Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Wonderful. Wonderful. Isn't God good? Amen. So amazed and so blessed by all God's doing here and the team that he's building your team to help guide us as a church to move forward. Um, there's been lots of new appointments recently, as well as our interns. We've had a real reconfiguration of our pastoral team headed up by Des.
Speaker 0 00:00:25 He came out of retirement yesterday though, and played the guitar in the wedding of may. And, uh, so he's still gonna sing on occasions, but Des is now coing our pastoral of ministry and then joy and Steve, our coordinator, our pastoral ministry through our life groups, just amazing couple and Leanna is also overseeing our families, the pastoring. So it feels just like a precious team that God's bring together. And then our worship, um, as Des stood down from the worship, we have appointed, we had to appoint three people to fill his shoes. Yeah. So that's, uh, I said, I'd get that in there. Um, so Noah, you've seen Lee this morning. He's gonna, he's now part-time coordinating the worship leaders and then Tendi is coordinating the music directors and the musicians, and then sues is managing the administration of our worship team. So just like, it's just, it feels like dream team is just building together and God's good, isn't he? Yeah. We, you know, we've had loads of change haven't we?
Speaker 1 00:01:31 Yes.
Speaker 0 00:01:32 Feels like I touched on a sore point there we've had, we've had loads of change. Like, yes, I look out. And some of you I'd never met you before sort of a year ago. And on Monday we have an amazing time in our prayer gathering downstairs. Won't be on tomorrow, cuz it's a bank holiday, uh, for the funeral. But um, last week we had to put the chairs too deep. Yeah. In the room in order to fit everybody in. And I'm looking around thinking, gosh, I reckon at least 50% of people here wouldn't have been part of rediscover a year ago. Right. And so welcome all those who've joined. There's although God's brought among us to be part of this dream team of what God's doing, all those who are thinking about joining, there's a big welcome to you and an special thank you to all of those. Who've been a part of this church for years. Yeah. Yeah. We honor you, your legacy, your faithfulness, your prayers, your giving, you are amazing. And I wonder, could we just give each other a clap and say, well done, we love it.
Speaker 0 00:02:39 We take you straight to a Bible verse. Philippians says this, not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of me, the apostle Paul wrote this knew that there was a VA to take hold of. He knew what his life was about. He knew what he was called to do, and he knew why he was doing it. And I wanna ask some questions today in a new series we're looking at just for two weeks called what we do and why we do it. And the reason for this is that there's a lot of people been asking a lot of why questions over the last couple of years, because in many ways there are habits that you and I would've had naturally formed into us over many years.
Speaker 0 00:03:36 And it acted like a fire breaker. When we went into lockdown and some of those things that we had done for years, we suddenly were enforced to stop doing. And as we reemerge outta the other side of that season, we don't have those habits built into us. And what we need to do is to learn, to establish a good answer to the why did we do them question? Yeah. Yeah. In order to decide whether we pick them up again or not good. So the COVID period broke down this sort of sense of habits, but there are lots of people that are asking the good question of why. Now I had a little look online for some maybe why questions that people have asked. And I found some funny answers. Wouldn't you like to know some of the why questions that were quite humorous online, for example, why is the word abbreviated so long? Why is the third hand on our watch called the second hand? Why is that time of the day? When the traffic is, is at its worst and slowest, do we call it rush hour?
Speaker 2 00:04:48 <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:04:49 What about this one? If you've got stocks and shares, why is the man who invests all your money for you called a broker? And, and this is the most concern of the lot. Why when you go to see your doctor, why is what they're call, what they do called practice.
Speaker 2 00:05:10 <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:05:11 Not my words
Speaker 0 00:05:15 Over the next two weeks. We're gonna look at some of the things that we do and why we do them. Now, before I do this, this is not a vision Sunday. We're not gonna talk about the vision of the church, but it's important that I just put before you just a summary of what our vision is. If you saw our wonderful artwork, that one of our young adults, Sophie has done on the way in, isn't it beautiful. And um, you would've walked past images of the Southwest on the way in and names of the Southwest and in the middle is our vision statement. It says to revealing the glory of God, to the Southwest and beyond, we believe God's put a mandate on the church. Yeah. To be a resource and a blessing to the kingdom of God in the Southwest. Yeah. Not just the city, that's our vision.
