1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,360 It is so wonderful to be here and before my wife runs down, I 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:09,120 need to up on stage quickly with me just for two seconds because 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:14,720 it's always been a dream of mine to soon may flow in front of all 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:16,440 my friends. Here we go. 5 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:21,400 When you're working with a limited pallet, you take 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,360 whatever opportunity you can get people. 7 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:28,000 But as I stand here, so honored this morning and looking around, 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,720 I walked around the back during worship and just walked out into 9 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:32,200 the cube. Want to shout out everyone out 10 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,360 there and everyone online just taking in just the spectacular 11 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:38,720 nature of this church. 3 CI, you are a beautiful people. 12 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:40,960 Thank you. You're a beautiful, beautiful 13 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:42,280 people. I want to thank the elders and 14 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,560 the leaders for having us here. It is a risk to let a redhead 15 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,560 take a microphone because you might never get it back. 16 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:53,560 But I just want to just take before I leap into the word this 17 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,560 morning, take a moment just to honor my amazing friends, Rory 18 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,880 and Mel Dyer, who have been Fiona's pastor for the better 19 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:04,800 part of two decades. And, and I just get to say 3 CI 20 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,720 and Phillips's, we've got the best pastors in the world. 21 00:01:09,320 --> 00:01:11,360 And I really believe that. And I say that with all honor 22 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,080 and say thank you for your your love. 23 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,040 You have pastored our family, pastored our church, pastored my 24 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,120 friends through highs, lows and three star. 25 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,960 I don't know if you know the gift that you have in the Dyers. 26 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,240 Can we honor the amazing Dyers today? 27 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:31,480 We love you guys. But as Rory said, my name is 28 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,200 Gabe Phillips and I know it might be a bit disappointing for 29 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,040 some of you. You, you arrived at church and 30 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,960 you saw a red dead in front and you thought Prince Harry is here 31 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:43,080 today and you is, is that Meghan Markle? 32 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:47,400 And maybe you thought it was Ed Sheeran after a diet. 33 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:52,720 And you're like, or, or, or most tight days, my wife likes to 34 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:54,920 wake up and she calls me mextimi, you know, from Grey's 35 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:58,760 Anatomy, you know, there we go. But only she can call me that. 36 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,120 But I, I have the privilege of being married to this beautiful 37 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:03,360 girl. And we've got 2 wonderful kids. 38 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:05,320 I think we've got a photo. If you want to see them in all 39 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:10,800 their glory, Nah, there we go on the side screen, just Olivia age 40 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,600 9 and Benji just about to go 7. And the incredible story of 41 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:18,200 Fiona and Gabe were that we met at church just in a meeting just 42 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:19,520 like that. She like this. 43 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:21,800 She arrived on that Sunday and she was standing on the right 44 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:24,400 hand side. I, I, I'm telling you the truth. 45 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:28,640 No word of a lie walked in. The Angel started to sing the 46 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:32,240 the light shone on her. My heart started to skip a beat 47 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:33,920 and I knew that is the girl I want to marry. 48 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:35,880 I knew it. I felt it was from the Lord. 49 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:42,040 She did not feel the same. But some of us here got more 50 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,240 clearly than others. It's a discipleship journey and 51 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:46,880 you're doing well now my love, well done. 52 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:53,440 But let me just say, there's an anointing in the right hand 53 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:55,200 corners of rooms. So if you're single, just go 54 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,440 stand there afterwards and let's just trust what God did for me, 55 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,400 He can do for you. Come on, any take us afterwards. 56 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:02,320 So I'll be there. We'll see. 57 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:03,800 Oh, anyway, there we go. Thank you. 58 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,520 But it is such a joy just to be here with you. 59 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,320 And I tell you when I think about that moment and it's it's 60 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:11,760 a moment that I go back to a lot. 61 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:14,800 Just this moment of when I first caught glimpse of this beauty 62 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,440 that just captivated my heart and captivates me every day. 63 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,480 Since I want to take us back to to different moments. 64 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:22,520 There's things where I think about often and I say these 65 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:26,080 phrases like take me back to my childhood when I didn't have to 66 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,320 buy gifts for my kids. They just woke up on Christmas 67 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,120 morning and they were there. Take me back. 68 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,600 Take me back to last season when Liverpool won the Premier League 69 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,520 title and went messing around mid table with the likes of Man 70 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,920 United and other riffraff. Take me back. 71 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:51,680 Take me back to when phones were the size of small children and 72 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:53,360 they had the capacity to see in five. 73 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,680 Please call me and had the iconic game that millennials and 74 00:03:57,680 --> 00:03:59,480 Gen. ZS will never know the privilege 75 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:01,360 of playing. Snake 2. 76 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:05,920 You can keep your fortnights. I I don't want anything to do 77 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:07,560 with it. Snake two people take me back. 78 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,200 Take me back to when Lays made salt and vinegar chips. 79 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,160 Take me back to simpler times when we didn't have endless 80 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,079 choices of what you're watching. Tonight it was either Izzy Dingo 81 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:24,240 or Stephen Delon. Take me back, Take me back to 82 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,920 when MTV actually played music and take me back to where load 83 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,400 shielding wasn't something we feared but was just something 84 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,440 that happened after second morning cup of coffee. 85 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:35,440 Just wait, you'll get it. There it is. 86 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:38,360 Cheers. Lovely to be in church with you. 87 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,000 Take me back, Take me back. So why don't we? 88 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:44,680 I want to take us back today. So why don't you turn to your 89 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:46,320 neighbor very quickly and tell them take me back. 90 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,040 It's only awkward if you sing next to your ex. 91 00:04:55,800 --> 00:05:02,760 Take me back. But maybe I can pivot quickly 92 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:04,440 and say maybe more seriously today. 