Participants:
Series Code: GYC
Program Code: GYC180014A
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00:01 Music...
00:32 Let's stand and sing our theme song, 00:35 "His Witness I Will Bear. " 00:37 Violin and piano... 03:50 Thank you for singing, you may be seated. 03:52 Pause... 03:58 As we begin our morning devotion, 04:00 I'd just ask you to bow your heads with me 04:01 for a word of prayer. 04:03 "Father in heaven, 04:05 we praise you so much for this new day of life 04:07 and for this new year that you have given us 04:09 and as GYC comes to a close today, 04:12 Father, we ask that a special measure of your Holy Spirit 04:15 will be poured upon this place, 04:17 and as Pastor Goetz shares with us one last time, 04:20 we pray that our... that you would be lifted up 04:22 and that each heart would be drawn closer to you, 04:24 is our prayer in Jesus' name, amen. " 04:26 Pause... 04:35 Piano... 04:44 At Jesus' knee 04:47 I learned of life eternal 04:50 At Jesus' knee 04:53 He put His light inside 04:57 At Jesus' knee 04:59 I learned to love His children 05:02 and know the joy within me, 05:06 I found at Jesus' knee 05:09 piano... 05:16 more piano... 05:18 At Jesus' knee 05:21 I know that I am worthy 05:24 At Jesus' knee 05:27 I feel that I am whole 05:31 At Jesus knee 05:33 I learn to be as He is 05:36 And all that blesses me 05:39 I find at Jesus' knee 05:43 At Jesus' knee 05:46 There's shelter from this world 05:49 At Jesus' knee 05:51 I can feel His love 05:55 At Jesus' knee 05:57 though I may go astray 06:00 I'll always find my way 06:03 to sit at Jesus' knee. 06:06 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, 06:12 Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend; 06:19 And I know that Thou art with me, 06:25 Wilt be with me till the end. 06:34 Piano... 06:41 At Jesus' knee 06:43 There's shelter from this world, 06:46 At Jesus' knee 06:48 I can feel His love 06:52 At Jesus' knee 06:54 Though I may go astray 06:57 I'll always find my way 07:02 to sit at Jesus' knee. 07:06 Piano... 07:11 To sit at Jesus' knee. 07:19 Audience: Amen. 07:21 Amen 07:24 amen... 07:26 amen, 07:28 Frohes neues Jahr 07:31 Pause... 07:33 Wacqua umphia... 07:35 pause... 07:37 Feliz año novo... 07:40 Audience: Feliz año novo. 07:42 Or, Feliz año novo... 07:45 or Happy New Year 07:48 Audience: Happy New Year. 07:50 Pause... 07:52 I have, this morning, taken off my suit jacket, 07:57 rolled up my sleeves... because we want to wrestle together, 08:00 so get ready... get ready... 08:04 "Oh God, prepare our hearts, 08:08 it's our final day... 08:11 we got this morning... 08:13 we got a conversation mid-morning 08:15 and we got a final charge 08:16 and we're headed back. 08:18 Pause... 08:20 God, forbid it, would you 08:23 that we leave here the same as we came 08:26 so mobilize us and send us out 08:31 so, radicals for the cause of Jesus, 08:35 we pray in the name of Jesus, amen. " 08:39 So, we learned the lesson of the seed this morning 08:46 seeds are dispersed, 08:50 that's how a plant spreads... sustains itself... 08:56 pause. 08:58 There are four ways that seeds are dispersed, 09:01 anywhere in the world you go, 09:02 there are four ways the seeds are dispersed. 09:06 They are dispersed through water, wind, animals 09:10 or ballistic... they call it, mechanical... 09:13 it's... within the seed there's some sort of mechanism 09:17 that causes it to launch but every one of these happen 09:20 pause... 09:22 the same way. 09:24 The plant must be disturbed. 09:29 The animal bumps against it... lands on it... 09:35 or somehow interacts with the plant 09:37 and picks up its seed... 09:40 it disturbs the plant. 09:43 Wind, water... the ballistic... the mechanical... 09:49 the launch of the seed 09:50 is often times through some sort of contact, 09:52 it gets bumped and then a seed springs. 09:55 Learn the lesson of the seed. 10:00 Pause... 10:02 A dandelion... 10:05 you live in my neighborhood... 10:07 cringe every time one of those yellow flowers pops up 10:12 and before you can even walk over and pick the yellow flower, 10:14 it's already sprouted into one of those seed balls. 10:17 They're so fast 10:19 and then, you gingerly try to pick it without disturbing it 10:25 so the seeds don't spread 10:27 but it is... it is impossible, 10:31 it's futile 10:33 as soon as you snap that stem... just the slightest jerk... 10:38 the seeds are out. 10:41 Pause... 10:42 What about the Jack Pine? 10:44 It produces that resin-filled cone 10:49 that are solid... durable... 10:53 nothing can get into them until a fire occurs 10:58 and its resin is melted 11:02 and the cone pops open and the seeds fall out. 11:05 They're disturbed... 11:08 some sort of disturbance and the seeds are released. 11:14 Learn the lesson of the seed. 11:17 Open your Bibles... 