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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Hello everyone.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is Pastor Benjamin.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You're listening to the sermon audio from New City, orlando.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>At New City, we long to see our Father answer the Lord's prayer.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>For more resources, visit our website at newcityorlandocom.

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<v Nadia Chong>Church, please join me in this prayer of illumination.

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<v Nadia Chong>Church, please join me in this prayer of illumination.

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<v Nadia Chong>Breathe in us, holy Spirit, that our thoughts may all be holy.

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<v Nadia Chong>Act in us, holy Spirit, that our work may all be holy.

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<v Nadia Chong>Draw our hearts, holy Spirit, that we may love all that is holy.

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<v Nadia Chong>Strengthen us, holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.

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<v Nadia Chong>Guard us, holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.

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<v Nadia Chong>Guard us, holy Spirit, that we may always be holy.

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<v Nadia Chong>Amen.

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<v Nadia Chong>Today's scripture is from John.

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<v Nadia Chong>On the last day of the feast, the great day, jesus stood up and cried out If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

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<v Nadia Chong>Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

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<v Nadia Chong>Now, this he said about the Spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified.

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<v Nadia Chong>This is God's word.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Thanks be to God, you may be seated.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, this is our last, our third, of three weeks in a vision series, and this series has been addressing or answering the question what does fruitfulness look like for New City?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so I'm going to spend a couple minutes just recapping the last two sermons.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But you can go back and listen.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You'll get the fuller kind of unpacking of this.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But essentially we said, if we do nothing else except make disciples who make disciples, we are fruitful.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If we do everything else except make disciples who make disciples, we are unfruitful.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's the simplest way to put it.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Neil Cole, a guy who's written a good bit on the church, says this ultimately, each church will be evaluated by only one thing.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I pause when I hear people make statements like that.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I pause and lean in.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Every church evaluated by only one thing it's disciples.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He goes on and says this your church is only as good as her disciples.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It does not matter how good your praise, preaching programs or property are.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If your disciples are passive, needy, consumerist and not moving in the direction of radical obedience, your church is not good.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Okay, neil, what do you really think Like?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Stop hiding the punchline here.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So if that's true, or if there's any truth to that, if disciples really are such a big deal.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What is a disciple?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, at New City, we've defined a disciple as someone who's united to Jesus, in communion with God, community with one another and co-mission for the world.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's our definition.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>There's plenty of other ways you could define a disciple, but this is the one we're gonna go with, and the reason why I wanna name name that is because I want to name this.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is what fruitfulness looks like People becoming disciples that are not yet disciples, those people becoming disciple makers, people who are disciples of Jesus, deepening in their discipleship over time.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what it looks like to measure what matters here.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now there's this image I want you to see here of all these circles and lines and all kinds of arrows and things like that.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If that looks like hieroglyphics to you, just go back to the first in the series in August and I unpack it step by step and walk through it.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But for now, I want to point out one thing the movement of this diagram here has both a centripetal flow and a centrifugal flow.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>For those of you who did not take whatever class you would learn that in I also didn't take it, but I have Google, and so I always get those two confused.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But this is it Centripetal force, it moves in towards the center.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Centrifugal force moves out from the center.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Okay, this is significant.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The way that this works is as the people of God are drawing on their union in communion with Jesus and as a community knowing and loving one another, and as they're sent out to work and to witness.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>There's this going outward, this momentum out from the center, but then there's a winsomeness to those kind of people and they begin to draw people from the margins in towards the center to be united to Jesus by faith themselves, and so that movement outwards and then inwards is constantly happening in what a healthy church looks like, with fruitful disciples.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what we're aimed at.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Okay, and so with that, when we are wrapping up this series, we're just really going to focus on what is co-mission.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What does it actually look like for us to?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We kind of invented that word.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Co-mission just simply means to be sent to be about what God is about in the world, with his spirit and with one another.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what co-mission means.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So what does that actually look like?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, I want to look at how this co-mission always is an overflow of our communion, that you cannot get those mixed up, that they have to be in that order.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Communion overflows into co-mission, and so if you have a Bible or a device or the worship guide, go ahead and get John 7 in front of you.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We're gonna look at this very closely, word by word, verse by verse.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Together, communion overflows into commission.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's my one sentence.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>My two points are communion looks like drinking in and commission looks like flowing out.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Communion is drinking in and commission is flowing out.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look with me at verse 37.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>John 7, 37 says this on the last day of the feast, the feast, the great day, what's happening here is the people of God are celebrating what's called the Feast of Tabernacles.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It was one of, I believe, seven national holidays in Israel where they'd come together and they'd celebrate the faithfulness of God to them as a people.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And this particular feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, is one where we celebrate that God provided for his people food and drink when they were wandering in the wilderness, and the relevance of that is that this was not just for the people of Israel.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is actually a picture of the human condition.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>To be human is to look like living in a world where you have inner thirsts with outer dryness, inner thirst with an outer desert that's what it means to live the human condition.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Our post-apocalyptic fiction gets this right.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Okay, here's two examples.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It always depicts kind of this waterless wasteland, or often does, like the book of Eli.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Right, the book of Eli.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You've got this guy named Carnegie who rules his town because he controls the supply of water and he enforces this control through violence.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Or, fast forward a little bit, you got Mad Max Fury Road, where Immortan Joe says this to his people Do not, my friends, become addicted to water.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It will take hold of you and you will resent its absence, like you could become addicted to the thing that you need to survive.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And what these people are getting at in these dystopian futures?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They're getting at the fact that we are all thirsty travelers in a dry land and there's this innate fear that we might not have what we need to satisfy our thirst.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so look with me again at the text.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It says in verse 37, on the last day of the feast, the great day, jesus stood up and he cried out.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's a strong word.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He cried out.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If anyone thirsts, jesus cries out.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He's making a scene here, but you've got to catch that this would be.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>People would be like what is going on right now?