1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,360 Before I get onto my what is my final talk next week, I have the 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:07,440 Steph and I have the privilege of saying some goodbyes and some 3 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,320 thank yous, but this is your last sermon. 4 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:13,720 You're going to get out on me. And so if I pause and get a bit 5 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,560 blubbery, I've had been crying every day, probably with 6 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:18,240 goodbye. We're in a season of goodbyes. 7 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:22,160 As you know, we're leaving this wonderful church as a senior 8 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,520 pastor, but we're also leaving this wonderful church as our 9 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,240 church family that we've been part of since 2012. 10 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,160 We're leaving family and friends as part of leaving this country. 11 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:33,840 So it definitely is a season of goodbyes. 12 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:38,160 So please bear with me if I don't see my top self. 13 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,160 You're very kind. But before I do share what I 14 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:45,000 believe the Lord wants me to share this morning, I just want 15 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,920 to once again revisit for you what the next three months are 16 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,840 going to look like. We have a slide on the screen 17 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,080 that if you've been around for any any while, you would have 18 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,960 seen this before. You can find this on the website 19 00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,520 as well. By the way, there's AQR code if 20 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:01,560 you want to go to to our website. 21 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,800 But over the course of three months before our wonderful next 22 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,040 senior pastors, Chuck and Taron take up the leadership of this 23 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:13,400 church in January, we have an amazing team who are going to be 24 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,320 leading this church. Now, first of all, I want to say 25 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:21,320 we have our amazing trustees who is led by Tim Winfield, just 26 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:24,720 such a faithful gifted guy who's our chair. 27 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:26,680 We have the wonderful Bruce McKinnon, who I can see on the 28 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:27,760 front row here. Hello Bruce. 29 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,360 Another godly guy, just a wonderful friend, Andrea Taylor 30 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,680 Cummins as well. And I did say to you that I 31 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,440 would announce before I left who the the new trustee is. 32 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,200 We were on a process of finding a new trustee. 33 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,040 And can I just say we had some, just some amazing people that we 34 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:46,880 were able to spend time with in an interview. 35 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,840 But it was clear God was calling someone to this role. 36 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,560 And I'd like to announce to you that our new trustee is Gavin 37 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:56,520 Loftus. Yeah. 38 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,680 Now, if Gavin was here on the 9:30, he'll be here in the 39 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:04,000 11:30. I'll get him to stand up. 40 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:05,040 Gavin. You might. 41 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,000 The surname may sound familiar. He is married to Freya Loftus. 42 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:14,320 Gavin is just an amazing guy, a godly guy, tons of experience in 43 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,560 both the business world, but also in church leadership. 44 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:18,760 And Gavin. Freya have been involved in 45 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:20,720 church planting and church leadership as well. 46 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,800 And he brings us a wealth of experience and a passion for him 47 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,400 and a love for this church for you, you as Verso and for for 48 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,280 what God's calling us in this next season. 49 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:32,960 So I just want to quickly pray for Gav. 50 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,080 Lord, thank you for Gavin. Thank you that he put his hand 51 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,520 up to say yes to the call and we just pray a blessing upon him. 52 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,240 Would you bless him and equip him for this season? 53 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:43,800 You always equip those that you call. 54 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,160 Would you protect him and Freya and the kids? 55 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:48,560 We pray in your precious name, Amen. 56 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:52,040 So we have the wonderful trustees. 57 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,920 We have the wonderful executive team as well, we've got Jill, 58 00:02:54,920 --> 00:02:56,800 Richard, Claire, Eduardo, and Jenna. 59 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:58,880 I'm not going to go into the detail of it, I've done it 60 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,440 before, but in white, you'll see what their current remits are. 61 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,920 And then in green is the extra responsibilities they're taking 62 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:09,360 on in this, in this period. It's worth saying that we still 63 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:12,000 have yet to replace the wonderful Trevor Ma, who I can 64 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:13,120 see here this morning. Bless you, Trevor. 65 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,640 He's one of our lay pastors now. He was on staff. 66 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:21,680 And so in the period where we look to to rehire, the wonderful 67 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,280 Mel is working with Richard Gathard. 68 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,080 Yeah. Mel heads up our pastoral 69 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,000 department. We also haven't replied, 70 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,000 replied, replied, replaced Edward yet. 71 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:38,200 And so the kids and youth team are being LED both by Jenna, who 72 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,560 overseas youth and Richard who overseas kids. 73 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:42,400 And then there's the rest of the detail there. 74 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,720 So I want all of that for you to know that A, we've thought about 75 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,600 this and B, we've gone through the detail and C, you're in safe 76 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,040 hands. OK. 77 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:55,320 So if you have any questions and during this period, you know, 78 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,400 you don't need to just say, right, who's in charge of that? 79 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:59,560 You can speak to any one of these wonderful people. 