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if you want to evaluate a church’s worship the best way I think that you
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can do that is to ask about that church’s commitment to mission. Because
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one sure sign of a church losing its way in worship is that it loses its
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interest in mission. Welcome to open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David
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Pick. Glad you are with us today. Today we’re talking about worship and
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mission and how they’re related.
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Yeah, you know just you saying that makes me
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remember working on preparing this message. I couldn’t decide what to call
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it. Should it be Restore worship or should it be Restore mission, because in
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the one passage that we’re looking at in Isaiah today, he talks about both. And
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it’s absolutely fascinating to think about the implication of that, that these
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are actually very closely related together. That where God’s people are
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really worshipping him, the effect of that is going to be seen in their
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mission in the world, and as taking the Gospel to other people, because we’ve
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come to love him and therefore have a desire to obey him. And when we’re really
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taking the Gospel to people who do not know Christ, that is a beautiful
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expression of worship. So you can’t separate these things. So this is a
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message that’s about two things that are very much mixed up together. So now we’re
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going to see what you’ve decided to call the message in the end. And it’s
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restore worship. So today we’re in Isaiah, in Chapter 66. Here’s Colin. We’re going
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to see from the Scriptures that worship and mission are so tightly wound
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together that you really cannot separate the one from the other.
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In fact, you know with all the talk about worship in churches today, if you want to
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evaluate a church’s worship, the best way I think that you can do that is to ask
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about that church’s commitment to mission. That’s going to get you beneath the talk
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and enable you to discern the reality. Because one sure sign of a church losing
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its way in worship is that it loses its interest in mission.
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Putting it positively, when God restores worship, which is what we’re looking
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at today, his people pursue mission, and these two are wrapped together
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everywhere in the scripture. Now of course, they were born together
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in Isaiah’s own experience. Remember how Isaiah was launched
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into ministry as a Prophet. The great experience of worship that he
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was given recorded in Isaiah chapter six. Remember, in the year that King
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Isaiah died, Isaiah says, I saw the Lord seated on the throne,
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high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
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Now Isaiah had known the Lord for many years, but then at some point,
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he is given what was one of the highest experiences of worship.
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In all of the Old Testament, he saw the Lord, not directly because no
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one has ever seen God. But he saw the train of the robe filling the temple.
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He was given a glimpse of the glory of God. Now, what came out of that?
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Well, if you look back in Isaiah chapter six, and many of us know it well,
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out of the vision, out of this worship, God says, Who shall I send and who will
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go for us?’ And in the place of worship, Isaiah says,
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Here am I, send me. So Isaiah knows from his own experience that this is the
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pattern, worship leads to mission. Therefore, a worshipping church will
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be increasingly a missionary church. Those who see Christ’s glory are those
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who will become compelled to proclaim Christ’s glory. Therefore, when worship
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is restored, missions will flourish. I want us to see today, then,
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from the Bible how it is that worship fires mission. And to get where we’re
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going, just by way of summary, if you would look at verse 18 and verse 19,
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you’ll see the connection right there. Isaiah chapter 66, last chapter,
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verse 18 and verse 19. In verse 18, do you see there that God
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gathers a community of people who see His glory? He gathers from the nations people
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who will see His glory, that’s worship, seeing His glory. Verse 19,
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God then sends people from this community that see His glory to proclaim His glory
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to the nations that are distant nations to the very ends of the Earth.
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That’s mission. God gathers a community that see His glory, verse 18.
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That’s worship. God sends people from that community to the end of the Earth
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to proclaim His glory, verse 19. That’s mission. Bonded together can never
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never never be separated. So let’s begin with worship then,
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restoring worship. I want to make three observations here.
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Number one, seeing Christ’s glory is the heart of worship.
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God says, verse 18, I will gather all nations and tongues and they will come
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and they will see my glory. Now, in its ultimate fulfillment,
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of course, the Lord is speaking here about what will happen when Christ comes and we
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are brought into the new heavens finally and the new Earth.
