Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Well, this morning we're going to start a little two part miniseries called Culture Clash. Culture Clash.
[00:00:11] What a time to be alive, right?
[00:00:14] The move of God that's happening right now.
[00:00:17] Generations coming back to God, young people walking into church saying, I'm not sure why I'm even here, but something's stirring inside of me and I've got big questions.
[00:00:29] Can I tell you the big questions that good, Bring them. Don't be afraid of bringing them.
[00:00:35] I don't have all the answers, but I reckon together as we gather as a community, as we go into the word of God, we'll find those answers that we have the questions for.
[00:00:48] I feel like in the generation from where I was a child to now, it feels like the landscape is a little bit different.
[00:00:57] There were some fundamental foundational things that I grew up knowing, understanding, and to be honest, even society would say they would accept.
[00:01:07] But we now have a shifting sand, a bit of a shifting foundation as to what people believe is truth.
[00:01:16] Truth seems to feel in society and culture a little bit more fluid, a lot more based on feelings and what I feel and what I believe rather than the facts and the truth of the word of God.
[00:01:31] Truth no longer requires logic. My truth is my reality.
[00:01:36] There is no such thing as absolute truth, which is an absolute statement in itself.
[00:01:43] But there's a battle for an understanding of what is true.
[00:01:47] And I think all of us probably wrestle with some of those questions and those thoughts ourselves.
[00:01:55] The trouble is, if we don't build our understanding of truth on the right foundation, we'll find ourselves where a generation will find themselves. Like the child in the story of the emperor's clothes, looking and going, hold on, that story has got no clothes on.
[00:02:14] There's no substance to that.
[00:02:17] And I believe we have a generation that is asking questions saying, God, are you real? And what does it mean for me to follow you?
[00:02:28] I did a search this week asking AI to summarize the most frequently asked questions over the last three months.
[00:02:37] I'm not talking about church, I'm not talking about Christian community. I'm talking about globally, across all search engines, whether it be ChatGPT or whatever it is, Google. What are the questions that are weighing on people's hearts now? If you did the same search, it may come up with something different, but a summary of the five questions. This is what came up.
[00:02:59] And the top five. Do AI systems deserve moral status or rights?
[00:03:05] Good question, big question. And where would that moral foundation come from? Maybe.
[00:03:12] Okay, how about this one? Should society regulate AI more strictly? Set Ethical boundaries.
[00:03:18] Again, where would those ethics come from?
[00:03:21] Who would determine that? Who would decide that?
[00:03:24] But then it's interesting because the next three, I wonder if these are any questions that you might be asking.
[00:03:31] What does friendship or connection look like in a world of digital connection?
[00:03:38] In other words, what does it look like to have real friendships, not just through a computer screen?
[00:03:45] Next question. How do we maintain social trust and cohesion in fragmented, polarized or disconnected societies? If that isn't a big question for us right now, I don't know what is. We could stop on that one. And I'm sure if I threw some opinions out and I allowed everybody in this room to have an opinion on society and political positions and stances, I wonder whether we would all agree.
[00:04:13] I doubt it.
[00:04:14] Don't worry, that's not where I'm going this morning.
[00:04:17] But these are the questions. When I have a conversation with someone, if I have a different opinion to them, if I hold a different stance, if, if, oh my gosh, if I support a different political party to you, can we be friends?
[00:04:34] Can we find unity even if we disagree on some things?
[00:04:38] And then the last one was, what does it mean to live a meaningful, good life under current conditions?
[00:04:47] That's a question that's been asked for centuries.
[00:04:53] How do I live a life of meaning and purpose? That's the fundamental core of the question that has been asked. That is why Alpha is such a great place.
[00:05:03] Come with your questions.
[00:05:05] How many people have come through Alpha and experienced God through the Alpha course? Give us a wave. Just look across a number of people there came with questions, anger, frustration, even at God.
[00:05:19] And through the conversations, through the community, through the connection, truth and understanding is found.
[00:05:26] And I just pray that if you've got big questions about God, come and join us on the Alpha course.
