How Jesus Christ Wants to Work Through Our Lives

well the today is a day i've been looking forward to with great anticipation because we have dr. John Barnett and his wife Bonnie with us today and you know it's kind of interesting you know just six months ago I was kind of in the candidate and phase and during the candidate phase people read lots of letters about you and then what happens is then when you get called as a new pastor then you come into a church and you start reading a letter you start reading the congregation you start seeing what the man of God who went before you left behind and I want to do read to you a letter that I've been reading this is from second Corinthians 3 it says you are our letter written in our hearts known and read by all men being manifested that you are a letter of Christ cared for by US written not with ink but with the spirit of the Living God not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts and as I've had six months to read you the congregation this is a letter of commendation for a man of God who did God's work in God's Way for God's glory so please join me in welcoming back to his pulpit dr. John Barnett well thank you but you are greatly blessed for many years for 20-some years I've been associated with Slovak gospel association that Brett served with for well more than a decade in the Ukraine and around and I couldn't think or even pray for a better gifted godly servant of the Lord and a man who knows and can communicate doctrine there is nothing better for Calvary Bible Church than to have such a young man with such a grasp of God's Word so I'm thrilled and thank the Lord for breath but I can't believe in one year I mean I walked in this morning and the platform was different and I thought oh no has everything changed and then I saw Sue and then chase and then let's see who's behind me John Jr and Dave and let's see Nancy and Bobby there we go and I thought it's the same the same servants just in a new platform but it is a thrill to be here we slipped in from New Orleans yesterday morning you know just after midnight and went to the missionary house and if you all have never stayed there you ought to sign up it is unbelievable this morning when I was in opening the closet to get my jacket out I looked and right where I would have wanted the lint brush was right there and I went you know and and I thought someone has thought of everything that is needed when you have to just touch and go and stay somewhere and so for all of you that have contributed and labored and served and that mission your house that's wonderful and then because we were up so late yesterday I slipped over to the dispensary vitamin-c coffee and I went over to Starbucks you know and my hair was standing up and I had my baseball cap on and you know hoping not see anybody a car came right off a Main Street pulled right in they said we saw you and it was the mollenkamp family and we just had our first big greeting to calvary and it's such a blessing to see all of you and i could spend all my time by the way let's open to Luke 24 to the the third of five presentations of the Great Commission but I could spend all my time thanking you we are on the mission field today because you sent us we continue on the mission field because one half of all of our supporters are a part of the Calvary Bible Church family we are B we're blessed to be supported by people from my alma mater where I went to school for Bible School by people from Grace Community Church where we serve first by people from Knesset church where we serve next by people from Tulsa Bible Church where we serve next and by you all and you are the the great contingent that that we hear from that pray for us that support us and that encourage us and that's the one thing we weren't prepared for believing what we had enjoyed for 35 years 35 years of saints that we were around everyday literally when you're a pastor Brett knows that you're around every day whether it's you're working here in the office or you're visiting or you're helping your around the Saints and you look forward to the gatherings of the body even though we still minister in churches we are kind of like distant cousins they're our brothers and sisters in Christ but we don't really know them and they're polite and we love them but there is nothing like coming home and and that's one of the joys of of Calvary Bible Church that we because it's our home church and we're sent out we continue to be members were you know 0.3 members or whatever I don't know what we're called associating members but we still have a church family and it is such a joy to us to come to see you to to feel the love that that we get communicated so clearly through all their communications so thank you and I will stop there because I don't want to go past my time I did notice the churches liberal when I was here it went you know until 11:45 and it only goes to 11 42 and so I mean you know that's the creep of liberalism that they slowly start chipping away at things so but let's look at Luke 24 and what I'd like to share with you is let's see I hope I can share with you oh no smart board smart computer this time the fourth I mean the third Great Commission starts in verse 44 of the last chapter of Luke and I'm going to read with you in just a moment from verse 44 onward