1 00:00:09,631 --> 00:00:12,617 He asked the pastors that he's preaching to, 2 00:00:12,617 --> 00:00:15,200 would you rather have 3 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,483 a hundred fireball radicals 4 00:00:17,483 --> 00:00:20,880 in your church 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:23,398 than a hundred wooden Indians, 6 00:00:23,398 --> 00:00:26,790 people that sit there... 7 00:00:26,790 --> 00:00:31,592 I know what my answer to that question would be. 8 00:00:31,592 --> 00:00:33,866 I mean, if I thought right now about 9 00:00:33,866 --> 00:00:37,909 what would I want a church to look like 10 00:00:37,909 --> 00:00:39,669 that I was pastoring? 11 00:00:39,669 --> 00:00:41,789 I have a picture in my mind of what that is. 12 00:00:41,789 --> 00:00:44,710 And I'll definitely tell you, it's on the fireball radical end 13 00:00:44,710 --> 00:00:46,692 rather than the wooden Indian end. 14 00:00:46,692 --> 00:00:48,374 And I think to myself, 15 00:00:48,374 --> 00:00:52,020 Ok, you've got Brother Kyle, he's pastoring this church. 16 00:00:52,020 --> 00:00:54,765 Gary, he's an elder here. 17 00:00:54,765 --> 00:00:58,379 What their picture of the ideal church 18 00:00:58,379 --> 00:01:00,169 is I'm certain going to be different 19 00:01:00,169 --> 00:01:01,353 than what mine is 20 00:01:01,353 --> 00:01:03,484 and what Gary's is is different than Kyle's. 21 00:01:03,484 --> 00:01:06,240 There won't be vast differences, 22 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:07,805 but maybe a little bit 23 00:01:07,805 --> 00:01:09,654 based on our preferences, 24 00:01:09,654 --> 00:01:14,918 our gifts, our desire, and vision. 25 00:01:14,918 --> 00:01:18,158 And how do we get 26 00:01:18,158 --> 00:01:20,123 to where we have that? 27 00:01:20,123 --> 00:01:23,156 Our lives are up and down. 28 00:01:23,156 --> 00:01:25,511 Brother Kyle's talking right now about 29 00:01:25,511 --> 00:01:27,949 we're at a certain chapter in our life 30 00:01:27,949 --> 00:01:30,241 We're not only at a certain chapter in our life, 31 00:01:30,241 --> 00:01:32,807 we're at a chapter in our church's lives. 32 00:01:32,807 --> 00:01:34,782 And the churches are changing. 33 00:01:34,782 --> 00:01:38,626 You know, I came here in '93. 34 00:01:38,626 --> 00:01:40,680 Fifteen years ago. 35 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,199 Old building out there. 36 00:01:44,199 --> 00:01:45,945 Who was still here then? 37 00:01:45,945 --> 00:01:47,101 Lots of people, 38 00:01:47,101 --> 00:01:48,586 that aren't here now. 39 00:01:48,586 --> 00:01:49,675 It was different. 40 00:01:49,675 --> 00:01:51,444 And lots of people are here now 41 00:01:51,444 --> 00:01:53,680 that weren't here then. 42 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:55,090 It was a different climate. 43 00:01:55,090 --> 00:01:57,500 Things were changing. 44 00:01:57,500 --> 00:01:59,460 We've seen that in our own church. 45 00:01:59,460 --> 00:02:01,245 It's been 7 1/2 years now. 46 00:02:01,245 --> 00:02:03,738 And things are constantly changing. 47 00:02:03,738 --> 00:02:04,848 Different people come 48 00:02:04,848 --> 00:02:06,601 and with those people come gifts 49 00:02:06,601 --> 00:02:09,314 and different degrees of intensity 50 00:02:09,314 --> 00:02:11,070 and there's no doubt about it, 51 00:02:11,070 --> 00:02:12,466 you lose some people. 52 00:02:12,466 --> 00:02:14,058 And you lose some of that. 53 00:02:14,058 --> 00:02:16,463 And we can have desires about 54 00:02:16,463 --> 00:02:19,285 what we might want things to look like, 55 00:02:19,285 --> 00:02:22,048 and yet if the Lord doesn't put it together that way, 56 00:02:22,048 --> 00:02:24,598 we could have all the desires in the world. 57 00:02:24,598 --> 00:02:27,139 We can ask God. We can lay these prayers out there, 58 00:02:27,139 --> 00:02:29,799 but ultimately, whatever the chemistry is, 59 00:02:29,799 --> 00:02:31,728 whatever the makeup is, 60 00:02:31,728 --> 00:02:34,476 we're so dependent on the Lord. 61 00:02:34,476 --> 00:02:37,532 But I realize this, 62 00:02:37,532 --> 00:02:42,460 if you come into the New Testament, 63 00:02:42,460 --> 00:02:44,381 what you find so often 64 00:02:44,381 --> 00:02:46,049 is that the New Testament writers, 65 00:02:46,049 --> 00:02:48,511 especially I'm thinking right now of Paul. 66 00:02:48,511 --> 00:02:51,222 It's not so much when he wants something. 67 00:02:51,222 --> 00:02:55,898 He wants to see God's people in a certain shape, 68 00:02:55,898 --> 00:02:56,954 a certain character. 69 00:02:56,954 --> 00:02:59,287 Or he wants to see the churches a certain way. 70 00:02:59,287 --> 00:03:02,018 It's very interesting in the New Testament. 71 00:03:02,018 --> 00:03:04,257 It's not so much that 72 00:03:04,257 --> 00:03:06,556 we're thrown the Ten Commandments in our face. 73 00:03:06,556 --> 00:03:09,370 Very often, you know what Paul would do 74 00:03:09,370 --> 00:03:15,580 is I want to teach the Corinthians about giving. 75 00:03:15,580 --> 00:03:18,502 Very interesting. 76 00:03:18,502 --> 00:03:21,613 He lays before them Christ. 77 00:03:21,613 --> 00:03:23,859 Or you think about the Philippians. 78 00:03:23,859 --> 00:03:27,038 I want to teach them about humility. 79 00:03:27,038 --> 00:03:29,707 Where better can he go? 80 00:03:29,707 --> 00:03:32,700 And he throws out Christ, 81 00:03:32,700 --> 00:03:34,018 equal with God, 82 00:03:34,018 --> 00:03:37,862 laid aside His glory, came here to this earth, 83 00:03:37,862 --> 00:03:40,352 took upon the form of a man. 84 00:03:40,352 --> 00:03:43,481 And I really believe, 85 00:03:43,481 --> 00:03:48,043 Brother Kyle says he wanted me to come here, 86 00:03:48,043 --> 00:03:51,954 and try, whatever he thought he would get from me. 87 00:03:51,954 --> 00:03:54,045 Obviously, he has something in mind 88 00:03:54,045 --> 00:03:57,597 when I'm preaching. 89 00:03:57,597 --> 00:04:00,448 But I've realized this, 90 00:04:00,448 --> 00:04:03,558 I want the hundred firebrand 91 00:04:03,558 --> 00:04:05,692 radicals in our church. 92 00:04:05,692 --> 00:04:07,334 And I would suspect that Kyle 93 00:04:07,334 --> 00:04:10,292 probably would have a preference on that end as well. 94 00:04:10,292 --> 00:04:11,504 And I thought about, 95 00:04:11,504 --> 00:04:13,695 how do you get that? 96 00:04:13,695 --> 00:04:16,058 Ok, well, if Paul's going to take us to Christ 97 00:04:16,058 --> 00:04:17,373 in these other things, 98 00:04:17,373 --> 00:04:18,508 this is probably it. 99 00:04:18,508 --> 00:04:21,469 If the Spirit of God - because that's where we're dependent, 100 00:04:21,469 --> 00:04:24,574 if the power of God does not produce what we're looking for here, 101 00:04:24,574 --> 00:04:27,336 we're just dead in the water, folks. 102 00:04:27,336 --> 00:04:28,430 And I realize this, 103 00:04:28,430 --> 00:04:31,693 God is very interested in glorifying His Son. 104 00:04:31,693 --> 00:04:33,118 In fact, that Spirit was put 105 00:04:33,118 --> 00:04:34,984 into the church and into this world 106 00:04:34,984 --> 00:04:36,168 to do just that thing: 107 00:04:36,168 --> 00:04:37,525 to exalt Christ. 108 00:04:37,525 --> 00:04:40,302 So if we can't go there and produce something, folks, 109 00:04:40,302 --> 00:04:42,009 then I don't know that I have 110 00:04:42,009 --> 00:04:44,641 any hope of going anywhere else. 111 00:04:44,641 --> 00:04:45,689 And so, 112 00:04:45,689 --> 00:04:50,900 let's read together in Luke 19. 113 00:04:50,900 --> 00:04:55,291 Luke 19:41-46 114 00:04:55,291 --> 00:04:58,762 I am simply taking a snapshot 115 00:04:58,762 --> 00:05:01,960 of the life of Christ. 116 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:04,175 Now realize, I could have gone 117 00:05:04,175 --> 00:05:06,425 to many places, 118 00:05:06,425 --> 00:05:08,378 but there's just something about 119 00:05:08,378 --> 00:05:15,983 these verses that I find very interesting. 120 00:05:22,495 --> 00:05:26,705 Luke 19:41 121 00:05:29,509 --> 00:05:32,341 Got that brother? 122 00:05:32,341 --> 00:05:37,302 I'll give you time to get there. 123 00:05:37,302 --> 00:05:42,416 Luke 19:41 124 00:05:45,397 --> 00:05:49,620 "And when He was come near, 125 00:05:49,620 --> 00:05:51,490 He beheld the city." 126 00:05:51,490 --> 00:05:55,554 Of course, this is speaking of our Lord. 127 00:05:55,554 --> 00:05:57,801 "...and wept over it. 128 00:05:57,801 --> 00:06:02,070 Saying 'if thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, 129 00:06:02,070 --> 00:06:05,400 the things which belong unto thy peace, 130 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:07,729 but now they are hid from thine eyes, 131 00:06:07,729 --> 00:06:10,437 for the day shall come upon thee, that thine enemy shall 132 00:06:10,437 --> 00:06:12,622 cast a trench about thee, encompass thee round 133 00:06:12,622 --> 00:06:14,834 and keep thee in on every side, 134 00:06:14,834 --> 00:06:17,065 and shall lay thee even with the ground 135 00:06:17,065 --> 00:06:18,501 and thy children within thee, 136 00:06:18,501 --> 00:06:19,871 and they shall not leave 137 00:06:19,871 --> 00:06:22,897 in thee one stone upon another, 138 00:06:22,897 --> 00:06:24,998 because thou knewest not 139 00:06:24,998 --> 00:06:27,694 the time of thy visitation.' 