1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,120 Well, it's a joy to to be here, a joy to be with you. 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:07,200 You all look great this morning. Can I say, even on the balcony, 3 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,680 we give the balcony a cheer. Why don't you give us a cheer? 4 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,440 There you go. And also a massive hello to our 5 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,240 sites in Hemel and Hatfield and also online. 6 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:20,200 It's a joy to have you with us as well. 7 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:25,520 Why don't you give us a cheer? Yeah, we can't hear you, but you 8 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:29,160 know, it's fun, isn't it? Anyway, so before we get going 9 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:31,880 with the scriptures this morning, I just wanted to make 10 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,600 you aware of an invitation that we want to make to you. 11 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:38,120 We were just speaking in the leadership team meeting a couple 12 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,240 of weeks ago about Easter and we, we said, oh, wouldn't it be 13 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,760 lovely if we all just went on a journey through the scriptures 14 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:46,320 together in the run up to Easter? 15 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:48,640 And so that's what we're going to do as a team. 16 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:50,840 We, we, we've found a Bible reading plan. 17 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:52,880 It's a seven day Bible reading plan. 18 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:58,000 So it'll start not tomorrow, Monday, but Monday after that. 19 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,760 And it'll just work for seven days all the way up to Easter, 20 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,920 just journeying with Jesus up to the cross and then the 21 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:07,640 resurrection. And, and we just thought, 22 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,680 wouldn't that be a sweet thing to do Now just to say if you've 23 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,240 already got a Bible reading plan and you're like, Oh my goodness, 24 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:14,880 that would make me, I'm seven days behind on that Bible 25 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,040 reading plan. And oh, it's like it's totally 26 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:18,680 fine if you want to just do that. 27 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:21,080 Like there's all grace, totally great. 28 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:23,960 Just do whatever you think. Or maybe you could do it as 29 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:26,720 well. But we would just love to invite 30 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,640 as many of you as would like to to join us. 31 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,840 So the way that you do that is you go onto our website, there's 32 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,360 a little thing that says Easter, click on Easter and then you'll 33 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:38,200 find it. OK, would you like to do that? 34 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:40,360 Some of you would. OK, good. 35 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:41,400 So that's what we're going to do. 36 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:51,320 Why don't we pray together? And Lord, some people live 37 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:56,120 according to the news or what it says on the like the BBC website 38 00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:00,640 or in some other magazine, or it's like their their Bible is 39 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,280 something else. But but we're living. 40 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:04,000 We're living according to the scriptures. 41 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,880 We want to be people who base our lives on your truth. 42 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,360 And so it's just we, as we wrestle with the Scriptures 43 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,920 together as a community, we pray that your spirit would cause 44 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:21,160 your word to burn within us. Come and set your word on fire 45 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:26,320 in our hearts by your Spirit, Oh God and all God's people said 46 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:30,360 Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen. OK, so we've been going through 47 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:34,480 a teaching series called Impact, which is looking at the book of 48 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:36,040 Acts. Hang on, let me just move that. 49 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,520 I'm going to knock that over looking at the book of Acts and 50 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:44,200 what we've been doing and wow, this is going badly. 51 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,280 Anyway, so we've been working our way through the book of Acts 52 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:49,720 and every time the Holy Spirit is mentioned, we're kind of 53 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,160 pausing. And what we're trying to do is 54 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,160 try to understand like, what was the Holy Spirit doing with those 55 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:58,920 people in that place at that time? 56 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,280 And then we're kind of like praying Holy Spirit, please, 57 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:04,720 would you come and please, would you do exactly the same thing 58 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:09,000 with these people in our day and and in our place? 59 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:10,880 And so we've been doing that for a little while. 60 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:13,760 Taryn was the last person to do that. 61 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:17,440 She spoke about baptism, right? So, so amazing talk on baptism. 62 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,000 If you haven't heard that, you should definitely go back and 63 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:24,560 watch it on YouTube or whatever. But in that moment, it's the day 64 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,240 of Pentecost. Peter stands up, he says, repent 65 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,920 and be baptized, everyone of you in the name of Jesus, and you 66 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:34,440 will receive the promise of the Holy Spirit, right? 67 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,840 So there's the Holy Spirit and baptism in the same sentence. 68 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:42,480 And what I want to do this morning is to follow on that 69 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,760 journey. So what happened next almost in 70 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:47,800 the same passage, what what happened next? 71 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:54,960 And what we're going to discover is that 3000 people receive 72 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:59,440 Peter's suggestion as a good idea, and they've submit their 73 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,120 lives to Jesus. And then as a result of doing 74 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,240 that, they're baptized. And then something crazy 75 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:06,440 happens. And that's what we're going to 76 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,000 look at today. And what happens is that they 77 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:15,560 become these 3120 people, the most extraordinarily generous 78 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,480 group of people who anyone's ever seen. 79 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:22,760 Something happens to their wallets when the Holy Spirit 80 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,000 comes into their life. And that's what we're going to 81 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:26,160 go and we're going to look at today. 