WEBVTT 00:00:09.799 --> 00:00:12.400 Hey everyone, this is Charlie from Encounter 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:14.740 Church Henley, and thanks so much for tuning 00:00:14.740 --> 00:00:18.219 into our podcast. Our prayer is that through 00:00:18.219 --> 00:00:20.260 this podcast, you can have an encounter with 00:00:20.260 --> 00:00:23.620 Jesus that will change your life. And now, get 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:25.679 ready for an inspiring message from our preaching 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:32.229 team. How we doing today, Church? If you don't 00:00:32.229 --> 00:00:34.810 know me, my name is Angus. I'm part of the team 00:00:34.810 --> 00:00:37.829 here at Encounter Henley. Some people call me 00:00:37.829 --> 00:00:42.329 Goose. You're welcome to do that as well. That's 00:00:42.329 --> 00:00:46.689 fine with me. If you want the story, everyone 00:00:46.689 --> 00:00:48.630 thinks it's a story, it's not that big of a deal, 00:00:48.929 --> 00:00:54.049 but Angus became Gus, which became Goose. That's 00:00:54.049 --> 00:00:59.990 all it is. No Top Gun reference, just, yeah. 00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:06.579 I've just come off a youth camp So if I'm a bit 00:01:06.579 --> 00:01:10.459 tired, that's why Hopefully I stick to script 00:01:10.459 --> 00:01:16.120 We'll see where my brain takes me But it is the 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:20.060 spirit is moving just on that, you know it was 00:01:20.060 --> 00:01:22.780 such a privilege to be on this youth camp and 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:25.420 Just seeing how God is moving in the young people 00:01:25.420 --> 00:01:29.819 of South Australia There is something going on, 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:34.290 you know There, God is moving and he's speaking 00:01:34.290 --> 00:01:36.650 to the next generation of young people, which 00:01:36.650 --> 00:01:39.069 I think is absolutely incredible. You know, there 00:01:39.069 --> 00:01:42.150 is a hunger there. And there is revival happening. 00:01:42.390 --> 00:01:44.010 You know, we've just finished a series on revival. 00:01:44.069 --> 00:01:47.310 There is revival coming in South Australia and 00:01:47.310 --> 00:01:48.849 what a privilege it is to be a part of that, 00:01:48.849 --> 00:01:53.469 right? All right. Before I jump into it, I need 00:01:53.469 --> 00:01:59.659 to pray. So loving God. We thank you for the 00:01:59.659 --> 00:02:02.079 miracle it is that your word has been preserved. 00:02:03.299 --> 00:02:05.260 Father, I pray that as I speak tonight that it 00:02:05.260 --> 00:02:10.099 would just be your spirit and your wisdom. Father, 00:02:10.099 --> 00:02:14.159 I pray that each of us here tonight would just 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:16.620 have such an experience of you and your love 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:20.479 and your grace tonight. We thank you for who 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:23.419 you are, what you're doing. When we say spirit 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:29.490 come, move in this place. Invade our hearts. 00:02:30.389 --> 00:02:35.590 Teach us your truth. Teach us who you are. Your 00:02:35.590 --> 00:02:41.770 name. Amen. Does anyone here watch maths, married 00:02:41.770 --> 00:02:48.110 at first sight? I do. I think I saw one other 00:02:48.110 --> 00:02:53.830 hand. This is a great start for me. I've just 00:02:53.830 --> 00:02:56.169 full on exposed myself in front of all of you. 00:02:57.980 --> 00:03:02.319 If you don't watch maths, I'll... Married at 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:06.080 First Sight is its full name. And even though 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:08.780 I do watch it, I'll admit that it is utter trash. 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:14.039 And it is... Yeah, yeah. It's garbage and part 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:18.219 of me hates it. But if you are unfamiliar with 00:03:18.219 --> 00:03:19.900 the show, if you don't know what it is, how it 00:03:19.900 --> 00:03:24.520 works, let me run it down for you. So every year, 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:27.860 thousands of singles You'd hope they're single. 00:03:29.020 --> 00:03:32.360 Singles, thousands of people from across Australia 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:35.400 apply to be on this reality TV show called Married 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:37.659 at First Sight. And what they do is they are 00:03:37.659 --> 00:03:40.840 matched with a stranger whom they marry in a 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:43.699 social experiment to see if they can make the 00:03:43.699 --> 00:03:45.960 marriage last over a period of about two months, 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:49.360 I think it is. And in this experiment, they undergo 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:52.259 various challenges, a few tasks, and they get 00:03:52.259 --> 00:03:57.449 some counselling from experts. To try and strengthen 00:03:57.449 --> 00:04:01.050 and deepen their relationships and they essentially 00:04:01.050 --> 00:04:03.150 fast -track these relationships So there is no 00:04:03.150 --> 00:04:05.810 dating stage. It's just straight to full -time 00:04:05.810 --> 00:04:09.050 marriage living together doing everything together 00:04:09.050 --> 00:04:12.870 like you would in an ordinary marriage as You 00:04:12.870 --> 00:04:15.210 might imagine the rate at which these couples 00:04:15.210 --> 00:04:17.730 walk away from the experiment still together 00:04:17.730 --> 00:04:22.149 is not very high and If they do walk away together 00:04:23.330 --> 00:04:26.029 the statistic drops even more once they return 00:04:26.029 --> 00:04:30.350 to their normal lives. So yeah, not a great hit 00:04:30.350 --> 00:04:32.310 rate, but somehow they still get thousands of 00:04:32.310 --> 00:04:36.509 people saying that I'm here for love. Sorry, 00:04:36.610 --> 00:04:40.370 I'm cynical. But after a few seasons, you start 00:04:40.370 --> 00:04:42.790 to pick up on the various types of characters 00:04:42.790 --> 00:04:46.209 and archetypes that you get on the show. And 00:04:46.209 --> 00:04:49.569 every year without fail, there are people that 00:04:49.569 --> 00:04:51.490 get on it and they just think they're perfect. 