WEBVTT 00:00:09.940 --> 00:00:12.679 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.679 --> 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, 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:20.839 you can have an encounter with Jesus that'll 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:24.359 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:28.699 message from our preaching team. We serve a really, 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:32.439 really good God. And it's such a blessing to 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:37.799 be here this morning. It's a blessing to be here 00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:40.640 this afternoon and worship with you and be back 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:46.320 to a place that feels like home. And as we were 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:51.140 singing this song about praising God and for 00:00:51.140 --> 00:00:54.429 who He is and for what He's done. and the Name 00:00:54.429 --> 00:00:57.170 that is above all other Names. I just kind of 00:00:57.170 --> 00:01:00.649 hope to think this morning as we reflect and 00:01:00.649 --> 00:01:07.329 as we meditate on God's Word, if we could be 00:01:07.329 --> 00:01:10.450 having our eyes open and our ears ready for those 00:01:10.450 --> 00:01:13.569 moments of praise, the moments of challenge, 00:01:14.010 --> 00:01:16.370 and the moments that God invites us to be formed 00:01:16.370 --> 00:01:20.239 by Him and His Word. And so I'm gonna do a quick 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:22.340 prayer before I invite Lily up to do our reading. 00:01:27.060 --> 00:01:30.260 Yeah, Father God, would you give us eyes to see 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:33.299 and ears to hear what you have in store for us 00:01:33.299 --> 00:01:37.859 this afternoon, Lord? Lord, would you be renewing 00:01:37.859 --> 00:01:40.299 our minds? Would whatever has been going on in 00:01:40.299 --> 00:01:42.680 our weeks and our months and our years, Lord, 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:45.400 would you allow that to just be put to the side 00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:48.750 for the moment? so that we can examine it through 00:01:48.750 --> 00:01:51.810 your word, so that we can examine it through 00:01:51.810 --> 00:01:53.849 prayer and petition to you, Lord, and so that 00:01:53.849 --> 00:01:56.590 we can see the direction that you are sending 00:01:56.590 --> 00:02:00.569 us and the pathway of our life clearly the way 00:02:00.569 --> 00:02:05.829 that you see it, Lord Jesus. Lord, we pray that 00:02:05.829 --> 00:02:09.770 you would bless this time together. In your powerful 00:02:09.770 --> 00:02:12.789 name, Jesus, amen. I'm gonna hand it over to 00:02:12.789 --> 00:02:22.629 Lily. Hi everyone. Our reading today comes from 00:02:22.629 --> 00:02:26.530 Psalm 1. In fact it is all of Psalm 1. This is 00:02:26.530 --> 00:02:29.569 the Christian Standard Bible by the way. The 00:02:29.569 --> 00:02:33.590 two ways. How happy is the one who does not walk 00:02:33.590 --> 00:02:36.729 in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway 00:02:36.729 --> 00:02:40.250 with sinners or sit in the company of mockers. 00:02:40.509 --> 00:02:43.229 Instead his delight is in the Lord's instruction. 00:02:43.419 --> 00:02:46.879 and he meditates on it day and night. He is like 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:50.939 a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears 00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:53.860 its fruit in its season and its leaf does not 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:57.400 wither. Whatever he does prospers. The wicked 00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:00.120 are not like this. Instead, they are like chaff 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:02.800 that the wind blows away. Therefore, the wicked 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:05.039 will not stand up in the judgment nor sinners 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:07.860 in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord 00:03:07.860 --> 00:03:10.180 watches over the way of the righteous, but the 00:03:10.180 --> 00:03:13.770 way of the wicked leads to ruin. This is the 00:03:13.770 --> 00:03:30.270 word of the Lord. Thanks Lily. Who has been on 00:03:30.270 --> 00:03:34.969 a road trip before? Who has planned a road trip 00:03:34.969 --> 00:03:38.400 before? I went on my first road trip earlier 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:40.379 this year to Canberra. I organised it with a 00:03:40.379 --> 00:03:43.780 friend of mine. It's a very short 14 -hour drive, 00:03:43.819 --> 00:03:47.379 if you take stops. And on the way there, totally 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:49.560 fine, because I really wanted to get there. On 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:52.060 the way back, I had a long weekend, I was tired, 00:03:52.419 --> 00:03:56.539 and I prioritised two things. Toilet stops and 00:03:56.539 --> 00:04:00.180 food stops. The thing that I did not prioritise 00:04:00.180 --> 00:04:05.120 was petri -stops. Now, see, what you might... 