1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:05,040 I'm in a crack on for those of you that weren't here last week, 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:11,440 Pip was speaking on healing and how God heals today and how we 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:14,400 absolutely believe that that's fine. 4 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,960 And today I want to talk about God speaking in the vineyard. 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,160 We have a phrase called the meat is on the street and that is 6 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:26,240 that the point of Sundays, the point of gathering is to worship 7 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,320 Jesus and to be equipped to live our lives and to build 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,200 community. And so this bit is the equipping 9 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:34,720 bit. That's why last week we were 10 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,680 talking about healing to train you, to equip you to go out and 11 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,120 spend the next 6 days of your life meeting the people you 12 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,440 meet. Walk like walking alongside 13 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:48,000 them, living with them, working with them and being able to 14 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,120 usher in the Kingdom of God to be Jesus's hands, feet to the 15 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:56,040 people we meet already. I'm off my notes and for those 16 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:57,880 of you that here normally will know that I'm starting a little 17 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,320 bit later than normal. So God speaks. 18 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,239 So today that's what I want to speak about in the vineyard. 19 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:08,320 We are people who believe that God still speaks today primarily 20 00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:11,800 and ultimately God speaks through the Bible, speaks 21 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,560 through Scripture. Scripture is the inspired 22 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,560 trustworthy word of God. It is foundational for what we 23 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:23,840 believe, and it is within the framework of the Bible that God 24 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,960 also speaks to us through our thoughts, our impressions, 25 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,560 through pictures, through promptings that are consistent 26 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,120 with Scripture. Like Joe shared she'd had a 27 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:35,440 dream last night. Matt shared that he'd been 28 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,440 reminded of a verse in Scripture. 29 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,480 God is speaking, but it's always in line with the Bible. 30 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,240 If you don't have a Bible or you live with someone or you work 31 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,960 with someone or you get on the bus with someone who doesn't 32 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,400 have a Bible but you think might read it if you gave one to them, 33 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:54,880 then we have Bibles on our information desk. 34 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:57,120 We'd love you to take and give them away. 35 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,440 And if you are in relationship with someone who English isn't 36 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:02,520 their first language and you want it in a different language, 37 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,600 let us know and we'll try and get hold of it for you. 38 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:09,039 That's my Bible plug. I think the Bible's really 39 00:02:09,039 --> 00:02:11,000 important, and if you don't read it, you really should. 40 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,040 You're missing out. OK, that's not in my notes 41 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:17,000 either. One thing to believe. 42 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:19,520 It's one thing to believe that God speaks. 43 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,560 It's another thing to live like it matters. 44 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,840 One of the ways that we live like it matters is by learning 45 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:34,000 to listen to Him. And I often need reminding of 46 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,120 this. I've got 2 ears and one mouth. 47 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,160 What does that mean, Libby? You need to listen more than you 48 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:41,840 speak. And so that's a good reminder 49 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:43,560 for me. In Vineyard Kids, we talk about 50 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:46,600 chat and catch. We chat to God and then we catch 51 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,080 what He's going to say to us. How many of us practice that 52 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,880 when we're praying? Or is it just a monologue of us 53 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,040 downloading to Him? Which is absolutely fine, but 54 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:59,320 it's a good reminder to know that He wants to speak to us. 55 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,400 OK, So what is prophecy? Prophecy and words of knowledge. 56 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:05,320 If you've been kicking around the church for a while, you 57 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:07,000 might have heard both of those phrases. 58 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,640 I'm kind of talking about it all together today. 59 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:14,000 And we have Old Testament prophets, often called seers. 60 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,840 They would give specific messages, often about the future 61 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:22,760 to specific people for for or a specific person for about a 62 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,400 specific thing for a specific time. 63 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:27,280 That was a silly sentence to write, wasn't it? 64 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:28,800 How many specifics can I get in there? 65 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,040 In the New Testament, the Spirit of God is poured out on all 66 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,480 people and we all have this ability to prophecy. 67 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:39,040 We believe in the priesthood of all believers. 