The Church of Eleven22 - Week 5: Compassion

Episode Date: July 9, 2023

God did not give you all you have so you could have all you want, but so others could have all they need. 

Amen and amen. How are they, church? Good? Who's excited to sponsor some kids today? Are you ready? Don't be nervous. It's going to be awesome. How many have you already sponsored a compassion kid?

You already sponsored at least one kid. Praise God, that's awesome. All you've got to do is sponsor two or three more today, and you'll be good to go. How many of you don't sponsor a kid yet? Anybody brave enough to raise your hand? All right, you're up, okay? I need all you to do this. This is just a part of what we do as a church, okay?

Lots of churches are known for all kind of different stuff. Some churches are known for their music. some for their preaching. We are known as a church that sponsors a whole bunch of compassion kids, all right? On Thursday night, we sponsor 555, which puts us over 18,000 kids have been rescued from poverty in Jesus' name. Amen? Amen. Now, so I am fully confident that after today's services at all of our locations and online,

we should be over that 20,000 number. Amen? When I may go? Now, it's not a competition, but we're not only winning. We are kicking butt, all right? We are lapping other churches. And I dare another church to try to sponsor more kids. I hope they will.

You know why? Because then that would be another 20,000 children rescued from poverty in Jesus' name. And so I challenge all you other pastors that are listening right now. Step up your game. But this is what we're going to do. We're in week five of the Book of James. We're studying it for like 14 weeks. We haven't made it out of chapter one.

The reason is because the point. is not to get through the Bible, the point is to get the Bible through you, amen? Today we're going to study one verse, one verse. It should take about 10 minutes, probably. Probably not. It's going to be about an hour. My part is. And I want you to know that what this week is just a continuation of last week.

Everybody remembers what last week was, right? Remember the whole point of last week? Because you wrote it down, you memorized it. Remember this? Be doers of the word and not merely hearers only and so deceive your. And so this week, the point is not to feel a thing. The point is not to even understand a thing. The point is to do a thing.

And the point of this week is that you would sponsor a compassion kid. So I'm going to give you permission right now. At any time during the service, the moment you feel compelled and you're like, all right, I've had enough, I'm convinced. God is calling me to sponsor a kid for $43 a month. Then you can get up from where you are at any time. You're not interrupting anything. You are doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing.

You can get up and you can go to any of the areas or tables where the compassion packets are, and there will be some of our volunteers there with compassion shirts on to help you fill out the packet and help you do that. So what I want you to do, this is kind of like before you go on a flight, you know, the whatever you call the person now, I was going to say stewardess, but you can't say that because somebody might be triggered, so whatever they're called. The person says, identify the exit nearest you, it may be behind you. I want you to use your eyeballs and point your neighbor to where the, closest packets are to you. So there's some down here. There's some way up in their back. For those of you that like to sit up there in the balcony area, we've got them over here on the

walls or in the lobby. Okay, use your arms and point towards where the place if you were to go is. Ready, do it now. Uncross your arms. With Tony, you right there. Okay, good job. Good job. All right. So now you know where to go. So we're halfway there. So that's the goal. So at any point, and I'm going to give you permission. Listen, man, the point is to sponsor kids today. So if you're like, you know what, I'm here, you get up, you go, you fill out a packet, then you could just be the first one to leave and be at brunch before everybody else. And everybody said, the church get out early today? But like, yep, it did for me, okay?

So, that's what we're going to do. Like I said, we sponsored 18,000, I believe we're going to get to 20,000. And a part of the reason that we're doing this again, we're going to do this every year, it's a part of what we do. And I know a whole bunch of you already sponsor kids, but since the last time I preached a Compassion Sunday. We have grown by over 4,000 people at the Church of 1122. So there are thousands and thousands of you who have not had had an opportunity yet,

and so we want you to have an opportunity to sponsor a kid. James Chapter 1, we're going to pick it up in verse 27, which I know all of you note-takers are like, whoa, whoa, whoa, pastor. We skipped over verse 26. We're skipping verse 26, but we're coming back to it. If James, the writer of the book of James, if he was turning in this, as a ninth grade essay, his ninth grade English teacher would count off because he did not consolidate all of the verses about each subject into one spot, all right? So in a few weeks,

we'll talk about the power of words, and we'll come back and pick up verse 26. We're going to skip that one. We'll be at 27 this week. Starts out this way. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this. To visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit. Now that word does not mean what it means for like my grandma, to like just stop by for a few minutes and say, hey, that's not what it means. If you allow the Bible to interpret the Bible,

11 or 12 other times throughout the scripture, this same word is used, and in other places it's translated things like care for, redeem, raise up, give life. That's what this means. religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this to care for, redeem, raise up, give life to orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Now oftentimes when we hear the word religion, it's like a pejorative word. I even use it that way.

I can't tell you the number of times where people say to me when I'm starting to talk about Jesus with them because I've told you what I do, right? I fly a lot, I travel a lot, and I just. just, it's incumbent upon me. The moment I get on the airplane, I just get out my Bible, because I usually have a sermon to write, and I just look at the person next to me.

