In this sermon, the speaker reflects on a life-changing summer experience that led to a transformation in his faith. He highlights four things that God did during that time: He emphasized the Lordship of Christ, the reality of hell, and the filling of the Holy Spirit. The speaker then turns to John's Gospel chapter 20, where Jesus appears to his disciples after his resurrection. Jesus commissions them to go and spread the message of peace and forgiveness, and he breathes the Holy Spirit upon them. The speaker challenges the audience to consider what is holding them back from fully surrendering their lives to God and urges them to write down what God has been saying to them during the conference. He emphasizes the importance of Jesus being the king of their lives, especially in the context of evangelism. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the need for the fullness of God's Spirit in carrying out the responsibility of spreading the gospel.

I hope you're enjoying our evening meetings. I don't think I've ever been in one quite like that, thank you. Mars 1 and Mars 2 may have done a great deal for the recruiting for Dulos as it goes around Africa next year. Now we want to turn to God's word. Let us first pray. In your presence, oh God, is fullness of joy. We pray for our brothers Mars 1 and Mars 2 in their ministry in the future. Lord, will you use them in France, in Zaire, wherever you take them. We thank you that wherever we go, your word is powerful. Lord, we know that we cannot speak with authority unless we are under the authority of your word. Lord, we do pray that you'd speak to us this evening from scripture. Our hearts are open and eager to hear your word. In Jesus' name, amen. Everyone who's here for their first summer with OM, stand up. Tremendous. Thank you, please sit down. I just wanted to see what a huge crowd it was here in the tent. Because my first summer on OM, I think, changed my life. I can remember we met not very far away from here in Belgium. I can remember as we registered, we were each given a large piece of cardboard to sleep on. And we went and just sort of lay it down behind a huge tarpaulin screen. And all the men lay on one side of the factory and all the ladies lay on the other side of the factory. I have so many vivid memories from that first summer. And I look back on that time for me in my whole life as a time of absolute change. It seems to me as I look back that God did four things. He asked me one question. And he brought three great doctrines home to my heart. God brought home the doctrine of the lordship of Christ in a new way. And the reality of hell. And the doctrine of the filling of the Holy Spirit. And at the end of that whole summer, he asked me the one question, what are you now going to do with your life? And I want to pass on to you from my own experience and scripture, those three same doctrines tonight. Will you turn with me please to John's Gospel, chapter 20. We're going to read together from verse 19. 19 to 23. John 20, verse 19. On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. After he had said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again, Jesus said, Peace be with you. As the father has sent me, I am now sending you. And with that, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. And there in verse 19, we see the disciples. How are they? Well, they're afraid. They're afraid of what's about to happen to them. Afraid of the future. Afraid of the big wide world outside their nice, sheltered little room where they're staying. They don't know what's going to happen to them in a few days' time. They're afraid of the authorities, of the government, of kings. They're afraid of how they're going to live together, just the surviving 11 of them in the future. The situation is completely new. They're struggling to survive. They've been through a traumatic experience. And all the idealism with which they set out with Jesus, is now turning to disappointment. There they are, just a small team of disciples. And they're scared. Now, I wonder how many of you, as you look forward to the day after tomorrow, those doorsteps in Belgium and Austria and France, you don't know how it's going to be. For you a new situation coming on, O.M. The great majority of you stood up. This is all completely new. They were sitting there looking at each other, not talking probably very much. And in verse 19, Jesus quietly stepped into the room. The doors were locked. They were bolted shut against the outside world. Jesus didn't come up to the door and go, because if he'd done that, can you imagine what would have happened? The disciples would have gone under the table. They would have gone out the window, up the chimney. They would have said, the police have come. Jesus, so kind, so gentle, just stepped into the room without knocking. He knew exactly where they were. He didn't go knocking around the town from door to door. He knew right where they were, and he came to them. And another reason why he didn't knock on that door, he had the authority just to walk in. Because Jesus was the king. He had established his kingdom. Kings don't knock at doors, they just walk in, they have the right to. Jesus had established his kingdom in that upper room in that same city