11:20 open your Bibles to the book of Acts 11:24 pause... 11:26 Acts chapter 8, 11:30 we're going to go to two chapters in Acts, 11:32 we're going to start in Acts chapter 8 11:33 and then we're going to back up just a few chapters... 11:36 Acts chapter 5, 11:37 Acts chapter 8 starting in verse 1. 11:41 Pause... 11:44 "Now Saul was consenting to his death... " 11:48 this is Stephen's death... 11:50 "And at that time a great persecution arose 11:54 against the church which was at Jerusalem; 11:58 and they were scattered throughout the regions of Judaea 12:02 and Samaria, except the apostles. 12:03 And devout men... " this is now verse two, 12:06 "carried Stephen to his burial, 12:07 and made great lamentation over him. " 12:10 Verse 3... 12:12 "As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, 12:17 entering every house and dragging off men and women 12:19 committing them to prison. " 12:22 Three verses... there are three operative words. 12:27 Key words that if you just... 12:30 if you take those three and list them off, 12:33 you'll get the message of the entire three verses 12:37 and in a larger context of Acts... three words. 12:41 Havoc... Church... Scattered... 12:47 pause... 12:49 you can reduce those three verses 12:51 and the larger message of Acts, havoc... church... scattered. 12:58 The church was disturbed, it was bothered, 13:03 it was persecuted. 13:04 Paul was only one of the examples 13:06 but Paul here wreaked havoc in the church 13:09 pause... 13:12 havoc... church... 13:14 scattered... 13:18 pause... 13:21 the devil hates the church... 13:23 it is the visible body of One who he hates 13:27 with all that is within him 13:29 and as a community of faith comes together 13:33 and reflects our Head, Jesus Christ, 13:36 he hates us... 13:38 he's always hated us 13:40 it reminds you... 13:42 taking you back to Peter and Paul's day... Nero. 13:46 Reigned for those 54 or about 68 A.D. 13:52 imprisoned and executed the Christians 13:57 including Paul and Peter... 13:59 Domitian came next, 14:01 he oppressed the Christians 14:02 who refused to pay him divine honors, 14:04 he exiled John. 14:07 Marcus Aurelius, 14:09 believing that Christianity was dangerous and immoral, 14:13 turned a blind eye to severe local outbreaks of mob violence, 14:17 so he would say, "You get 'em... 14:18 you get 'em... we won't... we won't do anything, 14:20 you can just knock 'em out. " 14:23 Pause... 14:24 Decius in the third century... 14:27 he took that persecution that was sporadic 14:31 and turned it to systematic... 14:34 it was just part of the calendar. 14:38 Pause... 14:40 more pause... 14:43 thousands died as he reigned, 14:45 Diocletian 14:49 before the conversion of Constantine 14:54 issued four edicts 14:57 which were intended to stamp out Christianity altogether, 15:00 he ordered the church to be burned, 15:02 Scriptures to be confiscated, clergy to be tortured, 15:04 pause... 15:06 citizens... 15:08 Christian citizens were deprived of their citizenship 15:10 and we know from the narrative of Paul 15:13 how important the citizenship could be... 15:16 so they were deprived of their citizenship 15:20 and then it was free game. 15:23 Pause... 15:25 So it was that the early Christian apologist and author, 15:29 Tertullian spoke up addressing the rulers of the Roman Empire. 15:34 Pause... 15:36 addressing the rulers of the Roman Empire 15:40 Tertullian cried out, 15:42 "Kill us, torture us, condemn us, 15:45 grind us to dust, 15:47 the more you mow us down, the more we will grow, 15:50 the seed is the blood of the Christians. " 15:55 Learn the lesson of a seed, disturbed... it was spread. 16:02 Havoc... church... scattered... 16:05 the devil hates the church, 16:08 he hated it then, he hates it now 16:12 but out of the gospel of Matthew 16:16 comes the cogent statement of Jesus, 16:21 Matthew 16 and verse 18, "I say to you, 16:25 that you are Peter 16:26 and on this rock I will build my church; 16:30 and the gates of Hades itself will not prevail against it. " 16:36 Pause... 16:38 Hell hates the church 16:40 but Jesus' promise is that the church will prevail. 16:46 John Foxe... we all know his work, "Foxe's book of Martyrs" 16:51 John Foxe himself was persecuted for his Christianity 16:57 but he says in... 16:59 "in which words, three things are to be noted" 17:02 reflecting on Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18, 17:04 he says, "There are three things that can be noted from... 17:07 from Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18, 17:10 first, that Christ will have a church in this world, 17:12 secondly, that that same church shall be mightily impugned 17:16 not only by the world 17:19 but by the uttermost strength of all hell. " 17:21 One... that Christ will have a church 17:24 but secondly, it will be persecuted, 17:27 it will be hated... it will be attacked... 