The Community Church: Sermons and teaching

Hello. Good evening, everyone. Can you hear us? Okay. Good. Thank you ever so much for coming out and missing what was ever on the Beeb or ITV or the sport it did Any football fans in. Did United win. And just. They only ever win just they went on penalties well okay so city win the world with city we win the final then okay okay Prescott hello this morning how many of you were listening to the word this morning?

Were you with us? So we got from a point of reference, don't we? If you weren't, that's okay. But thank you for coming again. We we looked at in the context of what the Lord is taking you through in the church about the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of holiness. And we, we just fixed it on one aspect of the of the vast picture that's being painted for you in the church right now.

And that is the dimension of holy power that when we looked at the power of God at work and we looked at the metaphors and motifs in the scriptures of the the finger of God, the hand of God, and we saw the story of Moses, how we encountered a holy God. And it's really the first time that holiness becomes an issue in the Scriptures and it develops then and he meets a holy God who then demonstrates his power and tells him what he's going to do in Egypt.

And when we start the story about how he threw his stuff down and picked it up and then he and Aaron did the same thing, and at the same time, what they're doing, they're demonstrating the holy power of a holy God, demonstrating his kingdom and his kingdom rule in this kingdom authority that's always see those things in the big, wider context.

And that's that took us through then to and Jesus were the magicians. Remember they said we can't do this, we can't replicate this this creation miracle because this is the finger of God work. And we cannot we cannot stand against it. And then Jesus comes in the New Testament, healing the sick, doing good works, living a life under the control of the Holy Spirit.

And his opponents don't like it, and they tell him that he has a demon and he says, no. If I cast out demons by the finger of God, same thing. The Spirit of God, Kingdom of God has come to you. And then we turn to a Scripture. Then we we finished with this this morning. That's what we'll pick up.

And I'll hand over to Diane in a second. John Chapter 14. And we said, we talked about going global, and that's what we're going to talk about tonight. That doesn't mean we're going to sign you all up to go off unless the Lord takes you to South Africa again. It doesn't mean that you are going to go and leave South Port AU.

Who knows? No, I had that looked at my head. No, it's not okay. We're going to talk about what that what it means to go global. But we Jesus said this amazing thing in John 14 and he's talking about the Holy Spirit in those chapters. He introduces them to the person and what the Holy Spirit's coming to do and he says, And it's all the consequences because I'm going away the father, and because I'm going to send you the spirit of power, he says, Because of that, he says in verse 12, Now, I assure you, anyone who believes in me, anyone, so that's anyone, not an elder or a home group leader or a musician,

it's anyone's Lynn. It's and anyone. I love it. Anyone who believes in me will do the works I've been doing. And we said, That doesn't mean you have to default to the walking on the water and all of that. Yeah, he did that and he said, Well, I haven't done that, don't worry about it. He says What he's meaning is what I have been doing here on Earth, the way I'm being living under the power of the Holy Spirit and the things I've been doing, the good works, everything I've been doing, the way I treat people, everything you can do it to What?

Because I'm going to give you the Holy Spirit. This Holy power will be at work in you. And then He says, If that's not revolutionary enough, he said, You will do even greater things Now, I think, Well, okay, well, Jesus walked on water. I'm going to walk out over the Irish Sea. I suppose if you have been to Ainsdale Beach, I never saw the sea.

I walked. I must have walked at a half a mile and it was about that deep and many years ago that was. It's not like it's a competition. What he's saying is we're going global. If when Jesus is on the earth, he wanted to see Jesus, you had to go where he was. But since he's gone and the Holy Spirit has come, you don't have to do that anymore.

He's all over the place. It's a bit like, Where's my friend? Our friend from County? I'm from County, I'm. Have you ever heard of Maud's ice cream? Do you like Maud's ice cream? It's very good, isn't it? Yes. Have you ever had it since you've been over this side? No, you can't. You know why you can't get it here more.

It's ice cream. It's just amazing and lovely. American. Irish girl. You can only get it in Northern Ireland. So if you want Maud's, you've got to go to Northern Ireland. It's a bit like Jesus. When Jesus was on Earth, he was like Maud's ice cream. But now he's going to Ben and Jerry's. Anybody ever eaten Ben and Jerry's, you know, with Ben and Jerry's comes from Vermont.

They started in Vermont. But you don't have to go to Vermont to be Ben and Jerry's. You can go anywhere. Asda go to Asda, but you won't get more. Jean Aster Jesus is gone. All Ben and Jerry's is gone global. Why? Because we're here and that's really what we're going to talk about, how we in our worlds take that spirit of Jesus very practically.

So Dad's going to share. Now you need that Mike Pat so go and get it for you. I think you can do it. Go. Don't you just want to Maude's right now? Pooh Bear. I love the Pooh Bear. These are such interesting stills because we keep sort of rolling towards each other. So we've got to put your foot on this thing to stop this movement.

You might think she's fond of me. No, she's just right. Okay. And obviously, I knew we were going to share tonight, but as I was falling to sleep last night, God just brought something to mind, which is a little bit crazy. So you're going to have to bear with me on this. And I'm going to just tell you a little story.

And I've been watching a program at home. I when I'm doing my ironing, I really don't like ironing. It's just not my most favorite thing and I'm really fussy, but ironing so it takes a little while, has to be done. And I was looking for something to watch while I was doing my ironing and I found this program called Race Across the World.

You like race across the world? Yeah. Isn't she? Isn't she cool? That's good. Okay, now I just agree with everything I say. That's all I need you to do now. Okay, So in this program, race across the world, you have five couples and they're getting across from one part of the world to another. So one of them was from Mexico down to South America.

One of them was from somewhere in Europe across to Singapore. And the one the latest when I'm watching is from West coast of Canada to the east coast of it must have a lot of ironing to do. I thought, well, you know, you know, apparently my iron is not man shaped, so he's not able to do that. But anyway, so you you've got these couples and they're racing across the world and they've got no telephones, they've got X amount of money that they're allowed to spend to get there.