of Jerusalem. Right there in the heart of that hostile city. Those disciples had all become part of his kingdom. They'd put their hand on the same bread. They'd drunk together from the same cup. Jesus Christ had inaugurated in that city so full of enemies, a kingdom that was to last forever. These disciples sat scared in this room. The kingdom didn't seem to amount to very much. Just eleven of them. All gripped with the same feelings. And then the king himself came. As he will do, to team after team this summer. A king who had conquered the authorities, who had conquered death, who had conquered fear. A king who knew exactly what was ahead of them in their journey. We read that Jesus just came and stood in the midst of them. And the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. I don't know whether they leapt around with quite as much joy as Mark 2 did. But can you imagine the relief, the sense of absolute relief, that Jesus the king is now here. What were their recent memories of him? What had he done in only just the last few days? They had seen him get up from supper one evening. And pour water into a bowl and go and wash their feet. You know, they'd been lying on these Jewish couches. And one man's feet was under the next man's nose as they were eating their food. Go on, admit it, in some of the dormitories here at the conference, there is occasionally the problem of, what shall I say, the lack of this ministry to feet. And there was the king of kings just cleansing their feet in order that they might eat together in peace, in company with each other. What a king! He would pour water into a bowl and go and wash your feet. Work his fingers in and out of your toes. Smooth away the grime that comes in the journey. Maybe some of them had imagined him not standing but kneeling. In Luke chapter 22, verse 41, he knelt down to pray. What a king who will submit himself to the government of Almighty God. Maybe they remembered the king as he, in the last hours of his life, was winning one person after another into his kingdom even as he was dying. In Luke chapter 23, verse 41, speaking to that thief who was being crucified beside him. A man who was a rebel, who was a terrorist. A man who had never respected kings or governments all his life. A man who had tried to tear down governments. He hated them. The governments were just for the benefit of the rich, the wealthy. The governments just trampled on the hearts of ordinary working men and women. Then that man who had been a terrorist saw a king the like of which he had never seen before in his life. A king who would pray even for those that were executing him. A king whose heart went out to ordinary working class Roman soldiers during their 20 years in the army. And he turned to Jesus being crucified beside him. And he said, have you any place for someone like me in your kingdom? Jesus winning that man. Jesus winning the centurion. Finally when Christ had died on the cross, the centurion shook his head and walked away. He had never seen anything like that. He probably presided over many, many executions. This man was a son of God. I have never seen his like. Even in his death, Jesus is drawing Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus out of their secret discipleship. Even in his death, the king of people's hearts has now come to stand among the disciples. He has now come to deepen his authority in their lives. That is the purpose of this conference. That the Lord Jesus Christ may deepen his authority in your life. That's the purpose of these coming weeks on a team. That the Lord will show us more of himself. That we may learn to trust him more. Very difficult to trust somebody you don't know very well. And one of our biggest problems is we don't actually know the Lord Jesus very well. There was this man, Thomas. Let's read from verse 24. Thomas one of the twelve called Didymus was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, we have no knowledge of Jesus. We have seen the Lord. But he said except I, I shall see his hands, the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and put my hand into his side I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within and Thomas was with them. Jesus came again. The doors being shut. And he stood in the midst and said peace be unto you. Then said he to Thomas you reach hither your finger and see my hand and reach hither your hand and put it into my side and be not faithless but believing. Thomas answered and said unto him my Lord and my God Jesus saith unto him because thou hast seen me thou hast believed blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. How kind is the Lord. He didn't proceed on with the ten disciples and leave Thomas to one side. Thomas wasn't really with the others. He wasn't yet ready for Pentecost and world evangelism. He probably felt left out. And maybe some of you don't really feel yet that this conference has touched you. Maybe you feel that you don't quite belong even yet to your fellowship group. Maybe you're afraid that when you get on your team you won't really belong there. And the Lord knows exactly what's going on in Thomas' heart. He also knows what Thomas is saying because the moment he steps in through the door he says Thomas see my hands put your