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This is the promise to all of God’s people. If you are in Christ,
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you will see his glory. And in heaven for all eternity,
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everything you discover, everything you accomplish and everything you
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enjoy will give you just more and more of a taste of his glory.
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You will never get used to him, you will never tire of him.
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His truth, as you explore the new heavens and the new Earth,
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will just keep expanding your mind.
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His love, as you enjoy all that he’s prepared for those who
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love him, his love will just keep on expanding and filling your heart.
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His beauty will keep firing your imagination, and his purpose will
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keep directing your will, and after, if we can think of it this way,
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a million ages in heaven, a million ages, you will only have seen the beginning
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of God’s glory. You will never tire or find life in heaven, old or dull,
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it will always be fresh and new. And the reason for that is that Christ’s
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glory is inexhaustible. Now, here’s the point. Our worship now
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is a foretaste of what we will experience then. Listen to what Paul says
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about worship in 1 Corinthians 13. You know, by the way,
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that 1 Corinthians 13 is about worship. Some folks have the idea, you know,
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that Paul was taking a sort of coffee break from writing theology
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in Corinthians, and thought, I know, let’s give them a nice passage that they can
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use at a wedding. I’ll write 1 Corinthians 13. Well,
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it’s a wonderful passage for a wedding, but you need to know
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it’s about worship. You read chapter 12, and chapter 14,
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It’s written to a church that’s in a debate about worship. Chapter 13 is right
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in the middle. It’s all about worship, and I speak with the tongues of men
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and of angels. He’s talking about worship. Now here’s what he says about
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worship at the end of 1 Corinthians 13.
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Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror.
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Then we shall see face to face. He is saying when we worship now,
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here’s what’s happening. We’re seeing a reflection of the
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glory of Jesus. We are getting an anticipation in worship of what we will
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see more fully, and wonderfully, and gloriously,
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when we are in his immediate presence in heaven. That’s what worship is,
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is what Paul is saying to us. Seeing Christ’s glory is
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the heart of worship. So every glimpse of Jesus Christ that you
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have in singing, and as the choir help us in our praise and every glimpse
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of Christ that you have in praying, and in preaching, and in the Word of God,
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and around the Lord’s table, it is an anticipation, a foretaste
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of the unclouded joy that will belong to every one of Christ’s people
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when we see him in his glory in heaven. Now, that’s what worship is.
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So, you know, when folks talk about worship today, I think, you know,
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many folks have the idea that worship is basically singing.
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If you are understanding worship biblically, you will grasp that the heart
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of worship lies not in what we sing but in what we see,
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because seeing Christ’s glory is the heart of worship.
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So, every service of worship ought to be like a visit to the Grand Canyon.
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You know it’s big but when you get to the rim, it’s bigger
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than you thought. You go, wow. And even folks who’ve been
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there many times will say, you know, every time I go,
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it’s bigger than I remembered it to be. That’s what worship is like.
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God is bigger than the greatest thought you have ever had about him.
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His love is deeper than you think. His power is stronger than you think.
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His holiness is purer than you think. And worship gives us a little glimpse
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as in a mirror of what one day, we will see face to face.
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You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith
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and today’s message Restore Worship. It’s part of a larger series
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called Restore My Soul, and if you’ve missed any of the series
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or you’d like to go back and listen again, you can do that
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by coming online to our website openthebible.org.uk
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and you can also find us as a podcast and those are available
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on your regular podcasting site if you search for Open the Bible UK.
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Back to the message now, we’re in Isaiah
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and chapter 66, here is Colin.
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Worship gives us a little glimpse, as in a mirror
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of what one day we will see face to face.
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Now I want us to follow that up with two other things
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from the New Testament that are very important
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in relation to seeing Christ’s glory
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which is the heart of worship.
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I want us to remember so that we’ll be thankful
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that seeing Christ’s glory is a miracle of grace.
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That’s the second observation on worship.
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In as much as you see Christ to be great
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and a treasure and glorious and wonderful
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and you worship him from your heart
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and your mind staggers at how great and glorious he is,
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that is a gift of God’s grace to you.
