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This coming Wednesday is the 
beginning of Lent, which is the 

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lead up to Easter and it's the 
fasting before the feasting. 

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It's when we walk slowly towards
Easter, remembering as the 

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global church does, this time 
before Jesus, death and 

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resurrection, that we will 
celebrate on Easter Day on the 

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5th of April, when we remember 
that death has been beaten, the 

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grave couldn't hold him and hope
is a very, very real thing, even

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when things feel dark around us.
I'm starting this series today. 

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I'm going to share it with Pip. 
We're going to share it the next

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six weeks. 
We're using some as long as as 

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well as stuff that we've 
prepared. 

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We're using some material that's
been developed by a friend of 

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mine called Andy Masters, who 
leads a Vineyard church in 

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Northern Ireland. 
And this kind of series kicked 

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off for me about 18 months ago 
when I was having a conversation

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with him and this whole subject 
came up and we talked at length.

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He gave me lots of books to read
that I hadn't already read, and 

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he shared with me some stuff 
that he'd done with his church, 

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and I couldn't not share it with
you. 

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So that's what we're going to be
looking at. 

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It's a subject that I've read a 
lot of and thought a lot about 

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for all of my life. 
When I tell you what the subject

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is, you're going to think I'm 
more weird than you already do. 

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But this morning I'm kicking off
a series and we're calling it 

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Living in the Shadows. 
We are going to spend the next 

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six weeks except for the 1st of 
March because we're not here, 

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but the next 6 Sundays that we 
are gathering, looking at the 

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subject and talking about death 
and dying. 

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Just turn to the person next to 
you, nudge them and say don't 

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you wish we'd stayed in bed this
morning? 

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But before you regret coming too
much, there's just a couple of 

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things I want to say this. 
This topic is very real and we 

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will all encounter it if we 
haven't already. 

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It's vast and it's complicated. 
And I don't stand here as an 

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expert. 
Pip doesn't stand here as an 

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expert. 
And we know that there are many,

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many emotions involved for all 
of us as we look at this topic. 

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I, as I say, I've been on this 
journey of preparing this series

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for the last 18 months or so. 
A lot has happened in my life 

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personally in the last 18 months
and over the last few weeks, 

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I've cried a lot. 
Don't be scared of my emotions. 

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I cry a lot anyway. 
And this is OK, but it's 

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something that I think as a 
community, we need to talk 

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about. 
We need to know what the Bible 

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says about it. 
And we need to live as Kingdom 

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people in light of the fact that
yes, one day we will die. 

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And God is not silent on this 
matter. 

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We are family. 
And I know the privilege of the 

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role that I play is I journey 
with many of you and many of us 

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in this room have experienced 
somebody close to us dying very 

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recently. 
And we are dealing with that. 

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And I absolutely believe that as
we walk in grief, when it's at 

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the forefront of our minds and 
our lives, we are changed 

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forever because somebody we love
has died. 

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So it's important that we love 
one another. 

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We talk to each other, we talk 
about this subject. 

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So as we go on this journey, I'm
going to ask that you would be 

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gentle and gracious not just 
with me but with each other. 

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You know when we talk about this
on a Sunday but also in small 

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groups in the mid weeks, like be
gentle and gracious with each 

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other because none of us are 
experts. 

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We will be feeling fragile I'm 
sure. 

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I'm really aware that it's like 
ripping off a plaster or plaster

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as you would say around here, 
ripping off a plaster of a wound

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that maybe is slightly pussy and
is a little bit sore, maybe even

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infected and in a 25 minute slot
on a Sunday morning. 

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I'm limited on what I can say. 
I told you I'd got lots to say. 

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So we're not going to get to say
everything and I'm sure that you

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probably have questions that you
think I just wish they'd talk 

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about this or I just wish they'd
say that. 

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I apologise now that we're not 
going to always say what you 

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want us to say. 
We're not necessarily going to 

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always land in places that we 
want to land. 

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And it may well feel that your 
wound is exposed. 

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You've gone through the 
excruciating pain of ripping off

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the plaster. 
You know it's taken the hairs 

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with it and it hurts. 
And so your wound might feel 

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exposed. 
So I want you to make the most 

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of the times when we stand in 
the presence of Jesus and we ask

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His Holy Spirit to come and meet
with us and heal us up. 

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Because ultimately, any words I 
say are just words. 

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It's the Holy Spirit that will 
impact you and heal you up from 

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the inside. 
So we will be praying. 

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We will have time to focus on 
Jesus when I stop talking. 

