1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:04,480 Hey, welcome to the City Point Church podcast. 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,280 Thanks for joining us. Every day is an opportunity to 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,280 take hold of. So we hope this message inspires 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,560 you and build your faith, but it helps you have more of a God 5 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:15,880 perspective for your day. Enjoy. 6 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:19,600 That's what I want to talk to you about this morning. 7 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:21,920 I really do want to talk particularly, but some of you 8 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,000 will interpret my message as a message for parents, right? 9 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:28,680 This whole church, I'm going to argue this morning, has a 10 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:33,920 parenting, mentoring, fathering, mothering spirit upon it because 11 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,360 wherever the Spirit of God is, that's what I want to teach you 12 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:37,680 this morning. I'm going to take you back to 13 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:39,040 Pentecost. I know it's not Pentecost 14 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,480 Sunday, but we are Pentecostals, right? 15 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,000 So we want to go back to Pentecost and ask again, is it 16 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,840 really just about the pouring out of the gift of tongues on 17 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:49,720 Pentecost, or is there more to it than that? 18 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:51,360 And I want to show you this morning, there's more to it. 19 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,000 Wherever the Holy Spirit is at work, wherever the power of God 20 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,920 is at work, that Spirit is a mentoring, fathering, mothering, 21 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,600 parenting spirit. And that is on your church. 22 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:04,920 That is on your church community. 23 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,240 There would not be so much love and joy in this place if the 24 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,360 Holy Spirit were not present. So don't misinterpret my words. 25 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,720 I'm also going to talk particularly to the men of the 26 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:14,640 church. Right, men? 27 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:16,720 Yeah. We're going to treat. 28 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:18,600 Sorry, ladies, I just want you to block your ears at some 29 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:20,680 point. This is like a men's weekend 30 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:23,720 retreat. This is raw meat, red meat. 31 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:28,720 We're we're doing it. And you know, I look, there's a 32 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,760 wonderful parenting story. I heard a little little kid 33 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:34,640 probably like, I don't know, like Damon or someone goes home 34 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:39,400 to mum and says, mum, how did we get to be here? 35 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,600 Us human beings? And she says, oh, darling, the 36 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:46,120 answer's obvious. God created all of us. 37 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,040 He created every little child, every person. 38 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,040 God's our creator. Little guy wasn't satisfied with 39 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:53,600 the answer. He goes off to dead. 40 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,840 He says dead, how did we all get to be here? 41 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:00,720 And he said, son, you know, we're all descended from monkeys 42 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,040 and apes and that's how we got to be here. 43 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,000 The boy was even more and more confused. 44 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:09,120 He went back to his mum indignantly. 45 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,760 He says, mum, you lied to me. I asked where we came from and 46 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,760 you said God created us all, even little children, and put us 47 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:17,880 here. She said, well, we got that. 48 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:19,640 That's the right answer. What's wrong? 49 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:21,280 She said. I asked that, a little boy said. 50 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,760 I asked Dad and dad said we came from monkeys and apes. 51 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:26,360 She said darling, I have to explain. 52 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:31,120 I was describing my family, he was describing his SO. 53 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,800 So guys, I need you to listen in this morning. 54 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,560 We handed over a church in February of this year after 55 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,480 about a 12 month handover. It was such a precious 56 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:49,760 experience and you'll be pleased to know I'm still welcome back 57 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:51,760 in that church in Auckland, New Zealand. 58 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,640 I go back every couple of couple of months and preach there. 59 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:55,920 I'm still on the board of the church. 60 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:59,240 But I remember when the Holy Spirit spoke to us and said it's 61 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,080 time for you guys to we've done it. 62 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,840 We planted the church, we've done it for, LED it for 15 years 63 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,040 and it was time to hand that church on. 64 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,840 And I didn't know what we would next do, but I knew that every 65 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:13,400 time in my life from when I was 16 and I not only was saved, but 66 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,840 I felt called just like that young man down there. 67 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:20,000 And, and I've just had to learn what it is to grow up and live 68 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,360 my life in Christ And the only way that I've been able to do 69 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:23,960 it. And I was in the world for 16 70 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:25,960 years, right? But I've been in the in Christ 71 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,600 for 44 years. I just had my 60th birthday last 72 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,040 week. I'm so grateful because I know 73 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,440 that the young man who was 16 wouldn't be here today at 60 had 74 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,280 it not been for Christ, probably wouldn't even be on the planet. 75 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:41,920 I don't suspect. And I'm so grateful to Jesus, 76 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,320 but I'm so grateful because you see, when you get Jesus, you 77 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:48,680 know, that's just life transforming as as Damon 78 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:51,600 expressed it this morning. But you also get something 79 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:56,080 incredible when you get Jesus, you also get the church, you get 80 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,080 instant family and it is so precious. 