00:04:05.150 --> 00:04:08.189 No, or not no, is that petrol needs, cars need 00:04:08.189 --> 00:04:12.710 petrol as much, if not more so, than people need 00:04:12.710 --> 00:04:16.670 food and drink. And what I had worked out is 00:04:16.670 --> 00:04:19.149 that there was this town that we stopped in and 00:04:19.149 --> 00:04:21.910 that the food was pretty good. And if we stopped 00:04:21.910 --> 00:04:23.230 there, we could go for a quick toilet break, 00:04:23.470 --> 00:04:25.350 we could go get some food and there'd be a petrol 00:04:25.350 --> 00:04:28.509 station in that town. Listen, there was no petrol 00:04:28.509 --> 00:04:31.149 station in that town. And when we stopped in 00:04:31.149 --> 00:04:33.889 that town on this 43 degree day, the town was 00:04:33.889 --> 00:04:36.860 in fact closed. Not just the stores but also 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:43.100 the bathrooms in this town were closed. I had 00:04:43.100 --> 00:04:46.639 planned this trip with the wrong things in mind. 00:04:47.339 --> 00:04:49.379 I was thinking about our bladders rather than 00:04:49.379 --> 00:04:51.120 thinking about the petrol that my car needed. 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:53.620 Now thankfully we made it in time to fill up 00:04:53.620 --> 00:04:56.360 our tank but it got me thinking about, when I 00:04:56.360 --> 00:04:57.720 was reflecting on this trip, it got me thinking 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.180 about the things that we can prioritise in our 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:03.610 life. When we prioritise our comfort over what 00:05:03.610 --> 00:05:06.029 we actually really need. Because to be honest, 00:05:06.110 --> 00:05:08.730 I probably could have waited the extra 30Ks to 00:05:08.730 --> 00:05:11.009 get to the petrol station. I probably could have 00:05:11.009 --> 00:05:14.089 waited to have lunch. I probably could have relaxed 00:05:14.089 --> 00:05:18.009 a little bit more in my car. But instead, I prioritised 00:05:18.009 --> 00:05:20.750 my comfort, my preference, and the way that I 00:05:20.750 --> 00:05:23.110 thought was the right way to go. Thankfully, 00:05:23.110 --> 00:05:25.069 I've gotten wiser and I'll plan a better trip 00:05:25.069 --> 00:05:28.709 next time. In our lives, though, we're often 00:05:28.709 --> 00:05:32.069 thinking about our security, our financial security. 00:05:32.250 --> 00:05:35.149 our job security, we're thinking about raising 00:05:35.149 --> 00:05:37.870 kids or studying, I don't have children in case 00:05:37.870 --> 00:05:39.889 that's something that you were wondering about, 00:05:40.069 --> 00:05:42.649 but I do live with some and they do need to be 00:05:42.649 --> 00:05:51.589 raised. Maybe we're thinking about how we might 00:05:51.589 --> 00:05:54.329 resolve a fight with a friend or a partner and 00:05:54.329 --> 00:05:57.089 these are all things that are good to be prioritizing 00:05:57.089 --> 00:05:59.170 in our lives and they're all things that are 00:05:59.170 --> 00:06:02.250 good for us to give our energy to. but they are 00:06:02.250 --> 00:06:04.910 all really impacted when that fuel light pops 00:06:04.910 --> 00:06:08.389 on, right? There are only so many hours in each 00:06:08.389 --> 00:06:11.610 day and so much energy that we have to commit 00:06:11.610 --> 00:06:13.810 to each of those things. And so how do we decide 00:06:13.810 --> 00:06:16.509 what gets the lion's share of our energy? How 00:06:16.509 --> 00:06:19.290 do we choose the things that are important to 00:06:19.290 --> 00:06:23.310 us? And the Psalm today highlights the two ways 00:06:23.310 --> 00:06:25.910 that we can do this, depending on our own wisdom 00:06:25.910 --> 00:06:28.810 and understanding or meditating on the instruction 00:06:28.810 --> 00:06:32.050 of the Lord. And what the Psalm offers two ways 00:06:32.050 --> 00:06:34.230 and the biblical authors often speak in black 00:06:34.230 --> 00:06:37.110 and white, our experiences in our life is often 00:06:37.110 --> 00:06:40.269 shaped by the gray. It's often shaped in the 00:06:40.269 --> 00:06:43.410 middle rather than these two extremes. But what 00:06:43.410 --> 00:06:45.810 the Psalmist highlights here is that the two 00:06:45.810 --> 00:06:48.769 extremes give us wisdom for the direction of 00:06:48.769 --> 00:06:51.629 our lives and ultimately the path that we choose 00:06:51.629 --> 00:06:54.790 and the way that we take ends up in either one 00:06:54.790 --> 00:07:01.779 of these two extreme directions at the end. Both 00:07:01.779 --> 00:07:04.519 of these directions are influenced by something. 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:07.860 It's something that we draw from. You have this 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:10.540 self -sustaining life, which looks for worldly 00:07:10.540 --> 00:07:13.519 wisdom and advice. It centers its life around 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:16.199 its achievements, focusing on how well it performs. 