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Why?
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Well because we don’t have that naturally.
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Second Corinthians chapter four in verse four,
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Paul says that the God of this age,
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that Satan he’s referring to,
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here’s what he’s done.
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He’s blinded the minds of those who don’t believe
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so that they can’t see the glory of Christ.
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You see there are thousands, millions of people
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in this world for whom the name of Jesus
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at the center of our worship is just a swear word,
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a blasphemy.
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Honestly there are many people who come to church
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and they enjoy the service.
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Pastor Colin preached a great sermon
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and weren’t the choir wonderful
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and that was a great song and so forth.
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They enjoy the service but they don’t see Christ’s glory.
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They don’t go away saying isn’t Jesus Christ wonderful.
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I saw his greatness freshly.
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Now you see that’s our natural condition.
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And how is it then that you may even this morning
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have had your heart lifted to say how great
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and how wonderful Jesus Christ is.
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If that has happened for you this morning
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thank God because it’s His light
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that has caused this to happen.
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Paul says in verse six of 2 Corinthians
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and chapter four, God who said,
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let light shine out of darkness.
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He has made His light to shine into our hearts
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to give us the light of the knowledge
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of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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Why do I love Jesus
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when people I know and love don’t care for Him at all?
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It’s your grace, it’s your love.
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Every glimpse of Christ’s glory
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is a miracle of grace.
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Moses went up the mountain
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and he prayed a great prayer in Exodus 33.
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He said, Oh, God, show me your glory.
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And I can’t think of a better prayer
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for you to have in your heart or in your mind
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as we come to worship.
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Come with us in your heart and mind,
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Lord, show me your glory.
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Help me not just to go through another service.
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Help me to see more today
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of how great Jesus Christ is
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in the Bible, in the worship.
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And every time you open the Bible,
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that’s a great way to pray.
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Lord, show me the greatness of Jesus Christ.
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Why is that so important?
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Here’s the third observation.
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Because seeing Christ’s glory
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changes your life, it really does.
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And again I just want to draw your attention
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to Second Corinthians 3, in verse 18,
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where Paul, he’s been writing about Moses
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seeing the glory of the Lord
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and how his own face shone after that experience.
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And then he says of us believers,
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we who with unveiled faces reflect,
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or rather, better translation,
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in some translations is behold,
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we who behold the Lord’s glory,
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we who see his glory,
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we who are grasping something
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of how great he is.
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What happens as we behold his glory?
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We are being transformed
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into his likeness.
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You come to worship,
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you see something of the greatness
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and glory of Jesus.
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That changes you.
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Authentic worship
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is transformational.
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The more we behold his glory,
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that’s why being God-centered
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and Christ-exalting is so important,
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the more we behold his glory,
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the more we will be changed
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into his likeness.
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That’s 2nd Corinthians chapter three
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in verse 18.
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This is the inner dynamic
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of change in the Christian life.
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Now when you grasp that,
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you quickly see why it is
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that worship fires mission.
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Because if, by beholding his glory,
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we are transformed into his likeness,
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then those who go on beholding his glory
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in worship,
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will find that they are
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increasingly changed into the likeness
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of the Son of God,
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who came to seek and to save
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that which is lost.
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That’s how worship fires mission.
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Out of the community
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that really sees Christ’s glory
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and has a passion for Christ’s glory,
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God will raise up and commission
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and send out people
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who will proclaim his glory.
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Therefore where God restores worship,
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his people pursue mission.
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Do you see how integrated these things are
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and how they can never be separated?
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The mark of worship
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that is authentically God-centered
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and Christ-exalting
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is a community of people
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who are utterly dedicated
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to proclaiming his glory,
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both where God has set us
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and to the ends of the earth.
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Now for that reason,
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I want us to see the second theme that is in here,
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which is this great theme of world mission.
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Dr. Alec Meteer
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who is perhaps the foremost writer
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on the prophecy of Isaiah in our time
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makes this statement.
