WEBVTT 00:00:09.840 --> 00:00:12.699 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.699 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:20.879 you can have an encounter with Jesus that'll 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.379 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:28.519 message from our preaching team. It feels like 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:35.420 everyone is looking down. And I think there's 00:00:35.420 --> 00:00:38.600 three main reasons. The first one is distraction. 00:00:41.100 --> 00:00:45.880 We get distracted because it's easier than focusing 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:49.560 in on a life that feels difficult. We want to 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:52.380 get immersed in a device, in a tiny computer 00:00:52.380 --> 00:00:54.859 in our pockets that can free us from reality. 00:00:56.439 --> 00:00:58.320 We're pretty aware of the effects by this by 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:02.590 now, but we seem to keep doing it anyway. The 00:01:02.590 --> 00:01:05.629 second reason is linked to the first reason. 00:01:05.769 --> 00:01:08.689 People have their eyes down because of depression. 00:01:12.370 --> 00:01:19.290 95 % of teenagers have a smartphone and 45 % 00:01:19.290 --> 00:01:21.829 of teenagers report that they use their smartphone 00:01:21.829 --> 00:01:25.010 almost constantly, near constant, as in they're 00:01:25.010 --> 00:01:27.670 never ever ever off it. Now this is annoying 00:01:27.670 --> 00:01:31.480 but it's also concerning Because the data tells 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:34.280 us the more we're on our phones, the more we 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:36.780 buy into distraction, the more likely we are 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:40.480 to be depressed and anxious, have suicidal thoughts. 00:01:42.180 --> 00:01:44.420 And the Australian recommendation for a maximum 00:01:44.420 --> 00:01:47.599 is two hours per day, and 90 % of Australian 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:51.760 teenagers get past that limit. But here's the 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.519 cruel cycle. I see distraction and I see depression, 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:56.260 but then when people want to deal with depression, 00:01:56.359 --> 00:02:05.719 where do they go to look for help? Direction. 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:10.159 People are looking for direction. And they're 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:12.580 looking at a place they think they can find answers. 00:02:13.080 --> 00:02:14.780 They're looking there because they don't have 00:02:14.780 --> 00:02:17.960 a direction. They've been looking down so much. 00:02:18.379 --> 00:02:22.539 That there's this generalised exhaustion running 00:02:22.539 --> 00:02:26.020 through them. This feeling that I am distracted 00:02:26.020 --> 00:02:28.560 and I'm trying to be distracted. I am depressed 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:32.800 and I'm just stuck in my emotions and I am directionless 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:35.860 but I don't know where to go about it. Now, I 00:02:35.860 --> 00:02:39.979 get it. I know that feeling. I've walked through 00:02:39.979 --> 00:02:43.000 the valley of the shadow of death. I've been 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:46.240 there. But I'm here to tell you that a life of 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:50.379 looking down of distraction, of depression, of 00:02:50.379 --> 00:02:52.500 being directionless is not inevitable. And I 00:02:52.500 --> 00:02:53.960 don't think anyone's gonna be stunned to hear 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:56.360 this is not God's best wisdom for your life. 00:02:57.099 --> 00:03:00.219 This is not God's dream for you. This is not 00:03:00.219 --> 00:03:03.500 His plan for you because it's not just that we 00:03:03.500 --> 00:03:06.919 look down. It's what's happening to us when we 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:10.020 look down. See, when we look down at our phone 00:03:10.020 --> 00:03:12.620 for distraction, we get dragged into this world 00:03:12.620 --> 00:03:16.139 of the algorithm. We are being discipled by an 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:19.090 algorithm. We are being discipled by YouTube 00:03:19.090 --> 00:03:21.150 and Facebook and Instagram and X and Snapchat 00:03:21.150 --> 00:03:24.250 and TikTok and whatever your preference is. They 00:03:24.250 --> 00:03:27.889 all compete to take your thinking and shape it 00:03:27.889 --> 00:03:31.490 and feed you with social anxiety and political 00:03:31.490 --> 00:03:33.969 anxiety because that's what gets you to look 00:03:33.969 --> 00:03:37.330 again. And the attention economy feeds the real 00:03:37.330 --> 00:03:41.500 economy. The phones just want your money. So 00:03:41.500 --> 00:03:43.479 your mind is filled with the world's worst fears. 00:03:43.860 --> 00:03:46.020 And then the more fearful we get, the more anxious 00:03:46.020 --> 00:03:47.460 we get. And we begin to look down and we look 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:49.500 down in shame and depression. And when we do 00:03:49.500 --> 00:03:53.439 that, we trap ourselves in our emotions. Our 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:56.460 strongest emotions. The emotions that feel the 00:03:56.460 --> 00:03:59.539 most powerful and controlling. And they are our 00:03:59.539 --> 00:04:01.439 strongest emotions. It's just they're not our 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:05.039 truest ones. They are not our... deepest ones, 00:04:05.340 --> 00:04:08.120 our strongest, most overwhelming emotions are 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:10.680 not the most accurate about you. But when you 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:14.759 look down to untreated depression and unhealed 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:18.740 shame, you trap yourself in your worst emotions 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:21.319 rather than allowing yourself to be lifted up 00:04:21.319 --> 00:04:25.259 into your best ones. And when you look down from 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:29.220 a lack of direction, exhaustion, struggling for 00:04:29.220 --> 00:04:33.060 purpose, life becomes a grind. It becomes hard 00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:36.920 to find joy. It happens to you rather than being 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:39.779 something you move towards with purpose and ambition. 