1 00:00:01,760 --> 00:00:05,320 What a joy to be in the room this morning with all of your 2 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:09,040 lovely faces. And I was struck in worship this 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,160 morning afresh of what a privilege it is to come into a 4 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:17,480 space like this and to worship freely and to get to under pack 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:20,360 the Bible together. And I think I can quite easily 6 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:23,320 wander in on a Sunday morning and just go through the motions. 7 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:26,680 Love it and it's good. But what a privilege to stand in 8 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,760 a nation where we get to do this every week freely. 9 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:36,040 Yeah, what a good God if you've been here for a while, or if 10 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,280 you're brand new. We've been in a series called 11 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:44,880 The Call, and Mark has been looking at the story of Jesus 12 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:49,160 and the calling of the first disciples in Luke 5, and 13 00:00:49,160 --> 00:00:53,000 specifically the moment where he called Simon into the boat and 14 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,360 caused him to throw the net into the sea. 15 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,920 And as we've unpacked this together, Mark has been, we're 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,840 looking at these three calls within it, the call to Jesus to 17 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:07,440 be with him, the call to holiness and the call to the 18 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,160 Great Commission. And the last few weeks and 19 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:12,880 specifically, we've been looking at the hallmarks of the call and 20 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:15,400 and it's turned into quite the series, hasn't it? 21 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:17,240 We are. I think we're about 5 hallmarks 22 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,560 in as it stands. And if you've missed any of it, 23 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:22,640 I encourage you to jump on YouTube and catch up. 24 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,440 But this morning we're having a brief pause and you get me 25 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:29,720 instead. And we're going to look at a 26 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,680 scripture that actually the Lord put on my heart about five years 27 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:35,920 ago as I was praying for the body of Christ. 28 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:40,960 And and I felt like he spoke a prophetic word to me about this 29 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:43,120 chapter. And I've sat in it lots and lots 30 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:45,920 of times since. And and so I bring it this 31 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:50,480 morning kind of as a stirring of dry bones in our midst, right, 32 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:54,760 like an activation type message. It's not got three points. 33 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,960 You'll be glad to know. It's got one very long point, so 34 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,560 I want you to open your Bibles with me here to Joshua, Chapter 35 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,200 3. And to give you a little bit of 36 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:10,400 context, here in the Old Testament the people of Israel 37 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:15,160 have been on a wandering journey in the wilderness and they've 38 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:19,040 been brought out of slavery in Egypt into freedom with a vision 39 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,680 of the promised land. And it's been almost 40 years 40 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:26,240 when we enter this part of the story and and the original group 41 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,440 that actually were brought into freedom, none of them are alive 42 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,000 at this point. There's a new generation that is 43 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,440 walking apart from two of them. Moses has been leading them, and 44 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,800 they're through all the twists and turns of the journey, a 45 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:41,080 journey which is, say, the 40 years. 46 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,400 But it could have been 11 days, I'd like to point out, which 47 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,760 just UN kind of ravels the twisting and turning nature of 48 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,240 this journey so far. And they've followed God with a 49 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,520 pillar of cloud and fire. By night, they've experienced 50 00:02:55,520 --> 00:03:01,360 his patience, his miraculous provision, his correction, And 51 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,520 through it all, they've ultimately been on this journey 52 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,120 of learning what it looks like to truly worship God. 53 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:13,200 And now, here at Chapter 3, Joshua has just stepped into 54 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:19,320 leadership of this people of Israel, and his first major task 55 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,800 as a leader comes here in Chapter 3, where suddenly the 56 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,640 land that they've been promised is insight. 57 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:32,400 And before them, there is also this enormous, impassable river, 58 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:36,120 the river Jordan. And the Jordan is flowing at its 59 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:39,760 absolute peak. It's flooded, it's forceful. 60 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,600 And, and just for even greater context, there's estimated 2.5 61 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,440 million people in this camp of Israelites that need to get 62 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,280 across this river. And I want you to imagine that 63 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,720 scene with me for a minute. The tension that must have 64 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:59,960 existed in that camp. The excitement at finally seeing 65 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:03,280 what they've been promised and the disbelief at the size of 66 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:08,000 that river, The wandering of promise and the frustration of 67 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:13,200 reality as they sat there for three days and stared at this 68 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,760 river. And here we enter chapter 3, 69 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,000 verse 3. Let's read it together. 