Welcome to the podcast of the white Church in Adelaide, South
Australia We're. We're honoured to have these
guys with us this morning. Yeah, this is this is a real
privilege. So these are our extended
family. You know, we, we gather as a
church in this place. We are, we're a covenant family.
We, we do believe that, right? Like we are a God's family in
this place. And I think it's wonderful.
Thank you. What?
What God's building here. But this is an opportunity for
us to connect with our family, you know, from the other side of
the world. That's such a privilege, isn't
it? But Ty and Nicole, they they
lead the NCMI team. And, yeah, I mean, you guys can
probably. I'll leave you to introduce
yourself and all of that. Most of us know you.
Some of us don't know you. So please do that.
But yeah, they're here. And I just, I failed to read
this this morning just to remind us of the reason that we have
these guys come in. It says here in Romans 1, and
this is Paul writing. He says in verse 11, he says, I
long to see you that I may, that I may impart to you some
spiritual gift so that you may be established.
Then he says that this, that I may be encouraged together with
you by our mutual faith, both of you and me.
How cool is that? It's like we should be expecting
that God's going to impart something to us here for the
building up of this church because this is what the
Scripture teaches. And not only that, that these
guys would be encouraged in our mutual faith in the Lord isn't
that special? It's amazing.
So I'm just going to pray for these guys and we we're just
going to let them let them loose.
So Lord, we thank you for these guys.
We love these guys. Lord, we speak your blessing in
your favour in all of the work of their hands.
Lord, we thank you for protection over their travels
and for their family and all of those things.
God, we pray Lord, that you would just you know that the
anointing would flow in this place and that you would say the
things that you're wanting to say through these guys and that
we would have a heart wide open to catch those things and bless
these guys. Thank you for these guys, but
have your way. Lord Jesus, this is your thing.
This is about you. Lord, we all bow at your feet.
We're going to be throwing crowns at you one day.
Lord, you are you are the one that that deserves all honour
and all glory in Jesus mighty name, Amen.
Go for it guys. It's.
Wonderful to be with you guys today.
We really are thankful for this this lampstand that God has he
ordained even before time that he knew was going to happen.
So we really are thankful and as we walked in this morning just
to hear you guys praying was it was such a beautiful, beautiful
thing and just know your guys's prayers.
We know is Kingdom prayers so well done for all of you and we
love you and we are so grateful for this partnership.
We really are. Thank you.
Well, good morning. It's really good to be with you.
That's my wonderful wife, Nicole, and we have three sons
together and they are, we're based in the USI don't know I
sound like you and I don't know what I sound like, Not quite
like you, but we have spent many years here.
My parents are actually sitting at the back there.
Dudley and Aunt Daniel. Those are my parents.
I'm very blessed to have them as parents.
And I think you're blessed to have them in your church.
Even if you don't. I think they're awesome and, and
we are, yeah, we're just so blessed to be here with you
guys. Our three sons, as I said, one
of them lives in South Africa, two of them are ministering
right now in the north of Adelaide.
Hopefully will be with us next week.
Joining us. We're coming back.
So if I'm going to, today's going to be just the worst and
next week's going to be way better.
So come back next week. But I don't know if we get
invited twice in a row, so I'm going to take it while I can.
But we're super grateful just for the privilege and
opportunity just to come and share with you something of what
God's saying. I'm hoping this morning will be
reminders. And we make no apologies for
that. God wants to keep reminding us
of what it is He's called us to. And we celebrate this lampstand.
As my wife said, this is a lampstand.
This wasn't a man's idea. If this was a man's idea, you
shouldn't be here. We're not here to serve man.
We're here to serve God. And when God puts a lampstand in
place, we want to honor what God's doing.
We want to keep it a God thing, which means we've got to take
our hands off it and make sure it is God's and keep coming back
to God's word so it doesn't become our thing.
It always stays a God thing. I mean, you know, God's not in
what we're doing. He's called us to be a part of
what he's doing, not we hope he's in what we're doing.
And I think it's an incredible thing.
And so I appreciate the opportunity, invitation from the
elders and just, yeah, the opportunity.
We're coming to cheer you on, but also to challenge and
encourage you. Mutual encouragement and mutual
challenge. I'm not standing up here
challenging you. I'm challenged by God's word.
So if you're offended by what I'm saying, I'm also offended by
what I'm saying. And don't shoot the messenger,
right? It's the message presenting his
message. And we all the Bible is a
mirror, not just a lens. In other words, when people get
mad at preachers, I just want to tell you preachers, if they are
worth their salt, they are challenged by what they saying
themselves. God didn't give me a word for
you. God's given us a word together
that we all need to adjust. And so a couple of things I want
to say, if you've got a Bible, please go with me to Ephesians
chapter 1. Ephesians chapter one, a couple
of things, obvious things, but the reminders number one, know
this, God is working on us and God is working through us.
We are God's mission while we are on God's mission.
And I'm going to be honest this morning and say I love God using
me, but I don't like God working on me.
I just love to be used by God. Use me, Lord, use me, Lord, use
me on your mission. But Lord, I don't want to be
your mission. I, I don't want you to work on
me. But God is as committed to
working on us as he is committed to working through US.
