1 00:00:02,160 --> 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 that it helps you have more of a God 5 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:14,960 perspective for your day. Enjoy. 6 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:19,160 Do you want to start with an? Interesting story. 7 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,160 Not just a story, it was actually an event that occurred 8 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,320 in 2016. Whole stack of newspaper 9 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:29,640 articles about it caught my eye because it's so intriguing. 10 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,560 There was this Filipino. Filipinos. 11 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,080 Yeah. But it was this Filipino 12 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,920 fisherman. And he's doing his, you know, 13 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,000 his thing. He's swimming around and he 14 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:47,240 finds this big, dirty old rock that was weird looking. 15 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,440 And he thought this is a weird looking ugly rock, Must be 16 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:56,080 lucky. So he gets this big ugly rock 17 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,720 and he puts it under his bed for good luck. 18 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:05,000 He had it under his bed for 10 years, 10 years, lucky rock, 19 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:08,360 ugly rock. At the end of 10 years, he 20 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,480 thought to himself, I should check to see if this rock is 21 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,200 actually worth anything. It's ugly. 22 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,160 We're looking, maybe someone will like it. 23 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,520 So he took it into the the local, like, you know, where 24 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:24,320 they get evaluated on what it is because it wasn't gold. 25 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:33,880 It was a 34 kilogram Pearl. It's currently in a museum. 26 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:40,080 It was valued at the time, so 2016 at $100 million. 27 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:55,080 Ugly rock, 10 years. I know that kind of rock is a 28 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:57,800 you can look it up. They've got it in a museum now 29 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,160 in a glass case. I should have had a picture, but 30 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:04,120 you can look it up because that was a life changing, super 31 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:08,800 valuable, one-of-a-kind discovery, which is why it was 32 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:13,800 valued so highly. And in life, the more rare 33 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,040 something is, the more valuable it is. 34 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:21,320 Say for example, dirt, not so valuable. 35 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:25,360 It does have some value, but it's not as valuable because it 36 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:30,440 is everywhere. It is common, but dirt is part 37 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:33,960 of life. To even leave the house, you 38 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,000 walk on the dirt, you travel on the dirt, your car gets dirty, 39 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,800 your house gets dirty. There's this constant 40 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:46,760 interaction between dirt and your own life. 41 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,840 So that's OK because interaction and management of dirt, even 42 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,800 though dirt's common, it is, still has value, you know, 43 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,200 because you want to walk places, you want to do things, you know? 44 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,640 So dirt, yeah, annoying, but it's there. 45 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:06,560 Gold, more valuable because it's more rare and more useful than 46 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,040 just dirt. Diamonds are worth more. 47 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:14,440 And these days we have what's called rare earth materials. 48 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:16,120 Have you heard of them? Rare earth materials. 49 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:22,000 Super valuable gets like massive amount of uses, very hard to 50 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,680 find. If you were to dig up rare earth 51 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:31,760 materials in your backyard it would be a life changing super 52 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,600 valuable discovery for you and your family. 53 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:42,480 That's just true. So too, in scripture we have 54 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,720 what's called imperative themes. It's combinements that are kind 55 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:48,840 of the same. You know, it's like, you know, 56 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,320 don't sleep with a bunch of people you shouldn't, don't have 57 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,120 sexual immorality. It's a theme, all right? 58 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:58,320 Imperative theme commands. And there are some imperative 59 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:03,960 themes that are repeated over and over and over again, not to 60 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:08,160 make them of little value, but because they're meant to be so 61 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:13,400 common that you interact with them daily and have a lifestyle 62 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,079 of it. OK, so there's some imperative 63 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:18,600 themes that happen over and over and over again. 64 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:24,720 If, however, there is an imperative theme of command or 65 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:28,720 something that's only mentioned, you know, you know, a few times 66 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:35,480 or even only once, it's because that word, that imperative theme 67 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,960 has even more value. It doesn't actually diminish. 