1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,480 Wow. Well, here we are on another 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:03,760 Sunday. I said this morning. 3 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:05,240 Sunday's come round really quick. 4 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:07,360 I don't know what about you, but I feel like the weeks just seem 5 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:13,040 to be getting faster. And this morning I'm going to 6 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:15,080 actually start by giving you a little update. 7 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:20,920 So as you will be aware if you were here last year, we started 8 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:25,240 a mission series last year where we kind of relaunched our 9 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:28,920 posture towards missions and we kind of unpacked what that meant 10 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,680 for us as a church going after the Great Commission, stepping 11 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,600 in as Acts 18. And Freya already mentioned this 12 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,720 morning about being witnesses in the local, the near and the far. 13 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:43,840 And we're actually a whole year on, I can't believe it from that 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,560 series. And as a church, we've done a 15 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:50,080 lot this year already around mission globally and locally. 16 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,680 And so this morning, I just want to give you a quick update 17 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:55,280 before I get into the talk on a couple of things. 18 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,600 And the first is this, that right now our mission team is on 19 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:01,720 a plane about to land in the Himalayas. 20 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,040 They're up in the air. They should be up here. 21 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:08,920 This lovely team last night set off from Heathrow, so church do 22 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,520 be praying for them. They have gone out to our 23 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:15,520 partnership in the Himalayas where we are as a church 24 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:20,440 empowering the Bible to be made a reality into the oral language 25 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,400 of an unreached people group who are yet to hear the name of 26 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:26,400 Jesus. But because of what you're doing 27 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,440 in this place, what the translators are doing in the 28 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:33,280 Himalayas, and because of our encouragement and support, we 29 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,760 are making the truth of God's Word a reality in a group of 30 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,240 people's lives that are going to experience His goodness for the 31 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:40,920 first time. And that is super exciting. 32 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,040 And these guys are going out to encourage our translators and 33 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:47,480 understand the process better. So please do keep them in your 34 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,040 prayers in the next 10 days as they go on. 35 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,240 Quite the adventure. And so we continue in that 36 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:55,800 partnership and it's super exciting. 37 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,480 We know as I updated a while ago, the whole New Testament is 38 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,200 done and they're now diligently working through the Old 39 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:02,560 Testament. Bless them. 40 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,880 We also had a team in the summer that went out to Sri Lanka to 41 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:10,680 visit our vineyard partnership in Sri Lanka. 42 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:13,920 We've got vineyard leaders who were planting churches. 43 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:17,120 People were coming to Jesus, and the team had an incredible time 44 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,760 in Sri Lanka. And again, all because of 45 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,720 everybody in this room rallying around that team to make that a 46 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,040 reality. We had an amazing Love your 47 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,440 Street back in June where we all got off the seats in this 48 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,040 building and we got out on the streets and we loved our 49 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,360 neighbors well. And we celebrated well because 50 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:36,440 God is moving. And I've loved that since Love 51 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:38,360 your street. I've had so many people who come 52 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,280 and say, oh, guess what, Claire, this week I did this, I, I've 53 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,440 kept doing love your street. And that was what love Your 54 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,120 Street was all about. It was about igniting something 55 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,840 in us to realise it's really quite simple to love the people 56 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:54,200 that live next door to you. And as we go into 2026, I want 57 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,920 to give you a little update. We are expanding our reach. 58 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,960 We are pushing out our partnerships. 59 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:04,720 And you will remember last year we heard from Sam Miller at Open 60 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:07,120 Doors. It was a powerful Sunday in this 61 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,880 place that I don't think there was a heart that was not moved 62 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,200 listening to the stories of the persecuted church around the 63 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:15,440 world. And so I'm delighted to tell you 64 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,240 this morning that as a Versa church family, we are stepping 65 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:20,000 into a partnership with Open Doors. 66 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,640 We are giving to them every month to stand with them as they 67 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,320 church, which is super exciting. So you will get to hear more 68 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,960 stories and ways to pray with them. 69 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:33,920 And you can sign up. Just so you know, you can go to 70 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:37,040 Open Doors yourself and sign up. And honestly, the newsletters 71 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,200 and the powerful prayer points, they, they flaw me every time I 72 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,800 read them and they humble me about the reality that we get to 73 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,160 walk in here on a Sunday and not take this for granted. 74 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:51,040 We get to love Jesus openly and courageously out loud without 75 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:53,400 fear of our lives. And there are of Christians 76 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:55,120 around the world for whom that is not a reality. 77 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:57,600 So we're focusing that on West Africa. 78 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,560 That will be the area of the world that we will partner with. 79 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,400 And finally, you know, we felt the Lord stirring in us around 80 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,960 justice and compassion. What, what does that look like 81 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:10,560 Lord to extend our reach into those areas? 