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Well, Acts, the book of Acts, 
we're in this series, it's 

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called the impact series. 
And what we've been doing is we,

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Taran and I, we've been pausing 
every time as we read through 

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the book of Acts. 
We've been pausing every time we

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get to a moment where the Holy 
Spirit's mentioned. 

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And what we're trying to figure 
out is what is the Holy Spirit 

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doing in the book and with these
people at that time? 

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And therefore what the Holy 
Spirit might do with us in this 

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moment in, in our time. 
And, and we're still kind of in 

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the moment, just post Pentecost,
right? 

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So the, the day of Pentecost is 
a day that's been long for for 

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centuries. 
It's been prophesied, it's been 

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predicted that, you know, 
everyone's looking forward to 

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the day when the Holy Spirit 
will be poured out on all 

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believers. 
And then the moment is finally 

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come and, and this community is 
formed. 

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It's like the fellowship of the 
Spirit, not the fellowship of 

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the ring. 
That's a different thing. 

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The fellowship of the Spirit. 
This is a group of people formed

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by for the Holy Spirit, for the 
Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit

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is dwelling amongst them. 
And one of the things he's doing

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that we looked at, Taran looked 
at, was it last week, a couple 

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of weeks ago, something like 
that was was, you know, being 

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formed. 
This is a group of perfect 

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strangers who by the power and 
the wonder of God are being 

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formed into this beautiful 
family, this incredible 

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community. 
What we're going to look at 

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today is that they're also a 
family that's marked by the 

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power of God, right? 
Marked by the miraculous that 

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God is, is not moving in ways 
that aren't able, you know, 

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difficult to perceive actually, 
God, when God comes by his 

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spirit, his people know about it
and the people in the city know 

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about it. 
And so we're we're going to be 

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reading from Acts chapter 2, 
starting at verse 43. 

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It says this everyone was filled
with awe at the many wonders and

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signs performed by the apostles.
All the believers were together 

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and had everything in common. 
They sold property and 

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possessions to give to anyone 
who had need. 

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Every day they continued to meet
together in the temple court. 

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They broke bread in their homes 
and ate together with glad and 

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sincere hearts, praising God and
enjoying the favour of all the 

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people. 
And the Lord added to their 

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number daily those who are being
saved. 

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One day Peter and John were 
going out to the temple at the 

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time of prayer at 3:00 in the 
afternoon. 

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Now a man who was lame from 
birth was being carried to the 

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temple gate called Beautiful, 
where he was put every day to 

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beg from those going into the 
temple courts. 

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When he saw Peter and John about
to enter, he asked them for 

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money. 
Peter looked straight at him, as

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did John. 
Then Peter said, look at us. 

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So the man gave him their 
attention, gave them his 

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attention, expecting to get 
something from them. 

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Then Peter said silver or gold I
don't have, but what I do have I

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give you in the name of Jesus 
Christ of Nazareth walk. 

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Taking him by the right hand, he
helped him up and instantly the 

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man's feet and ankles became 
strong. 

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He jumped to his feet and began 
to walk. 

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Then he went with them into the 
temple courts, walking and 

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jumping and praising God. 
When all the people saw him 

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walking and praising God, they 
recognized him as the same man 

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who used to sit begging at the 
temple gate called Beautiful, 

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and they were filled with wonder
and amazement at what had 

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happened to him. 
And that's our text for today. 

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One of the things that's 
happening all around the world 

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at the moment is that there is 
an increased curiosity interest 

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in the Christian gospel. 
And, and you know, there are so 

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many reports and so many 
statistics coming out and we'll 

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talk about that in future weeks.
But it's amazing the, the 

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cultural moment we're living in 
is extraordinary. 

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And the interest in the Bible as
a book like it is, is, is 

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increased in a way that we've 
never known before. 

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I don't know whether there's 
anyone in the room who works in 

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book publishing, but now would 
be a really good time to be a 

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publisher of the Bible. 
In fact, I read a statistic 

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recently that said that Bible 
sales have increased by 136% in 

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the last few years in the UK. 
And so it's like, this is an 

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amazing moment. 
We were in the pub having lunch 

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with some friends the other day,
and we were speaking to the guy 

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who worked there, and he said, 
you know, he's trying to guess 

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what we did for a living. 
And that's always, you know, a 

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fun game. 
And he, we said, well, we do 

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work Sundays, if that helps. 
He said, well, you're definitely

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not a vicar. 
I was like, well, kinda. 

