Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Two weeks ago, we started a brand new series, which is a, a significant series. It's not just gonna be about what we look at over these few weeks, but it's gonna be, I believe really important for the next, um, few, uh, seasons ahead for the church. And it's looking at something that I believe is so important and has been so lost in church. And that God is restoring something I believe very fresh. You know, you know, the Bible describes the church as the body of Christ. So we are made up of many parts. We all look different. We all act different. We all behave different. We've all got different gifts and different graces on our life. But God has called is to come together to be a body. And he is the head of that body, the church. And so we gather together with a head with a body together in unity, and that's why Unity's really important.
Speaker 0 00:00:53 So we're all having a sense of going in the same direction together. And just as a body cannot live without our major organs, we know that the body of Christ that God has set in place, things that should be operational in his body and are so often not. I've used this illustration week after week. Hopefully you'll getting it. But if I said to you, which of, one of say, if I named five major organs, your heart, your lungs, your kidneys, your liver, and your brain, which one could you live without? You know, that you can't live without any of them, you need them all. Yeah. And the Bible says that there are five functions of the church, five graces on the church, five things that are inculcated into the DNA of the church that we can't do without any of them. But so often throughout history, particularly in Western context, uh, particularly in, uh, church over the last few hundred years that we have limped along as a disabled body of Christ, um, functioning just with pastor and teacher and not really acknowledging or understanding the evangelistic, not really understanding the prophetic and not really understanding the apostolic.
Speaker 0 00:02:05 And it means that the body doesn't accomplish that, which the head has desired to accomplish. And so I believe that God is restoring health and wellbeing to all five areas of the body of Christ, because he wants his church alive. In these days. He doesn't want us to be caught up in intensive care. He doesn't want us to be distracted by minutiae. He wants us to be alive. And the Bible says that the glory of God will cover the earth, just like the waters cover the sea. And there's a freshness of what I believe God is about to do on the earth, but it will take you and I to know our place in the body of Christ and to be alive to all that God is saying to us, I believe in the future and believe we're already in this season, that if I compare where we are going to, where we've been in the past, people have identified the church they belong to by, by where they worship on a Sunday, the gathering on the Sunday is a really good thing.
Speaker 0 00:03:04 It's a significant moment for us in the week to all come our differences, all come with our different sorts of week and to look out for each other and to be United together. But that has been the only defining factor for many years as to what church someone belongs to. But I believe we're moving into a season. In fact, we've probably moved into it where belonging is gained by those who know they're on a mission together. Yeah. It's not just those who gather together. It's those who know what they're about and what the mission is. And I believe there's something fresh in these days. Yeah. Let's look at our key scripture together from Ephesians four versus 11 to 16. And it says this and he himself, as Jesus gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers to equip the saints. Who's the saints. Yeah. You don't have to be given a sainthood by the Pope at the end of your life. The Bible talks about saints as being you and me. Those who are in Christ Jesus. So these gifts are given to equip who the
Speaker 2 00:04:14 Saints saints.
Speaker 0 00:04:19 You doesn't matter whether you sat the back. Doesn't matter if you, this is your first time, it doesn't matter how unspiritual you feel. If you have given your life to Christ, this is you. He has given these people, the AEST, the apostles, the prophets evangelists, the shepherds and the teachers, the AEST to equip the saints for works of ministry to build up the body of Christ until we all reach unity in the faith. And in the knowledge of God's son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ fullness we did in week one, we did an introduction to what the AP is. If you've not seen that, do watch it back. Last week, we looked at the first of the five AEST graces. We looked at the apostolic graces again, if you've not seen that do catch up with it, it will help you.
Speaker 0 00:05:10 But we looked at the apostolic, grace, be one of our pioneering and innovation and our breaking up new territory to see new communities established for the kingdom of God. We looked at how this grace functions, not only in church leadership, which is where it's been traditionally understood, but how it exists in our everyday life in the world, how it can exist in business, how it can exist in communities and in society, that there is an apostolic grace that many people will carry and will take into other areas of life. And they may not recognize it today. We're gonna look at a prophetic grace. Now, prophetic ministries is a wonderful thing. I am so grateful in my life that there have been significant times when God has spoken, where there has been a communication. If you like of God's purposes and God's heart into my heart and my life, there have been significant seasons in this church community where God has spoken prophetically over various seasons.
Speaker 0 00:06:13 And I'm so, so grateful for those times. The prophetic ministry is a wonderful gift. We read in one Corinthians 14, verse three, but one who prophesy strengthens others, encourages them and comforts them who likes to be strengthened, encouraged and comforted. Yes. Well, that's what the prophetic gifts and brings, but it also, and I'm gonna just, this is, might be a bit like a leadership session today. Alright. So I hope I'm able to take you with me cause I believe we're all leaders. Yes. Come on. The prophetic ministry comes with a unique set of challenges. They're unique to the prophetic in a way that they don't exist in quite the same way with the apostolic, the evangelistic, the shepherd and the teacher. And it's because of these challenges, which we're gonna look at in a moment that the prophetic has been shut down in churches.
Speaker 0 00:07:16 I know many churches. And if I can be honest with you, there have been times when we've opened up this platform to prophetic ministries and it feels like it's ruffled things, a little bit disturbed things, sort of broken up the status quote and the, the pastor, um, doesn't like that because sheds like the sheep, they'll all be chewing the grass and enjoying the pastures and enjoying the sunsets and the night he doesn't want, or Shea doesn't want things to be ruffled and disturbed and unsettled in some way. And the prophetic has a way of doing that. And there are some unique challenges to the prophetic that as I open this topic for the next 20 minutes, I want to just look at these together because if we don't, there's a propensity for us to just take the easy option and to say no prophetic allowed.
Speaker 0 00:08:29 And that's what many churches are doing. And I believe that's a grave mistake to make. Yes, because we have a duty to weigh up all expressions of ministry. The apostolic, for example, is it Christ motivated is the teaching sound is the evangelism gospel centered is the shepherd in Christ centered. We have a response be to weigh up all those ministries, but we are given a specific message about the prophetic in the scriptures in one Corinthians 1429, it says this let two or three people prophesy. This is in the context of a gathering of worship. Let two or three people prophesy and then let others evaluate what is said. We don't read there's any reference given to listen to the preaching of God's word. And then everyone evaluate what's being said, but we are told that about the prophetic has a unique set of challenges that need a unique response.
Speaker 0 00:09:40 Now the prophetic can be very powerful and it can also be very dangerous. Some have distanced themselves because of its possible dangers. But I believe that approach is unbiblical and it disables the body of Christ, Paul and Silas and Timothy wrote to the church in FICA. And we read this in Fon chapter five, do not stifle. The holy spirit do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said and hold on to what is good. The body of Christ needs the prophetic. I remember a number of years ago, traveling to Ghana and I was at a conference with thousands of other leaders. And there was a particular moment in the history of this denomination that was being discussed because there was a moment, a number of years, previous, where they had come to that time when their president of this denomination was stepping down and retiring and they knew president of this denomination was to be appointed. Now they had a process for this and they had a period of discernment and consultation, prayerfully, and thousands of leaders gather together. And they made a nomination, which they felt was the right person to lead this denomination into the next season. Thousands of people seemed to agree. And then up to the microphone, stepped someone who had the title prophet, and they went to the mic and they stood in front of the thousands of leaders. And they said, God says, this is the wrong man.
Speaker 0 00:11:36 This is the right man. And he pointed to someone else, can you imagine the confusion that was created in the room? This man had been in a tested prophet over many years. He was a respected man, but this was a big moment. And here I was at this conference, many years later, listening to one of their apostles, present his PhD paper that he'd written about that moment in the history of the denomination. And so it's all available. You can all read about this online on his PhD paper, but what happened was they did what the Bible says and they weighed it up and together. These thousands of leaders concluded that that word that had be given in good spirit, but they discerned it. Wasn't from God. Now, if a Bible teacher had been the person who got up to the microphone and said, Hey, as a teacher, I wanna just say, I don't think the person we've chosen is the right one.
Speaker 0 00:12:50 People say, well, that's your preference. If a pastor gets up and says, I think the person we've chosen may not be the best for the job that people will think is just his impression. Even if the apostle does it or the evangelist, but when the prophet said it, people hear thus says the Lord, you see why the prophetic ministry has its own unique set of challenges. Yes. Because when a prophet speaks, it's not someone's opinion that we think we are hearing, but it's, this is God. It's a very difficult card. Yeah. To pastor. Yes. There have been numerous times when I've had people come to see me and they have talked about a decision that they've already made and they say, God has told me to make this decision. And it's a very difficult thing as a pastor to navigate because you're thinking it doesn't sound like a very good decision to me.
Speaker 0 00:13:48 It doesn't sound like you've been very wise. It doesn't sound like you've taken the council of godly people, but who am I to argue with God? It's a very challenging ministry to navigate. And over the years there have been stories and moments and events and activities where people have said, God says this, and it's not come true is caused problems in the community. And you understand why many churches are said, okay, we're just gonna close the door to it. Yeah. No one is able to say anything prophetic. And no one is able to claim anything that God is saying that denomination pointed the original person that they were initially proposing. And that person went on to lead that denomination into one of his greatest periods of fruitfulness. It SA it seemed like the hand of the Lord was upon the appointment, but the prophetic has its own challenges.
Speaker 0 00:14:56 But the Bible gives an answer. It says way up the prophetic, not close it down, way it up way it up. Even though that was a difficult moment in that denomination, they came through this test, brilliantly, weigh it up. There are churches and individuals all over the world who have received prophetic words. And uh, these words have led to disappointments or confusion. Maybe you are one of them. Maybe you have had a prophetic word somewhere in the journey of your life and it's not come true yet. Or maybe, you know, it's not gonna happen now.
Speaker 0 00:15:41 And I want to appeal to you. Don't let that moment stop the prophetic from having an input in your life, in the future. Yes. But instead the Bible calls us to weigh it up. Yes. To evaluate, even if the person who shared that to you has always been spot on in the past, in fact, in a middle of a prophetic word that may contain five sentences, four of them could be absolutely spot on. Yeah. But that shouldn't stop us from evaluating and weighing up the fifth sentence. And that even if a prophet has a hundred percent history of getting a prophetic word right before they share a word with you, it does not mean that you should not evaluate and weigh up the word that they give you at that time, because we're called to weigh it up. And if we don't, we step into danger.
Speaker 0 00:16:50 In fact, weigh in up prophetic words should release a prophetic culture. That's safer because if we don't weigh things up, it gives too much power in the hands of the prophetic. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't believe that the prophetic are meant to be the only functioning ministry in a church. That's right. I believe they're called to be part of a team. Yes. Of the apostles. Yes. The evangelists, the chaps and the teachers, the prophetic is meant to function as part of a team. Now I thank God for correct prophetic words. In my experience, there have been many of them and there are some that I'm still waiting on. And there are some things that I've sensed God say to me that I've not shared with other people, but they've been for my life. Yeah. And I've still not seen them fulfilled yet, but I share an anticipation as I've weighed them up and consider them that God is all over them. There is often a delay between the time of something sharing and the time of fruition, the prophetic has the ability to scan and to span those ages. But we need to weigh them up.
Speaker 0 00:18:10 Do you know? Even the most incorrect, prophetic word can come from a good heart and a good person. Yeah. Who loves the Lord and desires to please him. Yeah. But did you know that there are times when the enemy intentionally corrupts the prophetic? Yes. I was reading the other day. Those of you doing the Bible in a year, you will have read this also in Naiah chapter six. Yeah. Naiah was called to rebuild the broken walls of the city. And as he was gaining success and traction, we read that there were some people who had been called profits that were basically paid to prophesy the wrong thing to Naiah in order to get him to sin. Yes. Let's read it together. Naiah six, verse 12 and 13. I Naiah realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had utter this prophecy against me because Tobi and Sam Ballard had hired him.
