Patience In Mission

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts.

I will look to see what he will say to me and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

Then the Lord replied,

Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.

For the revelation awaits an appointed time.

It speaks of the end and will not prove false.

Though it linger, wait for it.

It will certainly come and will not delay.

See, he is puffed up, his desires are not upright, but the righteous will live by his faith.

Indeed, wine betrays him.

He is arrogant and never at rest.

But because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples.

Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying,

Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion?

How long must this go on?

Will not your debtors suddenly arise?

Will they not wake up and make you tremble?

Then you will become their victim, because you have plundered many nations.

The peoples who are left will plunder you.

For you have shed man's blood.

You have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.

Woe to him who builds this realm by unjust gain.

To set his nest on high.

To escape the clutches of ruin.

You have plotted the ruin of many peoples.

Shaming your own house and forfeiting your life.

The stones of the wall will cry out and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.

Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime.

Has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people's labour is only fuel for the fire?

That nations exhaust themselves for nothing?

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

Well, I'm going to invite Martin, if he'd like to come up now.

He's going to speak to us.

There will be opportunity to talk to Martin and to Elizabeth afterwards.

So please do that.

Take time.

I'm sure you'll say a little bit about your books.

But before you do, I'm going to pray for you and then let you speak away.

Is that okay?

Thank you.

It's more than okay.

Great.

Well, let's pray.

Father God, we thank you so much for Martin and for Elizabeth.

We thank you for their many years of service.

We thank you for their gifts that you have given them.

Their gifts of teaching, as we have heard over this past weekend.

And we pray that they now would be that continued blessing to us and encouragement to us as a church family.

And that we would be a people who would understand what it is to see the glory of the Lord fill the earth.

And we pray now for Martin.

Fill him with your spirit and us.

Speak through him words of life.

Amen.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thanks very much, Martin, for coming.

Thank you, Elizabeth, for coming too and to be with us today.

Thank you.

Well, it's great to be among you and to share with you this morning.

Thank you for allowing us to be part of your fellowship for this morning.

That's great.

I thought I would just encourage you for a moment, before we turn to the Word,

on Thursday, Elizabeth and I will be flying out to India to visit the churches that her great-grandparents planted

around 160 years ago.

During her great-grandparents' time, there was terrific opposition to the Gospel.

Terrific, terrific opposition.

And they saw very few people turning to the Lord.

A few, but nothing very much.

Today, 160 years later, the fruit of their labors is enormous.

There's a central church with a congregation of 700.

And then the actual church that they planted originally has around 200.

And they have planted around 240 other churches in the area.

And then they have around 400, what they call for preaching stations.

That's congregations of under 35, 40, that sort of size.

So, altogether, well over 600 congregations out from that central one.

And of course, tens of thousands of believers are coming out of this tiny little beginning

with all the opposition and so on.

And I'm sure that great-grandfather and great-grandmother,

when they look down from heaven, they must smile, I think,

and say, wow, we never pictured anything like that, you know.

It all seems so small and difficult and fruitless and tremendous opposition.

And yet, out of that has come this major movement of God.

And that's still growing, of course.

Well, not of course, but it is.

So, be encouraged.

You know, as you look out on this area and you think, well, praise the Lord for the little group here

and the little group there and the little group you're starting in Kinsale and so on.

And you think, oh, well, you know, we're in a situation of tremendous secularism

and tremendous disinterest in the gospel.

Can't expect anything much here, you know.

And yet, the Lord did it in India and he can do it here.

And he did it with great-grandparents and he can do it for you.

So, be encouraged.

Well, that was all just a little extra there.

I hadn't planned to say that, but I thought I would.

We're turning back to Habakkuk.

And it's...

Habakkuk is such a brilliant book.

Let me recommend it to you to just enjoy it and revel in what the Lord has said in Habakkuk.

Just before we turn to Habakkuk 2, let me say that we brought a whole mass of books with us from home.

But yesterday, nearly all of them sold.

But you can look up our names on the net.

And you can order Elizabeth's life story or my life story.

You'll see them on the net if you look at Amazon and our name.

But there are just a few left, including actually, I think, three copies of a book on Habakkuk.

Any complaints?

Blame God.

Which is what people do, isn't it?

And Habakkuk did it as well.

So, when they do it, they're being quite prophetic.

Not just pathetic, but prophetic.

Any complaints?

Blame God.

Well, what was Habakkuk's problem?

