

and then he would say,

this is how you overcome the devil too.

And then he would end up with,

if you're suffering now,

know that these sufferings are temporary

because there is a new life waiting.

His intent was always,

can I build a community here in Ephesus,

here in Lystra, here in Derby, here in Colossus,

so that anyone comes and tastes and they'll know,

this is such a cool alternative to what Caesar is offering.

And it starts, surprisingly not with the individual.

It starts as a church,

then it trickles down to each family,

and then it trickles down to the individual.

We've got it in our heads that this is a democracy,

so it starts from the person and builds itself up.

It never builds itself up from one person.

Because we've relied so heavily on,

let's start with the individual and build up.

This is why we only have superstars.

Forgiveness.

How about righteousness?

What does righteous living look like?

What does spirit-empowered living look like?

I'm not talking about one person.

I'm not talking about a Diana or a Sue

or a Dano or a Aaron.

No, I'm talking about what does it look like

when a whole sample can be taken?

I mean, the cool thing with taking water

from four different parts of the ocean

is that the composition of the water

you take in four different buckets will be the same.

And if you think it's not, don't argue,

because I'm not scientific and I might lose the argument.

But basically, if you pull out water

from four different parts of the ocean,

you'll find that they all have the same composite.

Why?

Because that's the way it is.

And the earth is flat.

So,

so what does it look like when,

Chad taught about this at the women's conference,

and it is such an important point.

Guys, what sanctifies us is the word.

What sanctifies us is the word,

meaning what separates us is the word of God.

How does the word of God separate us?

The word of God separates us this way.

We become a people who process everything through the word.

Not through Jacob's interpretation,

not through some organization,

not through Greek, not through Hebrew,

but by looking at the tapestry of scripture,

we realize, ah, shucks,

this is how we need to think about this particular thing.

We start processing the world, the things of life,

and things around us through the word.

And the moment we do that,

we become a people who are united,

set apart by the word.

And here's what Jesus says will happen if you do that.

The world will hate you.

Because the world hates anything and anyone and anybody

who does not think like them.

Sanctify them by the word, Jesus says,

and then as he goes on, he says,

and the world will hate you,

because you have started processing and thinking

along the lines of the word,

not along some of your own fancy interpretations.

Suddenly, it doesn't matter whether you're living

in India, Africa, South America, or Canada,

the word applies the same.

What does a restored community look like

in terms of sacrificially loving?

What does it look like?

Ah, here's another one, fear banishing love.

What does a community look like

when they know they are perfectly loved

and there is no fear?

And they know that they are perfectly loved

and they know that they are perfectly loved

and there is no fear and there is no torment.

What would that even look like?

None of this will be reached in a day,

but can we progressively mature towards it?

Together.

Fear banishing love would be a characteristic

of this community because it very clearly says

that perfect love casts out fear

and I have loved you perfectly,

therefore you should not be continuing in fear, Jacob,

because fear carries in it torment

and anyone who has fear in his relationships

or in his relationship with God

has not been perfectly loved

or has not recognized it or realized it.

So what would it look like?

These are the things that the world has.

We are only slightly better and it ain't good enough.

C.S. Lewis put it this way,

God is not interested in getting a horse

that can run fast and whip it to run faster.

When he makes us, he gives us wings

so that we are like unicorns that have the ability to fly.

It ain't a fair race.

Being better than the world ain't Christianity.

It's self-help positive thinking Tony Robbins.

That's why I have a problem

with some of the guys who appear on TV

promoting a self-help you are wonderful message

because all that makes you is a little more wonderful

than the rest of the world.

How can you settle and I settle for that Christianity?

Ouch.

What does it look like not to chase after

what was guaranteed in the Garden of Eden?

What does it look like when a people become proclaimers

of the gospel?

What does it look like when they are exhibitors

of life and godliness?

What does it look like when they are servant like?

What does it look like when they are joyful?

What does it look like when signs and miracles

are not unusual or unexpected?

What does it look like when a body continuously matures?

What does it look like when the community is apostolic

in terms of it being sent out to different places?

