Commitment to Go and Tell
Finding Freedom in Obedience
🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Amanda Hahn
The story of Jonah highlights the importance of obedience to God's call and the power of God's compassion, even towards those we might consider undeserving. Despite Jonah's initial reluctance, God used him to bring the people of Nineveh to repentance, demonstrating that His mercy is available to all who turn to Him.
The core takeaway is that God calls every believer to share His message of grace and salvation, emphasizing that His compassion and mercy are available to everyone, regardless of their past, and that our obedience can have a profound impact on others, even when we don't fully understand His plan.
Additional Info
The info below was generated by an AI from the audio recording of the sermon.
Understanding the Power of Obedience to God's Call
The story of Jonah is a profound reminder of the importance of obeying God's instructions, even when we don't fully understand His plan. Jonah was called to go to Nineveh, a city known for its wickedness, to deliver a message of repentance. However, instead of obeying, Jonah chose to run in the opposite direction, attempting to escape God's call. This decision led him into a violent storm that not only endangered his life but also the lives of the sailors with whom he traveled. Jonah's story teaches us that running from God's call can lead to unnecessary turmoil, but even in our disobedience, God can still work through us to fulfill His purposes.
God's Compassion Extends to Everyone
Jonah's reluctance to go to Nineveh stemmed from a lack of compassion for the people there. He believed that the city, known for its sinful ways, deserved punishment rather than mercy. Yet, God had a different plan. Despite Jonah's feelings, God wanted to give the people of Nineveh an opportunity to repent and receive His grace. This highlights a critical truth: God's compassion is not limited to those we deem worthy. His mercy extends to all, regardless of their past actions. The story of Nineveh's repentance demonstrates that when we align our hearts with God's desires, we become vessels through which His love and mercy can flow to others.
The Impact of Sharing God's Word
When Jonah finally obeyed God's command and delivered the message to Nineveh, the response was immediate and powerful. With just a simple proclamation, the entire city—from the greatest to the least—repented and turned to God. This abrupt and dramatic change shows the incredible power of God's Word when it is shared with others. It is not our eloquence or wisdom that changes hearts, but the life-giving power of God's message. This serves as a reminder that we are all called to "go and tell" the good news, trusting that God will use our obedience to bring others into His light.
Aligning Our Desires with God's Plan
Jonah's story doesn't end with the repentance of Nineveh. Instead, it continues with Jonah's frustration over God's decision to spare the city. Jonah's anger reveals that his desires were not aligned with God's. While Jonah wanted to see Nineveh punished, God desired to show mercy. This part of the story challenges us to examine our own hearts. Are we more committed to our own plans and desires, or are we willing to surrender them to align with God's greater purpose? True obedience involves not only following God's commands but also embracing His heart for compassion and mercy, even when it conflicts with our own inclinations.
The Call to Action: Go and Tell
The story of Jonah ultimately serves as a call to action for all believers. Just as Jonah was called to deliver God's message to Nineveh, we are all called to share the gospel with those around us. The world is full of people living in spiritual darkness, and God has entrusted us with the responsibility to bring them the light of His truth. This mission is not limited to those who feel particularly gifted in speaking or evangelism; it is a command for everyone who follows Christ. By sharing God's love and grace with others, we participate in His redemptive work and help to spread His kingdom on earth.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the story of Jonah is a powerful reminder of the importance of obedience, the boundless nature of God's compassion, and the transformative impact of sharing His Word. As we align our desires with God's plans and commit to spreading His message, we become instruments of His grace, bringing light and hope to a world in need.
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Use the questions listed below as a launching point to discuss the sermon points together as a family. These are great for dinner table discussions and small groups.
Opening Reflection:
What part of the Jonah story stood out to you the most and why?
Scripture Reading:
Jonah 1:1-3 – Discuss Jonah's initial response to God’s command. Why do you think Jonah fled?
Group Questions:
Disobedience and Obedience: Have you ever felt God calling you to do something you didn’t want to do? How did you respond, and what was the outcome?
Compassion for Others: Why do you think Jonah lacked compassion for the people of Nineveh? How can we cultivate a heart of compassion for others?