He's using us for the advancing of his Kingdom, but he's also
reading us for the return of Jesus Christ.
He's bringing all of us. And I know there's some older
people in the room in age, but he's bringing us all to a place
of maturity that we would be ready for the return of Jesus, a
bride as the Bible says, that is without spot, wrinkle or
blemish. So don't resist the working on
us with your desire to just have him work through you.
And can I say this, He does both at the same time.
And you don't have to be perfect to be used by God.
Otherwise I can't stand you and preach.
He's committed to using US while he's working on us and that's
the goodness of the Lord. So let him do that with you
please, as he's doing that with me this morning.
The other thing I want to say is this that the Bible is very
clear that God so loved the world that he gave.
God was moved, not just all the poor world.
He gave his Son because he so loved the world and God so loves
this region and this place and this and Adelaide in SA that I
believe that he gave a lampstand called up the way, call the way.
And I really do believe that if this is a God thing, if this is
a Dave and hit everything, honestly, they're good people,
but you shouldn't be here. I don't believe I'm not
preaching because they're here. I believe this is the Lord and
it doesn't guarantee things, but we want to keep it the Lord's
thing. But here's my thing, God so
loves. So we often used to say this,
that God gives cities to churches and I'm not sure that's
biblical. I believe God gives churches to
cities to impact them with the gospel.
In other words, God so loved this region, this place, this
city that he birthed another lampstand.
Here you are. Look at you.
This is God-given. This is a God thing.
So they not all out there for us.
God put us here for them and we've got to see them as the
blessing, see them as the people we called to reach.
And I love Jesus and I love his church.
Do you know that you can love the church and not love Jesus?
There's a many, many congregations can I suggest even
in this great city of Adelaide gathering this morning, loving
each other but have no concept of who Jesus really is.
He's not even the emphasis or the focus.
It's just a gathering called the church, but very little emphasis
on Jesus. You can love the church and not
love Jesus, but you cannot love Jesus and not love his church.
And I love Jesus and I love his church.
And this morning I want to talk about the church.
I want to highlight some things as we as the people of God, we
are the church, not buildings, not venues, we Gods people.
And and I want to just highlight some of these things again that
God is stirring. I believe I've often said that
we've often said that the church is not the center of Gods plan.
We're not it. If we were OK, we'll move on.
But we're not it. And often when we hear a message
about the church, we think we're it.
It's not. We're not the center of God's
plan. Jesus is the center of God's
plan. It all revolves around him.
Can I say this? We're not about people.
We are a people who are about Jesus.
The emphasis is Christ, not each other, not people, not Jesus is
their emphasis. And so the church, how many
people have have I met? Have you met?
Have we even known that have grown up in the church, but have
never grown up in Jesus? And can I tell you why?
Because the church has become the focus rather than Jesus.
So everything revolves around Jesus.
The Bible is all about Jesus. Heaven is celebrating Jesus
worship right now. It all revolves around him.
So he's the center of it. But we as the church are central
to the plan of God. He's included us, He's using us
and he doesn't have another plan.
It's all about Jesus, right? And so we are central to it.
I hope someone say this recently that the church has never been
louder, but we've never said less.
We've never been louder and we've never said that.
OK, let me just walk the elephant out the room.
I'm talking about every other church, not this church.
So be free this morning, all right?
Don't get offended. I'm talking about them, not you
guys. So you're good.
That's tongue in cheek. It's us.
Are you? I live in the United States and
let me just tell America guys doing a lot of stuff, but
there's a lot of non good stuff happening even in the church.
And the church has become loud and political.
And can I say I've been here for a few weeks?
It's here too. And I'm just saying we're
getting too busy. We're so loud, but we say
nothing. And we have to come back to the
things that matter, that matter to God if we're going to be
effective. It was Martin Luther who said
this. Wherever God builds a church or
his church, the devil builds a Chapel.
Basically what he's saying is wherever God's doing what God's
doing, the devil sets up a wannabe, an imitation, a
counterfeit of the real. I don't believe that the devil's
opposing the church. I believe he's joined the church
and he does way more by imitation than he does by
opposition. And so again, I know those
strong statements, but it's, it's a subtle thing.
It's this, it's this little by little he doesn't just he comes
in and and before we know it, we're running with good things,
great things, cultural things, Aussie things, church things and
not necessarily God things. And I don't know about you, but
I don't want to give one second of my life to serve the devil's
plan in any way. I don't want to invest my sons
and and every diamond dollar and every everything we've got for
the Kingdom only to find out one day we gave it all.
I will get to heaven based on everything he's done nothing I
get to do but wasted our lives on an imitation of wannabe.
It's the subtle thing. And I believe the Lord's calling
his church, it's back to his church.
Don't get involved in the Chapel stuff continue to be the church
that Jesus said he would build because that's what I want to be
about our trust. That's the same for you.
If Jesus chapter one verse one, let's read together the
scriptures. It says Paul.
Can I just say Paul writing this, it's who he is.
