Lessons Learned over the Summer — Matthew 18

0:00 Good morning. Good morning. It's good to be back. Some of you may have noticed that I have been gone over the summer. And I'd like you to notice that I wasn't playing hooky, but I was doing something else.

0:14 So I was asked to do a, overview of what I was doing this summer. I was with a team called Cross Canada Cruisers. They're a ministry of public ministries. So I'll be telling you about that today. But what is what is c three?

0:29 Well, stands for Cross Canada Cruisers. So the cross of Jesus Christ is our message. Canada is our mission field, and we happen to have an old car, a '55 Oldsmobile Holiday that we take with us and we use that in car shows or cruisers. So Cross Canada Cruisers, the most important part is the cross. We're talking about a few things today.

0:54 First of all, lessons I learned over the summer. And believe me, are many things that I learned this summer. Number two, some of the techniques that I learned this summer. And thirdly, the beliefs that I encountered and how they compare with scripture. So I'd like to point out that Canada is different spiritually.

1:16 There's a strong feeling in Canada that religion is very personal, that you have your religion and I have my religion, and let's keep it that way. Never the twain shall meet. And so I guess as an encouragement, I found that when I was in Windsor, Ontario, right across from Detroit, just the site of The United States Of America made people more willing to talk about religion. And I found that here in The States, are willing to talk about their faith. So they're not going to smack you over the head.

1:48 It's okay. So talk to them. So lessons I learned, techniques, and then beliefs I encountered. So the first lesson I learned was that my relationship with God is more important than doing things for God. My relationship is more important than service.

2:05 I was talking to a man in Heidelberg, Ontario. We stayed in Ontario over the summer, and I was telling him my plans of what I was going do when I got back. And it's good to have plans. You've to have vision going forward. And then he said, Wait a minute.

2:22 When you get back, the most important thing is your relationship with the Lord. If you have that close relationship, will have... The other things will fall in place. You will have the desire for evangelism. The thing is as part of the curriculum, I was required to read the New Testament over the summer.

2:46 It came out to about four chapters a day, is sometimes hard to squeeze in. But if you read your bible, and especially more than a couple verses a day consistently, God will bless you in many ways. He can only speak to you through his spirit when you read his word. So my relationship with God and how I was forced to read the New Testament religiously over the summer. Alright?

3:20 And really, it's about accountability. I mean, was expected to read those four chapters a day. And I'll confess to you today that since I've come back, I haven't been able to or I haven't put enough emphasis on reading, four chapters isn't the magic amount, but a large portion each day. It's been a good good thing to get started, and I've been able to continue it to a point, but it's an ongoing challenge. The third thing I'd like to talk about, and I'll talk about this for a little while, is a lesson of forgiveness.

4:20 Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one is brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents. Now John MacArthur, he says that the talent is the largest denomination of currency they had back then and 10,000 was essentially an innumerable amount of money. So this 10,000 talents is something that is way beyond what this man had the capability of repaying. I'll refer back to that later.

4:56 Verse 25, but as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold with his wife and children and all that he had and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him saying, master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all. Then the master of the servant was moved with compassion and released him, and he forgave him the debt. He forgave him. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a 100 denarii, and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat saying, pay me what you owe.

5:39 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him saying, have patience have patience with me and I will pay you all. And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he had paid the debt. So when his fellow servant saw what he had done, they were very grieved and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had been called, said to him, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have compassion on you fellow servant just as I have had pity on you?

6:19 And his master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So my heavenly father will also do to you if each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother his transgressions. So this is to say that one of the people I was working with, at times this summer, we we didn't get along at first. And I was injured by something he said and did, and I thought I had forgiven him. I thought I had, but I really hadn't.

6:56 And so it wasn't till about a month later, and I was in a city, and it was in Windsor. And there was a man there named Jerry. And Jerry was about 50 years old. He had been saved about nine years. But he had the heart to know everyone in his neighborhood and to speak to them about Jesus Christ.

7:23 One day, Jerry and I were going door to door, and we came to one door or we went to many doors, but as we came to one door, we knocked on the door and the man inside asked us if we were police, which is kind of ridiculous. Anyways, the man inside was very, very scared about something. And so Jerry Jerry, my friend, said to the other guy, I know you. And the other man said to Jerry, I don't I don't think you do. He said, I do know you.

