July 13, 2025 - The Holy Spirit - Steve Hawkins

[00:00:00] Speaker A: If you don't know who I am, I'm Pastor Darren. I'm kind of new here somewhat. Watch last week's livestream and you'll get the full deal of who I am and why I'm here. But it's exciting to be in God's house here this morning. And what a blessing to be servants, children of the Lord. Amen. I mean, are you glad you know Jesus today? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Well, a couple things before we get to communion and hopefully you received a communion cup when you came in. And if not, you'll have just an opportunity in just a moment to get one. But just to tie up real quickly, Westerner Days is coming this Wednesday. We are doing the barbecue as you know. So just something real quickly, Pastor Adam wanted me to share. If you've been here before, you know there's a couple thousand people come here. We're expecting more than 2,000 people to arrive here on Wednesday. How many know that's a lot of vehicles on the property. Okay. So if you're coming, you're volunteering especially we ask if you can, okay, carpool or park somewhere else and walk over. If you can park across the street or in the neighborhood across or something like that. We want to get the least amount of vehicles from us Livingstone's people here to give more room for our guests and visitors. Right. Does that make sense? Yeah. Let's make it as easy for them as possible. So please, if you can do that. Also on Pastor Adam's door there's a sign up sheet. You can put your name and email. Something to do about carpooling. So if you maybe want a carpool, need to carpool, there's an option there. Maybe, maybe you already have that figured out. But thank you for all that because we're in for a great time this Wednesday. In for a great time. So we're gonna get ready for communion. So if you have your communion cups, you wanna get ready and if you don't have one, please slip up your hand and our ushers will come and just get you one real quickly. Okay? Don't be shy, just slip your hand up and they'll, they'll happily do that for you. And you know, I was thinking about communion today and how to transition from all the announcements. But you know what? We're doing Westerner Days. Why are we doing this? So that we can have opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Right. That's what it's all about. Right. And so today as we take communion, we're going to remember What Christ has done for us on our behalf. Because we would all be lost without the cross, right? Amen. The apostle Paul writes in First Corinthians, chapter 11. For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus. On the night he was betrayed, he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying, this cup, cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death. Until he comes. We're proclaiming his death. This is what it's all about. Would you stand with me as we partake in this today? Amen. Let's partake of the bread which represents his broken body. Amen. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for what you did, for the punishment, God, that you took on your back, that you bore stripes, for our healing today. Thank you, Lord, for your sacrifice. Drink up the cup together which represents his blood. Amen. Thank you, Jesus. Let's pray. Everyone, let's pray. Jesus, we now thank you for your broken body, the blood that was shed, that we may experience freedom, deliverance, salvation today. God, without it, we would be utterly lost, hopeless. God, we thank you. We thank you. We thank you, Lord, that you've saved us. You've given us life today. Thank you for the cross. But Lord, we thank you that you're not on the cross, that you've resurrected, Lord. And because of your resurrection, we too will be resurrected, Lord. We have resurrection power in us. So, Lord, we thank you for that today. And Lord, as we look towards Westerner days coming up, God, may we be a people that share the cross, share the gospel, share the good news, share what you've done in our lives. God, I pray that we would make the most out of every opportunity that you give us eyes to see, Lord, those who need you, and God, that we would be your ambassadors on the earth. So, Lord, as we look and proclaim your death until you come. Just as the scriptures tell us, Jesus, we say, we love you, we are grateful for all you've done. And Lord, we give you full reign in our lives to do what you want to do in us and through us. We commit all this to you and we pray it in Jesus mighty name. Amen. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. And before you leave today, please make sure you take these cups with you. Try not to Leave them on the pew and you can dispose of them on the way out. So. Well, it's my privilege in this moment to introduce our guest speaker, Reverend Brother Steve, if you want to come right now. And I've been hanging out with this gentleman for the last three or four days, and it's been an awesome time of gleaning, of learning and being encouraged and challenged and sharing our faith in the culture in which we live. And Brother Steve, he'll tell you more about himself, but he's been in the fca, which is the fellowship we're part of, for many years. But he's been part of Operation mobilization for what, 30, 40 years now at this. 50 years. Good grief. And it's been very inspiring, I'm just going to say, to see all. You're going to hear it, of how God has used them to proclaim the gospel all around the world and to teach teams on how to do this effectively all throughout the world. So let's give a warm Red Deer welcome to Brother Steve Hawkins. [00:05:52] Speaker B: Well, good morning. Oh, I tell you, it's wonderful. It's just wonderful to hear the good mornings. Some churches, they don't know how to say good morning. Either that or they're dead. One or the other. This is a live church, and that's important, right? It's a great joy to be here. It's wonderful to be back in Alberta. I come to