but what I want to emphasize I've written down for you and we'll continue it tonight how Jesus Christ he's the great commissioner we all know the Great Commission we need to think of the Great Commission as coming from the great commissioner you know I don't have the luxury anymore of the joy that I had here and and all the other churches I pastored where I could teach as long as I wanted on any book of the Bible in fact I found out I taught too long on Titus 2 here but you know what I mean I go into context where I have to present all of first and second Samuel in 10 hours every verse all of revelation 1 through 5 in 10 hours all of the book of Matthew in 20 hours and so I'm going to instead of doing one of those this morning I would like to challenge you with what Jesus left all of us the great Commissioner wants to do something through us and the great Commissioner tonight we're gonna see wants to do something through this church which I believe he's he is already greatly done but he wants to continue doing it so that's the the two places we're going but let's start in Luke 24 and starting in verse 44 and if you're there I just have to do this because it's such a blessing did you know when I travel around the world I go to these remote places I go to places where they don't even have churches and what's interesting is they've watched Calvary Bible Church online did you know in the last 28 days 8 million minutes of services here have been watched on YouTube 8 million minutes of those services from the past are watched just in the last 28 days and when I get there often they say are you gonna make us stand up once I didn't and the director came and he said would you have mall stand up at the end please they have been waiting to stand for the reading of God's Word so let's stand together for the reading of God's Word or for the listening and our read but but Luke 24 starting in 44 Jesus says this then he said to them these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me and he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures then he said to them thus it was written and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day verse 47 the Great Commission number three and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem and you are witnesses of these things behold I send the promise of my father upon you but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high now hold that thought turn all the way over the Gospel of John to acts 1 remember this thing doesn't stop in Luke 24 it wops right into the sequel and look at Acts chapter 1 verse 8 and that's last verse actually I'll start in verse 7 and he said to them the same moment same event it's not for you to know the times or seasons which the father has put in his authority but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth how Jesus Christ the great commissioner wants to work through our lives it's right there when the Holy Spirit comes upon us we want to tell people see that's that's it in fact you could go home but I'm not gonna let you let's bow for a word of Prayer father I pray that your word would find a place in our hearts number 1 there are some people that are here in a group this size that know all about you but they've never met you personally their life has never been transformed they don't have a new heart they don't have a new spirit in fact they are driven about and without a foundation or an anchor or hope and I pray for those that they would hear about this life that is overflowing ly abundant this joy and peace that is detached from our circumstance and this this thrill of being forgiven once and for all forever of everything and I pray that they might come to know the glorious gospel which is you Jesus Christ and for all of us who do know you I pray that we'd realize that we could measure this morning our spiritual health by how readily we can talk about this life that you are living in us that you're living through us and how readily we can tell people because when your spirit lives within us you give us boldness and when we resist your spirit we are fearful and we are our not sharing the words of this life so I pray this morning those that don't know you oh and your mercy and grace may they come and for us who do know you may we anew and afresh offer ourselves to you to speak about you and have the desire to every single day of our life look for an opportunity to tell someone but what a wonderful change you've made in our lives open our hearts this day for your glory be exalted we pray in Jesus name Amen you may be seated as you're seated let's go on a journey I want to share with you the book of Acts now again I have to distill down and I'm invited in to to both work with existing missionaries and be involved in kind of getting them restarted getting them back on the track many of them are frayed and worn from what they're doing and also the other half our time is with the next generation many of them are our first generation Christians and they testify I was just with a group in Prague in Czechoslovakia and they said we live in the place where more alcohol per capita is consumed than anywhere else in the world and there is more hopelessness and despair here than anywhere else and they said we came out of that we were you know basically drinking our ways into oblivion using