Paul who I am an apostle. What I do of Christ Jesus who I
represent by the will of God. That's my authority to God's
holy people in Ephesus. That's my sphere to the faithful
in Christ Jesus. Can I just say that's who the
people belong to Christ, not to Paul or to the church or to a
movement. First to grace and peace to you
from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual
blessing in Christ, for He chose us in Him before the creation of
the world to be holy. Can I just say that word holy
doesn't just mean separate, that does that, but it also means
consecrated, and it also means set apart for Him, and it also
means purpose driven. See, holiness isn't just
separate to be ready for Him. It's also to be used by Him.
God calls us to be used to be separate and purpose this
purpose to our lives and then it goes on says I'm blameless in
his sight verse. It goes on in love verse 5.
He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ
in accordance with His pleasure and will, verse 6 to the praise
of His glorious grace, which He freely given us in the one He
loves. So the first thing we see here
is that God has His plan for His church in Christ in Christ.
The plan is useless if it's not linked to the in Christ.
And Dave emphasized even through the breaking of bread this
morning in Christ, without the in Christ, there's no value to
anything. You and I involved verse 7 in
Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of
sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He
lavished on us with wisdom and understanding.
And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to
His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, verse 10, to
be put into effect when the Toms will have reached their
fulfillment, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together
under one head, even Christ. So the second thing we see here
is that God doesn't just have a plan for His church.
He makes provision for His church.
Again, in Christ. We love the provision of God.
We want God's provision. We want to live in that, but
it's in Christ where true provision is given.
It goes on verse 11. In Him we were also chosen,
having been predestined according to the plan of Him who
works out everything in His conformity with the purpose of
His will. In order that we may, we who
were the first to hope in Christ may be for the praise of His
glories. The third thing we're getting
here is God fulfils His purpose for his church.
You, you got this now in Christ. I mean, it's not Paul writing
this is the Holy Spirit inspiring Paul to write this for
you and I to keep understanding that in Christ, in everything,
God has a plan, God has a purpose, God has provision, but
it's all in Christ. Verse 13 and you also included
in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
salvation having been believed, you were marked in him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing
our inheritance until the redemption of the of those who
are God's possession to the praise of God and his glory.
Are you ready? God keeps his promise for his
church. This be Americans for a moment
in in Christ. The promise, the provision, the
protection, it's all in Christ. This is how God sees his church
and this is what God has planned.
I love these texts. It speaks of we're chosen by the
Father, we are redeemed by the Son, and we are sealed by the
Holy Spirit. Chosen by the Father, redeemed
by the Son, and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
Verse 15. For this reason, ever since I
heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all
the Saints, I've not stopped giving thanks for you,
remembering you in my prayers. Verse 17 I keep asking that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father may give you
the spirit of wisdom and revelation that gives you deep
and personal and intimate insight so that you may know him
better. So Paul's highlighting all these
things in Christ and the promise and the provision and the plan
and that all and then he says this it's I keep asking that you
will grow in your wisdom and revelation that you may know
Christ better, not that you walk around with wisdom and
revelation that you know this person of Jesus intimately and
better. That is the desire of God.
I'm convinced that our greatest confession of Christ should be
our latest confession of Christ. I meet people all the time who
tell me the day they got saved and they reference where they
got in and praise God that's where you got in, but you not to
stay where you got in. Our latest confession should be
our greatest. We growing in our revelation and
our walk with Jesus Christ and I wonder if that's true for us.
Paul says I keep asking for that revelation.
We need to be growing in our revelation.
Now I've realized this. If we're not being intentionally
formed and fashioned by Jesus himself or then we are
unintentionally being fashioned and formed by something or
someone else. So if it's not him, then it's
something and we have to be intentional about this.
And let me just confess to you this morning a few things.
I'm trying to be as honest as I can in what I say, but also some
of the challenges I have faced. I, I love the whole Bible and I
love all truth, but there's some truths I like better.
I love some of the pictures of the church, like the the army of
God. I'm a little bit, if I can be
honest, forgive me, a little uncomfortable being the bride.
I get it and I love it, but I'm like, I'd rather.
And so there was always this picture of me wearing a wedding
dress. I'm like, I don't know how to
see that. I long for G.
So here's what I've always got comfortable with.
OK, I'm happy to wear a wedding dress as long as I get to wear
the army boots, all right. And there was a kind of tongue
in cheek because we are the army of God and with the bride of
Christ and with the pillar of truth, there's a whole lot of
things we are, and we like to highlight the one we like the
family. Maybe you've got the family
here. It's all family, but it's not
family only. It's a whole lot of stuff with
the body of Christ, with the many things in the Scripture.
And he doesn't look at one of them.
He looks at all of them and says that's my church.
That's the real church, not the Chapel.
And so I'm like, OK, I'm happy if I get to wear the army boots
and then I'll put on the, the wedding dress.
All right. And, and, and while they became
a joke, it actually started affecting me.
I didn't realise that. And I was recently preaching in
another country and I was doing an ordination.
And I, I was, I prepared my message, ready to preach it.
And I was reading the word of God, not for my message for God
speaking to me that Sunday morning early I woke up and I
was reading through scripture and my reading was Revelation
chapter 19. And you know the story if you've
read the Book of Revelation and it talked about that the bride
had made herself ready, prepared herself.
And I felt the Lord challenged me and maybe us that we too
militant focused and not enough intimus focus.
