1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:02,800 We've been mentioning bees a lot this morning. 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,360 Our theme is around bees, and I want to talk about bees for a 3 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:08,960 number of reasons. In fact two specific reasons, 4 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:10,680 because I think they can teach us something. 5 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:12,280 I think there's something we can learn from them. 6 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:14,400 And I thought what better place to talk about bees? 7 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:18,120 That in every generation service causes a good game to be played. 8 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,680 Hopefully you've all written on your post it something sweet 9 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:23,760 about God that you've experienced or something sweet 10 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:25,280 you've read about God from the Bible. 11 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:26,960 If you haven't done that, feel free to do that at the end of 12 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,760 the service and stick it onto one of the beehives out there. 13 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:32,880 In the game we had some dance moves. 14 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,960 As we said, some of them was the the bottom wiggling sting, some 15 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:41,160 of it was the flapping arms. But did you know that bees use 16 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:44,800 dance moves to direct other bees to pollen? 17 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,400 It's what they do. They dance to direct the rest of 18 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,840 the hive to wear. A good source of pollen is and 19 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:55,400 they do this because nectar is a sweet source of energy and 20 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,720 strength for bees. So directing the colony to the 21 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,520 best source is a way that the colony stays strong, 22 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,040 particularly through the winter months. 23 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:06,640 And as Christians we draw strength. 24 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:08,560 We don't draw strength from honey. 25 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,320 Honey is tasty and it strengthens our bodies. 26 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:15,600 But we draw spiritual strength from God's word and from His 27 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,400 spirit. We draw strength from those 28 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:20,240 things. And so I want us to think a 29 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:28,400 little bit about that together. How do we keep our nectar supply 30 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:32,120 full? How do we keep full on God's 31 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,600 spirit? How do we keep full on God's 32 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,600 word? Like bees dance to .1 another to 33 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,240 nectar. We all of us here can .1 another 34 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:43,960 to the source of our strength to God. 35 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,560 And so for that I'm going to ask some people up to come and help. 36 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,080 This is an every generation service and I thought, what 37 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,560 better thing to do than ask a few people last week if they 38 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,640 wouldn't mind coming up and sharing just for 60 seconds. 39 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,520 Something sweet about God. Something to encourage us about 40 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:01,640 God. Something maybe they've read in 41 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,760 the Bible, something they've experienced in their life, and a 42 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,520 way for us to be able to strengthen and encourage one 43 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,320 another to do that. So could I. 44 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,080 Welcome up on stage that group of people who I have messaged 45 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,320 and communicated with. Do you want to come up on stage? 46 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:17,200 Let's clap them as they come forward. 47 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:18,800 Welcome. Welcome. 48 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:21,120 Do you come up on the stairs? The stairs here. 49 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:22,600 Stairs there. Welcome. 50 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:24,400 Welcome. Do you come forward? 51 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:26,600 Welcome, Welcome. If you want to make a line along 52 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:28,960 the front here, that would be great for us, please. 53 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,040 Wonderful. Excellent. 54 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:32,280 Hello. Hello. 55 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,200 Welcome. Excellent. 56 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,080 Hey, hey. So I'm going to hand the mic 57 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,240 along, and then you can just pass it from one person to the 58 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:43,000 next. And so I wonder if as we're 59 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,960 listening, I just spend a moment listening to their words and 60 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,160 maybe one of these people, as they share, might really speak 61 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:54,800 to your heart. Maybe imagine like bees dance 62 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,120 and .1 another to honey. Maybe imagine these guys doing 63 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,920 their little spiritual dance to point us towards a source of 64 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:05,040 goodness and strength. And so I'll start with Tenny. 65 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,680 If I pass you the mic and then just pass it down the line after 66 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:08,840 you spoke and that would be great. 67 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,320 If you could introduce yourself as you go along, that would be 68 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,440 great. Hi everyone, I'm Tenny and today 69 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:17,240 I'm going to talk to you about a certain story in the Bible that 70 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:18,880 has really stood out to me recently. 71 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,000 This story is the story of Samuel. 