1 00:00:01,640 --> 00:00:04,360 Hi everyone. It's lovely to see you all. 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:09,120 And I'm Denise, by the way, and welcome to this series. 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:13,440 We are going through the book of Colossians, the epistle 4 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:17,280 Colossians, and this series is called Rooted. 5 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,840 We've been going through Colossians for quite a while. 6 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:29,440 Anyway, yeah, so Colossians, Paul wrote the epistle and he 7 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:33,880 wrote it while he was in prison, quite probably, probably he was 8 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:36,640 under house arrest. He didn't have a A tag on his 9 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,080 ankle, but he would have been chained. 10 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:44,280 And in those times you needed people to come and give you 11 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:49,240 food, look after you. And he wrote the epistle and he 12 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:53,400 wrote it and addressed it to the Church of Colossi. 13 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:58,400 And these people, these Christians, they were surrounded 14 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,880 by unbelievers. They were surrounded by people 15 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,880 who had different philosophies, ideas, people that were into 16 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:12,080 Angel worship, astrology, paganism, people who were under 17 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,680 the Mosaic law, under the Law of Moses. 18 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:19,800 And so they kept strict rules on what to eat and what to drink. 19 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,360 And there was people who really minimised the deity of Jesus 20 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,920 Christ. So he was encouraging Christians 21 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,760 to be rooted in Christ. And he also wanted this letter 22 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:37,560 to be read out to a nearby church called Laodicea. 23 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,600 And these people, these Christians were known for not 24 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,800 being now on fire for gods. They were lukewarm and they were 25 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:49,200 materially wealthy, but spiritually poor. 26 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:53,800 And I think with the audience, we could, we can identify with 27 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,280 with the audience because we're living in that time right now. 28 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,840 And when I was preparing this, because we've been in rooted for 29 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:07,280 a few months now and there's been so many plant analogies. 30 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,000 Yeah. So many people have come up and 31 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,920 they've given a plant analogy. And I was determined I wasn't 32 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:14,640 going to do that. I was going to be different. 33 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:19,080 And I was just preparing this and what did God give me a plant 34 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:20,200 analogy. Yeah. 35 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,800 And so before I go into my preach, I, I just feel like I 36 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,560 have a message for someone here or maybe if you're listening or 37 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,080 watching online. By the way, hello. 38 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:32,600 I'm sorry that I didn't say hello earlier on. 39 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:35,200 I just feel like I've got a message to tell somebody now. 40 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:39,440 OK Any plant mums or plant dads in the in the audience, Anyone. 41 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:41,120 Yeah. OK. 42 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:46,440 Now I became a plant mum this time last year and I went to B&M 43 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:47,520 in Hatfield. Who knows? 44 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:51,200 B&M in Hatfields. Yeah, shout to BMM at B&M in 45 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,880 Hatfields. And I, I bought some indoor 46 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:56,920 plants. Now I bought Calatheas. 47 00:02:56,920 --> 00:02:58,520 Now I don't know if you know about that plant. 48 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:00,400 You've seen them. If you shop in Tesco's, 49 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:03,960 Sainsbury's, any supermarket, you would have seen these 50 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:05,680 plants. They come in different forms. 51 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,920 They're so beautiful. But the thing about calatheas is 52 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:13,200 that they are extremely fussy and they are unforgiving plants. 53 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:16,520 So if you do one thing wrong, just one thing wrong, it will 54 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:17,720 show. Yeah. 55 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,640 And so the good people of B&M, the good workers of BMM probably 56 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:25,000 did some lots of things wrong with these plants. 57 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,680 Yeah. And they couldn't sell them at 58 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,040 full price. They were like 1520 lbs. 59 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:32,880 And so they were selling them for a pound. 60 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:37,640 And I cleaned up. I bought so many plants and I 61 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,400 filled up my car with so many that my children didn't even 62 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:42,560 know where to sit. There was just so many plants. 63 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,960 And I took them home and I trimmed them up and I fed them. 64 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:51,520 And I wasn't a plant mum before. And I named them all the bougie 65 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,360 names. Yeah, all the bougie names that 66 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:56,600 my husband said, no way. I'm not calling our kids. 67 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,160 Yeah. So like names like Persephone, 68 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,520 Tallulah, Atticus, all of these names. 