1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,080 This talk is called Faith in the Waiting. 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,760 And you know, we talked last week about starting in that 3 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:08,840 place of prayer. And this is for anyone who's 4 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:11,800 praying. Maybe you're fasting and praying 5 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:13,880 at the moment. Maybe you're waiting and 6 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,640 declaring however it is. You approach that place of 7 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:18,960 prayer, you come with a lot of expectation. 8 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,560 You are waiting for something to happen and you've been praying 9 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:25,760 for years, maybe months or however long it is. 10 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,440 And you've been yearning for God to fulfil what it is you think 11 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,479 he's laid on your heart and yet nothing's happened. 12 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,960 You're still waiting and you're still trying to explain to 13 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,320 people, I really feel like God's coming through on this and 14 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:41,840 you're still waiting in that place. 15 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,320 And frankly, you've got to the point now where you're not 16 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,320 entirely sure if that's going to happen. 17 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,640 You know, maybe you're one of those people who has a 18 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:52,640 conversation with God and reflective and maybe you're 19 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,240 saying God, are you really going to answer this prayer? 20 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,960 Did you say it to me? You know, am I praying it wrong? 21 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:02,160 Is it how I'm praying? Do I need to be more religious? 22 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,400 Do I need to use more scripture doing I need to approach this 23 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,120 slightly differently? Did I miss out? 24 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,400 Did you actually give me the answer and I absolutely missed 25 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:14,520 what you were trying to give me? Or maybe, and this is for me 26 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,880 sometimes, maybe I'm being greedy and maybe I'm asking for 27 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,800 too much. Maybe actually what God has for 28 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:24,960 me is a much longer story and a longer journey and maybe I'm 29 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:27,600 just being greedy and this is not what God has in store for 30 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:29,960 me. Maybe others need him more than 31 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:33,200 I do. If that resonates with you. 32 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:35,960 This is this is the talk for you because it's from me basically. 33 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:39,960 You know, my question is, have you been praying for that job, 34 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,960 that relationship, that healing, that help? 35 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,560 But so far, nothing. I know that feeling so 36 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,760 incredibly well. I mean, it was 12 years ago when 37 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,360 when we were in a an incredibly difficult situation where as a 38 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:59,320 family we had a one year old and a newborn and we were living in 39 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,240 a small flat, one bedroom flat. And we knew we needed to go big. 40 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:03,680 We just didn't have the finances. 41 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,800 And then things got worse. One of our neighbors who were 42 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,360 brought to church and engaged, unfortunately relapsed into 43 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,640 alcohol. And unfortunately when he when 44 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:16,000 he was not drunk, he was an amazing, really kind, genuine 45 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,160 guy. But after a drink, he turned 46 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,560 quite aggressive and violent and started banging on the door of 47 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:23,240 our house. I was out at the time, my wife 48 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:27,480 was there and, and was threatening, absolutely 49 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:30,320 aggressively threatening her. She called the police and they 50 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,440 basically said, look, the safest thing for you to do is to move 51 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:35,560 out. And they said we could try and 52 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,160 find you some temporary accommodation, but if you move 53 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:41,680 out within 48 hours, we can do something about this. 54 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:45,240 And it was a horrible situation. And effectively we're homeless 55 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,440 for six months or so and we're living in temporary 56 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,440 accommodation, which thank God, not everyone gets to that to, to 57 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,760 have that provision. But I remember praying all the 58 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,360 time as a as a father and as a husband going, I really need to 59 00:02:57,360 --> 00:02:59,240 support my family. And I don't have the means and I 60 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:00,200 don't know what's going to happen. 61 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:03,640 And I remember someone coming up to me and saying, Oh, God uses 62 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:05,200 all things for the good of those who loving them. 63 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,800 And I'm like, yeah, but not me. Maybe I don't know, maybe that's 64 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,960 someone else. But I just, I'm not sure if I, I 65 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,480 want to believe that I believe scripture, but I'm struggling to 66 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:18,360 believe that in my own life. And I remember just being really 67 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:20,160 stuck and struggling as to what to do. 68 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:22,640 And I just thought, well, just do what's in front of me. 69 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:25,160 So I carried on whatever it was I was doing. 70 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:29,080 I remember going one evening and preaching at the university when 71 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,280 I got invited because I looked younger and, and I remember 72 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,360 coming back from there just saying, well, it's good to serve 73 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,280 God in this place. Whatever happens in our lives, 74 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,880 it's good to serve God. And I remember coming home and 75 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:43,240 my wife said, look, I've, I've got something to say, said, how 76 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:44,320 are you? And I was like, what is it? 77 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,600 She goes, I've got this text message from a friend that I 78 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,440 bumped in today into today. And I said OK, and she goes, 79 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:52,800 it's, you know, I was telling her about our situation. 80 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,560 And this friend replied saying that it's really horrible. 