Global Missions Weekend | Doug Sauder | Habakkuk 2:14; Acts 1:8

Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blade, all because of you. Oh, hallelujah. Good morning, Calvary Chapel, how are we feeling this morning? Is anybody thankful for Jesus in the house today? Would you make a shout of praise to God? We've got Calvary kids worship in the house, let's stand to your feet. Come on, we sing. Oh, I'm clean, say what's stained on me, and say what's running deep. But love won't spill, don't Calvary, oh, hallelujah, I'm clean. God, how can it be? Oh, I'm handsome, dead, breathing, and standing in your victory. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blade, I'm as good as view. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blade, all because of you. Oh, hallelujah, I'm clean, it's not what I have done, but what you've done for me. You've made it all upon that tree, oh, hallelujah, I'm clean. Your love has overcome, and your mercy is to agree. And I'm dancing in your victory, oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blade, I'm as good as view. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blade, all because of you. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blade, as good as view. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blade, all because of you. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, washed in the blade, all because of you. 'Cause you took away my save, and you nailed it to the cross, you got me running out the grave. Oh, hallelujah, here I come, 'cause you took away my save, and you nailed it to the cross, you got me running out the grave, hallelujah, here I come, 'cause you took away my save, 'cause you took away my save, and you nailed it to the cross, you got me running out the grave. Oh, hallelujah, I've been washed in the water, 'cause you took away my save, and you nailed it to the cross, you got me running out the grave, hallelujah, here I come, 'cause you took away my save, and you nailed it to the cross, you got me running out the grave. Oh, hallelujah, here I come, 'cause you took away my save, and you nailed it to the cross, you took away my save, and you nailed it to the cross, you took away my save, and you nailed it to the cross, you got me running out the grave, you got me running out the grave. Every morning like your death, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. ♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood ♪ ♪ I'm as good as you, oh, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood ♪ ♪ Oh, because of you, oh, hallelujah ♪ - Amen, amen, church, this weekend is so special. We have missionaries from all across the globe here with us testifying of the wonderful things that the Lord has done in the nations. And in Calvary Kids, we've actually been celebrating this all month long, and we set out a challenge for your kids. And if you're in this room, raise up your little suitcases, because this is what we're calling landing day. It's the time that we're going to give back, where we've taken the time to pray and be faithful with, and ask the Lord what He has put in our heart to give to the missionary so that they can go back to their countries and continue to preach the gospel across the world. And so you'll see buckets scattered across a room that says from one generation to the next. And during this song, I just invite you to go and drop off your suitcases. And just as a way of trusting that the Lord is going to keep spreading the gospel across the world. I just urge you to be faithful to what God is going to ask you to do. And we're just going to sing this song because it's been the anthem of our church of this past year and we're just going to believe it and sing it. Not just here and right now, but vote for the Lord is going to do across the nation. Amen? All right, let's sing it together.

All of our faith in God who sees, turn in the master of masterpiece. A new generation will believe that you are able and you are faithful. Amen? All of our faith in God who speaks. We're holding to what you're promising. You're moving beyond all of this dreams because you are able and you are faithful. Singing it out together. Come like a wild fire. Come like a rush in your way. Just like you did back then Lord, I know you'll do it again. We need your holy presence. We need your power with it. Just like you did back then Lord, I know you'll do it again. We know the stories of your faith, so heaven on earth is where we pray. Oh, all of our ships in your way, 'cause you are able and you are faithful. Come like a wild fire, come like a rush in your way. Just like you did back then Lord, I know you'll do it again. We need your holy presence. We need your power with it. Just like you did back then Lord, I know you'll do it again and again and again and again. I know you'll do it again and again and again and again. Singing it out together. How many sinners saved? How many bodies arrayed? Look at those empty graves. I know you'll do it again and again. How many chains undone? How many battles won? He is only just begun. I know you'll do it again and again.