80 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:01,280 They're smiling there for a reason. 81 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:03,680 They're friendly people. So do grab them. 82 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,120 All right, before I transition into my talk, I'm going to sort 83 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,320 this out because you've probably seen me play with it a bit. 84 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:21,700 So give me a moment. Wonderful. 85 00:04:21,779 --> 00:04:23,900 Because of course I don't need any more distractions today, 86 00:04:23,900 --> 00:04:25,780 obviously. Good. 87 00:04:26,140 --> 00:04:29,220 All right, be set. Not quite. 88 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:33,920 It was Mark's last Sunday. Oh, you know, it was fine other 89 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,120 than the fact he was fiddling with his microphone for like 10 90 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,000 minutes. I think we're done, Right? 91 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:40,280 OK, this is what we're going to do, guys. 92 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:41,880 So we're going to stand and I'm going to pray. 93 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:43,440 Can we stand? And then I'm going to get the 94 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,480 Bible out and then we're going to read God's Word this morning. 95 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:47,560 While we're standing. Let me pray. 96 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:48,960 Lord, thank you for this morning. 97 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,600 Thank you for the word that you have for us, a word that is 98 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,200 truth, a word that brings freedom, a word that is life. 99 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,760 And I pray this morning, Lord God, that we would be hearing 100 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,440 you loud and clear, that you would remove all the 101 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:05,520 distractions that may come our way, that we would lay down the 102 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,800 burdens that we may be carrying, Lord God, and that we would open 103 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,600 our heart to the good news that you have for each one of us. 104 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,000 And I pray you would give us expectation and faith that we 105 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,440 will leave this place different than when we came in, because 106 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,240 you are in the business of conforming us to the likeness of 107 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:23,840 Jesus Christ. And that which you have started, 108 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:26,320 that good work that you've started in each one of us, you 109 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,440 will bring to completion. And today is that day, I pray in 110 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:31,160 your precious name. Amen. 111 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:32,360 OK, we're going to stay standing. 112 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,120 Now you can get your Bibles out if you wish, or it's going to be 113 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,360 on the screen. And if you're online, welcome 114 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:39,920 again, it will be on your device. 115 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,240 So we're going to turn to Hebrews chapter 10, verse 23, 116 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:54,720 23, and it says this. Let us hold fast the confession 117 00:05:55,080 --> 00:06:00,920 of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 118 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:02,880 I'm going to read that again. In fact, we're all going to read 119 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,760 it together. Let us hold fast the confession 120 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:12,720 of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 121 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:14,080 Amen. You can be seated. 122 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:19,800 I don't know how you're feeling today. 123 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,320 I've had the pleasure and the privilege, Steph and I, of 124 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,880 speaking to many of you over the past few weeks and indeed since 125 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,320 we have announced, and I think it's fair to say that we all 126 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,720 carry mixed emotions. We can own that. 127 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:38,240 On the one hand, we can hold that emotion of sadness, of a 128 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:43,840 sense of a change of season. And I, certainly Steph and I, 129 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,360 even though we recognise the call of God to move on and we've 130 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:51,840 been obedient to that, we hold that sense of sadness in that, 131 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:57,080 but we can also hold that feeling of excitement for what 132 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,400 God's got next. It's OK to have both of those 133 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,400 feelings. It's OK to feel like that. 134 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,160 God's on the move. But I'm sad for a season that 135 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,960 may be moving on. And I certainly, we certainly 136 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:10,840 feel that way. If you were to ask me, how are 137 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:12,440 you feeling? I know fair at the start of the 138 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,160 service said careful not to ask them how they're feeling because 139 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:16,760 they might start blubbering. This is true. 140 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:18,720 But I'll share with you if you're interested. 141 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:23,200 You know, we, we do hold that sadness of moving on and leaving 142 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,520 what we love. We also have a heart of 143 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:30,120 gratitude for what God has done and will continue to do. 144 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,880 And we have much excitement for what God is going to do in you 145 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,640 and through you as a people, as he has called Chuck and Taryn to 146 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,560 lead this church and has called you guys to step into the next 147 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,960 chapter. And so we have these raft of 148 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,280 emotions. And the thing about having these 149 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,800 raft of emotions is sometimes in the midst of all that, we can 150 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:53,840 feel a bit uncertain, a bit wavery. 151 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:58,200 Oh, am I doing the right thing? Or maybe we did we really hear 152 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:00,840 from God. And maybe more broadly, maybe as 153 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:04,440 you start this new in September, schools go back, we go back to 154 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,200 quote normality and you know, you, you pick up the you look at 155 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,360 the news headlines and everything seems to be a bit 156 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:15,480 uncertain in the world. And it's it's tempting to say in 157 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:19,880 in these type of seasons, is there anything that is truly 158 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:21,680 steady? Is there anyone we can truly 159 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,760 rely on? And I think it's into that 160 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:29,800 question that that we read in Hebrews that speaks with clarity 161 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,720 and encouragement to us in this time, whether you're feeling it 162 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:38,600 or not, which is this, Let us hold fast the confession of our 163 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:43,240 hope without wavering for he who promised his faith. 