17:29 the devil himself will wreak havoc. 17:32 Thirdly, that that same church 17:36 notwithstanding the uttermost attacks of evil 17:41 with all of the devil's malice, shall continue. 17:45 John Foxe, who personally knew in his life 17:49 the... the hot stinky breath of the devil, 17:53 but listen, Christ will have a church, 17:57 He will have a community, 17:58 He will have those who are radical in their... 18:02 in their discipleship following Him, 18:04 but the devil will hate them with all the power of hell 18:08 but thirdly, that that church, though hated by hell 18:12 will continue and we would say at GYC, 18:17 pause... 18:20 more pause... 18:24 some more pause... 18:26 havoc... 18:28 church... 18:29 scattered... 18:31 those three operative words unpacked for us... 18:36 the reality of the early church and the prophetic movement 18:43 of the final church. 18:45 Ho, ho, ho, 18:47 Saul turned Paul... long gone on this scene 18:52 yet there still remains this hatred from hell. 18:56 The devil will still continue to wreak havoc in the church. 19:02 Beloved, he's not done, 19:06 in the face of persecution, however, 19:10 the church did not become political, 19:14 they did not attempt to deal with the political grievances 19:18 of their day, 19:20 pause... 19:21 they didn't organize themselves for a protest against Rome, 19:25 they organized themselves for prayer and for mission. 19:29 That was their protest, the final protest. 19:33 They didn't seek to change the... the laws, 19:37 they knew that the government was corrupt, 19:40 they knew that the devil hated them 19:41 and that he would wreak havoc in the church. 19:44 If they spent their time trying to fix that, 19:46 they would miss out on the opportunity 19:48 pause... 19:50 so, they focused themselves on what was most important 19:54 on their trump card, as it were. 19:57 It's the lesson we can learn from that transatlantic flight 20:05 early in aviation history. 20:08 Pilot solo crossing the trans... the Atlantic... 20:14 early on, it was a marvel... 20:18 pause... 20:22 more pause... 20:24 he's about half way across 20:28 when he realizes that there's been a gnawing sound... 20:32 a... a... a... a... a... a bit of a ruckus 20:34 somewhere up in his cabin 20:37 and he finally locates the problem... 20:43 coming out of New York, on his take-off, 20:47 somehow a rat had gotten on his plane. 20:51 He's halfway out 20:54 and he looks up to find this rat gnawing on a cable 21:02 pause... 21:04 that was vital to his ability to land. 21:09 Pause... 21:13 He's stuck... 21:14 he has nowhere to go, 21:17 there's a rat... 21:19 and he knows that if he makes moves to try to... to 21:23 to capture the rat, 21:25 the rat will just go into hiding 21:27 and possibly cause even more problems, 21:32 so he thinks it through 21:35 pause... 21:37 and he begins to pull the plane up 21:39 higher and higher... higher and still higher... 21:44 pause... 21:47 until he finds himself in an elevation 21:52 where slowly the gnawing stops. 21:54 Pause... 21:56 Later he lands the plane and throws out the dead rat. 22:01 Pause... 22:06 The church didn't become political, 22:08 it did not become focused on the grievances... on the havoc... 22:14 it didn't seek to change the problem... 22:21 havoc... church... 22:24 scattered... 22:26 the church took the high road, pulled up the controls 22:33 and went to an elevation 22:35 where the havoc couldn't breathe. 22:38 Pause... 22:41 That's Tertullian, 22:44 "You can grind us to dust but the more you do it 22:48 the more we will grow, 22:51 we'll take the high road. 22:53 Pause... 22:56 Oh, Church that we would learn this. 22:58 We can absorb ourselves, we're trying to fix what ails us 23:05 the havoc that the devil causes, 23:09 from without and from within. 23:13 We can consume ourselves with committees and commissions. 23:18 Pause... 23:21 Havoc... 23:24 Church... 23:26 Scattered. 23:29 They went... 23:31 they... from the havoc took strength 23:36 and went out to the world to proclaim Jesus. 23:42 Pause... 23:45 Acts chapter 5, we find it again, 23:51 pause... 23:54 what was it? What was their trump card? 23:56 What was the one thing that they knew 23:58 that they knew that they knew? 23:59 Pause... 24:02 the... 24:04 these guys got called in all the time... 24:08 they get called in... 24:09 "Hey, you got to stop preaching. " 24:11 Paul, Peter, John... they all... 24:13 "You got to stop preaching. " 24:15 What was their response? 24:17 "If... we can't, we just can't, 24:20 we can't... we simply cannot... 24:22 that is what we exist for. " 24:24 Well, if you don't stop preaching, we'll... 24:26 we'll... we'll beat you up... 24:27 pause... 24:29 drove their enemies crazy. 24:31 "Then, we'll beat you up... 24:33 if you don't stop preaching about Jesus, 24:35 we'll beat you up. " 24:36 What was their response? 