What does it look like when they are generous?

What does it look like when they have authority

over the devil?

What does it look like when they engage in good works?

This is what a restored community should look like.

What if two years from now we get somewhere?

It's a long process, but what if two years from now?

I always tell Blessy that I wish kids were born

at the age of nine, because they would be easy to handle.

Like they get born as babies and then overnight

they grow up into nine.

And she always says that you would miss out

on the growing years and that those years are precious.

I still can't understand.

And that those years are precious.

I still can't understand it, but I believe it.

Yeah, I've heard.

And so this will take time.

But there must be absolutely no doubt

as to where we are heading with this.

It got to keep treading this way.

Because if this is God's plan,

and please challenge me if it is not,

if this is God's plan, then this is the only heading we have.

That he wants to build a people who are a microcosm

or a demonstration of what a people in relationship

with the living God actually look like.

This was the whole idea of Israel.

This is the whole idea of the church.

It has really nothing to do with you

and everything to do with the world.

For someone else we exist, not for ourselves.

So the hope is over the next few months

that God will give us the wisdom to discover

and somehow begin to live the life of the restored.

Any questions before we go on?

Any questions, guys?

You know, there's a question, but in order,

in the heart, what God expects of us

is for the seven years of our Israel

put the life of Jesus into our heart.

Whatever he said, he meant that he gave a change

and practices in his therapist.

The problem with what would Jesus do

was we didn't know what he would do

because we didn't know what the word said or meant.

So what would Jesus do became a slogan

that didn't help because we didn't know what Jesus does.

So we came up with our own versions

of what would Jesus do.

But when you look at the scriptures like Gisela's saying,

then you understand this is what would Jesus do

and that is how you begin to process your thinking

so that you see life through the word.

Then it doesn't matter what your opinion is.

You don't have a choice.

That's the cool thing about this.

I love the fact that we don't have choices.

I mean, try ordering a coffee at Starbucks, man.

We don't have choices.

I asked Aaron to get me, what did I ask you to get me?

A corducio.

I drank it in Mexico and it's this mix of espresso

and chocolate.

But he got me a mocha because there is no corducio

in Vancouver.

But I love the fact that we don't have choices.

I love the fact that we don't have choices.

This is how the word asks me to process and think

this is my only choice.

I have a choice in terms of disobeying it

but I don't have any other choice.

This is how the word asks me to think.

And as you begin to read it again and again and again,

and one of the things that I've learned from Chad

is not to read my little portions

but to read the entire book

and then come into little portions

because it gives you a better idea of what is happening

because most of the scriptures we personalize

to a point where they become pointless.

Yep.

True.

13.

But if you ask Chris, she might say 14.

I just, I think you're totally right.

I just think that a whole lot of things we were doing,

we were doing because we stumbled into it.

Now it's beginning to make sense.

So it's like Christopher Columbus.

Didn't know where he was going

but now we have a sense of where we're going.

I think it's kind of like a reason.

If you just read all the little bits and pieces

of the idea and you don't necessarily,

if you're not creative, you don't know exactly what to do.

Yeah.

Come out of it and know it's from our patient.

Yeah, I hate using this word

which is why I'm avoiding using it

but I have to use it now.

And so I won't say it, I'll write it

because this word's been used so often

I don't like using it anymore.

We are more.

What, will I have to pronounce it Sue or can you read it?

Oh, sorry.

Intentional.

Yeah.

A few other things about this community that we're building

because I used to hear about the church being a community,

church being a community and I think,

shucks, there comes a community word again

because it was as common as intentional

and it seemed to mean that everybody has to be really nice

to each other and help each other out

and help people move if you have a pickup

and thank God I didn't buy one.

But the point was,

there's much more to the idea of community than that.

So here are a few things that this community must be.

One, it is a community,

it is a community that learns to process life,

learns to process life,

things of life and the world.

Through the word.

That is a distinctive factor of this community.

Why?

Because that will then allow the watching world

to have an undistorted picture of Christ

when they encounter his claims.