7:57 And Jerry was able to share with him the love of Jesus Christ. But what I didn't know at that point was that the other man was one who had stolen Jerry's vehicle twice and then taken his wife out to deal drugs and everything else. He had stolen his wife and yet Jerry was able to forgive that man enough to share Jesus Christ's love with him. And as I looked at how in this story in Matthew 18, how Jerry would say, well, Christ forgave an unpayable debt. How can I not forgive this man?

8:39 And then I look at my little scenario and I'm like, this is so insignificant. How come I can't forgive him? So I forgave him. But it was a slap in the face and it was a lesson a lesson well learned about forgiveness. Next thing I learned about, number four, is about the prayer and the power of prayer.

9:03 The man I had trouble with, I prayed for him, and God worked in his heart, and God worked in my heart, as you can see. And at the end of the year, when we came back together again, there was harmony. And now we are very, very good friends. So God works in amazing ways. Fifth thing that I learned this summer I'd like to share with you is the exhortation in scripture to be ready in season, not of season.

9:36 Prayer is very important and I encourage any of you who don't to come out to the corporate prayer that we have here at Westlake Bible Fellowship on Wednesday evenings at 07:00. I'd also like to thank many of you who prayed for me over the summer because God has worked in my life. So going back down to always being ready, turn to second Timothy chapter four verse one. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word, be ready in season and not of season.

11:01 I'm working with Layton Kerr and so there's the four of us on the C3 team and we came out of the prayer meeting and we were tired. Layton Kerr is a beast. He goes 100 miles an hour all day long. And so us as young guys, we couldn't keep up with him. So we were tired, we were coming out of the permitting, we were going get ready to get in the minivan and head home.

11:26 It's about a long drive to get home. And he says, guys, you're on c three. Not that that has anything to do with anything. But here in the parking lot, there's a man, a young man, I think he's 14, just dribbling a basketball. He has nothing to do, he's by himself.

11:48 This is a perfect witnessing opportunity. Why don't one of you talk to him? And so us getting ready to get in the vehicle, we stop because he exhorts us. And we get out and we go talk to him and eventually I go over and talk to him. And he was he was ripe for the harvest.

12:10 People have been praying for him, and I had the the privilege of sharing with him the gospel, and he received Christ that night. And I I think about what would have happened if I hadn't been ready, if I hadn't been exhorted by Layton Kerr to go talk to this guy. He was there. It was the right time. The Holy Spirit had been working in his heart, and I was ready to get in the minivan.

12:34 So my exhortation to to all of you and to myself as I'm home now is to continue on to seek out those opportunities and when God gives them to you, be obedient and receive them. The next thing I'd like to talk about, something I struggle with is pride. Turn to first Corinthians chapter three. I must admit I felt a little bit of pride after winning that soul for Christ, And it's completely unfounded and not right at all because I'm not the one that saved him in the least. In first Corinthians chapter three verse seven, it says, so then neither he who plants anything nor he who waters, but God gives the increase.

13:27 We see that God is the one that does the work and that we're merely called to be obedient and to preach the word. Next thing I learned was that successful people are harder to reach. They think they have everything they need. It was very apparent in Ottawa that neighborhoods that didn't have everything were very open to talking about their need of a savior, whereas people who live in these mansions, they weren't interested. But Jesus Christ died for everyone, so we're called to go to everyone, but successful people are more difficult to reach.

14:10 While at Bridalwood Bible Chapel, I learned that exercising a spiritual gift is a great encouragement to others, be it evangelism, be it hospitality, be it helps, be it any other spiritual gift. When you are strong in exercising your gift, you are a great encouragement to others. I think of a man named Clyde, an older man, an evangelist, and when C3 came to help assist that assembly in evangelism, he was almost giddy with excitement. He was ready to go. He was there every time we were ready to do evangelism because he was being encouraged by others who were using their gift.

