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This is indeed the last in the 
course series and we started 

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this back in September and we're
going to finish this off. 

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I was like, I am going to finish
this off this year. 

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And so we're going to do 3 
hallmarks in one. 

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We'll come to that in a moment, 
but next week we have a special 

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Christmas service and we have 
both the Saint Albans site and 

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the Hatfield site together here.
And AJ and Jenner and the team 

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are going to be leading that and
I'd really encourage you to come

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along. 
It's going to be a wonderful 

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time as we celebrate this 
Christmas season together. 

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And so Verso St. 
Albans and Verso Hatfield will 

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be here together and of course 
Verso the Mount will be meeting 

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where they are at the mount and 
yeah, do come along to that. 

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It's going to be very exciting. 
As I mentioned last week, we 

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start Alpha in January across 
all three of our sites and at 

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Verso St. 
Albans we start I believe it's 

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January the 15th, but we are 
building up team as we speak. 

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So if you would like to serve on
Alpha then you should be signing

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up Andrew and Joanne Mills, the 
wonderful Andrew and Joanne 

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Mills are going to be here in 
between the services. 

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They're coming to the 11:30, but
you'll find them by the 

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doughnuts and if you would like 
a doughnut then you have to sign

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up for Alpha. 
That's the new rule. 

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I'm just saying why not? 
But no, Alpha is an amazing 10 

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week course and we're 
specifically looking for anybody

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as well who is a, what is it 
Level 3 cooking certificate 

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thing for the kitchen team. 
So if you like being in the 

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kitchen and if you are able to 
do that, why don't you to say, 

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hey I'm around, I'd love to to 
serve so and do do that. 

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Alpha is a fantastic, a 
fantastic course. 

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Really excited that we get to 
run this across all three of our

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sites in January. 
OK, well, let's kick off with 

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the finale of the call. 
And we have been looking at the 

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call of the disciples and 
specifically looking at the 

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story in Luke chapter 51 to 11 
where Jesus calls Simon Peter 

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into the boat. 
And as way of a mini overview, 

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in case you missed any of this, 
there's three calls within that 

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story. 
The call to be with Jesus first 

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because we're called to someone 
before something. 

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The call to walk with Jesus, 
that's to be in the boat, and 

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that's than the call to fulfill 
the Great Commission. 

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So those are really the three 
calls we've been unpacking. 

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And as it relates to the Great 
Commission, which is we have all

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been called to make disciples of
every nation baptized in the 

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name of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, that is something that 

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we are all called to do. 
And what I loved about Claire, 

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who spoke a few weeks ago, a 
couple of weeks ago, she 

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unpacked some different language
for us, essentially saying the 

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same thing, which is we're 
called to Christ. 

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And from that place he then 
commissions us to do the stuff. 

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And I really like that way of 
thinking about it, which is that

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our our stuff comes out of our 
relationship with Jesus. 

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And often times we we get so 
busy into doing the stuff, it 

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gets higgledy, piggledy, and the
other way round. 

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And for some of us, we think 
that we earn his love by doing 

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stuff for him. 
And all of a sudden we we start 

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manufacturing works when Jesus 
calls us to bear fruit. 

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And they're very different 
things. 

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So we've been looking at within 
this story there I said there 

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are 10 hallmarks of the call to 
fulfil the Great Commission. 

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And as way of a recap, let's 
look at the seven that we got up

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to. 
They're on the screen. 

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If you can see that God calls us
at the point where we feel weak 

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and tired that we see that in 
this story #2, it will require 

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us to go deeper than we did 
before. 

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You know Jesus says to Simon 
Peter, go out into the deep #3 

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It doesn't always seem to make 
sense to us when Jesus asked 

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Simon Peter to put the Nets out 
in the day and he said, but hold

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on a minute, We fish at night, 
we're professional fishermen, 

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and how often is it true in our 
lives that God calls us to 

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something that in the natural 
doesn't seem to make sense #4? 

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It requires obedience to His 
word. 

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We get to this nevertheless 
Moment. 