drugs sexually active from the age of 11 or 12 odd involved in the occult and I'm speaking to a group of 200 of them 220 year olds in a country of 10 million 200 is big and they said we have made a pact since coming to Christ that each of us are going to share the gospel once each day and they have this online some calendar which has 200 little places in it and each day they put their little they go online to log in and say I got to talk to one or two or whatever people today on the subway in the parks in the streets in the wherever they are at school at work on my lunch hour because they say when the Holy Spirit fills us we're suppose to be his witnesses and so we're gonna hold each other accountable so how would you like to be a part of a group of two hundred twenty something year olds who every time they see each other they say hey when's the last time you get to lead some award tell me about it wow what happened there life are you disciple you're more they go are they gonna come to our group are they gonna come to church show whose disciple what verse did you use can you imagine doing that rather than saying what's on your playlist you know did you buy their can you give me a copy that hey what's your score in that game you know I mean instead of being addicted to social media and the the you know kind of the endless music world or movie world or whatever this this group and they invited me they contacted me on Facebook they said we want you to do what we saw on Facebook for us and you know do that teach that to us for five hours five one-hour services with a 15 minute break between I said what's the age group they said 20 I said they'll sit through five hours with 15 minute breaks they said aha I want more and I said no they said yeah I said how can I teach you when you're already doing what we're supposed to be doing see if Jeff would have asked me in fact I'm so disappointed where's Jeff let's all say that where's Jeff yeah because for for nine years I watched Jeff come up and ask three questions do you all know them by heart I do I've been working on it I wanted to come and say now you were successful you know whatever and or I don't know what you know he would have said about me because I don't know if you thought I was successful but you know you were in Kalamazoo what made you go to the mission field yeah what on earth made you go to mission field you always ask that one and then he says what do you do he needs passes microphone the wife said what are three prayer requests or two something like that so we were already Bonnie had the two or three and I had the other two do you know what I would have answered him why on earth would we ever leave a church of this magnitude a historic church a church that has one of the the most powerful ministries in Western Michigan you guys are known even in other places even out the United States where I was overfed I gained 15 pounds in the 200 homes where I've overpaid I mean all just everything was maximum here why would I ever leave that because in October of 2015 I was sitting in that beautiful office provided for me and the phone rang and someone said you don't know me but we know you I mean that's common you know people sit out there and watch they said no no we're not we're a part of another Ministry of a much larger ministry they always had much larger and they said we've watched you online and we've decided you have 10 more good years I already told you this you already knew this in 2015 I had 10 years left I was so happy to hear that and but that's not where they stopped they said we've decided because our ministry is so large that it's time for you to do something significant with your life I'll never forget hearing that and I went home I said thank you for calling and no Bonnie and I I mean we don't need to pray about that when we're not interested you know you usually say let me pray about it but actually you know you're not interested so don't save let me pray about just say no you know and don't drag him on so I said no but I went home to Bonnie and I said I learned something today I have 10 good years left according to them and are we doing what's significant we were doing what was wonderful we were doing what was very exciting it's really comfortable but every time I left for all those gracious weeks the elders gave me on vacation they allowed me to travel for seven weeks a year and every time we went to the nation's they would want me to speak five hours with short breaks and then follow you for three hours afterward informally asking questions and to see that hunger from first-generation Christians who don't want to add to you know they already know John Piper and Jonathan Owens and everybody in between and have MacArthur memorized and and are just seeing where you fit in the spectrum they want to know how to communicate the truth to their people and they're willing to go back where they came from I said honey which would you like to do grow old and rich and fat in America or be uncomfortable riding with people that appear half of them to be terrorists on the subway you know and shopping for food in markets where you wonder whether you're getting Listeria or dysentery or both at the same time you know and to go into groups of believers that can't stop talking about what God did in their lives so we picked the