Kingdom Work - Contemporary

March 31, 2019

Listen Transcript Study guide Save

Scripture referenced 10 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Psalm 84 Read aloud in full as a congregational scripture reading before worship

1 How lovely are your dwellings, Yahweh of Armies!
2 My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Yes, the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, near your altars, Yahweh of Armies, my King, and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are always praising you. Selah.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you; who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage.
6 Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength. Everyone of them appears before God in Zion.
8 Yahweh, God of Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, God of Jacob. Selah.
9 Behold, God our shield, look at the face of your anointed.
10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.
12 Yahweh of Armies, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse

John 6:43-45

Cited as the basis for understanding that drawing people to Jesus is God's job, not the missionary's

43 Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves.

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father, and has learned, comes to me.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

John 14:6

Referenced to describe Jesus' job as the way, truth, and life through whom alone one comes to the Father

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Psalm 40:1-3

Quoted in the NEO ministry video about being pulled from the miry clay and helping others

1 I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me, and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.

3 He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Mark 12

Referenced as the great commandment to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength, cited as God's will for every day

1 He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a pit for the wine press, built a tower, rented it out to a farmer, and went into another country.

2 When it was time, he sent a servant to the farmer to get from the farmer his share of the fruit of the vineyard.

3 They took him, beat him, and sent him away empty.

4 Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.

5 Again he sent another; and they killed him; and many others, beating some, and killing some.

6 Therefore still having one, his beloved son, he sent him last to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7 But those farmers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

8 They took him, killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

9 What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.

10 Haven’t you even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner.

11 This was from the Lord, it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12 They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.

13 They sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words.

14 When they had come, they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don’t defer to anyone; for you aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

15 Shall we give, or shall we not give?” But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.”

16 They brought it. He said to them, “Whose is this image and inscription?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”

17 Jesus answered them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They marveled greatly at him.

18 There came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying,

19 “Teacher, Moses wrote to us, ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’

20 There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.

21 The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise;

22 and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died.

23 In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”

24 Jesus answered them, “Isn’t this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God?

25 For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

26 But about the dead, that they are raised; haven’t you read in the book of Moses, about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken.”

28 One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”

29 Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:

30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.

31 The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

32 The scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he,

33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from God’s Kingdom.” No one dared ask him any question after that.

35 Jesus responded, as he taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

36 For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.”’

37 Therefore David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” The common people heard him gladly.

38 In his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the marketplaces,

39 and the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts:

40 those who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

41 Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much.

42 A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin.

43 He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury,

44 for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.”

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Matthew 28

Referenced as the great commission mandate to go and make disciples

1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.

2 Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it.

3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.

4 For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men.

5 The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified.

6 He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying.

7 Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”

8 They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word.

9 As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” They came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.

10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”

11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had happened.

12 When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers,

13 saying, “Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

14 If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry.”

15 So they took the money and did as they were told. This saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continues until today.

16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them.

17 When they saw him, they bowed down to him, but some doubted.

18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Matthew 6:33

Cited as the number one priority: seek first his kingdom and his righteousness

33 But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Matthew 6:10

The Lord's Prayer used to illustrate the kingdom as present reality in everyday places

10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Acts 20

Paul sailing past Ephesus and the elders urging him not to go to Jerusalem, used to illustrate obeying God over people

1 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, took leave of them, and departed to go into Macedonia.

2 When he had gone through those parts, and had encouraged them with many words, he came into Greece.

3 When he had spent three months there, and a plot was made against him by Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedonia.

4 These accompanied him as far as Asia: Sopater of Beroea; Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians; Gaius of Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.

5 But these had gone ahead, and were waiting for us at Troas.

6 We sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas in five days, where we stayed seven days.

7 On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and continued his speech until midnight.

8 There were many lights in the upper room where we were gathered together.

9 A certain young man named Eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. As Paul spoke still longer, being weighed down by his sleep, he fell down from the third floor, and was taken up dead.

10 Paul went down, and fell upon him, and embracing him said, “Don’t be troubled, for his life is in him.”

11 When he had gone up, and had broken bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even until break of day, he departed.

12 They brought the boy in alive, and were greatly comforted.

13 But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there; for he had so arranged, intending himself to go by land.

14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard, and came to Mitylene.

15 Sailing from there, we came the following day opposite Chios. The next day we touched at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium, and the day after we came to Miletus.

16 For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to himself the elders of the assembly.

18 When they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time,

19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials which happened to me by the plots of the Jews;

20 how I didn’t shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly and from house to house,

21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus.

22 Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there;

23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me.

24 But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.

25 “Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about preaching God’s Kingdom, will see my face no more.

26 Therefore I testify to you today that I am clean from the blood of all men,

27 for I didn’t shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

28 Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood.

29 For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

30 Men will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

31 Therefore watch, remembering that for a period of three years I didn’t cease to admonish everyone night and day with tears.

32 Now, brothers, I entrust you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up, and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

33 I coveted no one’s silver, or gold, or clothing.

34 You yourselves know that these hands served my necessities, and those who were with me.

35 In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

36 When he had spoken these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

37 They all wept a lot, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him,

38 sorrowing most of all because of the word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Acts 8

Philip on the road hearing God tell him to stand by the Ethiopian eunuch's chariot, used to illustrate hearing God outside a church setting

1 Saul was consenting to his death. A great persecution arose against the assembly which was in Jerusalem in that day. They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles.

2 Devout men buried Stephen, and lamented greatly over him.

3 But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house, and dragged both men and women off to prison.

4 Therefore those who were scattered abroad went around preaching the word.

5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ.

6 The multitudes listened with one accord to the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard and saw the signs which he did.

7 For unclean spirits came out of many of those who had them. They came out, crying with a loud voice. Many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed.

8 There was great joy in that city.

9 But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city, and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one,

10 to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is that great power of God.”

