In this sermon, the speaker discusses the importance of having a vision in five areas of life. He emphasizes the need to understand God's intentions and His vision for our lives. The speaker also highlights the importance of having faith in God and His ability to work in our lives and in the world. He encourages believers to be communities of light in a dark world and to prioritize their relationship with Jesus above all else. The speaker references Matthew 9:36 to emphasize the need for compassion and leadership in reaching out to those who are lost and scattered.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the free will offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Good morning, everyone. God bless you richly. Thank you, Brother Tanner, Manuel, your comments. I come from a United Church of Canada background. That's a very liberal background. Readers digest religion. It's what we were served every Sunday. Come through the evangelical church. Spent ten years as a pastor. Seven years in the wilderness in the Rocky Mountains seeking God for what is it that He really intends for His church and for me as a believer to be. After that seven years was called to come here to Manitoba. Not here, up there to Manitoba, Canada where we've been serving the Lord. Thank you, Tanner, for that message. A pattern for kingdom involvement. I want to share with you today a message I think we'll call Kingdom Conscious Living. Kingdom Conscious Living. Let us pray. Our dear Father in Heaven, we have been reminded in this conference of the Lord Jesus Christ who has said all power is given, therefore go. Therefore go. Tonight and tomorrow we will be going home. Home to where you've placed us. And right now we want to remember for many of those here, the little fellowships that I know in Manitoba are starting to meet. Starting to sing the first songs. Maybe still just in the prayer meeting, even now. Those in Oregon, Idaho, Iowa, up in Ontario, New York, Belgium, Mexico and Bolivia, Africa. We remember your people, Lord, and we ask would you do a work in this day at which we would be awestruck. The Lord especially, we're asking that you would do a work in our lives in this day. A work of showing us a pattern, building into our lives a pattern of involvement for your kingdom. And then underneath that, a pattern of the kind of kingdom living. Kingdom conscious living that will direct all the choices of our daily life. We pray that from this great assembly, that rivers of living water will flow out into the desert. Refresh your people here this morning and put a vision in our hearts, we pray. Help your servant, I pray, in this pulpit. In Jesus' name, and open unto us your Word. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, greetings to you from Canada, from the four churches, particularly in Manitoba. I'm from the church at Kane, which is down near the border on the way down to Grand Forks, North Dakota. And for those of you that are from Ephrata and from Charity, we have been, I guess, one of the mission fields that was on your doorstep, maybe a couple of thousand miles, 24 hours drive away from you, but we thank you for your investment in us. We've not been totally unreached. Rather, we've been ministering amongst people that have had the gospel vitally alive in them 500 years ago. But it has turned so many places to death. But God has come in these last years. He's come and He's brought the gospel of life and He's shaken up dry bones and He's breathed in life and He's making for Himself a people, a bride to fill with His glory. He's brought the gospel of a King and the gospel of a Kingdom. He's gathered in these last years a lot of spilt wine and He's fashioned for Himself new wineskins. And then He's gone and He's picked individual grapes from the vine and clusters from the vine and He's picked them and stomped them and pressed them and they've been poured together into those new bottles. And brothers and sisters, it is good. We are having the time of our lives. I've climbed some of the greatest mountains in the Rockies. I've canoed some of the most terrific rivers that you'll ever see. But there's nothing like seeing lives change from darkness to light. To light because of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is good. Well, much of this spilt wine has been spilt out of old bottles that have become crusted and full of the scales of human ideas and human traditions. Bottles full of fears and bondages that have had to be dealt with in the name of Jesus. This wine has been spilt on the table and on the ground of Manitoba because it has come out of wineskins that were cracked and hard. Oh, they had some truth, but they weren't soft and usable. And the wine ran out and the wine was tainted. So I give you greetings from a church, not just a church that has been planted, but a church that has been birthed by our God. It's not our idea. It's been God's idea. A church today that is not just made up of Hutterite people, but is mixed with dear brothers and sisters who have been squeezed together, praise God, from several, I believe, five different cultural groups. We have the Hutterite people. We have Mennonite people of Old Colony descent, of Kleine Gemeinde descent, of Gortitzer descent. We have Russian Mennonites. We have people from Germany and just Russians. Then we have the Robertsons. We have some that have taken some very interesting journeys that have joined with us. And it is sweet as our lives have been blended together. And God has sent revival. We haven't been concerned. I'm going to talk about a lot of issues with you today, okay? And I'm going to step on some toes. And Brother Tanner, we're going to follow right in those footsteps, too, young people. I'm asking you to open your hearts and spirits, because I think those are some real concerns that have been shared here today. But we haven't been all concerned about these issues because we've had our focus on Jesus. It didn't come with a bunch of people who had their ideas of how to start a church. Oh, they had all those. But Jesus came. We probably all had our issues, but Jesus came. Revival came. Life came. And then as we begin to look at all the issues through those eyeglasses of Jesus Christ and of life, they get taken care of one at a time. We've seen the Spirit move. We've seen the building of churches as now we're not just one church, but four. We've seen the sparks flying across the country. We've seen and believe for fire to spread across our flat prairie provinces. God didn't just do something six years ago. He is doing something today as people are continually being reached by the Gospel of Christ. There's just web reactions that are going out. Whole family groups being reached out to. Networks of the Spirit of God as faithful men give witness at home. And I am talking to you today who are going to be going home about what is at home. It's not just something that happened six years ago. It's not just something that's happening today, but it is something that God is doing and I believe will continue to do and desires to do and desires to do where your home is. We've received just a little taste, a little snapshot of what God is longing to do in every town, in every village, in every country beginning at home. So today I want to share a vision of the Gospel of the Kingdom in a day of great darkness. The Gospel of the Kingdom at work here and now. I want to share a vision of communities of light raised up in these dark ages in which we live. And you, beloved, can be a part of those communities of light if you will empty yourself and lay yourself down and be blended with your brothers and sisters at home where you live. What kind of life are we living at home, brothers and sisters? What kind of churches do we have at home? What kind of missions do