68 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:43,560 We talk about in the vineyard. Everyone gets to play and 69 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:45,680 prophecy. It could be about predicting the 70 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:50,040 future, but it could also be about what's going on right now 71 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:54,560 to give somebody encouragement. We don't have one specific 72 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,600 prophet that we go to to hear from God. 73 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:01,280 We can all hear from him. We all get to play. 74 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:06,760 So prophecy in its simplest form is receiving and sharing 75 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,920 something God brings to mind for somebody else. 76 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,560 It's knowledge, perhaps that we wouldn't have unless it was 77 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:19,200 given from God. Or it could be something that we 78 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:23,360 know or see in the natural, and God highlights it. 79 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,400 He draws it to our attention and He wants us to speak it to 80 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,800 somebody as an encouragement that is strengthening and 81 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,800 comforting. One of the first times I 82 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,600 realized that I could hear God speak, I was 18. 83 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:41,880 Forgive me if I've told if you've been here and I've told 84 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,920 this story before. I was on a youth with a mission 85 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:51,560 trip in Turkey and it was we were all kind of 18/19/20 and we 86 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:53,760 were getting on it. We're about to get on a bus to 87 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:56,160 go on a nine hour bus journey to another city. 88 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,800 And we were praying about where we might stay that night. 89 00:05:00,280 --> 00:05:04,680 And we were praying and I just had a picture of a map in my 90 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:09,200 mind's eye, had a map of Spain. And I was like, well, that's 91 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:13,920 weird because we were in Turkey. And so I said to the group, oh, 92 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,560 I've just got a picture of Spain in my head. 93 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:19,080 And we had this little notebook that we wrote down all the words 94 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,240 that we felt God had given us. And this was the first time 95 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:25,920 really I'd spoken out and gone. I think, God, I think I've just 96 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:29,480 seen something in my mind's eye. And anyway, later, later on that 97 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:33,800 day, we were in the city that we were heading to and we'd been to 98 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:35,600 a number of different hotels that were all full. 99 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:37,880 They didn't have room for us. So we ended up going to this one 100 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,600 hotel, but to be honest, looked a bit dodgy from the outside. 101 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,360 And we were all slightly like, this is a bit weird. 102 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,560 And they had two rooms left, one that all the girls could squeeze 103 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:48,560 in and another that all the boys could squeeze in. 104 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,600 And so we went upstairs thinking, well, we haven't got 105 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:53,560 anywhere else to stay, at least we'll stay here tonight. 106 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:57,200 And we walked into the room that the six of us girls was going to 107 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,000 sleep in. And on the wall was a massive 108 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,120 picture of a Spanish bullfighter. 109 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:04,360 And it said Espanol along the bottom. 110 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:08,360 And it was like, Oh my goodness, God knew. 111 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:12,240 And for us it was like, well for me it was, it wasn't that I was 112 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:14,840 special, but it was a significant moment in me 113 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:16,600 realizing that God could speak to me. 114 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,120 And secondly, it enabled us to chill out and we stayed there 115 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,600 for the whole 6 days that we were in that city because we 116 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:24,800 were like, obviously this is the room God had for us. 117 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:29,040 Something shifted in me. It made me realise God was 118 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,960 willing to communicate. I just needed to be aware and 119 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,920 listen to his voice. I needed to recognise it. 120 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:40,200 So the Bible and prophecy. The Bible reveals ultimate 121 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:43,760 truth, absolutely truth about God. 122 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:48,440 Prophecy offers specific insight within that truth, maybe for 123 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:50,600 particular people and particular moments. 124 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:56,080 Scripture is for all Christians everywhere, always everybody 125 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,840 that follows Jesus. Prophecy is often a particular 126 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:02,480 word for a particular person at a particular time. 127 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:07,960 And that's why prophecy needs to be weighed and tested. 128 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:12,280 And we offer it with humility. Scripture is always the word of 129 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:16,120 God. We're not aiming when we learn 130 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,560 to hear from God. We're not aiming for certainty. 131 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:22,040 We're aiming for faithful listening. 132 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:27,480 So why prophecy? Grab your Bibles if you've got 133 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:28,840 them. You might want to make some 134 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,160 notes on your phone or a piece of paper if you'd like to. 135 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:36,520 I'm just going to mention three verses in line with reasons why 136 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:41,000 we prophecy, why we as a people think that this is important. 137 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:46,200 Firstly, because relationships need two way communication. 138 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,640 Think about your best friend or somebody you live with. 139 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,120 It would be a pretty dysfunctional friendship or 140 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:57,640 relationship if only one of you spoke, wouldn't it? 141 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:04,880 I know that in a high house I speak quite a lot, but good 142 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,200 relationships have two way communication. 143 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:12,120 Jesus is recorded as saying by John in John's gospel, John 144 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,400 chapter 10 verse 27. Jesus says this. 145 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:21,560 My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. 