72 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:24,520 Samuel was the son of a woman named Hannah and he was raised 73 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:26,480 in the Tabernacle by a priest called Eli. 74 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,120 One night Samuel was lying down and he heard a voice calling out 75 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,160 to him saying Samuel Samuel. So Samuel immediately got up 76 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,120 from his rest and ran to Eli's room. 77 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:40,240 But to his surprise, Eli said I did not call you my son. 78 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,920 Go back to where you were. This happened three times until 79 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,240 Eli realized it was God calling Samuel. 80 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,200 So when the voice called out to Samuel again, Eli told him it is 81 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,240 the Lord who is calling you, not me. 82 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,960 So when you hear the voice again, say yes, Lord, your 83 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:59,040 servant is listening. So when Samuel heard the voice 84 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:00,720 again, he did as Eli told him to. 85 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,560 I really connected with this story, not only because of how 86 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,480 God was directly speaking to Samuel, but also because it 87 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:10,880 shows that we have the power to directly speak to God. 88 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,680 This story taught me that no matter how deep in sin or hurt 89 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,959 we are, we can always call on the Lord and He will answer us 90 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:19,839 and we can follow Him completely. 91 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,800 In reality, He never stopped calling us in the 1st place, so 92 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,280 we just need to listen to Him and He will guide us through all 93 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:28,520 the ups and downs no matter how hard it is. 94 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:31,920 So if you ever believe that God doesn't want anything to do with 95 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:34,880 you, stop believing that, because He is the one calling 96 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:41,320 you to follow Him. Amen. 97 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:48,360 Wow, that was so sweet. I don't know how to top that. 98 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,360 Yeah, yeah, it was really good. So for me, I was really thinking 99 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:56,880 about there was just so many to pick from. 100 00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:59,480 But I think the one that I personally went with is. 101 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:02,280 A time when I was just going through it, I was just going 102 00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:04,560 through life. And I'd been reading actually 103 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:07,000 the past that we don't like to read in the Bible, where he 104 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,440 talks about the measurements and he talks about, you know, 105 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:13,840 creating and making the Tabernacle and the priest 106 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:16,760 garments. And then later on, of course you 107 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:21,920 you see similar things happening with the wall of with the wall 108 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:26,520 of Jerusalem at the end, with the stones and everything now. 109 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,040 That's a lot of information, but I did bring a prop with me. 110 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,120 So I was going through a really difficult time and I was praying 111 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:36,080 and God was showing me these things, and he started speaking 112 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,320 to me about making a necklace together, and he wanted to make 113 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,280 a necklace with me. And so I went, and I found the 114 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:45,680 stones. Each stone, again coming from 115 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,800 the inspiration of the war of Jerusalem and also right in the 116 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:54,320 middle there, the orange really signifying the Holy Spirit. 117 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:58,000 And again, because there's 5 stones on this, the number of 118 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,200 grace in scripture. So everywhere I go I try to take 119 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,120 it with me. I don't idolize it, but I just, 120 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:05,960 it's just a reminder that God is saying, hey, I'm with you even 121 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:07,680 when you're going through difficult times. 122 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:10,840 And the last thing I'll say about this as well is when I did 123 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:13,400 all of this, I did it in faith. I didn't have the money. 124 00:06:18,230 --> 00:06:21,430 But then, as soon as it was ready for me to pay for it, God 125 00:06:21,470 --> 00:06:23,670 delivered the money. And it came from where I didn't 126 00:06:23,670 --> 00:06:25,870 even think. I didn't even know it was coming 127 00:06:25,870 --> 00:06:26,310 from. So I. 128 00:06:26,310 --> 00:06:29,350 Just praise God for for the little things, because yeah, 129 00:06:29,430 --> 00:06:35,270 that's my sweet story. Hi, I'm Tamina and on Easter 130 00:06:35,270 --> 00:06:42,550 Sunday 2023 I got baptized. It was amazing and all my loved 131 00:06:42,550 --> 00:06:45,390 ones were there with me and it was a huge day, but after I was 132 00:06:45,390 --> 00:06:48,040 quite confused. I wondered, why am I not feeling 133 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,040 closer to God like the people online do? 134 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,800 What I didn't realize was that not everything happens right 135 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:56,560 away. It comes when God chooses for it 136 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,600 to come. My sweet moment was at DTI. 137 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,880 At DTI we spent every morning and every evening worshipping 138 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,800 God with thousands of others. Lively songs and amazing sermons 139 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,200 that, at least for me, felt me, make me feel more seen by God 140 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,560 during. Today there were many seminars 141 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,640 giving us greater understanding of God, also including 142 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,240 activities. At times, even during the after 143 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,200 hours, we spent lots of time with God, one of the best parts 144 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:27,200 being I was surrounded by other people also on fire for God. 145 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,800 So I might not have felt very connected to with God when I 146 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:33,920 first got baptized, but the sweet moment was soon after. 