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But I do anticipate that 
there'll be some Sundays that 

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you'll think, what, oh, this 
doesn't feel right. 

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This doesn't sit right. 
I feel quite pain in pain with 

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this. 
But I, I also want to encourage 

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you to be here for the next 6 
Sundays because it's a, it's a 

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journey, it's a conversation. 
And probably by the time we get,

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well, my hope is my prayer is by
the time we get to Easter and we

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look back on the previous six 
weeks, you'll go, OK, so she 

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didn't say this then when I 
wanted her to, but Pip said it 

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then a few weeks after. 
Does that make sense? 

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We'll look back on the whole and
we'll realize that God has been 

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speaking. 
We won't cover everything but 

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hopefully you'll commit to going
on this journey with us. 

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And if already you're feeling 
uncomfortable, feel free if you 

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can find them to buy some skin 
coloured Airpods or something 

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and you can come and just listen
to those and then at least I 

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will feel better that you're in 
the room whether you're 

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listening to me or not. 
Is that OK? 

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My fear is that the closer we 
get to Easter, the more of you 

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go laters, I believe. 
But we're going to be meeting on

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just early plug. 
Easter day is going to be at 

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Keene Hall in Galleywood because
the university's shut and Jacob 

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is going to be preaching on the 
resurrection. 

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So that's what we have to look 
forward to. 

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OK. 
The other thing that I just want

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to say by caveat is that my 
conviction actually is that the 

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avoidance of talking about death
and dying, avoiding thinking 

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about it, avoiding talking about
it is actually, it's just that 

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it's uncomfortable. 
And I think that that is 

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actually a spiritual stronghold 
in our lives, in our lives, but 

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also in culture, you know, to 
the point that I would say that 

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we can't even really say the 
word death and dying. 

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We use other words to talk about
the fact that people are no 

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longer here, except if you're 
singing in worship. 

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Do you know, we talk a lot about
Jesus death and his him dying. 

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But of course, we know that 
three days later he rose again. 

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So that makes it feel better. 
But we don't even talk about 

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people who have died or we don't
use the word death and dying, 

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which I think personally 
speaking is, is confusing, 

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particularly for children. 
And just I realized that for 

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some of you, you won't know. 
Part of the reason this has been

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a subject I've done a lot of 
thinking and reading and talking

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about is because my twin sister 
died when we were little. 

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And so it's all, it's shaped so 
much of my life. 

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I was like brought up in a 
family where my mum and dad 

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talked about her knowing that 
Jesus, she was a gift from God 

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and she had gone back to God and
they talked about her death and 

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there was pictures up at home of
me and her together. 

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So it's something that that 
gives you a bit of clarity on 

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why, why I'm slightly odd. 
But also, like, I think it's 

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important that we talk about it 
without ambiguity because I 

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think particularly for children,
it can be hard. 

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And I think that, you know, I 
said that not talking about it, 

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avoiding it is a spiritual 
stronghold, not just for us, but

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in our culture. 
And I think the root of that is 

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because we worship comfort. 
We measure our lives on how 

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comfortable we are, how well 
things are going, how we are 

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feeling. 
You know, if we feel 

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uncomfortable or things aren't 
quite going right for us, often 

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our first thought is, what am I 
doing wrong? 

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Life isn't supposed to be like 
this. 

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But of course, that's not 
actually true. 

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That was never God's intention 
was that we would live with him 

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in harmony, imperfection, 
forever. 

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But that hasn't happened. 
We live in a fallen world. 

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Life is hard. 
And I'm really aware that we, as

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we look at this subject, as we 
open the Scriptures and as we 

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talk about it, it can feel 
uncomfortable. 

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And we are very deliberately in 
this pulling back the plaster of

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the wounds that we hide. 
But, you know, we talk a lot 

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about walking with Jesus to be 
transformed, to be more like 

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him, to live like him and to 
love like him, be transformed by

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the Holy Spirit. 
And that transformation happens 

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when we look at the wounds that 
we carry and we allow him to 

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clean them out and heal us up, 
as opposed to those wounds being

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hidden, covered with a plaster 
or a bandage, becoming infected 

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and septic and then causing all 
sorts of other problems. 

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You know, loved ones dying is a 
wound and we will all encounter 

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it at some point or another. 
It's inevitable in life, 

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possibly the only inevitable 
thing in life. 

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And how we deal with that wound 
effects everything. 

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And I'm not saying we have to 
get healed up and we move on and

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everything's fine and, you know,
we carry on as life was before. 