164 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:49,200 And this verse, you see, is like an anchor in an uncertain world. 165 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:54,240 It's like the true North. As we try and navigate through 166 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:59,440 all the circumstances of life, it reminds us that our hope that 167 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,880 we have isn't some kind of vague optimism, some kind of wishful 168 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:08,840 thinking, nor is it pinned to circumstances or emotions. 169 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:14,360 This kind of hope is rooted in, and we are indeed secured in the 170 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:18,800 very character of God himself, the faithful one who has 171 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,880 promised and who will surely do it. 172 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,880 The faithful one who one who is the only constant. 173 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,440 And if I were to give you a part in words and I have that 174 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,920 opportunity, I guess next Sunday, but it would be this. 175 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,800 God is faithful. God is faithful. 176 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:44,040 You can trust and rely on him throughout whatever you go 177 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,360 through. And in fact, Freya brought the 178 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:48,920 lyrics to that song. I mean, Freya didn't realise I 179 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,960 was preaching on this message. And so indeed there is a theme 180 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,240 this morning of the faithfulness of God. 181 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:59,320 And so let us unpack this word together as we understand what 182 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,600 the writer to Hebrews is saying. You see, it says this, the 183 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,920 confession of our hope. Now I think the word confession 184 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,160 is an interesting 1, isn't it? Because in our modern language, 185 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:13,000 we often think about the word confession in a rather negative 186 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,600 way, which is, you know, confessing our sins, right? 187 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,520 Confessing the bad things we've done. 188 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:23,520 But you see, in the early church, the word confession 189 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:29,720 actually meant more around declaring our allegiance, our 190 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:32,560 trusts and our hope. It was confessing who we are 191 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:36,720 Allegiant aligned to, confessing who we put our trust in, 192 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:41,920 confessing who where our hope is in, and therefore, friends, to 193 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:46,000 confess our hope when we look at this word here is to make a 194 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:51,880 public declaration that our confidence, our future, our 195 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:56,920 salvation is bound up in the very person of Jesus Christ. 196 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:00,360 That is what the writer to the Hebrews is saying and he's 197 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:05,200 saying, listen, let your confession be of hope without 198 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,160 wavering in Christ. So how do we confess it today? 199 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,000 Am I suggesting that you will leave here and go to the Market 200 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,400 Square in Saint Albans and publicly declare your faith? 201 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:16,880 Well, if the Holy Spirit leads you, you should. 202 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,880 But I think that we need to unpack this a little bit more 203 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,040 before we say, well, that's not applicable today. 204 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:28,880 I'm going to do something else. Well, confessing is really about 205 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:33,120 refusing to compromise our identity in Christ, even when 206 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,440 culture pressures us to shift. Why? 207 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,480 Because what we do is our confession. 208 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,480 Are you following me? We confess with our decisions, 209 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:46,280 with our actions. That is how we confess our hope 210 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,720 and our trust. It's speaking out the hope we 211 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:53,560 have in conversations, maybe with someone about Alpha. 212 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:58,200 It's speaking out hope we have in the workplace or in our home. 213 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:00,960 Even when it's easier to stay silent. 214 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:02,840 You know, there are those moments, hey, when it's easier 215 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:06,200 just to say nothing and there's something the Holy Spirit in 216 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:07,880 your heart is just the heart's been. 217 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:09,880 You're like, yeah, I've just got to, I've just got to confess my 218 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:11,680 hope. You might not use that language, 219 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:13,400 but you want to say it's going to be OK. 220 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:15,640 Well, why is it going to be and why do you think it's going to 221 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:17,880 be OK? Well, let me tell you about God. 222 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:22,120 He is faithful. That is confessing our hope. 223 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:29,160 And it's about us making a decision to live in a particular 224 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:31,640 way that our choices declare this. 225 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:36,480 So how do we live in a way where we declare that our hope is not 226 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:38,560 in money? That's an interesting 1, isn't 227 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,480 it? How do we live in a way that we 228 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:45,360 declare that our hope is not in politics or reputation or other 229 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,800 people, but that our hope is injustice? 230 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,080 And this is the question that I think, you know, when you read 231 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,120 the Bible and it asks you questions, doesn't it? 232 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,760 You can't read this without it asking you a question. 233 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:03,680 The question is this, who are you confessing that your hope is 234 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:10,400 in? How does your life declare that 235 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:12,440 you are confessing a hope in Jesus? 