69 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,560 And if your name is that and my, my husband was like, no way, 70 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:05,680 sorry. Please. 71 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:09,400 I, I love the, the names. Anyway, I named all my plants 72 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,480 and I bought books and they were growing. 73 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,520 They were thriving. I even got all kids and people 74 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,640 have said all kids are so hard. Once they die, it's so hard to 75 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:21,279 bloom again. But they were blooming. 76 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:25,680 I was on YouTube, I was watching programmes, I was checking in on 77 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,760 my plants. And then winter came and I lost 78 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:35,120 interest in my plants and they started to wither and they 79 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:38,960 started to get crusty, started to get really dry. 80 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:43,000 And some, some of my plants, I couldn't be bothered that I just 81 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,160 picked up the plant and they were so dry that, you know, like 82 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,000 if you pick up a plant, it's like the soil is moulded into 83 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,040 the plant. And I just threw them in the 84 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:52,080 bin. I couldn't be bothered with 85 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:57,000 them, couldn't be bothered. And the reason why I'm saying 86 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,920 that is because maybe somebody here, their relationship with 87 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,920 God might be like a plant that you take for granted. 88 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,320 The plants are there, but you just don't look at them. 89 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:09,800 You don't bother with them. Now, let me show you. 90 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:11,800 This is 1 plant of mine. Yeah. 91 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:16,480 This plant used to be big. It had red leaves, iridescent 92 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:18,760 bits on the leaves. And look at it now. 93 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,040 Look at it. Now look at it. 94 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,400 I know you might not be able to see this online, but it was big. 95 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:30,800 And there's a part of me and I love this plant, there's a part 96 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:32,240 of me that I just want to throw it away. 97 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:34,640 But you know what? This is how we can feel about 98 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:39,200 our relationship with God, where it's a mess and it's a bit dry. 99 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,320 But you know, what I love about plants is that, and I love this 100 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,480 about nature, is that those things might look dead. 101 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:50,840 It's alive inside. And so your relationship with 102 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:53,480 God might seem a bit dead. You haven't bothered with him. 103 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,640 You've taken him for granted. And you may feel far away from 104 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:00,640 God, but he has not moved. He is still there and the Holy 105 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:04,000 Spirit is with you and the Holy Spirit is alive. 106 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:07,680 And I just want to encourage someone here or someone online 107 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,240 if you feel that your relationship is stagnant and 108 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,440 dry, don't give up, don't give up. 109 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,840 Go to him. Go to him now, don't give up. 110 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:21,960 OK, Alright then. So that is it. 111 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:23,840 We're going to go straight into the preach. 112 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,520 All right then. OK, so we're going to have a 113 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:27,960 look. Turn to your Bibles. 114 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:33,520 If you've got your Bibles, turn to Colossians chapter 4, verses 115 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:37,120 2 to 6. Or if you want to look on the 116 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,720 screen, you can do so. And I'm going to read out. 117 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:42,560 Just want to encourage you to bring your Bible. 118 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,360 I'm going to get a really big printed Bible because I cannot 119 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,640 see small print as much as I used to. 120 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,440 I'm getting older. And I'm not going to read it 121 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:53,480 like this because I'm probably going to be like this. 122 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,720 I've got it on a piece of paper. But I want to encourage you 123 00:06:57,040 --> 00:06:59,920 bring your Bible. Bring a, a magnifying glass if 124 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:02,400 you need to as well. I'm going to be doing that too. 125 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:03,960 All right. OK. 126 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:06,720 Have you found it? Yeah, right. 