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Simon said. 
Well, listen, even though I'm a 

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professional fisherman, 
nevertheless I'll do what you 

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say and that nevertheless that 
obedience to His word is a 

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doorway into his blessings. 
Where we see #5 there is 

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blessing in the call. 
We saw that the amount of fish 

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they caught, number six, the 
call comes with others that he 

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wasn't called to do it on his 
own. 

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And #7 he reveals himself to us 
and we respond in worship to 

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him. 
There was this revelation that 

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Simon Peter had that this was 
Jesus and he got on his knees 

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and says get away from me. 
I'm an unholy guy, says do not 

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be afraid. 
Stand. 

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And so last week, Eduardo, our 
worship pastor, and myself, we 

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unpacked what it looks like in 
our lives to worship God. 

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And so for those of you who are 
good at maths, that leaves us 

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three to get through today. 
So lock the doors. 

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We're not leaving here until we 
get through these. 

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So I think an hour a call mark 
will be fine. 

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I'm just kidding. 
Why don't we look at Hallmark 

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#8? 
And in order to do so, let's 

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look at verse 9 together of our 
story that we've been diving 

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into and we read in verse eight.
Would help if I got the right 

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chapter. 
There we go, right? 

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But when Simon Peter saw it, 
this was the amount of fish he 

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fell down at Jesus knees. 
And this is where we're catching

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up from last week, saying depart
from me. 

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For I'm a sinful man, O Lord, 
for he and all who were with him

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were astonished at the catch of 
fish they had taken, for he and 

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all who were with him were 
astonished. 

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And this brings us to Hallmark 
#8, which is simply this it's 

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purpose. 
The course purpose is to lead 

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others, to bring glory to God. 
Now this might sound a bit like,

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well, obviously Mark, but let's 
just think about this. 

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You see, the Great Commission is
not about making us look great. 

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Look what I did for so and so 
look how I showed hospitality. 

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Look how I was able to bless 
people with this, that and the 

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other. 
I expect applaud applauds. 

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Applauds, Is that a word? 
I don't know, Who knows? 

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You see, the the moment here is 
that Simon Peter's friends 

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didn't say, wow, Simon, you're 
an amazing fisherman. 

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We've never been able to catch 
fish during the day. 

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But here you are and you've 
caught all this fish. 

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This is not what happened in the
story. 

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You see the signs and the 
wonders are signs pointing to 

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Jesus and wonders about him. 
This wasn't about Simon Peter. 

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You see, Simon Peter was the one
that threw their net over, but 

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the glory was given to Jesus 
Christ. 

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And you see, this hallmark is 
really important because I think

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it scratches at something in our
humanity, our fallen nature, 

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where we really expect the glory
to come to us, if we're really 

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honest. 
Now I know this is a safe place,

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so I'll be honest with you guys.
There are moments I'm like, 

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well, hold on, They should say 
thank you, like they should 

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realise what I've done, you 
know, like I expect some, some 

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more gratitude, some more this 
than the other. 

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I know none of you are like 
that. 

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Obviously you're all very holy 
people. 

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But you see in this moment, 
Simon Peter didn't say, well, 

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hold on a minute guys, I threw 
the net over. 

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He was on his knees with the 
others in astonishment. 

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And you see the point of the 
call. 

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When we fulfil the Great 
Commission, When we go, when we 

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preach Christ in Word and deed, 
when we go and love on somebody 

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with a meal, when we go and 
check on our neighbours and see 

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if they're OK and we pray for 
them. 

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When we lead someone to Christ, 
when we do all of these things, 

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when we pray for someone who's 
sick, our heart should be that 

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they say, wow, isn't Jesus 
amazing? 

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Because, you see, the point of 
the call is it's all about 

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Jesus. 
It's not actually about us. 

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And I know that offends us, 
really. 

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You know, John Wimber, the 
founder of The Vineyard, used to

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say that God offends the mind to
reveal the heart. 

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It's a good phrase. 
We hear something. 

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Oh, I don't know if I like that.
Well, let's just have a look at 

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where your heart's at with that,
then, shall we? 

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What do you mean it's not about 
me? 

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Oh, you mean I need to work on 
humility? 

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Why hashtag? 
You can't work on humility. 