81 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:57,880 I've had a chat with my husband and, you know, it's a difficult 82 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,520 situation you're in. But I don't know if it's, it's 83 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:02,640 rude of me to offer. But we have a spare house in 84 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:03,840 Saint Albans if you're interested. 85 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:09,280 What does anyone else in here have a spare house in Saint 86 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,680 Albans? And it wasn't just a spare 87 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:16,160 house, it was a house on one of the most prestigious parts of 88 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:20,880 Saint Albans, a 16th century cottage terrace with a river in 89 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:22,640 the back garden back in onto the park. 90 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:27,240 It was a dream, it was phenomenal and it was way beyond 91 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:29,800 anything we could have mustered up in our own strength and 92 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,200 belief. And we knew even then we're 93 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,920 still thinking about money, but even then we knew it was God and 94 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:38,520 we've been able to live there for 12 years and it's been an 95 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,040 absolute gift. And not only that, they have 96 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,520 holiday homes in various parts of the world, which we get to 97 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,840 take advantage of. I mean, it's way like God always 98 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:50,080 outgives what you can do in your own strength. 99 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,040 But I remember in that place of brain and just having almost 100 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,240 what I felt was no faith, but I couldn't do anything else than 101 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:59,840 just rely on God because I didn't have the means. 102 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:04,640 And it was in that place that I remember just holding on and 103 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,280 saying, I have nothing else but you, God. 104 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,040 And it was in that moment, when I look back 12 years ago, I go, 105 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,800 wow, God, you moved in a mighty miraculous way. 106 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:16,400 And so I approached kind of today with this mixed feeling of 107 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,880 I know God can do it. I know he can move, but also 108 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:23,160 it's really hard in that waiting place. 109 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,120 And my question for you is, what do you do while you're waiting, 110 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,920 while you're waiting for God to answer your prayer in that 111 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:34,880 situation? The people in Jesus time were 112 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:36,280 kind of in this interesting place. 113 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:40,560 They were ruled by Romans. They had no true freedom, they 114 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,360 had no true identity, they had no true hope of anything 115 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,400 improving. But they had been praying and 116 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,400 waiting for a Saviour for a long time. 117 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,040 They had in mind what salvation would look like. 118 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,800 It would be big, it would be bold, it would be audacious. 119 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,480 It would be unstoppable once God turns up and does his thing. 120 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:03,480 A miraculous delivery from the situation they were in. 121 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:08,240 And then along came Jesus, and some knew he was the one. 122 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:10,960 Straight away many struggled to see it. 123 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:13,080 They couldn't grasp that this was their Saviour. 124 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,640 But everyone saw something about him. 125 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,120 And then one day, just as promised, he rides into 126 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:23,320 Jerusalem and everyone is shouting out He's our King, He's 127 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:25,880 our saviour. Hallelujah, praise the Lord. 128 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:28,360 The crowds came out to worship him. 129 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:33,680 Salvation, they cried. Here he comes, here it comes. 130 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,280 Everything we've been waiting for, everything we've been 131 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:41,640 praying for, and then nothing. Disappointment. 132 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,440 The next day, or that evening actually, Jesus wandered out of 133 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,160 the city and his disciples were left feeling like nothing had 134 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:51,600 changed. Imagine their questions. 135 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:54,480 Did I miss it? Did we miss what was going on? 136 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:56,680 Did I get it wrong? Was this? 137 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:58,280 Is this the wrong thing to rely on? 138 00:06:58,280 --> 00:06:59,720 Is this the wrong thing to depend on? 139 00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:03,240 Does God actually even care about us as a people? 140 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,080 Maybe he cares about those next door, maybe cares about the 141 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:08,760 Romans, but doesn't even care about us. 142 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,280 Once again, they're back waiting for that answer to prayer. 143 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:17,440 Without doubt, the waiting part is the hardest part of prayer. 144 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:20,760 It is the hardest part of praying. 145 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,200 There's a lot of work that goes into praying, but while you're 146 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,640 waiting for that answer, that's tough. 147 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,960 And you can come to church, you can engage in worship and you 148 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:30,760 can feel that anything is possible. 149 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:34,200 And how could you not after the kind of incredible worship we 150 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,720 have in this place? And then you hear about God's 151 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:41,080 prayers being answered for other people and you're happy for them 152 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:43,600 genuinely. But somewhere inside you're 153 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:48,200 going, what about me? And he's, you know, people keep 154 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:50,440 telling you he's going to act just like he did in my life. 155 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:52,200 He'll act in yours. But you're still waiting. 156 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,520 In fact, when intentioned words of encouragement along the way 157 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:58,920 can be just as hard to hear in that place. 158 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:01,800 But they're almost the most important thing to hear. 159 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,480 They're the ones, they're the things that keep us going 160 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:06,640 instead of giving up. And So what we're going to do 161 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:08,640 today is we're literally just going to look at the words that 162 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,360 Jesus shared with his disciples in that place and we're going to 163 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:14,040 have up on the screen. But if you want to follow this 164 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,280 in your Bible, say Mark, sorry, Mark 11. 