1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:04,480 Hey, welcome to the city point church podcast. 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,920 Thanks for joining us every day is an opportunity to take hold 3 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:10,280 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 --> 00:00:16,000 perspective for your day. Enjoy, I want. 6 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:22,920 To read out a story to you, better put on my glasses. 7 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,280 Here we go. This is a man called Gino 8 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,920 Bartelli. He was one of Italy's greatest 9 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:37,800 cyclists, born in 1914, known as king of cycling, born into power 10 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:42,240 in rural, he said that word rural country, Tuscany, near 11 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,400 Florence. He rose to fame in his early 12 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:51,480 20s, winning the Tour de France in 1938 and again in 1948 after 13 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:54,120 the war, along with multiple titles. 14 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:58,520 He was a devout Catholic with strong moral convictions. 15 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:03,400 Bartelli displayed extraordinary courage in World War 2 following 16 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:07,600 Germany's 1943 occupation of Italy, which led to the 17 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:12,440 deportation of nearly 10,000 Jews, 7000 of which perished in 18 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:15,640 camps. He used his celebrity and 19 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:20,880 position as a military bike messenger to aid the resistance. 20 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,720 At the request of the Catholic cardinal, who was a friend of 21 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:29,280 his, Bartelli transported counterfeit identity documents 22 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:35,160 between Florence and Assisi, completing at least 40 long 23 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:38,600 training bikes with papers hidden in his bicycles, frame 24 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,280 and handlebars. He also collected funds from 25 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,760 Swiss Bank in Genoa to support hidden Jews in Florence and 26 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,520 sheltered his Jewish friends and family in an apartment and 27 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,520 basement. These actions that he did, they 28 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,920 carried immense personal risk, imprisonment or death for 29 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:01,360 himself and his family. Yet Batali believed that helping 30 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,280 those in need outweighed the danger. 31 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,880 He kept his wartime heroism a secret until his death in 2000, 32 00:02:09,199 --> 00:02:12,160 insisting good deeds should not be boasted about. 33 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:15,680 He once told his son, if you're good at a sport, they attract 34 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,520 medals to your shirt and then they shine in some museum. 35 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,880 That which is earned by doing good deeds is attached to the 36 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:28,400 soul and shines elsewhere. Now I I love this story and I 37 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:32,800 wonder if someone like Bartelli ever sat there as a child on his 38 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,840 little bike, riding through country Tuscany and pondered 39 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,080 what could be possible in his life. 40 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:45,440 He started out as a poor boy riding through these these 41 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,520 country streets and his life was ordinary. 42 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:54,800 But his faith and his conviction caused him to look at the 'cause 43 00:02:55,240 --> 00:03:00,080 that was presented around him, take what he had and to achieve 44 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:05,160 extraordinary feats with the richest kind of eternal reward. 45 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,080 I wonder for you and I if we could ponder the thought this 46 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:13,960 morning, what is possible? So the title of the message is 47 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:18,000 what is possible and what is our part? 48 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,480 Because we always have a part to play. 49 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,760 It's not just all God doing all things. 50 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:30,040 We're included in the picture in Matthew 1926. 51 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:31,840 Is this a problem? Do you want me to take a mic? 52 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:38,520 No, OK, Matthew 1926 it reads. Jesus looked at them intently 53 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:43,120 and said humanly speaking it is impossible, but with God 54 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:49,000 everything is possible. With God everything is possible. 55 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:57,360 In Mark 923 it reads anything is possible if a person believes So 56 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,560 have you sat down and ever pondered the question? 57 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:06,160 What's possible? The Bible encourages us to 58 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:11,040 broaden our minds, ask the question, ask him the question. 59 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,120 But while embracing one important part in this 60 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,959 Scripture, I want to do a little bit of a dance this morning with 61 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:24,840 a word and it says with God everything is possible. 62 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:30,520 With Greek word there is para. I so badly wanted to find 63 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,480 someone Greek and tell me how I did, saying that I practiced so 64 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:35,800 hard. John's not even here, he's at 65 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:37,520 Bribie, and so we didn't get to hear it. 66 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:45,480 You could argue that the word para, it means it could mean in 67 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:51,440 or of or from, but it translates better in this particular 68 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:58,280 passage of Scripture as with so if I say that I went to the park 69 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:05,600 with my grandson Balfa, who's present, I've got Balfa and 70 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,720 myself. There's two people in the room. 71 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:14,200 If Pastor Rachel said I'm taking all of the song leaders out to 72 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:19,760 dinner, who's at dinner? We've got Pastor Rach and or the 73 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:24,800 song leaders. When we use the word with it 74 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:30,560 usually means yourself and someone else in the room. 75 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:35,720 Our Lord Jesus, he's so relational. 