GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
APOSTLESHIP AND PROPHECY
DR. JIM DIXON
OCTOBER 8, 2000
1 CORINTHIANS 12:27-31
Peter Wagner was a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, the largest independent nondenominational seminary in the world. Peter Wagner was not a professor in the school of theology or the school of psychology there, but he was a professor in the school of missiology. As such, he was highly esteemed. Today, Peter Wagner is highly controversial. He has left Fuller Theological Seminary, and he is one of the leaders in a movement today which has been called the “Apostolic Movement.”
The Apostolic Movement is huge today. It’s growing all over the world, particularly amongst the 550 million charismatic Christians in this world. Peter Wagner claims to be an apostle, and he claims that there are four different types of apostles: vertical apostles, horizontal apostles, hyphenated apostles, and market apostles. He claims that vertical apostles are those apostles that have authority over pastors within a certain region. Then he says that horizontal apostles have authority over larger areas, and they have authority over groups of apostles. He says that vertical and horizontal apostles may be hyphenated apostles, which simply means apostles with other gifts—apostle/prophet, apostle/teacher, apostle/administrator. He says there are also market apostles, apostles that raise up leaders in the corporate world and then have authority over those leaders. The key to apostleship in the Apostolic Movement is authority. They claim to have reinstituted the apostolic office.
We deal this morning, first of all, with the gift of apostleship, and we need to understand what it is. The Greek word for apostle is the word “apostolos.” This word in the Bible is used in two very different ways. First of all, the word, “apostolos,” is used exclusively. It’s used to describe a very exclusive group of people who were the Apostles. Oftentimes the apostles refer to the twelve disciples. Now, you know who the twelve were: Peter and his brother Andrew, James and John (the Sons of Zebedee), James (the son of Alphaeus), Judas Iscariot, Philip and Bartholomew, Simon (sometimes called “the Canaanite,” other times called “the zealot”), Thomas (the twin, sometimes called “the doubter”), Thaddeus (sometimes called Judas, son of James), and Matthew (the tax collector).
Those were the Twelve. They were called disciples before the death and resurrection of Christ; they were called apostles after His death and resurrection. They were the Apostles. They were the Twelve. But, of course, there were only eleven because Judas committed treason against Christ. Then, he committed suicide, taking his own life. So, he needed to be replaced and someone else needed to take his apostolic office. We read in Acts 1 how the disciples met, and they decided they needed to find someone to fill this apostolic office. It had to be somebody who was an eye-witness to the resurrected Christ. In this exclusive sense, an apostle was an eyewitness to the resurrected Christ. And so, it had to be somebody, they said, who had companied with them from the time of John the Baptist to the time of the ascension of Christ—someone who had witnessed the resurrected Christ.
They put forth two names: Joseph of Barsabbas (sometimes called Justus) and Matthias. They prayed. They cast lots. They chose Matthias. He became the 12th apostle. These twelve apostles had authority throughout the Christian world. They had been with Christ. They were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ. God added a few to this exclusive group of apostles. God added James, the brother of Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph. He became the great head of the Jerusalem Church. Christ appeared to him in a post-resurrection appearance, so that James became a witness to the resurrected Christ. He was called to be an apostle in this exclusive sense. Then God added Paul. Jesus appeared to Paul, resurrected and alive, on the Damascus Road. Paul became an eyewitness to the resurrected Christ and was called to be an apostle. He said, “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus Christ, our Lord?”
You had the Twelve plus two, James and Paul. They were Apostles in a very exclusive sense. They had gifts of preaching, teaching, and administration. They had gifts of healing and miracle working. They were all eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ. This exclusive group of apostles gave us the Holy Scriptures. The books of the New Testament are either written by them or by those authorized by them. They gave us the New Testament, the Holy Scriptures. They had authority in all the churches wherever they went. They were the Apostles.
Of course, the last of those apostles was Paul. Paul said, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me.” The last living apostle was John. He was the last apostle still alive on the earth. He died near the end of the first century, thus bringing the Apostolic Age to an end.