82 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,400 And where we're going to do that is by reading our passage, Acts 83 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:38,440 chapter 2, starting at verse 41. It says this those who accepted 84 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:44,040 Peter's message were baptised and about 3000 were added to 85 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:46,920 their number that day. Please God, could we have that 86 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,400 like we would? We, we, we stand ready for that 87 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:53,640 again, Lord. They that's the 3000 people plus 88 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:57,800 the 120 who were already there. They devoted themselves to the 89 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,520 apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of 90 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,880 bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with ore. 91 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,600 The many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 92 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:13,160 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 93 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:18,920 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone 94 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:23,000 who had need. Every day they continued to meet 95 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:25,960 together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes 96 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,840 and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and 97 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:32,120 enjoying the favour of all the people. 98 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,240 And the Lord added to their number daily. 99 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:37,880 Those who are being saved again, Lord, please. 100 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:40,800 Every day we would we, in fact we would take every other day. 101 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:46,560 Lord, we're just anyway, yeah. So I'm not really what you would 102 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:48,920 describe as being an extremist, right? 103 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,680 What you need to know about me is I studied maths, physics and 104 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:53,480 chemistry at A level and I liked it. 105 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,560 Right. So, so you know, I own 3 106 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,800 cardigans. My idea of, you know, you know, 107 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:02,640 if you like you, you really want to treat yourself. 108 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,200 My idea of treat myself is I'll get myself a new pair of socks, 109 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:07,560 right? That's, that's the kind of 110 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:09,760 person I am. So in most areas of my life, you 111 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,080 wouldn't consider me to be an extreme person. 112 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:16,040 But if there's one area of my life where I'd be like, Lord, I 113 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,560 would love to be extreme in that area. 114 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,040 It's in the area of generosity. It's in the area of what I do 115 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:23,880 with my money. And there are really two reasons 116 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:27,040 for that. The first one is because I've 117 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:31,880 never, whenever I've met a person who is outrageously and 118 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,440 extremely generous, I think to myself, and perhaps you'd think 119 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,480 the same, I wish I was like that. 120 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,440 You know, I, I'd love to be like that when I grow up. 121 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:42,920 It's true, isn't it? You meet someone and, and 122 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:44,720 they're just so generous. It's like they would give you 123 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,160 the coat off off their back. They're oh, your car's broken 124 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:49,440 down here. Use mine. 125 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:50,680 Oh, you've got nowhere to stay tonight. 126 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:51,720 Please. Will you come and stay at my 127 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:53,720 house? You know, the kind of people who 128 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,400 when you go out to lunch, you're like wrestling over the bill and 129 00:06:57,400 --> 00:06:59,440 they're like, no, I'm paying for that bill. 130 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:02,520 And you think to yourself, at least I think to myself, I want 131 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,720 to be more like that. I want to be like that. 132 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:08,040 It's so attractive. It's so inspiring. 133 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,560 And then other people you meet are just mean. 134 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,360 You know, they're the kind of people you go out to lunch with 135 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,880 them and they're like, they're sitting there with the bill and 136 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:22,320 a calculator and they're saying one of you had an extra poppadom 137 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:27,000 and it wasn't me. I'm not paying for your extra 138 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,920 poppadom. And you think I don't want to be 139 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,040 like that. And so I want to be radically 140 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,720 and outrageously generous because it's who I want to 141 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,840 become. But that's not actually the main 142 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:40,600 reason. The main reason is because 143 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,520 throughout the New Testament, when people have had a 144 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:48,720 significant encounter with God, right with when they've met 145 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:52,240 Jesus or they, they've experienced the power and the 146 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:56,520 presence of the Holy Spirit, something happens with regards 147 00:07:56,520 --> 00:08:00,800 to their attitude in their heart towards their finances, their 148 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:02,600 resources, the things that they own. 149 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,760 I'm thinking about, for example, Zacchaeus, right? 150 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:12,600 Zacchaeus is, is, is someone who has lived his whole life to 151 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:17,840 accumulate more money and, and his job is the extraction of 152 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:19,920 money by any means possible, right? 153 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:25,200 He's a tax collector. And so he's often seeing people 154 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,040 and trying to figure out what is the way that I can extract the 155 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:30,720 most money out of you. And then he meets Jesus and 156 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:32,960 immediately he gives half of his possessions away. 157 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:39,679 The such was the encounter that he had with Jesus, something 158 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:41,640 changed in his own his own heart. 159 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:45,280 He's like, Oh my goodness, there are so many people who I have 160 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:48,200 wronged, so many people who I've taken money from under false 161 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,040 pretences. I'm going to pay back so much 162 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,520 of, in fact, four times the amount he took from people. 163 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:57,440 Do you see? You meet Jesus and everything 164 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:00,600 changes with regards to your possessions or this moment that 165 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:05,880 we just read in Acts chapter 23000, New believers, they don't 166 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,760 know anything about anything, but they're just in their very 167 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:11,640 first days of following Jesus. But immediately they're like, 168 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:13,520 you need something. I'm going to sell something. 