1 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,880 Welcome to the podcast of the White Church in Adelaide, South 2 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:17,880 Australia. We're going to be just talking a 3 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,440 little about a little bit about Thanksgiving this morning, but 4 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:23,400 not we're not just going to talk about Thanksgiving. 5 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:27,040 We're going to talk about things that we're thankful for that 6 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:37,000 God's done over the last year. So 2025 is coming to an end and 7 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,240 I started by reading this scripture. 8 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:41,840 I'm going to read it again. It says enter into His gates 9 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,560 with Thanksgiving and into His thoughts. 10 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,760 Sorry, into His courts with praise, Be thankful to Him and 11 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:52,800 bless His name. So we want to do that for a 12 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:57,600 moment this morning. We want to look to the Lord and 13 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,320 to the things that He has done in 2025 because God's done 14 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:05,920 amazing things in our midst and it's easy to overlook those 15 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,880 things and just move on to another year because the the 16 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,080 years roll pass pretty fast, don't they? 17 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,840 So you know, like before we get into 2026, I just want to for us 18 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,240 together to be thankful for what God's done. 19 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:25,640 We've seen some growth in 2025. We've seen some people come. 20 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:28,640 We've seen our eldership team double. 21 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,480 I think it feels like longer since these guys came on as 22 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:34,880 elders, doesn't it? But that was this, that was 23 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,960 2025. And so God's did amazing things 24 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:42,840 2025, He's growing the church, he's establishing leaders. 25 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:46,880 I think that's wonderful. I'm, I'm really excited about 26 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:48,320 that. I hope you guys are excited 27 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,000 about that because it's an amazing thing. 28 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,960 But we've seen our community group, we've doubled that. 29 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:57,520 It sounds crazy when you've got 1 and you become two, you're 30 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:00,120 like, wow, we've doubled. So I'm sort of being, you know, 31 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:02,640 I'm being a little funny, but that's a good thing. 32 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,880 It's an amazing thing that now that we're gathering in two 33 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:09,240 different places and we're believing for this, for this 34 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,560 coming year, 2026, that we're going to see some more of that. 35 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:15,960 We're going to see another home open up and, and people 36 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:21,120 gathering there and, and growing and unpacking scripture and, you 37 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:23,280 know, being together throughout the week. 38 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:25,160 This is all very important stuff. 39 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,720 We started our our men's connect this year. 40 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:32,720 That's been very fruitful, has been good. 41 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:34,800 You guys have enjoyed it. It's been good for us. 42 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,160 It's been good for us as men. We've been coming together, 43 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:41,560 we've been unpacking his word, we've been learning and we've 44 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,360 been fellowshipping. We've been enjoying each other 45 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:46,680 and that's a very powerful thing. 46 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,960 So that's something that we started this, this year, this 47 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,440 space that we've opened up here. We did that this year. 48 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,240 You know, we're meeting with these doors closed and now we've 49 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:57,360 opened this up. It's just a nicer space. 50 00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:00,560 We don't have people knocking on the door and no one even knows 51 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,080 that they're there. That's a good thing, right? 52 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:04,800 So that's just something that came to mind. 53 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,840 You know, that God's just opened up some space for us to meet. 54 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:17,520 We, we baptize double the amount of people this year that we did 55 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:19,600 last year. Again, I'm being silly, but it's 56 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:24,320 like we baptize 2 people this year and we baptize Tony the 57 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:28,040 year before. And so let's just keep trusting 58 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,360 and believing that we're going to continue to see growth, you 59 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,240 know, more so than just double. I don't know, these, these, 60 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:35,800 these things are in God's hands, right? 61 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,000 We're just going to serve him faithfully. 62 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:40,760 We're going to be thankful, we're going to praise him and 63 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:44,840 we're going to trust that God's going to continue to add because 64 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:49,720 he, because he is and he does we with our food hampers, our, our 65 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:55,600 food ministry, we estimated that it was over 800 grocery bags 66 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:59,400 that we gave away this year. 800 is a lot, right? 