For those of you who don't know us, we are Alec and Tammy Millon, and North Shore sent us out two and a half years ago. And I would like, just for my own personal benefit, if you are new to this church in the last two and a half years from January 1st, 2002, can you stand? That's great. Amen. Praise the Lord. Thank you. You're excused. We are We're glad to be here. Let me, for those of you who are new, you can look in your bulletin and see pictures of us, but I want to ask Tammy if you'd stand and just turn around and let everybody else. This is my wife, Tammy, and we are with Wycliffe Bible Translators, and we are two weeks away from leaving the states, finally, and it's been two and a half years. You may say, boy, that takes a long time to get the mission field, and we've at times felt that way, but God has been faithful all the way through, and this has not been wasted time. I wanna talk today about something which is very dear to us. Also, I want, before I start into this, Just a couple brief announcements. If you're interested in finding out what we're doing, please come back tonight and we're going to be showing some slides as far as where we're headed and give you an opportunity to ask us questions. Also out here in the foyer is our display table and there are pictures that I just encourage you, I'm not just gonna invite you to, I'd like for you to pick up one of those pictures if you don't have one already and put it on your refrigerator or somewhere as a reminder to ask you to pray for us because we desperately need your prayers. The prayers of the saints undergird us. And there's also a list where you can sign up for our email updates. What does the Holy Spirit do, what is his purpose, function, what does he do? This is not a rhetorical question, I'd like feedback. Kind of sentence, or not sentence, bullet point answers. What does the Holy Spirit do in the church and in the world? He what? He guides us. He convicts us of our sin, okay? He just called out. He opens our ears. Okay, he enables us, he empowers us. Good, someone else, someone said something up here? Okay, he leads us in the path of righteousness. He's our comforter. He gifts us, he gives us gifts, gifts of the Holy Spirit, yes. Yeah, he helps us to pray and he prays for us, yes. He forgives us, he is the agent that God works in us to receive forgiveness. Yes? He illuminates it, right, he makes it clear. Many of us have experienced that. From conversion it made us boring and then all of a sudden it becomes the light, doesn't it? That's the Holy Spirit doing that. What else? Peace. All right, that's kind of something I wanna, it's going in a direction I'm interested in. Joy, where is this coming from? Galatians 5. He gives us the fruit of the Holy Spirit, doesn't he? What else? Anything else? Gosh, there's so many scriptures about the Holy Spirit. We don't want to neglect His purpose or role in our life. What else? He seals us, right? He seals us. Brian? That's right. He is a spring of living water, it says in John chapter 7. Guys here see a hand back in the back? Well, let me kind of encapsulate this and we could go for a long time and these are all correct, but I wanna encapsulate them and make a kind of a thesis that we're gonna need for the end of where we're going and saying that I believe that the purpose or the function of the Holy Spirit is to create in us the children of God, the power and the character of the kingdom of God in our lives and through our lives to the world. Let me say that again. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to create in us the power and the character of the kingdom of God through our lives to the world. And we're gonna come back to that at the end. When missionaries are asked to speak, typically, there's a number of passages that deal with, that are kind of the missionary texts. And so you kind of feel pushed in that direction. Great Commission, Matthew 28, Acts chapter one, verse eight, the progress of the gospel. Peter read Isaiah chapter six. Here I am, send me. Those kind of texts. And you kind of feel compelled to do those, but I've become convinced that the Bible is completely jam-packed with mission text. I believe the Bible is a mission textbook. It is showing, and the thesis of what I want to say is that God is a God of mission. When you see God at work in the scriptures, he is a God of mission. Now when you hear the word mission, you might say, well, you might, images conjure up in your mind, what is mission? What do you mean by mission? Mission for some people is a brown Adobe church somewhere out in Albuquerque, New Mexico that people pay $5 and go look around. For other people, mission, when they hear the word mission, they think of people like us who are going overseas to tell people about the Lord. When I say that God is a God of mission, I'm saying three things. That God is a God of purpose, that he is a God of focus, and that he's a God of action. That God is a God of mission, meaning that he's a God of purpose. He has a purpose in this world. That God is a God of focus, that that purpose has God's utmost attention, if that's not heretical. He is focused on this purpose and he is a God of action and carrying this purpose out. I have a three-year-old daughter, Chelsea, y'all know her, and she's like every three-year-old. She completely lacks purpose, focus, and action. That's what a three-year-old does. She was pretty good this morning, but most Sunday mornings, getting her to eat something that somebody somewhere might consider sort of looks like something we ought to consider breakfast and get dressed and go potty is like a small miracle. I mean, it's amazing. I mean, she's all over the place. She is the antithesis of