Sharing the Gospel: What are some practical ways we can 'go and tell' others about Jesus in our daily lives?
God's Mercy: How does Jonah’s story illustrate God’s mercy and love? Share a personal story of experiencing God's mercy.
Modern Application: How can we get involved in supporting efforts like fighting human trafficking? In what ways can we as a group be more active in spreading God's word?
Practical Application:
Take time this week to pray for someone you know who is going through a difficult time. Consider sharing a Bible verse or a word of encouragement with them.
Closing Prayer:
Pray together as a group, asking God to give each member the courage and wisdom to share His word and His love with others.
Pray specifically for the mission against human trafficking and for those trapped in such situations to find freedom and hope in Christ.
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Connecting our kids to what we as adults are learning and hearing on Sundays is vital to passing on our faith to the next generation. Use the summary below as a great way to talk about the message we heard with your kids.
Jonah and the Big Fish
Once upon a time, there was a man named Jonah. God had a very important message for Jonah to give to the city of Nineveh. But guess what? Jonah didn't want to go! He decided to run away on a big ship instead.
While Jonah was on the ship, a huge storm came. The sailors on the ship were so scared! Jonah knew the storm was because he was running away from God. So, he told the sailors to throw him into the sea, and the storm would stop. They didn't want to at first, but eventually, they did.
As soon as Jonah hit the water, the storm stopped. Then, something amazing happened. A giant fish came and swallowed Jonah whole! Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights. While he was there, Jonah prayed to God and said he was sorry for not listening.
Finally, the big fish spit Jonah out onto dry land. This time, Jonah listened to God and went to Nineveh. He told the people there to stop doing bad things and turn to God. And you know what? They listened and were saved!
The story of Jonah teaches us that we should always listen to God and share His love with others. Even when we make mistakes, God can still use us to do great things. The end!
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The Book of Jonah is set during a time when the Assyrian Empire was a powerful force in the ancient Near East. Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was known for its brutality and idolatry. This backdrop helps explain Jonah's reluctance to go there; he knew the Assyrian reputation and likely feared their response.
During Jonah’s time, the Assyrian Empire was expanding rapidly. Their military campaigns were marked by extreme violence and cruelty. Conquered cities would often face severe punishment, including mass executions and exile of populations. God’s command for Jonah to go to Nineveh—the heart of an idolatrous, enemy nation—meant walking into a place where he was unwelcome and potentially in danger.
The message Jonah was supposed to deliver emphasized God’s judgment, but it also offered a chance for repentance—a concept that would have been foreign to the people of Nineveh. The idea that a foreign God was giving them a chance to avoid destruction was radical. The broader context shows God’s compassion extending beyond Israel to even the enemies of His people, challenging the exclusive attitudes of the Israelites at that time.
Geographically, Nineveh was situated in what is now northern Iraq, near the modern city of Mosul. It was one of the oldest and greatest cities of antiquity, surrounded by walls that were nearly eight miles in circumference. By understanding its size and significance, we grasp how monumental Jonah’s task was.
Overall, the story of Jonah and Nineveh challenges us to understand God's universal love and mercy, highlighting the importance of sharing His message with all people, regardless of their background or current state of belief.
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But for those of you who don't know me, I am Pastor Amanda. I am the youth pastor. I get to work with teenagers. I love teenagers. But really and truly, you sitting in this room, you're just older teenagers, okay?
So if you also have heard me, if you spent more than two minutes with me ever, then you will know that I like to talk. So I get it. Like, honestly, like, it's in my genetics. I'm convinced that there's a talking gene that is passed down from generation to generation. So my father is, like, the king of talkers, okay?
I remember as a kid, my mom would send me and him to the grocery store, and she knew I had to go with him. I'm the oldest also, so that. Just keep that in mind. Like, I would do what I was supposed to do, like, get the groceries, because she knew my dad was gonna come and find somebody random stranger and talk their ear off. Like he does.
He does it all the time. And so he would sit there, find some random guy. He's got a Florida gator shirt. Are you a Florida gator fan? I'm a Florida gator fan.