146 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,720 If we belong to Jesus, if we have said yes to him and we are 147 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,560 following Him, we can learn to recognize His voice. 148 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:33,159 He can learn to recognize his voice. 149 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:36,240 Chloe, who is part of our church, she is a sheep farmer, 150 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:37,960 amongst other things. I think. 151 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,240 I believe I'm looking at Jazz and Alex because, but I believe 152 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:45,480 that her sheep even recognize the engine of her car, don't 153 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,160 they? So like sheep are cleverer than 154 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,520 you think. So that gives us credit, right? 155 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:53,040 If we're going to recognize the Lord's voice, Chloe's sheep 156 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:55,960 recognize her car when she's driving down the driveway before 157 00:08:55,960 --> 00:09:00,320 she even speaks to them. We can recognize his voice if we 158 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,160 listen to him. It doesn't mean it will always 159 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:08,320 be obvious, but we can practice. It means we need to tune in. 160 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,560 I don't know if you've ever had a conversation with someone from 161 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:13,720 maybe from another country and their accent is quite thick. 162 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,440 You can in chatting to them, you can tune into their accent, 163 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,080 can't you? And you can understand them more 164 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,280 easily. And I think that's a great way 165 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:25,400 of, of picturing how it is that we learn to listen to God's 166 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,040 voice better. The more we listen, the more 167 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:32,200 familiar his voice becomes. So why do we do this stuff? 168 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,720 Firstly, because if we're in a relationship with Jesus, we need 169 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,920 two way communication. Secondly, he wants to speak to 170 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,640 us. He calls us friends. 171 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,600 He wants to speak to us. Jesus says again. 172 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:49,800 John records in John 1515. I no longer call you servants, I 173 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,520 call you friends. Friends share life with each 174 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:55,000 other, don't they? They communicate. 175 00:09:55,720 --> 00:10:01,040 I heard this week for those of you that watch Celebrity 176 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,080 Traitors, any of you that are watching Traitors now, 177 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:13,120 apparently Amanda Holden, who is Alan Carr's best friend, knew 178 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,800 that she that he had won traitors because they speak 179 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:20,960 every day on the phone and for two whole weeks he didn't call 180 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:22,800 her. So she knew he'd been in the 181 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:25,080 whole time, so she guessed that he'd won. 182 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,440 Isn't that cool? Well, if you don't want 183 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,120 traitors, that might mean nothing to you. 184 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:31,960 Apologies. Just wipe that bit from the last 185 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:36,440 minute of my talk. Friends want to talk to each 186 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:38,960 other and Jesus wants to talk to us. 187 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:43,680 God delights in our attempts at listening to Him and hearing Him 188 00:10:43,680 --> 00:10:46,560 speak. So why prophecy? 189 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,520 Because we're in a two way relationship with the Lord if 190 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,160 we're following Him. Because God wants to speak to 191 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:54,920 us. And secondly, because prophecy 192 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,880 is strengthening, encouraging, and comforting. 193 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:02,280 Who doesn't want a bit of encouragement and comforting, a 194 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:09,680 bit of building up the New Testament in one Corinthians 14, 195 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:13,200 three, Paul writes this. The one who prophesized 196 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,280 strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them. 197 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:21,920 That's the purpose of us in this context, but also if you're in 198 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:26,200 the Tesco's car park or on the bus or in school or at work in 199 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:31,360 college, we can always hear God speak, and we can hear him speak 200 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,000 for the strengthening, encouraging, and comforting of 201 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:39,000 those people around us. I wonder whether we're brave 202 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,200 enough to ask him to speak to us for other people. 203 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:46,720 Ultimately, this is not about a performance. 204 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,840 It's about love. It's about showing the love of 205 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:57,400 God and that we and everybody else that we know knows that God 206 00:11:57,400 --> 00:11:59,800 loves him so much. He wants them to hear him speak. 207 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:02,800 He wants them to be strengthened, encouraged and 208 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:07,360 comforted. OK so if if this is new to you, 209 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:10,000 you might be thinking well how how does God speak? 210 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,760 We've had a couple of examples this morning with Joe talking 211 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:16,120 about the dream, Matt remembering a bit of scripture 212 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:18,560 and being drawn to it. I'm just going to look at 4 213 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:21,360 common ways that God speaks to us. 214 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:27,480 The 1st is we might see it. I mentioned when I was in Turkey 215 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,960 and I saw in my mind's eye this map of Spain. 