The church globally has become known for our militancy put on
the full armor of God. And there's nothing wrong with
that because it's in scripture. But we love to fight and we're
in the fight and it's all about a fight.
But Jesus doesn't want people to know us about the fight, wherein
he wants us to know about the intimacy we have with Jesus.
And may I say to you this morning, there is a battle
blazing and we are in the fight. But this does not end with the
war. It ends with a wedding.
And I wonder how many people out there know about our intimacy
with Christ. Not what we're anti, not what
we're against. We stand for truth, we fall.
But do they know? Paul said, I want to know
Christ. I want people to know Christ
through me. Christ in me is the hope of
glory. And so I don't know where you
had this morning, but this church, yes, you're in a battle.
The battle belongs to the Lord. It's a spiritual battle.
It's not against flesh and blood, but I wonder how many are
there? Know what we're anti?
But do they know you for your intimacy with Jesus?
Who's coming back for you and me?
Who's coming back? And he's going to have this
incredible wedding. It ends with a wedding.
Not just the wall. This lamp stands here to reveal
intimacy with Jesus that Aussies and all these people living in
this region and this nation and the nations can have intimacy
with Christ, not just win a battle one day.
Are you with me friends? The political spirit in the
church is anti fight, fight, fight.
The holy, the the Spirit of God is come in and have intimacy.
Commune with me. And I'm not saying give up one.
I'm saying be known for the one of intimacy.
I've had to come back to say I want to be a follower of Jesus,
not a fighter only, but a follower and prepare myself and
ready myself. So yes, I can wear the the
boots, but I'm the bride. He's ready, We're ready.
And this is coming to a wedding and it's going to be the
glorious day for all of us, including the men in this room.
Amen. Verse 18.
I pray that also the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,
flooded with light by the Holy Spirit, in order that you may
know the hope to which He's called you.
The riches of His glorious inheritance in the Saints, and
is in comparably great power for us who believe that power is
like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in
Christ when He raised him from the dead and seated him at His
right hand. In the heavenly realms, far
above all rule and authority, power and dominion, in every
title that can be given, not only in the present age, but
also the One to come. And God placed all things under
his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the
Church, which is His body, the fullness of him who fulfills,
who fills everything in it. We are not beholden to anything
or anyone other than Jesus Christ.
We're not called to please anyone or anything other than
Christ. And where the church becomes a
Chapel is when we get to start pleasing people.
Pastors, leaders, leaders are trying to place people.
People are trying to please culture.
And I'm just telling you this morning, the moment we go there,
it's a Chapel at best. And the call of the church for
Christ is this come back to pleasing the one and only one
being Jesus Christ, not not just as a church as individuals in
this room. And it's very hard because easy
to say you're doing it, but look at who we're pleasing and and
I'm not expecting many Amy's remember working on us as he
works through us. But we're not called to please
anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ.
Can you imagine just this handful of people living with
that revelation. The impact we will have could
not could have, would have if we just say, you know what, for the
king and the Kingdom, it really is all about him.
I'm looking to please only him and everyone else is secondary
in that. Oh, it's the way God's called
us. Ephesians 320 says now to him
who's able to carry out His purpose and do super abundantly
more than all that we dare ask or think according to His power
that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and
in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.
Amen. I know there are many people in
this room that have walked a long journey with the Lord and
you've seen some stuff. But when I read that, I'm
telling you this, the Lord saying there's a whole lot more
still to see. Your best days are not over.
And this isn't a cheerleading session.
This is back from scripture. He has so much more for every
single one of us and He has more for this church and for
individuals. His plan, His purpose, what He
can and will accomplish. See, I believe God has more of
His purpose and more of his plan to fulfill.
He's got more purpose. That's why he birthed this
church, purpose and plan to be fulfilled.
God's purpose, God's plan. Some of you come from other
congregations, other people, other churches, and God put you
together for more of his purpose and not to rehash or redo, but
to walk in the more of what he has.
And so can I just say we can't live with the past always
linking or wishing. Is this new moment the session?
OK, God, what are you doing? Can I tell you the, the, the,
the word of God reveals the purpose of God.
We can't get it from a downloaded podcast and all these
other things we're listening to. It's God's word reveals God's
plan. And then can I, while I'm here,
just say that the word of God is not just a book of random
promises that we've made it everyone's reading the, the word
of God for his promises to us. You cannot separate the purpose
of God and the promises of God. In other words, if we're not
walking in his purpose, you can't claim his promise.
We, I live in a country where there are alarm clocks.
You can wake up to the promises of God.
Someone's reading the promises of God.
We've bought books now that separate the word of God to hear
the promises of God. We've made them purse or it's
not a book of random promises from God.
It's the plan and purpose of God revealed Genesis 1.
God's purpose, God's plan and God's revealing my promises are
linked to my purpose and plan. But if you step out of his
promise, his plan and purpose, you can't claim the promises.
It's it's the unfolding of his plan and purpose.
Amen. So we need the whole word of
God, the the oldness of the word of God.
So it's not what is God's will for us.
It's rather what is God's will and how do we fit into that,
right? Are you with me?
Am I going too fast for these guys?
You guys, you're smiling so you I can tell you get in.
Is that OK? Good.
That's great. One of you is that.