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Why is he making such a big deal?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Why isn't he using his inside voice?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Why is Jesus right now getting so dialed up?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Your thirst?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's why this deep desire that you have, this existential thirst that we all carry around with us.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>John Newton, who wrote the great hymn Amazing Grace, said it like this God has given the human such a vastness of thirst for happiness that God alone can answer, such a vastness of thirst for happiness that God alone can answer.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And you see, living with unquenchable thirst is painful.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so all of us religious people, irreligious people, secular, whatever you want to say we all do this thing that the prophet Jeremiah called out.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He said my people have committed two evils.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Evil number one they've forsaken me, the fountain of living water.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We don't really need you, god.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Yeah, we're thirsty, but we're not going to you as the source.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They've forsaken the fountain of living water.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And the second one is they've hewn out for themselves broken cisterns that could never hold water.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Everyone in this room has committed both of those evils.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We've turned from God as the fountain of living water and we've made for ourselves.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We've turned to our own little sources to sip on a little sustenance that always leave us thirsty again.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so God, in his kindness, forbids us from slaking our thirst in places that we ought not go.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Not because he's a killjoy by definition, because he knows that when we go to those places to satisfy our thirst it's like guzzling salt water when you're running a marathon it only leads you thirsty again.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so he prohibits you from going to those places.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He says do not go there.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But some of us have gone there so frequently and realized we've been left dissatisfied so often that we become despairing of ever having our thirst satisfied.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We just kind of numb out, check out, we become bored and listless and restless and we just live day by day, moment by moment, kind of going through the motions, thinking that there's no more on offer for us than we've already had.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We've been in the desert and we've seen the mirage and we've gotten there and realized it was all for nothing.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so what do we do with this quote vast vastness of thirst for happiness that God alone can answer?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, in our prayer meeting this past Wednesday we were praying through Psalm 63, which is about this thirst for God and someone.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In our prayer meeting this past Wednesday, we were praying through Psalm 63, which is about this thirst for God, and someone in the prayer meeting said this God, give us courage to live with thirst.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Courage, yes, yes, courage.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We dare not sip the salt water that we know leaves us thirsty again, but also we dare not give up on ever being satisfied.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That takes courage to avoid both of those two pitfalls.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And it takes courage to dare to believe that maybe there is something or someone out there from whom we could drink deeply and find the satisfaction that we long for.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so, when it comes to Christianity, you can fake a lot.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You can fake a lot about the Christian religion.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You can, you know, do the outward motions.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You can learn the Christian-y sayings you're supposed to say.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You can be a good moral person.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's probably a good thing.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We need more of those, but that's not a Christian.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>A Christian is someone who thirsts for God.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>A Christian is someone who recognizes that their desires have been awakened for the true and living God.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So my invitation is do you desire more of God than you have right now?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Do you want more of him than you have already tasted and experienced?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is what Jesus is after.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's why in verse 37, it says Jesus stood up and cried out if anyone thirsts Notice this is a conditional statement.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If is a conditional word.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In my home we have a condition every night for dinner, which is if you don't eat, you don't get a treat.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's a condition, a treat, it's a condition.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What's Jesus's condition If?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What is it?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If anyone is qualified?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Not what it says.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If anyone's surrendered enough or deeply committed enough Not what it says.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He says if anyone thirsts, who is not thirsty?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So if we find ourselves thirsty this morning, what do we do?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look what Jesus says If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I love the radical inclusivity of Jesus.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If anyone thirsts, far as to the corners of the earth, like if anybody is thirsty, jesus is saying here but then look at the radical exclusivity of Jesus.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let them come to me.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Nowhere else Jesus will be many things to you, but he will never be second in the satisfaction of your thirst.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If anyone thirsts, let him come to me.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let him come to me.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus promises to satisfy your thirst by thrilling you with himself.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But here's the thing.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus is really putting himself out there, because we ask the question can you really meet me here Like can you really satisfy my deepest longings?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Those of us who've been walking with Jesus for years, maybe even decades, we look at this and we're like, yeah, this should be provable by experience.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Either he slakes our thirst or he doesn't.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What do we seem like?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This seems so little proven in experience for many Christians.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Why is it that, if this is true, we see so much boredom and addiction and distraction, so much looking forward to the next experience or purchase among people who belong to Jesus?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What do we make of that?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Because there's something in the nature of thirst we have to pay attention to here.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, when you come and drink, I mean your physical thirst.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>When you come and drink, your thirst goes away and then it's just gone for the rest of your life, right?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>No, in fact, you feel refreshed, but then you become thirsty again.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The cause of our thirst is beyond remedy.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>God has made you with an incurable desire for himself, and so when Jesus says come to me and drink, he means come and keep coming.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He means don't just sip, but drink and drink deeply and constantly, and continually and habitually.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's in this continual coming, moment by moment, day by day, bringing our thirst to Jesus, that we learn to find him to be one who can satisfy us no other way.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so another piece to this, though, is, as you come to Jesus, your thirst is quenched a little bit and it also grows.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>St Augustine says oh Lord, you have put salt on our tongues that we might thirst for you.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>There's a woman from the early founding of our country named Sarah Jones.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>She lived in Virginia, and on November 18th 1790, she wrote a letter to her cousin and said this brother, I want more than a little religion.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I want my desires and soul in every faculty extended, that I may drink seas and rivers and running streams of Jesus's dying love.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And what I cannot drink, I want to swim in continually.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>My Jesus is no broken cistern, but he is a well of life without bottom, boundless, matchless, adorable Jesus.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Does that touch anything in you?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Do you hear Sarah's words there and go?

00:15:43.269 --> 00:15:44.393
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I want what she wants.

00:15:44.393 --> 00:15:46.947
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Oh Lord, give me that ache.

00:15:46.947 --> 00:15:49.607
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let me not deaden my thirst.

00:15:49.607 --> 00:15:52.605
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>There's an invitation here.

00:15:52.605 --> 00:16:06.933
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>While your thirst will never be totally quenched, the fountain will never run dry, and so I want to point out the simplicity of the gospel, the simplicity of what Jesus is doing here.

