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There are many, many books on today's topic,

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a very few of which I have read.

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I want to simply begin by mentioning one

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or two that I've found helpful.

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By a man called Campbell Morgan, of course

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inevitably most of his books are in English,

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and I don't know of any of them

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being translated.

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Campbell Morgan wrote a book simply called Preaching.

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Campbell Morgan was, for two periods of his

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life, minister at Westminster Chapel in London, one

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of the most influential large churches in London,

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and he wrote a book simply called Preaching.

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I found that very valuable, simple, short, it's

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not as long as some of the others.

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Then Martin Lloyd-Jones gave some lectures and

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then wrote them up and produced a book

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only a couple of years, I think, before

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he died, not long, anyway before the Lord

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took him home, a book called Preaching and

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Preachers.

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Now Campbell Morgan was originally from a Methodist

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background and Martin Lloyd-Jones from a Welsh,

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Calvinistic background.

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Both of them had a very high view

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of the authority and place of the pulpit

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among God's people.

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And then Donald Coggan, a one-time Archbishop

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of Canterbury, an Anglican scholar, theological college principal,

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bishop, pastor, leader among the Anglicans around the

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world, he wrote a book called Stewards of

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Grace, which is a characteristic title.

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His ministry was always marked with flashes of

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insight and great touches of God's grace.

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And then from many years ago, A.

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P.

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Gibbs wrote a book, The Preacher and His

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Preaching.

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And it's not a book that is tremendously

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well-known or popular, it came from a

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background among brethren assemblies, but that too has

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many good...

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...and His Preaching by A.

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P.

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Gibbs.

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John Stott's book, I Believe in Preaching, in

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this valuable I Believe series that's been going

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now for the last few years, John Stott

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includes at the back of this an incredible

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bibliography.

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He claims himself to have read dozens and

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dozens, I think it's something around 140 books

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on preaching.

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And the book is littered with quotations, evidence

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of the honesty of his claim, and that

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too is very good.

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It's Anglican, it's designed for people who would

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have a regular pastoral ministry in a particular

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group of people.

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All these books, perhaps their situation doesn't exactly

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fit ours, but for many of them we

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can glean valuable help and tips from men

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who've come before us.

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And then there's a book that I suspect

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may now be out of print, called The

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Gagging of God by Gavin Reed.

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And that is a book against preaching altogether.

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But it's a book written by a very

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lively evangelist in England, it's called The Gagging

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of God by Gavin Reed.

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And he's talking about the way in which

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modern preaching actually shuts God up.

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And that we need to find new ways

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of communicating that buttress the spoken word.

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Now my plan is roughly as follows, but

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I am willing to be guided by you.

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I was thinking of talking this morning, this

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first session, on the importance of preaching.

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And then this afternoon in the first session

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after lunch, you are going to work.

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We are going to pool our ideas on

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the characteristics of Jesus as a preacher.

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And I'm going to write up on the

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blackboard the things that you suggest, the scriptures

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that you bring to bear as evidence of

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the points that you want to make.

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And then if we have time, we might

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do a little bit of organising, so that

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if you had to preach on the characteristics

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of Jesus as a preacher, we would work

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on our moulding clay together with me at

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the chalk.

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And then this afternoon, the second session, the

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after coffee session, we're going to talk about

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how to prepare a message.

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That may for some of you be the

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key thing.

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And I will share with you the things

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that I feel important.

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And then we've got Don Hammond's experience to

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draw on.

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I've preached across Western Canada with Bert, his

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experience.

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Peter has preached in something like 60 or

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80 countries.

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He may have something to suggest.

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Some of you have been with the Logos.

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Some of you have actually preached in Eastern

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Europe.

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There's actually a lot of experience here.

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And I will kick off, set the ball

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rolling, but please feel free to interrupt me,

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to question, to put another point of view,

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to argue.

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I like that.

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Don't at all feel that I'm beyond argument.

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I rise to that.

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And let's please understand from the beginning that

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I'm going to lead a seminar.

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I'm not simply going to preach.

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That, I hope, will be this afternoon.

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And then tomorrow, we'll kick off in the

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morning with considering the life of the preacher.

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Because very often, what people remember is not

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simply the outline points of the message, but

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the man himself.

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It's the impact of the man's spirit on

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the hearts and the minds of the people

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sitting in the congregation.

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And therefore, if we stray away from considering

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that, I have not been faithful to the

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topic.

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Then Friday afternoon, we might think of some

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of the pitfalls that we should be careful

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to avoid.

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I have a number.

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I'm sure you've got others.

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And then I have at the end what

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I've put down on my little plan sheet

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as miscellaneous scraps.

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I want to talk about the wife that

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you marry, or the husband that some of

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you may, may marry, may want to scrap,

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and other related topics that I haven't been

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able to see their way into my scheme,

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but I feel that they're worth at least

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thinking about.

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Now, do you want to raise anything else

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that we should, that I've missed out, that

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don't fall within those divisions?

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Yes, Peter.

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Right.

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I'll touch on that right away in this

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first session.

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The whole question of who should preach and

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the question of gifts.

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Yes.

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Good.

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Anything else that you're really hoping to get

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talked through?

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Because I want to try and lead you

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so that we all together serve one another.

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Although inevitably, I'm going to do quite a

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bit of the talking, I'm afraid.

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Is that the only thing that you want

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to ask?

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Pop up as we go.

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Yep.

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I'm, you mean training college?

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Or are you talking about how to prepare

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a series of messages?

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And a better preacher?

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Yes, I hope that.

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Let's leave that question.

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If you're unsatisfied by the time we are

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into tomorrow, you don't think that we're covering

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that, then bring it up again.

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Because I hope that many of the things

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that we say will, will touch on that.

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Noel.

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Thank you.

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The relationship between expository preaching and worship.

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Roger.

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Well, if you've got some thoughts on that,

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I shall call on you.

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By way of introduction, I think one should

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say that everyone who has ever written or

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talked on this subject, it seems to me,

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begins by saying that preaching is the most

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urgent need in the church today.

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They all seem to start out this way.

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For instance, John Stott says, preaching is indispensable

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to Christianity.

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Christianity is in its very essence a religion

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of the word of God.

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Martin Lloyd-Jones says the most urgent need

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in the Christian church today is true preaching.

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And about a hundred years ago, a man

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with rather flowery ornate 19th century language, describing

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the preacher, said this, his throne is his

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pulpit.

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He stands in Christ's stead.

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His message is the word of God.

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Around him are immortal souls.

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The saviour unseen is beside him.

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The Holy Spirit broods over the congregation.

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Angels gaze upon the scene.

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And heaven and hell await the issue.

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What associations, and what vast responsibility.

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I'm going to give up already.

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But Matthew Simpson, in those remarks, is trying

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to get us to see how incredibly important

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it is that preaching be faithful and godly,

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and honouring to God and his word.

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I suppose it is the case that whatever

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is our spiritual gift, we always tend to

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think that that is the most important thing

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that's needed.

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The man who's got the gift of serving

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thinks that if only more people were servants.

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The person who has the gift of prophecy,

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or administration, the problems they see in the

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Christian church, or in OM, are always in

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terms of their own gift.

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We always think if we're an administrator, that

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the place is chaos and just needs a

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touch of our administration.

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Or if we're preachers, we sit in the

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meetings thinking, oh this is, this is, this

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is thin gruel, this is, this is poor

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stuff, if only there were proper preaching.

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Whereas the person who has the gift of

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serving, will very often wander around thinking how

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dirty the place is, how people ought to

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start cleaning it up, how other people need

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so much ministry, it's just the way we

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are built.

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It's one of the key indications to begin

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to nibble at Peter's subject, that a particular

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gift is ours.

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When you arrive in OM, what do you

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think the major need is?

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Because that may be a hint as to

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the nature of your own gift.

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Some people feel terribly frustrated at the awfulness

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of the worship.

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They only wish that we worshipped God better.

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Maybe it's because their own gift would tend

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to lead them that way.

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The problem with preachers is that they're always

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preaching, and always hogging the microphone, and therefore

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always proclaiming that the main need is for

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the Word of God to be preached.

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So I tend to think that it perhaps

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is.

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But if some of you here are not

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preachers, I would entirely understand if you wanted

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to disagree with me.

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But certainly we cannot deny that in our

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day, with the kind of problems that we

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face, there is a great need for God's

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Word to be digested, filtered through the personality

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of gifted godly men and women, and then

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proclaimed to his people.

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Let me think with you of four reasons

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why preaching is so important.

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And the first is quite simply the example

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of Jesus.

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Example of Christ.

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It was the primary purpose of his itinerant

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ministry.

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Let me show you that from scripture.

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Turn to Mark's gospel, chapter 1 and verse

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14.

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00:13:07,300 --> 00:13:10,620
Now after that John was delivered up, Jesus

276
00:13:10,620 --> 00:13:13,480
came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God,

277
00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:16,180
and saying that time is fulfilled and the

278
00:13:16,180 --> 00:13:17,180
kingdom of God is at hand.

279
00:13:17,780 --> 00:13:19,800
Repent ye and believe in the gospel.

280
00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,400
He came and immediately exploded on the scene

281
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:25,120
and began to preach.

282
00:13:25,660 --> 00:13:28,980
Turn to Luke chapter 4 and verse 18.

283
00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:30,100
I'm going to give you quite a lot

284
00:13:30,100 --> 00:13:32,400
of scripture during this first session.

285
00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,220
The Lord has come to Nazareth where he

286
00:13:37,220 --> 00:13:37,960
was brought up.

287
00:13:38,540 --> 00:13:39,980
And as was his habit he went into

288
00:13:39,980 --> 00:13:43,340
the synagogue and as was the custom among

289
00:13:43,340 --> 00:13:46,340
the Jews, he stood to read.

290
00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:48,120
There was given unto him the book of

291
00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:48,800
the prophet Isaiah.

292
00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:50,300
He opened it and he began to read

293
00:13:50,300 --> 00:13:50,840
these words.

294
00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,700
It was the stunning beginning of his ministry.

295
00:13:53,820 --> 00:13:55,640
Six hundred years before these prophecies have been

296
00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:58,920
given, Jesus stands up in his home community

297
00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:03,060
and says that prophecy those years ago is

298
00:14:03,060 --> 00:14:05,980
beginning its fulfillment now.

299
00:14:07,060 --> 00:14:09,660
At this precise moment the spirit of the

300
00:14:09,660 --> 00:14:12,500
Lord is upon me, because he anointed me

301
00:14:12,500 --> 00:14:12,980
to preach.

302
00:14:14,060 --> 00:14:16,160
To preach good tidings to the poor.

303
00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,440
He sent me to proclaim release to the

304
00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:22,380
captives and to proclaim recovery of sight to

305
00:14:22,380 --> 00:14:24,360
the blind and to set at liberty those

306
00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,880
that are bruised and to proclaim the acceptable

307
00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:28,040
year of the Lord and so on.

308
00:14:29,500 --> 00:14:33,500
In Mark's gospel chapter 2 we see an

309
00:14:33,500 --> 00:14:34,640
interesting illustration of this.

310
00:14:35,420 --> 00:14:37,180
A paralyzed man is brought to Christ.

311
00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:39,720
Christ is sitting preaching in the house with

312
00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:40,400
the Pharisees.

313
00:14:40,700 --> 00:14:42,320
There's a scuffling and a scratching above.

314
00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:43,920
Bits of plaster start to fall.

315
00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:45,960
Daylight suddenly comes through the ceiling.

316
00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:47,700
Tiles are ripped up.

317
00:14:48,020 --> 00:14:49,420
There's a hole big enough for a man

318
00:14:49,420 --> 00:14:50,360
to be lowered through.

319
00:14:50,700 --> 00:14:51,840
And he's a paralyzed man.

320
00:14:51,940 --> 00:14:54,060
He's been brought by his friends.

321
00:14:55,260 --> 00:14:58,640
As people sat around the group, what was

322
00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:00,560
it they would have felt was the man's

323
00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:01,240
obvious need.

324
00:15:01,260 --> 00:15:02,780
The reason why he'd been brought to Jesus.

325
00:15:02,940 --> 00:15:03,860
Well obviously his paralysis.

326
00:15:08,220 --> 00:15:11,860
Jesus didn't deal with his paralysis first.

327
00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:17,620
Can you imagine the man, centuries later, in

328
00:15:17,620 --> 00:15:25,880
heaven, so grateful that Jesus didn't heal him

329
00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:27,300
first.

330
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:31,800
But he dealt with his sin first.

331
00:15:32,740 --> 00:15:35,580
Because if that man had been healed first,

332
00:15:35,700 --> 00:15:38,220
he might well have stood up and been

333
00:15:38,220 --> 00:15:40,380
grateful and looked around the group and then

334
00:15:40,380 --> 00:15:44,000
darted outside to test his newfound legs and

335
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,640
gone home and he'd have spent the rest

336
00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:46,500
of eternity in hell.

337
00:15:47,860 --> 00:15:49,700
Because his sin was not forgiven.

338
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,280
Jesus went to the root of his heart

339
00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:55,180
need, which was his sin.

340
00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:58,120
And preaching does that.

341
00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:03,380
Jesus gave the disciples around a demonstration that

342
00:16:03,380 --> 00:16:05,720
his priority was preaching.

343
00:16:06,380 --> 00:16:10,720
And his healing ministry was because of the

344
00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:11,680
compassion of his heart.

345
00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:14,820
It was because he wanted to buttress what

346
00:16:14,820 --> 00:16:16,900
he was going to say and illustrate what

347
00:16:16,900 --> 00:16:17,460
he was saying.

348
00:16:17,940 --> 00:16:22,000
He was responding as the creator to the

349
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:22,920
fall in man.

350
00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,460
But his primary purpose was to destroy the

351
00:16:26,460 --> 00:16:27,000
works of the devil.

352
00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:27,920
To preach.

353
00:16:29,220 --> 00:16:31,900
Turn to Mark 1 38 39.

354
00:16:33,460 --> 00:16:35,520
Mark 1 38 and 39.

355
00:16:36,660 --> 00:16:39,160
Jesus saith unto them, let us go on

356
00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:40,320
elsewhere into the next towns.

357
00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,260
He's got an enormous following already.

358
00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:44,180
But he's going on.

359
00:16:44,940 --> 00:16:46,800
Let us go into the next towns that

360
00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:48,260
I may preach there also.