76 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:40,200 He's so relational. He wants to do life with you. 77 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:45,040 He wants to be so close, so intricately involved in your 78 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,480 life. Almighty God, Creator of heaven 79 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,920 and earth, desires to do life with you. 80 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:57,920 And so when he tells us anything is possible, it's anything is 81 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:04,080 possible with Him, we're not excluded from the picture we're 82 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,560 in. We're in that, that picture. 83 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:11,000 We're in that diagram. It's God and it's us, which 84 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:16,400 means God has a part to play in. Anything is possible, but we 85 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:20,920 have a part to play. It's a partnership. 86 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:25,080 It's with God. All things are possible. 87 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,440 Sometimes we can excuse our involvement. 88 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:33,600 We can say things like, well, if God wanted it to happen, he'll 89 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:35,680 just go and make it happen. He's God. 90 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,480 And I mean, God is God. He can do whatever he pleases, 91 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,600 but it's genuinely not how he works. 92 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:48,120 He likes to invite us into his will. 93 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:52,440 God's will be done, which means please pray for God's will to be 94 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:55,080 done. It's an invitation to partner 95 00:06:55,360 --> 00:07:00,360 with God with what he wants, with what he wants to establish 96 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:05,720 in US and through us. He gives us the strength and the 97 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:10,680 power, the enabling, the anointing to outwork that which 98 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,760 He wants to do. He's relational. 99 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:21,400 He wants to do life with. In Philippians 413 it says for I 100 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,440 can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength? 101 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:30,000 I can do. He gives strength. 102 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:35,640 Why do we need strength? Why do we need strength if God's 103 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:40,680 just going to go and do it all? We need strength because we have 104 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:45,280 a part to play. We're not absent in the things 105 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,440 that are possible with God. We're present in the process. 106 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:52,600 So it's a partnership of Him working with us. 107 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,800 So with God we can do all things. 108 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,720 All things are possible to those that believe. 109 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,200 And I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 110 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,440 With God. We can do anything if we 111 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:11,520 believe, which leads me to 4 points. 112 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:14,840 I want to race through four points this morning on what is 113 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:19,880 our part to play and the first one being .1. 114 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:25,360 Our part is to believe. Our part is to believe. 115 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,760 In Mark 923 we did not read that. 116 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:33,520 Anything is possible if a a person ticks all of life's 117 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,840 boxes. We didn't even read that. 118 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:41,360 Anything is possible if you tick all of churches boxes. 119 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:46,000 We didn't read that. Anything is possible if you're a 120 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,840 really, really good person on your best behaviour. 121 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:55,240 And we didn't read that anything is possible if you just work 122 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:57,520 hard enough. Like the world loves to tell 123 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:01,840 you. No, God's Holy Bible says 124 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,600 anything is possible if a person believes. 125 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:10,400 Being a good person and doing good deeds is not what qualifies 126 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:16,680 us to receive from God. Faith does He made the way we 127 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:21,160 are reconciled to God by His power, and believing in Him 128 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:25,400 gives us access to the heavenly. It gives us access to believe 129 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,480 what is possible out there, what is possible in here. 130 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:33,640 Faith opens more doors than sin will ever close. 131 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:38,960 You cannot earn His power. You cannot be good enough for 132 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:40,800 it. You can't work hard enough for 133 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,200 it. It's made available through 134 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:48,160 faith, through believing. Anything is possible. 135 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:56,440 For those that believe the Bible says anything, Do you believe 136 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:02,880 that anything is possible? Maybe a more pointed question 137 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,520 could be what have you deemed impossible? 138 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:15,080 What have you given up on? What have you put away? 139 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,080 I'm pretty sure that ship sailed for me. 140 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,360 It this is this will never happen for me. 141 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:32,920 I tried it and it didn't work. I can feel God's presence here 142 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,000 wanting just to speak right into this. 143 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:42,440 It's, it's almost like you've, you've started out with life and 144 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,400 it's like a maze. You know, those really fun ones 145 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,160 that you, you pay to run around in and you've got all of the 146 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:52,840 shrubs and there's a beginning and then there is an end and 147 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:55,560 there's a way through. But you've started out in this 148 00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:59,640 maze in all excitement, but then you hit a dead end and you're 149 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,600 like, oh, OK, so you've gone down a different path, but you 150 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:07,360 hit another dead end. And this has kept happening 151 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:12,880 until you got so discouraged and convinced yourself it's just a 152 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:18,960 cruel joke, and you stopped going down paths and stopped 153 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:25,840 believing that there was a way through the scripture that we 154 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:31,680 just read. Where is it, Mark, that anything 155 00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:34,800 is possible for those who believe in that particular 156 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:40,720 story, that scenario, Jesus was speaking right into that kind of 157 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:45,920 disappointment. Do you know the cynical people? 