we have at home? What kind of things do we need to get out of our lives and leave behind so that we can see the working of God, the fire of God? What kind of things do we need to not bind to the altar, but bind to the scapegoat and drive into the wilderness and never let come back? Maybe it's fears. Maybe it's doubts. Maybe it's pity parties. Maybe it's indecision or bad choices about your life and direction. Maybe it's unequal yokes that you need to drive away if God is to come in your life. Perhaps it's bitterness. Perhaps it's selfishness. Perhaps it's a divisive spirit, an independent spirit. Perhaps it's just that plain, good old American independence. That's a spirit! It's a spirit! They need to go. Then there's other things. There's my business, my pocketbook, my security, my time, my ideas. They need to be laid on that scapegoat and driven to the wilderness. If God is going to work at home, some changes are going to need to be made. There's going to have to be some repenting, some biblical warfare thinking. Brothers, men, dads, you need to put on your thinking caps. There's not a lot of rules and regulations to say, go this way, go that way. There's a lot of freedom you have. You have your thinking caps on. Where are they? Biblical warfare thinking and biblical warfare living. Those are what we're going to be called to. So there are things we need to get out of our lives. There's thinking that needs to go. And there's a new thinking which needs to be put on if we're to see life and missions work at home. We need to get a vision into our lives. Now, if you'll talk to the people from Manitoba, and I'm glad to see some of them sitting up in the front here and over there. I told them I thought I'd get them all to stand during the whole service so I could see some familiar faces. But if you'll talk to them, they'll tell you that my middle name is Vision. And I just want to share a little about vision in five areas here today. I want to take you to the Word of God, the simple Word, and lay a foundation to open up to you what we're to be all about living at home. Now, I can't cover everything. It's going to be unbalanced. You're going to have to forgive me. But what are God's intentions? What is His vision that underlines life even before we start getting involved at home? You see, there's some underlying things that need to be here in our thinking caps. I want to look at five of them. I want to look at a big picture. These could be five messages, ten messages, fifty messages. I only have one message. Five messages and aspects of a vision that begins at home and reaches out and overflows to the ends of the earth. Now, vision is critical if you're to get to where you want to go. If you're to get to where God wants you. If I just get in my car and drive tomorrow and do the little children's game we used to play where one child would say left and the other would say right and then the next got a chance to say left, I wouldn't get back to Manitoba. Do you think I would? Ever played that game? That's how a lot of people live. Just the spontaneity of the moment instead of a vision. Whatever feels good. Whatever you're free to do. Whatever you think of right now. Truth for me and truth for you. You leave me alone, I'll leave you alone. The spirit of the world. What about your spirit? So we need a vision. Now, I'm sure you're here today because you have a bit of a vision for missions. And a vision for the Lord Jesus. But you know one of the problems with a vision is a vision has many parts and I'm just going to cover about five of them today. But it's kind of like I remember one time going up a mountain and something happened to my timing chain. And I don't know anything about timing chains except somehow there's some gears in there and there's some chains in there and the timing chain, I guess it went click and it skipped whatever you call those cogs or whatever. Well, anyone that knows what that's all about knows that that kind of makes for a rough ride. I mean, the motor just didn't sound too good. In fact, we needed to call for help and we were in the middle of nowhere. Well, you see, we don't just need to have the cogs and the chains of life. We need to have all the parts in order, functioning as God wants. Many people today have parts of the vision. When I was six years old, I had a desire. I had a vision. When I was six years old, I had a desire. When I grew up to help adults. Good desire? Yeah, I think so. Some pieces missing? Yeah, I think so. Some experience in life missing? Oh, to be sure. But I sure saw the problem. And lots of people saw the problems today. The hippies saw the problem. But they never brought about a community of life that could give an alternative to our society and lead them to the light, which is Jesus Christ. When I was eleven years old, I was preaching on the Sermon on the Mount on radical Christian living. When I was twenty, I was preaching on community. But brothers and sisters, it never began to be fulfilled in my life until I was in my forties. I had some of the parts right. I'd done all the things. I'd tried to change the place where I was, but it had changed me. And I came to see that something was wrong. It didn't fit. It didn't work. The timing was all out. The gears were out. Something was wrong. You see, I was trying to join the world and the church. I had all the Gospel of the Kingdom that we're going to talk about in my head, but I also had that great Gospel. People have asked me, what did you renounce when you left the evangelical church? And I've said, the main thing I renounced was the doctrine of being like the world to win the world. But you see, that was the cardinal doctrine. Oh, it wasn't written in any of the books. It was the unwritten law. And somehow or other, even though I believed in the radical Gospel, I still had that spirit of the world that had its claws into me, and I couldn't make the Gospel I believed in work. Because the chain and the timing cogs, whatever you call them, someone can tell me afterwards how to preach this better, okay? They were out of gears. I even got a mechanic in the family. But I didn't ask him. Things were not working the way God intended. You see, so just having a little piece of the vision isn't enough. Let's look at some parts today. Habakkuk 2, verse 2, the Lord said, write the vision and make it plain. Make all the parts simple. Make it so it can be seen. Don't let it be out of focus. Get everything in order of the vision. That he may run. And may I say, run a long distance run? That he that readeth may run. For the vision is yet for an appointed time. It may be for your appointed time back where you live. But at the end it shall speak and not lie. Zoe, Terry, wait for it. Align with it. Expect it. Write the vision and make it plain that he may run that readeth. For the vision is for an appointed time. But at the end it shall speak and not lie. Zoe, Terry, brothers and sisters, wait for it. It will surely come. And verse 14 says, the earth shall be filled. The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. This is the heart and the promise of God. And that covers where you live today. God says in the book of Proverbs, without a vision, the people perish. Without a vision, the people perish. Now, vision is something to which we are headed, ok? Let's get that definition. Vision is something to which we are headed. What about that word perish? Some translations translate it unrestrained. And that's very close to what it literally is. Those who have no vision are unrestrained. Now, what does a restraint do? It holds you in. It's like a wall or a chain. Except we don't have a lot of walls or chains. All we've got is a vision. A vision restrains so that we see plainly where we are going. So we can make choices, even hard choices, about