best of both worlds to be a part of Calvary Bible Church to be members here and to be sent out and tonight I'll talk to you all about that but let's go through the book of Acts number 1 in acts 1 through 3 and now I'm going to my teaching mode where I can get the whole book done very shortly X 1 2 3 is about the church being born and growing and if you look just at verse 8 where we read and ended they get the the call the Great Commission and in verse 14 they continued with one Accord in prayer and in chapter 2 verse 1 the Holy Spirit comes down you know the day of Pentecost and by chapter 2 if you look at verse 41 look what happens the church is born in verse 41 there were three thousand souls added in chapter two verse 41 from chapter three on through chapter fourth it it just keeps multiplying and by the time we get to chapter four verse 4 let me get there with you it says those who heard the word believed and the number of men came to about 5,000 so they're already up 2,000 and we're not I'm sure if those are individuals or even family units I mean the church was just mushrooming and what does God do chapter 5 verse 11 he cleans out the greedy Liars in the church chastening cleansing the church and great fear came on them remember Ananias and Sapphira want everybody to think they really were with it but they weren't they were holding back and and hiding and and deceiving and so great fear came out of the church and then look at chapter 6 verse 7 I love this they start relief ministry to the truly poor the truly needy that those who were really widows and in need and in Chapter six look at verse seven the Word of God spread when they began doing this compassion ministry and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem but look at the end of the verse and the great many of the priests did you know there were 24,000 priests 24 courses of a thousand that ministered in the temple and it says here that that a great many of them processing what they had heard of Christ's ministry processing what had happened that Passover week and the resurrection of Christ that they had heard about and then processing the day of Pentecost that that had happened fifty days later and all of a sudden God was at work and drawing them and so that the church just begins to mushroom and so what happens look at chapter 7 verse 59 the very end of chapter 7 says martyrdom persecution from the Apostles being roughed up - now one of the seven being martyred and and the account of Stephen they stoned Stephen verse 59 as he was calling on God can you imagine the testimony of Stephen as he's being crushed to death he is he is a witness and he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice Lord don't charge them with the sin and when he had said this he fell asleep so persecution begins refining the church and by the time we get to chapter 8 verse 4 saw the persecutor it says scattered those who were scattered he comes in and scattered I mean it's just like I'm gonna be watching the reading fire I mean that's the recent California fire and yesterday the pictures I mean that television man was standing you know how they have that beautiful hair and they stand there with the light on them and he had the microphone and behind him was the fire I mean it was really in the distance and he was talking and all of a sudden it came over the top of the hill and the camera goes like this and he runs and and in the they picked up showing the people this fire moves so fast that people were grabbing you know their dog or their wallet or their child and running I mean it was just it was rapidly coming and that picture that's what I see here Saul in verse one is is coming in like a wild animal and just just if you saw a bear or a Panther coming you'd run and that's what the people are scattering from Jerusalem but look at verse 4 there for those chapter 8 verse 4 those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word interesting word for preaching you angle Itza my is sharing the good news so they're you know they've got their there whatever they took with them out of Jerusalem and they stopped at the first place to get a drink of water and the person that's helped them say hey where you coming where come from Jerusalem we just left everything behind lost everything because we're being persecuted by saw the persecutor because the greatest day in my life happened when I met Jesus Christ and he forgave me and saved me and is he ever saved you from your sins and they started look at verse 4 they went everywhere sharing the good news now that's something we're all supposed to be empowered to do it's one of the evidences of salvation two nights ago we were in New Orleans last night they had I don't know what ten people shot up one of those mass shootings was last night just 20 blocks from where we sat for dinner and I was thinking about that that we were sitting down there and it's kind of like Perpetual Mardi Gras they they just drink and publicly act indecent a lot of those people I mean they were they were all wearing their chains and up on stilts and they had the people playing the music and they were marching down the street and and going to a party and and you know it's just interesting but we were sitting here eating in our waitress was just so curious about us there were four of us two board members