And then just talk. And. Or if they're FSU, he'd be like, that's a bad team, you know, so he would, God bless them, hold this person captive, and talk to them. So then I would proceed to take the list, and then I would take the buggy and go grocery shopping and get everything we needed. True story.
We were canoeing one time, and me and my dad were canoeing, and we were in a rental. And I'm in the front and the back, you know, the front kind of, like, directs, but the back does most of the work, right, or going down the river. And some guy in this really nice canoe comes by, right? And my dad's like, hey, do you own that canoe? And the guy's like, yes, sir.
You know, and he's talking. So, mind you, they're having a conversation down the river between two canoes. And I'm looking ahead, and there is a rock, a large rock in our path. I'm like, dad, dad, there's a rock. And, I mean, I'm trying.
I'm probably 1213 years old. I'm like, dad, there's a rock. Dad, there's a rock. He's talking. Just talking.
So I began to gather my belongings. I gather everything that I can hold, because I know we're about to hit this rock. And we did. And as soon as we say that rock, and here we go, I'm floating down the river with the cooler and with everything. And then he's trying to get the kanoa.
The man loves to talk. My grandmother, his mother, she's even worse. I mean, it's just in our genetics. So it's one of those things where I always say that I'm just born to be a talker. I wish I can say this about my family, though.
I wish I can say they were evangelists, because as much as my dad talks, as much as my grandma talks, we could have gotten all of Pensacola saved. I'm just saying, they talk to everybody that they meet. They don't care if you're a stranger or not. They will talk to people. But sadly, they never talked about Jesus.
They just talked about redneck stuff or football or something. But I want to tell you, as Christians, though, every single person that claims to be a Christian, we are all commanded to go and tell. We are all commanded to talk about Jesus. We're all commanded to tell the world. It's not just the gift of Gab.
Like, I. I mean, I do feel like some people are a little bit more gifted than others, but we are all commanded to go and tell. Because, guess what? The world needs people to share the gospel because they need to hear it. Amen.
They need freedom. They need to hear the gospel. So this concept of going and telling reminds me of the story of Jonah. And so I was reading Jonah about a month ago, and God put on my heart, this is what you're going to preach for speaking Sunday, whenever that is. And what did God tell Jonah to do?
He said, go and tell. Go and tell. Nineveh. So if you're with me this morning, I'm going to be reading a lot of scriptures. I'm pretty much going to be going through the whole book of Jonah, which, if you're any bible knowledge at all, there's only four chapters, guys.
Four. But I'm going to be reading a lot of it. I personally am reading the NLT translation, so if you guys don't have that translation, it might look a little different. But that's okay. It's going to be on the screen.
But if you will, let's turn to Jonah. And we're going to start in the very first chapter of the very first verse of what God gave Jonah to do. All right? By the way, my bible right now is covered in notes because God was just talking to me and all sorts of things when I was reading this. I'm like, this is good stuff.
All right, but let's start with verse one. It says, the Lord gave this message to Jonah, son of Amittai. I'm not. I don't know what that means, but whatever he says, get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, announce my judgment against it, because I have seen how wicked its people are. Now, let's take a pause real quick.
Nineveh. Nineveh was a foreign country. It was the capital of Assyria, and they were doing a lot of naughty things. They were a wicked country. I mean, it was pretty bad, but God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh, this foreign country, and share this message.
Hey, grace is still available to you, but you've got to repent right now. For those of you who grew up in church and grew up in Sunday school and you know the story of Jonah, then you know what he did next. He did what every teenager does when I give them instructions. The opposite, okay? If you're a parent in the room, then you understand.
Sometimes you tell your kids very clear instructions, and they do the opposite. So we pick up in verse three, and it says, jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He said he went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish, and he bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord, sailing to Tarshish. Let's just talk about that for a second. You can't run from the Lord.
You can't escape from the Lord. I don't know how many of you have some stuff going on in your life, but you could try to hide. But really, there is nowhere we can run and hide from God. And see, Jonah was running from God's instructions to go and tell because he didn't have compassion for Nineveh. He didn't think Nineveh was deserving of God's grace.