361
00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:50,840
For to this end came I forth and

362
00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,180
he went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee

363
00:16:53,180 --> 00:16:55,900
preaching and casting out devils.

364
00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,580
They were bringing him from all over the

365
00:16:59,580 --> 00:16:59,980
area.

366
00:17:00,500 --> 00:17:02,880
The poor and the blind and the lame.

367
00:17:03,220 --> 00:17:04,560
And Jesus said I'm going to leave them.

368
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:08,700
I'm going on to preach.

369
00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:11,000
The son of God at work.

370
00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:17,480
In Luke's gospel chapter 4 and verse 43.

371
00:17:19,060 --> 00:17:21,920
Jesus said unto them I must preach the

372
00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:23,640
good tidings of the kingdom of God to

373
00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:24,940
the other cities also.

374
00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:30,950
For therefore was I sent the father and

375
00:17:30,950 --> 00:17:35,710
the son in communion within the trinity.

376
00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,180
There had been an agreement and Christ had

377
00:17:40,180 --> 00:17:43,460
placed himself willingly under the authority of the

378
00:17:43,460 --> 00:17:43,800
father.

379
00:17:44,700 --> 00:17:47,800
As the son that he was going to

380
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,360
go under orders to preach.

381
00:17:52,420 --> 00:17:54,260
The example of Christ is quite clear.

382
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,920
And Christ in his own testimony standing before

383
00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:02,620
Pilate in John 18 and verse 37.

384
00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:05,800
Pilate has said unto him are you then

385
00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:06,120
a king?

386
00:18:06,540 --> 00:18:08,260
Jesus answered you say that I'm a king.

387
00:18:08,660 --> 00:18:09,360
You've said it.

388
00:18:10,220 --> 00:18:12,380
To this end have I been born and

389
00:18:12,380 --> 00:18:13,900
to this end am I coming to the

390
00:18:13,900 --> 00:18:17,120
world that I should bear witness unto the

391
00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:17,480
truth.

392
00:18:18,780 --> 00:18:20,640
And everyone that is of the truth hears

393
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:21,200
my voice.

394
00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:24,140
So with a world to regain.

395
00:18:25,700 --> 00:18:28,820
With men and women to see redeemed.

396
00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,800
With the father's will to be done.

397
00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:33,740
Christ has come to preach.

398
00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:39,000
Day after day to preach the word of

399
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:39,660
his father.

400
00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:42,100
That's the first thing to notice.

401
00:18:42,620 --> 00:18:43,760
If we are to follow in the footsteps

402
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:45,680
of Christ we must have a high view

403
00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:46,060
of preaching.

404
00:18:46,580 --> 00:18:48,980
Secondly Christ produced a race of preachers.

405
00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:52,140
The people that followed him became preachers.

406
00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:54,700
They had that same sense of priority from

407
00:18:54,700 --> 00:18:55,280
the very beginning.

408
00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:57,120
Think of the apostles.

409
00:18:58,400 --> 00:18:59,660
In Acts chapter 6.

410
00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:01,660
The church is expanding.

411
00:19:02,220 --> 00:19:05,180
There are now hundreds of people.

412
00:19:05,220 --> 00:19:07,220
Little cell groups springing up all over the

413
00:19:07,220 --> 00:19:07,420
place.

414
00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:08,580
They're trying to teach the kids.

415
00:19:08,660 --> 00:19:10,960
They're coping with the economic upheavals that it's

416
00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:11,200
meaning.

417
00:19:11,900 --> 00:19:14,040
There are now widows and poor people in

418
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:14,580
the church.

419
00:19:15,380 --> 00:19:17,080
They've got social problems.

420
00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:20,160
And you know the way it is at

421
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:20,600
a conference.

422
00:19:22,060 --> 00:19:24,320
The person who appears in public very often

423
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:26,100
is the person that you think you can

424
00:19:26,100 --> 00:19:26,980
go to with your problems.

425
00:19:27,780 --> 00:19:29,780
The man who appears behind the microphone is

426
00:19:29,780 --> 00:19:31,380
the person you think immediately can deal with

427
00:19:31,380 --> 00:19:31,820
your problems.

428
00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:34,040
So if you've got problems of broken shoelaces

429
00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:36,620
or problems of kids or problems of the

430
00:19:36,620 --> 00:19:38,540
washing up not getting done in time or

431
00:19:38,540 --> 00:19:40,060
problems of your wife having got stuck in

432
00:19:40,060 --> 00:19:41,200
the lift between the third and the fourth

433
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:42,940
floor and she's been there a day or

434
00:19:42,940 --> 00:19:44,680
two and nothing seems to be happening about

435
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:44,860
it.

436
00:19:45,540 --> 00:19:47,720
You immediately go to the person who seems

437
00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:49,480
to be the public preacher teacher and you

438
00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:50,600
think that they can solve the thing.

439
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:52,160
This is why here in the conference we've

440
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:53,940
set up the apple desk you see to

441
00:19:53,940 --> 00:19:55,760
deal with wives stuck in lifts and dirty

442
00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:57,100
plates and so on like that.

443
00:19:58,860 --> 00:20:02,560
So that others amongst us can be free

444
00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,100
for the ministry of the word and of

445
00:20:05,100 --> 00:20:05,380
prayer.

446
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:07,860
Turn to act six and just see how

447
00:20:07,860 --> 00:20:09,060
the apostles put it.

448
00:20:09,340 --> 00:20:11,240
Because they've got Christ's sense of priorities.

449
00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:15,680
There's a multiplying of the disciples.

450
00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:17,600
There's a grumbling in the church.

451
00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:19,100
There's a racial tension.

452
00:20:19,660 --> 00:20:22,340
Some widows are feeling neglected in the daily

453
00:20:22,340 --> 00:20:24,980
allotment of of whatever was needed.

454
00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:28,600
And the twelve called the crowd together and

455
00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,260
said look it's not right that we should

456
00:20:31,260 --> 00:20:33,440
forsake the word of God to serve tables.

457
00:20:34,140 --> 00:20:37,320
Verse four we will continue steadfastly in prayer

458
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,100
and in the service of the word of

459
00:20:40,100 --> 00:20:40,380
God.

460
00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:42,660
That's what it means in the original.

461
00:20:43,580 --> 00:20:46,500
I'm called either to serve tables or to

462
00:20:46,500 --> 00:20:47,540
serve the word of God.

463
00:20:47,620 --> 00:20:48,760
I cannot serve both.

464
00:20:50,380 --> 00:20:52,680
And they said no we're going to serve

465
00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:53,280
the word of God.

466
00:20:54,340 --> 00:20:56,120
It was in fact what Christ had called

467
00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:56,480
them to.

468
00:20:56,780 --> 00:21:00,040
In Mark chapter three and verse 14.

469
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:02,700
He had called some disciples.

470
00:21:03,180 --> 00:21:04,420
One to be with him.

471
00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:07,920
Two that they should be sent out to

472
00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:08,360
preach.

473
00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,180
And three to have authority to cast out

474
00:21:12,180 --> 00:21:13,700
devils, demons.

475
00:21:15,380 --> 00:21:17,220
An order of priorities quite clear from the

476
00:21:17,220 --> 00:21:17,380
beginning.

477
00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:18,200
To be with Christ.

478
00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:19,480
To go and preach.

479
00:21:19,740 --> 00:21:21,760
To have authority over evil spirits.

480
00:21:22,660 --> 00:21:25,480
You remember when the apostles had been preaching

481
00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:26,820
in Acts chapter four.

482
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:28,420
And there was trouble.

483
00:21:28,580 --> 00:21:29,540
And the leaders had been called in.

484
00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:30,160
They'd been threatened.

485
00:21:30,300 --> 00:21:32,280
And you must not carry on doing this.

486
00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:33,840
And they'd stood and said look what are

487
00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:34,240
we going to do.

488
00:21:34,340 --> 00:21:35,800
We must obey God rather than men.

489
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:38,040
Evangelism was going on.

490
00:21:38,100 --> 00:21:39,040
It was meeting opposition.

491
00:21:39,220 --> 00:21:40,220
They gathered the church together.

492
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:40,940
What did they pray?

493
00:21:41,740 --> 00:21:42,720
They've already been beaten.

494
00:21:43,340 --> 00:21:45,280
They've already been threatened with imprisonment.

495
00:21:45,700 --> 00:21:48,500
There's a distinct possibility that the wrath of

496
00:21:48,500 --> 00:21:50,080
the whole nation will fall upon them and

497
00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:51,040
it will lead to death.

498
00:21:53,060 --> 00:21:55,560
Jews stirred up in anger like a hornet's

499
00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:55,840
nest.

500
00:21:57,120 --> 00:21:58,500
So they pray to God not for a

501
00:21:58,500 --> 00:21:59,080
quiet time.

502
00:21:59,620 --> 00:22:00,860
Not for a sort of way around the

503
00:22:00,860 --> 00:22:01,100
problem.

504
00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:04,960
But that they may have boldness to preach.

505
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:06,800
Because that's what God has called them to.

506
00:22:07,660 --> 00:22:10,600
Acts chapter four verses 29 to 31.

507
00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:13,760
So it was the heartbeat of men.

508
00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:18,160
The apostle Paul had the same thing.

509
00:22:18,900 --> 00:22:20,640
1 Corinthians 1 verse 17.

510
00:22:21,020 --> 00:22:22,320
He said I didn't come to baptize.

511
00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:24,960
I'm thankful that I baptize none of you.

512
00:22:25,020 --> 00:22:27,460
Save perhaps Crispus, Gaius, Stephanus, one or two

513
00:22:27,460 --> 00:22:28,140
people of you.

514
00:22:28,180 --> 00:22:28,900
I can't hardly remember.

515
00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:30,360
Because it wasn't my ministry.

516
00:22:30,740 --> 00:22:31,980
I came to preach.

517
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,140
Men and women are transformed through the foolishness

518
00:22:34,140 --> 00:22:36,200
of the preaching of the cross.

519
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:39,540
And when we come to the last words

520
00:22:39,540 --> 00:22:42,320
that we believe Paul penned.

521
00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:45,320
Scribbled down when he knew that sentence of

522
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:47,020
death was already passed upon him.

523
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:53,520
Paul was executed we believe sometime in the

524
00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:54,640
late 60s.

525
00:22:55,200 --> 00:23:01,140
It was around about 68 maybe that Nero

526
00:23:01,140 --> 00:23:02,620
died.

527
00:23:02,780 --> 00:23:04,180
He died in the June of 68 I

528
00:23:04,180 --> 00:23:04,540
believe.

529
00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,300
Perhaps he wrote the second epistle to Timothy

530
00:23:08,300 --> 00:23:11,240
from the prison the closing autumn.

531
00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:13,880
He's asking for extra clothes you see.

532
00:23:14,700 --> 00:23:17,140
Because he's cold in that jail in Rome.

533
00:23:18,380 --> 00:23:21,300
And he's writing passing on the charge that

534
00:23:21,300 --> 00:23:23,880
Paul that he's been given by Christ.

535
00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:25,140
Passing it on to young Timothy.

536
00:23:25,940 --> 00:23:28,380
Now look he says time is coming when

537
00:23:28,380 --> 00:23:30,060
people don't want to hear good teaching.

538
00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:31,980
They're not interested in sound doctrine.

539
00:23:32,100 --> 00:23:34,600
They get bored in meetings where the doctrine

540
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:36,800
of the scriptures of God are being proclaimed.

541
00:23:38,060 --> 00:23:39,380
They they won't endure it.

542
00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:40,500
They have itching ears.

543
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:42,120
They want new things.

544
00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:43,800
What are you to do Timothy?

545
00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:47,260
I'm I'll be gone within maybe weeks now.

546
00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,380
To Timothy chapter 4 preach God's word.

547
00:23:53,820 --> 00:23:56,320
Preach the word be instant in season and

548
00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:56,980
out of season.

549
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:00,800
Reprove that's one ministry of the word.

550
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:01,880
Rebuke that's another.

551
00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:03,040
Exhort that's another.

552
00:24:03,500 --> 00:24:06,560
With long suffering and teaching that's your own

553
00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:07,380
character growth.

554
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:09,540
For the time will come when they won't

555
00:24:09,540 --> 00:24:10,560
endure the sound doctrine.

556
00:24:10,980 --> 00:24:13,200
But having itching ears will heap to themselves

557
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:15,320
teachers after their own lusts.

558
00:24:15,340 --> 00:24:16,060
What are you going to do?

559
00:24:18,140 --> 00:24:19,800
You just carry on preaching and teaching the

560
00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:20,120
word of God.

561
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:21,720
You know it is a it is a

562
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,980
fact that in many churches around the world

563
00:24:24,980 --> 00:24:27,780
people have become gradually and increasingly disinterested in

564
00:24:27,780 --> 00:24:28,000
scripture.

565
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:31,740
And I have had the experience I remember

566
00:24:31,740 --> 00:24:33,500
a very clear case of it in a

567
00:24:33,500 --> 00:24:34,500
meeting I was in Nigeria.

568
00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:35,960
I don't know Don whether you ever remember

569
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:37,100
something the same in Nigeria.

570
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,400
Um we I was there speaking in this

571
00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:42,420
Pax church.

572
00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:45,000
And it was a wild meeting.

573
00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:47,580
They got worked up and there was dancing

574
00:24:47,580 --> 00:24:49,120
and there was drums and there was a

575
00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:51,520
dance leader and his job was to sway

576
00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:53,100
and gyrate in front of the choir.

577
00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:55,660
To get the choir moving in time you

578
00:24:55,660 --> 00:24:55,820
see.

579
00:24:56,300 --> 00:24:58,420
And people were really getting going and there

580
00:24:58,420 --> 00:25:00,960
was tambourines and and it was quite breathless

581
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,560
and and the noise was enormous.

582
00:25:04,420 --> 00:25:08,080
And the minister of this church large man

583
00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,960
in flowing robes had no hope of gaining

584
00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:15,080
control of the congregation in in full flow

585
00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,360
without a great big bell like a school

586
00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:17,680
bell.

587
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:21,300
And when he wanted to say something or

588
00:25:21,300 --> 00:25:23,620
he wanted to lead in prayer suddenly or

589
00:25:23,620 --> 00:25:25,720
he used to ring this enormous bell and

590
00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:27,120
after a bit they would get quiet you

591
00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:27,280
see.

592
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,120
And when he finally decided that well the

593
00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:31,420
guest preacher was here so we better let

594
00:25:31,420 --> 00:25:32,000
him say something.