147 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:43,080 I loved it. Good morning to you here and 148 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:45,800 online. My name is Wendy and I represent 149 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:47,840 the younger part of this group here. 150 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:56,560 And I love this theme about bees and doing their dance and just 151 00:07:56,560 --> 00:08:00,600 directing to the source of nectar, which is Jesus the 152 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:04,240 sweetness. Don't you love the way that he 153 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:10,880 infuses unexpected times and places with his presence, The 154 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,400 sweetness of his presence? So instead of talking about 155 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,520 scripture, which is what I usually do when I get up here, I 156 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:22,320 want to talk about 3 instances this week where I was just so 157 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:28,640 overwhelmed by this infusion. And it's an unseen intimacy. 158 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,280 Nobody looking on the outside would even know. 159 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:36,159 But it's an unseen intimacy of the sweetness of his presence. 160 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:40,080 And one was on Wednesday when I was working at Refuel in the 161 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,440 kitchen. Sharon was there, and we were 162 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,680 just filled with joy. It was one of those mornings as 163 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:48,720 we had the big pots and we were cooking. 164 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:52,640 There was the joy of the Lord that was almost tangible and 165 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,000 wonderful. And when I drove home 166 00:08:55,080 --> 00:09:00,200 afterwards, it was bubbling and I just knew he had been with us 167 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,200 in that kitchen as we were chopping and working and 168 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,960 stirring in the most extraordinary and beautiful way, 169 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,160 the sweetness of his presence. And then the next day, on 170 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,560 Thursday, I was collecting at a big supermarket in Saint Albans 171 00:09:13,560 --> 00:09:16,480 for my Rotary Club. We always stand with the bucket 172 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:21,480 and we collect for the homeless and for refugees and for polio 173 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,840 eradication. I've done it so many times, but 174 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:28,760 as I stood there this Thursday, three times, and it's never 175 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,320 happened before, people came by who really looked as if they 176 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,320 didn't have much to give, but they came and they dropped a few 177 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:39,400 coins in the bucket. And on 3 occasions, first was a 178 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,520 young man, second was a woman and the third was an older man, 179 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:45,760 came up. And as they looked at me, they 180 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:50,920 said I'm giving to this charity because I was homeless. 181 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,920 And through what you're doing, somebody helped me and got me 182 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:58,920 back on my feet. And that happened one after the 183 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,400 next, this last Thursday when I was collecting for a couple of 184 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:06,880 hours and I was overwhelmed in those moments by the sweetness 185 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:12,480 of a compassion and the love of Jesus to such an extent I wanted 186 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:15,480 to hug them. That's our Lord. 187 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,800 And then finally Friday night. It was a beautiful big moon. 188 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,240 And as I got into bed, I opened my curtains because it was clear 189 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:27,320 and the moonlight was shining in and I fell asleep in the main 190 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:29,960 light. But I woke up some hours later 191 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:33,680 with this intense light. It was like a spotlight shining 192 00:10:33,680 --> 00:10:36,520 in and I got up and I thought, what is the time? 193 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,200 I checked on my phone. It was three in the morning and 194 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:44,480 I looked outside and there was this huge moon and around it is 195 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:50,240 something I've never seen, a rainbow, a huge Halo rainbow 196 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,480 around the moon. And I looked it up on my phone 197 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,240 and it it is because of the ice crystals. 198 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,080 The refraction of moonlight on ice crystals causes a rainbow 199 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,840 Halo effect. I've never seen that and I was 200 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:07,600 just lost in the wonder of the awe of our creation. 201 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:12,080 Creator, the magnificence of God who is the master of this 202 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:14,880 universe. So I wanted to share the joy in 203 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:18,200 the kitchen, the compassion standing, collecting with the 204 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:21,040 bucket, and the glory of God in my room. 205 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:29,160 Sweet moments of his presence. That was so beautiful. 206 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:31,640 And The funny thing is I'm going to talk about his presence as 207 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:34,400 well. So God is so good now because 208 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:40,000 I've got 2 minutes. Pastor Edward, I've been told my 209 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:41,520 family is laughing. Like when you talk about the 210 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:43,800 sweetness of God, there's so much to say and it's hard to 211 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:45,480 pick something I don't know about anyone else. 212 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,960 But anyway, 2 minutes of this. So let me start by just saying. 