24:38 "To be beaten for Jesus would be a promotion... " 24:41 it messed their enemies up, 24:43 they'd get together, "Arghh... 24:45 we can't give these guys any promotions, 24:48 what are we going to do?" 24:50 They'd let them go... 24:52 they'd bring them back in, 24:54 "Hey, you stop preaching about Jesus, 24:56 we're not just going to beat you up, we'll kill you, 24:58 pause... 24:59 we'll kill you... " 25:01 What would they say? 25:03 "It would be an honor to die for my Lord. " 25:08 "Huh, we can't give them any honors, 25:12 what do we do?" 25:14 Acts chapter 5, 25:16 Acts chapter 5 verse 18, 25:19 "And they laid their hands on the apostles, 25:21 and put them in the common prison. 25:22 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, 25:25 and tapped them on the shoulders and brought them out, 25:27 and said, 'Go, stand in the temple 25:29 and speak to the people all the words of this life. '" 25:32 The angels don't even miss a beat. 25:35 "Heh, don't I get some downtime, a night of rest, maybe a... " 25:39 "No, no, no, no, no, go, go, go, go, go, go... 25:41 go preach, go stand in the temple 25:44 and speak to the people. " 25:45 Well, you know what happened. 25:47 Here comes... here comes the High Priest 25:51 in his little parade 25:53 took them back in, 25:56 "Didn't we not strictly command you to... 25:57 to not teach in His name?" 25:59 Verse 28, same chapter... 26:00 "and look, you have filled Jerusalem with this... 26:02 with your doctrine, 26:04 and you intend to bring this man's blood on us. " 26:06 Which is, of course, ironic because of their cry with Pilot. 26:09 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, 26:12 "We ought to obey God rather than men. 26:14 The God of our fathers... " 26:15 and here's their... 26:16 here's what they have that you can't take from them, 26:20 "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, 26:23 whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. 26:26 Him God has exalted to the right hand 26:28 to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel, 26:31 and forgiveness of sins. " 26:33 You can threaten us but guess what? 26:36 The resurrection... 26:37 You can kill us... but guess what? 26:41 There's a resurrection... 26:44 we have this hope that burns within our hearts, 26:51 you can't dissuade us or distract us 26:55 or discombobulate us, 26:56 you can't do it. " 26:58 It's like in the game of UNO, 26:59 you play UNO, right? 27:01 You play UNO and you get down to UNO... 27:02 as soon as you say, "UNO" 27:04 everybody is looking cross-eyed at you 27:07 "What has he got, what has he got... 27:08 is it... is it... has he still got that green? 27:09 Has he still got the green or is it the red? 27:11 What is it, what is it, what has he got... what has he got?" 27:13 And so they play and the person before you 27:15 oooh... they... they're okay 27:17 because they got one of those "Wilds" 27:18 that changes the color, not a "Draw Four" 27:20 but just the "Wild" that changes the color... 27:21 so they know that if... 27:23 if they could just figure out what you have, 27:25 then they can take your game off. 27:27 "All right, he's got the green, he's got the green, 27:29 I think he's got the green, chuk u choo... 27:31 change it to Red... 'Red. '" 27:32 All the while, you yourself hold the "Wild" card. 27:37 Pause... 27:38 "Change the color on me, 27:40 yellow, blue, green or red, I'll play... " 27:45 You can't beat it. 27:48 That's the "Wild" card. 27:52 Our Jesus has been resurrected and now exalted. 27:57 What are you going to do? 27:59 What are you going to do? "You can kill me... " 28:03 Pause... 28:05 Oh, Beloved, the church didn't stop to... 28:08 to declare how unfair the world was, 28:10 how unfair the politics were in or out of the church, 28:13 the church... 28:15 pause... 28:17 while havoc was being... 28:23 pause... 28:25 descending on the church, 28:26 the church went out. 28:29 If we stopped to fix... 28:33 to get everything right with our culture 28:38 and with what we perceive is right in the church, 28:45 we will miss out on what we've been called to do. 28:51 Pause... 28:54 more pause... 28:56 "We have the resurrection 28:58 pause... 29:01 you can't beat us, 29:02 so we're going to take it. " 29:05 Even the angel... uphold the mouth of the prison said, 29:10 "We've got no time... 29:11 no time to draw up documents 29:14 or to protest against the unfairness 29:16 of the... the civil authorities, 29:19 go... go share Jesus... 29:23 just go... " 29:25 You're waiting for a time when the world is fair? 29:27 Puh... havoc will always be here, 29:33 the devil has not given up, 29:34 pause... 29:40 but it's difficult sometimes, it's difficult. 29:45 Injustice... 29:49 pain or hurt it's caused you 29:53 and Beloved, let's be honest, it's... 29:56 sometimes we do it to each other... 