Speaker 0 00:06:04 Then that's one arm in the other arm. Then we've got our values and these are really important because they undergir how we do things. Yeah. And so we've got three summarized values that we hold to. The first one is that we live courageously. Yeah. We can't be timid. We've got the hope of glory in our hearts. We live courageously because we're Bible believing spirit filled people of God. The second thing is that we love extravagantly, cuz God is not tempered with his love. God is not stingy with his love. And we are his people and we L love extravagantly. If it doesn't fit that category, then we're not fulfilling our values. And thirdly, we thrive authentically. We wanna make sure that we're not pretending to thrive. We wanna make sure that we are not lots of plastic fruits of the spirit around the place, but it's real.
Speaker 0 00:06:58 Yeah. It's alive. And it's true. And we understand what thrive and authentically means. So there's our vision, there's our values. But what we are holding are the things that we do. And each of those things we do should have a answer to why do we do them? Yeah. So hopefully, although not given the time that I use in the first service, much hope of this happening in fullness. Um, over the next two weeks, I'm looking to tackle these topics that we facilitate encounters. We release disciple makers. No, just disciples. You're called to be disciple maker. More like next week. Yeah. We encourage the fivefold ministry graces. Yeah. We've had lots of that over the last seven weeks. If you haven't caught that series, I advise you to watch online. It's it's essential fourthly. We extend the kingdom of God and fifthly. We collaborate. Yeah. We're gonna look at those hopefully in summary next week.
Speaker 0 00:08:00 But the one we're gonna look at today is that we facilitate encounters. Yes. Yes. Because I believe that God is a God of encounter. Yes. He's not just a God who wants to be talked about or learned about he's a God. He wants us to meet him. Yeah. He wants to engage with us. He wants to connect with us. And under this title of we facilitate encounters. We've created these few words. We gather in groups, both large and small to worship and encounter the presence of God, his word, and his people. We hunger for more of the Lord long in for deeper intimacy and a greater weight of his glory. We expect miracles and healings and signs and wonders and deliverance and restoration and salvation. Whenever we meet, we gather to be the hands and feet of Jesus to each other. That's what we do.
Speaker 0 00:09:04 That's why we gather. That's why we believe that God is a God of encounter. Now I'm so grateful to God that I have the privilege in my life of having a vibrant daily ability to enter into the presence of the most high God. Yeah. Thank you daily. Thank you. Every moment I can live as a person of the presence of God, amen. I can live completely surrounded by his presence wherever I am, whatever I'm doing. Amen. And I think to contrast just how incredible a privilege and a reality this is, I need to take you back to the old Testament and for you to be reminded or understand that the privilege of entering into the presence of the most high God was a privilege that only one person in the entire nation of Israel once a year was able to experience. Yeah, that's right. As they stepped, as the high priest stepped into the most holy of Holies, they encountered the presence of God.
Speaker 0 00:10:20 They have bells on them because if the presence of God was so overpowering and the bells stopped ringing, they would drag them out. Cuz no one else was able to go and retrieve them that the privilege and the opportunity to enter the presence of God is now no longer delegated to pastors or Kings or rulers or priests or those who have religious training. The privilege of entering the presence of God is a daily reality for you and for me. And so we don't gather in church to meet with God. This is not where he lives. If God has given out his address, it's not rediscover church building on Northern hay street. It's rediscover people where you are, you are God's post code. Yes you are where he resides and where he lives. And so as he resides in us that we get to have regular encounters with the Lord.
Speaker 0 00:11:26 And I love that we're in good company. And we see throughout the scripture name, after name, person, after person who encountered, who walked, who experienced the voice and had encounters with God, whether it was prophetic words or whether it was people just hearing the voice of the Lord, speak some direction into them. And these people, they inspire us today that we have this privilege where there are no limitations and there are no rations on the balcony. After the service. I think there might be some wedding cake left from yesterday, from our sister may that got married, which is a beautiful occasion just to see her just move into that season of her life. But I, I know this, that the cake had to be rationed and cut into pieces. There's not enough to go around. So get in there quickly if there's any left after the first service, but the presence of God is not rationed.