82 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:13,560 And I heard the Lord say it's local and global. 83 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,800 And, and so I'm excited to also share this morning that we are 84 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,440 officially partnering with Azalea in Luton. 85 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,480 I love it. For those of you who don't know, 86 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,480 many in many in this room will know Azalea because we've got 87 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,800 many people in this room that serve with Azalea who work with 88 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,480 them, but they empower and facilitate sustainable 89 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,680 transformation in the lives of those impacted by sex 90 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,920 trafficking on our streets in the city of Luton, also in High 91 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,240 Wycombe and have a global influence. 92 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,560 But we really believe in what they're doing and the 93 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:50,040 transformation that they're seeing. 94 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:55,040 And we're also on a global perspective, stepping in to see 95 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,320 things change on the global level. 96 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,360 And so we're also going to be partnering with International 97 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:05,280 Justice Mission, who work in a similar area to Azalea, but they 98 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:10,720 look at the root causes of that in governments, in systems, and 99 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,600 they are seeing radical transformation in nations that 100 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,240 look like it would be impossible to see a change. 101 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:20,440 They're seeing it made possible. And I'm not going to go into 102 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:24,400 that today because next week we have the wonderful Cath Johnson, 103 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,080 who leads the new wine movement, and she works for IGN. 104 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,560 She's going to come and share about IGN and unpack that for 105 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:32,600 us. So that is a little update. 106 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,960 We are expanding our reach and we're going after Jesus in all 107 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,360 of these places. And that is because you guys 108 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,760 give generously. It's because we listen to the 109 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:43,600 Word and we follow his lead. And yeah, I just want to say 110 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,760 thank you for the ways that you give faithfully so that we can 111 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:48,640 do that. Amen. 112 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,120 Amen. Thank you, Jesus. 113 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:59,560 Wonderful. Well, we're going to dig into a 114 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,320 new series, which you can see on the back is called Missions 115 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:09,560 Shocker, as I started with that. But I want to, you know, many of 116 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,160 you will know if you've been around here for very long, that 117 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:17,160 I love gardening. And, and there's something it's 118 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,440 done even just yesterday as I sat in our lounge looking out at 119 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:23,680 flowers that are still blooming, shockingly, dahlias that are 120 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:25,960 still in full bloom here at almost the end of November. 121 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,720 And I was thinking back to the day that I held a seed in my 122 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:34,760 hand, just a tiny, tiny seed. And it looks so small and 123 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,680 ordinary. But inside of that seed is the 124 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,280 DNA of something absolutely extraordinarily beautiful. 125 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:48,480 It can be a plan, a seed or a flower, and everything that's 126 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:51,040 needed for that seed is already inside of it. 127 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:53,680 It's DNA. But what do we do? 128 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:57,160 We place seeds into soil. We push them down into the soil. 129 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:01,880 And for the potential that's inside of that seed to come 130 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,560 alive, it needs the right environment. 131 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,080 It needs the right soil with the right nutrients and ingredients 132 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,360 around it for it to to come to life. 133 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,360 And I want to put that image in your mind as we start this 134 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:18,560 morning because what we're going to unpack here this morning is 135 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:21,400 compassion, a vision of transformation. 136 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:26,720 And I want us to explore God's vision of transformation and the 137 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:32,160 posture as a church that we hold to be the soil that wraps around 138 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:37,200 people's lives to bring life as God intended it, their purpose, 139 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:39,240 their dignity, their value to life. 140 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:44,640 Particularly in our posture as we think about how we love those 141 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,160 who are experiencing poverty and injustice and going through 142 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,880 difficulty and hard times as we believe record to be a Church of 143 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:55,320 compassion. So let's pray. 144 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:00,200 Father, I thank you for this new day. 145 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:08,800 And Lord, we want to catch your vision this morning, what you 146 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:14,360 see when you look upon our world and our city and the people that 147 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:23,740 you have created in your image. Lord, will we have open hearts 148 00:08:23,740 --> 00:08:30,900 this morning? Hear your voice as you speak to 149 00:08:30,900 --> 00:08:35,220 each one of us about our part to play in the outworking of your 150 00:08:35,220 --> 00:08:43,760 transformation in our world in Jesus name, Amen. 151 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:46,720 Well, we're going to be turning to Isaiah 40 this morning. 152 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:49,040 If you want to pull that up, you can. 153 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:54,440 Let's have a quick dive in. I want to give a little bit of 154 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:58,560 context before we read it. You know, Isaiah is a prophet 155 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:02,400 and he opens chapter 40 of Isaiah. 156 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,240 It's the second-half of Isaiah, and it is a really key turning 157 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:10,200 point from a a place essentially of judgement to a place of hope. 158 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:15,720 The Israelites have been exiled as the Babylonians besieged 159 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:19,160 their city. And honestly, they're despairing 160 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:23,360 because what they are experiencing seems to counter 161 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,920 what they've been promised by God to be a great nation whom 162 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,120 God would establish the Kingdom through. 