140 00:06:27,694 --> 00:06:29,027 And He went into the temple, 141 00:06:29,027 --> 00:06:32,297 and began to cast out them that sold therein 142 00:06:32,297 --> 00:06:33,402 and them that bought, 143 00:06:33,402 --> 00:06:34,374 saying unto them, 144 00:06:34,374 --> 00:06:37,924 'it is written, 'my house is the house of prayer, but ye have made it 145 00:06:37,924 --> 00:06:40,221 a den of thieves.'" 146 00:06:40,221 --> 00:06:46,577 Now, I have entitled my sermon 147 00:06:46,577 --> 00:06:52,707 "From Weeping to Whipping" 148 00:06:52,707 --> 00:06:57,008 subtitled, "The Necessity of Passion in Missions." 149 00:06:57,008 --> 00:06:58,317 It's apparent to me, 150 00:06:58,317 --> 00:07:00,903 as it probably is to you, 151 00:07:00,903 --> 00:07:03,167 that the people who come along in life 152 00:07:03,167 --> 00:07:06,176 and turn the world upside down 153 00:07:06,176 --> 00:07:10,651 are not the ones who are indifferent. 154 00:07:10,651 --> 00:07:12,526 That's just true. 155 00:07:12,526 --> 00:07:14,284 It's not the disinterest. 156 00:07:14,284 --> 00:07:18,062 It's not the neutral, 157 00:07:18,062 --> 00:07:20,002 cool-spirited individual 158 00:07:20,002 --> 00:07:22,837 who usually makes a difference in this world. 159 00:07:22,837 --> 00:07:26,026 Rather, it tends to be the passionate people. 160 00:07:26,026 --> 00:07:27,564 When I talk about passion, 161 00:07:27,564 --> 00:07:30,677 I mean that unusually powerful emotion, 162 00:07:30,677 --> 00:07:34,537 compulsion that drives some to be and do, 163 00:07:34,537 --> 00:07:35,980 what so many others, 164 00:07:35,980 --> 00:07:40,990 they just sit on the sidelines and they watch. 165 00:07:40,990 --> 00:07:44,046 That's the idea. 166 00:07:44,046 --> 00:07:47,059 It just seems to me, 167 00:07:47,059 --> 00:07:49,652 that if you look at this world, 168 00:07:49,652 --> 00:07:52,957 look at our history - the history of mankind. 169 00:07:52,957 --> 00:07:54,105 You look around. 170 00:07:54,105 --> 00:07:56,095 Everything great; everything worthwhile; 171 00:07:56,095 --> 00:07:57,745 if things are significant, 172 00:07:57,745 --> 00:07:59,244 if you see something out there 173 00:07:59,244 --> 00:08:01,148 that's impactful, fulfilling, 174 00:08:01,148 --> 00:08:03,010 it's typically the result of 175 00:08:03,010 --> 00:08:07,421 somebody's undeniable and unstoppable passion. 176 00:08:07,421 --> 00:08:09,306 The endeavors that stand out 177 00:08:09,306 --> 00:08:11,287 in human history are the result 178 00:08:11,287 --> 00:08:13,567 of people with deep, consuming desire 179 00:08:13,567 --> 00:08:15,719 to see something come to pass. 180 00:08:15,719 --> 00:08:17,652 Brethren, you just look around. 181 00:08:17,652 --> 00:08:18,697 You look at history. 182 00:08:18,697 --> 00:08:21,586 You look at every major military endeavor. 183 00:08:21,586 --> 00:08:26,549 You look at the major scientific breakthroughs, 184 00:08:26,549 --> 00:08:29,315 pioneering expanses into the unknown, 185 00:08:29,315 --> 00:08:31,615 greatest ages, greatest turns in history, 186 00:08:31,615 --> 00:08:33,705 they're marked typically by 187 00:08:33,705 --> 00:08:37,673 certain valiant efforts of somebody 188 00:08:37,673 --> 00:08:38,838 somewhere 189 00:08:38,838 --> 00:08:40,479 some time 190 00:08:40,479 --> 00:08:43,419 that had passion. 191 00:08:43,419 --> 00:08:45,014 I mean really. 192 00:08:45,014 --> 00:08:46,159 You know that's true. 193 00:08:46,159 --> 00:08:50,436 The world is typically turned by the fanatics. 194 00:08:50,436 --> 00:08:53,567 It's always been turned by the passionate people. 195 00:08:53,567 --> 00:08:54,591 And you know what? 196 00:08:54,591 --> 00:08:58,467 It's no less true for the missionary endeavor. 197 00:08:58,467 --> 00:09:00,932 Every major missionary advance, 198 00:09:00,932 --> 00:09:03,859 every penetration in the world's darkest holes. 199 00:09:03,859 --> 00:09:06,278 Heard a little bit about William Carey. 200 00:09:06,278 --> 00:09:09,883 What do you think was pulsing through that man's heart and veins 201 00:09:09,883 --> 00:09:12,362 those days in his little shop there, 202 00:09:12,362 --> 00:09:14,042 when he'd work on those shoes. 203 00:09:14,042 --> 00:09:16,791 What was he doing all the time? 204 00:09:16,791 --> 00:09:18,204 Maps. 205 00:09:18,204 --> 00:09:21,137 His mind is off in other places. 206 00:09:21,137 --> 00:09:24,635 He's contemplating the heathen. 207 00:09:24,635 --> 00:09:26,556 It's the passionate people. 208 00:09:26,556 --> 00:09:28,357 You've got Hudson Taylor. 209 00:09:28,357 --> 00:09:29,628 What's the guy doing? 210 00:09:29,628 --> 00:09:31,437 I mean before he goes to China. 211 00:09:31,437 --> 00:09:33,836 The guy's sleeping on boards! 212 00:09:33,836 --> 00:09:36,790 He's eating rice. 213 00:09:36,790 --> 00:09:40,939 He's in some dismal shanty shack part of town, 214 00:09:40,939 --> 00:09:43,588 and he's ministering to people. 215 00:09:43,588 --> 00:09:46,614 While his friends are doing what? 216 00:09:46,614 --> 00:09:48,514 They're sleeping on the cushy beds. 217 00:09:48,514 --> 00:09:52,680 They're eating roast beef and pudding, right? 218 00:09:52,680 --> 00:09:56,084 And you don't even know about his friends. 219 00:09:56,084 --> 00:09:59,114 But you can sure read about him. 220 00:09:59,114 --> 00:10:02,599 Folks, it's typically the passionate people 221 00:10:02,599 --> 00:10:07,037 who seem to exchange the safety of inaction, 222 00:10:07,037 --> 00:10:09,342 and there is safety in it, folks. 223 00:10:09,342 --> 00:10:12,854 But they exchange that safety of inaction 224 00:10:12,854 --> 00:10:16,097 for the hazards of God-inspired progress 225 00:10:16,097 --> 00:10:17,654 out somewhere. 226 00:10:17,654 --> 00:10:19,742 Whether it's into your neighborhoods 227 00:10:19,742 --> 00:10:22,049 or out among the heathens somewhere. 228 00:10:22,049 --> 00:10:24,714 That's just the way it is. 229 00:10:24,714 --> 00:10:27,580 It's said that Robert Murray McCheyne, 230 00:10:27,580 --> 00:10:30,131 wherever he stepped, Scotland shook. 231 00:10:30,131 --> 00:10:32,152 Now I realize he wasn't a missionary, 232 00:10:32,152 --> 00:10:34,296 but he definitely had an evangelist's heart. 233 00:10:34,296 --> 00:10:36,643 He made a nation shake. 234 00:10:36,643 --> 00:10:38,940 What is it that makes nations shake? 235 00:10:38,940 --> 00:10:40,770 You think it might be the fact 236 00:10:40,770 --> 00:10:42,824 that when that man stepped into the pulpit 237 00:10:42,824 --> 00:10:44,619 he couldn't help but weep 238 00:10:44,619 --> 00:10:47,241 and show sorrow and anguish for souls 239 00:10:47,241 --> 00:10:49,778 just about every time? 240 00:10:49,778 --> 00:10:51,524 Stick his head in the Bible 241 00:10:51,524 --> 00:10:53,150 and just weep for the people. 242 00:10:53,150 --> 00:10:54,915 There was passion, there was emotion. 243 00:10:54,915 --> 00:10:57,662 You think that had anything... 244 00:10:57,662 --> 00:11:00,494 Folks, 245 00:11:05,613 --> 00:11:16,833 these are the things that are going to move this world. 246 00:11:16,833 --> 00:11:23,408 Jim Elliot - he said, 247 00:11:23,408 --> 00:11:25,057 "the shouts in our churches 248 00:11:25,057 --> 00:11:32,512 have been replaced by yawns." 249 00:11:32,512 --> 00:11:35,687 Now you know what? 250 00:11:35,687 --> 00:11:38,575 I know where we're at as a church 251 00:11:38,575 --> 00:11:40,703 - the church I pastor - 252 00:11:40,703 --> 00:11:44,259 I have some idea about where it's at. 253 00:11:44,259 --> 00:11:46,565 I'm not exactly certain where Community is. 254 00:11:46,565 --> 00:11:51,136 I haven't been here for over seven years. 255 00:11:51,136 --> 00:11:53,627 But is that the case? 256 00:11:53,627 --> 00:11:57,497 Are there yawns now where there used to be shouts? 257 00:11:57,497 --> 00:12:00,194 I remember those days 15 years ago. 258 00:12:00,194 --> 00:12:06,185 I heard plenty of shouting here. 259 00:12:09,102 --> 00:12:10,729 Folks, it's always been that way. 260 00:12:10,729 --> 00:12:15,279 Passion drives the evangelistic endeavor. 261 00:12:15,279 --> 00:12:18,045 It's always been the burning heart 262 00:12:18,045 --> 00:12:21,391 that presses forth with the new endeavor. 263 00:12:21,391 --> 00:12:24,153 It's the burning heart that starts them. 264 00:12:24,153 --> 00:12:31,068 It's the burning heart that sustains them. 265 00:12:31,068 --> 00:12:33,812 And where that passion is quenched, 266 00:12:33,812 --> 00:12:36,118 mark my words, 267 00:12:36,118 --> 00:12:39,026 you cannot produce a single example to me 268 00:12:39,026 --> 00:12:40,949 where passion is quenched, 269 00:12:40,949 --> 00:12:43,047 where the missionary endeavor 270 00:12:43,047 --> 00:12:45,814 will continue to live. 271 00:12:45,814 --> 00:12:48,526 Oh, you can coldly carry on 272 00:12:48,526 --> 00:12:51,237 some mechanical little deal 273 00:12:51,237 --> 00:12:52,771 that you've got going. 274 00:12:52,771 --> 00:12:54,555 You can coldly sign the check 275 00:12:54,555 --> 00:12:56,418 and send it to somebody on the 276 00:12:56,418 --> 00:12:57,810 other side of the world. 277 00:12:57,810 --> 00:12:59,817 I'm not saying you can't do that 278 00:12:59,817 --> 00:13:01,276 and there be no passion, 279 00:13:01,276 --> 00:13:03,368 but you can't maintain this thing 280 00:13:03,368 --> 00:13:05,613 in the way that God would 281 00:13:05,613 --> 00:13:08,652 have you to do it, unless there is passion. 