67 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,600 Like, and when you see these grocery bags, like they're, they 68 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,720 are stacked, you know, like they're, it's pretty amazing 69 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,600 that we've been able to do this. You know, we're partnering with 70 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,720 hands and feet and they're supplying food and we're, we're 71 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:13,920 supporting them. We're donating, We're making 72 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,440 sure that that ministry continues to move forward 73 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,000 because it's important, you know, it's getting food to 74 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,800 people that are in need. But 800 food hampers. 75 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,280 I just think about the amazing thing that God's doing through 76 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:30,680 this small local church. We are a small gathering of 77 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,840 people, but to be able to give, you know, food in in abundance 78 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,080 to people that need it, that's a very special thing. 79 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:42,560 And it just makes me think that, you know, reminds me that God 80 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,080 takes care of the community through the local church. 81 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,120 We've got a small footprint in that, but there's many other 82 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,880 local churches in this city. There's there's many churches in 83 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,560 Adelaide and beyond that. God is doing amazing things 84 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,880 through the church. He is making sure that people 85 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,320 that are in need are taken care of through the church. 86 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,400 And Lord God, we thank you that you're doing that. 87 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,720 We thank you, Lord, that your eyes are open to the cries of 88 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,560 the needy and that you take care of people, Lord. 89 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:15,640 And we thank you, Lord, that we can be a part of the church, 90 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,880 your hands and your feet, Lord, that that are committed to, to, 91 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:22,320 to stepping out and to being used by you, God. 92 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:25,600 It's a very special thing, Lord. We don't take that for granted. 93 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,000 We just don't move on to another year, Lord. 94 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:32,200 We say thank you that we can be a part of your church and that 95 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:37,360 we can be active in taking care of people around us, Lord, Thank 96 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:38,920 you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. 97 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:42,080 Thank you, Lord. We've we were able this year to 98 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:44,440 build some relationship into the Philippines. 99 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:48,480 I was privileged to go with Josh and the guys over to the 100 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,240 Philippines this year and connect with some of these some 101 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:56,080 of the passes and that there. And as you guys know, there was, 102 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:00,120 you know, some it was a typhoon because it's called a typhoon 103 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,040 there, isn't it? You know, that caused a lot of 104 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,360 damage in the Philippines just recently. 105 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:08,600 And because of these relationships and because of, 106 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,480 you know, God opening a door for us to be there, you know, we're 107 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:14,880 able to reach out to these people and say, hey, how are you 108 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:16,520 guys doing? Is everyone OK? 109 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,640 And luckily, the people that you know, from these churches that 110 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:26,120 we visited, they were all fine, but they were like rallying up 111 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:29,560 support to go and take care of the people that lost everything, 112 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,880 that were hungry. And so we were able to, you 113 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,320 know, donate some money to that cause. 114 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:39,960 And I've got a bunch of photos and videos and stuff that these 115 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,240 guys sent to us that don't worry about that. 116 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:46,160 Now I'm going to post it in our, in our, in our group chat for 117 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,960 the church so that you guys can see, you know, just lines of 118 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,600 people just receiving bags of food and, and just pictures of 119 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:58,520 like these, you know, the places where they live, you know, just 120 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,520 completely just swamped and, and knocked over. 121 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:06,280 So thank you, God, thank you for the opportunity to sow into the 122 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:10,800 nations and to take care of the needs of people way beyond where 123 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:13,320 we are. And do you see how amazing that 124 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,960 is that God's done that, that he would make connection between us 125 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:21,680 here in Adelaide and pastors and leaders in churches on the other 126 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,160 side of the world. And, and now we can just pick up 127 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,480 a phone and we can say, Hey, is there anything we can do? 128 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,440 And they say we're, we're, you know, we're getting funds 129 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,440 together to buy food and we go, cool, we're in, isn't that 130 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:35,560 amazing? God is good. 131 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:39,320 He makes sure that that he takes care of the needs