00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:54.360 They think the other person is the problem. They 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:56.579 have nothing to learn. You know, in all their 00:04:56.579 --> 00:04:59.079 previous relationships, they're the psycho. They're 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:03.720 the crazy one. It's not me. I have nothing to 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:06.240 learn. I'm never the one making mistakes or doing 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:09.480 the wrong thing. And if you're watching the show, 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:12.139 you usually either sit there and laugh at these 00:05:12.139 --> 00:05:15.500 people and how ridiculous they sound, or you 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:18.160 sit there and scream at them in anger because 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:22.000 in them we see arrogance, narcissistic tendencies 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:27.019 and a complete lack of awareness. And these people, 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:30.120 they struggle to see how their behaviour is impacting 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:33.060 the other person or how their patterns of behaviour 00:05:33.060 --> 00:05:36.220 are self -sabotaging. And then they have these 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:39.939 experts come into the group sessions and they 00:05:39.939 --> 00:05:41.800 try and counsel them and they give them pieces 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:44.120 of advice and things they need to work on and 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:47.620 they don't take any of it on board. And they 00:05:47.620 --> 00:05:50.939 just go, actually, nah. I had no best and, you 00:05:50.939 --> 00:05:56.779 know, it's not me, it's them. And they're stuck 00:05:56.779 --> 00:06:00.319 in this world of I can do no wrong. But we don't 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:03.480 just see this on TV, right? We see this everywhere 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:07.480 in life. I have the privilege of working as a 00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:10.620 school chaplain in a school full of teenagers 00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:13.519 and toddlers, or not toddlers, sorry, children. 00:06:14.420 --> 00:06:19.259 And, you know, I get... On the daily, I get students 00:06:19.259 --> 00:06:21.639 come in and say, Angus, this teacher knows absolutely 00:06:21.639 --> 00:06:24.420 nothing. I'm like, well, they kind of have a 00:06:24.420 --> 00:06:30.860 degree. Where's yours, little boy? I don't say 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:36.660 that. But I know there's a few people here that 00:06:36.660 --> 00:06:38.660 might work in schools or you go to school and 00:06:38.660 --> 00:06:41.019 you might see these people around the place and, 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:42.220 you know, you might laugh at them, you might 00:06:42.220 --> 00:06:43.720 be angry at them, you might think nothing of 00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:46.000 them. But we see them everywhere in schools and 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:51.089 in our own life. as well. We live in an age where 00:06:51.089 --> 00:06:53.589 all of human knowledge is accessible through 00:06:53.589 --> 00:06:57.470 a few taps on our phone screen and so now everyone 00:06:57.470 --> 00:07:00.410 is an expert on everything. You read a few articles 00:07:00.410 --> 00:07:03.910 online and you might as well have a PhD. This 00:07:03.910 --> 00:07:06.990 became more apparent than ever during COVID, 00:07:07.149 --> 00:07:10.310 right? And at the risk of becoming political, 00:07:11.069 --> 00:07:13.209 people with no medical background at all suddenly 00:07:13.209 --> 00:07:16.329 became experts on vaccines. regardless of whether 00:07:16.329 --> 00:07:19.329 they were good for you or bad for you, everyone 00:07:19.329 --> 00:07:21.569 had something to say, everyone was an expert. 00:07:23.430 --> 00:07:25.569 And every now and again, you find that no matter 00:07:25.569 --> 00:07:28.529 how superficial their arguments were, or how 00:07:28.529 --> 00:07:31.449 logical and thought out and comprehensive yours 00:07:31.449 --> 00:07:34.610 were, they would still remain adamant that they 00:07:34.610 --> 00:07:37.550 were right. And it very well could be the case 00:07:37.550 --> 00:07:39.529 that you have been this person as well, because 00:07:39.529 --> 00:07:43.860 I know I have. And if you have never been this 00:07:43.860 --> 00:07:47.680 person, good on you, I'd say that you definitely 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:52.459 know someone who is. This week, we are starting 00:07:52.459 --> 00:07:56.540 a brand new series called Sort It Out. And the 00:07:56.540 --> 00:07:58.939 heart of this series or the idea of it is to 00:07:58.939 --> 00:08:02.519 help all of us sort ourselves out, sort out our 00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:05.540 hearts so that we can become people who can manage 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:09.459 conflict with humility, grace, and understanding. 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:13.160 We are almost a year into this church. Can I 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:14.839 get a round of applause for that? How amazing 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:19.040 is that? Almost a whole year of Encounter Henley. 