Speaker 0 00:19:10 They were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin. Then they would be able to accuse and discredit me, remember, oh my God, all the evil things that Toya and Sam ballot have done. And remember Noriah the prophet and all the prophets like her who have tried to intimidate me, the prophetic needs, high levels of discernment to evaluate and to weigh things up. We read here that what these false prophets were motivated by was money. There was some motive. There was something in their heart. In fact, their prophetic words, prophetic words, and inverted comments, their prophetic words were revealing their hearts, not God's hearts. They were revealing what they wanted, not what God wanted. They wanted the money. It may be other motivations for the prophetic things like significance or influence or power. I've seen the prophetic abused over the years for people to gain some sense of notoriety about their life.
Speaker 0 00:20:17 In fact, there's a real danger for those involved in the prophetic that they always feel like they've gotta have something new to say, that's a lot of pressure to live under. Absolutely. But if in your heart, you're operating a prophetic gift out of what you need. It's not prophetic. It's revealing your heart. Whereas the prophetic is supposed to reveal God's heart. Amen. And it's really important that there's some very key things that are, are in the life of someone who flows in a prophetic grace. First of all, if someone's going to prophecy, I believe they need to be in good relationship with a body of Christ. Yeah. There are too many floating prophets around. Yeah. Who have no good relationship with a body of Christ. Yeah. Yeah. If you are one of them sort it out, come on because in your heart, come on, there's something injured and there's something hurt and there's something rejected.
Speaker 0 00:21:15 And your words will come from that place of your heart. And they will reveal what's in your heart. Not what's on God's heart. You need to be restored back into the body of Christ. God, you're not meant to be prophetic on its own. You're meant to be in the community of God's people, the body of Christ, you need apostles around you. Who will challenge you. You need evangelists around you. Who will challenge you. You need teachers and shepherds that will disagree with you. You need it. And it's not rejection. You need to get heels of your rejection. Hallelujah. Now I know that the church over the years has been really brutal to people with a prophetic grace, but some of your rejection has been because of you've being unteachable. It's because you have not liked it. When people disagree with you. Do you know? The prophetic is like a postman.
Speaker 0 00:22:07 When my postman pops a bill through my letter box, he doesn't then knock the dawns that have you paid it yet. That's not his job. That's my job to receive the word and to do with it. What I need to do with that's my responsibility. It's not your responsibility. And there are too many profits wandering around aimlessly in the body of Christ, carrying injuries, carrying rejection, because they gave a word and people wave it up and they didn't receive it. And they say, well, if you're not gonna read my mail, then I'm outta here. Listen, let me say this with a shepherd part of my life, you will get to the end of your days with deep regret over your life. Unless you make this pursuit of your next season to get healed of that. Come on,
Speaker 4 00:22:57 Come on, mom. It's good.
Speaker 0 00:22:59 Yeah. Don't think, well, everyone else needs to change to hear my gift. No, you need to get healed. Come on. Yeah. Find your healing. Yes. Because the body of Christ needs the grace on your life. We need the gifts that's on your life, but we don't need it coming from our heart. That's broken. Come on. Yeah. We need God's heart to be revealed for the prophetic, not your broken heart.
Speaker 0 00:23:35 If I'm going to hear prophetic, I want to hear from someone who is dying to themselves, they dealing with the sinfulness of their own heart. There are too many people who prophesy like an old Testament prophet, but the thing is they present themselves as above approach. They're judgemental of spirit. Do you know when I, when I see Jeremiah and the old Testament lament and bringing tough words against the people of Israel, I see him weeping. Yeah. I see his heart broken because the prime role of the prophetic prophetic is to reveal God's heart. Not his judgment. That's good to reveal his love and his care's right. His, his reapproach is always to get us to come back. Cuz that's the best place for us to be. It's not the cast assertions. It's not to go around church communities and declare iBod the spirit of the Lord is departed. That's not God, that's your injury. Find healing. Find the grace of the Lord. Amen. And I found this over the years, everybody says, they're accountable. If I asked you this morning, do you believe accountability is good? You'll say, yes. If I ask you this morning, do you believe that you live your life in a, in an accountable framework? You'll say yes. And then someone will say something to you that you don't like. And at that point, you step away. That's not accountability. That's preference.
Speaker 0 00:25:09 And in this story in MI, the prophets are revealing their heart not God's. And that goes right to the center of the prophetic gift is to reveal the heart of God. If someone reveals a word from God without the heart of God, then it's not really prophetic. May have prophetic origins, but it's not a prophetic word. And I believe that prophetic grace has a propensity for doing a few things. First of all, it honors the Lord. It worships the Lord. Amen. It agitates against the state's quo. It brings the Lord's edification and comforts. It brings people back to the heart of God. Yeah. It addresses injustice and unfair measures in society because that's not what's in God's heart. Yeah. God's heart is healing and restoration and hope and justice. Yeah. And where it exists, surround us where the world, isn't just the heart of God reveals through the prophetic. Doesn't just say that is wrong. It reveals the heart of God.
Speaker 0 00:26:17 Now the prophetic, as I've been speaking, you might be understanding it to be about somebody saying some words. And of course that is a powerful part of the prophetic can be expressed in words of prophecy in any set in, by the way, all too often, people say, you know, where's the space for the prophetic in the church. Where's the space for the gifts of the spirit, the space for, for the prophetic and the gifts of the spirit is seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Yeah. You don't just come to speak into this context. We're in a world that needs to hear the heart of God. Yes. The church rise up with a prophetic call upon it, let a church rise up and take God into the world. In know, I thank God for lovely prophetic words over the years. And I thank God that that God is often gentle and he's lovely and he's encouraging, but some people have got stuck. They still talking about floating clouds and rainbows and you know, and nice things. And God is saying, I want you to mature and grow up because he wants us to reveal his heart. And there's a growth in the prophetic that needs to come.
Speaker 0 00:27:31 Alan hush, I refer to last week, he's authored several books, exploring the AEST and he lists the following as some roles, which can be expressions of the prophetic grace. Let's look at them over these next few minutes. We understand this when preachers preachers, that can display something of the heart of God. I believe today, my heart and my intention is to not reveal my heart as the lead pass of the church, but to reveal the heart of God that he wants the prophetic to come alive in the body of, I believe that there can be a manifestation of prophetic. And incests, as in fact, some of our greatest prayer warriors in the church, you're prophetic in nature. You stir with a compulsion of the things that stir the heart of God. And it leads you to prayer, that social activists and campaigners in society that look at the injustices run.
Speaker 0 00:28:23 And they say that is not right. It is not right in our society that some of the poorest in our communities are on prepaid electric meters. And they are therefore paying more for their energy this winter. That's not right. And I think God looks and says, that's not right. That's where's the prophetic voices rising up about that. Or do you just want to talk about fluffy Bunnys? Where's the prophetic voices against the things that are wrong in our society, but the injustices, where's the prophetic voice of the church. Come on. Some of you, you need to go to government. Some of you need to rise up into politics with a prophetic call up on your life. Some you need to rise up into business and need to turn the immorality and the injustices that there are. And the in ethics, the lack of ethics in the business world need to rise up with the heart of God and say, I'm gonna reveal God's heart. That's the prophetic in our society. That's why the church needs to rise up with the prophetic voice. Let's stop having it just about bless me sessions. Come on. Oh, I need a word. I've got a decision to make. Thank God for those prophetic utter says thank God for those directive words, but there's so much more to the prophetic than just blessing you.
Speaker 0 00:29:35 Some people with prophetic grace, they maintain the soul or the passion of an organization. And they say, no, this is not why we're in this. Yeah, we're in this because of a bigger cause worship leaders, some of the best worship leaders are people who are prophetic in nature because they've seen God and they want to help us to see him. People, the prophetic grace, they can be questioners of the status quo. They can be holy rebels or dissenters just like Daniel was. And he said, I'm not gonna do what you've asked me to do. I'm gonna carry on kneeling in front of an open window. And I'm gonna pray three times a day, cuz I'm gonna rebel against the things of this world. The prophetic does that. The prophetic causes incarnation missionaries to move into, run down housing estate, to sell their nice house and to move into a house that where they face, you know, I've got a friend a number of years ago, he moved into a community in a, in a really needier state in Manchester.
Speaker 0 00:30:36 And he just said, we are moving in because we, we can't just drive it and tell 'em about Jesus. We have to live among them. Yes. Do you know, he used to get dog poop, put through the letter box of his home. He used to get people smash windows, but he gave himself because he said, that's what Jesus would do. He'll be here. That's incarnation, missionaries, not people who just send leaflets, but people who send themselves people who are innovators of new forms of doing things, poets, artists, the creatives, the musicians, prayer and deliverance ministry. The enemy is rampant in the earth is holding people by strongholds in their life. And the church are debating whether he's real or he is real. Yeah. And he is capturing people's lives. And we need a rise of people who know what it is to cast out demons.
Speaker 0 00:31:39 Sometimes we are trying to counsel things that need to be delivered. Sometimes we're trying to find human solutions, the things that are spiritually problematic and the prophetic. See that people who are local activists about local issues, people who are nonviolent protestors, people involved in aid and development work, people who are problem solvers. Maybe I love this. And is this detectives people who have an inquisitiveness in their, in their life to, to find the solutions, to find the answers, to piece the bits together, my mistakes, insightful, deep thinkers, philosophers, whistle blowers. You needers are needers are prophet. Need's God prophetic grace on her life. And there have been a number of environments she's worked in where she has seen people, even managers put their hand in the till Anita's been a whistleblower. And she just thought that was cuz she can't tolerate that stuff. But it's prophetic.
Speaker 0 00:32:43 Yeah. Cause God cares about injustice in our society. People who are investigative in their life, journalists and so on. And in conclusion we as a church reaffirm our need and openness to the prophetic hero we discover. Yeah, not only through the continuation of our journey that we've taken over recent years, which is including building relationships with tried and trusted prophetic ministries. And we are in good relationship with a range of prophetic ministries streets. I believe that relationship is the best way to do that. Not only by developing prophetic gifts. I love what Mary's doing here in the church. Mary has picked up a mantle, uh, following on from a year, a number of years of investment. We brought in someone called David Chatal who come and helped school. Some people in prophetic. Do you know some of the exercises he did. I remember one day we about 20 people in the group and he phoned up.
Speaker 0 00:33:45 He, he arrived here on a Saturday morning with 20 mobile phone numbers of people that there was no names next to the numbers. And he'd agreed with these 20 people that someone at a certain time on Saturday morning would phone them. And when they pick up the phone, they weren't allowed to say anything in reply. And as they picked up the phone, which was dialed by one of the 20 prophetic students that we had here in the church, they dialed it. The other person picked it up. They said nothing. They held the phone to their ear and the student here then began to prophesy over them down the phone. Didn't know if they were male, female didn't know what age they were. Didn't know what was going on in their life. They knew nothing. Yeah. And then at the end of them giving that prophetic word, that person then would phone up the person who was organizing the group and feedback.
Speaker 0 00:34:38 The words, how did they do? That's a bit scary. Isn't it? Uhhuh <affirmative>. But the prophetic is able to hear from God. And I love that. We've been invested in that for years. I love that. Now Mary is able to lead a group of people regularly that meet after the service and people can have prophetic appointments. I love that there are people who are growing in confidence in what it is to hear the voice of God. And I love that we're doing that in conjunction with evaluating and weighing up. Well, I love the rise of the prophetic ministry and there will be many of you in this room that have a prophetic grace on your life. And you've never shared a prophetic word yet. You've never stepped out and given a word of knowledge, you've never done something that feels like it'd be risky, but there's just something in you that stirs with the heart of God.