68 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:39,640 It doesn't. Oh, God. 69 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:40,920 And he mentions it once or twice. 70 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,440 It mustn't be that important. It's well, actually it's more 71 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,080 rare. It's more like a gold or it's 72 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,440 more like a diamond. And there is this one word in 73 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:55,680 the Bible, one word. It's OK, it's technically twice, 74 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:57,760 once in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament. 75 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,520 But the New Testament is just referring back to the only one 76 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:01,920 time it's mentioned in Scripture. 77 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:06,960 So if technically once there is this one word in the Bible, the 78 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:12,640 whole Bible that is meant to be super valuable, super life 79 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:17,760 changing, incredibly dynamic for your life, we're talking an 80 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,400 amazing experience. When you get this one word in 81 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:24,960 your life, it should change your whole experience. 82 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:37,600 And it's the title of today's message Emmanuel God with us in 83 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:42,840 menu means with us L God mention once it must be important. 84 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:46,480 No, it's super rare earth material. 85 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:51,720 Get this into your heart. It will change your entire life. 86 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:56,200 God with us. It's found in Isaiah 7 verse 14 87 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,520 and then in Isaiah 9 verse 6 we have the Christmas theme which 88 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,440 incorporates Emmanuel. In Isaiah 9, verse 6, it says 89 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:12,200 for unto us a child is born, unto us, with us a son is given, 90 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:16,600 and the government will be upon his shoulder and his name will 91 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:21,040 be called wonderful counselor. The word counselor then means to 92 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:22,240 guide. OK, so he's going to be 93 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:26,040 wonderful, but he's going to also guide mighty God, 94 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,360 everlasting father. And one of the most remarkable 95 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:36,000 parts of this verse, Prince of Peace, one of the most 96 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:41,000 incredible qualities of this God, this wonderful counselor 97 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:46,520 God who wants to be with us. Oh man, you know, not on my 98 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,120 nose. Sorry, but the song that bugs me 99 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:53,880 the most is that song that goes God is watching from a distance. 100 00:06:53,880 --> 00:07:02,480 I'm like what a load of tripe. Sorry just popped into my head. 101 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:07,760 I'm like gosh, I hate that song as I'm as I'm reading this with 102 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:13,200 us. God is with us anyway, this 103 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:17,920 mighty or eternal being. Not only is he mighty, eternal 104 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:23,880 Father, he brings peace. And if you look at the majority 105 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:28,960 of the other religions, their lowercase G gods demand 106 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:35,120 obedience without fatherhood, without atonement, no 107 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:38,320 redemption. The other gods will bring law 108 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:44,200 and subjection with love, what they call love, but they enforce 109 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,360 their so-called love through fear. 110 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:54,440 And it is our God, the God of the Bible who comes with peace. 111 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:02,440 First point of today is No Fear because with the one true God 112 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:07,480 there is No Fear. Yeah, praise Jesus, You know, 113 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaking of Jesus when Jesus was born, OK, just the day that the 114 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:14,880 moment that Jesus was born, basically there's a whole stack 115 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,880 of shepherds down the fields and this Angel appears to them. 116 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:26,040 The very first word spoken to humanity at the birth of Christ 117 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:32,440 was fear not. The first words spoken to 118 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,919 humanity. Fear not, fear not. 119 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:39,640 That's Luke 2, verse 10. He says, fear not for behold, I 120 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:44,400 bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all 121 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:48,400 people. Verse 14 glory to God in the 122 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:53,520 highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. 