And if they wanna talk about it, then all my Calvinism kicks in, and I share the gospel. And if they don't, I think, well, they're not elect, and then I just work or watch my movie, okay? So that's what I do. But oftentimes people say, well, I'm not a very religious person. I go, oh, thank God, me either.

I'm not a very religious person either, because it's not about religion, it's about a relationship with Jesus Christ, amen, that's what it's about. But when James uses the word, he says that there's a, a couple of different kinds of religion. There's good religion and there's bad religion.

And ultimately, when we think religion, oftentimes what we think is behavior precedes acceptance. But what James is going to say is there is a kind of religion that is acceptable before God the Father. There is a kind of religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father. There is a kind of religion that is worthwhile. And that is when we understand by the grace of God. that acceptance comes first and that acceptance by his grace drives us to behavior. That's what he's going to talk about.

You see, there is a kind of religion. The kind that James is talking about is that because of my faith in Jesus Christ, I am going to do something in response to what Christ has done for me. Not the other way around. So there is worthwhile, pure, undefiled before God, the Father kind of religion. And then there's also a kind of religion that is worthless, impure, and defiled. What's that? First and foremost, impure, worthless, defiled religion is any religion that thinks the power is in our works and the power is not in the finished work of Christ.

Now, another triggering moment, sorry for all these triggers. Every other world religion, every other world religion is purely based on my acceptance before God, God is based upon my activity. According to James and according to all of the scripture, that would be pure, that would be impure and defiled religion. Then when you say, Jesus, what you did on the cross for me is not enough. It's actually up to me and my good works to make myself righteous before you. That would be defiled.

James would also say religion that is worthless and and impure and defiled would be a religion or a belief system that's all talk and no action. Remember this is last week's sermon, that intentions are worthless, intentions are useless. Be ye not merely hears of the word and so deceive yourself, but do what it says. James would also lead us to believe that a religion where the love of God stops with me instead of flowing through me, is it actually God's love in you at all? It's you trying to use God for your own benefit. He would also say that religion that is worthless or impure or defiled

is a religion where status is the most important marker. However, he also talks about religion that is worthwhile and pure and undefiled. And it's important for you to always use the scripture as commentary unto itself. And the message of the scripture from the very first page to the very last is, that religion, that a right relationship with God the Father is not based upon your works, it's based upon the finished work of Christ on the cross. What it means to stand right before the God,

it starts all the way back in the beginning, in the beginning, God. One God and three persons, God the Father's Son and Holy Spirit, in a perfect love relationship with himself. Out of an overflow of God's love for himself, he speaks into existence everything that is with a word. And he says, that's good. But God does better than good.

And he wants to create image bearers of himself. So he gathers together the dust of the ground. The Ottama is the Hebrew words, where we get the name Adam. And the Bible says that he breathes the breath of life into the very first human being, this image bearer of himself. Adam opens his eyes. He's in a face-to-face relationship with the Almighty God. And then God says, it's not good for man to be alone. He gives him a helpmate, gives him a wife.

And they are in a perfect, unadulterated relationship with their creator and He says, heavenly father. And that's how the whole thing starts. And it goes super good in my Bible for like a page. And then sin enters the world. And Adam and Eve reject God. They reject God with rebellion and religion. They reject God with rebellion saying, God, I don't care what you say.

I do what I want with who I want when I want. I'm the boss of me. And then when sin and shame enters the world, then they go and they run and they hide from God. And with their own hands, they begin to sow fig leaves together to make coverings for their sin and shame, and the very first religion is born. And yet God walks them down in the garden and says, where are you? Not because he doesn't know where they are. He wants them to know that he is pursuing his rebellious children.

And so they blame each other. That's what they do at first. And then God is holy and just, so he kicks them out of the garden, but he is also full of grace. And so he makes coverings for their sin. And for the first time in human history, the blood of an animal history, the blood of an animal is shed for the covering of sin. It is a picture of the coming gospel.

And then God declares the what theologians called the proto-evangelion, the first gospel. He says to Eve, I'm going to put enmity between your offspring and this enemy, this serpent, this snake, and there will come a day where an offspring from your line where it's going to show up on the scene, and this serpent is going to bruise his heel, but he's going to get his head crushed. And then the entire rest of the Old Testament is about prophecies and promises of the coming serpent crusher. And then one day, then one day, John the baptizer declares at the Jordan,

behold, pointing at Jesus, behold, the Lamb of God who's come to take away the sin of the entire world. And Jesus shows up on the scene, does ministry for three years, lives a perfect life, accomplishes every promise and prophecy, and fulfills every law of the old covenant, lives the life that you and I cannot live. And then, by the will of his father, goes and dies on the cross, an innocent man in our place, dies not only for you, but dies instead of you. And God made Him, who was without sin,

to be sin for us, that anyone who would believe that when Jesus says it is finished, somehow that counted for you, then he would take upon his shoulders, himself, all of your sin, pay the penalty for that, be the propitiation for our sin, and we would be imputed with his righteousness

so that when God sees you, he doesn't see the filth of your life, he sees the perfect righteous robe, of the Father wrapped around you. And then he ascends to the right hand of God, the Father. And on the way out, he says, you better go tell everybody, every tribe, tongue, and nation, and get ready because I'm coming back. That is the message.