00:16:07.340 --> 00:16:09.504
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Drinking is one of the first things a human can do.

00:16:09.504 --> 00:16:11.590
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I've got a six-month-old.

00:16:11.590 --> 00:16:12.532
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He can do it.

00:16:12.532 --> 00:16:19.539
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He can drink, let me tell you and he's been doing it since day one, drinking is not complicated in that way.

00:16:19.539 --> 00:16:27.725
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But listen, when you're thirsty, truly thirsty, you know this experience that nothing else matters except for finding water.

00:16:27.725 --> 00:16:29.871
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Spiritual thirst does the same thing.

00:16:29.871 --> 00:16:35.230
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Like I want to point out that thirst has this ability to strip away the non-essentials.

00:16:37.280 --> 00:16:42.192
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In May of this year I was training for a half marathon and it was I run in the afternoon.

00:16:42.192 --> 00:16:43.721
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I just assume it's part of the training.

00:16:43.721 --> 00:16:46.948
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's like why people do hot yoga, and so I'm running.

00:16:46.948 --> 00:16:59.999
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's 4 pm, 90 degrees, super humid, and I'm like 10 miles in and realizing I'm in bad shape, like I'm overheating, for real, for real.

00:16:59.999 --> 00:17:02.525
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so, as I'm running, I turn off my audio book because I can't really focus on anything else.

00:17:02.525 --> 00:17:03.870
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>My mind cannot be distracted.

00:17:03.870 --> 00:17:05.785
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm just thinking about where am I going to get water.

00:17:06.768 --> 00:17:18.353
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And I run by a woman's house and she has a hose that looks very attractive and I was tempted to just like sneak through the bushes.

00:17:18.353 --> 00:17:20.403
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But I saw her in the front yard.

00:17:20.403 --> 00:17:25.405
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Good thing I didn't sneak through the bushes and I said, ma'am, would you mind if I took a drink from your hose?

00:17:25.405 --> 00:17:29.125
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And she said no, please don't do that, I'll get you a Gatorade.

00:17:29.125 --> 00:17:31.066
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so she brought me a Gatorade.

00:17:31.066 --> 00:17:31.808
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It was amazing.

00:17:31.808 --> 00:17:38.343
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I said to her I don't know if you believe in Jesus, but he tells us that he won't forget a cup of cold water offered to a disciple.

00:17:38.343 --> 00:17:40.304
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>She was like okay.

00:17:40.304 --> 00:17:42.144
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I was like Gatorade might be bonus points.

00:17:42.144 --> 00:17:50.290
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I don't know how it works, but thank you, I got to keep running and so I kept on keeping on, and this is why I'm telling you this.

00:17:50.290 --> 00:17:51.771
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I was thirsty.

00:17:51.771 --> 00:17:53.012
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>She gave me a drink.

00:17:53.712 --> 00:17:55.054
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's the simplicity of the gospel.

00:17:55.054 --> 00:17:56.654
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Are you thirsty?

00:17:56.654 --> 00:17:58.496
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Come to Jesus and drink.

00:17:58.496 --> 00:18:00.096
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's the invitation.

00:18:00.096 --> 00:18:08.830
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's how simple and basic it is.

00:18:08.830 --> 00:18:09.212
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Come and drink.

00:18:09.212 --> 00:18:10.578
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But what does that mean?

00:18:10.578 --> 00:18:16.142
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus tells us in verse 38,.

00:18:16.142 --> 00:18:18.047
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He says whoever believes in me, you see, coming to Jesus to drink is simply trusting him.

00:18:18.047 --> 00:18:21.093
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's simply receiving, by faith, whatever he has to offer to you.

00:18:21.093 --> 00:18:30.922
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What does that mean for us who want to continue walking with Jesus, not just the first time, coming to him to drink, but ongoing drinking, continually, habitually, as I said?

00:18:30.922 --> 00:18:34.070
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, let me tell you a quick story about what that means.

00:18:34.070 --> 00:18:40.442
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>To do that, how do we come to Jesus to drink, practically through scripture and in prayer, two of the common rhythm practices.

00:18:41.964 --> 00:18:49.845
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, in September 19, 1853, at 21 years old, hudson Taylor left London to bring the gospel to China.

00:18:49.845 --> 00:18:55.394
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In 1870, he buried his first wife, maria.

00:18:55.394 --> 00:19:16.510
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, she died at age 33 after giving birth to their eighth child, who also died, taylor had to send his surviving children back to England for their education and their safety, and in his loneliness in China with no one around, he writes this perhaps 20 times in a day.

00:19:16.510 --> 00:19:21.182
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>As I felt my heart thirst coming back again, I cried to the Lord.

00:19:21.182 --> 00:19:25.621
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You promised me that I should never thirst, he says.

00:19:25.621 --> 00:19:28.911
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Eventually the Lord came and more than satisfied my sorrowing heart.

00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:38.566
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, hudson Taylor learned to take the promise of Jesus in John 4, that if you come to him to drink he'll give you a fountain of living water.

00:19:38.566 --> 00:19:39.568
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You'll never thirst again.

00:19:39.568 --> 00:19:40.760
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what he says in John 4.

00:19:40.760 --> 00:19:43.368
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so Hudson Taylor says this.

00:19:43.368 --> 00:19:43.589
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He goes.

00:19:43.589 --> 00:19:44.401
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What a promise.

00:19:44.401 --> 00:19:47.286
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Shall never thirst.

00:19:47.286 --> 00:19:49.691
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>To know that shall means shall.

00:19:49.691 --> 00:19:57.452
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That never means never, and that thirst means any unsatisfied need may be one of the greatest revelations God ever made to our soul.

00:19:57.452 --> 00:20:08.748
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, if we learn this secret of coming and keeping to come over and over and over again saying Jesus, you promised, this is what you said.

00:20:08.748 --> 00:20:10.752
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm taking you at your word.