123 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,800 And I think this is my personal opinion, but I, I have some 124 00:08:57,800 --> 00:08:59,280 anecdotal evidence about our case. 125 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:03,200 Things that I've, I've noticed that the majority of the world, 126 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:05,760 not just Christians, but the majority of the world would 127 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:12,200 think that if Jesus showed up right now on this platform, he 128 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:17,200 would look you all straight in the eye and say you should do 129 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,760 better. That's, that's what we think our 130 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:24,160 first experience with the revelation of Jesus is going to 131 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:26,000 be like. It's like, man, if Jesus showed 132 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,560 up, I mean, he's the first thing he's going to do is point out 133 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:29,840 everything I've done wrong this week. 134 00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:32,440 It's like, you better do better. I'm going to beat you. 135 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:46,160 But first words fear not fear not because I bring peace now I 136 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:50,480 sure do better, but out of a loving relationship, not out of 137 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:55,360 fear, but out of peace out of peace. 138 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,720 Now, I don't understand that Scripture does say to fear God, 139 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:04,640 but you have to remember in Second Timothy one verse 7, it 140 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:10,720 says for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and 141 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,800 of love and a sound mind. This verse has kept me since I 142 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:20,560 was about 17. Honestly, I'm like, wow, OK, 143 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:23,560 sound mind. That's a tough one being a crazy 144 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,240 teenager. It's just like not so sure if 145 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:27,320 this one's accurate. God. 146 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:31,920 And God was like, just trust me, because he's not giving us a 147 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:35,120 spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind. 148 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:38,840 And Scripture does say to actually fear God. 149 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:42,040 That's in Ecclesiastes 12/13. It says let us hear the 150 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:46,800 conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his 151 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,680 commandments, for this is the whole duty of men. 152 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:50,360 It's like, wait, which one is it? 153 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:56,080 Is it fear not or fear me? Contradictions. 154 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:02,560 No, not contradictions. Do not fear, but fear God 155 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:06,160 because the fear of God in the context of the whole Bible, not 156 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:09,080 just, you know, a little verse, a little chapter, the context of 157 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:13,520 fear in God, the whole Bible is a healthy, respectful fear. 158 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,480 Let me explain a little bit further. 159 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,760 It's like fire. Now, I've mentioned before that 160 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,080 I'm, you know, somewhat in the fire industry. 161 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:25,600 I know to your surprise, I am not in the calendar, right? 162 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:31,760 Yeah. Why are you laughing for isn't 163 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:33,880 the, isn't the calendar a personality calendar 164 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:39,160 personality. Anyway, they never asked me to 165 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:40,560 be on them. All right, we're moving on. 166 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:43,600 Where's my notes here? OK, so fire. 167 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,080 I, I have done fire training and without even setting fire to 168 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,120 anything as the demonstration, before I even got to set fire to 169 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:53,720 something, I've had people have mental breakdowns on me. 170 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:55,080 Like, legitimately, that's actually true. 171 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:59,160 It's happened twice because people have had terrible 172 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:04,480 traumatic experiences with fire and they are super fearful of 173 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:06,000 fire. Get this. 174 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,240 Please understand this. If you are terrified of 175 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,520 something, you do not approach it. 176 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:16,920 You do not get near it. So God does not want you to fear 177 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,800 because if you fear you are never going to draw close to 178 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,760 him. And then he says, but fear me. 179 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:25,240 It's like, well, which one is a God? 180 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:32,600 So this with fire, if you approach fire correctly, if you 181 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:38,480 have a healthy, right relationship with fire, then it 182 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,360 can bring life. You cook food on it, gets rid of 183 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:45,640 the bacteria, warms a house. We use it for sterilization of 184 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,760 wounds. Fire has amazing health 185 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,000 benefits. So you choose what fear you 186 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,120 have. Have you got the fear that's 187 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:59,120 responsive and rejectful or have you got a fear of I approach it 188 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:03,560 with respect? Because if I approach fire with 189 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,800 respect, then I'm going to reap all the benefits. 