John 10:7

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly."

Father, as we open the Scriptures, those last words there—that you have come that we may have life and have it more abundantly—are good words. I pray, God, that we would experience the fullness of that abundant life. Lord, I pray that you would continue to transform us in such a way by the renewing of our minds through the working of your Word and by the working and power of your Spirit, that we would more fully experience and lay hold of the abundant life that you have saved us for.

So, God, would you continue to speak to us today? Transform us in such a way that our lives would display throughout this week, as we interact with people in our neighborhoods, on construction sites, or in classrooms—wherever we are, Lord—that we would display your perfect will. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You may be seated.

Well, as we are moving right along into 2019, we are beginning the new year with this series where we're talking about the important topics of meaning and purpose. My point, or my kind of proposition, as we've been going through this series over the last two weeks leading into today, is that the purpose of Jesus, when we properly understand it, will help us to frame and understand our purpose in this world more meaningfully.

Now, what exactly does that mean? Well, Jesus, in the Gospels, on a number of occasions that we've been considering together, gives his purpose. He clearly articulates what his purpose was in coming through a series of statements.

I have come for this purpose. As you read through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and as many of you are participating in the listening plan with us this year, you are currently moving through the Gospel of Matthew. Soon, we will transition into Mark, Luke, and John. Throughout these Gospels, I have noticed about 12 or 13 instances where Jesus clearly states, "I have come for this purpose." Some of these verses have become theme verses for the passages we are studying.

In the Gospel of Mark, the theme verse is the first "I have come" statement that we considered together three Sundays ago. There, Jesus says that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. This is His first purpose statement: "I didn't come to be served; I have come to serve and to give My life as a ransom for many." This serves as the theme verse of the Gospel of Mark.

Moving on to the Gospel of Luke, which we examined last week, the theme verse is found in Luke chapter 19. It tells the story of a man named Zacchaeus. In Luke 19:10, it states that the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. Jesus clearly articulates in these two purpose statements the reasons for His coming into this world: to serve by giving His life as a ransom for many and to seek and save that which is lost.

As we have been going through these passages, I have highlighted a few other purpose statements along the way. In Luke 9:56, Jesus says, "I have come to save men's lives." Then, in John's Gospel, chapter 12, verse 46, Jesus states, "I have come to be a light to those who are in darkness." Additionally, in John 18:37, He says, "I have come to bear witness of the truth." In Mark 1:38, Jesus declares, "I have come to preach the Gospel."

These are several of Jesus's very clear purpose statements in the Gospels. He has come to seek and to save that which is lost, to give His life as a ransom for many, to serve in a sacrificial way, to be a light, to bear the truth, and to preach the Gospel. As you examine each of the 12 or 13 purpose statements of Jesus, you begin to discover that His purpose was consistently evangelistic. His mission in coming was very clearly to fulfill an evangelistic mission.

In Matthew's Gospel, chapter five, verse 17, Jesus says, "I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets." The law in the Old Testament, specifically the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, pointed to Jesus. All the prophets—think of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, and Malachi—who make up most of the Old Testament, were pointing to the one who was going to come to bring salvation to people who are lost. Jesus states clearly, "I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets. I've come to save men."

We see very clearly Jesus's purpose. Number one on your outline: Christ purposed to save us from sin and its devastating effects. This is Gospel, church. This is good news. Christ purposed to come to save us from sin and its devastating effects. When we begin to grasp Jesus's evangelistic purpose in this world, His purpose helps us frame and understand our own purpose in a more meaningful way. We start to recognize that everything that makes up our lives—the place we live, the family we are a part of, the job we do, the training we have received—ultimately serves this meaningful purpose: to commit to the purpose of Christ.

Much of the writing on the topics of meaning and purpose, whether secular or sacred, reflects this idea. From those who do not believe in God to those who do, many thought leaders and intellectuals agree that to have sustaining meaning in this life, we need to be committed to a purpose that is bigger than ourselves, greater than ourselves. Some of the most aspirational speeches throughout history have called people to commit themselves to a purpose that transcends their individual existence. Therefore, we recognize the importance of having a purpose greater than ourselves, and I can think of no greater purpose than the purpose of Christ.