of people all 132 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:42,640 around the world. And you know, I'm believing that 133 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,760 this coming year, 2026, that God's going to open more doors 134 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:50,120 for us to do these things and for many of us to get over 135 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:51,520 there. It's not just me. 136 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,520 Can I say that? Like for us in this room and 137 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:58,160 fathers that are going to listen that couldn't be here today, you 138 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,560 can come to these things. You know, you can get a passport 139 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,600 and you can come along and you can go and make a difference in 140 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,720 other nations. And it's important that you do, 141 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:15,000 you know, take advantage of the opportunities to go along and 142 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,920 and make some connections and hear where God's perhaps calling 143 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,720 you. You know, God might be calling 144 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,320 you to the nations. Can I just say God is calling 145 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:28,960 you to the nations, God's calling us to the nations and 146 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,360 that you know what that means? That means that you've got to go 147 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:33,440 to the nations. And so when there's 148 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,159 opportunities to go, we should go. 149 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:41,320 And so, you know, I, I say all that just to say, start praying 150 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:43,640 now and start saying, Lord, I'm available here. 151 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:48,840 I am, send me because God will open doors for us to go into the 152 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,600 nations because this is what he's, this is what he's about. 153 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:55,320 This is what we're called to do when God calls the church to do 154 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:59,360 something, God makes sure that there's open doors for us to go 155 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:01,040 and do that. Amen. 156 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:04,920 Cool. I heard an Amen from you, 157 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:06,080 Michael. That means that you're going to 158 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,320 you're going somewhere in 2026. Awesome. 159 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:12,720 Awesome. There we go. 160 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:14,720 It's it is over. You go Tasmania. 161 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,920 Awesome. So obviously we had our Weld 162 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:21,560 equipped this year. That was a big deal. 163 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,000 You know, that was 10 years in the making. 164 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:26,960 That was a wonderful time. That's a big deal. 165 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:30,920 We got to be together with the greater church again. 166 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,360 Like there's going to be a an Australia equipment and AUS 167 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,160 equip coming up next year. This is another one of those 168 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:39,800 things guys, come along, be a part of it. 169 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:45,400 You know, don't make excuses like just come and gather with 170 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:49,520 the church, broader than just this local congregation, broader 171 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:51,720 than just the churches of Adelaide. 172 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,440 We can be together with churches from around Australia. 173 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:57,720 That's happening. Isn't that wonderful? 174 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:01,520 Really good opportunity to come and be a part of that. 175 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:03,520 So I'd encourage us to all do that. 176 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,920 We've had much Apostolic input. In 2025. 177 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:15,880 We had guys come from our city. We had Josh come, we, he might 178 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:17,520 have been one of the only ones from our city. 179 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:20,640 Anyway, Josh Bench came. That was wonderful. 180 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:24,840 We enjoyed that. We had Paul and Nicole come. 181 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:29,960 We had Jimmy and Maria come. This is all just this, this last 182 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,400 year. And we had Bruce and Myra from 183 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,600 South Africa. We had Joel and his brothers 184 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:39,280 come and be a part of, of, of Sunday with us to minister in 185 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,440 and to, for us to hear what God's doing around the world. 186 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:44,960 We're going to see more of that this coming year. 187 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:46,680 We've, we've got someone special coming. 188 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,880 Ty's going to be with us in January for a couple of weeks. 189 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:56,440 And so come 18th and 25th, he will be with us. 190 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,000 And so that's, these are very key times. 191 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,160 These are special times. Put them in your diary, 192 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:02,600 remember, will it come and be here? 193 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,200 This is a very important time to be and it's coming up real fast, 194 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:08,720 which I, which is why I mentioned it just now. 195 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,240 And you know, there's, I'm sure there's many other highlights 196 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:18,320 that you guys can think of as we close out this year. 197 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:23,560 We had our Christmas community lunch on Thursday and for us 198 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:25,000 that we're here, Peter, you were here. 199 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,480 Did you enjoy that? Man, It's wonderful, so good. 200 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,600 And so you know that that's a really wonderful thing that we, 201 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:36,600 that God did that we could be a part of in serving our community 202 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:38,680 again. There's just such need when we 203 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:42,360 can like set up, you know, 90 chairs in here and fill this 204 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:45,840 space that that means that there's need in our city. 205 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,320 That's what this is like Christmas Day, right? 