11 They listened to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries.

12 But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13 Simon himself also believed. Being baptized, he continued with Philip. Seeing signs and great miracles occurring, he was amazed.

14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,

15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit;

16 for as yet he had fallen on none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of Christ Jesus.

17 Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

18 Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,

19 saying, “Give me also this power, that whomever I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before God.

22 Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.

23 For I see that you are in the poison of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”

24 Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that none of the things which you have spoken happen to me.”

25 They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the Good News to many villages of the Samaritans.

26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.”

27 He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship.

28 He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.

29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.”

30 Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31 He said, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He begged Philip to come up and sit with him.

32 Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. As a lamb before his shearer is silent, so he doesn’t open his mouth.

33 In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth.”

34 The eunuch answered Philip, “Who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or about someone else?”

35 Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him about Jesus.

36 As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”

38 He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.

40 But Philip was found at Azotus. Passing through, he preached the Good News to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Norris Williams, a missionary with Novo (formerly Church Resource Ministries), spoke at First Baptist Jackson while the pastor was away. He shared what God is doing through ordinary men and women in the Middle East, Nigeria, and Central Washington, and traced all of it back to a simple set of convictions about prayer, obedience, and whose job is whose in the work of the kingdom.

What was said

Norris introduced himself not as a missionary but as a cherry farmer from Cashmere, Washington, and said that framing was intentional. Pruning an orchard every spring, cutting away growth that will never bear fruit, is the picture he keeps coming back to for what God does in people and what people have to do with their own schedules if they want to see anything grow.

He walked through what he called the division of labor in kingdom work. God's job, drawn from John 6, is to draw people to Jesus. Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Jesus. The Holy Spirit's job is to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. That leaves us with loving God and neighbor and making disciples. When those get mixed up, Norris said, ministry stalls.

The work in the Middle East started in 2003 when Norris asked the Holy Spirit who he was already speaking to. That question led him to Nadim Costa, a businessman who now leads a staff of 105 Arab leaders called NEO, with over a thousand volunteers and approaching 200,000 Muslims who have come to faith in Christ across thirteen countries. None of it started with a program. It started with finding the right person and discipling him.

Nigeria followed the same pattern. Six years ago Norris identified Ben Akpera the way he had identified Nadim, at a training, because the Holy Spirit highlighted him. The work there, called Healing and Transforming Leaders, includes a hairdresser running discovery Bible studies while her clients sit in the chair, street kids learning to lead Bible studies between soccer matches, and a young woman just signed by a Spanish national team who said she plans to take the discovery process with her to Spain. The persecution is intense and people on the team have been killed, but Norris said the fruit is multiplying precisely in the places of greatest chaos.

The thread connecting all of it, Norris argued, is obedience-based discipleship and prayer. What a person learns has to be obeyed in an accountable relationship with the group. Love for God, Jesus said, shows itself in obedience. And the movements are not happening because of good strategy or teaching. They are happening because people are praying seriously and at length, asking God what he wants done and then doing it.

He used Joshua at Jericho to make the point about tactics versus strategy. The big objective was to retake the land, but the tactics for each battle had to come fresh from the tent of meeting. Joshua learned to linger in God's presence watching Moses, and that is where the marching orders for Jericho came from. After Ai, when Joshua assumed he already knew what to do, the battle went badly. Norris said God never gives the same tactics twice because he wants the glory, not the program.

He closed by pressing that question onto the congregation in Jackson. A movement can happen in this town, he said, but it will cost time, and the enemy is very good at filling time with things that feel necessary. The question is whether people are willing to prune their lives the way an orchardist pulls out a tree that is not bearing fruit, and whether they are willing to get into the tent of meeting and ask God what he actually wants done here.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Norris said that John 6 changed everything about how his team does ministry, because drawing people to Jesus is God's job, not ours. What does that shift in responsibility look like practically in the way you share your faith with people around you?
Norris described obedience-based discipleship, where whatever you learn you are expected to obey in an accountable relationship with your group, and said that obedience is our love language to God. How does that compare to the way you have typically thought about Bible study and learning scripture?

and 3 more questions in the guide

Open the study guide

Read the full transcript 8,623 words

Find in this transcript

0:01 Good morning church family. Will you please stand up and let's worship God? And let's do it like never before. Amen? Because I am aware that his presence is is in this place.

0:12 Amen? And that's why we gather together to worship, to learn, to understand what he wants from us. Amen to that? And of course, to praise him with all our hearts.

0:34 Come now is the time to ocean. Just

1:57 as you are

1:58 before God. One day, every tongue will confess you are God. One day, every knee will bow. Still the greatest to lives. Still, the greatest treasures remains for those who gladly choose you now.

2:42 Come. Now is the time worship now is the time to give your

3:04 You may have a seat. Good morning, everybody. Well, we're a thin group this morning. We are stretched around the globe. We've got people in Israel.

3:13 We've got people in Florida and California and who knows where everywhere else, but, thank you for being here and, we wanna just give you some announcements this morning. First off, we're gonna have some announcements but get your bulletin. There's lots going on at the in the church here and, so there's lots of things you can be a part of, and we don't cover everything. But first announcement is Monday nights were not are going to happen tomorrow night, but Awana is not going to happen. So tomorrow night, we've got Eugene, I believe, with a a meal and a study.

3:48 And part two. Very good. Thank you for doing that for us. So come and get a meal. Bring a friend.

3:54 Awana is not happening tomorrow night, so kids enjoy your family being at home. Precept study there as you see, part two. So that meets, Thursdays at 11:30AM down in the fellowship hall. So you guys are all aware of that. And then refit, those of you who need or like to work out and enjoy that and, come on Tuesday nights, 05:15 here.

4:19 I believe it's here in this room. Is that correct, Sam? Thank you for Sam for doing that and, get some exercise there. That's always a good time. So, this movie coming out, I'm sure you've heard about this on, it's not getting a lot of commercial time.