169 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,040 I mean, you know, like there's a need here. 170 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,640 We could meet this together. Let's just see what we could do. 171 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:25,240 Let's give what we can. And so it just seems to me to be 172 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,880 a remarkable identifying marker of someone who truly follows 173 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:34,400 Jesus, that something shifts at the core of who they are with 174 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:40,080 regards to their generosity. And so yes, I want to be radical 175 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:44,280 in the area of generosity because it is like AI want to be 176 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,680 a grown up like that. But more than that, it's because 177 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:51,480 I believe it's the mark of a true disciple. 178 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:54,840 It's it's, it's the mark of someone who knows Jesus. 179 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,320 It's the mark of someone who's truly encountered the mercy and 180 00:09:58,320 --> 00:09:59,920 the kindness and the grace of God. 181 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,000 And so the question that I want to answer this morning is why? 182 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,360 Why does something so dramatic happen? 183 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:09,960 What, what like, what is their motivation? 184 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,880 What is driving their decision making in this moment? 185 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:19,960 Why, why do they suddenly decide like these are self respecting 186 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:25,480 people who've earned this money in, you know, like they've tried 187 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,640 hard, they've earned this money. Why are they suddenly giving in 188 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,320 a way that seems unusual? And so to give you a summary of 189 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:33,800 what I'm going to spend the next hour and 20 minutes or so just a 190 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:38,760 little joke explaining, I want to suggest that the answer is 191 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:43,360 that the Holy Spirit forms them into a family, and they're a 192 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,560 family on a mission. And so that changes their 193 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:49,840 perspective. There's one Greek word that just 194 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:52,480 appears over and over again, and that's what I'm going to prove 195 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:54,080 to you this morning. There's one Greek word. 196 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:57,680 It appears over and over again whenever this whole subject of 197 00:10:57,680 --> 00:10:59,920 generosity and stewardship appears. 198 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:02,600 And there it is every single time. 199 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:04,520 And it's the Greek word Koinonia. 200 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:10,920 It was originally a secular word and it, and originally in, you 201 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,760 know, the ancient world, in the, in the Greek speaking world, 202 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:17,760 they used that word to describe a partnership, a business 203 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:20,200 partnership, right? So if I'm in business 204 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:22,360 partnership with somebody else, it's a Koinonia. 205 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:27,000 And you see that actually in in Luke chapter 5, Jesus calls his 206 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:30,440 first disciples, he gets into the boat belonging to Simon. 207 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:32,360 They have this enormous catch of fish. 208 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,440 The Nets are beginning to break. And then in Luke chapter 5, 209 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,960 verse 9, it says Peter and all his companions were astonished 210 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:40,680 at the catch of fish they'd taken. 211 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,520 And so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's 212 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,640 partners. And that's the word Koinonia, 213 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,920 right? So, so, so they're in business 214 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:52,680 partnership. They're both, they're all 215 00:11:52,680 --> 00:11:55,840 invested, Peter, James and John, they're invested in this 216 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,920 enterprise together or fishing and they own a boat and they, 217 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:04,320 you know, like all the effort that they put into it is all 218 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,120 working together. It's a business partnership. 219 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,880 Taryn and I used to live just down the road from the same Rd. 220 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:15,120 from one of the guys who started BrewDog, the, the Brewing 221 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:19,200 Company in, in Scotland. And, and you know these two 222 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:22,720 guys, Martin and James, they started a little business 223 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:26,600 together in their mum's garage and they started brewing beer. 224 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,960 And then they bought a little van and they used to take the 225 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:31,880 beer out to different farmers markets and stuff like that. 226 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:34,080 And then eventually the business grew a bit more and they got 227 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,600 some proper premises. And so it goes on until finally 228 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,440 this business was valued at £2 billion. 229 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,000 And and so it's like a partnership. 230 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:44,920 The two of them, they're invested, they're working 231 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,440 really, really hard in the good times. 232 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:50,280 And then more recently, you may have seen in the news, the not 233 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:54,040 so good times, the business was recently sold for 33 million or 234 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:56,680 something like that. But you know, in good times and 235 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:00,040 bad, these guys are business partners together. 236 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:02,440 That's the word, that's Koinonia. 237 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,400 But in the New Testament, the word Koinonia means so much more 238 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,200 than that. And what we see is that this 239 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,560 word takes on a whole new meaning that is about family, 240 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:18,360 It's about mutuality, it's about care and compassion and hope. 241 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,640 It's about being on a an adventure together. 242 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:25,480 It's about having a shared mission together and all these 243 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:27,200 kinds of things. It's way it's not a 244 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,160 transactional business word anymore. 245 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:32,240 It's something way, way more. And so that's how it shows up in 246 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:34,680 our passage here. Acts 242. 247 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,480 They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to 248 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:40,960 fellowship. And actually it's the word 249 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:43,280 Koinonia, it's partnership, it's family. 