282 00:13:08,652 --> 00:13:11,082 To have the kind of impact on this world 283 00:13:11,082 --> 00:13:13,602 to turn it upside down for Christ, 284 00:13:13,602 --> 00:13:16,115 it requires the hot heart. 285 00:13:16,115 --> 00:13:20,472 Not the cool mind. 286 00:13:20,472 --> 00:13:23,361 So, brethren, the case I want to make 287 00:13:23,361 --> 00:13:25,580 this morning, tomorrow, 288 00:13:25,580 --> 00:13:27,106 this is really just going to be 289 00:13:27,106 --> 00:13:28,785 one long message from right now 290 00:13:28,785 --> 00:13:30,259 all the way through when 291 00:13:30,259 --> 00:13:32,874 I say amen tomorrow 292 00:13:32,874 --> 00:13:34,218 is this: 293 00:13:34,218 --> 00:13:37,393 God-breathed passion sustains 294 00:13:37,393 --> 00:13:38,913 the missionary endeavor. 295 00:13:38,913 --> 00:13:40,345 There's no substitute for this 296 00:13:40,345 --> 00:13:42,710 where passion for God for souls is weak, 297 00:13:42,710 --> 00:13:45,131 zeal for missions will be weak. 298 00:13:45,131 --> 00:13:46,770 And where that passion dies, 299 00:13:46,770 --> 00:13:49,614 you can have all the learning, 300 00:13:49,614 --> 00:13:51,252 and you can have all your books, 301 00:13:51,252 --> 00:13:52,934 you can have all your Calvinism, 302 00:13:52,934 --> 00:13:54,364 you can have all your money, 303 00:13:54,364 --> 00:13:55,904 and programs, your theatrics, 304 00:13:55,904 --> 00:13:58,006 all sorts of people, all the talk, 305 00:13:58,006 --> 00:14:00,813 all the intentions, all the analyzing, 306 00:14:00,813 --> 00:14:01,970 all of it, 307 00:14:01,970 --> 00:14:04,198 will do little good. 308 00:14:04,198 --> 00:14:07,279 God give us passionate people. 309 00:14:07,279 --> 00:14:08,738 I would rather have 10 310 00:14:08,738 --> 00:14:12,067 wild-eyed passionate savages 311 00:14:12,067 --> 00:14:13,787 that you've got to corral 312 00:14:13,787 --> 00:14:15,119 and guide and direct 313 00:14:15,119 --> 00:14:16,665 and they scare you half the time 314 00:14:16,665 --> 00:14:18,091 than a bunch of people, 315 00:14:18,091 --> 00:14:19,529 a hundred people, two hundred, 316 00:14:19,529 --> 00:14:20,320 five hundred 317 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:21,512 that they all sit there, 318 00:14:21,512 --> 00:14:24,520 and you get all stirred up... 319 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:25,828 I can remember being in a 320 00:14:25,828 --> 00:14:27,339 reformed Baptist church up in 321 00:14:27,339 --> 00:14:28,145 Grand Rapids. 322 00:14:28,145 --> 00:14:29,718 Now, that just gave that away 323 00:14:29,718 --> 00:14:30,429 who that is, 324 00:14:30,429 --> 00:14:32,747 but I remember something exciting 325 00:14:32,747 --> 00:14:34,329 coming from the pulpit, 326 00:14:34,329 --> 00:14:36,849 and one guy said, 327 00:14:36,849 --> 00:14:39,381 "Mmmm." 328 00:14:39,381 --> 00:14:41,470 I thought (scream), I want to 329 00:14:41,470 --> 00:14:45,215 go back to Community. 330 00:14:47,726 --> 00:14:49,466 Folks, 331 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,773 let our people be simple, let them be poor 332 00:14:53,773 --> 00:14:57,008 let them be insignificant in this world's estimation, 333 00:14:57,008 --> 00:14:59,309 lowly, despised, foolish, weak, 334 00:14:59,309 --> 00:15:01,007 but just let them burn with a 335 00:15:01,007 --> 00:15:02,426 God-given fire. 336 00:15:02,426 --> 00:15:04,002 One of the greatest hopes of the 337 00:15:04,002 --> 00:15:05,287 missionary endeavor, 338 00:15:05,287 --> 00:15:08,522 it's this, it's fire in the pulpit. 339 00:15:08,522 --> 00:15:12,214 It's a blaze out there in the pews, in the seats. 340 00:15:12,214 --> 00:15:13,511 That's what's necessary. 341 00:15:13,511 --> 00:15:15,767 I'll use the words of old Duncan Campbell. 342 00:15:15,767 --> 00:15:16,770 He said this, 343 00:15:16,770 --> 00:15:20,621 "We shall, at our best, appear to 344 00:15:20,621 --> 00:15:27,510 a mad world as a crowd of common people 345 00:15:27,510 --> 00:15:29,447 in a common market 346 00:15:29,447 --> 00:15:32,525 babbling about common wares." 347 00:15:32,525 --> 00:15:36,922 And that's if we have no passion. 348 00:15:36,922 --> 00:15:39,638 I believe the best place, the first place, 349 00:15:39,638 --> 00:15:42,429 we need to look to find this necessary 350 00:15:42,429 --> 00:15:46,280 union of mission and passion 351 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:47,509 is in none other than 352 00:15:47,509 --> 00:15:49,583 the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. 353 00:15:49,583 --> 00:15:50,940 That's where we need to go. 354 00:15:50,940 --> 00:15:54,231 That's where I want us to go. 355 00:15:54,231 --> 00:15:57,452 We think of Him in so many ways. 356 00:15:57,452 --> 00:16:01,611 King. Lord. Judge. 357 00:16:01,611 --> 00:16:03,108 We thought about last night. 358 00:16:03,108 --> 00:16:04,620 All right and proper. 359 00:16:04,620 --> 00:16:07,307 We're talking missions this morning. 360 00:16:07,307 --> 00:16:08,861 And even here, we can't get away 361 00:16:08,861 --> 00:16:11,346 from the fact that even when it comes to missions, 362 00:16:11,346 --> 00:16:13,656 He is the First and the Last. 363 00:16:13,656 --> 00:16:15,680 He's the model. 364 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,172 Jesus is the classic missionary. 365 00:16:19,172 --> 00:16:21,417 He is the prototype missionary. 366 00:16:21,417 --> 00:16:23,139 In Him, we have the standard. 367 00:16:23,139 --> 00:16:25,754 Maybe you don't typically think that way about Him, 368 00:16:25,754 --> 00:16:27,375 but think with me here. 369 00:16:27,375 --> 00:16:29,148 The word: missionary. 370 00:16:29,148 --> 00:16:31,800 It comes from a Latin word, 371 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,285 derived from a word that has the meaning 372 00:16:35,285 --> 00:16:38,949 the act of sending. 373 00:16:38,949 --> 00:16:42,271 That's exactly what a missionary is, right? 374 00:16:42,271 --> 00:16:44,814 It's one we send. 375 00:16:44,814 --> 00:16:46,453 Someone sent forth to proclaim 376 00:16:46,453 --> 00:16:47,795 the Gospel of Christ. 377 00:16:47,795 --> 00:16:50,220 That's exactly what they did in Acts 13 is it not? 378 00:16:50,220 --> 00:16:51,615 The Spirit of God designated 379 00:16:51,615 --> 00:16:52,968 Barnabus and Saul, 380 00:16:52,968 --> 00:16:54,652 and it says there that the church 381 00:16:54,652 --> 00:16:56,106 sent them forth. 382 00:16:56,106 --> 00:16:57,818 They were sent out. 383 00:16:57,818 --> 00:16:59,364 Now in the Greek language, 384 00:16:59,364 --> 00:17:02,256 the equivalent word somewhat close to this 385 00:17:02,256 --> 00:17:04,873 is apostolos from which we get the word apostle. 386 00:17:04,873 --> 00:17:07,339 Both missionary and apostle have the same 387 00:17:07,339 --> 00:17:08,902 basic meaning. 388 00:17:08,902 --> 00:17:10,701 They contain the idea of one that is 389 00:17:10,701 --> 00:17:12,527 sent forth with a mission, 390 00:17:12,527 --> 00:17:14,184 or a messenger that is sent forth 391 00:17:14,184 --> 00:17:15,610 with a message. 392 00:17:15,610 --> 00:17:18,872 Listen, Scripture tells us, 393 00:17:18,872 --> 00:17:24,627 it actually gives Christ this title of apostle. 394 00:17:24,627 --> 00:17:26,879 In Hebrews 3:1 395 00:17:26,879 --> 00:17:28,236 "Wherefore holy brethren, 396 00:17:28,236 --> 00:17:29,971 partakers of the heavenly calling 397 00:17:29,971 --> 00:17:33,401 consider the Apostle and High Priest 398 00:17:33,401 --> 00:17:35,702 of our profession, Christ Jesus." 399 00:17:35,702 --> 00:17:41,681 Christ Jesus is the Apostle. 400 00:17:41,681 --> 00:17:43,221 Not just an apostle, 401 00:17:43,221 --> 00:17:44,842 He is the Apostle. 402 00:17:44,842 --> 00:17:45,998 He sets the standard. 403 00:17:45,998 --> 00:17:48,478 He is the missionary of missionaries. 404 00:17:48,478 --> 00:17:50,870 He is the messenger of God. 405 00:17:50,870 --> 00:17:53,891 He is the Chief Sent One. 406 00:17:53,891 --> 00:17:55,793 Now here's the thing, 407 00:17:55,793 --> 00:17:58,083 this is not at all 408 00:17:58,083 --> 00:18:02,105 a foreign concept in Scripture. 409 00:18:02,105 --> 00:18:04,511 Have you ever noticed how often 410 00:18:04,511 --> 00:18:07,025 Jesus said things like this? 411 00:18:07,025 --> 00:18:08,479 John 5:36 412 00:18:08,479 --> 00:18:13,575 "The Father hath sent Me." 413 00:18:13,575 --> 00:18:14,518 Luke 4:18 414 00:18:14,518 --> 00:18:17,695 "He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, 415 00:18:17,695 --> 00:18:19,559 to preach deliverance to the captives." 416 00:18:19,559 --> 00:18:20,884 John 4:34 417 00:18:20,884 --> 00:18:23,800 "My food is to do the will 418 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:26,180 of Him that sent Me." 419 00:18:26,180 --> 00:18:27,362 John 6:57 420 00:18:27,362 --> 00:18:29,069 "The living Father hath sent Me." 421 00:18:29,069 --> 00:18:30,099 And on we could go. 422 00:18:30,099 --> 00:18:33,246 At least some 34 times, 423 00:18:33,246 --> 00:18:36,019 just in the Gospel of John alone, 424 00:18:36,019 --> 00:18:39,583 Jesus Christ states that He is sent 425 00:18:39,583 --> 00:18:41,492 of the Father. 426 00:18:41,492 --> 00:18:43,001 Every time He says that 427 00:18:43,001 --> 00:18:45,855 He's affirming His missionary capacity. 