00:07:16.339 --> 00:07:19.339 It relies on having a good network and smart 00:07:19.339 --> 00:07:21.199 plans and learning through experience. It's the 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:24.480 kind of life that sees God as a backup plan and 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:27.079 as a security on top of the security that we're 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:30.180 already building. It keeps itself busy, always 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:32.379 trying to keep one step ahead of the next crisis 00:07:32.379 --> 00:07:35.800 that's incoming and it relies on willpower, on 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:40.839 its own strength and its own understanding. One 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:42.939 of the challenge for us in church is it's often 00:07:42.939 --> 00:07:46.439 really easy for us to look at that description 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:50.439 and go, I know people like that and absolve ourselves 00:07:50.439 --> 00:07:53.740 of responsibility when we are people like that. 00:07:54.889 --> 00:07:58.949 The Psalm is an invitation into meditation and 00:07:58.949 --> 00:08:02.189 reflection. I know when I look at that list, 00:08:02.189 --> 00:08:05.709 I see myself there. I see myself striving for 00:08:05.709 --> 00:08:08.529 the approval of others. I see myself relying 00:08:08.529 --> 00:08:10.529 on my talents to get me through in life. And 00:08:10.529 --> 00:08:13.410 I see myself coasting towards the future that 00:08:13.410 --> 00:08:18.550 I have imagined for myself. But we are invited 00:08:18.550 --> 00:08:21.009 to reflect on our life through the Psalm to look 00:08:21.009 --> 00:08:23.339 for where we are self -reliant. where we are 00:08:23.339 --> 00:08:25.339 scoffing at others and stubborn in our sinfulness. 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:29.399 And in my trip, if I had taken a moment to examine 00:08:29.399 --> 00:08:31.600 my route, I would have seen that I needed to 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:34.659 fill up my tank earlier. I would have seen that 00:08:34.659 --> 00:08:38.059 running on near empty in the hot weather and 00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:44.600 prioritizing my comfort is a bad idea. At the 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:46.279 beginning of the Psalm, it talks about what it 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:49.059 looks like to fall into the submission of sin, 00:08:49.340 --> 00:08:53.019 the way the blessed is not. We might begin to 00:08:53.019 --> 00:08:56.220 walk the same road as the wicked. Maybe we tell 00:08:56.220 --> 00:08:58.799 small lies sometimes. Maybe we look at things 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:00.840 we're not supposed to or say things to people 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:03.299 we're not supposed to. Maybe we offend somebody 00:09:03.299 --> 00:09:04.879 in the middle of the congregation who you live 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:11.539 with. These things draw us into a way of life, 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:14.639 not just moments, but a pattern that continues 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:17.360 to repeat. Well, we cannot help but tell more 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:19.179 lies to cover the lies that we've already told. 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:21.980 or where our anger spills over into our family 00:09:21.980 --> 00:09:24.440 life. Perhaps we've picked up an unhealthy coping 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:27.840 mechanism or two to deal with the hard things 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:32.179 or avoid the hard things in our lives. And eventually 00:09:32.179 --> 00:09:34.840 this direction leads us to sit in the company 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:37.940 of mockers. This way of life has become something 00:09:37.940 --> 00:09:41.200 that we stand firm in, not just a little compromise 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:43.559 here, a little compromise there, but where moral 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:46.789 compromise has become a way of life. where moral 00:09:46.789 --> 00:09:50.149 compromises become the new moral norm for us. 00:09:51.330 --> 00:09:54.470 Muckers are jaded, they're stubborn, and they 00:09:54.470 --> 00:09:56.830 are unwilling to recognise or can see that they 00:09:56.830 --> 00:09:59.210 might be wrong about the decisions that they've 00:09:59.210 --> 00:10:03.190 made. And in reality, this is the direction that 00:10:03.190 --> 00:10:06.409 we are all heading in without intention. If we 00:10:06.409 --> 00:10:09.289 don't deliberately and intentionally change, 00:10:09.730 --> 00:10:11.970 we head towards this kind of life because we 00:10:11.970 --> 00:10:17.320 drift towards a life of sin. There are no accidental 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:21.639 