81 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:05,560 And you will find mentors, fathers, mothers, parents in 82 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,440 this place called church. And if you're not sure what to 83 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,400 do about life, and I know life's complex, right? 84 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:12,640 I mean, people who are growing up these days, particularly 85 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:15,400 young kids in a digital world. I mean, we don't know what it's 86 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:16,320 like. I'm a dinosaur. 87 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:18,600 If I want to fix a computer problem at my house, I have to 88 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,360 ask one of my kids or we have to ring a technician. 89 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,240 I'm not going to be able to do it right. 90 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,280 And like my children will actually say to me or Dad, 91 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:27,920 you're So what do they call me a boomer? 92 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,080 Dad, you're such a boomer. They have no idea. 93 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:33,440 I'm actually Gen. X get you get your facts 94 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,760 straight. But but we have no idea as as 95 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,760 people what what growing up digital looks like. 96 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,280 I didn't grow up digital. Obviously you can look at me and 97 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:46,160 know that's true. But young kids are growing up 98 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,760 and all they know I see, I see kids in restaurants with their 99 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,800 parents will be on their devices, their phones, and then 100 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:54,280 the kid will be on an iPad. At two or three years of age, 101 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:56,000 nobody's talking to each other anymore. 102 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,920 And I recently gave AI just developed a talk around sex and 103 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,200 relationships. And of course, you go into 104 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:05,680 churches full of young people. I just did one down in Sydney 105 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:08,640 full of people from the islands, Pacific Islands. 106 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:11,680 And I got up and said, yeah, I'm about, I'm 60 years of age in 107 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:13,760 about two weeks time. And I'm just going to give you a 108 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:15,440 talk about sex and relationships. 109 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:17,720 Of course the kids were laughing. 110 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:19,880 Like, what do you know about sex? 111 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,680 You're 60, who's going to have sex with you? 112 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,200 And but I was pointing out to them and I realized that I 113 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,880 slowly got them on board when I started to say, you know, you're 114 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:33,920 struggling to build relationships, aren't you young 115 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,600 men? You know, we, we live in a 116 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:41,240 connected, wired world, but our young people are as lonely as 117 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,040 they've ever been. We have an epidemic of 118 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,080 loneliness. And yet look at us this morning, 119 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,200 joyful, bound by relationships in the spirit. 120 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,840 You know, God gives you instant family and it's incredibly 121 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:54,840 beautiful. And I said to these young 122 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:57,960 people, you know, you guys don't know how to and this is how you 123 00:05:57,960 --> 00:05:59,800 get them. You insult them, you say you 124 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:03,040 don't, you don't know how to build relationships. 125 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:04,960 And all the boys were sitting over here and all the girls were 126 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:06,920 on this side over here. And I said, you young guys, you 127 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,840 think you can just walk across the church and you don't even 128 00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:12,360 know how to talk to those young sisters in Christ over there, do 129 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:13,440 you? You have no clue. 130 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,560 So I'm speaking to you young people here right now. 131 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:20,400 Do not be that guy who walks across the church, puffs out his 132 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:25,240 chest and says, what? You must have come freshly baked 133 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,400 from the oven because you are smoking hot. 134 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:33,240 Do not be that guy, OK? You're overconfident. 135 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:36,640 You lack punch and delivery. What do you, what do you have to 136 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:44,120 say to a young sister in Christ? You say text her, don't Facebook 137 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,120 her. Actually, you know what? 138 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:48,680 Call her. Call her. 139 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,720 Maybe talk to her father first before you do, but call her and 140 00:06:52,720 --> 00:07:02,680 say would you like to go for a walk on on a moonlit night at 141 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,120 the nearest water source where the moon will be glimmering? 142 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,000 Although I want to see some poetry from young Christian men, 143 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,400 right? I don't want you to be the guy 144 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:15,720 who walks over and goes, you look like my mum, shall we go on 145 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:17,480 a date? Don't be that guy either. 146 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:21,880 You're not under. That's creepy and that's like 147 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:23,320 stalking. Don't do that. 148 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,200 Don't be that guy. But anyway, I really won them 149 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:28,760 over with the insults. You can imagine. 150 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,000 It was fantastic. But I, I want to just 151 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,520 communicate to you in the, in the moments we've gone that 152 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:40,000 we're sitting on an incredible challenge as parents today, as 153 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,560 as church pastors, church leaders, youth pastors, 154 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,040 teachers, our politicians as well. 155 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:47,560 You know, they're making laws all over the show banning kids 156 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:49,120 from doing all sorts of things online. 