Speaker 0 00:35:31 There's something in you that longs for more. And it could be that that's a prophetic grace on your life. And that prophetic Grace May be demonstrated by joining the prophetic team and being trained on how to use that. It may be by speaking over other people's lives. It may be by sending words into the church for us to evaluate and pray, it might be for having prophetic words for your colleagues at work or for your family or your neighbors. It might be any of those things. It also might be you standing up to the injustices in our world around us. Yes. Got a number of people here working the Y M C a got a number of people who regularly see the injustices that many young people face in this city. That's a prophetic thing. That's not just saying we're gonna find a way to help them. It's saying, no, this is not God's heart. And God's heart is not just to be talked about. God's heart is to be demonstrated and we're gonna take in the homeless. We're gonna take in the broken, the battle and the bruise. We're gonna help teach them skills in life because we wanna help them know that they are loved. They are treasure. They are valued, cuz that's what the prophetic does.
Speaker 0 00:36:40 And we are encouraging everybody in the church to take a little test called the AP P test. You can do this by going on this URL that you'll see on the screen, rediscover church.com/ap P. When you go to that URL, you can pay 10 pound. And then in the next few days you'll receive a code and that code will give you access to go on to a little test. It's not Bible it's may have some disputable results, but we have found it to be really helpful. All of the team here have been through this over the last year and it has really helped us. For example, my prime grace on my life is apostolic and it helps me make sense of my life. Because if I can be honest with you, every time I step out in the apostolic, it makes me feel like I'm being a bad shepherd.
Speaker 0 00:37:41 Cause I think cuz I can't do everything. Yeah. You know, the, the old school thing for church leaders was the church leaders should be the best apostles, prophets, evangelist, shepherds, and teachers. We should be a model of everything, but that's not how God calls it. No, that's right. God calls us to be a body of differences and, and we need each other. And so I'm really, we we've just, and we'll have, we'll talk more about this in the months ahead. But the beginning of this year with the elders, they said, well mark, if your primary grace is apostolic, we need to strengthen the pastoral ministries in the church. And so we've got some changes coming up, got some people moving around, according to the graces on their life. Now that's just how we are organizing this church leadership for this church. But that's not just where church ministry functions, church ministry functions, seven days a week, 24 hours a day where we are, we are called to represent Christ to this world.
Speaker 0 00:38:38 And if you have a prophetic grace on your life, we need you to know it and we need you to steward it. The body of Christ needs you to rise up in the call and the grace on you. Don't hold back. Don't bury it. Don't hide it. If you could take this test and if the 10 pound is a problem to you, please just contact the office and we'll find we'll make it work so you can access it. But I think it's a good investment of 10 pound. We thank God for the apostles, the prophets and need's grace is prophetic.
Speaker 0 00:39:15 And sometimes we see things differently. Not because I'm mark and she's neater. Not because we've had different experiences in life. Not because we just come to different conclusions, but we see things differently. Cuz my top grades will be apostolic. And her is prophetic. When you know that you can manage how you interact a lot easier. Yeah. And there are times I go to need and say, neat, what do you think about this? Because I need the prophetic to speak into a situation. In closing few months ago, I was speaking at Elm's national conference in hark. And I had a word that I believe was from God to bring to our 2000 leaders that were there. And I had a number of scenarios as to how this word was gonna end. And one of them involved bringing people to the front and the one was to get people standing where they are and pray for them in their seats.
Speaker 0 00:40:13 There was a few options. But as I felt, I came to the close of what I was saying. I felt God say just close your Bible and walk off the stage. And it felt awkward. I finished, I just walked off. You could see the worship band, look at each other and thinking, should we sing? Should we get up? Should we do something? I could see the leader of the service thinking, should I get up and follow it of my leader response. It was awkward. And I went and sat in the front, got off this stage and the worship band got up and they began to sing a song about God being our shepherd. And he was all lovely. It was all nice. But one of the other speakers there that day, that conference was someone that we are in good relationship with has been here often. Rachel Hickson, she's a prophet. And Rachel was sat over there in this big auditorium. I was sat over there and she walked across the front and she said, mark, have you finished? I said, I don't think like it's finished. But I felt, God asked me to come off the stage. She said, you need to get back on the stage and there's something else God wants to do. And I looked at this wonderful, beautiful hearted prophet. And I said, I'll go back on if you come with me <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:41:41 So Rachel walked onto the stage with me. She'd already spoken that more on the prophetic, but a key part of my message was to say to all the leaders, we need to welcome a prophetic again. And I got onto the stage and I said, I thought I'd done. But I've been saying all night, we need to welcome the prophetic. And the prophetic just came and spoke to me and said you haven't finished yet of you. And so we're both here on the stage because I've just done. What I've been encourages to do that is to listen to the prophetic.
Speaker 0 00:42:11 And we began to minister and the spirit of God just touched people's hearts. And it was a beautiful moment. What I loved about it was it was an illustration of everything I'd spent time explaining. God has a way of being able to do that. So if you have a prophetic grace on your life, you may not be aware of it. Do the APS test and find out in the months ahead, we'll be gathering all the apostolic, graces, the prophetic graces, the evangelistic graces, the shepherd graces. The teaching graces will be gathering us all together in different groups. And we'll be encouraging you how you can grow in that. Grace let's pray together. Thank you, Jesus Lord. We thank you for your presence and your power. We thank you for your heart. Thank you. Whenever we see your heart revealed, we're deeply touched and provoked. And Lord, I thank you for the prophetic and I'm sorry, God, for the times, the prophetic has been shut out maybe of my heart and my life, but certainly out from the body of Christ in churches, all over the world. And Lord, we just open our hearts and we say, Lord, we pray that we would be those that are able to reflect your heart in this world.
Speaker 0 00:43:40 Whether that be through prophecy, whether that be through campaigning, whether that be through ideation, Lord, we ask that the prophetic will rise and we pray your grant, your church, great discernment. As we seek to dis distinguish that witch is of you and that which is not
Speaker 11 02:14:13 A church. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. 10 30 service. It's good to have you here. A massive welcome to you all. We're so glad you're here. Uh, my name is Sean. I'm part of the team here and looking forward to worshiping Jesus with you all. Why don't you stand to your feet if that's okay. We gonna worship him in just a moment.
Speaker 11 02:14:33 Hey, all of us young people just go back from a festival. 454. People gave their lives to Jesus across this last week. How amazing is that? 450 people saved. It's good. Hey, here's what the, uh, the Bible says about the same Jesus that has been saving lots of people throughout the generations. Here's love reaches the heavens and his faithfulness reaches the skies. His righteousness is like the mighty mountains and his justice is like the great deep, oh Lord, you preserve all people. How priceless is your failing? Love both high and low, all fine refuge in the shadow of his wings. As we worship him this morning. And as we bring our offering of praise, as we turn our gaze and our focus to the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords, just be reminded in this moment of how kind he is, how good he is, how faithful he is.
Speaker 11 02:15:27 It's him. He's the reason why we gather it's not about a band or a people group or a speaker. It's about him. It's about Jesus and Jesus alone. And as we gather together as a family this morning, Jesus, we ask, will you receive all the highest praise? Will you be made? Number one in this room? And we ask, will you come and do whatever you want to do in this place? Come and move. We make room for you. Come and move. We pray this in your wonderful name. Amen. Amen. Ready to worship? Yeah, doesn't sound like you're ready to worship. You're ready to worship. Come on. Why don't you high five, two. Wanna say God is goods. God is good. God is good.
Speaker 13 02:16:26 Oh, worship you this morning with all.
Speaker 9 02:17:07 You
Speaker 14 02:17:07 See how with the
Speaker 9 02:17:08 Love
Speaker 14 02:17:11 He has. You can't put the, every
Speaker 13 02:21:01 Halls a hundred reads know that the Lord he is God, it is he who made us. And we are his, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. So enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him. Bless his name for the Lord is good. And his steadfast love endures for and his faithfulness to all generations, father, I thank you that you are good father, that your faithfulness is not just a momentary thing, but it has come from ages ago, Lord, and it will continue ages into the future. And Lord, we enter father your gates with Thanksgiving, with praise, with worship, with a loud hallelujah father, because we simply can't keep it in Lord. The fact that you are, have been so kind to us father, even so kind to us
Speaker 14 02:21:50 Father, our father, all of
Speaker 13 02:21:56 Heaven,
Speaker 14 02:22:09 Heaven, heaven, touching we're we're
Speaker 9 02:23:24 Break Jesus,
Speaker 14 02:25:27 Glory, earth.
Speaker 9 02:27:30 Holy Jesus,
Speaker 14 02:27:34 Holy Jesus. Out in mighty Paul in mighty P um, we're we're in all you, your faithfulness astounds me. Your faithfulness astounds me that you still want meet just we, that your is still good for your is good for and that you and we trust you, that you
Speaker 9 02:29:27 Trust.
Speaker 14 02:29:29 We trust you that you trust, you know,
Speaker 9 02:29:41 Best.
Speaker 14 02:29:44 We trust you that
Speaker 9 02:30:02 You,
Speaker 14 02:30:22 I trust you that you
Speaker 9 02:30:26 Best
Speaker 14 02:30:32 My, I
Speaker 9 02:30:36 Trust you
Speaker 14 02:30:38 That you're not gonna. He says,
Speaker 11 02:31:32 If you've got something to give him, don't need to wait for the band in this moment.
Speaker 15 02:32:17 Pray is that we live in the reality of your great love for us. We know you go before us. We know our steps are ordered. God. I pray that your people will live in such peace and joy because we live in the reality of your love. You go before us this week, I have felt, you know, like how I have the image of like a duck that looks really calm above the surface, but their feet are going like this. But everybody looks at them and thinks they have it all together. And everything is going is going well. And you think, oh, I need to help you. God. I need to help you bless me to like organize this so that I'm in the place for you. And God is saying, you just trust me, just trust me. I know best. I know what is best for you. You don't have to panic. You don't have to worry. You don't have to doubt. You don't have to fear. I go before you, I put a table before you, I am your provider. I'm your healer. I'm your all in all. And God, I pray. I pray that your people would know that in their inner self that we can trust you because you know, what's best for us
Speaker 11 02:33:41 Just before the band leaders and another song we're going spend some time just praying for some people in the room. And if you'd appreciate, uh, some people just gathering round you and just laying their hand on your shoulder. And just for the next few minutes, just praying for you, praying God's blessing and protection and provision over your life of your situation. Uh, and we want to do that with family here. Uh, there's no embarrassment, no shame. Um, if that's you, would you be brave enough to put over your hands if you'd appreciate some people praying for you? Okay, sure. Just caught a few hands. Would you just move around those that have just responded here,
Speaker 9 02:34:15 Stretch
Speaker 11 02:34:15 Out hand and just put it on their shoulder. You don't need to ask specific details at this moment and just start to pray for them. Holy of you, holy of you, Lord. Here's the image of the invisible God, the first born overall creation, but by him, all things were created things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible of a Thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. All things were created by him and for him. He is before all things and in him, all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church, he is the beginning and the first born for among the dad. So that in everything he might have this supremacy
Speaker 11 02:35:57 Father, I pray for every single person now that your protection and provision and supremacy over their lives. We may know. I pray Lord that trust and faith will start to rise for people's souls. To know that you're in control. You go before you're, besides you are around us and in every season and every circumstance we walk towards. There you are. So father, I pray your peace and your joy and your comfort and your compassion will spread over every circumstance and situation that is represented here. And father, I pray by the power of your holy spirit that you'll love will wash away any fear, any doubts and any frustration, let fear be gone in this place. Your perfect love cast out fear. So we cast out fear by your perfect love. Be gone in the name of Jesus. Be gone in the name of Jesus. No in love your powerful name and your powerful name. Pray. Amen. Amen. Hey, why don't we release our children at this point as well? Hey, our children, you're gonna be making your way out. If you've got a childhood, you, uh, over to your right hand side, the doors here, our amazing discovery land team are gonna looking after them, uh, for the next short while don't we love the noise and the rumble of our children in this place. It's so good. Life, life in all, its fullness.