70 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:24,120 It's up on the screen three days after the Israeli army officers 71 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,560 went through the camp, giving these instructions to the 72 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,320 people. When you see the priest carrying 73 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,080 the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, move out from 74 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,480 your positions and follow them. Since you have never travelled 75 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:37,600 this way before, they will guide you. 76 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,440 Stay about half a mile behind it, keeping a clear distance 77 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:43,960 between you and the ark, and make sure you don't get any 78 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,440 closer. And then, Joshua told the 79 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:51,120 people, consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do 80 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,960 great wonders among you. In the morning, Joshua said to 81 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:57,920 the priest, lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people 82 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,680 across the river. And so they started out and they 83 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:05,200 went ahead of the people. And the Lord told Joshua, today 84 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:07,920 I will make you a great leader in the eyes of all the 85 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,760 Israelites. They will know that I am with 86 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:15,240 you, just as I was with Moses. Give this command to the priest 87 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:16,800 who carry the ark of the covenant. 88 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,120 When you reach the banks of the river Jordan, take a few steps 89 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:24,800 into the river and stop still there. 90 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:30,720 And Joshua told the Israelites come and listen to what the Lord 91 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:34,560 your God says today. You will know that the living 92 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,120 God is among you. And it goes on in this chapter. 93 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:40,960 And guess what? They do what God asks them to 94 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:42,880 do. They step into that river 95 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:45,200 Jordan. They stand still under the 96 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:49,160 presence of God and the Jordan splits before their very eyes. 97 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:53,520 And that entire camp of 2.5 million people cross the Jordan 98 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:57,520 into the promised land on dry ground in flood season. 99 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:01,720 And as we read this story this morning, it'd be easy to think, 100 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,400 oh, this is so unrelatable. I am not in a desert and I'm not 101 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,000 standing before a Jordan River, and what has this got to do with 102 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:12,200 me? But I believe that here at Saint 103 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,640 Albans Vineyard or Verso Vineyard, St. 104 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,960 Albans, as we're soon to be known, we're in a pivotal moment 105 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,360 as a church in the life of our church. 106 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,960 And I think we're in a pivotal moment in the global church and 107 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,120 as a result, the life of our city and our towns and our 108 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,560 communities. And there's a sense of momentum 109 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:37,120 building, a sense of good shaking in our midst where the 110 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:43,160 Lord has been setting before us fresh vision under greater 111 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:45,600 understanding of what His Kingdom is about. 112 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,520 And he's given us this dream in here of this this group of 113 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,200 people that we want to see more spaces and places for people to 114 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:56,720 encounter Jesus. We want transformation, Jesus 115 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:01,080 transformation to to infiltrate into our communities. 116 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,720 And I get really excited when I think about what that would 117 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,920 mean, what that would mean for our communities, what that would 118 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:12,200 mean for us as a nation if we saw revival Jesus, revival in 119 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:16,880 our midst. And yet simultaneously, if we're 120 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:21,320 honest, we are facing a cultural moment that feels like the 121 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:26,440 darkness is swelling, that the complexities, the crisis, the 122 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,800 brokenness, the relentlessness of war and violence, it's in 123 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,520 flood mode. And at times it can feel like 124 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:38,240 we're at an impasse. And if I'm really honest, there 125 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,760 are moments where I I question the Lord, I'm like, is the good 126 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:45,440 news really going to make a difference in this moment? 127 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:48,960 It's OK to be that honest with God. 128 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,600 He's not afraid of it. And and at some level, I 129 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,360 recognise myself inside those Israelites. 