How many sinners saved? How many bodies arrayed? Look at those empty graves. I know you'll do it again and again. How many chains undone? How many battles won? He's only just begun. I know you'll do it again and again and again and again. I know you'll do it again and again and again and again and again. Come like a wild fire, come like a rush in your way. Just like you did back then Lord, I know you'll do it again. ♪ We need your holy presence ♪ ♪ We need your power in there ♪ ♪ Just like you did by them ♪ ♪ I know you're doing it ♪ ♪ You're doing it ♪ ♪ I know you're doing it ♪ ♪ You're doing it ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ (upbeat music) - All right, and again, let's give it up for CKW. Calvary Kids worship, helping to lead us today. And again, it's great to look out and to see all the kids worshiping with us today. We've got all ages in the sanctuary this morning. We've also, as we've already talked about, have so many from different tongues of speech. So all tribes and tongues and languages, worshiping, one Lord, one God. We're gonna do that together

as we sing a very familiar song in different languages this morning. So join us as we sing. (piano music) So we're going, with window, and they'll sell food, crow-repo-sole, and so they lie, they'll say, "Cato, he's who's missing, I'll sell, sell you." [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]

[Music] [Music] It was May 20th, it was the year 2000. 40,000 young people gathered at a fairground in Memphis, Tennessee, at something called passion one day. Imagine, fields filled with young people, hungry to hear the word of God. And that day, there was a talk, there was a sermon that changed a generation, a young preacher, most people didn't know, Pastor John Piper, stood up. And he said to this group of 40,000 young people, you know, you don't have to know a lot of things to make a lasting difference in the world. You just need to know a few things, a few things that are true. And everyone leaned in a little bit. And then he said this, but I know that not everyone in this crowd wants their life to make a difference. There are hundreds of you. You don't care whether you make a lasting difference for something great or not. You just want people to like you. Hmm. If people would just like you, you'd be satisfied. If you could just have a good job, a good wife, a couple of kids, a nice car, long weekends, a fun retirement, a quick and easy death, and no hell. If you could have that, you'd be satisfied even without God. And that's a tragedy in the making. Now he had their attention. And then he went on to tell a story about two women, two women in his church, who three weeks earlier had been killed in a tragic car accident in Cameroon, West Africa. Ruby Ellison and Laura Edwards, while Ruby was in her 80s, she'd been single her whole life. She had dedicated her life to her reach, the unreached and the poor and the sick. And Laura, her friend, was a widow, medical doctor pushing 80. And this tragic accident, their breaks failed. They went over a cliff and they died. And as he processed this event with these 40,000 young people, he said, was that a tragedy? Was that a tragedy? Two lives driven by one great vision spent in service for the parishion poor for God's glory. No, that was not a tragedy. That was a glory. And then he switched gears. He said, I'll tell you what a tragedy is. He pulled out this old publication called Readers Digest. Anybody ever heard of Readers Digest? Everyone with white hairs? I know what that was. My parents heard that. And he read the story of Bob and Penny, who worked their lives in the Northeast but retired at 51 and 59 and moved to Punta Gorda, Florida, where they enjoyed their days on their 30-foot boat, plane softball and collecting seashells. And John Piper said to those 40,000 young people, that's a tragedy. And people today are trying to persuade you to embrace that dream. Don't buy it. With all my heart, I plead with you. Don't buy that dream. The American dream, a nice house,

a nice car, a nice job, a nice family, a nice retirement, collecting seashells as the last chapter before you stand before the creator of the universe to give an account of what you did. And you say, here, Lord, is my seashell collection. And then he uttered four words, four words that would help shape a generation of Christians in this nation around the world. Here were the four words. Don't waste your life. Don't waste your life. Yeah, there's nothing wrong with collecting seashells or having a great golf game or being a great thrift shopper. And the problem is when your whole life is all about yourself. Don't waste your life on yourself. There's something bigger. There's something greater. There's something grander that Ruby and Laura discovered. And for those who were there that day, they still talk about that moment, that pivotal moment, that prophetic word, that alternate vision for their life that sort of snapped them out of their slumber. And so the question we're going to pursue today is a simple question. What vision for your life are you pursuing? Now really stop and think for a second. What vision for your life are you pursuing? What do you wake up thinking about? And when those things happen, what makes you stressed or worried? And that tells you the things that are important to you, that are guiding and shaping the person you're going to become and the places you're going to go. You see, the world's going to offer you lots of visions for life. You see, Piper was a reminder in this group of young people that the American dream that it's all about you, that if you make a lot of money and have a simple, easy life, that that's the goal that we're being sold by most people, but it doesn't lead to significance. It's all about us. There's something more. And every culture and every age and every generation offers you a vision for your life. And the same thing was true when Jesus came on the scene. You see, when Jesus came on the scene, if you were Jewish, like his original followers, there was a vision for your life. James and John and Andrew and Peter, take over your father's fishing Be a faithful husband or a wife and raise your kids and keep the Torah and make sure you don't become unclean, hanging out with Gentiles or Samaritans, are those kind of people live a separate and holy life and the more good you do, the more righteous you are and the more people look at you and say, I wanna be like that.