216 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:37,120 If I was to ask you now to imagine a grey elephant with a 217 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:42,320 pink earring, you would probably all be able to imagine that in 218 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,280 your mind. That's in your mind's eye. 219 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:48,960 And I like that's how God speaks to me. 220 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:52,960 Most regularly, I see a picture. I don't actually see it 221 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,320 physically. I see it in my imagination. 222 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:58,080 But it might be that we see something in our mind's eye. 223 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:02,080 It might be that we look at something in the natural and it 224 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:05,400 takes our mind off on a tangent and it could be a tangent or it 225 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,400 could be the Lord. You might see something in the 226 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:10,240 natural. OK, so we see things. 227 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,960 We might feel it. In fact, Loretta just spoke to 228 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,920 me now and she said I've got this feeling and she's feeling 229 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:20,160 things. And I think both of us agree 230 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:24,160 that the Lord is speaking to her and to us through her feelings. 231 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:28,000 It might be if you're praying about something or for somebody, 232 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:30,960 you feel something. There's this overwhelm of 233 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,000 emotion. Maybe it could be tears, it 234 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,520 could be pain because you're feeling the pain and the tears 235 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,600 of somebody else. Or it could be just God's 236 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:45,400 emotion over this person. He loves them so completely and 237 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:48,560 maybe they have absolutely no clue and your heart is breaking 238 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:52,000 for them. Or it might be you feel anger. 239 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:56,400 There's a situation that is wrong and you feel angry about 240 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,680 it. God is speaking, but it might 241 00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:04,120 also be that we have physical sensations and maybe you've got 242 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:06,760 a pain in your right elbow, which you don't normally have 243 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:10,880 and you think that's a bit odd. Or maybe there's somebody that 244 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:15,040 you're in the, in the vicinity of that's got a sore right elbow 245 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,360 and God is saying, I'm holding this and that's my left, isn't 246 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:22,320 it sore right elbow. And God is saying, I want, I 247 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,080 want you to pray for them because I want, I want to heal 248 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:27,840 them, but I want you to step out and offer. 249 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,680 So we might see it, we might feel it, we might hear it. 250 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:36,560 It might be that we hear an audible voice. 251 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,360 I think in my life, I've maybe heard an audible voice that I 252 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,960 think was God, maybe just once. But I know other people that 253 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:46,480 hear audible voices fairly regularly. 254 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:51,200 It might be that we hear someone say something and it like 255 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:55,120 shimmers or it stands out or we're like catches our attention 256 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:01,520 and in listening, that's when we say, Oh God, did you want to say 257 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,640 something about that? It's like it's highlighted to 258 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:07,720 you. And then we have the choice of 259 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,880 engaging with the Lord in that and going, Oh, was that you? 260 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:15,280 Or was it just that they shouted that that phrase and it caught 261 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:20,440 my attention either way. Or it might be that we so we see 262 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:22,520 it, feel it, hear it, we might know it. 263 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:27,320 You know, we all have a Noah. I don't know what I don't mean. 264 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:34,080 A child or an adult called Noah. You have a Noah, but we all have 265 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:40,240 a Noah KNOWER in US, don't we? When we just know something, 266 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:43,320 maybe we can't articulate why. We just know it. 267 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,480 And that it's like the deep conviction, this kind of 268 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:52,760 internal kind of system that we're like, we just know 269 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:56,480 something. And the more we step out in when 270 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:59,520 we have that and we think we know something, the more we are 271 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,720 prepared to step out and check to see if that might be the 272 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,680 Lord, the more it might be. So for example, I was at an 273 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:11,200 event once and I was praying for a lady and I just, I just knew 274 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:14,040 that she was out of a relationship with her daughter. 275 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:16,560 I don't know how I knew that she hadn't told me that. 276 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,280 I just, as I was praying, I was like, Oh, I've just got this 277 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,800 sense that. And then obviously that's like 278 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:24,480 could be really sensitive and I didn't know this lady. 279 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,920 So then it became a, do you have any children? 280 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,440 And I just asked questions around it because I was like, I 281 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,760 don't want to go in and say, Oh, I think the Lord's saying you 282 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,120 need to have reconciliation with your daughter that you're out of 283 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,400 relationship with because that's full on and I don't know her. 284 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:43,120 And that would be pretty awkward. 