Alberta once a year at least, so I can teach at Clearwater, the course that we're doing here. And so I've been doing that for a number of years, but I'm not always in Canada. I live most of my time in South America. I live in Chile, and I live also in Paraguay now, in Chile. I bought two young people that came from Chile to work in this program that we have. And so they come all the way from Chile to do evangelism here in Red Deer. So we're bringing missionaries from one country to this country, but really we need to raise up missionaries here. And so it's a great joy that Felipe and Antonia are with us today. And it's a great joy. They're just outside the door and they're looking at me right now and they're thinking, oh, they just mentioned our names. So. But it's a great joy that they came and to be with us during this time. You know, it's always a joy to talk about who Jesus is. I love Jesus that much. I talk about him constantly because it's so important. And we're going to look at Today, five things that Jesus left the church. And I'm so glad that he left these five things for us to do, because it's something that we need to do on a continual basis. I love sharing my faith. Wherever I go, I love sharing my faith. Because what Jesus has done for me, I. I know where he brought me from, and I know where he's taking me to. And therefore I want to share of that good news, because that's what it's all about. We're going to turn to Acts, chapter one, and we're going to read from verses one to 111 11, the former treatise I've made. O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up. After that, he, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs being seen of them 40 days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which he saith. He, you have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall receive baptism with the Holy Ghost not many days from hence. When they therefore came together, they asked him, saying, lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father have put in his own power, but ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, meaning Judea and Samaria, and to the utmost parts of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly towards heaven, as he went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel, which he also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing unto heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go. What a wonderful passage of scripture. And as I look at this passage of scripture, it's absolutely wonderful because it tells us exactly what we should be doing and how we should be doing this. And it's so important. Perhaps you've heard about a congregation that decided to build a new church. They decided to build this new building. A building committee was formed, chosen, and soon they began meeting on a regular basis. After many discussions and much Discussions. The building committee passed the following. We shall build a new church. The new building is to be located on the site of the old building. The material in the old building is to be used in the construction of the new building. We shall continue to use the old building until the new building is complete. Interesting, huh? Change is difficult. Change is difficult for people. Change is difficult because we are creatures of habit. All of us are the creatures of habit. And if you don't believe me, just consider the following. Nearly everybody parks in the same place in the parking lot outside. Nearly everybody sits in the same pew in worship, in the same church, in church on Sunday morning. I love to change in church. I confuse people. It's wonderful, you see. And then we rarely change the order of the service because we like the idea of knowing what to expect. I don't. I want to see the Holy Spirit move in a different way. I want to see the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. And it's no different at home. You have your parking spot and rarely does anybody else park there. You have your favorite seat in front of the tv. Nobody sits in that place, right, Pastor Paul? Nobody sits in your chair. This is Dad's chair, right? And every morning you go through the same routine, whatever that routine may be. I was thinking about that. Even during the two services, my brother had a routine. And I remember once staying with my brother many, many years ago. And I got up early and I made a cup of tea. That's what we drink. And so I got up, made the cup of tea, and my brother came down and he says to me, he says, oh, I'm going to put the kekalan. I said, I've already made the tea. He said, no, that's my job. I said, but I've already made it. No, that's my job. So he went and he poured the tea out. What a waste of tea. What a waste of water. And so then after that had taken place, I said, isn't my tea good enough? No, this is my job. This. This is my routine. And all of us are used to routines, right? We always do the same routine. You see, we are creatures of habit, and we don't want to change, and we don't do change very well. A new pastor was commenting one day on how many years he had been in the member of the church. And a young pastor had joined. And he went over to the older pastor and. And he said, pastor, you've seen so much change in all the years that you've been the pastor here. And the pastor replied, and said, yes. And I've been against every one of them. It's so sad, isn't it? Because we're creatures of habit. And so therefore, when we become creatures of habit, we don't want to share what God has done for us. What will people say? What will people think? How will they address me? How will they treat me? Am I going to be different? And this is what happens all the time. We are creatures of habit. But when I read in the Book of Acts, it doesn't tell me to be a creature of habit. The Book of Acts tells us about what we need to be doing. Acts is a book about what Jesus began to do and teach until the ascension and what the believers did after Jesus and ascended. Acts is a book that tells us that the Jewish clock had stopped ticking at the dispensation of grace, had come into fruition as the church was born. The Book of Acts is the most exciting book in the New Testament. It records the ascension of Jesus, the history of the early church. It tells us how church began. It tells us about where they were and how many souls were being added to the church. 