Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] And it really is a privilege again to be preaching with you this morning. As I said, I work for Compassion. We're a holistic child development program. We work in over 29 countries across the world and we help empower children who live in the poorest places around the globe, living on less than $3 a day.
[00:00:21] Can I tell you a story this morning? Church? Is that all right? I grew up in Elim and Pentecostal, so you can give it back to me as well if you want. And this is a story about a man who encountered Jesus in an unlikely place and how it then went on to change his ordinary everyday life. From then on, we're gonna. Yeah. This is the story of our founder. Let me take you back to war torn Korea in 1952. A man on the screen here, you can see Reverend Everett Swanson.
[00:00:50] He was out there to minister to the American troops during the war.
[00:00:54] He was there actually looking to help lead others to the Lord, not actually realizing he would encounter Jesus there on the side of the road.
[00:01:04] He saw city workers in the streets one night. They were collecting up what he thought were piles of rags.
[00:01:10] Upon closer look, he realized they weren't piles of rags, but they were actually orphaned children who had died and frozen on the streets overnight.
[00:01:19] Understandably, as he saw that sight, he was deeply moved.
[00:01:24] And on his way home, he felt a challenge, a simple prompt from the Holy Spirit saying, what are you going to do about it?
[00:01:35] That sight, that scene, the movement there. What are you going to do? This question then went on to change his ordinary everyday life.
[00:01:45] He went back home and he went to raise money for the orphanages in Korea. He created a unique program to link an orphan with a caring individual who help provide them with education, with food, with clothing, with shelter and with medical care, creating opportunities for them to have that same encounter with their ordinary everyday lives.
[00:02:08] You see, this was then the start of a movement now known today as Compassion International.
[00:02:14] This movement has gone on to change the lives of millions of children living in poverty all across the world.
[00:02:20] I'm going to tell you a story of one of those child, a child like Angelica, who lives in the Philippines, one of the 29 countries compassion we work in. She grew up in a district called Larega.
[00:02:31] This area was known for drug selling, drug addiction, prostitution, lots of violence.
[00:02:38] A pastor in the area, you can see him on the screen there. Pastor Davis from Cebu City Alliance Church, he went round to the area. He was speaking to some of the mothers in the area and he asked them, what is your dream in response to this, they began to cry.
[00:02:56] He then asked them, well, if you don't have dreams for yourselves, then what are your dreams for your children?
[00:03:02] Again they cried even more.
[00:03:05] So Davis went around. He spoke to over 200 parents in the area and God broke his heart for Lorega.
[00:03:14] He was thinking to himself, he was praying to the Lord, how can I minister to these people? They don't even have dreams for themselves.
[00:03:22] Angelica, she grew up in this place.
[00:03:25] She had no hope until she found the Lord.
[00:03:30] She now says that God is my redeemer, that he is my cornerstone.
[00:03:37] Angelica was sponsored by someone in the us.
[00:03:40] This allowed her to become a graduate of the Bible school in the area and she is now a teacher.
[00:03:46] She says she can do these things because God taught her who she was.
[00:03:52] He showed her hope, a true identity as his chosen one. She now wants to use her life as a testimony to tell people about Jesus.
[00:04:05] Lives like Angelica's are now inspiring other children, showing them there is hope even in the face of poverty.
[00:04:13] Lorega is now told to be a better place than before. People aren't as scared to visit this pastor, Pastor Davis, he now describes it as totally open with the Gospel.
[00:04:26] See Compassion and we could jump to that next slide. This is how we help to transform a community. We are Christ centered.
[00:04:33] He is the hero of every story and he is the only one that can truly change lives like Angelica's.
[00:04:41] We are child focused. We care deeply about children, showing there is hope in their circumstances.
[00:04:49] And we are church driven. We love the local church. We partner with over 8,900 churches with leaders just like Pastor Davis in this story who are broken at the situation around them and see a desperate need for the gospel to break in.
[00:05:09] Like some of you here, some of the sponsors we're celebrating. My wife Ella and I, we have the privilege of supporting two children in Ghana. Their photos are going to come up. Here we have Zifa, a 7 year old girl and Liv Woundstone, a 10 year old boy.
[00:05:23] This is a way that we can meet with Jesus in our ordinary everyday lives.