Or maybe the vision that some of Jesus' original followers had for the life like Mary Magdalene, people whose lives were all jacked up and they were filled with shame and they couldn't undo their past and so they lived the vision for their life like, I'm one of those people, those people who can never, never outlive that bad thing I did, never overcome that reputation I live under. And Jesus came to offer them a different vision for their life. Rome had a vision for your life. Rome was not about the accumulation of respect in the culture. It was about the pursuit of pleasure and power and political gain, the economic might and the military and who you are, the pride of being the most powerful nation in the world, the most educated nation in the world, the most culturally astute nation in the world and Matthew, one of Jesus' original followers, bought into that. He actually collected taxes for Rome from his own people. And Simon the Zealot, who was one of those guys who fought against that Roman oppression 'cause the vision for his life was we have to fight that type of corruption and fight that type of oppression and it's all this, Jesus offered an alternative vision, a disruptive vision. In Mark chapter one, he comes on the scene. In the first words recorded by Mark, as Jesus stepped on the scene.

For this, the time has come. The kingdom of God is now here repented believe the good news. What a simple and yet profound life-changing vision for their lives. The time is now. It's not for tomorrow, it's not for next week, it's happening right now. And you have a decision to make. The kingdom of God is now here. And so you can come and join and watch, but you're gonna have to repent, change the way you think and you're gonna have to believe, put your trust in me and follow me. And these 12 men and a handful of women made a decision to walk away from their boats and from their nets and from the tax-selecting tables and from their shame and from the dream of Rome, or the fighting against Rome. And they followed Jesus on the greatest adventure of their lives. And just think about what they saw. Jesus throwing over tables and the temple addressing religious corruption, political corruption, speaking the truth, healing the blind, feeding the hungry, seeing sick people, seeing dead people come back to life. They saw the transfiguration. They got to see all of these great adventures because Jesus invited them on this path and they learned some things. That didn't seem like that's the way the world worked. Like if you wanna save your life, you're gonna lose it.

But if you give your life away, you'll find it. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Wait, I thought it was about the rich and the powerful. And so they followed Jesus for three and a half years and they watched all of these things happen and then Jesus was arrested and then Jesus was killed. And maybe during that time of confusion, there were these thoughts like, what a waste. Did we waste our life following Jesus? What does all this mean? We don't understand. Then Jesus came back from the dead as he promised and then over a period of 40 days, he appeared to his disciples. And as he's getting ready to ascend to the Father, he gives them what is called the great commission. This is the mission of our church and the mission that every church has been given. These words of Jesus, here it is. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey, everything I have commanded you. It's a clear call to action and it's a clear vision for what God has. I'm gonna be with you to the very end of the age so you can go in confidence. Now as you look at this verse, I want you to think about how far is this mission gonna go? This mission is gonna go to all nations.

And to teach them everything that Jesus commanded means the knowledge of God, the knowledge of the glory of God is gonna go over the whole planet. Does that sound familiar to you? As we've been reading through the book of Habakkuk, Habakkuk 214 gives us this vision. And I wanna show you a picture of the blue planet for a second and just imagine Habakkuk writing this when he has no idea how this is actually gonna work. Habakkuk says one day in all the injustice and brokenness of the world and all the self-centeredness and greed of the world and all the people fighting together one day, the knowledge of the glory of God will cover the earth. And Jesus says, now we're gonna go to all the nations. And we're gonna bring the knowledge of the glory of God to every nook and cranny, every corner, every person, every language, because the gospel is for everyone. Aren't you grateful the gospel is for everyone? No one's left out. And this is a grand, grand vision that Jesus is gonna fill the earth with his people. But before he fills the earth with his people, he has one more instruction in Acts chapter one verse eight. He says this, before I fill the world with you, I need to fill you. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,

in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Hey guys, I'm about to fill the world with you, but before I fill the world with you, I need to fill you with the power of my spirit with wisdom. With supernatural strength, with insight, the gifts of healing, the gifts that come out of your mouth when you speak and you're like, where did that come from? All of those things I wanna give you. And how did this happen? Well, Acts chapter two describes how the Holy Spirit first came at Pentecost and we're gonna read this together. And it's the origin story of the church. The church that's here today, 2,000 years later, is a direct result of what happens here. This is the birth of the church. And it gives us our mission. So I want us to read it together because sometimes we don't think, how did we get from Jesus to us? And this is the moment. And Jesus said, here's the mission. I'm gonna fill the world with you, but before I fill the world with you, I need to fill you. Acts chapter two verse one. Here's what happened on that day. And when the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. And suddenly it sounded like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven

and filled the whole house. They were sitting, everyone say, "Fill." They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And all of them were filled. Say, "Fill." But the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled him. Jesus is filling the church. Now that we're staying in Jerusalem, God fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. And when they heard this sound, the crowd came together in bewilderment because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed they asked, "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans?" Then how is it that each of us hears them in our own native language? And then in verse nine, all the list of all the different nations. I mean, he's like these Galileans, these sort of rednecks from this rural town in Judea are speaking in language they should not know. They're speaking the language in Parthinians are understanding them people from Mesopotamia and Judea and Egypt and Cretans and Arabs and all these people. And what are they doing? We hear them declaring the wonders of God, verse 11. In our own tongues, amazed and perplexed, they ask one another, "What does this mean?"

Now here's maybe one of the first questions you wanna ask yourself like, "Wait, why are all these Jewish people from all these places?" What are Jewish people doing in Egypt, in Mesopotamia? What are they doing in Crete? What are they doing in all these places? I'm glad you asked. Remember when we read through Habakkuk, we spent four weeks reading through Habakkuk and Habakkuk was so upset that a Syrian Babylon were gonna come and take the people of the Jewish nation and disperse them all over the world. It didn't seem fair, it didn't seem right. And he said, "God, that's not right." Oh, Habakkuk didn't know God had a bigger plan. The God was gonna spread his people all across the world at that time. And then at Pentecost, bring them back so they could hear the gospel and their language and then they could go back and the entire church movement would be fueled by something that looked really horrible and it hit Israel's past. And that should make us curious. Could God use something that's in our past that brings pain and brokenness? Could he use it for his purposes? The answer is yes. And so the birth of this church and the gospel going out is because of a really difficult moment in Israel's past.

And the people are asking, "We don't understand what this means." People speaking in a language that aren't their own is the spirit of God, give them utterance. And so Peter gets up. And Peter's up to this point, not been a very good preacher. Usually he says something dumb or puts his foot in his mouth or gets it wrong, but here he speaks. One of the most powerful sermons ever spoken. In fact, when he's done 3,000 people are gonna give their life to Jesus. And I think all the other disciples are like, what happened to you? Oh, filled with the spirit of God? Jesus said, And so Peter's trying to explain what's happening here. The glory of God is about to fill the earth as the water covers the sea. People are speaking in different languages, and he says, I know what this is. The prophet Joel said that one day the spirit of God would come and old men would dream dreams. And young people would sing visions. Men and women, young and old. God was gonna fill them and then fill the world with them. And it's happening right now. And people were like, what do we do? Peter says, the one who came, Jesus, the son of God,

who you killed. God erased from the dead, and if you repent and believe, you can also be saved. This is a sign of God's work in 3,000 people. Made a decision to follow Jesus, that day. I would have loved to see that day. But what's happening is more than just people giving their life to Jesus, being restored to God. Now there's a restoration project even bigger going on, and Peter in his second sermon would say this about Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything. As he promised long ago through his holy prophets. Say this with me, restore everything. You know what that word everything means in Greek? Everything. It's not just restoring us to God because of our sin. It's restoring every bit of brokenness, every bit of sadness, every bit of sickness that came from the curse. God is refilling the world with his restoration, because sin had corrupted every corner of the world and now God was in the process of remaking all this. And he says the prophets, they spoke about this. Habakkuk, Joel they spoke about this, and Isaiah also spoke about this. And Isaiah says something very similar to what Habakkuk said back in the day. What does Isaiah say about when God comes to restore all things?

He says the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Whoa. And he says here's what that's gonna look like. In that day the root of Jesse, that's Jesus, will stand as a banner for his peoples and the nations will rally to him and his resting place will be glorious. Now that's a vision for your life. That's not just a vision for the nation, that's a vision for the world, because it was never God's intention that the promises that he gave to Abraham were just for Abraham in his descendants. Now God wanted to bless the entire world through Abraham, through the Jewish nation, through his promises his covenant. And now Peter said, now it's happening. All the things they prophesied are happening. God's restoring all things. That means every broken covenant in marriage, God can find a way to restore every sick person. God can one day heal, every bit of war can become peace, every bit of hatred can turn into forgiveness and then love because I'm restoring all things physically, emotionally and spiritually, right? (congregation applauds) And that's a vision you could give your life to. How could I be a part of that? And I wanna tell you that when the early Christians,