29:58 we do it to each other, it's not even the... 30:01 it's not even the Romans that do it to us, 30:03 sometimes, it's... it's... we do it to ourselves. 30:05 We hurt each other, 30:08 pause... 30:11 we find that in that rat... or that rat gnawing on our cable 30:15 and we have to make the decision. 30:17 If I focus on the rat, I'll... I'll lose 30:21 so I'm going to pull this plane up higher 30:26 and the rat won't survive. 30:28 Pause... 30:30 more pause... 30:32 it's not just in a Corporate sense, 30:34 it's also in a personal sense... 30:36 personal pain... 30:38 distracts us. 30:39 Pause... 30:42 Our friend, Pastor Conway's told us 30:46 to go to the end... 30:47 we've got to go to the end of ourselves. 30:49 Pause... 30:51 What if we... what if we use pain as what it is, 30:56 it's a mobilizer, pain is a mobilizer. 30:58 It will mobilize us to something. 31:00 We can be mobilized to focus on it 31:03 or we could be mobilized to go to the end 31:05 and don't tell me that pain is not a mobilizer, 31:08 I live with a Dental Hygienist and she tells me. 31:12 There are people that are hard to get into the chair 31:16 until one morning, they wake up with just a, "oooh... " 31:20 they are crying for an appointment 31:22 in the dentist's chair. 31:24 You know how it is, "Nah, I can put it off, 31:27 who do these dentists think they are? 31:29 They just want my money, they just want me to come, 31:31 they don't... ahhhh... ooooh... 31:33 can I have an appointment today?" 31:35 Audience: Laughter. 31:36 Pause... 31:38 Let me just... let me just tell you, 31:40 the two darkest periods of my life... black as night... 31:46 dark periods... 31:50 wrestling with God, 31:52 feeling like Jacob beside the brook, 31:55 "Come on God... " 31:56 pause... 31:58 one of them... while I was in high school. 32:01 Pause... 32:03 it was in a head-on collision between a bus and a semi-truck 32:07 headed into surgery... 32:10 a rod in one leg and a plate in the other 32:14 I was told... amputation was a possibility 32:17 and certainly, I would never walk again, 32:20 dark time... 32:23 the second... just an emotional, spiritual time in college, 32:29 just wrecked... 32:30 but out of those two dark periods 32:33 came the most beautiful things in my life, 32:35 my commitment to Jesus and my wife. 32:39 Pause... 32:41 One night, standing on my porch in Berrien Springs, Michigan, 32:45 crying out to God... middle of the night... 32:48 one or two in the morning, it's dark... 32:51 I'm looking out into the darkness 32:55 and I'm telling God, "This is exactly how I feel... 32:59 it's dark God... 33:02 you're not giving me any light... any hope... 33:05 and then He asked me a question, He said, 33:09 "Michael, is the road still there 33:11 even though you can't see it?" 33:14 "Are those houses still out there 33:16 even though you can't see them?" 33:17 Pause... 33:19 "Yeah, yeah, they're still there of course, they're there... " 33:22 and He said, 33:23 "Just because it is dark as night in your heart and mind, 33:27 doesn't mean there's not a reality there, 33:30 I have for you... " 33:32 pause... 33:35 so I took a picture of it... I actually... no flash, 33:37 I just took a picture of the darkness... 33:39 I've saved that picture, 33:40 sometimes it's inside of us... hurt... 33:43 sometimes it's... it's... it's because of the church 33:47 and the havoc that the the devil... 33:48 it's... it's... we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, Beloved 33:52 it's not a president or pastor 33:56 or a segment of our... of our church, 33:59 let's just be real... 34:02 it's not those who are more conservative 34:04 or more progressive than you 34:06 that are causing the problems in the church, 34:08 the devil hates the church and he is wreaking havoc. 34:13 We wrestle not against flesh and blood 34:17 and in your own life, it's not your... your... 34:20 your spouse or your children or your parents... 34:23 or a friend or another individual 34:25 that is wreaking havoc, 34:28 the devil hates you, 34:31 pause... 34:34 but we've got an ace, we've got the answer, 34:38 we've got the ultimate, we've got the "Wild Card," 34:42 our Jesus has been resurrected and is now exalted 34:46 as our representative to the throne of heaven, 34:49 we have the answer 34:53 so instead of trying to fix the havoc 34:56 because the havoc will not be fixed, 34:58 let's go to the world, let's go to the end, 35:03 pause... 35:07 I've got a story here, 35:11 Jessica Buchanan 35:13 wrote a book, "Impossible Odds" 35:16 about her story, 35:18 if you have not heard or read her story, 35:21 it's well worth the read. 35:24 Let me take you to an interview she did. 35:29 She summarizes... 35:31 she... Buchanan was a Humanitarian Aid Worker 35:34 with a Danish Organization. 