165 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:21,480 I was at a Nigerian wedding yesterday for 12 hours and 166 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:24,240 everything was really loud. So I've slightly lost my voice, 167 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:26,200 but you're going to have to bear with me. 168 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:28,680 Maybe just read the passage and ask God to speak to you through 169 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:33,240 it. The next morning the disciples 170 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:36,159 spoke to Jesus about all that they were seeing and not seeing, 171 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:40,240 and Jesus answered, Have faith in God. 172 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:44,480 Now, some of you and I won't look at anyone in particular or 173 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:45,720 call names, but you know who you are. 174 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:50,800 Some of you have a lot of faith, a lot of faith and you can't 175 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:56,120 help but to dream and big and have big expectations of God and 176 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:58,640 these words are all you need to get you going. 177 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,360 Have faith in God. Of course, that's I've lost 178 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:03,280 track. I just need to have faith in God 179 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:04,400 and you're ready to go. You. 180 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:06,200 That's all you need to be reminded. 181 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:09,400 And I'm telling you, you are the people we need in this church. 182 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:11,760 You are the people we need on team. 183 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:13,640 You are the people that we need leading groups. 184 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:15,920 You are the team. You're the people that we need 185 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:19,640 praying because you have been given an absolutely incredible 186 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:23,080 gift of belief that God can do absolutely anything. 187 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:25,600 When I hear faith, unfortunately, it's a bit of a 188 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:27,200 mixed bag. I know it's true. 189 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:29,840 I know that God is capable of doing anything. 190 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:33,760 I know and have seen him do the miraculous, but also God, would 191 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,080 you give me some notes? Would you, you know, maybe some 192 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:41,280 direction, maybe, maybe a hint, something, just something I can 193 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:45,120 grab hold of in this place? You see, the mistake that I make 194 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,240 is thinking that God or people reminding me are just basically 195 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,560 trying to fob me off and like, it's like someone coming up to 196 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:54,760 you and saying, look, I, I honestly have no idea how this 197 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,000 is going to work out. But hey, why don't we just wait 198 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,840 and see what happens? And that's easy for others to 199 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,360 say, but I'm the one that has to do the waiting. 200 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,240 But that's not what God is saying when he says, hey, have 201 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,520 faith in me. When Jesus was saying have faith 202 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,600 in God, he's saying relax, don't worry. 203 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:17,560 Trust me, I have got this. I know what I'm doing. 204 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:22,960 I've already sorted it. My my kids are go to school and 205 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:26,080 you have to sort out their lunch in advance and pay for it and 206 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:27,480 and choose it and everything else. 207 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,520 And one of my daughter's sometimes she has a bit of 208 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,720 anxiety and she came up to me one morning and she was Dad, 209 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:37,360 have have you sorted my lunch? I said, yeah, I've absolutely 210 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:38,360 sorted. It's in good hands. 211 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:39,560 Don't worry. She goes. 212 00:10:39,560 --> 00:10:41,640 Yeah, but really, have you sorted it? 213 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:42,920 I'd. I'd need to know that you've 214 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,000 sorted it. Look, darling, I've, I've 215 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:46,640 definitely sorted it. It's it's all good. 216 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:47,800 I've done it. I did it yesterday. 217 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,680 I know what I'm doing. But Dad, I'm going to have to go 218 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:52,680 to school this morning. I'm going to have to work my way 219 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:54,360 through the day. And I don't know if I'm going to 220 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,960 get to lunch, but if I'm going to get lunch when I sit down for 221 00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:59,680 lunch. OK, listen, I've sorted it. 222 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:03,240 It's absolutely fine. Go in peace. 223 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:06,640 Trust me. And this is what God is saying. 224 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,360 I've got this, I want you to enjoy your morning, I want you 225 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:15,680 to enjoy your day, I want you to enjoy your life knowing that I 226 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:18,680 have sorted this. Have fun with your friends, 227 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,120 don't miss out. Be in the moment and when it 228 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:25,320 gets to it, you will see that I have provided for you, you will 229 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:29,640 see that I have sorted it. Go in peace and when God says 230 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,320 have faith in me, he's saying would you live your day? 231 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,480 Would you live your life as if lunch is already sorted? 232 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:42,360 Would you live with expectation that I've already done it? 233 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:44,480 You can ask me a million times and the answer's always going to 234 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:48,200 be the same thing, which is why you just need to trust me in 235 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:51,320 this. And when that time comes, you 236 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,280 will see that it's not the issue that is the problem. 237 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,840 It's just it's looking at who's telling you that means it will 238 00:11:57,840 --> 00:11:59,800 be OK. Look, I know you guys know this, 239 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,280 and it's a wonderful phrase, but it is not about having great 240 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:05,600 faith. It is about having faith in a 241 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,000 great God and that's where we're at. 242 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,960 And then if that's the case, then why do we need to pray? 243 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:14,240 We're just, you know, pray once and leave it and I'll tell you 244 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:15,520 why we need to pray and God will go. 245 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,360 Jesus will go on and share this because there are other things 246 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:20,520 that God is trying to show us in that waiting place. 