saints. That's John Mike Homer. It is always 00:10:21.639 --> 00:10:23.720 a deliberate process to be formed into the life 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:27.259 of Jesus. And so it's really easy for us to label 00:10:27.259 --> 00:10:30.860 other people in this category of the wicked or 00:10:30.860 --> 00:10:32.879 the not blessed life or the self -sustaining 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:36.519 life. But if we are honest with ourselves and 00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:39.679 we examine our lives, we can see areas where 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:43.559 we are relying on us. where it's all on us, where 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:46.740 it's dependent upon our effort, our energy, our 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:50.500 resources. But the blessed person finds delight 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:53.440 in the law of the Lord and meditates on His instruction 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:56.980 day and night. The contrast to the way of the 00:10:56.980 --> 00:11:02.919 wicked is intention, it's delight. I know I find 00:11:02.919 --> 00:11:06.059 this really hard and really challenging to delight 00:11:06.059 --> 00:11:08.860 in the law of the Lord, to meditate on the instruction 00:11:08.860 --> 00:11:12.360 day and night. How do I delight in reading the 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:16.000 Bible? How do I find delight in thou shalt not? 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:19.899 How do I find delight in sitting in silence by 00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:24.659 myself for a long time? How am I supposed to 00:11:24.659 --> 00:11:27.460 meditate day and night? I've got other stuff 00:11:27.460 --> 00:11:32.279 I've got to do. We don't often put delight and 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:35.240 discipline or teaching together in our minds. 00:11:36.490 --> 00:11:38.889 I'm currently studying and the overarching complaint 00:11:38.889 --> 00:11:42.169 I have from the people I study with is I just 00:11:42.169 --> 00:11:44.049 want to get this done, over and done with. I'm 00:11:44.049 --> 00:11:46.029 not enjoying this. I'm not having a good time. 00:11:46.090 --> 00:11:47.950 I just want to get my degree so I can go and 00:11:47.950 --> 00:11:53.190 do the thing that I am supposed to do. We take 00:11:53.190 --> 00:11:55.370 delight in the things that we desire. I take 00:11:55.370 --> 00:11:58.169 delight in ice cream and in pizza and clearly 00:11:58.169 --> 00:12:04.070 in a lot of other foods. That wasn't a comment 00:12:04.070 --> 00:12:05.870 about my weight. I was just describing that I 00:12:05.870 --> 00:12:11.830 like food, but Thank you for the sympathy But 00:12:11.830 --> 00:12:14.409 the Psalm is describing a life that finds the 00:12:14.409 --> 00:12:17.750 light in instruction Finding pleasure in obedience 00:12:17.750 --> 00:12:20.450 and a thirst for his instruction and direction 00:12:20.450 --> 00:12:22.830 for our life instead of allowing ourselves to 00:12:22.830 --> 00:12:26.269 be influenced negatively We hunger and desire 00:12:26.269 --> 00:12:29.029 for God's wisdom and influence in our life. I'm 00:12:29.029 --> 00:12:32.159 gonna do it of a tangent the word instruction 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:35.059 here is the Hebrew word Torah, and the Torah 00:12:35.059 --> 00:12:37.299 is the first five books of the Bible. And when 00:12:37.299 --> 00:12:39.519 we read the first five books of the Bible, we 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:42.500 can have a look and go, man, that is a lot of 00:12:42.500 --> 00:12:44.980 stuff. There's a lot of rules here, there's a 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:46.980 lot of direction here, there's a lot of people 00:12:46.980 --> 00:12:48.779 not doing what God told them to do here, a lot 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:52.700 of punishment here. But what we also see is God's 00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:55.940 gracious initiative to His people. We also see 00:12:55.940 --> 00:12:58.620 a God who reaches out to his people again and 00:12:58.620 --> 00:13:01.179 again, despite their attempts to run away from 00:13:01.179 --> 00:13:04.179 him, despite their attempts to disobey him, who 00:13:04.179 --> 00:13:07.120 blesses his people when they continually fail 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:10.539 to live up to his expectations. And so when we 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:12.580 think about God's gracious initiative, that he 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:16.669 sends Jesus, his son to us. and the instruction 00:13:16.669 --> 00:13:19.110 that He comes along with that allows us to be 00:13:19.110 --> 00:13:21.769 close to God, that allows us to be in an intimate 00:13:21.769 --> 00:13:24.870 relationship with Jesus, I think I can take delight 00:13:24.870 --> 00:13:28.129 in that. I think I can desire a deeper relationship 00:13:28.129 --> 00:13:31.370 with God and the things that will bring me into 00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:38.470 that deeper relationship. God's Word draws us 00:13:38.470 --> 00:13:40.990 in and it refines us and it shows us more about 00:13:40.990 --> 00:13:44.889 who God is. We get to delight in His graciousness. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:48.200 and His love for us that is revealed to us in 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:53.299 how He leads us. And the way that we can delight 00:13:53.299 --> 00:13:56.340 in the Lord is by meditating on the Lord's instructions, 00:13:56.460 --> 00:13:59.080 by redirecting our attention towards the words 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:02.039 of God. Now, who here has done meditation before? 00:14:04.580 --> 00:14:07.740 Who here has done biblical meditation before? 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:12.769 Okay. Meditation in my mind, the way I see it 00:14:12.769 --> 00:14:15.250 on all the movies and whatever other media I 00:14:15.250 --> 00:14:18.129 might be consuming, is you sit in a room cross 00:14:18.129 --> 00:14:21.830 -legged and you empty yourself of all your thoughts 00:14:21.830 --> 00:14:26.690 so that you can find inner peace. Biblical meditation 00:14:26.690 --> 00:14:29.389 isn't like this. It's not an emptying of ourselves, 00:14:29.429 --> 00:14:35.389 but a feeling of God's Word. It's to... put God's 00:14:35.389 --> 00:14:38.490 Word into our mind to ponder, to chew through, 00:14:38.830 --> 00:14:41.470 to roll around. The image I get when I think 00:14:41.470 --> 00:14:44.129 about this is like God's Word being a wine that 00:14:44.129 --> 00:14:46.929 you swish around in your mouth to get the full 00:14:46.929 --> 00:14:49.690 flavour out, the full blend out so you can get 00:14:49.690 --> 00:14:55.240 that really, really great taste from it. We can 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:57.840 meditate by speaking God's word to one another, 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:01.019 by sharing it and contemplating the words and 00:15:01.019 --> 00:15:03.879 to have our minds be directed by the instruction 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:06.460 of God. Because how true is it that the direction 00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:09.600 of our thoughts have a great impact on the way 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:12.740 that we live our lives? Craig Rochelle, the lead 00:15:12.740 --> 00:15:15.240 pastor of Life .Church says this, our lives are 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:17.700 always moving in the direction of our strongest 00:15:17.700 --> 00:15:21.850 thoughts. What we think shapes who we are. This 00:15:21.850 --> 00:15:24.490 is why it's so important for us to be meditating 00:15:24.490 --> 00:15:26.590 on the Lord's instruction instead of something 00:15:26.590 --> 00:15:28.769 else. Because when we fill our minds with the 00:15:28.769 --> 00:15:31.129 global crisis, with the amount of abuse that 00:15:31.129 --> 00:15:34.730 we're seeing coming out of everywhere, the financial 00:15:34.730 --> 00:15:37.350 stress that we might feel, our daily anxieties, 00:15:37.350 --> 00:15:40.450 we begin to meditate on those things and fill 00:15:40.450 --> 00:15:42.929 our minds with those things. And we see that 00:15:42.929 --> 00:15:47.389 the fruit of that meditation is anxiety, stress, 00:15:48.269 --> 00:15:52.539 fear, division. And we end up sitting in this 00:15:52.539 --> 00:15:55.659 seat of mockers, trying to find a solution to 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:58.840 a problem that we don't actually have control 00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:04.960 over. But when we fill our minds with God's word, 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:06.860 with His promises and His direction, and when 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:09.600 we ponder on those things, it transforms our 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:12.279 minds. We gain wisdom for dealing with those 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:15.629 challenges that we face today. We reflect upon 00:16:15.629 --> 00:16:18.090 our lives, pondering how these words that we 00:16:18.090 --> 00:16:21.289 read impact the way that we live. And we receive 00:16:21.289 --> 00:16:23.429 peace in the midst of our messes and comfort 00:16:23.429 --> 00:16:25.870 when we don't understand what is happening. It's 00:16:25.870 --> 00:16:28.110 not that we're avoiding the present moment or 00:16:28.110 --> 00:16:30.590 the present challenges that we're facing, but 00:16:30.590 --> 00:16:33.090 we're viewing them through the lens of God's 00:16:33.090 --> 00:16:35.509 promises, commands, and His love towards us. 00:16:35.509 --> 00:16:38.269 When we fill our minds with the things above, 00:16:39.230 --> 00:16:42.190 we begin to receive a different kind of fruit 00:16:42.190 --> 00:16:45.129 from our thoughts. Paul says this in Philippians 00:16:45.129 --> 00:16:49.330 four, chapter four, verses eight to nine. And 00:16:49.330 --> 00:16:51.789 now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing, 00:16:52.490 --> 00:16:55.909 fix your thoughts on what is true and honourable 00:16:55.909 --> 00:17:00.509 and right and pure and lovely and admirable. 