93 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,360 Maybe if you were honest and you're honest with the deep cry 94 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:09,880 of your heart, you'll say something like take me back 95 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:13,480 before I messed up my marriage. Take me back to before my 96 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,800 relationship fell apart. Take me back before I said that 97 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:19,640 careless phrase. Take me back before I wrote that 98 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:22,920 hurtful text. Take me back before I started 99 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:24,640 that habit that I now just can't kick. 100 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:27,000 Take me back before I had that fight. 101 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:30,200 Click that link. Lost that job, spent the money I 102 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:32,160 didn't have. Take me back. 103 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:34,760 So this morning I want to take us back. 104 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:39,560 Back to the OG gospel, not the fictionalized, romanticized, 105 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,560 glamorized Christian story that we might have been told or have 106 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:44,360 come to believe. But I want to take us back to 107 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:48,760 the OG story, the original story of the gospel, the all powerful, 108 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,160 all conquering, demon chasing, sin destroying, hell breaking 109 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:55,680 gospel of Jesus Christ. And I want to take us back there 110 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:58,360 by looking at the four gospel writers and how they started 111 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:00,240 their gospel narratives. So you're right for that. 112 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,120 Give me a wave if you're still awake this morning. 113 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:03,960 It's so lovely to see You Beautiful people. 114 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,520 So we want to start out in this pit stop at the gospel writer 115 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,760 Mark and Mark writes his gospel. He he starts in this fashion. 116 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,560 He says this is the good news about Jesus, the Messiah, the 117 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,760 Son of God, just as the prophet Isaiah had written, Look, I'm 118 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,680 sending my messenger ahead of you and he will prepare your 119 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:23,720 way. He has a voice shouting in the 120 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:25,680 wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord's 121 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:28,000 coming. Clear the road for him. 122 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,600 Mark starts his narrative, his gospel narrative, by taking the 123 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:34,440 people back to the prophet Isaiah. 124 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,760 He says, before we get going, I need before we start moving 125 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,520 forward with the story, I want to take you back to remind you 126 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:44,000 of what God has prophesied. And it's this remarkable start 127 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:46,800 because there's a people who have been longing and waiting 128 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,600 for a Messiah who would take them back to the fulfillment of 129 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:53,800 what God had promised. But for 400 years they've lived 130 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:56,360 in what is the the scholars will call the intertestimonial 131 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,640 period. But 400 years of perceived 132 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,760 silence from God, no new prophecies, no new scripture, no 133 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,560 new direction for their lives. And they've been living in this 134 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,280 perpetual silence, not knowing how we're going to ever move 135 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:11,080 forward. But it's in this moment that the 136 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,840 the gospel writer Mark is reminding us to that actually we 137 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:15,360 got to go back before we go forward. 138 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,360 We have to go back to what God has spoken. 139 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:19,960 Why? Because they were thinking that 140 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,360 maybe God has stopped speaking. But I would propose to you, 141 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:24,560 maybe God hadn't stopped speaking, but the people that 142 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:29,800 just stopped listening. And I want to remind our fickle 143 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:33,560 and fragile hearts this morning that I want to take us back to 144 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,880 what God has spoken. It is so easy to be seduced by 145 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,480 the news headlines of our days, by the words of the world that 146 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:42,440 allow them to become the dictator of our hearts. 147 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:46,360 But if I can implore you and encourage you today, is that 148 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:51,240 God's Word, God's Word never, never, never returns to Him 149 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,040 void. It always accomplishes what was 150 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:56,760 sent out to do. No matter how long the delay may 151 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,960 seem. His Word is always working, and 152 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:02,120 today I want to take us back to His Word. 153 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:05,080 His Word has never ended helpless or hopeless in your 154 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,120 life. And the enemy may have had His 155 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:09,640 say over your life, over your relationships, your faith this 156 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,400 year, but His Word will have the final say. 157 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,800 I believe it and I want to state it categorically from this 158 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:17,880 pulpit. His Word will have the final say 159 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:18,440 in your life. Amen. 160 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,040 But maybe the problem is not that we are too empty of God's 161 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:24,880 Word. Maybe it's we rather too full of 162 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:30,200 God of the world used to be mirror mirror on the wall. 163 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,559 Who's the fairest of them all these days I think it's more 164 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:35,760 akin to mirror mirror on Instagram. 165 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:40,880 Tell me who I really AM. Mirror mirror on Facebook tell 166 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:44,200 me how good I really look. And we start to go to these 167 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,800 devices and go to these sources of of of the words that need 168 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,720 affect our lives, but starts to shake us and leave us vulnerable 169 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:52,040 to what the enemy is wanting to do. 170 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,440 I remember a number of years ago when I was a very, very young 171 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:57,880 pastor, still a young pastor. Thank you very much. 172 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,800 But the rewind a number of years ago where I hit a speed bump in 173 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,800 my pastoral journey where I came face to face with a reality that 174 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,480 was way beyond my experience. A story of a couple who had it 175 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,960 was such debauchery and pain and brokenness and the story was 176 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,080 just was just so messy that I did not know what to do. 177 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:18,600 And as they shared their narrative with me with between 178 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:21,520 missed tears and pleadings and saying, pastor, can you help us? 179 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:24,880 I stemmed out of prayer. And I, I knew as I was praying 180 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,920 it, it was, it was bereft, it was weak, it was anemic. 