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You just get on your knees and 
you'll worship Christ. 

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You work on humility. 
It's called false humility. 

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And it's just a piece of pride, 
really. 

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And so the point is this. 
On Hallmark #8. 

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And I'm, I'm only going to touch
on this briefly now and move on 

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because we've got two others. 
Is this when you do something, 

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pray, Lord, I just asked that in
this moment you would reveal 

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yourself to them and they would 
be astonished at what you've 

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done through me. 
That should be our prayer. 

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And that's your list of prayers 
as you go and fulfill the Great 

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Commission, because that is 
Hallmark #8. 

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And we're going to move on to 
#9. 

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And it is this. 
We move on in the story. 

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Isn't it amazing? 
In this very short story, all 

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these hallmarks exist. 
God's word is just so amazing. 

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You know, what's his name? 
Very famous. 

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Preacher and pastor. 
I've had a blank. 

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Nevermind. 
He said this. 

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Soak in the word. 
Soak in the word. 

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I've said this before. 
He said soak in the word. 

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You know, often we're so used to
just skimming through it or read

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in and go, OK, the more you 
soak. 

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We've been soaking in this word 
for three months and God has 

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revealed so much truth. 
And there's been a thread that 

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has weaved itself through this 
story and weaves itself 

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throughout the rest of Scripture
as well as we poured in other 

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parts of the of the Word. 
And so as we as we soak in His 

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scripture, I want to just give 
you this tip. 

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Get one verse or two verses or a
section and say I'm going to 

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just soak in this for one week. 
Don't, don't move on. 

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I know we have daily readings 
and they're good and I don't 

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need to stop doing that. 
If you do that, in addition to 

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that, why don't you just pick a 
segment of Scripture and say 

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right, I'm going to soak in this
for one week, see what God does.

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Ask the question, what have you 
got in this for me, Lord? 

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And there's another story of a 
of a professor when he was 

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teaching his students theology. 
And he would say, right, I need 

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to sit down and in silence we're
going to spend an hour. 

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And I want you to come up with, 
you know, three things that you 

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can find from this scripture. 
And after about, you know, 5-10 

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minutes and after the hour, I 
said right now I want you to do 

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another hour and I want you to 
come up with 10 and 50. 

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And the point he was trying to 
teach his students was that the 

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more you soak in his word, the 
more that God reveals himself in

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that word. 
We're so used to snacking on 

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content. 
You see, social media is 

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rewiring our brains to only be 
able to scroll. 

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Snack, scroll snack, scroll, 
scroll, snack. 

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And scientists will tell you 
that it's actually rewiring our 

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brains. 
And we have a whole generation 

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coming up who have an inability 
to focus on something for a long

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period of time. 
Listen, technology is neutral, 

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but the devil knows how to use 
it for his own purposes. 

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We've got to be wise and stop 
snacking and get down into the 

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word and the meat of the Lord's 
word here in the Bible. 

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Anyway, that wasn't in my notes.
You get that one for free. 

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So bless you. 
Right. 

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Where were we? 
Hallmark #9. 

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OK, Luke, chapter 5, verse four.
And when he had finished 

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speaking, he said to Simon, put 
out into the deep and let down 

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your net for a catch. 
OK, we've gone backwards 

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slightly here in the story and 
this is really you could you 

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00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:07,120
could read this and and and miss
this. 

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He says put out into the deep 
and let down. 

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Listen to this. 
Your Nets for a catch. 

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Let down your Nets for a catch. 
Jesus didn't say, hey, I've got 

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this shiny new net for you. 
He didn't say, here's some 

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money, go buy a new net. 
He said let down your net. 

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Why? 
Because Hallmark #9 is this. 

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He calls us to use the gifts he 
has already given us. 

223
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I love this. 
Jesus didn't say your net was 

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just faulty. 
You've got a really bad net. 

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No, no, no, no. 
Use your net. 

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00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:46,240
I've given you that net for a 
reason. 

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00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:48,920
Let me ask you a question. 
What net has God-given you? 

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What metaphorical gifting do you
have that you've said? 

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00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:56,200
Well, that's not good enough for
that net because it's only made 

230
00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,880
for fishing at night. 
And I've looked at that. 