595
00:25:32,340 --> 00:25:34,880
He rang his bell and people eventually sort

596
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,600
of simmered down and shut up.

597
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:39,980
And then it was the time for preaching.

598
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:42,860
Now the preaching must have been appallingly bad

599
00:25:42,860 --> 00:25:44,580
I presume because they weren't interested.

600
00:25:44,700 --> 00:25:45,740
They all went to sleep.

601
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:48,360
When you sort of open the word of

602
00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:50,740
God and they like that.

603
00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,900
It happens that people lose their interest in

604
00:25:55,900 --> 00:26:00,040
scripture because they get addicted maybe to something

605
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:00,480
else.

606
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:02,540
To the personality of the preacher maybe.

607
00:26:04,900 --> 00:26:08,340
Or to the the musical experience that they

608
00:26:08,340 --> 00:26:08,820
expect.

609
00:26:10,730 --> 00:26:13,270
Or to the fellowship that they're enjoying.

610
00:26:13,410 --> 00:26:14,670
This very often happens among some of the

611
00:26:14,670 --> 00:26:15,050
younger people.

612
00:26:15,150 --> 00:26:16,030
You know they like to come and sit

613
00:26:16,030 --> 00:26:16,790
beside their friends.

614
00:26:16,970 --> 00:26:18,110
They've got the group they can whisper.

615
00:26:18,250 --> 00:26:19,050
They can pass chewing gum.

616
00:26:19,210 --> 00:26:20,070
They get with their friends.

617
00:26:20,290 --> 00:26:21,730
The fact that something is going on up

618
00:26:21,730 --> 00:26:23,150
at the front really isn't too important.

619
00:26:23,870 --> 00:26:24,950
Because they like being there.

620
00:26:24,990 --> 00:26:26,050
It's entirely a social thing.

621
00:26:26,950 --> 00:26:29,410
The church can be like a a Derby

622
00:26:29,410 --> 00:26:30,650
and Joan club sometimes.

623
00:26:30,770 --> 00:26:31,670
I don't know whether you have these things

624
00:26:31,670 --> 00:26:32,490
in other parts of the world.

625
00:26:32,550 --> 00:26:34,750
You know the sort of old people's little

626
00:26:34,750 --> 00:26:35,930
nice meeting place.

627
00:26:37,470 --> 00:26:39,810
And the preaching of God's word is really

628
00:26:39,810 --> 00:26:40,410
rather irrelevant.

629
00:26:41,630 --> 00:26:43,350
And it is very difficult to come into

630
00:26:43,350 --> 00:26:46,950
that setup and and begin to minister there.

631
00:26:47,010 --> 00:26:48,290
Your early days are tough.

632
00:26:48,670 --> 00:26:51,510
But you will always find that as you

633
00:26:51,510 --> 00:26:54,270
preach God's word faithfully you will lose a

634
00:26:54,270 --> 00:26:56,410
few and then people will begin to come.

635
00:26:57,510 --> 00:27:00,110
People will begin to respond to what you

636
00:27:00,110 --> 00:27:00,550
are saying.

637
00:27:00,670 --> 00:27:02,670
I'll come back to this later on.

638
00:27:04,050 --> 00:27:06,790
Paul's advice to Timothy was preach the word

639
00:27:06,790 --> 00:27:07,670
nonetheless whatever's happening.

640
00:27:08,670 --> 00:27:10,930
And then thirdly my third reason why we

641
00:27:10,930 --> 00:27:15,430
should highly esteem the preaching of scripture is

642
00:27:15,430 --> 00:27:16,190
church history.

643
00:27:17,290 --> 00:27:18,130
Read church history.

644
00:27:18,250 --> 00:27:20,190
I'll come back to this more tomorrow when

645
00:27:20,190 --> 00:27:23,290
we talk about the leader and his reading

646
00:27:23,290 --> 00:27:26,790
the preacher and his study and so on.

647
00:27:27,570 --> 00:27:30,390
But it has been the history even of

648
00:27:30,390 --> 00:27:32,950
the pre-reformation renewal movements.

649
00:27:33,650 --> 00:27:38,130
John Wycliffe in Britain, Jan Hus in Czechoslovakia

650
00:27:38,130 --> 00:27:40,730
if I pronounce him right, that the Dominicans,

651
00:27:41,150 --> 00:27:44,290
the Franciscans, these were renewal movements within Roman

652
00:27:44,290 --> 00:27:47,810
Catholicism in the 12th century, in the 13th

653
00:27:47,810 --> 00:27:48,190
century.

654
00:27:48,410 --> 00:27:50,370
Do you know the result every time was

655
00:27:50,370 --> 00:27:50,970
back to preaching?

656
00:27:52,670 --> 00:27:54,710
Francis of Assisi was a preacher.

657
00:27:55,950 --> 00:27:56,950
He was also a hippie.

658
00:27:57,990 --> 00:27:59,730
He was a 12th century hippie.

659
00:27:59,790 --> 00:28:01,010
He was the most extraordinary man.

660
00:28:02,650 --> 00:28:04,690
And if things had been allowed to go

661
00:28:04,690 --> 00:28:07,150
their course he would have led a movement

662
00:28:07,150 --> 00:28:08,430
right out of the church of Rome.

663
00:28:09,850 --> 00:28:12,010
But he was persuaded back in by a

664
00:28:12,010 --> 00:28:14,570
wily old cardinal who came down from Rome.

665
00:28:15,290 --> 00:28:15,910
He was a preacher.

666
00:28:16,910 --> 00:28:20,230
And in Britain Wycliffe was preaching God's word

667
00:28:20,230 --> 00:28:20,670
to people.

668
00:28:21,810 --> 00:28:22,950
People became interested in preaching.

669
00:28:23,290 --> 00:28:27,670
The reformation in the 16th century in Europe,

670
00:28:27,750 --> 00:28:29,470
I mean it hasn't hit all parts of

671
00:28:29,470 --> 00:28:29,890
Europe yet.

672
00:28:29,950 --> 00:28:31,950
We've never really seen the reformation in Spain.

673
00:28:32,450 --> 00:28:34,050
We've never really seen it in parts of

674
00:28:34,050 --> 00:28:34,890
Western Ireland yet.

675
00:28:35,370 --> 00:28:37,810
But the beginnings of it certainly in Germany,

676
00:28:38,010 --> 00:28:41,510
in Switzerland, in parts of France, up here

677
00:28:41,510 --> 00:28:42,390
around this area.

678
00:28:42,630 --> 00:28:45,470
This was a tremendously Christian evangelical area you

679
00:28:45,470 --> 00:28:46,370
know 400 years ago.

680
00:28:46,990 --> 00:28:48,770
Up until the 1570s.

681
00:28:50,110 --> 00:28:51,550
Then the opposition began to come.

682
00:28:52,290 --> 00:28:53,910
I wish some of us could go and

683
00:28:53,910 --> 00:28:57,110
see the place where Tyndale was burnt at

684
00:28:57,110 --> 00:28:58,630
Villefort just not far away.

685
00:28:59,470 --> 00:29:01,650
He was he was an amazing man.

686
00:29:02,490 --> 00:29:06,530
But the reformation brought the Bible and preaching

687
00:29:06,530 --> 00:29:08,690
back to the to the fore.

688
00:29:09,210 --> 00:29:11,230
Zwingli and Calvin and these men.

689
00:29:11,650 --> 00:29:13,790
You know what Luther said at one point

690
00:29:13,790 --> 00:29:15,730
one point some of you will love this

691
00:29:15,730 --> 00:29:16,790
others may not so much.

692
00:29:17,250 --> 00:29:21,670
He said I simply taught, I preached, I

693
00:29:21,670 --> 00:29:24,130
wrote God's word otherwise I did nothing.

694
00:29:24,850 --> 00:29:28,870
And when while I slept or drank Wittenberg

695
00:29:28,870 --> 00:29:33,450
beer with my my Philip and my Amsdorff.

696
00:29:33,550 --> 00:29:37,470
These were were two German princes who became

697
00:29:37,470 --> 00:29:38,510
Christian and supported him.

698
00:29:38,570 --> 00:29:40,910
He drank beer with with Philip and Amsdorff.

699
00:29:41,410 --> 00:29:45,950
The word so greatly weakened the papacy that

700
00:29:45,950 --> 00:29:49,050
never a prince or emperor inflicted such damage

701
00:29:49,050 --> 00:29:49,390
upon it.

702
00:29:49,470 --> 00:29:49,970
I did nothing.

703
00:29:50,650 --> 00:29:51,750
The word did it all.

704
00:29:51,790 --> 00:29:52,290
I like that.

705
00:29:52,810 --> 00:29:54,650
The thought of preaching the word and then

706
00:29:54,650 --> 00:30:00,810
going having a a little refreshment somewhere.

707
00:30:01,670 --> 00:30:11,800
While the word does its work the

708
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,000
revivals in the 18th and 19th century show

709
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:16,120
exactly the same thing you know.

710
00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:20,120
The whole fabric of British society was changed

711
00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:22,180
through the preaching of men like Whitfield and

712
00:30:22,180 --> 00:30:23,980
Wesley and Harris and so on.

713
00:30:25,580 --> 00:30:30,360
Unpaid unrecognized adventurers more often than not pelted

714
00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:31,120
with rotten eggs.

715
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:33,880
Read Wesley's diaries it's so fascinating.

716
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:35,560
The things that used to happen the men

717
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:36,740
that used to come to his meetings with

718
00:30:36,740 --> 00:30:39,220
pockets loaded with with bad eggs and tomatoes

719
00:30:39,220 --> 00:30:42,740
and Wesley used to have a a friend

720
00:30:42,740 --> 00:30:46,220
who used to walk amongst the crowd unknown

721
00:30:46,220 --> 00:30:49,120
a sort of incognito friend and if he

722
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:52,220
saw someone waiting there with with pockets full

723
00:30:52,220 --> 00:30:53,500
of rotten eggs he would sort of lean

724
00:30:53,500 --> 00:30:54,920
up against him and crush the eggs in

725
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:55,420
his pocket.

726
00:30:56,820 --> 00:30:59,200
So that nothing got thrown at Wesley but

727
00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:01,480
it all dribbled down the man's trouser legs.

728
00:31:05,350 --> 00:31:09,850
These men stood on I can hardly go

729
00:31:09,850 --> 00:31:12,150
through the villages of England and see these

730
00:31:12,150 --> 00:31:17,710
little stone market crosses weather-beaten places without

731
00:31:17,710 --> 00:31:19,530
thinking of very often Wesley.

732
00:31:19,950 --> 00:31:21,550
If you track down in in his diaries

733
00:31:21,550 --> 00:31:23,570
these men stood on these crosses and they

734
00:31:23,570 --> 00:31:26,770
preached God's word and they changed the face

735
00:31:26,770 --> 00:31:30,880
of the country and throughout the 19th century

736
00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:36,940
tremendous revival movements when London was expanding at

737
00:31:36,940 --> 00:31:40,700
the time of Spurgeon in the Metropolitan Tabernacle

738
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:44,600
and Baptist churches were being built all over

739
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:48,580
the now downtown suburbs of London.

740
00:31:49,700 --> 00:31:51,560
There was a movement of God among people

741
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,820
through the preaching of the word and the

742
00:31:54,820 --> 00:31:57,540
revivals that sprang up in Northern Ireland in

743
00:31:57,540 --> 00:32:00,680
1859 and in some parts of Scotland and

744
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:03,240
and so on through the preaching of God's

745
00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:03,380
word.

746
00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:03,940
You had a question?

747
00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:25,780
The question that's been asked is it involves

748
00:32:25,780 --> 00:32:27,960
a comparison between some parts of the world

749
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,840
where it seems easy to gather a crowd

750
00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:34,600
to listen to preaching and Europe where if

751
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:36,960
you stand in the streets and preach at

752
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:39,620
any rate that people don't stop to listen?

753
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,360
Very fair question but I think it has

754
00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:47,960
something to do more with the culture and

755
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:51,740
the weather and the busyness of people and

756
00:32:51,740 --> 00:32:54,640
the things that make people embarrassed in society

757
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:57,840
than the preaching necessary.

758
00:32:58,580 --> 00:33:01,100
You see when Wesley was preaching there was

759
00:33:01,100 --> 00:33:04,120
no television there was less rush in society.

760
00:33:04,860 --> 00:33:08,460
Preachers still retained their role in society as

761
00:33:08,460 --> 00:33:09,800
the bringer of news.

762
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,100
There was no telephone the roads were still

763
00:33:12,100 --> 00:33:15,220
bad no canals or railways have been built

764
00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:18,920
and a preacher coming in was interesting if

765
00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:21,360
your world was bounded by quite a narrow

766
00:33:22,020 --> 00:33:22,660
horizon.

767
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:25,520
Now in India you go preach in the

768
00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:27,620
streets you can have a crowd in many

769
00:33:27,620 --> 00:33:30,220
places of 100 200 300 within five or

770
00:33:30,220 --> 00:33:30,720
10 minutes.

771
00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:33,520
I've done it five or six times a

772
00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:36,640
day over some years because it's it's hot

773
00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:38,940
weather people live in the streets and anything

774
00:33:38,940 --> 00:33:40,720
that's interesting that takes you away from the

775
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:42,620
labors in the fields well it's it's good

776
00:33:42,620 --> 00:33:43,540
stand and watch and listen.

777
00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,780
Not so now in in Europe where it's

778
00:33:46,780 --> 00:33:48,480
often cold the weather's bad and so on

779
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:52,700
but my claim would be that where you

780
00:33:52,700 --> 00:33:57,720
are prepared um in a a building or

781
00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,420
in a lecture theater to consistently preach the

782
00:34:01,420 --> 00:34:04,380
word of God in in an imaginative lively

783
00:34:04,380 --> 00:34:08,080
relevant prayerful way you will gather a crowd.

784
00:34:09,340 --> 00:34:10,860
You will gather a crowd.

785
00:34:10,980 --> 00:34:14,620
I've seen this in university meetings preaching the

786
00:34:14,620 --> 00:34:14,920
gospel.