hand in my hand put your hand in my side I know what you've been saying in your heart I know what you've been saying in your unbelief all the reasons that we have why we say we cannot or will not trust the Lord he knows all the particular fears that we have he knows and Jesus comes a week later for Thomas too and he didn't say to Thomas hey you're a week late you are I'm sorry you're too late I'm going on with the others if you can't keep up with the rest of us then we've got no time for you he came specially for the one who was dragging behind the one who was left out the one who felt he hadn't come into the blessing that all the others had enjoyed it was a week later than the rest but the Lord came especially for him Thomas saw the scars on Christ's body you and I will see them one day one day we'll get to heaven and we'll see those holes in the Lord's hands even in his risen glorified body Thomas saw the real cost of his salvation he saw the price of the Lord's love and he gave his life over to the Lord my Lord my God he's saved he went off to India at least that's tradition started the work of God in India to which our teams go and join in ever since teams led by William Carey teams led by the missionaries down through the years all the early Ommers in the 1700s and the 1500s all of us part of God's kingdom there was so much that Thomas and the other disciples didn't know at this stage they didn't know that the world was round they'd never heard of America they didn't know that Britain was going to win the World Cup in 1966 against Germany but they trusted the Lord and out they went now can you reassure me that as you come towards the end of this conference and you're about to move into another stage of the summer you're really trusting the Lord have you been meeting with him during these days you know sometimes coming on Omm it's like jumping on a moving bus you suddenly get swept off your feet you get so many ideas and principles and challenges thrown at you you don't know what to do and very often as people come to the end of these conferences they feel like I'm not sure that I can cope with all this and I want to begin by reminding you that our King knows what we feel like he knows where we are he knows if we feel left out he wants to show you the nail prints in his hands and he's going to take hold of you with those hands and if you want to travel a week behind the rest he'll still come and travel with you so many times we hear a challenge on the Lordship of Christ the Kingship of Christ I want to begin by reminding you that that implies tremendous responsibilities for the King he is our King he cares about our lives he hasn't brought you here on Omm to leave you damaged he wants you to hear his voice he wants to speak personally and directly and individually to every single one of us here because he's the King because it's the kind of King he is and he prays for you he knows how to lead your hearts forward because he's the King let's leave aside all the challenge for a moment what you're going to do with your money and your life I want to remind you that you can really trust the Lord maybe you've got issues in your life that are not sorted out yet particular friendships back home you're uncertain about your whole future you're not even sure whether you want God to call you to some far off place there are habits in your life that perhaps no one else knows about but you know and you know the Lord knows and as you come under the hammer blows of God's word you begin to wonder what's going to happen to you in the future I want to remind you that he is the King who cares for you he wants to wash your feet he wants to make you more pleasant company he is already praying for you day by day specifically, individually, honestly and maybe some of you have never yet during this conference had real dealings with God yes you've been to the meetings sure you've heard the statistics yes you're comforting yourself you've finally got on OM but have you met the Lord yet and I believe the Lord wants to come and deal with some of us tonight some of those that are scared, some of those that are doubting some of those that are already planning just to keep their head down and survive for the next three weeks and then go back to the old kind of life Jesus is a unique King one who deserves our total lives because he cares for you so much there's a tremendous work before us this summer thousands of people will die without Christ in Europe this summer there are churches that are barely surviving they need our prayers, they need our encouragement there are people in some of the towns and villages where you're going to go that are so close to the kingdom and they just need someone to come to their doorstep and tell them that God can be trusted that the gospel is really true that there is real forgiveness with God and yet you know God so often at these conferences before he ever says go he says to many of you, you come back to me how can you tell others to trust God if you're not really trusting in yourself how can you share the gospel with people if it's not really real in your own heart I've got some tough things I want to say this evening I want to give you some strong meat from God's word but I do want to be assured right at the