163 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,760 And in the midst of looking at their reality, they're 164 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,080 ultimately falling for the lie that God has forgotten them. 165 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,200 He's abandoned them. And you can imagine, right? 166 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,720 We've all been in those spots where we start to wrestle with 167 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,160 those questions that we thought we knew what we answers to. 168 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:51,800 But here, because of the reality we find ourselves in, we're 169 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:56,120 like, does God want to help us? Can he really help us? 170 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,440 Will he help us? I mean, maybe that's just me. 171 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,920 The into that despair that the Israelites had, Isaiah comes and 172 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:09,680 he speaks God's comfort and he gives them a vision of hope and 173 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:15,040 assurance that this is not the end of their story, even though 174 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,360 what they're experiencing doesn't make sense or what they 175 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:20,560 had imagined or hoped or thought it would be. 176 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:25,440 He paints this incredible picture, a prophetic voice that 177 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:29,440 calls into the midst of a circumstance and calls forth a 178 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:33,680 fresh vision of a new reality of transformation. 179 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:37,240 So let's read from verse 340, verse 3. 180 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:42,480 In the wilderness, a voice of 1 cause the way of the Lord makes 181 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:45,320 straight in the desert a highway for our God. 182 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:50,880 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made 183 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,680 low. The rough ground shall become 184 00:10:53,680 --> 00:10:59,400 level, the rugged places a plain, and the glory of the Lord 185 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:03,760 will be revealed, and all people will see it together. 186 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,560 For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 187 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:09,960 And man, I love worship, and I love how God weaves I. 188 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,960 We were sat there at the end saying, and the glory of the 189 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:15,320 Lord will be seen on all of the earth. 190 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:17,880 And here we are in this scripture this morning. 191 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:21,520 The glory of the Lord will be seen on all the earth by all 192 00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:24,000 people. Amen. 193 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:29,080 And these words weren't just a powerful image for the 194 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:33,640 Israelites in front of them. They were a prophetic voice 195 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:37,240 giving hope and vision to a future generation. 196 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,200 And we see that in Matthew 3/3 when John the Baptist walks out 197 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:44,960 this prophecy where he is the voice crying, and he walks in to 198 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:48,920 preach in the wilderness as he prepares the way for Jesus. 199 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,800 And the depth and the beauty of these hope filled words in 200 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:59,440 Isaiah then ultimately unfold through Jesus who came as the 201 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:05,480 way God's Son, making this incredible declaration that what 202 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:10,920 seems impossible can be made possible only through Jesus. 203 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:16,960 And that now, in this moment in 2025, there is nothing beyond 204 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:22,240 redemption through the cross and the resurrection, which declared 205 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:28,920 that no person, no situation, you know, no financial crisis 206 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:34,560 this morning, no relationship, no medical diagnosis, no 207 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:39,560 circumstance is beyond the power of God's love and transformation 208 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:40,800 this morning. Amen. 209 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,320 And I think some of us out of the gates here need to hear that 210 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:50,080 reality and that truth this morning, that nothing is beyond 211 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:54,200 the power of God's love and redemption and transformation in 212 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:58,000 your life. Nothing. 213 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:05,880 Jesus, life made a way, and his declaration is always one of 214 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:12,120 hope. But these words in Isaiah are 215 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:16,440 also a posture of hope and a vision of transformation, and a 216 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:22,800 posture and vision that we as a church, you and me, are called 217 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:29,000 to hold for each other and for ourselves, but also for every 218 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,960 person in this world. Which is particularly poignant 219 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:40,040 when we consider missions globally or specifically today 220 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:45,000 as we consider what it means to be compassionate and how we 221 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,640 express that here as a church in this building. 222 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:52,200 Tomorrow morning, on Monday, on Tuesday and Wednesday and 223 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:59,000 Thursday and Friday, we're called church to have this 224 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,480 vision of transformation for every person experiencing 225 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:07,120 poverty and injustice and difficulty in our neighborhoods 226 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:08,840 and on our streets and in our city. 227 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:11,840 And the reason I say this is that about a year ago I was 228 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,720 praying over Versa Care. One of my remits and joys is to 229 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:19,600 oversee Versa Care, which is a compassion ministry of ours as a 230 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:22,240 church here. And it happens over there on 231 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:24,040 that side of the building. If you don't know what Versa 232 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,280 care is, you need to go and ask and come and see and and we'll 233 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,520 give you a tour. But I was asking the Lord like, 234 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:34,120 OK, God, what is it that you want to sharpen us in and Versa 235 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:35,880 care? What is the posture that we are 236 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:39,920 to hold as we serve those who find themselves in these places? 237 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:43,200 And the Lord said this to me. I want you to call the bride at 238 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:47,040 the church to be like Isaiah, to be a voice calling in the 239 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,480 wilderness of people's lives, proclaiming that this is not the 240 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:55,240 end of your story. This is not the end of anyone's 241 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:57,840 story. Jesus is your story. 