127 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:14,760 So devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful, and 128 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:20,480 pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message, so 129 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:25,600 that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in 130 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:29,360 chains. Pray that I may proclaim it 131 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:34,960 clearly as I should and be wise in the way you act towards 132 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,720 outsiders. Make the most of every 133 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:43,000 opportunity. Let your conversation be always 134 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:49,320 full of grace, seasoned with salt so that you may know how to 135 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:54,000 answer everyone. OK, so we're going to have a 136 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,920 look at verse 2. It says devote yourself to 137 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:03,040 prayer. Devote, commit, throw yourself 138 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:07,440 into. Be completely loyal to prayer, 139 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:12,240 to speaking to God, to communicating to God, to be in 140 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:17,720 contact with God. Prayer deepens your relationship 141 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:23,720 with God and prayer is active. Prayer is two way. 142 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,120 It's a two way conversation. It's not about just praying to 143 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:28,400 God. And then once you prayed, you 144 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,400 just get up. You got to be in His presence, 145 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:36,640 speak to Him, share everything that is on your heart, and then 146 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:41,200 wait, wait for him to speak. And he might not speak audibly. 147 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:45,720 I haven't heard him speak audibly, but he will in some way 148 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,520 communicate back. He just got to spend time in his 149 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,040 presence. And that could be in many ways. 150 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:56,760 It could be that you didn't have an answer before you prayed and 151 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,880 then you get a sense of what to do after you've prayed. 152 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,400 It might be that you felt quite worried and stressed and then 153 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:07,040 afterwards, after you've prayed, you get you get the peace. 154 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,320 The Holy Spirit gives you the peace, but you need to spend 155 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,400 time as you speak to God, spend time to listen, be in his 156 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,920 presence and listen. Prayer is active. 157 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:24,880 Jesus shows us, he gives us a great example how to pray when 158 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:26,680 he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. 159 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:32,280 In Luke 22 verse 42, it says Jesus says, Father, if you are 160 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:37,280 willing take the cup from me, You're not yet, not my will, but 161 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:41,960 yours be done. So when we pray, we give our 162 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:47,800 longings, our desires, our wishes to God in exchange for 163 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,560 his will. Yeah, we give our wishes, we 164 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:55,960 give our desires to God in exchange for his will. 165 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,360 And you might hear that and think, right, So you're telling 166 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,840 me that I pray and then I get his will and probably what if, 167 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:05,800 what if I want, what if I want a husband? 168 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:08,280 What if I want a wife? And then his, his will is like, 169 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,680 no, no, you can't. I mean, like you might think, I 170 00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:12,520 don't want to pray. I don't want to pray because 171 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:14,400 what's he going to do? Probably he's going to give me 172 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:15,960 his will. And it's probably, it's probably 173 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,240 no. And yeah, it could be no, but it 174 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,080 could be yes, it could be wait. But his will is right. 175 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:25,480 And we don't have to worry. We don't have to worry about 176 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:30,600 that because in Philippines for chapter 4, verse 5 to 6, it says 177 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:34,920 don't worry about anything, but in everything, pray, make your 178 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,960 petitions to God with Thanksgiving and the peace of 179 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:43,120 God that surpasses all understanding will guard your 180 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:47,520 heart and your mind forever. So we don't need to worry when 181 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:52,400 we exchange, when we give God our desires in exchange for his 182 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:58,320 will, it is a good thing. It's a good thing now hearing 183 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:00,600 that, that you need to devote yourself to prayer. 184 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,920 Some of you might think, OK, I'll just pray more. 185 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,240 We're all in different places. Some of you may find it easy to 186 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:10,160 pray and you just think, OK, I'll pray more. 187 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:13,280 But some of you might find it hard to pray. 188 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:18,960 Maybe you find it overwhelming. Maybe you think that your 189 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:23,480 prayers are so basic, you're around people who just speak to 190 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:28,160 God so eloquently, and you think that your prayers are so basic. 191 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:32,000 You might be in a connect group or with some people and they're 192 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:33,120 praying. Have you ever been in a 193 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:36,760 situation where you're in a ring, you're all praying, and 194 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,160 you know your turn is coming and you're not even listening to 195 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:41,640 what anyone is saying. You're kind of rehearsing what 196 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,880 you're going to say out loud. Yeah, well, don't worry about 197 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:46,160 that. You can be basic. 