What was he blaming God about?

Well, let me remind you of the whole book of Habakkuk very briefly.

Habakkuk was looking out on his own society in Judah

and complaining about the fact that they were just steeped in sin.

Tremendous evil and awful.

Habakkuk said, Lord, do something for Judah.

And God says to Habakkuk, no, actually, I am doing something you don't think I am.

I am at work.

Perhaps you don't see it.

But I am at work not among your people.

I am actually at work among the nations, among the Gentiles.

Not just among Judah.

And I am doing fantastic work.

And then God shocks Habakkuk and says what he is doing.

He is raising up the Chaldeans.

And Habakkuk said, but Lord, you can't do that.

The Chaldeans are even worse than Judah.

And Judah, in comparison with the Chaldeans, is a, you know, a set of innocents.

The Chaldeans are a ferocious, cruel, evil, idolatrous people.

Any other bad adjectives you want to find, you can apply them to the Chaldeans and they'll fit.

And yet God says, that's the people I'm raising up as my instruments.

And Habakkuk says, well, you can't do that, God, because you're a holy God.

You're so holy you can't even look on sin.

And now you say, you're raising up this appallingly sinful people as your instruments.

How can you do that?

And that leads us into chapter 2.

And Habakkuk, with this complaint and questioning of God,

Habakkuk says, I'll stand at my watch, chapter 2, verse 1,

and I'll station myself on the ramparts.

And you can picture an ancient city with its walls around and being the guard standing on the walls there,

looking out over the fields to see if there are any enemies coming and seeing what's going on.

Well now, actually the words there could be related to a city and its walls,

but it could also, the words actually used in the original,

could also relate to a harvest field.

And all the crops are growing up,

and in the middle of the field,

they would have a little raised platform with a seat on the top,

and usually just a boy would sit on the top there,

and there'd be strings going out into the field from there.

And the boy's job was to watch whether any birds were attacking the harvest.

And if birds came, he'd lift up the strings and frighten the birds away.

But in one way or another,

whether stationed to see that nothing affects the harvest,

or whether stationed on the ramparts of a wall of a city,

to see that no enemy is coming to destroy you,

in one way or another,

look out and see what God is doing,

and see what is happening around you.

See whether there are things that are bad happening,

as well as what is good that is happening.

And so Habakkuk says,

I will stand at my watch,

and I will look to see,

it's very interesting this,

I will look to see what he will say to me.

You think, well, if God's speaking,

surely it's the ears, not the eyes,

that are important.

That you hear a word,

you don't normally see a word.

Yeah?

But Habakkuk, like all the prophets,

very much emphasizes the idea of seeing.

I mentioned this yesterday,

so those who were there yesterday,

please forgive me,

that a prophet is known as a seer.

A seer.

A prophet is one who keeps his eyes open,

or her eyes open, if you want,

to see what the God of history is actually doing.

And when you see what's going on,

then you can have a real understanding

of what's the purpose of God,

what's the will of God,

in the world of our day.

And you have a ministry of a prophet.

So I will look to see what God will say,

and God speaks through what's going on.

And so, you know,

as you pray,

and as you plan for the church,

you keep your newspaper open,

or your television news on.

But in one way or another,

you see the purposes of God.

I will look to see what he will say,

and then the translation here,

it's okay,

but it's not really literally accurate.

It's really what he will say in me.

And we all know that, don't we?

You know,

we have some real question,

real complaint even.

We're wondering, you know,

what on earth is God doing?

You know,

God, you shouldn't be doing that.

This is awful.

You know,

why this?

Why that?

And then,

as we struggle with it,

actually,

we give the answer to our questions

from within ourselves.

God actually works in us,

not from outside,

but from within,

by his Spirit,

so that our minds are actually determined

by God and his Spirit,

and we actually give the answers

to our own questions and problems.

So,

I'll look out to see

what he will say,

actually,

in me,

Habakkuk says.

And,

ask the Lord

that he will work in you,

in such a way,

in you,

in such a way,

that actually,

you have the answers

to questions,

problems,

situations

that you face.

I love the,

the words of Paul.

I don't find them easy.

But Paul says,

just in parenthesis,

it's not a main point or anything,

but in the Corinthian letters,

he says,

we have the mind of Christ.

Now,

I find it very easy

to turn that into a prayer

rather than a statement.

Lord,

give me the mind of Christ.

Lord,

help me to,

to think the thoughts of God.

