In this sermon, the speaker discusses the concept of contentment in the face of different circumstances. He references the Apostle Paul's experience in Philippians, where Paul states that he has learned to be content in any situation, whether in need or in plenty. The speaker then shares a personal story about an old man in a refugee camp who exemplified this contentment despite his difficult circumstances. The speaker also mentions a group of missionaries dedicated to helping the poor, but criticizes their approach of living in poverty as a form of martyrdom. Overall, the sermon emphasizes the freedom from the fear of poverty and the need to be rich or poor, and encourages the audience to find contentment in God's strength.

A couple of weeks ago we were being interviewed by some local civic leaders because they heard that the government might offer us some land where we could help our poor people have a place to live and grow up in Jesus and get trained so they can go all over China and Asia with good news for the poor. And the locals were very upset about this and they said, we don't want drug addicts near us, nobody wants drug addicts near them. So they came with all these objections. And so we told them a few stories and I said, why don't you come and meet some of our people? Because if you could come and meet them, maybe you could make up your mind if you'd like people like this to live by you. Well, they came to a place that we have where we've got 150 people living in some bungalows. We're a bit squashed. And it's so good what God is doing there. You know, after all this time in Hong Kong, I don't know why it's now, but God's actually doing what I've asked. And I haven't even known what I've been asking. I keep praying the prayer, especially at revival conferences, because I find in revival conferences I'm in tension the whole time, you know. And my prayer is, God, can you work quickly? Could you please quicken the whole thing? Quickly, please quickly, please quickly. And then I think, well, will God really do it quickly? Because after all, Jesus had to grow up for 30 years, you know. So I've been saying, God, can you do it quickly? Will you do it quickly? And he is now. I mean, God is working in a deeper place in our people's lives than I've ever seen. It's happening more quickly. I don't know why. They're allowing God to heal them in deeper places, quicker than we've ever seen before. And it's so sweet. And everybody who goes to visit them, they're so touched. Up comes this little man to these district board members. And this little man, his mouth is shaking. And every time he talks, his lip quivers. And he says, that's my mum to me. I don't like being called mum. And I don't remember the guy. And he says, I've known her for 25 years. And he said, I never used to listen to her. But these people have loved me. And I've just come off drugs. And he looks a bit small. But two weeks before that, he was 70 pounds. I mean, he was nearly dead. And now the guy has got shining eyes and there are tears rolling down his cheeks. And he's telling the district board members how wonderful Jesus is. And he looks marvellous too. I mean, he doesn't look frightening. You know, he's put on about 20 pounds, but he's still not very big. And they went around our houses and they met men like him. And then they sat down and they had the same question. Now, where does your money come from? And we said, well, we pray for it. Yeah, but actually, from where? We said, well, actually, that's it. You know, we don't have any place or people in the world who have a regular amount. It's always a surprise. It's wonderful. And sometimes the police arrest hawkers, you know, for selling unlicensed food. And they impound the food and give it to us, you know, because it goes off. One time, how nice, we got 10 pounds of cow stomach. Anyway, thank God, you know. Lately, we've been getting all the past shelf date, delicatessen food from the top shop in Hong Kong, you know. So, it's past use by day. So, you know, we get delicatessen food and cow stomach. And, well, the guys like cow stomach anyway. So, we were telling them stories. And we got lots of stories about how God provides. Lots of stories. And after about an hour, all these important officials, they had caught it. I don't mean they caught the language, but they caught the spirit. And they were saying, by the end of the afternoon, we must pray about it. They're not Christians, any of them. And then one of them came up to me and he said, if you come and move near us, I'd really like some of your men to work for me. And they were the ones that they were frightened of. But, you know, it's a very strange thing. What touches people in Hong Kong more than anything else is this money business. I suppose because it's the opposite spirit to the one that Hong Kong was built on. And Hong Kong was built upon enterprise, competition and greed. And using people for making money. And what seems to be one of the greatest signs and wonders for people in understanding God's heart is that there are actually people who don't think money is a great deal. And we don't think money is a great deal. I mean, we don't. When people talk about ministry with the poor, they often think it's something to do with money. And I must tell you, it's nothing to do with money at all. You may need to use some. But that's beside the point. If we're serving a God who can put it into fish's mouths, because we're living in the world, but it's never where we start. Blessed are you who are poor. Yours is the kingdom of God. Jesus says, don't worry, in Matthew 6. Don't worry about what you shall eat, what you shall put on. Don't worry about your clothes. Don't worry about your body