3,000 souls, 2,000 souls. And on and on it goes. Wouldn't that be great to see that here, seeing people added to the church daily? Because that's what it's all about. As he ascended, Christ Jesus is the head of the church and the help and the hope of the church. And therefore we need to understand this. Jesus is our help. And you know, when I sit down and look at the past and where I've come from, I come from a Jewish family. My parents were Orthodox Jews. We lived in Israel, we lived in England. There were Holocaust survivors. And God in his infinite mercy pulled me out from my family and brought me to himself. When I think of that, I say, thank you, Jesus, for your goodness to me. My parents. Because my mother died when I was young, my father had to put me into a foster home. And I lived in 32 foster homes. I'd been raped over 52 times. I had gone through horrific things, but Jesus saved me and cured me because of his love for me. And if I have that, then how much more should I be telling others about what Jesus can do? That's what it's all about. And the first thing that Jesus left the church is an unfinished mission. An unfinished mission. Three times in the Gospels and once in the Book of Acts, Jesus told us what to do. Matthew, chapter 28, verses 19 and 20. Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of The Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things which I have commanded you today. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the earth. Amen. What does he tell us here? Go therefore into all the world. Well, if you're not going to go to the world, the world's come here. The world is here on our doorstep. We have new immigrants every single day. We have people coming into this country and many of them want to come for a different life. They've come from the Muslim world, they've come from the Hindu world, they've come from war torn countries and they're coming here for a different life. And how many of us will step out of our comfort zone and say, welcome, welcome to our country. Thank you for coming. This is something that's very important. Don't want to feel accepted, loved and cared for. And if we are not willing to go to their country, then God will bring them to this country. There's a very good book on the table that's in the gymnasium and it's called getting out of your comfort zone. That's what we need to do, get out of our comfort zones. We're very comfortable where we are right. We're very blessed to live in Canada. We are very blessed to be here. But God has called some of us to go into the world and preach the gospel. Well, let me tell you, the world is right on our doorsteps. Everything is right here. And we need to go and proclaim the good news. And it tells us to make disciples. That's what we're called to do, is make disciples, not Christians. We're called to make disciples. Spending time with people, leading them through scripture, leading them to the foot of the cross, making them understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. This is what it's all about. But it seems today as though we are afraid to do that. In Mark 16:15 it says, and he said unto them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Every creature. Go. And again in Luke 24:47. And that the repentance and the remission of sins should be preached in the name among all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. I'm so glad that my friend David came to me one day when I was in hospital after I tried to commit suicide. He came to me and he says, how would you like to come in here, Billy Graham? I remember him bringing some goys. Do you know what goys are? Gentiles. And he brought them to the hospital and they Would sing to me, the Shemain and many other songs. And I used to think, what's he doing? What's wrong? And he would talk about Yeshua. Then he says to me one day, would you like to come and hear Billy Graham? Well, to be truthful with you, I wasn't really ecstatic. But I said, okay. I said. When? He said, on the Sabbath on Friday. I said, it's Sabbath. We can't go on Friday. It's Sabbath. That's when he's here. And so I got out the house after Sabbath meal and I went with him. And I heard Billy Graham. And he was there at the Billy Graham Crusade, that I accepted the Lord way back in 1966. And then after that, I was led into a room and there I accepted the Lord. And the person who led me to the Lord, he turned around to me and he says, now go home and tell someone. So I did. I went and told my father. I wasn't told to go and tell David. I wasn't told to tell those on the bus. I was very obedient. Go home and tell someone. So I did. I went home and I said, abba, Abba. I found the Messiah is in my heart. And my father looked at me and said, you're mad. Monday morning I went to see a psychiatrist. He told me to see a psychiatrist. They did all these tests on me. Do you know what they found out, folks? I'm normal. So I can do anything I like. I'm normal. And then at the end of that, he wrote a little certificate to say I'm normal. Do anyone here have a certificate to say you're normal? I let you into a secret. Even Pastor Paul doesn't. Not Pastor Darryl, Darren. Isn't that something? But I had this thing, and my father said, my son is not normal. He's following a Gentile God. No, I'm following the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the one and only true God. No other God am I serving. And that's the important thing. My father thought I was mad. Told my brothers, do anything you like, to bring him back to Judaism. They did. They tried to cut my throat, burn my. Put my hand in a washing machine and burned my legs. But I stood for the Lord. And every time they did something, I would say, jesus loves you. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you. And you see, we have to talk about the repentance and the remission of sins. And I would tell to them, anything you do that's not glorifying to God is a sin. My brothers didn't like that. But I tell you, the Bible says, my word shall not return unto me void. So anything I said would always remain in their heads. In Acts, chapter one, he turns around and says, but you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you. And you shall receive, and you shall be witnesses unto both in Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, and under, and to the utmost parts of the earth. Let me tell you something. Many years ago, I took a team to Israel, and we went to a little place north of Tel Aviv, a place called Kiryat Shimona. And I had a team with me that came from Kitchener, Ontario. And there we went to this place, and there was a camping place. And there all the Jews would meet on the Sabbath, on the Friday night after sundown until Saturday. And it was right by Mount Hermon. Well, early in the morning, I rise, and I like to spend time with the Lord. So I went on Mount Hermon. And when I got onto Mount Hermon, lo and behold, the Lord showed me what to read. And I read Psalm 24. And it says, who may ascend into the hills of the Lord? He has clean hands and a pure heart. And I yelled it out, and it went into the valley. Who may ascend into the hills of the Lord? And all these Jewish people down here thought it was God speaking. They all looked up, and one shouted up, abba, is that you? Abba? He has clean hands, Hands, hands, hands. It was amazing. And then after that had taken place, I went down from the hill and I went back to the campsite. And they were looking for a minyan, 10 people, so they could open up the Torah. And so there I was, walking into the campsite, and they saw me. They said, oh, he's Jewish. He can help us. So I came, I said, what is it? They said, we need a minyan. You're the minyan. I said, okay, okay, I'll come. So I put my prayer show lamp on my Yamakura and have my zitzits and stood there. They brought out the Torah, they put it on the bema. Then they started to pray. And they started to pray. Well, they started all praying one by one by one. And because I was the last one, it is my turn. He was, great. Praise you, Yeshua, for your goodness. And all of a sudden, all these eyes are looking at me. And they said, are you Jewish, Ken? And he, you didn't eat. Of course I'm Jewish. And they said, but you're praying to Yeshua. I'm a messianic Jew. Do you know Messianic Judaism. Let me tell you about Yeshua and I had a great opportunity with the team to share amongst all these Jewish people. It was wonderful. That's what it's all about. Beginning in Jerusalem. We were in Kiryat Shimona, but we came down to Jerusalem, we went to the Kotal, or what you call the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall, and then I did the same thing. This is what it's all about. You see, Jesus told us what to say. We are to be witnesses by our words, by the testimony of our lips. So important. Matthew 10:32. Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men. Him will I confess also before my Father, which is in heaven. If you're not confessing Jesus before all men, then Jesus is not going to confess you before the Father. Very simple. The words are clear. Our job is to confess Jesus to all men, wherever we may be. And we confess this. Sometimes my wife and I, we kind of have a little bit of different things. Why? Because my wife is very quiet and introvert. I'm a little bit introvert, but a little more extrovert. Actually, I'm more extrovert than anything. And it's interesting. We were in a store in Ontario, and all of a sudden we heard this lady, this mother with three kids, and she shouted, oh, Jesus. So I went to her and I said, oh, he's my friend. Do you know him? And then all of a sudden she said, oh, my God. I said, don't be so greedy. He's my God too. And then we started talking to her, and I asked my daughter Susan to take the three kids while I had a chat with her. The kids came to the vacation Bible school, and the mother and father came to their graduation. And lo and behold, they're now coming to our church. That's how it all works. We just went to the Gurdwara, which is the Sikh temple. You've seen these people with the turbans on. We were just there yesterday. And I go in there. Anybody speak Punjabi? Janta. Punjabi janta. Who, by the way. So here I was talking to them. We had a great time. They were shocked. Punjabi, janta. I speak Punjabi. Then I went to the. To the mosque, and there. Urdu janta. And so we had a great time there, too. It's wonderful to be able to break the barrier and share the gospel. That's what it's all about. The Gurdwara was a Baptist church at one time. Now it's a Sikh temple. So I was able to tell them a little bit about the Baptist church. Then I reinvited them actually to come. Darren and I invited these people to come and join us on Wednesday. They said, yes, we're coming. I mean, how great is that? That's what it's all about, you know, come, come and join us. Come and see what we're all about. Jesus told us very clearly that we are witnesses by our words. If you do not confess the Lord Jesus Christ to all men, don't expect Jesus to confess you before the Father. Very clear. We are to be witnesses by our work. Consistency in our lives, very important. We are to be witnesses by our warmness. You know, Jesus, he had this warmth about him that people are drawn to him. I believe in Yeshua and Jesus. We should have that warmth about us, that we would have people drawn to us. Do we have the truth? Amen. Does the truth set us free? Amen. Therefore, we need to use that for the Kingdom of God so that people will see that we are