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I absolutely don't believe that 
because I absolutely believe 

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that we are different as a 
result of our loved ones dying, 

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but different. 
It looks different for each of 

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us. 
Different is different for each 

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of us. 
You know, peeling off the 

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plaster, cleaning it out, not 
covering it up, not ignoring it.

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You know, we don't want 
infection to take hold. 

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We don't want us to lose a limb 
because we haven't dealt with a 

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wound that we carry. 
And of course, most wounds leave

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scars to some degree or another,
a visible reality because we are

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different when we deal deal with
our our wounds. 

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So as we go on this journey, as 
we talk about this subject, as 

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you listen, as you think, as you
talk about it in small groups, 

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know that this is a journey of 
transformation and it is a 

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choice. 
Feel free to sit here with your 

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Airpods in, I really don't mind.
But we can choose to deal with 

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our stuff and actually become 
more like Jesus as a result. 

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You know, so often I think we go
round and round in circles with 

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stuff because we don't look at 
what's going on underneath the 

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plaster. 
OK, so I'm going to look at a 

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couple of different Psalms this 
morning. 

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So if you've got a Bible, you 
might want to turn to them. 

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The Psalms are right in the 
middle. 

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If you don't have a Bible and 
you'd like one, we've got some 

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that we would love to give you. 
And I'm going to base a lot of 

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this on initial bit on Psalm 90.
So you might want to find that 

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this is where Moses is praying. 
He's speaking to God in the 

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wilderness and Psalm 90, verse 
12, very short verse just says 

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teach us to number our days that
we may gain a heart of wisdom. 

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Most of us, I think, not just us
in this room, us collectively 

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live like this verse is heresy, 
like it's completely untrue. 

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To paraphrase it. 
I would say teach us to live 

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with our own death in front of 
us, that we might make good 

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decisions. 
Teach us to live mindful of our 

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own death, our own physical 
frailty, that we might become 

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wise. 
And I think the world that we 

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live in that says that doesn't 
talk, doesn't think, doesn't 

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engage with physical death, that
avoids it at all costs, is 

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missing out on wisdom. 
You know, this, this, this, 

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these words from Moses say, 
teach us to number our days, 

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that we might gain a heart of 
wisdom. 

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And wisdom is something that I 
think as a world collectively, 

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we are desperate for. 
Anecdotal evidence from Alpha UK

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says that people used to ask the
question, is there a God? 

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Now they're asking the question,
show me your God. 

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The world has changed, that 
we're living in, the age we're 

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living in. 
People are desperate for wisdom.

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They're not not as interested 
about arguments of truth. 

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They want to have some wisdom to
live by because they can see 

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that life isn't working. 
You know, they've tried living 

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by the script that was handed to
them by secularism, that God 

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doesn't exist. 
That we find out who we are on 

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our purpose by looking within. 
And you know what? 

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People have tried it and it's 
made them sick. 

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You don't have to look far to 
look at the poor mental health 

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statistics. 
Anxiety, loneliness is high. 

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People are having an identity 
crisis. 

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People are desperate for wisdom.
How do I live a good life? 

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How do I find my purpose? 
How do I do good relationships 

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and have healthy community? 
What can I rely on? 

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You know, as a, as a culture, 
we're at sea, aren't we? 

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Everything is uncertain and 
chaotic. 

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We are unanchored from any form 
of certainty anywhere. 

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Culture has followed the 
narrative that has said be 

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whoever you want to be, however 
you want, wherever you want, 

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with whomever you want. 
And it turns out that that's not

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a blessing, it's actually a 
curse. 

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We live in a time desperate for 
wisdom. 

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And the psalmist here, Moses is 
clear here. 

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Teach us to number our days that
we might gain a heart of wisdom.

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There is something about the 
contemplation of death that 

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gives birth to wisdom in our 
hearts. 

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00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,200
Commentators say that we live in
an information age. 

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The answer to most questions are
in our pockets. 

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00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:01,880
There we go. 
It's in my pocket, the 

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00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,760
information age. 
You know, we have access to so 

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00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:08,480
much information. 
We've never had access to more 

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00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,440
information, perhaps. 
And yet the irony is that that 

246
00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:15,560
information seems to lead us, 
leave us absent of wisdom. 

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00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,480
Where do we get our wisdom from?
For those of you that are in the

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00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:24,720
younger generation in the room, 
it may come as a surprise to you

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00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,800
that at one point if you wanted 
to know something about 

250
00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,360
something, you had to find 
somebody that knew something 

251
00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:34,560
about it, or you had to go to 
your Encyclopedia Britannica. 

252
00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,160
Remember those as a few nods? 
That's good. 