of our ministry and bonnie and i and i was vegan to gideon's and we were sitting there and this lady I mean she was busy but she kept coming back to our table and asking questions what do you guys do where are you from are you really close friends are you nude why are you so happy you know she was basically trying to find out why with no alcohol we were just happier than all the people there were guns Ling you know and in Mardi Gras Leah and so finally and one of the board members said start sharing the gospel with her and Bonnie added and then Duke added and then finally was my turn of course I reached down to my gospel track holder my wallet and I started taking it out and she was so curious what I was taking out and I opened and it was one of Calvary's I still have some in my car and I was we were down there and I put it my while I always reload and I Sperry sharing the gospel with her and I looked her I said do you know this very moment that all of your sins are forgiven I see you said you're looking at for people that are the worst sinners we all know we're the worst sinners we know in the whole world and she really laughed and she looked out at the people drunk and staggering by and all the all the stuff you see in New Orleans and she said I can assure you you are not sinners you know she's and I know sinners I live here my whole life so this is Mardi Gras and she said you are not sinners and I said were the worst sinners boy was she interested and we went through the gospel there's a church on every corner in New Orleans almost she had never heard of the one who took her place punished for her sin offered her endless forgiveness in life they were so convinced in acts 8 for that they they just took the gospel everywhere they went by the time we get to chapter 10 Cornelius the the gospel was going outside of Judaism by the time we get to 11 Antioch has been set up is a is a incredible secondary center of the gospel and then of course you know Paul's missionary journeys the question that should be in all of our minds is how did they so amazingly see the gospel expanding to the ends of the earth how did in one generation the gospel go from little backwards Jerusalem to the the furthest extents of the Roman Empire well I wrote the answer up there everyone seemed to be sharing the gospel in some way now if you read a high-level commentary on this Colman wrote this he says 31 times in the Greek language that are found 31 different Greek words in acts are found for the way that people shared the gospel there are 160 times the gospel shared in the book of Acts almost 6 per chapter 31 different Greek words two-thirds of them are not formal now by the way this is formal this is formal set time you come you said you know what's coming or you hope you do and you hear a message and it's a lot of time and you go to lunch which I heard all of you are very interested in going to lunch that I'm supposed to be done in time and I will be all the young people right there the rest of us I guess don't eat but this is formal this is preaching this is lecture this is classroom one-third of the gospel presentations in Acts were like this do you want all the rest of them were you can look at them I'll just show you a few they were normal people normal people when the Holy Spirit fills us are given boldness and desire to share the gospel we were before in New Orleans we had to stop in Denver and get a little car work done yeah it's really hard when you travel so much you can't do the normal things in life like we're coming here I came here to get a haircut and to get my teeth worked on and my hair restored and you know now I'm not doing that and but we had to stop in Denver to get our car and and so they were trying to sell me a car the salesmen you know car salesmen you know a car salesman there are one-track mind they find all conversations go to the our unique and so this guy was just talking to us and I just sat there smiling and listening I was gonna buy a car but I was waiting for the Lord to provide the open clear open window for me to put the gospel in so I guess he was talking about a new car with a safety feature and he said you know what happened to me I said no what happened to you he said I was in a wreck and he says I tumbled and my car went but he says this the windshield came within this close to my nose and he was he really was a good salesman very dramatic he had his windshield he was holding it there dramatically pausing for me and I said wow I said if it hadn't stopped there and crushed you to death do you know where you were to spend eternity it ruined the car said he forgot about the car he got off script he pulled his hand away from his face he said no he said what do you mean how came the track and I started sharing the gospel and found out this is one of those Americans who live all around us he said I've never been inside of a church ever ever oh you see I've gone to funerals I said never been in a church like wanting to go there I mean I have tended things and and I kept going he says I've never heard that and just then he got relieved of having to hear the phone rang and he had to run off somewhere 15 minutes later he came back because you know I'd pulled out he saw me pull out that track and it's one that actually had been in the car for a while it was bent you know