start that you do believe that God can be trusted he's not going to play games with our lives but unless we give him everything he cannot really use us as he wants to use us he knows, he comes, checks up on the disciples gives them his peace wants to send them out but he's so careful that even Thomas is made ready before he goes are you ready? as we begin to draw towards the end of this week have you really heard the Lord speaking let me move on to the second of those great doctrines the doctrine of the reality of hell that lost men and women are really lost do you really believe that your work this summer actually matters it is a life and death issue how people respond to God and his gospel there is no suggestion in the bible of any alternative to heaven or hell eternal life or eternal exclusion from the presence of God the bible does not offer us any third way nor any second chance the Lord himself draws the dividing lines very clearly there are the children of the father and there are the children of satan there is the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God's dear son on the harvest day the Lord says there will be either wheat or there will be chaff on the harvest day there will be either wheat or there will be chaff in Matthew chapter 7 verses 13 and 14 the Lord says there is a broad road and there is a narrow road the broad road leads to destruction the narrow road leads to life there is no other way on which human beings can walk on this planet in Luke chapter 16 verse 26 Abraham is speaking in heaven to the rich man who is in hell Abraham says between you and us there is a great gulf fixed those who want to cross over find that they cannot Matthew chapter 13 and verse 49 says these words this is how it will be at the end of the age the angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth turn to Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17 I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking they are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts Paul says people are cut off from the life of God for two reasons one, that they are ignorant and secondly, that they have hardened their hearts The same epistle speaks of them being dead in sin, no life in them, how many verses do you want? Shall we go on for the rest of the evening reading out passage after passage of scripture saying the same thing? 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 3 If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Is this book true? Is that bible that you hold in your hands true? All of it? Including the verse we just read? You don't believe people are perishing. Will you please rip out that page right now? Are you going to take scissors to your bible and chop out the bits that are difficult? The word of God says that people that we meet up and down the streets in the villages, they are perishing. The word of God says that people that we meet up and down the streets in the villages, they are perishing. That began to come home to me in my first summer on OM. I saw something of the greatness of the Lord. What a king he was to care for us individually. And yet it is true that people are lost without Christ. They have no hope. They are without God in the world. Hudson Taylor's life was turned upside down when he understood that a million a month were dying in China without Christ. Hudson Taylor said, I would never have thought of going out to China had I not believed that the Chinese were perishing. Hudson Taylor said, I would never have thought of going out to China had I not believed that the Chinese were perishing without Christ. I know this is heavy. You say to me, look I've got some questions about that. What about the innocent person, the innocent person who's never ever even heard of Christ, will they be condemned? Of course not. If they're innocent. The innocent person will never be condemned. How could God ever condemn anyone who's innocent? You'll have to go a long way to find one. The innocent person is absolutely safe in the hands of God. You don't need to worry about the innocent. You worry about those verses of scripture that say that nobody is innocent. Well you say, what about the person, alright he's not innocent, but he's never ever heard of Jesus. Can he be judged for not believing in someone he's never heard of? Of course not. How could God judge someone for not believing in Jesus if they've never even heard of Jesus? Could you worship a God who would do that? A God who would cast people into outer darkness for not believing something that nobody ever told them? The word of God says their problem is not with Jesus. They've never turned their back on Jesus. Nobody's ever told them about Jesus. Their problem is already with God. God the creator. The God who has made a revelation of himself in this great world and in people's consciences. Men and women all over the world already are under the wrath of God the creator. That's what Romans 1 says. Verse 18. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Since what may be known about God is plain to them. Because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made. So that men are without excuse. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Since what may be known about God is plain to them. Because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made. So that men are without excuse. This is why people need to hear of Christ. Because they have already rebelled against God the father. Romans 1 says they do not give God the glory. And they have gone their own way. They have trusted in their own religion. Their works and their lives have become already awful in God's sight. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 12 Speaks of such people as being cut off from Christ. Having no part whatever in the covenant. Being without hope and without God. People are judged by the light they have had. That's what Romans chapter 2 insists on. But the problem with mankind is that he has already had enough light. Because his own conscience is troubled. He knows he needs the mercy of God. Because he does not even keep his own standards. He falls below the standards with which he judges other people. Human beings have consciences. Because they have turned their back on God. God in his grace and his mercy has sent his one and only son. And that son has purchased salvation for all who will believe. You have taken him as your king. And he is now sending you out. Because this is a real situation we are dealing with. We go to speak of Jesus. Because people are already under the wrath of God. That's why Paul says, I am a debtor. I have to take the gospel to both Greeks and barbarians. Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. But others say again of us, maybe. But if the Bible is true. I want to give you five reasons why I think it's wrong. It denies people's free will. You know if a person chooses all his life to keep God at a distance. He doesn't want God. He hates God interfering in his life. He likes nothing that he has ever heard about God. And then when he dies God drags him into heaven anyway. God has given people freedom to choose. He has made a place where those who choose not God will ultimately go. He has made a place where those who choose not God will ultimately go. So that doctrine that God will save everyone in the end anyway denies the freedom of man. Secondly it denies the authority of God's word. Because God's word speaks clearly of a great judgment day when there will be a separation between one person and another. Thirdly it minimizes sin. If atheism and discipleship get the same result in the end. If atheism and discipleship get the same result in the end. Then sin is something trivial and irrelevant. The hearts of those of us who have been a long time in OM. This notion that everybody will be saved in the end anyway. It makes Christ and his apostles out to be liars. Finally it takes away the whole point of Christ's death on the cross. Let me ask you another question. What happens if I don't tell people the gospel? What happens if I know the gospel and keep it to myself? What happens if the people around me never get to hear of the cross of Christ? What happens if the people around me never get to hear of the cross of Christ? Ezekiel chapter three. Verse sixteen. Came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came unto me. Saying son of man I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore hear the word at my mouth. And give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked thou shalt surely die and thou givest him not warning. Nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life. The same wicked man shall die in his iniquity. When I say unto the wicked thou shalt surely die and thou givest him not warning. Nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life. The same wicked man shall die in his iniquity. But his blood I will require at thy hand. I have questions to ask you says God. You will have to stand before me and answer. The verse goes on if you warn the wicked and he turn not from his wickedness nor from his wicked way. He shall die in his iniquity but you have delivered your soul. Now Paul believed the same thing. In Acts chapter twenty. He speaks to the elders of the church in Ephesus. He says you know how faithful and diligent I was in your town. You know how I went door to door. You know how I preached on those street corners. You know how I took the opportunities that came my way to speak of Christ. I am now free of the blood of all men in this city and province of Asia. And he passes the responsibility over to them. Because it is I know that I have preached. God knows that I have preached. Now let me ask you is Jesus your king? You are young. Your life is before you. You are old enough to begin to understand the seriousness of these things. You have come to begin to learn what missions is all about. You want the Lord to deal with you, to speak to you, to use you. Is he your king when it comes to evangelism? You say Lord come with me let's go. Let's move out Lord and let me speak with power and love and anointing of your love. You know we can only carry this responsibility that the Lord has passed to us in the fullness of his spirit. Some of these verses would make you unbalanced and you were hearing about balance last night. And if we are not to be overwhelmed with these great truths. We need to know the fullness of God's spirit. God never gives us a job without at the same time giving us the strength for it. And so he has sent his Holy