He actually wanted Nineveh to, like, you know, suffer and have punishment and be, like, on a fire and brimstone. So he didn't have compassion, so he chose to go the opposite direction, and he boards this ship. And I felt so bad for these poor sailors. But let's keep on reading verses four. Through six.
And this is what it said. But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm. I don't know, hurricane, tropical storm, I don't know, that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods, remember, these people weren't, they weren't jewish to their gods for help, and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time, Jonah was sound asleep, like a teenager down in the hold.
So the captain went down after him, and he says, how can you sleep at a time like this? He shouted, get up and pray to your God. Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives. Jonah slept through a very violent storm, and sometimes we are spiritually sleeping through some violent storms that people are going through in our lives. Let that sink in for a second.
There's many times that we are encountering people. Some people we might know, some people we might not know, and they're going through a storm. But we are so comfortable, or we are so filled with lack of compassion that we are spiritually sleeping through their storm. And let's be honest, too. Sometimes we cause those storms, we don't even realize it.
And that's terrible when you think about it. But the truth of the matter is, as christians, we need to wake up and look and see who is around us that needs help, because the Lord is ready to use us to go in and speak life into somebody's storm. All right, but let's keep going, because we're going to read the rest of this whole story. So we're going to pick up in verse seven. So the sailors, they cast lots to see which one of them had offended the gods and caused this terrible storm.
And when they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. I'm just really curious. How does that work? Does the lots go, he did it? I mean, I don't know.
Just curious things I'm gonna ask God in heaven, verse eight. The sailors asked, why has this awful storm come down on us? They demanded, who are you? What is your line of work? And what country are you from?
Like, what is your nationality? They have all these questions. So Jonah answered, I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land. The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them that he was running away from the Lord. Oh, why did you do it?
I mean, how many times did you hear that? Why'd you do it? Why? So he says, why did he do it? And we keep going.
And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, what should we do to you to stop this storm? Jonah says, throw me into the sea. Didn't have enough courage to jump ship. He needed to be thrown. And it will become calm again.
Throw me into the sea, Jonah said, and it will become calm again. I know this terrible storm is all my fault. Well, instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn't make it. Look at that.
They didn't even throw them overboard. They're so nice. But then they did. Verse 14. Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah's goddess.
Not their gods, Jonah's God. And they said, o Lord, they pleaded, don't make us die for this man's sin, and don't hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons. Verse 15. Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea.
And listen to this. The storm stopped at once. The sailors were all struck by the Lord's great power. They offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. Listen to this.
Even in Jonah's disobedience, people were led to the Lord. Think about that. He disobeyed God. God said, go and tell Nineveh. He's like, uh, uh, goes the other way.
He joins. He gets on a boat with a bunch of foreigners that don't have the same God. This storm happens. Mind you, God's causing all this. He's orchestrating opportunities for this to go on.
And the sailors finally go, who are you? And he goes, I'm a missionary, basically. I'm a hebrew. I serve God, the God. And because of this, and when they finally threw him over, and when that immediate response from God that the storm stopped, they knew that there was a real God.
And Jonah, through his disobedience, was still allowed or still used to have people come to the Lord. I think that's just so awesome, because in so many times, like, we feel like even our disobedience, God can't use us. But let me tell you, God's always got a plan, all right? God's always got a plan. And again, if you've read this story as a child, what was God's plan next?
Let's read it. Verse 17. Now, the Lord had arranged. He had a plan. Now, the Lord had arranged for a great fish to come and swallow Jonah.
And Jonah was inside the fish for three days. And three nights. Let's talk about a plan. I mean, can you imagine? That's God's plan?
You're getting swallowed by a fish today. Now, there is some controversy out there. People believe that it was metaphorical, that there was no such thing as a fish that no man could survive. Science can't allow a fish, you know, to swallow somebody, even if it was a whale or one of them gopher things out there that y'all fish for. I don't know.
You deep sea fish people. You know what I'm talking about. But here's the thing. I know my God can do miracles, and I know my God can do things that's beyond my understanding, and I don't need to try to understand it. In Matthew, chapter twelve, Jesus actually refers to the story of Jonah and talks about how Jonah was in the fish for three days and three nights.