157 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,320 But, you know, I don't think saying no ever really works. 158 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,040 What I learned as a Christian, and my kids are now echoing it 159 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,160 back to me, which is great. But what I learned as a 160 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:03,280 Christian was that, you know, saying no when two kids are in 161 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:06,400 the backseat of the car, you know, is never going to get you 162 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,640 that far. It's your yes that gets you 163 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,960 somewhere. If you don't have a massive yes 164 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,760 for God, you won't overcome the temptations of the world. 165 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,440 You got to say yes to God. You got to put him first in your 166 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,360 life. And if you do that and you 167 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:26,480 submit your life to the wisdom that's being communicated to you 168 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:28,960 week by week by week from this church and from your 169 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,320 relationships with others around you and the commitments that you 170 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:33,760 make to other people, you will know we'll never be strong 171 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:36,880 enough. You need a big yes in Christ. 172 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:42,640 So I want to talk to you this morning, take you back to 173 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,960 Pentecost real quick. And I just want to say to you 174 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,640 that a prophetic spirit excels at mentoring. 175 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:53,600 It excels at Fathering. You know, this is just something 176 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:55,800 the Holy Spirit does because he has Pentecostals. 177 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,760 We attempt to think Pentecostal just about speaking in tongues. 178 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:00,400 And it's good. It is. 179 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:03,080 It's really important. But there's more going on. 180 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,080 And I want to prove to that to you, if you come with me to Acts 181 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,640 chapter 2, just real quick, I won't read it all, but you know, 182 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,440 the event, the Spirit of fire falls from heaven, The gift of 183 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,120 tongues drops onto people. People start speaking in tongues 184 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,320 and everybody around says, oh, these guys are drunk. 185 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:20,880 They're they're out of their trees. 186 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,800 They've got no control. Peter gets up and he says in 187 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:29,200 verse 15, these people aren't drunk as you suppose it's only 188 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:33,240 9:00 in the morning. They're not drunk, no. 189 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:36,280 And I want you to read these words and let them sit with you. 190 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:43,520 This is that. Everybody say this is that, this 191 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,560 is that. Now we all know what the this is 192 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:49,880 that this is the outpouring of the spirit and the gift of 193 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:52,240 tongues falling and fire on people. 194 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:57,040 What's the that he points us to the that he says it's Joel 195 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:00,360 chapter 2. Joel chapter 2 is not about the 196 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:01,960 gift of tongues. It's about what the gift of 197 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,880 prophecy in the last days. God says I will pour out my 198 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:10,120 spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters 199 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,040 will prophecy. I want to say to you this 200 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,720 morning, City Point N God has given you your community. 201 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,520 He's given you the youth of this community and they will prophecy 202 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:22,120 if their parents did not, they will. 203 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:29,640 So you have been called and with that call will come a mentoring 204 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:33,520 spirit for all of you. I don't want to hear that. 205 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:35,840 You say, oh, I don't have any children. 206 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,000 I don't need to do any fathering or mothering. 207 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,320 There are children out there without parents. 208 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:45,120 There are children out there whose parents are not yet in 209 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:49,480 Christ. You can be a father like God is 210 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:51,520 to who? The fatherless. 211 00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:54,560 Let that mentoring spirit sink in. 212 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:56,600 Your sons and your daughters will prophecy. 213 00:10:56,800 --> 00:11:01,240 Your young men will see visions. Wow. 214 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:05,800 The Spirit of Prophecy is what falls at Pentecost. 215 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:10,240 It manifests itself with tongues and revelation that comes with 216 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:12,200 tongues, but it's a prophetic spirit. 217 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,520 It says to me that we as Pentecostals, we need to go back 218 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:18,600 to the Old Testament and ask what is the prophetic gift? 219 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,600 I mean, if at Pentecost that that prophetic power, that 220 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:27,400 prophetic spirit is poured out on the whole church, right? 221 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:30,880 It's given to all of us. What does it do? 222 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,280 How does it work? And I want to take you quickly 223 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,200 back to the Old Testament to answer that question. 224 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,320 I want to take you to the obvious candidate, probably 225 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,760 apart from Moses, the most important prophet in the Old 226 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:44,040 Testament. Who is that? 227 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,200 Elijah? It's Elijah. 228 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:52,480 Elijah sets the scene for prophecy in the Old Testament. 229 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,080 We want to go back to the school of the prophets. 230 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:58,800 Let me take you there. 