[00:05:33] I promise you the food will be great. And if just that is enough, it's worth it. But it's so much more than that, because the conversations will draw you in to at least ask the questions and see whether those answers would satisfy the longing and desire of your heart.
[00:05:50] But in a world that offers the greatest level of knowledge, understanding, innovation, I mean, we can access knowledge just like that.
[00:06:00] That would have taken degrees to grow and understand. And we can find it just like that.
[00:06:06] We have so many ways to connect, so many social media platforms to connect people together. But the world feels so disconnected because it's not true and it's not meaningful and that's the longing of our hearts.
[00:06:22] So how do I find meaningful connection with others? How do we build trust and unity in a fractured society.
[00:06:29] What is the meaning and purpose of my life?
[00:06:33] In the business conference last week, we were told there's no point trying to produce a business for something that nobody wants.
[00:06:42] But we have a world that is asking big questions. And as a church, we want to make sure that we can at least engage in those questions and bring some answers.
[00:06:52] So how do we stay grounded in a world where the foundation seems to continually shift?
[00:06:58] I'm going to open in Daniel 4:37 this morning. If you've got your Bibles, I encourage you to open them up.
[00:07:06] I'd even say, I mean, I'm reading off an iPad.
[00:07:12] I reckon it's time to start carrying our Bibles around again.
[00:07:16] I reckon the average Bible would weigh about a kilo across all the different types. But imagine if we bought in four or five hundred kilos worth of Bibles every week into church.
[00:07:29] Something about the weight and the feeling of a Bible in your hand.
[00:07:34] I'm not saying you have to, but I wonder whether we just need to start picking it up and opening it up.
[00:07:40] You know, I think we could put our digital Bibles aside for that moment we have with God in the morning.
[00:07:46] Because I don't know about you, I don't have the self control. I'm not disciplined enough to not see that notification and go, oh, I wonder what that is and get distracted.
[00:07:56] Would we find a way to get into the word of God? But let's read Daniel 4:37 now. I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride, he is able to humble.
[00:08:14] Let me open in prayer as we look at this passage today. Father, we thank you, thank you that you are our sovereign God. We thank you that you reign with all authority.
[00:08:27] Lord, as we have worshiped this morning, we have sensed the peace that comes from a trust in you, Lord. I pray this word would go into our hearts, that we would respond by bowing our knee to a sovereign God who is above all things in Jesus name.
[00:08:48] Amen.
[00:08:50] One of the challenges we, we see when we read the Bible is watching the Israelite people go from season to season.
[00:09:00] We have the privilege and the joy of being able to see the fulfillment of so much of the prophetic words that the Israelite people were longing for, hoping for.
[00:09:11] But you know, there were centuries at a time where it felt like there was no prophetic voice. The Israelite people had to go through and endure incredibly difficult times with the promise of a messiah.
[00:09:24] But then a messiah that came, and people didn't see him for who he was. They didn't recognize who Jesus was and the power that he had.
[00:09:35] I can't imagine what it would have been like to be in the middle of it, knowing one day a messiah would come.
[00:09:43] But not in my lifetime. Maybe not in my children's lifetime, maybe not in my children's children's lifetime.
[00:09:49] And then to see all that the world was happening around them and find themselves in this place where God, are you really there? Do you hear our cries?
[00:10:00] Did you hear our prayers?
[00:10:03] Hope deferred. We know the Bible says can make a heart sick.
[00:10:08] Can you imagine what it would have felt like to be in this time of exile under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar?
[00:10:16] And into Israel's history comes Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
[00:10:24] Some would know them as Daniel, Shadrach, Tinshach, and Adingo. Well, that would be the Australian version. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
[00:10:36] We know that in the text. And I might even preach this next week. Their names were changed to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The changing of names was not just about calling them names that would be familiar within the Babylonian kingdom.
[00:10:51] It was all about changing who they would be.
[00:10:54] If there isn't a fight for the identity of our young people today, I don't know where it's frightening when we look at what is out there and what has been projected on our children.