4:35 Unfortunately, people aren't they're not letting them buy airtime to even advertise this film, but this film was made by a gal who used to be a director at a Planned Parenthood, abortion clinic. And when she saw and witnessed an abortion, sorry, It changed her, and she said I can't do that anymore. And so it is a powerful movie. It it and I think what they said is it pulls back the curtain on the abortion industry. And, so we are having a one time showing.

5:08 It is April 7 here, at the Twin Cinemas, which is right down the street here. And you can buy your tickets, I I think, just in the office here. They're selling them the plan or, crisis pregnancy. Turning Point is is selling the tickets, and, so yes? Thank you.

5:29 Also online at Turning Point. So it it it

5:32 is, from what I've heard a very informative and educational film and, it's, a must see. Between services we have connect hour down the hall here where we

5:45 can fellowship between ten and eleven and, I think that's it. The others you can look for in your bulletins and let's stand up and just greet each other and, they'll call us back here in a moment.

6:02 You are made for the stage. Let's worship together. Your love is like radiant diamonds.

7:05 Your love is like radiant diamonds. We cannot complain. Is like radiant diamonds bursting inside us. We cannot go to thank. Hallelujah.

8:33 Your love will surely can find us like placing wildfire to your may this offering stretch across of mercy sweet love of mine I have surrender to your

10:12 Amen.

10:20 Stay standing. I'm gonna read a psalm. Actually, Psalm 84. How lovely is your dwelling place, oh, Lord Almighty. My soul yearns even faints for the courts of the Lord.

10:34 My heart and my flesh cry out for the Lord of for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home and a swallow a nest for herself where she may have her young, a place near your altar. O Lord Almighty, my king and my God, blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

11:01 As they pass through the Valley Of Baca, they make it a place of springs. The autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, oh, Lord God Almighty. Listen to me, oh, God

11:19 of

11:19 Jacob. Look upon our shield, our God. Look with favor on a on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. Amen.

11:32 I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk, whose walk is blameless. Oh, Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

11:54 Let's pray. Father, thank you. Lord Jesus, I I pray you continue to fill this place, Holy Spirit, with your presence. Amen. Fill this place.

12:04 I pray that you'd open our hearts and open our our understanding this morning as we as we come and worship and desire to hear your voice and your word this morning. Pour out your spirit in this place. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.

12:35 Everyone needs compassion, a love that's never failing. Let mercy fall on me. Everyone needs forgiveness, the kindness of a savior, the hope of nation, the conquered the grave. Jesus conquered the grave. Shine your light and let a whole world see.

14:30 Singing for the glory of the risen king. Jesus, shine your light and let the whole world sing. Singing for the glory of the risen king. Savior,

15:46 Praise God. Amen. It's good to be here and worship God. We're gonna sing one of my favorite song. Actually, this one and the next one and the last one too.

15:56 What a friend we have in Jesus. Isn't that beautiful? Not only that we know him as personal savior, but we know that he's with us until we depart from here. And then when we're gonna depart from here, we're gonna be with him. And according to the book of Revelation, it says that we we might not need the sun over there because his face will shine, and the light that comes from his face will be enough for us to dwell in that place.

16:19 Oh, what a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. That's a beautiful song. As you know, I like to sing fast, but this one, slow tempo. Let's enjoy the lyrics on this one.

16:30 Amen?

16:55 A privilege to care. Our Everything to God in prayer. Oh, what peace we often for faith oh what needless pain we bear all because we do not care everything to God in prayer have we trials and

19:37 You may be seated. So in Ray's absence today, have one of our missionaries, Norris Williams, will be speaking. Norris is with Novo, formerly CRM, Church Resource Ministries. Novo is is a Latin Latin for to make new, and, they're in a name change this year, so, we'll get used to that. But, as you know, this church is a very mission minded church, and we have he's part of our our regular part of your every week's regular offering goes to help support Norris and all of our other missionaries.

20:10 And so Norris will be speaking today, and he's gonna give us a message, but also a little bit of, report on what's what God's been doing around the world. And and and he if you get a chance to talk to Norris, do it because he's got some stories of what God is doing around the world that just will drop your jaw. And so it's it's very exciting. We're also gonna have so this first offering is gonna go to Norris and support him in what he's doing, and he's all he'll tell you where he's working, but he's all around the world. He is not just in one place.

20:44 And, so this first offering will go to him. At the end of the service, we will take one for our general offering. If you came today just prepared to give one offering, please put it in this one. I guarantee you the return on your seed money is incredible, and we want to ask God to bless that. We also want to invite you back tonight at 05:30.

21:03 We're just gonna have a very informal time. We're gonna meet in the fellowship hall. We'll have an informal time with Norris. You can ask questions. We can just chat.

21:11 And, I I promise you if you come, you will be blessed. So let's let's pray. You know, I'm gonna pray Lord too for our many of our body who are in Israel this morning. What a what a joy, what a treasure for them to be there and to see where you walked. Lord, Jerusalem is the apple of your eye, and we just pray your blessing over them.

21:37 Lord, as they are there that the stories of the Bible would come alive, and you would just, Lord, transform them even as they tour around there, refresh them, renew them, keep them safe, protect them as they begin to head back. I believe this week, Lord, we just we pray for your safety and your protection. And, Lord, many of our body are traveling either last week, this week. Lord, it really is good to get together with each other and to worship you, to thank you, Lord. We we worship a risen savior.

22:11 And as I was reading this morning in John and Nicodemus, came and, John or Joseph of Arimathea came and they took your body and they laid it in a tomb, and it struck me how bizarre that sentence was that they took the God of the universe, the creator God, and they took his body and put him in a tomb. Lord, we thank you that you did not stay there. We thank you that, you laid down your life. You gave up your life for us and paid the penalty for us so that we could have fellowship with you, so we could know you. And Lord, I pray that you'll teach us to hear you, teach us to walk with you moment by moment.