250 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:46,920 They devoted themselves to family, to the family business, 251 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:49,240 to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 252 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:52,520 And it goes on, doesn't it, to talk about how they were 253 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:57,080 breaking bread together in their homes and they were praying 254 00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:59,960 together and they were reading the scriptures together and they 255 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:02,800 were sharing their possessions. They were holding things in 256 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:04,520 common. And when people had a need, they 257 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:06,600 were like, we're going to try and meet that together. 258 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:08,520 So it's way more than just business partnership. 259 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:14,480 This is like a family, a fellowship, people who are 260 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:18,360 holding things in common. Do you hear like the sweetness 261 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:20,400 and the tenderness of that word now? 262 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:23,360 And and it continues in Acts chapter 4, two chapters later, 263 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,320 Acts 432. All the believers were one in 264 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,600 heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their 265 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:32,800 possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had 266 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:35,320 that word shared is the Greek word Coinonia, right? 267 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,240 So they partnered together. They they, they, there was a 268 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:44,160 mutuality, they, they, they, they were on this share together 269 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:46,760 and there were no needy people among them. 270 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,680 For, for from time to time, those who owned land or houses 271 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:52,240 sold them. They bought the money from the 272 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,400 sales and they put it at the apostles fee and it was 273 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:57,960 distributed to anyone as they had need. 274 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:01,320 You see, they're all in. They've encountered God. 275 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,560 Something shifted. They're like, we're going to 276 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,360 meet these needs together. If someone's got a need, we're 277 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,640 going to we're going to fix it. And like I said, that word's 278 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:10,920 everywhere. Romans 15 verse 25. 279 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,760 Now, however, says Paul, I'm on my way to Jerusalem in the 280 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:16,400 service of the Lord's people there. 281 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:20,160 For Macedonia and IKEA, we're pleased to make a contribution 282 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:22,680 for the poor among the Lord's people in Jerusalem. 283 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:24,920 The word contribution is the word koinona. 284 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:27,480 It's like we're they were pleased to partner together. 285 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,080 There's a famine about to happen. 286 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:33,040 And so we're going to work together to resolve that problem 287 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:37,840 so that hungry people get fed. 2 Corinthians 8, verse 3. 288 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,400 For I testify, says Paul, that the Macedonian churches gave as 289 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:45,520 much as they were able and even beyond their ability entirely on 290 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:47,440 their own. They plead, they urgently 291 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:51,960 pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this 292 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,400 service to the Lord's people. Again, they partnered together 293 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:59,200 in service of the Lord's people. And so friends, what I want to 294 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,040 suggest to you this morning is that the Lord is casting a 295 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,400 vision for us of the kind of community He would have us be. 296 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:12,000 This is way more than just like the tithes and offerings, or 297 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:16,400 it's way more than just like some kind of legalistic 298 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:19,360 expectation that we might want to place on people. 299 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,040 It's it's way beyond that. This is at a heart level, 300 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:23,600 something that we share together. 301 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,160 I think he's, he's trying to shape us into this community 302 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,320 that is deeply motivated, motivated by our love for one 303 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:38,440 another and also to be honest, our, our personal commitment to 304 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,440 the mission of God across the nations. 305 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,200 Let's dive into another passage where this word partnership 306 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,120 appears, which is in Philippians chapter 1. 307 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,160 So if you've got your Bible, you might just want to flick over to 308 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:55,240 Philippians chapter 1. Philippians as a, as a letter is 309 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:57,360 really Paul writing a thank you letter, right? 310 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:01,560 He's in prison, perhaps in Rome, NT writes, says Ephesus. 311 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:05,000 So I'll leave that up to you. But he's in prison and the, the 312 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,839 Philippian church, he is a church he planted and since he 313 00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:11,680 went there and planted the church, they've been supporting 314 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:14,280 him financially, right? So he's been planting churches 315 00:17:14,319 --> 00:17:16,880 all over, all around the Mediterranean. 316 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:19,359 And as he's been doing that, they've been the ones to 317 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,800 personally provide for his needs. 318 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:25,880 And so they've been financed sending gifts over and over 319 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,440 again. And now here he is in prison and 320 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:31,040 they've sent another gift so that he's able to eat whilst 321 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:33,400 he's in prison with this guy Epaphroditus. 322 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,960 And he's so overwhelmed with gratitude for this amazing 323 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,400 community that he writes the book of Philippians and 324 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:45,000 Philippians Chapter 1 says this. Paul and Timothy, servants of 325 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,280 Christ Jesus to all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at 326 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:52,360 Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons, Grace and 327 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:56,120 peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 328 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:01,200 I thank my God every time I remember you in all my prayers 329 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,640 for all of you. I always pray with joy because 330 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:10,640 of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until 331 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:13,280 now. Do you see like this isn't just 332 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,200 like, oh, thank you for being friendly. 