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He says,
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The clearest
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Old Testament statement
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off the theme of missionary outreach,
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he says it’s right here in Isaiah chapters 66.
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The clearest Old Testament statement
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about missionary outreach.
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So as a church that committed to mission,
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it seems to me that it’s good for us
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to soak ourselves in and understand well
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the clearest Old Testament statement
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and commission with regards to world mission.
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And I want to offer five statements,
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five observations,
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five propositions if you like,
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that really frame a philosophy of missions
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right from this strategic chapter Isaiah and chapter 66.
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Number one relates to missionary calling.
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God distinctly calls some people
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to serve him as cross-cultural missionaries.
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Now, that’s an important statement today
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and I’m basing it on verse 19,
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where God who gathers the community who see his glory
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says I will send some.
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I will send some.
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There’s a lot of debate today in mission circles
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about whether there is such a thing as a missionary call.
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There’s a lot of debate in theological and pastoral circles
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as to whether there is such a thing
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as a calling to pastoral ministry,
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and that is an important discussion,
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does God specifically call
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some people to become missionaries.
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Now it’s often said, I remember this from my childhood,
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I remember in Sunday school it being said,
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you don’t need to go overseas
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in order to become a missionary.
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In fact, you can be a missionary right where you are.
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In fact, every Christian is a missionary.
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Now hands up everyone who’s heard some version
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of that statement being said,
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come on if you’ve been in church any length of time
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we’ve all heard that one, and we know what’s meant by that.
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We’re all called to bear witness to Christ
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and to be lights in the world.
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And this kind of line, you know,
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everybody’s a missionary is very popular
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because it makes everybody feel affirmed.
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But here’s the problem with it.
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If we say that everyone is a missionary,
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we lose sight of the distinct calling
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that God gives to some people
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to give their lives to cross cultural mission.
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Candidly I’ve been asked more than once,
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why do we make a big deal of these 50 people
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who are on the board at the back in the foyer?
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That shows a total lack of understanding
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that God distinctly calls some people
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to serve Him in cross cultural mission.
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And look at verse 19, will you please?
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God says I will send,
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what’s the next word?
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Some, not all.
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God distinctly calls some people to cross cultural mission.
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We are all called to bear witness to Christ,
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but we have different gifts and we have different callings.
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Now, how do you know then, if you are called to this?
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Two ways.
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God’s call will be discerned first by the individual
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and second confirmed by the church,
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that’s why we have an important role to play
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in regards to this.
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Let me illustrate it personally.
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How do I know that God called me to be a pastor?
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Two reasons, number one, over time,
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God laid in my heart, I found within my own heart,
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a passion for this work, felt compelled towards pursuing it
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and never shook that off.
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That’s reason number one.
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Number two, you guys agreed.
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Seriously, or actually to be more accurate,
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first another bunch of guys in a church in North London
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and it was my privilege to serve as their senior pastor
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for 16 years.
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Then you guys said, why not come and do it here?
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And it’s been my privilege to serve here
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for the last 12 years.
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Now you see there’s both a subjective
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and an objective element here,
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a personal inclination, passion,
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and then an objective and wider confirmation.
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Now, a guy may say,
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oh, I really feel God wants me to be a pastor.
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Well, if no church ever says,
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we want you to be our pastor,
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guess what, God is probably not calling you to be a pastor.
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And someone might say,
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you know, I think God’s calling me to be a missionary.
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But guess what, if no church ever says,
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we want you to be our missionary,
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God is probably not calling you to be a missionary.
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God gives us safeguards here
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in which his call is given internally and externally
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so that we may be able to be wise
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and discerning in this matter.
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Now, let me make this practical application.
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If God is stirring in your heart
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thoughts about interest in cross-cultural missions,
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and you’re beginning to say,
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is this something that God might have for me?
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Don’t be a lone Ranger on this one
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and don’t ignore the impulse
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that God may be stirring in your heart either.
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God says, I will send some
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and one of them might be you.
