WEBVTT 00:00:09.739 --> 00:00:12.400 Hey everyone, this is Charlie from Encounter 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:15.080 Church Henley and thanks so much for tuning into 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:18.440 our podcast. Our prayer is that through this 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:20.760 podcast, you can have an encounter with Jesus 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:23.719 that will change your life. And now get ready 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:26.199 for an inspiring message from our preaching team. 00:00:27.399 --> 00:00:29.879 Today's reading comes from Philippians 4 .13. 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:33.000 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:38.320 me. Got it right. This is the word of the Lord. 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:44.460 Thanks, Carly. Awesome. Glad you're managing 00:00:44.460 --> 00:00:48.179 to get through that one. Hey, really good to 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:50.060 be here, everyone, if we haven't met before. 00:00:50.179 --> 00:00:52.799 My name's Mike. I have the privilege of being 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:55.299 the senior pastor of Encounter Adelaide with 00:00:55.299 --> 00:00:57.840 my wife Jenny, which means we get to come and 00:00:57.840 --> 00:00:59.799 hang out at Henley sometimes, but we're mostly 00:00:59.799 --> 00:01:03.119 based at our Enfield location, which is lots 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:07.129 of fun. Hey, the guy who was up uh before with 00:01:07.129 --> 00:01:10.010 um jasmine uh what's your name in the front row 00:01:10.010 --> 00:01:14.750 can you come up for a sec it's is it's sex right 00:01:14.750 --> 00:01:17.030 because i feel i've seen you around the gym a 00:01:17.030 --> 00:01:22.230 bit yeah i've been there i haven't seen you but 00:01:22.230 --> 00:01:26.189 yeah well i'm not on the machines i'm sort of 00:01:26.189 --> 00:01:28.530 like yeah i tend to like drink smoothies from 00:01:28.530 --> 00:01:30.989 behind glass but you're the one they call flex 00:01:30.989 --> 00:01:36.000 right i love it But don't, like, as you've been 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:37.560 working out, notice this guy's got some ink, 00:01:37.739 --> 00:01:41.459 man. You got some, you know me? Oh, so what does 00:01:41.459 --> 00:01:47.359 it mean? Tell us about it. This is unbelievable 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:51.379 by Mike. Uh, okay. This is, this is not just 00:01:51.379 --> 00:01:54.659 Bad Tribal. This is actually, okay, so that is 00:01:54.659 --> 00:01:56.640 the symbol of a band that I used to play in, 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:01.260 which I assumed would be forever. Here we are 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:03.579 and then this one is actually a matching tattoo 00:02:03.579 --> 00:02:06.239 I got with a mate on his 30th birthday And it 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:08.379 says we're loyal like brothers, and it's a song 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:10.560 lyric from our favorite one of our favorite bands 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:13.699 Bro, I love that Can I talk to you about some 00:02:13.699 --> 00:02:16.879 ink I've been thinking about getting? All right, 00:02:17.340 --> 00:02:19.500 so there's there's a few there's a few right 00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:23.840 and so the first one is like Like it's it's small, 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:26.219 but obviously obviously I'm a Christian. So yeah. 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:28.860 Yeah. Yeah, so it's small. It's a butterfly on 00:02:28.860 --> 00:02:32.120 the lower back but it has reborn in it like or 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:35.060 born again i was thinking because it like as 00:02:35.060 --> 00:02:37.759 because like christianity and a butterfly is 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:40.900 a symbol of rebirth because it used to be a caterpillar 00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:47.400 you get it yeah but i'm finished but but coming 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:53.120 up like roses all up my back right and in them 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:56.780 like each of them i was thinking like one of 00:02:56.780 --> 00:02:58.860 the bits of the Lord's Prayer, like not all of 00:02:58.860 --> 00:03:03.819 it, just like the fun bits. Like daily bread 00:03:03.819 --> 00:03:06.620 and like, I mean, like all the cool bits, but 00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:10.659 like in roses and then, and then sort of like 00:03:10.659 --> 00:03:17.240 bicep, like barbed wire. That would be awkward. 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:21.659 Barbed wire, just barbed wire, but like around 00:03:21.659 --> 00:03:26.539 it, you know, be strong and courageous. Yeah, 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:32.819 and then in a wrist But right what I want is 00:03:32.819 --> 00:03:36.539 John 3 16. Do you know John 3 16? I read it last 00:03:36.539 --> 00:03:39.379 week It's about like I think it's about Jesus, 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:41.639 but anyway, I was gonna get it written in the 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:47.060 original Hebrew Yeah, but I just I just I don't 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:48.939 know what it is, but someone told me Hebrew is 00:03:48.939 --> 00:03:52.379 in the Bible and it looks cool Yeah, yeah, and 00:03:52.379 --> 00:03:54.580 I'm gonna have the Chinese symbol for respect 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:58.180 on my Anyway, doesn't... These are great. These 00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:00.240 are great. Hey, thanks, Flex. You can take a 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:06.139 seat. I just think... Isn't it great that we're 00:04:06.139 --> 00:04:09.919 more willing to get tattoos of Bible verses than 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:17.600 we are to live them out? Here we go. Here we 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:21.819 go. It's really good to see you all. You're genuinely 00:04:21.819 --> 00:04:26.370 so happy to be here. out of all the stereotypical 00:04:26.370 --> 00:04:28.829 one -liners that I could have gotten, this is 00:04:28.829 --> 00:04:31.810 the best one. Like I got, I got gold here. I 00:04:31.810 --> 00:04:34.490 struck gold in Philippians 4 .13. When I was 00:04:34.490 --> 00:04:37.649 a young Christian, this is genuinely, this was 00:04:37.649 --> 00:04:40.089 my favorite Bible verse, Philippians 4 .13. It's 00:04:40.089 --> 00:04:43.170 the first verse I ever learned. I was 19 years 00:04:43.170 --> 00:04:46.149 old. I came to faith, didn't know anything except 00:04:46.149 --> 00:04:49.050 who God was. And I sort of was generally pro 00:04:49.050 --> 00:04:50.889 -God but not in any way that I would have to 00:04:50.889 --> 00:04:55.290 live out whatsoever and so I got a mentor which 00:04:55.290 --> 00:04:57.189 was probably the smartest thing I could have 00:04:57.189 --> 00:04:59.569 done and the mentor just kept feeding me Bible 00:04:59.569 --> 00:05:02.649 verses one at a time like a mother bird with 00:05:02.649 --> 00:05:06.610 a baby bird just going take this one verse and 00:05:06.610 --> 00:05:09.860 so Philippians 4 .13 was the first one. I can 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:11.899 do all things through Christ who strengthens 00:05:11.899 --> 00:05:14.279 me, which is why I got Carly to read the King 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:16.079 James version before, because for whatever reason, 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:18.060 it was the new King James version that I got. 