333 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:19,560 He's thanking them for the cash because of your partnership in 334 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:21,360 the gospel from the first day until now. 335 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:24,800 Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you 336 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,680 will carry on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 337 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,360 It's right for me to feel this way about all of you since I 338 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:34,680 have you in my heart, and whether I'm in chains or 339 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:39,880 defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share same 340 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:46,480 word in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for 341 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,200 all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 342 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,960 And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in 343 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,600 knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to 344 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:59,000 discern what's best and may be pure and blameless for the day 345 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:02,640 of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes 346 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,520 through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. 347 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,920 OK, so here we go, verse 4. In all my prayers for all of 348 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:16,120 you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership from 349 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:19,680 this day until now. How is it that Paul's been able 350 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:23,160 to just go from city to city to city planting churches, leading 351 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,360 people to Jesus, potentially 10s of thousands of people over the 352 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:29,440 course of those journeys, coming to faith being built into 353 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:31,960 churches that he's planted? How is that even possible? 354 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:35,520 Because they've partnered with him, they've given their what 355 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:37,280 they could to enable him to do that. 356 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,440 How is it that there are loads and loads of widows and orphans 357 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,640 all over the region of Jerusalem and Judea who've been able to 358 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,640 eat well because they've partnered with him as he's taken 359 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:50,040 those gifts to the church in Jerusalem? 360 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:54,160 The the Philippian Christians have covered all the costs. 361 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:57,440 And he goes on to say in chapter 4 of Philippians Actually, 362 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:01,640 you're actually the only ones who have given consistently and 363 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:03,480 repeatedly and kept the show on the road. 364 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:06,720 And So what do we learn from this passage about their 365 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:08,800 partnership? The first thing we learn is this 366 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:12,280 partnership is for everyone. It's for everyone. 367 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,280 I think it's actually supposed to be the 1st century equivalent 368 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,160 of a joke. And you know, Paul, the Apostle 369 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:22,360 Paul isn't terribly funny, but I think this is his his attempt at 370 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:25,200 a joke. In verse 1, he says to all God's 371 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:29,880 holy people in the church at Philippi and the leaders, you 372 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,640 know, it's his best. Do you see? 373 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:35,240 It's like all the holy people and also the overseers and 374 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:36,400 deacons. That's quite funny. 375 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:38,880 But the point is he's written to everyone. 376 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,880 This is a a letter that's written to everyone in the 377 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:46,440 church and in fact, look at all the alls verse one to all God's 378 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,800 holy people. Verse 4 in all my prayers for 379 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:51,160 all of you. Verse 7. 380 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,800 It's right that I feel this way about all of you. 381 00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:57,480 Verse 8 God can testify how I long for all of you. 382 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:01,160 And in fact, in the Greek, I'm told I'm not massive on New 383 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:04,840 Testament Greek, but I'm told that it's even more obvious. 384 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:06,720 This is a letter that's written to everyone. 385 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,440 Everyone in the church in Philippi is given something. 386 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,920 And so he's writing to thank everyone in the church for being 387 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:18,120 so remarkably generous. It's actually one of the saddest 388 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:22,360 lies that we can believe in this whole area of generosity, that 389 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:26,040 somehow my contribution doesn't matter, right? 390 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:30,280 That, that, that I'm, I'm disqualified from this whole 391 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:33,200 concept of partnership because what I can bring is relatively 392 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:37,520 small, you know, so, so there'll be many people watching online 393 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,440 or, or in the room or in one of the sites who have just believed 394 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:44,400 actually, you know, my, this is a massive church. 395 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:47,000 You know, there are hundreds of thousands of pounds coming in 396 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,520 every year. My relatively small amount, it's 397 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:51,600 not going to make any difference. 398 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:55,160 And so therefore I won't bother. But actually it's not true. 399 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:58,600 You know, just imagine for a moment, and perhaps you're the 400 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:02,120 kind of person who loves a Starbucks or Acosta. 401 00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:06,360 And so every every week you might stop at the drive through 402 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:08,600 on the way to work or whatever several times in the week. 403 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:11,280 And then you start thinking about it and you think, do you 404 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:12,960 know what? I could actually go without 1. 405 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,760 And so maybe once a week on your way, you drive past the 406 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:23,600 Starbucks, drive through and you put that £3.50 into a little pot 407 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,160 and then you give that to the church, right? 