That my mind

might work

in God's way,

with God's thoughts,

so that I see things

from God's perspective.

And I very easily

turn that into a prayer

because,

frankly,

I don't find it easy

just to say,

with confidence,

you know,

I think the thoughts of God.

I have the mind of Christ.

But,

as we steep ourselves

in scripture

and in prayer

and in walking

with the Lord,

the Lord forms our minds.

And,

we have,

Paul says,

we have the mind of Christ.

So,

I look out to see,

Habakkuk says,

what he will say in me

and what answer

I am to give

to this complaint

that I've made

about raising up

the Chaldeans.

And the Lord replied,

verse 2,

write down the revelation

so that a herald

may run with it.

and,

again,

if you look at the commentaries,

it's got two possible senses there.

One is that you write it,

that Habakkuk should write down

the revelation of God

and it should be so clear

that the herald

will immediately obey it

and run with it.

And,

that's something we want,

isn't it?

That the revelation of God,

the word of the Lord

should be so clear to us

and to the people around us

that people will jump

to obey it.

Jump to follow the Lord

in his purposes

and his will.

That the herald

may run with it.

But it's also got

another rather amusing sense

that

Habakkuk should write down

the revelation

and it should be so clear

that a herald

can actually run

with the revelation.

Of course,

it was before books,

it was tablets,

but run with the tablets there

and,

you know,

when you run,

everything bobs up and down,

doesn't it?

But it should be so clear

that you can run

and still read it.

Well,

whichever sense you take,

the meaning is clear.

That the revelation of God

should be so clear

that you obey it,

you follow it,

and you run to obey it.

It's terribly un-European,

this,

and I do apologise,

if I'm allowed to apologise

for the word of the Lord.

But,

you know,

we immediately say,

well,

write it down on tablets

or in a book

and let the revelation of God

be so clear

that we form a committee

and discuss it.

Or,

that we write it down,

it's so clear

that we'll

spend a year

praying about it.

Now,

please don't misunderstand me,

I'm all in favour

of praying about it,

and I'm all in favour

of having committees

sometimes.

Just in case you're

somebody who sits

on some committee

or other.

But,

actually,

that's not the purpose here.

What Habakkuk is saying,

or what God is saying

to Habakkuk,

is,

it should be so clear

that you,

you get up and run

to obey it.

The Lord's revelation.

Because,

verse 3,

the revelation awaits

an appointed time.

It speaks

of God's

final purposes,

of the end.

And it will not

prove false.

There's an assurance

for us.

And then I love

the end of verse 3.

Though it linger,

wait for it.

I like the old

Revised Standard

version on that.

If it seems slow,

wait for it.

If it seems slow,

wait for it.

That's the sort of word

you can write

on a piece of paper

and blue tack it

on next to your bed

or on your desk

or somewhere

where you see it.

If it seems slow,

wait for it.

Though it linger,

wait for it.

You know,

we live in an age

where we expect

everything to happen

immediately,

don't we?

If it doesn't happen

by the end of today,

then forget it.

And God is

just appallingly slow.

My wife and I

had a little

smile this morning

because

she was holding

my tie

ready for me

to put it on.

She was

patiently waiting.

And I was doing

all sorts of other things.

And there she was

with my tie

waiting and waiting.

And I said,

oh well,

that's what we married for

that you might learn

patience.

Well,

we've been married

for 51 years

and we're still

learning,

both of us.

But

God is just

terribly slow.

Even slower

than I am.

You know,

frankly,

if I'd been God,

which

fortunately I never was,

just in case

you weren't sure,

but if I'd been God,

the Messiah,

the Savior,

would have come

a lot earlier.

I wouldn't have

waited all those

hundreds and hundreds

and hundreds of years

for Jesus to come.

I'd have

moved history forward

much more quickly.

Now,

you know,

you may feel,

well,

if I'd done that,

if I'd had that power,

Jesus would have

come at the wrong time

and the whole thing

would have been a disaster.

But I'd have

moved it on,

you know.

And I sometimes

think of that

blank page

between the Old Testament

and the New Testament,

you know,

and that blank page

represents

400 years

of divine silence.

400 years

between Malachi

and the coming

and the coming

and the coming

of John the Baptist.

You know,

no prophets,

no scriptures,

no new scriptures,

no sign

of God

speaking.

400 years

of it.

just think

of 400 years

in our history,

you know,

go back

to the year

1613.

