1 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,360 We've been talking about what it actually looks like to turn all 2 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:18,400 of that inside out stuff and get stuck into doing the stuff. 3 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:23,080 So as I was sitting down with a coffee the other day, just kind 4 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:27,480 of looking over my notes and seeking the Holy Spirit as to 5 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,400 what I should bring to this message, I was thinking about 6 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:33,840 back about where we've been. And I kept coming back to the 7 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,280 story of the very early days of the Vineyard movement. 8 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:40,680 And it's about a bloke who walked into a church one Sunday 9 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,160 morning. He was expectant and really 10 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:46,600 hungry for something real, because he'd been devouring the 11 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,800 New Testament for weeks. He'd been reading the Bible on 12 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,720 his own, and he'd read all these incredible accounts about Jesus 13 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:56,520 healing the blind, kicking out demons, speaking peace to 14 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,880 literal storms. And he's read about completely 15 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:02,560 ordinary fishermen who just dropped everything and followed 16 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,160 Jesus and got sent out into the world to change history. 17 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:09,000 So this guy sits through the service. 18 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,200 He listens to the hymns, he hears the sermon, and he watches 19 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:14,920 the polite handshakes at the end. 20 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:21,720 And he rocks up to the senior pastor and he says, when do we 21 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:26,520 get to do the stuff? Senior pastor probably looks a 22 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,720 little bit confused. That man was John Wimber, and if 23 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,480 you haven't come across him, John was a key founder of the 24 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:34,920 Vineyard movement back in the 70s and the 80s. 25 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:37,560 But he wasn't your usual vicar type. 26 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:39,840 It's a bit like my husband really. 27 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:45,240 Before he found his faith, he was actually a professional 28 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:47,080 keyboard player for The Righteous Brothers. 29 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,520 You know, the guys who did. You've lost that love and 30 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,400 feeling. I know I'm not supposed to sing, 31 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:56,080 Sorry. So that's who he was. 32 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,760 He came from this world of late nights and from Smokey jazz 33 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:04,840 clubs and from this kind of real world grit, not Sunday school. 34 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,680 And he was just an ordinary bloke who was brave enough to 35 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,400 ask that if the Bible was actually for real in the here 36 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:16,840 and now, then why weren't we actually doing the stuff? 37 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:22,400 Go to a church service, sing all the things, talk all the talk, 38 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,320 Don't see anything from it. And that passion for doing the 39 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,160 stuff is exactly what the Vineyard thrives on. 40 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,280 And I think many of us in this room have got stories of coming 41 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,520 to faith, of having God transform our lives. 42 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,000 Phil and I certainly have. And passionately wanting that 43 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,760 transformation for other people. And we're here because of the 44 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:47,000 Kingdom of God is right here, right now. 45 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,280 And it's actually within our reach. 46 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,560 You know, there are people out there in the world who are fired 47 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,160 up spiritually, but without meeting the purpose person of 48 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,440 Jesus through this church, they'll end up down a spiritual 49 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:04,840 alley and trapped in darkness. There are people searching for 50 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,760 truth and encountering Jesus in dreams, and they're just waiting 51 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:12,320 for an opportunity to see the Kingdom of God break into their 52 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:17,120 lives in signs and wonders. You know, if you go into the 53 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,800 Waterstone shop here in Darlington, go upstairs, go to 54 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:26,640 the religion section, what you'll see is way more books on 55 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:29,360 witchcraft than you do on Christianity. 56 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:31,640 And it's because they're selling. 57 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,960 There are people who are spiritually driven and 58 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:39,520 spiritually searching. So the past couple of months 59 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:41,960 we've been going into a great depth about what it actually 60 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:46,000 means to be Ascent people doing the stuff that Jesus did, 61 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,360 healing the sick, casting out demons, being naturally 62 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,120 supernatural without being weird. 63 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,680 And you can watch all those back on our darlow dot church slash 64 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,280 watch watch again. And in the next couple of weeks 65 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,960 we'll be starting a series on what is the Vineyard. 