Speaker 0 00:12:22 Come on. It's not, God's not saying who. There's a lot of people here this morning. I have to give them a little bit, come on God. It's fully God in his people, in his sanctuaries, in his temples, you are his post code. And so if you come to church dry and you say, oh, I need to go to church because I want to meet with the Lord. I need the Lord to touch my life. Now I wanna, on one hand, applaud your desire to come and be with God's people. But also I want to correct something in you because God does not live here. Come on. You bring him with you. Yeah, come on. I bring him with me. The realities are the power and the presence of God is demonstrated. When we gather together, when we are living a lifestyle of living in his presence.
Speaker 0 00:13:19 Amen. You see there is a lack of signs and wonders and healings and miraculous within the body of Christ today. But it's nothing to do with the size of the church. It's nothing to do with the structure of the worship team. It's nothing to do with how well someone leads, it's everything to do with how watered the people of God are. It's everything to do with that. All of us we're meant to come to church to gather together, gather as the people of God, with the artesian well of the spirit of the Lord overflowing within us. We're meant to be vibrantly, exploding and overflowing with the presence of the Lord in our lives. And when we gather together, it should be like the fountain of fountains because the presence of God is oozing through all of the people of God. But instead we allow the cynicism of this world to curtail our hunger and our thirst.
Speaker 0 00:14:22 We allow the busyness of this world, the affections of this world to bring us to gather together as really dry people. Yeah. Now I know there are some desert times that we all go through in our lives and it's amazing how much we are growing at those times. I'm not saying that when the presence of the Lord is our desire and our, and our main focus in our lives when we seek God first, I'm not saying that it feels like we're perpetually living in revival. At that moment. I've had some tough times in my life. Some of the, the darkest, the most difficult periods of my time. I've I felt like I could say God, where are you? Yeah. But I tell you this, when you keep looking to God. Yeah. During those times what you actually doing is you Digg digging a deeper, well, come on.
Speaker 0 00:15:11 So when the next season comes, you have greater capacity. Yes. For the spirit of God to reside in you, cuz he's clearing out some junk out of our lives. Yeah. Get up. And so, you know, the church, the body of Christ is meant to be a people that are overflowing. Now at the beginning of that statement, I mention that we gather in groups both large and small, what's all that about, well over the two services here on a suddenly we quite a big group. And you know, some people might say, you know what? I I've been coming a few months now. I've been coming for years and I don't know anybody. Hey, listen. A couple of days ago, we, um, joy and Steve gathered a few people together to explore with them. Whether they might be trained up as life group leaders. It was a wonderful night.
Speaker 0 00:15:58 People came and give her their time and it was a beautiful evening. And I started that evening off by asking people two questions. The first question was this, what can you do in a small group that you can't do in a big group? Their answers were brilliant. And the second question was this, what can you do in a big group that you can't do in a small group? And again, their answers were brilliant. In fact, I made a note of some of the things that they said, let me tell you what they said, small groups in a small group. And we have life groups that you can get to know people at a deeper level. You can interact and discuss topics easier together. You can know what is going on in each other's lives and look out for each other. You can sharpen one another out of relationship and you can hold each other to account say, did you do what you said you were going to do?
Speaker 0 00:16:56 Yeah. Did you forgive that person? Like you said, they were gonna forgive them. Did you encourage them? Like you said, you did, you share your faith. Like you said, you were going to, yeah, you can do that in a small group here, you get lost. Don't get lost. I mean, you know, you get lost in the crowd can be a bit anonymous. Um, you can step out and grow in giftings, in small groups and growing your ministry graces in small groups, you can be, missionly active in the area where you have your small group. Some of our life groups, they reach in their communities and they finding innovative ways. So they can connect the hope of the gospel, where the people who live around them. I thought that was a great list. Well done. All those who were there, I then asked, okay, what can you do in a large group that you can't do in a small group?
Speaker 0 00:17:42 What can you do in a large celebration like this? And they said this, you can join together with one heart and vision. There's a unity. You can know that you're a part of a bigger community. Yes. There are resources, giftings and abilities that are joined together for greater impact Nira. And I started a new church off a number of years ago, quite a few years before we came here and it was started off in our home. And we had a lovely group of people. You know, there was all of those values and qualities. I mentioned in the small group that were all there. We had great relationship. We understood what was going on. Each other's lives. We encourage each other. We blessed each other. We had a desire to reach our communities. It was powerful. It was wonderful. But when a big need came to our attention, we didn't have the resources to attend to it.