They're not allowed to go in an airplane and they're not allowed to have any transport other than transport. They buy a transport, they get a lift or something with somebody. And as I was going to sleep last night, God just reminded me of that program. And just just in the context of what we're doing and thank goodness, power that we have, you know, these are five ordinary couples.

You know, they're different ages, different races, as you know, different stages of life. But they start their race with exactly the same. They've got the exact same ability as each other, that they get the same amount of money as each other. They've all got a map, they've got everything they need and they start their race together. No, the thing with this race, there is a really amazing prize at the end and they win £20,000.

And the Lord just started to speak to me about this race. And it's a bit like us, you know, we all have exactly the same power and ability. There's not one of us has any more power or any more ability than the other. That's right. And the race that we're running is the most amazing race that we could run, because our ultimate goal is to be with Jesus in heaven.

Now, that's hopefully going to take a long time for most of us. But we're running this race and we're running it together. And the Lord reminded me just of a couple of scriptures. So this is like at 2:00 in the morning. So I'm just going to read the scriptures to you. Um, the first one is and to Peter one and verse three, and it says, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and his goodness, you know, Jesus by the Holy Spirit, has given us everything, each and every one of us, everything that we need for this life.

And the sacred scripture was in Acts one, and the first one is first for. And it's whenever Jesus tells the disciple to wait for the gift my father had promised, which was the Holy Spirit. And then the verse, it says, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses. And in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth and in South Port and in Cardiff and in Manchester and in for forever.

And I thought of these people running this race and they're running the race and they're, you know, it's hard for them sometimes they come across people that help them, Sometimes they come across people that don't help them. And I thought, you know, we're running the race with a certainty. We're running a race with the ability and with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, with us.

And we are guaranteed success in the race. You know, they're not guaranteed success, but we're guaranteed success. We're in guaranteed success because Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit is running the race with us. And when I woke up this morning, I mean, Roger thought, What on earth are you talking about? When I told him this morning, it was very early when she mentioned this to me.

Oh, well, like 10:00, but. But for me, it was such a lovely picture that I loved seeing all these countries. I'd love seeing all these things and understanding where different places where. But the race that we're running is even more exciting, is even more so like and just the fact that we really do have the power and ability to be successful with such an exciting way to wake up this morning and then you, you went into the whole thing that they have a rucksack or a backpack.

They have all they've got, right? Yeah, they do. I'm looking I'm looking for the they're there with me over there. They're, they're, they're on board. Just look for this gentleman he had. He's got that. Yeah. You're doing okay because they are dressed for the journey and then they're back on their backs. They've got a backpack, so they haven't really got very much.

But I trust they've got a change of clothes and a few bits and pieces in there. But it made me think about what we wanted to share tonight, that there are so many things that we could share tonight. Honestly, the list could be endless, but we just wanted to think in this season of our life, of this season of your life, what are the few things that we need for our journey and do you know, if you ask us this again in three months time, we might tell you a completely different list.

But this is today's list. You know, it's one of those. What's your favorite first in the Bible? And it depends what day of the week you are. Somebody. But tonight, we just wanted to share a handful of the things that are helping us in our journey, that are helping us run the race that God has called us to run.

That's why because these guys are racing the world we all. So it's an interesting thing. We all there's an old song, if you recall, the Dire Straits, remember, Dire Straits. They had a line in the song. It says, We have just one world, but we live in different ones. And in this room tonight, there are different worlds. Even though we all live in the same world, we go global.

Because what we mean by that is we fill with the Holy Spirit, the life of Jesus, the world that we inhabit. It's important that otherwise we can get lost in this like I am. Can't go to his best game whenever that place is. But I have a world. So we have the world of who who as student here, the student world students.

That's a world and not in that world. Yeah. Medicine. Anybody in the world of medicine or health education Administration. What, what, what you guys do. What worlds do you what are you living in then? Retirement. It's a great world, isn't it? But it is a world. It's a world of retirement. I'm in that world. One of the worlds you live in, sir.

So again, I t that's a world, right? And everybody else. Art, you look at the world, whatever it is, the world of your job. That is a world, the world of your family, the world of your interest, the world of where you live. That's a world and that's what we want to say, Right? Let's go talk about the big thing about just going off into this world is how do I fill the world of i.t.

Because that's where you're spending a lot of your life interacting with. People may be technically old, but you are living in that world. I don't live in that world, but Jesus lives in that world because you live there. See the point? I'm not at Edgehill, but you are. And the world of Edgehill is your world, and you fill Edgehill with you.

So Jesus is everywhere. He's gone global. So really, what are we going to share? It's very subjective, but these are principles. We believe that we're in the ever world you're in. They work is okay. So where do we start? Which one is this one? Here. This might sound, general, but explain what it is first thing to say. Your thinking.

The first thing I think it's important that we think it's important to have in your backpack is to understand that your life is a life that has to be under the living, under the control of the Holy Spirit. What do I mean by that? No, You think? Well, that's obvious. Well, it is obvious, but you ever see a phrase in the scriptures be filled with the spirit?

Be filled with the spirit, Be filled with the spirit? I think that means I got to get to meet and I got to get tanked up and filled. Like I'm like I'm pulling into the petrol station. Doesn't mean that. It just means this. Live every moment of your life. Yeah. Under the control of the Holy Spirit. Not an automaton.

It sets, it sets the race, the balance of my life. The Holy Spirit is not my partner. He's not my mentor. He's not my counselor. In that sense. He's my God. And I think I'm know I've said this here before. He hasn't come into my life to help me live my life. He loves me passionately. Yeah, but he has come to live his life in a You think?