22:50 Lord, we I thank you for this congregation who is such a giving congregation. Thank you for their heart for missions. We pray now. We dedicate these funds to you. Lord, they are yours.

23:00 It's all yours. We're just giving back a portion. Would you multiply it, Lord? Would you attach the good news of Jesus Christ to every penny that comes in and goes out from here. Would you use it to implant it into hearts that are fertile, hearts that will bear fruit?

23:16 Lord, make it may it take root and bring forth much fruit, Lord, we pray. Thank you for this opportunity. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Amen.

23:31 This song, it's so good. It goes straight to the heart. I promise you. Now when I choose the song, I picture Bernadette here, and I also picture Ryan here. They are not here.

23:41 So now have mercy on me, but please pay pay attention to the lyrics. It's such a good song.

23:57 Above all above all above all all nature and all created above all wisdom in all the ways of man you were here before above all above all the world has ever known the above all wells and treasures of the earth there's no way to measure what you're

27:37 One, it's good to be back here. We are delighted to be part of your family, part of your team. All these young ones are headed out. It's a good thing for them probably. Really is a joy for Laurie and I.

28:04 It always still amazes me that I get introduced as a missionary. I I want you to know that I'm a cherry farmer, so I'm just a a normal guy. I have 420 certified organic cherries, cherry trees that we're in the middle of pruning right now. All the suckers that grow every year. If you wanna grow fruit, we're in the middle of it.

28:27 And it's always the reminder of what God is doing with us, pruning out the things that are not bearing fruit. So it'll be the focus of this message this morning. So as we prepare to hear from God, let's let's just pray. So, you've given us all authority, father, in heaven and on earth, and we use that authority right now to silence, any other voices that would compete with father, son, Holy Spirit speaking today. So no other voice has permission to speak in this place.

29:02 So we just wanna hear from you, and we bless you, Lord. We are here to minister to you and to love you. In your name, amen. So I don't know how long I've been coming here, but that's what we look like when I first started coming here. So that was, about forty years ago.

29:27 I married Laurie Ann, and that's what we look like today. We've been married thirty nine years this May, and we have we've been missionaries for about thirty five of those years. We now have nine grandchildren. We have one more since this picture was taken. We live in the little town of Cashmere, Washington by God's grace, and and God's really doing something in that valley, Central Washington.

30:01 We've seen him work and start some of these same same things that are happening overseas are now beginning to happen in the Wenatchee Valley. What I do? I'm, I find, serve, and train movement leaders around the world. Accelerated kingdom of God movements are fueled by rapidly reproducing disciple makers who multiply the gospel into their natural social networks. The momentum that this creates can sweep through nations, cities, neighborhoods, businesses, schools, and families with the ability to create thousands of churches in a relatively short period of time.

30:41 These movements are also referred to as movements of the gospel or disciple making movements. So that in a nutshell is what we're doing, creating, finding, and serving God as he he's really the one doing these things. We're actually just finding where he's working, joining a minute, and raising up ordinary men and women. The one of the reasons why I always introduce myself as a farmer is that I always wanna relate to farmers. If I say that I'm a missionary or, like, Bill was sitting here and he said, he's our preacher today and believe me, I'm not a preacher.

31:22 I'm a I could never be a pastor or a preacher. I have way too many violent thoughts to be that merciful and I'm not a very nice person actually but I have a lot of compassion and I love I love the trinity but my wife's the one that if you want mercy, she's the one you go to. You know, you know, she has high mercy gifts. So it's better than I'm not a pastor. I'm doing what God's called me to do.

31:51 And he's uniquely given me the ability to see things and find these national leaders. Back in 2003, I started going into The Middle East. And I was asking Holy Spirit all the time, who are you speaking to that you want us to serve? We didn't go with a prescriptive formula or a plan. We believe that God wants to do new things all the time.

32:18 He's wants to glorify himself all the time. So we are asking Holy Spirit every day, every hour of every day, what do you want us to know about this situation? Who do you want me to talk to? Because oftentimes when I'm doing trainings or my there's quite a few people in the room, but I know really only a few of them are gonna respond. Statistically, it's just the way it is and I'm okay with that because you really only only need to reach a few to reach the many and building teams of those key leaders is what we're doing.

32:52 So I found a guy back in 2003, Nadim Costa. You're gonna see him in this short little video that I play. And now, fifteen years later, whatever it is, sixteen years later, we have a 105 Arabs on our staff called NEO leaders. We have over thousand volunteers over we're approaching 200,000 Muslims that have come to faith in Christ, and it's in 13 different countries. And it started by finding the right person that Holy Spirit was speaking to and then discipling and mentoring.

33:31 So when I go to these places, I only meet with a few, and then they in turn replicate everything on all the way down the line and there's no, professional staff, there are taxi drivers, there are disabled, They're women that can't read and write, but they're leaders. And we believe leadership is about influence. It's not about a position or a title. And we find leaders everywhere that they're needed, and we help them to see that they've been uniquely prepared to lead and serve the king and build his kingdom right where they're at. So I'm gonna let you watch this short video.

34:22 The spirit of God, the master, is on me because God anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners.

34:49 The ministry started in 2005 when God called a group of passionate followers of Jesus to serve the region of the Middle East. God has been taking this ministry in unexpected directions and to many new places.

35:08 When you see people's lives changing because of what Jesus is doing, when, you give them hope, when you help people in a physical, way to see that kind of transformation and, you know, to be able to bring smile into their faces.

35:33 In Psalm 40, it says, I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined to me and heard my cry. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord. And I believe that that is what we're doing at NEO. We're we've been pulled out of the miry clay and we're helping also to do the same for others.