158 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:48,640 They don't usually start out cynical. 159 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:58,520 Cynical people usually start out overly optimistic with all of 160 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:01,880 the energy, with all of the hope, with all of the faith, and 161 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:06,840 then they hit disappointment. Then they get discouraged, they 162 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:12,560 get let down, they might experience betrayal, they get 163 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:20,160 hurt, disillusioned, and so they become cynical. 164 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,840 The words of Jesus. And I just pray that that you 165 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:31,640 would hear the words of Jesus because this is not my words. 166 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,920 This is from his Bible he speaks right into. 167 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,320 It was this kind of disappointment that he spoke 168 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:41,880 into. Anything is possible for those 169 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:47,120 that believe. Anything is possible for those 170 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,960 that believe. Any situation is possible for 171 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:57,000 those that believe. Any marriage can be great for 172 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:03,520 those that believe any financial crisis has a way through. 173 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:08,760 For those that believe restoration is possible. 174 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:13,520 For those that believe transformation is possible. 175 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:19,640 For those that believe spiritual freedom is possible. 176 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:27,280 For those that believe anything is possible, and I even just 177 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:31,160 pray in this moment that you will allow His words to Pierce 178 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:35,480 your heart right now into that space that you've given up on. 179 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:37,960 I can almost hear you screaming at me. 180 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,320 Don't you give me false hope. Don't do it again. 181 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,240 I've buried that. I've put a cap on it. 182 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:48,760 I'm not revisiting that again. I pray you would hear His words 183 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:54,600 that anything is possible. He created you with purpose. 184 00:13:54,960 --> 00:14:00,680 He created you for a plan, and it's possible if you just 185 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:10,320 believe. With God, anything is possible. 186 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:16,680 Our part is to believe. And so how do we then match our 187 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:20,360 faith and expectation to our desired outcome? 188 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:27,560 That's then in what we do, James talks about our works being as 189 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:31,840 the evidence of our faith, the proof that faith exists. 190 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,880 So point to our part is to do the work. 191 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:41,040 In Philippians 212 to 13, it says work hard. 192 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:44,680 I don't like that word so much work. 193 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:49,400 Can't it be like work softly, work a little bit? 194 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,560 Does it even need to be work? Define. 195 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:58,920 Let's define work. I mean now it says work hard to 196 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,360 show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep 197 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,760 reverence and fear. For God is working in you, 198 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:09,720 giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. 199 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,040 So God has desires. How beautiful. 200 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:18,200 God has desires, things that He wants to see and it's plans for 201 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,920 good for you and for the people in and around us all. 202 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:27,920 And the way that he brings forth what pleases him is to work in 203 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:33,440 US and give us the power to do what pleases him. 204 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:37,480 He empowers us to I just said the word. 205 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:41,160 It's 2 letters starts with D wakey wake. 206 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:51,160 He empowers us to do his work. It's his power, God, power our 207 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:53,760 work. There's that partnership again. 208 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:59,280 He'll do it, but he empowers us. It's together, it's with God. 209 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,760 God has a part to play and we have a part to play. 210 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:07,120 When we believe God for something, our actions will then 211 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:12,040 prove what we believe. So when we entertain what is 212 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:16,040 possible, our actions are going to be the evidence of what we 213 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,840 believe. I have an example here. 214 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:23,280 Years ago when I went to City Point N, it used to be called 215 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,440 COC. I've got my good friend 216 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:29,000 Peschelen in the auditorium here today, visiting from Sweden, a 217 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,040 friend of more than 30 years. Do you remember how we had the 218 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:33,840 shed? I don't know what it's called. 219 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,160 Yeah, the the shed. I don't know what you call it. 220 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:38,440 It's where they've got the big God bowl, that big, beautiful 221 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,480 building now. Sorry, Epicentre. 