different. I was sharing earlier that here we were in Tim Hortons, you know, Tim Hortons, if you don't, you should go and find it somewhere. But here we are in Tim Hortons, myself, Pauline Slater, Alan Slater, and we were sitting in the corner and all of a sudden this guy came across to us and said, are you all Christians? There's something different about this area. And we said, yes. They said, I'm a Jehovah's Witness and I need to know more about Jesus. This is how it works. They should know that we are Christians. How? By our love, by our love, one for another. This is important. And when he heard that we were Christians, he wanted to know about Jesus. And Alan and Pauline Slater led him to the Lord. So several months later, I mean, how wonderful is that? That's what God is all about. We need to have the warm. We need to have warmness, challenge. Let our love so shine. Jesus also told us where to serve. He says, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem, our local area, in our families, in our workplaces, in our schools, in our city, wherever we go. But you see, many people say, oh, you know what? People are fed up of church in this country. Folks, we need a revival in this country. Folks, we need to see Jesus high and lifted up in this country. We need to see the power of the Holy Spirit in this country. From our politicians all the way down to the graveyards. We need to see a revival. And revival starts with us first, starts in our hearts first. It's no good praying, Lord. Pray for these people over here to get A revival? No, pray, Lord, I need a revival first. Change my attitude. Change me so important. I was in a prayer meeting one time. In this prayer meeting, we were talking about the Muslims moving into the area in Toronto, in a certain part of Toronto. This lady came up to me and said, pastor Steve, can you pray that no more Muslims moving to our area? Can you just pray that they just do not move? Some of them have come to my and asked me if they can have our basement suite. And I turn them down because I don't want Muslims in my home. I said, really? Yeah. Can you pray for me? Sure. Lord, open the heart of this woman to receive Muslims. Open up her basement suite so that Muslims can get in there. She said, I didn't want you to pray that, Lord, Send her to a Muslim country so that she'll understand Islam. The thing is that we have these barriers up, and when we have these barriers up, that's where we have racism. That's when we have all these prejudices. Stop it. We need to accept them in love and talk to them in love. Some people look at me and they say, oh, you have your pajama caught down. Yesterday they put a turban on my head. Does that make me any different? No, it doesn't, because I know who's in my heart. Oh, you can't do that because of the demonic force. Stop it. What we need to do is say, thank you, Jesus, that I can be a witness and show them love by. By wearing this. They accepted me. So important. So important. And you see, Jesus tells us that we need to be witnesses in Jerusalem, in our local city, in our parish, or in our area where we are in our diocese, Samaria, in our province. And then it says, to the utmost parts of the world. Well, the world has come here, folks. Things have changed here in the last 10 years. I heard Things are happening fast around us. People all around us are coming to Red Deer. Why are they coming to Red Deer? Well, this is where God's brought them so you can witness to them, so that you can share your love and your faith with them. I hope you're not like this lady. Lord, no more in Red Deer, please. I'll be praying even more. Send millions, Lord, because it's important. Have you ever noticed a turtle? These turtles that walk very slow, but for that turtle to get anywhere has to stick out its neck. And I wonder, if we're willing to stick out our necks for Jesus Christ, are we willing to stick out our necks for Jesus in the next week on Wednesday, are You willing to come bring a friend? At least one person, and you pray today, Lord, lead me to one soul that I can invite and you bring them. Are you willing to do that? Because that's important. Are we willing to stick out our necks for him? The second thing Jesus left the church, an unchallenged message. An unchallenged message. What's the message? The message is right here. In Acts 1:3, he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs being seen of them. 40 days. And speaking the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, it's important to understand that the story of Jesus Christ, I feel, has six stages. The first stage, the conquest, was predicted in Genesis 3 and verse 15. Stage 2, the conquest began in the ministry of Jesus Christ in his earthly life. Stage three, the conquest was achieved in the death of Jesus on the cross. Stage four, the conquest was confirmed in the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. Stage five, the conquest is being extended today through the church. And stage six, the conquest will be consummated by the return of Jesus Christ. And I believe that we are in stage five of this incredible story of Jesus coming. The conquest of Jesus being extended through the church. The church is telling the story of Jesus around the world. Many around the world are coming to know Jesus. Many are coming from around the world to understand who Jesus is and his love. Africa sees revival. China sees revival. Iran is seeing a revival. In the underground church. Many things are happening. But, folks, we need the same thing to happen here in Canada. And we need to do our part, and that is by going out and proclaiming the good news. We have to stand up for what we believe and not be ashamed. I remember once being in. I don't know if I ever told you this story in Swiss Chalet, you know, the Christian chicken shop. And I remember being in Swiss Chalet. That's where all Christians go right after church, go there. So I was there with a group of people, many families, and