236 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:14,480 I think that's a really good audit. 237 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:15,720 Like that's really healthy, isn't it? 238 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:20,040 Because as we're going to see, there's something very powerful 239 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,160 about aligning ourselves about confessing that our hope is in 240 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:29,600 Jesus. Does your life declare fear and 241 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:34,240 self-reliance or does it declare that Christ is your living hope? 242 00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:42,040 And this is my prayer for myself, Steph and the kids, is 243 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:47,400 that the decisions we make, the decisions about what we do next 244 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,960 will tell a story to others that our hope is in Jesus. 245 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:56,920 That is our confession. You know, when back in October 246 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:01,560 when the Lord started prodding Steph and I to ask the question, 247 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:06,000 is it time to lay this down? And we engaged with the 248 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,400 discernment process, with the board and with other people we 249 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:15,000 trusted and godly men and women, we came to the decision that God 250 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:18,960 was saying, you need to lay it down because I've got someone 251 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:22,560 else next. And so my natural response was, 252 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,080 OK, great Lord, So what have you got for us next then? 253 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,600 Because once you tell me that, I'm happy to go. 254 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:31,080 Like that's the human response, isn't it? 255 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:34,600 Which is like I feel like I'm leaving something which I love 256 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,360 and is secure because I've never this as I said to you before, I 257 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:40,400 thought I was going to die a pastor or at least retire a 258 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:41,840 pastor. I didn't realize that I'd be 259 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:46,000 laying this down after seven years, but you see the challenge 260 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,120 there was what do you what is your confession, Mark? 261 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:54,880 Is it in Christ Jesus in his word or is it you're confessing 262 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:59,240 yourself reliance. And if you get anything from 263 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,600 what I've just shared now, my encouragement to you is do your 264 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:07,600 decisions reflect a confession of hope in Jesus Christ? 265 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:14,960 Because I suspect that if our lives completely did, we would 266 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,800 do way more for the Kingdom. And I say that not to put the 267 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:20,400 shame on you or the guilt on you. 268 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:22,160 It's not about that. It's to encourage you to say 269 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:26,440 God's got more for you, But it's about you saying I trust and 270 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,400 hope in him and my confession is in Christ. 271 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,200 Are you following me? Shall I carry on? 272 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:33,720 Good. OK. 273 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:37,680 Thank you for saying that. Then it says the writer, he said 274 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,400 the confession of hope. He uses this really interesting 275 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,360 phrase, which is this, Let us hold fast. 276 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:47,600 And hold fast means to grip tightly. 277 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,960 It means actually to cling to. It's the language of 278 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,040 perseverance. It's the language of exerting 279 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:59,360 energy. The assumption in that statement 280 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:06,560 is this life will shake you, Storms will come, doubts will 281 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:11,800 rise, and brothers and sisters, you will be tempted to let go. 282 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:19,360 Sometimes you're only human, and sometimes that shaking comes in 283 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,840 the form of suffering, maybe in a doctor's diagnosis. 284 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,200 Maybe you're here right now and you've been to the doctors this 285 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,120 week and all of a sudden your week has been shaken. 286 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:32,480 Your life feels uncertain. Maybe it's a financial loss. 287 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:36,680 Maybe all of a sudden you are entering a season and you've 288 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,080 looked at your bank balance and your outgoings and you realize 289 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:44,760 that you're in trouble. Maybe you are in the midst of a 290 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:47,840 fractured relationship that you are trying to mend. 291 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,480 And so these things in our lives come and they shake us. 292 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,360 And Jesus himself said, you know, you will have trials and 293 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:03,880 troubles. But the good news is this is 294 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:07,880 that in the midst of the storm we can hold on to Jesus Christ, 295 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:12,040 who is unshakeable and who is steady and who gives us his 296 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,240 peace, which surpasses all understanding, which will guard 297 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:16,920 our hearts and mind in Christ Jesus. 298 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:22,040 And what we are told here is to hold fast without wavering. 299 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:25,079 This doesn't mean that we will never struggle. 300 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:27,880 This doesn't mean we will never doubt. 301 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:30,040 It doesn't mean we will never wrestle. 302 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,000 Wavering will come. There have been seasons where 303 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,520 Steph and I have wavered. Lord, I don't know if we can do 304 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:37,920 this. Are you sure? 305 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:44,720 I remember when I first said yes to the call to be the senior 306 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:46,920 pastor of this most beautiful church. 307 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,320 And I spoke to the board and I gave them my yes. 308 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:55,360 And I recall for a few days afterwards, I, I had AI had I 309 00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:58,040 had this dream, I've never shared this before, might as 310 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:03,600 well do it now. And in the dream I said, yes, 311 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:08,160 I'll be the senior pastor. And in the dream, I said it and 312 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:09,960 I panicked and I go, what have I done? 313 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,640 I can't be a senior pastor. This is. 314 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:15,120 And I was panicking and I woke up in a panic. 