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So anyway, he, he, we were 
chatting to him and he was like,

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I don't know what's going on. 
He said, I've had absolutely no 

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interest in God or religion or 
faith for the whole of my life. 

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But in the last couple of years,
I find myself increasingly 

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interested and wondering what 
going to church would be like. 

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It's just a fascinating thing. 
That wasn't, you know, where we 

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started the conversation, but 
that was kind of where we where 

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we landed. 
And so this incredible openness 

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to the gospel, amazing interest 
in the Bible. 

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And I read this, this article, 
and one of the stories in it was

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this young woman who had felt 
suddenly compelled to read the 

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Bible. 
And so she'd gone out to a 

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charity shop, She'd found a 
Bible, and she'd taken it home, 

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put it on her bedside table. 
And she, in this article, she 

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said, every night before I go to
bed, I just read a little bit of

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the Bible. 
And it just brings me peace. 

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Now, that's a beautiful story, 
right? 

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But I've got questions like when
she reads the Bible she 

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experiences peace. 
I can't remember the last time I

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experienced peace when I read 
when I read the Bible. 

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Like I don't know whether we're 
even reading the same book. 

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Does anyone else experience 
peace when they read the Bible? 

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Or do most people like me 
experience discomfort when I 

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read the Bible? 
That's basically how it works 

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for me. 
Like every. 

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It's almost as if the Lord 
doesn't even care about my 

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comfort at all. 
It's almost as if he's using the

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discomfort in my life to bring 
about the change that he wants 

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to see in my life. 
I don't know whether how that 

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lands for you, but when I was 
reading this passage of 

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scripture this week, I was 
feeling extremely uncomfortable.

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Like there was a kind of a 
jarring, like a provocation. 

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It felt like I've been stung by 
a bee, you know, something like 

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that was like, I just can't get 
this out. 

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It was like in Scotland, we 
would say, you know, it's like 

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the Lord was chopping on my 
head. 

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You know, it's like, it's just 
like knocking on my head all the

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time. 
And the verse that was just that

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I just couldn't let go of is is 
chapter 2, verse 43 where it 

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says this everyone, this is 
describing the church in the in 

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the in the early church, 
everyone was filled with awe. 

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Everyone was filled with awe. 
Everyone was filled with awe. 

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I wonder whether that's how you 
would describe what happens in 

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here on a Sunday or or what how 
you would describe Verso 

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Vineyard, your experience of it.
Everyone, I'm just filled with 

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awe. 
And the answer probably for many

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of us is, well, that isn't the 
first adjective or noun that 

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would that would spring to mind.
In fact, it's even more intense 

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than that in in this passage 
that we read, you know, the 

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everyone was filled with awe is 
how it starts off. 

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But then the whole city finds 
out about what's happening in 

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the church and all the kind of 
crazy miracles and things that 

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are happening. 
And then in chapter 3, verse 10,

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it says this, they were filled. 
This is the city was filled with

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wonder and amazement. 
I just found myself in this 

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place of, I don't know, like 
dissatisfaction and desperation 

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and and longing. 
Like Lord, please, if you were 

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to do like, I mean, this church 
has a great reputation. 

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You know, even before we ever 
visited for the first time, we 

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knew of this church. 
Great reputation in the city, 

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great reputation in the region, 
great reputation across the 

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whole body of Christ in this 
nation. 

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You know, this church is well 
thought of, but I don't know 

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about you, but what I long for 
in terms of a reputation like, 

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oh, that people would say about 
this church. 

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Do you need a miracle in your 
life? 

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Versa Vineyard. 
Do you want to know the power in

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the presence of God? 
Like, really, no, you should go 

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to Verso vineyard. 
Do you want to know the meaning 

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of the word or Verso vineyard? 
And I just wonder whether 

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there's a journey for all of us 
to go on with regards to the 

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power in the presence of God 
such that God would do something

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so extraordinary amongst us that
the whole city would be filled 

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with wonder and amazement. 
You know, we were away at the 

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Vineyard leaders gathering, not 
this past week, but the week 

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before, which is an amazing kind
of tribal gathering of all the 

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leaders and pastors and so on 
from around the Vineyard in the 

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UK and Ireland. 
And I was speaking to a friend 

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of mine and he was saying that 
in his family he has experienced

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A remarkable miracle. 
And so here's how the miracle 

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goes. 
His, his daughter, who is kind 

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of young adult, had been 
experiencing some pain in her 

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abdomen and it had been going on
for weeks and weeks. 