lo and behold, they said, would you pray, Pastor Steve, when the food comes? So I said, sure. And Tyler, the young man over here turned around and says to me, don't pray loud. I said, why is that? I have my friend over here who goes to the same school as I do, and he doesn't know I'm a Christian or that I go to church. Wrong thing to say to Steve Hawkins. So lo and behold, the food came. Mrs. Seidenberg said, Stephen, would you pray? And I said, sure. Tyler looked at me and goes, shh. I said, okay, Father, we thank you for this food. I prayed it out so loud, the whole entire restaurant started to pray a second time. But you see, we're even afraid to do that. Some people won't even pray. And we need to show who we are. Listen, folks, this country was founded on Christian principles. Therefore we need to live on the Christian principles and not be afraid and ashamed of who we are. We need to stand up and to be counted. And there's many people around the world that are coming to Jesus Christ and we need to see the same thing here. Maybe you need to learn how to do these things. We, we're here to teach you. We're here to equip the church. We're here to equip the church, to go out and proclaim the good news. That's what it's all about. Right over the door, we're going to put a new message. It's going to say, you are now entering the mission field as you leave this door. Because that's exactly what's happening. We are going into the mission field. The church is telling the story of Jesus. Around the world, thousands upon thousands are coming to know Jesus. And we need to see the same results here in Canada by you coming and helping. The third thing Jesus left the church is the power to accomplish the mission and share the message. The power to accomplish the mission and. And share the message through the Holy Spirit. He gives us the power of conviction. The Holy Spirit brings conviction to the saved concerning the needs of people around the world and to share the good news. We need to be convicted if we're not doing the right thing. But not only that, we are to be concerned about those who are not going to heaven, those who are not following Jesus. We need to be concerned. We need to talk about the forgiveness of sins. We need to talk about the power of forgiveness to the unsaved. You can be forgiven of what you've done wrong. I remember going to everyone that had abused me and I went and said to them, I forgive you, I love you and I will pray for you. And I did that to all of these people, including members of my own family. And from that I was released. But secondly, they were released and some of these people that had literally abused me, three of them came to know Jesus as their savior and they came back and apologized. This is what happens when we talk about forgiveness of sins. This is what happens when we talk about salvation. It's the Holy Spirit also brings conviction to those people who are unsaved and bring them to the. To the Lord. You cannot do it by yourself. You need the power of the Holy Spirit. You need the power of the Holy Spirit. I always love this evangelistic tool. I have some on the table out here. This evangelistic tool. Has anybody ever seen the Evanji Cube? Besides my folks? This is a wonderful tool. Everyone should buy one. They're $20. Everyone should buy one. This is Vanity Cube. So God created man and the world, but because of sin, we've been separated. And because we've been separated, there's no way that we can go to heaven because we have sin. So Jesus died on the cross for us, on the cross of Calvary, and he was buried and put into a tomb. And in fact, they were so afraid that people would come and steal his body, they sealed it and put two armed soldiers. But that didn't stop him. Because Jesus rose from the dead, and because he rose from the dead, he made a way for us to go to heaven. And because he made that way, we can have a choice in life. Either we go to hell or we go to heaven. It's up to us. We have to choose. If you want fellowship with Satan, you go to hell. You want fellowship with God, then you go to heaven. And then after that, we receive Jesus into our heart, we read his Word, we go and tell others, and we literally have fellowship with God in doing that. And that's what it's all about. Such a simple tool that you can have with you and you can share your faith on a daily basis. To me, these are things important. But you cannot do anything without the Holy Spirit. He's the one who leads you, directs you. He's the one who will guide you to the right person to talk to today, tomorrow, next week. He's the one who will lead you each step of the way. On Tuesday, I think it is, we're having a fellow come from Open Air campaigners, and he's going to come and show us how to do a sketchboard, how we can go on the street and do a sketchboard and share the love of Jesus. This is what it's all about, folks, not being afraid. Look, if all these other groups can come and they can do their thing, why can't we? So important, the Holy Spirit gives the power of confrontation. And when we know we're going out under the authority of God, we cannot fail in anything that we do because we are going out under the authority of God. You're not going out in my authority or Pastor Downs authority. You're going out on the authority of God. That's why he called us to do this. He's the head of the church. Therefore we going out under his authority. And we need to share under his authority. We know that we cannot fail when we're under his authority. The commission of Christ encourages us all to witness for Him. Our conviction about the needs of the unsaved encourages us to want to go out and share the good news. We want to talk about his death, his burial, his resurrection. Folks, do we realize, do we understand that Jesus is alive and well today? Do we understand that Jesus is coming back again? Do we understand that he is more than anything this world can offer us? Money cannot save you. Material