1 00:00:09,850 --> 00:00:12,890 Welcome to the podcast of the White Church in Adelaide, South 2 00:00:12,890 --> 00:00:13,570 Australia. It's. 3 00:00:13,570 --> 00:00:16,570 A privilege for me to share the Word of God with you this 4 00:00:16,570 --> 00:00:19,930 morning. We have been talking last week 5 00:00:19,930 --> 00:00:25,970 about the why and the what. Jesus being the wire for the 6 00:00:25,970 --> 00:00:29,920 church and why we're here and the what is and you know, the 7 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,840 reason for this specific lampstand. 8 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:38,120 Why is this lampstand here? Why is the way church here in 9 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:43,320 this time in this place? This is a this is a huge topic 10 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,880 for us to unpack. We're never going to be able to 11 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:50,160 unpack this in a week or two. So this is something that we're 12 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:54,840 going to have to continue to talk about and massage in today. 13 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,200 We're going to be talking about The Who and the how. 14 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:00,920 So the the why and the what is, is like the vision for the 15 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:07,480 church, The The Who and the how is like the strategy, how like 16 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:09,600 who, who's going to be a part of this thing? 17 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:11,640 Who's going to be a part of this lampstand? 18 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:19,200 And, and what are the strategies we feel in God for us to to see 19 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,560 God's vision played out in this time, in this place, in this 20 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:27,240 community. And those the The Who is those 21 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,880 that that consider the way church to be your home 22 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,560 fellowship. That makes you The Who that 23 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,680 makes me The Who that makes us The Who. 24 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:43,360 You know, we're crossbody. We've been joined together. 25 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,520 You know, we've been talking about marriage with a, with a 26 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,600 young couple that's going to be married and just the bigness of 27 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,400 marriage. You know what it's pointing to. 28 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:56,720 It's like the Lord and his bride. 29 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:01,560 What an amazing picture that is. And so we're the body of Christ 30 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:03,320 here. We are the bride of Christ, the 31 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:07,040 church. And that's such a special thing. 32 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,880 And if we remember the these pivotal words that that Ty had 33 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:17,720 shared with us a couple of weeks ago, he said, it's not God's 34 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,040 plan for my life. It's my plan. 35 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,160 It's my sorry, it's my life for God's plan. 36 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,000 We're going to continue to remind ourselves of this. 37 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:35,640 This is so key for us to understand the reason why we're 38 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:39,520 here, the reason for us being The Who and what that means. 39 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,080 It's it's my life for God's purpose. 40 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:47,080 All right, so there it is. That's settled then. 41 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,160 We're The Who. No, that's not settled. 42 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,440 Like there's why, why are we The Who? 43 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:54,560 I'm just going to read some scriptures. 44 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:56,320 There's so much, there's too much. 45 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,320 I I don't think I'm going to get very far today. 46 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:04,680 You know, when I look at my notes and when I consider even 47 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,760 just like what I was hoping to unpack here. 48 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,600 Not a chance, not a chance. I'm going to get close and 49 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,560 that's OK. We've as far as I know, as far 50 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,080 as we know, we've got some time. We may not have some time, but 51 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,000 so as we know, we're going to just continue to work and get on 52 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,120 with what he's calling us to do. And So what does the scripture 53 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:32,280 say about us being called? It's Our Calling The Who we're 54 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,920 called. I'm just going to sort of 55 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:40,760 machine gun some scriptures here and not say too much, but I 56 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:46,120 would encourage us always to go away with with with notes. 57 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:50,880 Can I just say just on that on notes, we're going to start 58 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:56,240 encouraging us to bring in our Bibles, our Bibles. 59 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:01,440 Does everyone have a Bible? Everyone has like a paper Bible. 60 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,520 I'm like, I'm a stickler for a paper Bible. 61 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:09,960 OK, it's fine if you if you read off your phone, whatever, but at 62 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,240 least have one because if something happens and it all 63 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:14,760 goes down, then what are you going to do? 64 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:19,000 Have a paper Bible? Get used to reading a paper 65 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,760 Bible. There's so many options for 66 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:22,040 Bible. You can get print. 67 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:23,960 That's about this big. There's no excuses. 68 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,280 You can read it. But we're going to encourage us 69 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:31,240 as a people to walk through the door holding a paper Bible. 70 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,480 OK, this is going to this is the culture that we're going to 71 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,720 build. You know, we use the screen 72 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,120 because it's easy. We can have one version and we 73 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,520 can all use it, but I'm going to start encouraging us to open up 74 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,200 the scripture. When you get familiar with your 75 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:49,080 own book, it's just a really healthy thing to do. 76 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:53,040 You, you will learn to love having your own Bible and using 77 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,360 it and knowing where things are and stuff like that. 78 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:57,960 And a notepad as well. A notepad. 79 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:00,200 You can, again, you can use your phone. 80 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:02,600 I use my phone for notepads, but a notepad. 81 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,320 I was chatting to some guys this week and one of the comments 82 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:10,840 that people make about the the sermon on a Sunday, it's just, 83 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:14,040 there's just so much in it. Like I just can't seem to take 84 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:15,320 it off course. You can't. 85 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,120 You know, when I'm taking notes, I do take notes when I'm 86 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,800 listening to people preach and I'm taking a bunch of notes. 87 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:25,920 But quite often what I'm going to do is I'm going to put a star 88 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:30,560 next to a couple of things that really spoke in here. 89 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,000 And then I go home and I and I digest that. 90 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,680 I unpack that further. I seek the Lord in it. 91 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:42,480 That's a really healthy way of taking what the Lord is saying 92 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,200 through the Holy Spirit to you personally. 93 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,320 There is going to be so much in a message, but we are a bunch of 94 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,000 people in this room that come from different walks of life. 95 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:54,720 We're in different seasons of life. 96 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:56,440 We've gone through different things. 