It's an awful

long time ago,

isn't it?

And even I,

in my antiquity,

I can't remember

1613,

you know,

a bit before

my time even.

400 years,

1613

to 2013

with no sign

of God

speaking.

It's appalling,

isn't it?

But that's

what it is.

Actually,

there's a

Japanese

missionary

theologian,

a guy called

Koyama,

but don't worry

with that.

He's written

a book called

The Three Mile

An Hour God.

And in it

he says,

God doesn't

go by jet

plane,

he goes

by water

buffalo cart.

And those

of you who

know a

water buffalo,

water buffalo,

they go so

slowly,

one step,

another step,

very slowly,

and even

three miles

an hour

is probably

an exaggeration.

It's probably

only two

or two and a

half or

something.

So slow.

and

you know

that in

Ireland,

don't you?

You know

your church

planting?

How long

does it

take God

to plant

a church

in Kinsale?

Months

after month

after month

and

gradually

you get a

little group

and then

one other

person gets

added

and then

six months

down the

line

or a year

down the

line

maybe another

person begins

to come

and then

those people

you know

they start

so

inadequate

in faith

and then

gradually

the Lord

by his

spirit

and his

word

works in

them.

It seems

to take

forever

before they're

mature and

really alive

in Christ

you know

God is

just

awful

really

so

slow

so

God

says to

Habakkuk

though it

linger

wait for

it

it

will

certainly

come

and it

will not

delay

God's

purpose

is actually

sure

it may

be slow

it may

require

patience

but it

will

come to

pass

God has

promised it

God has

planned it

God is

doing it

and it

will

be

exactly

as he

has

planned

it's

wonderful

it will

certainly

not

possibly

but

certainly

come

and it

will not

delay

it will

be

exactly

at the

time

that the

Lord

has

planned

and his

timing

unlike mine

is

perfect

wonderful

to be

confident

of it

well

all of

that was

introduction

and let's

get to the

point

what is

God

actually

planning

Habakkuk

says

God is

planning

a final

judgment

you may

think

oh

Habakkuk

you may

think

that I

shouldn't

raise up

the Chaldeans

and that

there's

an unholy

plan there

that this

goes against

the whole

holiness of

God

and righteousness

of God

that God

is raising

up this

appalling

evil people

as his

instruments

but

the time

will come

I planned

it

God says

the time

will come

when actually

the Chaldeans

will collapse

and they

will

be judged

and in

chapter 2

verses 5

to the

end

verse 6

to the

end

I beg

your pardon

verse 6

to the

end

you get

this

judgment

of God

not very

popular

these days

to talk

about

judgment

but actually

it's really

important

because it

vindicates

the righteousness

of God

and in

the world

in which

we live

sin

and sinners

seem to

have all

the glory

they're the

successful

ones

they're the

rich and

the powerful

and so on

you know

and you

think well

what's going

on

that the

sinner's

flesh

and the

righteous

go down

the drain

and that's

particularly

true of

course

for people

living in

persecution

situations

you know

just picture

yourself in

some of

these Muslim

countries

where there

are not

very many

believers

and

Christians

get terribly

persecuted

some get

killed

many

get thrown

out of

their

families

and

homes

many

lose

their

jobs

because

they're

Christian

tremendous

persecution

what a

situation

where

you begin

to think

well

it's the

opposite

of prosperity

theology

you know

it's a

it's a

failure

theology

a

suffering

theology

but then

we follow

a suffering

saviour

don't we

a suffering

servant

amazing

just the

opposite

of prosperity

but there

will be a

vindication

where actually

the powerful

will go down

the drain

and the

people of

God

will be

lifted up

and rewarded

that's

God's

promise

they seem

so powerful

so successful

now

with everything

going for

them

but judgment

is coming

and the

righteous rule

of God

the kingdom

of God

will finally

prevail

and so you

get in

chapter 2

a whole

series of

words of

judgment

woe to

you who

woe to

you who

woe to

you who

and I

don't want

to go

through all

the woes

but you

can do it

for yourselves

in chapter

2 verse

6

woe to

him who

piles up

stolen goods

etc

and in

verse 9

woe to

him who

builds his

realm by

unjust

gain

and sets

his nest

on high

to escape

the clutches

of ruin

and verse

12

woe to

him who

builds a

city with

bloodshed

and verse

15