787
00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:17,159
I would go into a secular university in

788
00:34:17,159 --> 00:34:21,820
Britain where nowadays we're dealing with people who

789
00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:26,940
um are amoral post-christian society they know

790
00:34:26,940 --> 00:34:28,820
practically nothing about the bible but it's night

791
00:34:28,820 --> 00:34:32,900
after night consistently you preach God's truth from

792
00:34:32,900 --> 00:34:35,500
God's word holding it up before them telling

793
00:34:35,500 --> 00:34:37,960
them what it says asking them what they

794
00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:39,500
believe about what Christ says.

795
00:34:40,100 --> 00:34:42,080
Night after night you'll notice an interesting thing

796
00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,260
the crowd begins to build up and most

797
00:34:45,260 --> 00:34:47,060
of the missions that I've been involved in

798
00:34:47,060 --> 00:34:48,980
over the last few years will finish up

799
00:34:48,980 --> 00:34:51,280
at the end of only six days with

800
00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:55,260
the largest lecture theater in the university packed

801
00:34:55,260 --> 00:34:57,340
to overflowing people sitting on the windows or

802
00:34:57,340 --> 00:34:59,560
sitting on the floors in the aisles to

803
00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:02,140
listen to the preaching of God's word.

804
00:35:04,090 --> 00:35:06,710
Now I've also preached out in the streets

805
00:35:06,710 --> 00:35:08,290
in Britain.

806
00:35:08,670 --> 00:35:11,230
I can remember getting back from India in

807
00:35:11,230 --> 00:35:14,170
1971 and I stood with George Verwer in

808
00:35:14,170 --> 00:35:19,250
in Bromley high street in London and I

809
00:35:19,250 --> 00:35:23,230
preached my heart out for 20 minutes to

810
00:35:23,230 --> 00:35:30,270
two children a policeman and a cat and

811
00:35:30,270 --> 00:35:33,310
then and then George who'd said you go

812
00:35:33,310 --> 00:35:37,250
first said said come on let's not bother

813
00:35:37,250 --> 00:35:38,370
with this anymore I think you gave them

814
00:35:38,370 --> 00:35:40,050
enough of the truth let's go somewhere else

815
00:35:40,050 --> 00:35:42,210
and I think we went down into a

816
00:35:42,210 --> 00:35:45,470
pizza house and um had some pizza and

817
00:35:45,470 --> 00:35:48,330
did the cat come through I'm not I'm

818
00:35:48,330 --> 00:35:54,140
not sure um but it is true that

819
00:35:54,140 --> 00:35:55,860
people do gather to to hear the word

820
00:35:55,860 --> 00:35:59,940
of God um one of the I think

821
00:35:59,940 --> 00:36:01,540
the most interesting book I've read in the

822
00:36:01,540 --> 00:36:04,720
last uh few months has been the first

823
00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:07,440
volume of the life story of Martin Lloyd

824
00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:07,840
-Jones.

825
00:36:08,860 --> 00:36:11,120
It's a yellow book it's it's in hardback

826
00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:12,760
I've not seen it in paperback it's printed

827
00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:16,140
by um Banner of Truth and I can't

828
00:36:16,140 --> 00:36:17,740
even for the moment remember the title can

829
00:36:17,740 --> 00:36:21,400
somebody remind me the first 40 years the

830
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:26,180
first 40 years it is it is well

831
00:36:26,180 --> 00:36:27,460
the best book I've read for a long

832
00:36:27,460 --> 00:36:27,840
time.

833
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:32,420
Martin Lloyd-Jones um resigned from his medical

834
00:36:32,420 --> 00:36:34,600
career in London he was headed for the

835
00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:38,720
top he was already the personal assistant to

836
00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:44,000
um the leading physician in the 1920s Thomas

837
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:47,360
Hoarder I think was his name uh he

838
00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:50,960
was a lecturer a professor he was um

839
00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,720
physician to royalty and Lloyd-Jones was his

840
00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:58,620
personal assistant gave it all up and he

841
00:36:58,620 --> 00:37:02,220
took over a little downtown mission in a

842
00:37:02,220 --> 00:37:05,960
place called Aberavon down in Wales it's a

843
00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:08,800
a small town adjacent to a mining area

844
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:12,240
and not far from um the sandy shores

845
00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:16,400
of the South Wales peninsula took his wife

846
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:20,140
down there began to preach a lot of

847
00:37:20,140 --> 00:37:21,760
the people were unemployed there was no money

848
00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:24,560
they were backward many couldn't read the church

849
00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:29,060
in that area um had really been been

850
00:37:29,060 --> 00:37:31,160
dead since the days of the revival the

851
00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:35,740
Welsh revival in 1904-1905 degenerated in a

852
00:37:35,740 --> 00:37:40,320
lot of singing there was very little consistent

853
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:45,360
teaching from scriptures in that revival and it

854
00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:47,780
was as if God took Lloyd-Jones into

855
00:37:47,780 --> 00:37:53,420
that area to to bring scripture to build

856
00:37:53,420 --> 00:37:55,440
up the foundations of what had been started

857
00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:57,820
he started with just a handful of people

858
00:37:57,820 --> 00:37:59,880
and the numbers grew and grew and grew

859
00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:02,140
and all he would do would be expound

860
00:38:02,140 --> 00:38:07,320
passages from scripture he would have a men's

861
00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,180
meeting on either a Wednesday or Saturday night

862
00:38:10,180 --> 00:38:12,980
no women allowed the men come together in

863
00:38:12,980 --> 00:38:16,780
the church to discuss to argue to debate

864
00:38:16,780 --> 00:38:21,060
he was digging scripture into this this congregation

865
00:38:21,060 --> 00:38:24,900
large numbers of of unemployed men from a

866
00:38:24,900 --> 00:38:29,000
terrible background totally transformed simply through the regular

867
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:32,400
preaching of God's word he was getting hundreds

868
00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:35,380
in the meetings eventually he was um led

869
00:38:35,380 --> 00:38:36,820
of God to come to the Westminster chapel

870
00:38:36,820 --> 00:38:39,200
in London between two and three thousand people

871
00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:42,520
hearing him at a service simply through the

872
00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,180
exposition of God's word you get the same

873
00:38:45,180 --> 00:38:48,680
now in Aberdeen um a brother by the

874
00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:52,360
name of Willie Still packs his church simply

875
00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:57,320
through the systematic exposition of scripture around Britain

876
00:38:57,320 --> 00:38:59,080
the country I know best and it's true

877
00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:01,520
also in other parts of the world the

878
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:06,830
men who regularly teach God's word they will

879
00:39:06,830 --> 00:39:10,890
draw a crowd this last February the Reverend

880
00:39:10,890 --> 00:39:13,370
Dick Lucas was asked to lead a mission

881
00:39:13,370 --> 00:39:18,470
in Cambridge University 9,000 students quite a

882
00:39:18,470 --> 00:39:20,770
strong Christian union it's actually supposed to be

883
00:39:20,770 --> 00:39:23,270
the second strongest in the world but they

884
00:39:23,270 --> 00:39:25,030
only have about 400 at a Saturday night

885
00:39:25,030 --> 00:39:26,990
meeting Dick Lucas said I'm not going to

886
00:39:26,990 --> 00:39:28,610
come and preach the gospel in the way

887
00:39:28,610 --> 00:39:30,030
that you have been used to hearing it

888
00:39:30,030 --> 00:39:32,450
preached I'm not going to take the topic

889
00:39:32,450 --> 00:39:34,490
of God on a Monday night and sin

890
00:39:34,490 --> 00:39:36,850
on a Tuesday and and the purpose of

891
00:39:36,850 --> 00:39:38,370
life on a Wednesday and the cross on

892
00:39:38,370 --> 00:39:40,290
Thursday and the resurrection on Friday and the

893
00:39:40,290 --> 00:39:42,010
second coming on Saturday or something I'm going

894
00:39:42,010 --> 00:39:44,990
to expound Mark's gospel and I'm not going

895
00:39:44,990 --> 00:39:48,190
to make any appeals either I'm simply going

896
00:39:48,190 --> 00:39:51,370
to expound Mark's gospel night after night are

897
00:39:51,370 --> 00:39:53,050
you willing to have me come and do

898
00:39:53,050 --> 00:39:54,750
that because if you're not then I won't

899
00:39:54,750 --> 00:39:59,970
come and they they were brave enough and

900
00:39:59,970 --> 00:40:01,410
so he stood up in the guild hall

901
00:40:01,410 --> 00:40:04,490
which holds about a thousand and he began

902
00:40:04,490 --> 00:40:06,130
with Mark chapter one on a Monday night

903
00:40:06,130 --> 00:40:09,050
and preached it through and then a bit

904
00:40:09,050 --> 00:40:11,030
more on Tuesday night Wednesday night and Thursday

905
00:40:11,030 --> 00:40:13,970
night very soon the place was packed and

906
00:40:13,970 --> 00:40:15,270
on the final night he said well on

907
00:40:15,270 --> 00:40:17,210
Saturday we're going to have an after meeting

908
00:40:18,570 --> 00:40:19,950
those of you who feel you want to

909
00:40:19,950 --> 00:40:24,010
become Christians who want to follow the Christ

910
00:40:24,630 --> 00:40:26,770
that has come alive to us from Mark's

911
00:40:26,770 --> 00:40:28,070
gospel I want you to come back for

912
00:40:28,070 --> 00:40:31,750
an extra meeting between eight and nine hundred

913
00:40:31,750 --> 00:40:38,480
came ordinary students the Christians who were belonging

914
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:39,680
to the Christian union they were not supposed

915
00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:40,980
to be there these were people who had

916
00:40:40,980 --> 00:40:43,840
been touched by the systematic exposition of God's

917
00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:47,460
word I've noticed in my own experience far

918
00:40:47,460 --> 00:40:50,180
smaller by comparison that when I hold up

919
00:40:50,180 --> 00:40:52,540
the gospel of John shall we say and

920
00:40:52,540 --> 00:40:55,040
read them what it says and take my

921
00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:59,240
points visibly from a scripture the modern student

922
00:40:59,240 --> 00:41:04,780
pays attention because he hasn't met God's words

923
00:41:04,780 --> 00:41:08,660
in primary school or at home I've tried

924
00:41:08,660 --> 00:41:10,880
in my days as a school teacher at

925
00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:13,600
teaching a bit of Mark in a religious

926
00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:15,620
instruction class I was taking they didn't know

927
00:41:15,620 --> 00:41:17,340
anything about the resurrection they didn't know where

928
00:41:17,340 --> 00:41:18,600
Mark was didn't know whether it was old

929
00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:21,100
or New Testament didn't know a thing about

930
00:41:21,100 --> 00:41:24,500
the thing that we would take for granted

931
00:41:24,500 --> 00:41:26,800
the whole of the gospel story they were

932
00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:28,920
15 year old 16 year old South London

933
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:30,700
school boys in a good school some of

934
00:41:30,700 --> 00:41:31,780
them were going to go on to university

935
00:41:31,780 --> 00:41:34,580
and yet they were gripped and fascinated by

936
00:41:34,580 --> 00:41:36,140
God's words we need to let it loose

937
00:41:36,140 --> 00:41:38,500
and and trust God to speak now I

938
00:41:38,500 --> 00:41:41,220
want to urge you if you have the

939
00:41:41,220 --> 00:41:44,260
courage nowadays to be the men and the

940
00:41:44,260 --> 00:41:47,340
women who will proclaim God's word very easy

941
00:41:47,340 --> 00:41:50,040
to think that you have to bring all

942
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:55,900
kinds of lurid illustrations exciting stories reminiscences red

943
00:41:55,900 --> 00:41:58,740
hot imitations of some fiery preacher that you

944
00:41:58,740 --> 00:42:01,020
may have heard and there's very little biblical

945
00:42:01,020 --> 00:42:03,440
content in what you beware because it is

946
00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:05,220
scripture in the long run that changes people

947
00:42:05,220 --> 00:42:08,360
the impact of a man's personality alone wears

948
00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:09,640
off within a day or two it is

949
00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:12,080
God's word as God brings revelation to the

950
00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:15,660
heart that actually changes I wouldn't mind betting

951
00:42:15,660 --> 00:42:17,200
if I was that sort of a man

952
00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:19,260
some of you have been around our end

953
00:42:19,260 --> 00:42:21,240
for many years you look back over conferences

954
00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:23,100
uh years gone by some of the most

955
00:42:23,100 --> 00:42:25,920
memorable messages that you ever heard have been

956
00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:31,200
scripture expounding God's word faithfully preached now I

957
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:32,600
don't know whether I'm touching on what Noel

958
00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:36,020
was was hinting at but we sometimes feel

959
00:42:36,020 --> 00:42:38,380
that for a meeting to have impact for

960
00:42:38,380 --> 00:42:40,200
God you've got to create the right atmosphere

961
00:42:40,200 --> 00:42:41,660
you've got to have the right sort of

962
00:42:41,660 --> 00:42:45,580
musical accompaniment the right sort of worship you

963
00:42:45,580 --> 00:42:47,920
need visual aids and drama and dancing and

964
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:49,540
so on now these things have their place

965
00:42:49,540 --> 00:42:51,240
but in the long run my friends lives

966
00:42:51,240 --> 00:42:53,440
will be changed by the preaching of God's

967
00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:56,480
word I've never known anyone converted by seeing

968
00:42:56,480 --> 00:42:59,440
someone dance beautifully I've never known anyone converted

969
00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:02,700
by simply seeing a drama the drama will

970
00:43:02,700 --> 00:43:06,760
need to be buttressed by God's word preached

971
00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,120
authoritatively now why is this let me come

972
00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:13,020
forthly to what I'll call the the theology

973
00:43:13,020 --> 00:43:17,300
of preaching we've talked about Christ our example

974
00:43:17,300 --> 00:43:21,320
we've talked about the apostles whom he produced

975
00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:23,800
the lessons of history and now the theology

976
00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:27,960
of preaching point number one God is a

977
00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:33,780
communicator in words God uses language Genesis chapter

978
00:43:33,780 --> 00:43:36,120
one perhaps the first activity that we see

979
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:39,980
God doing is God speaking the trinity is

980
00:43:39,980 --> 00:43:46,180
a communicative expressive fellowship of three and language

981
00:43:46,180 --> 00:43:52,240
is used within the Godhead let us make

982
00:43:52,240 --> 00:43:56,400
man in our own image says God God

983
00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:59,640
says let there be light and there was

984
00:43:59,640 --> 00:44:05,540
light God is a communicating being and man

985
00:44:05,540 --> 00:44:08,240
has been given language as one of the

986
00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:13,300
highest gifts that that he possesses do you