Jesus heals, show me.

Jesus loves, show me.

Jesus gives, show me.

Jesus answers prayer, show me.

Jesus thinks pure, show me.

Jesus forgives, show me.

Jesus gives joy, show me.

It is a community that learns

and it's a long process of learning

and it never ends

because we're constantly progressing towards maturity.

It is a community that learns to process life,

the things of life and the world.

And this is where we can be absolutely confident

as it says in 1 Peter, 2 Peter 1,

it says that God has given us precious promises

that are sufficient for life and godliness.

That every situation I deal with in terms of life

and the way to live it godly is provided for me

in the word where I can begin to think a certain way,

think like God, think like God.

And in thinking like God,

be able to handle life, be able to handle the things of life,

be able to handle the world.

And in the process, be hated

because now I do not think anymore like the world.

In the process become one

because the one thing that unites us,

sanctifies us and sets us apart

and unites us is the word.

You might think it is love but it is not.

It is through the word that even that happens.

Because it is through the word

that I understand what love looks like.

This is what Jesus tried to come and do.

He was saying, hey, let me first show you what it is like

and then I will show you what you must do.

And therefore everything that his father said

in terms of the word, he began to show.

And after he showed them, he said, now go do likewise.

And he helped them do the works too.

And since we are the body of Christ and follow the head,

this is the same principle.

Then the watching world begins to have

an undistorted picture of Christ

when they encounter his claims.

Questions, thoughts?

Questions?

So when you have a situation that is unnegotiable,

come and throw it at me just so I can go

and look for an answer and not give you a pat.

This is what I sense the Holy Spirit saying.

Guys, we've got to move now from this is what I sense

the Holy Spirit saying to this is what the word of God says

and this is what I sense the Holy Spirit saying.

It's gotta be both.

Because this is what I sense the Holy Spirit saying is great.

It's super important, it's spontaneous.

It is re-ma, but there is also the logos

that now we have to develop things out of.

Where I'm going through this situation in my life,

what should I do?

And I ask the Holy Spirit,

the Holy Spirit says this is the key.

Great, that is the key that'll help you open the door.

But what if it happens again?

So that it should not happen again.

Here is what the word says, here is how you process it.

Then you have both.

And so even what we teach in the house churches

has to change because I think given this context,

it's not effective enough.

It has to be more systematic.

I hate systematic, but who cares?

You don't have a choice.

I'm glad that I can keep changing.

I pray that it still continues when I'm 60 and 70 and 80.

The next thing this community is, I got three of them.

The next thing this community is,

it is a community that provides a context

for the individual, for the individual.

For the individual and the body to mature, to mature.

In the sense that this doesn't mean that we abandon

what God has uniquely created you for in the body.

We don't abandon that.

That keeps increasing, that keeps growing.

There must be, it must be a community

that loves moving together, but also looks at each person

just as Christ does.

One of the things, I don't know who said it in Sao Paulo,

we looked at this mass of people doing drugs

and I think it was Sheldon who said,

and the way Jesus looks at them is he calls them by name.

He has a special name for them.

He had plans for them.

He had written their days down

before they were even formed.

He hopes, loves, and expects the best of them

every day when they wake up.

That I formed you before your,

before your whatever, parts were even formed,

it still holds true.

It has to be a community where the individual still matures

and there's room for corporate maturity.

It is also a community that is a base

for penetrating other communities

and nations.

As we mature, the intent is now that we mature,

we must now use Acts 29 as a base to go to,

to send people into other communities and other nations

so that what we've experienced can be a reality.

And that what we've experienced

can now be sampled by others.

This must be how we think.

When you go on a holiday, when you go on a business trip,

think like this.

I'm a sample, I'm a sign, I'm a pointer.

It takes time to think like this,

but if we continuously wake up every morning

and think like this, it becomes habitual.

One of the things that's been happening in my life

over the last little while is I'm less and less,

I'm becoming more and more confident of who Jacob is,

who Jacob really is.

And so my inadequacy, my external inadequacies

are not bothering me as much.