Now, there are a lot of people, in fact, probably every person we know, who is seeking to have a sustaining meaning in life. This means they are committed to some purpose, believing that it will bring them greater meaning in this life. If you look around our culture, you can identify the various purposes that people are committed to, thinking that these things will bring them meaning.

Some people believe they will find meaning by making money. This is a very American cultural mindset, evident all around us. They think that by committing themselves to the purpose of making money, they will find sustaining meaning. Others believe it comes from gaining fame. In our current cultural moment, many seek likes and subscribers on social media as a way to achieve fame, which is a relatively new phenomenon, only about ten years old. People think that if they attain this, they will have sustaining meaning.

Additionally, there is a large segment of our culture that believes meaning can be found in experiencing pleasure, garnering power, or leaving a legacy. However, none of these pursuits comes close to the sustaining meaning found in the purpose of God in Christ Jesus. His purpose is greater than any of these.

One way to express this is that there are some purposes people might think are worth living for, but very few purposes are worth dying for. Sustaining meaning is found in a purpose to which you can be so committed that you would be willing to die for it. This is why many people find such great meaning in becoming a parent. Having children provides something profound. While you may love your spouse, the love for a child often goes even further. This deep love gives people a sense of meaning that leads them to say they would be willing to die for their children, and likely for their spouse as well. I do not want to diminish that bond, but there is something transformative about becoming a parent.

The danger in this, however, is that children grow up, move on, and move out, which can lead some people to lose their sense of meaning. We see this happen to many individuals. Yet, being committed to a purpose that is greater than ourselves is, in so many ways, clearly essential.

Seen in that, there is a purpose that you’re not only willing to live for, but willing to die for. This is why I think it's really helpful and important that you read a very old book called Fox's Book of Christian Martyrs. I believe you can even find it free online as a PDF document. It outlines, for about the first 1,100 to 1,500 years of Christianity, the names and stories of people who were so committed to the purpose and cause of Christ that they gave their lives for this purpose.

It is an awesome testimony, starting from the very first martyr written of in the Scriptures in Acts chapter seven, a man by the name of Stephen, all the way through many years of people who were so committed to the purpose and cause of Christ that they would say, "I will not only live for this; I would die for this."

I have an acquaintance who is the director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. He oversees the evangelism admissions department there and is also the pastor of Moody Bible Church. His name is Ed Stetzer. About a month ago, he posted on Instagram a picture from a journal entry dated October 28, 1949, by a man named James Elliott. You may know that name; Jim Elliott and four of his friends were killed for the cause of Christ in Ecuador in 1956 as missionaries.

This is a zoomed-in image from that journal entry. It reads, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." That was the mindset of James Elliott in 1949. On January 8, 1956, he died for the cause of Christ because he was committed to a purpose that was greater than himself. He is no fool who will give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. That single statement captures the essence of a cause bigger than oneself.

When we see our lives as an extension of Christ's purpose, we begin to engage as ambassadors, and everything else takes on greater meaning. The meaning and value of the things we are committed to change. The place you live, the job you have, and the way you frame that job or that place you live completely change when you see yourself as an ambassador.

Of the purpose of Christ, the training, the gifts, the abilities, the talents, and the education that you have—all those things that may have letters added onto your name or certificates attached to you—completely change when you start to realize that you are committed to the cause of Christ. The way you see your family changes, and the way you see your finances changes. I would suggest that this change makes life all the better. It makes it all the more meaningful when you begin to see yourself as a part of the purpose of Christ.

All of that leads us to the third and final purpose that we're focusing on today. It is found in John chapter 10, verse 10. We read it just a moment ago: "The thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." Simply put, Christ's purpose, as revealed in this "I have come" statement in John chapter 10, verse 10, is that Christ has purposed to give abundant life. This purpose of Christ to come and give abundant life is in contrast to one that is identified as the thief. The thief has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy. In contrast, Christ says, "I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly."