408 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,760 So £3.50 a week, that soon adds up. 409 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,760 In fact, 52 weeks of that will be 182 lbs. 410 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,160 And then if you fill in your Gift Aid form, if you're a 411 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:39,640 taxpayer, then the Chancellor of the Exchequer writes a little to 412 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,200 check too. And so you're £3.50 a week 413 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:44,920 missing your Starbucks is 227 lbs. 414 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,280 That's going to pay for the alpha course in one of the sites 415 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:53,080 for a whole year. Now imagine just for a moment 416 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:55,640 that you don't give that. What are we going to do? 417 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:01,280 We either have to not do something else or we have to not 418 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:04,040 do that. Do you see? 419 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:08,120 Every single one of us could give something and Paul wants us 420 00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:11,280 to know that, that that. And actually to go beyond that 421 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,120 to say, well, that's just like knocking out a few luxuries out 422 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:16,040 of our lives. What have we really tried? 423 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:19,360 You know, what if we were really deliberate and intentional and 424 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:22,360 we sought to stretch ourselves and grow in the area of 425 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:24,600 generosity, Where could we be then? 426 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:28,280 What could we achieve together for the Kingdom of God if we all 427 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:31,480 really went for it? Partnership is for everyone. 428 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:34,080 The second thing is partnership is forward thinking. 429 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,840 I know that it might not appear like this, but I am the king of 430 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:44,400 procrastination. I am what you call energised by 431 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:46,160 the thrill of the last minute, right? 432 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:51,560 So, so I, I can put off literally anything till 433 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,320 tomorrow. You know, it's just a gift I 434 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:57,920 have. And, but the good thing is that 435 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:02,400 I married Tarin, who has never delayed anything in her life. 436 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:06,560 She, she is the least likely person I know to procrastinate 437 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:09,120 about anything. She never does something like 438 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:11,800 put something off till tomorrow if she could do it today. 439 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:15,040 And so I thank God for her. It's one of the amazing ways in 440 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:16,960 which she behaves like Yoda in my life. 441 00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:21,800 But when, when I was at school, I, I, I was so bad at putting 442 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,000 things off. I was the kind of person you, 443 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:29,600 you know, like you're coming up to exams and, you know, I'd, I'd 444 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:32,800 rearranged all the books on my bookshelf, I'd put all of my 445 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,000 compact discs, do you remember those, into alphabetical order? 446 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:39,720 I'd design my colour coded revision timetable. 447 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:42,240 You know, I was like just so bad. 448 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:45,320 And I remember my parents just pulling their hair out and just 449 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:49,200 so stressed out for me about how, you know, how close the 450 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,520 exams were becoming and how little work I'd done. 451 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:55,480 They actually wrote to the head teacher and I didn't know, but I 452 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:57,760 just got a call into the headmaster's office. 453 00:24:57,760 --> 00:24:59,720 I was like, Oh my goodness, what on earth is happening? 454 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,720 He was like, dude, oh, it might not have said dude, but it was 455 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,280 like, you've got to do something. 456 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:06,720 You've got to pull it. You've got like, you've got to 457 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:10,160 pull your finger out this. And I was like, he said, all 458 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,160 you're doing is just putting it off till tomorrow. 459 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:14,040 Every day you're putting it off till tomorrow. 460 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,040 And quick as a flash, I said, you always told us to think 461 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:21,240 ahead. He said the problem is you're 462 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,280 not thinking far enough ahead. You know, you're not thinking 463 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,480 until the day when you're sat in the exam and your head is 464 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,400 completely empty and you know nothing about anything. 465 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:31,840 And then that's going to be a problem. 466 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,720 And my point is, that's exactly what so many of us do in this 467 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:41,080 whole area of giving. We say I'll just get it sorted 468 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:47,360 out tomorrow. As a pastor, I've seen this for 469 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:49,360 years. The way it plays out, you, you 470 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:52,920 know that there's so many young people say, well, to be honest, 471 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,080 like I'm not earning very much at the moment so it doesn't 472 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:56,920 really matter. But when I get my first proper 473 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:58,840 job, then I'll really start to give. 474 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:01,600 And then they get their first proper job and they're like, 475 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:03,600 well, to be honest, now I'm saving up for a deposit for a 476 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:05,040 house. And so I can't really afford to 477 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:06,880 at the moment. And then it's like, well, we're 478 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:09,360 just having kids at the moment. It's really expensive season of 479 00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:11,080 life. And so we'll, we'll start really 480 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,120 giving after our kids are kind of, and it's like, do you have 481 00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:17,440 any idea how much children cost for like the whole of your life? 482 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:20,160 And but you know, it's like we put it off, we put it off, we 483 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:21,840 put it off. But the problem is we're not 484 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:24,720 putting it far enough ahead. We're not thinking about the day 485 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:30,600 when we stand in front of Jesus and he says, so just give an 486 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:34,600 account for what you did with what I put into your hands. 487 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:43,200 And we're like, Oh yeah, the apostle Paul is he always has 488 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:46,280 his eye on, I'm going to meet Jesus one day. 489 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:50,840 You see it there in verse 6, the day of Christ Jesus, verse 9. 490 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,440 I'm praying that you'll be able to discern what's best for the 491 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:57,720 day of Christ Jesus. He's like, I know that I'm going 492 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,080 to meet Jesus one day and I'm going to have to give an account 493 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:08,320 for everything. Consumers are people who allow 494 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:11,520 thousands of pounds over the course of their lifetimes to go 495 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,760 through their fingers, and then in eternity they have nothing to 496 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:20,160 show for it. Partners are people who invest 497 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:24,000 their money in things that have an eternal impact. 