50 men from The Apprentice or the 231 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:01,800 school of the prophets. When it stood at a distance 232 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,800 facing the place where Elijah and Elijah had stopped at the 233 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:09,640 Jordan, Elijah took his cloak. He rolled it up and he struck 234 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:11,920 the water with it. The water divided to the right 235 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,240 and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 236 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:18,560 This is the handover narrative between Elijah and Elijah, 237 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:22,040 right? Elijah has mentored a young man 238 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:26,720 called Elijah, and he's mentored him so well that this incredible 239 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:31,240 prophet of God, Elijah, ends up handing on not just the same 240 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:35,080 spirit that he had, but what a double portion of his spirit. 241 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:39,120 That's how well he did at passing on the baton. 242 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,480 But I want to show you, this is in the whole Old Testament. 243 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:46,640 This is what prophecy is about. Elijah's the master prophet, 244 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:47,800 right? But who was? 245 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:50,800 And look, Elijah is incredibly important, right? 246 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:54,160 He arrives on the scene in in the book that we call First 247 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:58,520 Kings and he disappears. He gets taken up to heaven and 248 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:01,760 sort of a charity experience. And the whole rest of the Old 249 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,280 Testament is waiting for Elijah to come back. 250 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:06,880 They recognize how special this guy is. 251 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,240 Everyone is waiting for Elijah to return. 252 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:13,480 Would you come with me to Malachi chapter 4, verse 5? 253 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:16,400 Why is this significant? This is the last chapter in the 254 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:19,440 Old Testament. It's not talking about Moses. 255 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,000 It's not talking about Joshua. It's not talking about King 256 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:24,440 David. What does it say? 257 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:34,480 See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the great 258 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,120 and dead dreadful day of the Lord comes. 259 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,760 He's the bookend of the whole Old Testament. 260 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,920 Something important is going on and it connects up with Acts 2, 261 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,240 right? This prophetic spirit that 262 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:52,200 Elijah manifested is now on us. But I want to ask what the 263 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,920 significance of that for us is. What Elijah does with his cloak 264 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:01,800 in that hand over narrative is exactly what Moses did with his 265 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,400 rod at the Red Sea. What they did right, the people 266 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:07,560 of Israel passed over on dry land. 267 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,520 What it tells me is that the spirit of prophecy that was on 268 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:16,800 Moses got handed to Elijah. And then Elijah knew that as he 269 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:20,480 came toward the end, he would need to pass that mantle on. 270 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:26,920 And what he did was he found a young man working on a farm, and 271 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:28,680 he goes and puts his cloak around him. 272 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:32,320 That's Elijah. And he says, I'm going to mentor 273 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,680 you. I'm going to father you. 274 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,520 I'm going to share my spirit with you such that you will do 275 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:41,680 greater and better things than me. 276 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:44,200 You'll have a double portion of my spirit. 277 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:50,000 This is incredible. Elijah possesses the mantle of 278 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,440 Moses, but he doesn't keep it to himself. 279 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:56,040 He hands it on. He passes on to the mentoring 280 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:57,600 spirit. By the way, what we know what 281 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,600 Moses mission was, wasn't it? Hear, O Israel, the Lord our 282 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,240 God, the Lord is 1 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, 283 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:05,280 with all your soul. You guys are doing all of this, 284 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:08,360 but listen to the next bit. These commandments that I give 285 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:10,400 you today are to be on your hearts. 286 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:12,600 Impress them. Where? 287 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:19,120 On your children. Don't just write them on the 288 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,080 wall. Don't just leave them in a book. 289 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:24,920 Where do you put them? Into your children? 290 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:29,920 Pass it on, it tells me, he says. 291 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:32,080 Talk about them when you sit at home, when you walk along the 292 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:34,000 road, when you lie down, when you get up. 293 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,560 Tie them as symbols on your hands, he says. 294 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,640 Bind them to your foreheads. Write them on door frames, in 295 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,360 your houses and on your gates. You know Moses was a youth 296 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:47,120 pastor, wasn't he? He's thinking to himself, I 297 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,040 don't want this thing passing through the Red Sea to be a one 298 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,800 generation experiment. The church has existed for 2000 299 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:56,880 years on earth since Jesus left us precisely because we've 300 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,440 passed it on. If people didn't pass it on, I 301 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:02,560 wouldn't be here this morning. We have to pass it on. 302 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:07,320 And so the spirit is not just tongues, prophecy, miraculous 303 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,120 gifts of healing. All of that's beautiful and 304 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:10,760 wonderful and the church should rejoice in it. 305 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:15,400 But it is a mentoring spirit. It's passes on from generations. 306 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,280 If you're not, your vision is not intergenerational, you've 307 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,800 missed it. You've got to pass it on. 308 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,760 So Elijah's mission is just Moses mission again. 