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:21.199 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:23.839 me. And it's a banger verse, isn't it? Because 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:26.000 every time you say it, you're like, yeah, I'm 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.019 doing great. I can do this. And you just don't 00:05:29.019 --> 00:05:32.060 want to overthink it or maybe think at all. You 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:35.259 just want to read it and say it. It took me a 00:05:35.259 --> 00:05:37.860 little while longer to actually start living 00:05:37.860 --> 00:05:40.519 out. some of the Christian values that I was 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:43.399 learning. Still learning some of those. But Philippians 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:46.139 4 .13 was the first one and it stuck in my brain 00:05:46.139 --> 00:05:48.160 the way it sticks to some of your Instagram bios 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:51.939 right now. It's a verse of encouragement. It's 00:05:51.939 --> 00:05:54.579 a verse of hope. Why wouldn't it? It's a verse 00:05:54.579 --> 00:05:56.720 that speaks of the power of God in our everyday 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:00.939 life. It just also feels super passe. It feels 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:04.560 incredibly cringy, but it's the Bible. How does 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:07.000 it do both these things at the same time? How 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:10.319 does it feel passe and incredibly meaningful 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:14.680 at the same time? Part of the problem is the 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:16.759 way we read these things. Now, apologies if you 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:18.459 guys have gone across some of this ground before, 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:20.139 but I think it's really important we consider 00:06:20.139 --> 00:06:23.759 the ideas of proof texting and the whole counsel 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:26.199 of God. Okay, let me explain what I mean by this. 00:06:26.329 --> 00:06:29.569 In Acts chapter 20 verse 27 the Apostle Paul 00:06:29.569 --> 00:06:32.269 is speaking to a church in Ephesus and he says 00:06:32.269 --> 00:06:35.269 to them that I do not shrink from declaring to 00:06:35.269 --> 00:06:38.009 you the whole council of God. Now this means 00:06:38.009 --> 00:06:40.089 that Paul didn't come up to teach people single 00:06:40.089 --> 00:06:43.009 verses. He came to tell the whole story of God 00:06:43.009 --> 00:06:46.670 as revealed by God to his people through the 00:06:46.670 --> 00:06:48.829 law, the prophets and the histories and ultimately 00:06:48.829 --> 00:06:52.069 fulfilled in Jesus who lived, died, was resurrected, 00:06:52.329 --> 00:06:53.610 ascended to the right hand of the Father and 00:06:53.610 --> 00:06:55.470 is coming back again to judge the living and 00:06:55.470 --> 00:06:59.930 the dead. There is an entire arc throughout this 00:06:59.930 --> 00:07:02.910 beautiful book from Genesis to Revelation and 00:07:02.910 --> 00:07:06.370 we need to understand the whole Council of God. 00:07:07.110 --> 00:07:09.029 And so even though Paul would tackle the issues 00:07:09.029 --> 00:07:12.290 of his day and he would look at context, he would 00:07:12.290 --> 00:07:15.389 look at it through the lens of the entire biblical 00:07:15.389 --> 00:07:19.089 story. What does this thing mean in the lens 00:07:19.089 --> 00:07:22.089 of the whole story? Now this is important. Because 00:07:22.089 --> 00:07:25.490 sometimes if you read the Bible, maybe because 00:07:25.490 --> 00:07:27.629 you're new to it, the Bible is an incredibly 00:07:27.629 --> 00:07:29.589 confusing book to read if you're new to it, by 00:07:29.589 --> 00:07:31.829 the way. You have all my sympathy. I'd love to 00:07:31.829 --> 00:07:34.709 help you with that. We forget that there's no 00:07:34.709 --> 00:07:37.189 such thing as chapters and verses. They don't 00:07:37.189 --> 00:07:39.949 exist. They are things that we have made up. 00:07:40.250 --> 00:07:43.670 In 1551, the French printer Robert Estienne made 00:07:43.670 --> 00:07:46.129 up chapters and verses so that it would be simple 00:07:46.129 --> 00:07:48.410 for you to get a memory verse tattooed on the 00:07:48.410 --> 00:07:50.410 inside of your wrist. It's much, much easier 00:07:50.410 --> 00:07:53.069 that way. So we've got to remember that individual 00:07:53.069 --> 00:07:55.149 verses, you don't want to get stuck on them. 00:07:55.250 --> 00:07:57.110 It's not that they're bad. It's not that they're 00:07:57.110 --> 00:07:58.870 unbiblical. Of course they're biblical. Of course 00:07:58.870 --> 00:08:01.009 they're good. You just don't want to get caught 00:08:01.009 --> 00:08:03.930 in placing kind of all your life on this one 00:08:03.930 --> 00:08:07.649 verse. That's called proof texting. A proof text 00:08:07.649 --> 00:08:10.529 is when you take one verse and you like it so 00:08:10.529 --> 00:08:12.930 much you tend to build everything off of that 00:08:12.930 --> 00:08:16.180 one verse. right? So, we all do this from time 00:08:16.180 --> 00:08:18.680 to time, like John 3 .16 is an example of that, 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:20.680 for God so loved the world that He gave His one 00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:22.920 and only Son so that whosoever believes in Him 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:25.360 should not perish but have eternal life. Now, 00:08:25.699 --> 00:08:27.800 the beauty of that is it's a summary, right? 00:08:28.139 --> 00:08:29.439 And as you read backwards and forwards, you're 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:31.360 like, oh yeah, that's a pretty good summary of 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:33.700 the whole Gospel. Romans 10 .9 is another one. 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:36.600 Believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:37.980 say with your mouth, He's risen from the dead 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:41.740 and you'll be saved. But the key is, when you 00:08:41.740 --> 00:08:43.519 look at the rest of the Bible, does that match 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:45.919 your interpretation? So I'll give you one example. 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:50.159 In 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 12, Paul is writing 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:52.799 to his disciple Timothy, and he writes this, 00:08:52.940 --> 00:08:55.259 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise 00:08:55.259 --> 00:08:57.960 authority over a man. Rather she is to remain 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:01.200 quiet. Okay, well that sounds pretty clear. That 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:03.879 is pretty clear. Until you actually read the 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:07.960 Bible. Then when you read the whole Council of 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:10.879 God from Genesis to Revelation, including Paul's 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:14.460 letters, what you realise is that women are consistently 00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:17.779 encouraged to preach, speak, share the gospel 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:20.620 and have apostolic authority over men. Again 00:09:20.620 --> 00:09:23.679 and again, planting churches, leading leaders 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:26.220 and being the first people to bear witness to 00:09:26.220 --> 00:09:29.320 the resurrection of Jesus. So rather than saying, 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:32.259 here's one verse that says one thing, I guess 00:09:32.259 --> 00:09:34.399 everything I believe to be true has to come from 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:37.860 that. We work out what does the entire Bible 00:09:37.860 --> 00:09:41.620 say, okay, this one verse is tripping me up. 