206 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:53,160 Can I just say that, you know, we had God provided, you know, 207 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:55,240 people that could come and serve. 208 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,120 You know, we had people from outside our context. 209 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:02,240 We had a couple of lovely ladies serving in the kitchen and well, 210 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,360 there's a few. There was, I think there was 211 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:09,160 probably four or five before four people from, you know, 212 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:12,920 outside of this church that came Christmas Day guys, they came 213 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,120 and they served and they were a part of it and they had a great 214 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:17,080 time. They really enjoyed it. 215 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:19,640 I said we want to come back next year and serve again, right? 216 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:24,000 Thank you. We had the CEO of the centre 217 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:29,800 come to help tidy up, right. So this lady and I think she was 218 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:31,120 the ex CEO as well. Yeah, she just had it. 219 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,960 OK, So one of the, the, the lady that was the CEO was handing 220 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:39,520 over to the new CEO. Both these ladies came and they 221 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:41,600 came in and they said we're just here to help back up. 222 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:44,880 And so they just, they just got, I didn't even get a chance to 223 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:46,640 really say hello. They were picking up tape like 224 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:49,360 plates and stuff before I even had a chance, you know. 225 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:52,680 So they came, this is like the, the ones that run this centre. 226 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:56,880 They saw the value in what was happening here and, and they, 227 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,240 they just sort of, I think they said to each other, they were 228 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:01,880 just with each other and after Christmas or whatever, after 229 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:03,840 their meal or whatever, what, what should we go? 230 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:07,760 Sure, let's go. So in they came and I was really 231 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,400 touched by that. They just got on with it. 232 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:12,680 They sort of disappeared without sort of saying goodbye. 233 00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:13,960 They weren't in it for themselves. 234 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,400 They just wanted to come and be a part of this and make sure 235 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:18,360 that we had everything that we needed. 236 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:23,520 And I think that God serves the hearts of people, whether these 237 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,160 are people that know him, you know, personally like us, that 238 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:31,160 serve him as we do, You know that God can stir the heart of 239 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:33,560 any single person, right? And he did. 240 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:35,960 We see it in Scripture. God would stir the heart of the 241 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,080 kings. He would stir the hearts of 242 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:40,160 people all the time, and they would do his will. 243 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:43,520 And so, you know, when we're praying and we're saying, Lord, 244 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,040 you know, please help us to be able to do this. 245 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:48,480 Well, God just start stirring hearts of people and they just 246 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:51,040 come. And so, you know, I'm just 247 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,800 believing in 2026, guys, we got to be like, I'm stirring our 248 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,840 faith, right? That God can stir the hearts of 249 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:01,360 people and bring them in, you know, So when we're praying and 250 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:03,840 when we're saying, Lord, you know, from the north and the 251 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,760 South and the east and the West, give them up and release them, 252 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,480 we got to pray that with faith. We're going to pray that knowing 253 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:12,880 that God can do that and God does that. 254 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:16,520 And maybe we should just take a moment right now to pray that. 255 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:19,960 Can we do that, please? Could we just stand to our feet, 256 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:22,120 please? Let's just pray that through 257 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:27,680 Lord God, we thank you that you are the one that stirs the 258 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:32,680 hearts of the people and Lord in, in, in alignment with your 259 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:36,080 word. Lord, we call them in, Lord, 260 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,840 from the north and the South and the east and the West, we say 261 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,480 give them up. We say release them. 262 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:46,160 We say let them come. Let them come into your Kingdom. 