And I don't know about you, but I can't argue with Jesus. So, like, if Jesus said it happened, then it happened. That's just what I got to go by. So take it for what you want, Jonah. God's plan was for Jonah to be in the oil for three days and three nights.
Chapter two of Jonah is his prayer to God during that time. And I want to encourage you to go look in the prayer. Go read it, see what he says. Cause in a way, he's pouting and stuff like that. But ultimately, when you read through it, Jonah knew this was God's judgment on him for not going and telling Nineveh like he was supposed to.
And finally, in verse nine and ten, he just finally offers up praises. So verse nine of chapter two, it says, but I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows, for my salvation comes from the Lord alone. And when he prayed, this is what the Lord did. Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach. Boom.
The only sacrifice that Jonah could offer in that moment, while he's in the belly of the fish, can you imagine trying to light a fire and a belly of a fish? I'm just curious how that works. So only sacrifice he offered was praise. And the moment he stopped thinking about himself and the moment he lifts up the name of the Lord himself and gave him praises, that's when God said, all right. Boom.
And just like that, God responded. And boom. He got spit out on the beach. That's also an interesting question. So, like, did the whale, like, spit them out and catapult them to the beach?
I'm just curious. Cause if it's a big fish. Wouldn't it get, like, beached? Like, if it got close in the shallows, you know, you see those? I don't know.
I'm just asking. These are questions. You need to be writing these things down. Cause when you get to heaven, these are some interesting things that we need to ask the Lord. Cause I'm just curious.
I'm not doubting at all. I'm just curious. God, how'd you do it? You know, I'm just saying, read the Bible, learn something new. So here we go.
He spit out on the beach. And finally, Jonah is doing what God told her to do. Go and tell. Picking up in chapter three, it says, the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time. He says, get up and go tell the great city of Nineveh and deliver the message that I have given you.
So Jonah does. He goes. And if he's jumped down real quick to verse four, Jonah enters the city. Enters the city. And he shouts to the crowds.
He goes, 40 days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed. Now, let's stop right there. Can you imagine if somebody come running through, like, the villages or why would it be, like, 40 days from now, the villages will be destroyed? Can you imagine, like, how people would respond? Probably just blow you off and be like, I don't know, you like, whatever, you know, they need to be locked up or something.
But let's be honest. That's all I did. That simple sentence is all it's recorded. 40 days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed. But let's look and see what the people of Nineveh did.
The people of Nineveh pick it up in verse five, believed God's message. And from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast, and they put on burlap to show their sorrow. Can I just tell you something? God's word has an abrupt and powerful impact on people. You are called to go and tell, and it might be something as simple as a one little sentence.
But when you are speaking God's word, when you are speaking God's, you know, wisdom over people's life, not your own. Okay? Not your own wisdom. God's wisdom. And you're using his word.
His word is life. And his word has the power to abruptly change people's hearts. You're not doing anything but being an obedient servant and going and telling. He and the Holy Spirit are using you as a vessel to speak life. So can I encourage you this morning?
Get in God's word. Get in his word and go and speak life. Because it ain't your words that's going to change them. It's God's word that's going to change them. Now, I could stay there for a minute, but anywho, so what's really sad about this scenario is Jonah is going to a foreign country, and he is telling these people with one sentence, change your ways or youre to face destruction.
And they did. These people repented, and they all gave their lives over to the Lord. And if you look at the same time that Jonah was around, you've got the king, the kingdoms of Judah and the kingdoms of Israel. They're in spiritual destruction. I mean, they saw God do things over and over and over and over again for them, and yet they were turning their back on God.
And God was even using prophets to go speak to those kings and say, turn around. Finally, God said, doom's coming to you. You're about to get taken over. But Jonah goes to a foreign country, and immediately these people recognize there's something different, and immediately their lives are changed, and these people were saved. So let's thank that for a second.
God wants to show compassion and forgiveness, not punishment. And God wanted nothing more than to show compassion to the people of Nineveh, because that's what happened. The people turned their hearts around to him. In verse ten of chapter three, it says, when God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind. And he didn't carry out his plans for destruction.