987
00:44:13,300 --> 00:44:15,500
know that do you honestly recognize that because

988
00:44:15,500 --> 00:44:18,540
you're made in the image of God language

989
00:44:18,540 --> 00:44:21,260
is one of the highest things that you

990
00:44:21,260 --> 00:44:24,840
possess now think of Genesis chapter two there's

991
00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:27,700
man been created but he's alone he's lonely

992
00:44:27,700 --> 00:44:29,720
he hasn't got anyone to talk to there's

993
00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:31,060
nobody to sort of help him and be

994
00:44:31,060 --> 00:44:36,380
a communicating friend for his heart he needs

995
00:44:36,380 --> 00:44:38,360
a wife says God so he brings him

996
00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:40,380
a hippopotamus have a look at the hippopotamus

997
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:44,200
comes in no no good brings him a

998
00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:46,260
monkey brings him a giraffe brings him a

999
00:44:46,260 --> 00:44:50,520
water buffalo brings him a warthog all kinds

1000
00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:53,460
of thing no good too dirty too noisy

1001
00:44:53,460 --> 00:44:56,980
uh you know giraffes too high if you

1002
00:44:56,980 --> 00:45:00,680
feel like a good night kiss need a

1003
00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:02,160
ladder to get up there all kinds of

1004
00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:07,700
problems the big problem was no language now

1005
00:45:07,700 --> 00:45:10,740
some of you some of you are married

1006
00:45:10,740 --> 00:45:13,380
some of you are going to be married

1007
00:45:14,800 --> 00:45:17,940
do you really let the message of Genesis

1008
00:45:17,940 --> 00:45:21,000
2 sink into your life because when God

1009
00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,520
is speaking about language he's talking about marriage

1010
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:26,820
relationships and we know throughout scripture that the

1011
00:45:26,820 --> 00:45:30,100
marriage relationship is itself to be a picture

1012
00:45:30,100 --> 00:45:33,180
of a higher dimension of relationship between us

1013
00:45:33,180 --> 00:45:37,400
and God in Genesis chapter 12 God proposes

1014
00:45:37,400 --> 00:45:41,480
marriage to Abraham have you heard that in

1015
00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:42,880
the first two or three verses of Genesis

1016
00:45:42,880 --> 00:45:46,200
12 God proposing marriage he says now Abraham

1017
00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:49,380
will you be willing to come with me

1018
00:45:49,380 --> 00:45:50,940
for the rest of your life leave your

1019
00:45:50,940 --> 00:45:54,240
home come with me to my home he

1020
00:45:54,240 --> 00:45:56,000
started looking for the city that had foundations

1021
00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:00,160
the most important thing is your communication because

1022
00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:02,760
you have been made to speak therefore when

1023
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:04,980
Christ comes he comes as the word he

1024
00:46:04,980 --> 00:46:07,780
comes to speak God is a communicator we

1025
00:46:07,780 --> 00:46:10,320
are made to communicate last December we had

1026
00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:12,060
in in an old people's home that i

1027
00:46:12,060 --> 00:46:15,120
know in London a very strange incident it

1028
00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:16,540
was one of these old people's homes where

1029
00:46:16,540 --> 00:46:18,680
you know the folk have got perhaps nowhere

1030
00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:20,080
else to live and so they they gather

1031
00:46:20,080 --> 00:46:21,740
together and there are some staff look after

1032
00:46:21,740 --> 00:46:22,940
them and during the day they sort of

1033
00:46:22,940 --> 00:46:25,260
sit in front of the television they brought

1034
00:46:25,260 --> 00:46:26,820
in and they have their meals and they

1035
00:46:26,820 --> 00:46:28,100
go to bed at night and they just

1036
00:46:28,100 --> 00:46:31,260
plonk down well there was a thorn-off

1037
00:46:31,260 --> 00:46:35,120
shotgun raid on this old people's home in

1038
00:46:35,120 --> 00:46:38,060
the middle of the afternoon suddenly the French

1039
00:46:38,060 --> 00:46:40,280
windows were thrown open and two men in

1040
00:46:40,280 --> 00:46:43,600
balaclava helmet burst into the room with all

1041
00:46:43,600 --> 00:46:44,860
these old people lined up in front of

1042
00:46:44,860 --> 00:46:47,860
the television thorn-off shotgun and said freeze

1043
00:46:47,860 --> 00:46:57,290
you see like this and and there was

1044
00:46:57,290 --> 00:47:02,540
absolutely no response at all so the men

1045
00:47:02,540 --> 00:47:09,680
said again freeze and they got so frustrated

1046
00:47:09,680 --> 00:47:11,920
because half the people sitting there hadn't even

1047
00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:18,080
heard them in the first place perhaps they

1048
00:47:18,080 --> 00:47:19,940
were i don't know tuned into radio two

1049
00:47:19,940 --> 00:47:22,760
with their deaf aids or something that the

1050
00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:24,040
men said get on the floor on your

1051
00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:28,480
faces on the floor nobody moved so that

1052
00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:30,360
the half that hadn't heard them probably couldn't

1053
00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:31,780
have got on the floor anyway if they'd

1054
00:47:31,780 --> 00:47:34,820
tried certainly couldn't have got up again and

1055
00:47:34,820 --> 00:47:36,940
finally these two men in total disgust one

1056
00:47:36,940 --> 00:47:41,960
of them threw down his gun and and

1057
00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:43,500
this was announced on on the radio i

1058
00:47:43,500 --> 00:47:45,440
know the old people's home well my my

1059
00:47:45,440 --> 00:47:46,860
own local church in london when i lived

1060
00:47:46,860 --> 00:47:48,540
there used to go and do regular services

1061
00:47:48,540 --> 00:47:50,240
there we used to get much the same

1062
00:47:50,240 --> 00:47:54,300
sort of response in the old people's services

1063
00:47:54,300 --> 00:47:55,440
i don't know whether you've ever been there

1064
00:47:56,240 --> 00:47:58,580
i i can remember as a a young

1065
00:47:58,580 --> 00:48:02,200
lad as going along with the choir from

1066
00:48:02,200 --> 00:48:04,840
my church i was unbelievably angelic in the

1067
00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:06,720
choir we stood there in front of these

1068
00:48:06,720 --> 00:48:09,040
old people and we sang them christmas carols

1069
00:48:09,600 --> 00:48:10,780
and there was an old lady in a

1070
00:48:10,780 --> 00:48:13,820
wheelchair came in rather late she wheeled herself

1071
00:48:13,820 --> 00:48:16,280
to the front of of the um the

1072
00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:19,480
thing you see and she she parked herself

1073
00:48:19,480 --> 00:48:22,060
in her wheelchair on the foot of the

1074
00:48:22,060 --> 00:48:24,480
person that was sitting at the front beside

1075
00:48:24,480 --> 00:48:26,820
her you see just got the wheelchair up

1076
00:48:26,820 --> 00:48:29,780
on the foot and and the the woman

1077
00:48:29,780 --> 00:48:32,320
said get off me foot you see but

1078
00:48:32,320 --> 00:48:33,700
but this other lady had come in to

1079
00:48:33,700 --> 00:48:43,420
listen she we choir boys

1080
00:48:43,420 --> 00:48:47,640
were absolutely helpless and laughter we were we

1081
00:48:47,640 --> 00:48:49,140
were in the middle of silent night or

1082
00:48:49,140 --> 00:48:53,640
something and this and this row was going

1083
00:48:53,640 --> 00:48:56,940
on between these two ladies i have had

1084
00:48:56,940 --> 00:48:59,340
a number of experiences in my life of

1085
00:48:59,340 --> 00:49:02,440
trying to communicate like those two men with

1086
00:49:02,440 --> 00:49:05,140
a shotgun and simply not getting through people

1087
00:49:05,140 --> 00:49:07,560
either don't understand what you're saying or can't

1088
00:49:07,560 --> 00:49:11,040
do anything about it anyway people fall asleep

1089
00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:13,240
sometimes in meetings that's why a little bit

1090
00:49:13,240 --> 00:49:15,320
of humor around about 12 o'clock after

1091
00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:18,080
the night of prayer can sometimes help i've

1092
00:49:18,080 --> 00:49:20,340
seen a man suddenly in a church who

1093
00:49:20,340 --> 00:49:22,640
was sleeping in the evening service suddenly leap

1094
00:49:22,640 --> 00:49:29,280
up grab his hymnbook and laugh realize that

1095
00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:30,840
in his dreams he thought the hymn had

1096
00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:33,740
been announced but actually the message was still

1097
00:49:33,740 --> 00:49:42,950
proceeding on and sit down very sheepishly preachers

1098
00:49:42,950 --> 00:49:45,830
need to think about communication and they need

1099
00:49:45,830 --> 00:49:49,890
to begin their thinking with god himself i've

1100
00:49:49,890 --> 00:49:52,610
talked about genesis 1 genesis 2 genesis 3

1101
00:49:52,610 --> 00:49:58,830
christ comes seeking communication with those from whom

1102
00:49:58,830 --> 00:50:03,390
he's been cut off wanting that expressive fellowship

1103
00:50:03,390 --> 00:50:05,870
that god has made us for and to

1104
00:50:05,870 --> 00:50:08,250
have with him you and i are made

1105
00:50:08,250 --> 00:50:12,410
like adam to believe and to hear and

1106
00:50:12,410 --> 00:50:15,830
to communicate god's word we're made for it

1107
00:50:17,340 --> 00:50:20,940
what was the fall of man it arose

1108
00:50:20,940 --> 00:50:24,120
because they would not believe the word of

1109
00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:27,460
god they believed the word that came from

1110
00:50:27,460 --> 00:50:31,640
another source and there is a discipline therefore

1111
00:50:31,640 --> 00:50:35,160
in life for all mankind that they should

1112
00:50:35,160 --> 00:50:39,420
be saved through the foolishness of preaching because

1113
00:50:39,420 --> 00:50:41,940
god wants to reverse the very process of

1114
00:50:41,940 --> 00:50:45,440
genesis chapter 3 those opening verses of genesis

1115
00:50:45,440 --> 00:50:48,720
3 where mankind fell because they believed the

1116
00:50:48,720 --> 00:50:52,500
wrong word god now requires that we be

1117
00:50:52,500 --> 00:50:54,700
converted not because he's going to do miracles

1118
00:50:54,700 --> 00:50:56,300
in the sky he's not going to lean

1119
00:50:56,300 --> 00:50:57,800
out of heaven and shout down to us

1120
00:50:57,800 --> 00:51:00,640
he's going to require that as fallen men

1121
00:51:00,640 --> 00:51:02,680
and women sons of adam and eve we

1122
00:51:02,680 --> 00:51:10,070
believe the right word by faith that's why

1123
00:51:10,070 --> 00:51:15,190
paul when he's writing to the ephesians chapter

1124
00:51:15,190 --> 00:51:18,170
1 between about verses 16 and 18 is

1125
00:51:18,170 --> 00:51:20,510
praying for these believers that they have a

1126
00:51:20,510 --> 00:51:24,830
continuing revelation in the knowledge of god there's

1127
00:51:24,830 --> 00:51:28,950
a spiritual battle involved in any communication now

1128
00:51:28,950 --> 00:51:30,010
one or two of you are really suffering

1129
00:51:30,010 --> 00:51:32,950
from the night of prayer i can see

1130
00:51:32,950 --> 00:51:39,030
that i can see i enormously very difficult

1131
00:51:39,030 --> 00:51:42,650
when you've been up until late stay away

1132
00:51:42,650 --> 00:51:47,370
spiritual battle involved and paul didn't take it

1133
00:51:47,370 --> 00:51:49,210
for granted ever that the believers would understand

1134
00:51:49,210 --> 00:51:51,990
what he was talking about he prayed ephesians

1135
00:51:51,990 --> 00:51:56,490
1 verses 16 to 18 in 1 corinthians

1136
00:51:56,490 --> 00:51:58,770
2 verse 14 he said that the natural

1137
00:51:58,770 --> 00:52:00,290
man cannot understand the things of the spirit

1138
00:52:00,290 --> 00:52:03,410
of god they are spiritually discerned i can

1139
00:52:03,410 --> 00:52:07,670
remember being in an evangelistic meeting in cardiff

1140
00:52:07,670 --> 00:52:10,390
i think it was um we had a

1141
00:52:10,390 --> 00:52:13,430
whole series and and people began to pray

1142
00:52:13,430 --> 00:52:15,270
christians during the meetings it made a tremendous

1143
00:52:15,270 --> 00:52:16,970
difference to the meeting if there was a

1144
00:52:16,970 --> 00:52:18,330
group of people actually praying while the meeting

1145
00:52:18,330 --> 00:52:20,130
was going on and one night we'd announced

1146
00:52:20,130 --> 00:52:28,170
the title um muhammad buddha the gurus christ

1147
00:52:28,170 --> 00:52:31,330
what's the difference now there are a lot

1148
00:52:31,330 --> 00:52:33,950
of overseas students in in that university i

1149
00:52:33,950 --> 00:52:36,910
don't know whether su remembers uh that particular

1150
00:52:36,910 --> 00:52:39,590
occasion but i believe you were actually converted

1151
00:52:39,590 --> 00:52:42,390
during that series of meetings at that very

1152
00:52:42,390 --> 00:52:44,190
meeting oh this is tremendous it just popped

1153
00:52:44,190 --> 00:52:48,050
into my head i arrived um at the

1154
00:52:48,050 --> 00:52:49,930
meeting at about a quarter past seven it

1155
00:52:49,930 --> 00:52:51,030
was due to start at half past seven

1156
00:52:51,030 --> 00:52:53,830
and of course with that title the room

1157
00:52:53,830 --> 00:52:58,510
was full of muslims and buddhists and hindus

1158
00:52:58,510 --> 00:53:00,570
and all kinds of folks like that you

1159
00:53:00,570 --> 00:53:03,170
see waiting to hear what this infidel was

1160
00:53:03,170 --> 00:53:05,610
going to say so when the christians arrived

1161
00:53:05,610 --> 00:53:07,490
well there was no room for them to

1162
00:53:07,490 --> 00:53:11,760
sit down they always come late anyway it

1163
00:53:11,760 --> 00:53:12,800
seems to be one of the first things

1164
00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:15,120
of adaptation to the evangelical culture you start

1165
00:53:15,120 --> 00:53:18,120
being late for appointments meetings anyway they all