247 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:25,120 The next thing he says, verse 23 is truly, I tell you, if anyone 248 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:27,880 says to this mountain go throw yourself into the sea and does 249 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:31,440 not doubt in their hearts, but believes what they say will 250 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:32,800 happen, it will be done for them. 251 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:38,320 Quick poll, has anyone said to a mountain move and it's moved. 252 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:42,640 OK, maybe I'll try the 11:30 service. 253 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:47,160 And maybe they're more of a it sounds incredible, right? 254 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,920 It sounds wonderful. But the number one rule for 255 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:55,360 understanding Scripture is context, absolute context, 256 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:58,520 context, context. You see, before this, a couple 257 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,160 of stories happened. Jesus comes, is walking towards 258 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,920 Jerusalem with his disciples and he comes across this fig tree 259 00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:07,520 and you may remember the story, you may know the story. 260 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:08,840 If not, you can look up the story. 261 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,040 And it's an interesting story. He comes across this freak tree. 262 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:14,440 There's no figs on it, but it's got lots of leaves. 263 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,120 And he goes up to it and his disciples like, oh, what's he 264 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:19,720 doing? And he curses it in front of 265 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:21,120 them and they're like, that's a bit harsh. 266 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:26,280 And then he goes from there and goes into the temple, makes us 267 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,960 stand froze over those tables, has a go at the merchants, gets 268 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:34,400 angry almost at what's going on. And then it comes back out of 269 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,840 the city and then goes up to this fig tree. 270 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:38,960 And the disophers are like, Oh my gosh, that fig tree cursed 271 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,200 has literally withered and died. What's going on? 272 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:43,880 And there's these stories come together. 273 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:45,320 I've learned a new word for you guys. 274 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,520 This whole section is called an intercalation. 275 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,360 I learned that just for you, intercalation basically means 276 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,360 sandwiched story. And what it's saying is there's 277 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:57,960 two stories going on here. And in the middle is what's 278 00:13:57,960 --> 00:13:59,880 happening. But on the outside, is God 279 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:02,640 trying to teach us something Jesus is trying to teach us. 280 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:04,880 It's trying to give us a symbolic understanding of what's 281 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:08,280 going on. You see, in the temple, Jesus 282 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:10,040 did this. Well, I'll just skip that back. 283 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:13,480 The fig tree was symbolic to show in that something may look 284 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,240 good on the outside. It may look wonderful on the 285 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,200 outside, but if it's not bearing fruit, it's in the way. 286 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:24,880 It's an obstacle and what God is doing and what God is alluding 287 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:27,480 to is he's saying I'm going to come back and I'm going to 288 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:29,360 destroy this obstacle. Now the weird thing is in the 289 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:32,480 middle, he goes to the temple and he says to this like he 290 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:34,080 froze. Everything goes on and says this 291 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,360 has become a den of robbers. This is supposed to be a a House 292 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:41,600 of prayer for God. This is supposed to look good. 293 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,360 It does look good for other people, but it's not doing what 294 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:49,600 it's supposed to be doing. And Jesus uses that fig tree 295 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:55,200 story as a way of intercalation, as a way of explaining what God 296 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,280 is doing. It may look great on the 297 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:00,600 outside, but if it's not doing what it's called to do, then 298 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,800 it's getting in my way. It's an obstacle. 299 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:07,480 And when Jesus says he's going to move and mount him, he's 300 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:11,840 saying if you say to that obstacle to get out of the way, 301 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:14,760 that thing that's in the way of God's promises, of God's 302 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:20,840 blessing, of God's miracle, it will go because that's who you 303 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:24,560 are, sons and daughters of God who have the power to move those 304 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,000 obstacles out of the way of God's blessings. 305 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:31,600 No matter how good it looks or how long it's been there or what 306 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:37,600 purpose it's serving, it will move because you tell it to 307 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:42,960 move. God will not be stopped, He will 308 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:46,840 not be hindered, He will not be getting in the way of, and He's 309 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:50,880 calling for you not to call down His blessings, but to move those 310 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:53,480 obstacles out of the way of God's blessings. 311 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:55,760 Isaiah 40 kind of brings us all together. 312 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:59,160 Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a 313 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,320 highway for God. Every valley should be raised, 314 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:05,840 every mountain and hill made low, the rough ground become 315 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:09,960 level, the rugged places plain, and the glory of the Lord will 316 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:13,560 be revealed. Move those mountains. 317 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:17,240 Essentially Jesus is saying, command that obstacle, that 318 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:21,200 thing to move because it's in the way of a miracle. 319 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,520 If there's something that's stopping that miracle from 320 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,680 reaching you, if that prayer is not getting answered, maybe 321 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:30,960 there's an obstacle in the way and God's saying, I'm pouring it 322 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,360 out, I've got it ready for you, but get something out of the 323 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:37,240 way. You see, this is how we pray in 324 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:39,960 in many ways for healing and deliverance in this church. 