130 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:01,520 And I think we can as a church, you know, we turn 35 this year 131 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:03,760 as St. Albans Vineyard and we've been 132 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:05,760 journeying, right? I've not been here for the last 133 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:10,840 35 years, but there are many, many stories of God's provision 134 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:16,280 of his miraculous work in our midst, of people who fervently 135 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:19,040 have loved Jesus in all the ways that they can. 136 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,880 And there's been times when we got it wrong, and there's been 137 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:29,080 really hard stuff in our story where we've made mistakes. 138 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,440 But it's been part of the journey and God's kindness of 139 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:38,600 growing us and maturing us and leading us to this very moment 140 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:44,560 that we stand in today. A Jordan River kind of moment 141 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,520 where he's been getting our attention afresh. 142 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:55,320 Today, today, here, right now, where we have to press into the 143 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:58,160 tension that we live in, in this moment. 144 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:04,840 And we have to allow him to give us fresh eyes, to grow our 145 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:09,960 hunger for His presence, and to realise afresh what is truly the 146 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:14,720 only sure thing in this world. And the best way to walk forward 147 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:19,200 into the impossible is where God is king of our hearts, and where 148 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,720 we stand before those seemingly impossible things of our time 149 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:26,240 and our personal lives, with an understanding that His presence 150 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,480 is the only way forward, the only one that can lead us. 151 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,280 And he instructed those Israelites in verse three and 152 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:36,280 four to posture themselves in a way that their eyes were fixed 153 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:40,280 upon the ark of the covenant, the presence of God not rushing 154 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:45,360 ahead of it, not lagging behind, but to be king of their hearts, 155 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,800 be quiet, because they've never been this way before. 156 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,360 And it struck me that this reminder was coming to a group 157 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:55,840 of people that have been following him already for 40 158 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,040 years. But I think this morning the 159 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,440 thing that the Lord wants to grab our attention with is 160 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:09,400 actually in verse 5, Consecrate yourself for tomorrow. 161 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,080 The Lord will do wonders among you. 162 00:10:14,680 --> 00:10:18,200 What was Joshua commanding them to do in this moment? 163 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,280 What was their part to play in the moment? 164 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:23,720 Before they would see the wonders of God? 165 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:29,400 Joshua walked into this group of people who had no doubt had an 166 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:33,920 array of thoughts and ideas and strategies of how to get across 167 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:38,000 this Jordan River with confidence and boldness. 168 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:44,080 And he calls them back again to the act of dedicating themselves 169 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:50,760 to worship, to truly worship God, to consecrate themselves. 170 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:56,120 And what did that mean? It meant they set to the work of 171 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:58,680 putting God back into his rightful position in their 172 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:01,360 lives. Recognising and acknowledging 173 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:04,720 afresh who he was and despite what they could see in the 174 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,360 physical. Choosing to surrender the 175 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:13,600 wrestles of a humanist and surrendering it again to give 176 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,400 God back his seat on their their lives. 177 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,400 Allowing their actions, their words, their attitudes of the 178 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,240 moment that they were in. And saying I recognise where 179 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:26,320 I've let my things take the lead and I want to put you back in 180 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:31,680 the lead scene where they had to let him come in and see where 181 00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:35,560 sin had entered the camp. Grumbling, gossip, unbelief, 182 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,760 idolatry, even the good things that they had loved, that were 183 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:43,800 taking first place. They had to be surrendered in 184 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,960 this act of consecration. Essentially this core to 185 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:51,800 consecration was an act to choose him again as king and 186 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:56,520 Lord and lover and friend. And it was a process of making 187 00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,960 their lives holy, of purifying and dedicating themselves, 188 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:03,400 giving them back to God all that was in them. 189 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:07,840 And in Old Testament times, they had to do this by literally 190 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:11,800 going back to their tents and washing their clothes and 191 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:15,560 abstaining from activities that were good and a normal part of 192 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:20,040 their life as a demonstration of their intent and dedication to 193 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:24,520 purifying themselves. Now we because of Jesus dying on 194 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,000 the cross and rising again, we don't have to go through those 195 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:33,320 rituals today here, but I think there's something even in that 196 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:39,280 to consider, you know, John Mark Cromer says this consecration is 197 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:42,920 giving up the things that others considered normal to fully give 198 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:49,400 yourself to God. Consecration, in my definition 199 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:56,720 in essence, is about your increasing unconditional 200 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:02,560 surrender to a living, loving and active holy God. 201 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:08,480 Consecration is about your increasing, unconditional 202 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:15,320 surrender of every room of your life to a loving, living, 203 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,640 active, holy God. And where does it start? 