428 00:18:45,855 --> 00:18:49,782 He is the Sent One. 429 00:18:49,782 --> 00:18:51,369 That's what a missionary is. 430 00:18:51,369 --> 00:18:53,493 Christ is the definitive God-sanctioned 431 00:18:53,493 --> 00:18:54,717 standard for missions. 432 00:18:54,717 --> 00:18:57,233 And I want you to notice something, 433 00:18:57,233 --> 00:18:59,206 it ought not to surprise us 434 00:18:59,206 --> 00:19:02,252 that it's John 435 00:19:02,252 --> 00:19:04,791 who all these times declares Him 436 00:19:04,791 --> 00:19:06,325 as the Sent One, 437 00:19:06,325 --> 00:19:08,564 more than any of the other Gospel writers. 438 00:19:08,564 --> 00:19:09,483 Why? 439 00:19:09,483 --> 00:19:11,311 Why ought that not to surprise us? 440 00:19:11,311 --> 00:19:14,420 Because you know how He starts his Gospel? 441 00:19:14,420 --> 00:19:17,514 You've got this everlasting Word. 442 00:19:17,514 --> 00:19:19,201 This Word who was with God, 443 00:19:19,201 --> 00:19:20,677 and who was God, 444 00:19:20,677 --> 00:19:22,136 and you get down to verse 14 445 00:19:22,136 --> 00:19:24,057 and what does that Word do? 446 00:19:24,057 --> 00:19:27,604 The Word became flesh 447 00:19:27,604 --> 00:19:30,961 and dwelt among us. 448 00:19:30,961 --> 00:19:32,401 Now what do we have here? 449 00:19:32,401 --> 00:19:34,897 We have incarnation. 450 00:19:34,897 --> 00:19:36,509 What do we mean by incarnation? 451 00:19:36,509 --> 00:19:38,935 That's a fancy word that means 452 00:19:38,935 --> 00:19:42,532 deity becomes humanity. 453 00:19:42,532 --> 00:19:44,143 Or God becomes man. 454 00:19:44,143 --> 00:19:46,629 In the beginning was the Word. 455 00:19:46,629 --> 00:19:48,660 The Word. The expression of God. 456 00:19:48,660 --> 00:19:50,171 The declaration of God. 457 00:19:50,171 --> 00:19:51,838 There you have the second person 458 00:19:51,838 --> 00:19:53,190 of the Godhead - 459 00:19:53,190 --> 00:19:54,793 that is Jesus Christ. 460 00:19:54,793 --> 00:19:57,608 The Word was with God. 461 00:19:57,608 --> 00:19:59,862 And the Word was God. 462 00:19:59,862 --> 00:20:01,252 He's speaking of Jesus. 463 00:20:01,252 --> 00:20:04,393 Now verse 14 tells us this truth. 464 00:20:04,393 --> 00:20:09,237 How did Jesus influence the world? 465 00:20:09,237 --> 00:20:13,124 He didn't sit 466 00:20:13,124 --> 00:20:17,084 up in glory 467 00:20:17,084 --> 00:20:20,986 and send us an email. 468 00:20:20,986 --> 00:20:22,930 The Lord didn't sit on the throne 469 00:20:22,930 --> 00:20:26,103 up in heaven and loft tracts down to us 470 00:20:26,103 --> 00:20:28,140 or holler down at us. 471 00:20:28,140 --> 00:20:30,197 What did He do? 472 00:20:30,197 --> 00:20:33,571 He came and He dwelt among us. 473 00:20:33,571 --> 00:20:36,495 The Word became flesh. 474 00:20:36,495 --> 00:20:38,442 Eternal deity that dwelt forever 475 00:20:38,442 --> 00:20:40,830 in power and glory and beauty 476 00:20:40,830 --> 00:20:42,640 of the same essence with the Father, 477 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:44,336 He gave up that glory. 478 00:20:44,336 --> 00:20:47,146 In condescension, He came forth 479 00:20:47,146 --> 00:20:48,630 on a mission. 480 00:20:48,630 --> 00:20:51,645 And what was His mission? 481 00:20:51,645 --> 00:20:53,546 Remember what He told Pilate? 482 00:20:53,546 --> 00:20:55,499 For this purpose I was born 483 00:20:55,499 --> 00:20:57,273 and for this purpose I have 484 00:20:57,273 --> 00:20:58,423 come into the world. 485 00:20:58,423 --> 00:21:01,166 And what was that purpose? 486 00:21:01,166 --> 00:21:06,464 To bear witness to the truth. 487 00:21:06,464 --> 00:21:09,532 The mission of the Christ: 488 00:21:09,532 --> 00:21:11,799 bear witness to the truth. 489 00:21:11,799 --> 00:21:13,169 Not just to bear witness to 490 00:21:13,169 --> 00:21:15,368 one truth among many. 491 00:21:15,368 --> 00:21:17,021 He's not saying there's one truth 492 00:21:17,021 --> 00:21:18,500 for you and another for me. 493 00:21:18,500 --> 00:21:20,181 Jesus Christ came into the world 494 00:21:20,181 --> 00:21:21,761 to bear witness to the truth. 495 00:21:21,761 --> 00:21:23,550 He was sent from heaven, 496 00:21:23,550 --> 00:21:25,130 by His Father, 497 00:21:25,130 --> 00:21:26,750 into this world, 498 00:21:26,750 --> 00:21:28,579 as a messenger of truth. 499 00:21:28,579 --> 00:21:32,483 Is that not exactly what missions is all about? 500 00:21:32,483 --> 00:21:33,659 He laid aside His glory. 501 00:21:33,659 --> 00:21:35,042 Laid aside His high position. 502 00:21:35,042 --> 00:21:37,091 Laid aside His comforts, His safety. 503 00:21:37,091 --> 00:21:38,406 And the Bible says, 504 00:21:38,406 --> 00:21:40,989 He descended into the lower parts 505 00:21:40,989 --> 00:21:42,141 of the earth, 506 00:21:42,141 --> 00:21:44,383 and He took upon Himself the form of humanity. 507 00:21:44,383 --> 00:21:46,919 He came, He dwelt in the womb of the virgin. 508 00:21:46,919 --> 00:21:49,937 The Eternal Word became flesh. 509 00:21:49,937 --> 00:21:52,033 That is the reality of incarnation. 510 00:21:52,033 --> 00:21:56,597 And that is the very fabric of missions. 511 00:21:56,597 --> 00:21:58,354 And here's the thing, 512 00:21:58,354 --> 00:22:02,139 passion characterized that incarnation. 513 00:22:02,139 --> 00:22:03,768 The Word became flesh, 514 00:22:03,768 --> 00:22:08,110 and what did He do? 515 00:22:08,110 --> 00:22:11,768 He dwelt among us. 516 00:22:11,768 --> 00:22:14,684 He did not dwell far away, 517 00:22:14,684 --> 00:22:17,090 out there in a field, 518 00:22:17,090 --> 00:22:19,080 up on a mountain top, 519 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:20,701 in a monastery. 520 00:22:20,701 --> 00:22:23,927 He came and He dwelt among us. 521 00:22:23,927 --> 00:22:25,760 Not like some stoic, 522 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:27,491 not all cool and detached. 523 00:22:27,491 --> 00:22:29,895 He dwelt among us with His passions. 524 00:22:29,895 --> 00:22:30,852 Look at the man. 525 00:22:30,852 --> 00:22:32,177 The God-man. 526 00:22:32,177 --> 00:22:33,624 He came from heaven. 527 00:22:33,624 --> 00:22:34,942 Sent of His Father, 528 00:22:34,942 --> 00:22:36,997 and what did He come into this world with? 529 00:22:36,997 --> 00:22:39,279 He brought His tears here. 530 00:22:39,279 --> 00:22:41,213 He brought His indignation here. 531 00:22:41,213 --> 00:22:43,755 He brought His rejoicing in the Spirit here. 532 00:22:43,755 --> 00:22:45,442 He brought His sorrows here, 533 00:22:45,442 --> 00:22:46,803 He brought His zeal here, 534 00:22:46,803 --> 00:22:49,614 His compassion, His weeping, His anger, 535 00:22:49,614 --> 00:22:50,544 His love. 536 00:22:50,544 --> 00:22:51,879 He brought them here. 537 00:22:51,879 --> 00:22:53,410 He came from God 538 00:22:53,410 --> 00:22:55,214 with the bowels of love 539 00:22:55,214 --> 00:22:56,761 and He got right next to men 540 00:22:56,761 --> 00:22:58,460 in their sin 541 00:22:58,460 --> 00:22:59,579 and in their need. 542 00:22:59,579 --> 00:23:01,763 A passion burned in the heart of Jesus. 543 00:23:01,763 --> 00:23:04,123 And by that passion, He was driven 544 00:23:04,123 --> 00:23:06,648 to do His Father's will, 545 00:23:06,648 --> 00:23:09,491 and to go hard after the souls of men. 546 00:23:09,491 --> 00:23:11,013 To call sinners to repentance. 547 00:23:11,013 --> 00:23:13,359 And to go all the way to the cross. 548 00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:16,482 This passion drove Him right to where 549 00:23:16,482 --> 00:23:18,643 sinners are - in their dark holes, 550 00:23:18,643 --> 00:23:20,154 in their back streets, 551 00:23:20,154 --> 00:23:22,808 in the depths of where men dwell 552 00:23:22,808 --> 00:23:23,763 in their sin, 553 00:23:23,763 --> 00:23:25,873 and in their wickedness and their need 554 00:23:25,873 --> 00:23:27,215 and their depravity. 555 00:23:27,215 --> 00:23:30,707 He wasn't so cold and so passionless 556 00:23:30,707 --> 00:23:32,419 that He wasn't willing to condescend 557 00:23:32,419 --> 00:23:34,806 and dwell with the lowliest, neediest 558 00:23:34,806 --> 00:23:36,928 dirtiest, sinful creatures. 559 00:23:36,928 --> 00:23:40,795 He came on a mission to dwell among us. 560 00:23:40,795 --> 00:23:44,465 So forever stamp that into your minds. 561 00:23:44,465 --> 00:23:47,553 The reality of Christ as the great 562 00:23:47,553 --> 00:23:51,483 prototype missionary. 563 00:23:51,483 --> 00:23:55,555 Now, let's look at our text. 564 00:23:55,555 --> 00:23:57,563 Finally, Luke 19. 565 00:23:57,563 --> 00:24:00,260 Now look, the reason that I spent so much time 566 00:24:00,260 --> 00:24:01,875 looking at Jesus as a missionary 567 00:24:01,875 --> 00:24:03,384 is because what I want you to 568 00:24:03,384 --> 00:24:05,816 constantly have in your minds 569 00:24:05,816 --> 00:24:07,715 is that everywhere in the Gospels, 570 00:24:07,715 --> 00:24:10,410 including right here in Luke 19, 571 00:24:10,410 --> 00:24:14,709 Jesus is living, He's functioning, 572 00:24:14,709 --> 00:24:18,245 He's breathing, He's going about His business, 573 00:24:18,245 --> 00:24:22,705 in the mission field - His mission field. 574 00:24:22,705 --> 00:24:24,516 Everywhere we find Him in the pages 575 00:24:24,516 --> 00:24:25,820 of these four Gospels, 576 00:24:25,820 --> 00:24:29,310 He is the Apostle sent from Heaven 577 00:24:29,310 --> 00:24:31,263 to earth by the living Father. 