00:20:10.752 --> 00:20:17.553
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You begin to find that thirst quenched, but you also find yourself thirsty again.

00:20:17.553 --> 00:20:27.511
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so if this is true, that if we learn this secret of having a deep aquifer for our souls in a parched land, what happens next?

00:20:27.511 --> 00:20:31.146
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, communion overflows into commission.

00:20:31.146 --> 00:20:32.590
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look with me.

00:20:32.590 --> 00:20:34.464
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Commission flows out.

00:20:34.625 --> 00:20:35.588
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look at verse 38.

00:20:35.588 --> 00:20:43.153
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

00:20:43.153 --> 00:20:47.144
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

00:20:47.144 --> 00:20:49.810
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Mysteriously, drinking water from Jesus becomes flowing water from us to others around us.

00:20:49.810 --> 00:20:50.531
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what it says here.

00:20:50.531 --> 00:20:53.624
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What is this living water?

00:20:53.624 --> 00:20:55.508
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's the Holy Spirit.

00:20:55.607 --> 00:20:57.612
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look at the verse right there, verse 39.

00:20:57.612 --> 00:21:03.294
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now this he said about the Holy Spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive.

00:21:03.294 --> 00:21:16.325
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Listen, christianity says that the third person of the Trinity, god himself, is poured out into the hearts of those who believe in Jesus Unbelievable.

00:21:16.325 --> 00:21:21.544
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If I had time, I'd do a little aside about how we cornered the market on body positivity y'all.

00:21:21.544 --> 00:21:24.412
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If the Holy Ghost is living in your body, that's something.

00:21:24.412 --> 00:21:28.048
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's something that the spirit of the living God is in us.

00:21:28.108 --> 00:21:34.131
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It says in verse 39, now this he said about the spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive.

00:21:34.131 --> 00:21:36.950
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Do you see how to believe and to receive are synonymous here.

00:21:36.950 --> 00:21:43.288
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so when we come to Jesus in communion, we simply believe him and we receive from him.

00:21:43.288 --> 00:21:48.164
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But look here it says those plural, those who believed in him.

00:21:48.164 --> 00:21:48.968
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's community.

00:21:48.968 --> 00:21:53.771
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So communion flows out through the channels of community.

00:21:53.771 --> 00:21:59.131
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Our communion with God is structured through our community with one another.

00:22:00.881 --> 00:22:06.712
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>For all who believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit not only indwells each of us, but all of us.

00:22:06.712 --> 00:22:09.804
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You can't lose either side of that.

00:22:09.804 --> 00:22:14.740
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The one and the many, individual and communal, both of them matter.

00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:15.902
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Get a hold of that intention.

00:22:15.902 --> 00:22:22.790
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The Spirit is here with all y'all and in each of you individually.

00:22:22.790 --> 00:22:24.452
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what the scriptures teach.

00:22:24.452 --> 00:22:33.472
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so, as a result of this, as a result of this, there's a humble boldness that characterizes our body image as the church.

00:22:33.472 --> 00:22:35.561
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is what I mean.

00:22:35.561 --> 00:22:53.809
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We're humble because we recognize that we're simply thirsty like the rest of the world, that we are parched in a dry land, but we're bold because we've come to Jesus and we've learned, even if it's just a little symbol full, or a little shot glass full, or a pint glass full, or a bucket full.

00:22:53.809 --> 00:22:57.482
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>For some of you, we've learned what it looks like to drink from Jesus.

00:22:57.482 --> 00:23:00.810
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We have a place that gives us a boldness.

00:23:00.810 --> 00:23:07.565
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So the church, those who believe in him, are characterized by a humility and a boldness simultaneously.

00:23:07.565 --> 00:23:18.469
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And as we constantly come to Jesus, we get this constant inflow, and then we find the Spirit to be a constant outflow.

00:23:18.469 --> 00:23:22.102
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Communion overflows into commission.

00:23:22.102 --> 00:23:23.926
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is so important.

00:23:23.967 --> 00:23:24.729
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look at verse 38.

00:23:24.729 --> 00:23:33.371
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It says this Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

00:23:33.371 --> 00:23:37.950
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Notice that we cannot contain the spirit that we receive.

00:23:37.950 --> 00:23:45.065
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The spirit is, we are filled with the spirit, but then it flows over.

00:23:45.065 --> 00:23:48.061
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He flows over through us, out of our hearts.

00:23:48.061 --> 00:23:49.747
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what Jesus is saying here.

00:23:50.689 --> 00:23:56.551
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>William Temple put it like this no one can be indwelt by the Spirit of God and keep that Spirit to himself.

00:23:56.551 --> 00:23:59.904
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Where the Spirit is, he flows forth.

00:23:59.904 --> 00:24:03.373
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If there is no flowing forth, he is not there.

00:24:03.373 --> 00:24:08.300
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He flows forth.

00:24:08.300 --> 00:24:09.583
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If there is no flowing forth, he is not there.

00:24:09.583 --> 00:24:11.326
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Believer's boat get and give this overflow of the Spirit.

00:24:11.326 --> 00:24:16.316
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so the text says rivers, rivers.

00:24:16.316 --> 00:24:30.444
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's important because in times of drought, which we all live in, in times of drought, brooks may run dry, canals may fail, lakes recede, but rivers flow, deep and wide.

00:24:30.444 --> 00:24:36.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Rivers of living water out of our hearts to bless the world around us.

00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:47.816
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's the promise here, and so the question I found myself asking as I was preparing for this morning Holy Spirit, what hinders the flow in my life?

00:24:47.816 --> 00:24:53.410
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What is it that hinders the flow of these living waters that are supposed to flow from my heart?

00:24:53.410 --> 00:24:54.792
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>More and more and more?

00:24:54.792 --> 00:24:56.646
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Reveal that to me, and I want to get rid of it.

00:24:56.646 --> 00:25:03.772
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I want rivers of living water flowing from my heart to bless the world around me.