35:59 Jesus honored women in so many ways and I want us to do the same. So I believe reaching women with the gospel eventually leads to equipping their families and consequently the community. And we do so through developing, training, coaching and teaching women from different nationalities and different backgrounds. Women are a major catalyst of change.

37:20 God has opened a new door to start children's ministry based on weekly clubs. We started doing clubs in Lebanon and in Egypt, and we had, like, more than 50 clubs running in these two countries. And we are hoping and aiming and praying that God will open new doors in the all Middle East and North Africa region. God is so merciful to let me to see the beginning of a church planting movement in Lebanon and in the region. And it's a privilege to be able to work on this level with people and see their lives transformed.

41:55 My dream is to see a movement of church planting in The Middle East and the Near East area that is sweeping across those nations.

42:10 We are experiencing a great movement of God, an unprecedented adventure. We are chasing what God is clearly doing throughout the entire region. As we start our fourteenth year of ministry, I can look back and clearly see the hand of God working in supernatural ways. The spirit of the Lord is sweeping every segment of society, every community, in every nation. The gospel is proclaimed boldly and obeyed boldly, and God is raising a whole new generation of passionate followers of Christ who are the servant leaders of the multitudes.

42:55 My vision, my passion, and my dream is to see the name of Christ proclaimed among all nations so the kingdom of God is embodied and expressed.

43:16 So the Nadim, the guy you saw right at the end is we met. He was a businessman. He now leads this whole work, and all those men and women that you saw are just ordinary folks that God's been raising up to a great harvest. In addition, been going to Nigeria for the past six years, believing that God's starting something there just like he did in The Middle East. Here, you see part of our team, the guy who's to my right well, let's see.

43:55 To your left is Ben Akpera. He leads he's I call him the Nadim of Nigeria. And God highlighted him to me six years ago at a training, and he now leads our work there called HTL, Healing and Transforming Leaders. The guy the other guy next to me is Dan Zaggy. He's part of that team.

44:19 Dan Zaggy is 60 years old now. When he was 18, he was a Muslim, came to faith. His his dad set him on fire as a result of that. And when you see him, he's scarred. All his legs are just all scarred.

44:35 Just poured oil on him, lit him on fire. But you'd not know that had you when you know him, he's just filled with the joy of the Lord, and he's got ministry to Muslims that's just legit work. And in this region, healing and transforming leaders, the reason that it's called healing is because they know everybody needs healing. Recently, Ben and Lydia went to a town to do a DMM training. They were given a house.

45:06 They go to the house in this village. And in this house, it was filled, and everybody in it was sick and dying. That's where they had been sent to go and die in this house. So they were rolling up their mats to leave. And Ben and Lydia said, no.

45:21 You just you're gonna stay here and be a part of this. By the end of the week, every one of them had been completely healed of everything that they were and been trained as disciple makers to go back into their families as a witness in that village. And if some of you have been aware, the persecution in Nigeria is very intense right now. Thousands are being slaughtered. Thousands.

45:46 But thousands are coming to faith. Wherever we see the most chaos, we're seeing the most fruit. And those sacrifices are not in vain. Our friends are being killed. Our teammates are being killed, but they don't quit.

46:06 It just opens up more to the kingdom. I could tell you story after story. This woman on your left, she's a hairdresser. She's one of her best disciple makers. And when she has the ladies there in the local wack and yak, that's what I call it.

46:22 You know, they sit and talk and she, you know, and she has the woman there for an hour. She takes them right through a whole discovery Bible study, right? Well, she's got them, in in the hairdressing. Sweet, humble gal. There's Ben and this is coach Bright.

46:42 He's another one of our leaders. He we started soccer teams amongst the street kids. And coach Bright is one of the coaches. And the and the young gal there, his name her name is Roth. She just got signed by the national Spanish team to go and play there.

46:59 And as I was talking to her here, she said, yeah, I'm gonna take this whole discovery thing, and I'm gonna start leading Bible studies because that's what she's been trained to do. All of the boys that come to play, all the girls that come to play soccer on these teams from the streets, all have to learn to to do discovery Bible study, every one of them. And here's a picture of during this I was there during this tournament. There's coach Bright and then all the boys that are trained then break in and all the visiting teams, they lead them through a discovery Bible study right during the soccer matches. This guy, there's Ben on the left and the guy next to him is his name is Solomon Wakawa.

47:44 He was born in Borno State, which both where Boko Haram is some of you may know who that is. They're the the, ISIS equivalent in, the middle in Nigeria. That's where he was born. And him and his wife and his two girls are going back there. God's just anointed him to go back into this place to bring the gospel.

48:07 He's one of your teammates. You bump into him, you bump into the Holy Spirit because he he's in him. Now I'm gonna I'm gonna run through. All I have is scripture here for you to kinda tell you how what where we where we land in this whole idea of making disciples and what the kingdom of God is really all about. So what are the jobs in the kingdom of God?

48:34 So let's start here. God's job. John six forty three. Jesus answered and said, do not grumble amongst yourselves. No one comes to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day and it's written in the prophecy shall all be taught of God and everyone who has heard and learned from the father comes to me.

48:55 I can tell you that this passage alone changed everything we do in ministry because we realize this is God's job. It's not our job. Our job is to get them to a place where they can hear from God because it says, everyone who hears and learns from the father comes to Jesus. And don't you I'm gonna make all of these passages available for you if you want. So, then Jesus' job, he's the way, the truth, and life.

49:23 No one comes to the father except through him. No one comes to the father except through the person of Jesus, not through your doctrine, your theology, your good teaching. Come because of the person of Jesus alone. We have some of those people you saw in that video cannot read or write, and yet they're leading Bible studies. You know how they learn the scripture?