285 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,440 So I asked some questions. As it turned out in that 286 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:50,000 scenario, it was right. I mean, I didn't say to her, oh, 287 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,440 God told me. She just said, Oh yeah, I've got 288 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:53,920 a daughter. And actually we don't really get 289 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,200 on. And then I was able to pray into 290 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:58,200 that with her. But I wouldn't have asked that 291 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:01,440 question if I hadn't have thought she's got a daughter 292 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:02,560 that she's out of a relationship with. 293 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,640 And I've only learned to say those sorts of things because 294 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:11,319 I've practiced and most of the time got it wrong, just to let 295 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:15,520 you know. So we know it in a deep, or it 296 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:21,599 might be that we know Scripture and because we've read it, we 297 00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:25,560 just know it. And then as we're praying, a 298 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:31,040 verse pops into our head or a person in the Bible comes to 299 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:34,000 mind and we're like, oh, I think the Lord wants to say something 300 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,800 about this. So it's about being really 301 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:41,240 natural and really normal in a weird kind of a way, because 302 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:43,600 that's us, right? Let's embrace the weird. 303 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:46,520 But it's being naturally supernatural. 304 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,280 We don't have to hype it up. We don't have to put on a posh 305 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,800 voice or a biblical voice. We don't have to talk in King 306 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:56,000 James English. You know, if I hear any of you 307 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,440 saying thus saith the Lord, I'll come over and go, no, no, no, 308 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,720 no. Like, because we don't know for 309 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:04,720 sure, do we? Unless we're reading from the 310 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,840 Bible and it says Jesus said, then we know the Lord said it. 311 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:13,480 OK, But if we've just got an impression or something, hearing 312 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:18,440 God speak can be so gentle, so ordinary, and more often than 313 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:25,080 not, it feels like this might just be me, but it could be God. 314 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:29,640 So I might share it anyway, particularly if it's 315 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:31,760 strengthening, encouraging, and comforting. 316 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:37,240 You know, I don't think that we're aiming at certainty, but 317 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:43,760 Jesus is looking for obedient hearts that will hear him for us 318 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:45,880 personally, but for each other as well. 319 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:51,880 OK, before we do some practice, we're going just two things to 320 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,040 keep keep this healthy and safe, OK? 321 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,400 We want to practice hearing God speak and we want to encourage 322 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:00,920 one another, but we want it to be healthy and safe. 323 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,720 So two things. If you have a word or a picture 324 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,560 or something that you think you want to share with somebody, 325 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:10,240 then we need to be humble about it. 326 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,920 We don't, we have none of this, thus saith the Lord, but we have 327 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:18,560 AI think the Lord might be saying or I've got this picture, 328 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:20,240 I don't know if it means anything to you. 329 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,320 So we're humble about it. And if it's not strengthening, 330 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,680 encouraging and comforting, then we don't share it. 331 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,360 If you think you've got something for somebody that is 332 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,000 not strengthening, encouraging and comforting, but you think 333 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,760 it's the Lord, my encouragement is to write it down and pray. 334 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,520 You don't need to tell anybody. If you think that it's 335 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:40,880 important, then you could speak to your small group leader or 336 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:43,480 one of us as leaders, and we can pray about it too. 337 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:47,360 But we don't prophecy about births, deaths and marriages. 338 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,240 You can write them down. My brother was not in church for 339 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,080 a very long time because the second time he went to a church 340 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,680 when he was at university and the girl came up to him and 341 00:19:56,680 --> 00:19:58,240 said, God's told me, I'm going to marry you. 342 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,200 He was like, well, God hasn't told me and he left, OK. 343 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:06,760 If you think that the Lord has spoken to you about birth deaths 344 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:11,640 and marriages, write it down and pray, OK, Let's avoid those. 345 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:14,040 Not because I don't think God does speak about them, because I 346 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:17,480 think he does. But we are in the business of 347 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:20,440 being New Testament Christians. And Paul says it's got to be 348 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:22,320 strengthening, encouraging and comforting. 349 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,440 And we don't want anybody to turn their back on Jesus because 350 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,400 someone has said something that was a bit unhelpful in that 351 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:29,480 time. OK? 352 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,640 So to keep it healthy and safe, if you're giving a word, be 353 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:36,880 humble and be sensitive. And if you're receiving a word, 354 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,200 it's your job to weigh it. If it's not strengthening, 355 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,000 encouraging and comforting, just walk away. 356 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,280 But my encouragement would be if it doesn't resonate immediately, 357 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,640 if it doesn't immediately think, Oh yeah, that makes sense, then 358 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,760 write it down and maybe we can come back with it. 359 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:55,160 But check, is this in line with Scripture? 