198 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:48,960 I'm surrounded by so many people who are so eloquent when they 199 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:53,240 pray, when they come up here and they lead and they do ministry. 200 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:55,720 They're so eloquent. But you know what? 201 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,360 I'm basic. But you know, I I do it from the 202 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:00,320 heart. I'm not saying they don't do it 203 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:04,720 from the heart. I'm just saying I'm saying what 204 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:08,480 I do is from the heart. And it is basic, but I mean it. 205 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,960 Yeah. So be basic. 206 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:16,240 If that is the way you pray, be basic, but make it honest. 207 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:19,880 Make it real. And maybe you're someone where 208 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:24,520 you feel, oh, it's so I can't even spend time with God. 209 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:27,920 It's just so overwhelming. I don't, it's just, I don't know 210 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,320 how to just sit in his presence. Well, you know what? 211 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,360 I, I understand because many people right now find it hard to 212 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,040 be still. They find it hard to just sit 213 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:43,000 and connect with themselves. I teach Pilates and at the end 214 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,680 of my class for 15 minutes, I turn off the light and I just 215 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,800 allow people to just be still. And you know, some people 216 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:54,400 actually get up and leave and people have told me, I don't 217 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:56,160 like that. I don't really like it when you 218 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,360 do that bit. So just just know that I will go 219 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:01,520 because. And they said to me they, they 220 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,880 find it hard to be still. So, you know, if you're finding 221 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:07,520 it hard to be still on your own, how, how are you going to pray? 222 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:13,920 And if that is you, start small, start with just a little bit, 223 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,680 just a little bit and then build up. 224 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:19,440 That's all you have to do. Just start something. 225 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:23,560 Start small, start basic, start honest, start small. 226 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:30,000 And then maybe there's someone here who feels I when I just 227 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,840 actually am in God's presence, it just reminds me of all the 228 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:39,200 sinful things I'm doing and I'm not ready to stop and I'll start 229 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:41,480 praying for God when I just thought myself out. 230 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:44,600 I wouldn't even do that. I would go with your sinful 231 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,600 self. Just go just the way you are. 232 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,640 I've been in that place. I've been in that place where I 233 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:54,280 was doing things that were not right and I was not ready to 234 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:56,080 stop. I was not ready to repent. 235 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,800 But I prayed to God and I spent time in His presence even though 236 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:03,680 I did not want to change and just being in His presence, 237 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,320 eventually I was ready to repent. 238 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,120 I wanted to repent. So don't wait to sort yourself 239 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,280 out. Go to God in your sinful self, 240 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:16,400 in your sinful state. If there's red tape, when 241 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:19,360 there's all sorts of mess, just go to Jesus. 242 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:23,680 Go to Jesus. So devote yourself to prayer. 243 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:29,360 And the next part in verse 2, it says being watchful and thankful 244 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,720 that as I said to you last year when I got my plants, I was 245 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:36,640 attending to them. I was looking at them daily. 246 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:41,120 I was checking in. And Paul is encouraging us that 247 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:43,120 when we pray, we need to be watchful. 248 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:48,880 Last week, Taran encouraged people to become Watchmen, to be 249 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,680 to be on the watch, to pray for the church and be on the watch. 250 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,000 And we need to do that. We need to watch. 251 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,200 We need to be alert, not be lazy. 252 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:01,160 So we need to be aware of what's the spiritual temperature, 253 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:05,040 what's going on, what's happening around us. 254 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,480 You might find that there's a lot of people around you who are 255 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:12,120 gossiping about other people. What's going on. 256 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:17,560 I know that when I focus on other people so much, I have to 257 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:21,960 stop myself and say, OK, you're focusing on other people, other 258 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:24,480 people's failings, other people doing stuff. 259 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:26,240 What's going on with you, Denise? 