[00:05:29] For 32 pound a month per child, we get to join in with the local church in Keta.
[00:05:36] This gives these children a chance to attend school. Instead of joining the 20% of children who are trapped in child labor, they can be part of 10% of the population who have access to basic sanitation.
[00:05:49] They can be guaranteed a hot meal at the Compassion projects, have regular medical checkups. We write letters to them so they can be seen, heard and encouraged.
[00:05:58] In this way we get to Join in with the global church to see these children win against the fight against physical, social and spiritual poverty. To move with God's spirit in our ordinary, everyday lives.
[00:06:17] As I said to you this morning, church, we're going to look at Luke chapter 10, an invitation Jesus gives us to meet with him in our ordinary, everyday lives.
[00:06:28] I've split this into three different sections. We see this first section here, you can follow along with me is verses 1 to 20. We see Jesus sends out the 72.
[00:06:39] So just before this, we hear his teachings, the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus shows him there's a time to be with him, to come together, to listen to him, to learn from him, hear what he has to say.
[00:06:54] And with him. The disciples, they would have witnessed firsthand many miracles, many stories of Jesus changing the world one life at a time.
[00:07:05] Signs, wonders, healings.
[00:07:08] But there's also a time we see here to go with Jesus, to move both in word and in deed, to help change the lives and advance the kingdom of God.
[00:07:22] And as the disciples, they go out, they do many of the things that they saw Jesus himself do. They return full of stories. They're buzzing.
[00:07:31] They're talking about how they saw healings, how they saw demons fleeing, and proclaimed, the kingdom of God is here.
[00:07:40] And in this moment, as Jesus has 72 of his disciples excited, they've seen the power that is in them. And he gathers them. He gathers them close and he uses this moment to tell them about an intimacy that he has with Father God, the Creator of the universe.
[00:08:00] We talked and prayed even this morning.
[00:08:02] There's an invitation throughout this to come and know the Creator God of the universe. And Jesus gives us a little glimpse into that.
[00:08:12] He tells the disciples that he is the only way to the Father.
[00:08:18] Talking about this intimacy and saying how Jesus himself can reveal God to us, we came and took communion in those moments. As we come to Jesus, he reveals God to us.
[00:08:33] And then this next section here, a story that I'm sure lots of you would have heard.
[00:08:38] The story of the Good Samaritan. I'm going to read it on the screen. You can follow along as well.
[00:08:43] Says this. One day, an expert in the religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question.
[00:08:51] Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?
[00:08:55] Jesus replied, what does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?
[00:09:00] The man answered, you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself, Right? Jesus told them, do this and you will Live. The man wanted to justify his actions.
[00:09:17] So he asked Jesus, and who is my neighbor?
[00:09:22] Jesus replied with a story. He said, a Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho and he was attacked by bandits.
[00:09:31] They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up and left him half dead beside the roads.
[00:09:37] By chance, a priest came along.
[00:09:40] But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed over on the other side of the road and passed him by.
[00:09:47] A temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there. But he also passed by on the other side of the road.
[00:09:55] Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.
[00:10:03] We get to that next one. Sorry, Jacob.
[00:10:05] Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and he bandaged them.
[00:10:12] Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he took care of him.
[00:10:18] The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins telling him, take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.
[00:10:28] Now, which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits? Jesus asked.
[00:10:35] The man replied, the one who showed him mercy.
[00:10:39] Then Jesus said, yes, now go and do the same.
[00:10:46] You see, it's interesting. In this part of that section we see a challenge from the self righteous expert in the religious law.
[00:10:56] But Jesus response, It was curious in this moment, when asked, how do I inherit eternal life? Jesus didn't say come to me.
[00:11:06] In a few verses before we saw that moment where he said to the disciples, I'm the way to God.
[00:11:12] Although he does this often throughout scriptures, but instead he uses this opportunity to say, go to others, knowing that we will find Him, Jesus there.
[00:11:27] If we want to see something of the Father, we can follow the invitation, as was prayed just before, to come to Jesus like a child, with humility, with faith, with awe, with wonder. And as we come to him in this manner, he will reveal the Father's heart to us.
[00:11:47] Then, like the disciples, he will send us out to those in need.