This concept was identified by Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, 2,500 years ago. He would have referred to this as Jesus's telos. That's the Greek word from which we derive the idea of teleology. It raises questions about the ends, the aim, the purpose, and the goal. This was Jesus's purpose—His telos. The end that He is aiming at in coming to this world as a bearer of light, as a bearer of truth, and as a preacher of the gospel is that you would have life and that you would have life more abundantly.

Now, there is a whole bunch that needs to be unpacked from John chapter 10, verse 10. First, we have to acknowledge, recognize, and maybe even accept that John chapter 10, verse 10...

The passage reveals that there are two opposing forces at work in the world. You see it in John 10:10, where the thief has come to do one thing, while Jesus Christ has come to do another. We have two opposing forces at work in the world.

The thief in John 10:10 is not clearly identified. If you back up and read the first nine verses of John 10, you will see that thieves and robbers are mentioned in verse eight and again in verse one. Jesus is talking about these thieves and robbers, speaking in metaphorical terms. He describes the church or the people of this world as sheep, with Himself as the shepherd, while thieves and robbers are present.

There is a lot of discussion among Bible teachers and commentators regarding the identity of the thieves and robbers in John 10:1-9 and the thief mentioned in John 10:10. While they may disagree on the particulars of who the thieves and robbers represent, they all agree that ultimately, these figures are connected to the thief whom Christians refer to as the devil, the enemy, or the adversary.

Christians believe that there is a force at work in this world that opposes the workings of God. If God gives, then this devil, this thief, steals. If God aims at life—being the creator of life—then this thief, this devil, aims at killing and death. If God aims at building and restoring, then this one seeks to destroy.

We all see evil, brokenness, suffering, and malevolence in this world, and we are confronted by it. Most of the time, we encounter it at a distance, but sometimes we experience it directly. In modern American culture, we have done our best to shield ourselves from any sort of interaction with suffering, trying to keep it as far from us as possible. Yet, sometimes it breaks through our walls. Wherever you see evil, brokenness, suffering, and malevolence, you are acquainted with the work of the thief, the work of the enemy, in contrast to the work of God.

The devil is revealed in the Scriptures as a thief, a murderer, and a destroyer. One of the titles given to him is Apollyon, and he is also revealed to be a liar.

Now, in contrast to the working of the murderous, lying, thieving Satan, there is the work of Jesus. Jesus has come for a purpose. The second thing we see in verse 10 is His purpose: Jesus has come that we may have life. I want you to circle or underline the words "may have." They come up twice in John chapter 10: "I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." Circle or underline those words in your Bible. They are in what's called the subjunctive mood, both in English and in Greek.

The subjunctive mood deals with that which is possible, that which is desired, but that which is not inevitable. It is important to recognize this. Jesus says there is the work of the thief in the world. He steals, he kills, he destroys. In the world, you will have tribulation; Jesus said that, and we all see it. It is the result of a broken, fallen world that is under, as Paul says, the sway of the wicked one.

But Jesus says, "I have come that you may have life," that you might experience this which is possible, desired, and wished for. The fact that Jesus came to give it reveals that God is desirous that we would experience an abundance of life. Suffering, sorrow, destruction, and death are the realities in this world, and they are real because of the fall. Genesis chapter three describes where brokenness and sin come from. It is the result of the fall, which is the result of sin.

Paul, speaking in the book of Romans in the New Testament, says, "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and death spread to all humanity." So we have the fall in Genesis chapter three, which is the result of sin, and this is the result of the work of the thief—the serpent, who is a liar and who comes in to oppose the working of God in the world. The thieving serpent comes in, and Jesus has come to deal with the work of the serpent, just as was prophesied. The very first prophecy of the Bible shows up in Genesis chapter three, immediately after the fall, immediately after sin had come in as a result of the serpent's lies and temptation.