97 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:58,680 We have different ways of learning all of these things. 98 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,040 We have things that hinder us and all of these things. 99 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,680 And so the Lord is going to speak specifically to you. 100 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,080 Do you believe that the Lord will speak specifically to you 101 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:13,720 about the things that you need? Because the Lord wants, it says 102 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:18,360 the Holy Spirit wants to teach you and lead you into truth. 103 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,400 And what you need might be slightly different to what I 104 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,360 need, but the Lord is faithful and the Holy Spirit will give 105 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:26,200 you what you need. He will feed his people. 106 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,600 Amen. So Notepad and your Bible, 107 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,440 please. All right, let's go. 108 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,920 Let's read some scriptures here. We've got John 1516. 109 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,320 I'm just going to read them. Pete may not be able to keep up 110 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:44,360 or not. Let's just see what happens. 111 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,880 I'll make these scriptures available to us after the 112 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:49,440 meeting so that you can go and read these. 113 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:53,600 OK, But John Fif, they're in. They're in your Bible. 114 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:55,360 You got it. That's it. 115 00:06:55,360 --> 00:07:00,200 John 1516. It says You did not choose me, 116 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,480 but I chose you and appointed you. 117 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:09,400 That you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should 118 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,680 remain. That wherever you are, that 119 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,440 whatever you ask of the Father in my name, He will give you. 120 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:19,600 Those are amazing promises. But what did He say? 121 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,760 He said you didn't choose me, I chose you. 122 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:29,640 There's not a single person in this room that chose Jesus 123 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:31,720 first. He chose you. 124 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:37,440 He drew you to himself and you said, yes, Lord, Amen. 125 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:44,600 One Peter 29, it says. But you are a chosen generation, 126 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:51,400 a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people 127 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:57,560 that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you 128 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,320 out of darkness into his marvelous light. 129 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,840 Isn't that amazing? We spoke last week about this 130 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,520 being a lampstand. We, we mentioned that you are 131 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:14,080 candles placed into the lampstand. 132 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:20,120 He's pulled you out of darkness and and brought you into his 133 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:25,760 marvelous light that you could bear light of his, of his mercy, 134 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:28,000 his goodness, his glory. Amen. 135 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:31,800 It's good stuff, the Scripture's good stuff. 136 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:40,679 Romans 828 And we know that all things work together for good to 137 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:46,560 those who love God, to those who are called according to His 138 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:53,520 purpose, For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be 139 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:59,160 conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first 140 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:04,640 born among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, 141 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:10,520 these He also called. Whom He called, these He also 142 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,160 justified. And whom He justified, these 143 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:18,920 whom he, who these He also glorified. 144 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:22,560 You are called. You are called. 145 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:25,960 I called you, You're called. Do you know how much you run 146 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,320 into this in the Scripture? Do you think that the Lord wants 147 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:33,000 us to understand this truth? I have called you. 148 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,040 I've called you for purpose. Yeah. 149 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:40,200 Amen. Ephesians 4. 150 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,000 First four, first one. Sorry. 151 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:50,760 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy 152 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:56,800 of your calling, which you were called, with all loneliness and 153 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:01,680 gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in 154 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:06,960 love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond 155 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,960 of peace. There is one body, 1 Spirit, 156 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:17,240 just as you were called in one hope of your calling, 1 Lord, 1 157 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:23,200 faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all 158 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:30,520 and through all, and in you all. There's such unity in that that 159 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:36,000 not only were you called as individuals, called into the 160 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:41,280 body, into the oneness, into the 111, into unity, we as 161 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:47,560 individuals have been called into one body, into one church, 162 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:50,360 one bride, Amen. Isn't that wonderful? 163 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:54,840 Jesus doesn't have many brides. Jesus has one bride. 164 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:58,120 Jesus has many sons and daughters, though. 165 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:02,280 The Father has many sons and daughters, but they all belong 166 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,320 to the one bride. They're his one bride. 167 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:10,000 Same body, same purpose. Amen. 168 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:14,000 Same purpose. Galatians 513. 169 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,400 I saw I told you that. I've got a few here for you. 170 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:22,240 Brethren have been called to liberty only. 171 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:26,920 Do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but 172 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:29,840 through love. Serve one another. 173 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:36,000 Again, this is talking about being called into unity, into 174 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:40,840 fellowship, into oneness. Don't, don't let liberty cause 175 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:45,440 you to be selfish. Love one another, take care of 176 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,040 one another. Isn't that wonderful? 177 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:56,360 Ephesians 118 the eyes of your understanding being being 178 00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:01,360 enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling? 179 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:06,840 What are the riches of his glory of the inheritance of the 180 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:09,680 Saints? Again, this is just 181 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:14,280 strengthening that it's it's his purpose. 182 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:19,360 It's not my purpose. It's not my calling. 183 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:29,600 You are called into his purpose, not your, not your my life for 184 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:32,000 your purpose. Yeah. 185 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,680 All through the scripture, same narrative, all the way through. 