where I am not going. Choices about where I am not going. Isn't that right? I'm heading home. I've got a time limit. I can't visit you in Florida. I'm not going there. It may be warm. I like that. I'm not going there. It's minus 40 where I'm from. But you're not tempting me. I've got a vision. The word in Proverbs for unrestrained is the same word which is in the passage, to restrain up a child in the way he should go. That word is restrain a child. It literally means to choke, to throttle, to narrow a child into the way he should go. And when he is old, which means mature, he will walk in it. You can release him in it with confidence. So without a vision, people are unrestrained. They're this way. They're that way. They're the other way. But a vision chokes them, narrows them, just like you would a child. Narrowing him. But not with something outward. With something inward. Young people with something inward. Old people with something inward. A vision restrains, it narrows, it directs. So let's look at these five areas. Number one, we need a vision of God. We need a vision, number one, of God. We need to taste the life of God if we're to have missions that work at home. We need revival. Missions begins with revival. Missions goes hand in hand with revival, with our personal Pentecost, with fire coming on us, on you and I, right here at home. What's the point of sending someone from Manitoba to Bolivia if we've got no fire in Manitoba? Patting ourselves on the back, saying we're doing a good job for Jesus? That's not missions. Missions begins with revival. We're not sending people to do missions. We must send men and women full of the Holy Ghost from churches that are alive with the presence and power of the Holy Ghost. Missions is a spreading flame of the Gospel of Jesus, of the life of Jesus. It is the outflow of the inflow of the overflow of the life of God in you, in your fellowship, wherever you are living. Hudson Taylor, I think he had that overflow. In the darkest times of his life when revolutionaries there, when the locusts of the book of Joel and the darkness spoken of in the book of Joel were there, and the locusts that are all around us devastating and bringing devastation to our culture. Hudson Taylor faced great hardship and darkness, but what was his theme song? Some of you know, I'm sure. Jesus, I am resting, resting. Missionaries being killed. Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what Thou art. I am finding out the greatness today in this situation of Thy loving hearts. That's where missions begins. It begins at your home and mine with Jesus filling our hearts. I think Wesley Duell caught some of this heart for revival that goes hand in hand with missions after he had talked with Duncan Campbell of the Hebrides revival. He wrote this great hymn and I just love it. It's not a hymn. If someone knows the music for it, please tell me because I've been trying to invent it all the way down here in the car. Give us a greater hunger, Lord. Give us a greater hunger, Lord, than we have ever known. Help us to wait in one accord until Your power is shown. Keep us, Your children, on our knees beseeching You with mighty pleas till floods of blessings like the seas sweep over all Your home. Give us a sense of urgency that will not be denied. Give such desire Your work to see till ease we cast aside. Give us soul hunger and soul thirst till hearts with longing almost burst, till we could wish ourselves accursed if souls that reach Your side. Lord, now begin Your mighty work. Make bare Your holy arm. O God, forbid that we should shirk or to this age conform. Reveal Your Spirit's mighty power. O come upon Your church this hour by Your own working, Lord, and empower till Satan's forts we storm. Help each of us to do our part, O Lord, may we not fail. Give clearest guidance to each heart till highest mounts we scale. Use us however You may choose. We would no burden, Lord, refuse, but get us, Lord, where You can use and mightily prevail. O send the promised Holy Ghost upon us as we kneel. We need His holy working most till men conviction feel. Lord, this is still the day of grace. Have mercy on our dying race. Revival send to every place Your miracle reveal. What is your part? It's to look to God. It's to behold. It's to believe that our God is the God of vision, the God of missions. He wants to do more than you could ask or think or imagine. He longs to do more than you could ask or think. Your job, beloved, is to believe. When He comes, will He find faith on the earth? Will you be like the Syrophoenician who received only one? Only one Naaman? How many ones are there here? We need a vision of who God is. Number two, we need a vision of the world. When we have a vision of who God is, brothers and sisters, men and women of the world will see and they will join us to run. But we need to start running first. So, a vision of God. And then number two, a vision of the world, of the harvest, of the need, above all of the need in me. Lift up your eyes, Jesus said, and look, behold the harvest. Matthew 9, verse 36, when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them because they fainted. They fainted. They were scattered abroad. They had no direction, no strength, no life. They were as sheep having no shepherd. No one to lead. No one to point. No one to call them in the right way. Now, as Brother Denny shared, we live not so much in a lost culture, but in a departing one. And our tendency as believers may it be to get aggravated or disgusted with our world, what's our response to be? Number one, faith in our God for where you live. Faith in our God that He's still the same. Number two, the compassion of our God. So many in our land are in ignorance. They've never heard the Gospel of the Kingdom. They've never heard the higher call of Christ. They've been shown a door and they've walked through the door. They heard the Gospel about a Jesus, but it wasn't the Gospel about a Jesus who also has a kingdom. And they're left standing there at the door in the cold, not finding the full joy, not finding the full victory, not finding the deliverance that comes, the book of Joel says, through Zion, through Jerusalem, and it says through the remnant of His people. Deliverance will come. We need to see the ignorance and not reject against it, not react against it. So many have never heard. We need to see beyond all the cultural window dressings. We need to not talk about all the cultural window dressings and glitter. We need to not even hardly notice it, not focus on it, but see the person. See the soul. But even before that, brothers and sisters, I don't want to dwell in that world today. I want to dwell in the world that's still here. The place to begin as we consider the mission field of our world and our American culture is with ourselves, because the Word of God says, if My people who are called by My name shall humble themselves, look at their need, and pray, and seek My face, and turn, and turn from their, My people's wicked ways, the church's wicked ways, the church's ways of being directed by the spirit of this world, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. The church communities of light who caught a vision of the Kingdom of God are the answer to our world. Not people walking arm in arm with our world. Not people with that, what Tanner called, identification that really is just flesh. That's never going to win people to the kind of Christianity that our dear Savior gave His life for. The church, My people, is the key to reaching and healing the land. Now I want to ask you today, is there anyone here who's got their wolf skin on? Are there any wolves? You know, we hear a lot about wolves in sheep's clothing. But have you adapted yourself to the values and ideas and goals of our departing culture? Have