263 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,680 Let them come into your church. Let them come into the, the 264 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,520 wonderful things that you are doing around this community and 265 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:55,880 around this city and way beyond that God. 266 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:01,160 So we do call them in and and we stand, Lord, faithfully on your 267 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:04,240 word that says that you can and will do this. 268 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:09,200 And we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, your son, Amen, Amen. 269 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:11,360 Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. 270 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:12,880 Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. 271 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:21,200 All right, well, I'm, I'm thankful for, you know, like 272 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,520 where Bianca talked about being enlarged and stuff like that. 273 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:28,800 We've been tested this year. Things have been hard, hey, like 274 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:33,560 just hard, like trying to and lead a church and trying to know 275 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:35,040 how to do that. And all these things. 276 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,600 We've been tested. We've been, it hasn't always 277 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:42,800 been easy, but I'm thankful to God for stretching for, for 278 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:48,440 making things, making us have to rise up and overcome because 279 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:50,400 he's setting us up for the future. 280 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,360 And that's for, for us personally, but that's for all 281 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,280 of us. You know, things aren't always 282 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:01,720 easy. Things are generally hard, but 283 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:03,360 that's a good thing. If if you. 284 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:03,880 Yeah. But if. 285 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,280 OK, let me just clarify if you've got a good eye, right? 286 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:11,360 If you understand that that God chastens those who he loves, 287 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,840 that God puts obstacles in your way, that you're going to have 288 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:19,840 to trust him to overcome that he's going to have to make more, 289 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,040 more of you than you are right now. 290 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,240 When you understand that you can look back at the year that's 291 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:29,280 gone and you could go, thank you, Lord, thank you for the 292 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:32,480 things that you've put in front of me that I've had to overcome. 293 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:35,480 And, you know, we should be doing that. 294 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,720 I think that this year and as it comes to an end, we should 295 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:42,800 reflect back on the year that we've had. 296 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:45,640 We should look at, you know, I was talking to Craig this 297 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:47,160 morning. You should look at the choices 298 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,040 that you've made. You should look at the, the, the 299 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:57,240 things that have happened in your life and, you know, ask God 300 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:00,880 to reveal, you know, why have these things happened? 301 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:05,960 What all of these things just reflect and say, Lord, help me 302 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,480 to become the man or the woman that you've called me to be. 303 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:14,079 Help me to not waste any of the, the season that's just passed 304 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:16,599 and any of the little adjustments and any of the 305 00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:18,720 things that need to change in me and through me. 306 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,680 Lord, help me and make the changes. 307 00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:25,599 You know, what about the words that God spoken to us? 308 00:17:25,599 --> 00:17:29,160 You know, we, we sit and we hear God's word regularly. 309 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,880 You read it for yourself and things stand out to you and you 310 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:35,160 write it down and you put it in your heart or he puts it in your 311 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,000 heart. Have you been faithful with it? 312 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:40,200 Like are you doing something with it? 313 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:45,000 I just think about, you know, for me, I even just a few weeks 314 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,680 ago, I think about Dudley's preach on the blood of Jesus. 315 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,840 I it's just become a part of my prayer life more so than it ever 316 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:56,240 has before and it's powerful. I pray it when I put my boys to 317 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:57,920 sleep. I prayed over my house. 318 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,040 I prayed over myself, over my body. 319 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,520 It's just there and it's just what I'm going to say that just 320 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:09,000 an an example of when God highlights something to in here 321 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:11,480 now, then you've got to apply it. 322 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:12,960 You've got to do something with it. 323 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:17,800 And So what are the things that God spoken to you over the last 324 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:21,000 year? And are you applying it to your 325 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,160 life? Because God doesn't highlight 326 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:27,360 things to you for no reason, but you could just do nothing with 327 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:29,640 it. And I'm guilty of that at times 328 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:32,120 as well. And so This is why we just think 329 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:34,000 about the year. Think about the things that have 330 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:35,400 happened. Think about the things that have 331 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,120 tripped you up, that have caused you to shy away or pull back or 332 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:44,280 whatever and say, you know, this this coming year, Lord, like I'm 333 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:46,800 not going to allow those things to trip me up anymore. 