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:21.319 We're having a birthday party, so come along 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:25.120 to that. But we've seen God moving in this space, 00:08:25.339 --> 00:08:29.399 and we want to stay in line with how God is working. 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:32.460 But in order to do that, we have to make sure 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:35.559 that we are a church that is emotionally and 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:39.519 spiritually healthy. a church that is unafraid 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:42.159 of having the hard conversations, not because 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:45.059 we enjoy it, but because we have a heart to see 00:08:45.059 --> 00:08:47.559 our brothers and sisters and our friends becoming 00:08:47.559 --> 00:08:52.720 all that God created us to be. While we're emotionally 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:55.480 and spiritually immature, straight away we're 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:58.360 putting a cap and a limit on ourselves and our 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:01.200 growth. By encouraging each other and having 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:03.539 critical conversations with each other, building 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:05.539 each other up and helping each other sort it 00:09:05.539 --> 00:09:08.820 out, we'll start to see more and more growth 00:09:08.820 --> 00:09:12.840 in ourselves, in our church, and in every part 00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:15.980 of our lives. Because conflict is inevitable 00:09:15.980 --> 00:09:19.279 no matter where we are. In our workplaces, our 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:23.240 schools, our families, our friendships, conflict 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:26.879 is inescapable. And so the goal for this series 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:30.080 is to challenge and equip us so that when we 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:32.799 come into conflict, we're able to navigate it 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:37.220 in a mature and healthy way. That is our heart 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:39.740 for this series. And so regardless of whether 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:42.279 you call this church home or not, there's something 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:44.799 in here for you. We'd love to have you stick 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.059 around for the whole series. It's only three 00:09:47.059 --> 00:09:51.279 weeks long, which isn't that long. So come back 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:54.480 next week, the week after. We'd love to see you. 00:09:55.220 --> 00:09:57.279 And this isn't just a series for followers of 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:00.240 Jesus either. This series will be filled with 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:01.940 important lessons for everyone, regardless of 00:10:01.940 --> 00:10:04.360 whether you call yourself a Christian or not, 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:07.940 whether you have a faith background or not. And 00:10:07.940 --> 00:10:11.379 so, let's jump into it, shall we? We are kicking 00:10:11.379 --> 00:10:13.799 off this week by looking at having a humble heart 00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:18.460 and a teachable spirit. Our teaching text today, 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:20.480 as Caden's read out for us, is from Proverbs 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:24.679 chapter 12, verse 1, and it says this, to learn, 00:10:24.860 --> 00:10:29.019 you must love discipline. It is stupid to hate 00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:33.159 correction. And that's pretty brutal, isn't it? 00:10:33.460 --> 00:10:38.019 It is stupid to hate correction. Now, the Book 00:10:38.019 --> 00:10:41.220 of Proverbs falls under the banner of wisdom 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:44.220 literature. Most of the book was written by King 00:10:44.220 --> 00:10:47.379 Solomon, who in the Book of First Kings is regarded 00:10:47.379 --> 00:10:51.539 as the wisest man in the ancient world. But as 00:10:51.539 --> 00:10:53.639 I'm sure we're all aware, there is a difference 00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:58.000 between wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge is all 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:00.899 about what we understand, what we recognize as 00:11:00.899 --> 00:11:05.100 truth or as fact. Wisdom, on the other hand, 00:11:05.539 --> 00:11:12.059 is how we apply that knowledge. In the original 00:11:12.059 --> 00:11:15.480 Hebrew, it's the word chokmah. Can you say that 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:21.139 for me? Chokmah. Chokmah. I think I'm saying 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:22.960 it right. I actually don't know if that's how 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:32.360 you say it. But yeah This chokma is all about 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:35.860 what we do with our knowledge and practical outworking 00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:38.720 For example, some of you might be familiar with 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:42.059 the saying that knowledge is recognizing a tomato 00:11:42.059 --> 00:11:45.580 is a fruit But wisdom is knowing not to put it 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:50.960 in a fruit salad Knowledge is recognizing that 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:53.639 you have the right of way when you're driving 00:11:53.639 --> 00:11:56.950 wisdom is knowing that not everyone knows the 00:11:56.950 --> 00:12:00.470 road rules and still choosing to look both ways 00:12:00.470 --> 00:12:04.990 before entering an intersection. So when we're 00:12:04.990 --> 00:12:07.389 reading