14:55 So I encourage all of us to use our gifts and to encourage, others by example. The next one seems pretty apparent, maybe I learned this before this summer. But sometimes you don't want to evangelize, but do it anyways. I was in a in a park, of latent Kerr. I don't know how he does it, he says, guys, let's do a kids' ministry at this water park or like a splash pad.

15:28 And so we did a kids' ministry and I felt so awkward doing it. I didn't want to do it, but there was him setting up the paint board, telling me what to do, and so I did it. So, I guess if you want to encourage me in a certain ministry, just drag me along and I'll come. I learned that spiritual warfare is real. If you are doing things for God, believe me that the devil is also there to discourage you and to cause adversity.

16:05 Layton Kerr has a ministry in Downtown Ottawa where he does street preaching using a paint board. He's been doing it for seventeen years, Friday evening, very consistent. He started an assembly in Downtown Ottawa. So he's been there a while and people know that he's there. One night in particular when the Holy Spirit was working particularly strongly, there was, a man who came down and he, not sure if he was drunk or just off his rocker, but he was very disruptive.

16:40 And he was proclaiming quite vehemently and loudly and with a facade of love that we are preaching lies. And he quoted the the portion in Matthew chapter 12 where house divided cannot stand, and how can there be heaven and hell if the house divided? Well, Jesus isn't talking about heaven and hell. He's talking about how he cast out a demon and that a demon is not gonna cast out a demon. So he he was completely off base, and yet he was there and causing a disruption.

17:16 And so there will be spiritual warfare if we are being obedient. While he was there, two girls came up to me. We got talking, and one girl asked me, quote, how do I receive God's gift of eternal life? Well, if anybody ever gave you a witnessing opportunity, that's the way to start it. Door wide open, but because of the commotion going on, because of her friend who wanted just to go on, they ended up leaving before I could share the whole gospel.

17:55 And so I think of someone who had a desire to know. She was a Catholic, she wanted to know how to receive eternal life, and yet she was dragged away by her friend. So spiritual warfare is real. While we were there that night, we were coming back to our truck and someone had stolen our tailgate. Just different ways that the devil is out there.

18:20 On the last night, the bylaw and police came and they didn't want us there, so they shut us down. We weren't doing doing anything illegal. They just... They didn't want us there. So pray for Layton Kerr and his ministry.

18:33 He's very effective. He's not just been preaching the word, but he's been planning bible studies. He started churches. It's growing. So pray for Layton Kerr.

18:47 Last thing that I learned, I'm going to talk about today, is that there are people doing the work. There are. And so if you're looking for opportunities to get involved in a particular way, look for people who are doing it. And quite often you won't see them right on the surface because they're just doing it. They're not trying to gain attention, they're just doing it.

19:15 And I've asked myself, would I evangelize if I knew that nobody ever would know about what I was doing? And yet we see people who are evangelizing. We see Gary Weeks, a singer. He owes the Toronto Public Square regularly to preach. We have Layton Kerr.

19:36 We we have that Jerry that I was talking about who had great forgiveness. There are many others that I don't know about. Go to different places, see people doing their work. And there are people here in Westlake and Pablo Fellowship who are doing the work of evangelism, doing different works. Need to seek them out and find them and encourage them and work together.

20:24 So door to door is a a very good way of talking to people. We went to different parks. We went to a skate park, and my friend Jordan on the C3 team was able to lead Man of Christ, a man who wasn't living with his wife or what the situation was. He had two young children at the skate park. He he wasn't a desirable in his...

20:49 He wasn't one he normally just go and talk to, and yet he was willing to hear the gospel and he received it. So don't not talk to somebody because of their outward appearance. Inviting to barbecues. Apparently barbecues are very, popular in Canada. Park Ministry, just like Layton Kerr, and also using the paint board.

21:15 I like to show you one way that I use the paint board, right now. Alright. So here's here's the paint board. Generally, have a paint brush, but they're over here, so I can't get them. So I'm going to do this message for you very quickly because I'm running out of time.

21:34 So this message I have here today is about a subject that many are searching for. It's the subject of many movies, and it's something that I have found personally, something that I found. And it's this subject coming up right here, and you can't see it. But up here, it says love. I have found love.