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:44.799 How do I work out how that fits into inside the 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.440 entire narrative that I see from start to finish? 00:09:47.820 --> 00:09:51.179 You with me? Now it's kind of logical, but we 00:09:51.179 --> 00:09:52.960 don't like to do it because it's much harder. 00:09:53.340 --> 00:09:56.100 It's much harder. We don't want to do it because 00:09:56.100 --> 00:09:58.259 we actually have to put some work in when we 00:09:58.259 --> 00:10:00.740 do that. We would much rather just have the one 00:10:00.740 --> 00:10:03.500 verse and go, oh yeah, okay, I know that, so. 00:10:03.629 --> 00:10:06.490 thumbs up, I'm kind of on my way, right? Like 00:10:06.490 --> 00:10:09.049 it's just an easier thing to do. So when we read 00:10:09.049 --> 00:10:12.309 a Bible verse that we don't understand, or we 00:10:12.309 --> 00:10:14.250 don't know how to deal with it, which I've got 00:10:14.250 --> 00:10:16.450 to be honest, happens to me like every second 00:10:16.450 --> 00:10:18.470 day. I'll read a chapter of scripture, I'm like, 00:10:18.909 --> 00:10:20.970 that's interesting, I don't remember reading 00:10:20.970 --> 00:10:23.490 that last time, and it just sticks in my mind. 00:10:23.509 --> 00:10:25.750 So when you do that, you've got to read it against 00:10:25.750 --> 00:10:29.110 the rest of the Bible. Not against our preferences. 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:32.340 not against our life experience, not against 00:10:32.340 --> 00:10:35.720 our cultural constructs, that is the currents 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:38.440 of culture that are encouraging us to think and 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:41.240 believe a certain way, but instead we ask ourselves, 00:10:41.700 --> 00:10:44.299 what does this Scripture mean given the rest 00:10:44.299 --> 00:10:48.460 of Scripture? You with me so far? Okay, this 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:50.539 is much harder. So today I'll give you a freebie 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:53.379 and I'll do the hard work for you. Let's open 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:56.000 up Philippians. If you've got your Bible with 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:57.840 you, I really want to encourage you to open up 00:10:57.840 --> 00:10:59.539 to Philippians chapter four. We're going to spend 00:10:59.539 --> 00:11:02.399 a bit of time in that. And any time you're reading 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:03.799 the word, that's going to be better than anything 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:08.059 I've got to say anyway. So open it up. Now, Philippians 00:11:08.059 --> 00:11:10.440 comes from the word Philippi, which was a city 00:11:10.440 --> 00:11:15.860 in sort of near the Turkish Greek border. That 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:18.919 was probably written in around AD 60, this letter 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:22.080 to the church in Philippi. Paul is a fairly old 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:24.759 man by the time he writes this. He's under house 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:27.179 arrest in Rome. He's waiting for his trial before 00:11:27.179 --> 00:11:29.379 the Roman emperor. So we believe he's under house 00:11:29.379 --> 00:11:31.740 arrest for about two years and that meant he's 00:11:31.740 --> 00:11:33.919 under constant guard. He's sometimes in chains 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:36.220 but it also means he's free to write letters 00:11:36.220 --> 00:11:38.799 and communicate with people. So it has its pluses, 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:41.879 it has its minuses. So he was communicating with 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:43.740 the churches he planted around the Mediterranean. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.149 The church in Philippi was one of the first ones 00:11:46.149 --> 00:11:49.570 he ever planted, probably around 1853 or so, 00:11:49.909 --> 00:11:53.389 on his first mission trip. He went around, I'm 00:11:53.389 --> 00:11:55.009 going to Europe with my family in a couple of 00:11:55.009 --> 00:11:57.409 months, can't wait. First time Paul went to Europe 00:11:57.409 --> 00:11:59.149 with his family, he just planted churches everywhere. 00:12:01.470 --> 00:12:08.110 I haven't told Jenny yet, but one of the things 00:12:08.110 --> 00:12:11.600 that made this special, visiting Philippi for 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:13.519 the first time for Paul. It was a special moment 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:15.500 in a young man's life when he gets thrown in 00:12:15.500 --> 00:12:18.440 jail unjustly for the first time. Always a special 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:20.840 moment. He's thrown in jail for casting a demon 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:22.879 out of a slave girl. Again, our trip to Europe 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:27.100 is gonna be, you just watch Instagram. He and 00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:29.340 Silas, his friend and co -apostle, they're flogged, 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:31.960 they're jailed, but at midnight there's a violent 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:34.840 earthquake, the whole prison is shaken, the shackles 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:37.379 fall off. and he ends up leading the jailer and 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:41.059 his family to Jesus and he's set free. Just a 00:12:41.059 --> 00:12:44.519 standard Tuesday for the Apostle Paul. So that's 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:46.759 why the Philippian Church holds a special place 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:49.419 in Paul's heart. There was a lot happening there 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:51.860 and this letter is often called the letter of 00:12:51.860 --> 00:12:55.120 joy. Now Paul is a straight shooter. He will 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:56.940 come straight at you and tell you what he thinks. 00:12:57.179 --> 00:12:59.580 So the beauty of Philippians is again and again 00:12:59.580 --> 00:13:02.470 you hear these verses of encouragement. These 00:13:02.470 --> 00:13:05.350 verses of love and joy lifting people up. He 00:13:05.350 --> 00:13:07.389 spends the whole letter in thanks to God and 00:13:07.389 --> 00:13:09.289 blessing others and then he gets to chapter four 00:13:09.289 --> 00:13:12.509 and then before we get to verse 13, I just want 00:13:12.509 --> 00:13:14.669 to unpack a little bit of what he says before 00:13:14.669 --> 00:13:16.690 he gets there. Before we get to the verse that 00:13:16.690 --> 00:13:18.649 reminds us that God can get us the carpark we 00:13:18.649 --> 00:13:22.549 need, all things through Christ, Paul gives us 00:13:22.549 --> 00:13:25.710 this, listen to this, verses 10 to 12. How I 00:13:25.710 --> 00:13:27.710 praise the Lord that you're concerned about me 00:13:27.710 --> 00:13:30.090 again. I know you've always been concerned for 00:13:30.090 --> 00:13:32.269 me, but you didn't have the chance to help me. 00:13:32.649 --> 00:13:34.350 Not that I was ever in need, for I've learned 00:13:34.350 --> 00:13:36.769 how to be content with whatever I have. I know 00:13:36.769 --> 00:13:38.610 how to live on almost nothing or with everything. 