God wants to show compassion. God wants to give mercy. Again, Jonah didn't have that same heart. So if you keep reading in Jonah, chapter four, Jonah's mad. Okay?
Jonah is mad that the Lord had showed compassion. He is mad that the Lord decided to be kind to these people. Because guess what? Jonah's desires did not equal God's desires. His plans were not God's plans.
They were not actually God's plans probably weren't even priority for him. He was like, nope, I've got a better idea. He wanted doom and gloom. And many times, as christians, we can be committed to the success, to something like the success to church, coming to church, attendance, success to a project. But many times, we might not be committed to God's desires for that church.
We might not be committed to God's desires for that project because our thoughts are different than God's thoughts. We need to be unlike Jonah and align ourselves with God's plan and say, all right, God, what is your heart? What is your desire? What is it that you want? How can you use me to go and tell in Jonah, chapter four, like I said, he's upset.
So Jonah, he leaves the city. He leaves the city and he's pitching a fit. He's mad at God because God did exactly what he was going to do. He saved him. And Jonah even complains.
If you read the first few verses, I mean, Jonah's like, didn't I say before I left home that you're going to do this, Lord, that you were going to save them? Didn't I tell you? That's why didn't want to go. How many of you? Sometimes you get those teenagers?
Didn't I tell you? Like, that's what happens. They get argumentative. So he goes, the Lord allows Jonah to cool off. He creates, like, this beautiful plant to come and give him shade.
He's got the shade, he's calm. And then God arranged for a little worm to come and eat the plant. And then Jonah's out in the middle of the sun, and he's whining. Look at this. Verse eight.
It's so funny. I just love the Lord's word. All right, verse eight. It says, the sun grew hot. So God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah, and the sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die.
Death is certainly better than living like this. He exclaimed, he must not be from Florida, because I'm going to tell you, this Florida heat. He must be from Britain. What is a Britain that's complaining about a heat wave and it's like 75 over there. And we're like, huh, that's a nice day in Florida.
But seriously, Jonah is mad because God has done all these things. God has saved, and Jonah wanted destruction because his plans did not line up with God's plan. So God steps in, because how many know when we can whine? God's gonna listen to us. He doesn't mind us whining.
He can take it. But God's also gonna drop a truth bomb in our heart sometimes. And let's look at how the book of Jonah concludes in the last two verses. This is what the Lord tells Jonah. In verse ten of chapter four, he says, you feel sorry about this plant, though you did nothing to put it there.
It came quickly and it died quickly. But Nineveh, it has more than 120,000 people, people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city? Think about that. That's how it ends.
We don't really know what Jonah if he had more argument. But honestly, there's no more argument needed. God's telling Jonah, hey, those people are in spiritual darkness. They need the light. They need this message.
And God graciously sent the light of this prophetic message through Jonah to that wicked city of Nineveh. And today, God is sending you to speed the light, to share the gospel to our very wicked country that we live in. Because you just never know people who you encounter, if they are going to receive it well or they're going to reject it. It doesn't matter about that part, because God's still working. But God wants us all to go and tell the world about the light of Jesus Christ and the freedom we get by having Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior.
So this morning, I want to encourage you. Today is speed the light Sunday. And that day, it's just a day that we're going to honor speed the light and just share what the students do. Speed of light, for those who don't know, it is the missions department for the teenagers, of the siblings of God. So it was created, like, in 1940 something, but it was created for the purpose of doing exactly that, speeding the light of the gospel.
And what they do is all the money is raised goes to missionaries, both in the United States and across the country or across the world. And they literally give them the money to speed the light through vehicles, planes, camels, maybe a whale, I don't know. And of course, they use other funds for, like, microphones, different technologies so that things could be sped through. Technology online, people online can be watching. They do that so that missionaries can do what they need to do to take the light into a spiritually dark place.
And how many know the world is in a very spiritually dark place right now? And those of us who receive God's mercy, those of us who understand what it means to be saved, understands what it means to have the power of the Holy Spirit. We want to show God's mercy to others. We can't be like Jonah. We can't be like God.