204 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:26,200 It starts with your choice. God's already there, arms wide 205 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,960 open. We just have to choose it. 206 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,280 And I think God's invitation for us this morning, you know, we 207 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:35,080 didn't, I don't know, maybe Mark planned it this way. 208 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:36,680 But. But I was thinking about this as 209 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:39,000 a prepping. You know, we are on the the week 210 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:43,400 before we enter the new chapter next week, we step into a new 211 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,600 name and we turn the page in our story and we step forward in 212 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:51,160 faith in all the promises that God has placed upon us. 213 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:57,560 And I think God today is saying, consecrate yourselves again and 214 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:01,280 again and again and again. Diligently be the people that 215 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:07,840 show up in the secret place. Never graduating from needing to 216 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:12,320 see God afresh every day encountering His Holiness. 217 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:17,440 Not from a place of striving, but of one that says I'm here. 218 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:23,360 God come and meet with me. That place where we bring 219 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:27,120 everything that we see and we feel and we think to the living. 220 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,880 God again. And we allow the Holy Spirit in. 221 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:38,400 To convict us, to change us, to challenge us, to refine us, to 222 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:42,280 become increasingly surrendered as we become like Him. 223 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,440 And I think this often, when I was a kid and I'd read the 224 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,080 story, the big moment was the moment that the river Jordan 225 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:53,440 opened up, right? It's the big miracle that calls 226 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:59,560 for our attention. But I believe this morning he 227 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:03,720 would call us in this room to the diligence of the night 228 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,520 before holiness moment in this story. 229 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,680 And I want us to see afresh the power of the miraculous that 230 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:15,600 unfolded in the 40 years of wandering and learning to keep 231 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,160 themselves in continual consecration and worship. 232 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:27,320 And to God, it's this night before holiness where we decide 233 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:33,320 to go home to our tents and to allow God to speak in the middle 234 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,720 of our ordinary lives. For however long we've known Him 235 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,840 outside of this building, and outside of amazing worship times 236 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:49,400 and prayer times and gatherings in the corporate where we get to 237 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:53,160 experience the Mirac, the miracle that the presence of a 238 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,840 living, holy, loving God wants to be with you. 239 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:05,880 And in the safety of His presence, we can show Him our 240 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:12,280 true selves and allow Him to come in and redirect and shift 241 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:15,080 and show us where we're out of alignment and where we've let a 242 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,360 crack enter in and and we've started to believe the subtle 243 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,040 lies of the enemy that are going to take us off track. 244 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:27,120 It's this night before kind of holiness that invites the slow 245 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:32,560 work, diligent work of the Holy Spirit in our lives where we 246 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:35,600 keep choosing God on the days when we feel like it and when we 247 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,800 don't, on the days when we prefer to lie on our previous 248 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,200 understanding because it would just be easier that way. 249 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:48,360 When we acknowledge that there is more and more for us to 250 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:53,640 encounter in Jesus. It's this night before holiness, 251 00:16:53,640 --> 00:17:00,560 where the quiet, hidden, nitty gritty work of our hearts again 252 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:06,400 and again and again is found not in the crowds, not in the 253 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,520 corporateness, but in the hiddenness of tents. 254 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:12,480 Our homes, our individual surrender. 255 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:17,359 To faithfully engage in the kind of rhythms that encourage us to 256 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:20,720 keep confessing and keep repenting and keep surrendering 257 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,800 to the kindest, most loving and powerful God. 258 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:29,320 Where he's not condemning us. He's the biggest cheerleader of 259 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:33,720 holiness demonstrated in our lives, and he wants our whole 260 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:38,400 lives as a demonstration of worship unto who he is. 261 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:45,880 The holiness of God transforms people one by one, and that 262 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:52,080 brings preparedness for us to witness and step into the 263 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:54,640 wonders that he's going to do in our midst tomorrow. 