253
00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,440
We had some encyclopedias but I 
never ever looked at them 

254
00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,120
because I knew that it was just 
quicker to ask my mum and dad 

255
00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:46,240
because they seem to know 
everything. 

256
00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:51,920
And my children do actually call
my mum Granny Google because she

257
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:54,680
does appear to know everything 
and they've even tested her. 

258
00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:00,160
And regularly I find myself when
we're out and about, the kids 

259
00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,920
ask a question and I think if 
only my mum was here she would 

260
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know the answer. 
I've learned a few things in 

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00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:11,200
life, but the reality is we get 
wisdom, don't we, by 

262
00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:16,800
intentionally living reflective 
lives and not avoiding hard 

263
00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,079
things. 
And just to big up my mum and 

264
00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:22,160
dad a bit more, I think I look 
at their life and I look at the 

265
00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:25,640
hard things they have dealt with
and how they have pressed into 

266
00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:30,400
following Jesus and I'm like, 
ah, I think that's where some of

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00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,240
their wisdom comes from. 
It's pretty inspiring in my 

268
00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:36,600
opinion. 
You know, one of the reasons, 

269
00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,120
and I've said it already, that 
we live in a society that's 

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00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:44,480
absent of wisdom is because we 
worship comfort, we organise our

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00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:48,400
lives, we order our lives to 
avoid anything uncomfortable. 

272
00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:53,320
And there's something about a 
struggle, there's something 

273
00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:58,720
about pressing in when things 
get hard that leads to wisdom. 

274
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,680
You know, I would encourage you 
like to think about the people 

275
00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:07,760
that you think are wise and then
just have a look at their lives.

276
00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:11,440
Or if you want some wisdom, find
some people that have struggled 

277
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,720
and come through that struggle 
still loving God and still 

278
00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,680
loving people and you'll find a 
well of wisdom. 

279
00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:24,120
Wisdom comes when we engage in 
the struggle as we deal with our

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00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:28,200
wounds and don't ignore them. 
When we learn to put 1 foot in 

281
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:32,120
front of the other, even in the 
darkest, hardest days of our 

282
00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:36,960
lives, staying faithful to Jesus
and soft hearted to those around

283
00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:39,960
us. 
There's something about 

284
00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:44,040
embracing the frailty of our own
lives that leads to wisdom in 

285
00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,200
our hearts. 
Something about recognising that

286
00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:50,120
all of us are decaying and one 
day we will die. 

287
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:56,400
Yet living in the truth of that 
gives rise to wisdom. 

288
00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:02,280
Now I know that embracing this 
stuff, looking at it, talking 

289
00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:05,120
about it, resisting the 
temptation to scroll your social

290
00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:09,480
media right now possibly feels 
hard and quite uncomfortable 

291
00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:14,080
because it is a taboo to talk 
about death in our society. 

292
00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:18,400
In the 1950s there was a British
sociologist called Geoffrey Gore

293
00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,800
who wrote an essay entitled The 
Pornography of Death. 

294
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:27,440
His central idea was that death 
was to the 20th century what sex

295
00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:30,240
and childbirth were to the 19th 
century. 

296
00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,080
And he was saying this in the 
1950s. 

297
00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,880
You know, Victoria, in Victorian
Britain, you didn't talk about 

298
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:38,960
sex or childbirth. 
It was a taboo. 

299
00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,800
No one would bring it up at a 
respectable dinner party and you

300
00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:46,400
definitely wouldn't talk about 
it in front of the children when

301
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:47,760
it came. 
That's where the whole idea of 

302
00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:50,240
babies being delivered by storks
came from. 

303
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,080
Apparently it was too messy and 
too intimate to talk about in 

304
00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,040
public. 
Death, on the other hand, in the

305
00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:59,200
19th century was everywhere, 
absolutely everywhere. 

306
00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:04,320
And, and unless somebody died in
a war accident, the vast 

307
00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:08,480
majority of people died in their
homes surrounded by their family

308
00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:10,880
and friends, including the 
children. 

309
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:14,320
And to us, that just seems 
alien. 

310
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:20,560
You know, Fast forward 150 years
or so, perhaps we're still not 

311
00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:22,960
very good at talking about 
childbirth, but sex is 

312
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:27,200
everywhere. 
But yet death has been moved 

313
00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:29,080
into the corner. 
It's been hidden. 

314
00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:34,480
And it's only engaged with when 
we absolutely have to. 

315
00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:37,840
We've removed it from our homes.
We've removed it from our lives.

316
00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,320
And we definitely don't talk 
about it in front of children. 