315 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:18,920 And then in that moment, you and Eli just woken up and reality 316 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:20,480 and dreams are a little bit fuzzy. 317 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:22,880 And I was like, that was only a dream. 318 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:23,960 I'm not going to be a senior pastor. 319 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:25,960 And then literally within 10 seconds, I'm like, wait a 320 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:27,320 minute, I'm going to be a senior pastor. 321 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,880 But what are you doing? And in that I've, I've never 322 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:42,680 been a pastor before. And in that moment, I held onto 323 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:46,560 the call to the words, to his scripture, to the, to the, to 324 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:50,160 the pictures, to the certainty that it was him who had called 325 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,280 me. And you know, maybe it's some 326 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:56,520 bit of advice for you if you if God's called you to something 327 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,520 and that might be your work, It might be a in your workplace. 328 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:01,360 It might be with your like, whatever. 329 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:04,360 You have a sense that God is wanting to walk in a particular 330 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,960 area and you have a wobble. Hold onto the core and say, Lord 331 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,960 God, you've called me to this. You are faithful and you will do 332 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:12,920 that which you have commanded me to do. 333 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:16,640 You will equip me like we have to gird up our loins to use that 334 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:18,600 phrase. And and you see what the writer 335 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,080 of the Hebrews is saying is that you are going to need to hold 336 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:24,200 fast on this confession, folks, because there's going to be 337 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:26,040 times where it's going to be really difficult. 338 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,920 I was thinking about this. Anyone done any rock climbing? 339 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:34,920 Some of you have, I can't say I've done proper an actual 340 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:37,000 mounting or anything, but you know, you get those indoor ones 341 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:39,600 which are kind of fun and you climb up and they, they, they, 342 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:41,240 they properly secure you, don't they? 343 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,960 So they put harness on you like thank goodness for that. 344 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:45,240 And they're right. Hold on to this right. 345 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:47,560 And you need to climb and you're climbing and you know, you're 346 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,520 like, well, I'm sure you're all perfectly brilliant at this, but 347 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,800 I'm like, oh, I can't hold on. And then there is this moment 348 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,720 where you let go of the rope and there's a split second you're 349 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:58,680 like, I'm going to fall. I'm totally dead. 350 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:02,520 And all of a sudden that thing that's secured, that rope kicks 351 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:03,800 in. You're like, and you're hanging 352 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,960 in there like, thank goodness for that. 353 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:09,920 And then you have a moment, an opportunity to regain your 354 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,440 composure and grab the rope again. 355 00:20:13,880 --> 00:20:18,040 God, is that secure rope on you? You might let go, but He never 356 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:21,600 lets go of you. You might waver and there might 357 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:27,560 be a moment, but you see, by His grace, He holds you in that 358 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:31,800 place, waits patiently for when you can get back on and hold 359 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,840 that rope. That's that moment, that 360 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:40,680 confession of hope. So why can we hold fast? 361 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,400 I mean, I've told you to what a confession of hope is and the 362 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,800 difference between our confession of hope in Christ and 363 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:48,800 the world. I've I've talked about the 364 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,280 reality that we are called to hold fast. 365 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:54,800 And the reason we are called to hold fast is because of the 366 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:56,560 reality that it's difficult sometimes. 367 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:01,760 But what we read is, is this, it says for he who promised is 368 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,200 faithful, that is the ground beneath our feet. 369 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:09,760 That is the rope that is secured on our harness, irrespective of 370 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:14,160 whether we can hold on or not. And you see our I'm so grateful 371 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,080 to God that our hope doesn't rest on our emotions because, 372 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:20,920 boy, they rise and fall. I can tell you that it doesn't 373 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:24,640 rest our hope on circumstances because they do change 374 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,000 overnight. I'm labouring a point, aren't I? 375 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,240 It doesn't rest on our performance because we fail. 376 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:37,560 Yes, you are human. It rests on the character of God 377 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,080 and God is faithful. God is faithful. 378 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:45,240 Let us say it together. God is faithful. 379 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:47,880 I think we need to say it again with conviction. 380 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,720 God is faithful. What a great confession of 381 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:52,960 faith. Say it again. 382 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:58,120 God is faithful. You know, it says in two Timothy 383 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:02,080 213, if we are faithless, he remains faithful. 384 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,520 It's good though, isn't it? Hold on to that. 385 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:08,320 You know, if you fall and you let go of that ropes, that 386 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:10,600 metaphorical rope, sometimes the enemy will come and get, oh 387 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:16,480 look, you let go of the rope. Like quote this scripture. 388 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:20,080 This is what God says. He is faithful. 