264 00:17:56,360 --> 00:18:01,120 And it's where our confidence grows and our faith grows and 265 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:05,120 where we walk into these moments, like this pivotal 266 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:08,680 moment where the river Jordan opens and God increases the 267 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:10,280 influence. You know, the Israelite people 268 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,400 went from a people to a nation. The minute that they walked 269 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,240 through that Jordan River, God trusted them again and he 270 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,560 increased their influence. You know, I'm a hero of the 271 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:22,520 faith, and his name is Gypsy Smith. 272 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,280 He's an old, old geezer, long time ago. 273 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:28,880 But I've read about him as I've read about revival. 274 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,680 And I love this about him. He was uneducated. 275 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:36,160 He had none of the tools in his hand to be someone that stood on 276 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:38,640 a big stage and brought crowds and crowds. 277 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,240 And he used to get asked all the time because he was. 278 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,560 He was someone who ended up preaching the gospel to the most 279 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,200 people ever in human history before Billy Graham. 280 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,160 And he. And he's the people used to say 281 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:51,440 to him, why do these crowds gather? 282 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:52,560 Where do they come from? What? 283 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:59,640 What is the secret here? And he said the secret is that 284 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,560 when you need to go home, you need to get on your knees and 285 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:05,760 you need to get a piece of chalk and you need to draw a circle 286 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:07,440 around yourself and you need to cry out. 287 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,560 Revival and let it start in this circle. 288 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,760 And Joshua demonstrates this in this story for himself. 289 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:20,160 You know, he walks in as a a young leader to lead this 290 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:25,520 Israelite camp into a crazy moment before the Jordan River. 291 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:28,160 And it begs the question, where did that confidence come? 292 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,800 Where did that authority come to lead people to encounter Jesus? 293 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,240 And you have to go back through Joshua's story. 294 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,040 But in Deuteronomy 3114, we see this moment of transition where 295 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:40,640 Moses passed on to Joshua the leadership. 296 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,160 And where what happens in that moment is Joshua enters the tent 297 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,160 of meeting, which in the Old Testament is the place that 298 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:49,480 people had to physically go to encounter God. 299 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,680 And in that tent of meeting, Joshua presents himself as he 300 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,080 comes, and he encounters God, and he gets himself right. 301 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:01,040 And then God commissions him into his role of leadership. 302 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:04,600 And that's why Joshua can walk into that camp of Israelites and 303 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,440 speak with confidence. And in these days that we are 304 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:14,200 in, we have been commissioned by God here in this place, to 305 00:20:14,360 --> 00:20:18,480 multiply the spaces and places for people to encounter Jesus. 306 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,160 And we can't just wish for it. We can't just hope for it. 307 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:26,080 We can't just expect the person next to us to do the work so 308 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:30,400 that we all get to participate. It comes back down to this. 309 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:37,040 We all need to show up in the secret place, in the hidden 310 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:41,560 place of our ordinary lives, and be a people that are dedicated 311 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:47,120 to increasing surrender to a God that we love and honour and 312 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:57,920 trust. And for some of us in the room, 313 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:00,080 that looks like simply acknowledging. 314 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:03,360 I actually, just I don't really like meeting with Jesus on my 315 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:04,760 own. I quite like it in the 316 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,480 corporate, but I struggle on my own. 317 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,200 For some of us might be this morning that we admit, actually 318 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:19,760 it's a bit dry and God feels silent, for some of us might be 319 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:21,240 loving it. But there's more. 320 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:25,760 There's even more. But just as they stepped into 321 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:29,360 the river of the impossible and God said stand still, God's 322 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:33,600 invitation to us as he draws us to consecrate ourselves is one 323 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:36,880 of not striving and not perfection and not judgement and 324 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:39,280 not I've got to get this right and this is A to do list that 325 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:41,320 I've got to keep adding to, he says. 326 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,960 Just give me your yes and step in and stand still in my 327 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:48,120 presence and watch what I will do in your heart. 