21:56 And yet, I'm going to talk to you today about a love that's not just an ordinary kind of love, it's a special love. Can you see that at all? You can see it? Okay. I'm too close.

22:07 True love. I'm going to talk to you about true love and what it is. And so over here on the right, in this yellow box, it's a four letter word, I'm going to be putting in that box what is the ultimate demonstration of true love. But here on the left, I have some words that we use quite often in a worldly sense, and they're good ways of showing love. So the first one is candy.

22:42 We often use candy to show love. If if you were to give me a big box of Oreos or a big box of M and M's or Smarties or Snickers or Hershey's bar, I would think that you love me an awful lot. If if you were to give me a whole dump truck load of said candy, I would think you love me even more. So we see that candy, giving candy is a very good way of showing love. And yet candy is not even close to being comparable to what I'll put in that yellow box.

23:19 The next thing is time. I like that paintbrush. Time. Time is an excellent way of showing love. I see a lot of couples here.

23:30 Couples spend a lot of time together because they love each other. If I want to show my love or increase my relationship with somebody, I will spend time with them and vice versa. So time is an excellent way of showing love. And yet no, not time. So time's not the best way, the ultimate way of showing true love.

23:54 Lastly, the last way we're going to look at showing love is this way. They caught me. Words. Words are an excellent way of showing love. And I'm thinking of a a three word phrase that we often use to show love.

24:12 Can anybody think of that phrase? I love you. Yes. I love you is very often used to show love. And yet, what I'm going put in the yellow box that's being blocked is what I believe is the ultimate example of true love.

24:33 So there's the yellow box, and it's life. To give one's life is the ultimate example of true love. I'm thinking of a verse in the Bible that says greater love has no man than this, than to lay down his life for a friend. So the greatest example of true love is to give your life, to die for someone else. That's the greatest example.

24:57 You can't get any greater than that. And yet there has to be a reason why you would die for someone else. My father has told me that he would die for me, and yet he wouldn't just die just to die for me. There's got to be a reason behind it, a reason why he would die, a problem that needed to be overcome. Well, we see that go to the next slide us terrible grammar, but us has a problem, And that problem is sin.

25:34 And if you look at the 10 commandments and you're honest, you'd see that you've broken some, if not most of them. And so we have this problem of sin that needs to be overcome, we're going to see that there's someone who's going to show us the gift of life, the greatest example of true love, and that's God. It says in Romans chapter five and verse eight, but God demonstrates his love toward us, and that while we were sinners, Jesus Christ died for us. He died in our place. We deserve death because of sin.

26:11 He died so that we could have life. He gave us the gift of eternal life. And three days later, he rose again from the grave, through that death had been conquered, that he was god, there we go, and that we can have life in him. He's not dead. He's alive, and he has given us life.

26:31 And his gift of eternal life can be received if you tell God that you're sorry for your sin and turn to him, put your trust in him that he would save you. Trust in him for eternal life, not of works, but by faith. So that's one of the pain poor messages that I did over the summer. It was somewhat effective. Next thing was tracking, passed out a lot of tracks and tracks are good.

27:32 But people are very willing to talk about themselves and you can ask them questions like, do you own a bible? Who do you think is Jesus Christ? Is there absolute truth? But I must continue on. We also did gospel illusions, but I cannot talk about that.

27:47 Third thing I can talk about is beliefs that I encountered. Second Corinthians chapter four and verse four says this, whose minds the god of this age is blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. I talked to many people who had many different beliefs, and it was quite obvious that the God of this age has blinded their eyes. I talked to a woman in the Rideau View Bible Chapel area, is in Ottawa. I was talking to her and she was saying, there is no absolute truth.

28:30 And so I asked her verbatim, is it true that there is no absolute truth? And she said yes. In all seriousness. And so it was very clear to me that I can't make people change their mind, but the Holy Spirit does have that power. And people are confused and people have been their minds have been darkened.

29:06 We see from the Bible, John seventeen seventeen, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. And math is as equal. Your word is truth. John fourteen:six, I am the way, the truth and the life.