186 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:41,160 You find it over and over again, which is really good because I 187 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:45,320 need reminding a lot. Like my wife's not here, so you 188 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:49,600 can't ask her, but she knows that I need reminding a lot. 189 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:55,760 I need to be constantly reminded and, and you know, have truths 190 00:12:55,760 --> 00:13:00,200 just massaged in. We're a young church. 191 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:03,520 We, we haven't been walking alongside each other for very 192 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:05,880 long. So hasn't even been two years 193 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:10,280 yet. We've got some this God's got 194 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:15,520 some work to do here to unite us together that we would know how 195 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:20,720 to in our togetherness, find the call of God and run together in 196 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:26,200 it. Like I'm called as a leader in 197 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:31,120 this church, as one of the elders, as the visionary, 198 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:34,200 visionary leader for the church here along with my wife, 199 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:39,680 Hillary. And you know, it's funny like 200 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:41,760 because because you hear leaders say this and I'm going to say 201 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:43,640 this thing that you hear leaders say all the time. 202 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:46,960 I think time might have said it. I wouldn't have chosen me. 203 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:52,280 And you know, it almost sounds like there's, you know, false 204 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:53,880 humility or what? I wouldn't have chosen me. 205 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:57,720 I, I actually believe that I wouldn't have chosen me. 206 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:02,840 And and I and I, you know, it's easy to question that when you, 207 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:08,120 when you believe, when you just go, gosh, Lord, there are other 208 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:13,680 people around pretty close to me that in my, in my understanding, 209 00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:17,040 I go from that person would have been a better, a better option, 210 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,200 Lord, But you know what you have to do? 211 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:24,800 You have to be humble and you have to go, but you know better, 212 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:31,920 Lord predestined, the Lord knew that he would call me to this 213 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:38,000 and I have to trust him. And how do I make sure that I 214 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:43,560 don't lose sight of of trusting him and being established in the 215 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:45,560 core? I have to believe that I'm 216 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:50,600 called to lead this church, but it doesn't say that I don't 217 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:56,000 experience doubt sometimes. How do I stay steadfast in my 218 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:03,560 core through the Word of God? The Word of God is our anchor. 219 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,680 And if that's true for me, that's true for every one of us. 220 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,760 And so one of the Scriptures that I lean on is found in Two 221 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:20,480 Corinthians 3 verse 4. And it says, and we have such 222 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:26,960 trust through Christ towards God, not that we are sufficient 223 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:31,040 in ourselves to think of anything as being from 224 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:38,920 ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us 225 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:45,160 sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, 226 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,720 but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the 227 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:52,760 Spirit gives life. When I'm doubting, I go to the 228 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:57,560 word of God and not just to the, to the to the letter to the 229 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:02,000 written word of God. I go by the Spirit of the Lord 230 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:08,720 to my Father into the holy place as we spoke about this morning. 231 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:15,400 And I take these words that I know to be true and I and I 232 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:21,440 speak them and I say, Lord, thank you God, that you have 233 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:27,440 made me a sufficient minister of the new covenant that it was 234 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:31,800 your choice. It wasn't my choice, my life for 235 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,720 your will. And he's made it very clear that 236 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,760 he's called me to this. And so I'm just going to do the 237 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,320 only thing that I can do. I'm going to stand in faith and 238 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:46,520 I'm going to trust him and I'm going to trust those people that 239 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:52,840 he's put around me who, you know, can can lift me up when 240 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:55,560 I'm down. And again, if I need that, you 241 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:59,920 guys need that. And that Scripture is not just 242 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:03,600 for leaders. Can I say, did you hear what it 243 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:05,359 said? It says that I'm going to read 244 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:10,040 it again. It says that who has also made 245 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:17,440 us us sufficient as ministers in the new covenant. 246 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,119 Do you realize that we're ministers in the new covenant, 247 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:23,640 right? You realize that we have 248 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:28,079 ministry to do. You realize that God puts 249 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:35,120 leaders in place for the raising up of the Saints for the work of 250 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:39,440 ministry. We've got to catch that because 251 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:44,680 that means that like the Lord has work for us to do, and it's 252 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,520 called ministry. Amen. 253 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:52,200 That Scripture's for you. Go read it. 254 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,840 Go into the holy place, seek the Father and stand on it through 255 00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:58,680 faith, as I've mentioned this morning. 256 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:10,160 All right, so let's talk about the hell where we are, The Who? 257 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,400 Is there anyone in this room that is still sitting there just 258 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:15,480 going, oh, he's not talking to me. 259 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:21,560 I'm not going to put you on. You don't have to tell me, but 260 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:24,280 I'm going to trust that the Lord's just doing a work in 261 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:25,560 here. Even if you're struggling with 262 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:29,920 it, the Lord will help you because this is this is this is 263 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:32,320 his, his desire, this is his will for you. 264 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,840 This is where you find fulfillment in life. 265 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:41,720 All right, So how these are the strategies that we feel as a 266 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,920 local church that God's got us here for to be involved in. 267 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:51,640 Can I say that strategy changes? These things change the things 268 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:55,680 that we're going to be involved in change The Who could change 269 00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:00,320 the in terms of like the Lord might lead you out of this 270 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:03,640 lampstand. Can I say he'll never lead you 271 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:08,080 out of lampstands altogether because it's the body of Christ. 272 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:12,920 You always have you planted in a lampstand somewhere that's 273 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:17,560 that's biblical, but your time might come to an end to be 274 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,960 serving as a minister in this lampstand and that's OK. 275 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,920 So that could change and the strategies, the, the things that 276 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,680 we feel in God, the things that we need to be involved in that 277 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:31,440 we need to be pursuing could change. 