Speaker 0 00:18:30 We felt a bit impotent really in regards to some of the largeness of the issues we were facing around us, we just felt we don't have the ability to do anything about this. I love that. We bring our resources together as the body of Christ and we get involved in some big things in society. You know, we can speak truth to power because we represent, as far as the politicians are concerned, we represent quite a big sizable community in the city. Yes we can. We can have Christmas programs to give up 1500 ampers over the Christmas period. We can do things like dream about planting a hundred new churches over the next 10 years. We can dream those things because together we, we strengthen one another and we add our resources and we make things possible that would've otherwise not been possible. I love that about the big group.
Speaker 0 00:19:19 Also somebody commented it's much easier and it feels much more effective to worship in a large group setting with music. Like I don't know how popular we view people's neighbors. If there was a drum kit in every life group, you know, just having the ability for the instrumentation and that atmosphere of faith, that environment of encouragement. That one sound where, you know, if you don't like the crowds, then I, I just need to warn you. Heaven's gonna be pretty busy. Yeah. It's gonna be pretty loud up there. If Bible just say in revelation, there'll be half an hour of silence in heaven, but that's it. The rest is gonna be pretty wild and it's gonna be all sorts of every nation, tribe and culture worshiping and honor in the Lord, it's gonna be loads of noise. It's gonna be an amazing occasion. And there are going to be billions of people. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:20:18 And I, and they also mentioned that the word of God, there can be a clarity when we're gathered together on the centrality of God's word, you see both small and large groups are like two sides of a coin. Both offer something important and unique, but both need each other. That there are things you can get outta one that you can't get outta the other. And you know, I have to really just try to from a pastor's heart, just love you on, on this. I, over the years, I've had people say I've been coming for months or years and I don't know anybody. Well, you slip in at the back. When the services already started and you leave before the song finishes, you don't go and speak to anybody. When you get a tea or a coffee, you don't join any life groups. Hello? Come on,
Speaker 3 00:21:12 Come on.
Speaker 0 00:21:13 You have to invest in relationships. You have to do it. Yes. Don't give me I'm an introvert. So am I? Yes, he is. And I have the privilege of serving God in this capacity. Yes he is. Don't give me that stuff about your personality. Don't tell me that no one really wants to get to know you. They do. And you need to get to know other people as well. Come on church. We've got a vision that all of you will be in a life group. Everybody we've got a lot to do and join Stevie, doing an amazing job, a training up in a few weeks time, we're probably gonna have more life groups than we've ever had in the church. It's gonna be wonderful, but we need you to invest your time and your heart. And you could carry on coming on Sunday and you get all the benefits of the large, but you won't get those things that you get in the small come on.
Speaker 0 00:22:05 And if you just go to the small, you won't get the benefits of what you get in the large. We need both. Yeah. And you see when we are people of the presence and we are people who live in the presence of God in our lives. And whenever we gather, whether it's one of those small groups or those large groups, how can we not overflow with God? Amen. You know, if we are not going into those places, as people of the presence, the conversation will descend to the lowest common denominator of conversation. Come on. It will descend to how your weak is gone. And that's a great question by the way, to ask someone and to show interest in their lives and to care and to pray for them. It's nothing wrong with that question. But if you get stuck there, come on. Every group should end up with, but look how wonderful he is. Look how great my God is. Look how awesome he is. Come on. That's how all our group should end. Yeah, because we all have tough times and we're there for each other. We love each other. We don't deny those things that we are going through. But look at the Lord, come on, look what the Lord has done. Yes.
Speaker 0 00:23:17 Says we hunger for more of the Lord long in for deeper intimacy and a greater weight of his glory. I've been, as I'm sure many of you have deeply impacted by the loss of our queen and the impact of the grief on the nation and the nations. We have seen a five mile cue form only in Britain. Could that happen? Five miles sneaking through London, just to get to Westminster hall, to have a fleeting glance of the coffin where our lake queen lies five miles, 24 hours. Some people have been queuing. And when the press speak to these people in the queue, I've not heard anybody say anything like this. This is disgusting. This is awful. They should have done something better rather than make us cue for 24 hours. She's my queen. I'm entitled to go and see her. We haven't heard any of those stories. In fact, quite the opposite. Yeah. It feels like those who have been Qing the longest feel like they're paying more respect. They're saying there's the least we could do. It's the least we could do for all she's done for the country. It's the least just if it takes 24 hours, it's okay. It's worth it.