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We’ll have to pause the message there,
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it’s called Restore Worship
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and it’s part of the series, Restore My Soul,
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looking today at how worship inspires mission.
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And if you’ve missed any of the series
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or if you’d like to go back and listen again,
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you can do that by coming online to our website
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00:22:36,979 –> 00:22:39,760
openthebible.org.uk
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or by going to your favourite podcast site
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00:22:42,400 –> 00:22:44,560
and searching for Open The Bible UK
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00:22:44,560 –> 00:22:46,680
and then you can subscribe to the podcast
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to receive regular updates.
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At OpenTheBible we welcome contact with our listeners.
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If you’ve been blessed by pastor Colin Smith’s teaching
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00:22:55,520 –> 00:22:57,520
and you’d like to reach out to us,
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00:22:57,520 –> 00:22:59,400
there are several ways you can do that.
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00:22:59,520 –> 00:23:02,439
You can write to us at Open The Bible,
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or you can phone us on 0330-335-8089.
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If we’re not available when you call,
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leave a message for us and we’ll return your call.
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All of these contact details are available on our website
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openthebible.org.uk
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Open the Bible is supported by our listeners.
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This month if you’ve been considering setting up
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a new payment in support of Open the Bible,
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we have a great offer for you.
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00:23:39,180 –> 00:23:41,199
To say thank you we’ll send you a copy
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00:23:41,199 –> 00:23:43,199
of C.H. Spurgeon’s book,
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00:23:43,199 –> 00:23:45,699
Encouragement for the Depressed.
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00:23:45,699 –> 00:23:48,359
Colin, how will C.H. Spurgeon’s book
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00:23:48,359 –> 00:23:51,560
help those who feel discouraged today?
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00:23:51,560 –> 00:23:55,359
Well Spurgeon is really a very tender shepherd.
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00:23:55,359 –> 00:23:59,119
He was a pastor and he spoke with great strength
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00:23:59,119 –> 00:24:01,479
but also with great gentleness
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00:24:01,479 –> 00:24:04,760
that arose really out of his own experience of
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suffering and especially what he sometimes
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00:24:07,000 –> 00:24:08,839
referred to as the black dog.
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00:24:08,839 –> 00:24:11,939
There was a darkness that sometimes came over him
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00:24:11,939 –> 00:24:14,359
and it was a real struggle in his life.
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00:24:14,359 –> 00:24:15,839
I mean he says for example,
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00:24:15,839 –> 00:24:18,599
the strong are not always vigorous,
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00:24:18,599 –> 00:24:20,319
the wise are not always ready,
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00:24:20,319 –> 00:24:22,920
the brave are not always courageous
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00:24:22,920 –> 00:24:25,199
and the joyous are not always happy.
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00:24:25,199 –> 00:24:30,140
So this is a realistic view of the Christian life.
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00:24:30,140 –> 00:24:33,859
He’s speaking into the realities that we all experience
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00:24:33,859 –> 00:24:37,560
and he’s speaking out of his own personal experience
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00:24:37,560 –> 00:24:41,479
and what he brings is a wonderful encouragement
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00:24:41,479 –> 00:24:44,380
to lay our burdens on the Lord
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00:24:44,380 –> 00:24:48,339
and to trust his promises even in the darkest times.
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00:24:48,339 –> 00:24:50,479
Well we’d love to send you a copy of this book
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00:24:50,479 –> 00:24:52,079
to say thank you for supporting
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00:24:52,079 –> 00:24:54,079
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This offer is available all this month
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Full details or to give online
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come to our website openthebible.org.uk
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00:25:09,959 –> 00:25:12,760
For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin Smith,
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00:25:12,760 –> 00:25:13,839
I’m David Pick
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00:25:13,839 –> 00:25:16,339
and I hope you’ll join us again next time.
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00:25:21,280 –> 00:25:24,020
You can convey love without words
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00:25:24,020 –> 00:25:27,319
but can you communicate the gospel without words?
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Find out next time on Open The Bible.