[00:11:07] But the heart of the king and the culture was to change these young men to become someone they were not.
[00:11:16] Now, these weren't any random teenagers brought into the king's court. We read in the first chapter that King Nebuchadnezzar requested at least eight specifications, including nobility and royal blood. He requested that these young men were knowledgeable in things of Israel's culture, in the Jewish ways, good learners, well educated.
[00:11:37] Why?
[00:11:39] Because he needed a generation of young people to influence who were smart, who were educated, who could then take the Babylonian way and communicate that back to the Jewish people.
[00:11:53] When we come into a place of education, there is a worldview that permeates through a lot of the teaching, a worldview that does not glorify God and honor God as the only God.
[00:12:07] And so there in the Babylonian times, King Nebuchadnezzar was wanting to take these fine young men and change them, change who they were, change their name, change their identity, make them think the way the world would want them to think.
[00:12:26] What he didn't account for was the men he thought he selected were already preselected by a sovereign God.
[00:12:35] We see this. We see this in the narrative of the Bible. We see the work of creation. We see the fall. We see the coming of Christ from the prophetic words that were spoken. We see Christ living a perfect life, being crucified, killed for crimes he did not commit, innocent. And yet he went to the cross.
[00:12:55] From the cross, he was placed in a grave, a temporary, borrowed tomb, because three days later, he rose to life. And he was with people for 50 days. And then he was raised up to heaven, saying, I will come back. I will return.
[00:13:09] Our king is coming soon. When?
[00:13:13] We're a little bit closer than we were yesterday.
[00:13:17] What dates are coming? I don't know.
[00:13:19] Am I going to build a sermon on that? Nope.
[00:13:23] I'm just going to be ready. And I want us to be ready. I want us to help people get ready for our coming king, because he is coming back.
[00:13:33] And can I tell you, you're not going to miss the notification, right. When the king returns, it's like, oh, I didn't see that text. We will.
[00:13:44] No.
[00:13:45] And are we ready? Are our hearts ready to receive our king again?
[00:13:50] I pray that they are.
[00:13:55] I love to paint. I don't get enough time to paint, but some of the paintings, I go in for a lot of the detail and just do some acrylic work. And so often I can get into the detail of the painting. Like, super. It's up there.
[00:14:12] Pop that first one up. Is it up there?
[00:14:15] There we go.
[00:14:17] Doesn't look like much. You wouldn't hang that on your wall? Definitely not.
[00:14:21] Lots and lots of little brush strokes.
[00:14:23] And if I stay in that space, I get a little bit lost.
[00:14:30] But then I have to kind of step back a little bit and have another.
[00:14:36] And then I step back a little bit more. Again, a little bit more detail. But I'm starting to get a better understanding of the picture and then a little more.
[00:14:46] Then when I step back, I can start to see the bigger picture. And this morning, what I want us to do is to get out from the focus and see if we can see a bigger, wider picture of who God is and what he's doing.
[00:15:06] Sometimes I can get so focused on the details. Anyone? Last couple of weeks, crazy stuff going on.
[00:15:13] Want to dive in, drop a comment and chat?
[00:15:17] Hey, here's where I stand on this. All quite harmful, quite hurtful.
[00:15:24] We want to get in and we want to get Our point across and we want to convince people that we're right and so much of it is so well meaning.
[00:15:35] But can I say there's a danger in that as well?
[00:15:40] I'd much rather have those face to face conversations, have a cup of coffee, talk to somebody, look them in the eye and say, I love you. Let's talk about it. Let's engage in this the proper way.
[00:15:55] So we're going to zoom out and we're going to look at one of the key themes of the Bible this morning.
[00:16:01] God is sovereign.
[00:16:03] God will have his way. God is sovereign. God will have his way. The Hebrew definition of sovereignty is supreme or highest in power, superior to all others.
[00:16:15] Now we've been singing a song this morning, King of Kings.
[00:16:20] Now when you think about that phrase, think of all of the kings that have ever existed, ever will, every world leader, Jesus is the king of all of those kings.