Is that am I making sense here? Like to me it's clear as mud,
but to you, I'm not sure. It's not.
What is God's will for us, friends?
We can't ask that question because I'm telling you when you
ask that question, you end up becoming a chap.
It's what is God's will and how do I fit into his will?
It's not what is God's, because here's the thing, if we're
asking what is God's will, someone's going to tell us what
God's will is, and it's probably not going to be God's.
It's what is God's will? Word of God, How do I fit into
that? Not his purpose for my life.
It's my life for his purpose. Otherwise, we're going to miss
what God has called us to. And I want to just say this, you
don't need a platform to be called.
You just need obedience. Obedience is what gets us to
walk in the call of God, right? Someone said today's church
wants to be raptured from their responsibility.
There's a lot of talk about the rapture, but the church today
wants to be raptured from our responsibility.
But you cannot read Scripture and not see God's plan and God's
call and God's desire for this church, for you in this room who
served God wholeheartedly. There's still more, and that's
why God's put this church together.
I believe it. His plan is there's more of
preparing and prioritizing. Things don't just happen.
Yes, God just does what He wants to do, but He's including us in
what He's doing. And I think the church has to
get a little bit, if I can be honest, and I'm speaking as the
church too, and seeing what God's doing, not doing our thing
and hoping God's in it. God is wanting to renew our
ability to see well, to see with His eyes, not guess our way
forward. In Isaiah 43, it says God says,
see, I am doing a new thing. Do you not perceive it?
See, I travel all over the world and everyone's looking for the
next thing and the new thing and running with the next thing, but
they're not seeing what God's running with.
And I'm saying, Lord, show me what you doing so I can get on
board with that. Let me perceive what you're
about, what you doing not, hey, we're doing this and trusting it
goes with us. So we're going to get better in
our prioritizing and planning. We're going to be prophetic.
And I'm talking this morning about being a prophetic people,
which I know freaks a lot of people out, but it shouldn't
because we called to prepare and plant and leave for generations
still to come. This church was birthed not for
you guys. This church was birthed for
generations yet to come. And the decisions you're making
today and the highlighting and the value or devaluing is going
to impact generations to come on what you think's important,
what's not. That's why we've got to keep
coming back to God's word, Amen. We've got to get better at
understanding seasons. You know, we talk about being a
prophetic people, and we've always said that prophetic means
to see the future, to prepare for the future, and to become
the future. And while that is true, what
I've realized is to future focus.
We're so focusing on what's out there that we don't focus on
what God's doing now. You know, God's doing things
now, not only in the future. He's called us to live for the
future. We look for the return of Christ
and for heaven, but we call to do stuff today.
How many people want to Get Me Out of the season?
I want that season. What?
It is a reason you're in this season and costing a whole lot.
We, we, we, we live in Denver, Co Ever been there?
It's beautiful, but it's freezing in winter.
It snows, it's cold. We're here in Adelaide right now
and I'm having the best winter of my life and I hate winter
there. I love the snow, but snow is
hard work and I hate being cold. But do you know that there's a
reason for winter? You can't have summer without
winter. You can't have spring without
this. God's a God of seasons and
because we pick seasons we want, we aiming for that season and
missing all the stuff he's doing now.
And can I suggest you might not even get to that season.
Nothing's wasted with God. But we always give me the next.
Give me the next and laws like I'm doing stuff now.
So can I say being prophetic is not just seeing, preparing and
becoming the future. It's more about seeing what
God's doing in the now with the future in mind, because God's
doing a whole lot of stuff now that I've had times missed
COVID, you know, I don't want to get into the COVID that whole
remember that there's a whole lot of stuff that I hate.
I hate anyway. I just did not like that season.
But I'm telling you, I don't believe God sent COVID, but he
allowed it. And I know he allowed it because
it happened and I know where it came from, but I'm not getting
political. Yeah, just as a what?
But I hated that. I'm not Get Me Out of this.
Get me. And I realized in it God be
going to show me some of the stuff he was doing in it.
And I didn't even enjoy it. But it gave me more grace in
that season to say, OK, yeah, it makes sense.
Get the job done. So when we get into the next
season, we've learned some lessons grown up.
You've worked on us rather than Get Me Out of the season into
the next. Now my mother-in-law, I love her
because she birthed my wonderful wife.
Why laughing? That's true.
And we have this thing anyway. I won't get into but but she's
has this way. She visits us.
She lives out of state from where we are and when, but she
whenever she comes to hang out with us, she's always talking
about when are we going to see you again?
Like she's always planning the next time we'll see it and I'm
like, we will see you again, Like we'll plan it, but let's
enjoy what you've got now rather than spend the whole time
talking about when am I going to see you next.
I want to say some of us are like that.
We, we're not enjoying what we've been given now.
We're always looking for Gimme the next, but God's in the now
and the next. And I believe for this church,
we've got to understand the seasons we're in.
See, God closes doors in order to open doors.
And the Bible says in the Book of Revelation that he says,
behold, we all claim this. I, I closed doors that no man
can open. I mean, I open doors that no man
can shut. You remember that I'm telling
you, we cheer that we shout, that we pray, that we sing that
we declare that. But it goes on in the same
verses as I closed doors that no man can open.