wisdom literature, like the proverbs, 00:12:07.870 --> 00:12:10.649 these aren't just nice little platitudes and 00:12:10.649 --> 00:12:13.549 sayings. These are ideas and concepts that will 00:12:13.549 --> 00:12:16.950 help us to live our life well. They aren't just 00:12:16.950 --> 00:12:20.169 phrases to whip out in a debate, but these are 00:12:20.169 --> 00:12:23.629 verses that we can apply to our life and will 00:12:23.629 --> 00:12:26.159 help us grow. and help us live our lives in a 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:28.840 way that honors both God and the people around 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:32.320 us. This book isn't just about listening to good 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:35.919 advice, but it's an invitation from God for us 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:39.139 to learn wisdom from previous generations. Does 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:41.960 that kind of make sense? Am I making sense? I'm 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:47.259 seeing some nods, so that's good. Where am I? 00:12:51.539 --> 00:12:59.799 I'm lost. There it is. And so when we're reading 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:03.299 proverbs, it's common for us to see verses that 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:05.019 kind of follow a bit of a formula where it says 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:09.779 X is good, but Y is bad. They often encourage 00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:13.759 us towards something good and discourage us from 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:17.259 something that's not so good. And this is exactly 00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:19.080 the kind of formula that we see in the passage 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:22.360 today. Can I get it back up on the screen, please? 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:30.759 So we see to learn, you must love discipline. 00:13:31.539 --> 00:13:34.159 So we're encouraged to be disciplined and we're 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:36.460 encouraged to seek knowledge. We're encouraged 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:41.139 to learn. On the other hand, it's stupid to hate 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:45.179 correction. So we're warned against hating correction. 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.539 We're warned against thinking that we already 00:13:47.539 --> 00:13:50.919 know everything. But realistically, who actually 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:56.340 enjoys being corrected? I know I don't. It can 00:13:56.340 --> 00:13:59.360 be excruciatingly difficult for us to admit we're 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:02.100 no wrong, especially when it comes to something 00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:04.279 that we're passionate about or knowledgeable 00:14:04.279 --> 00:14:08.779 about. And on the flip side, who loves discipline? 00:14:09.620 --> 00:14:16.460 Again, I don't. I know I would much rather enjoy 00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:19.940 eating what I want when I want, rather than going 00:14:19.940 --> 00:14:22.039 on a strict diet to get shredded. And there's 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:23.799 a few people fasting in here for Lent at the 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:27.590 moment. which is amazing. I'm kind of doing my 00:14:27.590 --> 00:14:34.149 own fast, but I'm not eating McDonald's. And 00:14:34.149 --> 00:14:37.769 a few other things as well, but you guys are 00:14:37.769 --> 00:14:41.950 much more disciplined than me, so yeah. Also, 00:14:41.950 --> 00:14:43.590 I enjoy staying up late to play video games. 00:14:44.110 --> 00:14:46.909 I feel I'm just exposing myself this whole segment. 00:14:48.389 --> 00:14:50.629 Yeah, I stay up late sometimes and I wake up 00:14:50.629 --> 00:14:52.769 super tired and I'm like, why did I do that? 00:14:53.649 --> 00:14:57.710 So yeah, but generally speaking, discipline can 00:14:57.710 --> 00:15:00.970 be hard for us to love and correction is easy 00:15:00.970 --> 00:15:05.470 for us to hate. Discipline is hard for us to 00:15:05.470 --> 00:15:11.309 love and correction is easy for us to hate. And 00:15:11.309 --> 00:15:13.629 yet this proverb tells us that in order to live 00:15:13.629 --> 00:15:16.669 our lives well and become people of wisdom, we 00:15:16.669 --> 00:15:20.500 have to flip the script. We have to rewire our 00:15:20.500 --> 00:15:24.399 brains and our behavior to do what is more difficult. 00:15:24.779 --> 00:15:27.559 We have to love discipline and we have to welcome 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:30.759 correction. And this is often the challenge that 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:34.259 lies in being a Christian. Following God isn't 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:37.019 always an easy thing and will often ask us to 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:44.100 do what is difficult. It's about going against 00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:47.419 our natural and default tendencies. Against what 00:15:47.419 --> 00:15:50.179 society says against the cultural norms and making 00:15:50.179 --> 00:15:53.159 the choice to say actually This path is better 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:57.320 for me. I know this path is easy But this is 00:15:57.320 --> 00:15:59.679 the one that will ultimately lead me to life 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:05.700 Like getting a good phone case This is the way 00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:09.059 that leads to life And this is what it means 00:16:09.059 --> 00:16:12.120 to have a teachable spirit as well in order to 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:15.049 foster a teachable spirit we have to come to 00:16:15.049 --> 00:16:17.529 the recognition that we don't actually know everything 00:16:17.529 --> 00:16:21.549 and we don't always know what's best. We must 00:16:21.549 --> 00:16:24.710 cast out the spirit of pride that each of us 00:16:24.710 --> 00:16:29.389 carry and humble ourselves. Of all the things 00:16:29.389 --> 00:16:32.110 that can prevent us and stop us from having a 00:16:32.110 --> 00:16:34.970 teachable spirit, pride is the most insidious. 