317
00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,160
It's a taboo we're afraid of. 
And on that note, as I was doing

318
00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,280
some reading on this, we've even
really, and forgive me if you're

319
00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:52,200
a vegetarian or vegan in the 
room, we've removed talking 

320
00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,200
about the like, death even from 
our food. 

321
00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,840
You know, we've got a Sunday 
roast to look forward to when we

322
00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:00,720
get home. 
My chicken came wrapped in 

323
00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:04,480
plastic from Tesco's. 
You know, have I raised that 

324
00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:07,880
chicken? 
Have I lovingly cared for it and

325
00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,520
fed it and given it the best 
life possible and then killed it

326
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,720
in a humane way that then we can
enjoy it for our lunch? 

327
00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:16,440
Apologies for those of you 
coming for lunch. 

328
00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,280
I haven't done that. 
It came wrapped in plastic from 

329
00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:22,480
Tesco's. 
We've sanitized death and we 

330
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,200
don't necessarily talk about it 
with our children, do we? 

331
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:30,800
You know, Anyway, OK, you might.
If you're in Psalms, you might 

332
00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:34,400
want to flick forward a bit to 
Hebrews, which is towards the 

333
00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:36,160
end of the Bible. 
Hebrews 2. 

334
00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:42,360
This is Speaking of Jesus. 
Hebrews 214 to 15, it says this.

335
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:46,880
He too shared in their humanity,
so that by his death He may 

336
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:50,960
break the power of him who holds
the power of death and free 

337
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:55,280
those who all of their lives 
were held in the slavery, in 

338
00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:59,520
slavery by the fear of death. 
You can tell I've practised 

339
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,080
those two verses, right? 
Because it's a trick, 2 tricky 

340
00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:05,880
verses to say, but this is my 
slight personalisation of those 

341
00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:10,000
two verses. 
He too, this is Jesus, shared in

342
00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:16,200
our humanity, that by his death 
He may break the power of him 

343
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:21,640
who holds the power of death. 
That's Satan and free us all of 

344
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,200
who have all of our lives been 
held in slavery by the fear of 

345
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:31,480
death. 
Our cultural fear of death is so

346
00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,920
deeply ingrained within us that 
it's subconscious until it kicks

347
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,360
the door down and it says here I
am. 

348
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,640
We've managed to build a world 
that for most of us and for the 

349
00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:48,160
most part, looking at our 
deepest fears isn't necessary 

350
00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:52,160
and doesn't exist until, of 
course, we have to. 

351
00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:55,480
Now, I don't know if there's any
Lord of the Rings fans in the 

352
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:59,040
room. 
I can't say I'm a fan, but there

353
00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,080
is. 
In one of the movies, there's an

354
00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:06,760
opening monologue by Gladariel 
and she says this rumour of a 

355
00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,080
shadow whisper of a nameless 
fear. 

356
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,640
She's Speaking of this rumour of
a shadow in the East that 

357
00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:20,760
whispers A nameless fear. 
And I actually think that that's

358
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:23,640
probably most of our 
relationship with death. 

359
00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:28,080
It haunts us. 
We try and ignore it as best we 

360
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,560
can, but we can't. 
And the rumor, and when rumors 

361
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:36,360
become a reality, when somebody 
that we love dies or receives 

362
00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:40,280
the diagnosis or we do, what do 
we do then? 

363
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:47,520
What is our response? 
And because we worship comfort 

364
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:51,400
and we have this denial of 
death, it leaves us like boasts,

365
00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:54,040
without boats, without a 
ballast. 

366
00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:58,680
Ballast is the thing that keeps 
the boat upright below the 

367
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,880
waterline. 
It keeps the boat from 

368
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:03,960
capsizing. 
When the inevitable storms in 

369
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:06,040
life come, what do we do? 
Where do we go? 

370
00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:11,680
How do we respond? 
The avoidance of death does not 

371
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:17,480
serve us or our children because
God invites us to live in the 

372
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:21,880
real world. 
I love the fact that amongst 

373
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:27,000
teenagers and on social media 
IRL is a big thing right now. 

374
00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:29,120
Looking at some of you and 
you're like, what? 

375
00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:33,880
Sorry I'm embarrassing you, I 
had to ask what IRL was when I 

376
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,480
saw it on social media. 
Because it means in real life. 

377
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,720
The fact that we have to now 
qualify what is real and what is

378
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,760
not says an awful lot about the 
life that we live in. 

379
00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:49,240
Is are our lives projection 
ideal? 

380
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,880
Fake AI? 
I'm not very good at spotting 

381
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,200
what's AI and what's not, just 
to let you know. 