Well, it's not just words. It sets the bounds. Otherwise I'm going to live. And I think I can get I can get through this on my own. I can do this whatever world I'm in. And when I need the Holy Spirit, I'll call on him to come. And because he's gracious, he'll do that. But really, to fill my world.

And that is not the way I can live. He is the one who sets the agenda in my life. So my attitudes and the way I live, it's like this. I surrendered my life to Jesus when I was 13. And you know what? He took it and he says, I'm now come, Roger. I've come to live my life in you all.

What I need from you is your cooperation and your surrender, that I'm going to set the agenda. Now, that is not popular in today's world, especially even for Christians sometimes. Because you think it's my life, my rights, my freedoms, my choices. And God is here is is to affirm those choices. Not at all. He has come to live his life in me.

And if I get that balance right, it's so much easier because I'm not struggling all the time. I'm just saying, what do I do? That's how that's why Jesus was a success. He said, All I do is this. I just see what the fathers doing. Well, what's the secret of his success? He says, Well, he's not looking to have any visions.

He's just saying, I'm listening. I know what he's like. I know his values. He guides me and he tells me what to do. And you think that is so blindingly obvious? It's easy. But why not live that way? Yeah, by making it so complicated. Don't say anything on that. God, I was in a situation just a couple of weeks ago when I was having an interview for something and the person was interviewing me, asked me a question that completely flummoxed me because he said to me about something that I would be doing.

He said, How would you see your faith impacting you in that particular situation? And the reason it flummoxed me was because he seemed to imply that I would have part of my life when I was a Christian and part of my life and I wasn't a Christian. And I thought for me, I'm a Christian first and foremost. I love Jesus first and foremost.

I don't have a life with Jesus and a life without Jesus. I only have a life with Jesus. So I didn't have the ability. And I explained that to him. I didn't have the ability to say how I would behave any differently because I was a Christian in that situation. And if I wasn't a Christian in that situation because I was a Christian, and I think it just brought home to me that we have one life and that life is working with Jesus.

It's knowing him. Now I know there are times when we have skills and abilities that God gives us and we use those skills and abilities, but He's always with us. He's always working. He doesn't turn off, he doesn't switch off, and nor do we turn off or switch off. And I think they understood why I was getting up, but it was just a strange thought to think there might be a Christian life for me and a non Christian life when there isn't actually.

And for us there is only one life. Being controlled by the Spirit doesn't mean that you wake up in the morning and think, I'm not moving till I get instructions, you know, is it left foot out, right foot out first? Is it banana or muesli? You're not living like that. You're living your life. You think, I've got to go to work today?

I'm going to do the work you're living your life. But constantly it's I'm just going about my business. And the Holy Spirit has the absolute freedom is guy to say, boom, why am I thinking about Johnson Smith? I haven't thought about you. I haven't seen you. Why am I thinking about John Lewis? But says, Keep going, keep going.

Give him some. Well, the Holy Spirit said to me, John's got pots of money and he wants to give it all away. Got the silly things. It can be simple things you things find. Sometimes you just say and something will come with your mind. You think, Well, I'll be thinking about that. Let I think about that person I'm not thinking about.

You think it's crazy? Don't. Don't doubt that it can be something. But sometimes the Holy Spirit saying Boo boo, boo boo, I'm trying to get your attention and just say, Holy Spirit, are you are you trying to tell me something? He's just asked this. Ask him another question. But other times he'll just guide you and he'll just do stuff.

It's not like, you know, red light, green light, left foot, right foot. You're just living your life. But the important thing that is one of the big things, you get to know what he's like and you get to know what he likes and we'll talk more about that. Is that all right? Okay. You want to go on to the next one?

This one here, this one here, is it again, This this seems to be really obviously simple, but it's important that we have a strong relationship with the word of God, the scriptures. I've never tire of saying that. Of all the ways that he'll speak to you, this is the main way he'll do it. Now, that doesn't mean you've just got to be sitting thinking, Oh, I got to read my Bible, read my Bible, read my Bible out of a duty.

It's good to read the Bible. I should read the Bible. Um, I am really bad at a Bible reading plans. I'm not against them. I'm useless at them. That's my confession. I remember when starting the Bible. Doing the Bible, reading the Bible in a year. On the first day, January 1st, I sat down and I said, I started reading.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was formed as a void. And then I. I was going on to the next verse because I think I've got to get my chapters done today. And the Holy Spirit said to me, Not so fast. So I went. I actually did in the beginning, God created.

He said, I didn't mean that I can be quite dumb. I see what you mean. You should read it again. I said, I've got I've got to get through my plan. You know, I was six weeks in Genesis chapter one, verse one. I had a fantastic time. I gave up trying to get out of it officially. Couldn't get past it.

What I mean, what I mean was this is this this is this is the incredible, incredible book.

This is the Power of God written down. And especially if you've been a Christian a long time or if you're Christian, I think I don't understand it. Yes, you can. You can understand it. What you have to do is ask questions or ponder. Can I just give you an example of something I've been doing happen to me this the last few days?

You know the story of Joseph. This might sound silly and irrelevant to you, but it's happened to me. You know the story of Joseph, how Joseph goes into captivity, and then if you calculate, he's about 28 years old, memories in the prison and he's 28 years old and he's having success. And these two guys have dreams, you know that the baker and the parent both have these dreams, and Joseph interprets them.

Now we know that God is God has given these two guys dreams, got to store, you know, the story. And then he says, Well, these are the interpretation of your dreams. And lo and behold, that's what happens three days later. But the the guy forgets to tell Pharaoh anything. Okay, The story goes on and I'm reading the story, and then it says, two years later, God gives Pharaoh a dream.

I must have read that story a thousand times. I think I know what's going to happen. All of a sudden, I thought, Hang on a second. Hang on a second. God, this is what I mean about the relationship with the Word of God engaging with it. And I have got an answer for this. Okay? This is just something God gives these two guys dreams got us.