care. He says, your heavenly father knows that you need these things. Now he says, don't worry. Because he knows we worry. But he says, for Christians, you don't have to worry. Because we are in the kingdom system. Now the kingdom system is the first two chapters of Genesis, or the last two chapters of Revelation. It's different. It's either before the curse, or when you're freed from the curse. And we get to experience it now. Freedom from having to worry about where stuff will come from. And freedom from having to earn our living. Now this is true. I don't know if you believe this. But the good news is this. For any of you here, this is good news. You don't have to earn your living anymore. Christians do not have to earn their living. None of us need to work because we need money. They are not connected. We are allowed to work. And sometimes we get money for what we work. But we've got 100 full-time people who receive no salary. And they work very hard and receive no salary. But they're very rich in other ways. We have people in our outreach houses. And we don't support our outreach houses, by the way. We promise to share what we have from time to time. But the outreach houses are in poor areas of Hong Kong. And they feed the poor that live near them. And they look after the addict families that live near them. And I'm always saying to them. If we've got a collection of clothes here. Because people give us their old clothes or their old furniture. You can come and collect these. But far better give your own clothes away. Because that's what touches the poor. It's not if you give out of the church pool. It's if you give your cloak when they asked for your coat. It's if you give your lunch, not the church's free one. That's what brings the gospel. You don't need to earn your money. Now this is something that many of us in Hong Kong need to be freed from. Especially men. Having to earn a living. Because every other person in Hong Kong is enslaved to the father's wishes. Their earthly father's wishes. And usually it's something like this. Their fathers have been poor. They have come from China. Or they have been refugees. And they must earn to bring the family up a notch. So they can have a better way of life. And some of us here have inherited this. Maybe our ancestors have been poor and have worked hard. And we have then a fear. If I serve God, I'm going to be poor again. And it's a fear that we must have dealt with. Otherwise it means that men are not free to do the job that God says we should do. Whether it's working in a family, in the church or on a farm, it makes no difference. We must be free to hear what the father says we should do. Otherwise we're serving the other system because we must have money. And because we think that security of house, security of job, security of education is going to fulfill our needs. And it's a lie. And it's a result of the curse. And it's still worshipping the enemy who promises the splendor and wealth of the kingdoms of the world if we will worship him. If we can be set free from the spirit of poverty, we can hear our father saying, You can now waste your life ministering to the poor in Winnipeg or Edmonton or Sri Lanka or whatever. Or maybe he'll say, I want you to drive a taxi. Not for the money, but so that you can sing over the people who sit in the back. I know Mark wouldn't like that. But whatever, we need to be free to hear what God is saying. So that we are not serving to get the money. So that we are not serving the wrong system. Now it might mean that we'll do jobs for money from time to time like Paul did. And Paul was free to tent make and free to un-tent make. And we need to be that free to tent make and to un-tent make. But not to serve the world system. Free from having to be rich or poor. This is Paul's experience in Philippians 4. He says, I have learnt to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need. I know what it is to have plenty. I have learnt the secret of being content in any and every situation. Whether well fed or hungry. Whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. When I was visiting the refugee camp. We later came to run one which was a wonderful privilege. There was an old man there who had come in the boat with his daughter. And his daughter got married. And I learnt that the daughter was trying to cheat her father. And she planned to, they had separated their registration. Which meant she and her husband planned to emigrate without her father. Because her father was, he had Parkinson's disease. And he couldn't walk. And often I found him on the bed. And he was wet. Because he couldn't walk to the toilet. So I bought him a walker. Now you understand we're dealing with, we're living in a country. We're dealing with people where there isn't a government handout. Do you understand? We don't get paid for not working. There is now a minute government handout for people who don't have jobs. But if those people live with us, they lose it. And so I bought this man a walker. And I used to walk with him to the toilet. And it took nearly an hour to get there. Because he only could walk very slow. It was very hard for him to go. And so I would walk him there and walk him back. And sit him on the bed and pray with him. Tell him about Jesus. And then I would say, I'm so sorry. But anyway, Jesus will come and sit with you when I've gone. That's all I have to give you. And one day I was in the clinic in the refugee camp. And they brought the man in. And he had a slight scald on one arm. And so I said to him, what happened? And he told me the story. There was a kettle boiling on his bed. Because they have to cook on the bed. And it came to be boiling. And you know, he couldn't move very