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And the pain was just getting 
worse and worse and worse to the

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degree that she was taking 
morphine for the pain. 

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And you know, she was having, 
you know what it's like when 

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when something really big is 
going on in your body, you're 

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having relentless scans and 
relentless medical appointments 

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and so on. 
And that been going on for 

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months and months and months. 
And they just eventually they 

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were like, OK, we know what it 
is and we need to operate. 

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And so she's lined up for this 
operation. 

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She's taking morphine all the 
way up to this operation. 

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And then as she goes in into the
operation, they've got all these

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different disciplines there 
because they, they're expecting 

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everything on the inside to be 
connected to everything else. 

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You know, so it's like they've 
got gynecologist, they've got 

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gastroenterologist, they've got 
all kinds of other surgeons and 

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so on. 
And they, they open her up and 

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the church are praying like mad.
And then as they open her up, 

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there's nothing there. 
Everything looks brand new. 

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In fact, they supposedly took a 
picture and they were like this,

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this is like, this is like brand
new. 

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And then it must be like inside 
the uterus or something like 

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that. 
So they were like, let's have a 

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look in there. 
They were like, the word he used

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was clean as a whistle, right? 
I don't know whether that's a 

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good thing. 
But anyway, so and so and so, 

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they were like, there's nothing 
to see here. 

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And so they closed her up. 
Even though they'd seen stuff on

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the scans, there was nothing 
there. 

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They closed her up and she went 
home and she never took morphine

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again. 
And do, you know, it was 

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amazing. 
And, you know, when you hear 

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stories like, you know, oh, 
well, that was somebody's, 

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somebody's friend, somebody, you
know, whatever. 

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Like this is someone who is a 
friend of mine. 

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And, and, and like, what struck 
me so much about that story was 

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the look in his eye. 
That man will never be the same 

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again. 
And he said, you know, our whole

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family has changed. 
We'll never see God in the same 

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way again. 
We'll never, we'll never live 

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the same way again. 
Everything has changed for our 

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family because of what God has, 
what God has done. 

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And the word to that I would use
to describe that what I saw in 

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his eye was, oh, his family has 
been overshadowed by the 

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Almighty God in a way that has 
just left the dent had a such a 

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huge impact that he'll never be 
the same again. 

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And so I want to think this 
morning about like, what is what

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does it look like? 
What's going on with these 

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people at this time when it 
comes to how they're living and 

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what they're expecting and what 
they're seeing? 

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And how might that by be our 
reality too? 

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And the first thing is these 
people in the book, they have a 

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different normal. 
They have a different normal. 

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Their world view, their way of 
seeing the world is just 

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dramatically different from 
mine. 

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Now, you know, I would want to 
suggest that for many of us 

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who've grown up in the Western 
world are, are thinking the way 

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that we see the world has been 
shaped by a bunch of different 

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ideologies that are coming at us
all the, all the time. 

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The first one would be 
materialism. 

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You know, the materialism would 
be the belief that the only 

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things that exist are the things
that you can touch or taste or 

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test for, right. 
So it's like there's nothing out

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00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,280
there. 
There's nothing in here other 

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00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:35,520
than atoms and molecules and 
acids and alkalis and and 

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00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:38,720
elements and compounds. 
It's just like, you know, it's 

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just the stuff. 
Material is the only thing that 

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00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,440
exists and that's coming at us 
all the time. 

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Materialism, Second one, 
rationalism. 

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It's like you will be able to 
understand everything that 

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00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,480
exists or happens in the world 
as long as you think hard enough

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00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,200
and you're clever enough. 
You know, Sherlock Holmes is 

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00:12:58,200 --> 00:12:59,800
just slightly ahead of all of 
us. 

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00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:03,160
But but one day, you know, if I 
could think really hard and be 

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00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:05,880
as clever as Sherlock Holmes and
there's nothing that exists or 

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00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,600
happens in all of creation that 
I can't figure out for myself. 

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00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,280
Rationalism, materialism, 
rationalism. 