578 00:24:31,263 --> 00:24:33,293 I want you to see Him as that. 579 00:24:33,293 --> 00:24:35,359 One who came from outside this world, 580 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:37,953 One who laid aside His comforts and His glory 581 00:24:37,953 --> 00:24:39,296 to dwell among us. 582 00:24:39,296 --> 00:24:40,924 Not far from us, among us. 583 00:24:40,924 --> 00:24:43,657 And we look here in Luke 19, 584 00:24:43,657 --> 00:24:46,528 I want you to feel this reality. 585 00:24:46,528 --> 00:24:48,507 As you experience the yearning, burning, 586 00:24:48,507 --> 00:24:50,070 passionate heart of Christ, 587 00:24:50,070 --> 00:24:52,709 see all that right there 588 00:24:52,709 --> 00:24:55,330 in the missionary context. 589 00:24:55,330 --> 00:24:58,155 Now, like I said before, 590 00:24:58,155 --> 00:25:00,718 I could have taken you to any number 591 00:25:00,718 --> 00:25:02,858 of texts that show you the sort 592 00:25:02,858 --> 00:25:05,591 of fire that burned in the missionary heart of Christ, 593 00:25:05,591 --> 00:25:08,100 but I find Luke 19 especially compelling. 594 00:25:08,100 --> 00:25:09,410 And I want to show you why, 595 00:25:09,410 --> 00:25:12,277 by having you notice three things here. 596 00:25:12,277 --> 00:25:14,144 First. 597 00:25:14,144 --> 00:25:23,343 Christ's passion agreed with His mission. 598 00:25:23,343 --> 00:25:25,924 In other words, you can actually see 599 00:25:25,924 --> 00:25:31,115 a distinct connection between what Christ 600 00:25:31,115 --> 00:25:37,166 got excited about and why He was there. 601 00:25:37,166 --> 00:25:39,006 Now let me explain what I mean. 602 00:25:39,006 --> 00:25:41,739 The very term "mission" implies 603 00:25:41,739 --> 00:25:43,741 there's a task to carry out. 604 00:25:43,741 --> 00:25:44,976 There's a goal. 605 00:25:44,976 --> 00:25:46,440 There's some aim at hand. 606 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:47,780 What might that aim for the 607 00:25:47,780 --> 00:25:49,680 Son of God be in coming into the world? 608 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,457 Well, we looked. He came to bear witness of the truth. 609 00:25:52,457 --> 00:25:57,719 He told us in some other places, maybe more reasons 610 00:25:57,719 --> 00:26:00,527 or a fuller picture on why He 611 00:26:00,527 --> 00:26:02,127 came into this world. 612 00:26:02,127 --> 00:26:04,056 Can you guys think of a text right off? 613 00:26:04,056 --> 00:26:06,150 He came into this world to? 614 00:26:06,150 --> 00:26:08,974 Save sinners. 615 00:26:08,974 --> 00:26:13,976 That's clearly very focal in the mission of Christ. 616 00:26:13,976 --> 00:26:17,128 Christ Jesus came into the world 617 00:26:17,128 --> 00:26:18,011 to save sinners. 618 00:26:18,011 --> 00:26:20,635 1 Timothy 1:15 619 00:26:20,635 --> 00:26:22,199 Here's the thing, 620 00:26:22,199 --> 00:26:25,454 I find that when I look there at Luke 19:41, 621 00:26:25,454 --> 00:26:27,179 we would all have to admit 622 00:26:27,179 --> 00:26:31,175 that the very nature of Christ's passion 623 00:26:31,175 --> 00:26:34,035 is absolutely consistent with His mission. 624 00:26:34,035 --> 00:26:36,181 It was for the souls of men that He wept 625 00:26:36,181 --> 00:26:38,342 as He looked over Jerusalem. 626 00:26:38,342 --> 00:26:41,291 Christ's mission is to save sinners. 627 00:26:41,291 --> 00:26:42,269 Now look, 628 00:26:42,269 --> 00:26:45,620 His passion is towards sinners. 629 00:26:45,620 --> 00:26:49,005 His mission is to save sinners. 630 00:26:49,005 --> 00:26:51,943 You see a consistency there? 631 00:26:51,943 --> 00:26:53,892 You see they're in harmony. 632 00:26:53,892 --> 00:26:58,167 His mission: rescue the souls of men. 633 00:26:58,167 --> 00:27:00,926 His bowels of compassion likewise 634 00:27:00,926 --> 00:27:03,612 yearned and burned for men. 635 00:27:03,612 --> 00:27:04,724 But there's more. 636 00:27:04,724 --> 00:27:10,410 In John 7:18, Jesus describes Himself like this. 637 00:27:10,410 --> 00:27:11,606 John 7:18 638 00:27:11,606 --> 00:27:15,692 He describes Himself as the One who seeks 639 00:27:15,692 --> 00:27:20,336 the glory of Him who sent Him. 640 00:27:20,336 --> 00:27:23,659 The Father sent the Son. 641 00:27:23,659 --> 00:27:25,374 And in being sent into this world, 642 00:27:25,374 --> 00:27:27,367 one of the aims of the One being sent 643 00:27:27,367 --> 00:27:28,999 is to seek the glory of the One 644 00:27:28,999 --> 00:27:30,559 doing the sending. 645 00:27:30,559 --> 00:27:32,733 The Son was sent and came 646 00:27:32,733 --> 00:27:34,960 in order to seek the glory of the Father. 647 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:36,648 And again, if we look right here 648 00:27:36,648 --> 00:27:38,655 at this portion that we read: 649 00:27:38,655 --> 00:27:40,918 Luke 19:45-46 650 00:27:40,918 --> 00:27:43,962 We find Christ full of holy zeal, 651 00:27:43,962 --> 00:27:46,998 for what? 652 00:27:46,998 --> 00:27:49,334 Nothing other than His Father's glory and honor. 653 00:27:49,334 --> 00:27:51,898 His mission, He says, 654 00:27:51,898 --> 00:27:53,529 was to come in to glorify the One 655 00:27:53,529 --> 00:27:54,513 who sent Him. 656 00:27:54,513 --> 00:27:57,421 And what do you find Him doing right there? 657 00:27:57,421 --> 00:27:58,680 His mission? 658 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:00,055 Glorify His Father. 659 00:28:00,055 --> 00:28:02,091 His zeal, His passion, 660 00:28:02,091 --> 00:28:03,918 was for the glory of His Father. 661 00:28:03,918 --> 00:28:05,143 Now look, 662 00:28:05,143 --> 00:28:06,759 you might be saying, 663 00:28:06,759 --> 00:28:09,515 ok we see that. 664 00:28:09,515 --> 00:28:13,745 Folks, don't miss the simplicity of this. 665 00:28:13,745 --> 00:28:16,578 His passion agreed with His mission. 666 00:28:16,578 --> 00:28:21,473 It is any wonder that we can't sustain 667 00:28:21,473 --> 00:28:23,191 high energy, high fervency exertions 668 00:28:23,191 --> 00:28:25,616 for some radical missionary advance 669 00:28:25,616 --> 00:28:27,441 into the kingdom of darkness 670 00:28:27,441 --> 00:28:30,409 when our people's passions are not 671 00:28:30,409 --> 00:28:34,105 consistent with our mission? 672 00:28:34,105 --> 00:28:36,642 Folks, when your passion is for 673 00:28:36,642 --> 00:28:39,722 the way your house looks, 674 00:28:39,722 --> 00:28:40,814 is it any surprising, 675 00:28:40,814 --> 00:28:42,617 that the church isn't sending forth 676 00:28:42,617 --> 00:28:45,143 more missionaries? 677 00:28:45,143 --> 00:28:50,474 When your passion is for the flowers, 678 00:28:50,474 --> 00:28:52,442 your passion is for the car, 679 00:28:52,442 --> 00:28:55,107 your passion is for the workshop, or your job, 680 00:28:55,107 --> 00:29:01,151 your passion is for your money; 681 00:29:01,151 --> 00:29:05,854 Do you really think that where we 682 00:29:05,854 --> 00:29:08,486 have people whose passions are not 683 00:29:08,486 --> 00:29:10,774 in the direction of the souls of men 684 00:29:10,774 --> 00:29:12,406 and the glory of God that we're 685 00:29:12,406 --> 00:29:15,884 going to produce any type of missionary thrust 686 00:29:15,884 --> 00:29:19,762 advance whatsoever? 687 00:29:19,762 --> 00:29:21,898 Folks, 688 00:29:21,898 --> 00:29:22,684 you know what? 689 00:29:22,684 --> 00:29:24,885 We can look around at a lot of churches. 690 00:29:24,885 --> 00:29:26,358 And I've found people, 691 00:29:26,358 --> 00:29:31,270 they are passionate for Calvinism. 692 00:29:31,270 --> 00:29:32,563 But they could give a flip 693 00:29:32,563 --> 00:29:34,284 whether the guy down the street 694 00:29:34,284 --> 00:29:37,906 is damned and going to hell. 695 00:29:37,906 --> 00:29:39,438 You've got people passionate 696 00:29:39,438 --> 00:29:41,519 for whether everybody's on time or not. 697 00:29:41,519 --> 00:29:44,057 Now I like that myself, 698 00:29:44,057 --> 00:29:46,298 but we have passion for Puritans, 699 00:29:46,298 --> 00:29:49,306 we have passion for this thing over here, 700 00:29:49,306 --> 00:29:52,581 passion for that thing... 701 00:29:52,581 --> 00:29:56,531 Folks, you get a passion for 702 00:29:56,531 --> 00:29:59,580 the three point expository sermon, 703 00:29:59,580 --> 00:30:01,985 passion for the regulative principle, 704 00:30:01,985 --> 00:30:04,958 passion for this and that... 705 00:30:04,958 --> 00:30:07,105 Everything be done orderly, 706 00:30:07,105 --> 00:30:09,923 and I'm not against all those types of things, 707 00:30:09,923 --> 00:30:17,095 but these same people won't shed a tear. 708 00:30:17,095 --> 00:30:19,380 I'd rather have a guy that can't 709 00:30:19,380 --> 00:30:22,043 come to church ever on time, 710 00:30:22,043 --> 00:30:24,265 but when you have prayer meeting, 711 00:30:24,265 --> 00:30:26,620 that guy is just doubled over, 712 00:30:26,620 --> 00:30:28,676 shedding tears. 713 00:30:28,676 --> 00:30:31,159 I personally would rather he come on time 714 00:30:31,159 --> 00:30:34,912 and bend over and shed tears, 715 00:30:34,912 --> 00:30:36,027 but you know what, 716 00:30:36,027 --> 00:30:37,495 if it's one or the other, 717 00:30:37,495 --> 00:30:40,075 I'll tell you what I'll take. 718 00:30:40,075 --> 00:30:43,203 We have to ask ourselves that. 719 00:30:43,203 --> 00:30:45,324 Here's Christ. 