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 --> 00:00:13,200 you and build your faith. But it helps you have more of a 5 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:15,920 God perspective for your day. Enjoy get. 6 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:19,720 Myself set up, I'm going to make a confession. 7 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,200 Is that all right? No, nobody's ready for 8 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:25,360 confession. Our interns have been learning 9 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:30,840 in the last fortnight the power of confession and I'm not making 10 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,720 a confession on my husband's behalf who can make his own for 11 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:39,360 lying about coming out with $10. He can do that at the end of the 12 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:42,160 at the altar called of the service today. 13 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:44,320 I'm going to make my own confession because we're in a 14 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:49,880 theme right now called you plus me and ChatGPT. 15 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:52,200 All right, so I'm going to make a confession. 16 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:57,600 You ready all right I had some fun on ChatGPT this week who 17 00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:59,800 else has had some fun on ChatGPT? 18 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,599 Who loves to ask chat all sorts of unusual things. 19 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:09,640 I'm making a confession today. I this week had some fun asking 20 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,760 some things of ChatGPT. And so I asked all sorts of 21 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:18,280 things things like help me understand and unusual Bible 22 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:19,400 passage. Who else? 23 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,680 Come on, confess right now. Who asked for some 24 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,200 interpretation from ChatGPT this weekend? 25 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:27,760 All right there we go Well done. You are forgiven. 26 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:29,320 You are forgiven. You are forgiven. 27 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:30,760 I am forgiven. Hallelujah. 28 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:36,120 All right, I I asked help me structure a really good preach 29 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,320 for this Sunday. No, I'm kidding right there. 30 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:42,520 People are like that's it. I'm out of here. 31 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:48,920 I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, but truthfully, I asked 32 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,600 some really, really serious life things this week of ChatGPT 33 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:56,120 because I just who who just needs to know some things and 34 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:58,280 you need a real wisdom. Come on, come on. 35 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:00,200 I know there are others in the building who are like, I needed 36 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,040 some real wisdom. So this year, this week I asked 37 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,560 chat. All right, so this week I asked 38 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,039 chat because curiosity got the better of me. 39 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:14,880 I asked is there a correct way to fold a fitted sheet? 40 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,160 Some things are just too important not to research, 41 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:30,440 right? Well, apparently there is 4 42 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:34,520 pages of instruction, a number of key links. 43 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:37,440 Now you're all doing. I can see you, see you on 44 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:41,480 ChatGPT. Apparently there is a very 45 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:46,040 specific method, and apparently some people can do it really, 46 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,960 really well. And apparently those people do 47 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:55,160 not live in my house, but we live in incredible times and so 48 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,160 that information is right at our fingertips. 49 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:07,680 Politansky family you, me and chat chi BT you can ask chat 50 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,920 anything these days. I have had some fun over the 51 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:15,680 last number of months asking chat all sorts of incredible 52 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,400 things, like you can learn how to fix a washing machine even if 53 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:20,720 you're not a qualified electrician. 54 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,720 You can write an incredible speech that sounds like a 55 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,080 presidential speech. You can learn how to cook like a 56 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,840 chef. You can learn how to build a 57 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:35,760 business that will absolutely succeed, and you'll receive that 58 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:41,920 affirmation from chat. You could even learn, or it can 59 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,280 help you understand the theology of the Bible. 60 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:52,320 We are living today in the most informed generation in history, 61 00:03:54,720 --> 00:04:00,800 yet at the same time we are living in one of the most 62 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,920 disconnected generations in history. 63 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:08,920 Why? Because information is 64 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:14,600 everywhere, but formation is rare. 65 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,560 Don't enter that into chat. You can tag Mel on insta. 66 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:36,640 Information fills our minds, but formation shapes our lives and 67 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:42,080 discipleship has never ever been about information. 68 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:49,040 It's always been about formation, and through our 69 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:55,960 Scripture, God uses a beautiful image to explain how He shapes 70 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,920 people. This is found for those of you 71 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:00,560 who take notes. You can have a lot of fun with 72 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,720 my message today. You can write the big letter P 73 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,280 right at the top of your page, and everything falls under that 74 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:10,880 today. All right, but throughout 75 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,600 Scripture, God uses a beautiful image to explain how He shapes 76 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:16,920 people. And I want to bring us to this 77 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,920 passage this morning and unpack this a little bit and what God 78 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:27,080 does in us to help form us into who He's created us to be. 79 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,680 Because here's news to some of us today. 