[00:16:33] When it says he is lord of lords, every ruler, every authority. Jesus is the lord of all of them.
[00:16:41] When we think of names that hold power in our society, there is one name that is above every other name and that is the name of Jesus and that is the one we worship, our King.
[00:16:57] I wonder if a lot of our anxious thought disbelief comes from our tendency to want to dive into the details.
[00:17:07] Any details people here.
[00:17:11] It's not bad. You can raise your hand. It's a good thing.
[00:17:14] I am so thankful that I am married to a details person.
[00:17:17] We are a good team together.
[00:17:20] My shoe. Be right mate.
[00:17:22] Doesn't cut it.
[00:17:25] Yeah, I can hear some applause of the crowd. Come on, we need details. How many people think we need detailed people. Yeah. But can I also say that I think Amy would say I'm helpful for her, that I can see a bigger picture. I step back and I see some things she doesn't see. She'll see the terror of the day and all that it contains. And I'll step back and say, we're gonna be okay, babe, we're gonna be alright.
[00:17:56] So we have to be able to. Yes, I know we have to engage in the detail but I think sometimes we're too heavily weighted in on that stuff where actually we would do so well to just step back and say, God, I don't know, but I trust you that things are going. I'm going to love, I'm going to be humble, I'm going to seek after your righteousness, I'm going to live for your kingdom and I'm going to be approachable. I'm going to be somebody that somebody could have a conversation with them, not get all bogged down on all of those details.
[00:18:31] But as we read Daniel, we see God's sovereignty at play. And I want to look at three things this morning.
[00:18:37] The first one is that God is sovereign over the universe.
[00:18:43] God, the creator of the universe, creates, he observes. And then he releases stewardship to us.
[00:18:51] And then he intervenes when he chooses.
[00:18:56] He declared, let there be light. And there was.
[00:18:59] He created all that we see.
[00:19:03] Heard someone say recently, it takes more faith to be an atheist, to believe there is no God, there is no power that has created all of this. It takes more faith to believe that than believe that there is someone greater than what a human mind could imagine.
[00:19:20] Let there be light. And there was.
[00:19:23] Well, he contains the waters of the sea and rivers and oceans. He also at one point released the waters from the seas, the oceans, from even beneath the surface to wipe out all of humanity.
[00:19:40] As the Israelite people were caught at the edge of the Red Sea, God says, parted.
[00:19:47] They walked through on dry land. And when they got through on dry land, the million plus people, probably God then closes the waters back over Pharaoh's army.
[00:19:59] Jesus walks out on the water and in the boat he says, peace be still, and the waves and the wind obey him. God is sovereign over all the elements of the universe.
[00:20:13] We need to know that.
[00:20:15] We need to be okay with that.
[00:20:18] And I know. I don't know how many people have ever prayed for a sunny day.
[00:20:23] Yeah, it's okay. It's fine. I like praying for sunny days for weddings, so that photos will be all right. But you know what? Most photographers would say, actually, an overcast, gloomy day is so much better for photos. So I don't know.
[00:20:36] Anyone pray for a car park?
[00:20:38] Yeah, a few more than rainy days. Anyone? Yeah.
[00:20:42] Reminds me of the atheist who was praying for a car park. Says God if he really, really, really loved me.
[00:20:49] And if you give me a car park because I'm late for this meeting, I will follow you forever.
[00:20:55] All of a sudden, six cars vanish.
[00:20:59] He pulls into the park and says, don't worry, I've got one.
[00:21:03] Sorry, not my best joke. But look, we can pray for all manner of things. And here's my advice, do it anyway. I. I think every time we open our mouth to acknowledge God in prayer, he cares about all the big stuff and all the little stuff, but he is sovereign.
[00:21:23] And while I want a sunny day so I can work on my tan, somebody who I know farming and needs crops and that kind of stuff, they want rain, right?
[00:21:33] I'M praying for sun, someone's praying for rain. Who wins? God.
[00:21:37] Like he's going to know what we need and when.
[00:21:41] So can we step back from the ah, what if?