66 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:04,520 So I'm not going to start to begin to explain our 67 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:08,720 distinctives right now, but as Vineyard people, our confidence 68 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:13,360 to step out into the street and to pray for someone comes from a 69 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,399 specific way of looking at the world that we called the 70 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,880 already, but not yet. And this is the core lens for 71 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:23,560 everything that we do. Jesus declared in Mark one, 72 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:28,120 verse 15, that the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God 73 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,320 is at hand. Repent and believe in the 74 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:35,920 gospel. The invasions come, but we also 75 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,040 can see from looking out the window that the world's still a 76 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:43,400 mess, and that this full promise of restoration hasn't yet 77 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,920 happened. And I've felt that tension in my 78 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:51,000 own life in ways that are quite hard to put into words sometimes 79 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:54,320 now. I remember sitting in cramped 80 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:58,720 bamboo shacks in Myanmar over stagnant swamps, full of 81 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:04,880 disease, full of faeces, in 40° heat, and the air was so thick 82 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,840 with the poverty that you could almost taste it. 83 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,440 And in the middle of all of that, as we spoke with people 84 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,440 and as we heard their stories, we would pray. 85 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,720 And I watched the Holy Spirit move to bring miraculous healing 86 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,880 to people who had absolutely zero other hope. 87 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,440 The transformation was incredible. 88 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:34,000 We met one man. He was a trishaw rider, he 89 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,400 couldn't work, his wrist was badly hurt and he had this 90 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:42,240 really dirty bandage around his wrist and he couldn't buy his 91 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,480 family food. And so the only thing we could 92 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,320 do is was to pray. And we did it the vineyard way. 93 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,560 Identified the problem, commanded the healing in Jesus 94 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:57,640 name and get the person to check as it changed. 95 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:02,080 No big waffly, clever prayers, nothing smart. 96 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,200 So the guy looks at us confused and we think it's a language 97 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:11,840 barrier thing, but then tentatively starts to just try 98 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:15,680 and move his wrist. Then he wiggles it. 99 00:06:16,840 --> 00:06:19,920 Then he bent it. Then he flapped it. 100 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,080 Then he took the bandage off, whooped and threw the bandage 101 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:28,520 into the swamp. Not the best place to dispose of 102 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:30,400 a bandage in, in that mess anyway. 103 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:32,440 But this guy couldn't believe it. 104 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,600 And we, we say these things like all we did is pray. 105 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:41,040 But this is the heartbeat. This is where heaven comes to 106 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:42,960 earth. And I remember a few of us 107 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,360 praying for a woman who'd been promised to evil spirits in a 108 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,960 bloodletting ceremony when she was a baby. 109 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:52,360 And she was in the church service, the mixed Burmese and 110 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,240 international church service that we had on a Sunday. 111 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,040 And she literally walked up and she said, you've got to pray for 112 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,280 me now. Something is happening, you've 113 00:07:00,280 --> 00:07:05,560 got to pray for me now. And so as we prayed, the lady 114 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:09,600 fell on the floor and she started to writhe and wriggle on 115 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:13,800 the floor. And so calmly and with authority 116 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,080 while inside, you're going, what the heck? 117 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,920 We commanded out the demon. And she stopped wriggling and 118 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,840 she stopped rising. And we breathed a sigh of 119 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,520 relief. And then she started speaking in 120 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,600 this baby voice and we were like, Oh no, here we go again. 121 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:34,040 So we commanded the demon to leave in the name of Jesus. 122 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,040 And she stopped speaking, breathed a sigh of relief. 123 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:40,800 And then she started to turn blue. 124 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:45,400 Her lips started to turn blue. And at that point you could 125 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:48,040 panic, but we're like, we've got to pray again. 126 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:50,240 So we went again, again, Spirit of death. 127 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:52,360 On you, off you, off you. Sorry. 128 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,760 Calm, calm as Googama spirit of death off you in the name of 129 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,560 Jesus. And she took the biggest intake 130 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,400 of breath I've ever seen in my life and sat bolt upright. 131 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:06,720 Didn't remember anything that had happened. 