720 00:30:45,324 --> 00:30:46,913 He had a mission. 721 00:30:46,913 --> 00:30:49,058 And He was passionate about 722 00:30:49,058 --> 00:30:53,203 the aspects of that mission 723 00:30:53,203 --> 00:30:58,662 He came to fulfill. 724 00:30:58,662 --> 00:31:01,303 I assure you, folks. 725 00:31:01,303 --> 00:31:06,645 We will not see the type of sacrificial 726 00:31:06,645 --> 00:31:11,975 giving of time and money; 727 00:31:11,975 --> 00:31:14,403 We will not see the fervent 728 00:31:14,403 --> 00:31:17,112 prayers and fasting; 729 00:31:17,112 --> 00:31:19,019 We will not see people ready 730 00:31:19,019 --> 00:31:21,189 to lay down their lives 731 00:31:21,189 --> 00:31:26,485 and do some daring endeavors out of love, 732 00:31:26,485 --> 00:31:32,474 out of a desire for the passion of God, 733 00:31:32,474 --> 00:31:33,987 if we're all hung up about 734 00:31:33,987 --> 00:31:36,056 the Spurs or the Cowboys; 735 00:31:36,056 --> 00:31:38,604 if our passion in life is about guns 736 00:31:38,604 --> 00:31:39,918 or about the welder, 737 00:31:39,918 --> 00:31:44,645 or about the new tires for the car, 738 00:31:44,645 --> 00:31:47,760 or this toy and that toy. 739 00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:49,054 Who was it that said? 740 00:31:49,054 --> 00:31:51,166 And I don't think I'll even quote it right, 741 00:31:51,166 --> 00:31:53,946 but Tozer, he was talking about 742 00:31:53,946 --> 00:31:57,075 man's susceptibility to idolatry. 743 00:31:57,075 --> 00:32:01,078 We have this deep-seated tendency 744 00:32:01,078 --> 00:32:03,864 to be pulled aside by every idol 745 00:32:03,864 --> 00:32:05,340 that comes along. 746 00:32:05,340 --> 00:32:07,374 It seems like even as Christians, 747 00:32:07,374 --> 00:32:09,356 there's always one we're fighting. 748 00:32:09,356 --> 00:32:11,432 It's always something trying to creep 749 00:32:11,432 --> 00:32:14,305 back in - one or two or five things. 750 00:32:14,305 --> 00:32:16,179 Folks, you let your passions run 751 00:32:16,179 --> 00:32:17,386 off on those things; 752 00:32:17,386 --> 00:32:20,127 the church will die when it comes to missions. 753 00:32:20,127 --> 00:32:22,093 You just start giving your passions, 754 00:32:22,093 --> 00:32:25,594 you start giving your heart to all sorts 755 00:32:25,594 --> 00:32:26,595 of other things; 756 00:32:26,595 --> 00:32:28,893 this will never be sustained. 757 00:32:28,893 --> 00:32:30,286 Amy Carmichael said, 758 00:32:30,286 --> 00:32:33,134 "Oh, for a passionate passion for souls! 759 00:32:33,134 --> 00:32:35,980 Oh, for a pity that yearns! 760 00:32:35,980 --> 00:32:40,146 Oh, for the love that loves unto death! 761 00:32:40,146 --> 00:32:42,158 Oh, for the fire that burns! 762 00:32:42,158 --> 00:32:44,772 Oh, for the pure prayer power that prevails, 763 00:32:44,772 --> 00:32:47,355 that pours itself out for the lost, 764 00:32:47,355 --> 00:32:51,155 victorious prayer in the conqueror's name. 765 00:32:51,155 --> 00:32:54,030 Oh, for a Pentecost!" 766 00:32:54,030 --> 00:32:55,999 The second thing I want you to notice: 767 00:32:55,999 --> 00:32:59,910 The intensity of Christ's passions. 768 00:32:59,910 --> 00:33:01,689 You think with me real quick here. 769 00:33:01,689 --> 00:33:04,275 You know what? 770 00:33:04,275 --> 00:33:06,475 You've got to picture Him. 771 00:33:06,475 --> 00:33:08,197 This is what we often times look at 772 00:33:08,197 --> 00:33:09,749 with the triumphal entry. 773 00:33:09,749 --> 00:33:12,464 He's coming. 774 00:33:12,464 --> 00:33:14,159 He's on the back of this colt, 775 00:33:14,159 --> 00:33:15,238 and He looks out, 776 00:33:15,238 --> 00:33:16,914 and I guarantee you, folks, 777 00:33:16,914 --> 00:33:20,022 that when it says He's seeing Jerusalem there, 778 00:33:20,022 --> 00:33:22,156 He's not looking at buildings. 779 00:33:22,156 --> 00:33:24,667 He sees people in those streets. 780 00:33:24,667 --> 00:33:27,196 There are men, there are women, there are children. 781 00:33:27,196 --> 00:33:29,112 They are out about their business 782 00:33:29,112 --> 00:33:30,578 in the marketplaces, 783 00:33:30,578 --> 00:33:32,019 and He looks down there. 784 00:33:32,019 --> 00:33:35,373 Let me tell you something, 785 00:33:35,373 --> 00:33:37,697 It says He wept. 786 00:33:37,697 --> 00:33:39,112 I'm talking to you right now 787 00:33:39,112 --> 00:33:40,830 about the intensity of His passions. 788 00:33:40,830 --> 00:33:42,608 That is not the same word for weep 789 00:33:42,608 --> 00:33:44,951 that you find over in Luke 11 790 00:33:44,951 --> 00:33:47,664 when He wept at Lazarus's tomb. 791 00:33:47,664 --> 00:33:49,029 When He wept there, 792 00:33:49,029 --> 00:33:50,764 that term has to do with the fact 793 00:33:50,764 --> 00:33:52,306 that He shed tears. 794 00:33:52,306 --> 00:33:53,951 This one here has to do with the fact 795 00:33:53,951 --> 00:33:55,591 that He wailed. 796 00:33:55,591 --> 00:33:57,942 He lamented. 797 00:33:57,942 --> 00:33:59,422 If you ever read these words 798 00:33:59,422 --> 00:34:00,784 that He's speaking here 799 00:34:00,784 --> 00:34:02,781 as though He spoke them like some stoic, 800 00:34:02,781 --> 00:34:04,342 you are wrong. 801 00:34:04,342 --> 00:34:06,203 He is wailing. 802 00:34:06,203 --> 00:34:09,159 He is filled with affections and passions 803 00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:10,691 for the souls of men 804 00:34:10,691 --> 00:34:15,269 that literally rent Him. 805 00:34:15,269 --> 00:34:19,441 It tore at Him. 806 00:34:19,441 --> 00:34:21,786 Audible weeping is the emphasis. 807 00:34:21,786 --> 00:34:24,225 The most intense pity and sympathy 808 00:34:24,225 --> 00:34:25,649 and love and kindness 809 00:34:25,649 --> 00:34:28,121 compassion and sorrow are flowing together 810 00:34:28,121 --> 00:34:30,290 in this eruption of holy emotion. 811 00:34:30,290 --> 00:34:33,431 And the amazing thing about this is 812 00:34:33,431 --> 00:34:37,310 that in the matter of one verse, 813 00:34:37,310 --> 00:34:39,413 all of a sudden, Luke just 814 00:34:39,413 --> 00:34:41,452 whisks us away from that 815 00:34:41,452 --> 00:34:44,019 and puts us in the temple now. 816 00:34:44,019 --> 00:34:45,942 And what do you see there? 817 00:34:45,942 --> 00:34:48,459 I called this "From Weeping to Whipping." 818 00:34:48,459 --> 00:34:50,439 Now I hope you'll grant me that liberty. 819 00:34:50,439 --> 00:34:52,193 I realize that doesn't specifically 820 00:34:52,193 --> 00:34:53,191 say whipping here. 821 00:34:53,191 --> 00:34:54,797 It does over in John 2. 822 00:34:54,797 --> 00:34:56,831 And I realize that's a separate account, 823 00:34:56,831 --> 00:34:59,347 but I imagine that Him taking those cords, 824 00:34:59,347 --> 00:35:01,836 making them into a whip, driving them out of there, 825 00:35:01,836 --> 00:35:03,548 was effective enough the first time; 826 00:35:03,548 --> 00:35:06,566 He probably did it the same way the second time. 827 00:35:06,566 --> 00:35:07,803 But I tell you this, 828 00:35:07,803 --> 00:35:09,684 when I was lost, 829 00:35:09,684 --> 00:35:11,586 my friends and I did a lot of gambling. 830 00:35:11,586 --> 00:35:13,653 And I can remember sometimes sitting around 831 00:35:13,653 --> 00:35:15,546 the poker table, 832 00:35:15,546 --> 00:35:18,374 and there'd be 10 guys, 12 guys, 15 guys 833 00:35:18,374 --> 00:35:21,964 and an enormous amount of cash on that table. 834 00:35:21,964 --> 00:35:23,437 And I can tell you this, 835 00:35:23,437 --> 00:35:25,077 if some guy would have walked in 836 00:35:25,077 --> 00:35:27,659 off the street and flipped that table, 837 00:35:27,659 --> 00:35:29,652 we would have attacked him first, 838 00:35:29,652 --> 00:35:31,539 and then we would have been scrambling 839 00:35:31,539 --> 00:35:34,427 like mad to get our money off the floor. 840 00:35:34,427 --> 00:35:35,692 And I'll tell you what, 841 00:35:35,692 --> 00:35:37,491 for Christ to walk into that temple 842 00:35:37,491 --> 00:35:38,862 and do what He did 843 00:35:38,862 --> 00:35:40,610 and send those guys running, 844 00:35:40,610 --> 00:35:41,658 I'll tell you this, 845 00:35:41,658 --> 00:35:43,301 whatever He had in His hand 846 00:35:43,301 --> 00:35:44,618 or didn't have in His hand, 847 00:35:44,618 --> 00:35:47,100 whatever they saw in His face and in His expressions, 848 00:35:47,100 --> 00:35:48,527 it put the fear of God in them 849 00:35:48,527 --> 00:35:49,885 and they got out of there! 850 00:35:49,885 --> 00:35:51,718 He had passion. 851 00:35:51,718 --> 00:35:54,534 It was strong. 852 00:35:54,534 --> 00:35:58,259 He had the zeal as it says in John 2. 853 00:35:58,259 --> 00:36:03,978 The zeal of God's house had eaten Him up. 854 00:36:03,978 --> 00:36:06,716 Look folks, the Lord walked around 855 00:36:06,716 --> 00:36:10,034 this earth with fire burning in His heart. 856 00:36:10,034 --> 00:36:11,184 He had a fire there. 857 00:36:11,184 --> 00:36:14,765 It burned, it raged for the glory of His father. 858 00:36:14,765 --> 00:36:16,347 For the souls of men, 859 00:36:16,347 --> 00:36:17,537 there was intensity, 860 00:36:17,537 --> 00:36:18,685 there was fervency, 861 00:36:18,685 --> 00:36:21,837 it was always there. 