325 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,520 We don't plead with God saying please God, heal this person. 326 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:46,440 Please God, make this a better place. 327 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:50,280 Please God, would you do this? Nor do we negotiate. 328 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,760 We're not saying God, if you do this for me and then I'll do 329 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,160 this for you. And you know, and looking at our 330 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:03,520 eyes guns in a way like and nor do we need to convince God to 331 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,480 pay attention and do something. See, we don't position. 332 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,040 We don't beg because we're not slaves. 333 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:15,240 We stand as children of God, holy, anointed, beloved sons and 334 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:20,359 daughters, invited into His presence simply to ask our 335 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,800 Heavenly Father to move that obstacle out of the way so His 336 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,960 blessing can flow. We took a team to India many 337 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,240 years ago and it was wonderful. There was lots of things. 338 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:33,760 I'd just come out of a bike accident. 339 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:36,320 I really had no strength and energy to do so. 340 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,120 I probably shouldn't have gone on the mission trip to be fair, 341 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:43,400 but but I went and we had fun. And I remember we we saw so many 342 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:47,480 healings and so many salvations and God was utterly on the move 343 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:50,640 through these people that have really never in many ways never 344 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:53,040 prayed before. But remember towards the end 345 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:55,960 that after being filled with excitement and expectation of 346 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,560 what God was doing, we all sat down to this meal, which was 347 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,640 presented before us. And, and the lady, one of the 348 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,360 ladies that was presenting would present really wonderfully. 349 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:08,000 And we said, well, why? Why aren't you only using one 350 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,200 arm? She goes, oh, this one's 351 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,640 paralyzed, but it's OK, you know, I can carry on serving 352 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,920 you. And we with the team, bless him. 353 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:17,080 They turned around and said, well, that's not right. 354 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:19,480 That's, that's getting in the way of what you're doing. 355 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:21,400 So they said, well, can we pray for you? 356 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:23,760 And she goes, well, I mean, it's been paralyzed for a long time, 357 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:25,720 but OK. And so they prayed. 358 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:28,080 And after a few moments, her fingers started to move. 359 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,000 And after a few more moments, her hands started to move. 360 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:33,560 And after a few more moments, her arm was swinging around. 361 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,280 Before they'd even finished praying, she was jumping up and 362 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:38,400 down and dancing and moving all over the place. 363 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:40,640 And then she went back in the kitchen and served us with two 364 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:48,600 hands. Everyone got blessed that day. 365 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,800 It was good. What is in the way of your 366 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:55,200 blessing? What is in the way of what God 367 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,760 wants to do in your life? That's the question. 368 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:00,440 Sometimes it's not God will you do this? 369 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,360 He wants to do it. He wants to bless you. 370 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:04,440 He wants to give you what he has in store for you. 371 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,360 He loves you, but something is in the way. 372 00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:09,640 Move it. Let's think of this just a 373 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,560 little bit deeper. Faith is to say I belong to him 374 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,600 and and he goes on repeat this verse. 375 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,200 It does not doubt in their heart, but believes that God I'm 376 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,920 sorry, believes that that what they say will happen and it will 377 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,880 be done for them. I said God's heart is to bless, 378 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,600 His default is to give. His desire is to pour out an 379 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:29,680 abundance. The problem is never with God. 380 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:34,120 And He wants to remind you that you are his child and He is your 381 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:37,480 Father and He gives good gifts to his children. 382 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:41,400 And this is one of there's just many more to come. 383 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,160 And if you doubt that, it's either because you doubt His 384 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:51,120 love and His ability or you doubt your access to it. 385 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:55,880 And this is not a condemnation. This is a a request that you 386 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,080 would if you were in that place of doubt. 387 00:19:58,080 --> 00:19:59,680 And I know that all too familiar. 388 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:04,400 That's the question. Do you doubt his love for you or 389 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,000 do you doubt your access to this? 390 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:11,600 Because both of those are under overwhelmingly challenged in 391 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:16,040 scripture and challenged by God. And maybe this week is the time 392 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:19,800 to remind yourself of how much God loves you as you open 393 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:22,280 scriptures you worship and you realise He does all this for 394 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,400 you. Or maybe it's time to remind 395 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,000 yourself of the access when you worship. 396 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:30,360 We go into God's presence with our heads held high, and we must 397 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:33,640 have learned to approach God as He invites us. 398 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,200 We don't crawl on the floor and hope that He won't kill us on 399 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:41,000 the way. We walk in heads up, confident, 400 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:45,400 aware that He has called us and that we were invited to sit with 401 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:47,960 Him. Many of us need to rediscover 402 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:50,040 who we are. And as we come into God's 403 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:55,080 presence, many of us need to discover God's invitation that 404 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:59,120 we are not an impostor and be honest with Him. 405 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,120 Father, do you really care about who I am? 406 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:05,280 And I promise his answer will be yes. 407 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:09,920 Look at the cross. Why would I go through so much 408 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:11,680 action? Why would I demonstrate that it 409 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,440 was such visceral, like pain? How much I loved you if I didn't 410 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,960 care about you? What about the things I've done? 411 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:21,600 I really do care. Look at the cross. 