278 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:33,520 The why and the what never change. 279 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:38,320 Jesus never changes. You know, the, the, the plan for 280 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:42,960 the church never changes. The why this lampstand here is 281 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,680 never changes. I don't believe that, you know, 282 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:50,800 a healthy lampstand that Jesus puts in place should come to an 283 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:55,560 end. He does talk about if, if you do 284 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,080 this, if you allow these things, if you, you know, don't follow 285 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,560 me, then I will be forced to remove this lampstand. 286 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,960 But it's never the Lord's desire for a lampstand to be removed, 287 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:08,760 is it? Well, I'm telling you, it's not. 288 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:12,560 I don't believe it is. OK, so this lampstands here. 289 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:17,840 And so the things that we're involved in, when you think 290 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,920 about what are the areas of service. 291 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:25,560 That this church needs to be involved in or that we're 292 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:30,840 feeling to be involved in the areas of service in this church. 293 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:37,480 Now I just want to say if you're thinking about when I say what 294 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:40,480 are the what are the areas of service this church needs to be 295 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,240 involved in? If you start thinking kids 296 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:49,600 ministry, music, team, leadership, elders, like if you 297 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,040 start thinking of the specific areas that are in place, 298 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:55,960 especially on a Sunday meeting is what I'm getting at. 299 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,920 If you start thinking, oh, you know, maybe I could serve on the 300 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:03,240 coffee or maybe I could be a part of the kids team, You're 301 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:04,800 not understanding what I'm saying. 302 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:09,560 I'm going to explain that a bit. This church is not a Sunday 303 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:15,320 meeting. This church is involved in many 304 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:18,520 things. Most of them are not on a 305 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:22,080 Sunday. Most of the service that takes 306 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:26,120 place, most of the ministry that takes place in and through the 307 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,760 the life of this church happens outside of this room. 308 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:34,080 Because the the church is a people. 309 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:37,960 We are called to be with each other regularly. 310 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:42,160 And so the church, like the church is every day. 311 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,120 The body of Christ doesn't take a day off. 312 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:52,400 So they think about, OK, what are the things that I can do? 313 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:56,240 What are the areas of service that I can be a part of? 314 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:58,480 Needs to be broader than just a Sunday meeting. 315 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,000 We are involved in a food hamper ministry. 316 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,120 When I'm preparing for this. This is what I said. 317 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:09,840 I said to you guys that I'm not going to get very far. 318 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:14,320 What I'm going to talk about is some of the specific areas, some 319 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,040 of the things that are happening in the life of this church. 320 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,200 And we can't just talk about the meetings that we have and the 321 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,200 stuff that we're involved. We have to go way deeper than 322 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:23,920 that. But those are going to be the 323 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:25,880 focus for some of these things this morning. 324 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:28,560 So we're involved in a food hamper ministry. 325 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:36,080 And specifically there's a demographic, demographic of 326 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,920 people that we're called to reach. 327 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:47,000 And so the Lords put it on our hearts to provide food, not just 328 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:52,280 physical food, but spiritual food and to engage with the 329 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,160 community. And we've been doing that in our 330 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:58,720 time as a church through the through the local school where 331 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:01,920 we started. And as of this year, as of this 332 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:06,720 week, actually on Tuesday, we're going to be meeting basically in 333 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:09,360 this room. We're going to have our food 334 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:13,320 ministry start up in in the Community Center here. 335 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:16,280 And basically we're going to get food together. 336 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,880 We're going to pack bags and we're going to hand those bags 337 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:25,120 out to people in need. And so 1:00, you're jumping the 338 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:26,400 gun, bro. I'm going to tell people after 339 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:28,520 that that's OK. Thank you, man. 340 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,280 And so this is a very special thing. 341 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:37,600 And we, we put out registrations to see, you know, who, OK, who's 342 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:39,400 going to be in need of this thing? 343 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:41,440 Do you know that our registrations filled up in a 344 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,000 couple of days? And you know, it's not even 345 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,000 until Tuesday. And so, you know what that says 346 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,680 to me? There's more need than we're 347 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:56,360 able to, to meet at the moment. But the other thing that I know 348 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:01,200 is that our Lord, we'll make sure that we have all of the 349 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,920 resources that we need to take care of the needs that he has 350 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:07,480 called us to reach. And I'm excited about that 351 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,480 because we're going to be doing about 60 bags. 352 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,560 We've been doing 50 before that. We're going to need to do more. 353 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:18,200 Lord help us. This is such a cool opportunity 354 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:20,440 because we're going to see the the hand of the Lord. 355 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:23,280 You what? You watch this space, you watch 356 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:27,280 what God does, if there's need, the Lord will take care of it. 357 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:29,240 Amen. That's exciting to me. 358 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:37,200 And so this is one of the areas that we are going to need to 359 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:42,440 minister into. And I'm so chuffed because you 360 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,480 know, there's we've, we've had the people that have been 361 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:47,600 volunteering and stuff in, in the school. 362 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,560 We've, we've got like double the amount of volunteers already. 363 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:52,800 You know, you guys have just gone. 364 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:55,400 I want to come and help and that's that. 365 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:58,880 I'm so happy with that, that again, this is the Lord just 366 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:01,360 going there's going to there's more need here. 367 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:03,760 We're going to need people. So what does he do? 368 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,280 The Holy Spirit starts staring people's hearts. 