If the gift of apostleship refers to this exclusive use of the word “apostolos . . . ” If it refers to the Twelve plus James and Paul, then the gift has ceased and is no longer available today. It was last given to the Apostle Paul. The Apostles passed away with John at the end of the Apostolic Age, and the gift of apostleship is no longer available. That is the view of some Bible scholars. They believe the gift of apostleship is no longer available. It ended with the close of the first century. They call the gift of apostleship a “foundational gift,” given for the purpose of founding the Church but then taken away.
This is not my view. I believe the gift of apostleship is still available today. I believe all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still available today. It seems to me highly unlikely that Paul would have written, at the beginning of the 14th chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians, that we should earnestly desire all of the gifts if all of the gifts were not available. It seems highly unlikely to me that Paul would write in 1 Corinthians 12, “God has appointed in the Church first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then workers of miracles; then gifts of healing, helping, administration, various kinds of tongues.” It seems very unlikely that Paul would have said, “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all interpret? Do all possess gifts of tongues? But earnestly desire the higher gifts.” Why would he say, “Earnestly desire the higher gifts?” He’s already identified the higher gifts as first apostleship; second, prophesy. I mean if apostleship wasn’t available anymore, why would he say that? But I believe it was available, and I believe it’s available today.
The word “apostolos,” the Greek word from which we get the word “apostle,” had a second meaning in the Bible. And that second meaning is basically the meaning of missionary—an apostle in this inclusive sense, in this broader sense, was a missionary. In fact, the word “missionary” and the word “apostle” in Latin and Greek are exact equivalents. The word “apostolos” means “sent forth;” and the word “missio,” the Latin word from which we get “missionary,” also means “sent forth.” Etymologically, both words mean “sent forth.” In the Latin Vulgate Bible, the Latin word “mission” is always used to render the Greek word “apostolos.”
As you come to the New Testament, you see the word “apostolos” used in this broader sense. In Acts 14, Barnabas is called an apostle. In Romans 16, Andronicus and Junias are called apostles. In 2 Thessalonians 2:6, Timothy and Silas are called apostles. You have other passages in the Scripture where there are unnamed apostles. These were not people who were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ, but they were missionaries.
When you come to the “Didache,” an anonymous early second century writing, it is clear that the word “apostle” and the gift of apostleship are identified with the gift of being a missionary and the work of a missionary. It seems likely to me that the gift of apostleship is the call to be a missionary, particularly the type of missionary who goes into parts of the world, evangelizes, forms churches, appoints pastors, and then oversees those pastors. This is what missionaries historically have done. They establish churches, appoint pastors, and oversee those pastors. That’s the apostolic call, and that is the work of a missionary.
I tell you it is the highest call in the Church of Jesus Christ. This apostolic call to be a missionary is the highest call in the Church of Jesus Christ. There is no higher call. You see, it’s missionaries who build the Church of Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit of God as they go forth over the world, evangelize, establish churches, and appoint pastors. That’s why God has appointed in the church first, apostles, those who are “sent forth” to do the work of a missionary. No higher call.
I love the story of Robert Moffat. It’s one of my favorite stories. The year was 1807. A missionary came to Scotland to speak in a little Scottish church. The missionary challenged the Christians in that church to become missionaries. After the missionary spoke, an offering was taken. As the offering was taken, this 12-year-old boy named Bobby Moffat took the offering plate out into the aisle and set it down in the middle of the aisle. The ushers were wondering what he was doing. Bobby Moffat stepped into the offering plate. The usher said, “What are you doing, Bobby?” Bobby Moffat said, “I’m giving my whole self to God.”
That was a great moment in church history. Robert Moffat grew up to become one of the greatest missionaries in the world. He went to Africa, particularly Southern Africa and part of Central Africa. He worked amongst the Bantu tribes and also amongst the Zulu people.
The Zulu people had a chieftain named Shakah. This chieftain was incomprehensibly cruel and so barbaric that he once had 400 women slaughtered in front of him for his twisted pleasure. When his mother died, this African chieftain slew 7,000 people. He had 7,000 of his own people slain as an offering to his mom. That was the kind of people that Bobby Moffat went to work amongst.
But the Spirit of God was upon him, the power of Christ, and Bobby Moffat did the work of an evangelist. People began to accept Christ. Robert Moffat began to establish churches, and he appointed indigenous pastors. The churches grew, some to over a thousand. He was even able to convert, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the infamous African chieftain Afrikaner. The people were stunned. He was doing the work of an apostle.