222 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:43,600 OK, there we go. I didn't know that word. 223 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:48,560 I still call it the shed. So Pastor Ross Abraham, what's 224 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:53,480 his title now, chairman of the Inc movement. 225 00:16:53,880 --> 00:17:00,000 I remember recall him giving a word and he was saying the story 226 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,800 of how the shed, the epicentre came into being. 227 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,359 And there was a group of them who wanted their own area for a 228 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,480 youth service. They wanted to get this off the 229 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:10,680 ground. And so a bunch of men went 230 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:15,119 around on a a dirt slab and they started praying and seeking God 231 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:18,160 for this building. Now the building I believe was 232 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,359 going to cost somewhere in the vicinity of $200,000, which was 233 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:24,680 a lot of money back then. And so they got together and 234 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:26,359 they prayed and they believed God. 235 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:29,760 And then they got to work. So they had a car wash. 236 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,080 Pretty sure they raised about 180 bucks. 237 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:45,680 And I love this story because in their own efforts, it was 238 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:47,920 impossible. They were never going to raise 239 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:52,560 that money washing cars. But you have to understand, God 240 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:58,320 breathes and moves on faith. That's believing in Him with 241 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:01,360 action. They got the money for the 242 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:04,440 building and we now have what's called an epicentre. 243 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:09,040 But that's because men of God stood before and petitioned him. 244 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:12,040 They believed God and then got to work. 245 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:18,520 We still have to do the work. It's faith and action that 246 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:21,920 caused heaven to open up and then the money just started to 247 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,880 flow. You know, if God's called you in 248 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:29,320 this place to be a doctor, you still have to do the work. 249 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:34,400 If I come to see you, I don't care how anointed by God you are 250 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:36,640 to be a doctor. If you don't have that 251 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:40,480 certificate on your wall that says graduated, you are not 252 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:45,840 coming near me with a scalpel. You've still got to do the work. 253 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,200 There's work that we have to do. We can't escape it. 254 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,320 Genuine faith, prove through what we do. 255 00:18:55,280 --> 00:19:03,280 It will require testing, commitment, grit, sticking it 256 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:07,080 out when things get hard. Which leads me to .3. 257 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:13,840 Our part is to surrender and obey, and you might think that 258 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:17,520 doing the work and obey is one of the same things. 259 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:22,400 I assure you, it is not. Just because you are working 260 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,320 hard does not mean you are being obedient. 261 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:31,480 Just because you are busy does not mean you're living a life of 262 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:37,320 surrender. In Romans 12/1, Let's read. 263 00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:42,000 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to 264 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:45,960 give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. 265 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:51,280 Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind He will find 266 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,640 acceptable. This is truly the way to worship 267 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:58,280 Him. A living sacrifice. 268 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:01,760 May I point out the obvious, please? 269 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:05,080 It's a living sacrifice, not a dead 1. 270 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,720 It's a living sacrifice. It's not a dead one. 271 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:16,560 It says, let me clear something up. 272 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:23,840 When we when we go to God and we surrender to God, sometimes we 273 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:28,320 can have this attitude of oh, Lord, I just surrender 274 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:33,920 everything over to you. And we get down on our knees and 275 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,640 we're like, oh, Lord, I'll just surrender. 276 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:41,600 I'm handing it all over to you. I just give you everything. 277 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,800 I'll give you all of the work. You do it, Lord, you're good for 278 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:47,720 this. I'm just an encourager. 279 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,760 Go team God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, you got this. 280 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:53,960 So I'm just oh, that feels a bit better. 281 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:55,640 Yeah, take, take all of it, Lord. 282 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,840 And you lie down. He was my pillow because this, 283 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:00,960 this floor is looking pretty good on this altar. 284 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:05,760 And it's Lord. I just, I lay it all down. 285 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,560 Oh, that's good. That's a bit comfy. 286 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:20,760 And we take a nap. Oh. 287 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:43,800 Surrender is not just laying everything down to God. 288 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:46,840 You do it, Lord. Oh, you're good, You're 289 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,320 powerful, you're king. I just hand it all off to you. 290 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:58,640 It's laying it down on the altar, but it's picking up what 291 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:04,360 he wants to do. It's laying down your will and 292 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:09,120 picking up God's will. What did Pastor Mills say? 293 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:11,440 When we're on the floor, I'm just processing. 