you got the wolf clothes or the wolf clothes of our departing culture on you sheep? Have you mixed in with the wolf pack? You know, that's one way to survive, isn't it? Oh, you'll survive. Put on a little wolf ears and get that smell rubbed all over you just like Jacob did, you know. I'll tell you. Any wolf clothes? Oh, I'd rather deal with wolves in sheep's clothing than sheep in wolves' clothing. The church of the masses in America has adopted and baptized our popular culture, and I fear it has affected us more than we know. While the watchmen slept, while the farmers slept, the enemy sowed tares that looked just like the wheat until the very end. It's time to wake up to our need. Fifteen years ago, I left the institutional Protestant church because I saw that it was on a slippery slope and I saw the church was ten years behind. But brothers and sisters, as I look today, I believe that gap has gone like this or maybe even like this. And it's even worse because the church is accountable before God. Many of them are in ignorance, though. They have never heard any other gospel than that which you'll hear on the television. They may not hear. They may not want to hear. But you've been commanded to go to every town, to every village. To your village. He didn't say, well, if you don't think they'll hear, don't go. We're called to go. Not to sleep. We're called to lift up the name of Jesus through our lives. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 22. A passage that God used in my life to mightily work in me probably about 15, 18 years ago. Isaiah 22. And here we have a picture of God's people of the city with broken down walls. And in verse 9 we see these words, You have seen also the breaches, the holes of the city of David, that they are many. You have seen the holes in the walls of the church that they are many. And you gathered together the waters. You tried to make some security for drinking water for yourself of the lower pool. And you have numbered the houses of Jerusalem and the houses you have broken down and you've attempted to fix the wall yourself. You've made a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool, but you have not looked unto the Maker thereof. You have not looked unto God. Neither have respect unto Him that fashioned it long ago. And in that day, here's what God says, in that day when men are trying to patch all kinds of problems on their own, all kinds of ideas about the church on their own, and in that day did the Lord God of hosts call for weeping and to mourning and to baldness and to girding with sackcloth, and instead, verse 13, instead behold what is there amongst you? Joy and gladness, slaying oxen, Christian barbecues, fellowship meals, killing sheep, eating flesh, good steaks, drinking wine. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die. And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till you die, saith the Lord of hosts. A sin which will not be forgiven till you die. A sin which will have consequences forever until you die. You lived life as normal when the walls were down. You carried on with your little Christian happiness in your nice little fellowship of like-minded believers with all your good times. But the walls were down and you never prayed. Tanner said enough on that. I'll stop there. You young people, you can go to your cities on ministry. You can go to Africa on nice trips. But do you know that the walls are down where you live? Do you know that there are desperate people in the darkness going to a Christless eternity because they've never seen an alternative that they think is worth living for? Right where you live. Nehemiah in his day, we heard about him, had broken walls. Verse 9 tells us he sat down stunned and he wept and he mourned. And he said in those verses that Tanner did not read, we have dealt very corruptly. We have not kept Your commands. So what is our response? Life as normal? Peacetime living for us brothers and sisters? Or will we bind the sacrifice to the horns of the altar and commit to war? Commit to thinking in light of the Kingdom of God? Well, number three. Number one, we need a vision of God. Number two, we need a vision of the world that begins with a vision of the world in ourselves that leads us to God and to repentance. Number three, we need a vision of the spontaneous multiplication of the Gospel beginning in your Jerusalem. A vision of the natural progression of missions. It's not just a program. It's something that begins where you are. It's an overflow of life. It's something that's natural. It's something that just flows out into the desert. Now I'm not going to draw it on this board, but many of you I'm sure have seen the picture of a bunch of circles within circles and in the first circle is Jerusalem. And what is Jerusalem? It's your home, isn't it? It's where you live. It's where we are. And there's people there. Then there's Judea. And those are the people of the same culture of us. They may live near. They may live far. Then there's Samaria. And that's people who are very similar to us and probably live quite nearby, but they're of a slightly different culture or language. And then finally there's the ends of the earth. And a natural progression is for us to move from home and outwards. We begin with our family and our extended family and beyond to Hutterites and to the city of Winnipeg. Our young people visit in the city of Winnipeg. And they go from door to door and apartment to apartment and from mosque to synagogue. Visit with all kinds of people. It goes from there. In our fellowships, we began... well, let's just say it goes from there out to places like Alberta. And then finally down, we've just sent, on December, we sent our first missionary. 400 believers in Manitoba gathered together to send our first missionary from four churches to Bolivia. You can see a little bit about that over there. We praise God. Again, we praise God for Your investment of prayer and labors for those that have come. But you know, it all began because someone came. They came from Pennsylvania. And someone else came from a hideout in McBride, British Columbia. And someone else came from India. People came. And from there it spread in four different directions. And it's spreading out all in those directions and webs and networks of families all through Manitoba. And people have come to see what's happening. And then they've gone back. They've started churches. Here, if you can imagine this map, here's Pennsylvania. Here's Winnipeg. Here's our four churches. Here's others. Here's another. Alberta over here. Southern Alberta. Here's another. Way up near the North Pole. Here's another one up near the North Pole. Lacrete where Jeff is from. You've heard from him. But it's because faithful brothers and sisters, that living water that's flowing out begins at home. It ends up in Ghana. No point sending it to Ghana if it's not at home. So how does it begin at home? Well, I'll tell you something. I've got a calendar here. It's from America. I showed this to our fellowships as we got together on December 15th or 8th to send off our brother Isaac. And I showed them this. This comes from Brother Emmanuel's office. And I think he's got one of those Palm Pilots so he doesn't use this very often. And I see it's all blank. And you've probably got a few that are blank too. And I want to ask you, a vision that begins in your Jerusalem and extends out. That's not just something up here. It's going to actually involve some planning. Now this calendar is right empty right now. But you know what's on it for our young people? Every Tuesday night in Low Farm and the church at Cain, it's marked street ministry. You couldn't keep them away with a herd of wild horses or whatever you call wild horses. Tuesday night just happens to be my night that