00:16:35.509 --> 00:16:37.950 Pride tells us that whenever someone has something 00:16:37.950 --> 00:16:41.720 to offer us, it's a personal attack. Sometimes 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:44.039 we even flip the script and think, who do they 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:46.200 think they are? Do they really think they know 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:48.139 better than me? And suddenly we're not the ones 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:53.259 with the pride issue, but they are. Pride is 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:56.539 what causes us to hate correction. That's exactly 00:16:56.539 --> 00:16:59.539 what the proverb warns us against. This means 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:01.740 we have to deal with that pride inside of us. 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:04.980 And C .S. Lewis, who is one of the 20th century's 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:07.900 most prolific theologians, has a lot to say about 00:17:07.900 --> 00:17:10.579 pride. This is a quote from his book, Mere Christianity. 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:14.200 It says, according to Christian teachers, the 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:17.619 essential vice and the utmost evil is pride. 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:24.400 The essential vice and the utmost evil is pride. 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:29.339 He goes on to say that unchastity anger, greed, 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:33.059 drunkenness or all that are mere flea bites in 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:36.940 comparison. It was through pride that the devil 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:41.220 became the devil. Pride leads to every other 00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:44.579 vice. It is the complete anti -god state of mind. 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:48.180 It is pride which has been the chief cause of 00:17:48.180 --> 00:17:51.700 misery in every nation and every family since 00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:57.869 the world began. And this isn't just C .S. Lewis 00:17:57.869 --> 00:18:01.349 coming to this conclusion on his own. Constantly 00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:03.750 throughout scripture we're warned against pride 00:18:03.750 --> 00:18:07.509 and we see story after story of people falling 00:18:07.509 --> 00:18:12.029 victim to their own pride. At its root, pride 00:18:12.029 --> 00:18:14.869 is about exalting ourselves. It's about saying, 00:18:15.109 --> 00:18:17.490 look at me. Look how great I am. Look what I 00:18:17.490 --> 00:18:20.750 can do. Look what talents I have. Look what gifts 00:18:20.750 --> 00:18:24.789 God has given me. Look how blessed I am. It's 00:18:24.789 --> 00:18:26.769 stuff like nine -year -olds ignoring their parents' 00:18:26.829 --> 00:18:29.309 instruction to use the brakes when riding their 00:18:29.309 --> 00:18:33.849 bike down a hill and stacking it. It's 12 -year 00:18:33.849 --> 00:18:36.130 -old boys trying to impress girls at school by 00:18:36.130 --> 00:18:38.369 playing soccer and taking on the whole team to 00:18:38.369 --> 00:18:40.869 try and score a goal, but then tripping over 00:18:40.869 --> 00:18:43.950 and face planting. It's teenagers thinking, I 00:18:43.950 --> 00:18:45.650 don't need a recipe when they're starting to 00:18:45.650 --> 00:18:49.069 cook and serving undercooked chicken and nearly 00:18:49.069 --> 00:18:52.670 food poisoning everyone that ate the dish. It's 00:18:52.670 --> 00:18:54.589 20 -something -year -old men thinking they don't 00:18:54.589 --> 00:18:56.990 need help mounting a speaker and nearly dropping 00:18:56.990 --> 00:19:03.150 and breaking it. Sometimes 40 -year -old men, 00:19:03.269 --> 00:19:11.289 too. And, yeah, really, I'm just exposing myself 00:19:11.289 --> 00:19:13.630 completely today. I'm feeling very vulnerable 00:19:13.630 --> 00:19:16.710 right now. These are all things that I've done. 00:19:17.269 --> 00:19:19.460 These are all... times where I've been stubborn 00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:21.839 and prideful in my own life and I've paid for 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:27.859 it later. And this happens to all of us. In all 00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:29.660 seriousness, when we have a spirit of pride, 00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:32.160 when we're exalting ourselves, when we're looking 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:34.960 for spaces where we can put ourselves on a pedestal, 00:19:35.180 --> 00:19:37.559 not only do we take God out of the equation and 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:40.059 say, I don't need you, I don't need you God, 00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:42.299 I don't want you God, but we actually run the 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:44.980 risk of hurting ourselves and hurting the people 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:48.410 around us. It says in Proverbs chapter 16 verse 00:19:48.410 --> 00:19:52.930 18, that pride goes before destruction. And we 00:19:52.930 --> 00:19:55.750 see this all the time in and out of scripture. 