They haven't gone away,

but they're not bothering me as much.

And it helps tremendously, guys.

All of us have external inadequacies.

Some of them are imagined, some of them are real.

All of us have external defects and flaws.

And by external, I mean anything outside of the spirit,

of your spirit.

All of us have external defects and flaws,

and we use coping mechanisms to hide them.

And maybe get to a point where this idea of maturity

is where you begin to realize inside you

that this is who I am becoming.

And the external defects and inadequacies

become less important.

And as that happens, you will find that you become

less limited, and more becomes possible.

Otherwise, our external defects and inabilities

will always stop us from taking the next big step.

You will always hesitate.

You will dream at night that you will be a warrior tomorrow.

You get up in the morning,

and you go back into the winepress.

Because your name is just Gideon.

Do you credit this body of maturity to tell?

Or do you think it's more than that?

To be mature at the end of the day

is to conform to the stature of Christ,

who in his external persona was very non-handsome,

non-attractive, nobody, comes from a poor family,

works on stone and wood, has no sense of self-esteem,

comes from a poor family, works on stone and wood,

has a huge family to take care of,

spends 30 years in absolute hiddenness.

Nothing about him is attractive.

Nobody came to him because of his charisma.

There was nothing about him that was worth looking at.

Isaiah 52 and so on talk about it.

To be mature is to be conformed to the stature of Christ

somewhere inside me so that the externals now don't matter.

My externals as a result of the sins of the world,

my internal person is so because of the death

and resurrection of Christ.

I have a brand new spirit, man,

and I got the Holy Spirit living in my spirit.

And the more I mature there,

the more I understand the enormity

of what Paul says in Ephesians 1, he says,

may your eyes be open, may you be enlightened

so that you can see the width and the breadth and the depth

of what Christ and his resurrection power has done for you.

The more you grasp it, and I don't even know how to grasp it,

but a daily pushing towards it allows you to grasp it.

That's a strange thing with children you see this,

with children you see this, you hang a little toy over them,

and day after day after day,

and I'm sure you've seen this with Shiloh,

he'll reach towards it, reach towards it.

One of the videos I still carry on my phone

is the one of Matt standing, sitting at the top of the steps

and Shiloh making his way up the steps.

I showed some parents that and they said this is very normal.

What do I know? I thought it was fascinating,

this little kid going up the steps finally into his father's arms.

They keep reaching, keep reaching, keep reaching.

The way to maturity is to keep reaching.

Where we lose out on maturity is we stop reaching.

I just can't understand why we adults lose that.

We stop reaching.

We put a circle around us and say, we have reached,

this is good, one day perhaps more, but this is it.

And the moment you stop reaching, maturity stops,

regardless of how great the teaching is.

It's a falling back, it's like the beach

where the sand goes from under your feet.

You've got to keep reaching guys.

You must die reaching.

All of us should die with the hands stretched out like this.

And rigor mortis sets in and they have to build a new coffin for you.

I'll put a hole in the coffin.

Yeah.

Don't stop reaching.

It is the end of maturity.

Do you guys remember Hulk Hogan?

Just when he's completely out, a little hand will come out

and the finger will stop moving and you know Hulk Hogan's back.

Keep reaching out man.

You're on the floor, there's Andre the Giant sitting on you

and your hand starts moving.

If those terms are not familiar, read your Bible.

One last time.

It's a community and this is the last point for now.

And I think we'll end now because it's too heavy.

I've got another set to go but we'll do it next time.

It is a community that, it is a community that,

it is a community that, I'll write the rest of it.

It is a community that, it is a community that,

I'll write the rest out properly.

That engages, it is a community that engages

in the ministry of reconciliation.

Engages in the ministry of reconciliation.

I'll explain it, these are big words

but they're actually very simple in their meaning.

And the message of reconciliation.

And the message of reconciliation.

So if you want to turn to 2 Corinthians 5, 17 to 20.

2 Corinthians 5, 17 to 20, if someone can read that.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation.

The old is gone, the new has come.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ

and gave us the mystery of reconciliation.