35:37 She had come to help children learn how to not step on... 35:42 on land mines in Somalia. 35:44 Pause... 35:46 It's a dangerous place on this planet 35:49 but she went... she went to the end... 35:52 pause... 35:54 she was there to help children learn how to not... 35:57 not step on land mines... 35:58 pause... 36:02 but in a flash of violence, her car was stopped by a mob 36:06 and she was kidnapped. 36:07 Her and her partner... kidnapped... 36:10 and the kidnapper's demanded 45 million dollars 36:16 for their release, 36:17 pause... 36:21 so CBS... she sat down with the News 36:23 Anchor Scott Pelley, 36:26 "What did they do?" 36:28 "Where did they keep you day in and day out?" he asked, 36:31 "Under trees... " she said, "And outside... " 36:35 "How long... how long were you outside?" 36:38 "How long were you outside before you had a day in, 36:41 how long were you outside?" 36:43 "93 days... three months... " 36:45 she didn't go inside a building, 36:47 she was forced to live out underneath a tree... 36:50 sleep in the open. 36:51 "What were nights like?" 36:53 "Long and cold... the rainy season hit 36:57 and it would rain all night and we were freezing, 37:00 sitting there, wet... out in the open. " 37:04 "What were you eating?" 37:07 She said, "Once a day... maybe... 37:10 they would give us a little tuna fish 37:13 and a piece of bread. " 37:16 Pause... 37:20 She said... after about three months, 37:22 she began to lose hope. 37:25 Her heart began to just collapse within her. 37:30 No, no, no, let me tell you the truth, 37:33 after one month, she began to lose hope, 37:36 but for the next two months, she would have to grind it out 37:41 day after day after day 37:43 45 million dollars... who's that? 37:48 She's just an Aid Worker 37:49 working for a Danish Organization, 37:52 American, yes, but... 37:53 so, Scott Pelley asked her, 37:56 "As the weeks and months went by, 37:59 did you think that the American Government is watching you? 38:02 Did... did you think that they knew who you were? 38:05 Did you think anybody cared?" 38:07 "No, no... " she said, 38:09 "No, I didn't think anybody knew who I was. " 38:11 "Why?" 38:13 "Because I was just an Aid Worker" she said, 38:14 "I was just there on a... a little bit of my own mission" 38:18 but after three months in the desert, 38:21 Buchanan had a serious urinary tract infection 38:25 and in a final call to the Hostage Negotiator, 38:28 she said, "I've become so ill, I can't stand up, 38:32 I can't walk, I am in so much pain... " 38:36 and then she said, 38:37 "I think I have a kidney infection" 38:39 and she started to cry, 38:41 "I think... I think... I'm afraid, I'm going to die. " 38:46 Pause... 38:49 more pause... 38:52 that set in motion as the word got back 38:57 that she's got a kidney infection 39:00 this is serious, 39:01 that set in motion some events. 39:04 One moonless night, 39:07 she's crying out her story into the starry night, 39:11 now, looking up and saying, "God, God please help me, 39:16 please help me. " 39:18 She was trying to sleep on her thin mat, 39:21 she's was restless, she was in pain, 39:24 she was cold, she was hungry, 39:26 she couldn't sleep, 39:30 she heard a faint scratching sound 39:33 and so did her captors, they sat up, 39:37 the next moment, there was a burst of gunfire 39:41 and then silence... 39:42 let me read it in her own words to you. 39:46 "All of a sudden, I feel hands on me, 39:51 roughly grabbing me and I tried to protect myself, 39:54 I pulled the little blanket closer to the top of me 39:57 and then I hear my name but it's not in an accent, 40:01 at least not a Somali accent, it's an American accent, 40:04 and I can't compute, like I don't... 40:07 I can't understand that somebody with an American accent 40:10 knows my name, 40:11 and they say, 'Jessica, 40:12 we're with the American Military, 40:14 we're here to take you home, you're safe. ' 40:17 I pull the blanket down from my face 40:20 and all I see is black Americans? 40:22 'I don't understand, you're American? 40:25 How... how did you get here?' 40:28 Pause... 40:31 They asked me where my shoes are, 40:33 I said, 'I don't know, I don't know where my shoes are' 40:35 So, one of them picks me up 40:37 and starts running across the desert, 40:39 he runs for several minutes and puts me down on the ground 40:41 I'm still asking, 'Who are you?' 40:44 I don't understand who they are 40:46 and I don't understand what they've done. 40:47 Then they identified themselves, 40:50 'Jessica, we're Navy Seals, 40:52 we're here to take you home. ' 40:55 Pause... 40:58 They have some medicine and some water 41:00 and some food, 41:01 pause... 41:04 at one point, they think they hear something 41:06 and so they lie down. 41:08 I don't know this group of men, 41:10 but they all lie on top of me, 41:12 risking their lives for me. 41:15 Pause... 