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I said that in those days they 
they fished at night because 

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they didn't have modern day 
nylon. 

233
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They used linen and the the fish
would see the linen during the 

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day. 
That's why they did that. 

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And so Jesus is saying use the 
existing net that I'd given you 

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00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:17,720
in this new context. 
And for some of us, what we say 

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is, well, my net isn't good 
enough for this point here. 

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Lord, the gifts you've given me.
I wish I had their net. 

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00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:28,600
Their net is made of nylon. 
You're asking me to do this, 

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00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:30,440
that and the other. 
Why didn't you ask them? 

241
00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,160
There's a great scripture in one
Peter 410. 

242
00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,880
Let's look at this together. 
And it says each of you has 

243
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received a gift to use to serve 
others. 

244
00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:47,800
Be good servants Of God's 
various gifts of grace. 

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00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:54,600
Another word is graceless. 
You know gifts of grace, Gifts 

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00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:57,360
to empower each of us to serve 
others. 

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00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:02,000
God's grace, I've said this 
before, doesn't cover up bad 

248
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:03,280
living. 
That's how we normally use 

249
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:05,400
grace. 
Well, God's grace is sufficient 

250
00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:06,640
for you. 
You go on sinning. 

251
00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:09,560
It's fine. 
God's grace is enough. 

252
00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:14,000
God's grace isn't there to carry
to cover over bad living. 

253
00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,560
God's grace is there to empower 
right living. 

254
00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:21,160
When Paul said you're, you know,
Lord. 

255
00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:24,520
The Lord had said to Paul, my 
grace is sufficient for you. 

256
00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:28,080
What he was saying is, is that 
my empowerment for you is 

257
00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:31,640
sufficient to walk through your 
trials and troubles and fulfil 

258
00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:33,160
the core that I've laid on your 
life. 

259
00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:36,800
That's what we talk about when 
we talk about God's grace. 

260
00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,680
It is that he gives us that 
which we do not deserve, and 

261
00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:42,920
mercy is holding back that which
we do. 

262
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:49,800
I'll say that again, God's mercy
is holding back from us what we 

263
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,880
deserve. 
And God's grace has given us 

264
00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:58,680
that which we don't deserve. 
And so you have been given gifts

265
00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:02,760
of grace in its various forms. 
And we looked at this a few 

266
00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,320
weeks ago when we looked at one 
of the hallmarks that we've all 

267
00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:08,360
been created uniquely and 
differently to fulfil a unique 

268
00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,560
purpose, that we should swim in 
our own lane. 

269
00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:13,400
Don't look at your neighbour 
next to you and say, oh man, I 

270
00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:15,520
wish I was like them, that gifts
are amazing. 

271
00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:19,480
Ask yourself this question this 
morning. 

272
00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:27,120
What net do you have now? 
For some of you, it's a gift of 

273
00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,880
hospitality. 
For some of you, it's you can 

274
00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:31,720
do. 
You have a spirit of 

275
00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:34,280
discernment. 
You just, you know, you hear 

276
00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:36,760
people and you can see beyond 
the flesh, so to speak. 

277
00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:38,640
You can see what's going on in 
the spirit. 

278
00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,080
For some of you, it's wisdom. 
God's given you this. 

279
00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:44,440
You just seem to. 
In these moments, God gives you 

280
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:46,880
this, this wisdom to be able to 
help people. 

281
00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:51,040
Maybe it's a gift of empathy, 
like you're really empathetic 

282
00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:54,760
towards people. 
Maybe it's a gift of of, of of 

283
00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:57,720
being an intercessory prayer. 
Maybe you you get on your 

284
00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,040
whatever that gift is, what is 
your gift? 

285
00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:01,600
That? 
Maybe it's administration. 

286
00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:06,240
What is the gift that God has 
given you? 

287
00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,800
And I think for some of you, 
it's like the net has been 

288
00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,600
bundled up in the corner of the 
boat and you look at it with 

289
00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,600
almost disdain and say, well, I 
can't use that net. 

290
00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,840
I tried once and I caught 
nothing. 