80 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:35,720 You aren't right now who He has created you to be. 81 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:45,600 I say Amen too. We're in the stage of formation 82 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:51,520 to whom He has created us to be. It's not a done deal when we 83 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:59,120 were born with $10. He spends our life forming us 84 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:03,480 into the likeness of Him, which is so significant. 85 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,720 So I want to bring us around a passage in Jeremiah today, 86 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,240 Jeremiah 18, verse six. I'm going to give you a moment 87 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,320 to open your passages, open your Bibles. 88 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:14,400 Who's got a physical Bible in the building today? 89 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:20,000 I saw so many of my interns lifted up there, so proud, so 90 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,960 proud. Jeremiah 18, verse 6. 91 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,920 It's going to be on the screen. For those of you who do not have 92 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,400 your Bible here today, can I encourage you to bring your word 93 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,160 to the House of God? Bring it. 94 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:39,880 Test these messages through it, open it up, decipher it for 95 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,360 yourself. The Holy Spirit will help you. 96 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:44,960 Let this is what it says in Jeremiah 18 verse 6. 97 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:51,280 It says like clay in the hand of the Potter, so you are in my 98 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:56,560 hand. Clay does not shape itself. 99 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:04,520 Clay is shaped through pressure, through process and through 100 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:06,800 proximity. I told you there would be some 101 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:12,520 peas. You cannot shout instructions at 102 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:22,040 clay and expect it to change shape or change form or become 103 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,400 something beautiful. You've got to put it on the 104 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:30,440 wheel. You got to place your hands on 105 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:35,080 it because formation requires contact. 106 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,640 And This is why discipleship always requires relationship, 107 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,720 not just knowledge, not just information. 108 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:50,960 It requires you plus me. The problem with the with the 109 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,560 information age is this, let's be really honest, OK? 110 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,400 Many people today approach spiritual growth the same they 111 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:06,640 approach everything else. We consume information we 112 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:08,440 consume. Let's be really, really honest. 113 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:10,440 Maybe this is a confession moment for you too. 114 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:19,040 We consume podcasts, sermons or messages, books, YouTube, 115 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:25,160 theology, and none of those things I am saying today are 116 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:27,920 bad. But here's the problem. 117 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:35,919 You can consume hours and hours and hours and years of 118 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:40,440 information and still remain unchanged. 119 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:48,800 Because information does not shape us, vulnerability does. 120 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:59,360 Transformation happens when someone asks us individually 121 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:03,440 questions like how are you really doing? 122 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:13,920 Where are you struggling? Why are you drifting? 123 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:24,560 What has God highlighted to you through his word in this last 124 00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:31,920 week? It's that kind of honesty that 125 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:38,920 we cannot we cannot have through a screen. 126 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:47,360 It happens in relationship. And so this morning I've titled 127 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:51,760 this message Formed not just Informed. 128 00:09:53,920 --> 00:10:02,240 Formed, not just informed. God is looking for a church who 129 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:09,360 is formed, not just informed. Do you know this is because this 130 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:12,040 is the great pursuit of believers all around the world 131 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,280 as unity. This is how we come into unity 132 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,960 when each of us are being formed into the likeness of God. 133 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:25,120 We come together in like mindedness, like spirit. 134 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:31,320 When we are informed, we actually become separate from 135 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,640 one another. The truth is, is each of you 136 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:40,280 have your YouTube preferences and they are different from one 137 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,280 another. Some of you in the room like me 138 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:46,240 are like, I don't even like YouTube, right? 139 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:52,320 We each have our preferences or our opinions or our leans or our 140 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,960 bends to specific things. You know how those things are 141 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,640 formed through what is already in us. 142 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,160 We we get our relationships that way. 143 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:07,880 We find those that we want to do friendship with based on 144 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:13,080 likeness. Same, same, same spirit. 145 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,720 That's a real challenge to some of us in the room today who 146 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:18,920 might be married and they're looking at their spouses. 147 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,760 That's the problem. You chose them because you are 148 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:26,240 like them. Don't look at them and they're 149 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:28,640 the problem. You are them. 150 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:34,480 You are them. We actually choose this way. 151 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:36,640 We choose what we believe we're worth. 