Spirit. That every life here might be filled and overflowing. Let me speak about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the minutes that we have left. And what he wants to do in you to make these things real. The Holy Spirit prays for you. In Romans chapter 8 verses 26 and 27. Let's read what Paul says. In the same way the spirit helps us in our weakness. We don't know what we ought to pray but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the spirit because the spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with the will of God. We have two problems says Paul in this passage. We are weak in our prayer lives and we are also ignorant. We don't pray as we should and we don't know what to pray. And God has put his spirit in the heart of every believer. And the spirit knows your needs. Knows exactly what your needs are this day. And having taken up residence in your heart he is there praying for you. You know we sometimes pray for ourselves we don't always pray very accurately. We don't always see what our real needs are. Sometimes we completely miss the point with God. The Holy Spirit is praying for you according to your real needs day by day as you go. Some of the things that perhaps you are guilty about in the past. The Holy Spirit knows it's there. He wants to bring it to the surface that it might be cleansed away. And he is praying towards that end. That's the goal of God in your life. And it's kind and it's loving and it's gentle. The ministry of the Holy Spirit to you in prayer. Another thing the Holy Spirit will do is to convict other people of sin through you. You know you can never convict anybody of sin. You yourself you cannot do it. Don't try. God won't ever let you convict anybody of sin. He keeps that to himself. Supposing you had the power to convict people of sin. You could do it whenever you liked. I wouldn't want you on my team. You'd be terrible to live with. He's got you. You know someone will sort of shrivel up because you've convicted them of sin but you don't really understand them. The Lord knows all that is to be said in your defense. He knows how to be gentle with you. He knows the right time to raise certain subjects with you. He is the one who convicts of sin. And he will do it through you. Sometimes without you even being aware of it. God will speak to other people through your life and through your words. We need to allow the Lord to do that through us. To ask him to do it. The Holy Spirit wants to fill us. To overflow. That out of our lives might come more of Jesus. Not the anger, not the moodiness, not the bad temper. More of the Spirit of Jesus. I want to say that three things will happen when God the Holy Spirit takes total control of your life. The first is this. If you're filled with the Holy Spirit you'll know more of the presence of Jesus. We thought of that verse right at the beginning that in your presence Lord is fullness of joy. Something of that peace that comes from totally resting in him, trusting in him. The disciples they saw Jesus suddenly appear amongst them. Actually at the end of those gospels he's appearing and disappearing so fast they begin to believe that he's probably actually there all the time. You're going to need to know the presence, the joy, the peace of Jesus this summer. You don't know what's going to happen. I remember a team setting off for India from Sarbantum. They'd been preparing for this moment for weeks. Gathered around the back of this great big truck. All the people in the Sarbantum headquarters came down and prayed with them. They were going two years, maybe three years. Wouldn't be back. Everybody just prayed, commanding these people to the Lord. They kissed each other and waved goodbye and shook hands and said off. Twenty minutes later they were back. They got completely lost in the one way street system in Sarbantum. Didn't know how to get out. You know all kinds of crazy things happened. The first team I ever led was a disaster. There were nearly fights breaking out on it. We had three Arabs on the team. And we had one brother who every morning in our team devotions kept sharing verses from the end of the Old Testament about Israel getting more of the land and what a wonderful thing it was. These Arabs were just about ready to cut this Dutchman's throat by the time we'd done a week. Extraordinary team. We had an American who was always in tears. He'd just separated from the lady of his life. Every time it came time to go out for evangelism. There was a Frenchman. He was so small, so young. I don't know how he ever got on the way. I used to look in the mornings to see if his nappies needed changing. The only encouragement to me on the team was an African. Big fella, big smile, oh praise the Lord all the time. And there was me leading this bunch you see. Down in Paris in 1968. I mean all kinds of things go. You just need to know the presence of the Lord Jesus day by day. Just to survive. You know you have a puncture. You go and get the jack out to mend it. The puncture is in a transit van but they've given you a jack for a truck that's gone to India. How is your relationship with Jesus tonight? Are you filled with his spirit? Have you got confidence in what he's been saying to you recently? Do you sense his leading