00:25:05.101 --> 00:25:09.465
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>John Stott says notice the disparity between the water we drink in and the water that flows out.

00:25:09.465 --> 00:25:24.028
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We can drink only small gulps, but as we keep coming drinking, believing by the mighty operation of the Holy Spirit within us, our little sips are multiplied into a mighty confluence of flowing stream.

00:25:24.028 --> 00:25:31.432
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He says this this is the spontaneous overflow from spirit-filled Christians to the blessing of others.

00:25:31.432 --> 00:25:37.972
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Listen y'all, sadly, the Spirit of God is functionally unemployed in many churches.

00:25:37.972 --> 00:25:41.144
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let it not be so among us.

00:25:42.527 --> 00:25:50.207
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I want New City to be characterized by quote a spontaneous outflow from spirit-filled Christians to the blessing of others.

00:25:50.207 --> 00:25:54.990
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But communion has to overflow into commission.

00:25:54.990 --> 00:25:57.448
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's why we gotta get first things first.

00:25:57.448 --> 00:26:00.007
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But what would that functionally look like?

00:26:00.007 --> 00:26:07.769
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, we say here that disciples of Jesus, they're united to him in commission through work and witness.

00:26:07.769 --> 00:26:09.291
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So I just want to talk about those two things.

00:26:09.291 --> 00:26:12.366
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What does this look like for the Spirit to flow in our work?

00:26:12.366 --> 00:26:14.551
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let's talk about the Spirit at work.

00:26:14.551 --> 00:26:18.346
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's a true question.

00:26:18.346 --> 00:26:20.131
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm researching, I'm thinking about a lot.

00:26:20.131 --> 00:26:27.442
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is it searching?

00:26:27.442 --> 00:26:28.083
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm thinking about a lot.

00:26:28.083 --> 00:26:28.482
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is it.

00:26:28.502 --> 00:26:35.481
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What if the gifts, person, power, presence of the Holy Spirit was not just for us in here as the church, but for us as the church out there in the world?

00:26:35.481 --> 00:26:37.849
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What if that was true?

00:26:37.849 --> 00:26:46.865
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Another way to say that would be would it make any difference if you led your company or your classroom with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control?

00:26:46.865 --> 00:26:56.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What if the Spirit of God wasn't restrained or constrained to us, church gathered, but also church scattered and sent throughout our city?

00:26:56.480 --> 00:27:03.814
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What if the Spirit didn't only transform your character but also gave you greater skill to do your job?

00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:07.967
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Some of you are like Pastor come on, dude, my job's super secular.

00:27:07.967 --> 00:27:15.586
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I just fundamentally disagree and you know, tell that to Joseph in Egypt or Daniel in Babylon.

00:27:15.586 --> 00:27:26.761
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>These are people who are the people of God in pagan governments and so filled with the Holy Spirit that their pagan neighbors don't even have language for it.

00:27:26.761 --> 00:27:31.481
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But they say things like that dude's filled with the spirit of the gods Remember, they're pagans.

00:27:31.481 --> 00:27:37.185
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Something's different about him or her and they are pointing out, actually, their gifts of administration.

00:27:37.185 --> 00:27:41.623
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So this isn't just like God show up, blow up, do all kinds of wild things.

00:27:41.623 --> 00:27:50.413
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is like you're good at crunching numbers by the Spirit of God, filled up to the brim and flowing over into that spreadsheet.

00:27:50.413 --> 00:27:54.686
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what happened with Daniel and Joseph.

00:27:54.686 --> 00:27:55.509
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They didn't have spreadsheets.

00:27:55.509 --> 00:27:56.840
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I get it, but track with me here.

00:27:58.244 --> 00:28:00.450
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so let me ask you, what would it be if that could be?

00:28:00.450 --> 00:28:11.663
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What would it be like if that could be said about you in your warehouse or in your boardroom that person's filled with the spirit of the gods, because people don't even have language for it.

00:28:11.663 --> 00:28:24.272
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Or what if, like Bezalel in Exodus 31, you could be filled with the spirit of God, giving you, quote ability, intelligence and all craftsmanship to devise artistic designs and to work in every craft?

00:28:24.272 --> 00:28:29.267
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is how the Holy Ghost functions through his people throughout history.

00:28:29.267 --> 00:28:30.723
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is Bible.

00:28:30.723 --> 00:28:32.381
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This isn't Ben Like.

00:28:32.520 --> 00:28:36.705
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The Spirit of God is made to fill you and to flow through you came to.

00:28:36.705 --> 00:28:38.704
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Spirit of God was not made.

00:28:38.704 --> 00:28:43.689
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Spirit of God is an eternal person in the Trinity existing before all time in creation.

00:28:43.689 --> 00:28:51.128
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The Spirit of God is meant to fill you and flow through you into the world for the blessing of your neighbors in your work.

00:28:51.128 --> 00:28:56.731
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Because what if Jesus came not just to redeem our quote-unquote spiritual lives, but all of life?

00:28:56.731 --> 00:29:05.321
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What if it was true that Jesus came to redeem, to set free and to give back everything that was taken from us in the fall?

00:29:05.321 --> 00:29:18.023
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What this would look like is what if all the building and processing and sculpting and baking, and dancing and meeting and accounting and studying and driving that was stolen away was actually returned to us by Jesus?

00:29:18.223 --> 00:29:23.830
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In the gospel, the Spirit is at work in every sense of the word.

00:29:23.830 --> 00:29:25.732
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But how?

00:29:25.732 --> 00:29:32.107
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The best way I know how to put this into practice is using the language of second corinthians 13, 14.

00:29:32.107 --> 00:29:35.040
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It calls this quote the fellowship of the holy spirit.

00:29:35.040 --> 00:29:36.564
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let me make that plain.

00:29:36.564 --> 00:29:42.884
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You dialogue with the spirit about everything, everything, spirit.

00:29:42.884 --> 00:29:45.800
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let me see what you see and feel what you feel about this situation.