00:04:40.779 --> 00:04:43.819 It just becomes an occurrence. And when we allow 00:04:43.819 --> 00:04:46.339 the current of our days to control us, we begin 00:04:46.339 --> 00:04:50.310 to become spiritually stagnant. We become stuck 00:04:50.310 --> 00:04:54.370 in the flow of someone else's order. Your spirit 00:04:54.370 --> 00:04:57.730 becomes deadened by depression and repetition 00:04:57.730 --> 00:05:01.329 and nothingness and Netflix. It is AI slop for 00:05:01.329 --> 00:05:07.009 the soul. That is a directionless life. The whole 00:05:07.009 --> 00:05:10.870 problem with looking down is it means we have 00:05:10.870 --> 00:05:17.259 got no vision. That's why we can't look down. 00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:19.259 You are stuck staring at what is or what has 00:05:19.259 --> 00:05:21.459 happened. And so you can't look ahead to what 00:05:21.459 --> 00:05:24.699 could be. Now, the book of Proverbs has a famous 00:05:24.699 --> 00:05:26.680 verse about vision. You might've heard it before. 00:05:26.939 --> 00:05:29.639 It's gonna be on the screen behind me. Where 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:33.019 there is no vision, the people perish. It's often 00:05:33.019 --> 00:05:35.740 used to explain, you know, obviously that vision 00:05:35.740 --> 00:05:38.300 is helpful. We need it. And really it's reaffirming 00:05:38.300 --> 00:05:39.839 this point that we need something to believe 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:42.990 in, not to look. not just to look towards, but 00:05:42.990 --> 00:05:45.250 something to really believe in. But we often 00:05:45.250 --> 00:05:47.970 forget that second part of the verse, but he 00:05:47.970 --> 00:05:50.050 that keepeth the law, happy is he. I've gone 00:05:50.050 --> 00:05:53.569 full King James on you this morning. There is 00:05:53.569 --> 00:05:56.720 a principle here. There's a clear vision that 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:59.220 we're given to follow. And the simplest way to 00:05:59.220 --> 00:06:01.600 follow that vision is to be obedient to these 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:03.720 laws that we've been given. And it's not that 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:06.439 complicated. For thousands of years, people have 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:08.980 been trying to help us with this. Keeping the 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:11.519 law brings us social peace. It brings a clarity 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:15.180 that is designed to bring us happiness. And in 00:06:15.180 --> 00:06:18.199 our teaching text today, in Psalm 121, the writer 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:20.480 talks about what to do in times of spiritual 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:24.560 difficulty. Have a look at this. I lift my eyes 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:26.980 towards the mountains. Now, I have a theory that 00:06:26.980 --> 00:06:28.839 everyone's either a mountains person or a beach 00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:31.300 person. I'm a mountains person. Anyone else? 00:06:31.579 --> 00:06:33.360 More mountains? Beach people, put your hands 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:36.120 up. No, there's more of you. You just feel nervous. 00:06:37.019 --> 00:06:38.899 It's gonna be like 40 degrees today. These are 00:06:38.899 --> 00:06:41.079 the people that go, oh, it's almost hot today. 00:06:41.259 --> 00:06:44.240 I'm like, come on. Meanwhile, it gets to 20. 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:51.509 I'm sweating. In difficult situations, we look 00:06:51.509 --> 00:06:54.110 to where we think we are going to get help. I 00:06:54.110 --> 00:06:58.509 lift my eyes towards the mountains. The writer 00:06:58.509 --> 00:07:00.490 of this psalm said, I'm looking as high as I 00:07:00.490 --> 00:07:04.089 can and I'm knowing that my true help comes from 00:07:04.089 --> 00:07:06.250 the Lord. the maker of heaven and earth, because 00:07:06.250 --> 00:07:08.769 we know that true vision and true support has 00:07:08.769 --> 00:07:11.230 to come from somewhere higher. It can't just 00:07:11.230 --> 00:07:13.350 come from a place that we're building ourselves. 00:07:13.550 --> 00:07:15.589 It's got to come from somewhere greater. I don't 00:07:15.589 --> 00:07:17.149 know about you, but I've been in this place before, 00:07:17.589 --> 00:07:19.769 like literally climbing mountains to look for 00:07:19.769 --> 00:07:22.730 the Lord, to be with Jesus on the mountain, looking 00:07:22.730 --> 00:07:25.170 for God's protection. Where does my help come 00:07:25.170 --> 00:07:28.230 from? And let me tell you something, as I stood 00:07:28.230 --> 00:07:31.310 looking up to the mountains, where my help is 00:07:31.310 --> 00:07:32.790 coming from, let me tell you what has happened. 00:07:33.589 --> 00:07:37.610 I've got like a really sore neck, like just physio 00:07:37.610 --> 00:07:41.709 -central, like I look up and just pain, you know, 00:07:41.769 --> 00:07:43.769 you need to really get some deep tissue work 00:07:43.769 --> 00:07:47.389 in there, you need a masseuse. The higher I lift 00:07:47.389 --> 00:07:50.110 my head, the higher I look for where my help 00:07:50.110 --> 00:07:54.490 comes from, I just get a sore neck. I don't really 00:07:54.490 --> 00:07:57.029 find it that helpful. So not only do I get a 00:07:57.029 --> 00:07:59.329 sore neck, I don't get vision, and then I feel 00:07:59.329 --> 00:08:02.480 frustrated and grumpy about it. a growing frustration 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:04.699 with my spiritual life because I'm looking as 00:08:04.699 --> 00:08:07.540 high as I can and nothing's happening. Anyone 00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:11.860 been there before? It's almost like looking as 00:08:11.860 --> 00:08:15.360 high as I can in my strength and my power apparently 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:18.399 is not gonna be sufficient to get to where I 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:20.800 need to go in a supernatural sense. It's almost 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:24.220 like I, Mike, myself do not have in myself the 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:27.839 supernatural power to lift myself out of a supernatural 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:31.120 problem. Which sounds a lot more obvious when 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:35.919 you say it that way. The only way I can get the 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:39.559 vision I need to is to look as far as I can't. 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:42.940 I need something like beyond the Hubble telescope 00:08:42.940 --> 00:08:46.679 here guys. Nothing is high enough. How am I supposed 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:49.179 to do that? And there's a story I love in the 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:51.480 book of two kings about a prophet called Elisha. 