260 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:28,000 And then I might say, you know what? 261 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:30,800 I think I'm because I'm failing to. 262 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:33,000 That's why I'm focusing on other people. 263 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,000 You know what? I'm a bit lonely right now. 264 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:37,840 That's why I'm focusing on other people who seem to have it all 265 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:40,680 together. And then I pray into that. 266 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:44,600 So you need to be watchful. What is going on around you. 267 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,720 I find right now so many people are angry. 268 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:51,760 So many people have such a short fuse. 269 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:53,080 Listen to this. Yeah. 270 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,520 At my children's school, 2 dads and they had prams, Babies in 271 00:15:57,520 --> 00:15:58,480 prams. Yeah. 272 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:03,120 Two dads were waiting to pick up their kids and they started 273 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,560 arguing. Then they started swearing kids 274 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:10,080 were around and then it got to a point where they started to get 275 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,880 physical. That security from the school 276 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:17,880 had to come to break it up. All because one didn't know 277 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,560 there was a queue and jumped in front of the other one. 278 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,280 That is the reason why it all escalated. 279 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:28,400 People are going crazy, people are stressed and we need to pray 280 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,000 into that. What is going on? 281 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,240 What is going on? But you know what, it's not even 282 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:36,760 non Christians, it's in the church. 283 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:41,480 There are people coming to church and having a go and at 284 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,800 the car park attendance and these car park attendance, not 285 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,040 only just trying to help you have a good experience at 286 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:50,920 church. And so people are just stressed 287 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:54,440 and irritated and we need to pray into that. 288 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:59,680 We've got to pray in to the to make sure that the enemy is not 289 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:01,840 coming into our life with certain stuff. 290 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:08,720 And also we need to be on alert, but we don't need to be afraid. 291 00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:12,760 Be thankful when God reveals something to you. 292 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,920 Be thankful. So for example, if you just say 293 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:20,599 God thank you so much that you're showing me that so many 294 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:24,040 people are distracted by social media and so many people are 295 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:27,280 reacting to things. And Lord, I pray into that and I 296 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:29,280 thank you for revealing that to me. 297 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:33,840 You might say, God thank you so much that you've shown me that 298 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:37,360 me and my husband or me and my wife are like 2 ships in the 299 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:39,760 night. And I am aware that that's where 300 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,080 the enemy can come into a situations. 301 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:43,840 And I thank you for showing me that. 302 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:49,440 Well, ahead, help us to connect. So be thankful, don't have to be 303 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,440 afraid. Be thankful for what you see so 304 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,960 that you can pray into that situation. 305 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,160 And then we're going to go down to verse 5. 306 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:03,640 Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders. 307 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,800 Make the most of every opportunity. 308 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:11,600 Now, I'll be honest with you, I've struggled with this. 309 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:16,800 If you bring everyone that I have been in contact with here, 310 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:21,560 they I would not be the poster that that you know, the poster 311 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:23,840 girl for Christianity, all right? 312 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,760 I wouldn't be the way I've acted towards certain people if they 313 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,040 irritated me. And even like the mums at the 314 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,440 school gate, there's been mums that have irritated me and they 315 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:40,440 have done things and I have shown them my disdain for how 316 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,080 they are. And then maybe a couple of 317 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,240 months down the line, I get to know them and I want to pray for 318 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:48,600 them. And I feel embarrassed to pray 319 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,840 because I look like a hypocrite because the way I acted one 320 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,320 minute a couple of months ago and now I'm saying, oh, can I 321 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:56,960 pray for you? That seems a bit like a 322 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:01,640 hypocrite. But we need to reflect Christ to 323 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,400 everyone. And I believe that if you, for 324 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:10,040 you to reflect Christ, you need to know your relationship with 325 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:14,960 Christ and you need to know your identity in Christ, to reflect 326 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:20,720 Christ to everyone, know your identity and know your 327 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:26,040 relationship with Christ. 