1 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:15,520 Good morning, how are you? I hope you're not in a hurry 2 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:21,640 today because I do have a lot to say and I'm no longer allowed to 3 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,120 say it fast. So I hope you switched the oven 4 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:29,120 off before you came to church. The Lego lamb might not be safe 5 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,800 today. So you know, we're going to 6 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,440 preach out of the book of out of John 6 today. 7 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,720 Just I stand in the worship and I'm so overwhelmed by God. 8 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:43,840 Just I love you, I love you, I love you. 9 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,320 Just see the little, little glimpses of the Holy Spirit this 10 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:49,440 morning. We we baptized the Yohana and 11 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:51,360 the Yohandi. We're preaching out of the book 12 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:55,200 of John. I mean, God is God is speaking, 13 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:56,800 he's here, the Holy Spirit is here. 14 00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,640 And as I was praying this morning, I said, God, please, 15 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:03,920 none of my words come, Holy Spirit, come minister to your 16 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:06,240 people, come and say what you want to say today. 17 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,760 Raw asked Kevin to pray and give and pray God that you'll give us 18 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,240 life in abundance. It's actually the title of my 19 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,080 preach life in abundance. I'm going to talk about life in 20 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,080 abundance today. And you know, when, when I, when 21 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,560 we read the Bible, it always talks about one of two things, 22 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,920 talks about salvation or talks about sanctification. 23 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:27,640 Anything you read into the Bible, you can put into one of 24 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,560 those two categories, either talks about our salvation or our 25 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,560 sanctification. You know, if you've, if you've 26 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,560 been in three CR for any length of time, I trust that you 27 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,360 understand salvation. If it's your first time today, 28 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,960 I'll give you a quick overview. You know, we believe salvation 29 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:47,280 is Jesus plus nothing. Jesus plus nothing, not your 30 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,720 good works, not your behaviour, not your baptism, not your bad 31 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,640 works, not your sins, nothing. Jesus plus nothing. 32 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:58,520 You know, when we get saved, it's all Jesus. 33 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:01,760 It's his work, it's his work on the cross and his and his 34 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:03,240 resurrection. That's why we saved. 35 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,640 And one day when we blow our last breath out and we stand 36 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:08,960 before God and he says, why should I let you into heaven? 37 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,160 There's only one answer. Stephen preached it so 38 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,040 beautifully a few weeks ago. Because of the work of Jesus. 39 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:16,720 Because when God looks at us, he sees the righteousness of 40 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:18,600 Christ. But then you're on earth. 41 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,800 There's that, that what we call sanctification, me and Jesus. 42 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,200 Now you must say to me, Wendy, what's the point of that? 43 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,080 Like, what's the point? Why do we need sanctification? 44 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,480 If, if salvation is Jesus plus nothing, if one day when I stand 45 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,240 before God, it's going to be only the work of Jesus that 46 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:35,160 counts, What's the point of sanctification? 47 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:37,120 Why do I want to be more like Jesus? 48 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,640 What's the point? You know, I, I believe our 49 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:42,040 sanctification has 22 main purposes. 50 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:45,120 The first purpose of our sanctification is to glorify 51 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:47,960 God. It's just simply to glorify him. 52 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,760 When you understand what Jesus has done for you, you want to 53 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:53,480 live a life that looks more like him. 54 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:55,800 You want to live a life that glorify God. 55 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:57,800 Why do you want to live a life that glorify God? 56 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:00,520 Because actually there's a world out there that's dying. 57 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:02,840 They're dying. They don't know Jesus. 58 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:04,480 They don't know what he looks like. 59 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:05,880 They don't come to church on Sunday. 60 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,920 They don't read their Bibles. How is that world going to get 61 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:12,560 to know Jesus if our lives look exactly the same as the guy next 62 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,120 door who doesn't serve him? If there's nothing in our life 63 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,200 that looks different to our colleague who doesn't know him 64 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,600 or doesn't serve him, that's how they're going to get to know 65 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:21,760 him. That's how we glorify God by 66 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,280 living a life that looks different so that we can 67 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,840 actually have our coworkers say, why do you not get angry when 68 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,280 the boss treats you like that? Why do you actually keep serving 69 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:33,760 your boss and, and, and doing your job so well? 70 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:35,760 And we can say, actually, it's because of what Jesus has done 71 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:37,520 for me. That's the main purpose of our 72 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,880 sanctification. But the second purpose of our 73 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,280 sanctification is so that we can live a life of abundance. 74 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,760 You know the Bible says in John 10 verse 10 and Jesus says I've 75 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,760 come that may have that they may have life and have it to the 76 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,840 full or other versions say that I've come that they may have 77 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,000 life and have it abundantly. God's not talking about heaven. 78 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:58,640 He's about talking about life here on earth. 79 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,120 He wants us to have abundant life. 80 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:05,160 Is that is that how you describe your life when when you when you 81 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:08,680 talk to people, this thing too close to my mouth when you talk 82 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:10,320 to people, Is that how you describe your life? 83 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,800 Do you describe your life as an abundant life or, or you just 84 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,760 like trying to make it one day so you can go to heaven? 85 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:19,560 You know, God wants us to have life and life in abundance. 