Speaker 0 00:25:02 In fact, before I proceed, shall we pray for our nation right now? Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:25:07 Yes.
Speaker 0 00:25:07 Because tomorrow the broadcast of the funeral is gonna go out to more homes than any other broadcast in live in history. Yeah. And I've been praying for the Dean of Westminster cathedral. I've been praying for the Archbishop for Canterbury, that they would show the courage and the tenacity that they've shown over the last week to lead the nation to the promise of Jesus. Amen and salvation.
Speaker 3 00:25:35 Amen,
Speaker 0 00:25:37 Lord, we thank you that you comfort those who mourn. And we know that in the nation right now, our hearts feel tender. Thank you that you are a God of all comfort. You wrap yourself around us. And Lord, we know at the softness of heart, that there is in the nation. Now that what those soft hurting, broken hearts need is the answer of Jesus.
Speaker 0 00:26:03 And we pray tomorrow for that funeral, that the word of God would be declared boldly. And clearly, yes. And we pray that it would not be written off by society as a novelty come on or as another form of ancient tradition that has no relevance to the present. But I pray that as your word goes out, it will sink deep into the hearts and the minds and the consciousness of our nation. And Lord, we pray that there would be a mighty harvest of people with open hearts and open minds. Yeah. Receiving the word of God and responding in the name of Jesus. Lord, we know that it's not your will. That any will perish. It is your will that each person in this nation, each person in the nations of the world will be watching this broadcast tomorrow. That it's your will, that all of them will discover your life. Amen. So Lord, we pray. Eyes will be opened and hearts will see and understand amen in Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker 3 00:27:03 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Speaker 0 00:27:09 Back to the queue. I've not had anybody complain. I'm not a good queuer, I'm, I'm a pretty, I'm a pretty patient person until it comes to cues. Like when I go to supermarkets, I'm looking up and down the aisles. I'm in my mind, I'm weighing up how much shopping they've got in the trolley. So if there's, if there's three people in one cube, but two in the other, I don't just look at the numbers. I look at the trolley, look at the trolley. Are they carrying baskets? Yeah. You know, do they look like they're gonna take forever to get their card out their wallet? You know, does the, does the checkout operate look like their own work experience? You know, I'm doing all these things. So I don't wanna be, I don't wanna wait a moment longer than I need to. And there is something about that culture that we have of instant and convenient that has translated to our walk with Jesus. Yeah. Someone.
Speaker 3 00:28:14 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:28:16 And we got people queuing for 24 hours with a good heart and good spirit to see someone who they want to pay respects to an honor. And yet Jesus said it this way. Could he not carry one hour? Come
Speaker 3 00:28:34 On,
Speaker 0 00:28:34 Could he not pray one hour? Just one hour, just one. He said that to his disciples, he spent three years following his miracles. Could you not pray one hour? I, you know, I'm, I'm sweating drops of blood here with what I'm about to go through and you are having a Kip. Come on, guys, could you not just give one hour? And I believe the heart of God is like that to the church today, church,
Speaker 3 00:29:03 Come
Speaker 0 00:29:04 On, we got people cueing up 24 hours to see someone who has left this world, come on. And yet we have the opportunity and the privilege to come and visit someone who is alive and resurrected and present among his people. And well, I pray for five minutes once and it didn't work. What come Lords stir up our hearts to seek after you hallelujah, stir up our hearts. I pray. What are we prepared to do to demonstrate our hunger, to meet the living king of Kings in our lives. What is the call to you? Is it to get outta bed? Is it to reorientate your daily rhythms and routines? Is it to challenge the order, the priority of the hobbies that are in your life in order to stir above everything else to, as the scripture says to seek first, the kingdom of God. Yeah. First doesn't say other things are not possible to hold in their life, but if they try to contend for first place, then they take us away from growing in God. Amen. Maybe part of it's not queuing 24 hours to get into the building, but maybe it's overlooking offenses. Maybe it's letting go of cynicism. You know, cynicism
Speaker 0 00:30:27 Fell a real warning about this. As I was preparing, praying about what to bring today, I find that cynicism is the most crafty of deceptions cynicism. It enters through the most tiny ado in our hearts. And this tiny seed begins to grow into full blown, judgmentalism it, when it flourishes in our life, it stops any of us from stepping into the things of God, because it's impossible to live with that toxicity in our spirit.