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:54.279 You might've heard about him. He was so powerful 00:08:54.279 --> 00:08:57.399 that through his prophetic insight, he would 00:08:57.399 --> 00:08:59.419 know where the enemies of Israel would attack 00:08:59.419 --> 00:09:02.379 before they even came up with a plan. So he'd 00:09:02.379 --> 00:09:04.419 talk to his king, they'd get the armies prepared. 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:06.240 Then the Arameans, who were the enemies at that 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:08.139 time, they came to fight and they're like, what 00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:10.820 is going on? How come we know Israel's army isn't 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:13.059 this big? How come they're always where we wanna 00:09:13.059 --> 00:09:16.149 be? Eventually they work it out. Elisha can hear 00:09:16.149 --> 00:09:18.389 what is going on in your mind by the power of 00:09:18.389 --> 00:09:21.289 God before you even think it. So you're gonna 00:09:21.289 --> 00:09:23.950 have to take out Elisha. So the king of Aram 00:09:23.950 --> 00:09:26.409 gets all his armies and he comes to take Elisha. 00:09:26.450 --> 00:09:30.450 Not a city, not Israel, just one dude. And so 00:09:30.450 --> 00:09:34.090 these armies gather around the city and Elisha's 00:09:34.090 --> 00:09:36.649 servant gets up one morning and he opens the 00:09:36.649 --> 00:09:41.080 curtains and looks out and he goes, oh no. I'm 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:43.600 looking up to the mountains. Let me tell you, 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:46.779 there's not much help. What I am seeing is army 00:09:46.779 --> 00:09:49.340 upon army upon army. In fact, he says this, Oh 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:53.179 no, my Lord, what shall we do? Don't be afraid, 00:09:53.220 --> 00:09:56.340 the prophet answered. Those who are with us are 00:09:56.340 --> 00:09:58.899 more than those who are with them. And you can 00:09:58.899 --> 00:10:01.419 imagine the confusion in the servant's voice. 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:06.139 And Elisha prayed, open his eyes, Lord. Open 00:10:06.139 --> 00:10:10.299 his eyes so that he may see. Then the Lord, opened 00:10:10.299 --> 00:10:13.779 the servant's eyes and he looked and saw the 00:10:13.779 --> 00:10:17.960 hills full of horses and chariots of fire around 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:22.190 Elisha. See, when his eyes were opened in the 00:10:22.190 --> 00:10:24.490 supernatural, he was able to see something that 00:10:24.490 --> 00:10:26.549 he couldn't see in the natural. This is a guy 00:10:26.549 --> 00:10:28.789 who has been following Elisha for a long time. 00:10:28.950 --> 00:10:31.110 He's seen a lot of good stuff happen. He has 00:10:31.110 --> 00:10:33.649 been safe this whole time. And suddenly the pain 00:10:33.649 --> 00:10:35.769 has come to him. He's gone, what can we do? Because 00:10:35.769 --> 00:10:38.690 ultimately when the pinch came, he realised all 00:10:38.690 --> 00:10:42.990 his faith was in natural stuff, in Elisha himself. 00:10:43.269 --> 00:10:45.269 And Elisha was the one going, no, no, don't worry 00:10:45.269 --> 00:10:49.149 about it. My faith isn't in me. My faith is in 00:10:49.149 --> 00:10:51.950 the God of angel armies. My faith is in the one 00:10:51.950 --> 00:10:54.629 who surrounds us. Friends, Elisha's servant needed 00:10:54.629 --> 00:10:56.769 to be able to look higher than he could possibly 00:10:56.769 --> 00:11:00.590 see. He needed to see with the eyes of God, see 00:11:00.590 --> 00:11:02.889 with the eyes of faith and the same is true for 00:11:02.889 --> 00:11:05.830 you and me. That's what we need in our life. 00:11:06.309 --> 00:11:09.269 The only way to look higher than you can possibly 00:11:09.269 --> 00:11:14.929 see is with the eyes of faith. Faith like Elisha. 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:17.899 Faith, like the writer of Hebrews who said that 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:20.759 faith was being certain of what we hope for and 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:23.179 sure of what we cannot see. Two sentences that 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:26.360 are just as logical as me saying I need to see 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:29.740 higher than I can. And if you're here and you're 00:11:29.740 --> 00:11:32.059 not a Christian, this sounds a bit crazy. I get 00:11:32.059 --> 00:11:34.519 it, I really do. The Christians are weird. This 00:11:34.519 --> 00:11:35.940 is just you and me here for now for a second. 00:11:36.990 --> 00:11:39.190 Christians, right, they operate out of a system 00:11:39.190 --> 00:11:41.830 of belief that centres on Jesus as the Saviour 00:11:41.830 --> 00:11:44.350 and Jesus as the Son of God. A Jesus who lived 00:11:44.350 --> 00:11:48.090 a perfect human life to identify with us, empathise 00:11:48.090 --> 00:11:50.490 with us, heal us from sickness and diseases, 00:11:50.750 --> 00:11:54.009 perform miracles and transform the world and 00:11:54.009 --> 00:11:56.490 restore us. He led a perfect life we were meant 00:11:56.490 --> 00:11:59.169 to live and that led him to a cross where he 00:11:59.169 --> 00:12:01.470 was murdered by the Roman authorities and the 00:12:01.470 --> 00:12:03.970 Jewish priests. That's where the perfect life... 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:07.120 led Him. No moment in human history has looked 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:11.539 down more than Good Friday. But Sunday's coming. 00:12:13.940 --> 00:12:16.840 And so the arc of the story hadn't finished. 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:19.779 Jesus rose again right when we are at the bottom 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:23.720 of this story. Jesus rose again. And in that, 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:26.379 He rose again physically, He ate food, He performed 00:12:26.379 --> 00:12:29.480 miracles, He appeared to more than 500 disciples. 