309 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:30,520 Now listen, what what Malachi says right at the end of of the 310 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:34,400 Old Testament, I'll send you the prophet Elijah to you before the 311 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,800 great and dreadful day of the Lord. 312 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:41,000 And what will he do? You read it out loud. 313 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,280 What will he do? He will turn the hearts of the 314 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:50,480 parents or the fathers to their children and the hearts of the 315 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:53,960 children to their parents. You see, the Old Testament's a 316 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,480 very wise book. I know people think it's junk. 317 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,360 It's not. It possesses the wisdom of God, 318 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:06,480 and what we learned from it is that Elijah, in possessing the 319 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:10,800 Spirit, knows that his role is intergenerational. 320 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:13,480 And the whole Old Testament bears witness to that. 321 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:16,720 It's intergenerational. So if you want to enter the 322 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:21,319 school of the prophets, you have to get this mission on your 323 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:23,839 heart. I don't want to hear when I 324 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,160 leave this morning. Look, I don't have any kids. 325 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:34,520 Do not say that word. If this spirit is a mentoring 326 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:38,280 spirit, a fathering spirit, a mothering spirit, a parenting 327 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:41,880 spirit, then you, I'm saying to you, I don't care how old you 328 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,800 are, If you are walking in Christ, then you can find 329 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,560 someone else who can walk behind you and follow you. 330 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:52,000 You can pass it on. Do not ever say I'm not a 331 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,440 father. If you've not had children, so 332 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,280 be it. Don't know what causes them 333 00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:59,640 these days. By the way, come to my talk on 334 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:04,360 sex and we'll work it out. But I want you to gather people 335 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:07,080 that are not your biological children and make them your 336 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:12,400 biological children, right? Just like Elijah did for Elijah. 337 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:15,480 Now I want to give you some more revelation about Elijah because 338 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,880 it's important. And dads, I want to say this to 339 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:20,920 you. I, I, I want you at the seminar 340 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:24,200 on the 18th because we're going to talk to you about the 341 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:27,160 significance of how you hand your faith on to your kids. 342 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:29,440 Right. Don't miss that. 343 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,440 Don't, don't go. Oh, it's mum's. 344 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,400 Mum's the best parent. That's true. 345 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:38,760 You've made a truthful statement at that point. 346 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:40,720 I agree. Every man marries above himself. 347 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:45,680 We know that. But but don't make excuses and 348 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:48,600 say, Oh my, my wife does that stuff. 349 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,040 No, you, you be in charge. You step up. 350 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:55,560 You see, I want to, I want to share something to you. 351 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,840 And it's a bit heartbreaking, but you'll get it because I know 352 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:01,920 that where you live in Brisbane, this whole city, this whole 353 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:05,560 country is a land of fatherless men. 354 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:10,280 This is a fatherless country. And you know why it's 355 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:13,120 fatherless. It's fatherless from the Prime 356 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:16,920 Minister all down, by the way. It's fatherless because we 357 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,840 haven't let God be our father. And the price you pay when you 358 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:24,240 don't let God be your father is that you are absent fathering. 359 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:26,600 You see, it gets passed down, doesn't it? 360 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,040 And if we've broken our link to God the Father, if we won't let 361 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:34,200 the Father of Jesus be our Father, then we cannot father 362 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,160 ourselves. We can do, we can do our bits 363 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,680 here and there, but it won't be the spiritual fathering that I'm 364 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:43,360 talking about. You got to have God as father 365 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:46,680 for that. Don't say I'm sending my wife. 366 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:50,880 I'm sending, I'm sending the, the bright department, the smart 367 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,640 department to do no, no, no, take responsibility. 368 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,040 You know, you be their dads. You get your wife to go. 369 00:19:58,040 --> 00:19:59,600 Don't wait for your wife to tell you to go. 370 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:01,560 You go and say, babe, we're going. 371 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:08,280 I'm even paying for it. And since it's free, that's but 372 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:11,880 she may not know that I want you there. 373 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:17,840 Don't delegate it. Let Elijah be your inspiration 374 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:23,440 because Elijah was bull's eye, focused on fathering and 375 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:25,880 mentoring. And I want to speak to your 376 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,680 hearts this morning because you know the truth about Elijah's 377 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:31,080 story. This will break your heart. 378 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,440 Elijah lived in a fatherless time, just like us who was 379 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:40,200 running Israel when Elijah was running around Ahab, a weak man 380 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,680 under the spell of an evil spirit called Jezebel. 