well. And he put out his hand. And it spilled over. But I looked at him and I said, If that kettle fell on you, you should be burnt all over. What happened? And he said, when the kettle tipped towards me, He said, I called on Jesus. And he said, a man came and he lifted me up to the other side of the bed. And I just got a little splash on my arm. You know, that man, he was not poor. And in knowing him, I was made rich. Nothing much in this world, except everything that a man yearns for. Intimacy with the Savior who will lift you and carry you. He is Paul. And we see that Paul is in need sometimes. And he has plenty sometimes. And he said, whether I'm well fed or whether I'm hungry, I'm content. Now this amazes me. Because it would seem to me that if we have the good news of the kingdom, why should we be in need? Until I understood what Paul was talking about. You see, Paul is free from the fear of poverty. Paul is free from the need to be rich. Paul is free from the need of being poor. Now I know a group of people that work in an Asian country near me. And they're a mission who are dedicated to the poor. And I tell you, I feel awful being around them. Because they're under the spirit of poverty. They only allow their people to have two skirts each. But it is a cheat, because I know they've got five dresses at home. They just don't want to have more than the people that live around them. But it's like playing a game. They walk around looking like martyrs. It's not happy to be around them. And I find that when I'm around them, or they come and visit me, I cheat. I walk instead of taking taxis. Now I'm quite happy to take taxis from time to time. I'm happy to walk miles from time to time. I don't have to do either all the time. You see, I don't have to be poor. I don't have to be rich. And many of us who are under the spirit of poverty feel we have to be either. And that's the problem. You see, Paul's contentment was nothing to do with whether he was well fed or hungry. His contentment was knowing God. Which is why worship is where we start. His contentment is nothing to do with his circumstances. And if our contentment is in our relationship and our intimacy with him, we can be well fed or hungry and we're just well fed or hungry. And sometimes when we're hungry there will be miracles of bread multiplied. And sometimes, for some reason not. I mean, Paul could work miracles. But it seemed that he still was shipwrecked. He still was flogged. He was still in circumstances that many of us would question. If many of us were in the circumstances that Paul was in, we would probably say, I must be doing something wrong. And you know, just as Gary was saying about some of the Old Testament comments on poverty, so it is today when we see Christians going through hard times, we actually criticize them. They must be doing something wrong for them to be suffering like this. Well, they may come. And rich times may come. And we can enjoy either. We do not have to be rich. And I know some people who feel that we must be rich if we're the children of the Father. And I know other people who believe that because we're Christians, we're under this sentence of having to have less than everyone else, especially poor missionaries. And so we have this extraordinary phrase which has grown up in the church, which goes something like, Have you heard the call? Well, rubbish! We're all called. This is not a few poor people who have to go off to the ends of the earth. This is a universal commission. It is a call that some people hear. It's a privilege we're all allowed to share. And there will be wanting times. And there will be times of plenty. And if we're free from the spirit of poverty, we can thoroughly and greatly enjoy both. And I'm happy to take taxes. And I'm happy to spend my last penny on my friends. Both are a privilege. Neither are a sentence. One of the things that John Wimber talks about, which he observed when he was doing his research on church growth, was what he calls the redemption and lift. And this is a comment on societies in the world where the gospel is preached and people respond to Christ. You can actually see that they are not as poor. Their lives become ordered. Water is brought into a place, education, facilities. They begin to be able to live better in a personal life. And so a community gets more prosperous. And many of us can trace back this as our own inheritance. Especially certain Christian groups in this country will find that they are living at a fairly good standard now because of the honourable, holy way of life of their forefathers, which will bring some kind of prosperity. But what John Wimber observed historically is that when people have come upper class, so to speak, they have been set free from poverty and they begin to enjoy a better way of life, the problem is that they get stuck. And that that generation then will not move. And possibly the generation that are born after them are born into middle class and they are on their way up too. They do not want to go back down. And I am determined to beat redemption and lift. Why? Because the other way that Jesus addressed the spirit behind the curse of poverty was by voluntarily becoming poor. That we might, through his poverty, become rich. All the wrong way round. He addressed the curse of poverty by becoming poor for us. That we might become rich. And this is my challenge to you tonight. But it is voluntary. It is voluntary. I am happy to live simple and take taxes from time to time because this is what Jesus did for me. He was the heir of everything in heaven. I mean, he had a place with the Father. There is his throne. Everything you could want in heaven. And because of his great love for us, he