181 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,520 It was I was just praying, wrote scriptures. 182 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,960 But I, I left there feeling like I, I really had nothing to offer 183 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:35,080 this couple in their time of need. 184 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:37,800 And I felt very exposed and very shaken. 185 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:40,560 I did not know what to do. So I drove to the beachfront. 186 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:43,600 I don't know if you guys know what the beachfront is here in 187 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,400 Pretoria. It's just that I'm joking, guys. 188 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,640 I'm joking. The land of milk and honey up 189 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,160 here. Come on, who needs a mountain 190 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:52,720 when you've got the blue balls? Hey, come on. 191 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:55,520 But I was there on the beachfront in Cape Town and, and 192 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:57,840 I remember just thinking in that moment, what do I need? 193 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,640 How can I navigate this? My heart that is just being so 194 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:04,280 pulled in so many directions. And in that moment, I thought, I 195 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:06,440 need to phone somebody, but I don't want to phone somebody in 196 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:08,400 the church because then I'll betray the confidence of this 197 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:09,760 couple and what they shared with me. 198 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:11,680 And I just felt it was too tender to do that. 199 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,120 And I thought, there's there's only one person I can phone. 200 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,040 And I picked up the phone with a a shaking hand and I dialed 201 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:23,240 073993897 O And I put the phone to my ear and waited, trembling 202 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:25,760 with my lips trembling. And I heard on the other end of 203 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:29,880 that phone was my dad, Rowan Phillips, seated stage left, 204 00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:32,600 answered that phone and he said, hello, my boy. 205 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,200 And I just those words, the damn wall broke and I just started 206 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,600 SOB. And I started SOB and I, I 207 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,160 explained the situation to him and I told him how, how weak I 208 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:42,680 was feeling. I said, actually, I don't think 209 00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:45,520 I have what it takes, dad. And in that moment, my dad just 210 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,680 started to tell me and remind me of the call of God in my life, 211 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:50,840 remind me of who has spoken the words. 212 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,120 What has God said to you? Who sent you to Cape Town? 213 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,240 And in that moment, just courage finding because in that moment 214 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,880 when I did not know what to do, the Father came through. 215 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,760 And I want to remind you to you and I today that the voice of 216 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,200 the Father has to override the voices of this world. 217 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,080 So today I want to implore you, take me back to his word. 218 00:11:11,560 --> 00:11:13,800 Take me back to what he has spoken. 219 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:22,280 Secondly, we go to the Gospel writer Matthew and Matthew, in a 220 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:26,240 sense, I can almost see him say, Mark, I see your Isaiah, but I 221 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:28,640 raise you and I want to take them a little bit further back. 222 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,360 And he says this, this is the record of the ancestors of Jesus 223 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,560 the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham. 224 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:39,680 Matthew says, actually, I want to take them a little bit 225 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:42,160 further back because they need to know something a little bit 226 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:44,680 deeper. And he takes us to this man 227 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:48,280 named Abraham, who was literally the father of the Jewish faith. 228 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:52,440 Father Abraham had many sons and many sons had father Abraham. 229 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:56,200 I'm one of them, and so are you. So let's all praise the Lord, 230 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:02,280 but quite literally, the nation of Israel came from Abraham. 231 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,400 The whole narrative came from Abraham, but his story does not 232 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,040 start on a mountain peak or or something grand. 233 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:11,400 It started actually in the sense of being birthed out of nothing, 234 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:16,400 birthed out of nothing, birth in Baroness, but birth as a result 235 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:21,000 of a promise that Abraham age 90, as the book of Romans 236 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,120 described him and his wife, they were as good as dead. 237 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:27,960 They'll never make it into a birthday card as good as dead. 238 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:30,440 But it's just, it's just the Bible pulls no punches 239 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:34,880 describing their state of being. But God said in that state where 240 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:37,600 you have nothing, you only have decades of barrenness, you've 241 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:39,480 got nothing. You've got no ability on your 242 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,200 own to sigh in the air to move the story forward. 243 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,160 But in this space, I'm making a promise to you. 244 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:47,360 You are going to be a father of many nations. 245 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,280 Matthew is reminding of people who might have forgotten this. 246 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:53,400 He says before we can go forward, I want to take you back 247 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,480 to what God has promised, not your efforts, not your 248 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:00,560 achievements, not even your promises, but what I have 249 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:03,880 spoken. A few years ago I was talking to 250 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,920 somebody who just got engaged, but then they came to me in a 251 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:09,920 moment of despair because their fiance had called off the 252 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:11,640 engagement and demanded the ring back. 253 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:15,000 And it was something so fragile as I sat with this girl and she 254 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,240 was just weeping and pouring her heart out and she was and it 255 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:18,680 was. You could feel the desperation 256 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:21,440 of the moment because that, that, that act of taking the 257 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,840 ring back as was not just a moment of, of a wedding being 258 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:27,800 postponed and, and the financial cost and the embarrassment of 259 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,240 sending out more communication, saying please don't come to the 260 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:32,960 wedding. And, and the, the, the hurt of 261 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,320 that moment. It was also just a surrendering 262 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:37,160 of a future that she had in mind. 263 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:39,840 It wasn't just a day. It was, it was actually this. 264 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,120 I had a future of, of holidays, of families, of children, of 265 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:44,840 legacy. And in that moment, giving it 266 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,600 back, the heartache of that promise being broken. 