381 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:47,920 And I'm telling you, wherever fathers are absent, the Jezebel 382 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,640 spirit takes over. If we don't let the Holy Spirit 383 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,880 of prophecy and the spirit of mentoring and fathering be in 384 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:57,560 our place, then we say to Jezebel, have a free for all. 385 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:01,040 Go for it. And the first thing she did, by 386 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,560 the way, read your Bible. The first thing she did was try 387 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:08,840 to wipe prophecy out of Israel. She tried to kill every prophet. 388 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:14,320 One of the guys that Elijah runs into, Obadiah had hidden 250 389 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:16,640 prophets in a cave so she wouldn't kill him. 390 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,680 And then she went after who? Elijah. 391 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,120 Elijah. When you read the stories in 392 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:24,440 First Kings, Elijah never runs away from Ahab. 393 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,520 No one ever runs away from a weak man. 394 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,040 But he ran for his life when Jezebel showed up. 395 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,440 Why? Because he was a fatherless man 396 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:37,600 himself. You know how I know that when he 397 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,160 sits down under the broom tree, depressed because Jezebel's 398 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:43,560 trying to kill him? This is a bloke who's brave, 399 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:44,920 right? He was never afraid. 400 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,360 He charged up to Ahab even when Ahab's leading his armies. 401 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,400 Wasn't afraid of Ahab. He's sitting under the broom 402 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:53,400 tree lamenting his life. You know what he says? 403 00:21:54,640 --> 00:22:00,680 Give up. I am no better than my father's 404 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:05,560 1 kings 19/4. He had a deadbeat dead. 405 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,360 He had a daddy let him down. The reason I know that is 406 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:14,480 because when you read the story closely, you realize Elijah 407 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,240 turns up on the scene in first Kings 17. 408 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,880 He's introduced to us like how is Jesus introduced? 409 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:24,480 Jesus being Joseph, Jesus the son of Joseph. 410 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,400 When we read Elijah's story, because genealogy is matter, 411 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,480 right? They who you came from is 412 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,400 destiny. And so when we hear his story, 413 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:38,320 what do we hear? Elijah, the Tishbite. 414 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,680 Elijah from the town of Tishbi. We know where he came from. 415 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:48,120 We don't know who he came from. He's a fatherless man growing up 416 00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:53,360 in a fatherless time. And he's sitting under the tree. 417 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:55,120 And he says, oh, you know, I'm going to end up being just as 418 00:22:55,120 --> 00:23:01,480 worthless as my father's. Fatherlessness, spiritual 419 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:05,240 fatherlessness, Spirit of Jezebel, we're told in 420 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,800 Revelation 220 to 21. Nevertheless, I have this 421 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:12,040 against you, Thyatira. You tolerate that woman Jezebel, 422 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:15,240 who calls herself a prophet. Her teaching By her teaching. 423 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:18,640 She misleads my servants into sexual immorality in the eating 424 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,160 of food sacrificed to idols. I've given her time to repeat of 425 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,680 immorality, but she's unwilling. Ask me why or answer me why 426 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:30,840 Australia is overrun by sexual immorality, pornography and also 427 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,840 by idolatry. When you get the privilege to 428 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,880 fly into the new airport in Sydney, when it opens up, have a 429 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:40,560 look out the window. What you will see is 100 foot 430 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:46,600 high golden statue of Krishna. I kid you not, go look it up 431 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:50,600 online. Golden statue of Krishna at the 432 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,880 big Hindu temple which lies just outside the new airport in 433 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:55,600 Sydney. That's what you're going to be 434 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:57,320 confronted by when you come to Australia. 435 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,960 We are a land full of idols. We're a land full of idols 436 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:03,960 because we haven't let God be our father. 437 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,160 You cannot be a father to another till you have let 438 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,880 yourself be a little boy to someone else. 439 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:13,120 And so we need to make God our father. 440 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:14,400 I want to speak to you this morning. 441 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:18,120 Men, young men and women as well. 442 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:20,400 Have you let God be your father yet? 443 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:27,000 You know some Elijah had a dad who let him down. 444 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:30,080 He did. That's clear to me. 445 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:35,360 And yet Elijah, apart from his episode under the broom tree, he 446 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:37,760 gets back on his feet, dust himself off and says, you know 447 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,040 what? Fatherlessness stops with me. 448 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:44,640 I'm taking responsibility. He then goes and finds Elijah 449 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:46,960 and says, man, I may not know how to do this. 450 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,480 I may not be very good at this, but I'm starting with you. 451 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:54,000 I am passing my life on to you, right? 452 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,440 That's what's going on. It's incredible. 453 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:03,040 Jezebel is the very spirit that produces fatherlessness. 454 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,040 She kills all the spiritual men. That's who she went after in 455 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:09,040 Israel. All the prophets, She said, I'll 456 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,000 get them first. We'll take out all the leaders, 457 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:14,880 and then everybody else will just fall under the spell. 