382
00:24:56,040 --> 00:25:00,440
But yet God can't be present 
with a version of us or a fake 

383
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:04,680
us or an AI us he wants in real 
life IRL. 

384
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:10,600
He wants to meet with us as us, 
not a projection or a pretense. 

385
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,560
He can't bless a version of us 
that's fake. 

386
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:18,040
He can't comfort us or can't 
comfort a representative of us. 

387
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:24,040
He wants to meet us, comfort us,
be with us IRL. 

388
00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,520
Richard Nathan, who is a 
Vineyard pastor in the States, 

389
00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,560
says this. 
The more real we are, the closer

390
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:36,800
to God we are. 
The more real we are, the closer

391
00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:41,240
to God we are. 
And there is a danger that if 

392
00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:46,200
we're not living in real life, 
then we can just pretend that 

393
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:51,640
it's all fine and the wounds 
that we have will definitely not

394
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,120
be cleaned up and cleaned out 
and healed up. 

395
00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,320
The more real we are, the closer
to God we are. 

396
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:07,280
The truth is, physical death is 
part of life and some of us know

397
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:12,320
that very closely. 
But engaging with it is good for

398
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,160
us. 
But it is a shadow. 

399
00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,680
It is a shadow, like this rumour
haunting us. 

400
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,400
I said that this series is 
called Living in the Shadows and

401
00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,920
this talk is entitled to 
shadows. 

402
00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:30,920
This metaphor of shadow and 
shadows is all through 

403
00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:34,720
scripture. 
And one of the things that I 

404
00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:40,000
think has has crept into the 
church is this idea that hard is

405
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:46,920
bad, shadows aren't good, and we
are supposed to live life up and

406
00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:50,880
to the right all of the time. 
And we've slipped into this 

407
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,680
thinking that if doing life with
Jesus well, if we're doing life 

408
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,000
with Jesus well, things are just
going to get better and better 

409
00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:03,360
and better and better. 
Just FYI, for your information, 

410
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,840
most of the apostles were 
martyred. 

411
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,160
So if we're thinking it's really
important, I want to take my 

412
00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:13,480
faith really seriously. 
I want to follow Jesus with 

413
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,520
everything I got. 
I'm totally surrendered. 

414
00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:19,280
I want to order my lives, my 
life around the priority of his 

415
00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:23,080
Kingdom, his presence and his 
mission in the world, which I 

416
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,560
want to do all of those things. 
Then that's what the apostle 

417
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:28,440
said. 
And they all were killed for 

418
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:33,920
their faith. 
So life with Jesus doesn't mean 

419
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,200
things are going to get better 
and better and better and 

420
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,360
better. 
We actually are going to have to

421
00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:42,280
face hard things. 
And this metaphor of shadows, as

422
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:43,640
I said, is all through 
Scripture. 

423
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,040
And there's two competing 
shadows that I want to look at 

424
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:51,240
now. 
Two competing shadows. 

425
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,880
So if you turn to Hebrews, you 
might want to turn back to 

426
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:55,880
Psalms. 
You might want to go to Psalm 

427
00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,480
23, which if you've been around 
church for any length of time, 

428
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:03,960
you might recognize it. 
Psalm 23 says this. 

429
00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:07,200
The Lord is my shepherd. 
I lack nothing. 

430
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:10,600
He makes me lie down in green 
pastures. 

431
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,880
He leads me besides quiet 
waters. 

432
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:18,680
He refreshes my soul. 
He guides me along the right 

433
00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:23,000
paths for His name's sake. 
Even though I walk through the 

434
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:28,160
valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil, for you are 

435
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,120
with me. 
Your rod and your staff comfort 

436
00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:34,360
me. 
You prepare a table for me in 

437
00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:39,040
the presence of my enemies. 
Some of you, I know, will know 

438
00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:44,960
that off by heart. 
David talks in Psalm 23 about 

439
00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:49,760
this valley of the shadow of 
death where I will fear no evil.

440
00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:56,120
Is that even possible? 
But there's more to this. 

441
00:28:56,120 --> 00:29:00,280
And, and I think often our 
imaginations possibly betray us.

442
00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,520
At least I'll own that my 
imagination has betrayed me. 

443
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:06,360
In this Psalm. 
He makes me lie down in green 

444
00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:07,600
pastures. 
He leads me. 

445
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,880
Besides still waters. 
I'm thinking a spa day. 