334 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:52,040 I've learned my lesson. I'm, I'm listening, Lord, and 335 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:54,800 I'm going to, I'm going to, you know, overcome these things 336 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:56,480 because these things are coming again. 337 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:02,200 Like something that tripped you up last year, it's probably 338 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,200 going to show its head again this coming year. 339 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:08,320 But you got to be prepared, right? 340 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:10,960 And the way that you were prepared is you acknowledge it. 341 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:12,640 And you say that thing tripped me up. 342 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,240 But no, Lord, I'm not going to allow that thing to trip me up 343 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:17,200 again. I'm I'm running after you this 344 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:18,960 time, Lord, I'm going to keep my feet. 345 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:22,680 And you know, the word of God says that he's the lamp to our 346 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:24,400 feet. So he's going to make sure that 347 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,880 he enlightens the way for you not to stumble and fall. 348 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:30,680 He is a good God. You're amazing, God. 349 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:32,680 Lord. Thank you, Lord. 350 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:43,400 All right, so Thanksgiving, like it's so important we've done, 351 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,280 you know, we've sat and we've just thought about the things 352 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,120 that we can be thankful for to God. 353 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:51,400 You know, we, we read this morning that Thanksgiving opens 354 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:56,240 up, you know, it's it through Thanksgiving, we enter into 355 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:02,720 God's presence and it's true. And so thankful people 356 00:20:03,120 --> 00:20:07,400 experience the life of God more so than people that aren't. 357 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,320 Is that true? I think it is. 358 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:16,800 I think that when I'm thankful to God, even in hard times, that 359 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:20,880 the Spirit of God stirs in me and I feel closer to him again. 360 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,960 And so we've got to live this way, guys. 361 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,600 But there's a flip side to Thanksgiving. 362 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:33,840 You know what it is? People that complain a lot, 363 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:40,440 think about people that complain a lot, they're generally not 364 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,320 happy people. There's a reason for this 365 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:47,400 because when you're thankful, especially to God, like when 366 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:52,360 you're thankful to God, it stirs joy and peace and life. 367 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:57,240 But when you're constantly complaining in life also it's 368 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,640 doing is highlighting the things that you're unhappy with. 369 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:05,360 So you have put like centre stage the things that bring you 370 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:09,640 down and you're just rehearsing it and talking about it over and 371 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:13,480 over again. And so it's almost like the 372 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,120 opposite of being thankful to just complain and to whine. 373 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:22,440 That sounds harsh, doesn't it? But I, I, I say that because I'm 374 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,240 trying to help us because I can complain at times as well, 375 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,240 right? And it doesn't make me feel 376 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,520 good. It just makes me feel heavy, 377 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,920 right. So when you're, when you're 378 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:38,560 thankful, think about Thanksgiving. 379 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:43,000 Thanksgiving means that you're giving thanks. 380 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,320 Like have you ever thought about that Thanksgiving? 381 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:48,560 Or is it just a word that's Thanksgiving? 382 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,320 It just means I'm thankful. It's actually that you give 383 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,040 thanks. We give thanks to God. 384 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:58,320 We're giving something of that out of our hearts, out of 385 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:01,880 ourselves. Complaining is not doing that. 386 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:06,120 Complaining is like trying to get something from someone, 387 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:07,880 right? When I, when I, if I'm 388 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:09,880 complaining, I'm trying to get some sympathy. 389 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:12,760 I'm trying to get someone to say, Oh, it's OK, or I'm trying 390 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:14,440 to get a result. I'm trying to get some. 391 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,440 If I complain to my wife and say, Oh gosh, there's, jeez, 392 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:19,480 there's, there's a lot of clothes around on the floor, 393 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:22,600 then I'm trying to get her to clean them up. 394 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:24,400 But this is not the way to do this, right? 395 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,040 Like you clean them up, be thankful that you've got a wife, 396 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,240 right? Like, do you see how you can 397 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,240 shift the way that you live? You know, sorry to do that to it 398 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:35,560 and just open up our our home space to you guys. 399 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:40,000 But but it's true, right? Like there's a way of living 400 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,840 where you can live thankful no matter what's around you, right? 