190 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,520 And it's the same with God. We approach God with that 191 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:17,120 respectful fear. We get all of the benefits, but 192 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:22,800 stop fearing. God is constantly wanting us to 193 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:30,560 draw close to him, but we have do not fear the imperative 194 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:34,280 theme. The command to not fear actually 195 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:38,680 occurs 113 times in the Bible. It's the number one thing in the 196 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:42,200 whole Bible. Do not fear or do not be afraid 197 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:46,360 or fear not imperative theme 113 times. 198 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,000 Stop being afraid. It's actually very well 199 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:56,040 connected to be at peace. So peace, it occurs 22 times in 200 00:13:56,040 --> 00:14:00,080 the Bible between those that the the whole emphasis of the Bible, 201 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,240 if you want to look at imperative themes is just stop 202 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:11,520 being afraid and find peace. Interestingly, the second 203 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:15,120 highest imperative theme in the Bible is to listen. 204 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,480 That occurs 78 times. Why? 205 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:20,680 Because guys like, will you just listen to me and stop fearing 206 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,600 and peace? OK, So yeah, the third highest 207 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:27,760 one is to look, look and see what God's doing. 208 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:32,440 That occurs 62 times. See God. 209 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:38,240 See God the next one's go and come that's 58 times because God 210 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:45,000 wants to move with you, God with us and 51 times go command, go 211 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,240 into the world, go and do this, but it's always with you. 212 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,880 I'll always be with you, never leave you. 213 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,000 So none of these are the imperatives, you know, like 214 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:59,440 listen, look, go and tell will happen in your life if you're 215 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,920 afraid of drawing close to God, if there is fear in your life, 216 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,200 which is why you've got to get rid of fear. 217 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,800 If you suffer from fear and anxiety, here's the good news. 218 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:15,800 Here's the absolutely honestly best news. 219 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:17,960 I'm not just going to say this to encourage you. 220 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:20,880 I'm going to tell you very clearly how you how this 221 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,400 transforms, OK, so that you can see some light at the end of the 222 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,160 tunnel, because I think there's people that really suffer from 223 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:30,080 fear and anxiety. I've been there in my life and 224 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:33,600 my childhood. I was so crippled by it that I 225 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:38,120 would stop breathing. So, and I think Pastor Graham's 226 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:40,680 already mentioned the fact that he would hate to be up speaking 227 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,120 in front of people. It's like, how do you transform 228 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,560 from fearful and anxiety to the power of God? 229 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:50,200 How does this work? Well, that's because fear and 230 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,280 anxiety is actually a dis formed gift. 231 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:59,280 All right, so let me explain people who have a persuasion for 232 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,120 ungodly experiences. So for example, people like, you 233 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:06,760 know, I'm a psychic. I'm like, all right, it's, I 234 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:10,000 find it remarkable that when they become born again 235 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,720 Christians, the gift doesn't leave them because the gifts of 236 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,560 God are without repentance. But now they operate fully in 237 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:22,200 the correct spiritual realm. So they're not hearing from 238 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:25,080 demons anymore. They're hearing from the power 239 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:26,840 of God. They've become prophets or 240 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:28,960 discerners. Amazing. 241 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:33,600 Same gift, just in godliness, you know, and with actual true 242 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:38,520 health and power. People that have a deformed gift 243 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:40,280 of healing, you know, they've heard Reiki. 244 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:42,680 They're like, oh, I run my hands over you, it's going to heal 245 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:43,880 you. It's like, don't touch me, mate. 246 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:47,840 You might. That doesn't already matter. 247 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:54,320 But after a transformational change through the power of the 248 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,480 Holy Spirit, all of a sudden the gift arises of healing in their 249 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:03,200 life. Gifts of God without repentance. 