412 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:25,640 See, on the cross is where every sin you've ever done or doing or 413 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:29,120 will do has been hung, paid for, and dealt with in the name of 414 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:34,280 Jesus once and forever. About my thoughts, I mean, 415 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,760 they're not always holy again. Eyes glancing. 416 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,600 I still want to bless you. Just look at the cross. 417 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,160 See, I knew what you were doing. I knew where your life was at, 418 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:51,840 and I still did this for you. I'm beckoning you. 419 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,960 I'm drawing you. I'm inviting you to come and be 420 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,200 with me. Jesus showed His love in action, 421 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:02,400 and then on the cross, He tore down the greatest obstacle 422 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:07,560 between you and Him, sin itself. Now you have unlimited, 423 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:11,840 unapologetic and unbelievable access to the Kingdom of God and 424 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:17,840 the King Himself and so go to the Father and ask what you need 425 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,320 and command those obstacles to get out of the way. 426 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,280 And I will just use this as a moment to plug Kareem's Bible 427 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:28,440 study is doing it. Equip from this Tuesday is 428 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:32,000 centering around identity. And if I have those questions 429 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:34,520 trouble you, bother you and you don't know the answer to them. 430 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,680 Come along to that. See what the Bible says to it 431 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:39,520 and give that space to dig into it. 432 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,360 The next thing faith is to say I surrender. 433 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,560 All of that's the good stuff. That's all wonderful, but we 434 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,760 can't just skip over the bit that Jesus was trying to make 435 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:53,520 the point with the fig tree in the temple. 436 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:58,960 See, sometimes, just sometimes, that thing that needs to remove, 437 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:05,600 be removed, looks good, feels good, it's nice to have in your 438 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:07,560 life and it's been there for a long time. 439 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:10,000 Surely God won't be asking me to give up that. 440 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,120 It's not really anything to do with my faith shortly. 441 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:15,720 It could have been part of our lives for a long time and could 442 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:18,640 be good memories. But for me it was like, I love 443 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,720 this place that we were living in and yet I was forced into 444 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:25,880 that place of homelessness so that God could give us the 445 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:27,840 absolute best he had in store for us. 446 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,680 Maybe you've just lost a job and you're rattling and wrestling 447 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,600 with what that means. Maybe God is moving you so he 448 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:38,600 could put you in a better place because frankly, you weren't 449 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:42,560 going to leave yourself. The temple. 450 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:48,360 The temple was everything God had ordained for his people was 451 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:51,720 the absolute pinnacle of what God's people was the last thing 452 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:54,160 they could cling hold of as their identity. 453 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:58,480 They did not imagine that going nothing could possibly remove 454 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,200 that temple that was going to stand forever because that was 455 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:03,960 God's promise and God was saying it's kid in the way. 456 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,280 I have more for you. You willing to let go of it 457 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,640 because it's become a limitary. It's become an obstacle for what 458 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:17,400 I want to do so let's ask bold prayers, but remember that 459 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,360 prayer is two way and maybe as we seek God's voice. 460 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:23,880 It's asking us to let go of things and trust his plan as 461 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,120 just as Jesus said in the garden of the gifts so many Father, 462 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:30,600 everything is possible for you, but your will be done, not mine. 463 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,200 You know, many of us have been faithfully and wonderfully 464 00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:39,160 praying for this church, for for it to grow and for us to be part 465 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:42,640 of a move of the Spirit that would long change the face of 466 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:45,840 this nation. A great prayer, a bold prayer. 467 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,480 But what we didn't anticipate in the process of that was big 468 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:53,800 changes, uncomfortable changes. And we thought certain people 469 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:56,520 were going to be here forever were called on. 470 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:01,000 You know, Mark was an absolute gift to this church and he 471 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,320 brought in his gifts to build and pioneer to this church to 472 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:08,480 what it is today. But God said thankfully to him 473 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,200 and to others, you have been wonderful, but it's time for a 474 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,480 new thing. It's time to move out the way so 475 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:17,720 we can hit the next chapter of this story. 476 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,720 And Chuck and town will bring different gifts and new gifts. 477 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:25,080 And we trust in God that this new appointment will move us 478 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:28,080 forward as a church to what God actually has in store for us. 479 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,040 And thankfully, as I said, both of them heard from God before we 480 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:34,160 did. So it's not on us, it's on them. 481 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:41,360 And we can and we can, we can thank God for them, but it's any 482 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:43,600 removal of obstacle is attached to a promise. 