purpose, focus, and action. And as I look at our own culture, culture that we live in and we've grown up in, and particularly younger generations, but it's even, older generations as well, is that we in America are less and less making our decisions based upon purpose and conviction. And we more make our decisions based upon fads and what feels good right now. And so if it keeps our attention for a little bit, then that's what we're going, we're gonna focus on that. But then it eventually dwindles, so I gotta find something else. And you know what, it's true in the church. It's probably more true in the church. Let me throw out some examples. A few years back, a book came out that was touted that it was going to just revolutionize people's Christian life, The Prayer of Jabez. And people all over this country were praying the prayer of Jabez every morning. And they were talking about the miracles that God was doing. I'll ask the question right now. I ask this all the time. How many people still pray the prayer of Jabez every morning when they get up? OK. My point. But maybe nobody ever did in this church. But some churches, it was filled with people praying the prayer of Jabez. And as if that was what was gonna finally connect us with what God was doing and to resurrect our spiritual life and give us that union with God. Other people, you know, then comes along the experiencing God Bible study. I went through that, I thought it was good. People jumped on it like it was a bandwagon, like this was gonna be the next greatest thing. And then, you know, they kind of rise up and then the effect dwindles down. More recently, there's been the purpose-driven life and the 40 days of purpose. People all over this country, all over the world, jump on these things like this is what's going to resurrect their spiritual life and finally get them on track forever. The movie The Passion. Christians made Mel Gibson a millionaire. Didn't know that, but he wasn't a millionaire before that movie, no. Almost, just kidding. But we jump from fad to fad to fad, and eventually the effect dwindles down, and so we have to find something else. And I'm not necessarily saying that any of these things, in and of themselves, are bad. But what I'm saying is that all of these things, and you probably know of other things in your life, if they're not funneling and channeling into the purposes of God, the purpose of God, that I believe the scripture teaches very clearly. then it's kind of like a wheel. The hub of the wheel of a bike wheel is the purpose of God. And all these other things are like spokes. And when they're plugged into the purpose, then they hold the wheel together and it makes the wheel work. And they're not bad things. But if you don't have the hub, then all you got is a bunch of wires in your hand. And good for nothing. It holds you for a little bit, but it's a fad. So what I'm saying, let me restate my thesis, is that when I say that God is a God of mission, what I'm saying is that he is not arbitrarily doing things in the world, just kind of patchwork things. He's not willy nilly. He is on design to do something in this world. He is in the process of accomplishing something specific. And we need to know what that is. If we wanna be on board with what he's doing, we need to know what he's up to. So, I'm gonna ask you to turn in your Bibles to Galatians chapter three, and we're gonna read several verses from this text. If you don't have your Bible, you can follow along on the overhead in Galatians chapter three, starting in verse one. This is the new King James. O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain? Therefore he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, in you all the nations shall be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. That's important, that's important. Let me read verse 10, the end of it. Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, all things, to do them. But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. And this is the verses we're going to focus on, 13 and 14. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Every year at Easter, I'm amazed at the attention, the publicity that Jesus gets. People are all over talking about him. This year was especially hype because of the movie, The Passion of the Christ. You had that movie, but also Time Magazine. Anybody remember what the cover of Time Magazine said at Easter? Why did Jesus have to die? What an amazing question. What would happen if everybody in this room decided that for the next week, every person that we had significant contact with, we just simply walked up to them and asked them the question. Take five seconds out of your time and just say, why did Jesus have to die? Thanks a lot, have a good day. Just get them thinking, why did Jesus have to die? Time Magazine's doing our evangelism. unless you open it up and try to read what's on the inside. They don't have the answers. On television at Easter time, they had a show, Jesus and Paul, and in the midst of all of this promotion that Jesus get, people are still in the dark. Could you tell somebody in five words or less the answer to the question on the front of Time Magazine? Five words or less, why did Jesus have to die? I remember when the movie came out and I was talking with Ed about it, and he'd said, and he hit the nail right on the head, and I'm sure he said this to you, he said, you know, a person could walk in and out of that movie theater, be deeply moved, just broken, weeping over what happened to Jesus, sympathetic towards his suffering, and be totally clueless to what happened. at Calvary, totally clueless to what happened. And the Galatians were like this, and Paul had to address