00:19:56.410 --> 00:19:59.069 In the book of Exodus, we read about Moses appealing 00:19:59.069 --> 00:20:01.869 to Pharaoh to let his Hebrew brothers and sisters 00:20:01.869 --> 00:20:05.450 out of slavery. But Pharaoh in his pride, he 00:20:05.450 --> 00:20:08.130 forces them to stay. And because of that choice, 00:20:08.269 --> 00:20:12.130 because of his pride, thousands died in the plagues 00:20:12.130 --> 00:20:15.400 that God wrote on Egypt, including Pharaoh's 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:19.700 own son. Pharaoh was given opportunities for 00:20:19.700 --> 00:20:22.859 correction. He was given chances to change his 00:20:22.859 --> 00:20:25.980 ways, but his pride ultimately proved to be too 00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:30.920 strong. His spirit wasn't teachable. He chose 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:33.599 to stand his ground, which we're able to look 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:36.660 back now and realize was stupid. No, Pharaoh 00:20:36.660 --> 00:20:39.339 hated correction and now we think Pharaoh is 00:20:39.339 --> 00:20:42.460 stupid. But even outside of the Bible, I know 00:20:42.460 --> 00:20:44.920 for myself that I've been hurt by my own pride, 00:20:45.339 --> 00:20:48.259 as I've shared, and I've been hurt by the pride 00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:51.619 of others as well. I've looked up to people that 00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:55.140 have inflicted pain on so many others because 00:20:55.140 --> 00:20:58.079 of their own pride, because of their inability 00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:01.359 to own up to their own mistakes, because that's 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:03.400 another thing that pride does. It makes it really 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:05.599 hard to own up when we've done the wrong thing. 00:21:06.690 --> 00:21:09.549 Like it says in the teaching texts about hating 00:21:09.549 --> 00:21:15.910 correction, this comes from pride. Hating correction 00:21:15.910 --> 00:21:19.349 comes from pride. We hate correction and hearing 00:21:19.349 --> 00:21:21.150 what could be done better because we think that 00:21:21.150 --> 00:21:24.190 we already know the best. And this cannot exist 00:21:24.190 --> 00:21:27.369 in our lives as followers of Jesus. The whole 00:21:27.369 --> 00:21:29.769 premise of Christianity is that we can't do it 00:21:29.769 --> 00:21:33.089 ourselves. We need community. We need counsel 00:21:33.089 --> 00:21:36.599 from other Christians and other people. Proverbs 00:21:36.599 --> 00:21:39.720 chapter 19 verse 20 says get all the advice and 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:43.220 instruction you can so you will be wise the rest 00:21:43.220 --> 00:21:47.180 of your life It's true that we need God to help 00:21:47.180 --> 00:21:51.519 guide us and give us the wisdom we need But we 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:53.839 also need to be willing to take on board correction 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:57.799 instruction and teaching from others God puts 00:21:57.799 --> 00:22:00.339 people in our lives to help us. We are relational 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:05.000 beings after all But most importantly, as I've 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:08.420 already kind of touched on, we need God. As Christians, 00:22:08.539 --> 00:22:10.779 we declare God as King and Savior of our lives 00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:16.539 because we can't save ourselves. The pride says, 00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:23.660 no, I'm the King of my life. I know best and 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:27.339 I don't need you God. We can come to church and 00:22:27.339 --> 00:22:30.140 we can sing songs declaring God's truth. We can 00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:33.180 declare God as sovereign. We can listen to messages. 00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:36.559 We can even preach messages. We can lead ministries. 00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:38.680 We can do the right things. We can say the right 00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:41.759 things. And we can still be fostering a sense 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:44.960 of pride. We can still be fostering a spirit 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:50.180 of pride within ourselves. Where deep down we 00:22:50.180 --> 00:22:53.380 resent God. and we resent the call of Christianity 00:22:53.380 --> 00:22:56.099 to humble ourselves at the foot of the cross. 00:22:58.539 --> 00:23:02.420 Sometimes it's not a big grandiose display. Sometimes 00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:05.819 it's not a massive fall from grace. Sometimes 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:09.039 it's the deep, dark, hidden parts of our lives 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:13.660 where we rebel against God. We see this in Genesis 00:23:13.660 --> 00:23:16.720 when the serpent appeals to the pride in Adam 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:18.859 and Eve and deceives them into eating the fruit. 00:23:20.660 --> 00:23:22.759 Sometimes it's not even something we're aware 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:28.359 that's happening. Pride has a way of wriggling 00:23:28.359 --> 00:23:31.279 itself into us slowly and telling us that we 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:36.940 know best, that we are the authority. And this 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:39.880 just isn't compatible with a healthy spiritual 00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:43.079 life. In order to be all that God created us 00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:45.839 to be, in order to sort ourselves out, we need 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:48.359 to cast out pride completely from our lives. 00:23:49.390 --> 00:23:52.089 This is a non -negotiable for Jesus followers. 