3 weeks ago, I was taking my 328 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:30,800 daughter to school and we were late and we park at a cricket 329 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,000 ground. Yeah, we park in the car park. 330 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:35,680 I don't think they like that, but we park there. 331 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:38,680 So do other parents. And we walk through the cricket 332 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,680 pitch. And I don't think they like that 333 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:43,240 we walk through the cricket pitch because they're, you know, 334 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:45,040 trying to protect the grass, but we walk through it. 335 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:48,920 It's a shortcut and we walk through and then we have to walk 336 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,720 through some bushes and then we get to the school. 337 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:54,920 Yeah, I really don't think they like it. 338 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:56,680 I think they're going to wise up one day and they're going to 339 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:59,840 stop it. But anyway, we do this, other 340 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,240 people do this too. And so we're walking through the 341 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:07,480 pitch and I could hear the school gate, like the rustling 342 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:10,160 of the of the chains that they're going to lock the gate 343 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,800 because my daughter's school, they are militant. 344 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,440 If you do not get there at 8:50. And you could be right there and 345 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:18,600 they will look it in front of you and they won't even let you 346 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:19,840 in. And I say you need to go round 347 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:21,800 the front and declare that you're late. 348 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,480 Yeah. And I, I didn't want that for my 349 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:27,680 daughter. So I could hear the chains. 350 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:29,960 And I grabbed her and I said, come on. 351 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:30,960 Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick. 352 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:32,160 Let's run through. Let's run through. 353 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,520 Now we go through these bushes and there's this iron rail, 5 354 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:41,880 inches of the ground, right. And normally I step over it, but 355 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,080 because I was running, I totally forgot. 356 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:49,400 My foot got caught on it and I went flying into the air, out of 357 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:55,400 the bushes, onto the gravel. Now I see little kids fall all 358 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,760 the time. Anyone has anyone fallen as an 359 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:01,440 adult on the ground? It's not fun. 360 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:05,840 It's not fun. My body was in shock and I was 361 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,320 on the ground and my daughter's staring at me. 362 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,480 And I say to her, I can't get up. 363 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:16,600 I can't get up. She's looking at me like, what's 364 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:21,560 wrong with you? And as I said, that I 365 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:27,640 experienced, I had a Good Samaritan experience without the 366 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,360 Good Samaritan. Alright. 367 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:35,680 A jogger jogs, looks at me and jogs on. 368 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,960 Yeah, I'm surprised you're laughing. 369 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,000 Yeah. He looks at me and jogs on. 370 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:46,800 It's all right. You don't have to say, oh, no, 371 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:47,800 now it's all right. You can laugh. 372 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:49,680 You can laugh. But yeah, he jogs on. 373 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,960 And my daughter has to run to school on her own and she has to 374 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,200 call out to her teachers and say, miss, Miss, my mum's on the 375 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:58,320 ground. She can't get up. 376 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:02,480 And so the teacher came and so did her mum, and they picked me 377 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:05,800 up and I was all right. I've got, you know, scratches 378 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:10,280 and bruises, but I'm OK. But what bothered me, the only 379 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:14,120 thing that I could think of was that there was this man who saw 380 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:20,600 me on my back and ignored me. That's all I could think of all 381 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,200 week. It bothered me and I started to 382 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,640 think, was I not good enough? Was I not worthy? 383 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:33,520 You saw me on my back and you ignored me and it played into so 384 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:36,920 many things that week when I was in count, when I encountered all 385 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,120 sorts of people. I just thought I'm not good 386 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:40,680 enough. I'm not good enough because 387 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:44,360 someone left me on the grounds and it didn't stop there. 