if you read the book of Acts, went into different cities, they didn't just preach the gospel, say it repented, believe, but they found ways to set captives free. To speak against corruption. To call out injustice, to serve people with compassion in such a beautiful, powerful way. And they disrupted the dreams of every city. In fact, in Thessalonica, when the Thessalonians heard Christians were coming, here's what they said. Those people have been turning the world upside down and now they wanna come here. Now think about that for a second. That was not a compliment. What they're saying is that those Christians, when they show up in a place, they don't just fit into the status quo and follow the vision of the day. I guess we're here to collect seashells. Oh no. Oh no no no. They pray something crazy like God. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Your kingdom come, whatever that means for me, let's go. 'Cause didn't Jesus say, follow me and I will make you? I will change the way you think. I will change the way you see the world. I will change the priorities of your life.

I'll change the vision for your life. And every generation has to grapple with this question. Will I put my faith in Jesus? Not just for my salvation, but for the whole of my life. For what I do with my money. For how I spend my time. For the things I live for, the way my life is bent. Will I put my trust in Jesus? Not just to get to heaven, but for every area of my life. Will I invite the Spirit of God even today And invite him to fill me and then fill the world with me, wherever he's called me to go. Listen, being a missionary doesn't mean you have to go across the world. We are missionaries wherever we go. If you're a Christian, you're a missionary. So if you're a Christian, and you're a missionary, just raise your hand for a second. Wherever, all the campuses. Doesn't matter how old you are or young you are, if you put your faith and trust in Jesus, you've been given this great commission to go and make disciples. In our prayer, after the first 40 years of all that Jesus did here is do it again. Do it again now, now it's our turn, it's our time. So I want to share with you the stories of four people who made a decision to go, you know what?

In those first 40 years, here's how God stirred me. And here's how I rebelled against the vision that people had for my life and pursued the vision God had for my life. And the first one, Paul and Marcia Cowley, 20 plus years ago, they were raising the young family. And they get curious about Nairobi, Kenya, and the slums of Kenya, some of them have over a million people living there in squalor. It's not a safe place, it's a violent place where there's a lot of sickness and just a tremendous amount of poverty and hopelessness and despair. And Paul and Marcia were like, heard from their friends and family, don't go there, that's a dangerous place to raise your kids. They had a vision to go and they went and their hope was maybe we can raise up 10, 20 pastors. They started this discipleship training school and they're raising now 400 pastors every semester to go back into those slums and bring the gospel of Jesus. And now 20 years later, they're starting these out, which is in Tanzania as well. And God is blessing their steps of faith. Claudia Ranga, I met her about 15, 20 years ago and she was a younger woman at the time and wanted to get married and wanted to have kids. But she decided to check out Jinju, Gonda, and an orphanage called the Good Shepherd's Fold and she shows up there and they say, hey, we need to give, we want to ask you after just a couple of months,

would you give like a 15 year commitment? What not? I wanted to get married and have kids and she gave her a life to this vision. And God has used her to disciple and lead in that ministry, just some beautiful powerful things. I mean, I got to go there myself and see it for myself. And when I look at Claudia's family picture now, God has blessed her with children that she's adopted and she is richer by far than most. Any families I know, the love that she's poured into those kids and the love they have poured back, that's the vision. Worth giving your life for. What about the bacours? Karen and Cornell, Bacour, Cornell grew up in a communist Romania and when he got out, he said, I'm never going back there, but God brought him back because of the orphans in Romania, just the horrible orphan crisis. And the Roma people who are sort of displaced and marginalized and he went back to plant churches and started ministering much like four kids, caring for and raising up parents for these kids. And God has blessed his life as he pursued this alternate vision. And then I've been to Cuba three or four times in the last couple of years and I got to meet Fernando and Diana who serve in Cuba under great persecution. Their parents were arrested just for preaching the gospel and they continue in difficult spaces without a lot of food or with electricity two hours a day.

And we had a chance to bless them with solar panels on 20 different house churches. That house church by house, we're putting solar panels on these house churches. And in those cities, when you go there, I've been there, it's the only place in the whole city where there's light. And people go to plug in their phones and they hear the gospel and they come to know Jesus because the church is called the light of the world. (audience applauds) And this is what happens when people don't waste their lives on themselves. And you might be like, well, I'm not enough, I can go to those places. Well, I want to just share with you one more story of Juan and Sandra Allegra and their daughter Eileen. They came from Peru, they moved to the United States and they were living the American dream. I mean, they made it, made it. It was awesome. Then God disrupted. The vision after life began to stir them and I want you to watch their story and maybe it will provoke in you something that God wants to speak to you today. Let's watch Juan and Sandra's story together. (somber music) - I was born and raised in Peru. Since it was a kid, I was obsessed to make money. So at the age of 20, I became a bank manager.