369 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:09,840 You know, it's not an accident. The things that that the tire 370 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:11,760 came and talked about. It's not an accident. 371 00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:13,400 The things that we're talking about. 372 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:15,960 There's a season here. We're moving into this season. 373 00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:19,480 So praise the Lord. Thank you, Lord for providing 374 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:21,160 already before we've even started. 375 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:27,440 All right, so our community groups, why do we have community 376 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:33,720 groups? We provide a space for people to 377 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:38,480 come into. We provide a space for people 378 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:43,000 outside of our context to be able to come into and be 379 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,480 ministered to. That's the point of the 380 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,480 community groups. I want to see this explode. 381 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,280 I want to see this flourish. I don't want our community 382 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:58,800 groups to be a group of us as believers sitting around just 383 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:01,560 enjoying each other. We do do that. 384 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,320 It's because it's fun. We love that. 385 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:08,760 But this is a space for us to bring others in so that we can 386 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,160 minister to people that are outside of our context, that are 387 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:15,080 unbelievers. So we're believing for that. 388 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:18,480 The the community group is not for us. 389 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:22,640 The community group does not exist for you and I. 390 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:28,960 It exists as a platform for us to serve for us to serve the 391 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:34,160 community that God's called us to reach very special. 392 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:35,880 This could be the same for your home. 393 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:41,400 This is on every level guys. The home that you live in was 394 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:44,800 provided by by the Lord. The Lord provide. 395 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:49,680 You provided your home, whether you know that or not, the Lord 396 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:52,200 provided it. The word says that the Lord 397 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,440 provides for the unsaved, for the lost. 398 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,680 He provides for the lost the same way that he does for us. 399 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:03,520 He gives us food. He gives us shelter, right? 400 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:06,880 Those that don't have it. You know who's supposed to take 401 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,320 care of those people? Us. 402 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:16,240 The church is supposed to be the, the, the, the vehicle that 403 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,920 takes care of those that are out there somewhere disconnected 404 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,760 from the Lord. Because the Lord takes care of 405 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:25,440 people. He takes care of the lost. 406 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:27,520 He takes care of those that know him. 407 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:32,360 The Lord has provided enough on his earth to take care of the 408 00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:35,560 needs of every single person. Greed. 409 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:41,600 And you know the the the evil of riches and people's desire to 410 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,320 keep everything for themselves if the reason that they're 411 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:49,120 starving people in the world, not because of the Lord and the 412 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:53,320 Lord will use his church to take care of the needs of the people 413 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,480 that are around the lampstand that he put here. 414 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:02,280 Amen, Amen. That means that your home is 415 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:08,320 there for the Lord. Unsaved friends can I say do you 416 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:13,160 have any unsaved friends? If you don't, you should get 417 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:19,000 some. I just thought about that this 418 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,560 week. Don't just like want try to hang 419 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:24,120 out with Christians all the time. 420 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,880 Make some unsaved friends. Do you know how easy it is? 421 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,800 I mean, I know it's difficult for I say that it's such a 422 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:32,480 flippant thing to say. Forgive me. 423 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,280 It's not that easy for for some of us to make friends. 424 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:41,080 So, you know, I say that that's a silly thing to say, but 425 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,240 talking to people isn't as hard as we think. 426 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:48,320 I think that the enemies made it seem more difficult than it 427 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:51,160 actually is to start a conversation with someone. 428 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:53,800 And the more that you step out in that, the better that you 429 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:57,480 become in that. Anyway, I was going to tell a 430 00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:58,840 story, but it's, it doesn't matter. 431 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:05,080 Can I say that like we are all accepted of the Lord through 432 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,680 Jesus Christ alone, None of us are worthy of him. 433 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:14,760 None of us, right? We are saved through grace, not 434 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:16,640 through works, not through getting it all right. 435 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:21,080 There's not one person in this room that is living a sinless 436 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:22,840 life that is getting things perfect. 437 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:27,760 The Lord has very specific ways for us to live and patterns for 438 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:32,840 life. And we're we're on a journey to 439 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:37,360 to follow him and to turn from the things that we're falling 440 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,080 short of. Amen. 441 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:42,240 None of us have made it. All right. 442 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,680 So men's group. I'm just going to continue on 443 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:49,480 men's group. Why do we have a men's group? 444 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:55,840 Come on, Tony. I was trying to keep that part 445 00:29:55,840 --> 00:30:02,160 secret, Man, we have, we have the men's group. 446 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:06,480 It's for the same reason we have a men's group that creates a 447 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:11,360 space and an opportunity for people that don't know him to 448 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:15,440 come in to sit under the word, to fellowship with one another. 449 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,200 You know, there's these things that we're devoted to. 450 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,040 We're devoted to the apostles teaching. 451 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:22,920 That's the word of God. That's the truth. 452 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:26,160 We're devoted to prayer. We're devoted to the breaking of 453 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:29,360 bread. We're devoted to fellowship, and 454 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:33,760 so we want to create spaces where people that don't know Him 455 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:38,800 can come in and experience those things and experience God. 456 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:43,760 And so gathering for prayer, we have a prayer gathering. 457 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,800 Our prayer gathering has moved to Wednesday at 6:00. 458 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:52,640 Come on in, let's pray together. Devoted to prayer. 459 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:57,080 Why do we have a prayer meeting? Prayer is so important. 