86 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:24,440 Last Sunday, Rory spoke so beautifully about get up, get 87 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:28,280 up, leave your stuff behind, leave all your past hurts and 88 00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:31,320 your disappointments behind. Get up, walk into the wholeness 89 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:33,560 that God has for you. Walk into the wholeness you 90 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,720 know, that's life in abundance. We don't have to live our whole 91 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,040 life continually dragging all the sins and the pasts and the 92 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:42,720 disappointments and the stuff we have to deal with with us. 93 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,760 God wants us to get up and walk in the wholeness that he has for 94 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:47,680 us. And I really trust that last 95 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,280 Sunday for you was a was a God moment was a moment that in that 96 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:54,160 moment God cut off all of that stuff you've been dragging with 97 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,160 you for so long and that he set you on this path to actually 98 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,200 walk in the wholeness and in the abundant life that he has for 99 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:02,080 you. I mean, I really trust that 100 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,000 today I want to talk about we, our series is called Encounters 101 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,440 with Jesus. And when I read the scripture, I 102 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:09,280 just thought, you know what, there's actually three different 103 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:12,200 groups or groups of people that have an encounter with Jesus in 104 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:13,400 this passage that we're going to read. 105 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:15,760 And actually they all have a very different account, same 106 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,440 Jesus, same event, but actually they all have a very different 107 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:21,960 encounter with Jesus. And that's what makes God so 108 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,120 amazing is that you and I can come to church on a Sunday, same 109 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:27,360 church, do same worship, hear the same preach. 110 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:29,920 But God will speak to me about one thing and he'll speak to you 111 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,400 about something else. He'll, he'll, he'll encourage 112 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:34,960 you and he'll maybe correct me a little bit. 113 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,480 That's how God works. He's, he's not a God that just 114 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:38,960 comes in here and just gives us one thing. 115 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:41,800 And then I'm unlucky if that wasn't what you needed today. 116 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:43,920 He actually can meet each of us where we're at. 117 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:47,120 And I want to talk about the three encounters and how 118 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,840 actually that God in this passage, God gives us keys that 119 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:54,160 if we apply them to our life, we can walk in that abundant life. 120 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,400 We can walk in the abundance that God has for us. 121 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:03,880 And so let's read in John 6. Thank you. 122 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,880 Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the foreshore of the 123 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,640 Sea of Galilee, that is, the Sea of Tiberias, and a great crowd 124 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,800 of people followed him because they saw the signs he had 125 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,480 performed by healing the sick. Jesus went up on a mountainside 126 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,960 and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover festival was 127 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,560 near when Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward 128 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:27,440 him. He said to Philip, Where shall 129 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:29,280 we buy bread for these people to eat? 130 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,040 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what 131 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,240 he was going to do. Philip answered him it would 132 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:39,280 take more than 1/2 a year's wages to buy enough bread for 133 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:42,560 each one to have a bite. Another of his disciples, 134 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:44,680 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. 135 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,360 Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small 136 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:50,680 fish. But how far will they go among 137 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:53,560 so many? Jesus said, have the people sit 138 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,520 down. There was plenty of grass in 139 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,040 that place and they sat down. About 5000 men were there. 140 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:03,800 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed to those 141 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:05,960 who were seated as much as they wanted. 142 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,760 He did the same with the fish. When they all had enough to eat, 143 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,240 he said to his disciples, gather the pieces that are leftover, 144 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:16,440 let nothing be wasted. So they gathered them and filled 145 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:19,640 12 baskets with the pieces of the five Bali loaves leftover by 146 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:22,480 those who had eaten. After the people saw the sign 147 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,880 Jesus performed, they began to say, surely this is the prophet 148 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,400 who is to come into the world. Jesus, knowing that they 149 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,440 intended to come and making Kim by force, withdrew again to a 150 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,840 mountain by himself. This must be one of the most 151 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,080 amazing pictures in the Bible of abundance. 152 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:40,040 It's actually just such a picture of abundance, of the the 153 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,320 abundance God wants for us. Jesus takes these 5 little 154 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:47,080 loaves and these two fishes and he actually feeds, the Bible 155 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:49,880 says 5000 men. Now if you don't know that, this 156 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,800 auditorium seats about 2 1/2 thousand people, so double that 157 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,760 that was the men that was there. The Bible doesn't actually tell 158 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:58,680 us how many women or children were there. 159 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:00,600 We know there were children there because there was a little 160 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,640 boy who brought his bread and his fish to Jesus. 161 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:09,040 But actually God took 5 little loaves and two fish and he fed, 162 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,080 I don't know, thousands of people. 163 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,080 And then afterwards he said, actually go and pick up what was 164 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,800 leftover. And they filled 12 baskets. 165 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,800 Just imagine, just imagine 5 little pieces of bread and two 166 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,000 fish, 12 baskets that were leftover. 167 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:27,680 Now I want to say to you this morning, this is not the picture 168 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:30,800 of the abundance of God. This is not the God I serve. 169 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,640 Actually, this is what was leftover after the abundance of 170 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:36,640 God. This is not the God I serve. 171 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,280 This is the leftovers. This is the leftover. 172 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:43,240 This times 2 plus women plus children plus this. 173 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:45,480 That is what your life's supposed to look like. 174 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:47,160 Is that what your life looks like today? 