00:13:38.870 --> 00:13:41.009 I've learned the secret of living in every situation, 00:13:41.070 --> 00:13:43.950 whether it's with a full stomach or empty, with 00:13:43.950 --> 00:13:46.980 plenty or little. Paul thanks the Philippians 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:49.539 for their generosity towards him but as you read 00:13:49.539 --> 00:13:52.220 through this chapter you realize that he's kind 00:13:52.220 --> 00:13:54.659 of just being polite to them a little bit. He 00:13:54.659 --> 00:13:57.179 seems genuinely not bothered about whether he 00:13:57.179 --> 00:13:59.580 gets financial support from them or not and most 00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:01.860 scholars think it was pretty substantial financial 00:14:01.860 --> 00:14:04.179 support that they were giving him. But listen 00:14:04.179 --> 00:14:17.100 to verse 12, I have learned the secret of being 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:23.080 content in any and every situation. Can I tell 00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:26.000 you something? This is behind just about every 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:29.620 prayer request I get given as a pastor. The secret 00:14:29.620 --> 00:14:35.539 of contentment. Inner peace. Paul has discovered 00:14:35.539 --> 00:14:41.820 true inner peace. Everybody wants that and Paul 00:14:41.820 --> 00:14:44.279 knows it. Only a few verses earlier we hear him 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:46.980 gently encouraging the Philippians church not 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:49.840 to have panic attacks. This is how he puts it. 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:52.320 Verse 6, don't worry about anything, instead 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:55.190 pray about everything. Tell God what you need 00:14:55.190 --> 00:14:58.230 and thank Him for all He has done. Then you'll 00:14:58.230 --> 00:15:00.529 experience God's peace, which exceeds anything 00:15:00.529 --> 00:15:03.129 we can understand. His peace will guard your 00:15:03.129 --> 00:15:05.870 hearts and your minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 00:15:06.269 --> 00:15:08.809 Now this is like an echo of Jesus' famous Sermon 00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:10.990 on the Mount. But even more than that, it's a 00:15:10.990 --> 00:15:13.750 sign of a pastor who knows his people. He knows 00:15:13.750 --> 00:15:15.970 that what his church is looking for is inner 00:15:15.970 --> 00:15:18.970 peace, true contentment. And Paul claims that 00:15:18.970 --> 00:15:21.509 he has it. And what's more, verse seven tells 00:15:21.509 --> 00:15:23.929 the Philippian church that... they can have it, 00:15:23.929 --> 00:15:27.950 then you will experience God's peace. And that 00:15:27.950 --> 00:15:32.570 means we can have it. We can have it. So how 00:15:32.570 --> 00:15:35.250 can we have it? Well, Paul goes on to say it 00:15:35.250 --> 00:15:37.529 next. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever 00:15:37.529 --> 00:15:39.549 is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is 00:15:39.549 --> 00:15:42.070 just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever 00:15:42.070 --> 00:15:44.690 is commendable, if there is any moral excellence 00:15:44.690 --> 00:15:46.950 and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell 00:15:46.950 --> 00:15:51.029 on these things. Do what you have learned and 00:15:51.029 --> 00:15:54.190 received and heard from me. and seen in me, and 00:15:54.190 --> 00:15:57.110 the God of peace will be with you." And honestly, 00:15:57.230 --> 00:15:59.850 his explanation is not very complicated, is it? 00:16:00.250 --> 00:16:03.210 Not really. Obey the teachings of Jesus that 00:16:03.210 --> 00:16:05.750 Paul brought to the churches. Model your life 00:16:05.750 --> 00:16:08.889 after people like Paul, who you've seen them 00:16:08.889 --> 00:16:11.549 live lives of God the character, lives worth 00:16:11.549 --> 00:16:13.909 following. And when your thoughts stray, make 00:16:13.909 --> 00:16:16.389 sure you focus them back on things of holiness 00:16:16.389 --> 00:16:20.129 and goodness, not of sin and selfishness. It's 00:16:20.129 --> 00:16:22.350 not that complicated. I actually think any of 00:16:22.350 --> 00:16:25.009 us here could instinctively teach this. Obey 00:16:25.009 --> 00:16:28.090 Jesus, be like Jesus and control your mind in 00:16:28.090 --> 00:16:33.049 a peace boom simple. If it's that simple, the 00:16:33.049 --> 00:16:35.769 laughter is here already, why are we in a society 00:16:35.769 --> 00:16:39.350 of full -on anxiety attacks at all time? If it's 00:16:39.350 --> 00:16:42.429 that simple, why do all of us as followers of 00:16:42.429 --> 00:16:46.769 Jesus seem riddled with anxiety? Isn't that a 00:16:46.769 --> 00:16:48.990 problem? or at least it's something that doesn't 00:16:48.990 --> 00:16:52.090 seem to add up. One plus one does not equal two. 00:16:52.389 --> 00:16:55.370 The problem is we don't want to do all those 00:16:55.370 --> 00:16:58.070 things. Like even as Christians, most of us would 00:16:58.070 --> 00:17:01.029 prefer not to do them. These things require real 00:17:01.029 --> 00:17:04.829 effort, small things that require massive life 00:17:04.829 --> 00:17:08.369 change. Massive life change. They sound easy, 00:17:08.369 --> 00:17:11.450 but have you ever tried to shift your mind from 00:17:11.450 --> 00:17:14.970 focusing on sinful things or lazy things onto 00:17:14.970 --> 00:17:17.950 the things of God? I have. like all the time, 00:17:18.390 --> 00:17:20.890 like every day. It's hard, man. And I've been 00:17:20.890 --> 00:17:23.309 doing this for a while now. It's still hard. 00:17:23.569 --> 00:17:27.549 So that quotable verse, Philippians 4 .13, what 00:17:27.549 --> 00:17:30.329 we want it to mean is this, when things are hard 00:17:30.329 --> 00:17:32.269 in life, God's going to pick me up and carry 00:17:32.269 --> 00:17:38.029 me through. Now, is that true? Yes. However, 00:17:38.690 --> 00:17:42.210 the question I have for you is this, have you 00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:46.519 trained and forged a spirit? that relies on the 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:49.160 strength and presence of God, not on just what's 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:52.119 going on from day to day. Will you have the presence 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:55.920 of mind when things are going badly to pour yourself 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:58.900 out and look to God instead of just going, oh, 00:17:58.900 --> 00:18:02.119 I hope this works out. I'm an optimist. I understand 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:04.880 what that means. I hope it works out. That's 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:07.660 often been my approach to life budgeting. Our 00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:09.920 treasurer is here in the front row twitching 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.039 from his life experiences with me, managing finance 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:16.990 that way. But if you have the sort of heart that 00:18:16.990 --> 00:18:20.029 has been shaped by God, longing for the things 00:18:20.029 --> 00:18:23.089 of God, dwelling in the presence of God, working 00:18:23.089 --> 00:18:26.690 for the kingdom of God, you can start to experience 00:18:26.690 --> 00:18:33.829 that sort of true inner peace. Or you can live 00:18:33.829 --> 00:18:38.990 a life based on self -satisfaction and self -fulfillment. 