460 00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:00,520 It's one of the things that we're devoted to as a body. 461 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:03,960 That's why we come our Sunday meetings. 462 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:08,000 Obviously, we're devoted to the things that take place in this 463 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,560 meeting. We have to come. 464 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:15,400 We have to be a part of this. You can't be a Christian or you 465 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:19,560 can't live out the call of God as a Christian on your own. 466 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:23,840 It doesn't work. We're a body, we're together, 467 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:27,840 we're unified, our outreach opportunities, our Christmas and 468 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:30,800 all of these things. Can I just remind us that the 469 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:34,840 Christmas lunch that we put on, it's not for us. 470 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:40,760 We've partaken it, but we do this for them. 471 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:46,760 It's about reaching, it's about taking care of need. 472 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:52,120 It's about Jesus being like shining in the community. 473 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:55,160 That's why we do it. The heart behind why we do it is 474 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,240 the same. There's a specific group of 475 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:00,120 people that we're called to reach. 476 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:04,880 We need to understand that nothing that we're involved in 477 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:08,640 is for us. We are the beneficiaries of it 478 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:15,320 always because the Lord, you know, he feeds us as we work. 479 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:19,440 I'm reminded about what Jesus says when he meets with the lady 480 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,040 at the World. They come, the disciples come to 481 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:25,320 him and they say, are you hungry here? 482 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:27,200 You haven't eaten, Eaten some food, mate. 483 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:29,560 And Jesus says, no, I've already eaten. 484 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:31,680 They go, who's given this guy some food? 485 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:35,960 And he says my food is to do the will of the Father. 486 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:40,640 When we get on with doing the will of the Father, when we get 487 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:46,320 on with doing his will, when my life becomes about his will, not 488 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,880 his will for my life, the Lord feeds us. 489 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:54,880 We are. We find our sufficiency in Him, 490 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:58,480 we find our life, we find health and strength. 491 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,000 We're fed. Amen. 492 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:06,680 So although it's not about us, although we don't do it for us, 493 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:12,000 we get all of the benefits as well as them. 494 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:16,000 We're partakers of the inheritance. 495 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:21,200 Isn't that amazing? The Lord's just put this amazing 496 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:25,640 structure in place that when you decide to look after others 497 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:30,120 before yourself, you are looked after at the same time. 498 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:34,280 It's so amazing. But when you're focused on 499 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,240 taking care of yourself and looking after your own needs, 500 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:42,560 you don't see the needs of the people around you. 501 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:46,400 And living selfishly is unfulfilling. 502 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:51,080 You don't get fed in the same way that Jesus talked about. 503 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:54,960 When I, when I do the will of the father, then I am fed. 504 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:59,880 She's so amazing. So it's, and, and you know, 505 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:03,400 because we've talked about some of the meetings and some of the 506 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:06,880 gatherings and, and you know, there's obviously a whole lot of 507 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:09,960 other things going on outside of that where we're just together 508 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:13,199 when we're sending each other scriptures, where we're praying 509 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:16,000 for one another just in our private times and stuff like 510 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:17,400 that. That's ministry, guys. 511 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:19,920 You're a minister of the new covenant. 512 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,199 That means that we need to be praying, lifting each other up 513 00:34:23,199 --> 00:34:25,560 in prayer, taking care of one another. 514 00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:32,120 And so it's not just about attending the meetings, it's 515 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:39,199 about being an active member in the meeting, a participant in 516 00:34:39,199 --> 00:34:41,960 the meeting. It's not enough just to come to 517 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:45,400 the meetings. If we have a, if our idea about 518 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:50,360 being involved is just about going to something we don't 519 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:53,159 understand the things that I'm trying to help us understand 520 00:34:53,159 --> 00:34:55,719 today. It's not about just going to the 521 00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:59,080 meetings. It's about being an active 522 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:04,320 participant in the meetings. That is how you minister. 523 00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:07,960 That is how you serve the Lord. That is how you serve each 524 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:12,040 other. Be active in the meetings, and 525 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:15,920 this is what ties together the why and the what with The Who 526 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:18,920 and the hell. It's like seeing the clear 527 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:24,880 purpose for the church, like seeing the big purpose for the 528 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:26,760 church. When you understand that you are 529 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:30,440 called into it and that you're a minister in it and that you need 530 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:36,720 to be working in it, you realize that you're required, like every 531 00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:38,840 single one of us are required here. 532 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:45,480 It gives you value. It gives you purpose. 533 00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:49,960 It means that in order for for this church to be everything 534 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:54,200 that we're called to be, each and every one of us has to play 535 00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:57,160 our part. And again, it's more more than 536 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:02,200 just being here coming. It's about coming prayerfully. 537 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:08,080 It's about coming with a with a question that it that you woke 538 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:10,040 up with. You know what that question 539 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:14,080 should be here I am Lord, what do you want from me? 540 00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:19,040 I'm going to the meeting today, Lord and I love that Pat just 541 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:20,720 shared in our prayer this morning. 542 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:23,400 She said I just said to the Lord this morning. 543 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:27,880 I said give it. Can I have a word please for us 544 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:30,840 as a church and it was all interesting. 545 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:34,520 You know why? Because she got one when you ask 546 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:38,040 the Lord, Lord, give me something for your people. 547 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:40,960 And that could be just if you're going out for coffee, coffee 548 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:45,080 with someone, Lord, give me something for, for Karen. 