401 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:44,680 Or you could just walk around complaining. 402 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:50,240 And again, complaining is just just being empty and wishing 403 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:52,640 that something would change or that you would get something 404 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,920 right. And Luke 645 says out of the 405 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,160 abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 406 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,120 Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 407 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:08,560 So when you're thankful, when you're, when you, when you give 408 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:12,680 thanks, that means that there's thankfulness in your heart. 409 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:16,360 That means that you're giving something that's really good out 410 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:19,600 of your own heart, right? And when you're complaining, 411 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:23,520 what, what is in your heart? What is in the heart of someone 412 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:28,120 that finds fault in everything? And just, you know, like I 413 00:23:28,120 --> 00:23:30,520 haven't seen you for a while and you just want to tell me about 414 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:32,160 all the challenges that are in your life. 415 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:37,320 You know, what's in your heart? Is there thankfulness in here or 416 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:40,440 is there just heaviness? I say this to try and help us 417 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,880 because we don't have to live in that place of heaviness. 418 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:47,760 We can live in Thanksgiving and have peace and have joy. 419 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,600 Just think about the words that you speak to people, right? 420 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,840 Like when someone comes up to you and says, how are you doing? 421 00:23:56,360 --> 00:24:00,160 What comes out of your mouth? Oh, man, I'm really tired. 422 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,920 I've had a hard week, you know, I do that sometimes. 423 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,040 It's just sometimes you're just overwhelmed, right? 424 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:09,080 But we've got to think about the words that come out of our mouth 425 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:12,640 because it reveals to us the position of our heart. 426 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,960 And this is really important when we've, when we talk about 427 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:20,200 coming into God's presence and coming before the Lord, because 428 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:24,680 are you positioning your heart, you know, in a way that is 429 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:28,280 honouring to God, You know, because if I just come in and I 430 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:32,200 just say, you know, oh God, why do all these things always have 431 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,480 to happen? And, and why can't you just do 432 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:36,440 this? Is that honouring to our Lord? 433 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,120 Of course, it's not. We want to position our hearts 434 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,080 of Thanksgiving. Lord, I thank you that I'm 435 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,160 alive. I thank you that you've sent 436 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:49,200 your son. I thank you that even though my 437 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:53,200 life is really difficult right now and I, I don't feel like 438 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:56,720 being thankful, I can be thankful because you are a good 439 00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:58,080 God. Do you see what this does? 440 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:00,040 It changes the way that you live. 441 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:09,800 Now I'm a father and when my boys come to me and complain to 442 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:13,840 try and get something, what is my response going to be? 443 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:17,640 I can tell you right now my response is not going to be 444 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,440 favourable. Like when my boys come to me and 445 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:24,440 say, Dad, you know, like I'm so hungry. 446 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:29,280 I'm just like, I just look at him and I just go, that's nice, 447 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:32,480 right? I'm training them. 448 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:35,560 They're just kids, right? But I'm training them just to 449 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:39,040 come to me and say, you know, just to ask nicely, say, Dad, 450 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,600 can I please have some food or whatever, You know, like, it's 451 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:47,080 just, I don't want to give my kids, you know, out of a heart 452 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,160 of complaining, right? And I think about that for 453 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:55,280 myself because when my boys come, when they're thankful, 454 00:25:55,360 --> 00:26:00,280 like we gave Levi a gift for Christmas, he was so thankful. 455 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:04,200 And it was like melting my heart, right? 456 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:06,360 He was just like, and he just kept saying it. 457 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:08,880 He just kept saying, Oh my gosh, I'm so thankful. 