267 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:53,600 And so often we can be so shaken by situations like that in our 268 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,080 lives and different forms and fashions that we can forget the 269 00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:00,920 promises of God. A little while back I was in an 270 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,160 airplane on a long haul flight and we hit a moment where there 271 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,360 was just incredible turbulence. Not your low level turbulence. 272 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:08,800 This was higher grade turbulence. 273 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,800 Things were shaking the, the, the, the luggage was shaking up 274 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:13,720 there on the, on the right hand side or the left hand side. 275 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:15,360 There. It was just people were finding 276 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:16,840 their Pentecostal roots at the back. 277 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:22,000 People were calling on the name of Jesus, rebuking the 278 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,880 turbulence. People were no longer ordering 279 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:26,600 vodkas. They're ordering holy water. 280 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,560 Please can I have holy waters. Neighbors were confessing to 281 00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:31,280 each other their sins. It was that intense. 282 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,160 They were they were they were starting to rewrite wills. 283 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:36,320 If we go down and I need you to know this thing and was just 284 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,520 quite traumatic. And and then in that moment, my 285 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:40,800 eyes lifted as everything was shaking around us and people 286 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,800 were freaking out. I saw this glorified figure 287 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,960 called the air Hostess. And as my friend Mark Sneven 288 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,240 likes to tell us, he says there's something of God's 289 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,320 anointing on air hostesses. Because those air hostesses, as 290 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:56,080 the turbulence was going and those trolleys were out in that 291 00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:57,760 moment, their smile never flickered. 292 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:03,880 They were going, their knees were going, and they'll stop and 293 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:10,040 go. Chicken or beef, Vegetarian 294 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,080 option. It was just remarkable. 295 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,120 Up on the top, it was all it was static underneath. 296 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:19,040 Beneath, everything was shaking. Everything was swaying, rattling 297 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,920 and rolling. But they were not perturbed. 298 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:24,920 I feel that walk was so good, I need to do it one more time. 299 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:28,640 Everything was shaking. Why? 300 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:30,600 Well, something was amazing. There's a revelation at the 301 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:32,200 moment, though everything was shaking. 302 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,760 They were not concerned because they've been there before, they 303 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:38,640 had done this many times before and they knew that actually no 304 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:40,920 matter what was shaking them externally, there was a pilot in 305 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,160 the front who says I'm going to lay in this plan, land this 306 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,480 plane no matter what. And it's AI think that needs to 307 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:48,800 become an air Hostess. Anointing needs to grip us as a 308 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:51,680 people again, that though if things start to shake us, we 309 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,760 actually really resolutely know that actually we know what God 310 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:58,760 has promised us. So I want to remind us that this 311 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:01,840 is a theological reality for us because we have a Father who 312 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:03,840 never breaks nor forgets His promises. 313 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:07,560 He's calls himself the promise keeper. 314 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:10,000 It's not just what he does, it's who he is. 315 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:14,040 It's a doctrinal word called the immutability of God. 316 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:17,600 The immutability of God, meaning he does not change. 317 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,800 Everything can be shaking, but he remains the same. 318 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:24,760 And maybe today I can tell you if I said this phrase, nothing 319 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,680 is impossible for God, all of you would go, Amen. 320 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:30,160 Let's try it one more time. Nothing is impossible for God. 321 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:33,560 But what if I follow up what I said except for one thing? 322 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,200 You'll be like, oh, heresy, get the phone out. 323 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:39,560 I knew it, redheads. He was doing so well. 324 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,280 Well, at least look at Scripture. 325 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:44,000 The scripture will be on the screen behind us. 326 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:46,680 In Two Timothy 2, verse 12, it says this. 327 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:53,640 When we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot 328 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,240 deny Himself. The one thing impossible for God 329 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:01,280 is that He cannot deny Himself. So when everything is shaking, 330 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,119 he cannot deny himself. He holds resolutely true to what 331 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:08,040 he has spoken. So Matthew takes us back to the 332 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,880 promise keeper, and I know disappointment is rife in the 333 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,480 air in 2026. Disappointment is rife. 334 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,720 But I want to remind us that the cure for disappointment is going 335 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:21,280 back to the promises of God. Hope deferred makes the heart 336 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:25,560 sick, but a long you fulfill the promise kept is a tree of life. 337 00:17:26,079 --> 00:17:28,000 We want to go back to the promises of God. 338 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,720 So maybe today you're here and you've been dropped. 339 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:34,080 You've been dropped in any way which will form you. 340 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,000 You don't know how to navigate your way forward. 341 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:37,880 Everything is shaking. It feels like you're in the 342 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,680 midst of turbulence, that you don't know how to navigate your 343 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:42,920 way forward. I tell you today, the Father 344 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,360 never will drop you, no matter the turbulence. 345 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,480 He's never failed and He won't stop now. 346 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:55,160 So take me back to his promises. Pick up the next pit stop. 347 00:17:55,160 --> 00:18:00,080 Our journey is the gospel writer Luke and I love thinking about 348 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,920 Luke going, watching the scene play outs and going, Mark, I 349 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,400 love your Isaiah. Oh, I love what you did with 350 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,520 Abraham. But boys, let me take a crack at 351 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,040 this. And Luke starts his gene energy 352 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,000 by going a little bit further and his iteration of the 353 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,120 genealogy, he works his way back, all the way back to Jesus 354 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,800 was the son of Adam. He takes them all the way past. 355 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,480 He bypasses all the lineages, all the way ghost doesn't stop 356 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:27,200 at Abraham. He goes all the way back into 357 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:29,760 the garden to the very beginning and says, actually, this story 358 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:32,440 is traced all the way back to the very beginning with Adam. 359 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:36,920 And this is beautiful reality because Adam for us represents 360 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,520 man's failure, yes, but also represents God's beautiful 361 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,920 original design and plan in a sense. 