458 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:22,160 We live in a fatherless country today, but it stops with us, 459 00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:24,240 right? It stops with us. 460 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:27,120 Don't sit here this morning and say I don't have any kids, Greg. 461 00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:30,480 No, no. You go find some, go find your 462 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:35,040 Elijah and pass on a double portion of your spirit to that 463 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:39,760 young person. So that's what's going on in 464 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,640 Elijah's day. There is a Father Hunger in 465 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:45,920 Israel. Elijah lives in a fabulous time. 466 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:48,520 Doug Wilson, a guy wrote a book called Father Hunger. 467 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:50,160 He said this. When the wrath of God is 468 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:53,920 revealed in the world, it is revealed as God. 469 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,920 Let's go of a culture. God has let go of Australian 470 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:00,040 culture, That much is very clear to me. 471 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:06,560 It's up to us to say, Nah, there is a spiritual reality, there is 472 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:08,960 a spiritual fight and we intend to be part of it. 473 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,280 We intend to walk in that prophetic spirit of mentoring. 474 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,040 In a culture like ours, God takes away the natural 475 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,960 protection of fathering. By the way, those those slides 476 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:24,360 that you see, that photograph which Kim got for us as part of 477 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,920 the seminar presentation we do, those are kids from our youth 478 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:31,120 group at the church we planted in Auckland called the Upper 479 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:35,160 Room. And we pledged to God that we 480 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:38,800 would pray for and we would do everything in our power to see 481 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,880 that any kid, no matter where they came from, would find 482 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,080 Christ and follow Christ their whole life. 483 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:45,840 That was our commitment as a church. 484 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:49,240 We were passionate about young people, passionate about the 485 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:54,040 ministry to young people. There's those kids, all of them 486 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:56,440 following Christ, right? I mean, they look like a gang of 487 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,680 terrorists, but they, they really genuinely are following 488 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:04,400 Christ most of the time. No, these are good kids. 489 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:09,000 And I'm, I'm just telling, you know, you're like, wow, do you 490 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,680 know what part of our church's ministry came more under assault 491 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:17,680 than any other youth work? Because we took a stand and said 492 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,400 this far and no farther, We're taking these young lives for 493 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:24,080 Jesus, and that's where the devil went. 494 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:28,760 No way. Because there's not one piece of 495 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:32,680 turf in the spiritual universe or Kingdom that is not under 496 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:36,040 contest. Whatever you say you're going to 497 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:42,080 do here in Caboolture, the devil will say no, and then the fight 498 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:44,320 is on. And at that point, what God 499 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,400 needs is spiritual people with a spirit of prophecy to step up 500 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,480 and speak into it and have courage. 501 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,880 We live in a country where we're told that we're all essentially 502 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:57,040 like all dads are, like Homer Simpson. 503 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:02,200 Do you know Homer Simpson? If you're a Gen. 504 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:04,600 Xer, you probably do. If you're a Gen. 505 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,000 Z or an alpha, you don't. Homer Simpson, I'm the greatest 506 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:12,480 dad in the world. You're probably not, but that's 507 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:15,400 we're mocked. Men step up. 508 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:20,480 Don't say what ails modern Australia is the fault of women. 509 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:28,720 It's not. It's us in the the the medieval 510 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:34,560 romance play called the death of Arthur Mort to Arthur and I read 511 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:38,480 this quote. True knighthood lies not only in 512 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:40,600 physical prowess. You know, everybody wants to be 513 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:45,040 strong and brave, but also in one's commitment to protect the 514 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:51,320 weak and uphold justice, Man, that's our job, to be courageous 515 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:58,560 and to protect others around us, to pass on whatever we know to 516 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:00,920 the next generation. We know what happens by the way, 517 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:09,640 to fathers and children. Depression, intimacy issues, 518 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,160 lack of emotional control and regulation. 519 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:16,680 They get angry. More violence. 520 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:18,320 Inevitably. You wonder why we live in such a 521 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:21,280 violent society in Australia. It's a product of 522 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:23,680 fatherlessness. It's as simple as that. 523 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,880 Fatherless men exhibit controlling behaviors. 524 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:33,080 They seek validation through work, struggle with self esteem, 525 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,520 struggle with boundaries. This is a spiritual 526 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:40,520 manifestation in our culture, and it has to do with the fact 527 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:45,400 that we have forgotten God. I want to lead you back to 528 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:50,800 Elijah. Despite his own fatherlessness, 529 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:57,360 despite the bad times in which he lived, he had a fire in his 530 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:04,480 belly to be a mentor. Your children are suffering 531 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,480 because of technology. Well, I made a lot of jokes 532 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,400 about it earlier, but it's it's painful. 