I've always gone. Whether it be to a colony, whatever. It's an unwritten rule. Unless there's something else. The norm is Tuesday night is going night. The norm is Friday night is let's go visit someone or have someone over or find out what we can do. Now it doesn't always work. But it's the thing that's written on the calendar. Sunday is the fellowship time. What I'm talking to you about is involvement. You don't need to go to the streets of Winnipeg to go, I'll tell you, it's exciting. You don't need to go to visit a mosque or a Hindu temple or some of those things that you find on the world at our doorstep back in the intercultural booth. But there may be a nursing home and I'll tell you the best job I ever had was in a nursing home cleaning out toilets and helping old people. I loved it. It's a lot better than the pig barns I live in now. Well, I even work in now. But brothers and sisters, what can you put on your... Do you have a Tuesday night to visit someone down the street? Do you have a Tuesday night to reach out to one of the new people in the church? Do you have a Friday night when you invite some of the struggling people? I don't know. You start thinking of some of those ideas. You know, I saw Kate Tenniston, pictures of her greeting all the Africans over there. Shaking hands through windows in some of those slides or something. Do you think that that began in Africa? You know where it began? At home! Shaking hands. Greeting people. Loving people. Involved in the lives of others. And what does it lead to? It leads to a spontaneous multiplication and overflow. Hallelujah! Who do you know in the store? Who do you know in the post office? Well, get to know someone. What about a little note, an encouragement, a phone call, a trip? You know, the first year we were in Manitoba, we put out 10,000 tapes, our family. And we put on 60,000 miles on two vehicles. And we both lived close at home. I'm not saying that about us. I'm saying it about you. Oh, the price of gas! Rubbish! I don't even look at it anymore because I've got a priority. What about your gas tank, brothers and sisters? What about your calendar? Is it still blank? Doing any planning? Find an empty one. Dad, make some plans! Praise God! And you might have children that go to the ends of the earth. Habakkuk 1.5 Behold, look, see, ye among the heathen, and regard, pay attention, and wonder marvelously, for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, though it be told. Number four. A critical part of missions at home and abroad. A critical part of missions is the message. If we've got the message wrong, we've got it all wrong. Lots of people go to nursing homes and that booth in the back, you'll see a big map called the Muslim world. Kind of like we've got the Christian world. Lots of people do little bits of outreach. Lots of people love their neighbors, but what message are they taking them? Now, I'm not going to deal with a large part of that message. I'm going to only deal with a little part of that message today. But let's read a few Scriptures here. I believe the message that we need to have a vision of, a plain vision of, is the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom. It's a warfare message. A warfare mentality. Matthew 3.2. John the Baptist. Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. 3.17. Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Luke 4.43. I must preach the Kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore... That's my purpose. That's why I'm sent. Luke 8.1. And it came about... Tanner, notice this. It came about afterwards that He went out through every city and village preaching and showing the glad tidings of the Kingdom of God and the Twelve were with Him. Later, He sent out 70. Same thing. Matthew 10.7. When the Twelve disciples went out, He said, as you go, preach, saying the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Acts 8.2. When the people of Samaria believed Philip, preaching what? The Kingdom of God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were baptized, both men and women. Acts 20.25. To the elders at Ephesus. I have gone among you preaching the Kingdom of God, Paul says, but now you will see my face no more. Acts 28.23. In Rome, the Jews came to find out about the stories they'd heard about this Christian group. And in verse 23, Paul expounded and testified the Kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, the King. Verse 31. The last verse of the book of Romans. And Paul dwelt two years in Rome preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. Do we have a King, brothers and sisters? What did the King do? Do you know what He does? He rules, He directs, He commands. He has a purpose to fulfill. He's not over a geographical area. He is subjects scattered in many places. A body. Bodies. Now let me ask you, are rules a bad thing? A ruler rules, right? A king rules, right? Are you with me? How about you way in the back? Okay. A king rules, right? We don't always like rules, do we? Now, let's give a practical illustration right here. A couple of them. Okay, in Ephrata. How would you like it if the mayor of Ephrata said, well, as of this day, we're going to make a law, no more traffic rules in Ephrata. Everyone from all of Pennsylvania can do whatever they want, but when they come to Ephrata, they have the rules outside, but when they come to Ephrata, no rules. Unrestrained. Whatever you want to do. How many of you would want to come to his missions conference? You might park your car outside and take a taxi in, right? Okay, now let's think of something else. See, rules aren't all bad, are they? Now, remember, I don't like that word rules, but I'm talking about what the king has in mind for you, not some human dictator. Let's think for a minute about an Amish egg farmer. Now, I don't know if there's any Amish egg farmers, but I imagine there is. And he says to his son or his employee, listen, hitch up the horse and go out into all the world delivering eggs. Now, that fellow, I don't know if anyone's done this. I imagine some young man probably have tried. Imagine if that fellow hitched up the horse backwards. And here's the cart over here and the head is facing the cart. And he wants that horse to go backwards. Is he free to do that? I guess he's free to. He can do that, right? Has anyone ever tried it, Emmanuel? You didn't? You never did. Well, I don't want to suggest a first here, but it'll look a little ridiculous. But he's free to do it, right? What about now if his boss, he comes from the West like I do, and the boss tells him, well, here in Pennsylvania, this is the way we direct our horse. He gets on that horse and he decides, well, I'm going to do it the way we do it back in Montana. Now, will he get to market? He might. He might. It's going to take a while. Do you think he's going to have a good disposition when he gets there? Do you think he's going to have the joy of the Lord? Think people will be amazed? Now, what about if the boss says, take the paved street? And I know you don't have any gravel here in Pennsylvania, but we do. And what if he decides to say take a gravel road? Here he's got that whole load of eggs. But he thinks this is a little shortcut here. I'll ignore the directions. I'll ignore the commands of the ruler. Now, he may get to market, right? Even faster than others. But guess what? The eggs might all be broken. And what was the job to get to market? No! To sell the eggs. What about you? Are you willing to listen to the commands of our King? Here we are today and we've got something far more precious than eggs to take into all the world. And we've been called to be subjects, the ambassadors, the servants of the King of Kings. So I wonder how good are you at taking His directions, at following Him who said, follow Me, and