00:17:01.309 --> 00:17:03.509 Think about things that are excellent and worthy 00:17:03.509 --> 00:17:06.349 of praise. Keep putting into practice all you 00:17:06.349 --> 00:17:08.250 learned and received from me, everything you 00:17:08.250 --> 00:17:10.789 heard from me and saw me doing. And the God of 00:17:10.789 --> 00:17:14.220 peace will be with you. Are the things that you 00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:16.940 are thinking about worthy of your attention? 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:20.960 Is it worthy of your praise? Because when we 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:23.099 take a step out and we look at these things, 00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:26.420 the way that the God looks at these things, we 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:28.200 see actually these aren't worthy of our attention. 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:31.099 Actually, I have a lot less control than I think 00:17:31.099 --> 00:17:33.779 I do over these things in my life. And really 00:17:33.779 --> 00:17:36.720 when I see this through God's eyes, when I see 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:39.720 this through scripture and instruction, I begin 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:42.279 to see that really it's God who's worthy of praise, 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:45.369 not - Not this. It's God who's worthy of my attention, 00:17:45.369 --> 00:17:53.390 not this. I'm going to say something a bit controversial. 00:17:53.450 --> 00:17:55.009 I don't think that this means we need to read 00:17:55.009 --> 00:18:02.170 our Bibles more. I think it means we need to 00:18:02.170 --> 00:18:04.849 meditate on the words that we do read. Because 00:18:04.849 --> 00:18:06.930 how many times have you talked to somebody and 00:18:06.930 --> 00:18:08.589 gone, hey, what are you reading in the Bible 00:18:08.589 --> 00:18:09.730 at the moment? And they're like, oh, I'm reading 00:18:09.730 --> 00:18:11.490 this and this, but I could always be reading 00:18:11.490 --> 00:18:14.829 more. And how much shame and guilt do we carry 00:18:14.829 --> 00:18:17.589 around about the way that we engage and meditate 00:18:17.589 --> 00:18:22.410 on God's word? It's not delight, that's punishment. 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:26.190 We're punishing ourselves for struggling to delight 00:18:26.190 --> 00:18:28.710 in something and meditate on something that's 00:18:28.710 --> 00:18:31.470 supposed to change us and transform us and that 00:18:31.470 --> 00:18:34.809 we view our life through. And so what if instead 00:18:34.809 --> 00:18:37.569 it looked like, I'm gonna read the verses of 00:18:37.569 --> 00:18:40.009 the day today and I'm gonna meditate on that. 00:18:40.450 --> 00:18:43.019 I'm gonna think about that. throughout my day. 00:18:44.140 --> 00:18:45.880 I'm gonna look at it through a different lens. 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:48.740 I'm gonna share that with other people. I'm gonna 00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:51.480 chew through the implications of this passage. 00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:54.220 Now, you might need to read your Bible more to 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:59.000 do this. Maybe. But you might find that you can 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:00.839 just read that verse of the day and chew on it 00:19:00.839 --> 00:19:03.880 all week. For me, I find listening to scripture 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:06.819 -inspired music brings me more delight in the 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:09.140 Lord's instruction. When I hear the words of 00:19:09.140 --> 00:19:12.819 God sung over me, I have that stuck in my head 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:15.880 all day. I get to listen to music that I delight 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:18.440 in and hear lyrics that I get to delight in. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:20.819 And I'm often reflecting back to a chorus or 00:19:20.819 --> 00:19:24.559 verse that echoes the words of God. You might 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:26.759 find that writing something down or texting a 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:28.099 friend about something you've been chewing on 00:19:28.099 --> 00:19:30.420 helps you to find delight in his instruction. 