[00:21:45] And trust that God is sovereign over the universe? Second thought this morning, God is sovereign over human authority.
[00:21:54] Daniel 2:21. Daniel says this. He changes times and seasons. He deposes kings and raises up others.
[00:22:02] He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
[00:22:07] This helps us when we get upset with our leaders.
[00:22:10] Everyone happy with the political system currently, globally, world's doing good and we're all happy.
[00:22:19] No, probably not.
[00:22:22] We left, we right.
[00:22:25] Can I suggest that God is neither left nor right, but he is full, stereo sovereign.
[00:22:35] I think we can get caught up in that. I think we can zoom in on that.
[00:22:38] We get so caught up in the political aspect and tying God into the political realm and the things that we think.
[00:22:48] I wonder, I wonder whether we need to zoom out, live a godly life, be biblical in our living, love our neighbor, love God and make that our focus, make that our priority.
[00:23:04] Now, should we petition? Yes, we should.
[00:23:08] If there is something unrighteous in government, we should do all we can. If we have an opportunity to have our say, we write in, we write our email, we go and attend that meeting and we say what we feel biblically needs to be said.
[00:23:21] Should we protest?
[00:23:25] I'm not going to tell you yes or no, but for the right cause and the just cause, maybe.
[00:23:32] Should we pray 100%?
[00:23:36] Yes.
[00:23:37] And I just wonder if in recent weeks whether we have prayed as much as we have talked, lots of opinions, lots of stuff going on. Have we talked lots? Have we engaged in a lot of chatter, Stuff that really does matter. It does to us.
[00:23:57] But have we prayed as much as we've complained? Have we prayed as much as we've been concerned?
[00:24:04] Can I encourage us?
[00:24:06] Pray to our God of sovereignty, connect to his heart for humanity and people, and let's not lose that in our pursuit of trying to find the answers.
[00:24:18] God is sovereign over human authority. Let's look again why the people were in Israel. Because it shocked me a little bit when we read this next passage. It shocked me because throughout history, Israel was God's people and God wanted them to love him and follow him, but continuously they strayed, strayed from him. We say, well, that wouldn't happen to me. I'm a bit better than that. No, I'm not.
[00:24:48] I stray daily from the intentional focus and worship with God.
[00:24:55] And so the people would love God and then they would Pursue idols. I mean, they were at the foot of Mount Sinai.
[00:25:03] God was meeting with Moses. And they said, we want to see a God. We want to worship a God we can see. So they make this golden calf.
[00:25:12] But we put up idols. We're all guilty of that.
[00:25:16] We put up people, status symbols who are not Jesus.
[00:25:22] And we say that person is the most important person. No, God is sovereign. We worship him.
[00:25:31] So Jerusalem, they've been warned through prophecy.
[00:25:34] And they were overthrown in 605 BC by Nebuchadnezzar.
[00:25:39] The exiles were forced to travel 900 miles to Babylon. A little bit further than Scotland, right?
[00:25:45] Just a little bit.
[00:25:49] And Babylon symbolizes the world, the desire to replace the sovereignty of God with the thinking of man.
[00:25:57] But Babylon was a part of God's plan. Let's read Daniel 11 2, the start of every book of the Bible. There's an establishing of themes of purpose.
[00:26:10] And right here we read this. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
[00:26:19] And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, King of Judah, into his hand, along with some of the articles from the Temple of God.
[00:26:29] This is a bit hard to read.
[00:26:32] This is hard to read. That God would choose Nebuchadnezzar to discipline his people so that they would return to him.
[00:26:40] Nebuchadnezzar thought he was in charge, but God's sovereign plan was at work.
[00:26:45] Nebuchadnezzar thought he was doing his thing when he threw these men into the fire.
[00:26:50] But God, who's sovereign over the universe, changes the elements of the flames.
[00:26:57] The soldiers that threw them in, they were burnt up. It was so hot that they didn't even go in the fire, but they threw them in.
[00:27:04] The ones that threw them in, they burned.
[00:27:07] But God changes the elements of the fire so that these three, the ropes are burnt off.