Speaker 11 02:37:55 Beautiful. Hey, can we stretch our hands over to this door really quickly? Let's just pray for our children's discovery land program. Father, we pray your mighty blessing upon every child that is walking out. Every team member, every person that's part of discovery land this morning, may your spirit fall, may we see signs wonders and miracles break out because of your power and because of your name, Jesus, walk through the room, walk through the room and meet with our children. Walk through, sit with them, dance with them, play with them, sing with them and receive all that you are worthy of. Father. We pray you continue to build up, continue to strengthen, continue to comfort and continue to call these precious, precious children back into the loving arms of the father and to the place of the kingdom. S father let faith arise in our discovery land team as well. Let faith arise that you have a plan and a purpose for this session right now, we pray in your wonderful name.
Speaker 9 02:38:56 Amen.
Speaker 16 02:39:20 There's a, there's a it's, there's a
Speaker 9 02:40:35 Table
Speaker 16 02:40:36 You prepare for it's your,
Speaker 9 02:40:51 She,
Speaker 16 02:40:53 This is how I find my battle. And
Speaker 9 02:41:12 You done.
Speaker 16 02:41:14 This is how I find my battles. This is how I find my battles. This is how I find my battles. This is how, this is how I find my
Speaker 9 02:41:30 Battles.
Speaker 16 02:41:31 This is how I find mys. This is how I find mys. This is
Speaker 9 02:42:13 Move over. And this is him. May
Speaker 16 02:43:51 I'm I'm. This is how I find my battle. This is how I,
Speaker 9 02:44:14 My,
Speaker 16 02:44:16 This is how I, my, how is how a
Speaker 9 02:44:56 I
Speaker 16 02:45:11 Battle. This is how I fight my battles. This is, this is how I,
Speaker 9 02:45:21 My battle.
Speaker 16 02:45:23 This is how I, my
Speaker 9 02:45:25 Battle.
Speaker 16 02:45:27 This is how I,
Speaker 9 02:45:28 My battle.
Speaker 16 02:45:30 This is, this is how, this is
Speaker 9 02:45:54 How, this is how this is how
Speaker 0 02:45:59 I don't know if you understand what that song means,
Speaker 0 02:46:03 But it just shared there that this is how we fight our battles. Isn't that a bit militant for a, a Sunday morning. Are we gonna fight this morning? Is there some weapons we need to pick up? Now, let me explain what's happening in this song. Praise the Bible talks about praise as being like a powerful weapon. In fact, it was so powerful in the old Testament that before the armies, the singers and the musicians went ahead of the armies. That's how powerful it was. There were some battles that we see. One where there, there wasn't a weapon that was used. It was God's intervention in God's power. And you go forward to the new Testament and it talks about having done everything to stand, just stand firm. You see what praise does. I've been for a few eye tests in my time. And when you sit in the optician's chair and they show you all those letters on the wall and they say, read them and you might squint and say, I'm not sure I'm reading that correct.
Speaker 0 02:47:04 And then they move some glass in the eye and they magnify and they adjust the lens. And then suddenly you say, oh, I see it. It's a why I get it. And praise is like, we are adjusting our focus to see that God is bigger than you thought he was. He's more powerful than you understood. He was. He's more able than you've given him credit for. And praise is the reorientating of our eyes to see, ah, God has this in hand. God has this in control. God is bigger. And without singing a song, now I'm gonna invite us. I'm gonna count down from five. And I know it's warm. And I know that everyone I've hugged this morning says, thought I'm sweaty. And I understand that. But when I count down from five, I'm gonna ask you to sit in the Lord's optimist chair, chair. And I'm gonna ask you to bring your praise before you ride and to magnify God, to be the great God that he is to recalibrate your thinking and know that no matter what you are facing, our God is bigger and he's greater.
Speaker 9 02:48:22 So we're gonna do this
Speaker 0 02:48:24 With a sh of praise, with an expression of our words that says, God, we trust you, God, we know that you are all powerful. Are you ready?
Speaker 9 02:48:36 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. We
Speaker 0 02:49:27 So that wasn't just a sound, oh God, that was the recalibrating of our hearts to see you for who you are. I see the Lord high and lifted up over my circumstances high and lifted up over my troubles high and lifted up over my needs. And we don't deny our needs. But what we also don't deny is that you are bigger than them. God, you're greater. And so we choose now to lift our eyes yes, to the one who is greater. You're greater than every sickness. You're greater than every need. You're greater than every anxiety you are greater over. So I pray in the remainder of this service that you'll enable us to keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the author of the Perfector and the finisher of our faith in Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker 9 02:50:23 Amen.
Speaker 0 02:50:24 Amen. Well, it's wonderful to see you today before you take your seat. Why don't you spin around? Give few people a high five. They'll probably say my palms are sweaty, but that's okay. Just greet each other this morning. Welcome to you. Welcome. Terrific. And please take your seat a moment. Thank you. Okay. If you please take your seats. Thank you. Well, we got a few wonderful things we're gonna enjoy in just a moment. Uh, but before we do that, I would like us to express some welcomes to people this morning. Uh, this first of all, there's welcome all our online viewers this morning. Let's give them a cheer and a welcome, welcome to rediscover. Thanks for being with us. I'd also like to welcome our young people. Who've come back from limitless festival this week. Let's give a cheer back. Whoa.
Speaker 0 02:51:51 Would you like to hear from some of them in a moment? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. We'll do that in just a moment. Um, also, if you are here for the first time, we'd love to give you a very, very special welcome today. If this is your first time at rediscover, would you give us a wave and we'll know who to cheer and also some of our stewards will come and bring you a gift this morning. Hey, welcome. Thank you so much for being with us. If you keep your hands raised or if anybody who's regular, notice that someone put their hand down, please point them out to the stewards that will come and bring some gifts to you. Just sum down at the front here as well. Guys, they'll get to you in a moment. And also if you're a holiday maker and you've been before, but we are your regular summer expression and a big welcome to you is give a welcome to all our holiday makers.
Speaker 0 02:52:39 So delight. You've chosen to be with us today. And of course, if you are regularly here, big welcome to you. And if you've been away, welcome back. Uh, we're so glad to see you home with us again, Bri. Um, there's been an engagement in the church, Marianna and David, where are you? You in the balcony, just come and lean over the balcony. Let's give David and Marianna welcome. Congratulations to you, both on your engagement. So looking to get married next year. So congratulations to you and Lord, we pray that you will just bless David and Mariana out as they make their preparations, not just for the wedding, but for the marriage. Bless them. Lord, may they know you weaved into the fabric of their thoughts and their planning for many years ahead, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Thank you guys. Owen. And Sean, do you wanna come and join me on the stage? Cause our young people have been away at limitless festival along with around 4,000 other young people up in staffer's showground, Owen. Good to see you.
Speaker 7 02:53:44 Hello?
Speaker 17 02:53:45 Yeah, we, um, yeah, we had a blast. Not only did we have so much fun playing football, doing all sorts of activities, but we saw God encounter pretty much all of our young people, um, in all sorts of amazing and different ways. Didn't we?
Speaker 11 02:53:59 We did. Oh gosh, eating the microphone. Um, we did. Yeah. Um, across the festival, uh, we, yeah, we had, uh, in terms of first time responses to the gospel was 454 people that gave their lives to Jesus. It's amazing. It's amazing.
Speaker 17 02:54:14 It's so good.
Speaker 11 02:54:15 And I think out of our group, correct me if I'm wrong on you would probably know more. I think eight of them yeah. Was from our youth group as well. So eight salvation's in our group. Not really good in the last week, which is amazing many encountering the holy spirit tell 'em about one of our young people the first night, um, worshiping what took place in her life while she was worshiping.
Speaker 17 02:54:34 Yeah. So I think just to mention, um, a lot of these festivals, um, a lot of young people can, can just go and start and just kind of get used to the environment. Um, and our young people, when the festival felt as if, um, the young people engaged so quickly with God and, and what he wanted to do at the festival. Um, and we had one of our young people, like Sean mentioned, um, she was worshiping and um, she asked God for, for the gift of tongues to speak in tongues. And, and that was the first time she spoke out in, in, in tongues. And that was just, just a beautiful moment. Um one for us to hear, but also for God to, to use her through that moment. Um, amazing, really, really good. Come on.
Speaker 0 02:55:10 Quite,
Speaker 11 02:55:11 Quite surreal as well. Cuz there was no lead in or prayer ministry do with the tongues or anything that night she just came back. We do family time every, every night, 11:00 PM. We, we gave our young people for the last hour of the night and we just talk about what has God been doing throughout
Speaker 0 02:55:25 11:00 PM. Everybody you remember that
Speaker 17 02:55:27 <laugh> who
Speaker 0 02:55:28 Remembers 11:00 PM.
Speaker 11 02:55:29 Hey, they don't go to, they don't go to bed. We, we were probably asleep by like three every yeah. Every night shouts the team. Um, so yeah, she came back and uh, during family time, um, there was like I say, no prayer minister of such the doings of, uh, being filled with the holy spirit, anything like that. And uh, she just said I was worshiping Jesus throughout the worship ministry. And then randomly just started speaking all this weird language. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know what was going on. So we got the opportunity and privilege just to be able to say to her what that was gifts, the holy spirit speaking in tongues, having the language. Um, and yeah, just, just amaz that's one of many, many stories mark,
Speaker 0 02:56:02 Fantastic
Speaker 17 02:56:03 Twice.
Speaker 0 02:56:04 Uh, well done to you and the team. Yeah. You guys for making this possible. And also many of you in the church also gay financially to enable this to happen. Incredible. Um, is there anyone you can drop on? Do you think, like we love hearing you tell the stories, but are there any young people that we can hear any of this from today?
Speaker 17 02:56:21 Yeah. Yeah. So I've asked few of the young people already. So if they'd like to come up, that would be awesome. Let's give, let's give him a clap.
Speaker 11 02:56:29 Our bands coming up as well. Come
Speaker 17 02:56:34 Squad. You're all coming up. We're four love the many young people we took, um, who really felt, um, God's presence, Jesus working in their lives personally, but also generically. Um, we saw with festival as well. So Ben, what was, what would you say, uh, Jesus did for you personally, ATS festival? What do you think happened? Um, explain to us what, what, what you felt.
Speaker 19 02:56:56 Yeah. During the, uh, during the first day of worship, I really engaged like a lot more with the prayer and worship and actually like thinking about the lyrics more, not just like seeing them with everyone else. And normally I don't like put my hands up cuz you know, I feel a bit awkward, but uh, when I went to liveness I just felt like it was normal. And I, I just felt like God saying that like he was just like making me concentrate on him and like the prayer and like just removed any other distractions and all
Speaker 17 02:57:22 That. Yeah. It's awesome. Yeah. So good pass over to Heidi, Heidi, Heidi, what did you see at limitless festival? What did you see Jesus do at limitless festival?
Speaker 20 02:57:32 Well, um, I saw loads of people become a Christian and I was one of them.
Speaker 17 02:57:35 So that was one of them. That's awesome. That is awesome. Um, yeah. Was there anything else you wanted to share about, um, did you see Jesus do or through people or through friends?