250 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:05,720 That's Romans 11/29. Get this. 251 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:10,040 If you feel like you suffer depression, guess what? 252 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:14,640 You're the kind of person who will know the weight that God 253 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:21,160 feels about sin. If you have an addictive 254 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:25,480 personality, then you're the person who's going to wake up 255 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:32,360 every day when the God hit. We have to stop thinking that 256 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:36,360 the problem's a problem. The problem is an opportunity 257 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:44,840 for the Kingdom. And so if you're prone to fear, 258 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,040 prone from suffering fear and anxiety, and honestly, there's 259 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:53,680 some research about the addiction to fear, but instead 260 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:56,320 of being prone to anxiety, get this, this is where your 261 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:57,480 transformation is going to occur. 262 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:01,160 If you are the one who is prone to anxiety, then you are 263 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:08,920 actually also prone to faith. Yeah, you can. 264 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,760 You can actually build a moment of lifestyle of faith because to 265 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:15,680 be honest, as someone, and Pastor Gray will testify this to 266 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,800 step down and faith can be quite terrifying sometimes. 267 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:24,400 Yeah, But because fear can be addictive, then so can faith 268 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:29,440 because you like the same buzz, the same hormones, like, Oh my 269 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,760 gosh, this is so terrifying. And then you go, yes, I'm going 270 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,920 to step out of faith and tell this lady to step out of a 271 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:36,480 wheelchair. It's just like, because I'm 272 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:43,800 addicted to the buzz. The difference between a 273 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:48,680 distorted gift and a wholly powerful godly gift is to simply 274 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:53,280 know God, that he is with us. Let go of the fear. 275 00:18:54,120 --> 00:19:03,160 Move into your God-given gifts. Alright .2 No God no peace. 276 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:09,200 No God, no peace. It's a classic, yeah. 277 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:14,600 God deeply wants us to know him. You know, to know God is the 278 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:17,280 beginning of wisdom. That's in Proverbs 910. 279 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,560 But to really know God and to move into a relationship with 280 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:25,320 him, you will always find peace as well, not just wisdom. 281 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:28,120 It's the beginning of wisdom, but there's a whole world of 282 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:31,320 peace. And God does want us to deeply 283 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,720 know him. Even if you have personally 284 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:40,760 rejected God your entire life, He wants you to know Him. 285 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:46,920 Now. We recently know of somebody who 286 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,840 passed away. They were 90 years old, and they 287 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:56,800 rejected God their whole life. We're talking their last, like 288 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:59,120 their last moments in bed. You know what's it called? 289 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:01,800 A palliative care for the last six months, right? 290 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:05,560 Reject God. Reject God 90 years palliative 291 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:09,320 care rah rah. Gave their life to the Lord, 292 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:12,480 right? And then it was just like, huh, 293 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:16,160 he he'll probably die now. He did three days later because 294 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,240 God was like, you know, I'm going to have to keep you alive 295 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:21,280 just long enough for you to accept me as your king. 296 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:25,400 Oh, and you think you think, wait, God, he rejected you for 297 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:30,040 his entire life. And I think back and I go, are 298 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:34,720 you OK, God? Because that's a little bit 299 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:43,040 obsessive compulsive. I genuinely think a bit worried 300 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,760 about him sometimes because I wouldn't have to be honest. 301 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,240 I love you guys. 90 years, a whole life of rejection. 302 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:51,600 God's like, Oh no, no, I'm holding him because I want him 303 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:53,240 home. Bam. 304 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:58,000 Because God is so forgiving, so merciful. 305 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:02,760 And to know that God is so forgiving and so merciful, you 306 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:09,800 know, that brings peace. No more condemnation in Christ. 307 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:11,960 None of this rubbish way you think. 308 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:17,040 It's just like, you know, God loves me, God, God would wait to 309 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:21,960 my dying breath to save me. Why would that not bring you 310 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:24,720 peace? You know, Paul says, it's not 311 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,040 even my eyes. Paul says I am convinced that 312 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:30,440 absolutely nothing can stop us from the love of God. 313 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:36,520 But principalities, not powers. He's so forgiving. 314 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,200 Praise God. So how do we get there as well? 315 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:42,920 Actually, Pastor Rachel did it today. 