And whenever the door closes, it's the devil.
But the great door opener is also the great door closing.
He opens doors and He closes doors and what we got to do is
look for open doors and look for the doors that He opens when He
closes because we've seen the seasons and understanding the
seasons. In saying that, can I say that
not every open door is God's door?
And I know that personally because at times I thought this
obvious. It has to be.
It's clear as day, but we need discernment when it comes to
serving God. Not every door is a God door and
some people are called to walk through different doors.
That's the fact. I'm not trying to get weird.
Just hear God for yourself because we look for opportunity.
We just run through the door. I've seen recently that if
you're not discerning what God is, this God called for me.
Is this the door you've given me or is this a door I've kicked
down? And I want to say for you guys
at local church, don't question everything, but be careful you
don't just do what everyone else is doing and wonder why there's
very little effect and you're burning out and you're becoming
a Chapel real busy, but not serving the plans and purposes
where discernment is as important as opportunity.
I've learned, I'm learning this. Get God's perspective, not just
God's permission. Don't ask God, can I do this?
Because you'll find someone who's saying God says you should
do it. Rather ask God, what do you want
me to do? Give me your perspective, not
your permission. Then you know you're going to
walk. You know, you know, don't react
by impulse, but rather respond by insight.
And can I say if you're invited into a battle, doesn't mean you
call to fight that battle. Every day you and I presented a
battle, another battle. Someone else's.
I'm telling you, I turned my phone on.
I didn't I, I, I leave my phone out of my room.
I don't have my phone near my room When I turn it on, it's
people and it's like everything in me.
There's a battle, another guy needs you and there's a role and
responsibility, but I'm not called to fight everyone's
battle. Just because someone said, hey,
would you come fight with me, fight for me doesn't mean I'm
God's called me to do that. You've got your own battle.
And so I'm just saying to you, don't be careful as a believer.
You're not running into everyone's battles and burning
out and blaming God just because you invited into that.
My dad wrote a book or someone wrote a book for my dad with all
these notes and it was choosing your battles.
I want to tell you that's the most prophetic book you can
understand. Don't fight every battle in the
church. You guys in this room, I
guarantee you're in battles. God hasn't called you to fight,
not here this morning in your lives and and you getting
distracted and it's real and there's some things you just
have to do as a parent, as a father, as a man.
I get that. But I'm saying spiritually stuff
we're just getting involved in stuff God's not called you to
do. That's why we've got to be a lot
more prophetic in our understanding of what it is.
And what I've also realized is His grace lifts when His season
shifts. A season is not a season if it
doesn't end. Have you met those people
burning out, exhausted? Ah, it's just a season.
I'm just in, 10 years later, still doing the same thing.
If it doesn't have an end, it's not a season.
It's a lifestyle pretending to be a season because it sounds
spiritual. It has to change in a season and
God's grace does lift. I've seen it and and so we've
got to get better. Can I say it like this at a
diagnosing undiagnosed pregnancies.
In other words, in the church, when God's putting something in
someone's heart, we've got to get better at recognizing what
God's doing rather than just shutting it down or pretending
it's not there Many church splits today are, I think,
undiagnosed pregnancies where God's put something in someone
to go and do and we like now I just pretend.
How many of you know, if you've had a child and we've had a few,
those babies are coming, like it or not.
You can pretend and not 8-9 months, boom, there it is.
Are you ready or not? It's mess.
And I'm just telling you, the church is getting because we're
just not diagnosing what God's doing.
What's God? Not everything is God, but we've
got to see God in some of the stuff that's happening.
And I think if you can do that, you can be far more effective as
a local church going forward. So I needed the leaders.
It's the people, it's all of us hearing God and responding.
Just want to say this, God really spoke to us when we had
our global equipment to me, to the team that I was leading and
we spent time with that few weeks, a week before the time
and God told me to challenge us. Don't take a seat at a table
that God hasn't given you. Some of us are fighting for
seats at tables. You know, the Bible says in
Psalm 23, prepare a place for me in the presence of my enemies
table for me. He prepares the table.
You don't have to go and build the table, just some of us maybe
are looking for churches, are looking for doors and
opportunities and want to be sitting at that table when God
hasn't put you at that table. Be careful you're not sitting
where you're not supposed to sit because I believe God's got some
great things planned still and we want to continue in those
things. We there's more people and more
places from this people from this place to be coming here and
to be going I. I recently was reading the story
again of the Moravians who were sent the guys who sold
themselves into slavery to go preach the gospel to Africa.
Now think about that. They weren't going to just get
they gave their lives up and said I'm going to sell myself
and become a slave so I can preach the gospel to that that
those people. And the story goes that the
couple of them were getting ready to get on their boat to go
and their family and all their friends came alongside.
And when I please don't do this, please don't do this.
And they, they got in their boat and started rowing and they
heard the testimony. They were singing out May the
lamb who may the Lamb who was slaughtered received the reward
of his suffering. Their motivation wasn't just as
people on the other side of the world, they need to hear the
gospel. Not that they can all go to hell
if they don't know Jesus. That should be good enough, but
that was not their motive. Their motive was Jesus in the
Book of Revelation tells us Hebrews chapter 5, he paid the
ultimate price and he purchased all people with his blood.