Soon after that, I met Sandra. - I was born here in Cajababa a lot of years ago. (laughs) I had two beautiful kids that I'm very proud of. We got to Florida, beautiful. You know, start making money, start making here. The American dream. And all of a sudden, one day, my boss called me to train some lady and then what happened is she started talking to me about Jesus. That gave me a little bit of a conviction. So I asked her, where is that church? So I got there. And then the pastor asked us, you know what? If somebody wants a prayer or something like that, you can come at front. Of course, I didn't know what it means. And the lady next to me says, come, come, come. I went, I prayed, they gave me a Bible, a cassette. And they explained me, I didn't understand anything. Until she said, you know, you have that Bible. I started reading it. I fell in love with God. And that's how I become a Christian. That year in October, I got saved, I got baptized. And I started plugging in the church and started serving in different ministries. And we went on our first mission trip to Mexico. I went on my own first mission strip by myself. And then I came back from that trip,

and they were like, we're going on the mission field. And I was like, why can't we be like other families? Like, what is happening? When I came back, I had a virus for missions. I said, wow, there's so much we can do there. Every place I would go, I would feel the need to go to that place. Because the need is everywhere. 2012, we were sent out by Capital Chapel for Lorde to assist the pastor in Lima. Our commitment was for one year. The pastor introduced us to the congregation. And right after that, the pastor announced a mission trip to Gajabamba. Suddenly, I would look at you and say, can Gajabamba? Who knows about Gajabamba? It's in the middle of nowhere. I'd never heard about Gajabamba. I was in shock when I was killing that. Because I think even my husband did know that I was born in Gajabamba. And he's a tiny little place in the middle of nowhere, you know? And he said, who knows Gajabamba? A month after that, we went to Gajabamba. And a lot of things happens. A lot of miracles, a lot of people get saved. Something happened during the time that I would come to Gajabamba. But now, I don't want to go back.

I want to stay in Gajabamba. There's so much to do. There's a lot of things that we can do. Gajab got to speak to me. I felt the need for a ministry there. I felt the need for a church there. Waking up before growing in the morning, just thinking about Gajabamba. And I said to the son that thing got us calling us, Gajabamba, and she said, no way. Not me. You go to Gajabamba, I'm not going to Gajabamba. There's no publics. You need to buy me a helicopter or something, because there's nothing there. But you see this, hope, you know, pray about it. Honestly, I didn't pray. Because I was very comfortable. And I said, God, if it's really you that you are talking to one, just reveal it to me. I am open. And immediately, I'm telling you, immediately, I came back so I can beat it. And I told my husband, Lisa, I am ready. When you hear the Lord speak, even if you don't want to do it, like, there's just something about it that you're just like, I got to do it. Because if I trust you, then I trust that you're going to do good things for me. My spiritual grandmother, she gave me Genesis 32 9.

And it says, return to the land of your fathers, and I will do you good. And I read it, and it was like the Lord was like, yes. So that's where we plant the church. So for two years and a half, we were doing church. Providing a church community is providing a safe place for them. I know us, it's for them. That's where they can come and feel like a family. They've found in us as a ministry, a voice, for the poor people, for the orphans, for the widows, for the ones who don't have much. And everything started with somebody asking for diapers. You know, people don't have diapers, don't have medicine, don't have this, don't have that. So we stopped providing for them. So soon enough, we known, you know, as the church to help. We are one of the leading regions of Peru in teenage pregnancies. There was a lot of abandoned babies. They let us know about these children that were being removed. And Juan asked, you know, hey, so where are you putting them up? Maybe we can bring them food, maybe we can bring them clothing. He said, well, right now what we have is a mattress and a gel cell. That's where we put them up. How long? Weeks at a time. I'm talking dirt floor, a steel door and a hole for a light. That's not a condition for a child. And that opened us up to really see the issues that are here in Cajabamba.