00:29:46.903 --> 00:29:53.169
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Like, imagine you're brainstorming a new product line, going Spirit, you know what will meet people's needs, because he does.

00:29:53.169 --> 00:29:56.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Imagine you're problem solving some situation.

00:29:56.559 --> 00:29:58.163
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You're like Spirit, you already know the answer.

00:29:58.163 --> 00:30:08.806
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Will you lead me Like is that too much, or could we get a sanctified imagination of what it would look like for rivers of living water to flow through your workplace?

00:30:08.806 --> 00:30:13.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so, if that's work, what about witness?

00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:26.521
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, I preached two sermons at the end of July on witness, so I'm not going to spend as much time here, but the Spirit flows in our witness, alex and Hannah Absalom, a couple that I've learned a good bit from.

00:30:26.942 --> 00:30:32.143
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They say that in order to be a competent witness, you need two things boldness and intentionality.

00:30:32.143 --> 00:30:44.631
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Intentionality you can solve that problem one of two ways either by scheduling time with not yet disciples or by taking interruptions as invitations.

00:30:44.631 --> 00:30:46.934
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's how you could be intentional.

00:30:46.934 --> 00:30:48.163
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That one's pretty easy.

00:30:48.163 --> 00:30:56.894
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Boldness, which every time I talk about boldness and witness, you got to hear me say the Apostle Paul asked for people to pray for him, for boldness.

00:30:56.894 --> 00:31:00.364
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So if you feel a little timid opening your mouth about Jesus, it's okay.

00:31:00.364 --> 00:31:03.170
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So did he, so do I, so do many of us.

00:31:03.170 --> 00:31:05.300
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so what do we do?

00:31:05.300 --> 00:31:07.125
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, boldness is a fruit of the Spirit.

00:31:08.127 --> 00:31:19.548
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Not in Galatians 5, but in Acts 4, it says and when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the Word of God with boldness.

00:31:19.548 --> 00:31:24.532
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So again, fellowship with the Holy Spirit, moment by moment.

00:31:24.532 --> 00:31:28.234
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Holy Spirit, would you, I wanna tell this person about my hope in Jesus.

00:31:28.234 --> 00:31:29.557
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Will you help me?

00:31:29.557 --> 00:31:31.560
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Will you be with me?

00:31:31.560 --> 00:31:33.593
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Will you fill me, will you enable me Remember?

00:31:33.593 --> 00:31:40.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's simple faith, trust, confidence that the Spirit is not only with you but within you, and wants to bear witness to that person more than you do.

00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:44.509
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So I wanna end where the text ends here.

00:31:44.509 --> 00:31:46.117
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look with me at verse 39.

00:31:47.605 --> 00:31:52.601
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now this Jesus said about the Spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive.

00:31:52.601 --> 00:31:59.116
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>For as yet, the Spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified.

00:31:59.116 --> 00:32:00.901
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What is that about?

00:32:00.901 --> 00:32:01.702
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What does this mean?

00:32:01.702 --> 00:32:06.579
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The Spirit would only be poured out after Jesus was glorified.

00:32:06.579 --> 00:32:07.351
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what it says here.

00:32:07.351 --> 00:32:12.423
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>For us to receive the spirit, jesus first had to give his life on the cross.

00:32:13.569 --> 00:32:22.012
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Before glorification came Jesus's humiliation, and so, if it's true that we've all been drinking from broken cisterns.

00:32:22.012 --> 00:32:24.419
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What that means is that the filth got on the inside.

00:32:24.419 --> 00:32:33.537
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus regularly rebuked the religious leaders of his day, saying you can't clean the outside of the cup, it doesn't matter, the inside has to be cleansed.

00:32:33.537 --> 00:32:36.624
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How do you cleanse the inside of a person?

00:32:36.624 --> 00:32:39.673
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Nothing but the blood of Jesus Christ can do that.

00:32:39.673 --> 00:32:42.499
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so on, the cross of Christ.

00:32:42.499 --> 00:32:53.298
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus cleanses us with his blood so that we can be clean vessels for the Spirit of God to be poured out into and through us into the world.

00:32:53.298 --> 00:32:58.056
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's why Jesus had to be humiliated before he could be glorified.

00:32:59.499 --> 00:33:03.314
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But how can we trust that Jesus really knows what the thirsty need?

00:33:03.314 --> 00:33:08.044
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, because Jesus became thirsty like us in every way.

00:33:08.044 --> 00:33:10.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He had quote, the courage to live with thirst.

00:33:10.920 --> 00:33:19.118
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In fact one of Jesus' seven sayings on the cross as he was dying, in John 19, he cried out and said I thirst.

00:33:19.118 --> 00:33:24.320
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He knows what that existential ache feels like.

00:33:24.320 --> 00:33:26.435
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He's acquainted with it.

00:33:26.435 --> 00:33:35.700
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He became a thirsty man in a dry land, so that when his side was pierced, it says that blood and water flowed out.

00:33:36.651 --> 00:33:45.878
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The church has reflected on that and one of the interpretations is that the blood represents the cleansing that we need, and the water represents the spirit that would be given.

00:33:45.878 --> 00:33:53.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus is not only here to deal with your past although he does that, and he does that famously well.

00:33:53.119 --> 00:34:16.335
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus is also here to prepare you, to give you life, his Holy Spirit for the present and for the future, and so, on the cross, he makes it possible so that everything that we need could be accomplished by him, which leaves us to come to him as nothing else but thirsty saying more please Come to me and drink.

00:34:16.335 --> 00:34:21.210
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus says you don't bring anything to that table Now.

00:34:21.210 --> 00:34:24.079
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I wish I could get in the nuanced theology here, but just bear with me.

00:34:24.831 --> 00:34:31.061
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In Acts 2, it says that Jesus ascended to the Father and the Father poured out the Holy Spirit on his son, jesus.

00:34:31.061 --> 00:34:40.639
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And because all who are united to Jesus, whatever happens to Jesus happens to them, the Spirit's poured out on Jesus and therefore poured out on all of his people.