152 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:43,360 We choose same spirits. Most often we even choose. 153 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,600 It's crazy the way we're designed by God, but we often 154 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:50,440 even choose similar circumstances, right? 155 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,120 So then the trap in this is how do you grow when you're same 156 00:11:56,120 --> 00:12:04,840 same, we need some same different iron sharpens iron in 157 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:10,840 and around our worlds church. We are not just here to inform 158 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,520 people. Even today. 159 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:18,120 This message will go up on podcasts, but it's purpose is 160 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:23,520 not to inform believers. It is to encourage and urge and 161 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,000 invite people to step into formation. 162 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:31,400 We are here to form people into the likeness of Jesus. 163 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:36,680 So because of this, here's the questions we're asking this 164 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:39,680 year. We're asking, is there not a 165 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:43,680 cause for each and every one of us to be formed? 166 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:49,360 Is there not a cause in Caboolture and Maury Fields and 167 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:53,560 a Limbaugh and all the surrounding regions so that 168 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:58,000 people there also have the opportunity to step into 169 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:06,040 formation, not information? Is there not a cause for the 170 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:10,840 people of our region, for our young people, not just our young 171 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,440 people in this House, but the young people of this district, 172 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:19,640 for the broken people in this region, for the people in our 173 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:24,200 city who are searching for hope? We're asking the question, is 174 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,800 there not a cause? Yes, there is a cause. 175 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:36,880 And that cause is people say people this morning the founder 176 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,320 of the Salvation Army had a slogan. 177 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,600 Maybe you know this, maybe some of you grew up in that 178 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:47,400 denomination of churches. And I love this statement. 179 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:53,480 Others. The mission and the vision for 180 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:58,960 the Salvation Army is others. When you look at that now, 181 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:02,960 whether you've been part of that or not, you can see what they 182 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:07,520 have done as a part of their churches and the missions of the 183 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:11,600 Salvation Army. Their entire structures, 184 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:17,480 systems, vision, everything funnels through others. 185 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,080 Very rarely do we hear about what's happening in the church 186 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,840 programs. We most often hear, even on the 187 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:30,040 news most nights of the week, the work they are doing for 188 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:36,160 others. The 'cause that you and I have 189 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:42,360 been called to is people. It's others and others being 190 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:47,440 transformed by Jesus Christ. So I want to just look at this 191 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,920 passage for just a minute more in Jeremiah. 192 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,360 I want to read just a couple of verses before because like 193 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,600 Jeremiah says like clay in the hand of the Potter, so you are 194 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:01,080 in my hand. But this is how it starts in 195 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,720 verse one. It says this, the Lord gave 196 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:10,160 another message to Jeremiah and he said go to the Potter's shop. 197 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:17,920 Go go to the Potter shop. He's telling Jeremiah I want you 198 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:23,120 to go to that place and I will speak to you there. 199 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:31,160 So I did, and he and as he told me to, and I found the Potter 200 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:37,560 working at his wheel, but the jar he was making oh so much in 201 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:44,600 this, but the jar he was making did not turn out as he had 202 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:56,900 hoped. So he crushed it into a lump of 203 00:15:56,900 --> 00:16:09,530 clay again, and he started over. It goes on into the next verse 204 00:16:09,530 --> 00:16:16,010 and says, Can I not do to you as this Potter has done to his 205 00:16:16,010 --> 00:16:21,210 clay? As the clay is in the Potter's 206 00:16:21,210 --> 00:16:29,440 hand, so you are in my hand like clay. 207 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,120 You and I are not shaped by information. 208 00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:40,120 We are shaped by pressure, by process, and by proximity. 209 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:45,600 And if we're going to be formed into all that God has called us, 210 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:51,720 fashioned us, designed us to be, these same three things must be 211 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,560 present as the process of our lives. 212 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:59,440 So today I want to unpack these three things for us. 213 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:04,599 Pressure, process, and proximity. 214 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:11,560 The three ways that God forms us, three ways that we are 215 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:16,880 discipled into the nature and the person of Jesus Christ with 216 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:21,560 our life. So #1 pressure. 217 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:27,160 Hold on, it's going to be good, but pressure. 218 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,520 Pressure is what God uses to shape us. 219 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:34,560 Clay cannot be formed without pressure. 220 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:40,480 If the Potter does not apply pressure, the clay will remain 221 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:46,160 shapeless. It cannot contain anything 222 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,520 unless it has been formed into shape. 