549 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:46,960 I'll say Karen because it covers most of us. 550 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:50,560 Give me, give me. There's three Karens in the 551 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,240 church. Give me, please, Lord, give me a 552 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:56,680 word for Karen. You know, the Lord will give you 553 00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,880 a word for the people when you understand that you are The Who 554 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:04,440 and that you're an active participant because he wants you 555 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:08,920 to be actively participating. All right, so just quickly, I 556 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:11,080 know that I'm, I really need to wrap this. 557 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:15,600 My goodness, you know, beyond this church into this nation. 558 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:19,480 There's things that are organized by the leaders in this 559 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:23,480 city that we can be a part of, that we should be a part of. 560 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:26,000 There's city celebrations, there's worship nights. 561 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:30,120 There's an eldest time coming up in February. 562 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:35,120 I'll give you the latest in a moment, but there's opportunity 563 00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:37,200 to serve here. There's going to be a bunch of 564 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:40,480 people from the churches that are going to be making coffee, 565 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:44,680 serving in various ways. There's an opportunity to for 566 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:47,480 for you guys to serve in that if you're available. 567 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:49,720 Talk about that after you come in to speak to us. 568 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:54,920 There's national equips that we should be a part of. 569 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,840 It's going to take you some sacrifice guys. 570 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:01,480 You're going to have to get into state, you're going to have to 571 00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:04,040 buy a plane ticket, you're going to have to maybe take some time 572 00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:05,480 off work. You're going to have to do 573 00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,760 something. It's important for us to be a 574 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:13,320 part of what the Lord is doing in our in our nation, beyond 575 00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:17,160 ourselves, you know, in our city and in this nation. 576 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,240 It must be said that some of you just can't make this stuff. 577 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:26,080 There's realities, you know, some of you guys just can't 578 00:38:26,080 --> 00:38:29,200 travel anymore. You're not making it to a global 579 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:34,960 equip that has to be OK. Should you still be an active 580 00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:37,000 participant in the life of this church? 581 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:40,960 Absolutely. You got to find a way in God to 582 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:43,960 be actively participating and I know that you guys are. 583 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:46,560 That means that you can be involved. 584 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:48,800 There's there's there's many ways you can be involved. 585 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:51,640 You could be involved in the food hampers without stepping 586 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:56,080 foot in this place finance. You could give generously of 587 00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:59,160 your finances. You could be praying diligently. 588 00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:04,160 You could be like our church is meeting 1:00 on Tuesday. 589 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:08,040 I'm going to be praying that the Spirit of God would move, that 590 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:09,480 they would connect with these people. 591 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:12,360 I'm going to be praying that we would see these people come to 592 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,880 know the Lord. You see, we should be doing 593 00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:16,920 these these things. We can be, we should be. 594 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:23,600 You could be giving of your time, you know, like our kids 595 00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:26,960 are looked after so that we can meet as elders and stuff like 596 00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:29,680 that. There's things that our family 597 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:33,400 do and friends do to free us up to make us available. 598 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:38,320 You could be cooking meals for people so that they have free 599 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:41,400 time to minister in other ways. There's so many different ways. 600 00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:44,960 If you start to ask the Lord and say Lord, how can I minister? 601 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:47,480 What can I be involved in? You know, he's going to show you 602 00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:51,680 things, ask each other, say, how are you involved? 603 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:54,080 Oh, I'd love to be involved in that, too. 604 00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:56,680 Maybe I'll come to your house. Maybe we'll spend a few hours 605 00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:59,080 cooking together. We'll fellowship together. 606 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:02,200 We'll make some food for those that are with young children. 607 00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:04,360 All of these things, there's so many different ways. 608 00:40:06,240 --> 00:40:09,440 I feel like we're in a season where the Lord is testing our 609 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:12,840 devotion. He's testing what the things 610 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:17,080 that we're devoted to. You could be devoted to, again, 611 00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:20,640 you could be devoted to the apostles teaching, to 612 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:24,240 fellowship, to breaking of bread, to prayer, to being part 613 00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:26,480 of what the the Lord's doing in our midst. 614 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:30,440 Or there's a default setting. When you're not devoted to the 615 00:40:30,440 --> 00:40:32,840 Lord's things, you're devoted to something else. 616 00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:38,040 There's a default setting which you will be devoted to 617 00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:41,320 something. So we're being tested in this. 618 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:45,120 I would encourage all of us to look at our lives and and find 619 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:47,240 out the things that you're devoted to. 620 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,560 You could be devoted to TV. You could be devoted to your 621 00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:54,440 wife above the Lord. You could be devoted to your 622 00:40:54,440 --> 00:40:58,080 children more so than the things of the Lord. 623 00:40:58,080 --> 00:40:59,800 That's a weird thing to say, isn't it? 624 00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:03,880 But if you're more devoted to seeing your kids at their 625 00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:07,960 sporting game on Sunday morning than in the church 626 00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:11,400 fellowshipping with the body of Christ, you're more devoted to 627 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:14,240 your children than you are to the Lord and for His plan and 628 00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:17,280 purpose. And ultimately, you are doing a 629 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:20,920 disservice to your children. They're going to become what you 630 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:24,120 are. Those are firm words, but I 631 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:28,160 believe that wholeheartedly. You need to be devoted to the 632 00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:32,320 things that the Lord has called this church to above the things 633 00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:34,360 that you're called to. That could be work. 634 00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:38,160 That could be entertainment. That could be sleep, that could 635 00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:41,280 be many things. Again, I don't don't come to me 636 00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:44,400 and ask me. You go to the Lord and you ask 637 00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:46,240 him to say, Lord, what am I devoted to? 638 00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:50,120 What am I truly devoted to? Are they your things or are they 639 00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:54,280 my things? All right, so some questions 640 00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:59,840 that we can ask ourselves, are we actively involved in God's 641 00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:01,760 plan and purpose for this lampstand? 