389 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,440 He is faithful. Now God is faithful friends and 390 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:28,040 his promises. Joshua 2145 says this, not one 391 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:33,360 word of all the good promises that the Lord has made has 392 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:37,120 failed and will come to pass. God is faithful. 393 00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:39,960 The promises that he's spoken over you, the promises that you 394 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:44,800 read in his word for your life will come to pass because he is 395 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,000 faithful. God is not a man that should he 396 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,200 should lie as it says in the Scriptures. 397 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,960 What about Hebrews 13, five we're in Hebrews at the moment. 398 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:55,160 It says this. God says I will never leave you, 399 00:22:55,160 --> 00:23:02,200 nor what I will never leave you, nor forsake you. 400 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:07,320 Even when we feel alone, His faithfulness doesn't waver. 401 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:13,960 Our hope is not grounded in probability, but in promise. 402 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,920 In a world of calculating probabilities, you can have 403 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:23,840 peace to know that God is faithful and His promises will 404 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:28,720 come to pass. But you see, the ultimate proof 405 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:33,040 of God's faithfulness, friends, is Jesus Himself. 2 Corinthians 406 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:39,560 120 says For all the promises of God find their yes in Him, all 407 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:43,440 the promises of God find their yes in him. 408 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:47,280 Every covenant, every prophecy, every hope is fulfilled in Jesus 409 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:49,240 Christ. At the cross. 410 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,880 God showed He would go to the furthest length to keep his 411 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:53,560 word. Didn't He? 412 00:23:54,480 --> 00:24:01,160 Think about it that way. In the resurrection He showed 413 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,000 that nothing, not even death, can overturn his promises. 414 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,840 Think about it that way. When Jesus said on the cross it 415 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:15,080 is finished, He meant it. Jesus plus Jesus plus nothing, 416 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,760 He's done it all. He fulfilled the promises of God 417 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:22,920 on our behalf. You know, this isn't just 418 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,560 theology. This isn't just that was an 419 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,560 interesting preach. We were able to unpack Hebrews 420 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,360 chapter 10 verse 23 and we understand now what confession 421 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:35,840 means and we should maybe do that during the week that this 422 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:39,160 is not a theological treaties. This is not some lecture you're 423 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:44,280 coming to a university. This is deeply practical. 424 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,640 God's faithfulness touches every part of our life. 425 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:52,080 What about this? In Forgiveness 1 John 19 says if 426 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:56,640 we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive. 427 00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:01,520 He is faithful and just to forgive your sins. 428 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:06,040 Now is He faithful and just to forgive the top the the bottom 429 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,560 10 minor sins but not the top ten? 430 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:16,320 No, He will is faithful to forgive all of our sins. 431 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:20,040 Whatever you have done, His blood covers it all. 432 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,080 His blood is sufficient for whatever you have done. 433 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,040 His forgiveness isn't fragile or conditional. 434 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,840 It's faithful. What about in the trials that 435 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:34,240 you face? You know it says in One 436 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:37,120 Corinthians 10/13 And by the way, you should be writing these 437 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:38,640 down because this is medicine for you. 438 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,080 You should be reading these out over your lives. 439 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:46,800 God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your 440 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:55,560 ability. He will provide the way of 441 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:57,160 escape that you may be able to endure it. 442 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:00,160 You know, when you're going through temptations, the 443 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,840 question or the prayer is, Lord, how can you give me the strength 444 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,560 to get out of this temptation? Show me the way. 445 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:14,160 And what about faithfulness in US growing in Him? 446 00:26:15,120 --> 00:26:18,960 One Thessalonians 524 says he who calls you is faithful. 447 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:26,200 He will surely do it. Even when we feel stagnant. 448 00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:34,320 God is steadily working. God is faithful. 449 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:48,480 As I end bring this plane to a God willing smooth landing, 450 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,160 please put up your trade tables and your seats up. 451 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:55,040 Your seatbelts are on in case there's a lot of bumps along the 452 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:58,920 way. Have you noticed this verse? 453 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:00,680 Can we get that verse back up again? 454 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:06,360 Verse Hebrews 10/23. Let me notice how this starts. 455 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,280 What are the 1st 2 words? Us. 456 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:18,840 Us. This isn't about a solo journey. 457 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,720 Holding fast isn't something we do together. 458 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,960 Holding fast isn't something we do on our own, something we do 459 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:29,800 together in community. That's his body. 460 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:37,040 You know, preached last week. Fantastic sermon on Hebrews. 461 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:40,080 In fact, the very next verse Hebrews 10/24. 462 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,640 And can I just say as well what a wonderful summer series series 463 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,160 it was. We have we are have such 464 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:49,520 anointed and blessed preachers in this house. 