862 00:36:21,837 --> 00:36:23,559 But you know what? 863 00:36:23,559 --> 00:36:25,810 Many folks don't like people like that 864 00:36:25,810 --> 00:36:28,193 in their churches. 865 00:36:28,193 --> 00:36:29,741 Why? 866 00:36:29,741 --> 00:36:31,736 It makes them feel uncomfortable. 867 00:36:31,736 --> 00:36:34,549 People like that, they're dangerous. They're unpredictable. 868 00:36:34,549 --> 00:36:35,682 They're unconventional. 869 00:36:35,682 --> 00:36:37,867 They don't follow proper etiquette. 870 00:36:37,867 --> 00:36:40,564 We need everything right and ordered. 871 00:36:40,564 --> 00:36:43,013 We've got to have that regulative principle in order. 872 00:36:43,013 --> 00:36:45,066 You know, people like that, they just shout at 873 00:36:45,066 --> 00:36:46,240 times they ought not to, 874 00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:48,615 or they do things strange, bizarre, 875 00:36:48,615 --> 00:36:49,692 make us uncomfortable. 876 00:36:49,692 --> 00:36:51,663 Not politically correct. 877 00:36:51,663 --> 00:36:53,632 I mean, how many of us, 878 00:36:53,632 --> 00:36:55,398 we have to sit and analyze... 879 00:36:55,398 --> 00:36:57,214 now if we do this, and we go after 880 00:36:57,214 --> 00:37:00,079 those guys there in the temple, 881 00:37:00,079 --> 00:37:03,578 there's likely to be these consequences, 882 00:37:03,578 --> 00:37:05,107 we might get put on a cross, 883 00:37:05,107 --> 00:37:06,208 they might kill us, 884 00:37:06,208 --> 00:37:08,446 we better not do that. 885 00:37:08,446 --> 00:37:10,610 But folks, I guarantee you this. 886 00:37:10,610 --> 00:37:14,908 It's these types 887 00:37:19,521 --> 00:37:22,690 it's these types that it's so amazing 888 00:37:22,690 --> 00:37:29,254 how often they can find Christians 889 00:37:29,254 --> 00:37:34,897 who are the perfect cold, wet blanket 890 00:37:34,897 --> 00:37:37,733 for their fiery heart. 891 00:37:37,733 --> 00:37:40,505 How often it's the Christians. 892 00:37:40,505 --> 00:37:42,197 It's not the lost pagan guy 893 00:37:42,197 --> 00:37:43,777 down the street. 894 00:37:43,777 --> 00:37:46,432 It's the Christians who when you find 895 00:37:46,432 --> 00:37:47,649 people like this, 896 00:37:47,649 --> 00:37:49,513 they just want to take the cold, icy 897 00:37:49,513 --> 00:37:56,314 bucket of water and splash it on the folks. 898 00:37:56,314 --> 00:37:57,451 I'll tell you this, 899 00:37:57,451 --> 00:38:01,813 it's those types - intense like Christ, 900 00:38:01,813 --> 00:38:05,998 who put the fear of God in the heart of the devil. 901 00:38:05,998 --> 00:38:07,180 The masses perish. 902 00:38:07,180 --> 00:38:09,738 The enemies of God go unchallenged. 903 00:38:09,738 --> 00:38:12,413 And what are we doing? 904 00:38:12,413 --> 00:38:17,969 Jim Elliot. 905 00:38:17,969 --> 00:38:22,867 He says, "Ah, generation that hears, 906 00:38:22,867 --> 00:38:26,492 but feels not. 907 00:38:26,492 --> 00:38:33,372 Listens, but aches not. 908 00:38:33,372 --> 00:38:36,170 Harks, but knows not pain, 909 00:38:36,170 --> 00:38:39,163 nor the pleasurable healing balm thereof. 910 00:38:39,163 --> 00:38:42,569 Tell me, is all fire extinguish 911 00:38:42,569 --> 00:38:44,539 save in hell? 912 00:38:44,539 --> 00:38:48,041 Damned be this tipidity. 913 00:38:48,041 --> 00:38:50,142 Have we no fire to hate? 914 00:38:50,142 --> 00:38:52,566 Does no flame seize our prophets? 915 00:38:52,566 --> 00:38:54,398 Show me one burning heart. 916 00:38:54,398 --> 00:38:56,654 Let me see a single worldling 917 00:38:56,654 --> 00:38:59,460 afire with true passion. 918 00:38:59,460 --> 00:39:02,530 One heavenling, consumed with his 919 00:39:02,530 --> 00:39:05,523 God's eternal burnings. 920 00:39:05,523 --> 00:39:07,376 In them, I would find excuse for you, 921 00:39:07,376 --> 00:39:09,416 my cheating, shamming, 922 00:39:09,416 --> 00:39:11,442 joyless generation; 923 00:39:11,442 --> 00:39:13,337 well has your own poet said, 924 00:39:13,337 --> 00:39:15,227 you live and die ox-like, 925 00:39:15,227 --> 00:39:17,657 limp and leaden-eyed." 926 00:39:17,657 --> 00:39:19,186 He goes on to say, 927 00:39:19,186 --> 00:39:21,381 "Oh, that God would shake up some of those 928 00:39:21,381 --> 00:39:22,969 married couples around Portland 929 00:39:22,969 --> 00:39:25,024 with their prim unconcern for 930 00:39:25,024 --> 00:39:26,560 souls and saints, 931 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:29,263 dabbling and building lots, houses, 932 00:39:29,263 --> 00:39:34,213 jobs, babies, silverware, 933 00:39:34,213 --> 00:39:36,961 while souls starve for what they know. 934 00:39:36,961 --> 00:39:38,464 Souls starve for what these 935 00:39:38,464 --> 00:39:39,842 married couples know. 936 00:39:39,842 --> 00:39:43,154 God shall not hold us guiltless either. 937 00:39:43,154 --> 00:39:44,776 He shall suffer loss. 938 00:39:44,776 --> 00:39:46,708 The urge comes on me at times 939 00:39:46,708 --> 00:39:49,083 to write in scathing terms, 940 00:39:49,083 --> 00:39:52,126 articles for these piddly little magazines 941 00:39:52,126 --> 00:39:55,323 of comfort and kind words for God's little flock. 942 00:39:55,323 --> 00:39:57,250 Baloney. 943 00:39:57,250 --> 00:39:58,879 When are we going to rise like men 944 00:39:58,879 --> 00:40:00,741 and face the world squarely? 945 00:40:00,741 --> 00:40:03,615 This drively nonsense which condones inactivity 946 00:40:03,615 --> 00:40:05,862 because of the apostasy of the days, 947 00:40:05,862 --> 00:40:08,376 needs a little fire to show up, 948 00:40:08,376 --> 00:40:11,613 the downright ungodliness it hides, 949 00:40:11,613 --> 00:40:13,640 we cuddle around the Lord's table, 950 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,247 as though it were the last coal of God's altar. 951 00:40:16,247 --> 00:40:18,093 We warm our hands thinking that 952 00:40:18,093 --> 00:40:20,495 that's going to appease the wrath of the 953 00:40:20,495 --> 00:40:24,284 indignant Christ when He charges us 954 00:40:24,284 --> 00:40:27,624 with the unmet, unchallenged, untaught 955 00:40:27,624 --> 00:40:29,545 generation of heathen, 956 00:40:29,545 --> 00:40:31,672 doing their Christmas shopping. 957 00:40:31,672 --> 00:40:33,714 It makes me boil when I think of the power 958 00:40:33,714 --> 00:40:37,027 we profess and the utter impotency of our action. 959 00:40:37,027 --> 00:40:40,098 Believers who know one tenth as much as we do 960 00:40:40,098 --> 00:40:42,514 are doing a hundred times more for God. 961 00:40:42,514 --> 00:40:45,314 With His blessing and our criticism. 962 00:40:45,314 --> 00:40:47,913 Oh, if I could write it, preach it, say it, 963 00:40:47,913 --> 00:40:49,641 paint it, anything at all. 964 00:40:49,641 --> 00:40:51,445 If only God's power would 965 00:40:51,445 --> 00:40:54,543 become known among us. 966 00:40:54,543 --> 00:40:55,451 And then he says, 967 00:40:55,451 --> 00:40:58,565 Ichabod. 968 00:40:58,565 --> 00:41:00,452 Now, third. 969 00:41:00,452 --> 00:41:02,576 I would have you notice this about Christ. 970 00:41:02,576 --> 00:41:09,773 Notice the enduring aspect of His passions. 971 00:41:09,773 --> 00:41:14,648 When does Luke 19 take place? 972 00:41:14,648 --> 00:41:16,604 It wasn't day number one of His 973 00:41:16,604 --> 00:41:18,320 missionary endeavor to the world. 974 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:20,319 It wasn't the first day or the first month 975 00:41:20,319 --> 00:41:21,543 of His public ministry. 976 00:41:21,543 --> 00:41:23,651 He was at the end, folks. 977 00:41:23,651 --> 00:41:25,782 This is what's called, like I already said, 978 00:41:25,782 --> 00:41:26,749 the triumphal entry. 979 00:41:26,749 --> 00:41:28,696 This is the long-expeted King coming 980 00:41:28,696 --> 00:41:30,408 in the name of the Lord, 981 00:41:30,408 --> 00:41:31,883 in several days, He would be 982 00:41:31,883 --> 00:41:33,452 crucified and killed. 983 00:41:33,452 --> 00:41:35,632 For nigh unto 33 years, 984 00:41:35,632 --> 00:41:38,230 Christ has sojourned on His mission field, 985 00:41:38,230 --> 00:41:40,159 and less than a week from the end, 986 00:41:40,159 --> 00:41:44,063 the fire still blazes. 987 00:41:44,063 --> 00:41:49,165 Some of you guys, 988 00:41:49,165 --> 00:41:54,150 these guys go down on the streets downtown 989 00:41:54,150 --> 00:41:55,332 and they preach. 990 00:41:55,332 --> 00:41:58,705 And they came across a guy from another church, 991 00:41:58,705 --> 00:41:59,959 and here's what happened. 992 00:41:59,959 --> 00:42:02,704 First week, he went down there. Tried to get the church excited. 993 00:42:02,704 --> 00:42:03,943 Let's go down there. 994 00:42:03,943 --> 00:42:05,929 Let's do some evangelism on the streets. 995 00:42:05,929 --> 00:42:07,488 How many went the first week? 996 00:42:07,488 --> 00:42:08,506 18. 997 00:42:08,506 --> 00:42:10,749 How many went the second week? 998 00:42:10,749 --> 00:42:14,432 1. 999 00:42:14,432 --> 00:42:19,566 Here's Christ. The intensity. The passion. 1000 00:42:19,566 --> 00:42:20,829 It hasn't diminished. 1001 00:42:20,829 --> 00:42:22,115 It hasn't grown cold. 1002 00:42:22,115 --> 00:42:23,354 It's still hot. 1003 00:42:23,354 --> 00:42:25,292 As magnificent as ever. 1004 00:42:25,292 --> 00:42:27,140 It's there. 1005 00:42:27,140 --> 00:42:30,343 But how typical... 1006 00:42:30,343 --> 00:42:32,488 What's the average stay for the 1007 00:42:32,488 --> 00:42:35,819 American missionary on the foreign mission field? 