41:18 We lay like that until suddenly 41:24 helicopters arrive and land. " 41:29 pause... 41:32 Scott Pelley, the News Anchor asked her, 41:34 "When all those Seals lay down on top of you, 41:37 what did you feel?" 41:41 She said, "I began to feel 41:43 like I was the most important thing in the world to them, 41:46 it was so hard to comprehend. " 41:49 Pause... 41:52 They were so kind and gentle, 41:53 they were trying to assist me, 41:55 after the helicopters landed, they tried to assist me, 41:58 but I'm thinking to myself, 41:59 "I've been here for three months, 42:01 I can run myself... " 42:02 and she breaks away 42:03 and takes off running to the helicopter, 42:05 through the scrub and through the bush, 42:07 "I throw myself on to the helicopter 42:09 and push myself up against the wall 42:11 and then, I take a breath. 42:15 Pause... 42:18 Navy Seals arrive at the door, 42:19 hand me an American Flag that's folded 42:21 and then disappear again into the night, 42:23 to take their own exit plan. 42:26 The helicopter lifts off and I'm headed home. " 42:31 Pause... 42:33 Did you catch that line? 42:35 Scott Pelley asked her, 42:37 "Did you think in a million years... 42:39 did you think that the President of the United States 42:42 knew your name?" 42:43 "No, not in a million years," she said. 42:47 But in fact, the President of the United States 42:50 did know her name and ordered her rescue 42:53 pause... 42:56 and it is this morning that the President of this United States 42:59 doesn't know my... 43:00 I don't know that any President of any country knows my name 43:02 or yours 43:05 pause... 43:07 but the King of the universe does... 43:09 the King of the universe does, 43:13 He knows your name... 43:15 He knows your name... He knows where you're at... 43:19 He knows what you're hurting... 43:22 what you're struggling with, 43:25 the darkness of the night in your life 43:28 or maybe some hurt in the church, 43:31 the devil will always wreak havoc 43:33 he will continue to wreak havoc 43:36 until he is finally chained into the millennium. 43:40 He will wreak havoc... 43:42 the three operative words, havoc... church... 43:45 scattered... to the end 43:48 pause... 43:51 so, let's go... let's go, young and old, 43:54 let's go Beloved, 43:55 let's go GYC... 43:57 the God of the universe knows our name, 44:00 the Commander-in-Chief... 44:01 we are precious to Him 44:03 and He will make sure He unleashes all units 44:08 listen, Navy Seals, puuuh... 44:13 one angel took out a 100 Roman soldiers guarded to the teeth... 44:18 armed to the teeth, rather, 44:20 guarding the tomb of Jesus, 44:21 a hundred Roman soldiers couldn't stand to one, 44:25 and He'll empty heaven for you so let's go 44:30 but it occurs to me and to us, that... 44:35 that havoc that Satan has wreaked in our hearts... 44:39 in our minds... 44:40 or in our church... 44:41 has been preventing us... distracting us... 44:44 discombobulating us... 44:46 from what we've been called to do, 44:48 just scattered... to go to the end... 44:51 let's just be transparent with each other, 44:54 some of us here are bothered by the journey 44:57 that our community of faith... 44:59 our denomination is in right now, 45:01 we hear of one side or hear of another, 45:04 we hear of one meeting or see a video. 45:07 There's an article posted or something said 45:10 and we've become discouraged or discombobulated. 45:13 Unless you are different than the congregation I serve in, 45:16 that's the truth today 45:19 but maybe it's not the church that bothers you, 45:21 if you've been able to just... just put that off... 45:23 maybe it's something personal in your life 45:25 a hurt... a damaged relationship... 45:28 a pain... a loss... 45:30 maybe you've just become distracted 45:33 an addiction... 45:35 piano... 45:38 but in your heart of heart, you want to go to the end, 45:41 in your heart of hearts, 45:43 you want to be scattered... you want to go... 45:45 you want to be in it 45:50 all for Jesus... 45:52 so, this morning for the appeal, 45:55 I'm going to invite Pastors and Prayer Coordinators 46:00 and they're going to stretch themselves out across this front 46:04 Pastors and Prayer Coordinators 46:07 that struggle and journey just like you 46:10 but that have taken hold 46:12 of the hope that burns within our hearts 46:15 and they're going to stretch out... 46:18 they're going to stretch out across this front 46:20 and here's the appeal... 46:21 let's let Jesus heal us today 46:25 and so, if you've been distracted or discouraged 46:29 or pained by the church, I'm sorry... we're sorry... 46:32 pause... 46:34 if havoc has been wreaked in your life 46:38 through broken relationships or loss, 46:42 and you need healing... 46:44 you know that you need healing and so that you can be mobilized 46:47 this afternoon, you're on a plane... 