362 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,080 Lucas saying, before we can go forward, I need to take you back 363 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:53,080 to God's design. Adam was the Son of God. 364 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,200 He's not taking us back to our point of sin. 365 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,160 He takes us back to our God design purpose. 366 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,760 And many of you here, like me, probably often forget the plans 367 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,320 and the promises of God in our lives because we're just trying 368 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:11,200 to make it through the next week, the next payment, the next 369 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:16,280 court date, the next meal prep, the next doctor's visit was 370 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:18,240 Dolly Parton. Beautifully said, working 9:00 371 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:20,040 to 5:00. What a way to make a living. 372 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:23,040 I was a great prophetic writer, Rihanna said. 373 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,280 Work, work, work, work, work, work. 374 00:19:35,530 --> 00:19:39,970 You may have lost your identity, but I tell you today, three CI 375 00:19:40,690 --> 00:19:43,370 he hasn't forgotten who you are or whose you are. 376 00:19:47,690 --> 00:19:51,280 I was on another plane heading up from Cape Town to God's 377 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:55,280 country hunting and I was with my friend Wayne Bathurst, who is 378 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:56,560 one of the most special men I know. 379 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,360 And we got up in the plane. We were quite excited to travel 380 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:01,960 together. He was seated in 10 BI was in 10 381 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:05,240 C and I remember us arriving in the plane. 382 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:06,800 I sat down. I was so chuffed to be on the 383 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:08,040 plane. You know, we're going on a bit 384 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,840 of adventure. I put the, the headphones in, I 385 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:13,640 put the the luggage up. I started to peruse which I 386 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,200 which, which podcast I listened to for the two hour flight. 387 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:18,600 I opened up the menu and I started to work out. 388 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,320 What body part I'd need to sell to be able to afford the 389 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:25,080 Pringles and Coke combo? I had it all and I was just 390 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:25,920 ready. I was just relaxed. 391 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:28,640 This is going to be wonderful. And just at that moment, so I 392 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,400 was getting settled in, one of the last passengers walked in 393 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,440 and this guy walked in who was wearing the tightest vest you've 394 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,520 ever seen. He had muscles upon muscles. 395 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,600 There was no hair on his head. He had his bag over his 396 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:40,520 shoulder. He was looking angry from the 397 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:43,320 word go. It was a picture of John Cena 398 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:47,080 and Mike Tyson combined. It was not my brother. 399 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:50,480 No, it was not. But as he walked in, his eyes 400 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,560 were fixed on me. And all of a sudden, I felt 401 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,120 very, very small. It was like, you know, there's 402 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:58,560 the Mona Lisa picture that, you know, wherever you go, the eyes 403 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:00,440 follow you. Just I try, I try to look this 404 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:02,880 way. His eyes, just his eyes would 405 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:05,600 not leave me. And I knew, oh, he's coming to 406 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:06,920 me. And then and he got to me and he 407 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:08,800 slammed his bag down and said these words. 408 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:14,600 You're in my seat now. I am from Zimbabwe and 409 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,040 originally and Zimbabweans. We apologize for apologizing. 410 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:20,960 We just say I'm sorry for everything. 411 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:24,120 So I'm just sorry. So I I just agreed with him. 412 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:26,560 I said I'm so sorry, Sir. I'm doing the buckle of as quick 413 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:27,920 as I could. I'm I'm so sorry. 414 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,200 I was moving my bags. He was slamming his bag and 415 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:32,000 where my bag was. I was moving out the way. 416 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,280 He was already in my seat before I'd even got out of it. 417 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:36,760 Just I'm so sorry, Sir. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. 418 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:39,360 Please forgive me. But as this was all happening, 419 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:42,480 Wayne Bathurst on my left and 10 B was unfazed. 420 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,520 He was not rattled. He picked up the our tickets, 421 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,560 looked at them, looked at that guy's ticket and he said buddy 422 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:55,760 said Wayne Bathurst. Gabe Phillips, 10B10C said your 423 00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:06,400 seat is 23 C, says your gate is 10 C At that moment, you've 424 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:10,200 never seen a big man look so small as he was all teeth and 425 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:11,920 gums. I apologize. 426 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:13,520 And in that moment, I found my voice. 427 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:15,640 I said, yeah, that's right back of the plane, buddy. 428 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:22,760 I sat down. I said Pringles for everybody. 429 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:31,160 So me. But I want to say in this moment 430 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:34,920 today, what is trying to incite you from your confidence and 431 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,520 your calling? What has intimidated you out of 432 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,760 the seat that God has rightfully placed you in the seat of 433 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,320 authority in your family, the seat of authority in your 434 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:45,960 business. The purpose that God has called 435 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:48,600 you to in your workplace, in your your, your student 436 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:50,520 environment. He's called you with a purpose. 437 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,800 But actually we flowed or drifted away from that. 438 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:55,920 So we allow the enemy to cram and push his way into our seats 439 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,440 and being intimidated of our seats that actually we've given 440 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,240 over this authority. But I want to remind you today, 441 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:05,040 as Luke does, he takes us back and says, this Adam, son of God, 442 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:09,000 son of God, he does not address you as Sinner. 443 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:11,160 He does not address you as failure. 444 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:13,360 He does not address you as disappointment. 445 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,440 He does not address address you as an addict, as drunkard or as 446 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:18,520 vile. He calls you son beautiful. 