Of Adam and Eve, the prophecy is given. God is speaking to the serpent in Genesis chapter three, verse 15. God says to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head; you shall bruise his heel." The word "crush" is literally used here. So, there is going to come one who will crush your head, serpent Satan, but you shall bruise or injure his heel. This is the prophecy.

In Genesis chapter three, verse 15, God, at the very beginning, when He beholds the brokenness of the fall, says, "I'm going to deal with this, and it's going to come through the seed of a woman." A woman is going to give birth to a child, and this child is going to be a He, and He is going to crush you, Satan. You will injure Him, but He will crush you.

Jesus says, "I have come to the world so that you may have life." All of us, because of sin, are dead in trespasses and sin. But Jesus says, "I have come that you might have life." How does He make this life possible? How does Jesus make it available?

Point number three: Christ fulfilled His salvific purpose by destroying the work of the destroyer. There is a word in there that may not be familiar to you; it's a theological word, but it's important. "Salvific" means leading to salvation. Jesus comes and fulfills His work, which leads to salvation, and He does this by destroying the destroyer—by crushing the head of the serpent and destroying the devil and his work. There on the cross, when He said, "It is finished," He fulfills His leading-to-salvation purpose by doing this great work as He dies on the cross. Therefore, by this, Jesus makes life available to those who are dead in trespasses and sins.

Through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin. Therefore, point number four: In Christ's purposeful death, we find life. These words are there on purpose. It would be perfectly logical to say, "In Christ's death, we find life," which is amazing. However, we must recognize that Jesus's death on the cross was not an accident.

It was God's purpose going all the way back to Genesis chapter three, verse 15. He shall crush your head, Satan, serpent. You're going to bruise his heel. There will be a blow to him, but it will not be long-term because he would rise from the dead. The death of Jesus was purposeful; therefore, Jesus came to die. He was delivered up to death for our sins. Paul writes this in the New Testament book of Romans, chapter four. Jesus was delivered up for our sins. Delivered up where? Well, Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 26.

Note it down: Matthew 26, verse two. Jesus is speaking to his disciples just before his arrest and crucifixion. He says to his disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man, that's Jesus, will be delivered up to be crucified." So he knew exactly what was coming. The Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. Who delivered him up?

After the crucifixion, after Jesus's resurrection, and after his ascension into heaven, one of Jesus's disciples, a man named Peter, gave one of the first great messages of the Christian church. It's recorded in Acts chapter two. This was from Peter's message, Acts 2:23: "Jesus, being delivered up by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God." Who delivered Jesus up to the cross? It was God's sovereign plan before the foundation of the world. Revelation chapter 13, the last book of the Bible, verse eight, says that Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

So it is God's determined purpose that Christ would die on the cross. Now, here's the interesting thing about what Peter says in Acts chapter two, verse 23. He says, "Jesus, being delivered up by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you," speaking to the Jewish religious leaders who crucified him, "have taken by lawless hands and have crucified him and put him to death."

It's interesting here that we have God's sovereign purpose and man's responsibility both together. Let's see that throughout the scriptures. So who determined this death? God the Father purposed Christ's death so that we would live. In line with what I said a moment ago, I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly.

It might be more theologically correct to point out Christ's purposeful death. We can find life; it is not inevitable. Christ died on the cross, and His death is sufficient for the salvation of all people. However, all people do not find life in the death of Christ because they have not put their trust in Him for salvation.

Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life," but not only did He come that we may have life. Look at what He says in John 10:10: "The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." Jesus desires not only that you would have life, where you once were dead in trespasses and sins, but that you would have life that is more abundant.

Now, before we even get into the topic of what "more abundantly" sounds like, show of hands: how many of you think life more abundantly sounds pretty good? The words "more abundantly," two words in English, are one word in the original language of Greek. That same Greek word that is translated "more abundantly" in John 10:10 is used in another book of the New Testament by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 3. He says this in verse 20: "Now to Him, to God, who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us."