[00:27:15] But then another was standing in the fire with them, the Son of Man.
[00:27:20] And they weren't burnt. They didn't even smell a smoke when they came out.
[00:27:27] So when King Nebuchadnezzar saw God's power in rescuing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he exclaims praise to God. But chapter four, he has a strange dream. And he requires Daniel, one of the men who he thought he was indoctrinating, you know, changing. And he requires Daniel to come and interpret this dream.
[00:27:48] And in this moment, Daniel shows honor. He honors the king. His language is honoring towards those in authority above him. Really Important we understand this, that we show honor.
[00:28:00] But then he also said, I'm going to give glory to God because he's the one who I worship.
[00:28:07] He says, I wish this was for your enemies and not for you, king.
[00:28:12] And then he proceeds to tell the king that God was about to take away his kingdom. And for seven years he would wander the fields with animals.
[00:28:21] Even with that warning, 12 months pass. Nebuchadnezzar is walking on the roof of his palace and he's thinking, I'm pretty good at this. This is what he says, is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence by my mighty power for the glory of my majesty?
[00:28:41] And God in his sovereignty says, nope, no, Very next verse. Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven. This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar. Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.
[00:29:13] Verse 33. Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. Everything that Daniel said to be true took place.
[00:29:31] God is sovereign even over the rulers of the earth.
[00:29:35] This mighty king with an ego to match his anger is leveled, completely humbled and on only when God said was he restored to a right mind. Again, let's read the verse that we started with this morning. We've now given it context.
[00:29:56] Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the king of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride, he is able to humble.
[00:30:16] So can I suggest that we don't fret when we have an ungodly boss.
[00:30:21] Can I suggest that we don't get too upset if someone takes power in our nation or nations of the world that doesn't hold the same view or is even ungodly.
[00:30:33] Because what I read here and what I believe to be true, even though I wrestle with it, okay, we're allowed to wrestle with the word.
[00:30:40] We're allowed to be kind of. I don't know if I even agree with this God, but thankfully, I'm not God. We would all be in a lot of trouble.
[00:30:50] And I trust the word of God.
[00:30:52] I trust the flow, the narrative of the Word from start to finish, that there is a story being outworked. And one of those stories is the sovereignty of God that God can depose and he can appoint leadership.
[00:31:06] And we're asked to pray.
[00:31:09] We're asked to pray for those in authority over us.
[00:31:12] Let's do that.
[00:31:14] Let's do that. Let's pray for those in authority. Pray for that boss, that maybe you don't think they're a godly boss. Pray for them because they're your boss and God has allowed you to be under them for this time and season.
[00:31:28] And the third thing is the team come this morning.
[00:31:35] God is sovereign over our lives, over your life.
[00:31:41] At the start, I said, sometimes we need to zoom out to get a bigger picture.
[00:31:48] You may notice my message. I've been zooming in.
[00:31:52] God is sovereign over the universe.
[00:31:55] God is sovereign over the rulers that are above us. But God is also sovereign over your life and mine.
[00:32:02] What I mean by that, your life matters to God.
[00:32:08] There are people here. You have even asked the question this week, does my life hold any purpose? Does anyone care that I even exist? I want to tell you right now, I believe God is saying to you, your life matters.
[00:32:26] The questions you have, they matter.
[00:32:29] God is sovereign also.
[00:32:31] On your life, over your life.
[00:32:36] And if you would surrender, if you would simply say, God, I don't have all the answers, but I know enough that God, you are who you say you are.
[00:32:47] And if you come under that leadership, you come under that authority.
[00:32:52] I, along with hundreds of people in this room, could give a testimony to say it is the best place to be under the will and the leadership of God.
[00:33:03] It's a safe place to be.
[00:33:06] It's not an easy place to be.
[00:33:09] You'll get your fair share of troubles and challenges, trials, but you will be with a God who will never leave you, never forsake you.
[00:33:19] And I want to just declare over all of us today that God is sovereign over our lives.
[00:33:25] If he can determine who sits on the throne of kingdoms, he can determine the course of our lives.