642 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:08,480 Are we go and write them down? So of course I am go make a 643 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:10,640 list. What are the things that I'm 644 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:14,920 actively involved in for God's plan and purpose for this 645 00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:20,640 lampstand? Am IA consumer in this room or a 646 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:24,720 contributor? That means do I come with an 647 00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:26,560 offering? Do I come with something to 648 00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:30,040 bring or do I come, come give me what I need? 649 00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:33,160 That's a good question to ask ourselves, isn't it? 650 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:36,560 Am I contributing or am I consuming? 651 00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:41,400 You know, I've been watching, I am, I'm rapping really. 652 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:44,960 So I'm sorry, this is, it's long, but I just a couple more 653 00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:46,600 things that I just feel I need to say. 654 00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:50,680 You know, I've been watching in our meetings, I've been watching 655 00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:55,000 in our community groups. I've been watching in family 656 00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:58,880 barbecues. I've been watching in parties of 657 00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:02,440 unbelievers. I've been watching, I've been 658 00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:07,320 watching to see who's a contributor and who's the 659 00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:11,680 consumer. When you go to worldly things, 660 00:43:12,160 --> 00:43:16,320 it's usually like if if you go to a party, it's normally like 661 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:19,520 the the whoever's hosting the party, they're the ones running 662 00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:21,920 around doing everything. And then you've got a whole 663 00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:24,680 bunch of people that are just like the honoured guests that 664 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:27,360 just walk in, make all the mess and then leave. 665 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:32,320 And then you've got these poor people that have like hosted, 666 00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:35,320 opened up their homes, provided for everything. 667 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:36,880 They get left to clean up the mess. 668 00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:42,360 This is not the culture that we are building here in our church, 669 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:46,440 in this community. So when we're together, we are 670 00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:49,680 owning it together. We're serving one another. 671 00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:53,440 We're looking to see how we can be the ones that are tidying up 672 00:43:53,440 --> 00:43:55,960 and cleaning. We're going to leave that place 673 00:43:56,400 --> 00:44:00,240 the way that you know that that family or that those people 674 00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:02,760 could go to bed. I'm just going to get in my car 675 00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:05,040 and go to bed. We are going to be serving 676 00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:07,120 hardened. We're going to make sure that 677 00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:11,120 we're going to do everything that we can do to be a family. 678 00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:13,640 Amen. In our community groups in our 679 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:18,360 homes when people are around. I know you understand what I'm 680 00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:22,720 saying. All right, So I'm going to close 681 00:44:22,720 --> 00:44:24,360 with this scripture. Acts 2. 682 00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:27,040 I started reading it, but I'm going to read on a bit. 683 00:44:27,080 --> 00:44:31,560 Acts 2, verse 42. They were continually devoted. 684 00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:34,800 They continually devoted themselves to the apostles 685 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:39,000 teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to 686 00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:43,160 prayer. Everyone kept feeling a feeling 687 00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:48,120 of sense and awe, and many wonders and signs were taking 688 00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:50,880 place through the apostles. This is talking about the early 689 00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:53,720 church. The Acts Church and all the 690 00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:58,440 believers were together and had all things in common, and they 691 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:03,240 would sell their property and possessions and share them among 692 00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:09,720 all to the extent that everyone, everyone's needs were met day by 693 00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:15,120 day, continuing with 1 accord in the temple and breaking bread 694 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:18,800 from house to house. They were taking their meals 695 00:45:18,800 --> 00:45:24,080 together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising 696 00:45:24,080 --> 00:45:29,560 God, having favor with all the people, and the Lord was adding 697 00:45:29,560 --> 00:45:34,640 to their number day by day those who were being saved. 698 00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:41,080 Isn't that an amazing picture that the church could be, that 699 00:45:41,080 --> 00:45:46,120 the church should be? This is the church that Jesus is 700 00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:50,520 building. This is a very strong picture of 701 00:45:50,680 --> 00:45:57,560 what should be seen and expected in our gatherings when we're 702 00:45:57,560 --> 00:46:01,600 together. So I would love for us to go and 703 00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:06,120 read that and open your eyes when we're together. 704 00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:10,480 Open your eyes after we close this part of this meeting. 705 00:46:11,720 --> 00:46:15,160 See who's serving, see who's consuming. 706 00:46:15,160 --> 00:46:18,760 Don't go and say, well, you're not really serving there. 707 00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:25,120 Please be gracious. But look, hey, look, look to 708 00:46:25,120 --> 00:46:26,960 yourself. Don't look to others. 709 00:46:27,760 --> 00:46:29,680 Am I going to serve? Right? 710 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:31,520 You know, you guys are just laughing. 711 00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:32,920 I get it. All right. 712 00:46:32,920 --> 00:46:34,760 So anyway, I'm just going to pray. 713 00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:39,680 Let's seek the Lord together. Father, we, we thank you for 714 00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:42,720 your word. Your word is truth. 715 00:46:43,680 --> 00:46:46,000 We thank you for the Holy Spirit's lead. 716 00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:48,480 We thank you for the stirrings of our heart. 717 00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:53,560 We thank you, the Lord, that You are building a strong, healthy, 718 00:46:53,880 --> 00:46:58,880 glorious, powerful church. That this lampstand, Lord, is 719 00:46:58,880 --> 00:47:03,760 placed here to burn bright, to shine bright, to see Your 720 00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:05,840 Kingdom come and Your will be done. 721 00:47:06,480 --> 00:47:10,440 We are The Who and we give ourselves over to you 722 00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:14,920 wholeheartedly. Lord, speak, lead, guide, do 723 00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:18,760 your will, our lives for your will. 724 00:47:18,760 --> 00:47:23,640 Lord Jesus, we love you, we honor you in Jesus mighty name, 725 00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:26,240 Amen. Amen. 726 00:47:26,240 --> 00:47:32,040 Thank you guys, Thank you. Men's group this Monday 6:30. 727 00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:36,800 It's going to be awesome. Come and serve our hampers. 728 00:47:36,800 --> 00:47:45,080 Tuesday 1:00 prayer prayer Wednesday six to seven here the 729 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:51,880 community groups are up and running this week 630 I think 730 00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:57,920 Daniel 6 O clock the anchor in Justin eldest time is I spoke 731 00:47:57,920 --> 00:48:01,960 about it's they're like a elders leaders time elders and leaders 732 00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:04,000 from all around the country coming together. 733 00:48:04,320 --> 00:48:07,880 That is in February 25th to 27th. 734 00:48:08,520 --> 00:48:11,960 We need to own this together guys we need help so come and 735 00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:15,440 speak to us after. Bless you guys, have an amazing 736 00:48:15,480 --> 00:48:17,960 day. Thank you for joining us for 737 00:48:17,960 --> 00:48:20,400 today's message. For more information about The 738 00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:24,600 Way Church, please visit ourwebsite@thewaychurch.com dot 739 00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:26,000 AU. Have a blessed day.