left heaven and came to a world that did not welcome him, that did not love him, that spat upon him, that scourged him. And it was because of his great love for us that he came in the flesh. Not shouted from heaven. And so, what I long for in the world is Christians like ourselves, who are in fairly good circumstances, saying, I have inherited this through my ancestors, all through the grace of God, all through whatever. And now I choose to go back to the poorest of the poor because I have a God whose riches, he says in 2 Corinthians 9, will always be enough to supply not only my needs, but extraordinarily, he says, he will give us enough to supply the poor. In fact, he says, you will be made rich so that you can be generous on every occasion. So I am going to ask somebody who was a refugee, to share where she came from and where she's gone back to. This is Yen. My name is Yen. I'm born in Vietnam. I'm born in... I have four sisters. I mean, we have four children in Vietnam. I'm the third oldest. And I think we are not very poor, but we are not... I think we are rich. I don't know. But anyway, in this time, my parents, they work very hard to get money and they don't have a lot of time for us. Sometimes I go with my mom and she do business. She sells cigarettes or sells stuff, and I watch her. And it's 1979. Then all the Vietnamese kick all the Chinese people out, like Jackie said about the refugees. And after we became two refugees, and after we take the boats to Hong Kong, and I remember we are the one, we come very late with little boats. And after we live in Hong Kong two years in a refugee camp, and I remember the camp, it's quite a lot of huge, big camp, and a lot of people live there. And a lot of people is inside. And inside is quite confusing because all the parents, they go out to work to get money because they try to have more money to get out to a better country. And two years later, we go to Switzerland. I never know why we go to Switzerland, but after we went to Switzerland, and I grew up there, and I visit school, and I study, and in this time, finish the school, I get to know Jesus. And before, I was not Christian. I always ask why I'm so poor, why I'm so sad, because in Switzerland, they have only, they are quite rich, and they have family. They have only two children or one children. And since we come in Switzerland, I get one more sister, one more brother. This means we are six. And sometimes it's quite hard for me, like, oh, we are so big family, and I feel like a little stranger. And it's funny, after I became a Christian, and after the Bible tell always God provide, God is faithful. And after I always thought, really? He's faithful? And after I start always complaining, say, Lord, why you let me born in this world? And why you let me to move from place to place, and you let me grow up in Switzerland, I mean, a country, it's very rich, and I feel sometimes I'm not worthy to have the money, or to have all the social things to look after us, and because only my father work in Switzerland, my mother is housewife, and it's quite hard for one person work for family, and it's six children. But anyway, we grow up, and I start always asking God why, yeah, why I'm here in Switzerland, and why I'm Chinese. And one time, it's for three years ago, I was in a conference in Germany, and I first time Jackie sharing, and I mean, what she sharing touched me, but what really touched me, I see the teenagers from Hong Kong, and I find like, wow, they are drug addicts, but they have insight more than I have. And after this meeting, and I'm sure God put something in my heart, and after I start, and God started talking to me like, we're about to go back to Hong Kong to surf the pool, and after my pride come up, and after I feel like, no, Lord, I find not fair, you put me from a poor country in a rich country, now you take me back to a poor country, I find it's hard, I cannot do that. And after with the time, he put pain in my heart, and inside of me I know like, because perhaps I see my parents, they work very hard for money, when I say like, I don't want that, I don't want to be rich, and empty inside, I don't want, because I know this is not what, to have a lot of money, this is not my goal, I want to go out to do, to see miracle, to see people to be safe, to see Jesus. And after I come to Hong Kong, quite a lot, a lot of things has happened, because they don't want to give me the visa, and I get frustrated. Anyway, I come to Hong Kong, and after I joined the mobile for three months, and before coming, I was very proud, because I thought, now I'm nearly five years Christian, I know everything, and after I come, and joined the mobile, and they teach about the spiritual gift, teach, give, give you up, it's mean like Paulie say, or John say, dying, and I feel like, wow, I can do that, it's so very hard, but God teach me, in this time, then I was in the girls house, it's mean of women, they are drug addicts, and after they come in the women's girls house, first stage, really I want to go to boys house, not to women's, but I don't know why it happen, but anyway, I was there, I say, okay Lord, it's your will, and after I start, and I start to work, because I was, I don't know how to serve, it's for me very new, and then my Cantonese is not so good, my English is not so perfect, and better comfort in Swiss German or German, and after I must learn the languages, the culture, especially the culture make me very hard, because I mean, I understand the Chinese culture, but something Swiss in me, reject the Chinese culture, and sometimes I get very frustrated with women, because they treat you, they mean like, you are stupid, and I don't like it, people think I'm dumb or