The year was 1833 when Robert Moffat returned to Scotland to get help. There weren’t enough missionaries. Africa, you have to understand, at that time was called “the Dark Continent.” People just didn’t go there. In 1833, Robert Moffat went into a little church in Scotland, and he invited Christians to be missionaries. When he was done, he felt like it had just fallen flat. Nobody said they wanted to be a missionary. But in the balcony of that little Scottish church, there was a 20-year-old young man who had accepted Christ at the age of 12 just as Bobby Moffat had. This 20-year-old young man was working on the organ. He had listened to everything. He felt the tug of the Holy Spirit and the call of God to become a missionary. That 20-year-old young man in the balcony was David Livingstone.
David Livingstone went on to marry Robert Moffat’s daughter. Then he went into Africa, Southern Africa, Central Africa. He explored the African continent. He treated the African people with dignity. He fought against the slave trade, and he led men and women to faith in Jesus Christ. He inspired people all over the world to become missionaries. Churches were built and pastors were appointed.
David Livingstone’s wife, Robert Moffat’s daughter, died in 1861. Livingstone died in 1873, twelve years later. His final entry in his journal was, “My Jesus, my Lord, my life, my all. I rededicate my whole life to You.” When he died, he was so revered by the African people that they carried his body 1,500 miles to the sea where he was taken back home for a funeral service in Westminster Abbey. Many of the African people went to that funeral service.
Robert Moffat and David Livingstone. The Church of Jesus Christ is built by people such as these who have the apostolic call. There is no higher calling. God is still calling people to be missionaries today.
Should you pray for the gift of apostleship? Are you open to being a missionary? Gene and I were sharing a few weeks ago about how excited we are when anyone in this church senses the call of the Spirit of God to become a missionary. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing some of you receive that call (which I consider an apostolic call), and you’ve gone forth to be missionaries. We’ve seen some of our members here go all over the world. It’s our hope and prayer that in these years ahead, God raises up more of you to go into the world of missionaries. There is no higher call.
Of course, there’s a sense in which we are all “sent forth.” The verb form of “apostolos” is applied to the Christian world in general. We’re all sent forth with the gospel, and we’re all called to support the work of missionaries amongst every tribe and tongue and people and nation. So, there is this first gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of apostleship.
The second gift we deal with this morning is the gift of prophecy. Earlier in the summer, Barb and I were on a little vacation up in the mountains. We were at the Edgewater Cafe on the lake at Keystone in Summit County. They have an outdoor patio there. We were sitting out there ordering lunch. I ordered a sandwich. The waiter said, “That sandwich comes with French fries. Do you want French fries?” I said, “I think I’d just like to have cottage cheese.” The waiter said, “Alright.”
The sandwich comes out and instead of cottage cheese, there was cheddar cheese. It’s all cut in little thin strips. I said, “I wanted cottage cheese.” He said, “Well, we only have cheddar cheese, American cheese, and Swiss cheese. I took the liberty of giving you cheddar cheese, but we cut it up in nice little strips.” I said, “Well, I wanted cottage cheese.” He says, “We don’t have cotta cheese. I asked the chef, and he said we don’t have cotta cheese.” I’d never heard of cotta cheese. I’ve heard of ricotta cheese. I explained to him, “No, it’s not cotta cheese. It’s ‘cottage’—c-o-t-t-a-g-e—like the house. Cottage cheese.” He said to me, “I’ve never heard of that. I’ve never heard of cottage cheese.” I said, “Well, why don’t you just go back and ask the chef if there is any cottage cheese—c-o-t-t-a-g-e?” So, he goes in and comes back out. He says, “The chef’s sorry, but he’s never heard of cottage cheese either!”
Barb and I were just incredulous that nobody had heard of cottage cheese in this restaurant! Finally, the guy says to me, “What is cottage cheese?” Barb and I looked at each other and we thought, “Well, how do we define that? How do you define cottage cheese?” We said, “Well, it’s little white balls of soft cheese.” That didn’t seem to help. We said, “It’s really little curds of sour milk.” He looked at us like, “You eat that?” Barb and I realized that cottage cheese is one of those things . . . you kind of know what it is, but it’s hard to define. Right? It’s kind of hard to explain. Some things are like that.