1008 00:42:35,819 --> 00:42:37,797 Do you know? 1009 00:42:37,797 --> 00:42:39,444 It's pathetic and miserable. 1010 00:42:39,444 --> 00:42:43,353 I think it's right around 1 year. 1011 00:42:43,353 --> 00:42:45,430 And our Lord was quite a different example. 1012 00:42:45,430 --> 00:42:47,314 His passion was consistent 1013 00:42:47,314 --> 00:42:49,209 with His mission. 1014 00:42:49,209 --> 00:42:51,147 His passion is intense. 1015 00:42:51,147 --> 00:42:55,481 His passion is enduring. 1016 00:43:02,179 --> 00:43:04,597 You know, folks, 1017 00:43:04,597 --> 00:43:07,622 far too often we have this 1018 00:43:07,622 --> 00:43:13,424 erroneous and probably very arrogant notion, 1019 00:43:13,424 --> 00:43:17,617 that if we have the right doctrine, 1020 00:43:17,617 --> 00:43:23,177 it guarantees our success and blessing. 1021 00:43:23,177 --> 00:43:26,011 I think what Elliot says is absolutely right. 1022 00:43:26,011 --> 00:43:28,532 There are those that know what? 1023 00:43:28,532 --> 00:43:29,993 A tenth as much as we do, 1024 00:43:29,993 --> 00:43:33,102 and they're doing a hundred times more. 1025 00:43:33,102 --> 00:43:35,548 And where you find those guys, 1026 00:43:35,548 --> 00:43:37,616 you're going to find the passion of Christ 1027 00:43:37,616 --> 00:43:44,689 burning in their souls. 1028 00:43:44,689 --> 00:43:53,025 Here's the thing, 1029 00:43:53,025 --> 00:43:56,966 we do need right doctrine. 1030 00:43:56,966 --> 00:44:01,530 But we need more than that. 1031 00:44:01,530 --> 00:44:05,240 You look at this and you say, 1032 00:44:05,240 --> 00:44:09,176 I see the heart of Elliot. 1033 00:44:09,176 --> 00:44:15,252 More than that, I see the heart of Christ. 1034 00:44:15,252 --> 00:44:16,515 You know, folks, 1035 00:44:16,515 --> 00:44:18,668 what do we do? 1036 00:44:18,668 --> 00:44:21,454 Where do we go? 1037 00:44:21,454 --> 00:44:24,701 You know as well as I do, 1038 00:44:24,701 --> 00:44:27,412 that you're not going to get this passion 1039 00:44:27,412 --> 00:44:31,039 watching t.v., eating your twinkies. 1040 00:44:31,039 --> 00:44:34,292 It's not going to come that way. 1041 00:44:34,292 --> 00:44:37,037 2 Corinthians 3:18 1042 00:44:37,037 --> 00:44:41,151 We have a marvelous truth. 1043 00:44:41,151 --> 00:44:43,506 Oh, how often we get all hung up. 1044 00:44:43,506 --> 00:44:45,268 We're like Martha. 1045 00:44:45,268 --> 00:44:49,021 We become all disturbed, perplexed, 1046 00:44:49,021 --> 00:44:51,369 distracted, worried about our service 1047 00:44:51,369 --> 00:44:52,334 for Christ. 1048 00:44:52,334 --> 00:44:53,436 We're running around, 1049 00:44:53,436 --> 00:44:54,753 we're doing this, 1050 00:44:54,753 --> 00:44:57,211 and it all becomes so mechanical. 1051 00:44:57,211 --> 00:44:58,968 We've got our thing we do. 1052 00:44:58,968 --> 00:45:00,608 We've got our week, 1053 00:45:00,608 --> 00:45:02,636 it's all ordered. 1054 00:45:02,636 --> 00:45:04,732 We go through the mechanical plottings 1055 00:45:04,732 --> 00:45:05,826 of this thing, 1056 00:45:05,826 --> 00:45:10,549 we get all hung up on these things. 1057 00:45:10,549 --> 00:45:15,626 We need all the people in our churches 1058 00:45:15,626 --> 00:45:17,261 to get to the place where they say 1059 00:45:17,261 --> 00:45:18,430 I want more than that. 1060 00:45:18,430 --> 00:45:19,373 Be done with that. 1061 00:45:19,373 --> 00:45:20,977 I want the heart of the matter. 1062 00:45:20,977 --> 00:45:22,357 I want to get in this thing. 1063 00:45:22,357 --> 00:45:24,022 I want to be immersed in God. 1064 00:45:24,022 --> 00:45:25,732 I want to be immersed in His fire. 1065 00:45:25,732 --> 00:45:27,665 Because it can happen. 1066 00:45:27,665 --> 00:45:29,243 How's this thing going to happen? 1067 00:45:29,243 --> 00:45:31,395 It's not like we look at ourselves, 1068 00:45:31,395 --> 00:45:32,409 it's not like Drew, 1069 00:45:32,409 --> 00:45:33,618 you look at the past, 1070 00:45:33,618 --> 00:45:34,847 and you say, well, 1071 00:45:34,847 --> 00:45:36,431 that's it. 1072 00:45:36,431 --> 00:45:37,891 Wasted 46 years of my life. 1073 00:45:37,891 --> 00:45:39,650 Nothing can happen here. 1074 00:45:39,650 --> 00:45:41,541 That's not the way I read my Bible. 1075 00:45:41,541 --> 00:45:43,058 What it says is says this, 1076 00:45:43,058 --> 00:45:45,171 we can behold the glory of that 1077 00:45:45,171 --> 00:45:47,048 glorious Christ. 1078 00:45:47,048 --> 00:45:48,392 We talked about last night, 1079 00:45:48,392 --> 00:45:49,590 sitting upon that throne. 1080 00:45:49,590 --> 00:45:51,665 We can behold His glories 1081 00:45:51,665 --> 00:45:54,192 in the Scriptures, in the Gospels, 1082 00:45:54,192 --> 00:45:55,258 we can look there. 1083 00:45:55,258 --> 00:45:56,884 We can get on our faces. 1084 00:45:56,884 --> 00:45:58,314 We can get alone with God. 1085 00:45:58,314 --> 00:45:59,448 We can ask Him. 1086 00:45:59,448 --> 00:46:02,619 Lord, burn that image into our souls. 1087 00:46:02,619 --> 00:46:04,388 And we have a promise right there, 1088 00:46:04,388 --> 00:46:06,936 2 Corinthians 3:18 1089 00:46:06,936 --> 00:46:09,504 That He will do that, degree by degree, 1090 00:46:09,504 --> 00:46:11,258 glory by glory, 1091 00:46:11,258 --> 00:46:13,328 He will write that, emblazon that 1092 00:46:13,328 --> 00:46:15,924 very image into our soul. 1093 00:46:15,924 --> 00:46:17,858 That's why I wanted to show you Christ. 1094 00:46:17,858 --> 00:46:19,824 Because I trust the Spirit of God. 1095 00:46:19,824 --> 00:46:22,321 He's in that business. 1096 00:46:22,321 --> 00:46:25,176 He has promised. 1097 00:46:25,176 --> 00:46:27,620 Does not Romans 8:29 say 1098 00:46:27,620 --> 00:46:30,768 that He has predestined to conform 1099 00:46:30,768 --> 00:46:34,616 His children to the image of Christ? 1100 00:46:34,616 --> 00:46:37,111 He has said that. 1101 00:46:37,111 --> 00:46:39,597 He's going to do that. 1102 00:46:39,597 --> 00:46:41,523 If you are a true child of God, 1103 00:46:41,523 --> 00:46:43,360 and you've been going through a season 1104 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:44,851 where you've been down, 1105 00:46:44,851 --> 00:46:47,260 where you've been dry, you've been cold. 1106 00:46:47,260 --> 00:46:50,024 You're not going to find the heat 1107 00:46:50,024 --> 00:46:51,986 in your work, in your money, 1108 00:46:51,986 --> 00:46:54,047 in your favorite athletic team. 1109 00:46:54,047 --> 00:46:55,724 It's not going to come there. 1110 00:46:55,724 --> 00:46:58,584 It's not going to come by hours in front of the computer, 1111 00:46:58,584 --> 00:46:59,716 or the television. 1112 00:46:59,716 --> 00:47:02,609 You've got to get alone with God. 1113 00:47:02,609 --> 00:47:04,518 You've got to get in the very presence 1114 00:47:04,518 --> 00:47:06,767 of that inner glory, 1115 00:47:06,767 --> 00:47:08,876 and you've got to stand there 1116 00:47:08,876 --> 00:47:10,479 in the light of that, 1117 00:47:10,479 --> 00:47:12,458 and in the light of the Scripture, 1118 00:47:12,458 --> 00:47:13,562 and on your face, 1119 00:47:13,562 --> 00:47:14,649 like we heard earlier, 1120 00:47:14,649 --> 00:47:15,846 trembling at God's Word; 1121 00:47:15,846 --> 00:47:17,016 you need to find Christ. 1122 00:47:17,016 --> 00:47:18,570 And you need to look at Him. 1123 00:47:18,570 --> 00:47:20,279 And you need to gaze at Him. 1124 00:47:20,279 --> 00:47:21,569 And His mission. 1125 00:47:21,569 --> 00:47:23,419 And you need to plead with God, 1126 00:47:23,419 --> 00:47:26,541 write that, burn that, emblazon that 1127 00:47:26,541 --> 00:47:29,957 into my own heart and life and being. 1128 00:47:29,957 --> 00:47:31,923 Lord, don't let me die. 1129 00:47:31,923 --> 00:47:34,091 Don't let me just fizzle out. 1130 00:47:34,091 --> 00:47:35,612 And you're not going to do that 1131 00:47:35,612 --> 00:47:38,187 in thirty seconds. 1132 00:47:38,187 --> 00:47:39,662 You've got to take time. 1133 00:47:39,662 --> 00:47:41,271 You've got to get with God. 1134 00:47:41,271 --> 00:47:45,472 You've got to see Christ. 1135 00:47:45,472 --> 00:47:49,426 I remember one man telling me, 1136 00:47:49,426 --> 00:47:52,196 "oh, I pray when I'm shaving." 1137 00:47:52,196 --> 00:47:56,166 Yeah, you pray when you shave. 1138 00:47:56,166 --> 00:47:58,409 He made it sound like that's all he did. 1139 00:47:58,409 --> 00:48:00,246 And if that's all you do, you're never 1140 00:48:00,246 --> 00:48:03,695 going to do anything. 1141 00:48:03,695 --> 00:48:05,147 We've got to have some people 1142 00:48:05,147 --> 00:48:06,698 that are serious about this, 1143 00:48:06,698 --> 00:48:08,833 that are serious about the quiet place. 1144 00:48:08,833 --> 00:48:10,800 They're serious. 1145 00:48:10,800 --> 00:48:12,706 Gaze at His glory, brethren. 1146 00:48:12,706 --> 00:48:15,171 Immerse yourselves more and more 1147 00:48:15,171 --> 00:48:17,366 until the fire is lit, 1148 00:48:17,366 --> 00:48:18,481 and the heart burns, 1149 00:48:18,481 --> 00:48:19,667 and all hell is afraid, 1150 00:48:19,667 --> 00:48:22,263 and there is no substitute. 1151 00:48:22,263 --> 00:48:23,993 Here it is. 1152 00:48:23,993 --> 00:48:26,134 This is essential. 1153 00:48:26,134 --> 00:48:31,225 The union of mission and passion. 1154 00:48:31,225 --> 00:48:33,641 Amen.