242 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,760 And Desmond Tutu has a quote that I love and it says the hope 243 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,760 is being able to see that there is light despite all the 244 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:08,160 darkness. And NT Wright builds on that. 245 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:13,200 When he talks about how the how the resurrection is essentially 246 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:18,920 about us implementing hope, he says that hope isn't a theory, 247 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,800 it's a movement. It rolls up its sleeves and it 248 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,560 put it, it is, as he puts it, implementing the resurrection in 249 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,960 the power of the spirit. And that's why hope matters. 250 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,760 Church hope doesn't sit on the sidelines. 251 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,360 It doesn't sit back and be passive. 252 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:37,920 It acts. It prepares the way it steps 253 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:42,400 into the wilderness because the resurrection is already at work 254 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:46,200 in US. And the church is the only 255 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:50,720 people on the earth that can truly say this, that hope is 256 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:55,960 alive, not because we can fix it, but because we can lead 257 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:59,720 people to the only one who can, the only true hope. 258 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:08,400 And so my prayer is that God would awaken us honestly to be a 259 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,760 people that can stand and say transformation is possible 260 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:16,640 because Jesus is here. And that we would be postured 261 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:21,200 with a vision of transformation even in a world that keeps 262 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:25,320 repeating a narrative that this is too dark, that this is the 263 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:27,720 end. This is everything is hopeless. 264 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,600 Nothing's going to change. No, no one's going to bring the 265 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,320 the solutions. It's doom and gloom and church, 266 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:36,960 it's our hour to rise and be the light of hope and transformation 267 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:39,800 and be a voice that proclaims who Jesus is. 268 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,040 Amen. Amen. 269 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:48,000 It's our hour to be postured with vision and to be a voice 270 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,040 that calls out. And so from Isaiah 40, I just 271 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,560 sat in this scripture for us today, and the Lord highlighted 272 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:58,720 three ways that we're to walk as a church in this day. 273 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,640 And particularly, as I said, looking through the lens of what 274 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,280 our compassion ministry looks like. 275 00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:11,160 And the first is this. We are to be a people of 276 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:15,960 comfort, you know, before the vision of transformation that 277 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:19,040 comes in verses 3 to 5. I want to still look at verses 278 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:21,920 1:00 to 2:00 because what does God say? 279 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:29,680 Comfort, comfort. My people speak tenderly to 280 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,200 them. And then he goes on to remind 281 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:37,480 them that their sin is pardoned. Ultimately what their true 282 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,800 identity is. Now, it's interesting when you 283 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,200 look at this word comfort, because the Hebrew word for 284 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,200 comfort is a word that I'm terribly not going to pronounce, 285 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:48,720 but hopefully it will come up on the screen. 286 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:52,040 Naturmu, maybe we'll go for that. 287 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:55,520 I'll go for Hebrew lessons soon, I promise. 288 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:02,040 But this word is not the modern sense of what comes to our mind 289 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,560 when we think about comfort. You know, comfort in our modern 290 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,520 age is ultimately about making everything feel good. 291 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,440 You know, the comfy blanket on your sofa at night. 292 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,440 It's the the clothes that feel comfortable. 293 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:16,920 It's whatever it looks like. It's the food that's your 294 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,440 comfort food when you're feeling a bit down and gloomy, you know, 295 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:21,960 come on, Bit of Cadbury's chocolate. 296 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:24,920 Can't beat it. It goes. 297 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:27,800 I should, I should be like Mark and start suggesting my favorite 298 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:30,800 things up here. Because if you're watching Mark, 299 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,240 you'd be proud. But comfort, it goes much deeper 300 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,600 in the Hebrew. In the original, the root of the 301 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:44,520 world is related to a physical sighing or a breathing hard, a 302 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,600 physical sense of being relieved after walking through something 303 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:54,160 immensely stressful and hard. It's an active, strengthening 304 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,760 comfort that gives courage and resilience. 305 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:01,600 And God here as he's talking to the Israelites, he's talking 306 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:03,960 about the comfort that's promised that can only come from 307 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:07,520 him, the relief and deliverance that God will bring as they face 308 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:12,280 a seriously long period of captivity and despair. 309 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:16,880 And notice it says it twice. Comfort, comfort. 310 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:20,240 The repetition of words in the Scripture need to catch our 311 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:24,160 attention because it highlights the people's deep need for this 312 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,680 kind of powerful consolation from God because of their 313 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,680 suffering. And so when you dig into this, 314 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:34,840 you realise that comfort is not about making it feel good. 315 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:41,600 It's this active, not passive life giving reassurance that 316 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:46,320 impacts the physical meeting people in their physical need, 317 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,720 bringing a relief as a demonstration of the truest form 318 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:56,480 of comfort, Jesus relationship with him that brings strength to 319 00:19:56,480 --> 00:20:00,040 the whole world emotionally, physically, spiritually. 