132 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:10,600 You know, I didn't believe those things before I went to Myanmar 133 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:13,320 and they were right in front of my eyes. 134 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,280 We literally watched the light of Christ breakthrough that 135 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,160 room. We saw physical deliverance from 136 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,680 decades of demonic oppression right before our eyes. 137 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:27,080 And after that, all sorts of things that she'd been 138 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,200 experiencing, anxiety, depression, bad dreams, 139 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:32,640 everything just went in that moment. 140 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:35,760 You know, there's no no real hype needed. 141 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,760 You start hyping things up, you start to make it about yourself. 142 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,159 Panic inside, yes, calm on the outside. 143 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,760 And that's the already, and I've got loads of other stories that 144 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:48,760 quite literally are only explained in the supernatural 145 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:53,520 Kingdom of God. You know the king is taking his 146 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:57,840 ground back, the TV and social media and everybody out of these 147 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:02,040 walls will turn and say that the world's going to hell in a 148 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:04,720 handbag, but the King is actually on the move. 149 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,880 But the enemy is trying to deceive the people who are 150 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:13,120 looking for hope. But the problem is I've also sat 151 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:17,440 with dear friends through gut wrenching grief When the healing 152 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,280 we prayed for so hard just didn't come. 153 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:24,360 When someone's husband was convinced that he would be 154 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,720 healed and the wife actually wanted a good death and to say 155 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:31,520 goodbye. But the healing never came and 156 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:34,400 it was painful. It was agonising and gruelling 157 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:39,600 for absolutely everyone. When I had two miscarriages and 158 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,040 we prayed and we prayed, but those children never made it. 159 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:46,880 And that's a painful reality of the not yet. 160 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:52,880 They were doing the stuff isn't about having all of the answers 161 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:55,800 and it's not about 100% success rate. 162 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,560 It's simply an act of living in that tension. 163 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:04,880 It's leaning into the already every single day and saying as 164 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:10,080 we pray in Matthew 610, Lord, let your Kingdom come right here 165 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,640 on this High Street, right here in our town, just as it is in 166 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:18,440 heaven. You know, when I was made to 167 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:21,640 recite the Lord's Prayer at school as a little girl, maybe 168 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:23,400 quite a few of you in the room did as well. 169 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,600 I was never told what a dangerous prayer that was, what 170 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,160 a risk taking prayer that was. They were just words to me. 171 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:33,440 But as a faith filled, born again and baptised believer, I 172 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:39,040 know exactly how costly that prayer can be to us now to live 173 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:43,000 like this without burning out. We've got to have a foundation 174 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,080 and it starts with being built on the Word. 175 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:53,000 And by that I don't mean liking reading the Bible, I mean 176 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:56,120 actually doing what it says in James 1/22. 177 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:58,520 It commands. But be doers of the Word and not 178 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:00,800 hearers only deceiving yourselves. 179 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,480 We don't want to be a church full of people as I heard 180 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,000 someone say recently, with massive heads and tiny hands. 181 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:12,000 You know people who study the Bible constantly but never 182 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,200 actually get their hands dirty and go out and do the stuff. 183 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:18,840 You know, knowing the Word in isolation won't change your life 184 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:20,560 or bless you. You're blessed only when you 185 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:25,120 actually do it. Jesus said it in John 1317. 186 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:28,040 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 187 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:34,000 And we're also built by the Spirit, not by our own hard work 188 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,440 or our cleverness. There's a famous line from 189 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:40,840 Zechariah 46. It says not by might nor by 190 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:43,760 power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of the hosts. 191 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,800 We've got to learn to practise this, this discipline of 192 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,880 pausing, haven't we? It means that we've got to 193 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,200 refuse to run ahead with our own brilliant projects when it's all 194 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,400 exciting and spilling over and then coming up afterwards and 195 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:03,200 asking God to bless them. True confidence in Kingdom power 196 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:06,920 comes from being humble enough to stop and to depend on the 197 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:10,480 Lord and to ask what He is actually doing in that moment, 198 00:12:12,680 --> 00:12:16,080 Acts 18 promises. But you will receive power when 199 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:18,120 the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 200 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:20,680 You know, if we're going to get out and do the stuff, we've got 201 00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:24,240 to be confident that it's in the power of the Holy Spirit and not 202 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,840 just our good idea or not our need for recognition. 