447 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:25,080 Take me back to his purposes. If Denzel can come help me on 448 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,160 the keys to finish up. Otherwise I will preach till 449 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:33,320 midday. Mark takes us back to the 450 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:37,320 prophecies, back to Isaiah. Matthew takes us back to the 451 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:41,800 promises Abraham, Luke takes us back to the purposes Adam. 452 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,400 But all the while I see John just watching this. 453 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,840 And John goes, I love what you did there guys. 454 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:52,160 But John says, I think we've got to go a little way further back. 455 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:56,280 He says come with me. And John says, let me start my 456 00:23:56,280 --> 00:24:00,600 Gospel this way. In the beginning was the word 457 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,200 and the word was God. The word was with God. 458 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:08,160 In the beginning was the word. This is the beauty of what John 459 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,560 is doing in this narrative. He is reminding us he's saying 460 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,280 before what the enemy spoke over your life, before the broken 461 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,800 promises, before the sin that you gave yourself over to almost 462 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:20,320 buried you and left you for dead. 463 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:26,680 He was he was He doesn't want to take you back to a better 464 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,640 version of yourself. Gabe 2 point O give it another 465 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:32,800 go. No, because he knows you'll 466 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,800 you'll just fail again. You'll disappoint yourself all 467 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,680 over again. He is going to take us back to 468 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,720 him. The prophecies, the promises, 469 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,760 the purposes are all beautiful, but if we don't get this, we 470 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,680 have nothing. He wants to take us back to the 471 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,840 person of God himself, Christ Jesus. 472 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:56,600 Not the fictionalized, romanticized, glamorized 473 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,640 Christian story, but the all conquering, demon destroying 474 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:03,760 sin, sin destroying hell, emptying worlds, shaking, life 475 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,320 changing glory. That is Jesus. 476 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,680 It has always been about Jesus. It'll always be about Jesus. 477 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:11,920 But too often we drift from this narrative. 478 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:15,800 But today I've come all the way to take you back to him, Him, 479 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,560 Him. It's Jesus plus nothing, minus 480 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:19,320 nothing. It's Him. 481 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:23,160 Matthew tells us that Jesus is the Messiah. 482 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,160 Mark tells us that Jesus is the miracle worker. 483 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:28,840 Luke tells us that he is the Son of Man. 484 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,760 John says he is the Son of God. The writer 2 Acts tells us that 485 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:34,640 he's the giver of the Holy Ghost and fire. 486 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:38,360 In Romans he says Jesus is the justifier in one. 487 00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:40,400 In Two Corinthians he tells us he's the only one who can 488 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,840 sanctify us and make us holy. In Galatians he tells us he's 489 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,200 the only one who can break the curse of the law of us 490 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,440 completely. In Ephesians, He's our man and 491 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:50,840 glory and the measurable riches in himself. 492 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,560 In Philippians, he's our joy and he's the peace that passes all 493 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:57,280 understanding. In Colossians, he's the image of 494 00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:01,200 the invisible God. This is the Jesus that we need 495 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:03,280 to know in one. In the two Thessalonians, he's 496 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:05,320 the soon and returning king in one. 497 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:08,440 In two Timothy, he's the only mediator between God and man. 498 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:11,520 In Titus, he's our faithful Pastor Philemon. 499 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:13,680 He's the friend that sits closer than the brother. 500 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:16,640 When you feel you've got nowhere to go, everything is shaken, he 501 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:17,960 says he's the one that'll never leave you. 502 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:21,480 In the book of Hebrews, he is our high priest and he's the 503 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:23,520 sacrifice, the blood that speaks a better word. 504 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,840 In James, he's the great physician of our souls, that 505 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:28,760 there's no sickness that he cannot overcome. 506 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:31,920 In one and two, Peter, he's the chief shepherd of our souls. 507 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,920 In one 2-3 John, he is love. And Jude, he's the defender of 508 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:37,800 the truth. And in Revelation, he's the king 509 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:39,720 of kings and he's the Lord of Lords. 510 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:50,640 Take me back to this Jesus. I remember the moment in the 511 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:56,440 middle of load shedding when those lights went off and the 512 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:59,480 street lights went off. The whirring fan went off, the 513 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:02,480 the noise went off. At a home our little kids who 514 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,920 for a long time had started to develop this idea that they had 515 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:07,920 worked out that Dad was not my only name. 516 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,040 And they found it humorous that that actually my daughter could 517 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:13,640 not believe that my name was Gabs. 518 00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:17,000 She had shouted just in the same tone her mom was shouted when I 519 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,840 was late for something. Gabs. 520 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:21,400 And she thought it was very cute and very funny. 521 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:24,680 My little boy worked out. But my name is Gabriel Stephen 522 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:26,960 Phillips. So he called me Gabriel Elephant 523 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:31,600 Phillips. Just his vocab wasn't as good as 524 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,040 it is now. But it's all all funny and 525 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,360 humorous until that night when the load shielding would happen 526 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:39,960 in the midst of that darkness, in the midst of that moment 527 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,520 where where everything went quiet, where everything else 528 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:44,320 went dark. And they were very exposed. 529 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,000 In the midst of that moment. My kids were not shouting out 530 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:49,520 Gabs. They were not shouting out 531 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:52,160 Gabriel Elephant Phillips. There was one name. 532 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:54,160 They'll cry out and they'll say Dad. 533 00:27:54,160 --> 00:28:00,320 And let me tell you, me as a weak, fragile, not perfect dad. 534 00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:03,440 But I'd get out of that bed every single time and come 535 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:06,760 running, maybe stepping on a few loose Lego pieces on the way 536 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,800 through. But I'd come every time they'd 537 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:11,720 call Dad in the midst of darkness, out come running. 538 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,160 I want to say to you so ma'am, that there's a father. 