458 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,400 Thank you so much for giving me this gift. 459 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,760 And like, Hillary's tearing up. Like it's just like it melts the 460 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:21,120 heart of a father when children come to them to him and say, Oh, 461 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:27,160 thank you, God, how much more our heavenly Father, who we've 462 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,440 got all things to be thankful for. 463 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,600 You know, that's the Father's heart that when we come to him 464 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:36,880 and we're truly thankful for everything that he's done for 465 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:41,600 everything that he is the father's heart, I'm sure would 466 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:47,080 melt for his children and A and a father that that whose 467 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:51,680 children are thankful. Oh, like that father wants to 468 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:55,920 give more to those children. And we know that our Father in 469 00:26:55,920 --> 00:27:00,200 heaven is an abundant God that doesn't want to hold anything 470 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:07,080 back from His children. James 117 says every good gift 471 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:09,640 and every perfect gift is from above. 472 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:15,120 Did you hear what that said? Every good gift and every 473 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:19,240 perfect gift is from above. And it comes down from the 474 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:23,920 Father of lights, in whom there is no variation or shadow of 475 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:28,120 turning. Our God gives good gifts to His 476 00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:31,600 children. Luke 1232 says. 477 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:36,680 Do not fear little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure 478 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:41,960 to give you the Kingdom. Isn't that amazing that it gives 479 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:48,240 God pleasure for His children to receive the Kingdom from Him? 480 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,800 I think that's amazing. I think that that would that 481 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:59,120 stirs faithfulness in me when I pray to the to the Lord and I 482 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:02,680 say, Lord, thank you that you are the God that's building your 483 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,080 church. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you 484 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:08,080 are building, that you are adding that that you are the God 485 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:12,280 that grows. That fruitfulness is of you. 486 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:14,720 You know, there's faithfulness in that. 487 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:16,480 There's faith that stirs in here. 488 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:24,320 So I will bring this to a close in a moment. 489 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:26,600 We're actually going to bring the kids back in, in, in a SEC. 490 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:29,560 Yeah, maybe in a couple of minutes. 491 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:31,920 But yeah, we're going to have communion together. 492 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:34,480 And the kids have, I think they've got like something that 493 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,640 they want to give to us. So cool. 494 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:46,920 We've got much to be thankful for for 2025, but you know, 495 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:51,560 2026, let's just be thankful that we're a part of maybe just 496 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:54,720 go grab the kids now, please. That way that we can be a part 497 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:57,000 of his Kingdom, a part of his church. 498 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:01,360 Like that's the greatest thing that we could be thankful for. 499 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:02,760 Could we grab the communion too, please? 500 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,360 And so, you know, we're going to take communion in in a moment. 501 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,080 If we just get all that out, we'll bring the kids out and 502 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,200 they can say what they would like to say to us. 503 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:18,480 And then we're just going to be thankful together, you know, for 504 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:22,200 the greatest thing. You know, we've, we've, we've 505 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,880 spoken about a lot of things that we're thankful for 506 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,560 throughout the year, things that God's done in and through the 507 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:31,360 church, things that we're thankful that God's done in US 508 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:36,720 personally and as a people. What is the greatest thing that 509 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:43,960 we could be thankful to God for? Our salvation for the gospel, 510 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:49,840 the greatest gift, Jesus Christ our Lord, that thing, that 511 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:55,200 thing, that one we will be thankful for forevermore. 512 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,520 You know Jesus, it says that Jesus is the Lamb that was slain 513 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:01,640 before the foundation of the earth. 514 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:07,200 Jesus, he, he has always been worthy of praise for that thing 515 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:11,600 that he was planning to do for the gospel. 516 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:18,160 The gospel has been in motion, set in place by God before the 517 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,640 foundation of the world. It's a very special thing. 518 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:25,440 I believe and I and I believe this, this, this is true, right? 519 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:31,280 That for all eternity the Lamb that was slain will be glorified 520 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:36,360 and praised and worshipped for what he has done, for who he is. 521 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:42,800 Isn't that wonderful, that thing there, the Gospel, Jesus Christ, 522 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:47,600 that is the thing that we are most grateful for because 523 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,320 outside of that, we would have nothing. 524 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:55,680 We would have nothing, right? We have hope and we have. 525 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:57,520 Our eternity is sewn up with you. 526 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:05,160 Thank you for joining us for today's message. 527 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:08,040 For more information about The Way Church, please visit 528 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,040 ourwebsite@thewaychurch.com dot AU. 529 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:12,360 Have a blessed day.