388 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:48,600 It wounded me. And then I started to fantasise 389 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:53,240 that, you know what, when I see that jogger again, because I've 390 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:57,320 seen that jogger. I've seen that jogger when I've 391 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:01,440 parked at the cricket ground. I've seen him and I knew I'd see 392 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:04,080 him again. And I started to think, you know 393 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:08,920 what, if I see that man, I'm going to look in his eyes and 394 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:14,200 I'm going to say yes, you wicked man, you wicked man, you did not 395 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:16,080 help me out. And you know what? 396 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,920 I didn't even leave it there. I took it even further. 397 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,520 I actually said, you know what, I hope when I see him, I hope 398 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:28,680 one day he will fall. He will fall and I'm the only 399 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:32,720 one there. And he will look at me in my 400 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:36,000 face and think, oh, no, is that woman I left on the ground? 401 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:39,680 And I will be like, yeah, I'm the only one there. 402 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,640 And I started to think, I hope that happens. 403 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:46,600 And I was telling somebody about it, and they said to me, oh, no, 404 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,280 you wouldn't do that. And I went, yeah, you're right, 405 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,280 I wouldn't. If he ever fell down, I put my 406 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:55,200 hand down and I'll smile and I'll say Jesus loves you and so 407 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:56,880 do I. That's what I said. 408 00:23:56,880 --> 00:23:59,480 And I said it sarcastically. But when I said it out of my 409 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,400 mouth, I realised, hang on a minute, hang on a minute. 410 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:07,960 You see, I had looked at that man to tell me who I was. 411 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:14,160 His reaction I had allowed to reflect my worth. 412 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,720 When we do that, often when we are in contact with people, 413 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:25,000 whatever they do to us, we make that be a reflection of who we 414 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,480 are, the way they treat us. But the truth is I needed to 415 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:35,280 focus on who I was in Christ, who I was in Christ, and I 416 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,880 because of Christ, because Jesus died on the cross to save me. 417 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,000 I live in Him and He lives in me. 418 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:47,600 And I am worthy because I am God's child, not by what 419 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:51,240 somebody does to me. That is not a reflection of my 420 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,400 worth. And then also my relationship 421 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:58,400 with God. He loves me and I've received 422 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:02,440 His love. We can love because He first 423 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:10,080 loved us and so we have His love and we love him back and we love 424 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,240 ourselves and then we can love others. 425 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:18,560 So yes, I can help that man even though he didn't help me, I can 426 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,680 help him and I can give him the love of God because it is 427 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:28,160 something that I receive and I can give it to him and I forgive 428 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:31,840 him. I, I actually, if I saw him now, 429 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:34,120 I'd smile at him. I'm so over it. 430 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:39,000 I forgive him. I forgive him anyway. 431 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:44,680 So we need to reflect Christ and we do that by having our 432 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,280 relationship and identity in Christ. 433 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:53,400 And then in verse 6, it says, let your conversation be always 434 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:58,000 full of grace. And sometimes we do not share. 435 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:00,840 We do not give other people the grace. 436 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:07,440 Last week, Chuck mentioned that we are living in a time where we 437 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:12,480 can create our own community of people who agree with what we 438 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:17,800 believe due to the algorithms. But the Bible is full of 439 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:20,240 diversity. You've got people mixing 440 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:25,440 together with different ideas. The Bible's full of diversity, 441 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:31,240 and I think sometimes we don't give people grace because we've 442 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:33,280 forgotten that we are under grace. 443 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:40,560 One time I was in my car and I was in a driveway and I had to 444 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:44,040 reverse out the driveway. I turned on my music and it was 445 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:45,960 blasting. And you know what, right, I'm 446 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:49,920 listening to this music and I say to myself, I just want more 447 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,720 romance in my life. That's why I said. 448 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,000 And as I did that, I reversed, put my foot on the pedal, 449 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,000 reversed out. And as I said, I want more 450 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,720 reverse than romance in my life. I just heard bang and I turned 451 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:05,520 round and I had just crashed my car in my husband's car. 452 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:11,920 Yeah, and I'd, I was like, I forgot his car was there. 453 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:14,800 And it's so silly because I just walked past his car to get into 454 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:16,040 mine. I totally forgot. 