213 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:50,840 Let me just. Hello, darling. 214 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,120 It's my son. My sweetness. 215 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:56,160 Hello, darling. In a minute. 216 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:58,600 In a minute. Let Mummy, do you stand next to 217 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:00,480 Mummy. Thank you so much. 218 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,440 So let me just start by saying that I was having such a 219 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:08,040 challenging situation and it just turned into a challenging 220 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:11,240 hour, a challenging day, a challenging week, a challenging 221 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,000 month. And it just felt like everything 222 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,000 around me was just spiring out of control. 223 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:18,800 You know one of those seasons now, no matter what you try to 224 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,280 do. To try to sort the situation 225 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:26,080 out, it just gets worse. And I was just thinking to 226 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,280 myself, what do I do next? What do I do next? 227 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,080 But I just thought, I just want to be in His presence. 228 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:35,520 What I hadn't done for at this time was to sit and be in God's 229 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:39,440 presence. And thank you darling and. 230 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,760 So when I was when I was sitting thinking about how I can just be 231 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,440 in God's presence, I just thought the best thing I can do 232 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,640 just go to his word. I went over to Isaiah 30 chapter 233 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:56,640 Isaiah 30 starting from 19. I'm reading from that amplified 234 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:59,920 Bible and it reads. We will weep no longer. 235 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,680 He will most certainly be gracious to us at the sound of 236 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:07,040 our cry for help. When he hears it, he will answer 237 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:11,520 it then goes on to say your ears will hear a word behind you. 238 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:13,840 This. This is the way to walk in it. 239 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,480 Whether you turn to the left or you turn to the right, His sweet 240 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:21,160 presence is with you always. So I just want to say, as you 241 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,520 start to walk to work, you just get God's sweet presence. 242 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:28,000 As you walk into the operating theatre, get God's presence. 243 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,280 When you're going into that meter room, you're not sure what 244 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:33,960 to say or to or to do get into God's presence. 245 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,120 God's presence is what we need. And then you're going to be 246 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:39,640 like, OK, Elizabeth, how do I get this presence, you know? 247 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:43,600 And I just want to say the best way we can get some way, sorry 248 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:45,520 you can get his presence is by prayer. 249 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:48,120 Just ask him for it. Ask him for his presence. 250 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:50,760 Ask him to come and just be with us during that time. 251 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:54,800 Be around, fellow believers. And we have a connect group, 252 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:59,600 Luton Dance ball, quick shout out or you can go to any connect 253 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:02,920 group that is close to you. And the good thing about our 254 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:05,480 church is we have a connect group every single day of the 255 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:08,400 week for us to be able to connect to other people even 256 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,000 when we're feeling weak and you get around your fellow people, 257 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,920 they will make us strong during that time in his presence. 258 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:19,240 Then let me just quickly just end by saying that we can try to 259 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,240 look for everything else. And we can try to get that 260 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:25,640 friend who can help us. We can look at that comedy kind 261 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:27,200 of movie that can just make us laugh. 262 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:31,000 We can go to our spies. And let me just quickly say, I 263 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,200 have a lovely spouse who's behind me here, and he really 264 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,240 does help cultivate me. He's like, in a positive way. 265 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:40,400 He's like my lifter upper. But actually, when you're going 266 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,760 through stuff, you need God's presence. 267 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:45,160 Those things are beautiful within itself. 268 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,280 But actually just sitting in God's presence is what actually 269 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:50,200 meets our needs. When we're looking for 270 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:53,520 something, it's God's presence is what will be with us always. 271 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:58,040 Let me end by saying my prayer for us today is maybe constantly 272 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:02,160 being God's presence and rest in his sweet, perfect peace. 273 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:03,760 Amen. Amen. 274 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,000 Amen. That's beautiful. 275 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:08,160 Good. Job. 276 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:11,400 Oh, thank you, darling. Precious. 277 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:14,040 Excellent. Thank you so much, each of you. 278 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,120 As they take their seats, let's clap them to encourage. 