The district attorney called us because it was a girl who was 11 years of age. It had a baby and it was from the biological father. So she was abused. And we said, how can I help? Can we rent a room for her? our hearts. That heart started being transmitted to the church. When we didn't have space we had people in the church go I can house them, I can house them, I can house them and at one point we had almost everybody in the church having children in their homes you know taking them to school helping them with homework. In the meantime the community of Colcas gave us a gift, a piece of property for us to build anything for the kids because you know we were praying for a miracle to do something to build something there but we didn't have the money of course and this lady came and she asked us how much does it cost to build a house and he said well this amount and she looked at me and she said okay I'm going to make a check for that about what are you talking about and she said listen lady God told me that here is going to be somebody that is going to build an orphanage and I know it's you. 2021 we started building the refuge and that was because the Lord provided a miracle check and that just started what is now the refuge which is just a huge facility where it has six homes, each home has a mom and a dad and room for eight to ten children so they create their own family unit. Right now we have one family that is creating like a like the example for the rest in the future and we're seeing these kids be able to function in normal society and they're not unaware, they're not lost, they socialize, they laugh, they make comments, they take care of other people, they also participate in the community, they come to church throughout the week, they participate in youth group that is the way to do it. We hope that we can establish ourselves well enough that it becomes the model of the nation. The orphanage is needed in Kajabama and it's needed all over Peru, today that I realized that this was here there I mean it's not a day that I don't realize why we're here you

know when I see thirteen home of fourteen years ago little babies growing and now serving in the church preaching the gospel in the schools. When I see those kids that were abused and that we have in our house and now growing and then going to Bible college and now being productive in our society that's when I realize that's what we're here for you know. There's a lot of children and youngsters that preach the gospel with their testimony in the schools and everywhere they go they are the ones that actually are bringing their parents to know Jesus. And so we're watching definitely the Lord raise up the next generation so that we can continue to see Kajabamba impacted by the gospel you know because it's not about the allegories, it's Jesus's work and so if he's building it he's going to continue it. I believe that we as a body of Christ we are the hands and the feet of Jesus. The ministry of Kabuchapakavamba it's not going to die with us, it's going to continue going generation through generation so God knows what it's going to be you know but this is just the beginning. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] We celebrate the work of God, the God who wants to restore everything. Every broken corner of our lives, every broken corner of the planet he invites us. Come follow me and I will remake you. And so as a church we grapple, we wrestle with this vision individually.

God what is your vision for my life? I know it's going to be just. but if I follow it, will you be with me every step along the way and what will it mean? And will I find joy in the end? And every time Jesus invites us on a great adventure, it's not to make us poor, it's to make us richer, it's not to make us less, it's to make us more. And so if we trust the heart of Jesus, not just for our salvation, then we can open our hands and say, "God, wherever you send me, I will go." And that doesn't mean that everyone here is gonna be sent around the world, but you are sent. Jesus said, "The Father has sent me, I send you." And so I want you to put on your imagination for a second. Where has God sent you? Who lives around you? Who works with you? Who goes to school with you? How might they need to know the message of the gospel? I wanna say to all the young kids in the room. You are not too young. Eileen felt this call when she was young. No, he heard, he felt this call when he was young. God's using him as an eight-year-old and 10-year-old and 12-year-old and 16-year-old and 20-year-old. You are not too young for the call of God in your life. Today, someone may be called to do something significant in their life,

something more than just collecting seashells. And so we're gonna ask at every one of our campuses, we're just gonna ask you to open up your hands and we're gonna pray a prayer. The God would not just use our life, but he would speak to us in this moment, he would fill us with his vision for our life and then send us into the world. Father, we are your people and somehow in your plan, we are the plan that you wanna fill us and then you wanna send us all around this planet, that everyone could know your love. And so we say with a prophet Isaiah, here I am, send me. God, I pray that you would direct us, that as we read your word, it would come alive, that you would teach us about generosity, about sacrifice, about service, about going to hard places and doing hard things in a way that we never thought about before. God, I pray for the moms and dads in this room that we would think maybe not about taking the kids to Disney World this year, but taking them on a global mission trip and experiencing something completely different. God, I pray for every young person here thinking about the formation of their life and the dreams or form that you would redirect them with an alternative vision for their life.

God, I pray for every person who is retired, that you would give them a new vision of retirement, that you would use them in these years to do more than they ever expected. And so Father, our lives, our resources, our entire future belongs to you. Fill us, use us. We pray this together in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. Can we give God thanks and praise for what he's doing and what he's about to do next? So I get excited because our birthday gift for Jesus helped to fuel that orphanage in that church last year and this year coming is gonna be a project in Colombia that you're gonna hear more about, that Tim and Bernice are leading at the island of Tietta Bamba. But before we go into the lobby and meet these global missionaries, I just wanna, I wanna make one invitation. And that's for those of you who've never made a decision to follow Jesus. You see, the same invitation Jesus gave his first followers. The time has come. The kingdom of God is here, repent and believe. It is given to you the same sermon Peter preached, repent and believe in Jesus. So times of refreshing will come. You see, before you follow the vision of God, you need to be right with God. The problem is that your sin has separated you from God. That's why Jesus came.