That is what pure, undefiled religion is rooted in. The finish work. And then pretty much the majority of the New Testament after the Gospels is not just about what Christ has done for you, but the moment that you get saved, that you are saved by grace, you're not saved by works, but you are saved to a good work. Most of the New Testament talks about what the symptoms of the gospel-infected life look like. Jesus shares all kind of parables about what kind of fruit grows on this tree, and you know a tree by its fruit. Again, it's not that activity precedes identity.

It goes the other way around, but if and when your identity is changed by the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and your activity should change. Charles and I are working on a third book right now, and the whole book is about this. It's about what your life looks like when you encounter the grace of Jesus. The working title is called Run Over by the Grace Train. And this is the example that I use over and over and over.

If you showed up late to church, because you did, I saw you come in, and I were to say to you, hey man, why were you late? And you were like, ooh, well, I got hit. by a train. And I'd be like, did you really? Because you show no evidence of being run over by a train. Your hair still looks great. Enjoy it while it last. You're not bleeding. You're not disheveled whatsoever. You don't have any scabs or creases or cuts or limbs. I saw you walk in. And your shirt is still tucked in. I look at you and your life shows zero evidence of being run over by a train.

and so if you claim to know Jesus Christ and the power of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His grace is infinitely more powerful than any locomotive you could ever be hit by. And if you've been hit by that grace train, it changes everything about everything about everything, amen? And so what James says is, if you really know him, if you stand right before the Almighty God,

and you have been run over by the grace train of Jesus, then it's going to change the way you act in this world. and of all the fruits that he goes to, he says this, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father, is this. To visit, to care for, to redeem, to lift up the orphans and the widows and their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. You see, the way you get a stain is you rub up against something. And we're supposed to live in the world, just not be of the world.

that the Bible says that we are not supposed to love the world or the things in this world. And yet the Bible also says that God so loved the world. How do you put those two things together? Here's why, because God loved the people of the world, so he sent his son, Jesus Christ. But we as followers of Jesus are to reject the values and the systems of this world. My question to you would be, have you been stained of this world? Let me tell you, one of the key stains where we live right now, storing up for yourself's treasure here on earth, is one of the primary.

stains of this culture. It could be a blind spot. Now, why do you think James went here first? Of all the things that he could have said about the fruit of what it means to put your faith in Jesus, why do you think the first thing he goes to is this, to visit, to care for, to redeem, to lift up the orphans and the widows? Maybe, maybe he got this idea from his brother, Jesus. Just in case you knew to Bible study, I say this every week, James, the writer of the book

of James in the Bible was the brother of Jesus. Imagine growing up with Jesus as your brother. It'd be a lot of pressure, don't you think? Like when Mary would say, well, what would Jesus do? That was the first little WWJ, de abrasant, back in the day. And yet James, later in life, believed that his brother was the son of God, the Savior, the Messiah. And again, just to remind you, how many of you have a brother? Do you have a brother if you got a brother, raise your hand? Right, okay? What would it take for you to be convinced that your brother is the son of God? God. I got a brother. If he came to me, behold, I'm the son of God. I'm like, you're the son of something. It ain't the Lord. Okay, so, anyway, here's what it took. His brother, his older brother,

Jesus is dead in a grave, and then three days later is walking around Jerusalem. That's what it took, the resurrection. So he put his faith in his brother. And then he writes this, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the father is this, visit Orsonans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. I think he remembers or has heard the teachings of his brother. In Matthew chapter 25, if you got your Bible, hop over to Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25 is one of the preeminent texts on God's heart for the most vulnerable in our world. And in order to understand the three parables in Matthew chapter 25,

you have to understand that what Jesus is doing in Matthew chapter 25 is answering one question in Matthew chapter 24. In Matthew chapter 24, the disciples come up to Jesus, and they ask Jesus, what's the end of the world going to be like? Jesus points to the temple, which was the most important thing in all of Jewish culture, and he says some crazy things like, I am greater than that building. He says some things like, you tear down the temple, and three days later, I will rebuild it. They didn't realize at that point he was talking about his life, death, and resurrection. He points at the temple, and he says there's not going to be two bricks left upon one another in this temple. And that will be the end of days. And the disciples get all curious about this.

They're like, Jesus, what's the end of the world going to be like? And so Jesus answers, all of Matthew chapter 24 is very specific descriptions of the end of times. He talks about there will be wars and rumors of wars. He says that I'll be coming like a thief in the night, so be ready. He quotes from the book of Daniel, some kind of strange language about when you see the abomination. of desolation. And just like you, I think the disciples are like, what are we even talking about?