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00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:14,880
Third one, secularism. 
There is no God. 

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00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:20,520
Don't be silly like you know, 
whatever your funny beliefs that

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00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:22,680
you might have in your mind, 
just keep them to yourself 

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00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:26,600
because they've got no place in 
a like a sensible society. 

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00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:28,880
And so there is no God. 
Stop worrying about it. 

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Just just live without him. 
That's the soup we're swimming 

250
00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,040
in all the time. 
That's what's coming at us all 

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00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,320
the time. 
Like there's nothing out there. 

252
00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:40,480
There's nothing in here. 
We're just atoms. 

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00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:44,320
We're just compounds and 
elements that everything is just

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00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:47,040
laws of physics and science and 
all of that. 

255
00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:49,640
So just just just live without 
God. 

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00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:56,280
Now, I don't know about you, but
if if I think that, then it 

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00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,120
feels to me very unlikely that 
I'm going to be living in a 

258
00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:03,640
community where miracles are 
happening all the time and their

259
00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:06,840
reality is so different from 
that their way of seeing the 

260
00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:08,560
world there. 
These are people who have 

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00:14:08,560 --> 00:14:11,880
experienced tongues of fire 
coming from heaven, right? 

262
00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,080
These are people who've 
experienced, as it said there 

263
00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:18,640
many wonders and signs being 
performed. 

264
00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,880
These are people who are seeing 
thousands of people added to the

265
00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,680
church in one day and then 
people being added to the church

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00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:26,840
every day. 
They're seeing God at work in 

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00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,920
dramatic ways and to their 
worldview is dramatically 

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00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:34,920
different from ours. 
Do you see we're being 

269
00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:42,000
brainwashed by our society and 
so our sense of what is normal 

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00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,080
needs to be taken out and 
recalibrated. 

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00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,440
We need to give it back to the, 
you know, the creator and say my

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00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:51,240
normal isn't working. 
You know, I need a new normal. 

273
00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:53,920
Please, please can you 
recalibrate my normal according 

274
00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:57,840
to what God says is possible? 
That's the first thing. 

275
00:14:57,840 --> 00:14:59,640
They have a different normal. 
The second thing is they have a 

276
00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:04,600
different schedule. 
When our three kids were in 

277
00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:10,000
primary school, my wife Taryn 
went away for a girls weekend in

278
00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:15,280
Edinburgh drinking cocktails and
shopping and, you know, talking 

279
00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:20,080
non-stop without drawing breath 
about, I mean, I don't know, 

280
00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:28,320
girl, girl things. 
And so, and so I, I was, I was, 

281
00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,560
you know, like I was going to 
say, I was, I was babysitting. 

282
00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:33,080
No, no, no, they were my kids, 
right? 

283
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,240
I was, I was being dad. 
I was parenting. 

284
00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,240
That's what's called parenting. 
I was parenting the kids And, 

285
00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:42,400
and I was so stressed. 
Honestly, I, it was like we had 

286
00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:46,600
drum lessons, piano lessons, 
recorder lessons, Cubs, 

287
00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:52,800
brownies, swimming lessons, you 
know, a play date for one kid 

288
00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:55,200
and a trampoline thing for the 
other kids. 

289
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,000
And I was driving around like a 
rally driver all weekend just 

290
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,880
like, and, and there came a 
point where there was a traffic 

291
00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:04,920
jam and I was stuck in traffic. 
I could feel my blood just 

292
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,000
literally boiling the pressure 
over all like, Oh my goodness, 

293
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,120
I'm going to be, you know, 
little cherub is going to be 

294
00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:11,840
late for a ballet dancing or 
whatever. 

295
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,240
It is just so stressful. 
And the point is, that's how we 

296
00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:21,640
live our lives. 
Just like everything planned and

297
00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:27,960
no space. 
Do you notice like these Peter 

298
00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:29,480
and John, they're on a mission, 
right? 

299
00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:30,960
They, they know where they're 
going. 

300
00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:34,040
We've already found out. 
They go to the temple every day.

301
00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:36,120
And so they're going to the 
temple every day. 

302
00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:37,800
They're going at 3:00 in the 
afternoon. 

303
00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,480
This is their moment to pray. 
And so these aren't people who 

304
00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:44,000
are like lacking things to do 
and they're not people who are 

305
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,200
like dawdling away through life,
the kind of people who drive you

306
00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:49,840
crazy when you, like, come up 
behind them in the traffic jam. 