203 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:33,920 Doing the stuff takes a huge amount of humility and if you 204 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:36,560 don't have it, you will quickly learn it. 205 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:42,240 And so as we do that, we do it with a Kingdom mindset. 206 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,720 We refuse to look at what we have, like our small numbers and 207 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,720 our limited resources and think, well, it's never going to amount 208 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:50,360 to anything. It's too puny. 209 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:54,440 We don't discard the small things and give up. 210 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:59,200 You know, there's that famous line in Zechariah 410. 211 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:03,360 For whoever, whoever has despised the day of small things 212 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:07,560 shall rejoice. Sounds a bit confusing, doesn't 213 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:09,560 it? But it tells us not to despise 214 00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:12,800 the day of small beginnings. And honestly, it's such a great 215 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,120 reality check. It was a massive key verse in 216 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,960 our church planting journey. You know, in the scripture back 217 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,680 then, the rubber ball was feeling really discouraged 218 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:25,280 because the new temple he was building, it didn't look like 219 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,800 the original 1, but God basically told him, look, I'm 220 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,120 actually rejoicing to see the work start. 221 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:36,480 And it's a reminder that even if our progress feels slow or 222 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,200 insignificant right now, those tiny first steps are the 223 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:45,800 foundation for something bigger. We know that God absolutely 224 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:48,200 loves a mustard, mustard seed start. 225 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:53,280 And Phil and I have got experience with this because we 226 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,880 may be sitting here today, but when we planted this church 7 227 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:59,400 years ago, we came back from Myanmar where we'd lived for 228 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:02,960 three years. We had no house, we had 30 kilos 229 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,480 of luggage each. And it was just me, Phil and 230 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:08,800 Elsie that came to plant the church. 231 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:13,840 No house, no job, no salary, £400 in our pocket and the whole 232 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:17,920 thing was an impossibility. But we knew that God had called 233 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,840 us and we know that with God nothing is impossible. 234 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,560 And so many times we were given this verse in Zechariah. 235 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:28,440 Don't despise small beginnings and look what God has done. 236 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:33,320 You see a fraction of it here this morning, but there is so 237 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,880 much more that God has done in this town and through this 238 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:40,160 church because of lives that are transformed and because people 239 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:41,760 have been going and doing the stuff. 240 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:46,840 You know, the Kingdom of God completely redefines what 241 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:51,120 success looks like. It's not about how many bums are 242 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:52,680 on the seats on a Sunday morning. 243 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:57,760 It's about our sending capacity. It's about how many of us who 244 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,680 it's about how many of us out there filled with the spirit 245 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,320 doing the work during the week in our offices in our schools, 246 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:09,880 in our communities. Following two Timothy chapter 2 247 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:12,880 verse 2, which says and what you have heard from me in the 248 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:16,880 presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will 249 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:22,200 be able to teach others also get out, get off your bum, go and do 250 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:26,200 the stuff, introduce people to the person of Jesus and now all 251 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,920 the signs and wonders, the supernatural should point back 252 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:32,000 to the presence and the person of Jesus. 253 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,880 You know, all of this stuff flows into what we call the four 254 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:40,600 corners of the Kingdom and it starts with personal 255 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:47,640 transformation. It starts with all of the work 256 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:52,400 that God is doing in US, sorting us out from the inside, being 257 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:56,080 transformed into the same image from 1° of glory to another. 