223 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:57,240 And you and I were called, were designed to carry the spirit of 224 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:02,800 the Lord, to carry fresh oil, to carry fresh wine. 225 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:10,880 But we are called by the Lord to come to the Potter's house and 226 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:16,400 allow how our lives to go on the Potter's wheel and be formed and 227 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:18,480 fashioned. Can I be real here for a second? 228 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,480 Our generation, and I'm not talking about our young 229 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,880 generation. In our generation, pressure is 230 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,320 something we are all trying to escape from. 231 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:37,120 Who can be honest in that? In every season, regardless of 232 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:40,600 whether you are a child or whether you are an older person 233 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:45,040 in this auditorium today, I know that pressure is something we 234 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:49,800 actually try to avoid in all its forms. 235 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:53,160 We do not like the pressure of hard work. 236 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:04,400 Most of us are chasing the next escape, the next downtime, the 237 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,440 next holiday. The most comfort. 238 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:17,880 We don't like pressure, but hard work feels like pressure. 239 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:25,360 We don't like wisdom. Come on, let's be real this 240 00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:28,800 morning, wisdom is what? Pressure. 241 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:35,840 Wisdom challenges our preconceived ideas. 242 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:41,960 It challenges that we know all we should know, right? 243 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:49,000 Wisdom invites another voice into things, ideas that we have 244 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:54,800 preconceived and we've set. Wisdom is pressure. 245 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,640 That's why very few of us ask for it. 246 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:05,640 Very few of us go. I know you're actually an expert 247 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:10,120 in this field. Would you tell me what I don't 248 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:12,680 know? So I do this the best possible 249 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:16,200 way we go. I want what I want. 250 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:22,160 And so I'm not even going to invite that into my world 251 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,680 because it puts pressure on my preferences. 252 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:32,000 It puts pressure on my ideals. Pressure. 253 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:39,080 But God uses pressure to shape you and I not to harm us, but to 254 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:42,160 form us. I want to talk about a guy in 255 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:44,840 the Bible just to make this really easy for the note takers. 256 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:50,520 It's another Pi want to talk about a man that God formed and 257 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:55,480 his name is Peter. I want to look at this man for a 258 00:20:55,480 --> 00:21:01,160 little bit because Peter, Peter experienced intense pressure. 259 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:07,920 One of the greatest moments of pressure in his life came the 260 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:13,920 night Jesus was arrested and he's standing around a fire, 261 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,400 which I think is a lovely place of comfort. 262 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,360 Anybody else got the fireplace is a place of comfort set in 263 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:21,840 their ideas right? Me too. 264 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:30,440 But people began to recognize Peter and said, aren't you one 265 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:36,560 of his followers, the man who is the spectacle right now, one of 266 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:42,720 the most public crucifixions that there was an innocent man 267 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:47,920 being taken to a cross. Now for a follower, an 268 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:54,080 acknowledgement of this could very well mean you're following 269 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:58,800 in his footsteps. If an innocent man is going to a 270 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:03,160 cross, is there any reason why Peter wouldn't process that? 271 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:08,880 If I acknowledge in this moment where there is pressure to be 272 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:16,960 honest, pressure to own my savior, pressure to speak up and 273 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:21,240 say yes, I follow Him, you and I are challenged to do this 274 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:27,360 everyday, pressure to say, Yep, I have chosen to follow him. 275 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:33,000 That is pressure from some of our families, pressure from some 276 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:38,000 of our friendships, pressure in our workplaces, pressure in our 277 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,160 world. And yet Peter finds himself in 278 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:46,400 this moment, standing by a comfort place, a place of 279 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:50,200 warmth. Are you not one of his 280 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:56,360 followers? And under pressure, Peter denies 281 00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:06,920 Jesus not once, but three times. That pressure revealed something 282 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,440 in Peter, and this is what pressure does. 283 00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:17,720 Pressure reveals something in you and I, and that revealing 284 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:22,240 process is vulnerable but necessary. 285 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:30,360 For Preeta, that pressure revealed fear, insecurity, self 286 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:33,400 preservation. And here's the truth. 287 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:39,760 Pressure doesn't create what's inside of us, it reveals it. 288 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:45,280 Stuff that's already there, stuff that we're trying to hide, 289 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:47,840 stuff that's hidden behind the surface. 290 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:51,800 Pressure reveals it. And This is why we need 291 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:56,160 discipleship. Because when pressure reveals 292 00:23:56,160 --> 00:24:00,520 what is inside of us, we need somebody trustworthy who can 293 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:05,480 come and stand and walk with us to help us process it properly. 