it was it wasn't even a freshman it was bent it was from that rack out there and but it got bent and I was holding it and he said do you still have that I said yeah and I opened it up and started showing him you know the chasm and sin and that he was a sinner and the cross Christ and I talked about the gospel and he's so graciously listened and then he took that tract and he was holding it and he said this must really be special to you he says it's all bent and I said I have been keeping that in my wallet just for you I said I was actually praying for a moment and I said when you went you gave me the moment and he said thank you he said I've never heard this before I will read that just like the waitress from Mardi Gras Liam she opened her little thing where they keep their order pad and all that money that they get you know they stuff it in one of those little belts they wear she took that track and she said thank you went right in with all that money she says I'm gonna read this see people want informal presentations from people that look at X 5 20 X 5 20 says go stand and speak all the words of this life they want us to talk about not what the church says not what you know we've we've got this this lingo that we've memorized we want to share with them the life we're living see that's why a lot of people don't witness they're not living the life they haven't experienced Jesus says how do view will flow rivers of water asked most Christians do you feel like a rivers flowing out of you they go no I feel like I'm drowning you know in in the river of life and my problems everything else see we're supposed to not learn more techniques how to witness we're supposed to surrender more you filled with the spirit more so that this life becomes operative so that we are as easily talking about it as the salesman talks about his car Acts chapter 2 verse 6 and I'll run through them with you it says that when the Holy Spirit came on them the sound occurred the multitude came together they were confused because everyone heard them speak they heard the 120 from the upper room talking about their life in Christ his death in their place the gospel chapter 4 verse 31 after the Apostles got roughed up look what it says in verse 31 of chapter 4 when they had prayed they went back you know to the group and they prayed and when they had prayed they were assembled together the place was shaken they were filled with the Holy Spirit look at this and they spoke the word with boldness what happens when we get refilled with the spirit we get energized and emboldened and longed to share when's the last time that happened do you see that's what the church is about we're supposed to come up and not say wow nice tan how is the cruise you know wow you know saw that picture of you you know whatever you're doing we're supposed to come up I mean it's okay to ask about all that just get it over with and then say ones last time you get to share the gospel of someone that is transformational I'm going to tell you tonight when I get to tell some of these amazing things that we've seen happen but a couple years ago I was at a conference with medical missionaries and I basically gave this message and one of the doctors who's serving in refugee camps in the Middle East came up to me and said now I'm a doctor I serve in the clinic like 80 hours or 100 hours a week he said are you telling me that's not enough for the Lord I said oh I mean you even being here's a lot for the Lord but I said I'm not sure that you're gonna be able to take anyone with you to heaven if you don't open your mouth and share the gospel some of these people that you're rescuing them in these field hospitals I said I said do you ever share the gospel he went I'm a doctor I'm a surgeon or whatever he was so I challenged him I said well I would challenge you to ask God to give you one person that speaks English well enough or an interpreter and you share the gospel with one of these refugees that you're rescuing and he said I'll take that challenge he came back to me in March running up behind me it was the same conference again he said I did it what do I do next I turned her I said I've seen 1501 doctors in the last two years which one are you he said I'm the one you told I had to lead some of the Lord and he said I did it and he said and this guy he says walks 45 minutes every day one way from the refugee camp to our hospital and comes and knocks on my door at 7:00 a.m. and says will you teach me from the Bible and he said three times a week he's coming he said I've taught him everything I know what what do I do next see all we have to do is be willing God wants to fill us God wants to give us boldness God wants to live his life in us the life of Christ and all he wants to do is yes share it and by the time we get to we already did eight four by chapter 11 19 to 26 it's it they're going beyond the Jews and they start talking to the Grecians and by the time we get to acts 13 and I'll read verse 49 let me get there with you look what it says 48 when the Gentiles heard this they were glad and they glorified the word of the Lord and many has been appointed to eternal life believed now look at 49 and the word of the Lord was spread through all the region common people began sharing what God was doing in their life well how does the Jesus the great