That God would reconcile the world with himself in Christ,

not count the men and women together.

And he has committed to us a message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors,

as though God would make his appeal to us.

We implore you what Christ we have, he reconciled to God.

Okay, Nick, one more time.

Even louder.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old is gone, the new has come.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ

and gave us the mystery of reconciliation.

That God would reconcile the world with himself in Christ,

not counting men and women against them.

And he has committed to us a message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors,

as though God would make his appeal to us.

We implore you what Christ we have, he reconciled to God.

Yeah.

It is a community that engages in the ministry of reconciliation.

And what is the ministry of reconciliation?

Letting people know that God has been for the last 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 years

been in the business of bringing a people into a forgiven relationship with him through Christ.

This is the ministry of reconciliation, and it is a very, very simple ministry.

Everything else that happens in today's charismatic Christianity

is supposed to be a follow-on, an add-on to this main message.

But all the add-ons have taken on center stage,

and the ministry of reconciliation has gone out of the window.

It is very simple.

I have been trying for 2,000 or 3,000 years, particularly since my son said it is finished,

I have been trying to bring the world into a forgiven relationship with myself,

forgetting their alienation and the reasons for the alienation,

forgiving their enmity, and giving them multiple opportunities to respond.

This is what I have been doing, and this is what I have raised the people up for, called the church.

This is what I use you for.

Therefore, this is the ministry of reconciliation, and this is the message of reconciliation.

You cannot do the ministry of reconciliation without the message of reconciliation.

And the message of reconciliation is, I do not count your sins against you anymore.

But given that I don't reckon your sins anymore,

I still want you to take the personal choice of responding.

And when you respond, you become part of this restored community

that lives in a forgiven relationship with the living God.

But how will they know it if they have not seen it?

And we thought it was about going out and preaching.

How will they go if you do not?

Send.

Remember that Roman sent thing?

But it is also, if I am sent, you must taste and see that the Lord is good.

Not just hear and see that the Lord is good.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Now you understand what apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors and evangelists are supposed to do.

Ephesians 4.12 puts it this way.

To equip the saints for the work of ministry.

And what is the work of ministry?

This.

My job.

And we'll talk about my job next week.

Because there are a list of things you must expect of me for the next three to five years.

One of my main jobs is to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

That I must get us to be well versed in the ministry of reconciliation and the message of reconciliation

under all circumstances, amongst all kinds of people, Greek, Scythian, Barbarian, Jew, Gentile.

And this is not about crusades and preaching.

The days of crusades are really, really over.

It is one on one.

In your streets, in your sphere of influence.

In your social network.

In the places you frequent.

In the stage of life you are in.

This is where the ministry of reconciliation happens.

Because Jesus has always been relational.

And a crusade is not relational.

It worked for a people who had still an idea of their Christian roots.

There's no country left on the earth where they have an idea of their Christian roots.

Everything Jesus does is relational.

Why should he stop in this one main thing that he has been trying to accomplish for years?

Why would he make it impersonal?

I'm not saying don't participate in a crusade.

I'm just saying choose the more excellent way.

I used to be so frightened of this part.

Because I used to think I'm not very good at it.

I don't know how to do this crusade thing.

I don't know how to stand on a soap box in Hyde Park and preach to people.

It would scare the heebie-jeebies out of me.

And yet to find out finally that the ministry of reconciliation is sitting with one or two in my social network,

I don't know how that I can do.

Till they beg to leave and I won't let them go till they get born again.

But the point is this is what we're aiming at.

This is the reason for our existence, guys.

This is the reason for our existence.

And these are the things that we will be rewarded for.

Well done, good and faithful servant.

A good and faithful servant is one who figures out what his master is doing.

Not one who works hard.

Not one who achieves much.

It is simply about what is my master doing?

Am I doing that?

That is a good and faithful servant.

So we'll stop there.

But I want us to go over the whole thing without me preaching.

So let me just ask questions and answer in your own stammering, unsophisticated, mistake-filled way.

And I meant that as a compliment.