It deals with the situation. And you think, well, why didn't you give Joseph a dream the next day? And the Pharaoh? The dream the next day? Why did you wait two years, God, to give Pharaoh a dream. And here's a guy in prison for two more years. Why? So if I'm just reading the story, I don't take time to think.

Now. I haven't got an answer. But what it's making me do is thinking, Do you know how God works in ways that I wouldn't work? I would do it neat. I'd say two dreams. And at the same night, Pharaoh is having a dream. So when the guy comes Ferris's as well. That's the weirdest thing at all. I had a dream too.

He didn't do it. He kept two more years. Now there's a whole lot more things. But I think when you come to the Bible and you read it, read it and inquire and ponder, B might not get an answer, but you think it's made me think, you know, God, faith is not neat. The way you work in my life isn't neat and tidy.

Two years of a young man's life has gone by. When you could have done that, why didn't you? And he said, I haven't answers on a postcard, please, because I don't know. But it's making me think, God, there's something more in here than just the story, You know? I'm saying I guarantee it. The more you do that, the more you just slow down and engage with the Bible when you're reading it, thinking, What does that mean?

What's going on in this person's life? Why did you do that? Does this meant it's meant to be inquired of? And if you don't understand it, say, God, I don't understand, or even God. I don't like this. Yeah, I don't like this story. Can you help me to say something on this? Talk too much. I think you're fine.

I mean, I talk too much. Does that make sense to you? I know it's a bit intangible. It's just an invitation to hear you don't have a big you don't have to understand the doctrines and the theologies. Just engage and speak up. Nobody talk about my book later than that sorry thing every time. God, no, no. I'm going to go in that.

I'll go there. Are you going to tell me? Okay. But your life, right? Roger's pointing things out to me that he thinks I don't know. But I do know, right? And when we know the power and ability we have, there's almost responsibility for us to put ourselves out there, put ourselves out of our comfort zone a little bit.

You know, not just take things easy, not just take things for granted. And I've I've had a little bit of an adventure myself in this last year because at the beginning of last year, I felt the Lord really speaks strongly to me that I needed to. It was time for me to take early retirement. And, you know, I loved my job.

I loved what it was I work with. I was an accountant for investment company and really enjoyed it, loved it, loved the dynamic of it, loved the stress and the pressure of it. Very happy in the environment. And I just felt God say to me, Diane, it is time to lay that down. And I knew it was God, and I laid it down.

And as you know, almost as soon as I told anybody that I was going to take early retirement, you know, people in the church, even family, the first thing they say to me, well, what are you going to do next? You know, and even my son said to me, Mom, are you going to get another job? And, you know, this was the start of a journey for me.

And I have a feeling I think you prophesied. Are you sure this morning about, you know, sometimes a door closes before another one opens. And that's how my life works. The door closes and then another one opens. And I took early retirement at the end of September. And you know what? I'm really happy. And I was really happy and it was just wonderful.

And I terribly miss the people that I work with and my own team really miss them and have a little catch up with them and things, which is lovely. But I haven't long finished. When I was approached to say would the church in Cardiff, we wanted to set up a that center for Christians Against Poverty and what would I head up and do you know what?

I was too late, I thought. Yet, Lord, that's the sort of thing I'd like to get involved in. And then there was another appeal. We had one Sunday morning to help. We've got a mother and daughter script called Little Stars with some, you know, we need people to help with that. And my daughter in law was helping run that.

And I thought, okay, I'm free in a Friday morning. I can go along and help the little stars. No, the cap thing is is a bit more my little stars helping us mums with little tarts, doing cups of tea, you know, I can do it and it's fine. But I just felt God say, Diane, I need I just want you to step it into things that you're not necessarily comfortable with.

Put me in front of a computer, give me a spreadsheet. I the happiest person in the room, put me in some of these, some of those other environments and I'm not so happy. But I have found God stretch in me and move in me. And you know, we have a funny experience coming up here. Yesterday when we we we took a route up, come up, Mid-Wales.

Normally we get to Warrington, I'm going to say we turn right. We might not turn right, but anyway, we go and we do it right. Actually, we do turn right and then we come up the M6 and turn left. We turn M6, turn left and right. And as I come up to Warrington, I said to Roger, I said, Let's go rogue today and let's not go in the M6.

So we had to stop. We live on the edge, you know, had to stop the car, get get the map out. And we figured out how we'd come up and come up St Helens. And it was a really lovely journey. And then nothing miraculous happened on the journey. Nothing amazing happened. But it was just fun, except we just missed the massive crash we did for a few minutes.

We did. And that's a full car pile in a big junction that we just missed it. Yeah, praise God, praise God. And today we'd been out for lunch with Jeff and Pam, which will be Steve when we come here. And suddenly Jeff says, I'm going to check you, take you back a different route. So he takes us all the way through this route, through Southport.

Well, where do we go, Chert? Well, here we were in the Hunter of Montreal. We were out and we were out in the wild lands in the Badlands. And we saw these houses, which must have been over a bit bigger, a little bit bigger. But all of this just made me think, you know, life is a bit of an adventure and it's so easy to get up and do the same thing day after day after day.

And God wants us to have an adventure. And sometimes we make our own adventures. Sometimes we're the people that needs to take that step. Right? And I know my examples are potentially a little bit silly, but that's sort of how my brain works. But I've enjoyed the look tonight and see in different places I enjoyed today actually finding another little part of Southport that we didn't know anything about.

And I think, you know, Lord, you want me to enjoy my life. He wants us to enjoy our life. He wants us to be fulfilled in what we're doing and not to be tired and not to get bored, but just to enjoy the adventure. So yeah, on that, I'm just thinking that you're talking, looking back over life, you know, so you know me as I am in these recent years of my life.

But when I was younger, I was incredibly shy, very shy. I didn't like to stand up in front of people do anything. And the thought of actually standing up and doing this well, it never got into my head and or standing up and speaking to people and doing anything because I was shy and I didn't know it. But God had a plan that he this is what I would be doing.