291
00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,600
This appointment can often stop 
us from responding to the call 

292
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:28,640
because what we really want from
Jesus, if we're honest, is a new

293
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,040
net. 
If we're really honest, we don't

294
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,240
even like the net God's given us
because we don't think it's fit 

295
00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,120
for purpose. 
It's made of linen, Lord. 

296
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:39,920
And you want me to fish in 
during the day? 

297
00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:46,960
I don't think so. 
What net has Jesus given you and

298
00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:52,840
what Nets is God asking you to 
pick up and throw out for his 

299
00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:55,440
glory? 
We're going to have a time of 

300
00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:59,360
ministry later and and I'm going
to really be praying God would 

301
00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:00,680
be open. 
I think for some of your eyes 

302
00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,720
are already open and the Holy 
Spirit is is opening your eyes 

303
00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:05,400
to what those Nets are in your 
life. 

304
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:12,800
What about that little boy in 
the scriptures You know we've 

305
00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:14,480
got the five feeding of the 
5000. 

306
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,960
Talk about feeling of 
inadequacy. 

307
00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,760
Jesus said to the disciples, hey
we got to feed these people and 

308
00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,040
the sub was like, well, there's 
no shops open at the moment. 

309
00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,720
There's no shops anyway. 
What are we going to do? 

310
00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,240
Well then there's boy, I've got 
some loads and fishes. 

311
00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:34,520
Excuse me, have you seen how 
many people there are? 

312
00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:39,320
You think these poultry, small 
amount of loads of fishes, are 

313
00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:43,960
going to do the job. 
But you see, what happened was 

314
00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:49,440
there was an act of faith, an 
offering of what was in his hand

315
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,120
and what did God do? 
He took that and multiplied it. 

316
00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:55,400
Not only did he multiply it, 
there was leftovers, 12 

317
00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:01,040
sackfuls. 
And so we look at our net and 

318
00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:03,680
say it's not adequate. 
We look at the smallness in our 

319
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:05,920
hands. 
See, God's not looking for your 

320
00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:07,320
capability. 
He's looking for your 

321
00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:12,440
availability. 
He's not looking for you to come

322
00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:15,160
up with the resources. 
He's looking for you to offer 

323
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,160
what you have in your hand, and 
he'll just magnify it and he'll 

324
00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:22,320
multiply it for his glory. 
Why were they astonished? 

325
00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:24,360
Because Jesus did something 
extraordinary. 

326
00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:28,160
They caught fish during the day.
Have you ever figured that maybe

327
00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,040
God wants to take your net that 
you might not think is adequate 

328
00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,160
and do something supernatural so
that people will say that's 

329
00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:43,480
amazing, but that goes back to 
Hallmark number 87, which is 8. 

330
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:54,280
I don't know. 
His purpose is lead to others to

331
00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,840
bring glory to him. 
If that's our mindset. 

332
00:18:57,840 --> 00:18:59,160
You see, I want to be a fool for
Christ. 

333
00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:01,000
I'll give it a go. 
I don't care if I fall fat on my

334
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:01,680
face. 
It's fine. 

335
00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,960
But listen, if your goals are 
not big enough, so big that if 

336
00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,200
Jesus doesn't turn up, you'll 
fall flat on your face. 

337
00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:09,360
Face. 
Then what kind of goals have you

338
00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:15,750
got? 
Where are we? 

339
00:19:16,910 --> 00:19:18,390
Someone tell me which Hallmark 
we're up to. 

340
00:19:19,670 --> 00:19:20,430
Thank you. 
Right. 

341
00:19:20,430 --> 00:19:22,750
Good. 
OK, that brings us to Hallmark 

342
00:19:22,750 --> 00:19:25,430
number. 
Hey, we're ten. 

343
00:19:26,070 --> 00:19:33,120
Oh, thank you, Jesus. 
All right, here we go. 

344
00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:36,600
John, chapter 5. 
It's verse 10 to 11. 

345
00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,000
And Jesus said to Simon, do not 
be afraid. 

346
00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,880
From now on you will be catching
men. 