I don't want them to have compassion. I want them to suffer. And I'll be honest, there's some times that I'm like that with my children when I'm like, I told you not to do it. But that's not how the Lord works, right? The Lord would rather save than destroy.
So this morning, I'm gonna play a video. This video is an introduction to the project that I want to present to you as our church. As you know, I love talking about speed of light. I love our church. I love the fact that we're a missions giving church.
But this morning is more than just about us trying to put a little heartstring video and I coerce you to give money. That's not what it's about. It's supposed to converse, you to say, hey, go and tell the world. Open your mouth and tell the world about Jesus. So we're going to watch this video.
The pastor Jeff's going to come play, and I'm going to continue to share a little bit about the project that I wanted to present to you this morning. So if you will, Brian, please play that video.
Sadeena. Sadeena. To know freedom. To know Jesus. Human trafficking is a very dark atrocity that is just plaguing our world.
And a lot of times people like to just ignore it and brush it under the rug like it doesn't really happen. But here's the thing. There are people out there that are trapped. There are people out there that were coerced into something that they didn't know what they were getting into. Worldwide, there's over 40 million slaves.
And those are going up. And I'm not talking about, you know, what you hear in the textbooks. I'm talking about people who are for labor or for sexual exploitation, but there's over 40 million slaves, over almost 17,000 a year are getting shipped into America. Is that crazy? We all think our land is great.
America is a great country, but there are people getting shipped into our country for slavery. People think that it doesn't happen here, like in our little pocket of where we live at in Florida. But the truth of the matter is, when I call the local police department or when I see the ads and the newspaper and stuff, another person's arrested for child pornography, that's all connected. What's sad is, over the 40 million slaves that I mentioned, over 50% of them are children. Do you think they chose that lifestyle?
Depending on the country, some of the parents may have sold their children. Some of them, they may have, you know, got snatched up. Some of them might just be runaways. Speed alight is partnering with free international, and they are trying to find, restore, embrace, and empower those victims that are caught up in human trafficking and their specific missions. Goal is what they do is they're in the United States and they go with these really amazing vehicles, and they look for runaways, they look for missing persons, they look for those who are lost, and they're trying to find them.
And what they do is they give them some very practical needs, like they might give them some medical help if they're a child. They work with local law enforcement to get them connected to their families. If they're an adult, they can't force them out of that lifestyle, but they might encourage them out of that lifestyle. But not only are they meeting a physical need, but then they get to speed the light of the gospel. They're sharing life, and they are sharing the freedom that comes by knowing Jesus Christ.
And I can tell you right now, I have seen firsthand human trafficking in 2019. When we were in El Salvador for a missions trip, one of the days they took us to the red light district. And I'm telling you, you're just, there's streets and streets, and there's just these little bitty corridors, like closets almost, where these women are prostitutes, and they are just selling themselves. And what they allowed us to do, as the missions team is they allowed us to go in and pray for all these women that offered, that would let us pray for them, and we would give them a rose. We would tell them how beautiful they were, and we would pray with them if they would let us.
Of course, we had a translator because they were Spanish. And of course, their pimps would be on the streets with guns, watching. But they never, never stopped us. They allowed us to do it. But I can tell you so many stories of different women that were saved, though they were still in that lifestyle.
We didn't come in and just rescue them. We shared the light, and we helped them know there's freedom, America. Just the other day when I was in Miami missions, we went to a very rough area. Safe. Kids are safe.
But we went to an area, and there was a woman prostituting herself right there on the street. She even exposed herself and was calling out to somebody in the neighborhood trying to get a sale. And I told the girls, I said, look, stay close to me. Had a guy with me, don't worry. I said, but see that man over there in the car with the air conditioner on?
That's her pimp. He's watching her because he's trying to make sure she stays on the path to get, you know, her sale, because ultimately everything she makes is to give him money. And what we did on that day is we just passed out blessing bags. Those bags had hygiene products. They had some snacks.
They also had the book of life. They had a prayer card. And that particular lady, she really just wanted the hygiene products. And I don't blame her, but I can only hope that when she got a moment, she would able, she would open up that book of life or have that little prayer card, and she would see it and know that there's something bigger and there's something greater. And I can only hope that the church that we partner with down there, who does this twice a week, every week, would continue to be there, like Pastor says, and I use this all the time.