360 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:58,000 Is this biblical? Does it ring true? 361 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:01,280 And if you're not sure, because you're new to read in the Bible, 362 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:03,160 speak to somebody that might know. 363 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:05,680 If you're in a small group, speak to your small group. 364 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,440 You're a small group leader. OK. 365 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:13,640 We are going to practice this. And I believe that the kids are 366 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:19,560 here. So the kids have been doing this 367 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:24,760 as well downstairs and they have had a variety of pictures that 368 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:26,600 they've been looking at. They've been using things that 369 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:31,920 they see in the natural to give encouraging words to us as 370 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:37,400 adults. So do you want to explain or? 371 00:21:48,930 --> 00:21:51,770 OK, so we have been thinking about how God speaks to us 372 00:21:52,610 --> 00:21:55,850 downstairs in kids as well. So we've chosen some pictures 373 00:21:57,330 --> 00:21:59,930 that we are going to have a little look. 374 00:22:00,170 --> 00:22:02,810 We've asked God to speak to us. We've chosen some pictures that 375 00:22:02,810 --> 00:22:06,690 we just want to show some of you because we think that God might 376 00:22:07,010 --> 00:22:08,770 speak to you through some of those pictures. 377 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:11,480 We do need the pictures back afterwards because I borrowed 378 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:13,800 them. But if they resonate with you, 379 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:15,640 take a little photo of it. All right? 380 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:17,200 And then give us back the pictures. 381 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:21,120 That would be great. So guys, look at your picture 382 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:25,600 and then take a look at all the people that are sitting here. 383 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,560 And as you look at the people sitting here, ask God, who's 384 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,720 that picture for? Wait a minute, wait a minute. 385 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:37,800 You have a good look at everyone here. 386 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:40,040 It doesn't matter if you don't know who the person is. 387 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:42,800 It might be that as you look at them, you think, oh, I think 388 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:47,160 that picture is for that person. And I want you to be brave and I 389 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,480 want you to go and give that picture to that person. 390 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:57,160 All right, off you go. Look at your picture. 391 00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:59,640 See who you think that picture might be for. 392 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:05,000 And as you receive the picture, we'd love you just to see the 393 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,120 Lord speaks to you through that picture. 394 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:11,680 And we're going to pray together as part of that. 395 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:12,920 Yeah. All right. 396 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:14,720 Anyone else still got a picture to give out? 397 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:17,200 We all done. OK, over to you. 398 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:22,000 OK, so if you give it a picture, then take a picture of it and 399 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,360 then we'll have to give it back to Pip. 400 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,680 But hopefully the Lord will speak to you through that. 401 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:32,640 What I'd love to do is why don't you all stand up and, and we're 402 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,240 going to do this and I appreciate it might be this 403 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,480 might feel a bit scary and if you'd really rather not, I'm not 404 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,120 going to force you, but I'd love it. 405 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:45,240 If not right now you would. It's a bit awkward in the 406 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:46,160 chairs. I'm sorry. 407 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:49,280 I'd love it if you just looked around the room and I'm going to 408 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:50,960 pray for the Holy Spirit to come. 409 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,440 And I'm going to ask him just really quickly to drop in a 410 00:23:55,440 --> 00:24:00,520 thought or a word or a picture or a feeling for somebody else 411 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:02,520 in the room to drop it into your minds. 412 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:04,560 You're practicing hearing from God. 413 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:09,000 And then I want you to be brave to go to that person that you've 414 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,360 seen and just offer it. You don't have to. 415 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,160 You don't have to make up long prayers if you don't want to. 416 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,960 You don't have to give any explanation. 417 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:21,360 It might be that you just see a stuffed crust pepperoni pizza 418 00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:23,360 and you go and offer that to someone. 419 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:26,160 And that person might be totally blessed because they were trying 420 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:28,840 to decide what to have for lunch today and you've made the 421 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,440 decision for them. I'm making light of it because I 422 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:36,240 want you to just try. OK, So, Holy Spirit, would you 423 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,480 come now? Would you speak to us as 424 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:42,280 individuals for each other in this room? 425 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:48,760 And then as the Holy Spirit just speaks, what pops into your 426 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,560 mind? What words do you hear? 427 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:59,640 And then look around the room. What person catches your eye? 428 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:05,080 Or maybe you had a name. And if you don't know people's 429 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:08,560 names in the room, but someone that you've got a name, then ask 430 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:10,960 somebody and they might know if there's someone in the room. 431 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,880 And then, as long as it's strengthening, encouraging and 432 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:22,520 comforting, why don't you go and give that person that word?