Speaker 3 00:31:19 Amen.
Speaker 0 00:31:20 And it's really important that we may not be queuing, but we do have to, we do have to outwalk these things.
Speaker 3 00:31:31 Yes.
Speaker 0 00:31:33 And we do have to learn to move in a direction. That's gonna take us towards a place of freedom.
Speaker 3 00:31:39 Amen.
Speaker 0 00:31:40 I have to say that some who profess Jesus seem more committed to following their favorite football team or sports team than they do to the Lord. They'd never miss a game. They'd never miss buying the new latest shirt. They've got all the subscription channels on their TV and it's an obsession to their life. Now there's nothing wrong with following sport. I enjoy gonna watch sport, but if we give passion to something else more than we give to Christ, yes, God says it's time to reorder. It's time to recalibrate. You should have no God's before me seek first, the kingdom of God.
Speaker 0 00:32:32 So I wanna encourage you when we do gather together as those artesian Wells of a spirit that out of your belly will flow rivers of in water as the temples of God, don't just show up, show up hungry, come on, show up desires to be the best worshiper in the room someone has to be. Yeah. Or that's not my style, mark. Not asking about your style. I'm asking about your heart. Come on on. Yes. Why don't we say, God, I, I just, I'm gonna give you, I'm gonna give you more than anyone else here of my heart and my desires and my dreams. Now I don't wanna make a competition out of it, but make an aspiration rather than just Soto into church on a Sunday morning. And I know what it's like, you know, arguing in the car on the way everything goes wrong on a Sunday.
Speaker 0 00:33:26 Doesn't it? Yeah. Somebody I was speaking to at the end of the first service, they said, oh, we were late this morning. I said, you were so late. I thought you were early for the second service. He said, oh, it's been a nightmare today. You know, everything's gone wrong. But I, you know, I know that loads of things contend with our lives, but come desire us to give God everything. Do you know, I found that the best encounter services I've ever been to, there's not, there's not something that's about those who are speaking or those who are leading worship or the building that's held in that there's a common denominator. And the common denominator is in every situation I gave my best. Come
Speaker 4 00:34:07 On. Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 0 00:34:08 Yeah. That's honestly, the band might sing, not sing. One song you like, come on. There might not be in a key. You can sing, come on. But if you give God your absolute best, I guarantee you that's right. You will encounter something fresh in the Lord in worship because we gather groups big and small to encounter the Lord and to seek after him. And I just, you know, this verse in Hebrews 11, it says the Lord rewards. Those who earnestly seek after him. What's he worth to you? It's a tough question. Isn't it? What's he worth to you? Would you, would you walk days to meet him? Would you cue for days for a glimpse of his glory? Would you carry an hour in prayer? Would you lay aside your preferences in order to take something fresh from the Lord? And then it says, look at this word, expect we expect miracles, healings signs, and wonders, deliverance restoration, and salvation. Whenever could add in. And wherever we meet, we expect it. Not because we are anything special, but because we filled with someone who is special,
Speaker 3 00:35:39 How
Speaker 0 00:35:42 Wherever Jesus was when he walked on the earth, there was, there was never anything beige about him. Was there. It was never just, um, a turget experience. It was, you know, either offended, people drove the crowds away or attracted them. There were people that would, that were walking for days to go and see him. Some of those were the cynics and they were walking for days to see him. There's nothing beige about Jesus. He's full of color and dynamism and life and hope and vitality.
Speaker 0 00:36:28 You know, we often in our services, pray for people who've got needs. And, and I love that. It's, it's a value versus a church. First of all, I don't want anybody coming to any of our gatherings and carrying a need and a burden and not feel like someone's come alongside them to help support and pray for them. So that's intentional. Also another intentional value is that we don't believe we have anything special at the front to give. We are all priests. That's right. We're all part of the priesthood of God. Amen. So we minister, we encourage you to pray for each other. That's intentional, but I wanna invite us to step the level up church. And that is that when we pray to expect
Speaker 3 00:37:11 Amen
Speaker 0 00:37:13 Expect. Cause I think we got a little passive and maybe we're coming dry.