328 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:57,240 Oh, so just a little side Now I want to just kind of notice 329 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:01,320 something that struck me as I was digging into this story 330 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:07,400 about language. Joshua was called into the 331 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,000 presence of God. We are called unto Jesus. 332 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:15,000 That is our true calling. And out of our giving, yes to 333 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,920 that relationship, he commissions us into the work of 334 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:22,600 the Kingdom. Classically, if you've been 335 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,440 church a while, you will hear people say, I am called to 336 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:28,480 leadership, I am called to lead worship, I am called to be a 337 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,400 teacher. I am called we are called into 338 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:32,640 all these fears and different things that we do. 339 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,120 And here in my heart it's just language and it's slightly just 340 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:40,600 somatics, but it's been helpful for me to make this 341 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:44,320 distinguished understanding. Actually, if you look at the 342 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:50,040 Bible, the word call is only ever really seen as God called 343 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:56,160 us to himself and he uses the word Commission to send us into 344 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:57,760 the world to do the Kingdom work. 345 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:02,400 And why is this important? Because we merge the voices of 346 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,280 God and our callings and and we end up really subtly. 347 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:07,640 I think the enemy loves to do this. 348 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,920 I think he loves to come in and he makes the the voice of Our 349 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,400 Calling, the things that we are commissioning to be the one that 350 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:18,320 grabs our attention because it's exciting and we see fruit and 351 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:22,080 and when we do that, that becomes first place in our life 352 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:28,880 and God is saying no, no, the calling is to me and if you give 353 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,640 my yes there, I will Commission you to do exactly what you're 354 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:36,080 supposed to do. And why is it also important? 355 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:39,560 Because tomorrow, if you wake up and you lose your job or 356 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:42,280 something happens to you and you're flat on your face in bed 357 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:45,680 and you can't do anything for the next six months, your world 358 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,240 is not shaken. Because you understand that your 359 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:51,640 purpose is to say yes to the call of God, to be in 360 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,160 relationship with Him. And then he will Commission you 361 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,520 flat and on your back in bed to do the work of the Kingdom from 362 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:00,120 right where you're at. Amen. 363 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,840 Amen. And you see this repeating 364 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:08,120 throughout Scripture. The secret place, the calling of 365 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:11,720 relationship with God, leads to a commissioning you. 366 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,840 I I could give you endless examples, but I want to go even 367 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:18,240 to the Great Commission. You notice it again in the Great 368 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,200 Commission. We love to quote the Great 369 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,640 Commission from Matthew 2819. Go therefore and make disciples 370 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:26,600 of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and 371 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,240 teaching them all the things, all the things. 372 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,720 And we skip the verses that preceded. 373 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:39,280 If you go back to verse 17 you will see that it says Jesus 374 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:43,200 called them and when they saw him they worshipped him. 375 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:45,680 And all authority is given to me. 376 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,560 Jesus says and then he says go therefore and make disciples. 377 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,920 They came to him, they worshipped him, He re 378 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:59,360 established who he was and out of that place they go and they 379 00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:07,360 make disciples. We could only go where we've 380 00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:10,280 been willing to go if we want to see this multiplication of 381 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:13,280 spaces and places for people to encounter Jesus. 382 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:19,280 It starts with you and me making space and encountering Jesus 383 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:25,240 even when no one else is around. We cannot lead others into the 384 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,000 places that we are not willing to go ourselves. 385 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,920 And you know if you know me, if you if you're one of my friends 386 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,960 or you follow me on Instagram. You will know that about 18 387 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:40,680 months ago I started this crazy journey of trying to grow cut 388 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:42,840 flowers. I fell in love with gardening 389 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:46,040 and my kids love to tease me that I've turned old and that 390 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,520 this is the thing you do when you turn 40 you grow flowers. 