00:23:54.750 --> 00:23:56.650 If you call yourself a follower of Jesus in this 00:23:56.650 --> 00:23:58.930 place today, there is a call for you tonight 00:23:58.930 --> 00:24:03.829 to lay to death your pride. Search yourselves, 00:24:04.349 --> 00:24:06.930 search your hearts, and honestly ask yourself, 00:24:07.069 --> 00:24:10.710 where is there pride in my life? As I've been 00:24:10.710 --> 00:24:12.930 preparing this message, God has definitely pulled 00:24:12.930 --> 00:24:15.029 me up on some areas of my life where I'm carrying 00:24:15.029 --> 00:24:19.880 pride. We're called not just to stop being prideful, 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:23.900 but to put it to death completely, nail it to 00:24:23.900 --> 00:24:27.299 the cross. Because a teachable spirit cannot 00:24:27.299 --> 00:24:31.000 coexist with a prideful spirit. We cannot be 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:33.259 teachable while we don't think we need to be 00:24:33.259 --> 00:24:36.900 taught. How can we expect God to move and work 00:24:36.900 --> 00:24:40.579 in and through us if we don't recognize the need 00:24:40.579 --> 00:24:45.539 that we have for Him? We must put pride to death 00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:51.380 and pursue humility. But the thing about humility 00:24:51.380 --> 00:24:53.660 is that it's incredibly difficult sometimes, 00:24:53.660 --> 00:24:57.700 and it isn't always overly appealing. Recognizing 00:24:57.700 --> 00:25:00.920 our own faults and shortcomings is hard and can 00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:04.700 sometimes come at our own expense. Being humble 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:07.920 can sometimes come with a cost as we think about 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:11.119 ourselves less and our own needs and desires 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:16.470 fall to the side. But with that, also come a 00:25:16.470 --> 00:25:20.630 lot of benefits as well. It's not all bad. People 00:25:20.630 --> 00:25:23.490 that display humility are often proven to have 00:25:23.490 --> 00:25:26.809 stronger connections with others, a greater awareness 00:25:26.809 --> 00:25:29.809 of themselves and their place in the world, and 00:25:29.809 --> 00:25:33.990 greater happiness and life satisfaction. And 00:25:33.990 --> 00:25:35.809 it goes hand in hand with having a teachable 00:25:35.809 --> 00:25:39.589 spirit. When we're humble, it becomes easier 00:25:39.589 --> 00:25:43.130 for us to love discipline and welcome correction. 00:25:44.109 --> 00:25:46.779 Because ultimately, This is the type of person 00:25:46.779 --> 00:25:49.920 we all want to become, right? Someone who's able 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:53.400 to take on feedback and improve. Someone who 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:56.460 in the face of conflict is able to pause before 00:25:56.460 --> 00:25:59.539 becoming defensive and handle the situation with 00:25:59.539 --> 00:26:04.400 care, gentleness, and understanding. How are 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:08.319 we going? Are we tracking with me? No one's asleep 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:12.480 yet, so I must be doing something, right? Here 00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:15.420 are a few practical things. to help us foster 00:26:15.420 --> 00:26:18.779 our hearts to be humble and our spirits to be 00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:24.779 teachable. The first is to serve others. Serving 00:26:24.779 --> 00:26:29.940 others is something that Jesus did all the time 00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:32.960 in his ministry. We see him helping men with 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.039 their fishing, healing people. He turned water 00:26:36.039 --> 00:26:38.599 into wine in a fantastic act of service that 00:26:38.599 --> 00:26:43.190 I'm sure made many people very happy. So I ask 00:26:43.190 --> 00:26:46.309 you what you can do to serve someone in your 00:26:46.309 --> 00:26:49.430 daily life. If you live with your family, maybe 00:26:49.430 --> 00:26:52.250 you could serve them in some way. Get up a few 00:26:52.250 --> 00:26:54.410 minutes earlier and make them a coffee, make 00:26:54.410 --> 00:26:57.490 them breakfast perhaps. If you work or go to 00:26:57.490 --> 00:26:59.809 school, can you do something for your peers or 00:26:59.809 --> 00:27:03.269 for your colleagues? Serving others and putting 00:27:03.269 --> 00:27:06.390 their needs above our own is a powerful way for 00:27:06.390 --> 00:27:10.549 us to humble ourselves. The second is to practice 00:27:10.549 --> 00:27:40.319 gratitude. Practice gratitude. The third one 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:44.880 is to reflect on yourself. Practicing self -reflection 00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:49.299 is a powerful, albeit confronting, way to foster 00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:52.980 humility. Reflecting on our flaws and shortcomings, 00:27:53.619 --> 00:27:56.680 recognizing our own areas for improvement, and 00:27:56.680 --> 00:27:58.839 then if you want to take it a step further, you 00:27:58.839 --> 00:28:00.960 can seek out people that will help you improve 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:04.640 in those areas. Rather than inflating our own 00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:07.079 egos by deluding ourselves that we're perfect, 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:11.359 take the time to be humble and will help us manage 00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:14.220 the conflict that arises because we don't think 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:17.339 that we're better than anyone else anymore. At 00:28:17.339 --> 00:28:19.940 the end of the day we're all flawed and imperfect 00:28:19.940 --> 00:28:23.359 beings. We all have things we need to do better 00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:25.599 and we all have things that we can learn from 00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:29.559 each other. Foster a teachable spirit by becoming 00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:33.480 proactive in seeking out feedback rather than 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:37.819 simply waiting for it to come to you. Ask people 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:39.460 what they thought of whatever it is you want 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:44.200 feedback for. How am I doing, Isaac? Thank you. 00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:52.839 The last one is prayer. It always comes back 00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:56.480 to prayer. It's almost like spending time with 00:28:56.480 --> 00:29:00.539 God is good for us. And as we pray, we need to 00:29:00.539 --> 00:29:03.779 invite God to search us and reveal to us the 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:05.980 areas of our life where we're resisting correction. 