Speaker 3 00:37:22 Yes.
Speaker 0 00:37:23 Maybe we're showing up with our hair freshly out of the rollers.
Speaker 3 00:37:29 <laugh> not you.
Speaker 0 00:37:30 Thanks for that. Jonathan. You are allowed to say that because you fit the same category up
Speaker 3 00:37:37 There, not us,
Speaker 0 00:37:48 But for us as the people of God, when we know that we are filled with him, we know what he can do. And we are not doing a therapy session. When we pray for someone and lay hands on them, we are doing what that moment, where the beggar outside the gate, beautiful said to the apostles, can I have something? And they said, silver and gold. We don't have, but what we do have we give you Jesus
Speaker 3 00:38:28 Name ghetto.
Speaker 0 00:38:29 Do you know what you have to give? When you are filled and overflowing? How could we have anything but guard counters when we know who it is that we're ministering. Is there anyone I know we've prayed for people this morning, but I wonder whether we could do an activity right now. If you have a need in your life, be it physical circumstantial, and you believe that Jesus can move that mountain in your life. I'm gonna ask you to stand. Would you just do that around the room? <affirmative> first of all, can I say thank you for trusting us and standing. I know that takes a lot of guts. It's a lot of courage and we don't take that lightly. We know how big a thing that will feel, but it's worth it. It's worth stepping out and die into some of our internal feelings to step out into something new in God. So well done. Step one, step two. Now an agreement around this room, do we believe that any of these people have an issue that is bigger than God?
Speaker 3 00:40:00 No,
Speaker 0 00:40:01 Really. Think about that. Now.
Speaker 3 00:40:03 No
Speaker 0 00:40:05 Cancers,
Speaker 3 00:40:07 Depression
Speaker 0 00:40:10 Need for breakthrough habitual habits that have been holding people back for years. Can the Lord's hand really change these situations?
Speaker 3 00:40:24 Yes.
Speaker 0 00:40:26 See if you are thinking about what am I gonna pray? What words can I use? That is a distraction from you setting your eyes upon the one who can change it.
Speaker 3 00:40:35 Yes.
Speaker 0 00:40:37 Now I'm gonna invite us to do something that feels familiar, but I'm gonna ask to do it differently. And that is in a moment. Those who are near these people, I'm gonna ask you to stand around them and lay hands on them gently and appropriately. It's important to put those words in.
Speaker 3 00:40:56 Yes.
Speaker 0 00:40:57 And everyone else who can't get near them, I'm gonna invite you to stretch your hands out in their direction. And I'm gonna ask us to expect, yes,
Speaker 3 00:41:12 That's it
Speaker 0 00:41:13 By faith.
Speaker 3 00:41:14 Yes.
Speaker 0 00:41:16 Not because we've done anything to deserve this. Oh. But because he has done everything to make it possible. So let faith arise.
Speaker 3 00:41:26 Yes.
Speaker 0 00:41:28 Faith is not squeezing your eyes together and saying, oh Jesus, it's not, it's not repeating a mantra. It is simply saying, I do believe you could change this Lord. Yeah. And we trust you.
Speaker 2 00:41:44 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:41:45 And outta that confidence and that trust, I'm gonna ask you to prophesy and to declare over their lives, healing, healing be healed in Jesus name. Yes. Be free in Jesus name. Now, if we had more time, we'd ask what is your need? And we'd speak specific into that. We don't have the time to do that, but it's important that we all step into this next bit. So father stir faith in our hearts church. If you wanna operate in that faith, get around these people, speak Jesus over the expect. Please make sure there's nobody that stood on their own. If you have to move around the building we expect, or God that there are miracles, healing signs and wonders and deliverance that there's restoration in salvation we expected or got we expect by faith in the son of God, in the life giver the healer, the provider, the God of breakthrough we expect. And we believe we expect sickness to bow the knee before the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords submit and surrender to the king of Kings tumors bow down before the king of Kings, every bondage, bow down, submit and be gone in Jesus' name. We expect deliverance.
Speaker 0 00:44:27 We expect it. HLU.