320 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:08,480 But I love that God pairs this, this like essentially a posture 321 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,320 of of truth, right? That that's what really brings 322 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:16,880 strength is truth, but God pairs it with tenderness, because 323 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:18,680 tenderness is how we speak truth. 324 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,600 And as we bring a demonstration both in the physical and in the 325 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:30,120 what comes out of our mouths, God's reminding us to do it 326 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,760 tenderly. And Jesus models this right when 327 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:38,120 we think about his life when people were broken, when people 328 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:42,560 were lost or rejected, He never started with condemnation. 329 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:48,600 In fact, he never condemned. He always begins with dignity, 330 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,880 hope, and a reminder of their truest identity. 331 00:20:54,120 --> 00:21:00,080 The woman at the well, Zacchaeus, the woman caught in 332 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,680 adultery. The leper. 333 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:06,200 It was never get your life together. 334 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:08,960 This is how you got here. What stupid choices did you 335 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,520 make? He began with what they needed 336 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:17,480 most, physical demonstrations of dignity and hope and truth, 337 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:22,720 touching the leper that no one would touch, turning and looking 338 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,840 at the woman in the eye that nobody wanted to acknowledge 339 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:32,480 they knew. He meets people where they're 340 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,600 at. He offers dignity before 341 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,520 direction. He spoke identity before 342 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,600 correction. And as God's church, we are 343 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:46,080 called to do the same. Comfort with strength, speak 344 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:51,320 with tenderness and remind people of their truest identity, 345 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,720 not what the world has told them, not what their own 346 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:58,720 narrative has told them because of their life circumstances. 347 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,720 The narrative that Jesus speaks over them, that you and my 348 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:06,000 child, that you've been made in my image and inside of you is 349 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,440 purpose and hope and dignity. And you are made with my 350 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,200 intention inside of you. And that is true for each one of 351 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:15,320 us in here. And that is true for every 352 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,000 person on this planet. The ones that know Jesus, these 353 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,280 are the ones that don't. They are made in the image of 354 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:22,720 God. And they need us as a church to 355 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,960 call out that image, to call out their identity and say you are 356 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:29,680 loved and we're going to show you why. 357 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,000 And honestly, church, we have a beautiful expression of this 358 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,960 that happens every week in this building in Verso care. 359 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:49,520 We are creating intentional spaces and places for people to 360 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:54,640 walk in our doors as they are because if I'm really honest 361 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:58,400 with you, they won't walk in here on a Sunday because their 362 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:02,040 reality feels so far away from our reality that this feels like 363 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,560 too big of a gap. And so we have Versa care and we 364 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,680 open our doors and we say, come as you are. 365 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:11,120 We say you're hungry, let's come get some food from our food 366 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:14,120 bank. You've got you're a single mum 367 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:16,920 and you've got kids and you've been rallying all week in a flat 368 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,800 on your own. Then coming into our stay and 369 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:23,080 play, let your kids play with our toys. 370 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:24,880 You know what they need some clothes. 371 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:26,960 We've got some clothes, we've got some equipment. 372 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,280 We also want to have a conversation with you as the mum 373 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,680 because we know that life is really hard as a single mum. 374 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,920 We have a cafe where people get to come into a cafe that looks a 375 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,560 lot like a cafe in the middle of town, and they don't have to pay 376 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:44,440 for the beautiful cake and have someone serve them a coffee 377 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,280 because they're worth the dignity that each one of us gets 378 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:49,600 to experience when we walk in and tap our card and buy that 379 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:54,680 latte. But we meet people in those 380 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:59,600 spaces that are often in crisis, people on the edge of tears. 381 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:01,720 They feel like their world is falling apart. 382 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:03,600 They don't know if life is worth the living. 383 00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:08,200 We have refugees that have found themselves on new shores and 384 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:10,840 unable to speak a language, lost everything that they've ever 385 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:13,320 known because their family has been torn away from them in a 386 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:16,200 war zone. And they come in our door and we 387 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:20,640 say we love you. How can we help you today? 388 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:26,000 You know what so many of them say? 389 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,960 So peaceful in this building. What is it that's going on here? 390 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,960 Here's the reality Church. Every meal served, every coffee 391 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,040 poured, every peaceful environment created through the 392 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:44,640 Spirit of God is a prophetic act, a posture that declares, 393 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:49,000 like Isaiah, that there is hope, there is comfort, there is 394 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,000 strength and assurance that this is not the end of your story. 