And so he's like, all right, but calm down, okay, because I don't even know the day that I'm coming back. And people in church always get obsessed with the end of times, okay? At some point in your Christian walk, people really get obsessed. And some people more obsessed than others, and if you're really obsessed with the end of times and what I think about it, God bless your ministry. all right based on whatever books come out or movies come out or whatever when I was in college

I had all these questions about the end of time so I go to my grandma Murt she was the best Christian I do and I was like Mert when do you think Jesus is coming back and she said honey I've always thought it's be more important to be on the welcoming committee than the planning committee I think that's real good and real good advice and so when people are looking kind of glazed over people you ask me when you're going to teach on the book of revelation I was like you know it's at the end of the book okay so maybe maybe the last sermon series I ever do I don't know. We'll see. All right, we'll see. So what Jesus does in Matthew chapter 25 tells us how to be ready for the return of Christ,

and he tells three parables back to back to back. And this means that he wants to emphasize the importance of this. The first parable he tells is called the Parable of the Virgins. Doesn't mean what you think it means. Here's what it means. It means don't miss the party. That's the point of the parable. Don't miss the party. Right now, the invitation has gone out to all people who would believe, and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. But there will come a day where the party starts and the invitation is over.

And so whatever you do, don't miss the party. Surrender your life to Christ before he returns. That's the point. The second parable is called the parable of the talents. Talents was the sum of money in the first century. And the whole point of that parable is, whatever you do, don't waste your life. To borrow a phrase from Dr. John Piper, whatever you do, don't waste your life. You've heard the phrase.

once. Yolo, that's stupid. You only live forever. And everything you do will either bring reward or regret. And so don't take all the things that God has given you and steward them as if you're going to live here forever. That's really, really dumb. Don't be dumb. Don't waste your life. That's the pointed part two. And then the third parable is known as the parable of the sheep and goats. And the point of it is this. If you know and love God, then you will love the people that he loves. If you know and love God, then you will not be merely a hearer of the word, but you will do what it says. And the proof, the final exam of those who go to heaven and don't go to heaven is this. If you've been run over by the grace train, it changes you and your heart beats for the things that make God's heartbeat, particularly the vulnerable.

And here's how he says it. Matthew 25, 31, he says this, and when the son of man comes in his glory. and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Listen, the first time Jesus came, he came humble, meek, and mild. He came as a baby in a manger. He came to serve and he came to redeem.

But when he returns, he ain't come in meek and mild. People say the dumbest stuff. Well, when I meet Jesus, I'm going to ask him, look, Scooter, you ain't asking Jack. when Jesus returns the Bible says that he's coming with fire in his eyes a sword in his mouth and tattoos on his quads do you hear that southern baptists tattoos on his quads the Bible says Lord of Lords and King of Kings will be written on his life you think it's a sharpie you think that's what he's using I don't think so he's coming back tatted and he's coming back to judge the

quick in the dead he's coming back to to hold every single one of us accountable to everything we thought said and done. And you ain't going to be like, hey, homeboy, I got to ask you a question. Nope, you're going to fall out on your face and pee a little. That's what's going to happen. Your options, our options, are you can bow or you can bow. That's what happens when the king of glory returns. And what's unbelievable is this, man, and if we humble ourselves on this side of his return

and bow to him as Lord and Savior, then he will exalt us and lift us up and say, welcome to the kingdom of heaven, which has been prepared for. you by my father. But if you reject him, then you will bow and tremble because he will be first in your life. He will either be first as your Lord and Savior, or he will be first as your judge, but he will rule and reign and be preeminent. When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne and before him will be gathered all the nations, every tribe, every tongue, every ethnicity. This is a lot of the nation. This is This is why the Great Commission matters.

It's vital to the return of Christ. Sounds like a movement for all people, does it not? And before him will be gathered all the nations. And he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. This is a really big deal. And how is he going to separate people? By race, ethnicity, gender, economic status, social status, blue checks, nope. It's not the game he plays.

He is going to separate people. by people that are in his kingdom or not in his kingdom. It says, and he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. And then the king will say, see this, the king, not baby in a manger, not carpenter's son, not rabbi, not teacher. The king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom. him. That's what he'll say. Good job. You sat on the sheep side today. Well done. He's going to look at the sheep on his right, and he's going to say, welcome to the kingdom of God of which you have inherited. Now, this is very important. What do you do to inherit something? Nothing. Your inheritance is a gift from your parents. You don't get to choose your parents. That's not how it works. It's not like your parents had a tryout. They got 10 kids and who has. ever had the best dribble and crossover, they're like, all right, you're with us. No. No, it's because you don't have anything to do with it. It's because of who your parents are, you get an inheritance

from them. This is very, very important, okay? But when you love your parents, don't you work for them, don't you love to do things for them, just out of a sense of gratitude? You want to write this down, or moo or whatever you're into. Grace is not anti-effort. Grace is anti-earning. We say that again. Grace is not anti-effort. When you experience the grace of God, it should fuel you to shift into overdrive to push forward the kingdom of God. Grace is just anti-earning. There's no good thing you can do to earn it or deserve it.

And so he says, come, you who are blessed by my father inherit the kingdom. Prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Four, here's how he's going to tell who's on the right, who's on the left. Who's the sheep and who are the goats? He says, four, I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clove me.