And their motivation is there's an inheritance that Jesus has
been paid for for every individual on the planet.
And that's why we're going for the Lamb who receiving his
reward, not so they can hear the gospel.
And I think when I read that, that has to motivate me and us.
It's not just about people hearing the gospels because
Jesus has a reward that he paid us suffering for.
That should be the motivation for us.
Walking across the street telling someone it is gas state.
What do you call it Servo trying to get the anyway whatever then
are you with me friends doesn't feel bad.
It's like how many you get in there place I'm just tired I'm
exhausted. I don't want to do this someone
else can tell them about you and then suddenly you got this
revelation of Christ. He paid the ultimate I want him
to receive Israel again my I grew up in the house where
nations church planning. I was born in Africa, moved all
over we I don't know anything else but mission and we always
used my dad was always song to say ask of me and I'll give you
the nations as my inheritance that was on our fridge.
And I want to say that's true. But do you know that it's not
our inheritance. It's his inheritance.
When he says I'll give you the inheritance, he was saying to
Jesus, it's your inheritance. So we get to share, but it's his
inheritance. Let's go and tell people for his
inheritance. More people, more places, more
pioneering, more planting. This is great and there's a
multiplication here. But how do you know gospel this
church to plant church? You must just say we knew a
couple of years in. Yeah.
Doesn't say there's a time limit.
Yeah, it's multiply. You see, if we if we're making
disciples, then we will plant local churches.
Disciple making respond is I'm a follow of Jesus.
Ultimately I come to a place I'm going to go plant what?
Because that's the next step for us.
And so this church has been birthed in order to birth more
church and not when you're ready, when God says that's why
he puts you here. That's the plan of God.
Our plan is we stick together, we grow big.
And when we're one day ready, if you're parents, yeah.
I remember people say to me, don't have kids till you're
ready. I have a 25 year old and a 24
year, 23 year old and a 19 year old, 23 year old.
So bad. I'm still not ready to be a
parent. Just so you know, it's not when
you're ready. It's when God says when you
you're with me because you'll never be ready.
And so I'm not putting this on you.
You might look around and go, Gee, look at us.
Yeah, God has a plan. Multiply people, plant, keep
going. Otherwise become an incredible
Chapel that stops serving the plans and purposes of God.
I have to. And I didn't get to my point
yet. Good thing I'm hopefully coming
back. Maybe not next week.
Can I just say this, the difference between pioneers and
settlers, You might sit just say I'm not a pioneer.
God's called us to be a pioneering people.
Every individual here. I mean, you have to go do
something. It means you have to keep your
heart and pilgrimage some mighty force.
Blessed are those who set their heart and Pilgrim.
They go from strength to strength, not settling.
Pioneers see the privilege. Settlers see the price.
Pioneers live for the future, settlers long for the past.
Isn't it incredible that the one lady in Scripture, the one woman
that Jesus tells us to remember is Lot's wife?
We don't even know her name. Now, Before he did say, I know
somebody going to come argue and say, yeah, But he did say the
lady who worshiped the the Alibas was it.
He said she will be remembered. He didn't say we must remember.
He said wherever the Gospels preached, she will be
remembered. But he tells them once in Luke
17, verse 32, remember Lot's wife, and that was when they
were focusing all the other stuff and he was saying, hey,
keep focus on the future. Remember Lot's wife, What
happened to Lot's wife? She became a pillar of salt.
Why? Because she looked back, Not
because she was looking back at what was happening.
I mean, listen, if I was there, I would want to see what was
happening. It's like Star Wars on steroids,
you know? She she looked back, longing for
what she had left. There's people in this room.
Some of you guys have paid the ultimate.
You've walked through stuff, you've left, you've gone.
You've paid price. If you long for that, you're
becoming a settler. Yes, you've done it.
And praise God, thank you for your service and your price.
But if you long for that, you become a settler, no longer
pioneering. There's more in God and do what
you can with what you're given, but don't lose your way.
Otherwise you become like Lot's wife.
Pioneers embrace sacrifice. Settlers embrace comfort.
Pioneers seek solution. Settlers share complaints.
Pioneers see possibilities and dream about what God said.
Set to see barriers and reasons to quit.
Pioneers hear God and do everything He says.
Set this borrowed truth and question every decision.
Pioneers step out with bold and reckless trust in God.
Settlers sit satisfied in the results of the past.
Pioneers fear holding anything back from God.
Settlers fear more commitment. This is what I love.
Pioneers carry current testimonies.
Settlers carry borrowed stories of old.
God's got current. Yes, we celebrate what he's
done. Yes, we celebrate.
I use other people's stories too, but there's my own story.
God wants, God wants us to have current testimonies, living in
the now with the future in mind. And so we've got to be future
focused. I didn't get to my priorities
that I came to speak on, but that's enough for this morning.
I think I, I was reminded of the story of the, the cathedral
principle and in the 1700s they who built the cathedrals in
England and London. If you've been around and you've
seen them, I've seen some of them, they're fascinating and
beautiful cathedrals. But the principle was this.
When they began to build those cathedrals, they knew it would
take 70 to 100 years to build. And So what they did was they
knew that when they are dead and gone, the buildings, the
cathedrals would not be finished.