539 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,560 No, no matter how dark it gets, that when we call on his name, 540 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,920 he comes running. Every time He has given us a 541 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,720 name that's above every other name that we can call and we can 542 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,480 cling to and run to the righteous, run into the strong 543 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,400 tower and they are safe that we can run to that name. 544 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,960 Take me back. I land by telling maybe one more 545 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,160 narrative. A couple in our church called 546 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:41,720 Lionel and Kath Magor, who we met because they did our pre 547 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:44,480 marriage counseling. But when we did our pre marriage 548 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,360 counseling, we we realized in that moment that there was there 549 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:49,920 was just something odd about it. And I would say so to my wife as 550 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:52,280 we left, but we just couldn't put our finger on it because 551 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:54,600 they were highly esteemed leaders in the church. 552 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:59,640 They were amazing people. But what we realized was that 553 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,240 months later, it came out that all the way through this that 554 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,440 Kev had been involved in a extramarital relationship on the 555 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:10,200 side that nobody knew of. And she'd been in a relationship 556 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,920 with another woman, a lesbian affair that had been going on 557 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,800 for a long time and got exposed. And that exposure wrecked such 558 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:20,320 havoc on the family. It was like an atomic bomb going 559 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,440 off in the family, destroying the family, destroying the 560 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:25,920 confidence of a church because we looked at him as leaders and 561 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,400 try to reconcile. How do we navigate this story? 562 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,520 And she hardened her heart and she went into that relationship 563 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:36,240 headlong and she gave herself fully to this other story, this 564 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:40,600 other narrative. But as she went on this journey, 565 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:43,440 her sin promised much but delivered little as over the 566 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:45,880 years the business started failed, the relationship failed, 567 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,440 her heart felt exposed and her health failed. 568 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,840 And she came to the very depths of herself and her narrative got 569 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:54,720 to a point where she ended up coming to the Bloberg 570 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,360 beachfront. She parked her car there. 571 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:00,160 And one night, she stared at the ocean, contemplating getting 572 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:02,800 out, walking to the water and ending it all. 573 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:08,000 But as she got out the car that fateful night, a man walked past 574 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,520 you she had never seen before and who she's never seen since, 575 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:12,800 looked in her eyes and said, what are you doing here? 576 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,800 Go home. In that moment, she just felt 577 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:17,720 there was the voice of the father speaking to her through 578 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:19,840 this man. So she treamingly got back in 579 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,520 the car and drove to her mom's house who she had not engaged 580 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,280 with in any meaningful way for over 5-6 years. 581 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:27,960 And as she arrived there, she knocked on the door that night 582 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,080 and her mother greeted her and she said, mom, I need to come 583 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:31,840 home. Her mother greeted her, who 584 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:34,240 she'd been praying for for for all that time and wept with her 585 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,560 and brought her in, gave her a bed on the couch. 586 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,880 And what started was this stumbling restoration journey. 587 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:43,040 She started to meet with Fee and I and we started to walk through 588 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:45,600 this journey with her. And she was just so grateful 589 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,160 what God was doing. She got baptized a few months 590 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:50,600 later, she got baptized by her teenage son. 591 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:53,840 In one one of the most remarkable moments, she actually 592 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:57,200 invited her ex-husband who had she had got divorced from to the 593 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:00,160 baptism to witness this moment. And she shared a story. 594 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,200 And even in that moment between amidst tears, she apologized to 595 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,120 him, but he was so broken, he couldn't even lift his eyes up. 596 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:08,360 He just nodded. He couldn't even look at her. 597 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:11,720 And it was a beautiful story that God was doing. 598 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,320 And we sat there with her and, and after a while she said, 599 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:17,560 listen, if this is all that God ever restores me, I don't need 600 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:19,080 the business. I don't need success. 601 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,240 If it's just Jesus, if it's just him, it's, it's more than 602 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:24,960 enough. But then she said, but I have 603 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:29,440 this itch in my heart. Do you think Lionel, my husband 604 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:33,720 might take me back? And then I said, externally, I 605 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:36,000 said, hey, anything's possible with God. 606 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:44,920 But internally, if I'm honest, I said hell to the no because we 607 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:48,680 had walked the journey with him and we had seen the devastation 608 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:51,800 that her actions had caused, the absolute ravaging of his own 609 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:53,800 identity and who he was as a man. 610 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:56,400 And, and I was like, there's no ways that that bridge is going 611 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:59,120 to go, come back, but we can trust God. 612 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:03,560 A little while later, she sent us a text like a giggling 613 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,960 teenager. Mother of three sends us this 614 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,680 text saying, Lionel sent me a message this morning saying, 615 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,000 would we go for a walk together on the beach? 616 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:16,720 What should I do? So I expertly replied, go for 617 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:21,240 the walk on the beach. You're welcome posturing 618 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:25,840 one-on-one. But then what happened was over 619 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:29,840 the next few weeks, months, this couple started to fall in love 620 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:35,440 again after a decade of divorce, a decade of divorce, a decade of 621 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:39,920 trauma, of sin, of brokenness. They started to find each other 622 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:42,240 again as two teenagers. And we started walking this 623 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:43,600 journey. And I remember the moment came 624 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:45,680 when they started, said we want to get remarried. 