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:31.759 He blessed them, He commissioned them, He ascended 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:33.220 to sit at the right hand of the Father where 00:12:33.220 --> 00:12:35.240 He will judge the living and the dead. He has 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:37.960 gone before us to prepare a way. He has proven 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:41.179 Himself, living the perfect life, dying a death 00:12:41.179 --> 00:12:43.840 on our behalf and being resurrected to show us 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:47.139 that what He said is true. So when you look to 00:12:47.139 --> 00:12:49.159 Jesus with the eyes of faith, you don't just 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:52.570 look to Him, you look through Him. achieved on 00:12:52.570 --> 00:12:55.110 your behalf and where He has called you to go. 00:12:55.450 --> 00:12:57.750 Those are the eyes of faith we're called to look 00:12:57.750 --> 00:13:00.470 through. So you can look up because you're not 00:13:00.470 --> 00:13:02.429 just looking through your eyes or mine, you're 00:13:02.429 --> 00:13:05.330 looking through Christ's, amen. That's what we're 00:13:05.330 --> 00:13:08.889 doing. You may have had a 2025 that has felt 00:13:08.889 --> 00:13:12.230 like Good Friday in Jerusalem, but 2026 is here. 00:13:12.350 --> 00:13:16.590 Sunday is coming. Sunday is coming. The next 00:13:16.590 --> 00:13:18.230 year is the best year, but it's already here. 00:13:18.230 --> 00:13:20.350 So the next year can just be the best year right 00:13:20.350 --> 00:13:23.830 now. Encounter Church, I believe that 2026 is 00:13:23.830 --> 00:13:28.250 a year of pioneering faith. Pioneering faith 00:13:28.250 --> 00:13:31.210 in people. A year to lift up our eyes beyond 00:13:31.210 --> 00:13:33.850 what we can see in the natural. A year of great 00:13:33.850 --> 00:13:36.909 vision. This is the vision of our church at the 00:13:36.909 --> 00:13:38.610 moment. It's a five -year vision we began in 00:13:38.610 --> 00:13:40.909 2023. We're halfway through it. Our vision is 00:13:40.909 --> 00:13:43.549 that by 2028, Encounter will be a growing family 00:13:43.549 --> 00:13:46.850 of Bible -fed, Spirit -led churches, multiplying 00:13:46.850 --> 00:13:49.210 resilient disciples of Jesus across Adelaide. 00:13:49.710 --> 00:13:53.679 Hopefully, Hopefully this isn't shocking to many 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:56.779 people. This isn't new. We started in 2023. You 00:13:56.779 --> 00:13:58.740 know what we did the next year? Planted Encounter 00:13:58.740 --> 00:14:01.320 Henley. Pastor Ash, Pastor Tim, Pastor Tex, and 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:04.399 the team went out and are thriving for the gospel 00:14:04.399 --> 00:14:10.120 in Henley Beach slash Grange. Today, we announce 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:12.080 Josh is our new church planting resident because 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:14.419 Encounter is a church that plants churches. Amen. 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:16.860 And by the grace of God, we believe that we will 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:20.019 have another church before 2028, or at least 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:23.259 by 2028. We are committed to being not just growing, 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:26.299 but a growing family, a growing family. Today 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:28.080 we've shown our commitment to that by announcing 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:31.460 Tim as our new youth pastor. We are devoted to 00:14:31.460 --> 00:14:33.879 the next generations. We're a future focused 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:36.120 church, but we're not just devoted to the next 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:38.440 generations. In semester one, we're a growing 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:40.779 family. We're running Alpha. You got to get your 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:43.360 people who don't yet know Jesus to come in. Alpha 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:46.440 is a big front door for them. In semester two, 00:14:46.539 --> 00:14:48.019 we're going to be running the Alpha marriage 00:14:48.019 --> 00:14:50.600 course because as of right now, within this church, 00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:52.480 couples that were married and come to this church, 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:55.240 we have a 0 % divorce rate. And by the grace 00:14:55.240 --> 00:15:00.460 of God, we want to hold that. Come on. We're 00:15:00.460 --> 00:15:02.519 Bible -fed, join us reading the New Testament 00:15:02.519 --> 00:15:05.159 in a year, it's not too late. Nah, it's not too 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:08.539 late, you're alright. Spirit -led, you just wait 00:15:08.539 --> 00:15:10.940 for the power of encounter in July, or better 00:15:10.940 --> 00:15:14.639 yet, get a hit today, come on. But our main game 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:17.419 is, and always will be, multiplying resilient 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:21.440 disciples of Jesus. That is what we are called 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:24.539 to do. Followers of Jesus of all generations 00:15:24.539 --> 00:15:28.139 who grow, strengthen and multiply. Then going 00:15:28.139 --> 00:15:30.580 out to disciple others. That's the multiplication. 00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:33.320 Followers of Jesus who make followers of Jesus. 00:15:33.500 --> 00:15:36.379 New converts making new converts. That is the 00:15:36.379 --> 00:15:39.159 ball game guys. That's at the very heart of it. 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:43.419 It's a vision that relies on God. All good vision 00:15:43.419 --> 00:15:46.500 relies on God. Let me just go back to the teaching 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:48.679 text we had before, because if you feel uninspired, 00:15:48.700 --> 00:15:50.679 there's a reason. See, if we go back to Psalm 00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:53.019 121 and have a bit of historical context, we 00:15:53.019 --> 00:15:55.899 learn some things. We learn that actually, I 00:15:55.899 --> 00:15:58.100 lift my eyes towards the mountains. When the 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:00.460 writer says this, at the time the Psalms were 00:16:00.460 --> 00:16:02.720 written in ancient Israel, when you look towards 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:05.200 the mountains, you were looking towards the false 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:08.460 shrines, the idols where human worship was happening, 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:11.320 the Baal and Ashurahs, the false gods of the 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:13.559 Canaanite region. So the writer looks through 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:15.669 his eyes and says, sarcastically says, really? 00:16:16.009 --> 00:16:18.350 That's where my help is gonna come from? No, 00:16:18.370 --> 00:16:20.889 of course not. No, my help's gotta come from 00:16:20.889 --> 00:16:23.269 above the mountains because my God cannot be 00:16:23.269 --> 00:16:27.169 contained by something made by human hands. His 00:16:27.169 --> 00:16:29.909 help comes from the all powerful God. And if 00:16:29.909 --> 00:16:32.850 we go back to Proverbs 29, where I told you that 00:16:32.850 --> 00:16:35.230 for thousands of years, people have been trying 00:16:35.230 --> 00:16:39.159 to tell you how to live the law of life. A life 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:41.320 of vision led by the law. I told you the truth. 