I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Five out of six of these things are covered with Compassion International. I don't think it's a stretch to say I was a compassion kid and you sponsored me. By the way, sounds very 10-10 life, does it not? You see, as a church, the reason that we are about all these things is because Jesus is about all these things. We're not trying to earn his favor.

We have his favor through the cross of Jesus Christ. And because we do, we better get to work to be about the things that he is about. And then the righteous will answer him, say, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick and imprison and visit you? And the king, again, the king. What kind of king is this?

What kind of king is this that would step off of his throne and come on a rescue mission for a traitorous race? This is the king we serve, the king of glory. A king who cries, a king who bleeds, a king who dies, and a king who is resurrected to rescue me and you. That's the kind of king we serve. And so he's coming. He's going to rule and he's going to reign. And his first act is separating those who are not in his kingdom. And the king will answer, truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these brothers.

You did it to me. What he's saying is this, you didn't earn it. You were just living it. That's what he says. This is the final exam, not a theology exam. It's a lab. Did you act? Like, was your faith a feeling, or did your faith produce an action?

Be ye not merely hears of the word and so deceive yourself. It's not just a belief system. The demons believe, but they haven't surrendered. And then he looks at the other group. Then he will say to those on his left, And they're thinking, uh-oh. And y'all sat on the hell side. I'm not saying you're going to hell if you are believe in Jesus right now, so you don't, okay?

And they're thinking, oh, boy, this can't be good. And they're right. And he says to them, depart from me, you curse it into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And we live in a culture that's like, well, that's not fair. How can a loving God send somebody to hell? how about it's the most fair and just thing in all of human history how about we serve the kind of God that says you want to live a life apart for me I will give that to you forever which ends up in a Christless eternity of which is a

living eternal hell and that is what you are choosing when you reject the Almighty God I mean we also serve the kind of God that even when we screw up and we say say, God, I need you and I want you. By his grace, he pours it out on us, forgives us of our sin, and adopts us into the family. That's not fair. Hell is the only thing fair about eternity. And yet God says, I will turn you over to your own desires and let you go in the direction that you want to go. And that place will lead you to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Now, how do we know? How do we know? Four, here's how. I was hungry, you gave me no food, I was thirsty, you gave me no drink, I was a stranger, you did not welcome me, I was naked, you did not clothe me, sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. And then they will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? Then he will answer them, saying, truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these,

you did not do it to me. and these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. I mean, they're saying, if we'd have seen you, you realize there's a bunch of church people can get real surprised on the day of judgment. I hope you realize that. But we went to church, and if we had seen you,

we would have done something about it. And he's saying, no, no, no, if you knew me, you would love me, and if you love me, the people that I love, you would love. And then you would act like it. Well, part of the reason that we do Compassion Sunday is around here is I want every single one of us to be without excuse. Look to your left or right right now at the faces of these children that are hanging up. These are the faces of the exact people Jesus is talking about when he said I was hungry and thirsty and without clothes.

And whatever we do or do not do to one of the least of these, we do or do not do, to Jesus Christ. There are 14 million children worldwide right now that suffer. from severe acute malnutrition. 45% of child death worldwide are due to hunger and related causes. Hear this. It's going to be a little shocking. Every day more than 10,000 children die globally from hunger and related causes. 700 children die globally every day from illnesses caused by dirty water and unhygienic living conditions.

Over 1 million children are raped in this world every day. You want to prevent that? you want to prevent human trafficking, sponsor a kid. Because when they've got a name and a uniform and a school and a church that knows who they are and food, then it's one of the greatest ways to prevent this. Do you hear me? 10,000 kids die every day globally from starvation and a million children are raped every single day in our world. It should be the only headline every single day.

Every day you open the paper, it should say another million kids are raped, another 10,000 kids starve to death. Oh, and the president said something stupid. He's going to say stupid stuff, and the other guy is too, okay? Every day. And yet we're enamored with him. What do he's saying? And people are dying and being brutalized. And we're staying by this world because we're just comfortable.

And Jesus says, you ignore this, you ignore me. And listen, and every time I bring this up, people are always like, yeah, but isn't there enough to do right here in our own hometown? Yeah, man, tell me what you're doing. 90% of our partners in 10-10 life are in and around Jacksonville. Most of the time when people give it that excuse that I'm making excuses so I don't have to do anything. Good luck on the day of judgment. Here's the thing. As I was looking up these stats, I can't find one child in America with parents that love them that has starved to death this year, not one.

Now, sometimes you can from like drug addicted people or abusive people or things like that. But we live in a country right now where even if you have no money, you can go get fed. Okay? So for sure we do things here. Zodd's missionary theologian named C.T. Stud says the light that shines, farthest shines brightest at home. So for sure, there's all kind of work to be done here. However, we got 700 kids a day around the world dying from things that you can go to Walgreens and cover it in an afternoon. That's the difference.

You get diarrhea. It's just embarrassing. You don't even say it. I have a stomach issue. And you go to Walgreens, take care of it. 700 times today a kid gets diarrhea and he doesn't see tomorrow. That's what we're talking about. That's what we're doing with Compassion International.