395 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:57,440 And there is a God who cares so much that we show up to serve 396 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:00,080 you a coffee, We show up to give you a bag of food. 397 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:02,240 We show up to have the conversation with a police 398 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:04,960 officer that's brought someone who's in such crisis that they 399 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,800 need an emergency bag any hour of the day through the week. 400 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,440 And we will give it to them because we love them, because 401 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,320 they are made in the image of God and they deserve dignity and 402 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:16,000 value and worth. And we get to make that 403 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,760 declaration as a church. Amen. 404 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:29,320 Secondly, we are a people who prepare verses 3 and 4. 405 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:34,120 It says this in the wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord. 406 00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:37,120 Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 407 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,280 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made 408 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,200 low. The rough ground shall become 409 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:48,600 level, the rugged places plain. Isaiah gives a picture 410 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,080 essentially of a barren landscape, which here in the 411 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:56,200 Scripture is God's people. They had become barren and into 412 00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:00,360 which God shows up. And if I had time to share lots 413 00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:03,160 of stories this morning from Versa Care, you would not be 414 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:05,600 shocked. I'm sure to know that many of 415 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,920 their realities are heartbreaking and complex. 416 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:13,040 And often the horizon looks pretty brief and barren if 417 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,560 you're looking from a human perspective. 418 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,040 But God is reminding us in this room this morning. 419 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:22,240 And this is something I remind our team at Versa Care of all of 420 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,160 the time. We aren't called to see that. 421 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:26,800 We're called to see God's what God sees. 422 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:31,160 We're called to see what he, his vision is for their life. 423 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,000 And I love it. He says that every valley will 424 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,160 be raised up. We know those valleys in our own 425 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:40,360 lives, right? The situations that feel too 426 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:45,320 much unbearable, or the shame of our sin that so easily entangles 427 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:48,360 us. But we see the valleys in our 428 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:51,920 world through injustice and poverty and the forgotten and 429 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,680 the poor and the desolate. And God is reminding us here 430 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:59,360 that through Jesus every value can be lifted. 431 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:02,560 And that Jesus through Jesus will be lifted one day. 432 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,400 Every mountain and hill will be made low. 433 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:14,360 Those mountains of indifference that exist in us in action, our 434 00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:20,240 pride, but in our world, the powerful, unjust structures that 435 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:25,000 will be humbled, that will be brought down because of Jesus. 436 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:27,400 And next week you're going to get to hear some of those 437 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:28,960 stories. And honestly, they are going to 438 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,520 blow your mind at the work of the God through bringing down 439 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:36,040 unbelievable systems of injustice that have caused much 440 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:39,080 pain. But the ground will also become 441 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:44,920 level, a rugged place, a plane, the barriers that divide, the 442 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:48,040 tensions, the questions, the unknown, they will be made 443 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:52,080 smooth. And as we stand here in the 444 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:56,440 between of the here and not yet, we are called as the bride of 445 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,800 Christ to keep believing for what's in heaven, to come to 446 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:04,240 earth, where we would see the markers of this transformation 447 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,240 happening in the here and the now. 448 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,920 But notice those few words that come before this picture. 449 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:18,040 Prepare the way the Lord will do the impossible, but he 450 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:22,040 commissions us to be a people who prepare. 451 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:27,760 You know, I was thinking about my dad was a a Co Co vocational 452 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,200 pastor Slash. He had his own construction 453 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:34,240 company and we grew up in Devon and he would do a lot of work on 454 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,600 farms. And I can remember as a little 455 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,600 girl I realised now we'd never be allowed to go because of 456 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:41,800 health and safety. But I used to go to work with my 457 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:46,040 dad sometimes on the weekends. And I can remember him being in 458 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,960 situations where farmers were like, can we please make a lane 459 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:50,920 across this field? And he'd be like, well, it's 460 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:55,160 very, that's going to be a little tricky given the state of 461 00:28:55,160 --> 00:29:00,040 the land. But he had a remarkable ability 462 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:05,560 to say, I see it, I see the vision of it, and we can make it 463 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:06,800 happen. We can make it happen. 464 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,000 And then he was set to diligently preparing the ground. 465 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:15,640 And my word, to lay a road or a farm lane out of concrete. 466 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:19,000 The diligence required to prepare the ground is 467 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:24,080 phenomenal, but he would see it, and then he would get stuck into 468 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,840 doing the work required to ensure it was prepared. 469 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,720 And then the concrete lorry would come and it would pour. 470 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,400 And I'd watch him as he diligently laid out this road so 471 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:35,960 that the life of that farm in the form of animals would be 472 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:38,640 able to travel in the direction that they were destined to 473 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:42,080 travel. And Jesus did the same. 474 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:45,720 He didn't shout hope from afar. He got close. 475 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,200 He didn't just see the vision of someone's life. 476 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,240 He sat with the lonely. He walked with the poor. 477 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:54,840 He touched the untouchable. Because compassion was never 478 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:57,360 pity. It was always proximity. 