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:44.720 It's just that those people are called Pharisees. 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:47.840 They are trying to tell you how to live by the 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:50.080 law. They go by different names these days, but 00:16:50.080 --> 00:16:51.759 there are always people telling you that you 00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:55.039 must live according to these limits and restrictions 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:57.700 that may or may not have been given by God. But 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:00.100 either way, we're taking control of them and 00:17:00.100 --> 00:17:03.480 ensuring you live within a limit where your eyes 00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:06.390 are stuck down to the ground. But let me give 00:17:06.390 --> 00:17:09.329 you the CSB translation, my personal favourite, 00:17:10.769 --> 00:17:15.630 and more accurate than the KJV. Without revelation, 00:17:15.730 --> 00:17:20.970 people run wild. But one who follows divine instruction 00:17:20.970 --> 00:17:25.109 will be happy. Now this takes away a sense of 00:17:25.109 --> 00:17:28.250 vision based on law and happiness based on obedience 00:17:28.250 --> 00:17:31.450 to law because... If you have ever grown up or 00:17:31.450 --> 00:17:34.089 been in an unjust environment, you can't just 00:17:34.089 --> 00:17:36.009 believe in the law. Sometimes that is not going 00:17:36.009 --> 00:17:37.990 to work out for you. Sometimes you can do the 00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:39.809 right things and things will not come about. 00:17:39.910 --> 00:17:41.509 No, your vision needs to be higher than that. 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:44.000 It needs to be led by something bigger than that. 00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:47.339 So without revelation, that's divine revelation 00:17:47.339 --> 00:17:50.259 from the Holy Spirit, not laws handed down once 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:53.640 for people to set boundaries to help understand 00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:55.740 righteousness, that is good and right, and we 00:17:55.740 --> 00:17:58.759 needed that. But now Jesus has come with a new 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:01.500 covenant to say, I am filling you with the Holy 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:03.819 Spirit. You know what the word is, that's to 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:06.559 tell you what not to do, but use the Spirit to 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:09.099 lead you where to go. You can't live your whole 00:18:09.099 --> 00:18:13.079 life telling yourself what not to do. We don't 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:15.200 dream small dreams of this church, am I right 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:17.799 Pastor Dex? And I don't just mean as a whole, 00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:20.900 I mean you, individually, you are not called 00:18:20.900 --> 00:18:23.900 to dream small. You are called to bigger, you 00:18:23.900 --> 00:18:26.940 are called to more. Laws tell you what not to 00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:30.180 do, but ultimately, that's about reward and punishment. 00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:32.440 You get punished if you're outside the laws, 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:34.880 rewarded if you're in. The gospel says this, 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:37.920 if you believe in the name of Jesus, you're in, 00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:41.250 you're rewarded. That's it. Does that mean you 00:18:41.250 --> 00:18:43.170 should try and obey the laws? Yeah, absolutely. 00:18:43.750 --> 00:18:46.109 That's a good thing. But that's not the beginning 00:18:46.109 --> 00:18:49.170 and end of that story. That's not what it means 00:18:49.170 --> 00:18:52.369 to be welcomed into the family of God. It's all 00:18:52.369 --> 00:18:54.950 about His grace at that point. The guidance and 00:18:54.950 --> 00:18:57.210 revelation of the Holy Spirit discovered in faith 00:18:57.210 --> 00:19:01.259 tells you what to do. It lifts up your eyes. 00:19:01.460 --> 00:19:04.400 It tells you where to go. God will give you wisdom 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:07.200 beyond what you can imagine. Now, if it just 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:08.720 seems like, Mike, you're doing that thing where 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:10.359 you get hyped up and you try and get everyone 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:14.099 excited, granted, granted, and it works on about 00:19:14.099 --> 00:19:16.900 5 % of you, which is great. But here's why you 00:19:16.900 --> 00:19:19.380 can trust me saying this. It's not about me. 00:19:19.710 --> 00:19:22.869 And it's not about this church, this is about 00:19:22.869 --> 00:19:25.609 the all -powerful supernatural God of the universe 00:19:25.609 --> 00:19:29.930 giving you what you need. He is lifting up your 00:19:29.930 --> 00:19:33.549 eyes, the God who proved himself in Jesus. Friends, 00:19:33.609 --> 00:19:35.890 there are two main problems with our sense of 00:19:35.890 --> 00:19:39.230 vision. The first is that we don't have enough 00:19:39.230 --> 00:19:42.690 intention about our vision. We just meander along, 00:19:42.869 --> 00:19:44.609 because you all have a vision that you live by. 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:47.279 You have values, you have a culture, you have 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:50.559 ideals, you have behaviors and patterns. It's 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:52.839 just most of us don't set them deliberately. 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:56.579 Most of us don't go, I am going to allow God 00:19:56.579 --> 00:20:00.480 consciously to set my life in this pattern. No, 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:05.200 for a lot of us, it just kind of happens. The 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:10.059 second is that we're not looking up. Right, you 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:12.460 can have a low vision or a high vision. You can 00:20:12.460 --> 00:20:14.720 look down or you can look up. And when you look 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:16.680 down, you create a framework for your vision. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:18.900 And the framework is what I said before. It is 00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:22.000 a framework of distraction, of depression, and 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:24.599 of being directionless. But when you look up, 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:26.380 you create a different framework for your vision. 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:29.319 This is what you get. Instead of direct, let 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:32.740 me try that again. Instead of distraction, God 00:20:32.740 --> 00:20:36.599 gives you purpose. That's why encounter has a 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:39.650 vision. We've got to know how to focus on what 00:20:39.650 --> 00:20:42.549 matters. God has a purpose for this world. To 00:20:42.549 --> 00:20:46.009 restore, renew and redeem all of creation is 00:20:46.009 --> 00:20:48.589 a vision of love worthy of your focused attention. 00:20:48.710 --> 00:20:50.769 It's called the kingdom of God. And when you 00:20:50.769 --> 00:20:54.670 look up, you let God invite you to play your 00:20:54.670 --> 00:20:56.930 part in the vision of the kingdom of God. When 00:20:56.930 --> 00:20:59.289 you look down, you get distracted by anything 00:20:59.289 --> 00:21:03.049 and everything else. Instead of depression, God 00:21:03.049 --> 00:21:06.859 gives you hope. He gives you hope. He gives you 00:21:06.859 --> 00:21:09.799 a family. That's why our vision involves family. 00:21:10.140 --> 00:21:12.579 You are not alone and you never have been. Some 00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:14.519 of you have believed a lie that you have been 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:17.579 walking alone. Either based on how you live or 00:21:17.579 --> 00:21:19.740 how your family raised you or because of current 00:21:19.740 --> 00:21:21.819 circumstances. This is a lie from the enemy. 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:24.599 You are not alone and never have been. Because 00:21:24.599 --> 00:21:26.859 God has promised this in His word, I will never 00:21:26.859 --> 00:21:31.839 leave you. I will never forsake you. Never. You 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:34.900 just need to lift up your eyes. God has adopted 00:21:34.900 --> 00:21:36.980 you into His family, not because you deserve 00:21:36.980 --> 00:21:40.500 it, but because He loves you. And He's done it 00:21:40.500 --> 00:21:42.640 so that you can offer that to others as well. 00:21:43.380 --> 00:21:47.000 It's called salvation. And finally, instead of 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:50.339 being directionless, God gives you vision. He 00:21:50.339 --> 00:21:53.500 gives you vision. He gives you something to see. 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:56.539 This is why we are focused on multiplying resilient 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:59.180 disciples, because that's our way of expressing 00:21:59.180 --> 00:22:02.049 the great. commission that Jesus gave to all 00:22:02.049 --> 00:22:04.910 believers. Our way of saying go out into all 00:22:04.910 --> 00:22:07.569 the world making disciples of all nations. God 00:22:07.569 --> 00:22:10.029 has created you to be a part of living out his 00:22:10.029 --> 00:22:13.450 vision and so when you look up you can look up 00:22:13.450 --> 00:22:15.150 and go wow some of these people are living good 00:22:15.150 --> 00:22:17.130 lives some of them less good lives some of them 00:22:17.130 --> 00:22:18.910 I kind of want to steal some of those ideas some 00:22:18.910 --> 00:22:21.250 of them I don't but none of them have a vision 00:22:21.250 --> 00:22:24.289 worthy of me following. I need to look higher 00:22:24.289 --> 00:22:27.410 Jesus help me to see the vision of the kingdom 00:22:27.410 --> 00:22:30.529 of God. Help me to lift up my eyes so that when 00:22:30.529 --> 00:22:32.869 I need help I'm not looking to the mountains. 00:22:32.890 --> 00:22:34.490 I'm not looking to the people I'm not looking 00:22:34.490 --> 00:22:38.329 to my screen. I'm looking to God Who despite 00:22:38.329 --> 00:22:42.670 my circumstance will reach me See Jesus also 00:22:42.670 --> 00:22:45.029 told his followers to look up his disciples were 00:22:45.029 --> 00:22:46.869 looking down This is early on you got to give 00:22:46.869 --> 00:22:48.650 him a bit of a break and they're encouraging 00:22:48.650 --> 00:22:50.289 him to eat lunch because they can't think of 00:22:50.289 --> 00:22:54.490 anything bigger and again I can relate But this 00:22:54.490 --> 00:22:57.970 is what Jesus said to them in response my food 00:22:58.089 --> 00:23:00.829 said Jesus is to do the will of him who sent 00:23:00.829 --> 00:23:03.670 me and to finish his work don't you have a saying 00:23:03.670 --> 00:23:06.990 it's still four months until harvest I tell you 00:23:06.990 --> 00:23:11.130 open your eyes and look at the fields they're 00:23:11.130 --> 00:23:14.559 ripe for harvest Even now the one who reaps draws 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:18.059 a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life. 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:20.579 So that the sower and the reaper may be glad 00:23:20.579 --> 00:23:22.660 together. The sower and the reaper, that's the 00:23:22.660 --> 00:23:26.099 father in you church. Glad together for the harvest 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:28.700 going because of your good work church. Open 00:23:28.700 --> 00:23:31.839 your eyes. You can look down and believe you 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:34.259 live in a time of historic chaos. Or you can 00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:36.839 look up and recognise you live in a time of historic 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:40.099 opportunity. You have a choice. You can live 00:23:40.099 --> 00:23:43.950 with your eyes down. transfixed and trapped by 00:23:43.950 --> 00:23:47.630 your environment. Or you can look up. Or you 00:23:47.630 --> 00:23:51.789 can look up. And so much of that is a choice. 00:23:52.150 --> 00:23:54.930 God has placed you here on this earth, in this 00:23:54.930 --> 00:23:58.910 city, in this church, right now. What are you 00:23:58.910 --> 00:24:01.490 gonna do about it? What are you gonna do about 00:24:01.490 --> 00:24:06.630 it? Right now, our world is desperate for Christians 00:24:06.630 --> 00:24:11.049 to pour themselves out with godly ambition. Godly 00:24:11.049 --> 00:24:14.009 ambition, that means we don't lack ambition, 00:24:14.069 --> 00:24:18.809 we don't lack purpose. But it's divine ambition, 00:24:19.549 --> 00:24:22.869 handed to us, driven by God Himself, not just 00:24:22.869 --> 00:24:25.650 so that we can get ours to get a nicer car, a 00:24:25.650 --> 00:24:28.349 nicer home, upgrade everything in our lives. 00:24:28.450 --> 00:24:32.450 Man, that is shallow. But God has something bigger. 