1166
00:53:18,120 --> 00:53:20,960
arrived no room room full of muslims you

1167
00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:23,860
see what are you going to do christians

1168
00:53:23,860 --> 00:53:25,500
can't get in i'm going to be thrown

1169
00:53:25,500 --> 00:53:30,350
to the lions here so the christians in

1170
00:53:30,350 --> 00:53:31,650
a group went along to another room in

1171
00:53:31,650 --> 00:53:33,490
the university where there were two or three

1172
00:53:33,490 --> 00:53:35,070
people sort of in there slumped in front

1173
00:53:35,070 --> 00:53:37,470
of the television they'd been there a couple

1174
00:53:37,470 --> 00:53:40,690
of days probably just sort of this is

1175
00:53:40,690 --> 00:53:42,650
cardiff university of course you must remember and

1176
00:53:42,650 --> 00:53:44,050
so they threw them out and they took

1177
00:53:44,050 --> 00:53:45,210
over the room and they began to pray

1178
00:53:45,210 --> 00:53:47,950
they began to pray they began to storm

1179
00:53:47,950 --> 00:53:49,990
the bastions of heaven for the meeting and

1180
00:53:49,990 --> 00:53:52,390
i sort of walked into the room very

1181
00:53:52,390 --> 00:53:56,510
trembly and another fellow gave his testimony and

1182
00:53:56,510 --> 00:54:01,550
then i preached and i felt like a

1183
00:54:01,550 --> 00:54:03,670
man at the front row of a of

1184
00:54:03,670 --> 00:54:05,430
a rugby scrub now this may not mean

1185
00:54:05,430 --> 00:54:08,730
very much to you um people pushing behind

1186
00:54:08,730 --> 00:54:10,390
people pushing back from in front and i

1187
00:54:10,390 --> 00:54:15,070
was sort of like the ball in the

1188
00:54:15,070 --> 00:54:18,070
we pray they were not determined not to

1189
00:54:18,070 --> 00:54:21,330
budge very much but a number of people

1190
00:54:21,330 --> 00:54:23,890
and two among them trusted the lord that

1191
00:54:23,890 --> 00:54:26,870
night even though the atmosphere i found electric

1192
00:54:26,870 --> 00:54:34,330
i was praying god spoke god communicated the

1193
00:54:34,330 --> 00:54:37,230
best talk i've ever heard in the last

1194
00:54:37,230 --> 00:54:39,370
year or two for the conference i was

1195
00:54:39,370 --> 00:54:43,070
invited to speak at of medical students and

1196
00:54:43,070 --> 00:54:45,930
a man who stood up who was i

1197
00:54:45,930 --> 00:54:49,150
think the deputy director of a hospice one

1198
00:54:49,150 --> 00:54:51,150
of the early beginnings of the hospice movement

1199
00:54:51,150 --> 00:54:53,590
you know where folks who are dying um

1200
00:54:53,590 --> 00:54:59,290
go there to be cared for in their

1201
00:54:59,290 --> 00:55:02,750
closing weeks in some cases months this man

1202
00:55:02,750 --> 00:55:08,070
was speaking on communication with patients and their

1203
00:55:08,070 --> 00:55:13,320
relatives it it was an incredible talk he

1204
00:55:13,320 --> 00:55:16,220
it reduced me to to tears as i

1205
00:55:16,220 --> 00:55:19,020
sat as i watched his pictures and he

1206
00:55:19,020 --> 00:55:20,980
was talking about the way in which in

1207
00:55:20,980 --> 00:55:24,880
these kind of situations god the communicator comes

1208
00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:28,160
in he steps in that is the moment

1209
00:55:28,160 --> 00:55:29,620
the preacher is looking for you know when

1210
00:55:29,620 --> 00:55:32,060
god the communicator the god who speaks the

1211
00:55:32,060 --> 00:55:34,060
god who reveals himself the god who's given

1212
00:55:34,060 --> 00:55:35,780
us language the god who knows how to

1213
00:55:35,780 --> 00:55:40,100
speak to the heart that's what you want

1214
00:55:40,100 --> 00:55:44,360
those moments when you're speaking when god steps

1215
00:55:44,360 --> 00:55:48,380
in when people are under conviction people are

1216
00:55:48,380 --> 00:55:50,660
struck they may it may result in them

1217
00:55:50,660 --> 00:55:55,140
being angry or surly or crying or just

1218
00:55:55,140 --> 00:55:59,980
move to worship god has communicated the thing

1219
00:55:59,980 --> 00:56:02,840
has suddenly reached a different dimension not just

1220
00:56:02,840 --> 00:56:06,240
your words it's god in there and that

1221
00:56:06,240 --> 00:56:08,780
is a spiritual battle to see that happen

1222
00:56:08,780 --> 00:56:11,660
where he takes over he speaks he heals

1223
00:56:11,660 --> 00:56:15,240
the broken hearts let us never be satisfied

1224
00:56:15,240 --> 00:56:18,360
with preaching that does not reach that that

1225
00:56:18,360 --> 00:56:23,320
level now that's something to start with on

1226
00:56:23,320 --> 00:56:30,260
the um importance of preaching let me take

1227
00:56:30,260 --> 00:56:33,440
up the question of gift in preaching before

1228
00:56:33,440 --> 00:56:35,480
lunch unless you've got some questions right now

1229
00:56:35,480 --> 00:56:39,100
any questions it is a it is a

1230
00:56:39,100 --> 00:56:42,680
gift my father is brilliant at that we

1231
00:56:42,680 --> 00:56:48,280
had um my father is a minister a

1232
00:56:48,280 --> 00:56:51,400
vicar in england and one of these large

1233
00:56:51,400 --> 00:56:54,460
anglican churches and one sunday morning there was

1234
00:56:54,460 --> 00:56:56,940
a pigeon in the church during the service

1235
00:56:56,940 --> 00:56:59,080
there's a great big high church this pigeon

1236
00:56:59,080 --> 00:57:05,000
and there was a lady came into church

1237
00:57:05,000 --> 00:57:09,420
with a very sort of flowery hat and

1238
00:57:09,420 --> 00:57:11,120
and the pigeon sort of at one point

1239
00:57:11,120 --> 00:57:12,820
got right down into this hat you see

1240
00:57:16,160 --> 00:57:18,640
and it would sort of dive bomb people

1241
00:57:18,640 --> 00:57:20,540
he was trying to lead the worship and

1242
00:57:20,540 --> 00:57:23,720
the service and the most incredible thing happened

1243
00:57:23,720 --> 00:57:26,180
i it really was quite extraordinary he was

1244
00:57:26,180 --> 00:57:27,700
proceeding with the service as best he could

1245
00:57:27,700 --> 00:57:29,760
they couldn't get the pigeon out and he

1246
00:57:29,760 --> 00:57:34,260
got up in the pulpit to preach he

1247
00:57:34,260 --> 00:57:35,760
bowed his head to pray and the pigeon

1248
00:57:35,760 --> 00:57:41,260
sat on here just sat down you see

1249
00:57:41,260 --> 00:57:44,830
and my father looked up and sort of

1250
00:57:44,830 --> 00:57:46,330
smiled at the people and said ah for

1251
00:57:46,330 --> 00:57:47,530
a minute i thought it was an angel

1252
00:57:49,470 --> 00:57:51,870
and then then the pigeon flew down to

1253
00:57:51,870 --> 00:57:55,670
the the steps and hopped down one step

1254
00:57:55,670 --> 00:57:57,890
hopped down those and i hardly i think

1255
00:57:57,890 --> 00:57:58,890
must be an answer to the prayers of

1256
00:57:58,890 --> 00:58:00,950
the people it walked solemnly down the aisle

1257
00:58:00,950 --> 00:58:02,610
and the virgin at the back opened the

1258
00:58:02,610 --> 00:58:08,110
door and it went straight out that you've

1259
00:58:08,110 --> 00:58:09,710
got to make the best of it you've

1260
00:58:09,710 --> 00:58:11,910
got to hope that i mean there's some

1261
00:58:11,910 --> 00:58:13,910
things you can't do you can't cope with

1262
00:58:13,910 --> 00:58:20,210
can you um sometimes a ready wit if

1263
00:58:20,210 --> 00:58:25,030
people want to heckle or there's um sometimes

1264
00:58:25,030 --> 00:58:28,210
people faint in the meeting you you have

1265
00:58:28,210 --> 00:58:33,620
got to um perhaps make a little comment

1266
00:58:33,620 --> 00:58:36,100
if everyone's distracted well go with them for

1267
00:58:36,100 --> 00:58:37,880
a moment join them and lead them back

1268
00:58:37,880 --> 00:58:40,420
again give them perhaps a brief non-panicky

1269
00:58:40,420 --> 00:58:45,720
instruction if we had um a woman who

1270
00:58:45,720 --> 00:58:48,940
often fainted when she was pregnant it was

1271
00:58:48,940 --> 00:58:50,280
one of the features of her pregnancy and

1272
00:58:50,280 --> 00:58:53,380
she would just keel over unexpectedly and it

1273
00:58:53,380 --> 00:58:55,280
would worry some people but of course if

1274
00:58:55,280 --> 00:58:57,600
she just lay there for a bit she

1275
00:58:57,600 --> 00:58:59,700
would recover and get back up and sit

1276
00:58:59,700 --> 00:59:02,300
on her seat and a simple comment like

1277
00:59:02,300 --> 00:59:04,680
you know she'll be all right just we've

1278
00:59:04,680 --> 00:59:06,400
met this before and she'll be right in

1279
00:59:06,400 --> 00:59:10,140
a minute or two um take control if

1280
00:59:10,140 --> 00:59:15,240
it's a heckler um you will have to

1281
00:59:15,240 --> 00:59:17,240
either answer him if if if you've got

1282
00:59:17,240 --> 00:59:21,680
a good witty response that's kind um back

1283
00:59:21,680 --> 00:59:24,440
to him or arrange to let him ask

1284
00:59:24,440 --> 00:59:27,880
questions afterwards but let you finish the course

1285
00:59:27,880 --> 00:59:30,780
of the argument first sometimes if babies cry

1286
00:59:30,780 --> 00:59:32,640
you just take them out or in some

1287
00:59:32,640 --> 00:59:34,260
cultures nobody minds if they cry anyway you

1288
00:59:34,260 --> 00:59:35,680
just keep talking and the pigs run through

1289
00:59:35,680 --> 00:59:37,780
and the chickens cluck about and in more

1290
00:59:37,780 --> 00:59:42,580
primitive circumstances um i would say the worst

1291
00:59:42,580 --> 00:59:44,320
thing to do is just to sort of

1292
00:59:44,320 --> 00:59:47,540
stop and freeze and gawp because you've given

1293
00:59:47,540 --> 00:59:51,140
up then you've somehow got to be gentle

1294
00:59:51,140 --> 00:59:52,600
and and do the best you can and

1295
00:59:52,600 --> 00:59:55,720
control it and if need be ask people

1296
00:59:55,720 --> 00:59:58,220
if it's a distraction like a pigeon or

1297
00:59:58,220 --> 01:00:01,560
a seat suddenly collapsing sometimes happens or someone

1298
01:00:01,560 --> 01:00:03,160
falls off their seat because they've fallen asleep

1299
01:00:03,160 --> 01:00:05,260
this has happened in all my meetings especially

1300
01:00:05,260 --> 01:00:08,680
people always falling asleep well you just sort

1301
01:00:08,680 --> 01:00:10,800
of make a little comment we had in

1302
01:00:10,800 --> 01:00:11,980
one of the early meetings in the tent

1303
01:00:12,700 --> 01:00:15,560
um the moles the moles in belgium seem

1304
01:00:15,560 --> 01:00:19,080
to be extraordinary christian moles and they they

1305
01:00:19,080 --> 01:00:21,280
come to the meetings and suddenly this mole

1306
01:00:21,280 --> 01:00:23,000
came up out of the ground and the

1307
01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:25,780
three girls went oh see make a little

1308
01:00:25,780 --> 01:00:28,220
comment make a little joke control it get

1309
01:00:28,220 --> 01:00:31,100
them sat down carry on try and keep

1310
01:00:31,100 --> 01:00:34,300
control if you can what jesus would have

1311
01:00:34,300 --> 01:00:37,920
said i don't know we may imagine that

1312
01:00:37,920 --> 01:00:39,380
he knew it was going to happen in

1313
01:00:39,380 --> 01:00:42,660
the open air heckling increases and some people

1314
01:00:42,660 --> 01:00:44,440
have even been known as christians to do

1315
01:00:44,440 --> 01:00:46,560
a bit of heckling to increase the crowd

1316
01:00:46,560 --> 01:00:51,720
um it's been known um the question of

1317
01:00:51,720 --> 01:00:54,600
gift because we will lose our time martin

1318
01:00:54,600 --> 01:00:58,460
lloyd jones said preachers are born not made

1319
01:00:58,460 --> 01:01:02,660
well that's encouraging isn't it this is an

1320
01:01:02,660 --> 01:01:04,500
absolute you will never teach a man to

1321
01:01:04,500 --> 01:01:07,540
be a preacher if he is not already

1322
01:01:07,540 --> 01:01:10,140
one so we face first the question of

1323
01:01:10,140 --> 01:01:16,700
the calling of god ephesians 4 ephesians 4

1324
01:01:16,700 --> 01:01:19,560
verse 7 unto each one of us was

1325
01:01:19,560 --> 01:01:22,420
the grace given according to the measure of

1326
01:01:22,420 --> 01:01:26,640
the gift of christ the first section of

1327
01:01:26,640 --> 01:01:29,420
ephesians has been talking about the gift of

1328
01:01:29,420 --> 01:01:33,170
god you know the verse ephesians 2 8

1329
01:01:34,740 --> 01:01:40,000
the gift of salvation by grace are you

1330
01:01:40,000 --> 01:01:42,020
saved not of yourselves it is the gift

1331
01:01:42,020 --> 01:01:44,500
of god god has given a gift of

1332
01:01:44,500 --> 01:01:47,380
salvation but now here in this middle section

1333
01:01:47,380 --> 01:01:49,700
of ephesians which i take to run from

1334
01:01:49,700 --> 01:01:56,760
2 11 up to um 4 16 we're

1335
01:01:56,760 --> 01:02:00,740
reading of the gift of christ the risen

1336
01:02:00,740 --> 01:02:04,740
ascended messiah he too has gifts to give

1337
01:02:04,740 --> 01:02:07,940
us if you want to complete the the

1338
01:02:07,940 --> 01:02:10,860
last section of ephesians from 4 17 to

1339
01:02:10,860 --> 01:02:14,080
the end not about god the father or

1340
01:02:14,080 --> 01:02:16,860
christ the messiah but about man the redeemed

1341
01:02:16,860 --> 01:02:19,560
and renewed man he too has a gift

1342
01:02:19,560 --> 01:02:20,880
to give you can read of it in

1343
01:02:20,880 --> 01:02:24,020
in ephesians 5 verse 2 also in verse

1344
01:02:24,020 --> 01:02:25,840
25 i'll leave you to trace that down

1345
01:02:25,840 --> 01:02:29,240
but here he's speaking of the gift of

1346
01:02:29,240 --> 01:02:31,320
christ wherefore he saith when he ascended on

1347
01:02:31,320 --> 01:02:34,620
high he led captivity captive and he gave

1348
01:02:34,620 --> 01:02:38,160
gifts to men the tenth he that descended

1349
01:02:38,160 --> 01:02:39,940
is the same also that ascended as far

1350
01:02:39,940 --> 01:02:41,340
above all the heavens that he might fill

1351
01:02:41,340 --> 01:02:43,180
all things and he gave some to the

1352
01:02:43,180 --> 01:02:46,300
apostles some prophets some evangelists and pastors teachers