316 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:49,120 No, she hasn't seen my notes, but Psalms 4610 Be still and 317 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:54,920 know that I am God. There is a time just to sit and 318 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:57,240 go. I'm going to try and control my 319 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:58,720 thoughts. If you're a little bit like me, 320 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:01,480 like a little bit of ADHD actually, I went to the doctor, 321 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,880 he said I have HD and apparently I have 80 of them. 322 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,760 That's AI said that's a terrible joke. 323 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:18,120 But if you get ADHD, you will definitely understand that. 324 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,400 So controlling my mind can sometimes be really hard. 325 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:24,280 So I'll be sitting there and next thing I realize, I've spent 326 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:26,320 some, you know, like the last 10 minutes thinking about something 327 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:28,960 completely different than God. So that's OK. 328 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:32,160 You know, sometimes that's actually OK because there's no 329 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:33,840 condemnation. God's just like, I just love the 330 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:35,520 fact that you're trying to spend time with me. 331 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:38,240 Yeah. Remember. 332 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,880 And your gift will become your purpose. 333 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,040 So just chill out. Oh my gosh. 334 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,800 Anyway, so be still and know that I'm God. 335 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:55,360 Psalms 4611, the Lord of Hostess with us, God, with us. 336 00:22:56,040 --> 00:23:00,040 Emmanuel, I'm telling you, if you can get that word into your 337 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:03,720 brain, then into your heart and into every DNA of your body, it 338 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:07,160 will change your life. Because every time you encounter 339 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:10,960 situations, every time you encounter temptations or trials, 340 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:12,840 you just think, oh, God, what's with me? 341 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,640 So why would I fear it? I'm not saying it's going to 342 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,920 stop bad things from happening, but it removes the fear. 343 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,720 This wonderful, wonderful counsellor. 344 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:30,160 Yes. It be still and know that I'm 345 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,640 God, I love this word. So that word still is hapu in 346 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:34,560 Hebrew, right? Hapu. 347 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:36,640 Think of shampoo. Yeah. 348 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:39,560 And just like shampoo won't happen overnight, but it will 349 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:42,680 happen if you know what that is. You're as old as I am. 350 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:46,280 Some of you was like, what is that off as an ad? 351 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,360 Sorry, kids. All right back way before you're 352 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:54,640 all born anyway. But hapu, Hapu means let it go. 353 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:58,520 Yeah. It's like, oh, how do I be 354 00:23:58,520 --> 00:23:59,360 still? How do I be still? 355 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:03,080 How do I still OK, Hapu let it go. 356 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,320 And it's. And it's where you let it go so 357 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:10,640 much that you just go. You actually perhaps you fall 358 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:12,120 because you've let everything go. 359 00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:14,560 Let it go. What's that song? 360 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:16,240 Oh, that's your generation is a frozen. 361 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:16,840 That's it. Yeah. 362 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,040 Let it go. I'm not going to sing it. 363 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:23,840 Oh, yeah. Because they can't. 364 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:28,640 Guys, let it go. It really does actually mean let 365 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,440 it go. And and you know why we can let 366 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:36,800 it go? Because Emmanuel, God with us, 367 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,800 let it go. We can know God. 368 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,800 We can know peace. Let me tell you right now, God 369 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:48,960 does not in his infinite eternity toss night and day 370 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:54,280 worrying about tomorrow. Yeah, think of that. 371 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:59,040 It's like, well, we're like, oh, no, God's like, I'm, I'm, I'm 372 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,240 good. You should be good too, because 373 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,160 I'm with you because God is peace. 374 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:06,440 And some people like, oh, I thought God was a wrath for God. 375 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:10,080 Well, sure, God will pour out wrath on weakness, but get this, 376 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:15,280 He is definitely at peace with that because he sees as justice. 