498 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,800 Did you see the difference? So we've got to think ahead. 499 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,600 I'm going to meet Jesus and I want to show what I've done with 500 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,040 what he's entrusted to me. I want to be able to say Jesus, 501 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:41,760 look at all the impact around around me right now in eternity. 502 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:46,640 Third one, partnership is a source of amazing joy. 503 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:51,880 Do you know, it's really ironic, isn't it, that this epistle 504 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:56,120 that's written from prison is known as the Epistle of Joy? 505 00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:02,160 Did you know that 16 times in the letter to the Philippians, 506 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:06,440 Paul talks about the joy that he's experiencing whilst he's in 507 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:10,000 prison? And do you know what the source 508 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:15,000 of his joy is? He actually says in verse 4, I 509 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:19,360 always pray with joy because of your partnership. 510 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,120 So the reason why he's filled with joy in that prison cell is 511 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:27,920 because he's experienced their radical, extreme, remarkable 512 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:31,200 generosity. Now you might think, well, of 513 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:34,800 course he's experiencing joy like he's on the receiving end 514 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:38,520 of other people's generosity. Those poor Philippians, you 515 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,400 know, they've given actually it says in Two Corinthians, it says 516 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:44,680 that they gave even beyond their ability to give, right? 517 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:47,400 So, so they've like emptied their piggy banks. 518 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:50,680 They're not experiencing joy. They're experiencing doom. 519 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:53,320 You know, like, Oh my goodness, how are we going to pay for the 520 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:54,960 bills or whatever they're experiencing? 521 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:59,040 Like, what were we thinking? But actually, that's not true 522 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:03,240 either. 2 Corinthians 8, verse 2, Paul describes their hearts 523 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:06,440 as being people of overflowing joy. 524 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:09,720 And so it's really like a fountain of joy. 525 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:12,840 The Philippians give, they're experiencing real joy. 526 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,760 And actually many people in this room would have experienced 527 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:17,640 that, right? You've given something and 528 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,040 you're like, I love doing this. This has brought me so much. 529 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,920 This has been so fun. And then the people on the 530 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,520 receiving end are like, wow, I'm so filled with joy. 531 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:33,680 Thank you so much. In our culture today, people 532 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:35,880 believe that the way that they're experienced, they're 533 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,400 going to experience joy is by going to the shopping center and 534 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:41,800 hammering their credit card, right? 535 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,800 I'm going to get give myself a dopamine hit by going to the 536 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:48,680 Harlequin and I'm just going to treat myself to a few things and 537 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:50,560 I'm going to feel slightly better about my life. 538 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:58,440 That's a that's a folly. It's stupid because these 539 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,280 Philippians are experiencing something different and, and 540 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:05,640 actually what what we know is if you just think for a moment 541 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,360 about the most generous person that you can think of that you 542 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:14,000 know right now, I would place a bet if I was a betting person 543 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,920 that they're also the most joyful, the most joyful person 544 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:22,600 you know, or flip it round, just think about the most joyful 545 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,000 person you know. Aren't they very nearly the most 546 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:30,560 generous person you know too? Generosity is a source of 547 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,160 amazing joy is what Paul's telling us. 548 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,480 And then the last thing is partnership is for massive 549 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:40,560 global impact. In verse 7, there's just this 550 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,840 amazing kind of little hint at all of the crazy things Paul's 551 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,600 done to communicate the gospel to as many people as possible 552 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:51,000 and plant as many churches as possible, where he says whether 553 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:55,480 I'm in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of 554 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,440 you sharing God's grace with me. So it's like I've, I'm just 555 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:03,200 doing whatever I can. And it must have been absolutely 556 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,960 mind blowing for those Philippians right there. 557 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:09,120 There they are. Many of them would never leave 558 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:12,560 Macedonia, the Roman province of Macedonia in their lives. 559 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:16,480 But somehow their money is travelling all over the known 560 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,800 world and wherever it goes, it's bearing fruit, You know, all 561 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:21,960 these. So they, they, they must have 562 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:25,120 just thought, Oh my goodness, this is a total no brainer. 563 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,560 We just give all of our money to Paul and then he goes off and he 564 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:33,160 does all these amazing things. Thank goodness we went without 565 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:36,600 that extra latte with an extra shot or whatever it is. 566 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:38,480 You know, it's like, it was worth it, wasn't it? 567 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:43,880 And if, if truth be told, this is like, there are lots of 568 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:48,880 reasons, but this is really the main reason why Taron and I have 569 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:53,760 been on a journey personally of trying to grow in this area of 570 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,720 generosity and stewardship. And it, and it's why we've 571 00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:01,560 chosen to be people who give as much as we possibly can to the 572 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:05,920 ministry of our local church, you know, and, and you know, in 573 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:07,960 Scotland, that was in Scotland. And now it's here. 574 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:13,240 It's here often stretching ourselves, often choosing to go 575 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,880 without because we are deeply committed to this whole concept 576 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,360 of generosity and because it's amazing what our money has 577 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:24,560 achieved for the Kingdom of God. You know, we've only been in 578 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:28,440 this church for like just short of three months, but I'll tell 579 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:32,840 you, it's a great church and it's amazing what our money does 580 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:35,000 together. You know, on a Friday night, 581 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,480 this place is pumping full of teenagers. 