I want to tell you: prophecy is just like cottage cheese. Prophecy is just like cottage cheese. It is really hard to define. That’s what makes this gift so difficult. It’s hard to define. Part of the problem is the word for prophecy itself, this word “prophetes.” This word, “prophetes,” comes from the word “phemi.” “Phemi” means “to speak.” The problem is the prefix. The prefix, the word “pro,” is capable of so many different meanings. It can mean “before,” so that prophecy means “to speak before.” That refers to its predictive element. Prophecy can mean that you speak of something before it happens. It’s predictive. That’s why in the “Septuagint,” the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Greek word “prophetes” is sometimes used to translate the Hebrew word “roeh,” which means “see-er.”
This is the first of two meanings that prophecy can have. It can mean a seer, someone who is able to make predictions with regard to the future. When the Jewish people were being influenced by Greek language and culture (Hellenization), and they began to learn some of the Greek language and culture, one of the favorite stories that the Jews heard from the Greeks was the story of Cassandra.
Cassandra, in Greek mythology, was the daughter of the king and queen of the city of Troy. She was said to be very beautiful, so beautiful that even Apollos fell in love with her. Apollos desired her so much. He wanted Cassandra to love him, and he wanted Cassandra to be his wife. He thought, “I can win her if I give her just this great gift. And so, he gave Cassandra the gift of prophecy and made her a seer. She could predict the future, and it would always come to be. But her first prediction, her first prophecy disappointed Apollos. Her first prophecy was that she would never love him and never marry him.
Well, he became enraged, and he could not take back what once he had given. So, he decided to add a little something. She would continue to be a prophet and a seer, and she would continue to predict the future accurately. However, nobody would ever believe her. That was the addition he made. Nobody would ever believe her.
And so it was that Cassandra warned the people of Troy not to keep Helen captive. But they laughed at her, and they mocked her; they didn’t believe her. Cassandra warned the people of Troy not to take the Trojan horse within the city walls. But they laughed at her, and they mocked her; they did not believe her. She was kneeling in prayer at the altar of Athena when the city of Troy fell. She was taken captive by Agamemnon. She was made a slave. The years passed, and her beauty perished. Finally, she was executed.
Why would the Hebrew people love a story like that? They loved that story because it reminded them of their own prophets. Their own prophets had been mocked. Their own prophets had been laughed at. Nobody believed their own prophets. You can go back in the Old Testament, and you can look at the major and minor prophets. You can read the writings from Isaiah to Malachi. Insofar as they were seers, insofar as they predicted the future, virtually nobody believed them. They laughed at them, and they mocked them.
Today, we live in a culture where people really want to know the future. There are a lot of people who are really trying to know the future. Some predictions we take as just crazy. For example, the tabloids. I mean, you go into a supermarket, and at the end of every year you’ve got the predictions for the next year. Last year, one of the tabloids predicted that Hugh Hefner would become a Christian and the Playboy Mansion would become a Christian Retreat Center. I’m not holding my breath. Another tabloid predicted that on a lonely California beach, a real mermaid would be discovered. It’s hard enough to find a lonely California beach. Nobody takes predictions like that seriously, including the people who make them; but there are people out there who are really seeking to know the future.
Allegedly, 60 million Americans read their horoscopes daily and are really into astrology. They want to divine, in some sense, their own future. The Bible warns us regarding astrology and seeking to divine the future through examining the stars and their alignments. The Bible warns us not to do that. Just trust the One who made the stars. There are millions of people out there, though I find this hard to believe, who actually consult psychic hotlines. The Bible warns us never to dabble in the world of the occult or seek to divine the future through occultism. The Bible tells us that Satan is very active in that world. But we live in a culture where a lot of people really do want to know the future.
Sometimes, God wants us to know the future, at least some aspect of the future. That’s one of the reasons God gives this gift called the gift of prophecy. Sometimes it means a seer, someone who can look into the future. Thus, you come to the book of Micah in the Old Testament. Micah wrote the book which bears his name. The book is only seven chapters long. Micah lived 730 years before Christ. He was able to look into the future and see the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians and the forces of Sargon II in the year 722. He looked into the future, and he saw the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in the year 701.