something, and after I get very frustrated, and I know they treat me, and after I get angry, and after I tell to God, like, Lord, why you put me in this house? Why? In Switzerland, my friends, they never tell me I'm stupid, they never tell me, they never treat me, they will love me, they care of me, but after he told me only simple, what about Jesus? And I feel very guilty, because after I realize, I don't know, I realize in my life, what I want to have in my life, that I want to reach, to have a lot of money, to go in America for holiday, or to serve Jesus, to give all things, and he love me to die really, and sometimes for me, very hard, because my parents, they are not Christian, they will give me oppression, because, yeah, and especially to the woman, they are a lot older than me, and they have a lot of experience, and I find I'm very like a little girl, like, I know nothing, how they talking, how they attitude, and I find like, Lord, how can I love them, because they reject you, but after, I don't know, and after I feel like, God always remember me, when I feel angry or frustrated, he always remember me, what Jesus do for me, and I feel very guilty, and I say like, when he always ask me, are you ready to love them, and I say like, I will, because when I don't go, who will love them, so you understand, we're all getting healed on the job, I want to finish by talking about some miracles, and then I want to pray, about the spirit of poverty, I believe that we do, need to expect signs and wonders, to be evidenced in setting people free from poverty now, I can't see any other answer, for a sick poor world, and I believe the greatest sign and wonder, has yet to come, and I believe this great sign and wonder will be, when Christians, go, it's not happened yet, I've been to so many missionary conferences, that have got so many strategies, of reaching the world, by the year 2000, and I don't know why, we keep inventing new strategies, and new programs, when we've not yet done, the original strategy of Jesus, which was love God with all your heart, and soul and strength and mind, and love your neighbor, and we invent every other strategy, but that, and I think the sign and wonder, that the world is waiting to see, is when Christians are free enough, from being enslaved to the world, to be happy, about sharing with our neighbor, one by one, and then going, wherever it is that God says, many of us are so unfree, we prefer to stay, we had, when I became a Christian, I had a large number of girlfriends, who would not leave, the church, that I was in, because there was such a lot of nice men around, go while you're young, you could meet a much better man on the job, whatever it is that we're afraid, we're going to be deficient in, by going, God will provide much better for, if we're obedient, we're afraid of missing out, there are many people, who are afraid, that they're not going to be around, where renewal is happening, it doesn't matter, as long as we're around, where Jesus is happening, and we have people, that feel they've missed, I've missed all my friends weddings, I missed all my, I missed my nieces, growing up, I missed all my sister's children, you know, one year they were babies, and the next time I saw them, they were 14, I missed all that, but this is what Jesus said, no one who's left home, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or fields, for me in the gospel, will fail to receive, hundred times as much, in this present age, and in the age to come, eternal life, and I remember, when I first heard that, it was one of the many times, I was having a meeting, in the wall city, which no one came to, and a friend came up, and she saw me looking despondent, and we prayed, and I had a message in tongues, and this was the interpretation, and I looked it up in scripture, and I had never seen, that it said, that if you left these, for the sake of the Lord, and the gospel, you could receive a hundred times, in this life, and persecutions too, in brackets, so I said to God, all right then, I will have a hundred mothers, a hundred fathers, I missed both my mother, and my father dying, by the way, I wasn't there, I will have a hundred homes, and I will have three hundred, brothers and sisters, and you promised, in this age, I've missed being with them, I miss seeing their families, but there's nothing, it's nothing, you know, because I've got much more, than 300 brothers and sisters, my mothers and fathers, are coming along quite nicely, and we've got, even the houses, that we've been lent to stay in, we're coming up into the hundreds now, we're housing 400 people, I don't know quite how it works, and I look at these people, and I think, God, you are so kind, in this age, I get to see what you promised, in this age, and you know something, none of my family were Christians, when I left England, and they all came to Christ, without me there, I think they came to Christ, because I left, and people say to me sometimes, I can't afford to serve God, I've got two children, and I say, well, I got 400, I can't afford not to, we are longing to see, people who will believe, for this age, that the Lord can do miracles, I had learnt from scripture, that we were responsible, for our neighbours, and when I inquired of God, what is my neighbour, who is my neighbour, he showed me, that it was the one I'd seen, and some of us, we prayed about this last night, the one we'd seen, just like the Samaritans saw, the one that was in the street, and so, one day we got a phone call, from somebody that, told us about, 5000 refugees, no, I beg your pardon, I think it was 6, that were on an island, near Hong Kong, and it was just concrete, on the island, there was no shelter, and there