175 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:48,760 Is that what your life looks like? 176 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:50,960 That is the abundance of God. This is not a picture of the 177 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:55,040 abundance of God. So the first encounter we hear 178 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,040 about in this story is the encounter of the little boy. 179 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,280 And I want to talk today about keys that God's given us. 180 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,520 You know, God's God doesn't. He doesn't say I'll give you 181 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:04,320 life in abundance. And then he's just like, well, 182 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:06,760 good luck finding it. You know, you know, I want you 183 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,000 to have life in abundance. I hope you just accidentally 184 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,720 stumble on it. No, he actually gives us keys in 185 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:14,840 his word that if we apply it, we can actually walk into that 186 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,760 abundance he has for us. And I believe the first key is 187 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:21,000 the little boy who came with his five loaves and his two fish. 188 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,800 You know, when that little boy went out that morning, his mom 189 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,440 packed him a little lunch, like many of you probably do. 190 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:28,720 I still pack my little boy lunch. 191 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,800 He's not so little anymore, but I still pack him lunch. 192 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:33,120 And people say to me, why do you do that? 193 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,600 Because I want to. Please don't write me any 194 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,960 letters. He can cook for himself. 195 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,280 He can make his own food. He's very good at it. 196 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:42,840 I do it because I love him. But you know what? 197 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:45,800 This mom packed this little boy this little lunch and you know 198 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:47,920 what? Unless he was 16 or 21 years 199 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:51,520 old, that was probably more than enough for him. 5 loaves and two 200 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,080 fish was probably enough for him to eat and eat his full and 201 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,080 probably still have a little bit leftover for the Road home and 202 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,560 maybe even a little bit to eat tomorrow morning with more than 203 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:01,680 enough food. But you know, this little boy 204 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:05,280 actually chose to take his own ones and his own needs and 205 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,680 actually submit them to the will of Jesus, take his own wants and 206 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:11,400 his own needs at the risk of staying hungry for the rest of 207 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:14,040 the day, saying actually, I'm OK to go hungry for the rest of the 208 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:15,280 day. I'm going to take what I have 209 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:17,200 and give it to Jesus. I want to take my own wants, my 210 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,600 own needs, and submit it to the will of Jesus. 211 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:23,000 And you know, he he actually, if we want to live a life of 212 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:26,920 abundance, we have to learn how to submit our own will to the 213 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,120 will of the Father. Because actually, if you want to 214 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:32,280 walk in abundance, you can either hold on to you a little 215 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,360 bit you have, or your wants or your own needs, or you can 216 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:37,200 actually say, I'm actually going to take my own will and I'm 217 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:38,760 going to submit it to the will of the Father. 218 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:41,800 And I believe that's a key that God's given us that we can 219 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:43,840 actually walk in an abundant life. 220 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:45,640 Now, let me just make one thing very clear. 221 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:48,840 A life of abundance has nothing to do with money. 222 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:51,880 Let's just understand that very clearly this morning. 223 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:53,960 Do you know that money is an earthly thing? 224 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,960 Nice to have, we need it, we need it. 225 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,680 Money is an earthly thing. If your main goal in life is to 226 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:06,360 make money so that you can have a better car and buy a nicer 227 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:08,920 house and go on nicer holidays and get your kids a better 228 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:11,760 education and eat from Woolworths and not checkers 229 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:16,320 anymore, then actually you don't understand abundance because you 230 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:18,520 know when you blow out your last breath you can't take it with 231 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,200 you. It's all going to be left behind 232 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:22,760 and your kids are going to waste it. 233 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:26,120 Money is an earthly thing. Money is an earthly thing. 234 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,040 Easy come, easy go. Money has no eternal value. 235 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:31,960 The only time your money has any eternal value is when you're 236 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:34,080 using it to build a Kingdom, when you're actually saying, 237 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,880 God, let me take my resources and let's actually go and bless 238 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,280 someone to go go minister in a country where they don't know 239 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:40,440 Jesus. That's the only time your money 240 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:42,760 has any eternal value. Other than that, it's it's an 241 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:44,400 earthly thing. So when we talk about a life of 242 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:46,360 abundance, this is not a quick rich scheme. 243 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,520 This is not, you know, you know, we're preaching prosperity and 244 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:51,520 three CI, Everybody that comes here is going to get rich. 245 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:54,600 No life and abundance is about so much more than money. 246 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:55,960 It's got nothing to do with money. 247 00:11:56,560 --> 00:12:01,600 This little boy gave up his his five loaves and his 32 fish, but 248 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,440 you know he still had enough to eat because that Bob the verse 249 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:06,520 in that Bible actually says they all had enough to eat. 250 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:10,160 So in spite of the fact that he gave up his lunch, he still had 251 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:12,720 enough to eat. He still had his full, but not 252 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:15,760 only did he enough have enough to eat, he saw Jesus take his 253 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:19,400 lunch and multiply it and feed thousands of people. 254 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:23,120 Actually, how much more is that worse than having eaten his own 255 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:25,000 lunch? But he didn't go hungry and see 256 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:27,400 God doing something else. He still had enough to eat and 257 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:29,240 he saw God do this incredible miracle. 258 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:32,320 And so when we, when we submit our will to the will of the 259 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:34,640 Father, he will take care of our needs. 