294 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:12,880 Someone who can say that's not who you were designed to be, but 295 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:16,360 let's step forward into who you were created to be. 296 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:24,520 That's not how God sees you. Let's have a look at how He sees 297 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:30,880 you and then let's walk in it. Let's walk this thing through 298 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:35,040 together and see healing and see strength. 299 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,040 So when pressure is applied, because we've not walked into a 300 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:43,600 life except in Christ and then walked out of pressure, pressure 301 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:50,320 comes, but pressure is good. It allows honestly those things 302 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,080 to come up. I like to say it's the Holy 303 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:57,480 Spirit revealing things in my life, things that he's like, I 304 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,720 want to put my finger on that. A little bit of pressure applied 305 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:05,480 and the surfaces is, aw, thank you that it came to the surface. 306 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:10,280 I want to clear that dross. I want to heal that. 307 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:14,440 I want to purify that. Give that to me. 308 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:19,560 And this is done as a part of our formation through pressure. 309 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:26,560 Without discipleship, pressure can break us, absolutely. 310 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:32,600 But with discipleship, pressure can form us. 311 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:39,360 Which brings me to #2 because this happens in a process. 312 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:46,080 So point #2 is process. God forms us over time. 313 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:52,680 He is not a microwave. He's a farmer. 314 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:55,280 That's why he did. There was. 315 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:57,680 I can't find. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, 316 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:00,560 Pastor John, you can tell me if I'm missing the microwave 317 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:04,480 passage, but I see a lot of farmer passages. 318 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:11,640 You think I'm on it? There is a process, there is 319 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:16,800 time involved in this. Clay is not shaped instantly, it 320 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:22,160 is formed slowly, carefully over time. 321 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:24,560 And it's the same with our lives. 322 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:31,480 God forms us through process. I want to talk about Peter again 323 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:34,480 because Peter did not become a bold leader overnight. 324 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,720 A brass one maybe, but not a bold one, right? 325 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:45,360 He walked through a process with Jesus while he walked with 326 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:47,560 Jesus. Let's talk about some of the 327 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:54,200 processes. He got things wrong, and he got 328 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:59,280 spoken to and corrected. In those moments. 329 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:02,520 One of the most confronting things I find about Peter's life 330 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:04,680 is that the Saviour of the world rebuked him. 331 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:11,560 And many, many times I have found myself in situations or in 332 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:15,920 moments and seasons where I too have been rebuked. 333 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:22,440 And each time the Holy Spirit has brought me back to that and 334 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,920 said and Peter continued to walk with the Lord. 335 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:33,440 I taught our interns last year one of the most powerful lessons 336 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:37,880 around Matthew 18 and just unpacking in theology, that 337 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:40,760 beautiful passage about if I know it's a party for a moment, 338 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:45,560 just to soften you up for Matthew 18 and if you know what 339 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:48,240 Matthew 18 is, maybe we needed that for a second. 340 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:54,720 That passage says if you have anything against anyone or other 341 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,720 translations said if a brother or sister has sinned against 342 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,720 you, right. Anything against anyone. 343 00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:09,040 Now, anything against anyone covers a fence, right? 344 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:11,920 It it covers everything it covers. 345 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:17,200 I think they looked at me funny or they're not hugged me on 346 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:23,680 Sunday or they haven't called me in a while right through to I 347 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:29,120 think they told me a lie or they ripped me off. 348 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:35,320 They stole from me. They treated me poorly. 349 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:41,080 They abused me. Matthew 18 covers it all. 350 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,360 If you have anything against anyone, right? 351 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:48,720 I was teaching our interns about the process because there is a 352 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:52,920 godly process in how we do this. Just it's a whole nother sermon, 353 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,000 but it's definitely not talk to your neighbor to get wisdom 354 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:56,840 before you go and speak to them. It's not in there. 355 00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:04,200 It says go to them, doesn't say to call a friend that's a 356 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:10,760 television show says go to them and talk about it with 357 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:16,880 reconciliation as the goal, with forgiveness as the goal, to talk 358 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:20,360 about it so that your relationship can be restored and 359 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:24,640 made whole and robust and more intimate and deeper. 360 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:31,280 As we were doing this particular passage, I thought I, I, I was 361 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:38,080 reminded all the time that Peter was rebuked by Jesus and he 362 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:44,800 didn't walk away from Jesus. Too many of us walk away or 363 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:50,320 retreat from relationship when we are given the gift of a godly 364 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:55,440 rebuke. And you know why? 365 00:29:55,680 --> 00:30:01,080 It's 'cause it's foreign today, it's foreign to have somebody 366 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:04,680 tell us and I, I'm going to be really honest. 