was no water, and we, the government was supplying them, with minimal food, but we heard, that they were hungry, and they were dehydrated, so I said to my friend, well will you go and ring up, Hong Kong government, and find out, how we can help, and she came back, and she said, well Hong Kong government says, they're fed up with Christians, and, if there are 6000 people, on this island, they said for instance, if you were to send oranges, it would be no good sending 4000, because it would be a riot, you'd have to send 6000, and you'd have to do it, every day, not once off, and you'd have to get your own boat, to take the oranges, and it's several hours, away from Hong Kong, so my friend said to me, shall we pray about it, and I said no, you don't need to pray about things, you're told to do, so, we added up our money, and we found that, if we sent oranges for three days, all our money would have gone, and we have to feed 400 people a day, that's the people that live with us, that's not counting the people, that we share with in the streets, so I said, well will you telephone the government, and say we'll start sending the oranges, tomorrow, and I thought like this, you're going to feel really stupid, if Jesus came back on Monday, and you said, well I was keeping this money for next week, how could you justify that, if you've seen hungry people, how can you keep money for next week, so, we found an orange wholesaler, and they're very expensive in Hong Kong, and we're not allowed to preach the gospel, by the way, because it was the Hong Kong government, so we laid hands on the oranges, and we sent off these oranges, and people got to hear about the oranges, and so we started in our bank account, we started an orange account, and money came in, for the orange account, and we bought oranges, and laid hands on them, and sent them out, and in came money, and it happened so fast, that we began to understand, the meaning of the phrase, let your right hand know, what your left is doing, it was coming in, and it went out, and it was coming in, and it went out, and this went on for three or four months, every day, and then they moved the refugees, and we didn't need to do it anymore, and we found we had Hong Kong, $100,000 left, in our account, which is for you, what is about, 18,000 Canadian I suppose, left in our account, so my friend said, well what shall we do with this, and I said people gave it for the hungry, but by this time I'd seen, a newspaper about Ethiopia, and the problem is I'd seen the newspaper, do you understand, and if you've seen them, and people were having to choose in Ethiopia, whether to die in their village with their friends, or take the risk of walking to town for food, and dying away from their friends, what a terrible choice, so we sent the $100,000 to Ethiopia, because we'd seen them, why should we keep it for any other reason, it was given to us for the poor, we could give it away for the poor, and so we found, an unfair multiplication, and our Christmas parties are famous, they started one year, when people came to lunch at Christmas, and Gary was explaining how his wonderful friend, whom I know, started to come to their Christmas meal, well when it happened to us, we weren't expecting this, all these visitors turned up on Christmas day, non-Christians, they turned up at Hangfoot Camp, and we were going to have a gorge, we were going to stuff ourselves at Christmas, and all these strangers came, and I said what have you come for, and they said lunch, and I said wine, and they said you're Christians, and it's Christmas, and I sort of realised, that they would go to Disneyland, on a bank holiday, and they thought they ought to come to Christians, on Christmas day, so we gave them our lunch, and halfway through the lunch, we suddenly thought, oh this is great, they come to lunch, I mean that's the gospel, so the next year we thought, instead of being taken by surprise, we'll invite them, so we invited everyone in Hong Kong, to lunch, of course we didn't know how many would come, and the next year we only had 250 people, and the next year we had about 500 people, and the next year we had about 900, and the last year we did it we had 10,000, we sent out buses, to all the fly overs, and we gave street sleepers written invitations, come to lunch on Christmas day, that's the gospel, and they would tell their friends, and we would send a bus to the pickup point, and you would just see, miles and miles of street sleepers, and grannies, all these single old grannies that live alone, they were queuing up, and they would say to their friends, Jesus healed my wrist, and there's a bus coming tomorrow, and you can get your wrist healed and lunch too, and we just got, the bus would have to go back six times, for all these grannies that wanted their wrists healed, or wanted to come to lunch, or wanted Jesus, or whatever it was, that they were yearning for, and we didn't have a gospel preach, by the way at the lunch, the lunch was the gospel, and on the bus we had our helpers, who prayed for their wrists, before they got there, and we had westerners in the toilets, now we have squatty toilets, holes in the ground, and you know in Hong Kong, in all the big hotels, you have poor Chinese ladies, handing out toilet paper to rich foreign visitors, well we did it the other way around, we have this team from Australia, who came every year to do the toilets, and for 12 hours they were in there, they prayed over the toilet paper, and as each granny would go in, they would give the granny a bit of toilet paper, and the grannies would say, Westerners gave me toilet paper, and they'd come to Jesus, that's a sign and wonder, they gave up their Christmas with their