391 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:53,440 But I I basically moved house and entered this house that's 392 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:58,920 got a huge garden and and I was drawn into this process and and 393 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,440 I I'd I'd I'd never been successful at growing anything 394 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,040 like I was not a green fingered kind of person. 395 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:07,640 I was like looking at this garden. 396 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:09,880 I was wrestling through all the weeds and I was thinking I just 397 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,480 really love it to be filled with beautiful flowers next summer. 398 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,520 And so I entered this journey as a complete novice having 399 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:22,920 literally no idea what I was doing and I quickly learnt that 400 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:25,560 all kinds of stuff. I had to start reading Monty Don 401 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,720 watching BBC gardeners world. You know all the things I've got 402 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:33,240 these gardening flower books and and you know and I was doing my 403 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:38,280 best to to learn all the stuff and and I learnt some things. 404 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,600 I learnt that seeds actually I I don't in school that seeds 405 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:46,320 needed light for germination and they do but actually lots of 406 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:50,640 seeds need to be put into the soil deep in the darkness in the 407 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:54,120 hidden place so that that exterior shower can be broken 408 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:57,080 off. So that life can come out and 409 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,720 they can germinate and respond to the light and grow and 410 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:01,640 blossom. It blew my mind. 411 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:06,560 I was like, how does this work? And so and I and I started to 412 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:08,160 just have a go. I started the process. 413 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:10,800 I started showing up in this garden every single day. 414 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:14,560 I was like running out in the snow last spring to put blankets 415 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:16,520 over my seedlings because I didn't want them to die. 416 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:19,240 And I was like, you know, doing the work, learning about soil, 417 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:21,880 the way you dig soil it all, it all makes a difference. 418 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,280 Did you know? And how we grow cut flowers And 419 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:27,600 I slowly but surely shocked my family. 420 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:30,520 I think that I actually got to, I did start to grow things and 421 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:32,880 they were looking good and they were looking promising. 422 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,960 But The thing is that God showed me this stuff afresh about 423 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:41,800 consecration in this process of growing cut flowers. 424 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,280 I would say that growing cut flowers has been the most 425 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:48,760 spiritual activity of my life in the last 18 months. 426 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,880 Because God has shown me that to get those flowers which I got 427 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:58,040 the most beautiful flowers growing at exportionate levels 428 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,480 to give away and it was a joy to give them away. 429 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:05,680 But the process to get there was found in me literally going into 430 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:10,040 the garden every single day. And the more that I did it, the 431 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,920 more I recognised where the seedling was not looking OK. 432 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:14,880 And it might need a little bit of this or it might I need to go 433 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:16,400 back and Google and see what I need to do. 434 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:21,040 And I also learnt that you you have to cut back flowers. 435 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:26,240 So the more you cut grown flowers, the more they grow and 436 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:28,160 it and it was so counter intuitive. 437 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:32,480 But the biggest part of it I was recognising that the more I 438 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:36,560 spent time with the seeds that I was growing, the more I 439 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,480 recognised where things were off track or there was a danger of 440 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:45,640 slugs underneath, or there was. But I had to be there every day, 441 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:51,280 just in the garden, being present to the to the soil, 442 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:55,080 present to the flowers showing up. 443 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:56,480 And I fell in love with the process. 444 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:58,440 And actually, a few months in, I couldn't care less whether the 445 00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:02,280 flowers were coming. I just loved the process of of 446 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:08,360 the journey. It was noticing the small things 447 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:16,280 and recognising my gardening did not have to look like Monty 448 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:22,640 Don's gardening and my rhythms for being in my garden didn't 449 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,760 have to look like my neighbour's rhythms for being in her garden. 450 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:31,520 But I just had to show up and I had to choose to walk out in 451 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:36,720 rain, in snow, in sunshine, in freezing winds, to do the work 452 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:44,320 that would mean I saw the fruit. Adam, I don't know if you're 453 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,800 around, but if you want to come up now and I want to ask us as 454 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,920 we come into land here, how are you doing?