479 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,480 He built a road into people's lives so that they could walk 480 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:03,760 towards God's love that would transform them. 481 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,960 But I think proximity, if I'm honest, is the part we often 482 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:11,400 avoid. We love the idea of compassion 483 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:15,680 as a church, often churches across the world, but we 484 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:18,760 struggle with the proximity and the cost. 485 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:21,640 We think, you know what? I'm, I'm not really core to 486 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:23,880 that. That's for that person over 487 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:25,360 there. They've got a deeply 488 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:30,360 compassionate heart. Can I be really honest? 489 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,520 Compassion is not a personality type. 490 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:39,800 It's discipleship. Compassion is not a personality 491 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:43,200 type. It's discipleship as we model 492 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:46,880 our lives on Jesus as we are his apprentice. 493 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:55,480 Transformation happens in us when we remember the radical 494 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,520 transformation that Jesus brought to our lives as we came 495 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:02,120 to the cross and realised what he'd done for us. 496 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,720 We were all desperate, in despair and desolate. 497 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,840 And he walked into our lives and he gave us the gift of life 498 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:10,440 through his death and resurrection. 499 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:13,520 And when we sit in the cross and the awe and the wonder like 500 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:18,560 Eduardo unpacked last week, from that place we are empowered to 501 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:21,120 become the soil that wraps around the seed of other 502 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:25,480 people's lives to remind them of what is possible, what is God 503 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:31,160 has placed inside of them. We're people that are called to 504 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:35,520 build, to prepare the road, to take up the stones that get in 505 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:39,600 people's way, to wrap an arm around somebody and say, you've 506 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:45,480 got this, you can do it. Because we're not called, as 507 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:49,040 one, John 318 says, to just love with words or speech. 508 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:51,640 We are called to love with actions. 509 00:31:51,840 --> 00:32:01,680 And in truth, you know, and sometimes that looks like 510 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:07,040 investor care, recognising that we, we respond in the crisis, 511 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:13,120 we, we wrap our, our arms wide open and say, come as you are. 512 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:19,240 But as we love people in those spaces, you know, even as we 513 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:23,120 invite families into refill in the summer holidays and we say, 514 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:25,720 there's a table, we want you to gather as a table and eat as a 515 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:28,320 family because you don't get to eat as a family any other day of 516 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:30,600 the week because you don't even have a dining table in your 517 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,120 house. As we wrap our arms around 518 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:35,840 people in those spaces to say, come as you are, what we're also 519 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:40,640 saying is don't stay as you are. We see something in you that can 520 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:45,520 change for the good. And we it's like when a seed 521 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:49,080 grows out of the seed in the ground and that tender seedling 522 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:52,720 rises up, you know, at home, sometimes I put a stick in to 523 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,640 the ground, it goes into the soil and then I wrap some string 524 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:58,920 around it and I give IT support. And that's what we do in Versa 525 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:00,480 Care through our bridge programme. 526 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:04,440 It's our gold thread programme where we say to people, you are 527 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:08,160 so worth it that we want to wrap ourselves next to you for the 528 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:11,080 long haul. We believe in you and we believe 529 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:13,640 in what God is doing in your life that we will walk with you, 530 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:16,080 with mentor you. We will be here week in and week 531 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,440 out to kind of process what you're going through. 532 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:20,840 We will empower you with courses. 533 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:23,360 You need some help in getting out of debt? 534 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:25,680 Let's do it together. You need some help in 535 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:27,400 understanding boundaries and relationships? 536 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,000 Let's do it together. And so we have an incredible 537 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,120 number of mentors who are in this room who sit with people in 538 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:36,640 Versa care and say we believe in you and we believe in what God 539 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:39,280 can do in your life. And we want to walk it for the 540 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:43,320 long haul, right? Just as Isaiah spoke into that 541 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:48,280 group that were in a long journey of desperation and 542 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,520 exile, God shows up in people's lives. 543 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:55,200 And we do that together as we have mentors who walk this 544 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:59,480 journey because we believe that every person is capable of 545 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,280 thriving. Every person is capable of 546 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:06,520 living in the reality of hope. And we will do what it takes to 547 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:12,199 roll up our sleeves and walk with them all of the way to find 548 00:34:12,199 --> 00:34:15,679 Jesus, the true transformer of hearts. 549 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:21,360 And so my question for us this morning church is the verse of 550 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,880 care is 1 expression. Many of you are involved in many 551 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:31,080 expressions of compassion, but what is your place? 552 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:35,120 What is the nutrient, essentially, that you carry, 553 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:40,719 that you bring to the soil of our church that wraps itself 554 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:43,560 around people who are experiencing poverty and 555 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:52,120 injustice? Because the question is not if 556 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:57,640 we should engage, it's how we're going to engage. 557 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:01,360 Because compassion is not a special ministry. 558 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:04,000 It is a core piece of who Jesus is. 559 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:06,440 And we all are disciples of Jesus. 