So Paul says there that God is able to work exceedingly abundantly. Recognize that this word is not just abundantly; it is more abundantly. It is abundance of life squared, cubed, or more—it's exponential abundance of life. The authors of Scripture are trying to emphasize in a greater way that this is lifetimes, life so much better than you could ever imagine.

Jesus desires that in Him we would find eternal life, where we were once dead in trespasses and sins, but He also desires that we would experience exceedingly abundant life too. There is apparently a difference between finding eternal life in Jesus, where we were once dead in trespasses and sins by the crucifixion of Jesus, and a life that is greater than just that—a life that is abundant.

So if you are a believer in Jesus and you have trusted in Him today, you were dead in trespasses.

And sins. Now you have life that is eternal in Christ Jesus. That's good news. But Jesus says, "I desire that you would experience abundant life," something greater than that. You may wonder, what is that? I mean, life sounds pretty good. Abundant life sounds pretty good. More abundant life? What exactly is more abundant life?

Well, I suggest to you that we will experience it, point number five: by adopting Christ's purpose, we find life more abundantly. That's my pitch in this series. You're a Christian if you've put your trust in Jesus. Maybe you haven't done that today. If you will put your trust in Jesus, you will experience life where you were dead in trespasses and sins.

But maybe you've been a Christian for a year, ten years, or thirty years, and you believe you have hope that you have eternal life. You have life where you were once dead in trespasses and sins. Jesus desires that you would have life abundantly, but then more abundantly—exceedingly abundant life. I want to suggest that we come into the experience of that here and now. By adopting Christ's purpose, we find life more abundantly.

I would say you would be hard-pressed to find a person who does not desire life more abundantly. Of course, if you ask a hundred people, "What is abundance of life?" you're going to get all kinds of different answers. If you ask your neighbors, your coworkers, or your friends, "What do you think an abundant life is?" you will receive various responses.

So we need to define abundance of life according to what Jesus is speaking of when he talks about it. Abundant life is not just necessarily a life that is long. You see, there are a lot of people today who think that we just need to find a way to deal with illness and aging so that we can live a really long time.

Do you realize that one of the biggest areas that the billionaires of Silicon Valley are beginning to invest in is life extension research? They want to deal with aging. How many of you would say, "Yeah, let's deal with that aging thing"? Some of you have knee replacements, some of you have shoulder replacements, and all of these things are life extension measures that you take. Some of you have pacemakers, and some of you are on medication that makes it possible for you to live without those sorts of interventions. Without them, you would not be here; your heart wouldn't work, or whatever it may be.

That's all life extension stuff. That's all well and good. But listen, though you live 400 years, you're still living in a broken, fallen world. So, abundance of life is not just life that is long.

Other people think that abundance of life is characterized by comfort and ease. These are very high values in Americanism in the 21st-century Western world. If you look at our culture, what are the things that we highly value? Comfort and ease, long life, health, wealth, and prosperity. There are some people who put themselves forward as preachers of the Bible. A lot of times, they have big TV shows and they say, "If you come to Jesus, you'll have all of these things."

So, is that what Jesus is talking about when He says, "In Me, you might have life and you might have it more abundantly"? I would suggest to you that it's not, because there are plenty of people who have followed Christ who didn't live very long, but they experienced abundance of life. There are plenty of people who followed Jesus into experiences in this world that did not necessitate or add to comfort, ease, health, wealth, and prosperity. And yet, they had abundance of life.

One commentator, my friend David Guzik, writing on this, says it is a life of satisfaction and contentment in Christ. Look around our nation at people looking for comfort, ease, health, wealth, prosperity, and long life. What seems to be lacking? Satisfaction and contentment. That's not there.

So, it is abundant life that is sustaining in meaning. It is a life that has the peace-filled knowledge that it endures into eternity. It does not end when you breathe your last. It is a life that now is and that is to come. Paul speaks of it in 1 Timothy 4:8. It is a life that experiences and enjoys the presence of God and His fullness. Colossians chapter 2 says, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of God, and you are complete in Christ." Do you feel like you're lacking something?