You see, there is one word that Americans have a hard time with. The word is enough. That's enough house. It's enough car. Those are enough clothes. That's enough. And if we could learn to say that's enough stuff, then we could be able to pull together just the church, forget all the lost pagan people in our world, forget all them.

If just the church was radically generous with the things that God has given us, then you know what you could say? We could say, like, enough with child poverty, enough with child starvation, enough with child sex exploitation. We could solve it. And what compassion does is $43 a month. $43 a month to rescue children from poverty in Jesus' name. This is the most important part of it. So not only do they get food and clothes and get to go to school and get medicine, they get the gospel because our job, we're not just trying to send well-fed people to hell.

That's not what we're trying to do. We want to stamp out all human suffering, especially eternal for $43 a month. What can you get for $43 bucks? Well, like three cups of coffee? What's our obsession with coffee right now? It's unbelievable. Remember when coffee was just coffee? I mean, seriously, 20 years ago, nobody was like, is that coffee good?

Like, no, it's coffee. Tastes like motor oil, put hair on your chest, and it keeps you away. What are you talking about? Drink it. $43, you know what you get? Chili's. For one. Chili's.

You just end up there. Nobody's ever planned to go to Chili's. You're just there. I guess we go to Chili's. Let me tell you the result. You go to Chili's and you eat, and then here's what you do. What's the result post-chillies and $43? you go, mm, shouldn't have done that.

The 18,000 kids we sponsors, you know what? I've never heard one time. I've never heard a sponsor get a letter from their kid and go, I shouldn't have done that. Yeah, Jesus says it's more blessed to give than to receive. This kind of thing he's talking about here, man. You see, I've been to see these kids face to face, and here's the thing I can't get over it.

You know what the difference between all of these children's faces on these packets and my children is? You know what the difference is? Where they were born? It's the only difference. and where you live should not determine whether you live. And what if, what if God did not give you all that you have so that you could have all that you want,

but God gave you all that you have so that others could have what they need. One time, J.P., when he was an itty-bitty kid, he was like, Dad, why didn't God give enough food for everybody in the world to eat? I thought about it, and I was like, actually, there's plenty of food and money to take care of every human being on the planet.

But for whatever reason, he has just given a lot of it to us, trusting that his children would share what their Heavenly Father has given them. Here's some more commentary on that day of judgment. In Matthew chapter 7, at the end of the sermon on the Mount, Jesus says this, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. You get that? There's going to be some surprise people.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord. Now this is interesting because the Bible says all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, but not everybody who says, Lord, here's the difference. When you call on the name of the Lord, what you were saying is, I want to align myself with the character and nature of you. That's called salvation. That's called surrender. But there's a group of people that only believe in their mind, but don't have it

surrendered to him. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Jesus makes this clear that his will is that you would believe that Jesus is the son of God and died in your place. And when you believe that, you would act like it. verse 22 and on that day many will say to me Lord did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name and then I will declare to them I never knew you depart from me you workers of lawlessness he's saying to know me is to love me and if you love me then you will care for the people that I love now again man it is not your works that save you notice what this group of people

the moment they're like, what do you mean we're not in? Look at our religious resume. We were on the prophecy committee at church. Any prophets in the house? Well, some of them didn't make it in because they didn't know and love Jesus. How about this one? We cast out demons in your name.

You would think if you were on the exorcism team at church, you're probably going to heaven. How many have you cast out a demon? I never have. I sent a seventh grader home from camp early one time, closest I've ever come. Then I met the mom, and it was one of those generational demons, okay? So I'm not saying that if you sponsor a kid, you get to go to heaven.

I'm saying if you're on your way to heaven, how in the world could you go and not drag as many of these compassion kids with you as you possibly can scrape together $43 at a time? That's what we're saying. Now, I would never ask you to do something I'm not doing, man. Our family, we currently sponsor six after this weekend, it'll be seven, okay? My sermon is so compelling, I'm doing what it says. Again. Sponsor a girl named Grace from Uganda.

I've sponsored her since she was eight. She's 19 years old. I've met Grace. Took her swimming one time. She almost didn't make it. Straight to the bottom. Not a good swimmer. Sweet girl.

Never seen a pool. Just bloop. Oh boy. Here we go. Had to go get Grace. She's great. Sponsor Brandy. She's 16.

She just had a birthday. I've sponsored her since she was like three years old, man. Been to her house. Grandma went to visitor one time or grandma gave me a chicken, that's thanks. I'm in Uganda trying to explain Delta's Czech policy on African chickens is awesome. We've got a young man, he's 15 years old from West Africa. How about this name? Pronounce this for me.

A, B, A-A-T-E-R-D-U-O-R-U-Z-I-A. We call him Abe, all right? We sponsor Sonia from Indonesia, she's 14 years old. We sponsored since she was three. We sponsor Vitor from Brazil. He's eight. and Haleana from Brazil, she's four. We sponsored 23 children in my family.

And here's what's crazy, man. Here's what's crazy. It all started with one step of obedience from Gretchen. Jesus is the hero, but he used her to sponsor these 20,000 kids. You know how I say all the time to you? I say this all the time. You have no idea what hangs in the balance. You have no idea what hangs in the balance.