49:54 From grandchildren, from somebody else who can read and they because it's not about learning scripture, it's about obeying scripture. And whatever we teach obedience based discipleship, Meaning, what you learn, you have to show that you're going to obey it in an accountable relationship with everybody else in your group. And our love language to God is obedience. If you love me, you'll obey me. And this radical obedience is what produces these movements because they hear from God and they obey him.

50:28 The Holy Spirit's job, he's the one that will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. That's not the missionary's job. It's not your job to convict anyone. It's the Holy Spirit's job. And we just when we train people, we wanna train them right from the jump, what's their job and what's God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit's job.

50:51 So we don't get those confused. So what's our job? This mark 12 passage is one that when I was 16 years old and I was struggling with God's will and my pop told me, my dad, he said, Norris, the God's will for you is not a mystery. It's the same every day. If you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, your neighbors, that's his will for you every day.

51:18 You do that, and he'll show you what to do. Then that bottom passage, the one you all know, the great commission, go and make disciples. This is a mandate. It was a mandate for me when I learned it as a teenager. My job was to make disciples, and it started when I was 13 years old.

51:37 And I was discipled to make disciples. This is not for the pastor. I was a 13 year old, high school. I disciple football players, wrestlers. I disciple people.

51:52 I was baptizing people in high school because we were taught that was normal to make discipleship and go and make disciples. Ordinary people Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. That's this is the the number one thing we're trying to get our leaders to know is that the kingdom of God is our present reality. Jesus said more about the kingdom. The kingdom of God has come among you than almost anything else.

52:23 This gospel of the kingdom means that you're in it, and you can't send your way out of it. Once you're in the kingdom, you're in the kingdom. He's the king's right here. Right there. You can't get away from him.

52:36 And in the kingdom, there's the cross. In the kingdom, there's forgiveness. In the kingdom, there's confession. And this thing called the kingdom of God is where we walk in the spirit twenty four seven. So we we are training people this is your new reality.

52:55 Twenty four seven you're in the kingdom not just when you're having your Bible studies or your meetings, but we take them through passages of scripture where when Philip was on the road. He wasn't in a church when he heard God say, go stand by that chariot. He was on a stinky manure field road, and he's walking along, and God says, go stand by that chariot. Okay. Now what?

53:17 Oh, you're reading this. Remember? Goes and he gets I have too many stories. It's already So this Ethiopian guy had one passage of scripture that God gave him, and it was that one chapter about Philip when he saw the Ethiopian eunuch. That's all he had.

53:43 And there was this place in in the mountains of Ethiopia that nobody had been to before. So he that's all he had was that I think it's John. No. I can't remember what passage it is, what chapter, but that's all he had. And there's a presentation of the gospel in that chapter.

54:00 And so he just started asking God, and God would transport him to these places. Transport him. Now I know that sounds really weird, but it was normal Christianity for Philip. And when these other missionaries got to this place, and everywhere they went, they said, yeah, so and so came. So and so came.

54:24 Well, how did he come here? We don't know. He just showed up. And when they got to him and and interviewed him, they said, so how are you doing this? He goes, well, he he said, this is what I have.

54:35 I don't have any more of the Bible. This is what I have. And and he said this to him. He said, isn't this how all Christians do it? Because he had no he had no filter like that's not possible.

54:48 And I could I could sit and tell you story after story of the miraculous things that are happening. Miraculous by ordinary people getting them done. Your kingdom come, your will be done. One of the ways we teach this prayer and that Laurie and I have been experiencing this prayer, the kingdom of God is our present reality. The earth is not my responsibility.

55:18 So we pray it this way. Your kingdom come, your will be done in our kitchen as it is in heaven. Your kingdom come, your will be done in our bedroom as it is in heaven. Your kingdom come, your will be done on my drive to town because the kingdom of God is present everywhere you are. So we're asking your kingdom come right now, And that means I'm in constant contact with the king.

55:46 Jesus showed us how to live this way. He always knew what to do, and he always knew what to say because he was he was listening to the father. He was completely connected. He showed us how to do it. And he says that's possible for you and me.

56:02 Because now it's no longer we who live, but it's Christ who lives in us. That's our reality. And we we train them right from the beginning to live this way that they cannot live this way without the power of the Holy Spirit. You know, I'm I'm a farmer, and if if you wanna bear fruit, you gotta abide in the vine. And we train this really hard.

56:28 I don't I don't have time to to go through all of this, but if we say we are truly biblical people, people of the Bible, then we should be biblically filled with the spirit and living in God's kingdom, and the Bible provides the path for this. It's very, very biblical. Just read the book of acts and all the references to all the the apostles and the people being filled with God's spirit. Let's see here. In the gospel kingdom movements, we train and disciple men and women into a biblical path for living in God's kingdom, walking in the fullness of the spirit every hour of every day, period.

57:06 That's our bottom line because this is our current reality and nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing. This idea that's been that I I was taught when I that you were separated from God and there's this big chasm. That's a lie. That is not the truth.

57:29 That's not biblical. It says nothing can separated us from the love of God, and he pours out his spirit on all mankind. What we want people to know is God never separated from you and your sin doesn't separate you from him. He's right here. He's a breath away.

57:51 He's right here and he's always right there because he loves you. He's not mad at you. I'm mad at you. There are people I don't wanna become followers of Christ because I'm mad at him. God God never loves that way.

58:09 His love is great. And these are the truths that we're we're discipling people into right from the jump. The guiding power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Let's see here. I'll say I'll just those who spend the most time with Jesus make the most disciples.

58:33 One of our leaders in Africa, to join his team, there's two requirements. You gotta pray three hours a day, and you gotta be willing to die. If you wanna if you can do that, you can join his team.

58:48 Yeah.

58:52 Spending time with the king in the kingdom. The movements are not happening because of anything besides prayer. And wherever people are praying the most, they're they're seeing the most fruit. So I'll just end with this one here. All kingdom works are planted by prayer and by faith.