260 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:37,440 He will, you know, but we actually get to take part in 261 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,560 what he's doing. You know, we have no better 262 00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:43,200 example of this than Jesus himself in that same chapter in 263 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:47,560 John 6 a little bit further on in verse 38 and Jesus says, for 264 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:51,560 I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but to do the 265 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:56,200 will of Him who sent me. I mean, if Jesus who is God, if 266 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,400 He chose to submit His own will to the will of the Father, I 267 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:01,560 mean how would we not actually believe that that would 268 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:03,760 actually, if we choose to do that, that we would have a life 269 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:06,240 of abundance. If Jesus, who is God chose to 270 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:08,880 submit His will to the will of the Father, how would that not 271 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,280 lead you into a life of abundance if you choose to do 272 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,240 that as well? Imagine imagine how it would 273 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,360 impact our lives if we lived like this. 274 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:20,600 Imagine imagine what the life of three CI really believe in. 275 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,680 I'm not just this is not hype. We can turn Pretoria upside down 276 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:27,840 if the people that are sitting here today say from today, I'm 277 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,600 going to submit my will to the will of the father and I'm going 278 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,000 to walk with him. Not making our decisions about 279 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,400 our careers or our marriage or our our, what we're going to do 280 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:40,680 with our resources out of our own will, but submitting it to 281 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:43,360 the will of the father and actually allowing him to lead us 282 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,840 into what he has for us. Imagine, imagine if we live our 283 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:48,440 lives submitted to the will of the father. 284 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,000 The second encounter is actually the encounter of the disciples. 285 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,480 And they had a very different encounter and their encounter 286 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:58,360 was one of serving. And the main encounter for the, 287 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,720 for the disciples in this, in this passage we read was 288 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:03,760 serving. They had to work, they had to 289 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:06,360 take the bread and the fish and hand it out to everybody. 290 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:09,000 And you know, you'd think like after everybody ate and they'd 291 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,240 be done, they'd be like, you know, like exhausted now and 292 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:13,080 then Jesus was no, no, no, not done yet. 293 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:15,680 Take the baskets and go pick up what was leftover. 294 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,640 Just a just a little bit more, just a little bit more serving. 295 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,920 But I really believe serving is a key that God's given us to 296 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,960 actually understanding what a life of abundance is. 297 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,480 You know, have you ever thought about it that the the disciples 298 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:33,680 were probably other than Jesus, the only people there that day 299 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:36,760 who really understood how big the miracle was that Jesus did? 300 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,280 Think about it. If you take double the amount of 301 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:41,800 people here, plus women and children, spread them out over a 302 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,720 mountain and you say sit down, you're going to eat and you 303 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,200 start sending people around. You probably have the murmurs 304 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,040 going like they they did. You know that this is like they 305 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,400 had five loaves and two fishes and Jesus prayed and we all 306 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:54,120 eating. So the murmurs would have gone 307 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:56,800 through and people would have probably known that, but after 308 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:58,840 they heard Jesus speak and they ate, they're full. 309 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:00,760 They would have got up and left and gone home. 310 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,480 And the disciples were the ones who then walked and picked up 12 311 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,320 more baskets that was leftover. So actually, in that serving, 312 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,600 they were the only ones who really saw the fullness of the 313 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:13,840 miracle that Jesus did. That guy that sat over there on 314 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:16,560 the hill and ate his little piece of bread and fish and then 315 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:18,120 went home didn't understand that. 316 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:20,880 He didn't see that. If you want to see the fullness 317 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:22,720 of the goodness of God, start serving. 318 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,120 I'm telling you now, if you want to see the fullness of the 319 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:28,280 goodness of God in your own life, start serving. 320 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:31,840 You want to see the fullness of the goodness of God in other 321 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,560 people's lives, start serving. You can come here on a Sunday 322 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,120 morning and come to church and go home and you'll only see the 323 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:40,080 goodness of God in your life. But you start serving, you get 324 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:42,200 into a life group. You, you start chatting to this 325 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:44,360 guy and you hear what God's done in his life and you, and you 326 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:46,640 start praying with that guy for a job and God gives him a job 327 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:48,520 and you, and you see what God's doing in his life. 328 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,040 And then you go on a mission trip and you see how much you 329 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:53,240 have compared to other people and you actually start seeing 330 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,560 the full goodness of God. You start seeing the bigger 331 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:57,560 picture. You know, we live in a, we live 332 00:15:57,560 --> 00:15:59,200 in a town where we're so self focused. 333 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:00,920 It's all about me and I and my things. 334 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:04,920 And actually serving is a key that God's given us to take us 335 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:06,760 into the abundance of what he has for us. 336 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,840 Do you know that we had about 250 volunteers serving here this 337 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:10,200 morning? Sure. 338 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:13,520 Wow. Do you know that for some of 339 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:15,760 you, you might come here every Sunday and you come here and you 340 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,560 have your cup of coffee and you come to church and you worship 341 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:20,840 and you listen to the word and you get in your car and you go 342 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:22,920 home. But you know that someone made 343 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:26,240 that cup of coffee. You know that someone made sure 344 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:29,080 there was loot paper in the loose for you so you don't have 345 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,520 to sit here that wasn't comfortable. 346 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,800 Do you know that someone cleans up the spool where you spilled 347 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:36,840 your coffee afterwards once you've gone home so that it can 348 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:38,520 be clean for the people who are coming here tonight? 349 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:42,200 Do you like these guys who lead worship here all have jobs and 350 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:44,640 they come here on a Thursday night to practice so that we can 351 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:48,480 sit here under the most incredible worship serving, you 352 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,000 know, in, in this church, if you're in a life group, you'll 353 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,200 probably get to serve every every six weeks or so because we 354 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:56,560 use our life groups are part of our teams that serve here. 355 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,840 There's maybe 8 * a year you'll get to serve. 