it. You see, verse one tells us that they had had the gospel preached to them. Jesus was clearly portrayed before them as crucified. In verse two, it says that they heard, they believed, and they received the Spirit. They were born again. They had done nothing in order to receive the Spirit. They had simply just believed the message of Christ crucified before them. But Paul, as the missionary, the traveling missionary, he left, and they had the question, you know, it's a legitimate question, how do we continue in this life in Christ? How do we, you know, it started, but how do we continue this walk that has begun in our life? And in the absence of the apostle, a group of Judaizers, Jewish Christians in form, came on his coattails and they capitalized on the absence of the apostle. And in his absence, they began to put obligations upon the new Christians. They put requirements on them in order to earn God's favor, in order to keep themselves in the grace of God. Obligations were put upon them. Now I want you to recognize that these Judaizers weren't simply saying, hey, because of what Jesus has done for you, because of all that he's done for you, out of love and gratitude, lay aside the old man and lay aside these things which encumber you and walk with him. No, what they were saying is these are legalistic acts. You must do these things if you are going to be right or keep yourself right with God. And so Paul gives this whole section that we just read to tell us that legalistic observation of the law, call it following the rules, legalistically following the rules will never make you right or keep you right with a holy God. Legalistic observation of the rules, following the rules, will never make you or keep you right with a holy God. And the irony of it is, is that these people who wanted the blessing of God, because they went about it in the wrong way, actually brought God's curse down upon them. They wanted the blessing of God, but because they went about it in the wrong, they were sincere, but because they went about it in the wrong way, Paul tells us that they brought the curse down upon themselves. And the reason is for two. One, I pointed out in our text is in verse 10. It says that, if you want to relate to a holy God by the things that you do, by your legalistic observance of the law, then you are required to do every single thing 100% of the time, 100% of the time. You can't miss once, and nobody can carry that weight upon themselves. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, even in the past, but still today, guarantee you, I can make a blanket statement, 100% of this room, you've already sinned today, and I haven't even talked to most of you. You have, something, thought, word, deed. You got upset at your wife because she didn't cook your oatmeal the right way. I don't know. But you had a wicked thought or something has already transpired in the course of this morning that you have broken one of God's commandments. Nobody can bear that yoke. That's the first reason that it brought the curse of God down upon these people. Christians that were trying to legalistically relate to God. But the other reason, which is even greater than that, is that to try to relate to God based upon what we do diminishes the unbelievably graciousness of God. It takes his grace and it squashes it and says, you did a lot, but I did something too. I'm following you, I'm keeping my part of the bargain, Lord. And that it takes the grace of God and says, it's not enough. Now I can guarantee there's nobody in this room who's trying to go back and put yourself underneath the Mosaic Covenant like the Galatians were tempted to do. However, I'd be willing to put money on it. In fact, who wants to bet? I'd be willing to put money. No, I wouldn't. I believe that there are people in this room, if they were honest, would give this answer. Someone asks them the question, why? Why should you go to heaven? Why are you on your way to heaven? Because I believe Jesus died for me. And I'm doing, I've been, and I'm faithfully attending, or I'm faithfully doing, I believe Jesus died for my sins, and I've, you know, trying to do my best. I believe Jesus died for my sins and I've followed him in baptism or something. I want you to know that that little and, three-letter word is huge. It's gigantic. It takes you from saying that what Jesus did on the cross was absolutely, totally sufficient for your salvation and your eternal glory, and that He paid it all, and that little and, whatever you put on the other side of that conjunction, says what Jesus did was not enough. What He did was not enough. And there are Baptists all over this country who put an end. And they don't even realize what they're doing. Just like the Galatians, they're trying to relate to God based upon what they do rather than what Paul says. It's by faith. It's by faith. So the answer that Paul gives to the Galatians And to the moviegoer, and to the churchgoer who's still confused on this issue, is verse 13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us. What happened on the cross? Why did Jesus have to die? Three words. It was redemption through substitution. Redemption through substitution. You'll recognize these men here. You might recognize him, this is Ezra. You can put your picture there. I just happen to have one of him and some other men. We are all born under the yoke of the curse of the law. That's our natural state. No one is born with saving faith. No one gets it by osmosis. So in order, as we enter into this world, If we're gonna relate to God, our natural inclination is that we gotta do it on our own. We have got to do it. But the more we try, the more the curse of the law weighs down upon us and we realize we can't bear this yoke. It reminds me of John 3.18. Now, okay, any kid in here can quote John 3.16 except for Gloria because I've heard it 100 million times on their answering machine. And I know she can do it. Any other child in here can quote John 3.16, please? All right, pastor's kid. I shouldn't say that. My friend, Charlie Moore. Stand up, stand up and give us John 3.16. In the Greek. Okay, that's 3.16. Can you say 17? Can anyone say 17? We're learning that in discipleship. Verse 17, stand up. For God did not send His Son, good job. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that through Him the world might be saved. 18. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Godfather. I'm sorry. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is what? Becomes condemned? No, is condemned already. He's condemned already because he doesn't believe in the name of the Son of God. We are condemned already. And that's the problem with religion all around the world, whether it be Islam, or Buddhism, or Catholicism, or Hinduism or Baptistism or Presbyterianism, whatever ism you want to put yourself under, people want to use religion as a salve for their conscience, but it cannot remove the curse of the law. It can't take it away. It does not meet the obligation that God requires. They want to use it as a salve for their conscience. But then there's Jesus. buying us back, redeeming us from the curse of the law. He becomes, if you want to say, an umbrella. He is our propitiation. He is the one who bears the wrath for us. He absorbs the curse of the law and the wrath of His Father that our sin rightfully deserves at the cross. And so if we keep ourselves at the foot of the cross, then we are under the covering that Jesus provides because of what He did. All we do is believe that. He paid it all. Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. And it's important to understand that Galatians 3.13 says He has redeemed us. It's a finished work. He's not in the process of redeeming us. He has redeemed us from the curse of the law. In first century Roman Empire, when the army had just dealt the decisive conquering blow to their enemy, the soldiers, who were worn out from the battle, got together and began to chant their victory chant to get each other fired up to tell us to die. Tetelestai. Tetelestai. Tetelestai. It's finished. It's finished. It's finished. The enemy has been defeated. We've won. They're conquered. And do you know that our Savior on the cross cried out the Roman victory chant, Tetelestai. It's finished. Remy, it's finished. Everything that needed to be done for your salvation, for your glory in heaven, for your eternal bliss, Everything to pay for all of your sins has, he said, tetelestai. It's done, and all we have to do is believe that. There is no and after what Jesus, Jesus died for my sins and, it's tetelestai. It's tetelestai. And all we have to do is believe that. You know 2 Corinthians 5.21. says God the Father made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Him. And that's substitution. See, it's not just redemption, it's redemption through substitution. Anybody who knows anything about sports understands the idea of substitution. When I played football, I hated to be subbed. You know, if somebody's running in off the sideline, That's a humiliating thing, unless you hated to be subbed, unless you were getting pounded. And in my last year of football, I was getting pounded plenty. And when you're getting pounded, you're glad to see your sub come in. Spiritually speaking, We're all getting pounded in and of ourselves. We're all getting pounded by the curse of the law. And we need a sub. You need a sub. And I implore you today, if you have never seen Jesus on the cross as your sub, that's what he was there for. And when it was all said and done, he cried out the ultimate victory chant. It's finished. Just believe that. That's verse 13. But God's not finished with this text. See, people say, that's verse 13. But people's understanding, if you were asking, why did Jesus have to die? He says, to save me from my sins. And that's true. But if that's your understanding of why Jesus went to the cross, your only understanding of why Jesus went to the cross, then your understanding of the cross is this shallow. Yes, he went for your sins, but what does verse 14 say? Well, let me first say that it starts off with a Greek word, henna, which is God's way, his purpose statement. It's God's way of saying, This is my purpose. Remember I said at the beginning that God is a God of purpose and focus and action? Why did Jesus go to the cross? God tells us. He went to the cross for what? Two things. First, that the blessing of Abraham might go to the ethnos. Now, it's usually translated Gentiles or nations in the New Testament. But understand, the division of all the countries that we know of, that we call nations, that didn't happen until like the 1700s, 1800s. But when Paul was writing this, when he said, that Jesus died so that the blessing of Abraham might go to the ethnos, he was speaking more like what they, you know, you've heard of the Cherokee Nation? They refer to themselves as a nation because they characterize themselves as a distinct, sociolinguistic, cultural group, and that, we are Cherokee, they are not. They are Navajo, they are Sioux, they are white man, I don't know, but, It was distinct. They made that distinction, and so did Paul. And what Paul is saying here is that the reason God sent his son to the cross was not just so that you might be saved, but that the ethnos might receive the blessing of Abraham. that every ethnos, and ladies and gentlemen, there are thousands, 14 or 15,000 different