So what they did was they would. So they planted oak trees when
they started building those cathedrals, knowing there's a
generation behind them yet to be born that would be able to put
the roof on the cathedrals because they planted the trees
and readied it for them. That's preparing for the future.
And I read that and go, man, friends, imagine if they've done
everything else but forgot the roof.
What would the next generation do?
They'd have buildings with no roofs.
Why? Because no one strategized and
planned for what's to come. They were too busy doing their
own thing. And I suspect at times the
church has become about the now. Without even considering what it
looks like for generations to come.
All I can say is I know there's a lot of older people in this
room. Praise God for you.
Thank you for your race. Thank you.
You're a pioneer and you still called.
It's not time to quit, it's time to carry on.
But know this, we're not in this church for what God's doing now.
We're in it, building for generations yet to be before and
in heaven. That's what matters to the
Father. God is a generational God.
He's not just nations, He's generations.
I believe God had us in mind when he called Abraham, Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob. He actually said to Abraham,
right to your offspring, I'll give this land.
He didn't even say to you and your offspring.
He just said to your offspring, What if you put yourself in the
equation? How does this affect me?
If it's for generations beyond us, keep going, keep pioneering,
keep planting, keep fighting for truth that matters.
Keep following Jesus, keep shining the light, keep
embracing what God's doing. Don't become settlers in this
moment because this church is God's church building for his
purposes for generations of Aussies and who else is coming
and I'm a benefit. I'm living in the benefit of
those who've pioneered me and we standing on their shoulders.
And I feel from God to say this to you.
Don't short circuit what God's doing for a future by where you
act. Don't allow yourself to
determine the decisions that are made in this this church.
Look for generations. How will this affect them?
Because God is a God of generations, God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. Amen.
All right, Dave, can I pray? Is that cool?
Are you good? You guys are great, don't you?
Not one point was made this morning.
How great was that for me? Let's let's bow our heads for a
moment. I hope I haven't cheerleaded you
this morning because there's there's no fruit in
cheerleading. It's not a feeling.
It's faith. We've got to be faithful and
filled with faith. Sometimes it's it's harder to
believe God than it is to believe in God.
I don't find it hard to believe God, believe in God, but I do at
times find it hard to believe God.
Faith is not just believing in him.
Faith is believing him. Maybe we're in that place today
just to say, you know, I'm struggling to believe him and
some of these things that have been said because I just haven't
seen them. I haven't experienced them or
I'm just looking at these other things or, and I feel like the
Lord say no, no, believe in me and believe me.
And so Father, I, I thank you for these wonderful men and
women. I thank you that they've laid
down their lives in a sense, because Jesus, you laid down
your life that we're not doing this for each other.
We're not doing this for the region.
We're not doing this for the nations.
We're not doing this for each other.
We're not here for one another. We're here for you.
It's not always convenient. It's not even always looking
like we want it. But if it's what you want,
that's all that matters. But let it be what you want.
And so would you help us to adjust?
Would you stir our hearts afresh?
To you, who's able to immeasurably more than what we
ask or imagine, It's you, your power, that's at work within us.
It's not us doing, it's you doing it in and through us.
Would you bring us back to the things that matter?
Not to the world, not to the nation, To you?
Would you stop us from doing the things that are not necessary?
Would you convince us to give our lives to the things that
matter? My life for your will, not your
will for my life, the way church for your world, not your world
for the way church. And may it be biblical, clear in
Scripture. Convince us, empower us, and let
us be the church you've called us to be, playing our role,
serving your purpose, ultimately bringing glory to you.
We pray. Bless these men and women.
I pray breakthroughs. I pray healing.
I play for fresh vigor from heaven, not, not not flesh,
heaven, Kingdom, spirit filled, to be able to run this race
anointing, to live in this space and place in the realities of
their lives, but are still able to serve your plan and purpose.
With those who are feeling like they're failing you, would you
give them faith and courage this morning?
With those who are feeling like maybe you've overlooked them,
would you show them they're vital to your plan even in what
you're doing today? Yes, Lord, those who have lost
faith, who disturb faith, it's a, it's not a feeling, it's a
person. And that person is Jesus Christ,
the perfecter and the author of our faith.
As I said on you, Jesus, not each other.
And we thank you for your kindness and your goodness to
us, and we give you all the praise and all the glory in
Jesus name, Amen. Thanks, bro.
We will see Ty again next week. Just so you know, bro, I'll be
back. Yeah.
Like I, there's obviously like things in me that God's stirring
out of all that for my life and, and for us as a church.
And, and I know that for us in this room, there's going to be
things that, you know, the Lord's highlighting to you.
So just encourage you not just to walk away from those things
and just get on with your day. You know, we're going to have
some fellowship time and stuff like that.
Let's stir each other up in our faith, talk about the things
that that God's saying. Ask the question, you know, what
did the Lord say through those? And just, you know, go about our
days, just, you know, living in the plan and the purpose that he
has for us. Amen.
So let's have a wonderful day. Thank you for joining us for
today's message. For more information about The
Way Church, please visit ourwebsite@thewaychurch.com dot
AU. Have a blessed day.