455 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,640 So I had to call him and I didn't, I didn't write it off 456 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:21,080 for anything, but I just, I hit it. 457 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:26,000 And so I called him, told him to come out, showed him his car. 458 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:27,840 And I was like, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. 459 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:30,080 And he looked, he was frustrated. 460 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:31,640 He was frustrated, he was not happy. 461 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:33,760 And then all of a sudden he said, you know what, I forgive 462 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:35,800 you. I forgive you. 463 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:40,320 Now, Denise, I want you to just remember that next time I do 464 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:45,920 something wrong and you want, you want to nitpick me because I 465 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,840 nitpick him all the time, every day. 466 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:52,560 I want you to just remember that I gave you grace and I want you 467 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:56,440 to have grace for me the way I've given you grace. 468 00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:02,240 And it's the same with God. God is perfect, but we need to 469 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:04,840 have grace for others because we are under grace. 470 00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:09,400 We are not perfect. There are things that we are 471 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:14,920 doing right now that we have no idea is wrong and maybe we will 472 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,880 realise it's wrong in a week's time, a year's time, five years 473 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,120 time, 10 years time. We will be delivered. 474 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:26,520 And during that whole time, God was so gracious. 475 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:29,480 God allowed the sun to shine on our face. 476 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:33,360 God blessed us. He was so patient, He was so 477 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:36,600 kind. We are under God's grace. 478 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:42,800 God Forgives us time and time again and yet we can hold people 479 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:50,280 in a place of unforgiveness. In Matthew 7 verse 2, it says 480 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:54,640 for in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and 481 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:57,080 with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 482 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:00,640 I really don't think that if we judge people, God is going to 483 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:03,520 judge us the same way. I think it's just how we're 484 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:07,680 going to see how God judges us if we're going to, if we don't, 485 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:11,440 if we judge people, we're going to think that's we, we're under 486 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:16,320 a harsh God, but he, his grace is sufficient and his judgement 487 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:19,720 is right. But how we see other people, we 488 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:23,320 may see our Father that way and he's not. 489 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:27,200 We need to give people grace. There are people who are 490 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,320 different to us and we need to be gracious. 491 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:35,920 And then lastly, make sure that your conversation is seasoned 492 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:41,880 with salt. And on a culinary level, salt is 493 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:46,880 a natural flavour enhancer. It tenderizes meat, it preserves 494 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:49,880 perishable food, and it balance out. 495 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,960 It balances out bitterness and blandness. 496 00:29:54,320 --> 00:30:01,240 And in this passage, the Greek word is halas for salt, and 497 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:03,880 figuratively that means prudence. 498 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,840 So our conversation needs to be full of wisdom. 499 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:14,760 We need to be positive. We need to be uplifting, we need 500 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:19,000 to be engaging, we need to leave people wanting more. 501 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:23,520 Paul is calling us to have our conversation seasoned with salt. 502 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:30,080 So to summarise this passage, devote yourself to prayer. 503 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:33,920 Devote yourself to prayer. And we're all in different 504 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,960 places. We're all in different places. 505 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:42,880 Start start basic be real, be honest, devote yourself in 506 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:46,200 connecting with the Lord. It will deepen your relationship 507 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:51,120 and be wise how you act towards outsiders. 508 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:55,600 Develop your relationship in Christ, know your identity in 509 00:30:55,600 --> 00:31:03,120 Christ so you reflect Christ and have grace for everyone because 510 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:07,440 you're under grace. And make sure your conversation 511 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:14,120 is prudent, seasoned results. Respond rather than react. 512 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,280 And if you need to take time, do that. 513 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:23,360 Don't allow, don't act quickly. And if it touches on wounds when 514 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:27,360 people talk to you, sometimes I get emails or I get WhatsApp 515 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:31,600 messages and it touches, it jangles on my wounds and I have 516 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:36,840 to just pause and then come back in a place that is positive and 517 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:41,360 uplifting. So respond rather than react.