You are complete in Christ. It is a life that enjoys every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Ephesians chapter one, verse three states this beautifully. One commentator speaking on this gift of abundant life said it is a life beyond our wildest dreams. Now that sounds really good. That is the life that Jesus offers, a life that is more abundant.

How do we apprehend that? We receive life where we were dead in trespasses and sins by trusting in Christ. How do we lay hold of a life that is more abundantly lived? My pitch again is that as we adopt the purpose of Christ, we experience life more abundantly. We have a purpose that is worth living for and worth dying for, though you probably will not be called upon to do that here in this place. To live for that purpose is where the greatest meaning comes from because meaning originates from a purpose that is greater than yourself.

So how do we wrap this up? I want to conclude with two final considerations as we close out this series. Adopting Christ's purpose is, I believe, the path to an abundant life with sustaining meaning. But there is always a "but." Adopting Christ's purpose means bearing witness to the truth for people who trust in lies, shining light to those who are in darkness. Jesus said, "I have come to bear witness of the truth. I have come to be a light to those who are in darkness."

In doing that, we expose the work of the thief who comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. When you bring truth to those who trust in lies and shine light to those who are in darkness, what happens? You make waves. When you begin to do this, Jesus said in John chapter three, verse nineteen, "And this is the condemnation: that light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest their deeds should be exposed."

So when you shine light to those who are in darkness and who love darkness because their deeds are evil, you can expect to make waves. When you bring truth to those who trust in lies, they have made lies their blanket, as Isaiah the prophet talks about.

They comfort themselves in lies. What lies are comforting to some people? There is no God. There is no judgment at the end. All paths lead to heaven. These are lies that people make their refuge. They comfort themselves with that. When you bring the truth to those who trust in that lie and find comfort in it, it is going to shake things up.

Adopting the purpose of Christ leads to the greatest meaning in this life, but it is a path that has opposition. There is a judgment that comes when you and I adopt the purpose of Christ in this world. When we bring truth to those who trust in lies and shine light on those who love darkness, there is a judgment that accompanies that. This is why this is one of Jesus's purpose statements in John chapter nine, verse 39. Jesus said, "For judgment, I have come into the world." There is an implicit judgment in bearing truth to those who trust in lies and shining light on those who love darkness. There is an explicit judgment when a Christian says, "Jesus is the only way, truth, and life, and no one comes to God except through him."

In a world, our culture, that trusts in lies and makes them their refuge, loving darkness because it hides evil, if you adopt the purpose of Christ, you will find yourself in conflict. The biggest thing that our culture detests in 21st century American culture is anything that divides, anything that causes division, anything that is narrow. If you bear truth to those who trust in lies and bring light to those who are in darkness, then in 21st century American culture, you will be labeled a bigot. That's a challenge.

But Jesus says, "For judgment, I have come into this world." Why? "So that those who do not see may see and that those who see may be made blind." We all know full well that the truth of Christ is not always well received by those who walk in darkness and trust in lies. However, this is the path to the abundant life, to bear the purpose of Christ. It is where we find life more abundantly.

And this division that comes as we adopt the purpose of Christ may be part of the reason why Jesus said what He did. This is the final purpose statement that is probably the most striking and has challenged a lot of people. It's recorded in Matthew chapter 10, verse 34. There, Jesus says, "Do not think I came to bring peace on the earth." Well, wait a minute. He didn't say that. I thought He was the Prince of Peace. Those words are in red in Matthew 10:34: "Do not think that I came to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be those in his own household."

If you adopt the purpose of Christ, it is the path to meaning, but it is a path that has opposition because there is a force in this world that opposes the working of God. I have come to bring a sword—that's gentle Jesus, meek and mild, right there.

Final consideration: the first step in adopting Christ's evangelistic light, shining truth, bearing lost, seeking, selfless serving, and abundant life-producing purpose is prayer. So, in your bulletin, take out this card. Everybody take this out. You all have them. Lift them up so I can see. I want to make sure you're taking this card out. You've seen this before. If you've been with us at Cross Connection for a couple of years, it looks a little bit different than last time. It says "You Connect" on one side, and on the back, it has some information about it. There are three blanks at the bottom of this card.