in your life? Or are you a bit stuck? Is he real to your heart? Have you had time with him today that's been a good time? You know supposing you said to me Nigel are you married? And I gave an answer like this. I say well I do a lot of washing up. I seem to pay bills regularly. Every time I have my breakfast there seem to be three children around the table. I suppose I must be married. You would think that was a stupid answer. Of course I'm married. I have a relationship. I'm going to see her the day after tomorrow. That does make me jump about. I don't have to because my wife is here. Today. And Faustus just told me that two years ago tonight he proposed matrimony here at this conference centre. Now, visualize. Does he look happy? Is there evidence that he has a real relationship with his wife? Why is she blushing back there? You know you can see it. The guy is still excited. He's happy. You two can get together later. Just enough of that. But if I said to you look are you filled with the spirit of God? And you said to me well I try to read my bible every day. I'm on OM. I give out tracts. Jesus is real to the person who has totally surrendered their life to him. Take my life. Take my future. My family. My friends. My bank account. Everything. When you get married a person becomes real to you. The change when you get married is not just that the holes in your socks get smaller and the one in your bank account gets bigger. You're going out in evangelism. And people are to see a reality in you. A peace. A joy. And it gives them an alternative to choose from in life. Because the great majority of the people we meet have never ever had any other alternative. And living in the kingdom of darkness and of sin. And you are to come before them and offer them the alternative. Road to life. Secondly if you're filled with the spirit of God you will begin to grow in character like Jesus. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. Verses 6 and 7. Peter is there speaking of our faith. And he says in this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while you may have had to suffer griefs in all kinds of tests and trials. These have come so that your faith which is of greater worth than gold which perishes even though it is refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. The Lord says your faith is like a lump of dirty unrefined gold that's been dug out of the ground. All mucky stuff is mixed up in the gold. And it's your faith when you become a Christian. All sorts of wrong motives. All kinds of habits that you're going to have to leave behind. All sorts of misunderstanding about God himself. It's all mixed up with our faith. All kinds of rubbish in our minds and hearts. Left over from our past life. And the Lord like a goldsmith puts you in his little furnace. During this summer he's going to be refining your faith. You may feel some of you the heat is on already. You look at your piece of gold in the goldsmith's furnace. What happens? The stuff all melts. And then mucky stuff comes to the surface. And you look at the gold and you say what's happened? My gold is gone. And the goldsmith says hang on a minute. And he takes a spoon and he scrapes off the surface and throws that away. The Lord is going to use difficulties. He's going to use pressure. He's going to use loneliness. Hardship. And you may sometimes feel that all you see on the surface of your life is just not worthy. The Lord is actually bringing things out from your nature and character that he wants to deal with and throw away. The Lord will keep scraping the muck off the surface of the gold. Until one day he can see his own face reflected from the surface of the gold. Only then does he switch the heat off. That's God's great purpose in our lives. That's why he convicts of sin. That's why we sometimes feel we need a great revival, a great renewal in our own hearts. That's why he speaks to you about loving your neighbor. That's why he's bringing up to the surface of your life, even during this conference, some wrong reactions, some pride, some bad motives. And what do you do? Allow him to scrape them off and throw them away. Say, Lord, you take my tongue, you take my mind. Lord, you purify me. Lord, I want that fullness of your Spirit. That as people look at me and as they get to know me, they may see more and more of you, Lord Jesus. You're filled with the Spirit of God, you'll know more of the presence of Jesus. Your character will begin to grow more like that of Jesus. Thirdly, if you're filled with the Spirit of God, you'll share the goals of Jesus. The Lord is moving towards the evangelization of the world. Calling you, as your King, to come with him and travel. You know, I remember when my wife and I came back from India. We'd seen so much there. The Lord was still asking that question, what are you going to do with the rest of your life? We'd driven across mile after mile of Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, not a church, not a believer, nothing. Driving up the coast from Dover to my home in London. Practically a church every half mile. It broke our hearts. The whole situation could be so unfair. That people can be living in some of those places and they know nothing of what we take for granted. I tell you, some