[00:33:30] I wrote a song for a kid's album that I released about.
[00:33:36] Feels like 20 years ago now.
[00:33:40] And I had the song that I was supposed to put on the album. I thought God is sovereign. I had the song. I took it into the studio, played it to the producer. He says, that's good, but it's probably more of an adult song than a kid's song. We need something about, I don't know, mountains and oceans and rivers.
[00:33:59] I said, how about you lay down the tracks for that one and I'll jump into the other studio and see what comes.
[00:34:05] Half an hour later, I'd written the song.
[00:34:07] Well, all I can say is it was a God moment.
[00:34:10] It's called Amazing.
[00:34:13] And the chorus says, it's amazing that my Creator lives inside of me.
[00:34:21] It's amazing that he would die for me.
[00:34:28] The sovereignty of God over all of the universe, over all the rulers, and yet he would choose to live inside of each one of us, take up residence in the temple of his Holy Spirit.
[00:34:43] Wow.
[00:34:45] What other God, what other deity offers that deep relationship with every individual that would say, I believe.
[00:34:54] I believe you are who you say you are.
[00:34:58] And I think most people have had an experience and an encounter with God in some shape or form, but can't articulate what that is, is.
[00:35:06] But when you are saved, you know, you know, the flames and the waves and the wind and all of the things, all the elements of the universe that might take us down and take us out, that God is with me.
[00:35:22] Come on. If you know that God is with you and will not fail you, would you just raise your hand and say, yeah, I know that.
[00:35:29] Come on, look around.
[00:35:31] These are people who would give a testimony of the faithfulness of God even through the pain.
[00:35:36] If you've had a difficult time since you've been following Jesus, give us a wave.
[00:35:41] Oh, my gosh. The same amount of hands.
[00:35:44] Praise God. He is with us. He's with us in the good times and he's with us in the bad times. Can I tell you, I would not want to be without him when I'm going through my most difficult time because I don't have it in me, but God does. God is sovereign over our lives. Let's see how God sovereignly moved in Daniel's life. Daniel 1:9. Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel.
[00:36:11] Verse 1 to 7, chapter 1 17. To these four young men, God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds of friends. God is not surprised by your circumstance.
[00:36:29] Does he care about where you're at? He does.
[00:36:32] He does.
[00:36:34] He does so much.
[00:36:38] And there's some people that are feeling deep pain in the season, trying to wrestle, trying to make sense of everything that's happening in our world.
[00:36:50] And God's saying, I want to offer you, me, all of me, full love, full power, full authority.
[00:37:04] When God comes to us. He doesn't come in part measure.
[00:37:08] He doesn't divide himself like that.
[00:37:11] He comes with full love and power and authority into our lives.
[00:37:18] But we have to respond like Nebuchadnezzar did.
[00:37:22] We have to respond.
[00:37:24] Say, you are mighty. You hold all authority.
[00:37:28] Coming to Christ isn't just so you can have a better life.
[00:37:31] If you're thinking that it will sorely disappoint you.
[00:37:36] We come to Christ because we know we need him, that without him we have failed.
[00:37:42] We cannot succeed without him.
[00:37:45] We hold no goodness in our own heart.
[00:37:49] That's good enough to earn God's favor.
[00:37:52] Romans 3:10 says, There is no one righteous, not a single one.
[00:37:56] No leader, no political figure. No one will stand up as righteous enough to see somebody saved. And yet Jesus.
[00:38:07] The Bible says he's the lamb that was slain before the creation of the world. What does that mean?
[00:38:13] God had a plan for all of humanity before sin had even entered into the world.
[00:38:23] God knew in his sovereign plan that he would have to send his Son, a perfect lamb to die on the cross for you.
[00:38:32] For me.
[00:38:33] It's amazing that my Creator would live inside of me. It's amazing that he would die for me.
[00:38:43] Friends, that offer is here today for anyone who would believe.
[00:38:49] Romans 11, 5, 8. So too at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works.
[00:39:00] If it were, grace would no longer be grace.