356 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,240 But you know, there's a whole group of people that serve every 357 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,119 week that come Sunday in, Sunday out. 358 00:17:05,319 --> 00:17:06,560 And this is not a marketing ploy. 359 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:08,160 We don't need, we don't need volunteers. 360 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:10,319 So don't be worried. We're not trying to hype you 361 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:11,960 guys up. We don't need volunteers. 362 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,920 You need to be serving. We actually, sometimes on Sunday 363 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:16,599 mornings, we'd actually don't have enough jobs for all the 364 00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:18,560 volunteers who come. We like just go stand at the 365 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:20,359 front door and greet people. So when you feel a bit awkward 366 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:22,640 when 100 people say morning to you, it's because we have too 367 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:24,240 many volunteers. We don't actually have a job for 368 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:28,800 them. So it's a fact, it's a fact. 369 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:30,200 I'm not making it up. Is it the truth? 370 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:31,480 It's the truth. I'm not making it up. 371 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:34,160 We don't need you to serve. So relax, we're not trying to to 372 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:36,520 hype you up to come and serve. You need to serve because it's 373 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:38,600 good for you. Because when you come here to 374 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:40,360 serve, you're going to be chatting to the guy that's 375 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:42,920 making coffee next to you and you're going to hear what God's 376 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,120 been doing in his life. And then you're going to stand 377 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:46,800 at the front door and you're going to meet someone who's 378 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:48,960 who's broken and comes in. And then you're going to see him 379 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:50,800 coming next week. And the week after, in a month 380 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:52,280 or two late, you're going to see him coming in here. 381 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:54,280 And you can see God's busy in his life. 382 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:56,800 And then and then six months from now, he's going to tell 383 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,960 you, you know, that Sunday that I met you, I was broken, but 384 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:02,560 actually God's restored me. That's why you need to serve. 385 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,240 That's why you need to serve. Because serving is a key that 386 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:07,360 will unlock the abundance of God in your life. 387 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:10,680 If you want to, if you want to talk to any of the guys who 388 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,760 volunteer or serve here regularly, they'll tell you they 389 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:16,120 thought they came here to serve. But they've been far more 390 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:17,960 blessed by it. Far more blessed by it. 391 00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:21,760 How do guys that have incredibly pressurized jobs come serve here 392 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:24,880 week after week after week? How do they not get burnt out? 393 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,240 Because they love it. It doesn't burn them out. 394 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,280 It refreshes them. They actually see the goodness 395 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:30,600 of God when they come here to serve. 396 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,280 If you ever speak to anybody who's on a trip, been on one of 397 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,360 our trips to Mozambique or Zimbabwe, they'll tell you, I 398 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:38,720 thought I went there to serve the people of Mozambique or 399 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,280 serve the people of Zimbabwe, but I actually came back so 400 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:43,680 blessed. We've seen marriages completely 401 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:47,600 restored just by going on a trip to Mozambique, going to go build 402 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,080 a church in Mozambique, and God turns a marriage completely 403 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:53,240 around just by going to serve. Serving is a key that God's 404 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,440 given us to walk in the fullness and abundance that He has for 405 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,320 us. So ask yourself today, who am I 406 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,720 serving? Who am I serving? 407 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:04,760 Do I only serve people that can serve me back? 408 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:08,560 Do I only ever serve someone who can do something back to for me? 409 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:12,560 Do I actually understand? To understand that Jesus came as 410 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:17,000 the ultimate example to come and serve us, to die for us so that 411 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:18,960 we can have an eternal relationship with His Father. 412 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:20,880 Ask yourself today, who am I serving? 413 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:24,040 The third encounter is the crowd. 414 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:26,360 The crowd had an encounter with Jesus. 415 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:28,560 Now you might say to me, Wendy, what did they do? 416 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:32,880 They did absolutely nothing. They arrived, they sat, they got 417 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:33,880 fed. What did they do? 418 00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:37,600 Do you know that I believe that probably one of the biggest keys 419 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,800 that God gives us in His Word to have an abundant life is 420 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:44,840 learning how to wait on God. They had to wait on God. 421 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:46,040 That's literally what they had to do. 422 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,560 The 10,000 got over there, probably had to wait quite a 423 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,040 while before he got his little bit of the five breads and the 424 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:53,240 two fishes. They had to wait on God. 425 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,840 You know, when, when I heard we were going to be preaching 426 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,160 through the book of John, probably somewhere in November 427 00:19:58,160 --> 00:19:59,760 last year, I started reading the book of John. 428 00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:03,360 I started seeing how many times in the book of John Jesus made 429 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:05,680 people wait. You know, just a little bit 430 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:09,720 further in this, in this same passage, it says that Jesus's 431 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:12,400 disciples were waiting for him by the boat to cross the sea of 432 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:15,800 Kaparinaim, and it was already dark and Jesus didn't come. 433 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,560 So eventually they got in the boat and they and they crossed 434 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:20,200 and, and the storm came. We know the story. 435 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:21,920 And Jesus came walking to them on the water. 436 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:25,080 Jesus made them white a little bit further. 