things cannot save you. The only thing that can save you is Jesus Christ. Last week we sang the song There's Power in the Blood. And that's where Jesus saved us through the blood of. Of the Lamb. And when we have that conviction, we will want to go out and tell others about the gospel, about his death and resurrection, what it means to us in our lives today. The Holy Spirit gives us compassion. Compassion. We need that compassion. Why? Because that compassion is the same compassion that Jesus had visiting all the villages and cities. And he went and proclaimed the good news. We need compassion. The fourth thing that Jesus left the church. An unshakable testimony. An unshakable testimony. The greatest testimony we have, more than anything else, is the witness of what God has done in our lives. When he's transformed your life, when he's made you a new man, when he's made you whole. Someone says to me many years ago, oh, no, that you're a Christian. You're no longer Jewish. No, I'm a completed Jew. I have the old and the new that come together. You have the new, I have the old and new. But you also have the old. But we don't live under the old. We live under grace. But they still work together. And we have to understand that. And for me, this is so important. The testimony of what God has done in our lives. And what are we to do is to use our lips in sharing that with our friends. When people look at you differently, when they look at you and say, what's changed in you? Why are you so different? Because Jesus transformed my life. Where would you be without Jesus today? Where would I be? Probably six feet under. But Jesus transformed our lives. And that is something to shout about. That is something to thank God for. That's why it's important to praise. 24 7. Early in the morning I rise and praise Thee, O Lord. So important. I wake up in the morning Singing. Sometimes I keep falling in love with him over and over again. I come up with all songs that come out to my. And I'm not even awake yet. But he's wonderful. You see, Jesus uses our works and our words to win the lost. That's what we're here for. Your lifestyle changes. The way you speak changes. The way you live changes. Things are different. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works. Glorify your Father which is in heaven. Let your light shine before men. Are you hiding your light under the bushel? Are you hiding your light? We need to proclaim it, share it. Jesus has left the church. The testimony of the written word. This word is one of the most wonderful books you will ever read. People have tried to destroy it, burn it, and all kinds of things, but it's still here. People have even tried to bury it and think it's going to go away. It's not going to go away. My Word shall never pass away. Very simple. The word Bible is something that's very important. B I B L E. Basic instructions before leaving earth. This is our basic instructions. We talked about instructions yesterday with David and Darren buying things from probably IKEA or something. They look at it, they pull it out the box. I can put this together, no problem. So they try to put it all together and they've got a piece of wood left or a few screws left. And they say, but what happened? And all of a sudden Pastor Darren's wife will say, you didn't read the instructions. Or Wendy would say to Dave, you didn't read the instructions. Folks, these are our instructions. This is how we live. This is the word of God. And everything that's in here is happening today. Prophecy is being fulfilled before your eyes. It's right here. You don't need a newspaper. Just look at Jerusalem. Just look at what's happening in Jerusalem, in Israel. If you've never been to Israel, I recommend you go. I'm going in April. You can come with me. But yes, here we have this wonderful written word and the Bible tells us exactly what's going to happen in the latter days. And it's happening. Prophecy is being fulfilled right before your eyes. What's happening in Israel is right, right here. Are we concerned? Are we concerned for the lost? Let's look at the fifth things that Jesus left the church. Jesus left the church. An unchanging promise. An unchanging promise. Acts, chapter 1, verse 11. You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you've seen him go. He's left us a promise. Just as Jesus left, He shall return just as he left bodily. He shall return bodily. Jesus left visibly. He shall return visibly. Jesus left in person. Shall return in person. Jesus left on a cloud, and he shall return on a cloud. Jesus left from the Mount of Olives, and he shall return to the Mount of Olives. I get excited when I hear that. I go to Israel almost every year when we can, when there's no war. And I always go to the Mount of Olives. I love the Mount of Olives. And I stand. And this one particular time, I was there, I heard all the shofars going off in the old city. And here the shofars were blowing, and I was standing down. I said, the Lord's coming. Are you coming? Lord, are you coming? Well, where are you? Are you coming? And it never happened. I was quite disappointed. And the person on my bus, the tour guide on our bus, she said, oh, you look disappointed. You look unhappy. I said, yes. I thought Jesus was coming, and he hasn't come. He said, I don't want him to come yet. I've not done what you've told me to do by accepting Jesus. She knows. She's met all these groups that come through. She knows what she needs to do. But stubborn, stubborn Jesus left us a promise that he will return. Are you ready if he should come back today? Are you ready if he should come back today and say, why should I let you into my kingdom? Are you ready? Do you have the right answer? If he should come back and say to you, why didn't you share your faith? Why didn't you tell others about me? What would you say to him? Well, you know, I was a little bit shy. Lord, you know, I'm not a person, a public speaker. I'm not asking you to be