00:19:31.339 --> 00:19:33.299 I know I send messages to friends all the time 00:19:33.299 --> 00:19:36.299 about stuff that I find in the Bible that sparks 00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:40.220 my curiosity. than something that we need perfect 00:19:40.220 --> 00:19:43.839 peace as to this thing. Well, the goal is not 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:47.180 I'm gonna read my Bible 400 times a day. The 00:19:47.180 --> 00:19:49.700 goal is I'm gonna chew on the words of God and 00:19:49.700 --> 00:19:52.059 allow it to instruct me. I'm gonna allow it to 00:19:52.059 --> 00:19:54.640 be the forefront of my mind and the lens through 00:19:54.640 --> 00:20:00.099 which I see my life through. And this is why 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:02.720 it says that the blessed person is like a tree 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:06.230 planted beside flowing streams. As a blessed 00:20:06.230 --> 00:20:08.569 person meditates on the instruction of the Lord, 00:20:08.670 --> 00:20:10.990 they're like a tree drawing from a flowing stream 00:20:10.990 --> 00:20:15.109 and this stream is that instruction. The tree 00:20:15.109 --> 00:20:18.190 is sustained by the instruction. It doesn't draw 00:20:18.190 --> 00:20:21.509 from itself for its sustenance, but it draws 00:20:21.509 --> 00:20:24.289 from the water which continually flows. It brings 00:20:24.289 --> 00:20:29.329 new life again and again and again. And its roots 00:20:29.329 --> 00:20:32.809 grow deep as it continues to draw from the river. 00:20:39.339 --> 00:20:41.660 We need to capture this picture of our life with 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:45.400 God. That we would allow ourselves to be nourished 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:48.299 by source outside of ourselves. Because how many 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:51.099 of us are drawing from empty water sources today? 00:20:52.259 --> 00:20:54.220 Trying to give out the small amount of energy 00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:57.059 we may have to do the things in our lives. How 00:20:57.059 --> 00:21:00.900 many of us reach the weekend exhausted? How many 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:04.140 of us give all we have in our workplaces and 00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:05.779 give whatever we've got left to our families? 00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:10.519 Our culture would tell you, you need to go feel 00:21:10.519 --> 00:21:13.480 your well. You need to go do things which fill 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:15.220 up that well and say no to things that empty 00:21:15.220 --> 00:21:19.200 your well. But the trouble is we always come 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:23.519 to the well thirsty. We never come in a space 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:25.880 where we're like, I can wait. I can wait for 00:21:25.880 --> 00:21:28.460 that well to fill. I can wait until I can draw 00:21:28.460 --> 00:21:31.819 from that again. We come because we need to drink. 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:37.420 By the time you're spiritually dry, you don't 00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:42.500 need a bucket of water, you need a river. And 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:44.220 so while our culture might say, take a break, 00:21:44.339 --> 00:21:47.460 go refill your well, the Bible is telling us 00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:51.079 to find a different source. Skip this well business 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:54.180 and go straight to the river. Stop distilling 00:21:54.180 --> 00:21:57.539 wisdom to outside sources and allow God to direct 00:21:57.539 --> 00:21:59.779 your growth. Allow God to direct your steps, 00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:03.240 allow God to sustain you. Maybe you are doing 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:07.140 too much. but let God direct you into His rest. 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:10.619 Maybe you do need to take time to delight in 00:22:10.619 --> 00:22:14.019 things, but let God direct you into His delight. 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:20.339 In John 4, 13 to 14, we read this. Anyone who 00:22:20.339 --> 00:22:23.039 drinks this water, this is Jesus, will soon become 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:25.220 thirsty again, but those who drink the water 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:29.000 I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:31.980 a fresh bubbling spring within them, giving them 00:22:31.980 --> 00:22:37.079 eternal life. We need to go to the source, to 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:39.819 the water that swells up into eternal life. This 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:42.079 is how the blessed person is different from the 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:44.579 wicked. Where the wicked person leans on their 00:22:44.579 --> 00:22:46.640 own understanding and decides they're gonna work 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:49.059 it out for themselves, the blessed person draws 00:22:49.059 --> 00:22:53.740 from God. They seek his