59:10 Everyone, all through history. All are God's doing. The primary strategy for all teams is to pray. They did not consider prayer as preparation or empowerment. They considered prayer as the primary work of mission.

59:28 Our teams pray. I got off the plane in Nigeria at, like, five in the evening. I had flown thirty hours. They say, hey, we're gonna we're going to a prayer meeting. I said, okay, let me just take a shower.

59:40 And, they picked me up at seven. We finished at 7AM. Prayed all night. They're serious because they want to see God's move. God will move in response to our prayers.

59:59 All commune with Jesus all the time. They dedicate blocks of time to lavish extravagant attention on Jesus. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear fruit and your fruit will last. There's no other biblical path. It's not how good we teach.

1:00:21 It's not what we know. It's him. It's his work. And the moment we try to steal his glory, we're out of it. We're not accomplishing his will when we're trying to build our own kingdoms.

1:00:37 It's the kingdom of God that's expanding across the face of the earth. Millions of people right now across the earth are coming to know Christ. Six years ago, I did a training in my hometown there in Kashmir, Wenatchee Valley. And I said, you know, I know that there's 60 people here. Only a few of you will actually do anything with this training because we just like to go to trainings most of the time.

1:01:05 We don't actually do anything with it. That's okay. I said, but what I'm really looking for here is a team of men and women that wanna pray. Wanna pray for movements across Central Washington. We've been meeting now for four years every Wednesday morning, 6AM, and the Holy Spirit leads our prayer.

1:01:26 And now we're beginning to see miraculous stuff happening across the Wenatchee Valley. People are being told by God to move there from different parts of The US. People are experiencing the presence of God in new ways. They're learning how to walk in the kingdom. They're learning how to pray and hear from God themselves.

1:01:48 Just take a take a touch a walk through scripture and look at all the ways that God spoke to people, the way that Jesus spoke to people, the way the Holy Spirit spoke to people. He's still speaking today. We just don't believe he is. We don't believe he When do I have to be done? I'll I'll end with this.

1:02:16 We do a training on the difference between strategy and tactics. How many of you like strategy? I love strategy. I can't help myself. It just happens.

1:02:28 But there's a big difference between strategy and tactics. Oftentimes we we take this tactical thing that we've done and it's born fruit and we call it strategy. And we want to replicate this thing that happened once and do it again and again and again. That's not biblical. When Joshua got the big kingdom strategy was to retake the land, that was a big objective.

1:02:59 That was a big place. When he got to Jericho, where did he go to learn the tactics for that battle? Where did he go? I'm really asking you. Where did he go?

1:03:14 To they called it the Tent Of Meeting. Right? Where he learned about this. You go back and look when Moses went into the tent of meeting, Joshua went with him and was watching everything and he said, when Moses left the tent of meeting, Joshua lingered in God's presence. He learned how to hear from God.

1:03:34 So when he got the marching orders, he goes into the tent of meeting and k, God. What do we do here in Jericho? Alright. This time, the trumpet section gets to lead the battle. I'm trying to imagine his military commanders when he comes out.

1:03:51 Alright. What are we gonna do? Alright. Get break out the band. We're gonna march real quietly, and then we're gonna blow and they're going, go back in.

1:04:03 That can't be what he wants us to do. What about the swords and all that? Right. It made no military sense. And they did it.

1:04:17 What happened at the next battle? What did he forget to do? Forgot to go in because he thought, okay, now we know what to do. How many more times did the band lead the battle? How many?

1:04:34 Zero. Every time they went into a battle, God wanted to get the glory, not Joshua. God wants to glorify himself, and he wants to download tactics to us every day. What do you want me to know today, God? I'm here in this tent of meeting.

1:04:51 I'm here in your presence. What do you want me to do? What do you want me to say here? Because God wants to do new things. He's doing new things all over the world.

1:04:59 And the biggest obstacle to the new things God is doing is the existing church in the places where we are at because they're saying, no, that's not how we do it. We don't do it that way And we take a posture of humility, and we bless that church, but we don't let them be the gatekeepers of what God is doing because we have to obey God. And we take them to these passages to where people heard from God so they knew what to do. When I went when I was making decisions, my father took me to and literally, I had elders telling me, Norris, you cannot play football the way you do. You are too violent.

1:05:45 You're hitting people too hard. How can you do that and play that way and call yourself a Christian? You know, I'm 16, 17 years old, and so I go to my pop, and I say, what do I do with this? And he says, well, let's look at acts 20. And it says, Paul sailed past Ephesus and landed in Miletus.

1:06:08 And all the elders from Ephesus came to Paul. And to the man, what did they tell him? Don't go to Jerusalem. He said these were good people. They weren't evil people.

1:06:20 They had Paul's best in mind. But every one of them told him not to go to Jerusalem. That gal prophesied, you're gonna be in chains. And Paul said, if death or chains awaits me, I'm on my way to Jerusalem. My pop told me this back then.

1:06:36 He said, if you hear from God, that's what you obey, even if everybody else opposes you. Because it will make no sense. Most of the thing God asked people to do makes no sense. It doesn't seem safe. Safety and security is what we want.

1:07:00 So we train people, get into that tent of meeting. They ask us all the time, so what should we do? And we say, we don't know, but we know who does. God is never going, what do we do now? He never scratching his head like, he's never scared.

1:07:21 He's never at a loss, but we don't even ask him what he wants to do, what what with what we're doing right in front of him. We just go on in what we already know. God's wanting to do new things because he wants the glory, not your church, not your program. His glory is what's at stake alone. So these movements are happening because people are broken before God, listening to God, and they're laying everything on this altar, every program, everything they've done before.

1:08:01 And for me, that's how I think. I'm a fruit lover. I'm an orchardist. I don't I don't waste any resources, time, or money on anything that doesn't produce fruit. If that tree doesn't produce fruit, I jerk it out and plant a new one.