00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:47.657
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So Jesus is glorified and gets the Spirit, and the Spirit is on all who are in Jesus.

00:34:47.657 --> 00:34:52.418
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's one of the reasons why the Spirit came once Jesus was glorified.

00:34:52.418 --> 00:34:57.173
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But another thing here to say is that when Jesus goes, the Spirit comes.

00:34:57.173 --> 00:34:58.456
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Why?

00:34:58.456 --> 00:35:09.074
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Because Jesus gave us a job, he gave us a mission, he gave us a task and he promised I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.

00:35:09.074 --> 00:35:12.672
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And then he gave us the Holy Spirit In Matthew 28,.

00:35:12.672 --> 00:35:15.360
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It says I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.

00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:17.217
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And then he gave us the Holy Spirit.

00:35:17.217 --> 00:35:23.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, the Spirit is the very presence of Jesus, so much so that Paul can call the Spirit the Spirit of Jesus.

00:35:23.559 --> 00:35:32.291
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so now Jesus his words, not mine seems to think it's better that the Spirit of God is here with us than he is with us himself.

00:35:32.291 --> 00:35:35.536
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What does that actually mean?

00:35:35.536 --> 00:35:37.139
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How does that actually help us?

00:35:37.139 --> 00:35:43.777
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Well, if we really do want fruitfulness here at New City, we have to recognize that's beyond our capacity.

00:35:43.777 --> 00:35:52.199
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We can be faithful and we can ask and trust and expect God to bring fruitfulness by his Holy Spirit.

00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:55.534
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let me tell you a story about what that would look like as we close.

00:35:55.554 --> 00:35:57.905
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here there's a guy named Duncan Campbell.

00:35:57.905 --> 00:36:05.382
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He was a Presbyterian minister and he tells this story of a revival that broke out in the Hebrides Islands off the north shore of Scotland.

00:36:05.382 --> 00:36:15.117
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He said men and women had been praying one promise for months.

00:36:15.117 --> 00:36:15.898
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Track with that.

00:36:15.898 --> 00:36:18.085
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Imagine just like not wearing out on one promise for months until the Lord answered it.

00:36:18.085 --> 00:36:18.809
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Oh, did he answer it?

00:36:18.809 --> 00:36:20.369
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's the promise Isaiah 44, 3,.

00:36:20.369 --> 00:36:23.206
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I will pour water upon the thirsty and floods upon the dry ground.

00:36:23.206 --> 00:36:24.510
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Three I will pour water upon the thirsty and floods upon the dry ground.

00:36:25.530 --> 00:36:26.956
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Duncan Campbell records it like this.

00:36:26.956 --> 00:36:33.300
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He says one night at about 1 am, a young man like late teens, early 20s.

00:36:33.300 --> 00:36:35.918
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Young man rose to his feet and prayed.

00:36:35.918 --> 00:36:38.893
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's his prayer Lord, you made a promise.

00:36:38.893 --> 00:36:40.298
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Are you gonna fulfill it?

00:36:40.298 --> 00:36:43.257
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We believe that you are a covenant keeping God.

00:36:43.257 --> 00:36:44.777
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Will you be true to your covenant?

00:36:44.777 --> 00:36:49.918
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You have said that you would pour water on the thirsty and floods upon the dry ground.

00:36:49.918 --> 00:37:04.001
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I don't know how others stand in your presence, but if I know my own heart, I know where I stand, and I tell you now that I am thirsty, oh, I am thirsty for a manifestation of your right hand.

00:37:04.001 --> 00:37:09.159
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Lord, before I sit down, I want to tell you that your honor is at stake.

00:37:09.159 --> 00:37:13.380
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Man, I bet some of our 20-year-olds could pray like that, though.

00:37:13.380 --> 00:37:15.157
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm pleased with that.

00:37:16.110 --> 00:37:19.197
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Campbell then says this happened after that young man sat down.

00:37:19.197 --> 00:37:26.458
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The house shook like a leaf, the dishes rattled in the cupboard and someone said to me it's an earthquake.

00:37:26.458 --> 00:37:33.583
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He said yep Walks out, and he found, quote the community alive with an awareness of God.

00:37:33.583 --> 00:37:48.224
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In a moment, just a moment, the Spirit of God could make the city of Orlando aware of the presence of God, alive with an awareness that God is real and he is present.

00:37:49.289 --> 00:37:51.153
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so we ask for that Spirit.

00:37:51.153 --> 00:37:53.719
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Would you do that in our time, in this place?

00:37:53.719 --> 00:37:57.710
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let's pray, lord.

00:37:57.710 --> 00:37:59.275
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You have put salt on our lips.

00:37:59.275 --> 00:38:02.902
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You have put salt on our lips that we might thirst for you.

00:38:02.902 --> 00:38:12.483
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Forgive us for our broken cisterns, forgive us for all the ways and places we've turned to satisfy our thirsts apart from you.

00:38:12.483 --> 00:38:15.311
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We return now we come back.

00:38:15.311 --> 00:38:27.431
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We're asking that you would let communion with you flow, overflow into commission for the world, that your spirit would fill us to the brim and flow over to the blessing of the nations.

00:38:27.431 --> 00:38:30.135
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We pray in Jesus's name, amen.

00:38:31.918 --> 00:38:34.143
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Okay, for our time of response.

00:38:34.143 --> 00:38:35.150
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We receive the word of God.

00:38:35.150 --> 00:38:36.373
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We respond in prayer.

00:38:36.373 --> 00:38:41.190
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm putting the promise from John 7 up here and you choose your own adventure here.

00:38:41.190 --> 00:38:44.358
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You could do number one, which is take this promise to Jesus.

00:38:44.358 --> 00:38:49.335
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now, jesus you promised, come through on your promise.

00:38:49.335 --> 00:38:50.018
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm thirsty.

00:38:50.018 --> 00:38:52.222
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I want what you promised here or two.