437 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:31,040 We actually read in John 11 that about Lazarus's death, that that 438 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:35,400 Lazarus sister sent a message to Jesus to say, you know what? 439 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,280 Our brother's busy dying, he's sick. 440 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,160 And you know what Jesus did? He stayed in the village where 441 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,640 he was for two more days. How would he do that? 442 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,360 You know, is it just like that one friend we all have? 443 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:49,200 Don't worry, I won't name your name, but that one friend we all 444 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,160 have who's always late, is it just like that one friend or is 445 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:54,480 he just, I can see you smiling, you know, I'm talking about you. 446 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:58,440 But if you or is he actually just, is he, does he just not 447 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:00,240 care? Could he just not actually be 448 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:01,480 bothered? He's like, oh, you know what? 449 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:02,880 I know I can raise him from the dead. 450 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,840 I'll get there when I get there. No, actually, Jesus knows how 451 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,000 good it is for us to learn how to wait. 452 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:11,880 That's why he made people wait because it's good for us to 453 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:13,520 wait. It's actually a key. 454 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:15,960 That's God's what God's given us to actually live in life in 455 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,480 abundance. And in John 11 verse 4, Jesus 456 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,840 says about the story of Lazarus, about Lazarus, he says no 457 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:24,960 talking about Lazarus's death, he says, no. 458 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,640 It is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified 459 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:31,440 through it. You see, if we learn how to wait 460 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,520 on God, He can take out dead situations and bring them back 461 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:37,240 to life. He can He can take your dead 462 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:38,600 marriage and bring it back to life. 463 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,760 He can take your dead business and and resurrect it again and 464 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,120 take your dead relationship with your son or your daughter or 465 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:48,160 your dead sexuality or your dead finances and you can bring her 466 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:51,680 back to life if you can learn how to wait on him, if you learn 467 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,160 how to wait on him. But you see, God says that 468 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:56,760 Lazarus died so that God may be glorified. 469 00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:59,800 But you know that a little bit further in John, in John 21 470 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:03,240 verse 19, and where Jesus predicts Peter's death, he says 471 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:07,280 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by Pete by which 472 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:11,080 Peter would glorify God. You see, Lazarus was raised from 473 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:13,040 the dead, so God may be glorified. 474 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,000 Peter died so God may be glorified. 475 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:18,400 So you see, the life and abundance is not in the end 476 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:20,520 result. It's not in the end result 477 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,520 because actually we can have life and abundance when God 478 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,920 resurrects from the dead. We can also have life and 479 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,400 abundance where God uses the death to glorify God. 480 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,240 The key is actually the life and abundance is not in the end 481 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,080 result. It's actually in the waiting for 482 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:35,480 God. That's where the life and 483 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,120 abundance lies. You've got to understand the the 484 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:41,840 power of the learning to wait on God is that we'll start to 485 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:46,400 understand that it's actually not what we're waiting for that 486 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,160 brings us into that life of abundance. 487 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:50,640 It's in that process. The waiting is the gift. 488 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,200 Spending time in God's presence is life in abundance. 489 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:56,560 That is actually what life in abundance is like. 490 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,320 And if you start to understand this, you can have a life in 491 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,240 abundance even if you don't see what you're waiting for, even if 492 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:05,440 you don't see the result. While I'm praying for my sibling 493 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:08,040 who's not saved yet, I can have life in abundance. 494 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:10,760 While I'm waiting for God to bring a breakthrough in a 495 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,000 situation, I can have life in abundance. 496 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,840 I don't get life in abundance. When I'm when I get what I'm 497 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,400 praying for, I can have it while I'm waiting because the 498 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,120 abundance is in the waiting. You know, we sang this morning 499 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:22,360 in that one song. It just struck me. 500 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:25,760 We say we sang about that. We can enjoy that in in every 501 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,520 season we keep dancing. Why can we keep dancing in every 502 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,240 season in the good seasons and the bad seasons? 503 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:32,600 Why? Because we've learned how to 504 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,040 wait on God. We don't need Him to answer our 505 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:36,480 praise to have life in abundance. 506 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:38,040 We can have it while we're waiting. 507 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:40,920 We were created to be in a relationship with God. 508 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:42,960 That's what we were actually made for. 509 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:44,520 That is where the abundance is in. 510 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,320 So we all have. That's one of the reasons why we 511 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:51,440 actually don't have a counselling center at this 512 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:52,360 church. Do you know that? 513 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:55,720 Because we don't want you to run to the church every time you 514 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,440 have a problem and then we tell you what to do. 515 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:00,880 We believe that every person sitting here has direct access 516 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,960 to the Father, the same father that Rory has access to. 517 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:05,920 He doesn't have to pray for your business. 518 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,720 He doesn't have a special line that goes straight to God. 519 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:10,840 And we have to go through the secretary to get to God. 520 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,440 We all have straight access to God, straight access to God. 521 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,120 That's why we didn't I'm that's, it's the truth. 522 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,880 And that's why you're not living in life in abundance because you 523 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:23,840 think you're not living in life in abundance because you send an 524 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:26,280 e-mail to the church and they reply to you who, which life 525 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,440 group are you in? And now you can't, you know, God 526 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,360 can't save your business because you know, no, we want it. 527 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:34,160 We don't want you guys to rely on us. 528 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:35,840 We want to teach you how to wait on God. 529 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:38,080 We're going to teach you how to wait on God for your own 530 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:39,960 situations. Yes, there's room for praying 531 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:41,880 with each other. I'm not saying there's not room 532 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:43,920 for that. Yes, there's room for, for 533 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,200 sitting with a brother or a sister sometimes and actually 534 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:48,360 talking and, and encouraging one another. 