483 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:48,720 And if God is moving, it's because his glory will be 484 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:55,280 revealed moving on the next. Therefore, I tell you verse 24, 485 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,720 whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received 486 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,360 and it will be yours. This is a wonderful story of a 487 00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:04,640 missionary. I can't remember which nation 488 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:08,800 they were in and they they were in this kind of village that was 489 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:10,320 absolutely struggling with drought. 490 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:12,720 All the crops had died and everything was fading. 491 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,520 People were going, well, you're a God man, you know, you're, 492 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:18,160 you're a person who knows this God who can do all these 493 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,400 miracles. Well, tell us where to God now. 494 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:23,840 And so he called all the people they could and said, come, we're 495 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,240 going to pray, we're going to fast, we're going to petition. 496 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,440 We're going to be in this place where we're saying, God, you, we 497 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,720 know that you want to bless us. Would you move amongst us? 498 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,560 Would you do something? And so he gathered all these 499 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:38,240 people and lots of people from the village came and they all 500 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:41,960 prayed faithfully. But one thing caught his eye and 501 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,200 it wasn't their amazing prayers. It wasn't the people that had 502 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,200 been fasting and looking like they're doing a great job. 503 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:50,480 It wasn't the the wonderful sound that was emanating from 504 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:52,080 her. It was a little child in the 505 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:56,800 back that was holding an umbrella because they were 506 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,480 praying for rain and everyone was praying for rain. 507 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:02,600 But the difference was she was expecting it. 508 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,400 She brought her umbrella because she knew that if they were going 509 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:07,520 to ask for rain, it was going to come. 510 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:12,320 I said hold it. There is something incredible 511 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,520 about that. Everyone can want it, but she 512 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:20,200 prepared for it. If you pray for rain, bring an 513 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:24,720 umbrella. Are we expecting as a church? 514 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:27,760 Are you expecting for that prayer to be answered? 515 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:29,800 Are we expecting for God's glory to be revealed? 516 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:32,160 Do you want to see sick people healed? 517 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:36,480 Have you tried praying for them? Because that that's a good way 518 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,800 to get sick people held. And if you don't know how to 519 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:40,640 pray for the sick, if you've never done it before, come to 520 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,360 introductions start on this Tuesday and we'll teach you how 521 00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:45,760 to pray. But if you want to see sick 522 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:47,240 people held, pray for more people. 523 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,240 I mean, John Wimber, who started there, said, you know, after 524 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:53,400 someone came back after praying for 1015 people and they said we 525 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:54,880 didn't see anything. And he goes, well, go and pray 526 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:56,840 for 1000 people. Then tell me all the stories 527 00:27:56,840 --> 00:28:00,120 that you heard along the way. We've got to move. 528 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:02,800 We've got to expect. We've got to move in this place 529 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,920 and bring them an umbrella. Are you expecting God to bring 530 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,080 people into this church who have no knowledge of Jesus and no 531 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:13,200 expectation of what church is? Can I ask in that turn, in 532 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,680 greet, did you look for someone who you've never seen before and 533 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:18,920 think maybe they're here for the very first time? 534 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,000 Maybe they've never stepped foot in a church and what they needed 535 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,440 was someone friendly to come over to them and tell them 536 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:26,880 everything they needed to know to start and to feel welcome in 537 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:30,120 this place. I wouldn't ask for a share of 538 00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:33,240 hands. Are you expecting a new job? 539 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,080 Have you started to wind up your projects? 540 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:43,400 Have you started to plan to finish well, to leave well, to 541 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:45,040 make sure that you're not burdened anyone? 542 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:46,760 You prepared your handover for this? 543 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:48,800 Are you expecting to meet someone? 544 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:51,920 Have you thought about getting out your pyjamas at night and 545 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,680 stop watching Netflix and go and hang around with a friend who 546 00:28:54,680 --> 00:29:01,200 might know some people? When you pray, bring an 547 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,160 umbrella. When you pray, come with 548 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:08,080 expectation. When you pray, come prepared. 549 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,960 Keep pressing in, keep pressing on is the name of this series. 550 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,320 And if we're not demonstrating it, then where's where's our 551 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:21,360 expectation in this place? I came back from preaching at 552 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,080 the university because I was just, I couldn't do it in my own 553 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,800 strength. And I was praying that God would 554 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:28,640 fulfill it. And I just carried on doing what 555 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:32,920 God was asking me to do. And God provided just because 556 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:34,400 his answer doesn't come immediately. 557 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:38,240 Keep moving. And I come to you today, not a 558 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:40,080 request. I'm I'm, I'm praying for this 559 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:41,840 myself. But we're, we're actually come 560 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:45,000 to the end of that tendency now and God has done an amazing 561 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:46,400 thing. But now we're kind of back in 562 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:48,920 the same situation. And I remember coming to the 563 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,560 leaders meeting going, I have no idea the answer to this prayer. 