533 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:14,520 It's not their fault, but can I share with you something that 534 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:16,840 goes with it? What we've learned through the 535 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:19,800 researching this and talking to parents and reading what the 536 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:26,520 experts say, that generation that is addicted to their 537 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:29,120 technology and struggles with all sorts of problems as a 538 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,640 consequence of it is also incredibly open to God. 539 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:37,680 Thus, seeking the stats have come out in England, there are 540 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:41,960 two million more under 24 year olds going to church today than 541 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,600 they were 10 years ago. And that's a country that's 542 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:48,080 going to hell in a handbasket. But people are flooding into the 543 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:53,520 church, they're flooding in. They're flooding here, here in 544 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:56,840 Australia as well. Because we've been lied to for 545 00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:00,440 so long that materialism somehow would save us or some other 546 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:03,800 false scheme would save us. And we've woken up and got to 547 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:05,520 send a new spirit on young people. 548 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:09,880 And in the midst of loneliness, suffering and mental anguish, 549 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:15,120 anxiety at epidemic proportions, they're saying to themselves, 550 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:19,200 there must be something more. If you're sitting here this 551 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,880 morning saying there must be something more, I want to tell 552 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:24,400 you who he is. His name is Jesus. 553 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,960 That's the more the thing you've been seeking, the thing that 554 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:32,280 ache inside that says I don't know where to turn. 555 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,720 I don't know how to solve my problems and challenges. 556 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:37,880 I'm telling you his name this morning because I found him, or 557 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,000 he found me at least when I was 16 years of age. 558 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,760 He found a guy that grew up in Tasmania, a high school kid in 559 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:50,240 Tasmania, lost, lonely, indifferent to life. 560 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:55,040 And he said to me, come follow me. 561 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,760 If that is your prayer this morning, I would love to find 562 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:03,640 the truth. I would love to find the truth. 563 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:06,440 I'd love to pray with you this morning. 564 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:09,720 I want you to do the most courageous thing you could ever 565 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,560 do. Take your hands off the wheel of 566 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:14,440 your life. Don't try this driving when you 567 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:16,880 go home. This is a spiritual thing. 568 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:21,600 Take the hands off the wheel of your life for a minute and say, 569 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,200 Lord, I have steered myself into a ditch. 570 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:30,120 I've tried very hard but everything has failed. 571 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:33,880 It's crumbled around me. I have broken relationships. 572 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:42,160 I have too many keys to name. I'm taking the hands off the 573 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,200 wheel. I want you to take over driving. 574 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:47,440 Would you come and save me this morning? 575 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:50,440 Would you come and meet me in my place at need? 576 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,480 Maybe you're, maybe you grow up fatherless and there's a deep 577 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:58,080 pain and hunger in your life as a consequence. 578 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:02,520 And maybe you failed with your own kids in some way and you're 579 00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:06,200 punishing yourself about that. I didn't come here this morning 580 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:08,640 to tell you to feel bad about yourself. 581 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:14,800 Elijah made a positive decision. I might have been fatherless 582 00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:20,080 myself, but I'll be a father. You can start today to let the 583 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:24,360 Holy Spirit into your life, to let Jesus come and start 584 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:27,080 directing traffic and steering your life. 585 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:29,480 You'll be blown away how things will turn out. 586 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:32,520 I'm standing here. I just, we just gave up the 587 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:34,280 church like I said to you in February. 588 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,960 And I knew that we were meant to do it, but I had no idea what 589 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,600 would happen. But I've lived walking with the 590 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:44,600 Spirit for 44 years now and every time God has said to me, 591 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:48,040 give something up, he's telling me I've got something new for 592 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:51,040 you. So we jumped a plane, come over 593 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:52,360 here. We had two kids living here. 594 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:56,120 We came over today. I'd teach two days a week at 595 00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:59,520 Christian Heritage College. I'm building a Center for public 596 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,400 theology there. I sit on the Ethics Committee at 597 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,160 Bond University. I've got more opportunities and 598 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:08,920 things going on around me that I could possibly name right now. 599 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,080 I've been in the country 18 months since since, you know, 600 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:15,320 doing the church in New Zealand. We lived there for 25 years. 601 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:20,239 How does that happen? It happens because I took my 602 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:24,520 hands off the steering wheel and I said, God, you do it. 603 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:26,920 I'm happy to drive with you. Now. 604 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:31,080 God is like, you know, one of those Aylon Musk, uberless, 605 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:33,520 driverless things, whatever they are. 606 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:35,440 You have to be a Gen. X that understand that stuff. 607 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:37,639 I don't, I'm not getting into one. 608 00:34:37,639 --> 00:34:39,639 By the way, I trust God with my life. 609 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:40,880 I don't trust Aylon Musk with it. 610 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:44,719 But I'm telling you to become a driverless car this morning. 611 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:46,760 Let God drive it.