Speaker 20 02:57:45 Um, I just loved it so much and it was a great experience for
Speaker 17 02:57:49 Me. Awesome. So good. Well done. Awesome. So good sweet pass, pass microphone over to TIFF. What did you feel Jesus was doing at S festival whilst you were, while you were around?
Speaker 21 02:58:01 Um, I think just growing a deeper connection. Cause I feel like everyone there really got into it like really quickly, like first, first worship session and we were all just like jumping, raising our hands, like really singing and going for it. Yeah.
Speaker 17 02:58:14 That's awesome. Yeah. T had the privilege of, of not only going to a lot of the youth stuff, but the ye stuff as well. So explain to us a bit more about how that helped, helped you, I guess, in your faith, like going to the Y stuff and, and um, and also the you stuff.
Speaker 21 02:58:27 Yeah. Um,
Speaker 17 02:58:28 Sorry. Oh, so the, the Y stuff is the young adult venue. So that is for 17 pluses. We just explained, sorry. Um, that said 17 pluses. Um, for those that want to go to those sessions, um, with people their own age equally, they had the option to still enter and come to the venue, um, which was far more vast and bigger. But yeah. How did that?
Speaker 0 02:58:45 I thought it was a group that Des ran from. I don't know why I, why
Speaker 17 02:58:50 Sorry, how did that help you then? TIFF. And how did that?
Speaker 21 02:58:53 Um, yeah, no, both were like really interesting. I think the young, the, um, youth one was a lot more lively in worship, but the young adults, it's more like kind of quiet and could, you could kind of settle down a bit more and kind of just relax a bit more. But um, the young adults sermons were really good. Um, I think I went to like a couple or maybe three. Yeah. Um, the topics that they spoke on were quite relevant and quite good for people our age, I think. Yeah. It was nice to have some talks that you possibly couldn't have with the younger yeah, yeah. Children, but
Speaker 17 02:59:21 Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. Finally, and we have EV EV had the privilege of doing something so amazing, but ill let her explain that in a minute. And um, we we'll just see what God did. Forvie at limit festival as well. What, what you, what happened to EV what did you get to do?
Speaker 20 02:59:34 Um, so I got the opportunity to speak, um, to pray for 4,000 people and
Speaker 17 02:59:40 Film mom. That's amazing.
Speaker 20 02:59:45 And then re verse Colossians three verses two, um,
Speaker 0 02:59:49 Front
Speaker 17 02:59:50 That's. What did you feel like Jesus did through that? Or how did you, um, how did you feel like Jesus was with you in, in that time?
Speaker 20 02:59:57 Um, I think he gave me the confidence. Yeah. To do it. Cause I've never done anything like that before, but um, yeah.
Speaker 17 03:00:05 It's it's awesome.
Speaker 11 03:00:07 Evie, how old are you? Tell everyone how old you're 12. She's 12 years old going in front of 4,000 people and led prayer and ministry. Absolutely insight. Well done, Evie. Yeah.
Speaker 0 03:00:19 So good guys. Yeah. Well, so good. Listen, we want you to know as a church that your, this is, this is your church, all right. That you don't have to go to those places to feel like you belong. Yeah. That we thank God for these opportunities, but this is your church and, and we, no matter what age you are, we would love these guys to lead us. Wouldn't we?
Speaker 17 03:00:44 Yeah.
Speaker 0 03:00:44 Yeah. We would,
Speaker 17 03:00:45 We would love that.
Speaker 0 03:00:46 The scripture, the scripture says is a young man in the Bible called Timothy and Paul write him. He says this don't let anybody look down on you because you're young. But instead set a godly example. Yeah. Yes. And so you guys can lead someone in their nineties here. You can lead all of us by your passion, by your worship, by your example, by your godliness. Yes. And I, I want to guarantee you we've been praying for you so much. Come, come on. All of you, young people that have been away. And if some young people here weren't able to go away, then please don't feel like you missed out. You have, but hang around these guys. Don't distance yourself from them. Cuz you think you've missed out, get close and catch what they're carrying. All right. Don't miss out. But we just wanna thank God for you. And uh, we want to pray that this fire yes, will not go out, but will burn brighter. And Nina's a real prayer warrior Nita come in. You're always praying for these young people. Would you come and lead us in a prayer church? Would you stand to show them your support? Would you stretch out your hands to show them your aim? And would you join us in praying for them right
Speaker 23 03:01:59 Now? Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Just, just before we pray, keep, keep praying. But I just wanna say that there's something very significant in the fire, starting in bedrooms. Um, some of you have heard my heart on this and I believe the Lord has spoken to me through the power of his holy spirit for you. That didn't go, don't worry, cuz God will get your kids. God will get your kids. Don't worry because the place where the fire is most likely to go out is where God's gonna start fires. When Jesus came, he came as a baby could have came as a rich prince, but Jesus, it's an upside down kingdom. He seems to be expert at doing the opposite. And I believe with all of my heart, the place where the most darkness goes on in bedrooms, you know, nobody sees in the bedroom, it's all secret place where you can get lonely depression, suicidal thoughts, stinking thinking.
Speaker 23 03:02:52 You can get trapped. The enemy can set traps rackets in bedrooms. Well, God's got a bigger plan, hallelujah, and a bigger agenda for our kids because the place where the fire normally goes out, because I think, oh, I'm not with a big crowd anymore. That's where the holy spirit and the fire of God will fall on you and fall on you and fall on your children. That's where God just like Elijah. The example of Elijah, where Elijah was at Matt Carmel with the profits of bail and they were self-harming all day the prophets trying to get the fire to fall. They were self-harming themselves. And Elijah was like, oh, maybe your God's gone to the toilet. <laugh> why don't you scream a bit louder. And what Elijah did was to prove that God can do anything. He actually soaked the, so it was soak can wet.
Speaker 23 03:03:42 It would've been impossible for the fire to fall there. Why? Cause it was wet. And he took a trench around it. The most impossible place that it looks like the fire regard to fall. I am prophesy that that is where it's gonna fall. I, I don't how wets it. That's where the of God fall. You young children and need mothers and father who committed to for not just here now to, for them, you, the storm that is coming. But the glory of God promised to be poured out on and daughters to be poured their identity. They children, they're sons, they're daughters. And God says of, of God he's done with confusion. He says, you're a daughter and you're good. You're a son made in my image. So let's just stretch your hands to begin to pray. Come on church
Speaker 0 03:04:49 Just before, just before we pray. All the other young people who are here as well, would you just come and join us with the front?
Speaker 23 03:04:55 Our son, come on the stage. Keep that BA if some of, if there's anybody here that wants to come and lay hands on them, come up. Now I'm telling you now funny, you don't need to be a pastor. You don't need to be a, has anybody got a heart to pray for these? Come on this stage now and lay hands on them. Lay hands on them. If there's any young people
Speaker 0 03:05:12 Who at the event who would like to come
Speaker 23 03:05:15 On as well, come on. Granny's grandmas. Come on. The young people come on, lay. I don't care if there's nobody there on you all on here, lay hands on them. Lay hands on them. She BA soor lay hands on them. The sons and daughters lay hands on them. She BA Shela BA so, oh God, oh God, is it it's possible for these dry bones to live. And you say of man prophesy that these bones shall live. So we prophesy and daughters, we prophesy of God, breathe. Our children fall in the bedrooms. May you light the fire in the bedroom? In the darkest place. We come against father. The IM the confusion of the enemy that's caused to seek and destroy our young people. And we speak life in Jesus. Name, life in all. Its yes, we pray for these Timothys hallelujah. We pray for these Deborahs we pray for these ster Josephs hallelujah, Josiah generation riser that you would do what? It's right in the eyes of the Lord. Yes. You would seek the Lord with all of your heart. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Your spirit breathe. We prophesy the wind and the breath of God on these children. Hallelujah. And we commit God to pray for them. Not just today. We commit to pray for them to surround them with our prayer. Hallelujah. Yes. Hallelujah.
Speaker 0 03:06:57 Hallelujah
Speaker 23 03:07:03 Hall. Hallelujah. Pour at your spirit. Pour at your spirit. We come against the spirit of death and we speak life. Hallelujah. We speak life in Jesus name. Hallelujah. Come outta the cave and put your praise on hallelujah, sons and daughters. Come on, be brave and come outta the cave for the glory of God is risen on you. Hallelujah mama. Sure. Daughter NDA letter made bedrooms become places of prayer, made bedrooms, become counter places of worship. Hallelujah. Even for those that have a unsaved parents, I pray there would be a sign and a wonder to a generation, even to the unsaved parents and unsaved children, hallelujah, they would be a sign and a wonder in the universities and in colleges, hallelujah and in their workplaces let's they would be a sign and
Speaker 0 03:08:03 A one let's sing an adaption of that song. We just sang that says it may look like they're surrounded, but they're surrounded by you. Okay? Not surrounded just by the things of this world. By surrounded by God, it may look like they're surrounded, but they're surrounded by you. Come on, speak it over their lives. It may look like they're
Speaker 24 03:08:24 Surrounded by.
Speaker 0 03:08:25 They're surrounded by you. And again, it may look like it may look like they're surrounded, but they're
Speaker 24 03:08:33 Surrounded by you.
Speaker 0 03:08:34 Yes. What? It may look like this
Speaker 23 03:08:41 By you
Speaker 0 03:08:42 And father. We pray to the presence of your spirit Lord that they've encountered this week. A thank you that your holy spirit doesn't live at limitless festival. It's not packed away for 12 months, but the same spirit which they encountered in those meetings is the same spirit that's here and present with them in their college and their school in their home. Hallelu Lord, we thank you for them. Made the blessing of the Lord and the fires of revival. Hallelujah. Learn brightly within them. We pray in Jesus. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. Come on. Let's give him another chair.
Speaker 11 03:09:24 Awesome. Young people. We're gonna be heading out now as well. So if you wanna make your way downstairs to our program, anyone from 1117, feel free to come join us. So church, thank you so much.
Speaker 0 03:09:34 Thanks everybody for participating. Thanks for short knowing and all the wonderful team that made, not just today happen, but over the last week. Wonderful. Well, I'm gonna invite your attention to the screen. Now we're gonna show you this week's church news. Following this service. We've not got refreshments today because um, we are encouraging everyone if possible to come and join us in. EXM where we've got our church barbecue, uh, straight after the service. Thank you for all those who brought food along for that. That's being taken away to EXM and will be ready to be cooked. Also apologies if your first time here today and you've not received a welcome bag, apparently we've run out. So, um, sorry for that. Um, if you come back again, we'll get you one next time. All right. So I give you permission even if it's your second time. Next time. If you haven't had a bag today, come along and we'll get one to you on the next occasion. But while we ask you to look at the screen for this week's church news, our stewards are gonna wait upon you for your tires and offerings as you're giving to the law today. So thank you for looking to the screen.
Speaker 9 03:10:55 Good
Speaker 25 03:10:55 Morning, everyone. Happy Sunday. My name is Jason
Speaker 26 03:10:59 And my name is Amelia and this is church knees.
Speaker 25 03:11:02 We believe that prayer works. We believe that prayer makes a difference. And if you have our heart for prayer, why not join our prayer chain? Our prayer chain is an opportunity for you to pray and stand with others about prayer requests as, and when they arise, very simply you head on to rediscover church.com/prayer, and we'll send you updates to all those on the prayer TA chain with prayer requests. And you'll be able to pray from home or indeed on the go or wherever you are. It's really, really simple, but your prayers make a difference. Why not sign up to our prayer chain and come and be part of what God is doing?