560 00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:09,440 And if we are disciples of Jesus, we are asking him how we 561 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:12,560 become more like him. Which means the question is, how 562 00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:16,280 are we becoming more compassionate as a church? 563 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:24,920 And remember that every act, every nutrient, every piece of 564 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:28,240 that soil is needed. It doesn't always look the same. 565 00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:30,400 And I think sometimes when you talk about compassion ministry 566 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,680 in churches, we all think it's, well, it has to look like this. 567 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,760 The reality is corporately, as a church, we are called to be 568 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:41,480 compassionate and we all have a part to play. 569 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:46,240 And so some of us in this room this morning may hear the words 570 00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:48,720 whisper, you know what I need to pray. 571 00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:51,280 Like we've been in this prayer series. 572 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:55,760 And this week our our focus for prayer and fasting on Wednesday 573 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,520 is missions. It is this stuff. 574 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:02,600 Our Versa Care ministry is missions on the local hand. 575 00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:06,120 And some of you may be called to come and say, you know what, I 576 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:08,640 want to pray over our sessions. What would it look like if we 577 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:12,960 had a team of intercessors every time we open our door that just 578 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,360 pray through our Versa Care sessions and prayed for the 579 00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:19,000 Spirit of God to move like we've never seen it move before in 580 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,760 this place? What happens if we had someone 581 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:25,520 who said, I want to pray for a team member that is on the front 582 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:28,280 row of our expression in Versa Care? 583 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:32,080 I want to commit every week to praise each member of the Versa 584 00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:34,880 Care staff to walk with them through prayer. 585 00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:39,320 Some of you are called to do that and it's a gap right now 586 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:42,280 that I believe will want us to shift in this place because we 587 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,400 are going to push in to engage together. 588 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:47,800 Some of us are called to actually serve, to say, you know 589 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:50,240 what, I'm free on a Monday or I'm free on a Wednesday or I'm 590 00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:54,000 free on a Tuesday and I'd love to come in and help Yvonne sort 591 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,680 the storage room or I'd love to give some administration 592 00:36:57,680 --> 00:36:59,920 support. I'd love to whatever it might 593 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:03,160 be, you might have time and resource to come and literally 594 00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:05,480 serve in part of what we do in the week. 595 00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:10,000 Some of us though, in this room are called to be radically 596 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:16,600 generous, not because it's another fundraising tick, but 597 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,120 because you're yes to being radically generous is a 598 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:22,840 prophetic voice into the wilderness of people's lives to 599 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:27,320 prepare the way of the Lord to be made known in their life. 600 00:37:27,320 --> 00:37:32,560 And I'm going to be really honest with you, in the current 601 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:34,760 culture that we live in, fundraising is tough. 602 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:40,640 And particularly when you are a church and you say that Jesus is 603 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:44,440 the only hope and the church needs to rise. 604 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:46,040 We need people that will say, you know what? 605 00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:48,480 I believe in what you're doing. I believe that the Lord is 606 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:50,920 asking us to be a prophetic voice. 607 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,920 And so I'm going to give and you can do that individually. 608 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:57,200 You can do it through all our normal channels of giving and 609 00:37:57,200 --> 00:37:59,400 just you can make the memo versa care. 610 00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:03,400 You can sign up to be a regularly monthly donor, and I'm 611 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,880 not pressuring anyone. I'm simply asking you to ask the 612 00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:09,120 Lord, How am I supposed to engage? 613 00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:14,040 How am I supposed to prepare the way of the Lord for people who 614 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,440 are experiencing poverty and injustice on our doorstep to 615 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:20,960 have the opportunity to encounter Jesus? 616 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,400 You know, maybe you love biking, maybe you love running. 617 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:27,160 I don't know what it is. You know, we have Paul who's 618 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:29,600 doing the Christmas treasure hunt and all the funds from that 619 00:38:29,600 --> 00:38:33,040 are going into Versa care. We get to have fun while we do. 620 00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:35,800 Compassion doesn't have to be all serious, right? 621 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:39,120 There are all kinds of ways to engage and there are about 1000 622 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:40,280 other ways that I could go through. 623 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:43,400 But church, I'm asking you this morning, we all have the 624 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:45,400 capacity to carry hope in this room. 625 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:50,240 And we all have the capacity to, to believe that what comes next, 626 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:54,680 that the glory of the Lord will be revealed to all people, not 627 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:58,480 just a remnant inside this room, to the whole world will see the 628 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,680 glory of God as we demonstrate his love in the world. 629 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:04,640 And so finally, I want to say this, that we are going to be a 630 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:08,160 people of expectation in this room because here at the end of 631 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:12,760 Isaiah, the promise is real that the glory of the Lord will be 632 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:18,320 revealed and all will see it together when we do what only we 633 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:21,520 can do. God does what only he can do. 634 00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:25,080 We don't manufacture transformation. 635 00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:29,440 We aren't the saviours. We make spaces for it. 636 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:35,240 We give Jesus our yes and he fills that space with his glory, 637 00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:40,520 one life at a time. So would you stand with me?