woe to

him who

gives drink

to his

neighbors

pouring it

from the

wineskin

till they

are drunk

very modern

isn't it

and the

final one

in verse

19

woe to

him who

says to

wood

come to

life

or to

lifeless

stone

wake up

can it

give

guidance

it's

covered

with

gold

and

silver

it

looks

wonderful

but actually

there's no

breath

in it

what a

contrast

with verse

20

but the

Lord

but

the

Lord

lovely

words

but the

Lord

the contrast

is in

his holy

temple

let all

the earth

be silent

before him

because he

is the

sovereign

Lord

in control

of everything

well in the

midst of all

that judgment

we get the

very well

known

amazing

positive

verse

of verse

14

the earth

will be

filled

with the

knowledge of

the glory

of the

Lord

as the

waters

cover the

sea

and that's

what we're

working

towards

that's

why you're

planting a

church in

Kinsale

that's our

aim in our

church here

that's our

aim as

Christians

that the

earth

may be

filled

and it's a

promise

the earth

not only

may be

filled

but will

be filled

with the

knowledge

of the

glory

of the

Lord

and it's

really

complete

as the

waters

cover the

sea

I want

to go

through

that

verse

with you

the

earth

Martin

Luther

in the

Reformation

added to

scripture

in order

to underline

it

and

scripture

talks about

being justified

by faith

and

Luther

added the

word

by faith

alone

now of

course if

you're

really going

to be

biblically

acceptable

you have

to do

it in

Latin

so

not just

fide

by faith

but

sola fide

by faith

alone

yes

well if

Luther can

add to

scripture

so can

I

and so

I'm

wanting to

add

not just

the earth

but to

underline

it

and explain

it

and

emphasize

it

the

whole

earth

well let's

do it in

Latin

so it

really is

theologically

acceptable

and true

not just

terra

the earth

but

tota terra

the whole

earth

the whole

earth

will be

filled

with the

knowledge

of the

glory

of the

Lord

I love

that

Saudi

Arabia

wow

will be

filled

with the

knowledge

of the

glory

of the

Lord

amazing

can you

picture that

Saudi

Arabia

so

strongly

Muslim

so

fanatically

Muslim

Saudi

Arabia

will be

filled

with the

knowledge

of the

glory

of the

Lord

well we

were talking

about

Laos

one or two

of us

just before

the service

Laos

will be

filled

with the

knowledge

of the

glory

of the

Lord

can Laos

be filled

that way

surely

not it's

impossible

to conceive

it

this is the

promise of

the Lord

though it

linger

wait for

it

and work

for it

and pray

for it

Laos

will be

filled

with the

knowledge

of the

glory

of the

Lord

Ireland

will be

filled

you know

your

particular

town

will be

filled

with the

knowledge

of the

glory

of the

Lord

Elizabeth

and I

live in

a little

village

called

Stansted

Abbott

Stansted

Abbott

no

that's

too

much

of a

miracle

Stansted

Abbott

will be

filled

with the

knowledge

of the

glory

of the

Lord

your

street

will be

filled

with the

knowledge

of the

glory

of the

Lord

it's

fantastic

isn't it

wait for it

it's coming

though it

linger

wait for

it

the whole

earth

will be

filled

not just

one or two

here

and one or

two there

and a little

bit here

and a little

bit there

and a tiny

fellowship here

and a tiny

fellowship there

no no

it will be

filled

it's a strong

word

it's a word

actually

same

basic word

as you get

in Romans

11

the fullness

of the

Gentiles

the mass

of Gentiles

non-Jews

will be

brought in

wonderful

multitudes

of Europeans

and multitudes

of Africans

and multitudes

of Asians

and multitudes

of this

country

and that

country

and this

town

and that

town

in their

crowds

what the

book of

Revelation

talks of

as the

144,000

amazing

a thousand

is always

in Jewish

thought

a huge

number

limited

yes

it's not

everybody

but it's

a vast

number

but it's a

thousands

coming in

wonderful

we look

forward to

it don't

we

we'll be

filled

and then

just let me

mention

all Israel

will be saved

as well

again it doesn't

mean everybody

but a

multitude

of my

Jewish people

all Israel

will be

saved

this type

of Jew

and that

type of Jew

Moroccan

Jews

and Yemeni

Jews

and British

Jews

and Irish

Jews

and you name it

any other

Jews you like to

think of

Ashkenazic Jews

if you know

what

know a bit

about Judaism

and Jewish

life

and Sephardic

Jews

and Indian

Jews

and Ethiopian

black Jews

and Chinese

Jews

etc

etc

etc

all Israel

will be

saved