If you'll just take one step of obedience, you have no idea how God could use that one step of obedience to do something immeasurably more than you ever hoped or imagined. So 23 years ago, Gretchen and I were at a youth specialties conference because I was a youth pastor, just raking it in, all right? That's how we used to go on vacation. We go to these conferences because they would be in neat places and we could stay in hotels. And so we're at this worship service. I think I'd heard of compassion. I don't know if I even had or not. They make a spiel, and then Gretchen leaves.

and I thought she was going to the bathroom. She took forever, and then she comes back with a compassion packet. She was like, we're sponsoring a kid. We'd been married less than a year. I didn't even know you could talk back. I was like, yes, ma'am, all right? So, I get it. His name's Alvarado.

We called him Blue Boots. He had blue galoshes up to here. Boom. So we start writing letters. He starts writing them back. The next year, same conference, we get to the compassion voice. She starts walking off. I try to grab her.

I can't get her. I've got, I'm like, We can't do this anymore. We ain't got no money. We're broke. She comes back, I think it was like $32 a month or something. She comes back with another package. She's like, I think we should sponsor this kid.

He was from Ecuador. I was like, babe, we don't have $32. She says, our cable bills more than $32. So we called him Comcast. Straight up. Called him Comcast to the graduated. Now he graduated. He's in the Army.

He takes care of all of his family. his parents. And we've done this 23 times. Now here's the thing, man, here's the thing. Gretchen and I had no idea the kind of influence we might have. She had no idea that because of her one step of obedience that 20,000, and if you include the other churches that we've influenced, it's probably 40 or 50,000 kids have been sponsored. Listen, man, if compassion was Amway, I'd be raking it in, all right? But it all goes back to just this one step of obedience. Now, You may be asking, well, does it work? I've been there.

I've been boots on the ground. But we have an opportunity to hear, not second hand from me, but firsthand of what compassion, what you picking up a packet and sponsoring the kid for $43 a month can do in the life of an image bearer of God. Take just a minute and check out this story. The best thing that ever happened to my life was compassion when I was seven years old. I grew up in Kerobangi slams, which is the third largest slums in Kenya. And we lived in a 10-by-10 cubicle house. Six of us, my mom and dad, and four siblings.

And so what we did, we used a curtain. My mom and dad would sleep on this other side and us on the place which we called a sitting room. And at night we used our own clothes to spread down and sleep on. And there was no running water. Outside our house, there was a running sewerage system that was so close to the piped water to mean that it wasn't really, really clean. And food was our major problem because we could go for days without eating anything.

My mom was a housewife. My dad was a cashier laborer. And if he had to work, he could get $10 a month, where $6 went to rent. So basically, we survived on $4. Life was unbearable, and I grew up as a very bitter child. I was so bitter with life, so bitter with God, and I wish that we were all dead because I didn't see any meaning in life. I was so hopeless.

Could you talk to me about some of the struggles of the people that grew up in the slums there? So life in the slum is so hopeless, you know? That is where young girls join prostitution, and parents even traffic their own children and send their own daughters to go and sleep with men for very little money. And then I imagine things begin to change at some point in your life. Yes. So how did you come to know about Compassion International?

What was your first introduction to compassion? I was so dirty and skinny. I was so malnourished. And my mom came and grabbed me out of that place because a friend had told her that there was this church and an organization in that church that was sponsoring kids. that the sponsorship is all about food, because food was our greatest problem.

And I remember somebody pointing at where my mom and my mom was asked a few questions, and they said that I had been recruited into the program. I remember I will go there, and I was always, every Saturday was Christmas for my family and I. I was given tea in the morning, I was given lunch, I was given food, including a fruit. So there was so much, you know, they love, the acceptance,

and, you know, being given my first Bible, the Compassion Project, taught how to pray. And I can say that compassion helped us, helped me to walk out of poverty through giving me hope of Jesus Christ. But the other best thing that they gave me was my sponsors. These are people who just picked a packet. So just to be clear, in case our people aren't putting this together.

Almost 30 years ago, your picture was on one of those packets. Yes. And that was a picture of you. Yes. And a person, a couple, picked it up and decided to begin sponsoring. And then God used that to begin to change everything. Yes. I'm a living testimony of God's goodness.

So our church just entered into a two-year discipleship journey that we call the 10-10 life. It's rooted in John chapter 10, verse 10, where the enemy says his mission statement is in our Bible, that the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. And I feel like, even though we've all experienced it where you grew up, you experienced it in a very tangible way. But Jesus, the good shepherd says, I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly. And so our church has been fighting for every image bearer of God from womb to tomb, from conception till the moment that they breathe their very last. And so it sounds like that we are partners in this because you, You've been fighting for that same kind of thing, right?