347
00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:49,120
And when they had brought their 
boats to land, they left 

348
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:54,880
everything and followed him. 
You're not going to be surprised

349
00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,040
by this, but it is this all Mark
#10. 

350
00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:03,120
Sometimes we'll have to leave it
all, sometimes we will have to 

351
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:08,960
leave it all. 
You know the writer to Hebrews 

352
00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,040
has said in chapter 13. 
Well, he didn't say in chapter 

353
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:13,560
13. 
They made it chapter 13 after 

354
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:15,600
he'd written it. 
But you get my point. 

355
00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,760
Hebrews 1316 says do not neglect
to do good and to share what you

356
00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:23,920
have, for such sacrifices are 
pleasing to God. 

357
00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:31,200
I know in my own life in Steph 
and and and my life and our 

358
00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:34,680
family, there have been seasons 
where God has called us to leave

359
00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,200
everything. 
I've talked to before about 

360
00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:41,040
dangerous prayers, prayers to 
pray that are very dangerous. 

361
00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:43,520
One of them is like, Lord, do 
with me what you will. 

362
00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,080
Take me anywhere. 
I'll do anything. 

363
00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:47,400
Don't pray that if you don't 
mean it. 

364
00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:50,280
Steph and I prayed that, and we 
meant it. 

365
00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:53,240
After we got married and within 
a short space of time he sent us

366
00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:57,520
off to Australia and we left 
everything, family and and all 

367
00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:02,080
those things. 
And we just heard that call and 

368
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:05,880
it was a bit scary. 
But by the grace of God, he, he 

369
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:10,400
made it easy for us to do so. 
And then many times where I left

370
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,840
companies and started other 
ones, there's there's been a 

371
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:16,480
sense of leaving something. 
And even most recently next year

372
00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,480
is my sixth year as a senior 
pastor of this church and what a

373
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:24,960
privilege it is to be so. 
But that call came to leave the 

374
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,480
previous company I founded and I
left that behind. 

375
00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,400
And we left that world and came 
into this world. 

376
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,920
And for some of you here, you 
know that God is calling you to 

377
00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:44,360
leave something. 
For some of you here, you know 

378
00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:45,960
God is calling you to leave your
job. 

379
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:48,200
You're just too fearful to make 
that step. 

380
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,440
And I don't want to make the 
light of of that process. 

381
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:54,240
I'm not saying it should be 
easy. 

382
00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:57,080
I'm not saying that. 
What I'm saying is, is that in 

383
00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:01,120
that place of seeming difficulty
that's when God shows up, when 

384
00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:05,600
we walk in faith, not by sight. 
For some of you, I believe that 

385
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:07,960
God has called you to the 
nations in this place. 

386
00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:10,280
And God has said, I need you to 
leave this country. 

387
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:11,560
I've got something lined up for 
you. 

388
00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,320
But you're just there is 
something I can't do that Lord 

389
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:18,440
and God is patiently just 
waiting for you to say yes to 

390
00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:22,880
that call. 
I as I was researching as a 

391
00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:27,760
studying for for this talk, I 
came across a remarkable lady 

392
00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:30,960
called Karen Watson who was a 
missionary. 

393
00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:36,000
Let me just read this to you. 
In 2003, there was a lady called

394
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,640
Karen Watson who lived in 
California and she left her job.

395
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,920
She was working in the Prison 
service and joined the Southern 

396
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:47,400
Baptist International Mission 
Board as a Humanitarian Aid 

397
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,520
Coordinator in Iraq. 
Now, as the United States and 

398
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:56,400
Iraq edged into war, she worked 
in refugee camps in Jordan and 

399
00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:02,200
Kuwait, living out of a 
suitcase, never having a 

400
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:06,560
permanent home. 
When the war wound down, she 

401
00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:11,000
moved into Iraq, coordinating 
efforts to distribute 3,000,000 

402
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:16,040
lbs of food, set up water 
purification systems and and 

403
00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,160
helping the Iraqi people build 
their lives again. 

404
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:25,640
One year later, after she 
started on March the 15th, 2004,

405
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:29,360
while investigating sites for 
future humanitarian relief 

406
00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:32,560
efforts with four other aid 
workers, she and three of her 

407
00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:37,360
colleagues died from a rocket 
propelled grenade and gunfire 

408
00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:39,600
attack while driving through the
city of Mosul. 