279 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:19,240 That was beautiful, wasn't it? Hearing those different moments 280 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:22,000 of sweetness that each of them have experienced, and hopefully 281 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,280 within that there was something that might point you to Jesus as 282 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:30,000 they did their little honeybee dance, a taste and see that the 283 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,120 Lord is good. Psalm 34, verse eight, we taste 284 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:37,320 and see that the Lord is good. Doing that in community is the 285 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:40,400 most pungent way to taste God's goodness. 286 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,440 As I make my second point, maybe I can invite the band up and I 287 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,200 could probably pass this microphone to my wife, thank you 288 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,360 very much. My second point is that each of 289 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,560 us play a different role within our church. 290 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:56,120 Each of us, whatever age or stage we're at, we play a 291 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,280 different role in our church community. 292 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:02,560 We are family together and we are strong as each of us play 293 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:06,240 their different role. Ephesians 2 verse 10 says this. 294 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,280 You're probably familiar with it, for we are God's handiwork 295 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,360 created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared 296 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:18,560 in advance for us to do. You are God's handiwork. 297 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,640 You might be doubting that this morning, but can I tell you that 298 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:24,920 God's word says that over your life that you have been shaped 299 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:27,160 and formed? There's nothing irregularly 300 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,520 wrong with you. There's something beautifully 301 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:33,000 irregular with each of us, and that uniqueness is what calls 302 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,880 you into God's purposes for your life. 303 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,360 Each of us have a uniqueness. We need to step into that. 304 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,640 Did you know that foraging scouts the honey bees? 305 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,800 They can travel up to 14 kilometres from their beehive to 306 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:48,760 find new sources of nectar that helps the colony to become 307 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:51,520 efficient, encouraging them to channel their energy towards 308 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,400 more nutritious areas. The hive is therefore filled 309 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,840 with healthy, nutritious honey, particularly through the winter 310 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:00,280 months. I think there's something 311 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:04,560 prophetic in this for us because if the scalp bees decided they 312 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:08,760 wanted to be hive bees and instead of going out to find 313 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,599 this rich source of nectar, they were trying to repair cracks in 314 00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:15,200 the hive or cover foreign particles that are too large to 315 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,119 remove, then there'll be a reduction in the quality and 316 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:21,640 quantity of the honey in that hive. 317 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:26,160 If the hive bees decided they no longer wanted to build those 318 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,800 structures, but instead they would rather do something 319 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:34,120 different, then they would cause an issue with the structure of 320 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:38,240 the hive and being able to store the honey that's required. 321 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,680 Each of us have been blessed with a set of gifts that are 322 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,360 there to build the church. Both build the church locally 323 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:49,280 here, but build God's global capital C church across the 324 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,360 nations. And so can I ask some questions? 325 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:57,840 What role or what roles can you excel at? 326 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:02,840 Which will build his church? What ways on Sunday here or what 327 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,320 ways through the week here? Can you help build the church 328 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:11,960 community at What ways beyond this church family Can you help 329 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:14,560 extend the reach to reach the lost? 330 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,520 There's a dying world out there, and we want to love them. 331 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:23,640 Well, whatever your age, whatever your stage, whatever 332 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:26,440 your situation, God is calling you. 333 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:29,520 God is calling you into community where we dance 334 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:33,280 together and God is calling us into community where we serve 335 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,800 together. If you feel like you're not sure 336 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,240 where you're called to, if you feel like you're struggling with 337 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,640 that, then do come and talk to one of the pastors. 338 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:44,080 Talk to your connect group leader, Talk to a friend. 339 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:47,560 So we've been thinking about bees a lot. 340 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,720 I'm going to bring this in to close now just to remind us of 341 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:53,360 those two points. First of all, that we can help 342 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:56,920 one another to taste and see that the Lord is good. 343 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:00,800 Do you have a bee dance that can point others to God? 344 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,160 And the 2nd is that we are called and equipped. 345 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,280 We are called and equipped. Ephesians teaches us that we are 346 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,920 God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works. 347 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,000 So whatever your role is for building the church, we need 348 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:20,120 you. If we want to stand, we're going 349 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:21,320 to have a time of worship.