1353
01:02:46,300 --> 01:02:49,800
for the perfecting of the saint unto the

1354
01:02:49,800 --> 01:02:52,500
work of ministry unto the building up of

1355
01:02:52,500 --> 01:02:53,960
the body of christ and so on now

1356
01:02:53,960 --> 01:02:58,460
those gifts of christ all require um speaking

1357
01:02:58,460 --> 01:03:01,600
ability don't they how do i know whether

1358
01:03:01,600 --> 01:03:06,080
i've got a preaching gift or not well

1359
01:03:06,080 --> 01:03:07,340
how do you know whether you've got a

1360
01:03:07,340 --> 01:03:11,560
gift for football or playing the piano well

1361
01:03:11,560 --> 01:03:13,640
you like doing it not only do you

1362
01:03:13,640 --> 01:03:15,360
like doing it and show a bit of

1363
01:03:15,360 --> 01:03:18,080
skill but you you like watching other people

1364
01:03:18,080 --> 01:03:21,860
doing it you're fascinated by the skills of

1365
01:03:21,860 --> 01:03:25,200
other people and you sense a bit of

1366
01:03:25,200 --> 01:03:28,000
growth as you do there are certain things

1367
01:03:28,000 --> 01:03:31,060
i'm utterly hopeless at i will never be

1368
01:03:31,060 --> 01:03:33,100
any good i'm not interested really in other

1369
01:03:33,100 --> 01:03:35,700
people doing them they bore me but i

1370
01:03:35,700 --> 01:03:38,280
am interested in certain things and i like

1371
01:03:38,280 --> 01:03:40,460
to watch other people growing and it's one

1372
01:03:40,460 --> 01:03:41,880
thing to think that you've got the gift

1373
01:03:41,880 --> 01:03:44,140
of preaching but other people need to have

1374
01:03:44,140 --> 01:03:46,420
the gift of listening um at the same

1375
01:03:46,420 --> 01:03:48,760
time and you need to check check what

1376
01:03:48,760 --> 01:03:52,480
other folks think is their growth do other

1377
01:03:52,480 --> 01:03:55,220
people appreciate your ministry one of the advantages

1378
01:03:55,220 --> 01:03:57,840
of om is that you're thrown into um

1379
01:03:57,840 --> 01:04:00,700
a pool of people where you get demands

1380
01:04:00,700 --> 01:04:02,540
made upon you in many different kinds of

1381
01:04:02,540 --> 01:04:05,260
ways and you get opportunity to exercise gifts

1382
01:04:05,260 --> 01:04:07,820
in a number of different areas in the

1383
01:04:07,820 --> 01:04:11,100
early days especially some of you have to

1384
01:04:11,960 --> 01:04:14,360
learn simply to be faithful servants others of

1385
01:04:14,360 --> 01:04:16,500
you have to take leadership responsibility some of

1386
01:04:16,500 --> 01:04:18,800
you have to learn to speak quite early

1387
01:04:18,800 --> 01:04:20,900
to preach and to teach some of you

1388
01:04:20,900 --> 01:04:23,120
are going to be thrown into situations where

1389
01:04:23,120 --> 01:04:26,280
your team is perhaps full of of invalid

1390
01:04:26,280 --> 01:04:27,800
people with problems you're going to have to

1391
01:04:27,800 --> 01:04:29,580
learn to show sympathy and mercy and have

1392
01:04:29,580 --> 01:04:32,780
the gift of that now as time goes

1393
01:04:32,780 --> 01:04:34,400
on as you get exercise in these different

1394
01:04:34,400 --> 01:04:36,120
areas this is one of the values of

1395
01:04:36,120 --> 01:04:40,980
the thing you grow strong committed enthusiastic in

1396
01:04:40,980 --> 01:04:42,780
some area or other and other people in

1397
01:04:42,780 --> 01:04:44,140
the body can see that you've got strength

1398
01:04:44,140 --> 01:04:46,120
in this area and if you stay with

1399
01:04:46,120 --> 01:04:48,400
us you'll be directed into those areas of

1400
01:04:48,400 --> 01:04:52,020
strength they don't ask me to organize travel

1401
01:04:52,020 --> 01:04:55,920
or finance in om i'm utterly hopeless at

1402
01:04:55,920 --> 01:04:59,240
it finance i i i'm not interested in

1403
01:04:59,240 --> 01:05:01,380
it it bores me apart from being able

1404
01:05:01,380 --> 01:05:03,580
to spend a bit now and again the

1405
01:05:03,580 --> 01:05:05,220
organizing of it the flow of it backwards

1406
01:05:05,220 --> 01:05:07,720
and forwards i'm just hopeless at finance i

1407
01:05:07,720 --> 01:05:10,480
don't think i'm really any good at showing

1408
01:05:10,480 --> 01:05:13,840
mercy you know and just understanding sometimes the

1409
01:05:13,840 --> 01:05:15,540
sensitivities and the hurts of people i i

1410
01:05:15,540 --> 01:05:16,860
don't know whether i'm any good at that

1411
01:05:16,860 --> 01:05:20,120
i feel appalling at it some of you

1412
01:05:20,120 --> 01:05:23,840
perhaps heard the um i don't know the

1413
01:05:23,840 --> 01:05:26,260
story it's not a funny story the story

1414
01:05:26,260 --> 01:05:27,920
that came originally i believe out of a

1415
01:05:27,920 --> 01:05:32,460
bill gothard seminar of seven people sitting around

1416
01:05:32,460 --> 01:05:38,060
a table seven different gifts the seven gifts

1417
01:05:38,060 --> 01:05:39,720
that are mentioned that's in romans chapter 12

1418
01:05:39,720 --> 01:05:44,080
there's the prophet there's the um teacher the

1419
01:05:44,080 --> 01:05:49,420
exhorter the administrator the giver the one who's

1420
01:05:49,420 --> 01:05:52,600
just a helper i say just because i'm

1421
01:05:52,600 --> 01:05:54,740
talking to preachers he doesn't speak very much

1422
01:05:54,740 --> 01:05:56,660
he's a non-verbal gift and the one

1423
01:05:56,660 --> 01:05:59,940
who shows mercy now these these seven sitting

1424
01:05:59,940 --> 01:06:00,980
around the table the prophet you see the

1425
01:06:00,980 --> 01:06:04,220
person who has the habit the tendency to

1426
01:06:04,220 --> 01:06:06,800
see things as needing a strong word from

1427
01:06:06,800 --> 01:06:09,440
god oh just a word that will bring

1428
01:06:09,440 --> 01:06:16,140
bring fire unction conviction flame thrower stuff the

1429
01:06:16,140 --> 01:06:19,000
person who is a server just sees practical

1430
01:06:19,000 --> 01:06:20,040
things that need to be done they're not

1431
01:06:20,040 --> 01:06:21,560
a great talker at all they they are

1432
01:06:21,560 --> 01:06:23,340
practically motivated they like to clear up things

1433
01:06:23,340 --> 01:06:26,620
um mend things switch things on at the

1434
01:06:26,620 --> 01:06:29,600
right time all that the person who teaches

1435
01:06:29,600 --> 01:06:31,840
just loves to be studied loves to be

1436
01:06:31,840 --> 01:06:33,900
into scripture the folk who has the gift

1437
01:06:33,900 --> 01:06:36,640
of exhorting they they want to move people

1438
01:06:36,640 --> 01:06:38,420
they're out there like a sheepdog they're they're

1439
01:06:38,420 --> 01:06:41,540
a mover they're often an encouraging person when

1440
01:06:41,540 --> 01:06:43,900
they walk into a group people's spirit lifts

1441
01:06:43,900 --> 01:06:46,320
you know the encourager is there the motivator

1442
01:06:46,320 --> 01:06:50,220
the administrator brilliant sharp mind for seeing what

1443
01:06:50,220 --> 01:06:51,560
needs to be done and who should do

1444
01:06:51,560 --> 01:06:54,780
it the giver nothing pleases them more than

1445
01:06:54,780 --> 01:06:57,360
just to give to give financially to give

1446
01:06:57,360 --> 01:06:59,960
hospitality to give anything they've got to give

1447
01:06:59,960 --> 01:07:01,740
and the person who shows mercy well imagine

1448
01:07:01,740 --> 01:07:04,260
seven people each of these seven gifts around

1449
01:07:04,260 --> 01:07:05,720
the table they're going to have a meal

1450
01:07:05,720 --> 01:07:07,580
the wife of the house is not among

1451
01:07:07,580 --> 01:07:10,480
the seven bringing a tray of soup to

1452
01:07:10,480 --> 01:07:12,600
these great spiritual elders you see and there's

1453
01:07:12,600 --> 01:07:13,980
lots of chats and it's all very interesting

1454
01:07:13,980 --> 01:07:15,740
and she's chatting away with someone and she

1455
01:07:15,740 --> 01:07:18,360
puts the soup down on the edge of

1456
01:07:18,360 --> 01:07:20,260
the not looking quite where she puts it

1457
01:07:20,260 --> 01:07:23,460
and the whole thing falls on the floor

1458
01:07:23,460 --> 01:07:27,420
crash this lovely meal that's been prepared there's

1459
01:07:27,420 --> 01:07:30,260
soup everywhere broken plates and it's a social

1460
01:07:30,260 --> 01:07:34,060
disaster you will get seven different reactions instantly

1461
01:07:34,060 --> 01:07:37,040
from around the table the prophets they may

1462
01:07:37,040 --> 01:07:38,380
not all come without come out with it

1463
01:07:38,380 --> 01:07:40,660
but the prophet's reaction in his heart will

1464
01:07:40,660 --> 01:07:45,700
be god provides and we throw it on

1465
01:07:45,700 --> 01:07:54,660
the floor this isn't good enough the teacher

1466
01:07:54,660 --> 01:07:58,980
will want to sit back and explain you

1467
01:07:58,980 --> 01:08:00,380
know if only that had been pushed just

1468
01:08:00,380 --> 01:08:02,200
a little bit more that wouldn't happen because

1469
01:08:02,200 --> 01:08:04,060
gravity's like this and soup is like this

1470
01:08:04,060 --> 01:08:06,880
they'll have quite a teaching session around the

1471
01:08:06,880 --> 01:08:08,520
table while the stuff soaks into the carpet

1472
01:08:08,520 --> 01:08:11,380
the helper will be the first one out

1473
01:08:11,380 --> 01:08:13,300
of their chair they're into the kitchen they're

1474
01:08:13,300 --> 01:08:15,180
gathering up wet cloths they're coming to clean

1475
01:08:15,180 --> 01:08:16,359
the thing up they're not saying anything they're

1476
01:08:16,359 --> 01:08:19,960
moving the administrator will start to organize will

1477
01:08:19,960 --> 01:08:21,300
you do this you clear up those will

1478
01:08:21,300 --> 01:08:23,100
you put the broken bits away because we

1479
01:08:23,100 --> 01:08:25,300
don't want to cut our fingers and immediately

1480
01:08:25,300 --> 01:08:30,279
they're giving people jobs the exhorter will immediately

1481
01:08:30,279 --> 01:08:31,859
want people well forget that that was a

1482
01:08:31,859 --> 01:08:33,740
soup we don't need soup let's go on

1483
01:08:33,740 --> 01:08:34,939
to the next course i can smell it

1484
01:08:34,939 --> 01:08:37,939
all that soup i've had plenty of soup

1485
01:08:37,939 --> 01:08:40,460
before in my life let's move on move

1486
01:08:40,460 --> 01:08:43,260
on the person who has the gift of

1487
01:08:43,260 --> 01:08:45,460
giving will immediately think you know i could

1488
01:08:45,460 --> 01:08:46,779
pay for a new dinner service for that

1489
01:08:46,779 --> 01:08:49,160
person or this meal is already a disaster

1490
01:08:49,160 --> 01:08:51,020
i got a tax rebate last week can

1491
01:08:51,020 --> 01:08:52,180
i take you all out to the chinese

1492
01:08:52,180 --> 01:08:54,720
restaurant and we'll we won't bother about this

1493
01:08:54,720 --> 01:08:56,740
old meal here and the person with the

1494
01:08:56,740 --> 01:08:58,960
gift of showing mercy their immediate reaction will

1495
01:08:58,960 --> 01:09:00,140
be to want to go and put their

1496
01:09:00,140 --> 01:09:01,399
arm around the person who dropped it in

1497
01:09:01,399 --> 01:09:03,540
the first place and encourage them you see

1498
01:09:03,540 --> 01:09:06,120
some will move to explain some will move

1499
01:09:06,120 --> 01:09:07,859
to clear up some will move to organize

1500
01:09:07,859 --> 01:09:09,500
some will move to comfort it's the way

1501
01:09:09,500 --> 01:09:15,979
they are god has given them that tendency

1502
01:09:15,979 --> 01:09:19,700
the person who has the gift of preaching

1503
01:09:21,000 --> 01:09:25,380
likes to to be heard to illuminate a

1504
01:09:25,380 --> 01:09:29,300
passage to enforce truth to move people with

1505
01:09:29,300 --> 01:09:33,660
the spoken voice and other people appreciate the