And just looking at flashback, what happened was when I was a teenager, God began to work in my life and I fell in with a youth group and an evangelist called Mervyn Morgan, who's now with the Lord, a great guy. And he took us under his wing and we used to go places with him and he had this rule and he called it RFA ready for anything.

And the rule was whatever he asked you to do, you had to do. And you said, you know, you're coming out with me. In those days, we would do the coffee bars and we would go to universities and colleges and factories and I would I would I was I was singing in a bar and a band. And that was my kind of thing.

I could I could sing the harmonies, but I, I hid behind that. So I didn't have to say anything. But with Merv, he would say to you, get up there and you give your testimony, I think, over my dead body, Murph. And he say, okay, we'll sort that out later. But what happened was I had this I know, I know that Jesus wants to use me, but I was not going to put myself out there.

And if I hadn't put myself out there, passed my it was a fear zone. I would never be here today. Yeah. Yeah. And you just think how? Because, Gus, I know what I'm going to get you and you've got these dreams, but you're going to have to move beyond these things. And sometimes it's like, What if I do?

Well, what's the worst that can happen? What if I lay hands on someone and they don't get healed? But what if they do? Yeah, What if I get up and have a prophecy and it's not a prophecy? But what if it is? Yeah, What if I do give John Sutton Smith all my money? Yeah. You haven't got any.

So, John, it's getting over that. It's not. We're not lazy people, but sometimes it can be. Sue will do it. So we'll do it. Okay, Ali I'll do it now because if you do it and there comes a time when your dream has to end, you have to put your your foot in it and say, I'm going to do this and God will always back you up.

Yeah, Yeah. Okay. That's an important thing to have in the backpack. I have to watch this program. But these folks, they must have watched the program and they had to say, I'm going to do that. So they had to move beyond that. I'm going to do that switch channel. They had to fill an application form and then gets chosen and they suddenly find themselves with a backpack facing a trip across Canada, thinking, What did I do?

You put yourself up there, put yourself out there. Sometimes they don't think they can do it. No. And the person alongside them is the person that encourages them. Well, who's the person that can Holy Spirit glow? Come on. Exactly. That's our girl. He does that to me all the time. Go and have a go. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. This one?

Yeah. Is this okay? This is the very practical things. But this is how the Holy Spirit works in this normal world. It's like the stories I was telling you this morning. Yeah, I think it's important as well that we don't treat people as evangelism objects, that we've got a genuine interest in people, that we've got a genuine love and a genuine care for people.

And I find that very much with helping with the mother and toddler group, because I've started to you know, I've been doing this for some weeks now, and I started to, you know, just talk to some of the mums and you get to know them and they tell you all different sorts of story. And I find when I'm away, some of them, I'm praying for them and you know, I'm telling them, I'm praying for them and.

I really am genuinely concerned for them or genuinely wanting to help them. And I know we want to move on. We want to run an Alpha course and because ultimately we do want to see them saved. But I do not want to see them as a tool to get into an alpha course, just to say if I wanted to like them, to love them, to be concerned for them.

And I think that's really important that people are not evangelism tools. People need to be love. People need to need to be cared for. And I think Jesus Jesus went about doing good, loving people filled with the Holy Spirit. So we can do the same, go about doing good. I think you said this morning about doing good. And yeah, it's a big thing, massive thing.

Jesus didn't go around for people thinking, I've got to get you saved. He just loved people. Not everybody loved him back. But you didn't go out and say, I've come to get them all saved. Yes, I've come because I love them. And Jesus and the Holy Spirit have a genuine interest in people. Yeah, sometimes we have to be people.

People. I don't know who said this. It might be Maya Angelou. It might or someone like that said, people won't remember what you said to them, but they'll remember how you made them feel. They won't remember what you said, but they will remember how you make them, how you make them feel. And Jesus was a it was a person because the Holy Spirit was at work and good.

He took a genuine interest and care and people. So, for instance, like when you go to a restaurant and the waiter says, you you take an interest in them, or they know that just a waiter, Geoff is on Anglesey because he's always after free food and extra portions. But it's it's when you go into Esther, a little phrase, I'll say the phrase no.

Yeah, it's I saw it and I wish this was in the Bible, but I think it is in paraphrase, it says be someone who makes everyone feel like someone. Say it again. Be someone who makes everyone feel like someone. It's not gushing. Oh, you're the most wonderful person in the world. But you know how you make someone feel like someone when they're talking to you.

You listen to them just getting worse. It's not like, Oh, yeah, from Amira here and I'm looking over here. Think, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah. Know, at the moment I'm talking to you. You're the most important person in the world. And you know that if I'm faking it, you know, if I'm just going through the time of day with you because I want to get on.

People read you and the Holy Spirit is in and your world, whatever it is. I.t. Education, finance, people work with every day. The people who drive you up the wall. Maybe, but you take an interest in who they are that people. And here's another thing which I am learning to adopt, is that everybody knows something I don't know, but most of you will know loads of stuff I don't know, but everyone knows something you don't know.

So when you talk to someone, it's Jesus talking to them and you're thinking, I'm. I'm like, Tell me about yourself. Engage with them, listen to them. Mm. Humble yourself. That's what Jesus did. He just didn't sit down, huh? Right. I'm giving you the Sermon on the Mount. Engage with people he talked with people. You have to give people time.

You have to enter a relationship with them, especially in this country. We had a Y1 team with us recently from Brazil, and it was it Rebecca. She made this very interesting observation after being with us for about ten weeks, she said in Brazil, in Latin America, South America, it's very easy. Someone on the street, you talk to them and you preach the gospel, they get saved.

It doesn't work in the West, she said. You have to build a relationship with someone. That's how much people get saved. Some are built a relationship and your that's your world. If you think just for a moment of all the people in your world, we've probably got several hundred people between us and and the rest. You just think of your world.