00:24:32.470 --> 00:24:37.710 If we lift up our lives, you cannot afford to 00:24:37.710 --> 00:24:41.509 live half -hearted lives. Right now, I just want 00:24:41.509 --> 00:24:43.569 to take a moment, if you are here and you are 00:24:43.569 --> 00:24:46.089 the sort of person, you serve on team every week, 00:24:46.410 --> 00:24:49.049 you are always faithfully attending, but you 00:24:49.049 --> 00:24:51.930 disengage in this part, this is your clarion 00:24:51.930 --> 00:24:53.670 call. This is for the people who have been around 00:24:53.670 --> 00:24:57.109 three, four, five, six years. You cannot afford 00:24:57.109 --> 00:25:00.220 to live your life on autopilot. Serving at church 00:25:00.220 --> 00:25:03.220 is helpful, but is not the fullness of advancing 00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:06.119 the kingdom of God. You need to let your Sundays 00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:08.619 invade your Mondays, which I swear I heard someone 00:25:08.619 --> 00:25:12.960 say once. You need to let that happen. You need 00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:15.920 to let what happens in this place. First forth, 00:25:16.180 --> 00:25:18.599 because otherwise it's just for you to get fat 00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:21.099 Christian on a Sunday instead of being living 00:25:21.099 --> 00:25:23.480 on mission and helping others lift their eyes 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:26.359 up on our doorstep here at Enfield. We have people 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:28.839 who are homeless, who are needy, who constantly 00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:31.359 need people to lift up their eyes. Every Tuesday 00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:34.119 we have people coming in who need to be fed, 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:36.480 who need to be supported, who need to lift up 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:39.880 their eyes. No matter where you go, in your family, 00:25:40.119 --> 00:25:43.140 in your friend group, to the shops. to your work, 00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:45.619 to your study, anywhere you go, you have people 00:25:45.619 --> 00:25:48.559 looking down because no one has shown them there's 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:51.539 something to look up for. We cannot afford people 00:25:51.539 --> 00:25:54.420 who call themselves, sold out Christians to live 00:25:54.420 --> 00:25:58.980 half -hearted lives. Church, this is a year of 00:25:58.980 --> 00:26:02.019 godly ambition. Band, you guys can come back 00:26:02.019 --> 00:26:07.640 up. This is for the young and for the old. For 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:10.660 the established and the new, a world that looks 00:26:10.660 --> 00:26:15.099 down is desperate for Christians to pour themselves 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:17.700 out with godly ambition. And let me promise you 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:21.720 something, if you pour yourself out for the right 00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:27.000 cause, it will not feel like burnout. It will 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:29.000 not feel like, I'm just serving, I'm just doing 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:33.680 my thing. No, no, why? Why are you serving? Was 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:35.640 it in your heart that made you want to do that 00:26:35.640 --> 00:26:37.920 in the first place? What was the love for others 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:39.740 in and out of the church that made you want to 00:26:39.740 --> 00:26:41.680 do that? And that's good, but what about out 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:44.940 there? What's going on in your family? Who's 00:26:44.940 --> 00:26:48.740 the plus one God has called you to reach? Who 00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:51.160 is going to serve the world by serving the Lord? 00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:54.019 Because I can promise you, this is a time for 00:26:54.019 --> 00:26:57.660 big dreams. This is a time for big vision. Every 00:26:57.660 --> 00:27:00.299 time the world gets chaotic, we have two options. 00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:04.039 One is to hold on for dear life. Jesus told a 00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:05.859 story about that. It's called the parable of 00:27:05.859 --> 00:27:09.779 the talents. And that guy is the guy who buried 00:27:09.779 --> 00:27:11.799 one talent in the ground and gave it back afterwards 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:15.200 and said, I win. And listen, you should just 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:19.720 read that for yourself, but he didn't win. Or 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:25.680 we lift up our eyes. And with godly ambition, 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:29.140 we achieve great things for the kingdom of God. 00:27:30.589 --> 00:27:34.430 I had the immense and surprising privilege yesterday 00:27:34.430 --> 00:27:38.750 of suddenly being called to an old lady's bedside 00:27:38.750 --> 00:27:42.630 to read her final prayers with her. This was 00:27:42.630 --> 00:27:44.789 somebody who no longer really had the capacity 00:27:44.789 --> 00:27:47.509 for speech. She was lying there and I walked 00:27:47.509 --> 00:27:49.490 into the room. I haven't done this before, right? 00:27:49.670 --> 00:27:51.289 I got a call at like 11 o 'clock saying, what 00:27:51.289 --> 00:27:53.329 about in two hours? And I'm, yes, absolutely. 00:27:53.690 --> 00:27:55.710 This is the thing we do as ministers. So I guess 00:27:55.710 --> 00:28:00.150 I'll just get ready. And so I got there. expecting 00:28:00.150 --> 00:28:02.289 to sit with this old lady and just quietly pray 00:28:02.289 --> 00:28:05.269 with her. And seven of her family members are 00:28:05.269 --> 00:28:08.269 there, one of whom is filming the whole thing, 00:28:08.309 --> 00:28:12.630 start to finish. I don't really know why. None 00:28:12.630 --> 00:28:16.130 of them are Christians. None of them know what 00:28:16.130 --> 00:28:18.369 to do. They've asked me in because they know 00:28:18.369 --> 00:28:20.809 that she was a believer and she had this beautiful 00:28:20.809 --> 00:28:23.390 old lady who was just wheeled into my service 00:28:23.390 --> 00:28:25.809 once a month, into the Uniting Church service 00:28:25.809 --> 00:28:29.220 at the nursing home, Clayton Church Homes. And 00:28:29.220 --> 00:28:32.019 she was brought in. And in all of this, these 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:34.380 seven confused people of multiple generations, 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:38.319 old and young, they said, do you want us to leave? 