625 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:48,240 And we met with them at a restaurant called Bootleggers on 626 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:50,560 the Beachfront. And then I started to speak and 627 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,120 she said, I don't want to make a big deal of this because we've 628 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:55,480 done it once before. So can we just do a small 629 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:56,840 ceremony? I'll just wear jeans and AT 630 00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,040 shirt, we'll just do it before you and God. 631 00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:01,920 And her husband stood up. A man who had been so decimated 632 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,360 by the sin stood up. And I remember it as if it's 633 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:09,160 yesterday, hit the table. And he said, no, we'll have a 634 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:12,360 massive celebration. And with tears he said, and you 635 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:14,840 will wear white and he says, what will happen? 636 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:17,520 You'll come from the back, but there's no one here to walk you 637 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:19,160 down the aisle. So you'll wait for me. 638 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,120 I'll stand at the front, but then I'll walk to the back and 639 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:23,800 I'll fetch you at the back and we'll walk in together because 640 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:32,450 that's what Jesus did for you. I'd never heard the gospel 641 00:33:32,450 --> 00:33:36,210 preached more better in my life. So I just started to SOB into my 642 00:33:36,210 --> 00:33:39,130 coffee. And when I sob it's an ugly cry. 643 00:33:39,570 --> 00:33:42,010 So I was pastorally no help for the rest of the meeting. 644 00:33:42,210 --> 00:33:44,810 My wife took over beautifully and said just excuse him. 645 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:51,440 But what was worse or best depending on the way you look at 646 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:53,840 it was the actual wedding. When this took place. 647 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:57,880 The church was full and she walks in the back and everyone 648 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,400 in the as she arrived and he walked the back everyone started 649 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:01,680 to sob. I started to sob. 650 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,880 It was the worst wedding I've ever done because I could not 651 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:06,880 get a word out. But it was the best wedding I've 652 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:09,840 ever done because I've never seen a clearer depiction of what 653 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:13,600 Jesus can do. That which was dead came alive. 654 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:18,639 This is what God can do. So I want to tell you today, 655 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:23,080 take me back to the one who always takes me back. 656 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:26,520 Take me back to the one who always takes me back. 657 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:39,730 Can we stand to our feet? I'm very aware in this room, 658 00:34:42,250 --> 00:34:45,489 behind the Sunday best dress, behind the smiles. 659 00:34:45,489 --> 00:34:48,130 And how are you, brother? How's your week been? 660 00:34:49,130 --> 00:34:55,480 There's a lot of pain. Maybe you've run far, far, far. 661 00:34:56,639 --> 00:34:59,080 Maybe nobody even knows it and your heart is given over to your 662 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:00,840 fear, your disappointment, your sin. 663 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:04,560 From the Father's heart to yours today. 664 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:09,080 Jesus always takes you back. He always takes you back. 665 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:12,840 Maybe 2025 ruined you and you're still living in the shadow of 666 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:14,440 that. Maybe your marriage, your 667 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:17,480 habits, your lies, your devastation, your sin, it's just 668 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:20,000 so broken. And today you say, I wish I 669 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,800 could have a redo. I can't give you a redo, but I 670 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:27,720 can invite you to repent. Repent means turning back, 671 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,520 turning back to the one who's always been there for you. 672 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,040 Today is your day. So ma'am, to come home. 673 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,280 But before we pray, our Love Is All to close our eyes. 674 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:38,360 And if you're comfortable, can you lift your hands as high as 675 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:41,480 you can? When we lift our hands, it's a 676 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:45,280 biblical response, but we're reminding ourselves as we lift 677 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:49,040 our hands of our fragility. We can only reach so far. 678 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:53,800 We can only surrender so much. But as we lift our hands, I am 679 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:56,640 very aware that there is a divine, mighty outstretched arm 680 00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,640 from heaven that wants to meet you at your point of need today. 681 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,600 Meet you at your point of lack, Meet you at your point of faith, 682 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:06,480 however fickle it may be. Can you pray this over your 683 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:07,440 life? Can you say take me back? 684 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:11,520 Take me back to the One who always takes me back? 685 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:17,800 Can we shout that one more time? Say, take me back to the One who 686 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:22,000 always takes me back. Father, right now in this room, 687 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:25,720 I thank you that you are taking us back to what you have spoken, 688 00:36:27,040 --> 00:36:30,040 maybe what the enemy has shoved us out of the seat of, and we 689 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:32,360 have given up our purpose. We've given up on what God has 690 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:33,280 called us to. I thank you. 691 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:36,680 There's a reminder today of a of a Father who has not given up on 692 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:40,560 us, that even though when we are faithless, you remain faithful, 693 00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:43,680 for you cannot deny yourself. I thank you, Father God. 694 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,920 You're the God that's been pursuing us, been hunting us 695 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:49,960 down, been seeking after us. And I thank you that you are 696 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:54,720 here today to welcome us back, back to the purposes of God. 697 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:57,600 It's not snakes and ladders. It's not all the way back to the 698 00:36:57,600 --> 00:36:59,240 beginning. No, it's back to where did we 699 00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:01,200 leave off? Let's pick up and start walking 700 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,120 again. Thank you Father, you're doing a 701 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:07,240 deep work, but right now in this room, I really feel there's 702 00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:10,240 moments of decision, people who need to make a decision. 703 00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:13,280 This is the day for me to return to the fullness of God return. 704 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:16,720 I've been living far. Maybe you've never done this 705 00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:18,120 before. You've never given your life to 706 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:20,000 Christ. You've lived in sin, you've 707 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:23,880 lived in rebellion, you've lived in brokenness, you've lived in 708 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:25,480 an apathy. And you said I need, I need to 709 00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:27,480 get back to God. But it's felt like 1,000,000 710 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:29,880 miles today. There's a God who's come close 711 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:31,560 to you and saying come back, come back, come back. 712 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:35,760 Or maybe you've done this 100 times and you feel so guilty 713 00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:39,040 because you said I've just, I've broken that promise so often. 714 00:37:39,240 --> 00:37:41,960 I've prayed this sort of prayer so often, but I feel even 715 00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:45,600 further away because of that. I don't care whether it's your 716 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,160 first time or hundredth time. I'm not counting and neither is 717 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,120 heaven because heaven's no longer counting. 718 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:51,160 Man sins against them.