307
00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:52,240
These are these are people with 
a purpose. 

308
00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:56,840
And yet do you notice what 
happens when they see this guy 

309
00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,480
sat down by the gate? 
They stop. 

310
00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:05,359
It's like they've got space in 
their calendar for a divine 

311
00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:12,760
appointment. 
Can I ask you if we're going to 

312
00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:16,200
see God, do the kinds of things 
that we long for him to do? 

313
00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:22,720
Do we have space in our schedule
for the Lord to intervene? 

314
00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:30,560
I have a friend of mine who's 
very senior in an oil company. 

315
00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:36,640
And every day before he goes to 
work, he says, Lord, I know the 

316
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:41,280
oil company pays my salary, but 
I want you to know I work for 

317
00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,840
you. 
I want you to know that my 

318
00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:48,360
tongue belongs to you, my hands 
belong to you, my feet belong to

319
00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:51,080
you, my time belongs to you, I 
belong to you. 

320
00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:57,120
And then he goes to work and 
maybe we just need to come. 

321
00:17:57,320 --> 00:17:59,760
Like, I honestly think we're 
being challenged. 

322
00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,680
We're being cast a vision this 
morning by the scriptures for 

323
00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,520
people who have meaning and 
purpose and a plan and a 

324
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:07,320
schedule and all of those kinds 
of things. 

325
00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,280
But we're absolutely open and 
willing for the Lord to say, and

326
00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:13,240
what about this guy? 
You're going to stop for him? 

327
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,720
They have a different schedule 
#3 they have a different 

328
00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:22,000
expectation. 
One of the things that I want 

329
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,000
you to notice in this passage is
that not only do they stop for 

330
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,400
this guy, but what's fascinating
is they stop today. 

331
00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:34,800
They stop in this moment. 
And the reason I say that is 

332
00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:42,240
because in chapter 3, verse 2, 
we we find out that this man 

333
00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:46,360
who's been unable to walk for 
his entire life is carried to 

334
00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:52,080
the gate every day, right? 
So he sat there how often? 

335
00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:55,720
Every day. 
And then the eagle eyed amongst 

336
00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:58,320
you will also notice that 
earlier on in our passage in 

337
00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:02,160
chapter 2, verse 46, it says the
believers met in the temple 

338
00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:09,120
courts every day. 
And so my point is that this guy

339
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:12,480
is there every day and they're 
going past him every day. 

340
00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:24,440
I've got questions about that. 
Why does he get healed today and

341
00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:28,520
not yesterday? 
Why did he have to suffer for 

342
00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:30,320
longer than was absolutely 
necessary? 

343
00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:33,880
They've been passing him for 
weeks. 

344
00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,720
It's confusing, isn't it? 
Here's a guy, he's unable to 

345
00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:41,720
walk. 
He has to be literally carried 

346
00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:43,560
wherever he goes. 
He could have been healed 

347
00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:45,120
yesterday. 
Why was it today? 

348
00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,440
Some of this stuff to do with 
healing and miracles and signs 

349
00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:56,320
and wonders. 
Anyone who gives you a simple 

350
00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:01,400
answer to what's actually really
complicated is is giving you a 

351
00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:06,000
short changing year. 
Why the wait? 

352
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,360
There's a very similar and 
equally challenging moment in 

353
00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:14,880
John chapter 5 where Jesus. 
In John chapter 5, Jesus and the

354
00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,960
disciples, they go to a place 
called the pool of Bethesda and 

355
00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:22,720
it says in John chapter 5 that 
around this pool loads of people

356
00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:26,800
with disabilities would would 
sit and they're kind of waiting 

357
00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:28,520
for their healing. 
That's the reason why they're 

358
00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:32,240
there. 
And then it says that Jesus 

359
00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:37,800
can't comes to a guy who's been,
he's been unable to walk for 38 

360
00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:45,240
years and Jesus heals him. 
I've got questions about that. 

361
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,000
There are loads of people with 
disabilities around the pool. 

362
00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,720
Jesus heals one, as far as we 
know. 

363
00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:01,160
The others, they have to wait 
and maybe they have to wait for 

364
00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:07,240
their whole lives. 
Do you see, like anyone who 

365
00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,120
gives you a simple like, oh, 
this always happens or this 

366
00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:13,520
never happens is giving you 
short change. 