367 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,240 The older I get, the harder it is to be rebuked. 368 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:11,760 Anybody else with me on that? No being honest. 369 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:18,520 Thank you for being honest. The older it is often put on our 370 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:23,640 young adults because in psychology, and it is true, they 371 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:26,120 hit a stage of independence where they know it all. 372 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:34,000 I am kind of thinking now at 44, we don't grow out of it. 373 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:42,000 We keep pointing at our young adults and saying you wait, They 374 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:44,320 think they know it all, but they'll get some wisdom. 375 00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:50,320 I'm yet to see it. We don't grow out of it. 376 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:54,920 We actually become more certain and less curious the older we 377 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:59,080 get. I find that Grey and I, as a 378 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:02,040 young couple, we used to fight over all the regular things. 379 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:04,880 You don't put your tail up, you don't do that and you know all 380 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,360 the things. Now it's the challenge of 381 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:14,360 curious and certainty. Do you have somebody who's 382 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:20,160 allowed to challenge your certainty stance and keep you 383 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:25,840 curious to learn, to grow, to remain on a Potter's wheel? 384 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:32,040 Because this happens in process. Peter is rebuked when he gets 385 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,840 things wrong. He speaks too quickly. 386 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:37,960 Come on for all of those in the room and go, yeah, that's me. 387 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:41,280 Speaks too quickly and then goes, we shouldn't swallow those 388 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:49,120 words, right? He misunderstood Jesus multiple 389 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:58,960 times and then he denies him. His most closest companion of 390 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:03,320 the discipleship relationships. This is the epitome Jesus and 391 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:06,200 Peter. And Peter denies him. 392 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:08,600 I don't even know him. No, I don't follow him. 393 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:11,400 But Jesus doesn't give up on him. 394 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:17,000 He keeps walking with him, teaching him, correcting him, 395 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:22,920 shaping him, forming him. One of the most powerful moments 396 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:29,080 of Peter's process is this. The night after sorry, the night 397 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,160 that he denied Jesus, Peter stood by a fire. 398 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:38,800 I'm not going to cry. But after the resurrection, 399 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,760 Jesus restores Peter beside another fire. 400 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:50,880 That detail is not accidental. Jesus brings Peter back to the 401 00:32:50,880 --> 00:33:00,240 place of failure, not to shame him, but to restore him and 402 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:04,640 reform him. This is process. 403 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:08,240 God doesn't ignore our failures, church. 404 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:13,880 He also doesn't just move on from them, He redeems them. 405 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:18,600 And so maybe you've even heard the statement before that he 406 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:20,400 takes your background, the mountain. 407 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:25,720 He might be bringing you back to the fire, the place of failure, 408 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:32,480 so that he can redeem you, restore you, reform you. 409 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:36,760 This is why discipleship matters, because process takes 410 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:41,440 time and we need people who will walk with us, be patient with 411 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:46,400 us, remind us of truth, encourage us to keep going, and 412 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:51,320 yes, rebuke us. Discipleship says I'm not just 413 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:54,880 here for your highlights, I'm here for the process. 414 00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:00,800 Which brings me to the final point this morning, and that is 415 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:06,600 proximity. Proximity formation happens up 416 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:09,520 close. Say up close. 417 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:12,280 If you're sitting beside somebody you really love this 418 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:16,920 morning, say up close. Just like that, Gray. 419 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:19,280 Don't do it, John. John, you do it with Rach. 420 00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:22,800 Get it right. Otherwise there's going to be a 421 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:25,159 whole nother confession moment after this. 422 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:35,239 The right person up close, Clay must stay close to the Potter. 423 00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:41,199 I feel like I just lost you. Gather on a Potter's wheel 424 00:34:41,199 --> 00:34:45,320 again. Clay must stay close to the 425 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,600 Potter. If it moves away from his hands, 426 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:54,639 it cannot be shaped because formation requires proximity, 427 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:57,800 right? Jesus didn't disciple people 428 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:01,760 from a distance. He didn't say watch this from 429 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:09,600 afar or just come in one day a week and that's enough. 430 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:17,280 View it, consume it. He said come, follow me. 431 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:23,960 The disciples lived with him, walked with him, observed him, 432 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:29,280 and followed him. Because of this, they didn't 433 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:33,040 just get information, they caught something. 