00:18:39.109 --> 00:18:42.230 And usually, I've got to say here, usually not 00:18:42.230 --> 00:18:44.369 because you're a horrible person. but because 00:18:44.369 --> 00:18:47.170 our natural default is to do whatever is easiest. 00:18:47.630 --> 00:18:50.430 Water runs downhill. We look for the easiest 00:18:50.430 --> 00:18:53.230 path naturally. Our brains, we're making these 00:18:53.230 --> 00:18:55.710 neural pathways up there. We want it to be as 00:18:55.710 --> 00:18:58.490 easy as possible so we keep doing the easy things, 00:18:58.490 --> 00:19:04.069 not the good things. Our strongest desires are 00:19:04.069 --> 00:19:07.049 not our deepest desires. If your life is centered 00:19:07.049 --> 00:19:11.529 around you, don't be alarmed. It's super common. 00:19:12.289 --> 00:19:14.789 Super common. But we don't want to normalise 00:19:14.789 --> 00:19:17.549 that. We want to recognise that it's common, 00:19:17.589 --> 00:19:19.170 we don't want to say it's normal, because it 00:19:19.170 --> 00:19:22.049 will not get you the peace of God. It might get 00:19:22.049 --> 00:19:25.130 you financial security, it might get you the 00:19:25.130 --> 00:19:27.569 peace of a relationship, it might get you the 00:19:27.569 --> 00:19:30.809 peace of a job, but these pieces cannot get you 00:19:30.809 --> 00:19:34.170 through times of suffering. Only the peace of 00:19:34.170 --> 00:19:37.170 God can carry you through a time of suffering, 00:19:37.329 --> 00:19:39.630 which means you've got to forge in your spirit 00:19:39.630 --> 00:19:43.579 the peace of God. When I think about Philippians 00:19:43.579 --> 00:19:47.000 4 .13, a verse that has genuinely meant a lot 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:49.579 to me over the years, all jokes aside, I think 00:19:49.579 --> 00:19:52.460 of athletes with it on their armband, wanting 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:55.480 to win a race. I think of politicians trying 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:58.539 to win votes in specific states and demographics. 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:01.900 It feels like a catchphrase people say to sound 00:20:01.900 --> 00:20:04.099 Christian rather than something we want to live 00:20:04.099 --> 00:20:07.099 out because it's not really a verse about victory. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:10.380 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens 00:20:10.380 --> 00:20:13.380 me. We're like, let me clench my fist and on 00:20:13.380 --> 00:20:16.380 I go. I've got this. No you don't. That's the 00:20:16.380 --> 00:20:19.940 whole point. That's the whole point. You don't 00:20:19.940 --> 00:20:24.599 have this. Paul is in jail under house arrest. 00:20:24.859 --> 00:20:28.099 He's got nothing good going on. He's old. He's 00:20:28.099 --> 00:20:30.319 got other pastors in Rome gossiping about him. 00:20:30.460 --> 00:20:32.559 He has to pay for his own house arrest which 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:35.900 is pretty egregious really. given that he's kind 00:20:35.900 --> 00:20:38.579 of unjustly arrested in the first place. And 00:20:38.579 --> 00:20:40.480 on top of all this, the guy who was meant to 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:42.859 bring him the letter from Philippi, Epaphroditus, 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:46.180 he gets there and nearly dies. Paul has to nurse 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:48.079 him back to health while he's under house arrest. 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:50.940 It is not going well for Paul. And then Paul 00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:53.019 turns around and writes the letter back to the 00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:58.079 church in Philippi saying, I'm good, fam. Genuinely, 00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:02.420 I'm fine. Thank you so much. Listen to the language 00:21:02.420 --> 00:21:05.329 he says. He's like, I love that you were looking 00:21:05.329 --> 00:21:09.109 out for me like this. Thank you so much. I don't 00:21:09.109 --> 00:21:11.670 really need it, like I'm fine, but thank you 00:21:11.670 --> 00:21:15.349 so, so much. His heart, his joy is not found 00:21:15.349 --> 00:21:19.400 in receiving stuff from others. He's joyful to 00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:21.299 receive stuff from others because he knows what 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:23.539 that says about the hearts of the people in the 00:21:23.539 --> 00:21:26.980 church. He's saying, I know you are going so 00:21:26.980 --> 00:21:29.240 well with God the Father and becoming more like 00:21:29.240 --> 00:21:32.400 Jesus because of the way you long to give good 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:35.539 gifts to me. I don't need them. I don't demand 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:38.420 them. But when you give that to me, I feel so 00:21:38.420 --> 00:21:41.079 thankful because it tells me how you're going. 00:21:42.099 --> 00:21:44.160 Let me just fast forward a little bit towards 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:48.490 the end. I love this church so much. I love it. 00:21:48.710 --> 00:21:51.650 Verse one, I read, I always go through the full 00:21:51.650 --> 00:21:54.609 chapter when I'm processing and doing my sermon 00:21:54.609 --> 00:21:56.890 planning, and verse one says this, and I thought 00:21:56.890 --> 00:21:58.710 of you straight away. I swear this is the first 00:21:58.710 --> 00:22:00.910 thing I thought. Therefore, my dear brothers 00:22:00.910 --> 00:22:03.970 and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you 00:22:03.970 --> 00:22:06.589 and long to see you, dear friends, for you are 00:22:06.589 --> 00:22:11.400 my joy and the crown I receive for my work. I 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:13.779 feel when I come to Henley like a grandparent 00:22:13.779 --> 00:22:16.440 who gets to hang out with the grandkids and then 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:18.960 hand them back to the parents like Tex and Tim 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:21.839 and Ash. Like it just makes me so happy to see 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.960 how healthy and thriving this church is. I walk 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:26.480 in this room and I'm like there's heaps of people 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:29.619 I don't know and that is the best news. That 00:22:29.619 --> 00:22:32.660 is so good. What a sign of a life. and growth, 00:22:32.660 --> 00:22:35.380 that is. And then I come and see, I see old friends 00:22:35.380 --> 00:22:38.039 as well. I'm like, this is so good. This is what 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:40.579 the Church of Jesus Christ is meant to look like. 00:22:40.900 --> 00:22:45.700 Healthy things grow. And so I think about Philippians 00:22:45.700 --> 00:22:50.500 4 .13 and I think of the way that Paul is speaking 00:22:50.500 --> 00:22:52.779 as the things that in the West, we want to focus 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:55.599 about. Most of us aren't looking around trying 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:57.059 to tell everyone, I want you to be impressed 00:22:57.059 --> 00:23:00.420 by me, but we want to feel self -satisfied, don't 00:23:00.420 --> 00:23:02.859 we? We want to feel a sense of pride in our own 00:23:02.859 --> 00:23:06.059 accomplishments. And Paul looks at all that and 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:08.859 he pushes it aside and he says, my greatest joy 00:23:08.859 --> 00:23:14.180 is you, is your growth, is the spirit of God 00:23:14.180 --> 00:23:19.490 at work in you. Now in case... You don't fully 00:23:19.490 --> 00:23:21.970 understand what Paul's speaking about here or 00:23:21.970 --> 00:23:23.349 where he's coming from. Let me tell you this. 00:23:23.670 --> 00:23:26.569 This is the contentment of a man who can confidently, 00:23:26.910 --> 00:23:29.069 joyfully write to a church and tell him, I can 00:23:29.069 --> 00:23:30.950 do all things through Christ who strengthens 00:23:30.950 --> 00:23:33.309 me. But all the things he's talking about is 00:23:33.309 --> 00:23:36.009 having a joyful endurance when things are hard. 00:23:36.349 --> 00:23:38.289 In 2 Corinthians, his second letter to the Corinthian 00:23:38.289 --> 00:23:40.009 church, this is what Paul says, he goes, oh, 00:23:40.049 --> 00:23:41.150 here's a few of the things that's happened to 00:23:41.150 --> 00:23:43.710 me over my life. As I shared Christ with others, 00:23:43.849 --> 00:23:45.970 I've been beaten a few times by the authorities. 