367
00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:17,080
You know, there are there are 
churches that would teach no one

368
00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,440
ever gets healed, right, That, 
you know, that's what used to 

369
00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:22,520
happen in the Bible, but it 
doesn't happen anymore. 

370
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,880
To which my friend whose 
daughter was healed the other 

371
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,440
week is going to say, well, 
well, you know, you can believe 

372
00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,080
that all you want, but I've got 
a different reality in my life. 

373
00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:34,080
You know, like I've seen God 
heal. 

374
00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:39,320
And so anyone who says God never
heals is, is telling an untruth.

375
00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:42,360
But equally, there's a whole 
bunch of other churches that 

376
00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:44,600
say, no, no healing is always 
available. 

377
00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:48,360
You know, you, you, you'll 
always be healed. 

378
00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:54,720
Well, they might want to just 
tell those people who have sat 

379
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:58,880
around the pool of Bethesda who 
had to wait for their healing, 

380
00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:03,760
even though the literal, you 
know, Jesus is in their midst. 

381
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:10,040
It's got to be more complex. 
There's got to be space for 

382
00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:16,600
mystery. 
What's so interesting in the 

383
00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:20,520
passage in John chapter 5 is 
that when the, the, the 

384
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,120
authorities basically get super 
cross because they're like, hang

385
00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:25,400
on a minute, you know, Jesus, 
you're healing on the Sabbath 

386
00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,120
and that's not appropriate. 
And, and so they start to 

387
00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:31,440
interrogate him about what's 
really going on and he gives 2 

388
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:35,560
explanations for what's 
happening in that moment and why

389
00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:39,960
he's healed that guy. 
The first one is in John 517 

390
00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,240
where he says my father is 
always at work. 

391
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,760
And in other words, like even on
the Sabbath, God's at work, 

392
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,360
right? 
But but that's that's his first 

393
00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:50,320
explanation. 
God is always at work. 

394
00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,200
And the second explanation is in
chapter 5, verse 19, where he 

395
00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:57,480
says very truly, I tell you, the
Son of man can do nothing by 

396
00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,080
himself. 
He can only do what he sees his 

397
00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,000
father doing. 
So for me, those two 

398
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,200
explanations are really, really 
important, right? 

399
00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:09,840
The first one is his assumption 
is God's at work here somewhere.

400
00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,320
So I'm going to keep my eyes 
open and I'm going to watch for 

401
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:15,640
it. 
I'm expecting God to be at work 

402
00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,640
somewhere here. 
Is it inconceivable that God is 

403
00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,640
like not at work, He's at work 
somewhere. 

404
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,480
My father is always at work even
to this very day. 

405
00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,040
And so his, his assumption is 
where is God at work? 

406
00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:30,960
Like he's looking, he's looking 
for the Lord to be at work. 

407
00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,480
That's the first thing. 
The second thing is he says I 

408
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,280
only do what I see my father 
doing. 

409
00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,840
So in other words, God's at work
somewhere and I'm watching for 

410
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:42,000
it and when I see it, I invite 
solve myself with it. 

411
00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:47,240
This is that's his explanation. 
And one of the things I love 

412
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,760
about being part of the Vineyard
is that you could go to a 

413
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,040
Vineyard church anywhere on the 
face of the earth and they would

414
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,240
have the same understanding 
about this stuff. 

415
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,800
It's really important. 
It's like a distinctive that is 

416
00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,080
that is true of every Vineyard 
church in the world. 

417
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:04,320
Number one, that we embrace the 
mystery that we, we, there are 

418
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,440
no simple answers. 
We're not going to say you'll 

419
00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:07,840
always be healed. 
We're not going to say you'll 

420
00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:09,760
never be healed. 
We're going to live with the 

421
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,080
mystery of the Kingdom that 
sometimes when we pray and when 

422
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:16,520
we minister to people that part 
of the future where there's no 

423
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,080
more sickness and no more pain 
and no more tears and no more 

424
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:21,520
death. 
Sometimes that future Kingdom 

425
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:25,360
breaks into the present and we 
see God do incredible things. 