434 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:40,280 They caught who Jesus was. For all of the conversations 435 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:44,000 that Graham and I have had with our children over the last 436 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:48,840 nearly 20 years of raising children, they do not do what I 437 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:55,360 say. Anybody else feel the same? 438 00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:59,560 Who is spending way too long on a phone with a child at this 439 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:03,440 season? How do you lead them? 440 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:08,800 You follow the Lord, you continue to walk in His ways. 441 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:14,480 Don't deny Jesus at the fire. Acknowledge Him as your Lord and 442 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:16,960 Savior. You're not going to beat this 443 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:18,880 over your heads. They're going to see 444 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:21,600 transformation in your life and they're going to want to. 445 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:23,760 They're going to want to crave it, and they're going to want to 446 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:28,000 step into it because your life looks like victory. 447 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:35,080 I am so grateful for struggling parents who were incredibly 448 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:42,680 broken, taking step after step after step after step into 449 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:46,280 victory and wholeness. Are they perfect? 450 00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:51,080 No. Were the scars made on the way? 451 00:36:51,400 --> 00:37:00,160 Yes, I'm so grateful for seeing and witnessing and catching that 452 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:05,760 God can form and transform somebody's life from brokenness 453 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:10,360 to ministry, from something that seems worthless to actually 454 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:13,400 having an incredible impact in the Kingdom of God. 455 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:18,640 I haven't been told it. I've witnessed it. 456 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:23,760 I've caught it, I've seen the process, I've watched the 457 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:31,160 pressure, and I know God is faithful and he does what his 458 00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:36,480 Word says he can do. And the evidence is how they 459 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:40,400 walk today. They might, like Jacob, have a 460 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:49,360 limp, A scar that bears reminder of where they've come from, but 461 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:53,120 they are not the same. Is there anybody in this 462 00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:57,400 building who craves that for their life, for their children's 463 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:01,240 lives, for their grandchildren's lives, for their great 464 00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:05,120 grandchildren's lives, For the children of our community, for 465 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:09,320 the families of our community, for the adults of our community, 466 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:11,760 for the seniors of our community? 467 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:20,200 This is what God can do, but He does it up close. 468 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:24,520 It is court. Peters life was shaped because 469 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:30,000 he stayed close to Jesus. Even when he failed, even when 470 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,880 he got it wrong, he stayed in proximity. 471 00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:37,240 He didn't retreat, he didn't hide. 472 00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:41,840 And that proximity is what allowed transformation to take 473 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:44,960 place in his life. Why does this matter today? 474 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:48,280 Here is the challenge of our world. 475 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:54,520 We think we can grow spiritually at a distance from one another, 476 00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:02,680 through content, through screens, through information, 477 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:09,040 even through large gatherings. But formation does not happen at 478 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:12,000 a distance. It happens in relationship. 479 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:18,840 This is the tension of our time. We are living in a time where 480 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:23,800 people are talking AI about their deepest feelings and 481 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:28,560 struggles. They're asking AI why am I 482 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:32,200 lonely? How do I deal with my anxiety? 483 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:38,040 How do I get out of debt? And that tells you and I 484 00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:40,560 something, something significant. 485 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:45,720 People are surrounded by information but starving for 486 00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:50,720 connection. Church, this is where you and I, 487 00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:55,400 you plus me, come in. Because the answer is not more 488 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,360 information. The answer is you and me. 489 00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:02,360 I wonder if you would say that in faith this morning. 490 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:07,680 The answer is you and me. This is where it becomes really 491 00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:12,080 personal for us as a church, because discipleship has always 492 00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:17,720 had two sides. I need discipleship and I need 493 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:21,360 people who will help shape me. All right. 494 00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:23,680 I need discipleship. I need people who will shape me. 495 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:29,000 And you're ready. I am needed to disciple others. 496 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:34,160 I need discipleship and I am needed to disciple others. 497 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:41,080 There is someone behind you in their journey who needs what God 498 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:45,960 has done in you for them to take their next step in their 499 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:49,960 relationship with Jesus Church. This matters so much for our 500 00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:53,280 community. Caboolture does not need more 501 00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:56,680 content. It needs more people who are 502 00:40:56,680 --> 00:41:02,840 formed, people who walk with others, disciple others, build 503 00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:08,600 strong relationships, and bring hope into homes one person at a 504 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:11,400 time. Because when discipleship 505 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:17,720 becomes normal in a church, say normal in a church, we're going 506 00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:22,800 to step into the new normal. Transformation flows in a city. 507 00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:31,240 I wonder if you heard that? Transformation flows into a 508 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:34,680 city. This is who we're called to be, 509 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:38,960 a church where people are formed, where disciples are 510 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:45,120 raised, where relationships are strong and robust and no one 511 00:41:45,120 --> 00:41:51,720 walks alone because the cause is far too great in our region. 