of these doctrines, they hurt if you let them. Jesus believed them. And they hurt him. One day you'll see his hands. Oh my God. Move us with something of his compassion, his concern. Dear friends, allow your hearts to be touched this summer. With something of the Lord's concern for this world. Let God fill you tonight. You say to him, Lord, you take me wherever you want. You love through me. You suffer through me. You weep through me. Lord, I want more of you. I don't want to live my life just once I want to pick up the cross, walk two places and put it down again. Oh God, I want to be real with you. We gave our lives together, my wife and I. We said, Lord, we want to be involved in world evangelism to the very end of our days. Jesus isn't asking anything very much of you. Just give him your life. Go with him. Everything that he asks in the scriptures of his disciples, it involves his own presence. He said to Peter, you get out of the boat now. And you come to me. Don't go where I'm not. You come to me. The Lord said, you take up your cross. But follow me. Come with me. The Lord said, go to the ends of the earth with the gospel. Make disciples of all nations. And I will be with you every step of the way. He's not asking much of you. Just come with me. You know, the Holy Spirit loves Jesus so much that he wants everybody to know about him. If that spirit fills you, you'll begin to be the same. What's holding you back? We're going to come to an end in a moment. God has been speaking to you during the course of this conference. Tonight and in some other meetings. He's been speaking to some of you for months. He wants to ask you those questions that he asked of me all those years ago. What's holding you back? What are you going to do with your life? Have you just come to taste a little bit of missions and then go on with life as you planned it? Will you turn from compromise? Turn from sin. Turn from hanging on to the control of your own life. Ask for him to fill you and control you and take you and use you. I'm going to ask that every person here, if they wish, just take a piece of paper. Right now, you get a hold of a piece of paper. Because we must be real with God. And on that piece of paper in a few minutes, you're going to write something. You're going to write down what has God been saying to you tonight or during this conference. That central thing that God is saying to you during this week. And secondly, you write down what you're going to do in response to what he's saying. Are you holding back from him in any way? The king who's come here tonight to wash your feet. Who's been praying for you during the meeting. Is it a friend back home? But they need to see Jesus in you too. Maybe you're so close to that friend that they can't even see the Lord. And maybe you need to stand away from them a little bit so that they may see the Lord clearly. Is it some career that you've got? You want to go on earning money, living in a particular kind of house, you've got it all planned out? Jesus is saying, you just give it all to me. Is there anything better than serving the king of kings? Maybe it's just money. Plain old money. The Lord has been saying, you give it over to me. Invest it in heaven. Is the Lord speaking to you about that? Sometimes it's really painful. Finally to say to the Lord, I know what you're saying. I'm hearing you. I now want to obey. But do you know the relief when you finally take that step? You give the Lord your cares. You know you can go out and share the gospel with people from a heart that's full of truth and reality. You seek his forgiveness. And then you go out to tell people with a heart that's newly made fresh that he does forgive. This past week I've been having trouble from the local dentist. I haven't been for many years. And finally I had to go. I hate dentists. I'm scared of them. I avoid them. And finally I had to go. And he started drilling into me. And he went down through the jaw, down through the shoulder blade, you know, on down through the... At least it felt like that. Finished up down about here somewhere. But you know, one of the greatest feelings in the world is when you come out of the dentist. And he says, I don't need to see you again. And then we start to float. And so it is when we are finally real with the Lord. We say, Lord, you take my life, you use me. I want you to surrender yourself, commit yourself to him, give up, give over to him. Ask the Lord to fill you and use you this summer. There is no better life than that of a Christian who is totally committed to the Lord Jesus and filled with his spirit. Let's just pause now and in silence I'm going to ask you to pray quietly amongst yourselves and write on those pieces of paper. At the end of the meeting bring those pieces of paper forward there for the Lord to see. What has he been saying to you? What are you going to do about it? Write on that paper and then put it just at the front of the stage here. If you want to sign it, you do it. You put your name on what you write before the Lord if you want to. This is a time of response, of getting ready. Some of you may just feel like Thomas. Lord, I've got so many doubts, but I'm going to trust you. You are my Lord and my God. Let's be silent now for a couple of minutes.