Speaker 27 03:11:43 Hi, I'm Rochelle and I have some exciting news because this shine course is back. Shine is a unique personal development course that uses an inspirational and practical approach to equip women with the skills and knowledge, to discover who they are and who they want to become. We do this by three main topics, our worth our strength and our purpose. It's a free course that is run over soon, but the team and I are so excited because this is also going to be the first time that we are going to meet face to face for one of the sessions. So this is something that you're interested in, go into the website and sign up. You don't wanna miss out, bring your friends along and we cannot wait to do this journey together.
Speaker 25 03:12:27 So church exciting news, our church, barbecue is today.
Speaker 25 03:12:36 Straight after the service, we'll be heading down to ex with, uh, the address below and we'll be having some good food together, enjoying the sun and getting to meet other people across our church community. Now obviously you probably find out this, it is very, very hot outside. So make sure you have lots of sunscreen on make sure you wear a hat. Make sure you drink lots of water because we are gonna be out in the sun and we don't want anyone to just feel the effects of it too much. That's not good. Hey, so make sure we come prepared to sit out in the weather, but a thank you to all those who have bought in food and desserts and a salad donations. And thank you for putting them on the table or the back of the auditorium. So, uh, if you haven't already yet do make sure you put your food at the back of the auditorium and there will be, uh, if it hasn't ready yet been taken down that to month.
Speaker 25 03:13:19 Uh, so we can start cooking and making sure it's all prepared for when you arrive. Now, if you haven't got a lift, do not worry yet. Uh, I, if you come to the front of the auditorium straight off the service, uh, for those who can offer lifts, they'll be able to kind of meet you and hit you up there and get you sorted. So can take you to eczema and enjoy the event together, but guys, to say it is super sunny up there. So come prepared. Uh, but also thank you for origination. So if you haven't bought food in yet, don't worry. Just bring it along and we'll have a good time together. Our church, barbecue is straight off the service today, come along. It's gonna be fun.
Speaker 28 03:13:51 So guys have a beautiful week and we will catch your scene. Bye
Speaker 9 03:13:54 Bye.
Speaker 0 03:14:04 Wonderful. Okay. Two weeks ago we started a brand new series, which is a, a significant series. It's not just gonna be about what we look at over these few weeks, but it's gonna be, I believe really important for the next, um, few, uh, seasons ahead for the church. And it's looking at something that I believe is so important and has been so lost in church and that God is restoring something I believe very fresh. Then, you know, you know, the Bible describes the church as the body of Christ. So we are made up of many parts. We all look different. We all act different. We all behave different. We've all got different gifts and different graces on our life. But God has called us to come together to be a body. And he is the head of that body, the church. And so we gather together with a head with a body together in unity, and that's why Unity's really important.
Speaker 0 03:15:00 So we're all having a sense of going in the same direction together. And just as a body cannot live without our major organs. We know that the body of Christ that God has set in place, things that should be operational in his body and are so often not. I've used this illustration week after week. Hopefully you're getting it. But if I said to you, which of, one of say, if I name five major organs, your heart, your lungs, your kidneys, your liver, and your brain, which one could you live without? You know, that you can't live without any of them, you need them all. Yeah. And the Bible says that there are five functions of the church, five graces on the church, five things that are inculcated into the DNA of the church that we can't do without any of them. But so often throughout history, particularly in Western context, uh, particularly in, uh, church over the last few hundred years that we have limped along as a disabled body of Christ, um, functioning just with pastor and teacher and not really acknowledging or understanding the evangelistic, not really understanding the prophetic and not really understanding the apostolic.
Speaker 0 03:16:12 And it means that the body doesn't accomplish that, which the head has desired to accomplish. And so I believe that God is restoring health and wellbeing to all five areas of the body of Christ, because he wants his church alive. In these days. He doesn't want us to be caught up in intensive care. He doesn't want us to be distracted by minutiae. He wants us to be alive. And the Bible says that the glory of God will cover the earth, just like the waters cover the sea. And there's a freshness of what I believe God is about to do on the earth, but it will take you and I to know our place in the body of Christ and to be alive to all that God is saying to us, I believe in the future. I believe we're already in this season, that if I compare where we are going to, where we've been in the past, people have identified the church they belong to by where they worship on a Sunday, that gathering on the Sunday is a really good thing.
Speaker 0 03:17:11 It's a significant moment for us in the week to all come with our differences, all come with our different sorts of week and to look out for each other and to be United together. But that has been the only defining factor for many years as to what church summer belongs to. But I believe we're moving into a season. In fact, we're probably moved into it where belonging is gained by those who know they're on a mission together. Yeah. It's not just those who gather together. It's those who know what they're about and what the mission is. And I believe there's something fresh in these days. Yeah. Let's look at our key scripture together from Ephesians four versus 11 to 16. And it says this and he himself, as Jesus gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers to equip the saints. Who's the saints. Yeah. You don't have to be given a sainthood by the Pope of the end of your life. The Bible talks about saints as being you and me. Those who are in Christ Jesus. So these gifts are given to equip who
Speaker 2 03:18:21 The saints saints.
Speaker 0 03:18:26 You doesn't matter whether you sat the back, doesn't matter if you, this is your first time, it doesn't matter how UN you feel. If you have given your life to Christ, this is you. He has given these people, the AEST, the apostles, the prophets evangelists, the shepherds and the teachers, the AEST to equip the saints for works of ministry, to, to build up the body of Christ until we all reach unity in the faith. And in the knowledge of God's son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ fullness we did in week one, we did an introduction to what the AP is. If you've not seen that, do watch it back. Last week, we looked at the first of the five AEST graces. We looked at the apostolic graces again, if you've not seen that do catch up with it, it will help you.
Speaker 0 03:19:17 But we looked at the apostolic, grace, be one of our pioneering and innovation and of our breaking up new territory to see new communities established for the kingdom of God. We looked at how this grace functions, not only in church leadership, which is where it's been traditionally understood, but how it exists in our everyday life in the world, how it can exist in business, how it can exist in communities and in society, that there is an apostolic grace that many people will carry and will take into other areas of life. And they may not recognize it today. We're gonna look at a prophetic grace. Now, prophetic ministries is a wonderful thing. I am so grateful in my life that there have been significant times when God has spoken, where there has been a communication. If you're like of God's purposes and God's heart into my heart and my life, there have been significant seasons in this church community where God has spoken prophetically over various seasons.
Speaker 0 03:20:21 And I'm so, so grateful for those times. The prophetic ministry is a wonderful gift. We read in one Corinthians 14, verse three, but one who prophesy strengthens others, encourages them and comforts them who likes to be strengthened, encouraged and comforted. Yes. Well, that's what the prophetic gives and brings, but it also, and I'm gonna just, this is might be a bit like a leadership session today. All right. So I hope I'm able to take you with me cause I believe we're all leaders. Yes. Yeah. Come on. The prophetic ministry comes with a unique set of challenges. They're unique to the prophetic in a way that they don't exist in quite the same way with the apostolic, the evangelistic, the she and the teacher. And it's because of these challenges, which we're gonna look at in a moment that the prophetic has been shut down in churches.
Speaker 0 03:21:23 I know many churches. And if I can be honest with you, there have been times when we've opened up this platform to prophetic ministries and it feels like it's ruffled things, a little bit disturbed things sort of broken up the status quo and the shepherd, the, the pastor, um, doesn't like that because shepherds like the sheep will all be chewing the grass and enjoying the pastures and enjoying the sunsets and the night he doesn't want, or she doesn't want things to be ruffled and disturbed and unsettled in some way. And the prophetic has a way of doing that. And there are some unique challenges to the prophetic that as I open this topic for the next 20 minutes, I want to just look at these together. Because if we don't, there's a propensity for us to just take the easy option and to say no prophetic allowed.
Speaker 0 03:22:36 And that's what many churches are doing. And I believe that's a grave mistake to make. Yes, because we have a duty to weigh up all expressions of ministry. The apostolic, for example, is it Christ motivated is the teaching sound is the evangelism gospel centered is the shepherd in Christ centered. We have a responsibility to weigh up all those ministries, but we are given a specific message about the prophetic in the scriptures in one Corinthians 14, verse 29, it says this let two or three people prophesy. This is in the context of a gathering of worship. Let two or three people prophesy and then let others evaluate what is said. We don't read there's any reference given to listen to the preaching of God's word. And then everyone evaluate what's being said, but we are told that about the prophetic, because the prophetic has a unique set of challenges that need a unique response.
Speaker 0 03:23:47 Now, the prophetic can be very powerful and it can also be very dangerous. Some have distanced themselves because of its possible dangers. But I believe that approach is unbiblical and it disables the body of Christ, Paul and Silas and Timothy wrote to the church in FICA. And we read this in Fon chapter five, do not stifle. The holy spirit do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said and hold on to what is good. The body of Christ needs the prophetic. I remember a number of years ago, traveling to Ghana and I was at a conference with thousands of other leaders. And there was a particular moment in the history of this denomination that was being discussed because there was a moment, a number of years, previous, where they had come to that time when their president of this denomination was stepping down and retiring and a new president of this denomination was to be appointed. Now they had a process for this and they had a period of discernment and consultation, prayerfully, and thousands of leaders gather together. And they made a nomination, which they felt was the right person to lead this denomination into the next season. Thousands of people seem to agree. And then up to the microphone stepped someone who had the title prophet, and they went to the mic and they stood in front of the thousands of leaders. And they said, God says, this is the wrong man.
Speaker 0 03:25:43 This is the right man. And he pointed to someone else, can you imagine the confusion that was created in the room? This man had been in a tested prophet over many years. He was a respected man, but this was a big moment. And here I was at this conference, many years later, listening to one of their apostles, present his PhD paper that he'd written about that moment in the history of the denomination. And so it's all available. You can all read about this online on his PhD paper, but what happened was they did what the Bible says and they weighed it up and together. These thousands of leaders concluded that that word that had be given in good spirit, but they discerned it. Wasn't from God. Now, if a Bible teacher had been the person who got up to the microphone and said, Hey, as a teacher, I wanna just say, I don't think the person we've chosen is the right one.
Speaker 0 03:26:58 People say, well, that's your preference. If a pastor gets up and says, I think the person we've chosen may not be the best for the job that people will think is just his impression. Even if the apostle does it or the evangelist, but when the prophet said it, people hear thus say the Lord, you see why the prophetic ministry has its own unique set of challenges. Yeah. Because when a profit speaks, it's not someone's opinion that we think we are hearing, but it's, this is God. It's a very difficult card. Yeah. To pastor. Yes. There have been numerous times when I've had people come to see me and they have talked about a decision that they've already made and they say, God has told me to make this decision. And it's a very difficult thing as a pastor to navigate because you're thinking it doesn't sound like a very good decision to me.
Speaker 0 03:27:56 It doesn't sound like you've been very wise. It doesn't sound like you've taken the council of godly people, but who am I to argue with God? It's a very challenging ministry to navigate. And over the years there have been stories and moments and events and activities where people have said, God says this, and it's not come true. It has caused problems in the community. And you understand why many churches have said, okay, we're just gonna close the door to it. Yeah. No one is able to say anything prophetic. And no one is able to claim anything that God is saying that denomination appoint the original person that they were initially proposing. And that person went on to lead that denomination into one of his greatest periods of fruitfulness. It say, it seemed like the hand of the Lord was upon the appointment, but the prophetic has hiss own challenges, but the Bible gives an answer. It says way up the prophetic, not close it down, weigh it up, weigh it up. Even though there was a difficult moment in that denomination, they came through this test, brilliantly, weigh it up. There are churches and individuals all over the world who have received prophetic words. And uh, these words have led to disappointments or confusion. Maybe you are one of them. Maybe you have had a prophetic word somewhere in the journey of your life and it's not come true yet. Or maybe, you know, it's not gonna happen now.