377 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:19,920 God is at peace with how much he loves you. 378 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:25,640 God is at peace. This part's brutal, but he's at 379 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:30,560 peace placing all of your sin and all of your judgments on his 380 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:36,920 own Son. He's at peace brutalizing his 381 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:38,880 own son so that he could save us. 382 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:44,240 He's at peace with that all your wrongdoings on his own son. 383 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,000 Now, the absence of fear does not mean peace. 384 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:53,560 It's it's about knowing God so you can remove fear from your 385 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:54,160 life. Well done. 386 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:56,520 Congratulations. That's like removing a drug. 387 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:58,880 Good getting off drugs, very healthy thing to do. 388 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,200 Removing fear really healthy to do that still does not bring 389 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:04,560 peace. True peace actually comes from 390 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:08,120 knowing God. You've got Judges sixth story 391 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:11,760 about a guy named Gideon right now, Gideon. 392 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:14,360 Gideon was basically hiding from the Midianite army. 393 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:17,560 Like there's a Midianite army, they're all around and they want 394 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,400 to kill the Israelites pretty bad. 395 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,960 And Gideon is hiding. All right, So he's hiding, He's 396 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,080 doing work, but he's still hiding technically. 397 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,240 And it says that an Angel appears to him and the first 398 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:32,440 thing he says to Gideon is peace be unto you. 399 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:36,160 Fear not. Good theme, right? 400 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:40,080 And then, you know, so Gideon's like, whoa, I've just seen God, 401 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:41,360 rah, rah. I'm hearing from God. 402 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:46,000 And he builds this altar and then judges 624, he says, so 403 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,600 Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and he called it the 404 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,640 Lord is peace. If you like King James Version, 405 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:58,640 it's Jehovah Shalom. Yeah, that's for the king. 406 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,360 That's for the KGB is here. All right, Jehovah Shalom. 407 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:04,880 So how do we know God? How do we find peace? 408 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:10,640 It's by getting to know who he is in his word, get to know his 409 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,280 likes, his dislikes, get to know his ways. 410 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:18,040 I, as somebody who studies scholarly, you know, I'm doing 411 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:20,200 the studies and I've done a bunch of other stuff. 412 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:27,640 My #1 difficulty in Christianity is how much we argue over what 413 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:32,760 the Bible does and doesn't say when I just think maybe it's 414 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:37,440 just we should do all of it, you know, And the context of grace, 415 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:39,920 I've had people say, well, John, if you think we should do all of 416 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:42,120 it and that's stone these people and stone them. 417 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:45,400 I'm like, you are the context of the Bible is grace and love and 418 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,320 redemption. So do that first. 419 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:51,760 OK? Also, do not fear. 420 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:57,160 Yeah, that's why out there. So how do we get to know, get to 421 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:01,000 know God, get to know his ways and people then say, oh John, 422 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,040 you do. I do tend to say it to people. 423 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:06,040 Get to know God's ways, get read the Bible, get into it, get 424 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:09,920 stuck into it, love it. So why, why John, you're trying 425 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:11,840 to tell people you know, control them. 426 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:18,920 No, it's because in Psalms 119 it says this Psalms one 19165 427 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:23,680 great peace. Great peace have those who love 428 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:27,640 your law and nothing causes them to stumble. 429 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:31,640 Great peace, that word, their law. 430 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:33,920 At the Hebrew where there's Torah, it doesn't. 431 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,720 It gets that's pretty dodgy translation in general. 432 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,120 It's not just laws, not rules, not God in love with the rules. 433 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,200 Now the word Torah then means instruction and direction. 434 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:46,560 Yeah. And because laws are part of 435 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:48,680 instruction and direction, it gets translated as law. 436 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:53,280 But if you read this correctly, it says great peace are those 437 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:58,600 who love God's ways, want his direction, they want his 438 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,040 instruction. It is those things that will 439 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:07,680 bring great peace into your life because you get to know God. 440 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,720 I'm spinning here. No God, no peace. 