29:20 Jesus Christ is truth. Talk to an atheist. This is funny too. My friend Jordan Van Holst, asked him or Jordan asked the guy at the door, why are you an atheist? Because that'll let you into a lot of what they're thinking.

29:41 And he said, quote, oh my god, when I was in the war, blah blah blah. It it was so ironic. I suppressed my laughing, but it's... People believe in a god, but they they've suppressed it. They don't want to believe in it.

30:00 And so, this is what Perkinson, praying for people to... That they'd see the truth. According to Jerry Denny, who works a lot with Good News on the Move and C3, people become atheist for one of three reasons. Number one, they were deeply injured when young. There's something that they were in a church and somebody in the church wasn't nice to them or something and they said, oh, church is bad, God is bad, I don't believe in God, I'm an atheist.

30:28 Secondly, for perceived intellectual clout. I'm an atheist. Nearly every atheist I talk to, I get talking to them and then they go, I'm an atheist. So perceived intellectual clout. Number three, they don't want to give up their sinful lifestyle.

30:46 I found that this not just applies to atheists but to many people in general. They're not willing to believe that God has standards for living. I was in Toronto working with the Jesus Network where this particular area apartments 95% Muslim. It's a little bit different than everywhere else. Muslims, they reject the trinity.

31:10 They don't understand it. I don't understand the trinity either, but I believe it by faith because I see so much others things in the scripture that are true, and I see it as a crucial doctrine, to God. They don't understand the trinity, but in the Quran, in Surah five sixty eight, it says, say, O people of the book, you have no ground to stand upon unless you stand upon stand fast by the law, gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your lord. So according to the Koran, they're saying that you should respect the Torah, the law, and the gospel. So you can share it with Muslims from the Torah and the gospels.

31:57 They won't agree obviously with the Koran, but you can share it with them that way. So I had a opportunity to talk to a man named Halim and his wife Dinah for three hours about the bible. So Muslims are very open to talking about religion and you can tell them about Jesus Christ according to the bible. Talked to quite a few Hindus. I have trouble talking to them.

32:22 It's very difficult. Talked to some Catholics about the gospel. Talked to I labeled him as brave. I'm not sure if he's brave or not. But he he told me that if it were possible, he would have liked Jesus to not have died for his sin because it's unfair for someone else to die for him.

32:44 He would have liked Jesus to come off the cross a little bit sooner, and so he wouldn't have had to endure this man's sin, which I guess giving him all the credit, that's a brave thing to do but it's a very foolish thing because Jesus Christ already died for his sins and he's just rejecting the gift. So talk to many different beliefs. So today we looked at, our goal was I was to relate my experiences to you and the lessons I learned while on C3 in order to encourage you and us as an assembly and also individually to be evangelistic. We've looked at the lessons that I've learned over the summer from my relationship with God to forgiveness, prayer, pride, exercising spiritual gifts. We looked at different evangelism techniques that are very, useful and effective.

33:49 And thirdly, different beliefs that I encountered and the under arching theme of that they've just had their minds darkened, that they're not willing to look at their lives as they are and look at God's standard, which is perfection. Just going to look at first Peter chapter one, but I'll do that another time. In conclusion, just like to remind us that we are in a war. Unless unless you know that you're in a war, you'll be surprised when people start shooting at you, that we have a goal in mind. We have a hope that the world does not offer.

35:20 Good news clubs, they're starting up good news clubs. We can talk to Don Morris or Carlin Menger, the Binghams. Open air downtown on Thursdays with Christian Knightley. But I think most important, it is the day to day consistency in your walk with God. Your relationship with God and your willingness to be obedient and tell others about Him.

35:47 Maybe start off with just passing out a track tent at the grocery store. And after you've done that for a while and realize they're not going to bite you, maybe start talking to them. And asking them about themselves and share with them the hope that we have that no other religion, belief system in this world offers. So let's let's close in prayer. Heavenly father, thank you for this time that we've had to look at your word.

36:17 I pray for each and every one of us that you would work in our lives and draw us closer to you that we would see, see how much of a hope that we have and how different it is from anything the world offers. Please give us strength as we go forth today that we would be changed, that we wouldn't remain the way that we are. In Jesus name, Amen.