Speaker 0 03:29:48 And I want to appeal to you. Don't let that moment stop the prophetic from having an input in your life, in the future. Yes. But instead the Bible calls us to weigh it up to evaluate. Even if the person who share that to you has always been spot on in the past. In fact, in a middle of a prophetic word that may contain five sentences, four of them could be absolutely spot on. Yeah. But that shouldn't stop us from evaluating and weighing up the fifth sentence. Amen. In that even if a profit has a hundred percent history of getting a prophetic word right before they share a word with you, it does not mean that you should not evaluate and weigh up the word that they give you at that time, because we're called to weigh it up. And if we don't, we step into danger.
Speaker 0 03:30:58 In fact, weighing up prophetic words should release a prophetic culture. That's safer because if we don't weigh things up, it gives too much power in the hands of the prophetic. And I don't believe that the prophetic are meant to be the only function in ministry, in a church. That's right. I believe they're called to be part of a team. Yes. Of the apostles. Yes. The evangelists, the chaps and the teachers, the prophetic is meant to function as part of a team. Now I thank God for correct prophetic words. In my experience, there have been many of them and there are some that I'm still waiting on. And there are some things that I've sensed God say to me that I've not shared with other people, but they've been for my life. Yeah. And I've still not seen them fulfilled yet, but I share an anticipation as I've weighed them up and consider them that God is all over them. There is often a delay between the time of something sharing and the time of fruition, the prophetic has the ability to scan and to span those ages. But we need to weigh them up.
Speaker 0 03:32:17 Do you know? Even the most incorrect, prophetic word can come from a good heart and a good person. Yeah. Who loves the Lord and desires to please him. Yeah. But did you know that there are times when the enemy intentionally corrupts the prophetic? Yes. I was reading the other day. Those of you doing the Bible in a year, you will have read this also in Naiah chapter six. Yeah. Naiah was called to rebuild the broken walls of the city. And as he was gaining success and traction, we read that there were some people who had been called prophets that were basically paid to prophesy the wrong thing to Naiah in order to get him to sin. Yes. Let's read it together. Naiah six, verse 12 and 13. I Naiah realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobi and Sam Ballard had hired him.
Speaker 0 03:33:17 They were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin. Then they would be able to accuse and discredit me, remember, oh my God, all the evil things that Toya and Sam ballot have done. And remember Noriah the prophet and all the prophets like her who have tried to intimidate me, the prophetic needs, high levels of discernment to evaluate and to weigh things up. We read here that what these false profits were motivated by was money. There was some motive. There was something in their heart. In fact, their prophetic words, prophetic words in inverted comments, their prophetic words were revealing their hearts, not God's hearts. They were revealing what they wanted, not what God wanted. They wanted the money. It may be other motivations for the prophetic things like significance or influence or power. I've seen a prophetic abuse over the years for people to gain some sense of notoriety about their life.
Speaker 0 03:34:25 In fact, there's a real danger for those involved in the prophetic that they always feel like they've gotta have something new to say, yes, that's a lot of pressure to live under. Absolutely. But if in your heart, you're operating a prophetic gift out of what you need. It's not prophetic. It's revealing your heart. Whereas the prophetic is supposed to reveal God's heart. Amen. And it's really important that there's some very key things that are in the life of someone who flows in a prophetic grace. First of all, if someone's going to prophecy, I believe they need to be in good relationship with the body of Christ. Yeah. There are too many floating prophets around. Yeah. Who have no good relationship with the body of Christ. Yes. Yeah. If you are one of them sorted out, come on because in your heart, there's something injured and there's something hurts and there's something rejected.
Speaker 0 03:35:23 And your words will come from that place of your heart. And there will reveal what's in your heart. Not what's on God's heart. You need to be restored back into the body of Christ. You're not meant to be prophetic on its own. You're meant to be in the community of God's people, the body of Christ. You need apostles around you. Who will challenge you. You need evangelists around you. Who will challenge you. You need teachers and shepherds that will disagree with you. You need it. And it's not rejection. You need to get healed of your rejection C you. Now I know that the church over the years has been really brutal to people with a prophetic grace, but some of your rejection has been because of you being unteachable. It's because you have not liked it when people disagree with you. So, you know, the prophetic is like a postman.
Speaker 0 03:36:14 When my postman pops a bill through my letter box, he doesn't then knock the dawns that have you paid it yet. That's not his job. That's my job to receive the word and to do with it. What I need to do with that's my responsibility. It's not your responsibility. And there are too many profits wandering around aimlessly in the body of Christ, carrying injuries, carrying rejection, because they gave a word and people wave it up and they didn't receive it. And they say, well, if you're not gonna read my mail, then I'm outta here. Listen, let me say this with a shepherd part of my, you will get to the end of your days with deep regret over your life. Unless you make this pursuit of your next season to get healed of that. Come on,
Speaker 4 03:37:05 Come on, mom. It's good.
Speaker 0 03:37:06 Yeah. Don't think, well, everyone else needs to change to hear my gift. No, you need to get healed. Come
Speaker 4 03:37:14 On.
Speaker 0 03:37:15 Yeah. Find your healing. Yes. Because the body of Christ needs the grace on your life. We need the gifts that's on your life, but we don't need it coming from our heart. That's broken. Come on. We need God's heart to be revealed for the prophetic, not your broken heart.
Speaker 0 03:37:42 If I'm going to hear prophetic, I want to hear from someone who is dying to themselves, they dealing with the sinfulness of their own heart. There are too many people who prophesy like an old Testament prophet, but the thing is, they present themselves as above approach. They're judgmental of spirit. Do you know when I, when I see Jeremiah and the old Testament lamenting and bringing tough words against the people of Israel, I see him weeping. Yeah. I see his heart broken because the prime role of the prophetic prophetic is to reveal God's heart. Not his judgment to reveal his love and his care that's right. His, his approach is always to get us to come back. Cuz that's the best place for us to be. It's not the cast assertions. It's not to go around church communities and declare iBod the spirit of the Lord is departed. That's not God, that's your injury. Find healing. Find the grace of the Lord. Amen. And I found this over the years, everybody says, they're accountable.
Speaker 0 03:38:55 If I ask you this morning, do you believe accountability is good? You'll say, yes. If I ask you this morning, do you believe that you live your life in, in an accountable framework? You'll say yes. And then someone will say something to you that you don't like. And at that point, you step away. That's not accountability. That's preference. And in this story in am, the prophets are revealing their heart not God's. And that goes right to the center of the prophetic gift is to reveal the heart of God. If someone reveals a word from God without the heart of God, then it's not really prophetic. May have prophetic origins, but it's not a prophetic word. And I believe that prophetic grace has a propensity for doing a few things. First of all, it honors the Lord.
Speaker 0 03:39:44 It worships the Lord. Amen. It agitates against the state's quo. It brings the Lord's edification and comfort. It brings people back to the heart of God. It addresses injustice and unfair measures in society because that's not what's in God's heart. God's heart is healing and restoration and hope and justice. Yes. And where it exists, surround us where the world is unjust. The heart of God reveals through the prophetic. Doesn't just say that is wrong. It reveals the heart of God. Now the prophetic, as I've been speaking, you might be understanding it to be about somebody saying some words. And of course that is a powerful part of the prophetic, but the prophetic can be expressed in words of prophecy, in any set in, by the way, all too often, people say, you know, where's the space for the prophetic in the church. Where's the space for the gifts of the spirit, the space for the prophetic and the gifts of the spirit is seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
Speaker 0 03:40:56 Yeah. You don't just come to speak into this context. We're in a world that needs to hear the heart of God. Yes. The church rise up with a prophetic call upon it. Let the church rise up and take God into the world. You know, I thank God for lovely prophetic words over the years. And I thank God that, that God is often gentle and he's lovely and he's encouraging, but some people have got stuck. They're still talking about floating clouds and rainbows and you know, and nice things. And God is saying, I want you to mature and grow up because he wants us to reveal his hearts. And there's a growth in the prophetic that needs to come.
Speaker 0 03:41:38 Alan hush, I refer to last week, he's authored several books, exploring the a P and he lists the following as some roles, which can be expressions of the prophetic grace. Let's look at them over these next few minutes. We understand this when preachers that can display something of the heart of God. I believe today, my heart and my intention is to not reveal my heart as the lead pass of the church, but to reveal the heart of God that he wants the prophetic to come alive in the body of Christ. I believe that there can be a manifestation and prophetic and inters. In fact, some of our greatest prayer warriors in the church, you're prophetic in nature. You stir with a compulsion of the things that stir the heart of God, and it leads you to prayer. There's social activists and campaigners in society that look at the injustices around and they say that is not right.
Speaker 0 03:42:33 It is not right in our society that some of the poorest in our communities are on prepaid electric meters. And they are therefore paying more for their energy this winter. That's not right. And I think God looks and says, that's not right. That's not. Where's the prophetic voices rise up about that. Or do you just wanna talk about fluffy Bunnys? Where's the prophetic voices against the things that are wrong in our society, but the injustices, where's the prophetic voice of the church. Come on. Some of you, you need to go to government. Some of you need to rise up into politics with a prophetic call up on your life. Some you need to rise up into business and need to turn the immorality and the injustices that there are. And the in ethics, the lack of ethics in the business world, you need to rise up with the heart of God and say, I'm gonna reveal God's heart. That's the prophetic in our society. That's why the church needs to rise up with the prophetic voice. Let's stop having it just about bless me sessions. Come on. Oh, I need a word. I've got a decision to make. Thank God for those prophetic utterances. Thank God for those directive words. But there's so much more to the prophetic than just blessing you. God,
Speaker 0 03:43:42 Some people with prophetic grace, they maintain the soul or the passion of an organization. And they say, no, this is not why we're in this. Yeah, we're in this because of the bigger cause worship leaders, some of the best worship leaders are people who are prophetic in nature because they've seen God and they want to help us to see him. People, the prophetic grace, they can be questioners of the status quote. They can be holy rebels or dissenters just like Daniel was. And he said, I'm not gonna do what you've asked me to do. I'm gonna carry on kneeling in front of an open window. And I'm gonna pray three times a day, cuz I'm gonna rebel against the things of this world. The prophetic does that. The prophetic causes incarnation missionaries to move into rundown housing estates, to sell their nice house and to move into a house that where they face, you know, I've got a friend a number of years ago, he moved into a community in a, in a really needier state in Manchester.
Speaker 0 03:44:43 And he just said, we're moving in because we, we can't just drive it and tell 'em about geez, we have to live among them. Yeah. Do you know, we used to get dog poop. The letter box of his home. He used to get people smash windows, but he gave himself because he said, that's what Jesus would do. He'll be here. That's incarnation, missionaries, not people who just send leaflets, but people who send themselves people who are innovators of new forms of doing things, poets, artists, the creatives, the musicians, prayer and deliverance ministry. The enemy is rampant in the earth is holding people by strongholds in their life. And the church are debating whether he's real or he is real. Yes. And he's capturing people's lives. And we need a rise of people who know what it is to cast out demons.
Speaker 0 03:45:46 Sometimes we are trying to counsel things that need to be delivered. Sometimes we're trying to find human solutions to things that are spiritually problematic and the prophetic. See that people who are local activists about local issues, people who are nonviolent protestors, people involved in aid and development work, people who are problem solvers. Maybe I love this. And is this detectives people who have an inquisitive nurse in their, in their life to, to find the solutions, to find the answers to piece the bits together, mystics, insightful, deep thinkers, philosophers, whistle blowers. You needers are. Needers are prophet needers. Nita's got prophetic grace in her life. And there have been a number of environments she's worked in where she has seen people, even managers put their hand in the till Anita's been a whistleblower. And she just thought that was cuz she can't tolerate that stuff. But it's prophetic cuz God cares about injustice in our society.