582 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:42,360 Many of them don't know Jesus. They're pursuing God. 583 00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:45,880 They're kind of seeking God. Many of them not from Christian 584 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:50,640 homes or whatever, but our money is making this space possible. 585 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:56,520 Every Monday, this building is full of people who are like in 586 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:00,120 various kinds of need or, or struggling to put food on the 587 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:04,720 table or whatever. And our money makes it possible 588 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:06,760 for those people to go away with food. 589 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,280 And also through the bridge programme, they're able to kind 590 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:12,120 of figure out, OK, what are my next steps? 591 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:16,000 How do I start to grow in what I have And, and, you know, maybe 592 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:17,600 find a job and these kinds of things. 593 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:19,880 How, how am I going to fix this solution for myself? 594 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:23,080 Enormous kindness, compassion, dignity. 595 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:25,480 And our money is making that possible. 596 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,040 You know, again, for lots of families, they're like, OK, this 597 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,080 is really cool. I send my kids to school and 598 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:33,040 they get fed at school. But what happens in the school 599 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:35,840 holidays? Well, good news everyone. 600 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:38,920 Our money does the refuel thing, which means that during the 601 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,600 school holidays they can come here and be fed. 602 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:45,720 Your money provides kids clothes and equipment for families who 603 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,480 really need it through the KIT programme, Kit Ministry and also 604 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:51,360 through storehouse in Hemel Hempstead. 605 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:55,520 Even in the last few weeks they've been a number of people 606 00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:58,240 in our church family who've lost loved ones, they've been 607 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:02,440 bereaved. What a beautiful thing that we 608 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,960 can pull our resources to enable the the kind of compassion and 609 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:11,080 and support for those families so beautifully. 610 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:16,480 Your money takes the Gospel to thousands of schoolchildren 611 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:19,840 every year through STEP, our partnership with STEP, it 612 00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:22,600 ministers to people who have been trafficked for sex through 613 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:24,840 Azalea. It's translating the Bible in 614 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:32,960 the Himalayas emotional, it's helping train pastors and church 615 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:35,840 planters in Sri Lanka is supporting the persecuted church 616 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:38,120 through open doors. It's working to end modern day 617 00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:40,719 slavery through our partnership with IJM. 618 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:43,639 And I could go on and on and on. Do you see like it's a, it's a 619 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:48,560 good decision to give money to Verso Vineyard because it's 620 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,000 literally changing people's lives all over the world. 621 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,800 That's why Taryn and I have chosen to give our money here. 622 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:00,720 And so I just want to encourage you like if this is your place 623 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:06,240 and if these are your people or your people through the camera, 624 00:35:06,240 --> 00:35:09,800 the guys in the Hemel Hatfield are online and you've kind of 625 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:12,560 counted yourself in and you said this actually is going to be my 626 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:14,600 church. Can I just encourage you to 627 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:17,880 really pray about this whole thing and to decide to what 628 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:21,160 level is God calling you to partner with us? 629 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:25,760 You know, there may well be people in this room right now 630 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:30,560 who are not currently giving to versa Vineyard and, and maybe 631 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:33,360 you feel challenged to do so. I'd, I'd just love to encourage 632 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,000 you to, to go away and pray about it. 633 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:37,360 You know, actually what I realised during the worship was 634 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:41,240 that this is for many of us, like the week we get paid. 635 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:46,560 So, so can I just encourage you like don't wait until then, 636 00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:50,800 decide before the money hits the bank account what you're going 637 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:56,840 to do, maybe even today, just go home, ask the Lord if you're not 638 00:35:56,840 --> 00:35:59,840 currently giving or our accountant told me this week 639 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,040 that loads and loads of people in this church have not reviewed 640 00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:06,520 their giving or kind of changed their giving for years. 641 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:09,280 Again, if that's you and this is your church, can I just 642 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:11,120 encourage you? That would be a great thing to 643 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:15,080 pray about this week. Or maybe the Lord's blessed you 644 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:17,440 with a bonus or an inheritance or whatever it is. 645 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:20,040 You're like, Lord, I'm just going to bring that before you. 646 00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:23,480 I feel challenged in this area and I want to grow in my in my 647 00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:26,320 discipleship in this area. And so I'm going to going to ask 648 00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:29,680 you and then I, as I said a number of weeks ago, all we're 649 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:32,960 asking is whatever the Lord tells you to do, do it. 650 00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:37,360 Just walk in obedience to whatever God is asking you to 651 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:40,040 do. Honestly, I believe that that 652 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:47,080 there are many more things that we could do together if we 653 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:50,520 partnered with one another to a whole fresh degree. 654 00:36:51,240 --> 00:36:52,480 OK, why don't we stand?