then I will make you fishers of men. And then I will fill your emptiness. Well, there's a problem. The problem is that we have two powers vying for our loyalty. We have the kingdom of this earth, which began back here with Adam and Eve. A kingdom which involves kings. Earthly kings. It's an earthly kingdom which involves politics, which involves the religious systems of this world. My spelling. I'll work on it later when my brain has more time. All these earthly things. But Jesus Christ has come. The Jews looked forward expectantly to a day when their Messiah would come and set up His reign on the earth. But instead, what has happened is Jesus Christ has come back in time and He came down as a little baby and He lived those 33 years and He gave Himself a sacrifice for you and I. And He has called you and I not to live on this earthly kingdom as citizens of this earthly kingdom giving our patriotism to this earthly kingdom. And it's kings which are under the power of the Spirit of this world of the air. All their politics and economics, all their lusts under the power of the Spirit of the air. We've been called to leave the loyalty to this earthly kingdom. Not to be partly here and partly up here, but to come up to the kingdom of heaven which is broken back into time in Jesus. The kingdom of heaven is broken back right to where you are on this timeline here. Here we are, brothers and sisters, and the kingdom of God has come and we have been called because of the cross of Christ to rise and place our citizenship firmly in the kingdom of heaven. Here we have a human king. Here we have a divine king. Here we have earthly things. Here we have heavenly things. Here we have earthly values. Here we have heavenly values. Here we have war. Here we have love of enemies. Here we have get to the top. Here we have love your enemies. Here we have get to the top. Here we have go to the bottom. Go low. Serve. Here we have pleasures. And here we have service for our King. Ambassadors of the King of kings. We are called to the values to represent, though we still walk on this earth, we are not part of this earth. We're part of this kingdom. Firmly, clearly. Have you drawn a line between the world and Jesus? Have you built a wall between the spirit of the world and Jesus? You see, that's what we're to do. We live here, but our citizenship is clearly in heaven. These two kingdoms are in opposition. They're diametrically opposed. They're mortal enemies. And we dare not make peace between the two of them. Do you understand that? As those on a mission for our King, we're called to preach and live the high standard of the life of heaven. We're called to represent the interests of heaven, of the King. Well, can I ask you, is this radical message just for Mennonites? Is this radical message just for Mennonites and homeschoolers? If it is, brothers and sisters, we might as well put it in the garbage pit right now, because it's not the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the gospel of the kingdom that draws a clear separation between the spirit of this world and the spirit of Jesus. Oh, now lots of people have that in their minds, but they've never seen that it has to happen in reality in how you live every day. You see, it's not the kingdom in your heart. Oh, that's what I was taught for four years. The kingdom's in your heart. That radical kingdom's in your heart. No, that radical kingdom's in shoe leather. So as I ask and seek to be a kingdom conscious question, it's going to affect all of my choices. So let's look at some practical areas. Put on our thinking caps of what it means to have a kingdom vision, a kingdom conscious Christian. Well, how do I in America discern what lines up with the kingdom of heaven? It's going to be different in America, right? Because the spirit of the world in America is different than in Ghana. It's different in the country where I live than in the city of Winnipeg. But wherever we are, we need to discern, number one, what lines up with the kingdom of heaven? What are the values of the kingdom of God? What are His purposes? And then number two, we need to see and discern what are the methods of the enemy. What is the spirit of the world and of His kingdom? I need to identify what is opposed to Christ. What distracts us and hinders us from our mission. I need to identify. And you do, dads. And you do, young men. And you do, young sisters. You need to identify what hinders you. What waters down the call of God. You know, there's some things that aren't written in the Word of God, and we're going to talk about a few in just a moment. But guess what? They've got the world written all over them. And if it's got the world written all over it, and the spirit of the world written all over it, it doesn't matter if it isn't in this Word of God, because your heart is united with the heart of God, has fed on this Word of God, and something in you is repulsed by the spirit of the world. You don't need a rule. You need a vision. You don't need a rule about what kind of shiny vehicle not to buy. You need a vision of missions. A vision of why you're here. A vision of what to spend your money on. How much have you spent on your shiny vehicle? Some of you need it. I'm not talking about myself, but I calculated some time ago I've spent $20,500 on vehicles in over 30 years. And I've always gotten from A to B. $20,000. Shall I write it down for you? This is just me. I'm not telling for you. I have driven my family on $20,500 for 30 years. Today, the line between the world and the church has become blurred and fuzzy. Very little difference. But you and I have a radical message. The life-changing message of the power of Jesus and of the distinct, separate, demanding, fulfilling Kingdom of God which brings order and beauty to all of life. This is the message that was preached by John the Baptist, by Jesus, by Paul, and it must be preached to all men by you and I, or we are not on missions for the God of Heaven. So, this Kingdom is something that you need to settle in your hearts, brothers and sisters. Have you settled the reality of the Kingdom in your hearts? It's the Gospel of Jesus, the King and of the Kingdom. Two kingdoms in opposition. Eternal clashing. You will do yourself a great favor if you will settle this one fact that there are two kingdoms in mortal conflict. This fact must affect all your choices, little and big. How you relate to this doctrine will partly determine your choices today and where you'll be in 50 years and where your missions and activities will be in 50 years. Missions and the preaching of the Kingdom cannot be separated. Is it possible? Let me ask you some practical questions. And then we're going to have one more point. Is it possible to be a workaholic and get to Heaven? I think so. Okay, here's a dangerous one. Is it possible to listen to Christian rock and get to Heaven? Is it possible to listen to music your parents don't appreciate and get to Heaven? Is it possible to listen to music that we won't listen to here on Sunday morning and get to Heaven? It's possible. Is it possible to have a home that's out of order and be a Christian? Is it possible to get caught up in the business of life and in materialism and be a Christian? Is it possible, men, to get caught up in all your toys and technology and be a Christian? It's possible. Is it possible to get caught up in our frills and fancies? Is it possible, sisters, to put your children in daycare, in public school, and to see them be Christians? It's possible. Is it possible for you to drop them off and go off to your job as the chairman of the board, of the chief executive officer of the Ephrata National Bank? Sisters, it's possible. It's possible. But, for most, it's not working out. And when something isn't working out, what do you do? You