564 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,880 And I'd taken my kids to McDonald's beforehand because 565 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,800 that's the kind of father I am and that's the, my level of 566 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,400 cooking skills. And they've got those peeling 567 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:04,160 things at the moment. And I came back and it was great 568 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:05,640 leaders meeting, absolutely fantastic. 569 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,880 And, and I remember getting home and peeling off those things 570 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,520 because there's a small addiction and, and one of them 571 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:17,600 said, you've won £50. I've never seen that 50 lbs 572 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:19,440 winning was an option. But you know what? 573 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:24,200 It reminded me of this story when my prayers feel lost, when 574 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:27,560 I feel lost, it's those little reminders that remind me that 575 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:31,080 God is faithful. And it was a small deposit of 576 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:34,600 saying, God, I get it, you're on the move, You're blessing me. 577 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,080 I just need to, I just need to trust you. 578 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:42,080 The lunch is provided. I just need to walk as if I'm 579 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:44,520 expecting I'm going to bring an umbrella to this party because I 580 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:48,160 know that God is on the move. Say God provides us, we on the 581 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:51,080 move as we're on the move. So when you keep praying, keep 582 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:53,480 moving. Abraham didn't wait for 583 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,120 provision as he walked up the mountain with Isaac. 584 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:59,480 It was only when he got to the top did he find the provision 585 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,680 and find that alternative. Noah didn't wait for the floods 586 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,600 to come before he built the ark. Moses didn't wait for a path as 587 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:10,240 he approached the Red Sea. He stepped in and it opened for 588 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,000 him. John the Baptist didn't wait for 589 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,720 the Messiah to come before he made a way. 590 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:17,720 The disciples didn't wait for Jesus to multiply the bread in 591 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,880 the fish before they handed it out and saw God do a miracle. 592 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,480 And Jesus didn't wait for you to beg for forgiveness before he 593 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:32,760 died for you on the cross. Your salvation, your provision, 594 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,400 your answer to prayer is already in the works. 595 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:40,880 Keep moving, keep pressing in, and keep pressing on. 596 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:44,840 I would love to finish there because it's quite nice little 597 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,200 touch, but Jesus doesn't finish there, so I probably shouldn't 598 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,440 either. And it goes on to this what 599 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,160 feels like an utterly random thing to throw in. 600 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:57,240 And it was always like, oh, don't forget this, but it has so 601 00:31:57,240 --> 00:31:59,520 much significance. And he goes on in verse 25 and 602 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:02,720 says this. And when you stand praying, if 603 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:07,760 you hold anything against anyone, forgive them that your 604 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,040 Father in heaven may forgive your sins. 605 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:15,400 We just saw that sin has been dealt with on the cross. 606 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,880 So what is Jesus saying here? Your sin is dealt with. 607 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:23,160 Sin is done. This is not us tripping up and 608 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:24,640 saying, Oh my gosh, we're not good enough. 609 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,200 We're not going to make it. God is clearly trying to say 610 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,840 something else here, and he's saying this. 611 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:36,840 The biggest obstacle to pray for sometimes is yourself. 612 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:44,960 It's me, it's you, it's us, the disciples. 613 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:47,120 They saw forgiveness as a faith issue. 614 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:52,160 They saw forgiven others as possible only with the help of 615 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:56,480 the God who had forgiven them. See, this is about grudges. 616 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:01,080 This is about holding on to some pain that someone else has 617 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,360 caused. You see, grudges breakdown 618 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,120 relationships. And what God is saying is, if 619 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:09,040 you are willing to hold on to that grudge for someone else, 620 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:14,000 then you don't understand how much I have forgiven you. 621 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:18,280 And if you don't know how much has forgiven you, then you don't 622 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:19,840 really know how much He loves you. 623 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:23,400 And if you don't know how much He loves you, how could you 624 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:30,320 possibly trust Him? Do you resent someone? 625 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:35,600 Perhaps they're living the life that you think that belongs to 626 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:37,400 you. Perhaps they took something that 627 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:41,320 you think belongs to you. Perhaps they just remind you of 628 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:44,520 what God once promised or what you felt was happening and is 629 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,680 not your life. They remind you of what you 630 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:52,960 don't have and you've developed this anger, this grudge, this 631 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:57,520 bitterness, and God is saying forgive them, let them go 632 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,560 because that grudge is breaking down a relationship. 633 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,560 It's not about them. It's never been about them. 634 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:07,800 The problem is, is you don't trust that God will come through 635 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,719 for you. You're hiding behind blame. 636 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:14,040 You're covering up your shame with bitterness, and you're 637 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:18,600 becoming your very own obstacle between you and God and what He 638 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:22,639 wants to give you. So if you hold anything against 639 00:34:22,679 --> 00:34:27,199 anybody, forgive them, release them, ask for help, get other 640 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,400 people to pray with you, Confess it to them that your sins may be 641 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:34,760 forgiven. There's some kind of bitterness, 642 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:38,400 some kind of grudge, Then maybe that's the problem and you're in 643 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:42,679 the way of that place. Let your Father show you how 644 00:34:42,679 --> 00:34:46,239 much He's forgiven you, how much He loves you, and as a result, 645 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,960 how much you can truly, truly trust Him.