Commissioner want to work through us well when we look in acts God called them God saved them God gifted them God empowered them and God sent them and used him guess what God calls us same salvation God saves us God gives us God empowers us it's the same spirit God sends us they were just sent where they were a few of us go where we weren't we go somewhere else most of us most of the church through most of history most of the amazing work has been done by people right where they work just sharing the gospel and spreading the words of this life now tonight I'm gonna talk about our calling we we get to go and help get the career missionaries back on track some of them some of them are really struggling can you imagine having to confront darkness in dark places and have to report about it to the church for supporting you having to find time and your busy schedule to keep fresh with the Lord and then spend time with your wife and your children plus do whatever you know your medical work or whatever I mean it's really hard to keep all those things going and they get worn out Tech we were on our way to the airport seems like we're always on the way to the airport Bonnie recently surprised say this Tuesday night don't tell her I told you but we sat down an airplane and she went said it's just like being at home I said being in an airplane is like being at home honey did yes did I have my one little bag here seatbelt they're gonna bring me a diet coke Ike read my Bible and no one interrupts me and I thought that's the interesting life but we were on the way to that experience and I was putting gas in the car Bonnie was out doing something else and her phone rang so I reached in the window and got it I answered it the person said oh it's you I want a Bonnie I said oh that's okay she said well I want - Bonnie what's your perspective on the state of the global church it was one of our Calvary partners and I thought well I said that's what I'm gonna share on Sunday we have taught on four continents in Bible Institute's and seminarians and church planners conferences and Bible training centers we've met with small groups we've been to full fledged Bible conferences we've been in local churches we've been at missionary conferences we've been on Mary's retreat of church planners and family conferences and a lot of other stuff but what's been amazing is who's there mostly in the missionary round there Americans this is where they serve it's really a blurry chart those red stars are where they are in the first term we've served seven conferences in Asia South America Middle East Central Europe to over 1300 medical missionaries and 80 refugee camp workers that serve in 75 different countries when you add the students that were training bonnie kept a list she typed this out for me I took Latin not typing so I'm really slow that was a lot of words so she did it for me we keep a record of where these doctors are from where they serve where the students are from and where they're going a hundred plus countries and what I will tell you is that as we do what the Lord called us to do equip and train them we're running into some of the most amazing people we've ever met that are normal people that the Holy Spirit is filled with boldness the big guy with hair you see the big guy without hair see the big guy with hair behind me he is a communist party member that someone shared the gospel with he came to Christ he's already through college already you know gifted and he was a linguist for them and when he came to Christ he quit the party which is kind of like leaving behind your 401k or 403b and your everything else and now he's a normal person just struggling in life but his gift is he has an unusual grasp of the English language and of the Chinese dialects and he has been recruited as a new believer to do the translation in these centers where we work a lot of big ministries are pulling Chinese house church pastors out of China for a week you can come out of China and go to certain places with no visa to tourist places and they've set up training centers in tourist places and these thousands 900 a week house church pastors come and they go to 12 hours a day and in seven days you get the equivalent of going to Bible College for a couple of semesters and this guy is one of the translators and and he translated for me he can almost translate as fast as I talk you kind of learned this little dance with them where I only go about a sentence and a half so he doesn't get too far behind but I said what are you doing what are you doing here in this Bible Institute you're not translating you're listening he says oh he says you know what I understand so well I can translate but he says I don't know what propitiation means I don't know what expiation means he says I don't know what reconciliation means he says I want to understand theology so that when I put it into Chinese they don't just hear a word they understand the truth I thought amazing what God is doing around the world I mean I could talk about Edwin over there on the right he was just a normal very successful Asian millennial you know with every electronic gizmo you could have and you know all the girlfriends that go with it and someone in the street street preaching I mean wouldn't we see a street preacher we think they're crazy you know I mean this guy