a public speaker. I'm asking you to share your testimony. You say your testimony matters. Nobody can take your testimony away from you. Nobody can take away your testimony. It's what God has done for you. Nobody can take that away. And that's what people want to hear. What does God mean to you? How real is he to you? That's what it's all about. He's going to return. And, friends, I want to tell you, he's coming again. And he comes, and he's going to come and take his bride, the church, to be with him in glory, to be with him in heaven. To be with him forever. And I don't know about you, but I know about me. I want to be part of that. I want to be part of the bride that is raptured. I want to be ready when he comes and I'm ready. Somebody says to me the other day, pastor Steve, how old are you? So the first response was, I'm the same age as my teeth. Same age as my tongue, a little older than my teeth. That was my first response. Then when I told them I was 71, they looked at me and said, no, no. How old are you really? Do you know what? It doesn't really matter long if we're ready. Age doesn't mean a thing. Are you ready to see Jesus? People die young and people die old. It doesn't matter. Are you ready to see Jesus? Are you ready to be with him in glory? Are you ready? Are you ready to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ? Maybe you don't know the Lord and you're saying, today, I'd like to know the Lord. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day of salvation, not tomorrow. You may not make it tomorrow. You may not see tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. Are you ready to receive Jesus as your Savior? Maybe you have been people that have been so afraid to even proclaim your testimony. I just don't have that boldness. I'm just afraid of what people might say. Today is the day where we say, lord, forgive me for not sharing you with others. And today give me the boldness that I need to proclaim the gospel. When I look at the promises, when I think of the five things that Jesus left us, we need to be ready to proclaim the good news. Jesus left the church an unfinished mission. He left the church an unchallenged message. He left the church the power to accomplish it. He left the church an unshakable testimony. And he left the church an unchanging promise. He's coming back soon. Everything is all pointing to his return. But we have a job to do before he comes, and that job is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. I'd like to have your eye closed, nobody looking around. Maybe today you don't know Jesus as your savior, but you're saying, today I want to accept this challenge and accept Jesus Christ into my heart so that he will change me from inside out. That he will change me, that I will become more like Him. If that's you this morning, just put your hand up and put it down so I can pray for you. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Thank you. I see your hand. Thank you. I see your hand at the back. Thank you. Thank you. All over this building, people are saying, today is the day of salvation. Today I already see Jesus as my savior. Maybe there's those of you in this room today who are saying, I don't have the boldness to stand up for Jesus, but today I want to make a bold statement and I'm going to stand up for Jesus. But. But I need prayer. If that's you, will you stand to your feet? Right now, people all over this auditorium are standing and saying, yes, I'm making a statement today that I want to serve Jesus. I want to tell others about Jesus. But I need you, Lord, to help me with boldness today. I need you with boldness, Lord. I pray for each one person that is standing. And as they are standing, they're saying, lord, I need boldness today to speak of who you are. Give me that boldness, Fill me with your spirit. Change my heart, change my mind, that I will stand up and be counted for you, Lord. Father, I pray that each one in this room will know the power of God upon them as they go out and proclaim the good news of Jesus. Those of you who said, I need Jesus into my heart, you just simply pray, Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Come in today and come in to stay. Change me, take away my sin, make me your child. Oh Lord, we thank you. We thank you for who you are. We thank you for your great love, for your great mercy. And Lord, I pray that each one of us, we'll be soldiers of the cross from this day forward and that we will go out and proclaim the good news in Jesus name, Amen. Amen. [00:57:31] Speaker C: Just before you go this morning, all of those that responded and said, I've never given my life to Christ. Today was the day I prayed that prayer. There's a card right in front of you. It says contact card. Fill that out and I'll tell you why. It's the beginning of a journey. You're going to be starting to follow Jesus. You're going to need help on the journey. We're going to contact you and give you materials and people will come into your life that will come alongside of you and help you on the journey that's so important. Nobody makes the journey alone. I'll tell you right now, nobody will make the journey alone. You can't do it alone. It's just too difficult. Difficult. You know, there's a big spiritual battle going on. You may not be aware of that yet. Big battle. You need other people to help you on the journey. We're not going to tell you what to do. We're going to guide and show you from Scripture. This is what it means to be a follower of Christ. And you're going to build meaningful relationships with people who are going to care for you. That's why you need to fill the contact card out. Okay. Father, thank you for today. [00:58:39] Speaker B: And. [00:58:40] Speaker C: And now I pray that you'll bless us as we leave. And help us, Lord, as we go forward in hearing this message. Help us, Lord, to be sensitive to the people that you're bringing into our lives. In Jesus name, Amen. God bless you as you leave.