Everybody take this. There are pens in the back of your seat in front of you. Take one of these out. As we wrap up our service today, I want you to be thinking right now of the first three individuals who come to your mind that you would like to see connected to God. They may be in darkness, lost, or blind. They have trusted in all kinds of the cultural lies of our day, and you would like to see them come to know the abundance of life that Jesus gives. The first step in that is prayer. Ian Bounds, a great man of God, once wrote, "Where prayer is focused, power falls."

And so you're thinking about some people that come to mind. I want to highlight just for a moment how effective I believe prayer is. We did this for the first time with the same cards just before Labor Day in 2017. I wrote three names down on this card: one was Rick, one was Kim, and one was Daniel. That's my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, and my brother-in-law. My father-in-law is sitting right there this morning. Normally, my mother-in-law is there too, but my brother-in-law has not quite yet come. He will, because what he doesn't understand is that where prayer is focused, power falls. God moves.

What's amazing about that—I hope I don't embarrass you—is that my wife and I prayed for a long time, and we didn't think it would happen. Within a few months of that name being written down, God began to move powerfully. In fact, within three or four months of that day, I was able to sit with my father-in-law and tell him the gospel. Where prayer is focused, power falls.

So I want you to write down three names. Then you can tear it off; it comes right off there. In just a moment, I'm going to pray, and our ushers are going to come and gather them up. These are from the first service. This week, we're going to pray for these. You're going to be praying because you're already praying, but you're going to ask others to pray with you. Our staff prays on Tuesdays, and we have a prayer team that comes in on Wednesdays. You're welcome to come and pray at noon on Wednesdays here in the sanctuary. They will pray for every one of these cards and the prayer cards that you turned in earlier. We're going to pray that God would move miraculously and powerfully in these individuals.

So write down three names. Maybe you can only think of one; that's fine. But I encourage you to think bigger because there are a lot of people that you know and I know who don't know Jesus, and they need Christ. They are looking for sustaining meaning, and they will not find it in money, pleasure, power, or any of the things that the world has to offer. It's only found in the purpose of Christ.

Now here's the challenge. Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew chapter nine—if you're reading through the book of Matthew right now, you just read this about a week and a half ago—He said, "Pray the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into His harvest." Then, about six verses later, He sent the very guys who were praying—His disciples—into the harvest. So we're going to pray, and God is going to use you.

To reach out to these friends, family members, and neighbors who need Jesus, would you stand with me? As you've already written those names on the cards in the center aisles, we're going to pray and then sing a song. The ushers will gather these cards from back to front and place them in this glass jar. If you put names on them, let us pray.

Father, we come before You in humility, recognizing that Jesus said no one comes to the Father unless the Spirit draws them. Where prayer is focused, power falls. We ask that by Your Spirit, You would powerfully move in the lives of these individuals right now, wherever they are. They may not be at church; maybe they are, but Lord, You know where they are. We pray that by Your Spirit, You would reach out into the lives of these individuals.

We lift up some of these names: Gary, Jenna, John, Janet, Timberley, and Chris. Lord, we place these people into Your hands—Sonia and Dusty. We ask that You would move in John's life, Teresa's life, and Ashley's life. We trust that Jill and Alex, along with these individuals, are those You desire to reach with the good news of the Gospel.

We pray, God, that You would move mightily for Your glory and for the salvation of those who are still lost. You came to seek and to save that which is lost. You came to give Your life as a ransom for many. You came to save lives, to bring light to those who are in darkness, and truth to those who have trusted in lies.

God, would You use us in our testimony and our witness to bring this glorious Gospel to those who are dead in trespasses and sins, that they may have life? We pray for this purpose and to this end, because it is Your purpose and Your end. We praise You in Jesus' name. Amen.