All those people you think, why? How could I? How can I take an interest in all these people? Because the Holy Spirit does. And as you listen to them, you find I don't know what it is, but I find I can sit down with a total stranger. And within 5 minutes they tell me everything about them and they say, I don't know why I'm telling you this.

I don't know. You think I'm not nosy? I just seem to be able to listen. Which is strange because I don't have blab on a lot. Okay, But Roger, the testimony of Jesus doing the testimony of Jesus is really important as well. And the way we treat people, for some people, they will be all that you will ever see of Jesus.

And that becomes the testimony of Jesus, the way that you treat them, the way you speak to them, the way you behave towards them. So the testimony of Jesus is is at stake as well in the way that we treat people. You just look at my brother's wife. My brother was a Christian some years ago. I fell away from God and then came back and got restored the Lord.

And in the meantime he'd married a lady and they'd been together for about ten years and they got married and his life was back with the Lord. And she wasn't a Christian. And, you know, we love her and she's part of our life. But she showed no interest in Jesus at all. And then last year, James, you know, you know James, the James of Saskia, my son, you know, that's a claim to fame.

I'm James over his dad. And James went up to see them. They lived not far from us and they had a day with them. And the next day, Julie, my sister in law, she sent me a message and she said, We had a fantastic day with Saskia yesterday and James, she wouldn't mind me telling the story. Of course, she's very pleased with it.

And she said, You know, I love being part of this family. Yes, just you, you're all crazy. But I love the family. And she said, I've decided I've given my life to Jesus. So I said I said, look at this. So we contacted practice. She said, I know, I know, I know. And she said, And Saskia, this I never mentioned Jesus the whole day.

I never mentioned Jesus. So when I went to see Julie, she said, You know what? She said, We just had a great time and just being with Saskia and that's the way you all are. I mean, the family is, we say, Well, stop, do the top crazy. But she said, I've just seen the way that you are over all these years and I have this emptiness in me and I wanted what you have.

And I went for a long walk. I just cried and cried and cried. And I just asked Jesus to come into my life. And, you know, she works with Diane in the in the in the Little stars on a Friday morning by not putting herself out there. Okay. I'm going to this next one. Do you think you could do any or do you like to go in and you do that because you it was you that got the idea, not me the time.

Remember? Do you remember the story? I'll set you up. You ready for this? I remember several. This happened a few years ago now. Diane and I were asked to share with a I think it was a young people's group or a group of people. And the brief was, Could you tell us why you're so why are you so successful?

I thought what they said, they what they were was a great couple. They said, listen, you've been Christians a long time, meaning Roger old, but you still seem to be going for it and you've got some things right. And, you know, we admire certain things. So can you give us this all the all the secrets of your success?

And we went, Yeah, yeah, we're going home thinking I'm got a clue. And it was coming close to when we were there going and we were sitting down and we were, well, I was panicking and I said we had a blank piece of paper saying, What do we say? I don't know what. What is it? And you said, I know what it is.

And you said, but we just keep saying yes, yeah, doing well. We just keep saying yes. It doesn't change. If I said I really set you up that way. But there's more to it than that. There is. But I think, you know, I believe when I get up each day, whatever God put my hand to do is what he wants me to do for that day.

And I can just say yes to him and I don't need to about trying to find things. And you know, my yes for today or my yes for tomorrow. It might be making a meal for somebody who's not. Well, I might be doing some ironing for somebody. I might be having coffee with somebody. Goodness knows what it might be.

But it's so easy just to say yes when you're asked to do something. Now, there might be legitimate reasons why you can't. I completely get that. But sometimes we just need to put ourselves out, put ourselves out a little bit and just say, Yeah, I can do that. Lord, I've been asked to do it. Yeah, I can do it.

Good. You Holy Spirit and me, I've got all that ability, all that power. Of course I can do that. And over the years, looking back when we realized that's what it was, it was sometimes when we said Yes, the Lord, we had no idea why we were saying it or where it was taking us. It seemed to be take it because we got baptized in the Holy Spirit, because we ended up going to a church that didn't believe the Bible.

And me being a good evangelical thought, there's no way I'm going to go to a church who didn't believe in the Bible, but because of a set of circumstances, we ended up going to a church and I met on that very first Sunday. A couple have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and two months later we were baptized the Holy Spirit that transformed our whole life.

But we just said, okay, yeah, we'll do that. Sometimes the yes is that you say are easy, sometimes they're not, because you know the consequence. You did a very, very brave thing this morning. You did those of you who put out your hands to the Lord and he said, What's in your hand? And you put out and and you knew what's in your hand of you.

And then you stood in response, He's going to us. He's going to ask you to do what he what he showed you. He will It wasn't an exercise. He said, you know, you're not going to do that, don't you? And so when he does it, just say yes. And that is that is one of the most powerful things you have.

Yes, Lord. Yes. Okay. Yes, yes, yes. Is the consequences not yours? Yeah, it's his business. The consequences is just say, Oh, well, it's okay. It's on you. He said, my shoulders are big enough and they really are. You just say yes. Does that make sense? Jeff? You wanna say something? No. You look like you're thinking now. Oh, you're.

You're thinking, Oh, my God. Yeah, yeah. It's a bit this is a big thing is that you think it's a big thing, though? It's a secret. Just say yes. Yes, sure. Silly kind of things. You might get online. Yes. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's. It's a big thing. Yeah. Yeah. Like I. Right. Yes, yes. I like it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's the massive thing difference. I think I may have said earlier I didn't realize it, but I gave it to him. He took it. Yeah. Yeah. Can I just on that. Because I think sometimes as well some people think that if you're in full time ministry that then you're sort of something special and you're really working for Jesus and none of the rest of us are actually doing anything, that's that's the pinnacle.