446
00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:16,440
I'm thinking a jacuzzi. 
And the green pastures is like a

447
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:21,320
good shoulder massage. 
You know that's not what was 

448
00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:24,120
meant. 
There's no idyllic lying in a 

449
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:27,600
green Meadow with a gentle 
stream rolling beside us. 

450
00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:32,600
You know, usually for me, when I
get to the point where he leads 

451
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,200
me, besides still waters, he 
makes me lie down in green 

452
00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:37,440
pastures. 
I'm in bed for three days with 

453
00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:41,920
tonsillitis because I have 
pushed my physical body so hard 

454
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:43,960
I have not walked in step with 
him. 

455
00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:47,280
That's actually what it looks 
like. 

456
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:51,280
And the green pastures aren't a 
spa, but they are sitting in his

457
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,800
presence, weeping at how broken 
I am. 

458
00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:59,320
You know, the reality is for 
David, when he was writing this 

459
00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:03,760
Psalm, the the green pastures 
and the still waters were little

460
00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:07,760
clumps of grass in a wasteland 
where he was farming his sheep. 

461
00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:12,080
They were tiny streams of water 
that had just sprung up, that he

462
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:15,000
was gathering his sheep to go to
because there was no water 

463
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:20,680
anywhere else. 
The green passages are his 

464
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,560
presence in the midst of 
wilderness. 

465
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:30,960
His presence in the midst of our
questions, our our pain, the 

466
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:36,760
problems we can't solve. 
There's no material solution. 

467
00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:40,280
Success and wealth won't 
comfort. 

468
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:45,720
Only His presence will. 
Even though I walk through the 

469
00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:50,040
valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil, for you are 

470
00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:53,240
with me. 
Your rod and your staff comfort 

471
00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:56,360
me. 
You prepare a table before me in

472
00:30:56,360 --> 00:31:01,360
the presence of my enemies. 
The table that God lays for us 

473
00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:06,720
now is a table often in the 
presence of things that hurt us,

474
00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:11,520
things that haunt us in the 
midst of our darkest, hardest 

475
00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:16,080
days. 
God says I am here, come and 

476
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:20,160
eat. 
So there's the valley of the 

477
00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,120
shadow of death. 
I said there was 2 shadows, 2 

478
00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:26,800
opposing shadows. 
The second shadow flick a bit 

479
00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:31,880
further forward to Psalm 91, 
Psalm 91, verse one. 

480
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:36,600
Whoever dwells in the shelter of
the Most High will rest in the 

481
00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:41,400
shadow of the Almighty. 
So you've got this shadow of 

482
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:45,960
death, and then you have this 
shadow of the Almighty. 

483
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,200
How do you tell if you're in the
shadow of death or the shadow of

484
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:53,400
the Almighty? 
Because shadows are just dark, 

485
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:57,360
right? 
In my experience in my life with

486
00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:03,200
Jesus, the shadow of the 
Almighty has always been 

487
00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:08,440
available to me, including when 
I've walked through the shadow 

488
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:12,640
of death. 
He has always been there as I've

489
00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,480
abided, as I've dwelled, as I've
remained in Him, I have been 

490
00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,880
able to rest in the shadow of 
the Almighty. 

491
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,480
And I think if we have eyes and 
hearts to engage with it, and 

492
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:29,480
I'm not saying that's easy 
because it is hard, we can 

493
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,280
experience the shadow of the 
Almighty. 

494
00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:35,640
Jesus says when He walked the 
earth, He said the narrow is the

495
00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,600
path that leads to life, and few
find it. 

496
00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:42,400
Because when you're walking 
through the shadow of death, 

497
00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:45,560
walking through the valley of 
the shadow of death, shaking 

498
00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:49,280
your fist at God, turning away 
from him, walking in a different

499
00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:55,760
direction, that actually often 
feels easier than falling on 

500
00:32:55,760 --> 00:33:00,360
your knees, pouring your heart 
out to God and screaming why? 

501
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:08,120
But yet dwelling in his presence
means that we are always in his 

502
00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:10,440
shadow, the shadow of the 
Almighty. 

503
00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:13,880
You see, to be human is to die 
physically. 

504
00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:20,400
To come close to death is part 
of a life of love, this shadow 

505
00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:26,240
of death. 
And yet this shadow of God, the 

506
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:31,880
other shadow, the shadow of the 
Almighty, is so beautiful, is so

507
00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:37,760
peaceful, is powerful, is 
stronger than any shadow of 

508
00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:42,160
death. 
When the writer of Hebrew says 

509
00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:46,360
that Jesus came to free those 
who all their lives were in 

510
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:52,640
slavery by the fear of death, He
doesn't free us by making it 

511
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:57,080
that we never have to face it. 
We know in our bones, don't we, 

512
00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:00,720
that all of us are going to face
physical death and the loss of 

513
00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:04,800
loved ones, which wasn't ever 
God's intention in creation. 