He looked into the future, and he saw the fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judah by the forces of Nebuchadnezzar the Great in the year 586. He saw it. He looked through the portals of time by the power of the Holy Spirit. He saw the exile, the scattering of the Jews amongst the nations. He even saw the birth of the Messiah. He was able to identify the city in which the Messiah was born, Bethlehem, Ephrathah. He looked into our future, and he saw the consummation of the age and the establishment of the eternal kingdom of heaven.
Daniel was a prophet. He lived 600 years before Christ, but he was able to look into the future. He saw the fall of the Babylonian Empire, the rise and the fall of the Medo-Persian Empire, the rise and fall of the Greek Empire, and the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. He saw the rise of Alexander the Great and the division of his empire amongst his four generals. He saw it clearly. He saw the rise of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Seleucid King who would desecrate the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century before Christ. He saw the cleansing of that Temple by the forces of Judas Maccabeus. All this, of course, is now celebrated as part of Hanukkah, but Daniel saw it in advance. He looked into the future as a seer, and he saw it. He saw the birth of Christ. He even predicted the year of Christ’s birth, and he saw into our time. He saw the rise of the Antichrist and the days ahead of us. He saw the consummation of the age and the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ.
The prophets not only saw the birth of Christ, the prophets saw the crucifixion of Christ. They saw that He would die by crucifixion. They saw that He would be crucified between two thieves. They actually heard His words from the cross and wrote them down. They saw that He would be betrayed by a close friend and sold for thirty pieces of silver. They saw the exact amount. They saw that He would be buried in a rich man’s grave. The prophets saw these things.
They saw our time. They saw the rebirth of Israel, scattered amongst the nations. A miracle. They saw what happened in 1948 and what happened in 1967. They saw how the Jews would repossess Jerusalem. They saw that the reborn nation of Israel would polarize the nations of the world and would be a place of hostility. They saw how there would be an absence of peace. They saw a great nation to the east of Israel, called the King of the East, that would be able to field an army of 200 million men. China is east of Israel. Incredibly today, China can field an army of 200 million men. The incredible thing is that when that prophecy was made in the Bible, there weren’t 200 million men on the earth. I don’t know how anybody can read the prophecies of Scripture, see their fulfillment, and deny the authenticity of Christianity and the authenticity of the Word of God.
Prophecy is given partly for authenticity. It’s also given to encourage us. Sometimes, prophecies are given in order to motivate us. Some of you have heard of Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM—Youth with a Mission. We’ve supported YWAM throughout the history of our church. Loren Cunningham had a prophecy, a word of knowledge, wherein he saw what his ministry was to become. It was this prophecy that launched YWAM. He saw their international headquarters on the Island of Kona. He saw what it looked like before it was ever built. He saw the ship that would take medical supplies to impoverished nations around the world. It all came to be. Everything he saw came to be. That prophecy given to him by the Holy Spirit was meant to inspire him. This gift of prophecy can mean a seer, someone who sees into the future for a variety of reasons.
This word prophecy has one other meaning: divine declaration—not necessarily prediction, simply divine declaration, “Thus sayeth the Lord.” The word “prophetes” comes from “phemi,” “to speak”; but it also comes from “pro,” which, in addition to “before,” can mean “for” or “forth.” It can mean “to speak for” or “to speak forth.” The word prophecy generally simply means “to speak for God” and “to speak forth the Word of God.” Divine declaration, “Thus sayeth the Lord.”
As we close, I want to tell you about a man named John of Antioch. John of Antioch was born in the year AD 347 in Antioch in Syria, which is modem day Turkey. His father was a high-ranking Roman officer. John of Antioch grew up in a wealthy Christian home. He was trained in philosophy, rhetoric, and logic. He went on to become a lawyer. At the age of 24, in the year 371, John of Antioch, who was so in love with Christ, renounced all of his wealth and all of his privilege. He was motivated by the monastic movement, and he went into the mountains for ten years. In solitude, he studied until he became rich in knowledge.
In 381, he came out of the mountains. He was appointed a deacon. Then, in 386, he was appointed a priest. He became the greatest preacher of his time—so great, that two centuries later, John of Antioch was given the title “Chrysostom.” He’s known to historians today as “John of Chrysostom” or “John Chrysostom.” The name Chrysostom means “golden mouth.” He’s called St. John Chrysostom today. The Roman Catholic Church has venerated him as a saint for more than 1,500 years now.