Now, Roger was full time for many years. I worked and I worked for many years, but I knew that I was doing what God wanted me to do and equipped me to be in the workplace. And I was taking the kingdom of God into the workplace. Now that was is equally valuable as what Roger was doing. Yeah, you know, it wasn't more valuable, but it was as equally valuable.

And for each person that's working, you know, God equips them and wants them to be the best them that they can be in the workplace, because that's the testimony of Jesus in the workplace. Now, I'm really fortunate that when I left my job, I really had some very nice things, said about me. But the one thing that touched me more than anything was that people that I didn't even know knew that I was a Christian mentioned that my faith had had an impact on them.

And I think to, you know, be a student, whatever job you get, you be the best you that you can be. You know, you get to the highest that you can get. You get the most in films that you can get because the Kingdom of God is massive. And that's another way when we're talking about reach and reaching your world, reaching the work, reach in your world, you reach your world by being the best you that you can be and doing everything that God tells you to do.

Yeah. Okay. This was a particular favorite of mine, and it's become a particular favorite of mine because I'm finding it it's it's really affecting my relationship with the Holy Spirit. And that's how we saw it this morning. And that's being curious, being inquisitive. Did you notice this morning when we read the story of Moses, the Moses is just out like every other day and he if it was, he would see Bushes burning every day.

That's what they do in the desert. But the interesting thing was he saw this one and it kept burning and he just said, Oh, I'm going over to have a look. Why because he was curious and his life changed. So God didn't come to me and say, Moses from the mountains. He did that later at Moses. He all he did was on this little fire here.

Holy fire. It's burning. Let's see what he does. Imagine if Moses had gone on. Say another fire. Come on, boys. But he didn't. He was curious. And he says he went over to look at God. Will, God feeds off your curiosity. He did this, you know, as a kiss. You know, the you know, it's a kiss in the scriptures.

Well, I love him because he's he's not going to have to get saved. He's not saying, oh, the Savior's coming. I'm going to give my life to him. He just says, I'm going to check this guy out. But because there's a big crowd there, he says, I'm going to climb a tree. He's just curious because he said he's heard about this guy, Jesus, the miracle worker.

And the teacher says, I'm going to check him out. And he's just there thinking, well, it's interesting. This is interesting. All of a sudden this guy looks up and says, I guess let's get down. I'm coming to your house for something to eat. But Jesus fell off his curiosity. And curiosity is a really big, important thing for the Holy Spirit, because what it does, it stops you getting cynical.

The cynic has seen it all. Yeah, the cynic knows it all. Yeah. There's nothing you. I've heard that before. I've been there before. I bought that t shirt. The curious person says, Oh, what's happening there? What's going on there? God says, Well, and you'll find if you haven't found it already, the Holy Spirit will just bring things across your path out of your reference point.

And he's just wafting past and thinking, I wonder if David is going to what if David is going to? It's interesting because, you know, can I say what happened? But when we were here last year, David gave me a manuscript about the journey with Gwen, and he said, Would you would you read this for me? Tell me what you think.

And I took it back and I, I was curious because I thought, I know what this is. And as I read it, I thought, Wow, this is really important. This is a book. Which was. But you hadn't set out to write the bestseller. But there was a I thought, why is he giving me this? It was curious. And I come to you, I think, Oh, and as I read it, I thought, Lord, what can you do with this?

And that's why it's a fantastic book. Pick me curious. Be curious. Don't let anybody touch. Oh, no, don't Just put cold water on your curiosity. Be inquisitive, be nosy, ask questions, sniff around you, see what you love, what are you up to? You might see something in the gathering. What do you. What? What are you doing there? Lord?

What's happening here? You don't see anything on the horizon. It's important to be focused. Person of the Year. Person No, it's other people that are. The glass is half full. The full details and the expectation of the person for the glass. As far as the evidence, what's a good CV? Most of the things that we were we were talking about this.

We really last year just is very important in that sort of person, you know, positive. The disintegration we are of people, some of the ladies, because at the end she said, I just suddenly realize she said that I'm responsible for. So she had to do something herself to make sure she didn't become a person. And that's what the Holy Spirit does for us as we fellowship with the Holy Spirit takes us fresh.

Excuse us with expectation for all to join in the struggle. So as we're going on our journey, it's always expecting the best. It's always thinking, You know what? I don't know how this is going to work, but it's more organized. I don't know what the journey is going to be like, what's going to work with John is testament to this morning.

If I was general and I read reports it and it has to be part of it. It's so easy for that to be the testimony of feminism. But he actually used the phrase he's never heard of the use of peace. You think that's the most natural position for a man to be in? It's just part of his losing his job.

But the Holy Spirit kept him in the peace, and then instantly he suddenly find that there's another opportunity and he's saying, Well, God, why do you have to come that on a monday or Tuesday when he has to have a whole week of the stuff that God would have been good, something had happened and his family, you know, God wants to see things that they see.

So he wants to see things with the pope. And this is huge. And it's hard for it's a glass half full or half empty. You know, it's really important to do something that beatitude When you went to a day when you're inside, you work inside your family, are you negative or positive? I'm not one of these cheesy shows, but it's, you know, everything's fine.

I like the story about how little, you know, you can say stuff, but you're also so that it's not the leadership that she said, Well, then it's legitimate. As the she said that she was a big break in the Methodist church and the like. And they expect that to and after eight years in the Methodist church, she left and it's the beginning.

And really once she grew up there, she is amazing. Put yourself out. So I'm gonna show you something. Always keep in mind that you lose. That's great. The recognition that the person doesn't know this. But she was Then she said, you know, after this mission and the only person who can sit with us is me, I'll get you to do it.

My attitude and the Holy Spirit will feed off your attitude if you always follow your spirit says the goodness stop. You've got to create a God in your life. So oh, so you know, to see good. And today. Okay, that's a good thing, my friend. All of us that do not understand this, we do a lot in his life.