46:49 in a bus... in a car... 46:50 you need to go... 46:52 we will scatter across this world this afternoon, 46:55 but before we scatter, we must be healed 46:58 and we... we... we need to ask Jesus, 47:01 we need to ask Jesus, "Jesus, heal us... " 47:04 so my appeal to you is that you would... 47:07 if... if you fit... 47:08 if one of you here today... 47:10 and we've got about 20 of us up here, 47:12 if... if... if we only need one of them, that's fine, 47:15 pause... 47:17 but our... our guess is that there's a few of us here today 47:21 that need Jesus to touch our lives, 47:23 to heal us from the distraction 47:26 in the church or out of the church, 47:28 in our personal lives or in the corporate... 47:30 whatever it's been... 47:31 the devil will continue to wreak it, 47:32 but we're going to go scatter 47:34 and so, if you want Jesus... to ask Jesus this morning, 47:38 "Would you heal me... would you heal me?" 47:40 I would invite you to come up here and you just stand... 47:42 we're going to go two or three to each one of these Pastors 47:44 or Prayer Leaders... 47:45 if... if... if there's a Prayer Leader or Pastor that's open, 47:48 you go to them, 47:49 whatever the... the least number is... 47:51 if there are four or five 47:53 and you see one or two, go to them, 47:54 just... and... and Pastors and Prayer Leaders, 47:57 you're probably going to need to stretch out... stretch out... 47:59 stretch out Prayer Leaders, 48:01 you'll probably need to go left and right, 48:03 just a little bit more, 48:04 for you want Jesus to take your life and let it be 48:08 and Naomi is going to sing for us now 48:11 this invitation, "Take My Life and Let It Be. " 48:15 We're going to... we're not going to... 48:16 Prayer Leaders and Pastors, we're not going to pray 48:18 until this is all over, so you just wait... 48:20 but in the meantime, take your groups 48:22 and stretch them out... stretch them out... 48:23 Pastors, Prayer Leaders, hear me... stretch out... 48:26 piano... 48:36 more piano... 48:41 Take my life, 48:47 and let it be 48:52 Consecrated, Lord, to Thee; 48:57 Take my hands, and let them move 49:03 At the impulse of Thy love, 49:12 Take my ears 49:19 and let them hear 49:24 Filled with messages from Thee 49:30 Take my silver and my gold 49:35 Not a mite 49:39 would I withhold 49:45 Take my will 49:51 and make it thine, 49:57 It shall be no longer mine; 50:02 Take my heart, it is Thine own! 50:07 It shall be 50:12 Thy royal throne... 50:16 Pastor: Listen to me, 50:20 if there is one more 50:23 that needs to come up and say, "Jesus, 50:27 I've been hurt, 50:29 the devil has wreaked havoc in my life... " 50:33 come... 50:35 in just a few hours we will scatter across this globe. 50:41 Pause... 50:44 Would you come and ask Jesus to just heal you, 50:47 we can't do it, 50:49 there's nothing that we can say... 50:52 the church we are a part of, 50:55 we hurt each other sometimes, nobody intends to... 51:02 the devil though will take an opportunity 51:05 and twist it and change it 51:06 and it will hurt us 51:08 and, of course, the world is cold and dark 51:10 and it will... it will do its own damage, 51:13 but if we're going to scatter, we need to just come to Jesus, 51:18 He is the answer, 51:20 He is the resurrected Christ, 51:21 the One who now is beside the throne, 51:25 so one more... don't... don't leave... 51:28 don't leave GYC without the moment 51:32 of coming to Jesus and asking Him to heal you 51:36 so we can go and be scattered. 51:39 He knows your name, 51:41 He knows your hurt... 51:44 just like Jessica Buchanan... 51:45 the Commander-in-Chief knows who you are 51:51 and He's got a team of Navy-Seal Angels. 51:55 Even in the darkness of your own night, 51:59 you can't see it... you don't know where they're at, 52:01 they're coming, 52:02 so, would you come and ask Jesus, "Please heal me, 52:05 please heal my heart 52:06 and use this pain... personal or corporate, 52:10 private or public, 52:11 use this pain to mobilize me... to scatter me... 52:14 Jesus, I'm in it to the very end. " 52:19 Piano... 52:22 In just a moment, your Prayer Leader or Pastor 52:25 is going to just pray with your circle, 52:27 thank you for coming out, 52:28 but let's listen to this final invitation through the song, 52:32 piano... 52:38 Take my love; 52:43 my Lord, I pour 52:48 At Thy feet its treasure store; 52:53 Take myself, and I will be, 52:59 Ever, only, 53:04 all for Thee. 53:11 Piano. 53:16 "And in those days, 53:18 I will pour out My Spirit. " 53:21 "So let it be O God, 53:25 through the havoc that the devil is wreaking in our personal 53:27 and in our church, 53:29 that we are mobilized to the end, 53:32 and your Spirit is poured out... 53:36 men servants and maid servants... 53:39 amen. " |
Revised 2019-05-06