In 397, John Chrysostom was invited to be the Patriarch of Constantinople, one of the highest positions in the church. Constantinople had become the capital of the Roman Empire, the capital of what was to be the Byzantine Empire. He refused to go; but they came, and they bound him. They forced him to come to Constantinople and to be the Patriarch. As he looked at the culture, he was shocked. He was shocked at the lack of morality in the clergy. He was shocked at the materialism and selfishness in the laity, and he was shocked at the lack of justice and the corruption that existed in the Roman Empire amongst its leaders.
He offended Arcadius, the Roman emperor. He offended Eudoxia, the empress of the Roman empire. As he preached, he offended so many political authorities that he was stripped from office and forced to live in a remote spot on the Black Sea. But the people protested, and there were riots. Then an earthquake shook the city of Constantinople. So, the authorities called him back, and he preached some more. And he offended some more. He offended the people because he talked, as lovingly as he could, about the immorality in the clergy and the laity and the corruption among the political leaders.
Finally, they banished him again. He died in 406, having served Christ as a prophet in his time. History is filled with people like John Chrysostom. God raises up prophets like that to speak forth His word, to speak for Him. Some are raised up to speak to nations. You might think, “Well, God doesn’t want anyone speaking to this nation.” God does want people speaking to this nation. You might think, “Well, the prophets in Israel spoke to that nation because it was a special nation, a chosen people.” But when you go to the Bible, you see that God has raised up prophets to speak to all nations.
God sent Jonah to the Empire of Assyria and to the capital city of Nineveh. God sent Daniel to speak to the Babylonian Empire. These were secular empires, secular nations; but God raised up prophets. Don’t think God doesn’t want prophets in America. God does. It’s not easy being a prophet in America. Anyone who is one would tell you they’re discouraged. You see, the purpose of a prophet is not to win the culture. You seek to win souls. You seek to win individuals. You’ll never win the culture. The culture is not redeemable, but prophets are called to be faithful. There never was a prophet in the Old Testament that won a nation, but prophets are called to be faithful until the consummation.
God has given prophets not only to nations but to congregations. I believe God has spoken prophetic words to this congregation consistently through the years. I believe that He’s told us that we are called to be a mission church. With this vision, we were born. We are called to take the gospel to the nations and to our own communities. Not all churches focus on missions as we do. We’re called to have a mission thrust, to save as many as we can in the time we have. That call is upon us.
We’re a church that’s called to kids. We have a unique call to kids. This church was started with a director of Sunday School. When the church was birthed, I was senior pastor, but I was not alone. We had the privilege of starting with multiple staff (but no members) because there was a group of men and women visionary enough to support this deal. We started right out with a director of Sunday School because we knew this church was called to kids.
We were still at Orchard Road when the Session of this church and the leadership of this church was given a vision for a Christian school. As soon as we got to Colorado Boulevard in 1985, that Christian school started. Now, we have three Christian schools. On some days, we have 1,500 kids here. On some weekends, 1,700. It’s part of our call. It’s not an easy call. It takes hundreds and hundreds of teachers. It takes a lot of dollars, but we’ve been called as a church to raise up a generation of young people for Jesus Christ. That call is upon us, and we’ve got to be faithful.
We’ve been called to the poor. I’ve said this again and again. This is a very white suburban church, but we’ve been called to help the poor and oppressed. That’s why we have Manna Ministries. That’s why we send teams into the inner city with Whiz Kids, Save our Youth, and Friends in Transition. That’s why God is constantly calling you to be part of this. It’s part of His call for this church.
This church has been called to morality. In the midst of a culture that’s going to rot morally, we have been called to be faithful. Some of you are visitors. Some of you don’t yet know Christ. We seek to be seeker-friendly; but for those of you who know Christ and have made commitments, He’s called you to righteousness. We’re in this together. He’s called us to be a serving community. All these things are only possible if we’re a serving community. We’ll only reach the nations for Christ, we’ll only go into the inner city, we’ll only reach kids if we’re a serving community. We’ll only be strong morally if we’re a community and we’re praying for each other. So, these calls are upon us. Let’s close with a word of prayer.