Speaker 0 03:46:56 People who are in investigative, in their life, journalists and so on. And in conclusion, we as a church reaffirm our need and openness to the prophetic hero rediscover not only through the continuation of our journey that we've taken over recent years, which is including building relationships with tried and trusted prophetic ministries. And we are in good relationship with a range of prophetic ministries. I believe that relationship is the best way to do that. Yeah, not only by developing prophetic gifts. I love what Mary's doing here in the church. Mary has picked up a mantle, uh, following on from a year, a number of years of investment. We brought in someone called David shackled who come and helped school. Some people in prophetic. Do you know some of the exercises he did. I remember one day with about 20 people in the group and he phoned up, he, he arrived here on a Saturday morning with 20 mobile phone numbers of people that there was no names next to the numbers.
Speaker 0 03:48:00 And he'd agreed with these 20 people that someone at a certain time on Saturday morning would phone them. And when they pick up the phone, they weren't allowed to say anything in reply. And as they picked up the phone, which was dialed by one of the 20 prophetic students that we had here in the church, they dialed it. The other person picked it up. They said nothing. They held the phone to their ear and the student here then began to prophesy over them down the phone. Didn't know if they were male, female didn't know what age they were. Didn't know what was going on in their life. They knew nothing. Yeah. And then at the end of them giving that prophetic word, that person then would phone up the person who was organized in the group and feed back the words. How did they do?
Speaker 0 03:48:49 That's a bit scary. Isn't it Uhhuh. But the prophetic is able to hear from God. And I love that. We've been invest in that for years. I love that. Now Mary is able to lead a group of people regularly. That me, after the service and people can have prophetic appointments. I love that there are people who are growing in confidence in what it is to hear the voice of God. And I love that we're doing that in conjunction with evaluating and weighing up. Well, I love the rise of the prophet ministry and there will be many of you in this room that have a prophetic grace on your life. And you've never shared a prophetic word yet. You've never stepped out and given a word of knowledge, you've never done something that feels like it'd be risky, but there's just something in you that stirs with the heart of God.
Speaker 0 03:49:38 There's something in you that longs for more. And it could be that that's a prophetic grace on your life. And that prophetic Grace May demonstrated by joining the prophetic team and being trained on how to use that. It may be by speaking over other people's lives. It may be by sending words into the church for us to evaluate and pray, it might be for having prophetic words for your colleagues at work or for your family or your neighbors. It might be any of those things. It also might be you standing up to the injustices in our world around us. Yes. Got a number of people here working the Y M C a got a number of people who regularly see the injustices that many young people face in this city. That's a prophetic thing. Yes. That's not just saying we're gonna find a way to help them. It's saying no, this is not God's.
Speaker 0 03:50:29 Heart is not just to be talked about. God's heart is to be demonstrated and we're gonna take in the homeless. We're gonna take in the broken, the battle and the bruise. We're gonna help teach them skills in life because we want to help them know that they are loved. They are treasure. They are valued cuz that's what the prophetic does. And we are encouraging everybody in the church to take a little test called the AP P test. You can do this by going on this URL that you'll see on the screen, rediscover church.com/ap P. When you go to that URL, you can pay 10 pound. And then in the next few days you'll receive a code and that code will give you access to go onto a little test. It's not Bible it's may have some disputable results, but we have found it to be really helpful.
Speaker 0 03:51:25 All of the team here have been through this over the last year and it has really helped us. For example, my prime grace on my life is apostolic and it helps me make sense of my life. Because if I can be honest with you, every time I step out in the apostolic, it makes me feel like I'm being a bad shepherd. Cause I think cuz I can't do everything. You know, the, the old school thing for church leaders was the church leaders should be the best apostles, prophets, evangelist, shepherds, and teachers. We should be a model of everything, but that's not how God calls it. No, that's try God calls us to be a body of differences and, and we need each other. And so I'm really, we we've just, and we'll have, we'll talk more about this in the months ahead. But the beginning of this year with the elders, they said, well mark, if your primary grace is apostolic, we need to strengthen the pastoral ministries in the church.
Speaker 0 03:52:24 And so we've got some changes coming up. We've got some people moving around, according to the graces on their life. Now that's just how we are organizing this church leadership for this church. But that's not just where church ministry functions, church ministry functions, seven days a week, 24 hours a day where we are, we are called to represent Christ of this world. And if you have a prophetic grace on your life, we need you to know it and we need you to steward it. The body of Christ needs you to rise up in the call and the grace is on you don't hold back. Don't bury it. Don't hide it. If you could take this test and if the 10 pound is a problem to you, please just contact the office and we'll find we'll make it work so you can access it. But I think it's a good investment of 10 pound. We thank God for the apostles, the profits and need's grace as prophetic.
Speaker 0 03:53:22 And sometimes we see things differently. Not because I'm mark and she's neater. Not because we've had different experiences in life. Not because we just come to different conclusions, but we see things differently because my top grades will be apostolic and hers is prophetic. When you know that you can manage how you interact a lot easier. Yeah. And there are times I got a need and say, neat, what do you think about this? Because I need the prophetic to speak into a situation in closing a few months ago, I was speaking at Elm's national conference in hark. And I had a word that I believed was from God to bring to our 2000 leaders that were there. A and I had a number of scenarios as to how this word was gonna end. And one of them involved bringing people to the front and the one was to get people standing where they are and pray for them in their seats.
Speaker 0 03:54:21 There was a few options. But as I felt, I came to the close of what I was saying. I felt God say just close your Bible and walk off the stage. And it felt awkward. I finished, I just walked off. You could see the worship band, look at each other and thinking, should we sing? Should we get up? Should we do something? I could see the leader of the service thinking, should I get up and follow it? Should I leader response? It was awkward. And I went and sat in the front, got off this stage and the worship band got up and they began to sing a song about God being our shepherd. And he was all lovely. It was all nice. But one of the other speakers there that day, that conference was someone that we are in good relationship with has been here often. Rachel Hickson, she's a prophet. And Rachel was sat over there in this big auditorium. I was sat over there and she walked across the front and she said, mark, have you finished? I said, I don't think like it's finished, but I felt, God asked me to come off the stage. She said, you need to get back on the stage. And there's something else God wants to do. And I looked at this wonderful, beautiful hearted prophet. And I said, I'll go back on if you come with me <laugh>.
Speaker 0 03:55:48 So Rachel walked onto the stage with me. She'd already spoken that more on the prophetic, but a key part of my message was to say to all the leaders, we need to welcome the prophetic again. And I got onto the stage and I said, I thought I'd done, but I've been saying all night, we need to welcome the prophetic. And the prophetic just came and spoke to me and said, you haven't finished yet of you. And so we are both here on the stage because I've just done. What I've been encouraged us to do that is to listen to the prophetic. And we began to minister and the spirit of God just touched people's hearts. And it was a beautiful moment. What I loved about it was he was an illustration of everything I'd spent time explaining. God has a way of being able to do that. So if you have a prophetic grace on your life, you may not be aware of it. Do the AP test and find out in the months ahead, we'll be gathering all the apostolic, graces, the prophetic graces, the evangelistic graces, the shepherd graces. The teaching graces will be gathering us all together in different groups. And we'll be encouraging you how you can grow in that. Grace let's pray together.
Speaker 0 03:57:01 Thank you, Jesus Lord. We thank you for your presence and your power. We thank you for your heart. Thank you. Whenever we see your heart revealed, we're deeply touched and provoked. And Lord, I thank you for the prophetic and I'm sorry, God, for the times, the prophetic has been shut out maybe of my heart and my life, but certainly out from the body of Christ in churches, all over the world. And Lord, we just open our hearts and we say, Lord, we pray that we would be those that are able to reflect your heart in this world. Whether that be through prophecy, whether that be through campaigning, whether that be through ideation, Lord, we ask that the prophetic will rise and we pray your grant, your church, great discernment. As we seek to dis distinguish that witches of you and that which is not gonna ask you now, just to consider two questions in closing first, is there one thing particularly that stands out for you from everything that's been said or anything that's happened in the service today?
Speaker 0 03:58:24 Don't let that one thing float away. Don't let it get lost in the crowd of all the bits and pieces. What's the one standout thing for you. If you can just retain that in your heart, this will have been worth it today. If it started to float away, just pull it back and hold it. And as you hold that one thing, is there something that you need to do in response to that one thing, is there a decision you need to make? Is there something you need to do? Is there something you need to obey the voice of the spirit, make a decision, how to do that? Don't let it run away. And just while you're doing that church, if anyone in the room or online doesn't know Jesus Christ, their Lord and savior, his heart is for you. If you wanna know what his heart is like, you just look to the cross and you just see the son of God hanging there on a cross because he loves you. He gave himself for you so that you can know new life. That's the greatest expression of the heart of love you'll ever see. And if you've never received his love,
Speaker 0 03:59:32 If you've never acknowledged his heart for you today, that can change. So I'm gonna invite you. If you would like to receive the love of God, turn around from the way you've been living your life, which has been ignorant of God and start following him, following his heart in everything you do. Bible says the key to that is a turnaround. It's repentance. It's acknowledging that you've gone away from him and now you're gonna come back to him. So if you wanna acknowledge your need of him, then what do you pray? The simple prayer after me. And it goes like this, Jesus, I've walked away from you in my life. Not involved. You I've done my own thing. I've messed up. Please forgive me. And I ask, oh God, that now you would wash me in your love and purify me from all the mess and mistakes and the shame of my life.
Speaker 0 04:00:35 Please come and fill me with your spirit that I might spend the rest of my days. Following you, knowing you intimately as a friend, I wanna follow you in Jesus name just while everybody remains praying. If you pray that prayer this morning, either to come back to God for the first time, invite you just to let us know that you've done that by raising your hand, if you're in the room or just type into the chat. If you're online, is there anyone this morning give your life to Jesus. Receive him. Join with us 425 young people that gave their lives to Christ at camp this week, join with those who the last two Sundays have given their lives to Christ in every service. Is there anyone? Thank you, sir. Is there anyone else this morning, father, thank you for this one young guy. And I pray now that you'll surround him with your presence and your love and your power. I pray that he will not just know your truth, but he will know your heart. And I pray that he will leave this building, knowing that he's absolutely loved by the king of glory, by the lover of his soul,
Speaker 0 04:01:55 Fill him. I pray in Jesus name.
Speaker 9 04:02:01 Amen,
Speaker 0 04:02:02 Amen. And all those one things in our lives. Now, may we live them? Just one thing. I touched on those who had disappointment of prophetic words that have not worked out and what was intended for a blessing has become a curse. If that's you just open your heart now, cuz God wants to break that spirit of God. I pray that you release every word that has not come from you, that people have held onto. And it has become a curse for them in the name of juices I ask, oh God, that you will liberate their hearts and their minds. And Lord, I pray that we will not close the door to the prophetic, to the true prophetic moving forward. But all of us will open our hearts and Lord, we call all those fragmented, rejected profits. All those people that have been broken and damaged by the church and those who've been hurt and are carrying a grace, but they carry it in isolation. Lord, we pray that they will find their home in the body of Christ. Once again, Lord, we pray that they will come back to knowing fellowship with one another in Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker 0 04:03:26 Amen. God bless you. We're gonna finish our service there. We're not gonna sing. We're not got refreshments because we're going to the barbecue. If you would like to join this, then please, we would love to see you. And God bless you have a great week. And we look forward to seeing you soon. Bye-bye
Speaker 31 04:03:55 Evidence that the.