I look

forward to

it

wow

well

the earth

will be

filled

and

we need

in our

little

context

in Europe

where the

church is

still

terribly

small

the number

of believers

is still

a small

minority

we need

to lift

up our

eyes

and keep

that vision

before us

of the

multitudes

the whole

earth

being

filled

so that

we're not

content

anymore

with the

little bit

here and

the little

bit there

but we're

looking for

the

multitudes

praying

for the

multitudes

I

encourage you

with that

Indian

scene

you know

the tiny

little

beginning

and that's

the picture

of God's

kingdom

in the

new

testament

isn't it

Jesus

teaching on

the kingdom

of God

that it

starts

small

you know

a tiny

little bit

of leaven

but it

it grows

like leaven

does

and it

leavens

the whole

lump

and the

big tree

of the

kingdom

with all

the birds

of the air

the nations

of the world

finding their

shade under

the branches

the great

kingdom tree

but it

starts as a

tiny little

seed

and that

tiny little

seed grows

and grows

and grows

until it

becomes a

great tree

the kingdom

of God

starts small

well of course

that's the

picture of the

Christian life

isn't it

new birth

and most

of us

when we're

born

are relatively

small

I don't know

were you

born

as a

great big

adult

six feet

tall

I don't

think so

poor mother

but

no

we're born

small

and then we

grow

and grow

and we

develop

until we're

full size

some of us

grow beyond

that

and get

obese

but

no

that growth

and we're

looking for

it

now of course

having

lived and

worked in

Asia

and in

the great

churches

there

and seen

the multitudes

turning to

the Lord

it's easier

for us

because we've

seen it

in different

places

but let's

look for it

here in

Ireland

let's look

for it all

over the

world

that the

multitudes

of the

whole earth

may be

filled

with the

knowledge

of the

glory

of the

Lord

to know

the glory

and

knowing

in the

Hebrew

has the

idea

not just

of an

intellectual

knowledge

and

understanding

but it's

a total

relationship

we would

say in

English

of the

head

and the

heart

in every

part of

us

relating

to the

glory

of the

Lord

it's

actually

the word

excuse

me

but it's

the word

that's

used

for

sexual

relationship

a man

knows

his wife

there's not

just something

intellectual there

is it

there's something

a little bit

more than

that

it's a

relationship

of the

totality

of your

being

the whole

of you

the emotional

the physical

the spiritual

everything else

that we are

relates

together

yeah

well now

of course

the knowledge

of the glory

of the Lord

is not some

sexual thing

but it's

the totality

of our being

in every

way

knowing

the glory

of the

Lord

wonderful

the glory

of the

Lord

knowing

the glory

experiencing

the glory

relating

to the

glory

of the

Lord

not some

old fashioned

God

not some

irrelevant

weak

God

but the

glory

of the

Lord

and of course

we immediately

ask well

as followers

of the

Lord

as the

ambassadors

of the

Lord

what sort

of Lord

are we

taking

to the

people of

Ireland

or as we

go overseas

to the

people

elsewhere

what sort

of Lord

are we

taking

because

we do

take the

Lord

wherever we

go

whether we

like it

or not

and whether

other people

like it

or not

the only

question

is what

sort

of Lord

are you

taking

you know

Christopher

Columbus

is not

one of my

favourite

church

heroes

but

Christopher

Columbus

wrote

a journal

most of

it sadly

has been

lost

or maybe

fortunately

I don't

know

but in

the remnants

of his

journal

there's one

passage

where he

glories

in

the fact

that he

is crossing

the oceans

taking

Christ

wherever

he goes

and he

rejoices

in his

name

Christopher

and those

of you

who remember

your Latin

which of

course

used to

be fluent

in the

good old

days

but

Christopher

the one

who bears

Christ

who carries

Christ

you know

all of us

are Christophers

actually all of us

are saints

as well

so all of us

are little

St.

Christopher's

isn't that

nice

so when you

come to

the fellowship

here next

Sunday

you can

say to

each other

good morning

St.

Christopher

so that'll

give you

safety on

your journeys

but leave

that aside

we are

Christophers

now

when you

come to

Christopher

Columbus

you say

well

what sort

of Christ

did he

actually

take to

the

Americas

was it

a good

representation

of Christ

well I

don't want

to discuss

Columbus

that's not