465 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:54,960 I'm just I just love seeing men and women of God just walk in 466 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,720 that gift and and just giving the word of God to his people 467 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:03,000 and Pritt looked at verse 24 that says this. 468 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,520 Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good 469 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:10,280 works, not neglecting to meet together, as some are in the 470 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,640 habit of doing, but encouraging one another, and all the more as 471 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:19,760 you see the day drawing there. We hold fast better when we hold 472 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:24,680 fast together. We hold fast better when we hold 473 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:27,360 fast together. You have not been created to do 474 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:29,960 this thing, relationship with God on your own. 475 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:33,320 There is the vertical with God, and there is the horizontal in 476 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:37,680 fellowship with one another. What we have here is precious. 477 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:42,160 We have the privilege in this country to meet together, to 478 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:46,760 worship, to praise, to pray, to stir up one another in good 479 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:51,080 works, to serve one another, to pray for one another, to love 480 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,480 one another, to encourage one another. 481 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:57,320 We have that privilege to do it in this country, in public and 482 00:28:57,320 --> 00:28:59,600 in open. Many of our brothers and sisters 483 00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:03,680 around the world do not that as we are speaking now in this 484 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:07,640 public forum, there are those that are underground in fear of 485 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:09,360 our life. And that confession of hope 486 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:15,840 comes with the death penalty. And I am always struck, even 487 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:20,560 more so these past few months as we end this chapter and begin a 488 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:24,840 new one of the privilege it has been being with each other in 489 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:28,000 this place. You know, last week as we were 490 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,120 worshiping, I was over there and I got up. 491 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,000 And as I do sometimes I like to walk around the auditorium. 492 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,280 I'm I'm praying, partly praying for you all, but also I just 493 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:38,560 love seeing his people worship him. 494 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:43,040 It's a beautiful thing as I walk around there, Steph and I and 495 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:45,240 the kids used to sit over there and that's where you guys are. 496 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,960 Hello. When we first joined and I was 497 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:53,040 like, wow, 1213 years ago, we started started there and it 498 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,520 wasn't lost on me the reality that we're about to leave this 499 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:01,080 beautiful church and leave worshiping with you all. 500 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:07,040 It's a beautiful thing. Don't ever lose that that sense 501 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:11,320 of being together and worshiping him and encouraging one another 502 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:15,560 in him. Like these next three months are 503 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:19,520 not about taking a back seats and go, well, we'll engage 504 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,360 properly when the new senior pastors come. 505 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:24,360 Please don't do that. You are the church. 506 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,800 This is a season to press in. I want to be hearing stories of 507 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:33,560 how the church was overflowing every Sunday. 508 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:36,960 I want to be hearing about the good works that you guys are 509 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:39,240 doing with one another, the love that you're pouring out, the 510 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:41,480 fact that we've got more volunteers than we've ever had. 511 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,400 Those are the stories that I want to be hearing. 512 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,680 This is a season to hold fast together the confession of our 513 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:50,400 hope. Why? 514 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:54,160 Because God is faithful. Don't shrink back. 515 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:58,040 Press in and press on with the promises that God has for you 516 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,080 both individually and corporately, as well as this 517 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,120 church. God has not finished with this 518 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:06,080 church. The best is yet to come. 519 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:11,200 The best is yet to come. And I don't want you to miss out 520 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:13,120 on. I don't want you to miss out on 521 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:15,160 being here and being with one another. 522 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:20,480 And so I want to end with this question for you. 523 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:23,840 Where is your confession of hope lying at the moment? 524 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:29,600 Where are those areas that you need to confess your hope in 525 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:33,360 Christ? Maybe it is finance, maybe it is 526 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:39,400 relationships, maybe it is about calling in terms of job or 527 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:46,400 vocation. Maybe it's something else, but 528 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:49,400 when we hold fast our confession of hope in Christ, do you know 529 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,480 what happens? We receive His peace. 530 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:58,280 We receive His joy, and I don't want you missing out on that 531 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:01,400 opportunity. Friends, can we stand as I pray? 532 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:30,320 Invite Steph up, Don, if you've got any words that you want to 533 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:41,710 share for everyone. Right. 534 00:32:43,430 --> 00:32:46,310 Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. 535 00:32:47,830 --> 00:32:52,150 I was actually reminded when Mark was Speaking of a word, a 536 00:32:52,390 --> 00:32:54,470 similar word I had for the church a long, long time ago. 537 00:32:54,470 --> 00:32:56,310 And I remember standing up here and giving it. 538 00:32:56,350 --> 00:33:01,880 And I'm just reminded of this talk around faithfulness. 539 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:09,200 And the Lord is faithful to us, but he also caused us to be 540 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:14,600 faithful to him. And I love that picture of, you 541 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:16,400 know, if we fall, he's still got us. 542 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:19,120 But we also have a choice to cling on. 543 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:20,680 Don't mean pull ourselves back up. 544 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:24,400 And I was just reminded of a picture I had a long time ago of 545 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:28,280 the different Rd. signs. And the Lord just showed me 546 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:30,600 quite vividly the, you know, when you come across the road, 547 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:33,520 the road is closed sign. How many of us just keep driving 548 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:35,640 in hope that actually the road's not closed? 