family, and their usual gorge, to wipe toilet seats, for lonely old grannies, who experienced now, a taste of the kingdom then, and therefore wanted so much the Saviour, that gave them that taste, and we gave presents, too for the children, and every year we have run out of food, we cook on two gas rings, Gary says they're anointed gas rings, the whole lunch on two gas rings, and it was hot food, I mean proper food, and one year people had given turkeys, and they all ran out, so the turkey carvers, they were carving thick, not thin slices, and they all joined their hands, and closed their eyes, and they prayed over the carcasses, and when they opened their eyes, there were more turkeys, we see food multiplied, now you can practice this, really, but I tell you how to practice it, the secret is, you can't have your own reserve, because when the little boy gave, his lunch to Jesus, he thought he was giving his lunch to Jesus, and this is how it works, I believe that we Christians, can go into refugee camps, we can go into Africa, and we can see food multiplied, if we give ours, because when we give the little we have, into Jesus hands, and it's just a broken little, he breaks it, and multiplies it, and blesses it, and it feeds so many, and each year the children's gifts, have run out, and I've got friends, who still talk about it, they say I know there weren't any more presents, we have them labelled 5 year old, 4 year old, 3 year old, and they, put their hands in the sack, and there's always one more, it's a wonder, to behold, there's always one more, we've finished what we had, and it's like Elijah's, they put in their hand, and another one comes out, and they put in their hand, I don't know how it works, but I do know it demonstrates, the heart of one, who has room for so many, in his kingdom, that he says go out, and compel them, to come in, and it's the love of Christ, that compels them, and we can expect to see, signs and wonders, in actual provision, for the poor now, do you want to be involved in that, do you want to be involved in that, would it not be wonderful, if the vineyard learnt this, along with, healing the sick, would it not be wonderful, if we practice, multiplying, food, and resources, because I can't see any other way, that the world, is going to be filled physically, and reached spiritually, but let's pray now, about being set free ourselves, from the spirit of poverty, that we can actually bring, good news, not just, good advice, please stand, thank you Lord Jesus, that you became, poor for our sakes, and now you reign, over all, and we look forward, to your invitation, to reign with you, and we thank you, that you were willing, for a while, because you wanted us to share, heaven with you, we thank you, that you are willing to leave, the riches of heaven, and the comforts, and to come to a world, which despised you, and beat you, and stoned you, and scorned you, and didn't recognize you, we thank you Jesus, that you did this willingly, because you loved us, and Jesus, we want to learn of you, we want to learn, to worship, the Father first, we don't want to worship, the splendor of the kingdoms, of this world, but Father you know, that we're afraid, and we know that, you're always saying, don't be afraid, so we come to you, for a solution, to that which has, kept us in bondage, we want to be set free, from the fear, of being poor, we want to be set free, many of us, from having to earn, our livings, we want to be set free, from having to pay back, our parents, or generations, who've struggled, out of poverty, so we ask that you'll come, and meet us, where we're afraid, there are two, main groups of people, I want to pray for, I'm going to ask you, to come forward in a minute, and one of, one of these groups, you may be, like me, you may have grown up, believing that, Christians, especially the poor, full time, cold ones, we're going to have to, live poorer, than everyone else, as if we're sentenced, to poverty, this is a lie, but for many of us, it's a real fear, so I'm going to ask you, to come forward in a minute, the other group of people, that I want to pray for, are many of us here, who believe, that we have a right, to the money that we have, because we've, earned it, or we got, educated enough, to get a salary, or maybe, our parents, struggled for it, if you know, that you have this fear, I ask you to come forward, and we're going to pray for deliverance, that night, this night, that we ourselves be set free, from the fear, of being poor, to hear what God is saying, about your future, because of your fear, of not having enough, or fear of not having, a secure income, we'd like to pray for you, I met a prostitute, once, and when she came to Christ, I said to her, you can pray for your daily rice, and later on, I met her friends, and they said, she can say that, because she lives like this, if we don't live like this, we can't say it, to the poor, do you want to be able to trust, that God really, now, is like, it's going to be at the end of the book, or the beginning of the book, that he's a provider, for everything, we don't have to earn our living, it's a curse, this earning a living, the joy is serving, in the place that he's chosen for us, without fear, of not having enough, let's have the ministry team come around, if you can, in front of this group, I feel like the Lord has been giving me, some instruction as to, what to do right now, you know, sometimes we, we know what God has said to us, we know who to call, and then we have to say, well Lord, what do we do, we know very clearly, that this, is a deliverance of sort, it must be, if it was a simple thing, for us to walk out of this spirit of poverty, we would have walked out of it, long