441 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:17,320 If I can get this through your heads, no God, no peace, no his 442 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:21,440 ways, no God. It's this wonderful circle of 443 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:25,360 life. Just get to know God. 444 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:32,640 It's really not rocket science. Actually, true peace does not 445 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:36,960 come from following or adoring some spiritual leader. 446 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,040 It's not in the dedication of study. 447 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:47,560 Peace is not found with escapism in drugs, alcohol, or sexual 448 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:51,560 pleasures. Peace is not found in religion. 449 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:54,480 In fact, I'm not saying that any of these are really bad. 450 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:58,320 I'm just saying peace doesn't come from this and it's not 451 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:01,600 found by rebuking the devil constantly. 452 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:04,320 You know, people like it's the devil. 453 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:06,320 Rachel, I were talking about this this morning. 454 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,240 I love what Rachel said. She said this. 455 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:12,920 Whatever you blame, you empower. It's so weird and it's true. 456 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:17,680 I've seen this people who are absolutely obsessed with others, 457 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:20,720 demons everywhere, invited into their life. 458 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:22,240 You know why? Because Satan loves the 459 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:24,880 attention. I don't give him credit for 460 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,000 anything. I have dealt with more spiritual 461 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:28,960 matters than some of you will ever see in your life. 462 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:32,720 I've seen some crazy stuff. I don't even care about it. 463 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:35,160 You know why? Because I don't want to give any 464 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:39,080 kind of glory to Satan. Because who you blame, you 465 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:41,000 empower. And when you take 466 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,960 responsibility, you are blaming yourself. 467 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:46,280 Then you are empowering yourself. 468 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:49,320 Oh, my marriage is terrible because of demons. 469 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:51,600 No, you need to work on yourself. 470 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:55,440 Satan loves it. He loves getting credit for 471 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:56,760 things he's never done in his life. 472 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:00,880 Oh my gosh, you know what it's like? 473 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:04,600 Sorry, I'm going to finish up. It's like germaphobes. 474 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:09,160 We know that in your body you've got germs and you've got 475 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:12,360 bacteria. If you spend your whole life 476 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,520 getting freaked out about that and you focus on the germs and 477 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,360 the bacteria in your body, you will end up like a germaphobe. 478 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:22,160 And then what you would do is you'll wash your hands 100 times 479 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,520 a day. That's like trying to cast out 480 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:27,840 100 demons a day. But if you have a real view of 481 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:30,200 germs and you think, you know, it's part of life, I can 482 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:32,280 overcome them. How do you overcome them, John? 483 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:37,720 I wash my hands once before meals, that's handy as well. 484 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:42,400 I do not get obsessed about germs, but they're real. 485 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:52,160 But I do not obsess them because peace, fear gone. 486 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:56,560 Don't fear these things. Don't give them power guys. 487 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:03,240 Just find peace. And true peace is found in the 488 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:09,720 Prince of Peace. His name is Jesus by loving his 489 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:12,240 guidance and just loving his ways. 490 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,400 Sorry if I come across too much in love with Jesus. 491 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:17,520 Actually, I'm not sorry about that at all. 492 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:27,360 I feel sorry for you because the love of God I just one word, 493 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:31,120 Emmanuel. I'm thinking, I think often I 494 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:34,720 think, God, why? Why do you want to be with us? 495 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:40,160 Like what's the benefit for you? I don't think we'll actually 496 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:44,120 really know. But the benefit to him is so, so 497 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:46,760 high. He sees you as so important. 498 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:52,760 He sees you as so, so high value to him that he was willing to 499 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:55,560 crucify his own Son just to make redemption. 500 00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:01,640 I'm like God with us, Emmanuel. Let's pray. 501 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:06,240 Let's pray guys, if you would like to bow your heads, oh 502 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:07,640 musicians. Sorry guys. 503 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:10,840 I got really carried away with what I was doing because I just 504 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,720 love telling people how God much God loves you guys. 505 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:15,960 Wonderful revelation.