549 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:38,720 I've done that so many times and you're like, I've just spent 15 550 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:39,760 minutes. I have to go all the way back 551 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:41,640 again. And I thought the law was just 552 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:43,360 saying that some of us are on that journey. 553 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:45,400 You know, we ignore the signs, don't we? 554 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:49,840 Because we hope that we can just avoid what the Lord has. 555 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:53,640 And I just thought the Lord is saying this morning, don't 556 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:58,560 ignore the signs and that we're according fellowship with one 557 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:02,720 another, to be accountable, to confess to one another, but to 558 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:06,720 read and soak in his word so that we don't have that 559 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:09,040 frustration. There's always a way back, but 560 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:12,239 we lose time and quite often for many of us is a frustration that 561 00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:16,800 we did not listen to the word or the the warning of the Lord. 562 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:20,360 You know, some of us, there is a no entry sign and we just can't 563 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,840 help but go that way. And then we, you know, come 564 00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:28,920 across danger or EU turn, you know, no U-turn allowed. 565 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:32,120 And we, we do EU turn and we, you know, nearly get hit by 566 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:33,639 another car. You know, there's so many things 567 00:34:33,639 --> 00:34:36,239 that we do when we drive that actually we do in our Christian 568 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:38,320 faith and on our journey. And I think the Lord is saying 569 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,600 this morning, I want you to listen closely to my voice. 570 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:46,239 I want you to soak in my word. And I want you to be strong 571 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:50,480 enough to say, Lord, I'm going to go the longer way because the 572 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:53,440 road says it's closed. And it might, you might think 573 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:56,159 it's going to add more time, but actually in the long run, it 574 00:34:56,159 --> 00:34:57,000 won't. It would give you. 575 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:01,760 So Father, I thank you. I thank you, Jesus, that you are 576 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:04,000 after our hearts, Lord God, that you are calling us to be 577 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,040 faithful to you as well. And there are seasons when it's 578 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:09,640 hard to say no to that temptation, God. 579 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:13,320 But you call us as Christians to lean into you and ask you, Lord, 580 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:15,360 what are you saying to me in this situation, Lord? 581 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:19,360 So, Father, I thank you for this beautiful church. 582 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,600 I thank you, Lord, for all these precious people that heal our 583 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:26,120 God, that we walk this journey. We're the Lord Jesus. 584 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:29,320 And I thank you for the journey ahead. 585 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:31,960 I just see you all getting into your cars and the Lord's taking 586 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:33,920 you on a journey. And he's, he's sitting in the 587 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:37,640 passenger seat and he's saying, listen to my voice, leaning to 588 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:43,480 me and I will guide your path. So we thank you Jesus, we bless 589 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:46,520 your holy name. Thank you, Jesus. 590 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:47,080 Bless you, Steph. Thank. 591 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:55,640 You darling, as we as we end the service, I just want to read out 592 00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,400 these words of knowledge. As you guys know, the prayer 593 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:01,360 team meet before the service and seek the Lord for words of 594 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:02,680 knowledge. That's one of the gifts of the 595 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:04,240 Spirit. It's the toolbox that the Holy 596 00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:06,120 Spirit gives us to extend his Kingdom. 597 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:08,400 And if any of these words resonate with you, do get 598 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:09,960 prayer. My right, you're left with the 599 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:11,800 prayer team. And if you're online, you can 600 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:13,960 e-mail us prayer at Verso dot church. 601 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:20,160 It says here Psalm 13914I praise you because I am fearfully and 602 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,120 wonderfully made. Maybe you need to hear that this 603 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:23,680 morning. There's a man here with a 604 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:25,360 painful right foot. If that's you get prayer. 605 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:27,440 Someone with a problem with their big toe on their right 606 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:30,760 foot. A child with bad colic, someone 607 00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:34,280 who has heart palpitations. A lady with a lump in her right 608 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:36,720 breast. Someone with chronic nausea. 609 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:40,360 A man recovering from a cycling accident, someone who's been 610 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:42,640 crying all last night. Bless you do get prayer and 611 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:46,040 someone who has bounced of abnormal heart rate, racing 612 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:47,880 heart. It says here if any of those 613 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:49,960 resonate with you get prayer or indeed if you need prayer for 614 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:53,280 anything else, do get prayer. The team would love to pray with 615 00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:56,160 you. With that, I'm going to pray a 616 00:36:56,160 --> 00:37:03,240 blessing over us and Lord bless you and keep you. 617 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:09,640 May His face shine upon you. Would His be gracious towards 618 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:12,520 you? Would His countenance be towards 619 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,720 you? And would you know his perfect 620 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:20,080 beautiful peace, which surpasses all understanding, which will 621 00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:22,520 guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 622 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:26,400 And I bless you in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 623 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:30,280 And all these people said, Amen. God bless you Church. 624 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:31,200 See you next Sunday.