Yes. So much was given to me by God through compassion and my sponsors. And the generosity of my sponsors shook my husband and I, to an extent that we became sponsors of compassion children, one from Mexico and another one from Kenya. So it's a full circle where we've moved from being beneficiaries to being sponsors. And so together we have an organization where we rescue. We are giving back to God.

through serving those in the community. So we have an organization called Mercy House Global, where we rescue young, poor pregnant girls from the streets and slums of Kenya. These are girls age 15 and below who are pregnant either due to rape, incest, or survival prostitution. And as we exist to tell them that they are loved by God, and God gives them another chance.

And so not only did Christ save you, rescue you, out of poverty in Jesus' name, You met your husband there. That's pretty awesome. You have two biological children. Praise God for that. And how many girls and babies do you all minister to through Mercy House? 76.

76. Yes. And you can trace all of that back to one person deciding to pick up your packet and saying yes. Without knowing, I think maybe they pick the packet because of how I was looking. But the transformation. was huge. I can tell you this, that when you sponsor a child, you bring hope. You are changing a life, but also as a sponsor, your life is also being changed. So I want you to look right there. What would you say to the Church of 1122 about why they should sponsor a kid?

The scripture is very clear, and all we need to do is just to be obedient to the scripture. You know, when you look at James 127, his pure religion is taking care of the poor, the orphans, and the widow. And these hopeless children are waiting for you and I to pick a packet and sponsor them and give them hope. And I believe that we are blessed to be a blessing to other people. And so when we are doing this, we are responding to God's command. Normally people respond to other people's command, but how sweet is it to respond to God's command?

Pick a pocket and be a blessing to so many children around the world. And in future, they're going to stand and give a taste. of what God did through you, through their lives and their families and their communities, for the glory and honor of God's name. Amen. Marine, I'm so proud of you. It is so, it's an honor for me to get to sit this close to a real live human being that has been used by God like you have.

That you didn't let the enemy define you, that the good news of the gospel gets to tell you who you are, and that you were not just like a cul-de-sac of the grace of God, but you were a condoes. it, that you didn't just receive God's love, grace, and mercy just for yourself, but you've allowed it to flow through you, not just through compassion, but also through the ministry that you run. And so this church loves you, and we are so proud of you. And we thank God that you made the 15-hour flights to come over to be here with us today. Thank you.

Church, would you please welcome to the stage, Maureen. We'll Wea Waze Yesah Wauze Mokohsi Iweza

Mamboyote Wai Mwaminifu I Sante Yesu Yesu Asante Jesus

Hasante Jesus Asante Jesus, we thank you, Jesus. We thank you, Jesus. We thank you, Jesus. We thank you, Jesus. We thank you, Jesus. Amen, amen, amen. Maureen, as you know, we started a discipleship journey

called the 1010 life, where we are fighting for for every image bearer of God from womb to tomb. And we would like to partner with you and your ministry. And this isn't a surprise because we did it on Thursday night. But here is a $10,000 check to just sew into the ministry that you are doing. We love you. We're proud of you.

And I would like to ask Maureen just to pray over us right now. Would you pray? You get the glory, Lord. You get all the honor. I surrender all to you. withholding nothing, nothing, Lord. I'm here to thank you

for your goodness, for your faithfulness. You are awesome, Lord. All the good names belong to you. You are rough for our healer God. Jaira, our supplier, Father. We thank you, O King of Glory because you are Nisi, our banner. Elohim, Adonai.

You are our Ebenezer, Lord. We thank you, oh God. full of compassion, full of love and full of faithfulness, oh God. This morning I just want to worship you and to honor you for you are doing, oh God. As a church, oh God, we humble ourselves and cry for mercy, oh God. We are all sinners. We've sinned against you, oh God, consciously or unconsciously, oh, father. We ask for forgiveness.

Mercy, mercy, mercy, Lord. Remember mercy over us, oh God. May your mercy find us at our place of obedience, at our place of brokenness, oh God. Oh, forgive us because of flesh, oh God. Forgive us, oh, God. Forgive us, oh, Father, because of things that we do that hurt you, oh God. Remember mercy, oh God. Forgive us because of pride, O Lord.

Remember mercy upon us, oh God. Thank you because your name is a strong tower. The righteous run to eat O God and they are safe, oh God. Thank you for your supernatural power upon us, O God. We pray, oh God, that we may not only see your signs and wonders as your

children, but God make us as a sign and wonder. Thank you for your mercies that are new every single morning, oh God. We love you and we give you all the praise and all the honor. For we pray all these in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Amen.

everything Maureen. Amen. All right, so we're going to respond. It's what we do. We're going to sing. We're going to bring our first and our best, our ties and our offerings. We're going to pray.

If you've got to pass your kid, let's you come and pray for them. If you feel like the Lord is calling you to sponsor one right now, then why don't you go to the sides or the front or to the back or wherever you identify that spot and begin to pray over

and just do whatever Jesus tells you to do. Those of you online, there's a number that you can text that's right there on the screen. And so we are going to respond. And the reason that we're going to respond is because we're not going to be merely here as the word and so deceive ourself, we're going to do what it says. Because Jesus said, I was hungry and I was thirsty and I was without clothes and I was sick. And you did something

about it. And whatever you've done for the least of these, you've done unto him. Let us respond.