unique ethnos in the world. And the Apostle John, getting a vision of the future, says, I saw it. I saw it. Every tribe and every tongue and every people, they were all represented before the throne of God. They were all there. The ethnos were there. What does that mean? Jesus went to the cross so that every nook and cranny might have a worshiping body of believers. everywhere, that Jesus deserves that. It's not just for our sins. It's not just so I can go to heaven. It's that the ethnos might worship him. Daniel 2 prophesied about it and said that kingdoms will rise and fall, remember, in the vision? But he said there is a kingdom, which was like a mountain, and it crushed every kingdom in its path, and it filled the entire world. That's the kingdom of God. And the kingdom of God will fill the entire world. It's not just about us. It's that the ethnos, Jesus went to the cross for the ethnos, but God's purpose in this world is that the ethnos might receive the blessing of Abraham. And the context of this passage is the blessing of Abraham is righteousness by faith, salvation, that they might receive that just as we have. God is looking outward. God is looking outward. What about us? Are we looking outward? Or are we concerned with the four wall? Are we concerned with ourself? No, maybe a little bit broader. I'm concerned about what happens within the walls of this. Or no, I'm broader than that. I'm concerned about my city. And there's a lot of ethnos in this city. But ladies and gentlemen, God is looking outward and God's blessings were never intended to stop with us. What are we doing about it? That's the first result of sending His Son to the cross. But the second one is that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Part of Abraham's blessing, the way Paul writes this in the original, part of Abraham's blessing is that we would receive the Holy Spirit, which to me says, that part of the curse is to not have the Holy Spirit. If part of the blessing of Abraham is to have the Holy Spirit, then part of the curse is to be without it. So let's look back at the role of the Holy Spirit. We talked about a whole bunch of things, but the Holy Spirit, I try to encapsulate it by saying it is, his purpose is to produce the power and the character of the kingdom of God in our lives, in the lives of his children, to the world, to the ethnos. He is working in us to produce the power and the character of the kingdom of God to the world. What does that mean? What does that mean, Eric? What does that mean? It means wherever you're at, it ought to be a little bit more like the kingdom of God because you're there. And I'm not just talking about witnessing the people. Yeah, we need to witness the people. I believe that. But the character of the kingdom of God is broader than that. It's that when you go into a situation, if you're in the gym, you need to go in the gym, and it needs to be more like the kingdom of God because you're there. And when you're in your neighbor's house who is a pagan, that it's more like the kingdom of God because your presence is there, and you exude the character of love and joy and peace and patience and comfort, and you care about people. That's what the kingdom of God's all about. That's the way it spreads to all the earth, through our life and through our words. That's what it means. That's why he sent the Holy Spirit. So I ask the question, why, in Genesis chapter 12, when God called Abraham, when God called Abraham, why was God so intent on sending the Holy Spirit? Because that's what Paul's saying. That in Genesis chapter 12, when God called that pagan man out of Ur and said, I want you to leave and go to a place that I'll show you, why was God intent on sending the Holy Spirit? It didn't happen for a couple thousand years. He just started the plan right then. Look what was happening before Genesis chapter 12. That's the answer. We were created in perfection. And then we rebelled and it got, and humanity was devastated, followed right on behind by brother murders brother. And then it goes to the point at the flood where God said, I wish I had never made this people. And so he destroys all but eight. Now you would think if we had the ability as humans pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, Noah and his family would have done it. I mean, the ground was hardly dry before sin began to spiral us down to the pit of hell, to where their descendants, just a few chapters later, were building a tower in order to live independent of God. And I believe the reason God is so intent at that point on sending the Holy Spirit is because He said, if I don't do something in them to change them from the inside out, there is no amount of judgment that I can bring in this world. that will convince them to spread my glory to the world. And that's what God is all about. God is about his glory to the ends of the earth. And we don't want that by nature. And so he sends the Holy Spirit and he gives it to us. The Holy Spirit is the seed within us to produce the power and the character of the kingdom. So I ask you the question. Five questions to close. Question one. Is the kingdom of God being advanced by your life? In reality, is the kingdom of God being advanced by your life? Or are you in some ways building your own little kingdom? And ladies and gentlemen, let me say up here that I am not in arrogance saying I got it all done. I committed myself to the mission field, and I am always thinking about the kingdom of God. That's not what I'm saying. I ask myself this question. It's just the same as you do. Is the kingdom of God being advanced by your life? How does your purpose line up with God's purpose in this world. Let me be clear in saying