00:23:46.450 --> 00:23:49.890 Stoned twice, that was bad. Whipped, got the 00:23:49.890 --> 00:23:52.890 40 lashes minus one. It was only 39, luckily 00:23:52.890 --> 00:23:56.029 they minus one. That was public as well. Starved, 00:23:56.069 --> 00:23:58.029 I've been starved a few times. Shipwrecked twice. 00:23:58.809 --> 00:24:01.230 What? No, no, not three times. No, because the 00:24:01.230 --> 00:24:02.950 third time I was just stranded for a night and 00:24:02.950 --> 00:24:05.670 a day at sea. I didn't go up on land, so it's 00:24:05.670 --> 00:24:07.529 technically not shipwrecked. So shipwrecked twice, 00:24:07.690 --> 00:24:09.930 night and a day at sea once. It's fine. It's 00:24:09.930 --> 00:24:12.710 fine. Bitten by snakes. He actually doesn't say 00:24:12.710 --> 00:24:14.710 that in Second Corinthians. It's in Acts, so 00:24:14.710 --> 00:24:16.329 we know he's been bitten by poisonous snakes 00:24:16.329 --> 00:24:19.009 as well. He doesn't even bother to mention it. 00:24:19.250 --> 00:24:20.890 He's like, oh, it's not as bad as the other stuff. 00:24:21.589 --> 00:24:25.390 Anyway. Suffering is not abstract for the Apostle 00:24:25.390 --> 00:24:29.279 Paul. Suffering is not not getting into the uni 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:32.200 course I wanted. Suffering is not even getting 00:24:32.200 --> 00:24:36.039 into a bad car crash. Now that sucks. That is 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:38.819 real suffering. We had this incident a couple 00:24:38.819 --> 00:24:41.660 of years ago where my wife was parked at an intersection 00:24:41.660 --> 00:24:44.640 and two cars in front of her had a crash so bad 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:47.160 that one of the cars came up and landed on her 00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:50.119 bonnet. She got whiplash and both her and my 00:24:50.119 --> 00:24:52.279 daughter watched their lives flash before their 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:55.440 eyes before it dropped just short. That is not 00:24:55.440 --> 00:25:02.500 nothing. Paul says, when that happens, I have 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:05.680 learned the secret to contentment in that time. 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:12.160 I'm okay. No matter what comes my way, I am okay. 00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:17.000 The Spirit of God is in me and with me. Paul 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:22.589 has been forged by fire. How has he been forged 00:25:22.589 --> 00:25:24.910 by fire? It's not just the events that have occurred 00:25:24.910 --> 00:25:28.009 to him. Because friends, in your life, some of 00:25:28.009 --> 00:25:29.630 you will go through worse stuff than I will. 00:25:29.789 --> 00:25:31.329 I'll go through worse stuff than some of you 00:25:31.329 --> 00:25:33.450 will. We can't necessarily control that, can 00:25:33.450 --> 00:25:36.789 we? We can't control what happens when we walk 00:25:36.789 --> 00:25:39.569 outside and what somebody else chooses to do. 00:25:40.269 --> 00:25:42.589 Sometimes we can't even control what we choose 00:25:42.589 --> 00:25:45.990 to do, it seems. But we can choose our spirit. 00:25:47.509 --> 00:25:50.369 And we can only choose our spirit consistently. 00:25:50.730 --> 00:25:55.190 If we work on our spirit, if we forge it, how 00:25:55.190 --> 00:25:58.910 do we do that? How do we do that? Because I think 00:25:58.910 --> 00:26:02.230 so often we behave as if this verse is about 00:26:02.230 --> 00:26:04.829 winning with God's help instead of losing without 00:26:04.829 --> 00:26:08.210 it, but it is much more about patient endurance 00:26:08.210 --> 00:26:13.970 with inner peace. We call it multiplying resilient 00:26:13.970 --> 00:26:19.980 disciples, overcoming with joy. It is about forging 00:26:19.980 --> 00:26:22.299 your spirit in a way that no matter what comes, 00:26:22.359 --> 00:26:26.859 you can say with joy and truth, I can do all 00:26:26.859 --> 00:26:29.519 things through Christ who strengthens me. I'm 00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:32.640 not talking about winning a race here. I'm talking 00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:35.740 about I can get through tomorrow with an incredible 00:26:35.740 --> 00:26:40.200 joy, no matter what comes my way. My joy and 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:43.039 the depth of me is not affected by my circumstances. 00:26:43.460 --> 00:26:46.430 Happiness comes and goes. But the sense of joy 00:26:46.430 --> 00:26:49.150 I have from the presence of Christ in me lasts 00:26:49.150 --> 00:26:56.289 forever, amen? Amen. So how do we do that? If 00:26:56.289 --> 00:26:58.230 you want to have the peace of God, you need to 00:26:58.230 --> 00:27:02.369 prepare yourself with God for the sufferings 00:27:02.369 --> 00:27:05.890 of life. Now, some of this is the most obvious 00:27:05.890 --> 00:27:09.329 boring stuff in the world. You read your Bible 00:27:09.329 --> 00:27:12.190 and you pray. and you are present and serving 00:27:12.190 --> 00:27:16.430 in a local church. If you're new in this church, 00:27:16.970 --> 00:27:19.789 plight yourself. Plight yourself here. Make it 00:27:19.789 --> 00:27:23.410 a weekly rhythm for your life that you are part 00:27:23.410 --> 00:27:25.589 of this community because what this community 00:27:25.589 --> 00:27:28.349 does is they will shape you. There's a verse 00:27:28.349 --> 00:27:31.529 in Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 that like iron 00:27:31.529 --> 00:27:34.490 sharpens iron so one person sharpens another 00:27:34.490 --> 00:27:36.710 and what you find if you try and be a Christian 00:27:36.710 --> 00:27:38.769 on your own outside of a church community you 00:27:38.769 --> 00:27:41.670 can have the belief system but slowly but surely 00:27:41.670 --> 00:27:44.849 your life does not reflect Christ. It will just 00:27:44.849 --> 00:27:47.250 start to wither away because you're not planted 00:27:47.250 --> 00:27:50.910 into a vine, into something living. So I want 00:27:50.910 --> 00:27:54.769 to encourage and beg of you, plug yourself in. 00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:57.500 The thing about this is it's not about picking 00:27:57.500 --> 00:27:59.799 up your Bible and reading it. It's about the 00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:02.880 discipline of being in the Word every day and 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:04.720 some of them are really good and some of them 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:06.539 don't feel very good and sometimes you think 00:28:06.539 --> 00:28:08.740 I heard from God today and sometimes you think 00:28:08.740 --> 00:28:11.960 I heard nothing at all today but day after day 00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:15.240 after day you are in the Word of God, hearing 00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:19.200 from it. We have a 7am prayer meeting on weekdays 00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:22.980 for Encounter Church. I am almost never on there. 