00:29:07.150 --> 00:29:09.849 Places that we're reluctant to hand over to God 00:29:09.849 --> 00:29:14.190 and then to hand it over. Because ultimately 00:29:14.190 --> 00:29:17.150 it's pride that stops us from stepping into all 00:29:17.150 --> 00:29:19.990 that God created us to be. It's pride that tells 00:29:19.990 --> 00:29:22.609 us we shouldn't be corrected and no we can't 00:29:22.609 --> 00:29:26.490 hand this to God. It's pride that says I don't 00:29:26.490 --> 00:29:31.109 need God. Having a humble heart means to have 00:29:31.109 --> 00:29:34.369 open hands and being ready for God to shake up 00:29:34.369 --> 00:29:42.940 our lives completely. to finish. Humility and 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:46.660 having a teachable spirit is vital for our spiritual 00:29:46.660 --> 00:29:51.599 lives. The 18th century theologian Jonathan Edwards, 00:29:52.440 --> 00:29:55.519 he said, we must view humility as one of the 00:29:55.519 --> 00:29:59.319 most essential things that characterizes true 00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:03.640 Christianity. And we see this better through 00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:07.480 none other than the man himself, Jesus Christ. 00:30:08.590 --> 00:30:12.069 Jesus left heaven and he came to earth as a man 00:30:12.069 --> 00:30:14.910 in an act that embodies humility in a way that 00:30:14.910 --> 00:30:19.170 nobody else could ever emulate. And he preached 00:30:19.170 --> 00:30:22.490 humility to his disciples and the people. He 00:30:22.490 --> 00:30:25.890 said that he came not to be served, but to serve. 00:30:27.269 --> 00:30:29.569 On the night of the last supper with his disciples, 00:30:29.890 --> 00:30:32.950 he washed their feet. And this was supposed to 00:30:32.950 --> 00:30:37.490 be a king. This was God made flesh. And he was 00:30:37.490 --> 00:30:41.029 washing people's feet like a servant. I'm not 00:30:41.029 --> 00:30:44.109 sure I could wash my friend's feet. Josh has 00:30:44.109 --> 00:30:55.190 a manky toe right now. Sorry, man. But he humbled 00:30:55.190 --> 00:31:00.849 himself. He became a servant from being God to 00:31:00.849 --> 00:31:04.150 a servant. What an incredible act of humility. 00:31:05.930 --> 00:31:23.710 In Philippians, the Apostle Paul says this, Jesus 00:31:23.710 --> 00:31:31.950 didn't come as God. But he made himself nothing. 00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:35.619 taking the form of a servant, being born in the 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:38.519 likeness of man, and being found in human form, 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:42.920 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the 00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:50.380 point of death, even death on a cross. Jesus 00:31:50.380 --> 00:31:54.660 showed us what it means to be humble, and he 00:31:54.660 --> 00:31:58.140 now invites us to be humble in our lives as well. 00:31:58.930 --> 00:32:02.430 He came and he died on a cross to save us from 00:32:02.430 --> 00:32:05.109 our sin and darkness and now invites us into 00:32:05.109 --> 00:32:12.089 something brand new How will you respond? It 00:32:12.089 --> 00:32:14.509 takes a humble heart to be able to reflect and 00:32:14.509 --> 00:32:17.109 recognize that it was Jesus who came to save 00:32:17.109 --> 00:32:20.130 us It takes a humble heart to be able to say 00:32:20.130 --> 00:32:25.690 God not my will not my way but yours Like Jesus 00:32:25.690 --> 00:32:28.630 in the garden as he's about to die He says this 00:32:28.630 --> 00:32:31.349 prayer, he says, God, take this cup from me. 00:32:31.730 --> 00:32:35.670 If there is another way, God, please show me 00:32:35.670 --> 00:32:38.190 this other way. But then he finishes this prayer 00:32:38.190 --> 00:32:44.410 by saying, not my will, but yours be done. And 00:32:44.410 --> 00:32:46.529 this act of humility from Jesus has now gone 00:32:46.529 --> 00:32:49.690 down in history as the single greatest act of 00:32:49.690 --> 00:32:54.170 love this world has ever seen. God is calling 00:32:54.170 --> 00:32:55.630 each of us here today and I was like, you can 00:32:55.630 --> 00:32:59.690 come on, give me some spirit keys. God is calling 00:32:59.690 --> 00:33:03.930 each of us here today. He's speaking to everyone 00:33:03.930 --> 00:33:06.710 here and inviting us all to step into everything 00:33:06.710 --> 00:33:11.170 that He wants us to be. Will you respond with 00:33:11.170 --> 00:33:15.069 pride and say, no, I know what's best. I am the 00:33:15.069 --> 00:33:19.309 author, I am the captain, I am the rider of my 00:33:19.309 --> 00:33:22.730 fate. Will you respond with humility and like 00:33:22.730 --> 00:33:26.089 Jesus say, not my will, but yours be done, God. 00:33:29.799 --> 00:33:32.279 Thanks so much for tuning into this week's message. 00:33:32.980 --> 00:33:35.480 If you felt challenged or need prayer, we'd love 00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:38.440 to hear from you on Instagram, at EncounterHendley. 00:33:39.140 --> 00:33:41.119 Or if you're interested in how you can support 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:44.519 this ministry, please go to our website, EncounterAdelaide 00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:48.200 .com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:48.559 you.