294 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:18,280 Lord, we've got to hear, get vision, understand what He's 295 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:22,640 doing, what He wants to do in and through you, and pick up 296 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,640 what He wants us to do. We don't get to just check out. 297 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:30,320 Give it all to you, God, I'm checking out. 298 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,120 We don't get to do that as parents. 299 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:35,280 Wouldn't that mean I sometimes, you know, when they're throwing 300 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:37,360 tantrums? Just check out not my child 301 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:40,720 today, Lord, and they're throwing up and you got the, 302 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:42,720 the, the the sickness that's going on. 303 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,640 Woo Hoo, Hoo. I'm not that person's parent. 304 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,720 No, we don't get to do that. We have to stay for the whole 305 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:59,880 process surrenders, laying down your will and picking up his 306 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,720 your will be done. God with you, Lord, all things 307 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:12,760 are possible with you laying down what we want, picking up 308 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:16,000 what He wants. What do we actually think a 309 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:21,680 living sacrifice means? Have you ever just, do you stop? 310 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:24,800 Sometimes in scripture when you're reading the Bible, do you 311 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:28,160 get to, I get to a word, sometimes I'll get 3 words in 312 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:31,520 and I just stop and go. What does that actually mean? 313 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:33,760 Lookout Internship. This is what I do. 314 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:38,360 But to stop and go. What is it to be a living 315 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:43,200 sacrifice? It's sacrifice. 316 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:48,240 Sacrificial. It's obedience. 317 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:53,080 It's often rolled up and like it's often displayed as rolled 318 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:58,480 up sleeves, hard work. It often is faced with 319 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:03,760 challenge, even heartache. Do you know why we're so slow to 320 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:08,120 surrender and obey? Because it's often the very 321 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:10,320 opposite of what we actually want to do. 322 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:16,760 It can look terrifying, but it's why faith is required. 323 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,680 It's why we've got to know who God is. 324 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:24,040 It's why we've got to have a vision of what he's doing and, 325 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:28,360 and, and tenacity to believe God for what he wants to do. 326 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:36,880 Otherwise, guys, you might not make it genuine faith. 327 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:41,520 You can tick all of the boxes. You can do all that this church 328 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,800 asks you to do, but there comes a moment where you've got to get 329 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,400 real personal with your Creator and go, you know what? 330 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:54,960 I believe you. I believe in you with God. 331 00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:00,120 He promises to sustain us. He promises that He will be with 332 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:04,960 us and there's beauty and there's rest and there's 333 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:11,240 richness and there's fulfilment in his will, but we need a bit 334 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:17,840 of grit. We will potentially miss what is 335 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:21,920 possible if we're only looking for what's pleasurable. 336 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,840 You'll potentially miss what's possible if all you're looking 337 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:34,000 for is what brings you pleasure. Jesus cares. 338 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,960 He cares so deeply about every detail in your life. 339 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:39,120 He knows you better than he know yourself. 340 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:43,640 There's fulfilment and joy in his purposes. 341 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:48,880 But our faith needs to be allowed to cost us sometimes. 342 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:54,640 Which leads me to .4, which is our part is to commit our way. 343 00:25:56,360 --> 00:26:01,560 Other word would be a line in Psalms 37 verses 3 to 6. 344 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,560 It reads trust in the Lord and do good. 345 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:08,120 Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. 346 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:12,040 That's good news. Take delight in the Lord and He 347 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,400 will give you your heart's desires. 348 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:21,600 Commit everything you do to the Lord, Trust Him and He will help 349 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,080 you. There's that partnership, God 350 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:27,360 and you. He will make your innocence 351 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:33,760 radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine 352 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:38,720 like the noonday. Much of what we've talked about 353 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,160 this morning is summed up in this scripture. 354 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:43,840 You know what? It's OK to have desires. 355 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:51,840 It's OK to dream the impossible. But did you catch the key in 356 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,840 there? It says commit your way to the 357 00:26:55,840 --> 00:27:00,480 Lord. In other words, whose agenda are 358 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:05,000 you on here? Are you running on God's agenda 359 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,160 or are you running on your own agenda? 360 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:13,560 Do we set our agenda and then just try and fit Jesus in it? 361 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:16,760 This is what I'm doing, Lord, this is what my life's about. 362 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:20,560 Need a new kitchen, got to pay for school fees over here hoping 363 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,720 to restore, you know, or do something with this building 364 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,920 over there. And then I'll come to church on 365 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,200 Sunday, say a quick prayer and try and fit Jesus in. 366 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:32,840 Whose agenda are you on? You might, you might be crying 367 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:35,600 and going. I have tried. 