change it. If there was a Pepsi machine here and we've got loonies in Canada, and we put a loonie in and we get a Pepsi. Now, if I put a loonie in and I get a Coke, and then I put a loonie in and I get a Coke, and I put a loonie in and I get a Coke, after a while I'm going to quit going to that machine. I'm going to quit putting my loonies in there. Because I wanted a Pepsi, right? You see, when the product that's coming out isn't what God wanted, you've got to change something. It's possible to get to heaven, but do you want to take the risk of doing all those things I said you may do and still get to heaven? Do you want to take the risk? You see, it's not just what's possible as a Christian that counts. It's what is kingdom conscious living. The issue is vision. The issue is setting a different direction. You see, there's a broad road. And you and I as Christians are called to leave that slippery slope that the masses are on and what? Go a little up? Set another direction unapologetically. Can I stress that word? Unapologetically. Unselfconsciously. Because you know it's what the God of heavens calls. You have been given something to invest. And the dividends will multiply and they will be paying you back for a hundred years and more. You've been given time. You've been given spiritual gifts. You've been given children. You've been given a field of influence and friends. You've been given opportunities. You've been given money. Do you want to live in the realm of the possible? Taking the risk that it might all work out? Do you want to be with the masses of Christians who are failing in their choices because they've been lured by the spirit of this world and this evil age? Do you want to join them? Do you want to join them in their failing investments and failing families? Multitudes are having to change their theology to match. Multitudes of Mennonites are having to change their theology to believe that their world-beget young people are going to go to heaven because they got baptized. I'm talking about evangelical Mennonites. I'm talking about the ones that came out with revival from Russia. They're having to change their theology because they're losing their children. And they think by changing their theology, they'll get their children into heaven. Is that where you want to be in 30 years? Changing your theology? If we just get them into the water. Do you want to take the risk with the investments that God has entrusted to you? People in your country and mine, do not go to war and die so they can have a better life because they're dead. If your neighbor goes to war in Iraq and he dies, he's not doing it to get a better life for himself. He's doing it because of his children. He's doing it for the generation to come because those dividends will pay, he believes, in American security for a hundred years. But what about us in kingdom warfare? Are you thinking about dividends a hundred years down the road? Are you making kingdom choices, Dad? Learning to think Christianly? Now what about you, young couples? Many of us that are older have identified the spirit of the world. Many here have come from Reader's Digest religion. Many have come from the glitter. We've left there. We've engaged in a warfare and we've radically changed our directions from here to there. We don't want to do it with hardness. We want to do it with beauty and gentleness. But sometimes I wonder, young couples, there's lots and lots and lots of rocking chairs here this week. I've never seen so many babies. Praise God! You had a godly courtship. You did a lot of things right. You didn't have to fight a lot of the things we've had to fight. Will you get a vision of the kingdom? Or are you relaxing, loosening up, chumming up with things your fathers fought to leave? Young men, you need to make some costly choices. You need to start to think. I fear that some of our young couples with all of your potential are relaxing and adopting what let's just call it a blue jeans and t-shirts mentality. And I'm not talking about blue jeans and t-shirts. I'm talking about a mentality. A mentality that comes from the world. Let's just call it that. A blue jeans and t-shirt mentality. My concern is with the spirit behind it and the spirit of just a little more being like the world to win the world. Just a little more like the world. Just a little different from dad and mom. Just a little looser. And the next generation, may I ask, just a little looser? I wonder if some of our failure in the warfare that is raging is not just that we have not seen souls plunging to eternity, but also that we have not gotten on a foundational level, on a foundational level many times we have not seen and got all the parts meshing together, the reality of the Kingdom. Because you see, the Kingdom, warfare and missions go hand in hand. See, the King has sent us to bring people to His Kingdom. Now, if we're not in that Kingdom, if we're not functioning in that Kingdom, we may do all kinds of good things. So is this all legalism? You know what it is, brothers and sisters? It's vision. It's vision. Is it legalism to call for godly hands-off courtship in an age of moral disaster? Is it legalism to set unapologetically new directions together in the area of modesty? And may I say that that is just kindergarten. That's not holiness. That's just Adam and Eve stuff from back in the Garden of Eden. Is it legalism in a world of messed up roles to call for clear distinction between males and females in all of life? This world is devastated because of a mixture of the order of God. They've got the horse backward on the cart and they're trying to make it work, and it can't. Don't you go doing it to fit in with them. It might get you to market, but it's not what God's calling for. Is it legalism to believe in victory over anger? Is it possible over lust? Why then do Christian people get so upset over those who make these choices? When we look at all the immorality and immodesty... this is another question. When we look at all the immorality and immodesty and wrong values and ungodly attitudes and wasted times in our world today, is it legalism to stand against the invasion of the television? The invasion of the DVD craze? Masses think we just need to control it, but just about no one is doing it successfully. I can tell you that. I was there. I've watched the movies with the pastors of the land. I've laughed with them. And I've had to leave 20 years ago because of the disgusting things and jokes that are going on. Is it legalism to set a new direction? Is it legalism to be concerned? It's not legalism for me to cry out, it may save your home, Dad. It's love. It's vision. And that's what you need, a vision. Now, you may say, well, I've got freedom. I've got rights. Rights is a very unchristian word, by the way. But yes, you have freedom. You can drink a little wine, read your questionable books, watch that DVD or whatever you've got in your bedroom, or as a family, a little, you know, whatever. You can drive that fancy sports car. You can have that looser lifestyle. You've got the freedom. But what if everyone does? What if your children take it a step further? What if your elders spoke to his wife the way you speak to yours? What if your elder's wife did everything that you do? What if we played in church, young people, the music that you're listening to in your bedroom? God's in your bedroom. Is that little private freedom you have building up the body? Could we watch that DVD at our next fellowship meal? Could we drink that 0.05% mere beer at our next elders meeting? Could we read that book you're reading at our next young people's gathering or as a family? Freedom. No, none of this is freedom. It's bondage. It's bondage to the spirit of the world. It's blindness. Freedom comes when we identify the spirit of