00:38:52.222 --> 00:38:54.918
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You can ask the question I was asking this week, holy Spirit.

00:38:54.918 --> 00:38:58.889
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I want to know what hinders the flow, and we'll come to the Lord's table in a moment.

00:39:52.168 --> 00:39:59.295
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Amen, thank you, satisfy our thirst now it's in your name we pray.

00:39:59.295 --> 00:40:20.815
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Amen, church, hear this promise of God from Isaiah 58, 11, and the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your thirst and scorch places and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

00:40:20.815 --> 00:40:30.246
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>I love weeks like this, weeks where the Lord feeds us and satisfies our thirst with his word.

00:40:30.246 --> 00:40:37.884
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>But we see how his word and sacrament are so beautifully and harmoniously woven together.

00:40:37.884 --> 00:40:43.016
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>You see, the scriptures tell us Jesus, he's the bread of life.

00:40:43.016 --> 00:40:46.822
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>As we feast on him, our hunger will be satisfied.

00:40:46.822 --> 00:40:56.664
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Jesus is the one who gives us these living waters, who satisfies the thirst of the deepest parts of our hearts.

00:40:56.664 --> 00:41:02.956
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Not only are we fed through his word, but also through his sacrament.

00:41:02.956 --> 00:41:10.726
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>And, as Ben has taught us this morning, communion overflows into commission.

00:41:10.726 --> 00:41:17.143
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>And so this means at least two things for two groups of us here in the room here this morning.

00:41:17.143 --> 00:41:47.958
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>First of all, if you are here in the room and you have not drank deeply of Jesus, that is to say you do not call him Lord, at least not yet here's the invitation for you, right here and right now Go to Jesus, confess your sins to him, believe in him, put your faith and hope and trust in him and allow Jesus to satisfy your thirst that you might come to this table.

00:41:47.958 --> 00:41:50.411
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>But then here's the second invitation.

00:41:50.411 --> 00:41:53.577
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>It's to those who are followers of Jesus.

00:41:53.577 --> 00:41:59.045
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Remember communion leads into commission.

00:41:59.045 --> 00:42:02.317
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>So come to this table, hopefully hungry.

00:42:02.317 --> 00:42:05.264
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Come to this table, hopefully, thirsty.

00:42:05.264 --> 00:42:11.117
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>I hope you're aware of how deeply even now you need Jesus to satisfy your thirst.

00:42:11.117 --> 00:42:13.302
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>But remember this it doesn't end there.

00:42:13.302 --> 00:42:21.454
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Come to this table that you might be satisfied, but come to this table that your cup might be filled and you might go.

00:42:21.454 --> 00:42:24.159
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Take that cup out into the world.

00:42:24.159 --> 00:42:25.282
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Church.

00:42:25.282 --> 00:42:29.318
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Orlando needs you, church, the world needs you.

00:42:29.318 --> 00:42:36.043
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>May you be his witness bearers, wherever it is you go If you don't know Jesus.

00:42:36.043 --> 00:42:37.958
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>We're so glad that you're here this morning.

00:42:38.371 --> 00:42:44.759
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Again, the invitation is not to come to the table, but the invitation is to drink deeply of the Lord Jesus.

00:42:44.759 --> 00:42:53.016
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>And if you are here, if you are a follower of Jesus, come hungry and come thirsty, knowing that he will satisfy.

00:42:53.016 --> 00:42:58.251
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>But he will satisfy that you may be sent In just a moment.

00:42:58.251 --> 00:42:59.518
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>We'll come to this table together.

00:42:59.518 --> 00:43:04.498
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Before we do, let's affirm the faith that has been handed down to us throughout the generations.

00:43:04.498 --> 00:43:09.132
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>I invite you to stand Christian.

00:43:09.132 --> 00:43:10.778
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>I ask you this what do you believe?

00:43:10.778 --> 00:43:13.150
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>We believe in one God.

00:43:13.150 --> 00:44:45.447
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Thank you, you may be seated.

00:44:45.467 --> 00:44:55.068
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>I would like to go ahead and invite our servers up here now.

00:44:55.068 --> 00:45:04.394
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>In just a moment, followers of Jesus are going to be welcomed to the table.

00:45:04.394 --> 00:45:09.324
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>How we take communion here at New City is you're going to make a left and then a right.

00:45:09.324 --> 00:45:16.554
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>You come up and we would like to extend an invitation for everybody to come up.

00:45:16.554 --> 00:45:27.693
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>How this works is if, for any reason whatsoever, you are not going to take this morning, you can simply just cross your arms and we would love to pronounce a brief blessing over you, followers of Jesus.

00:45:27.693 --> 00:45:30.460
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Would you hear now these words of institutions?

00:45:31.250 --> 00:45:38.916
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>On the night in which he was betrayed, jesus took bread and, in breaking it, said this is my body given for you.

00:45:38.916 --> 00:45:41.563
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Do this in remembrance of me.

00:45:41.563 --> 00:45:47.510
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>In a like manner, he took the cup and he said remembrance of me.

00:45:47.510 --> 00:45:49.253
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>In a like manner, he took the cup and he said this cup is the new covenant of my blood.

00:45:49.253 --> 00:45:50.635
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Shed for the forgiveness of sins.

00:45:50.635 --> 00:45:53.862
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Drink in remembrance of me.

00:45:53.862 --> 00:45:57.431
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Would you pray with me, father?

00:45:57.431 --> 00:46:03.324
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>We see what love has been lavished out upon us through the work of your son.

00:46:03.324 --> 00:46:08.391
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>We thank you that his body was broken, that ours would one day be made whole.

00:46:08.391 --> 00:46:16.755
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>We thank you that his blood was shed, that our hearts may be purified, that our thirst may be quenched in you.

00:46:16.755 --> 00:46:20.559
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>So feed us now by your Holy Spirit.

00:46:20.559 --> 00:46:23.965
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Make Jesus real and known to us.

00:46:23.965 --> 00:46:25.815
<v Rev Benjamin Kandt>Bless your people.