[00:11:53] But however, if we are like the expert in the religious law in this story, still yet to know the Father's heart truly, he shows us how easily we can become distracted by the doing of religion.
[00:12:09] And he reveals something of the Father's heart in our ordinary, everyday lives through moments with Jesus himself in the neighbor in front of us.
[00:12:22] You see, the purpose of the law that this man knew so well was always to bring people closer to God. Esther gave us that reminder, right at the start of the service, Jesus gives them a reminder again that the Father's heart and the fulfillment of the law is love.
[00:12:40] And a reminder not just to look upward, but to look outward as well.
[00:12:47] Jesus gives an invitation to see and meet with Him.
[00:12:51] But for those that couldn't truly recognize him as he truly is, he sends them out to meet with him by meeting those in need.
[00:13:04] In this story, as I said that all of us, we probably know so well, there were three men.
[00:13:10] All of them, they saw the need on the side of the road.
[00:13:14] All of them were busy and on their way with their day to day. The first we see a priest, an ally, a holy man on his way, busy with his every day, off to look out for the Lord and his dwelling place.
[00:13:30] But he crosses the road and he passes him by.
[00:13:35] The second we see a temple assistant, again a man of God, probably off to take care of the Lord's people, prepare a place for them to meet with Him. But again he crosses the road and he passes them by.
[00:13:51] And the third, we see then a despised Samaritan, an enemy of the Jews and God's people. The man on the very side of the road, he wouldn't have even needed a reason to walk by.
[00:14:07] But this was the man who encounters something of Jesus in his ordinary everyday life.
[00:14:17] As I said, there were three men in this story, but one was moved with compassion. It was one who stopped to make an impact. It was one who fulfilled the law in that moment and one who met with God on the very side of the road.
[00:14:38] The others, you see, they were too busy going to meet with God to be right before him and prepare a space for others to dwell with the Lord that they missed the moment to dwell with God on the very side of the road.
[00:14:56] Going to read another scripture, more words from Jesus. Matthew 25. It's here on the screen. And in this, Jesus is talking about Judgment Day. He's talking about the day that we wait for, the day we are long for on, on his return, he says there'll be some on his left and some on the right. And this helps us understand who is where.
[00:15:15] He said, come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me.
[00:15:27] I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me.
[00:15:42] Then these righteous ones Will reply, lord, when did we ever see you? And the King will say, I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.
[00:16:01] Now this is Jesus himself saying on the day he returns. This is what will separate those on the left, those on the right.
[00:16:10] The one who did not pass by on the side of the road, busy with their everyday or holy genders, but the one who is welcomed into the kingdom of God, prepared since the beginning of time. Time is the one who has moved with compassion, the one who truly fulfilled the law, loving God with all their hearts, their soul, their mind, their strength, and loving their neighbor as themselves.
[00:16:41] The one who didn't pass the moment to meet with Jesus on the roadside, the one that got a glimpse of God's kingdom here on earth.
[00:16:52] You see, as we follow this invitation to go and do the same, we get to meet with God in our ordinary everyday lives.
[00:17:02] We see the heart of the Father through Jesus himself. As we move in love, we echo something of God as the Trinity, the very definition of love.
[00:17:16] And we the Church, we get to reflect that back, partnering with His Spirit. As God himself moves us each day in love, we echo and we bring something of his kingdom. Here, you see, in this chapter, we see the fulfillment of the law.
[00:17:37] To love your Lord, your God, with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength, and to love your neighbor with all as yourself.
[00:17:45] The answer to the law, it always will be, always has been Jesus.
[00:17:51] As he stated in that middle section here, verses 20 to 24, we cannot truly know God unless Jesus reveals him to us.
[00:18:01] But in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus shows us that he is also. In the fulfillment of the second statement, as we read just then in Matthew 25, Jesus identifies Himself in the least of these that as each day we go out to love our neighbor as ourselves, we are encountering with Jesus in our ordinary everyday lives.
[00:18:31] Jesus is desperate to meet with us this morning and everywhere that we go.
[00:18:39] And there's an opportunity to know Him. As we say yes to this invitation, he reveals the Father, the Creator of the universe to us.
[00:18:50] See, sometimes, like in this story, we can get so caught up, focus on the next thing, the busyness of everyday life. And it's not always bad things that we're doing.