on his soapbox what's wrong the end of the world thing they actually preach the gospel on street corners in Asian cities and other cities and he heard about Christ came to that school and now he said I'm going back to my Asian country I'm gonna get a job but he says my goal is to do what was done for me and share the gospel and disciple on that side of the picture is a Shinto Buddhist he's not even his Davis David Harada I'm sorry when I expand it he dropped off but he was ready to commit suicide he's from Japan he's a Shinto I mean worship the dead he wanted to become one so he could be worship you know and he was going to commit suicide was so hopeless and and someone shared the gospel a Canadian shared the gospel he gets saved and he came to school and I'm teaching him and I meet with each the students for an hour and so I sat down with him and I said I'd like to hear a little bit about you and how I can better minister to you and I said my first question is when do you come to you went like this I thought he's already counting how many minutes are left in our interview he eats bored and he just kept looking at his watch and he finally said seven months two weeks and three days ago I was saved and I thought how many Americans even remember even know the day that God turned them from darkness to light from the power Satan unto God how many of us can talk about the greatest day of our life when we were saved I said how did you get here he said my grandmother who is also a Shinto Buddhist knew I was suicidal and saw such a change in my life when I shared the gospel with her she said is there any place where they do this more than you've already gotten he said yeah there's this Bible Institute she said I'll pay for it you want to go there he's now right now at Moody she sent him through this Bible Institute she said I'll pay as much as it takes for anything that makes you want to keep living said even though I don't believe what you believe it's so wonderful I'll keep paying for it so he's now at Moody Bible Institute he wants to go back to his lamp well and I hope tonight I'll talk about these Arab evangelists I mean these guys want to be over there I mean there are guys on that screen that are in Syria right now there are guys that are in Iraq right now there are guys that are in all of these countries in the news and these are and part of this group was of the group that our group in 2016 from Calvary went to I mean this group now there's 78 kids 41 girls and 37 boys from 15 or so countries every one of them the stories what Jesus Christ did now share those tonight and they say what else is there to live for and I think we took a couple with us there's on the left there are two board members we have board members come with us on these trips from our ministry and Jim stubs on the Left said I wish I could bring a plane load of American kids from my church here he said these kids want to go to the streets and share the gospel want to do the work of the ministry and he says in the dorms they're talking with each other where are you reading the Bible because I don't know the whole Bible yet and I want to read a good part and have you found even better parts and I mean that level of conversation that's what God's doing and I better stop or we'll be late it's time to pray let's all stand up some of you are asleep bump them come on yeah yeah too many stories I saw a few of you doze off listen the distillation the message of the book of Acts is this we were commissioned by the great Commissioner to speak we were supposed to go into all the world and talk about this life number one make sure you have the life he that has the son has endless life he does not have the son should not have life but is condemned already so don't let your sins keep you from endless life call in the name of the Lord let him save you and then surrender and say fill me up so full I want to share when's the last time you want to share if it hasn't been recent time for surrender refilling back on track that's about father thank you for the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ that we have been turned from darkness to light we have been given ambassadorships we can reconcile people to God through the gospel I pray that we would find that our greatest calling that we would not be listless purposeless hopeless discouraged Christians but surrendered spirit filled bold witnesses and I pray that you would use your word in your spirit and the believers around us to stir us to living the way we're supposed to live for you in the precious name of Jesus we pray and all God's people said men god bless you should go

Channel: DTBM

Views: 10,544

Rating: 4.9117646 out of 5

Keywords: dtbm, god, holy spirit, revelation, end times, prophecy, john barnett, accountability, jesus, friend, save, saved, holy, spirit, above, trinity, godly, life, partner, verses, memorize, discipline, help, remember, remind, bible, biblical, verse, scripture, hell, heaven, lesson, sermon, church, christians, real, truth, lie, false, purpose, meaning, passion, meaningless, meaningful, mean, truths, true, unsaved, worldly, sin, sinner, sinful, sinning, die, death, burn, doom, heavenly, angel, angels, angelic, demonic, john, barnett

Id: SmXrjMuw0SA

Length: 50min 1sec (3001 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 13 2018