258 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:02,000 You know, you can't come and hear a message and accept the 259 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,680 grace. We don't do cheap grace around 260 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:07,400 here. It's a term that was coined by 261 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:10,600 Deirdre Bonhoeffer, this Theodrum from the 1930s. 262 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,160 We don't get a spiritual get out of gaol free card. 263 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:17,880 We don't get to enjoy all the perks of forgiveness and divine 264 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,040 love without actually having to change our lives or take 265 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:26,440 responsibility for our actions. We don't get to claim the prize 266 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,040 without ever running the race or without making sacrifices that 267 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,760 come with genuine conviction. We don't strive for the comfort 268 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,920 of faith without the actual commitment of living it out. 269 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:42,120 You know, Jesus did not invite us to add a casual religious 270 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:47,480 hobby to our weekend. He called us, as it says in Luke 271 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,400 923, take up your cross daily and follow me. 272 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,880 And I don't know if you've ever seen our guys carrying the cross 273 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:59,560 through the town centre for Good Friday, but taking up that cross 274 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,840 is a very good representation of how difficult it is. 275 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:08,480 Another of the four corners is social transformation. 276 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:10,839 You know, the Kingdom of God has got this public post code. 277 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:16,160 It's not isolated. And if this church in this town 278 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:20,359 doesn't actually make the town a tangibly better place, then 279 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:22,040 we're entirely missing the point. 280 00:17:23,599 --> 00:17:26,680 You know, it's about seeking justice and practically looking 281 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:29,920 after the poor right here in our own communities, doing what it 282 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,720 says in Micah 6, verse 8, to do justice, to love kindness, to 283 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:38,920 walk humbly with your God. It means bringing the hope of 284 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,600 the Kingdom into our hospitals when we're visiting the sick, or 285 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:46,600 into the way we spend time caring for people or in our 286 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,080 family home. It's the patience that you show 287 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:54,120 when you're looking after elderly parents or the way you 288 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:58,720 raise your kids in a world that feels increasingly chaotic. 289 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:01,400 It's all part of the Kingdom breaking in. 290 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:06,320 But we also expect power encounters. 291 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,440 I said earlier that a lot of people today are deeply 292 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:14,960 spiritually hungry. They've got no time for dry 293 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:18,480 religious arguments. You can't argue someone into the 294 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,200 Kingdom. People actually need to see the 295 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:23,480 real thing. You know, we've, we've spent so 296 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,600 much time sanitising the church in the fear that people might 297 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:30,960 find us just a bit weird. Well wake up because we are 298 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:35,040 weird. What's the point in being the 299 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:38,720 same as culture that's left people lacking identity, left 300 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:40,960 them emotionally spent having no hope? 301 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:45,200 We're Kingdom culture bringers. We do the stuff, we do what it 302 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,840 says in the Bible. People are looking for a debate. 303 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:50,680 They're actually looking for a demonstration. 304 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,160 They want to know, does this actually work because my life is 305 00:18:55,160 --> 00:19:01,040 in the bin right now. Paul wrote in one Corinthians 2, 306 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:05,200 verse four, that his preaching was not implausible words of 307 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:09,280 wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of the power. 308 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,960 You know, every sermon that is preached here in this church 309 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,480 isn't a demonstration of clever words. 310 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,680 It actually gets crafted by a personal revelation every single 311 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,040 time. It's the conviction in US that 312 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:31,240 we go and then we pass it on. It's this kind of aha moment 313 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,840 that we find in the scripture as the Spirit moves in US and 314 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:42,440 transforms us. I told the story about the woman 315 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:47,160 who was possessed by demons. We embrace the Spirit's power to 316 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:49,400 heal the sick and cast out demons. 317 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:55,120 In Matthew 10, Jesus says go nowhere among the Gentiles and 318 00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:58,360 enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep 319 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:02,520 of the House of Israel and proclaim as you go, saying the 320 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,440 Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, 321 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,040 cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. 