535 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,400 I'm not saying there's not there is room for that. 536 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:52,160 But that shouldn't be your first go to. 537 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:54,440 You need to learn how to wait on God for yourself. 538 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:57,200 He's given us his word. He's given his, he's given you 539 00:24:57,200 --> 00:24:58,520 his word. He wants to speak to you 540 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:05,200 directly. You're so passionate. 541 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,200 You know, yesterday I just thought about you talking about 542 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:12,800 waiting on God. And you know that the the Hebrew 543 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:18,000 word for waiting is kavar, and it actually says, it implies an 544 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:24,040 active, expectant and hopeful anticipation rather than passive 545 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,200 inaction. What says that that waiting on 546 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,520 God is like when you take strings and you weave them 547 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:31,800 together, you're like, like they're interwoven to make a 548 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:32,640 rope. That's what we do. 549 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:35,000 We weave ourselves with God, with his Holy Spirit. 550 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,800 We're waiting in anticipation. We're talking to him, we're 551 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:39,240 listening, we're reading his word. 552 00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:41,760 It's not a like a while. OK, my business is in trouble. 553 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:43,000 I'll just wait and see what God does. 554 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,000 It doesn't look like that. You know, I'm going to interrupt 555 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,160 myself for a moment, but we were driving here this morning and 556 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:50,600 I'm talking to my husband about this. 557 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:55,000 You know, if you're not married yet, just wait on God. 558 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,360 Don't, don't compromise, don't just settle because you're 559 00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:01,880 scared you're going to be alone. Do you know what, what, what an 560 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,440 abundant life you have when you're married to a God, a man 561 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:06,920 who serves God? Do you know what an abundant 562 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:08,960 life you have when you, when you, we have someone who's 563 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:10,600 equally yoked with you, who can walk with you? 564 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:13,040 And, and we're driving to church and I say to him, I read and he 565 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:13,880 said, you know what he said to me? 566 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,600 And I'm like, wow, God, you're so amazing. 567 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,680 He said, you know, that waiting is not like when we're in the 568 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:22,200 doctor's waiting room waiting for him. 569 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:25,800 It's not like that. It's actually the waiting where 570 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,520 you're already in the room with the doctor and the doctor's 571 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,840 listening to your heartbeat and he's asking you a question and 572 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:33,040 he says, what symptoms do you have? 573 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,000 And you're answering him. And, and then he he does a blood 574 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,440 test and he it's that waiting. It's not us sitting there in the 575 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,720 waiting room. How late is the doctor this 576 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:43,000 time? You know, what time am I going 577 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,360 to get in there? This time you're in the room 578 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:47,400 with him. You're busy, he's speaking, 579 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:48,680 you're listening, you're answering. 580 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:50,480 That's that waiting. That's what that waiting looks 581 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,200 like. So don't say so Wait, wait, wait 582 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,520 on the man that God has for you. It's better to be alone than to 583 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:58,480 be married to someone who's not equally yoked with you. 584 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:00,560 But anyway, that was for free. It wasn't part of my notes. 585 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,520 But you know, the Bible is full of verses that talk about 586 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:07,480 waiting on God. And Isaiah 40, verse 31, it 587 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:10,840 says, But those who waits on the Lord shall renew their strength. 588 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:13,240 They shall mount up with wings like eagles. 589 00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:16,360 They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. 590 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:17,800 Are you constantly feeling weary? 591 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:20,640 You always feel like you have no strings. 592 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:25,200 Wait on God. In Psalm 27 verse 14, it says, 593 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,440 wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen 594 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,400 your heart. Do you need courage today? 595 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,120 You need courage for the situation you're facing at work. 596 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:35,440 You need courage for your studies. 597 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:37,160 You need courage for whatever you're facing. 598 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:41,600 Wait on the Lord. Psalm 62 verse 5 says, for God 599 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,960 alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from 600 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:46,720 Him. You need hope. 601 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,160 Feel like we're living in a hopeless time in a hopeless 602 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:51,800 country, maybe a hopeless government. 603 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,520 You need hope. Wait on the Lord, He'll give you 604 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:57,840 hope. Isaiah 62 verse 4 says from of 605 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,360 all old no one has heard or perceived by ear. 606 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:05,760 Now I have seen a God besides you acts on behalf of those who 607 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:08,360 wait for him. Are you in an impossible 608 00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:09,840 situation? Impossible. 609 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:11,840 You need God to act on your behalf. 610 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:14,240 There's no man on earth that can help you in this situation. 611 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:16,960 Only God can act on your behalf waits on God. 612 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:19,880 He promises he's a God who acts on behalf of those who waits on 613 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:23,720 him. Proverbs 20 verse 22 says do not 614 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,840 say I'll pay you back for this wrong wait for the Lord and he 615 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:28,800 will avenge you. Has someone treated you 616 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:32,880 unfairly? It's your business partner done 617 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:36,040 you in almost said something not good done you in and cheated 618 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:36,880 you. That's a better word. 619 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,800 Have have you have have have you been hijacked? 620 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,160 You been maybe held up at gunpoint and you wanted to be 621 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:46,200 avenged. Actually wait on God. 622 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:48,760 He says I will avenge you. Don't take things in your own 623 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:50,160 hands. Wait on me. 624 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:51,680 Wait on me. I will avenge you. 625 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,680 But most importantly, why do we wait on God? 626 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:57,960 Because in Acts one verse 4, Jesus said this to his 627 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:01,280 disciples. Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait 628 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,160 for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak 629 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:06,840 about for John baptized with water. 630 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,040 But in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 631 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:14,200 The biggest key we have to living a life of abundance is to 632 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:18,440 be filled with the Holy Spirit. When we live Spirit LED lives, 633 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:20,960 how can we not live a life of abundance? 634 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,600 If you are living your life every day saying Holy Spirit, 635 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,880 show me, show me, lead me today, lead me in this business 636 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:29,360 decision. Show me how to how to do my 637 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,200 marriage, show me how to treat my adult children, how to walk 638 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:34,880 with them, Show me how to How will you not live a life of 639 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:37,280 abundance? How can you lead by the Holy 640 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:39,680 Spirit to His God and not live a life of abundance? 641 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,760 You know, I recently saw a picture which I thought was the 642 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:46,360 perfect picture to describe a life not lived in the Spirit. 643 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,360 And you see that this is what it looks like to lean on your own 644 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:52,640 strength and understanding. That's what your life looks like 645 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:53,960 when you don't live in the Spirit. 646 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:57,400 Literally, you're going like, there's no power in my life. 647 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:00,120 Feels like I'm going around and round in circles. 648 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,640 Nothing's happening. You're plugged into yourself, 649 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:06,600 plugged into yourself. So as long as you have a little 650 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:07,840 bit of power, you're going to be going somewhere. 651 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,440 But when your power runs out, you're in trouble. 652 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:12,400 You're in trouble. Is that what your life looks 653 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:15,200 like? Is that what your life looks 654 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:17,040 like? That's what your life looks like 655 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:18,400 when you're not living in the spirit. 656 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:26,840 And the book Come Create a Spirit by Raniero Cantla Mesa. 657 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,960 He describes so beautiful what it looks like when we live a 658 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,200 life in the spirit. He talks about the spirit offing 659 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,640 often being described as wind in the Bible. 660 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,040 And, you know, you know, I was woken up by the wind this 661 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,520 morning. We we, we literally live the 662 00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:42,960 house we've been living in. We've lived there now for just 663 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:45,680 over a year. And the same furniture has been 664 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:46,920 on the stoop since we've moved in there. 665 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:49,280 And I would woken up because the wind was moving the chairs on 666 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:51,360 the stoop. She's never happened. 667 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:53,200 Talking about the wind of God today. 668 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,480 And I got woken up by this wind this morning that was literally 669 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:58,880 moving the chairs on my stoop. I mean, I'm just like, God, you 670 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,320 are busy with something. Yeah, he says this about that 671 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,920 is, but he says what effort it takes to walk or to row against 672 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,960 the wind. What a joy to do the same thing 673 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,360 with the wind in your favour. Have you ever seen those people 674 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:12,040 in the Cape when the wind's blowing and they try and walk 675 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,160 against the wind, you know, hold on to the pole and they're like, 676 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:20,160 you know, and then you turn around and you go, that's what 677 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:23,040 it looks like when you walk on your own and when you walk with 678 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:24,760 the Spirit, that's what it looks like. 679 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:29,120 Try to go about doing what you do without the Holy Spirit. 680 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:34,080 How heavy that is, work with the Spirit, how very much lighter 681 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:37,200 everything becomes. Fruitfulness is the wind's gift. 682 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,680 It carries pollen from flower to flower and seeds ripen. 683 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:43,440 It carries seeds to the earth and they germinate. 684 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:45,680 This is what the Holy Spirit does for the seed. 685 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:49,160 That is the word of God. Years ago I spent some time in a 686 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,640 retreat house in Ireland, right by the seacoast. 687 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:55,360 The place is the Kingdom of gulls, seagulls. 688 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,520 What impressed me the most was the way the gulls exiled in the 689 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:00,400 art of making the wind work for them. 690 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:02,640 They fly on the wings of the wind. 691 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:06,280 They let the wind carry them. That is why they are able to 692 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:10,120 remain in the air for long hours, hovering still or moving 693 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,240 faster than the eye can follow and yet not grow tired. 694 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,680 Does that not tell us something? What does your life look like? 695 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,600 Are you like this? Oh, are you going? 696 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:26,400 Does your life look like that bird flying? 697 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:27,960 Have you seen them flying against the wind and they're 698 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:29,840 like flap, flap flapping but they're literally not moving? 699 00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:31,680 Or you? Or does your life look like an 700 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:35,000 eagle soaring on the wind? That's life in abundance. 701 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:38,080 That's life in abundance. So let's go read. 702 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:39,840 Let's go read John 6 again this week. 703 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:42,680 Let's learn from these encounters that these people had 704 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:45,000 with Jesus. Let's actually learn from the 705 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:47,720 little boy how to submit our will to the will of the Father. 706 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,920 Let's learn from the disciples how to serve, how to serve 707 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:54,720 others, and actually use that as a key to walking in abundance. 708 00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,760 Let's actually learn how to wait on God, how to intertwine 709 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:01,440 ourselves with him. And I really believe that if we 710 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,520 apply these keys to our life, we will live in a life of 711 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:07,480 abundance, but not only live a life of abundance, we'll live a 712 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,560 life that will glorify God and draw others unto Him. 713 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:11,880 Amen.