00:28:38.380 --> 00:28:40.680 No, no, no, no, no, you can stay. This is like 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:42.880 your mum, your grandmother. Stay, stay, stay. 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:46.579 They didn't know what to do. And then I pray, 00:28:46.920 --> 00:28:49.920 I read scripture and there's this reverence happening 00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:52.579 in the room. It's like for the first time in 00:28:52.579 --> 00:28:54.039 their lives, someone has taught them how to look 00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:56.700 up. And then I tell them, oh, I'm just gonna 00:28:56.700 --> 00:28:58.769 pray the Lord's Prayer. You don't have to pray 00:28:58.769 --> 00:29:00.670 with me if you don't want to, but it's going 00:29:00.670 --> 00:29:03.390 to be there if you do. And one by one they just 00:29:03.390 --> 00:29:06.269 start almost like somewhere deep in the recesses 00:29:06.269 --> 00:29:10.049 of their mind. Our Father in heaven, holy be 00:29:10.049 --> 00:29:14.069 your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done 00:29:14.069 --> 00:29:17.890 on earth as in heaven. It goes on, they get allowed 00:29:17.890 --> 00:29:21.049 to give us this day, our daily bread. They're 00:29:21.049 --> 00:29:23.730 participating more and more. Forgive us our sins 00:29:23.730 --> 00:29:26.630 as we forgive those who sin against us. And by 00:29:26.630 --> 00:29:29.490 the time I get to the end and I say, amen, and 00:29:29.490 --> 00:29:33.349 I anoint her head with oil and bless her, seven 00:29:33.349 --> 00:29:37.549 people are there going, yeah, okay, we needed 00:29:37.549 --> 00:29:42.130 that. Seven people who don't follow Jesus. Do 00:29:42.130 --> 00:29:45.589 you know who planted that seed? Not me. The unconscious 00:29:45.589 --> 00:29:49.049 older lady in the bed whose faith was a living 00:29:49.049 --> 00:29:53.099 testimony. to the point that while she was unconscious, 00:29:53.380 --> 00:29:55.619 she was able to gather her family around and 00:29:55.619 --> 00:30:02.059 get them to call me to come and pray. That means 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:10.079 that if you're not dead, God's not done. No matter 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:13.460 your age, no matter the life you've been living, 00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:16.059 no matter the battles you've been through, God 00:30:16.059 --> 00:30:21.500 is here today, Church. to tell you to lift up 00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:25.119 your eyes. Lift up your eyes. Would you just 00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:32.079 stand with me? At some point this year, at some 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:34.000 point this year, you are going to need help. 00:30:34.200 --> 00:30:36.420 And instinctively, most of us are gonna look 00:30:36.420 --> 00:30:38.440 to the heels. What do I mean by that? I mean, 00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:40.779 we're gonna look to our phones. If we're lucky, 00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:43.000 we might ask another human being for advice. 00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:47.319 But we need to look up. we need to look up to 00:30:47.319 --> 00:30:49.720 the Lord and so I think I really want to speak 00:30:49.720 --> 00:30:53.819 to three kinds of people this morning and the 00:30:53.819 --> 00:30:56.980 first of you are people and I just want to invite 00:30:56.980 --> 00:30:58.460 you into a posture of prayer I just want to invite 00:30:58.460 --> 00:31:01.079 you to close your eyes maybe stretch out your 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:03.839 hands in front of you this is just symbolic action 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:07.160 we do to hear from God it's just your way of 00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:09.480 saying God I'm here I want to hear I want to 00:31:09.480 --> 00:31:12.180 hear the first group of people I want to speak 00:31:12.180 --> 00:31:15.259 to are people that as I've been speaking, you 00:31:15.259 --> 00:31:19.059 know God has put a vision on your life and you 00:31:19.059 --> 00:31:22.259 know you've been running from it. You know you've 00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:24.799 been either hiding it, holding it at arm's length, 00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:26.660 going maybe next year, maybe next year, maybe 00:31:26.660 --> 00:31:32.500 next year. For you tonight, this morning rather, 00:31:32.579 --> 00:31:35.440 as we enter this time of worship, I want to invite 00:31:35.440 --> 00:31:38.200 you to come down the front and confess that before 00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:41.940 God. Not confess the sin of hiding it. No, no, 00:31:41.940 --> 00:31:44.140 that's looking down stuff. I'm talking about 00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:47.259 lifting up your eyes and confessing the call 00:31:47.259 --> 00:31:50.200 that you have been given, the vision you have 00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:52.559 been given, because we just can't afford to not 00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:55.799 have your vision. The world can't afford to not 00:31:55.799 --> 00:31:57.579 have what you've been called to do. This might 00:31:57.579 --> 00:32:00.140 be as small as connecting with a neighbour. It 00:32:00.140 --> 00:32:02.200 could be as big as becoming an overseas missionary. 00:32:02.579 --> 00:32:05.779 You alone know the call. That's the first one. 00:32:07.059 --> 00:32:09.259 But the second group of people, while all eyes 00:32:09.259 --> 00:32:11.940 are shut, And while we're in prayer is this, 00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:17.799 people who you feel visionless. You feel visionless. 00:32:18.599 --> 00:32:21.799 What you need in this moment is to pour yourself 00:32:21.799 --> 00:32:24.299 out before the good Lord and to say, God, speak 00:32:24.299 --> 00:32:26.880 to me. I'm here, I'm listening. For you, you 00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:28.460 can come down the front if you want, but I actually 00:32:28.460 --> 00:32:30.400 think your moment might be in your seat just 00:32:30.400 --> 00:32:34.460 to go, God, right now I set apart this time for 00:32:34.460 --> 00:32:39.019 you. You are what I need. You are what I need. 00:32:41.769 --> 00:32:44.329 Thanks so much for tuning into this week's message. 00:32:45.130 --> 00:32:48.089 If you felt challenged or need prayer, we'd love 00:32:48.089 --> 00:32:50.549 to hear from you on Instagram at EncounterHenry. 00:32:51.150 --> 00:32:53.450 Or if you're interested in how you can support 00:32:53.450 --> 00:32:57.410 this ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide 00:32:57.410 --> 00:33:01.569 .com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:33:01.569 --> 00:33:01.930 you.