ago, generations ago, but you know, it's a difficult thing, sometimes we make sacrifices, and that doesn't work, you know, this thing is often like, the proverbial hotel California, we can check out anytime we want, but we can't leave, and so this requires, the power, delivering power of God, so I've been listening to Jackie, I've been asking the Lord, well how are we set free, and the Lord's been reminding me, of some scriptures, the first is of course, that you'll know the truth, and the truth will set you free, I've watched this lady for years, swing the sword of truth, and it can, slice the chains, away from our hearts, can break the power of fear, and so she's been speaking truth, and that truth is powerful, but as I said this morning, we are constant prayers, Lord hone the edge of this thing, you know, now we want to make sure, that this is sharpened, and can come right to the heart, of this thing, so that it slices it off us, without slicing us, and what I want you to do, I was asking the Lord, now Lord what is the truth, that can set us free here, what is it, and I want you to actually, do something and trust that the Lord, perhaps will give you some, that he'll use this, and make it childlike, and simple for you, I want you to open up your hands, and in your hands, I want you to imagine, I just think right now, what are all of the things, that you think you need, you're probably a whole, arm load of things, and you probably, don't have most of them, or you're probably afraid, that in getting most of them, you're going to drop the others, that you desperately need, but you don't have a sack, or anything else to store it all, just your hands, don't look at me, don't look at anyone else, just begin to let it come to your mind, the Lord will start to show you, all the things you believe, that you need, and the Lord turned me, just keep your eyes closed, and think as you're thinking of these things, the Lord reminded me of the thing, we often, so often I think misuse, this little story of Mary and Martha, and Martha was distracted, by all the preparations, that had to be made, and all the things she needed, she needed help, to get all the stuff together, to take care of Jesus, and the Lord answered her, and said Martha, Martha, Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset, about many things, but only one thing is needed, reminded me of the great commission, when Jesus said, now go into all the world, and in a sense, fulfill Luke chapter 4, 18, 19, be the good news, go into the whole world, and be the good news, and then gather up the people, that respond to the good news, and make them bearers of the good news, go into the whole world, I'm sure the disciples, had a million and one questions, about all the things they need, but I think he told them, the one thing they need, he said, and I am with you, to the very end of the age, he reminded me of Exodus, where Moses said, he was going to take the people on, and then there was a little dialogue, between him and the Lord, will your presence go before us, will your presence lead us, and in fact Moses said, your presence doesn't lead the way, we ain't going, because the one thing, that distinguishes us, from all the people of the earth, is that we are the people, of the presence of God, and I want to say this with authority, and this is the truth of God, that can set us free, we only need, one thing, we only need, the presence of God, we only need him with us, if he is not with us, if we are not with him, all the king's horses, and all the king's men, won't do anything, to satisfy us, but if he is with us, and we are with him, it is all we need, we say we believe it, and we don't, we don't at all, but what Paul was saying, in Philippians 4 is, I've learned this one truth, he is all I need, Jackie has been preaching, all day long saying, it is really true, he is all we need, and all I know is that, when we stand as we are before the Lord, we must stand as the man, who said Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief, there is a little way, in which we believe this, there are so many ways, in which we don't, all we can do again is say, oh Lord have mercy on me, I want to believe, and that is enough, it is all it takes, and he can start a process, what I want you to do, is take all that stuff, that is in your hands, as essential as it might be, seemingly, in the system of this world, and if you want, ask the Lord, for a trade, trade it all, for his presence, Lord if you will go with me, that will be enough for me, Father for everyone, who even begins, to voice that cry to you, I ask you to take, the sword of your spirit, and break the power of the lie, that says we need anything else, or anything more, and I proclaim this, to the depths of your, of everything that makes up, who you are, he is all you need, Jesus is enough, he is more than enough, he is beyond, what you could think of, or even imagine, or ever ask for, the presence of God is enough, and the key to the presence of God, is to say yes Lord, I will follow you, and I ask you Father, to break the power of fear, to break the power of doubt, and insecurity, to break the power, of all of the arguments, of all of the, counsel and advice, that is the doctrine of demons, we proclaim Lord, that you are enough, and that you, can and will lead us, and provide for us, so that we will be the richest, of all people, from the inside out, so Lord, would you take the power, of your spirit right now, confront these principalities, and powers, confront these areas of darkness, and control, and dominion, and would you shatter them, with the light of your truth, Father would you do this now, would you let your presence, just move through this room,