409
00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:49,720
She had one year, but she left 
everything and before she died, 

410
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,680
this is what she wrote. 
She wrote this about the 

411
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,920
missionary heart. 
The missionary heart, she says, 

412
00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:01,720
is to care more than some think 
is wise, risk more than some 

413
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:09,160
think is safe, dream more than 
some think is practical, expect 

414
00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:12,760
more than some think is 
possible. 

415
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:19,520
I was called not to comfort or 
success, but to obedience. 

416
00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,920
There is no joy outside of 
knowing Jesus and serving him. 

417
00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,880
Wow. 
I think as we end this series, 

418
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:35,400
this is rather the perfect quote
to end on. 

419
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,720
Because when I read this and I 
heard about her story and the 

420
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:44,520
sacrifice she made, it struck me
to say, what am I really living 

421
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:48,320
for? 
Am I living for the Great 

422
00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:53,240
Commission? 
Am I living to make Jesus known 

423
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:56,680
and make him famous, or am I 
living here for comfort? 

424
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:03,400
We've been singing about joy, 
and it strikes me that she said 

425
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:05,120
there is no joy outside of 
knowing Jesus. 

426
00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:10,840
That's what we've been saying, 
but also this and serving him. 

427
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,280
I suspect that and that we can 
know by the scriptures. 

428
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:20,440
But it was difficult journey for
the disciples as they 

429
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:23,600
transitioned from fishing, from 
men, from fish. 

430
00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:28,200
Sorry to men, but I think it's 
safe to say they experienced 

431
00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:32,840
more joy as they served Jesus 
and gave up everything for him 

432
00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:35,640
than they ever did before 
serving themselves and their 

433
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:40,440
comfort friends. 
As we arrive at the end of this 

434
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,880
series, I want to I want to end 
where I started. 

435
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,680
When I started this, I said the 
Lord had given me a picture and 

436
00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:55,040
pressed upon me the the need for
us to think about moving away 

437
00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,160
from the splash park and into 
the deep. 

438
00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:04,160
That the challenge for us in our
Western culture is that we're so

439
00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:09,200
used to the splash park 
apparatus of fun and the 

440
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:13,360
sprinkles that we get. 
But rather than say right now, I

441
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:17,680
need to move on from that into 
the deep, we ask Jesus for more 

442
00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:21,200
apparatus for the splash park. 
Are you hearing me? 

443
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,440
But you see, if you're saying to
me, Mark, but I'm a follower of 

444
00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:27,480
Jesus, then I'm going to have to
say this to you. 

445
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:30,320
Then you're a follower of Jesus 
into the deep. 

446
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,920
You see, discipleship isn't 
about saying yes to Jesus and 

447
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:40,200
then getting a ticket to heaven.
Discipleship is about saying yes

448
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:44,360
to Jesus receiving the passport 
that he gives you to access all 

449
00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:48,320
areas in his Kingdom and walking
it throughout now before we get 

450
00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:52,440
to him. 
But that takes a decision to go 

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00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,640
into the deep. 
That takes a decision to move 

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00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,920
away from the metaphorical 
splash park and dive into the 

453
00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:03,680
ocean of faith. 
Because friends, there is joy in

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00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:06,960
them. 
There is joy in that place. 

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00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:09,280
There is astonishment of what 
Jesus will do. 

456
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:15,400
And as a body of believers here 
at Versa Vineyard Church as we 

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00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:18,520
embark on our next chapter next 
year. 

458
00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:23,640
Next year represents a deep 
ocean of opportunity to make 

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00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:27,440
Christ known. 
And it's not about what are the 

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00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,040
staff and what is the pastor 
going to do next year. 

461
00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:33,360
It's about what are we all going
to collectively do outside of 

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00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:38,720
these four walls next year. 
To make Christ known relies on 

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00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:40,920
each one of us to say yes to the
core. 

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00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:43,960
To go in the deep with that 
letter stand as I pray. 

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00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:44,520
Thank you.