322 00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:13,320 You received without paying, give without pay. 323 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:17,680 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag 324 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:25,920 for your tunic or sandals or a staff for the labourer deserves 325 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:28,640 his food. And whatever town or village you 326 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:32,720 enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you 327 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:34,920 depart. This isn't a passage that says 328 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,000 you're not allowed to have physical things. 329 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,760 What it says it means don't take physical things with you. 330 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:46,520 You've got to depend on God. Complete total submission and 331 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,320 dependence on God. It's not just for the movies. 332 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,560 It's for the bloke next door who's being tormented by 333 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,560 depression. It's for the woman stuck in 334 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,160 addiction. It's for people who are 335 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:02,600 experiencing spiritual darkness. Go proclaim the Kingdom of 336 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,680 heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, 337 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:10,120 cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Your Kingdom come, your will be 338 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:13,040 done on earth as it is in heaven. 339 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:19,000 I don't see many people doing that around Darlington, apart 340 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,520 from the gentleman who preaches on the street. 341 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:26,360 You know, the last corner of the Kingdom is church planting, 342 00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:28,840 which is simply how the Kingdom grows. 343 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:31,920 You take a healthy bit of something and you plant it 344 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:33,880 somewhere else and it grows itself. 345 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,200 You know, this is the practical outworking of multiplication. 346 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,560 In Acts 13 it says set apart for me, Barnabas and Saul, for the 347 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:45,320 work to which I've called them, the work I have called them. 348 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,760 Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them 349 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:54,560 and sent them off. I mean queued us to the vineyard 350 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:56,640 movement. We have got a nice pathway where 351 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,720 we train and we quit and we release people and they go out 352 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,720 and plant churches. But in the words of a lady that 353 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,160 spoke at the vineyard leaders gathering the other week, get 354 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:09,400 out and plant a church. We don't wait for perfect 355 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:11,520 conditions. You know, when we planted this 356 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,520 church 7 years ago, we totally felt out of our depth. 357 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,640 We'd had zero resources. We were living in Southeast 358 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:19,080 Asia. No money in the bank, no 359 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:23,040 guaranteed salary, and no House of our own, let alone a church 360 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,920 building or anywhere to meet. Didn't know anyone in 361 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,200 Darlington. We've been 6 1/2 thousand miles 362 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,880 away. I mean, come on, it's not the 363 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:37,240 job I'd apply for. But we also knew if we waited to 364 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:41,120 have enough money in the bank or a perfectly polished team, we'd 365 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:44,040 have never have done it. We would have missed God's 366 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:47,560 timing and someone else would have been called instead. 367 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,240 Ecclesiastes 11/4 says he who observes the wind will not sow, 368 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:55,720 and he who regards the clouds will not reap. 369 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:59,600 You know those early days proved that God accord us to church 370 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,360 plant and boy did we come kicking and screaming. 371 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,880 But if God has called you, you've got everything you need 372 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:12,200 to start. We started with what we had and 373 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:14,720 discerned God's voice and heart for the church. 374 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:21,680 And he has performed miracles. But multiplication isn't just 375 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:25,720 for the church planters. It's exactly the same dynamic 376 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:27,880 when we're hosted small groups in our homes. 377 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:32,040 It's isn't about having an Instagram perfect house or a 378 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:36,200 perfectly polished Bible study. It's about opening up our messy 379 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:38,600 living rooms, tripping over shoes in the hallways. 380 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:40,480 If you've been to a Christian house, you know there's always 381 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,720 shoes in the hallway. Why do you always take your 382 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:47,720 shoes off? Sorry, that's the old me coming 383 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,280 out. People don't care too much about 384 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:54,680 your theology until they see how you handle a genuine row with 385 00:23:54,680 --> 00:24:01,600 your spouse. And some people giggle in here, 386 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:08,240 I don't know why. Oh yeah, with your spouse. 