368 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,920 I've believed God for things and he hasn't shown up. 369 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,280 I've got to ask the question, whose agenda are you on? 370 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:46,640 He invites you to jump on his agenda. 371 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:51,760 You will never experience more fulfillment than when you do. 372 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:55,040 You will never experience more satisfaction. 373 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,960 You will be blown away by what he can do with your life. 374 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:03,200 By then you can take your mess and he'll actually turn it into 375 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,280 a message. When you jump on his agenda, he 376 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,120 can pour life into it. He can pour hope into it. 377 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:13,080 It's amazing what He will do, and I'm reminded of that 378 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:16,880 scripture that says when you seek the Lord, all of these 379 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,520 things will be added unto you. It all gets sorted out when you 380 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,800 jump on His agenda. All things are possible. 381 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:30,560 He'll use all of it. Musos, could I just get you to 382 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:37,040 jump on up with me please? Is our cause about ourself? 383 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:39,760 What are we about? Or is it actually about? 384 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:44,880 Jesus is our cause Christ is our cause, His gospel message? 385 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:51,920 Is our cause to see freedom, spiritual transformation in US, 386 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:57,600 and reform in our region? Is our life aligned with His 387 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,280 will, what He desires, and what He wants to do? 388 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:06,600 When we pray, many people come to God and think that it's 389 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:09,680 begging God for Him to do what we want to do. 390 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,960 It's actually flipped. God has things that He wants to 391 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,840 do, that He wants to establish, that He wants to breathe. 392 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:19,800 He's told us all about it in here. 393 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,320 If you want to know what God wants, open up His Word. 394 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,920 There are 8000 plus promises in here for you and for our region. 395 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:32,320 So God wants to do these things. So when we pray, it's not us 396 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:36,160 begging Him to do what we want. It's us coming in to align with 397 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,520 what He wants to do. And no thing will be impossible 398 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:43,680 for you. Nothing will be impossible for 399 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,480 you. When we align ourselves in His 400 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:52,680 desire, His will ask and you will actually receive. 401 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:01,520 There are promises in here, thousands of them. 402 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:06,480 But when we talk about God's promises, sometimes we skim over 403 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:09,400 the fact that there's usually conditions. 404 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:14,080 You might go conditions. It's like, yes, there's 405 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:22,920 conditions that we are invited to believe, work at, obey, and 406 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:26,520 align with. There's a part God plays and 407 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:29,520 there's a part we play. He empowers. 408 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:34,160 It's our part to obey. He does the transformation. 409 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:37,720 It's our part to walk in step with Holy Spirit. 410 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:42,000 He provides. Oh, He provides. 411 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:47,240 He provides. There's our job to steward. 412 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:53,200 He initiates. It's our job to respond. 413 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:58,560 And he saves. Oh, he saves. 414 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:06,320 It's our part to believe. If we want to see social reform 415 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:11,880 in our region, God actually says that he will heal our land. 416 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:22,760 He says it our part was to humble ourselves, see God, pray, 417 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:29,680 turn from wickedness. What would our region look like? 418 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:34,280 Healed. Paint a picture. 419 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:45,520 I see beauty, I see prosperity. I see Centenary Lakes, that 420 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:50,880 whole side cleaned up. I see cafes, boardwalks. 421 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:54,960 I see high rises. I see a little sectioned off 422 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:58,000 area in that lake where where you've got little tugboats that 423 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,320 families can go and hire and get out on the lake. 424 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:16,240 I see Peace hospital beds empty because mental health has calmed 425 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:19,000 right down. And I see sound minds. 426 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:24,320 I see people, godly people, in positions of influence in our 427 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:26,960 governments, schools, public services. 428 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:35,640 I see that there's an answer for homeless people, that anyone who 429 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:40,840 so chooses to be in a home will have access to a a house with 430 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:45,360 enmities and a lockable door. What do you see? 431 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:52,760 What's your part in God's big story? 432 00:32:54,080 --> 00:33:00,160 Because we have a part to play. He wants to do it, but not 433 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:03,200 everything that happens is God's will. 434 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:09,040 We get to choose to partner with Him, to bring about what he 435 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:12,560 wants to do. And we are so honoured that the 436 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:15,760 God of the universe would choose you and I to be his answer for 437 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:19,440 humanity. To introduce them to the God who 438 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:23,880 cares, to introduce them to the God who sees, who has a plan, 439 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:29,880 who wants to work with you. Do you know Him this morning?