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:26.289 Just being honest. But I tell you who is, my 00:28:26.289 --> 00:28:29.170 friend Jonathan, almost every single day, week 00:28:29.170 --> 00:28:34.089 in, week out, 7 to 7 .15, praying day after day 00:28:34.089 --> 00:28:36.970 after day. Some of those days are great prayer 00:28:36.970 --> 00:28:38.809 sessions and some of them are less great. Would 00:28:38.809 --> 00:28:42.109 that be fair Jonathan? Yeah, some are great and 00:28:42.109 --> 00:28:44.589 some are less great because that's life. But 00:28:44.589 --> 00:28:46.910 do you know what it does over time? It forges 00:28:46.910 --> 00:28:49.460 your spirit towards prayer. Reading scripture 00:28:49.460 --> 00:28:51.819 over time forges your spirit towards reading 00:28:51.819 --> 00:28:54.440 the Bible. One thing I came here to say with 00:28:54.440 --> 00:29:00.140 an agenda is this, if you want to grow, sign 00:29:00.140 --> 00:29:03.329 up for internship. We run an internship at Encounter 00:29:03.329 --> 00:29:05.089 Church. It's mostly based out of Enfield, but 00:29:05.089 --> 00:29:07.269 we come down here from time to time, from both 00:29:07.269 --> 00:29:09.529 locations. We have Tom Golden, he's one of our 00:29:09.529 --> 00:29:11.089 interns. He's somewhere up the east coast of 00:29:11.089 --> 00:29:13.650 Australia at this point in time. Dan's done internship. 00:29:13.809 --> 00:29:15.930 He's the people here have done internship. Talk 00:29:15.930 --> 00:29:18.490 to them for one year of your life on a Friday. 00:29:18.869 --> 00:29:21.730 If you can sacrifice that time, 9 .30 to 3 .30, 00:29:21.730 --> 00:29:24.130 it will change your life. Not because we are 00:29:24.130 --> 00:29:27.250 that gifted. Believe me, I am not. But because 00:29:27.250 --> 00:29:31.190 over time, you are choosing to position yourself 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:35.279 every week to hear from God surrounded by other 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:37.299 people doing the same thing as you, the same 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:39.680 life stage, the same age, who are asking the 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:41.839 same questions, who are pursuing God in the same 00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:44.660 way, and challenging one another to grow. And 00:29:44.660 --> 00:29:46.519 so three weeks in you're like, you can be saying, 00:29:46.599 --> 00:29:48.940 I'm having a terrible week, but six months in 00:29:48.940 --> 00:29:51.619 you turn around and go, holy smokes, I've come 00:29:51.619 --> 00:29:54.869 a long way. That's how it works. It's like climbing 00:29:54.869 --> 00:29:56.990 a mountain slowly. After a couple of weeks, you're 00:29:56.990 --> 00:29:58.710 like, I don't know, I'm having a bad day today. 00:29:58.990 --> 00:30:00.450 But as you turn around and look back, you're 00:30:00.450 --> 00:30:04.849 like, oh, I've come a long, long way. If you 00:30:04.849 --> 00:30:07.250 are here and you want to talk to me about internship, 00:30:07.470 --> 00:30:10.309 please do it. We've just started. We just had 00:30:10.309 --> 00:30:11.970 our first week, which means it's really easy 00:30:11.970 --> 00:30:14.369 to sign up. You haven't missed much at all. OK, 00:30:14.369 --> 00:30:16.869 please, please talk to me about that. All right, 00:30:17.089 --> 00:30:20.710 enough of that. That's my agenda stuff. What 00:30:20.710 --> 00:30:23.150 you need to do in all this. as I come to a close, 00:30:23.829 --> 00:30:26.650 is to put on the full armour of God. All right, 00:30:26.650 --> 00:30:29.609 this isn't about proving yourself, this is about 00:30:29.609 --> 00:30:33.730 your best life. The problem is we have convinced 00:30:33.730 --> 00:30:36.829 ourselves that our best life comes from the decisions 00:30:36.829 --> 00:30:40.210 that we make and the things that we think are 00:30:40.210 --> 00:30:42.690 good for us or the things that everyone in culture 00:30:42.690 --> 00:30:45.609 tells us to do. But our best life comes when 00:30:45.609 --> 00:30:49.069 day after day we prioritise the things of God 00:30:49.069 --> 00:30:51.799 ahead of everything else. If you're a single 00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:54.700 person here in this room, wait to find someone 00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:57.759 who loves Jesus more than they love you, and 00:30:57.759 --> 00:30:59.940 then make sure they love you more than anything 00:30:59.940 --> 00:31:03.500 else except Jesus. That's the order. That's the 00:31:03.500 --> 00:31:05.319 order. And then when you have kids, make sure 00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:07.779 you keep them third, because if they move up 00:31:07.779 --> 00:31:10.839 in any way, it all goes haywire. You've got to 00:31:10.839 --> 00:31:12.259 love Jesus the most. You've got to love your 00:31:12.259 --> 00:31:13.859 partner second most, and then you've got to love 00:31:13.859 --> 00:31:16.200 those kids third. After that, the world's your 00:31:16.200 --> 00:31:19.730 oyster. Go for it. But if you can do that in 00:31:19.730 --> 00:31:21.829 that order, you will start to structure some 00:31:21.829 --> 00:31:25.890 things in your life. This is about putting all 00:31:25.890 --> 00:31:30.289 things through Christ, laying everything down. 00:31:30.869 --> 00:31:33.109 Let's just quickly go back to Paul's visit to 00:31:33.109 --> 00:31:36.250 Philippi and then I'm going to finish up. Paul 00:31:36.250 --> 00:31:39.430 is unjustly thrown in jail, like I said, and 00:31:39.430 --> 00:31:41.410 we hear that in the middle of the night. Paul 00:31:41.410 --> 00:31:44.289 and Silas, prisoners for the first time in Paul's 00:31:44.289 --> 00:31:46.650 life, he's never experienced this. They're praying 00:31:46.650 --> 00:31:49.589 and singing hymns together. Just normal prisoner 00:31:49.589 --> 00:31:52.089 behaviour on your first night in jail. Really 00:31:52.089 --> 00:31:55.369 normal stuff. And the Bible tells us the other 00:31:55.369 --> 00:31:57.710 prisoners were listening to them. They weren't 00:31:57.710 --> 00:31:59.950 stopping them and they weren't participating, 00:32:00.009 --> 00:32:02.210 but they were listening. They must have been 00:32:02.210 --> 00:32:06.690 just like, what are these people on about? I'm 00:32:06.690 --> 00:32:10.089 just going to watch. And then comes an enormous 00:32:10.089 --> 00:32:14.490 earthquake. The cell doors fly open. God provides 00:32:14.490 --> 00:32:18.630 Paul and Silas the route to escape. I can do 00:32:18.630 --> 00:32:21.170 all things through Christ who strengthens me. 00:32:21.430 --> 00:32:24.250 I can escape from prison. And Paul and Silas 00:32:24.250 --> 00:32:29.829 rush to do nothing at all. They stay right there. 