In Miami, we were planting seeds, sowing, expecting to see a harvest. We might not see the harvest ourselves, but that church down in Miami and those other groups that we were working with, I am praying that God will let them see the harvest as they are spreading the light of the gospel and they are pouring into these people. So free international, it works in so many ways. And how can we make a difference? Well, first of all, we can pray.
Pastor says it all the time. And I say in the youth, there is power in prayer, and the most we can do is pray. Can we pray for these missionaries that are going out and risking their lives, having to deal with a different people that are in a different mindset that might be losing their money if their prostitute goes on, you know, gets saved? Can we pray for those trapped in human trafficking, that God will bring that right person to come and speak life into them? Can we pray that God will just destroy the human trafficking market altogether?
Because we know God can do that. If God can put Jonah and a whale for three days, in three nights, God can end human trafficking all across the globe. Amen. We don't have to sit here and say, well, I can't make a difference. Yes, you can.
Every single person can make a difference. Just through your prayer, you can give financially. We are having an event on August 31 called stand for freedom. It is not a political event. I'm sorry for the timing of it, but we are standing for the freedom of those who are lost in spiritual darkness.
And what we're going to do is literally stand for 30 minutes holding a sign out on 301 that says, stop human trafficking. And our goal is just to bring awareness. And then we're going to come back inside. We're going to hear from a human trafficking survivor. She's going to come and she's going to share her story and what we can do to make a difference, because we can make a difference, but we can also financially give to free international and speed the light.
So these missionaries have what they need to go. There's a $25,000 project for free international right now on the list. And I told pastor, I want our church to take that project. I want that to be our project. By the end of the year, we're able to say, Oxford sin, Luke.
God committed to that. And here we go. That project's off. And now missionaries are able to go and speed the light and free people from human trafficking. So that's what this event in August started.
First is to point to. To point people to, hey, come to this event, give at this event. All the money will go to speed the light and free international. Nothing is going to stay here at Oxford assembly of God. And also the last thing we could do is go and tell.
Just go and tell people about Jesus, because God has commanded all of us. Think about the great commission, Matthew 28. Go and tell the world. We're all called to go and tell. It's not just Amanda Hahn up here gabbing away.
We're all supposed to speed the light of the gospel, share what Jesus has done. Real quick. Pastor Jeff sent this to me in the 08:00 service. He didn't know my sermon, but he sent this to me, and I want to share it. But it said, the average Christian attending church sings over 500 songs and hymns and listens to over 200 bible messages every year.
It does not share the gospel with one person. Think about that. You hear all this christian music, you come to church and you soak it up, but then you never go and tell it. For those lost in spiritual darkness, can I encourage you this morning, as we conclude this service, that you will be inspired to go and tell and tell one person about Jesus. Tell one person about what he's done for your life and that there is freedom, because God would rather save than destroy.
So this evening. No, it's morning. This morning. I work with teenagers. This evening, all the time.
We're gonna sing a song, and it's gonna be the anthem, if you will, for our message. But after the song, if you need prayer and you need help and you need freedom from something, we're gonna stay up here and we're going to continue to pray, and we're going to be in an atmosphere of worship. But I wanted us to sing this song because this, to me, is the anthem of why we're doing. Because where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Chains will fall when we share the Holy Spirit in what Jesus has done.
Prisons will shake. Think about what happened in acts when Paul started singing in the prisons, and then the whole, you know, earth shook and then the doors wide open, and he could have ran away, but he didn't, and he saved the guard and his whole family. Things can happen if we go and tell and allow the Holy Spirit to be life into people. So if everybody will, let's stand together and we're gonna worship together. And I wanna encourage you, because some of us, we've got personal things in our lives that we're holding on to, and we need God to give us freedom.
So this might not just be an anthem for this message, this might be an anthem for you. And again, like I said, at the end of this song, we're going to continue to be an atmosphere of worship. And you guys can come in and come up front and we can pray. Prayer team, be ready after the song and let us pray, because I believe there's freedom in the house this morning. Amen.