[00:19:01] But if we follow Jesus call to go and do the same, he shows us there's always an opportunity to meet with him.
[00:19:09] And he can be found in some of the most unlikely of places.
[00:19:15] Jesus himself, he sat on the roadside. And he's asking us that same question, what are we going to do about it?
[00:19:26] In a moment, we're going to watch a video where we see a man called Enoch have this very same encounter.
[00:19:33] A man who was moved with compassion. He stopped to make an impact and he met with God in his ordinary everyday life.
[00:19:44] Maybe this morning you've heard of this person of Jesus and you want to follow this invitation to meet the Creator, God of the universe.
[00:19:56] This is what Jesus was talking about.
[00:19:59] He is used this morning to reveal God himself to you through his son, Jesus Christ.
[00:20:08] This is an opportunity you don't want to miss or to take lightly. You can respond with a yes, to invite him into your ordinary everyday life and you will not be the same again.
[00:20:24] Or maybe, like in this story, you feel like you've been going through the motions of religion but have missed the person Jesus again. This is him revealing himself to you. A chance for you to stop each day and find a moment to look at him.
[00:20:45] Like in this story, there's an invitation to move in love, to go and do the same, to look out at the world around you and meet Jesus as you make a difference in the lives of people, others, they might look past compassion. We have helped to see over 2.4 million children fight against poverty.
[00:21:12] But there are still 412 million children who live below the poverty line.
[00:21:18] Less than $3 a day.
[00:21:21] Mother Teresa, she once said, if you can't feed a hundred, just feed one.
[00:21:28] The other week, Ella and I, we were out with some friends. We were celebrating their birthday. We ordered a Chinese, and when the bill came to it, it was around just over 60 pounds, which is about the same that we pay each month to sponsor two children.
[00:21:44] It made me stop and think, if I look honestly at my life, there's always something that I'd probably call a luxury that's around 30 pounds.
[00:21:55] Maybe it's eating out. Even a quick McDonald's or a takeaway can easily reach 25 to 30 pounds.
[00:22:02] Or maybe it's subscriptions, like quiet monthly costs that just tick away in the background. A phone bill, Netflix, Spotify, even a TV license on their own. It doesn't feel like a lot, but they can quickly add up.
[00:22:15] I'm not saying these things are wrong, they're not.
[00:22:21] But I do sometimes pause and I wonder, could I use 32 pound a month in a way that could impact someone else's life?
[00:22:30] Ella and I, like so many across the world, we choose to sacrifice a little bit of our income and maybe an added luxury or two each month to help empower children, but to facilitate moments with Jesus in our ordinary, everyday lives.
[00:22:50] Today I have with me profiles of some children, like Angelica, like Livingstone, like Zipper, like Miracle, who are praying for a sponsor.
[00:22:59] If you want to help and play a part in changing a child's life, I'll be at the back.
[00:23:05] At the end of the service there'll be an opportunity to begin a one to one sponsorship giving 32 pound a month and helping bring hope to children in some of the most difficult circumstances.
[00:23:16] Today there is a moment to meet with Jesus in your ordinary everyday lives. If you'd be interested. As I said, I'll be at the back.
[00:23:27] I'd love to chat to you more about this Just going to read a scripture that Esther read right at the start. From Jeremiah, verse 23 and 24. This is what the Lord says. Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their riches, or the rich boast in their riches.
[00:23:47] But those who wish to boast should boast this alone, that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken one amazing verse that wasn't planned with Esther and I this morning.
[00:24:15] God wants to bring this justice here on earth. And who does he choose this impossible task almost that it feels with an impossible or greater God.
[00:24:27] And he uses us.
[00:24:29] What a privilege to be his church, to be his bride.
[00:24:36] And we can respond with a yes. I'm just going to pray and then I'll bring us to a close. Lord, we thank you that you are a great, great God.
[00:24:47] One who knows us, one who cares for us, one who longs to be with us.
[00:24:57] So right now, God, we give you our yes, whatever that looks like, whatever you're calling us into, wherever you're asking us to move in your love, to show something of you here, we say yes Lord, we're desperate to be with you. You were far more desperate. We thank you for the price that you paid on the cross, the loving sacrifice that brought us to you. And we invite you now, Lord, into our ordinary, everyday lives.