1:08:23 So if you abide in me and I knew you will bear fruit and your fruit will abide. Movements happen. A movement can happen across Jackson if you are willing to pray. You gotta pay the price. You gotta pay the price.

1:08:41 It's gonna require time. You're gonna have to stop doing certain. I have people tell me all the time, I'm too busy to make disciples. Well, I wonder who's causing that. One of the gals in our prayer meeting, Wednesday morning, last week.

1:08:59 And the way we start our prayer meetings, we don't we say, okay, what got what's God been saying? And I always ask Lisa. She homeschools four kids, but she always is hearing stuff, and I know it. So I always ask her. So what's God been saying this week?

1:09:11 She goes, well, I was asking him, why is this transformation of my life taking so long? And she said, God said, you know, I'm at work transforming you all the time. How much time it takes is up to you. And it just brought conviction on our whole team because we choose how we spend our time. We do.

1:09:44 And the enemy, I'll guarantee, is gonna fill your time with all kinds of really good things. And you're gonna have to prune it away if you wanna bear fruit. Just gonna have to. There's no other way around it. There's no other path to movements.

1:10:05 Because folks, what we're doing here, this is not the battle. This is like halftime where the coach brings you in and pat your butt and say, okay, eat some water. K. Here's what you gotta do different. K?

1:10:20 We're gonna change things around so we can get back out there. Because the lost people in Jackson, you know you know hundreds of them. That's where the battle is. And the enemy is gonna do everything he can to keep you from there. He always puts fear, guilt, and shame right in front of where he wants where God wants us to go.

1:10:47 And another he he's putting busyness. Are we willing to prune away things? It's what it takes. So, father, thank you for what you're doing around the world, the testimony of these simple ordinary men and women who are bearing fruit for your kingdom. And they have nothing except you.

1:11:16 You're all that they have. You've become their whole life. Are you our whole life? Have we surrendered all things to you? Are we willing, Lord?

1:11:28 Please show us. Holy Spirit, speak to each man and woman here, each teenager, Lord, speak to them about you and what you are wanting them to do here in Jackson. Where are you wanting to go? I pray that a team will arise that is willing to prune out of their life whatever it takes for them to meet with you and spend more time with you. Lord, show us.

1:11:54 You're you're just waiting there. You're a gentleman. You don't force us into your presence. You ask us to come into your presence into the tent of meeting. So will you do that with these men and women?

1:12:06 Will you pull them into that tent and speak to them? You're just waiting. Nothing is impossible with you. There's nothing too big for you to take care of here in this town in any relationship. But we've gotta be listening.

1:12:33 So I pray that we would. In your name, amen.

1:12:41 God.

1:12:45 I am weak but thou are strong. Jesus keep me from all wrong. Just the closer what we did. Oh, this is where we it starts the ministry right here in this place.

1:13:07 I am weak, but thou art strong. Jesus, keep me from all wrong. I'll be satisfied as low as I want. Let me walk close to thee just to closer walk with thee. Grant that Jesus is my world of stone and plain my burden none but thee dear Lord none but thee just the closer walk with thee granted thee let it be dear Lord let it be daily walking daily walking close to thee let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

1:15:37 Amen. You may be seated. Now I ask gonna ask the ushers to come forward one more time. I know most of you did not come prepared for two offerings, but if you did, we wanna give you that option for the second blessing. This is for the general offering, general fund.

1:15:50 And while I'm just gonna let you guys go ahead because I'm gonna talk in in a little bit, but if you have something planned tonight at 05:30, if you can cancel it, I encourage you to cancel it and come and sit and listen and ask questions. Go ahead. It's almost cruel for us to ask you to come and talk for twenty, thirty minutes. It really is. I talked to a lot of missionaries for a lot of hours.

1:16:19 Norris has has blessed our family for him to come and sit with us for two, three hours. We took him out for dinner the other night. We hung on every word. It really is. I I apologize.

1:16:32 It's it's cruel to have you come and try to share in fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes what God is doing around the world. So I I challenge you, if you have something planned at 05:30, if you can get out of it, somebody's if you got something with somebody else, bring them along. We're just gonna meet in the in the fellowship hall and we're just gonna talk and we're gonna listen to Norris tell some stories that he didn't have time this morning to tell. And I wanna warn you, they'll shock you. They shocked me.

1:17:01 I grew up a little Mennonite boy on a farm in Pennsylvania and I was told God doesn't move in certain ways and, I'm learning through being on the mission team. The way God moves is unlimited in today and I believe our time is short. I believe he's preparing to come soon and he's gathering his people from every nation around the world and you guys are all a part of that and we want to share, we want to bless you by hearing some of these stories that will make your mouth drop open. So I just wanna invite you back tonight. Our Father, heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, thank you so much for loving us, for pursuing us, for having a big plan that you came, you died, you rose again, you paid for our sins so that we might know you.

1:17:59 Lord, forgive us. We are so easily distracted. We get so bogged down in our comfort and our ease and our safety that we forget that you are you you take chances, you call us to move out into the unknown. Told Abraham to leave his home, didn't tell him where to go. Just said follow me.

1:18:23 Many of his disciples, he said the same thing. Lord, I pray that you would let us hear your voice today because you're saying follow me, trust me. Lord, give us the grace to obey, to make decisions, to to to be obedient and to act and to follow. Cleanse us, we pray, through your the power of your blood, your word. We thank you for it.

1:18:51 Take this offering, Lord, and that was just taken to Jerusalem here and just use it here in Jackson. Use it in in Wyoming. Use it in The United States. And use it to the other most ends of the world to to bring people to you, to know you, to walk with you, and to worship you Lord. We pray in Jesus name for his glory.

1:19:12 Amen.

Topics

Bearing Fruit Disciple Making Hearing From God Missions Prayer

Recap

What was said

Doing a Bible study?

Topics

Share this message

Come find us