He lost his first wife to cancer and she was only 48. But if you use it now, sometimes you see life is a little different. Bring it to the ring and the license and realized life is hard. Life is wonderful is it's is. Yeah, sure. Something is okay. Who's officiating? Okay. Yeah. An important thing which I think is one of the things the person who gets it's just part of worship.

So the Holy Spirit loves. So everything and I knew it. And certainly this morning it's not just duty. We do it because it's the right thing to do. It brings us time. Giving is offering we so time some time those days that can worry Why? Lord Because it's important to know what Holy Spirit likes. And I said, Why do you like times of service?

I You like it that we do it is he likes it. It's not like just too like they said this to me. He said, Are you So I'm. Are you? You're in. I'm involved in doing what I'm doing. You think if you so words kindness are you so jump when you are you're involved in it. When the spirit is telling you to do.

I like it. So again, when you're reading, when you're actually hiking and involved again, what God is doing, it's not just see it as. Lastly, I'm reading my time to give my offer for you, so you may think kindness is a words lesson. All these things you do everything. I mean, both of you, what do you how many of you this morning did I tell the story about something you remember Mr..

You wouldn't advance of other things. Maybe it's a good idea doing something, but it's about being right. Yeah, it's okay. So you get excited about this. I mean, just another shocker that you're not taking this. Look, don't touch. I know we've got all entrances, etc.. This is science, as I have chuckles. Oh, that's an excellent got. It's in from the valley of.

Hmm. This is. I have something for you. Wow. And by chance fight back and tell stories about the violence that I saw and the story. I'm only just a chance I would have won at this moment, but only if I could do it this year. Oh, we were saying the question is, how long have you had it? Because it's set up.

You've had this recovery going. It's a special occasion. I mean, you see us sitting by the chopper as much as the are all the exact words was a story about another shuttle landing. God has another shot. A lot of slipping into trouble for me. Yeah. He really wants us. I don't know if that only lets me know. I was making jokes.

Said let's revisit some of the you would say, and the hope I would say this a so that that it's not just silly I mean they can seriously I don't know what happened. There's no way that does happen. The revelation of the shutdown lasted 3 hours. It's going in 10 minutes. But in all seriousness, she had no idea that to tell the story that Bill said something just to show them also the repercussions that I'm sharing you, I'm curious what that was like.

That's right. It took two months to finish. And I do one and then you do that outside. And our motives should always be the pleasure of the day for you. As I come to divide, we should have no motivation other than to please him. But we're not doing things to bring glory and tough sells, for goodness sakes, because brought us with His Holy Spirit.

He's enabled us to do what he's enabled us to do, and we want to have the glory. We don't want any for ourselves. So we work well. That's our jobs, whether it's whatever it is we work. So we're doing that for everything that we do is this that we're going to stay for lunch as we've been set for all these years, all the way when it was just sitting, how would you say before we came out of and the parents a story you said some very interesting on this, you know, this story about how they were just accepted and at some point in that story and you said, you know, we had we go a

long way around. So we were looking for us. We were looking for a property business that we would fit the church into. That was just that. Yeah. You know, like you said, as soon as. But it's an important principle for them that this is a they want to get supportive with school with. And he said, so we got the wrong way around.

We need to move the church, the governance of the law and the business will follow. That's what you said. And the moment you switched it around, you made it so the Lord brings the campus to this. And right now that is a very important principle. The Spirit is always to end. Yeah, the priority is and and that is a that's a classic mistake people make.

I did my planning and then I believe that was the Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit. Have no idea that it would work out moving from there. That is why they're here. That's why you successful Because a couple of questions. He said it was like it was the right order, that you were a Christian beforehand and it wasn't sinful.

It is that, of course it's to the Lord. What do you say to the law? And this lesson? Could you get rid? And the lesson is really have is when you show up, you'll it's important. You also keep an eye and an understanding of the bigger picture of the world outside of the kingdom of we belong to that.

We are not just mindful of the world, we are part of something. Step is we are part of the kingdom. Addressing the same token, which is all these covers over all spheres of society. Everything. The bigger that you have your world. So you don't just sing. I'm so this spirit of God, is to be sure, the spirit of God who is standing ovations.

What you will find in Japan because the Holy spread throughout the world at times which we were number one, which will mean bigger challenges, not be good for you because you're in a successful career in horticulture. James is an accountant and also after you are breaking out of your world, you he might not like you, but also you that you upon something that's you're part of something.

And this is significant. Yeah. Okay. It's having a sense. You have a reputation across the world. I know if I have the courage to go on across the the people speak of you and you speak of this church in terms of their faith for people. They have been here a long time. They've been through a lot of things and quit.

And in recent years, especially in this last year, people spoke of using, you know what, they have values and this is the not and they continue to. But I know you have a fine great preparation for I'll get through it. But you have a reputation as famous a revelation. You know, the face of and recently you had a shoulder operation European facing of some and really to challenge yourself but you stood on your side you're still fighting and I recommend that I'm willing and ready because you will prevail.

You might the conscience you will get you will prevail because you are able to keep up the picture of what's happening in here is not across the world. So I want to encourage you, like you said, okay, All right. Here is single time right now. But so I are here. So I just that's I know it's a very subjective event if you're just taking the issue whatever you want.

Okay. Sticking to your backpack. If you have a box, it's a program. Now, let's go back. She was looking at a lot of stuff and how cool my wife is. I've read a lot of some with the same person, so it's it's how, you know, listen, some will come to an end or something. Everybody says, let me sing a song.

You are very, very good. And obviously you're like the dark side, right? That is. And you are saying I wouldn't know it because the says languages for very good. It's obviously it's right so you guys my kids that is who you all threw up in the air and that's you just that I mean this is not okay Yeah.

To say should sing you should not because I think it's important. I know I know. Believe that the people themselves.