426
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,000
And so we're like, we're not 
going to say that never happens 

427
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,480
because sometimes it does. 
We're going to live with the 

428
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:35,800
mystery. 
It's OK that sometimes we have 

429
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:40,320
to wait and sometimes we don't. 
But the second part is we're 

430
00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,600
going to say, no. 
My father is always at work 

431
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:44,520
somewhere. 
And so I'm going to keep my eyes

432
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,040
open. 
And when I see it, I'm going to 

433
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:50,040
partner with it. 
And you and you could go to any 

434
00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:51,600
Vineyard church on the face of 
the earth. 

435
00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:54,000
This, these verses in John Five 
are critical. 

436
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:56,440
I only do what I see my father 
doing. 

437
00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:02,880
So I'm watching for it. 
We embrace the mystery I've 

438
00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:05,160
written here. 
You'll always find in the 

439
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:09,920
Vineyard people living with a 
rampant expectation that our 

440
00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:12,320
father is always at work. 
And so we're going to watch for 

441
00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:14,680
it. 
So they, they, they had a 

442
00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:17,760
different expectation and maybe 
we need to upgrade our 

443
00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,960
expectation and, and say, no, 
no, I believe that God is at 

444
00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:23,680
work somewhere and I'm going to 
watch for it. 

445
00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,520
And then the final thing is they
have a different kind of power. 

446
00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,480
You know, if this whole healing 
thing or signs and wonders or 

447
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,120
whatever you want to call it is 
down to me, that's a real 

448
00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:38,760
problem. 
You know, it's down to the power

449
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:42,760
that I have, that's a problem. 
If it's down to my holiness, 

450
00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:46,880
that's definitely a problem. 
Just ask my wife, right? 

451
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:50,840
So, so if it's down to me, 
that's a real problem. 

452
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:52,920
And that's why I love what 
happens next. 

453
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,400
You know, this man who's been 
unable to walk for his entire 

454
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,400
life, He's completely and 
instantly healed. 

455
00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:03,160
And a crowd gathers around and 
then in chapter 3, verse 11, it 

456
00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:05,560
says like this crowd literally 
runs towards them. 

457
00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,760
And then in verse 12, Peter and 
John say, why are you staring at

458
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:10,960
us? 
Which is one of my favourite 

459
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:14,000
lines in the whole Bible. 
Why are you staring at us as if 

460
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:18,280
by our power or our holiness, 
we've made this man? 

461
00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,320
Well, in other words, there's 
nothing to do with us. 

462
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:25,560
What they go on to say is we've 
put our faith in Jesus, in his 

463
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,520
name, in his power, and he's the
one who's really doing it. 

464
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:36,200
And so if we want to do what 
Jesus did, then we need the 

465
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:41,800
power that Jesus had. 
And you see that in in Acts 

466
00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:45,320
chapter 10, actually verse 38, 
it says there's God anointed 

467
00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:50,480
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy 
Spirit and with power and he 

468
00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,240
went around doing good and 
healing all who are under the 

469
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,240
power of the devil because God 
was with him. 

470
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,400
Do you see? 
God anointed Jesus with the Holy

471
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:02,600
Spirit and with power, and he 
went around healing people. 

472
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,400
So it's the power of the Spirit 
that we need if we want to 

473
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:10,000
minister healing to people. 
The apostle Paul put it like 

474
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:13,280
this. 
I came to you in weakness, with 

475
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:17,960
great fear and trembling. 
You see, it's not about him, he 

476
00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:19,440
says. 
My message and my preaching were

477
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,840
not with wise and persuasive 
words, but with a demonstration 

478
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:29,480
of the Spirit's power. 
And so we long for God to do all

479
00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,200
kinds of crazy things in our 
midst. 

480
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,600
We long for the people of Saint 
Albans and the rest of 

481
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,680
Hertfordshire to be like filled 
with wonder and amazement at 

482
00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,720
what God is doing amongst us. 
We long that our reputation 

483
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:42,560
would be you need a miracle in 
your life. 

484
00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,720
You want to experience the power
of God or the presence of God? 

485
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,480
You want to meet God? 
Reverso Vignon is the place you 

486
00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:50,720
need to be. 
We long for that. 

487
00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:54,320
And in order for that to take 
place, we need to be filled over

488
00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,720
and over again with the same 
power that filled Jesus, with 

489
00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,640
the same power that filled the 
apostle Paul, which is the power

490
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:02,360
of the Holy Spirit. 
So why don't we stand?