514
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:08,480
Back in Eden, that was not God's
intention, but it is a 

515
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:11,880
consequence of us turning our 
backs on God and thinking we 

516
00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:14,600
know best. 
But when we go through this 

517
00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:17,840
valley, the valley of death, 
when we walk through the shadow,

518
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:23,560
we always get a choice. 
Just like we have a choice of 

519
00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:26,280
whether we're going to look at 
our wounds and get them healed 

520
00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:32,080
up, we have a choice. 
Will we, in our grief, in our 

521
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:37,400
anger, in our confusion, will we
allow the shadow of God to cover

522
00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:40,920
us? 
It will still feel hard. 

523
00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:44,639
It will still feel difficult. 
The Psalms say that His word is 

524
00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:47,600
a lamp and to our feet. 
And the funny things about lamps

525
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:49,679
is that they're so small. 
The lamps that they're talking 

526
00:34:49,679 --> 00:34:51,800
about in Scripture, I suppose 
they're a little bit like 

527
00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:55,520
equivalent to our tea lights. 
They just light up the next 

528
00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:59,040
step. 
We don't get the next 15, so you

529
00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:01,520
can try running with a lamp, but
you'll probably trip. 

530
00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:07,240
But as we engage with Him in His
presence, in His Word, when we 

531
00:35:07,240 --> 00:35:11,360
engage with the shadow of God, 
we will see the next step. 

532
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:17,800
Whoever dwells in the shelter of
the Almighty, I'm sorry. 

533
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:21,480
The Most High will rest in the 
shadow of the Almighty here and 

534
00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:25,560
now. 
The truth, the truth is 

535
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:28,200
everything in this life is going
to be taken away. 

536
00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:35,280
But there is something that can 
never, ever, ever be taken away 

537
00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,960
from us, and that is God's love 
for us. 

538
00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:43,680
God's love goes into death with 
us. 

539
00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:49,160
It takes us through physical 
death into his everlasting arms.

540
00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:53,520
That is the gospel. 
That is the gospel I am 

541
00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:57,680
captivated by that the love of 
God revealed and made available 

542
00:35:57,680 --> 00:36:01,000
to us through Jesus Christ can 
never be taken away. 

543
00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:04,360
It can never. 
It is the ballast in our boat 

544
00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:06,960
when we get into difficult 
times. 

545
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:10,800
When the stormy weather comes, 
we are kept upright. 

546
00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:14,560
We can lean into His everlasting
arms. 

547
00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:21,360
Romans 838 to 39 says I am 
convinced that nothing can 

548
00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:25,520
separate us from God's love. 
Neither death nor life, neither 

549
00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:29,080
angels nor demons, neither our 
fears for today or our worries 

550
00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:32,120
about tomorrow. 
Not even the powers of hell can 

551
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:35,720
separate us from God's love. 
No power in the sky above or in 

552
00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:39,560
the earth below, indeed, nothing
in all creation will ever be 

553
00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,880
able to separate us from the 
love of God that is revealed in 

554
00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:48,400
Christ Jesus. 
Lots of us are walking through 

555
00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:56,680
pain, through grief, through 
loss, asking God why carrying a 

556
00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,400
weight that is heavy and 
burdensome. 

557
00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:06,360
And he says to each of us, will 
we lean on him? 

558
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:10,000
Will we rest in his everlasting 
arms? 

559
00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:14,280
Because nothing is going to 
separate us from that. 

560
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:19,320
We just need to learn to lean. 
And it might be that you're 

561
00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:21,120
sitting here and you're 
thinking, well, I haven't really

562
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:25,160
experienced this liberty. 
Do you know you can learn to 

563
00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:31,240
lean right now so that when you 
do experience it, you are in the

564
00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:34,600
arms of the Father. 
You know how to do it. 

565
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:42,000
There is a shadow, deeper and 
wider and better than any shadow

566
00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:47,440
of death could ever cast, and 
it's called the shadow of God. 

567
00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:52,840
It covers us. 
I'm going to stop there. 

568
00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:59,640
Why don't we stand? 
The presence of God is here, and

569
00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,440
it might be that right now it 
feels a little bit raw. 

570
00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:11,840
And I simply say, Jesus, would 
you come? 

571
00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:19,200
Would you stand with us? 
Would you cover us in your 

572
00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:19,920
shadow?