00:32:30.349 --> 00:32:33.250 And the jailer wakes suddenly. It's the middle 00:32:33.250 --> 00:32:34.930 of the night. He doesn't have to stay awake, 00:32:34.950 --> 00:32:37.130 so he's been sleeping. And he rushes, he sees 00:32:37.130 --> 00:32:39.009 all the doors open and he knows the prisoners 00:32:39.009 --> 00:32:41.390 will have left. So he takes out his sword so 00:32:41.390 --> 00:32:43.569 as not to shame his family and goes to commit 00:32:43.569 --> 00:32:46.829 suicide. And before he can, Paul cries out, stop, 00:32:47.009 --> 00:32:49.109 stop, stop, stop. We're here. We're all here. 00:32:49.589 --> 00:32:52.609 None of us have left. And this jailer rushes 00:32:52.609 --> 00:32:55.490 in and he drops to his knees and he said, what 00:32:55.490 --> 00:32:59.549 must I do to be saved? And so Paul leads him. 00:32:59.660 --> 00:33:01.960 in the prayer of repentance, teaching him how 00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:04.160 to follow Jesus, what it means to give his life 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:06.380 to Jesus, and then the jailer takes him back 00:33:06.380 --> 00:33:08.700 to his house, tells his whole family and his 00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:11.140 whole household, they all give their lives to 00:33:11.140 --> 00:33:14.680 Jesus, Paul and Silas baptise them all, then 00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:18.720 they go back to jail, and the governor comes 00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:21.019 the next morning says, you guys are free, and 00:33:21.019 --> 00:33:23.519 Paul's like, oh yeah, I mean I've had quite the 00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:25.940 night anyway, but uh, thanks for letting me know 00:33:25.940 --> 00:33:30.259 mate. More adventures ensue, but... Here's what 00:33:30.259 --> 00:33:33.559 it is. When Paul is thrown in prison, because 00:33:33.559 --> 00:33:35.700 of what has happened to him in Christ, he does 00:33:35.700 --> 00:33:38.980 not see discomfort, he sees an opportunity. He 00:33:38.980 --> 00:33:42.680 doesn't go, I am doomed and I need to get the 00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:45.559 fastest way out. In fact, we know that because 00:33:45.559 --> 00:33:48.240 when he has a way out, he doesn't go anywhere. 00:33:48.539 --> 00:33:50.579 He goes, all right, that's pretty interesting. 00:33:51.559 --> 00:33:53.619 Should we keep singing hymns? Should we pray? 00:33:53.900 --> 00:33:55.680 And then something starts to happen. He's like, 00:33:55.799 --> 00:33:58.319 okay, this is why I'm here. Do you ever wonder 00:33:58.319 --> 00:34:00.539 that? Why you're in a particular place at a particular 00:34:00.539 --> 00:34:02.740 time when you've got the Spirit of God forged 00:34:02.740 --> 00:34:05.000 in you. When you start to chase after that, you 00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:07.519 won't wonder that so much. You will know because 00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:09.659 you will be listening to God, you will be responding 00:34:09.659 --> 00:34:12.539 to God. All of that will be easier. If you take 00:34:12.539 --> 00:34:14.500 time to be in the Henley prayer room regularly, 00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:16.559 you'll hear God's voice easier. If you're on 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:19.360 the 7am prayer regularly, you'll hear God's voice 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:22.719 easier. It's all about doing the boring things 00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:26.539 with love over time to cultivate the presence 00:34:26.539 --> 00:34:29.500 of God. in you because that is the source of 00:34:29.500 --> 00:34:33.340 life, love and peace. And that, that is what 00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:36.519 you want for your life. That is what all of us 00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:39.900 truly desire, to be tapped into the perfect source 00:34:39.900 --> 00:34:43.340 of love, the perfect source of life and the perfect 00:34:43.340 --> 00:34:47.900 source of peace. But unless you can take your 00:34:47.900 --> 00:34:52.639 time, those times when we are wanting desperately 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:55.619 to do anything else, either because we think 00:34:55.619 --> 00:34:58.500 we've got too much to do or we just want to disconnect 00:34:58.500 --> 00:35:04.260 entirely, give that to God. Trust Him with it. 00:35:04.579 --> 00:35:06.920 If I could give you one practical thing right 00:35:06.920 --> 00:35:10.079 now, I would say this. When you are at a time 00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:13.119 of complete exhaustion, do not pick up a device 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:19.159 with a screen on it. Just pause. Rest in an analogue 00:35:19.159 --> 00:35:26.469 way. The way our forefathers did. And when you 00:35:26.469 --> 00:35:30.409 do that, do you know what you cultivate? Silence 00:35:30.409 --> 00:35:34.750 and stillness. And in silence and stillness can 00:35:34.750 --> 00:35:37.530 come the voice of God. I'm not telling you inevitable, 00:35:37.809 --> 00:35:40.050 you know, I love a movie. I'm a big movie buff. 00:35:40.050 --> 00:35:44.030 I love it. But cultivate silence and stillness 00:35:44.030 --> 00:35:47.789 first. You will be surprised what happens. The 00:35:47.789 --> 00:35:51.630 irony, right? What you can hear. Hey, would you 00:35:51.630 --> 00:36:01.039 just stand with me as we finish? God is constantly 00:36:01.039 --> 00:36:06.420 calling us to respond to His voice. Paul, who 00:36:06.420 --> 00:36:09.780 wrote, I can do all things through Christ, who 00:36:09.780 --> 00:36:12.579 strengthens me, completely means it because he 00:36:12.579 --> 00:36:15.820 knew that he was a living temple, that he had 00:36:15.820 --> 00:36:18.199 cultivated the very presence of God in himself. 00:36:18.860 --> 00:36:21.119 I just wonder, as we're in this moment, preparing 00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:22.980 to go back into worship, would you just close 00:36:22.980 --> 00:36:25.869 your eyes with me for a moment? and just stretch 00:36:25.869 --> 00:36:28.469 out your hands before you. This is a thing I 00:36:28.469 --> 00:36:30.090 like to get people to do because it's something 00:36:30.090 --> 00:36:32.690 we do when we're receiving a gift. And our God 00:36:32.690 --> 00:36:36.329 wants to give us a gift, the gift of His presence. 00:36:37.610 --> 00:36:39.369 I just wonder, would you just begin to pray? 00:36:40.130 --> 00:36:44.010 To ask for what you need from God. Don't worry 00:36:44.010 --> 00:36:46.530 about if this feels selfish. This is you starting 00:36:46.530 --> 00:36:49.510 to forge that time, that relationship with God. 00:36:50.289 --> 00:36:52.530 Maybe right now you're in a time of real work 00:36:52.530 --> 00:36:56.530 stress. You're God's child. Tell Him what you 00:36:56.530 --> 00:37:01.710 need. He loves you. He's listening to you. Maybe 00:37:01.710 --> 00:37:05.630 there's a relationship that is feeling frayed 00:37:05.630 --> 00:37:07.869 at the moment. For whatever reason, I've got 00:37:07.869 --> 00:37:10.150 mother -daughter relationships in my mind here. 00:37:10.869 --> 00:37:12.929 If that's you, I think God is speaking to you. 00:37:13.250 --> 00:37:17.789 Give that to Him. Trust Him with it. Listen for 00:37:17.789 --> 00:37:24.400 His voice. Some of you here as we go back to 00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:28.159 that Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 and 7 about 00:37:28.159 --> 00:37:32.199 anxiety. That's the real thing. Every time you 00:37:32.199 --> 00:37:35.019 start getting some traction you get anxious and 00:37:35.019 --> 00:37:39.079 it all starts to fall apart. God is here today 00:37:39.079 --> 00:37:43.460 to say Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Place your 00:37:43.460 --> 00:37:50.039 trust in Him. Give your burdens to Him. Receive 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:52.159 the Spirit of God. Receive the Spirit of God 00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:57.920 today. Thanks so much for tuning into this week's 00:37:57.920 --> 00:38:00.739 message. If you felt challenged or need prayer, 00:38:01.059 --> 00:38:04.380 we'd love to hear from you on Instagram, at encounterhenley. 00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:07.099 Or if you're interested in how you can support 00:38:07.099 --> 00:38:10.539 this ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide 00:38:10.539 --> 00:38:14.199 .com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:38:14.199 --> 00:38:14.599 you.