this. If you are not about seeing the glory of God going to the ends of the earth, then you are not in line with God. You say, that's pretty self-serving. You're a missionary. The reason I believe that is not because I'm a missionary. I'm a missionary because I believe that. And I'm not saying that everybody in this room needs to go to some other place in the world. But what I'm saying is, if God has called you here then that means he has put you smack dab in the middle of one of those ethnos and that you need to be about reaching this ethnos here and using whatever influence you can through prayer and through whatever so see the other ethnos around the world are reached. But you need to be about it here. Number three. Think creatively about how to make God's glory among the ethnos your passion and your purpose. Think creatively as an individual. Think creatively as a family. What can we do? What are the resources available to us to get us to think outside of our five senses, to think outside the world? I mean, outside of our little world. What can we do as a family? What can we do as a ministry? What can we do as a church to make the world, all of the ethnos, more and more our focus in this world? That's what God's about. That's what we need to be about. Number four, have you surrendered yourself to what God wants to do in you? God the Holy Spirit wants to do in you and through you to bless the nations. He yearns earnestly within us. Let go of that sin. Let go of that sin which is holding you back. from the fullness that he has for you. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Don't be filled with wine, which leads to dissipation, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. And through that empowerment, go and reach the ethnos. Number five, and maybe I should have started with this one. Are you seeking to add to the grace of God by doing anything? to make yourself or keep yourself right with him. Are you doing anything? Do you have an and after Jesus died for me? Are you doing anything? And if you are, in your heart, if you are, I just beg you to repent of that. You've diminished the grace of God. All has been taken care of. Tetelestai, just cling to Tetelestai. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you that your glory, we sang, fills the earth. It fills the earth presently, but Lord, one day, it will fill the earth because praises will be sung in every language around the globe. Lord, I think of Malaysia. Lord, break the bond of Buddhism in that country. And in Cambodia, Lord, thank you for those friends of ours that you have sent to reach the lost and the hidden tribes in Cambodia. Father, bring your word to them. Lord, bring your word to India. Lord, thank you for Ezra Vesopogo and those men that are with him. Lord, who have given up so much, Lord, that we can't even comprehend what they've given up. Lord, reach that country, Lord, through men like him. Father, we pray for Saudi Arabia. Lord Jesus, that does not even have a church, Lord God, in that country, Lord. There may be believers, but they are fearful, Lord, to gather, Lord God, for the ramifications. Lord, I pray that Your sovereign Spirit might invade this land, and Lord God, there might be a thriving church there like there once was. Lord, I pray for Ethiopia, Lord God, and all the trials, all the suffering that goes on through famine. And Lord, also in Chad, Lord God, in Sudan, Lord, with the famines that are wreaking havoc. Lord, may your Christians rise up and make a difference. May the kingdom of God be advanced in character in these countries, Father God. Lord, I think of New York City, Lord God, where you have brought hundreds of ethnos right together, Lord, and you have placed these people right in the middle of this city. God, Give them, Lord God, when they look at someone who looks different than them, God, don't give them a disdain. Lord, let them not be frustrated that they don't understand their language. Lord God, you love those people. You created them. You gave them their language, Lord God. And Father, I pray that Lord, the people in this room, Lord God, would care enough, Lord God, to do what they can to see that the nations in their own city would be reached. Lord, we pray for Cuba. and for China and for North Korea, Lord God, who are under the black veil of communism, Lord God. We would pray that your gospel, Lord, we cannot chain your spirit or your gospel. Go, Lord God, send it, Lord, and then send your laborers to that field. And Lord, I pray for, I pray, Lord, that you would work in the lives of this church. Father God, I pray for parents right now. Lord, I pray right now that, God, you would be working in parents' lives. that God, they would see the truth of what your word says. And God, they would raise their children to care about the ethnos, hoping, praying, begging, Lord God, that one day you would touch their child and say, go. And that parent, that they don't see their child, but for every couple of years, every three, four years, God, that they would release their child and send them, Lord God, because the glory of God in the nations is more important than me seeing my kid day in and day out. God, do that. Lord, that takes Your Spirit to do that in our lives. I bless you, Lord, because, Lord, you care not only about the ethnos, but you care for me and, God, the sinful wickedness in my own heart that, God, I deal with day to day. And I praise you that, Lord God, that, Lord, we stand in the midst of a multitude, and we shall stand for all eternity in the midst of a multitude from every tribe and tongue, every people and every land, And we will give you glory and honor to the Lamb that was slain. And we ask it in His name. Amen.