1506
01:09:33,660 --> 01:09:36,540
way they do it turn to 1 corinthians

1507
01:09:36,540 --> 01:09:40,620
12 a moment 1 corinthians 12 very interesting

1508
01:09:40,620 --> 01:09:44,920
um three verses you can see how the

1509
01:09:44,920 --> 01:09:47,580
whole of god is involved in this now

1510
01:09:47,580 --> 01:09:50,960
there are diversities of gifts but the same

1511
01:09:50,960 --> 01:09:57,080
spirit there are diversities of ministrations but the

1512
01:09:57,080 --> 01:10:01,060
same lord and there are diversities of working

1513
01:10:01,060 --> 01:10:06,640
but the same god the spirit the lord

1514
01:10:06,640 --> 01:10:10,300
and god the spirit gives you your gift

1515
01:10:10,300 --> 01:10:15,120
your particular enabling to be a preacher or

1516
01:10:15,120 --> 01:10:17,700
an administrator or whatever it is the lord

1517
01:10:17,700 --> 01:10:20,300
who puts you in your particular place in

1518
01:10:20,300 --> 01:10:23,960
the vineyard to appoint you to children's work

1519
01:10:23,960 --> 01:10:27,080
or to old people's work or to pass

1520
01:10:27,080 --> 01:10:30,880
return or to work in korea or africa

1521
01:10:30,880 --> 01:10:34,340
he is the one who gives you your

1522
01:10:34,340 --> 01:10:38,880
particular ministration your area of service it is

1523
01:10:38,880 --> 01:10:42,100
god the father who decides and governs what

1524
01:10:42,100 --> 01:10:47,380
happens when you work the working are decided

1525
01:10:47,380 --> 01:10:49,320
by god i have been to a place

1526
01:10:49,320 --> 01:10:51,580
and preach the sermon and people have appreciated

1527
01:10:51,580 --> 01:10:52,980
what has been said and perhaps have been

1528
01:10:52,980 --> 01:10:55,180
conversions and i've gone two weeks later and

1529
01:10:55,180 --> 01:10:57,380
preached the same sermon to another very similar

1530
01:10:57,380 --> 01:10:59,600
group and it's come across like a lead

1531
01:10:59,600 --> 01:11:03,720
balloon and i say well you know have

1532
01:11:03,720 --> 01:11:05,020
i sinned am i am i out of

1533
01:11:05,020 --> 01:11:07,320
fellowship with my wife what's happened nothing same

1534
01:11:07,320 --> 01:11:12,440
message same illustrations is it me no may

1535
01:11:12,440 --> 01:11:14,760
not be maybe come on to that tomorrow

1536
01:11:14,760 --> 01:11:18,260
but it may not be because i tell

1537
01:11:18,260 --> 01:11:21,000
you this what happens in a meeting actually

1538
01:11:21,000 --> 01:11:23,260
depends far more on the congregation than it

1539
01:11:23,260 --> 01:11:26,180
does on the preacher usually it's god who

1540
01:11:26,180 --> 01:11:29,360
decides what they are ready for what state

1541
01:11:29,360 --> 01:11:31,060
their hearts are at and we have to

1542
01:11:31,060 --> 01:11:33,500
leave the fruit of the meeting with god

1543
01:11:33,500 --> 01:11:38,320
who decides the working now all three persons

1544
01:11:38,320 --> 01:11:40,460
of the godhead are involved in this business

1545
01:11:40,460 --> 01:11:42,600
of us having a gift having a place

1546
01:11:42,600 --> 01:11:45,580
to work and seeing some fruit through our

1547
01:11:45,580 --> 01:11:49,660
ministry but let me explain another very interesting

1548
01:11:49,660 --> 01:11:52,800
and very important thing there is a difference

1549
01:11:52,800 --> 01:11:55,760
my friends and preachers must learn this between

1550
01:11:55,760 --> 01:12:01,300
your gift and your character you can have

1551
01:12:01,300 --> 01:12:06,050
a gift as a preacher and you can

1552
01:12:06,050 --> 01:12:09,550
preach so as to move men to draw

1553
01:12:09,550 --> 01:12:15,700
people into your church you can seem to

1554
01:12:15,700 --> 01:12:21,680
have an outwardly successful preaching ministry but your

1555
01:12:21,680 --> 01:12:28,220
character remains immature our gifts are given us

1556
01:12:28,220 --> 01:12:32,820
temporarily 1 corinthians 13 the next chapter now

1557
01:12:32,820 --> 01:12:34,960
we have gifts when we see christ face

1558
01:12:34,960 --> 01:12:37,540
to face what we'll be left with is

1559
01:12:37,540 --> 01:12:41,140
our character our love not our gift of

1560
01:12:41,140 --> 01:12:43,460
working miracles not our gift of giving ourselves

1561
01:12:43,460 --> 01:12:45,060
to be burnt that will all be temporary

1562
01:12:45,060 --> 01:12:48,060
when i see the lord i will no

1563
01:12:48,060 --> 01:12:52,640
longer be quite the man i am praise

1564
01:12:52,640 --> 01:12:55,060
god but any gift i may have in

1565
01:12:55,060 --> 01:12:59,980
the realm of evangelism or teaching finished but

1566
01:12:59,980 --> 01:13:03,380
my character is what remains in eternity now

1567
01:13:03,380 --> 01:13:06,660
you know you can sometimes feel rather proud

1568
01:13:06,660 --> 01:13:09,520
of your ministry because it seems as if

1569
01:13:09,520 --> 01:13:11,500
people are flocking to hear you but your

1570
01:13:11,500 --> 01:13:16,240
home life your domestic relationship your own inner

1571
01:13:16,240 --> 01:13:18,660
walk with god can remain shriveled you can

1572
01:13:18,660 --> 01:13:21,880
remain discourteous rude unable to relate to people

1573
01:13:21,880 --> 01:13:24,000
unable to run your own household well and

1574
01:13:24,000 --> 01:13:25,460
at the same time god is blessing your

1575
01:13:25,460 --> 01:13:30,020
public ministry why is that why is that

1576
01:13:30,020 --> 01:13:31,580
because god has given you a gift so

1577
01:13:31,580 --> 01:13:33,680
that he might use it the temporary thing

1578
01:13:33,680 --> 01:13:35,920
it's for his glory he's not wasting his

1579
01:13:35,920 --> 01:13:38,420
gifts by giving them out and you reach

1580
01:13:38,420 --> 01:13:39,780
eternity and you've got nothing to show for

1581
01:13:39,780 --> 01:13:42,480
it might have been a leader in om

1582
01:13:42,480 --> 01:13:46,120
you might have have moved multitudes of people

1583
01:13:46,120 --> 01:13:50,700
but you actually have not grown very much

1584
01:13:50,700 --> 01:13:54,940
in your character get that difference clear because

1585
01:13:54,940 --> 01:13:58,320
it is a necessary humbling principle that we

1586
01:13:58,320 --> 01:14:01,920
need to to learn and this will affect

1587
01:14:01,920 --> 01:14:03,460
and then i'll come back to you that

1588
01:14:03,460 --> 01:14:06,640
this will affect your preparation have you ever

1589
01:14:06,640 --> 01:14:09,780
known those of you that have preached you've

1590
01:14:09,780 --> 01:14:12,660
got to go preach somewhere and you get

1591
01:14:12,660 --> 01:14:14,000
down to preparation you don't know what to

1592
01:14:14,700 --> 01:14:17,040
give what to bring them and and you

1593
01:14:17,040 --> 01:14:19,120
seem to get a message and then finally

1594
01:14:19,120 --> 01:14:20,340
you think well i don't know that doesn't

1595
01:14:20,340 --> 01:14:24,180
seem to be right for them god very

1596
01:14:24,180 --> 01:14:27,430
often will give his first message to you

1597
01:14:29,620 --> 01:14:32,860
it's for you first because actually you've been

1598
01:14:32,860 --> 01:14:34,640
a bit dry recently you've not been reading

1599
01:14:34,640 --> 01:14:37,120
your bible very consistently recently and god wants

1600
01:14:37,120 --> 01:14:38,660
to get your attention for the good of

1601
01:14:38,660 --> 01:14:41,440
your character so that you before you ever

1602
01:14:41,440 --> 01:14:43,960
stand in the pulpit and try and change

1603
01:14:43,960 --> 01:14:46,440
the characters of others are submitting to that

1604
01:14:46,440 --> 01:14:48,680
inward discipline as a preacher of letting god

1605
01:14:48,680 --> 01:14:51,360
deal with your own character first so watch

1606
01:14:51,360 --> 01:14:55,100
out for the time when god actually wants

1607
01:14:55,100 --> 01:14:56,420
to give you two messages the first one

1608
01:14:56,420 --> 01:14:58,520
is a private one for you as you

1609
01:14:58,520 --> 01:15:01,800
prepare now joseph you had a question i

1610
01:15:01,800 --> 01:15:03,640
think i think it fits precisely with the

1611
01:15:03,640 --> 01:15:06,300
thing i've just said because god is the

1612
01:15:06,300 --> 01:15:07,360
one who gave us the gift not to

1613
01:15:07,360 --> 01:15:10,480
waste it but he's given us the gift

1614
01:15:10,480 --> 01:15:13,840
in order to train our character your character

1615
01:15:13,840 --> 01:15:15,420
is more important than your gift and it

1616
01:15:15,420 --> 01:15:17,420
always will be now this isn't a very

1617
01:15:17,420 --> 01:15:19,440
difficult thing for me to say look at

1618
01:15:19,440 --> 01:15:23,540
kids we give children gifts but we give

1619
01:15:23,540 --> 01:15:25,860
them special kinds of gifts why in order

1620
01:15:25,860 --> 01:15:28,180
to influence their characters you know my wife

1621
01:15:28,180 --> 01:15:30,460
comes from a long line of engineers scottish

1622
01:15:30,460 --> 01:15:32,740
engineers the dear woman gives my son a

1623
01:15:32,740 --> 01:15:37,320
toolbox at the age of three i i'm

1624
01:15:37,320 --> 01:15:39,680
wanting to give him a hockey stick or

1625
01:15:39,680 --> 01:15:42,700
a football have you noticed how parents will

1626
01:15:42,700 --> 01:15:46,020
give you the gift of piano lessons when

1627
01:15:46,020 --> 01:15:48,920
you're young or they'll give you certain kinds

1628
01:15:48,920 --> 01:15:51,940
of gifts because they want to move your

1629
01:15:51,940 --> 01:15:56,800
character in certain ways we all know this

1630
01:15:56,800 --> 01:15:59,300
we give gifts in order to influence character

1631
01:15:59,300 --> 01:16:04,280
and there are disciplines involved in the gifts

1632
01:16:04,280 --> 01:16:07,540
that we give we may think our son

1633
01:16:07,540 --> 01:16:10,400
needs to become a little quieter a little

1634
01:16:10,400 --> 01:16:12,300
less boisterous we give him a stamp collecting

1635
01:16:12,300 --> 01:16:15,940
album or something we're trying to bring influences

1636
01:16:15,940 --> 01:16:18,260
into his life not so that he might

1637
01:16:18,260 --> 01:16:20,660
for the rest of his of eternity collect

1638
01:16:20,660 --> 01:16:23,140
stamps but so that his character will develop

1639
01:16:23,140 --> 01:16:25,800
in a certain way now god will give

1640
01:16:25,800 --> 01:16:29,000
and withhold fruit for his own sovereign purposes

1641
01:16:29,000 --> 01:16:33,500
um but our character development is involved in

1642
01:16:33,500 --> 01:16:36,520
but included in the development of our character

1643
01:16:36,520 --> 01:16:38,780
is the desire that there be fruit for

1644
01:16:38,780 --> 01:16:41,840
god's glory now there were times when paul

1645
01:16:41,840 --> 01:16:43,340
preached when he didn't see very much evident

1646
01:16:43,340 --> 01:16:49,420
fruit and there are times when people who

1647
01:16:49,420 --> 01:16:51,000
have been working in the muslim world have

1648
01:16:51,000 --> 01:16:53,920
walked in paul's footsteps in that i'm talking

1649
01:16:53,920 --> 01:16:57,000
last october this is lionel gurney that 80

1650
01:16:57,000 --> 01:16:58,620
years old leader of the red sea mission

1651
01:16:58,620 --> 01:17:02,000
team and he takes a completely philosophical attitude

1652
01:17:02,000 --> 01:17:03,180
to the work that they've done they say

1653
01:17:03,180 --> 01:17:06,640
look we've we worked in aden we worked

1654
01:17:06,640 --> 01:17:08,800
there 20 years we didn't see much fruit

1655
01:17:08,800 --> 01:17:10,300
we were kicked out the seed is sown

1656
01:17:10,300 --> 01:17:15,020
trusting god every farmer sows his seed and

1657
01:17:15,020 --> 01:17:16,760
then leaves it if we have to leave

1658
01:17:16,760 --> 01:17:18,220
it for 20 years let it be god

1659
01:17:18,220 --> 01:17:20,380
knows the seed that's been planted we'll go

1660
01:17:20,380 --> 01:17:21,820
to another field and we'll sow that now

1661
01:17:21,820 --> 01:17:25,940
good for the character god very often god

1662
01:17:25,940 --> 01:17:28,600
knows the fruit that we need i have

1663
01:17:28,600 --> 01:17:31,820
had the experience on occasions of god um

1664
01:17:31,820 --> 01:17:35,720
letting me know little encouragement you know sometimes

1665
01:17:35,720 --> 01:17:37,420
i complete the message and it seems as

1666
01:17:37,420 --> 01:17:39,920
if no one would help or bless and

1667
01:17:39,920 --> 01:17:41,760
two years later somebody will come up you

1668
01:17:41,760 --> 01:17:42,880
say you know you know that conference you

1669
01:17:42,880 --> 01:17:44,840
did and i say yeah i remember that

1670
01:17:44,840 --> 01:17:50,520
i got converted then wow isn't that tremendous

1671
01:17:50,520 --> 01:17:52,240
god knows when we need a little encouragement

1672
01:17:52,240 --> 01:17:57,460
the fruit is his to control but as

1673
01:17:57,460 --> 01:18:02,160
we become one with his desire we want

1674
01:18:02,160 --> 01:18:04,940
ourselves to see fruit for our ministry allowing

1675
01:18:04,940 --> 01:18:07,200
for due processes of growth in our character