That's why Jesus died on a cross as your substitute. And that's why Jesus said, if you put your faith in trust in me, you don't have to perish, but you can have everlasting life. God so loved the world, so loved you, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever puts their faith in trusting him doesn't have to perish, doesn't have to waste their life, but they can find eternal life. You can be forgiven for your sins. You can experience the freedom from shame. You can live with your head up in confidence because Jesus took your place. And Jesus wants to fill you with his spirit and remind you that you can become a son or daughter of God. You can be adopted into the family of God. And so this requires a decision on your part. Maybe you've been checking this church out sort of curiously, maybe you were invited by a friend, maybe you're watching online, or you're stumbled into the VR campus and you're like, what's this? This is a moment that can change your life forever, Some of them got stunned by the presence and the invitation of God. And so here's how we do it here. We're gonna play a song. And we're gonna say, if you wanna start a relationship with God through his son, Jesus,

if you're ready for your sins to be forgiven, if you're ready to repent and believe the good news that you can be changed, then we're gonna ask you wherever you are to stand up and walk to the base of this platform. But I'm just gonna pray a very simple prayer with you. The prayer goes like this, God. (sighs) I open my heart and invite you inside. Forgive my sins, I'm ready to follow you. It's not even about the perfect words, it's about a heart that's ready. And if right now you're just, you're feeling your heart beating your sense of like, I need to get right with God, I'm not right with God. He's waiting for you. And today is the day. And so if that's you, as this song begins to play, I'm gonna ask you to stand and invite you to come to this platform and we're gonna pray this prayer and celebrate with all of heaven as you come. It's that you've come now. (audience applauds) ♪ Lord I come and I confess ♪ ♪ That when here I find my rest ♪ ♪ Without you I fall apart ♪ ♪ You're the one that guides my heart ♪ ♪ Lord, I need you ♪ ♪ Oh, I need you ♪ ♪ Every hour I need you ♪

♪ My one defense ♪ ♪ You're my righteousness ♪ ♪ Oh God, how I need you ♪ ♪ You ♪ - Oh, we are so grateful that you're here. So grateful you're part of this miracle story as we pray God, do it again. What you did in the past, how you saved us, saved more people as you drawn us to your life, drawn more people and so I'm gonna lead you in a very simple prayer, huh? We're so glad you're here. (audience applauds) - Come on up, if you're still in your seats, listen. This is not something you wanna procrastinate on. Today is the day God is waiting to give you new life. Come on up. (audience applauds) Those first followers of Jesus described it like we were cut to the heart. We knew we needed to do something and this beautiful invitation, we're so grateful you responded to the invitation of God, the kindness of God, the patience of God. You're about to experience that overflow today. And so as you come together in faith now, you're gonna make a confession. And the confession is just agreeing with God that you're a sinner, that you need a saver,

that you believe that Jesus came for you and died for you and God raised him for you. And now you wanna live for him. And this is just day one, just this beginning of the great adventure of following Jesus. And so God is listening, he's attentive to your prayer. And so just repeat this prayer out loud after me. Say this to God, Lord God, I open my heart and I invite you inside. Forgive my sin. Today I repent. Now fill me with your spirit. Now fill me with your spirit. And I will walk with you. All the days of my life. All the days of my life. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen, guys, congratulations. Welcome to the family of God. So, hey, before you go back to your seats, I wanna ask you for five minutes. Five minutes just to help process the most important decision you'll ever make. So I'm gonna ask you to follow me. Over to those open doors, we're gonna give you a Bible as a gift. I'd love to meet you personally, and you'll be back with your friends in a moment. Church, can we give them a hand as they go this way?

(congregation applauding) Church, you can go ahead and stand up. We wanna get you in the posture of going out, not to rush out the doors, but to go see our missionaries in the hallway. And also to consider where God may take you this year. I've gotten the privilege of going on a mission trip the last five years in a row. And we're going to new places and some favorite places all around the world. So we ask that you would just consider God, how might you use me this year on a trip, connecting with the missionary, and then join us this Wednesday, 6.30 p.m. right here in the sanctuary. Before you leave, if you need prayer for anything, we would love to pray with you. We can't wait to see you on Wednesday and next weekend. We'll see you then. [MUSIC PLAYING] [BLANK_AUDIO]