the world in whatever culture we're living in and begin, one step at a time, to change the direction of our lives. It's taking the horse which is hooked up backwards and turning it around. That's freedom. That's spiritual common sense. Now, number five. And I'm done. Thankfully, Tanner spoke short. Thank you, brother. I've not mentioned many areas. We could talk dads about the areas of money and sports and individualism and isolation and the autonomy of our communities which everybody does their own thing. We could talk about our toys. But I want to say if we get the vision on Jesus Christ and the purpose He's given for our lives, those things will take care of themselves. You won't have time for TV. I don't know how I ever did. I tell you, I'm busy. If you've got time for TV, get that calendar wherever I put it out and do some planning, Dad. Number five. We must have a vision to be communities of light in this dark world. We need to be little colonies of heaven. Little colonies of heaven transplanted down here, but our citizenship is there. We're not involved in trying to change the politics. We're not involved in trying to change the whole social system. We're involved in modeling what the kingdom of heaven that is to come one day when Jesus Christ comes again and takes His bride to be with Himself forever in the kingdom of heaven which will go on to all eternity and, by the way, has already stretched from eternity past. It's that life that makes sense all the way from here all the way forever and ever. That is the eternal life of heaven. It's not a badge. It's a life. The life of heaven lived in the colony of your church here on this earth. Overflowing to the ends of the earth. We heard that back here there is a temple and people come to that temple and they have priests in that temple and they have prophets. And those prophets tell all the temple and the people what's wrong with them and which way to go and how they're failing God and what's to come. But over here, what do we have? We have a body with a head, the Lord Jesus Christ. And all the parts united. Parts united where you are. Parts united in your local body. That's the new wineskin. It's not just about you as a prophet and your ministry. There's multitudes who stand alone on some of the things I've talked about of standing against this earthly kingdom. Multitudes of people are standing alone at whatever cost. But they're not paying the cost to stand with brothers and sisters in a community of life that represents to their neighbors the life of heaven. See, the body of Christ isn't about nice services. It's not about Holy Ghost goosebumps. It's not just about worship in this building. It's about living sacrifices. And not just me all by myself. I was in a little cabin by myself for seven years. That's fine. God used it for seven years. I spent time on my face about four hours a day. But I'm glad I'm not there now because that isn't the full picture. It's just one little part that God used in my life. God's eternal intent is a people. In Exodus 6-9, I will take you to Me for a people. A holy people. A holy nation. And I will be to you a God. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God. And the nations will know. God's desire in the Old Testament and right through to the New Testament is a people. And so in John 17, right before He went up, He prayed, keep them from the world. May they be one Father as You and I are one. God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. The unity that they had, He says, I pray that these ones down here will be joined together with us in that same unity. That they will be one with us as we are with one another. And one with each other. Holy Ghost goosebumps? Oh, maybe, praise God. But that isn't the measure of what God is looking for. He's looking still for a people. He's looking for His glory to fill the temple. And so, in Ephesians 3, verses 8-11, I won't read it. But in Ephesians 3, 8-11, it says that one day, God's desire is that there be such a people, such a beautiful bride raised up representing His kingdom, representing heaven, that even the principalities and powers are stunned by what's happening first in America. Yes, I said first in America. Brothers and sisters, you can't blame the world for what's not happening in you. You can't blame the world for the divisions in your assembly. You can't blame the world for your bitterness. That's your flesh. And the Spirit of God is longing for a time when the glory will fill the temple. So, can I ask you as we close, as we look back to Isaiah chapter 22, are you satisfied with life as usual? Are you satisfied to just be part of a like-minded fellowship where you can raise a godly family to have godly courtships? Is that enough? We didn't talk about that, but it's just one part, one cog in the wheel too, isn't it? And if that part isn't there, the timing chain, there's going to be a cog missing and there's going to be a little skip there. But brothers and sisters, do you want more? Do you want a new vision to run? A vision, number one, of God and a revival in your life. Number two, of the world and especially the world in you and repenting and mourning instead of Christian barbecues. Number three, of a plan on your calendar to get involved in the lives of others and let that life overflow from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the city near you to the ends of the earth. Can I tell you that in the city of Winnipeg after four years of ministry, we've met masses of internationals, but I believe we're going to see a church raised up in the city of Winnipeg. Churches. If it can't work in the cities, brothers, does it work? We're reaching now five families just like me in the city of Winnipeg. They found David Bersow's writings and Peter Hoover's writings, Secret of the Strength, on the Internet and they've been reading them. Changing. Seeking. Asking questions. And God led our young people to their doors. Now they're saying, will this work in Winnipeg? Praise God! What about Cincinnati? Philadelphia? It may take you four years to find them. Are you going to every village? Every city? Do you have a plan beginning at your Jerusalem? Number four, a vision of the Kingdom of God, which is a part of the Gospel. Number five, a vision of the body of Jesus. God's people. I trust you'll leave today desiring to be living sacrifices. You know something? You didn't come here to put yourself on an altar and then go home. That's what the Jews did. They brought sacrifices to an altar and they put them on and they burned them there and there was a great fire there and then they went home. Do you know where your altar is? It's where you are. It's back home and you're living on it and you need to be bound on it by even some of the things we've spoken of today can reemphasize some of these cords we've talked to keep us bound to the altar. That altar is at home. It's not some experience here. May the life of God, brothers and sisters, flow like rivers out from the altars of all of our lives to the ends of the earth. God is still looking for a people through whom that water can flow. I think you're that people. Do you believe? Are you a Syrophoenician? Are you a Naaman? When the Lord returns, will He find faith on the earth? Faith and vision, they're just about hand in hand too. Boy, a lot of things are hand in hand with vision, aren't they? Faith. Do you have it? Many sparks, I pray, will fly from that altar that you build at home. And may that altar burn and expand and may spreading flame jump from family to family and village to city to mosque to synagogue across our continent and to all the world. May that flame, that living flame, spread with the life-changing message of the Kingdom of God and of its King, the Lord Jesus Christ. They go hand in hand. God bless you.