512 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:55,640 Is there not a cause? Yes. 513 00:41:56,280 --> 00:42:02,320 Come on, yes there is. And the cause is people, I want 514 00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:05,560 to, for a moment, as we close this service today, I want to 515 00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:08,880 just take us on a particular response moment. 516 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:12,000 So I'm going to ask in this house if each person would close 517 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:16,600 their eyes. And I want you to picture Clay 518 00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:21,640 sitting beside the wheel. Some of you got great 519 00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:22,920 imaginations. You've got it. 520 00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:25,160 Others are you going to have to work for this? 521 00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:29,240 That's OK. I want you to picture Clay 522 00:42:29,720 --> 00:42:36,000 sitting beside the wheel. It's close to the wheel, but 523 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:43,680 it's not being shaped because it hasn't stepped on to the wheel. 524 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:55,960 And today some of us are that clay, close to God, but not 525 00:42:55,960 --> 00:43:04,560 allowing Him to shape us through relationships, through 526 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:09,280 discipleship, to be formed into the likeness of Him. 527 00:43:11,640 --> 00:43:16,040 Some of us today need to step into discipleship. 528 00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:23,280 And that challenge is huge because for some of us, we've 529 00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:28,680 followed the Lord for many years, but we're beside the 530 00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:29,960 Potter. Potter's wheel. 531 00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:41,640 Some of us need to begin discipling someone else, but 532 00:43:41,640 --> 00:43:46,800 unlike Jeremiah, we don't answer the call to the Potter's shed to 533 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:50,520 witness what God wants to do in somebody else's life. 534 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:55,520 Church, we're not just here to be informed. 535 00:43:56,000 --> 00:44:01,120 We are here to be formed through pressure, through process, 536 00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:07,440 through proximity, through relationships, through you plus 537 00:44:07,440 --> 00:44:10,000 me. So for just a second, we're not 538 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:13,960 going to rush this, not going to distract it with something else, 539 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:19,080 just you and God. Because this is this message is 540 00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:20,720 not something we just need to hear. 541 00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:23,040 It's something we got to respond to. 542 00:44:24,280 --> 00:44:25,960 I want you to picture that image again. 543 00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:31,000 Clay sitting beside the Potter's wheel, close but not being 544 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:33,800 shaped, near but not surrendered. 545 00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:43,600 And I wonder how many of us in this room are close to God, but 546 00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:53,920 we are not allowing Him to truly form us because we're formation 547 00:44:53,920 --> 00:45:00,080 requires something of us. It requires pressure, process, 548 00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:04,680 and proximity. It requires letting someone in. 549 00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:09,120 It requires vulnerability. It requires saying I don't want 550 00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:12,160 to just stay the same. So I want to ask you 2 questions 551 00:45:12,160 --> 00:45:15,960 today, and I want you to answer them honestly before the Lord 552 00:45:18,240 --> 00:45:21,280 number one. Who is shaping me? 553 00:45:23,600 --> 00:45:26,080 Who has permission to speak into my life? 554 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:33,720 Who knows my struggles? Who is helping form me into the 555 00:45:33,720 --> 00:45:38,680 likeness of Jesus Christ? Or am I trying to do this alone? 556 00:46:00,480 --> 00:46:07,120 Question #2 Who am I shaping? Who am I walking with? 557 00:46:09,360 --> 00:46:14,800 Who am I encouraging in their day-to-day walk with the Lord? 558 00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:22,040 Who am I helping grow in their faith steps towards Jesus? 559 00:46:23,800 --> 00:46:29,080 Because there is somebody behind you on this journey who needs 560 00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:33,920 what God has done in you to be caught by them. 561 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:35,560 So here's what we're going to do. 562 00:46:37,160 --> 00:46:39,880 If you're here today and you are saying I need to step onto the 563 00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:45,640 wheel, I need to be discipled, I need to allow God to shape me 564 00:46:45,640 --> 00:46:53,000 through relationship, or I know God is calling me to disciple 565 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:58,680 someone else and I need to stop holding back and start investing 566 00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:03,720 in others, then I want you to respond in this moment, not for 567 00:47:03,720 --> 00:47:09,840 me, not for a moment in a service, but as a decision 568 00:47:10,080 --> 00:47:14,400 before God. And if either of those are you, 569 00:47:14,800 --> 00:47:19,640 I wonder if you would simply stand where you are, where it's 570 00:47:19,640 --> 00:47:24,240 time to step onto the Potter's wheel, where it's time to start 571 00:47:24,560 --> 00:47:27,800 discipling someone, would you just stand right where you're at 572 00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:33,560 in response to the Lord? It's a response that says, God, 573 00:47:33,560 --> 00:47:36,360 I'm stepping onto the wheel. I'm choosing formation. 574 00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:40,440 I'm choosing discipleship. I'm choosing you plus me. 575 00:47:44,760 --> 00:47:46,480 Let me pray for you this morning. 576 00:47:47,360 --> 00:47:52,400 Beautiful vulnerability, Father, you see every person standing 577 00:47:52,400 --> 00:47:54,800 up. You see the hunger, you see the 578 00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:57,280 surrender. And right now we place our lives 579 00:47:57,280 --> 00:48:03,320 in your hands as the Potter. Shape us, form us, use 580 00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:07,560 relationships to strengthen us, refine us and grow us. 581 00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:12,920 Give us the courage to be discipled and the boldness to 582 00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:18,080 disciple others. Let this church be a place where 583 00:48:18,080 --> 00:48:24,560 people are not just informed, but are transformed for the sake 584 00:48:24,560 --> 00:48:30,360 of our community, for the sake of your Kingdom, in Jesus mighty 585 00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:37,080 name, Amen. I thank you for your boldness 586 00:48:37,080 --> 00:48:39,200 and vulnerability. I wonder if everybody would take 587 00:48:39,200 --> 00:48:39,320 it.