387 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,320 And then. And people care how you parent 388 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,680 your children, and they care how you actually treat somebody who 389 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:17,520 is not like you. You can have as much theology as 390 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:23,640 you want, but if your character stinks, then it's game over. 391 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,560 You know, we've honestly seen so much of the stuff happen over 392 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:31,840 coffee in a crowded lounge as we have in massive meetings praying 393 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,120 for someone's bad back to be healed while the dogs barking 394 00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,160 its head off in the background. You know, and this is the best 395 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,160 part of our DNA. There's no spectators. 396 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,400 We're all a royal priesthood. You don't need a dog collar or a 397 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:45,560 fancy title to do the works of Jesus. 398 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,680 We're aiming for a life that's naturally supernatural. 399 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,600 It's about being a completely normal person, a bit weird. 400 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,480 And it's whether you know, you might be a nurse on a busy ward, 401 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:58,960 you might be a stay at home parent, a builder. 402 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:04,240 It's about allowing the Spirit of God to do extraordinary 403 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:06,800 things through you as you go about your day. 404 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:11,680 But you wouldn't expect a Carpenter to show up to a 405 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:15,200 building site without his tools. And we shouldn't expect to bring 406 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,360 the Kingdom of God without the tools of the trade either. 407 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:22,920 We need prophecy, healing, and discernment. 408 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:27,440 And these are tools that the Holy Spirit gives us to get the 409 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:31,240 job done. You know, it's really good 410 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,960 meeting here on a Sunday and we come to worship God and we come 411 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,640 to hear the Word. But the actual work is out 412 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:39,600 there. It's outside of the walls and 413 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,640 we've got a generation that doesn't need an apologetic 414 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:44,480 church. They're desperate for an 415 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,400 authentic, bold community that actually believes God is alive 416 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:52,680 and is still moving in power. You know, Jesus said in John 417 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,680 1412, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I 418 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,800 do. Whoever believes not the special 419 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,440 ones, not the got it all together ones, not the head 420 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,320 knowledge ones. Whoever believes that's me and 421 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:09,200 that's you. So what do we do? 422 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:16,080 We go out and do the stuff. And perhaps that feels too 423 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:17,920 freaky or uncomfortable to do right now. 424 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:22,240 We've all felt it. But if that is you, we'd love to 425 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,640 pray for you today. Because actually we can get 426 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:28,720 paralysis and we can actually then start to turn it in on 427 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:30,560 ourselves that we're not good enough. 428 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:32,600 Absolutely right. We're not good enough. 429 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,520 The Holy Spirit power is what brings about the change. 430 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:43,640 So to end today, we're commissioning or recommissioning 431 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:48,520 you to go and do the stuff. To pray for the sick, to cast 432 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,520 out demons, to be naturally supernatural, to step into all 433 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:55,640 that the Lord is calling you to. To listen for where the Lord is 434 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,600 doing something and to partner with Him in it. 435 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,000 To bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth. 436 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:08,000 Just imagine the whole town of Darlington, relieved of 437 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:12,880 oppression, relieved of poverty, children in loving homes, people 438 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:16,080 healed, people delivered, who come to know Jesus as the hope 439 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,200 of the world. What an image. 440 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,040 It's why we're here. It's not a cosy club. 441 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:29,680 So I Commission you today to be listeners to the quiet whisperer 442 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:32,720 of the Spirit and to the hidden pain of the people you meet. 443 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:37,800 I Commission you to be risk takers who are willing to look a 444 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:39,520 bit foolish for the sake of love. 445 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,880 I Commission you to be healers, carrying the raw compassion of 446 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,760 Jesus into the hospitals, the schools, and the dark corners of 447 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:50,120 this town that everybody else avoids. 448 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,680 Let's not just sing songs about being the change. 449 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,720 Let us accept the commissioning of the Lord. 450 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:02,560 Isaiah 6 verse 8 says And I heard the voice of the Lord 451 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:06,640 saying, Whom shall I send and who will go for us? 452 00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:12,360 Then I said. Then we said, here I am, here we 453 00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:20,440 are, send me, send us. Let's be a people who stand up 454 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:24,480 and say right then, Lord, send me.