wisdom, his thoughts, 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:57.279 his path. They seek to apply his principles in 00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:59.000 their life rather than looking for loopholes 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:04.029 around his instructions. This is why the blessed 00:23:04.029 --> 00:23:06.470 person produces fruit and the wicked person is 00:23:06.470 --> 00:23:08.730 like chaff blown in the wind. Not because of 00:23:08.730 --> 00:23:11.470 their own effort, but because they are dependent 00:23:11.470 --> 00:23:15.049 wholly upon God's words. Meanwhile, the wicked 00:23:15.049 --> 00:23:17.329 person is blown from one answer to the next. 00:23:17.829 --> 00:23:20.089 From one source of wisdom to another, living 00:23:20.089 --> 00:23:23.730 a fruitless life. But the blessed person produces 00:23:23.730 --> 00:23:27.150 fruit in season. I wanna say fruit is not about 00:23:27.150 --> 00:23:29.650 the things that you do, it's about the life that 00:23:29.650 --> 00:23:32.809 wells up within you. Fruit is there to be life 00:23:32.809 --> 00:23:36.529 -giving, it's not there to be life -taking. When 00:23:36.529 --> 00:23:38.130 we're drawing from the source of all life in 00:23:38.130 --> 00:23:40.970 God, we begin to produce fruit, which brings 00:23:40.970 --> 00:23:43.650 life to other people. It's not for us, we're 00:23:43.650 --> 00:23:45.690 already sustained by the river. We don't need 00:23:45.690 --> 00:23:49.210 more life than the source of all life. But actually 00:23:49.210 --> 00:23:52.309 it's fruit born out of a relationship to Jesus, 00:23:52.869 --> 00:23:55.390 that is to be enjoyed by other people. And it 00:23:55.390 --> 00:23:59.190 brings life wherever it goes. You might be in 00:23:59.190 --> 00:24:02.710 a season right now that feels really hard. You 00:24:02.710 --> 00:24:04.349 might be in a season right now where you go, 00:24:04.450 --> 00:24:06.609 man, I've been trying to produce fruit. You don't 00:24:06.609 --> 00:24:09.750 get it. I've been trying my hardest to produce 00:24:09.750 --> 00:24:12.250 fruit. Again and again, I come to the end of 00:24:12.250 --> 00:24:14.609 my week and I'm tapped. I'm done. I'm trying 00:24:14.609 --> 00:24:16.890 to pull from the source. I don't really have 00:24:16.890 --> 00:24:19.589 a lot to give. I don't have a lot that I can 00:24:19.589 --> 00:24:25.289 really produce here in this moment. But the tree 00:24:25.289 --> 00:24:28.859 doesn't determine the season. God determines 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:31.700 the season. And so while we might be in a challenging 00:24:31.700 --> 00:24:35.019 season of our lives, God is pouring His Spirit 00:24:35.019 --> 00:24:38.980 and He's pouring His life into you. And what 00:24:38.980 --> 00:24:41.720 we see in this tree is that the leaf does not 00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:45.119 wither. The tree's not dying. It's just not producing 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:48.579 fruit right now. It's getting ready for the fruit 00:24:48.579 --> 00:24:56.339 bearing season. So I wanna encourage you today, 00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:58.400 if you're feeling dry or burnt out, God's not 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:01.640 done with you. He's not done with you if you 00:25:01.640 --> 00:25:03.900 feel like you blew it, if you feel like God's 00:25:03.900 --> 00:25:05.480 never gonna be able to forgive you for what you've 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:11.339 done. You can always return to the river. Band, 00:25:11.420 --> 00:25:28.940 you guys can come back up. At the end of the 00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:32.440 Psalm, we see the life of the blessed person 00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:34.599 is contrasted with the life of the wicked person. 00:25:35.500 --> 00:25:37.339 The wicked person cannot stand up at the time 00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:39.799 of judgment. They've got nothing to stand upon. 00:25:39.880 --> 00:25:43.119 And when we reflect back over our lives and we 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:45.680 look at the accounts of our lives and we ask, 00:25:45.740 --> 00:25:48.640 where did I stand on Jesus and where did I stand 00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:51.980 on my own? Where was I standing on what I could 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:56.680 do on what I'm supposed to give here? on my willpower, 00:25:56.819 --> 00:26:00.119 on my strength, on my own sustenance, and where 00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:10.059 have I been standing on Jesus? We can't stand 00:26:10.059 --> 00:26:14.240 before God in confidence in anything but Jesus. 00:26:17.779 --> 00:26:21.079 I wanna close by asking a question maybe you 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:22.859 guys have been asking. Where's God in this Psalm? 00:26:23.099 --> 00:26:25.140 We read a lot about the blessed person. We read 00:26:25.140 --> 00:26:27.259 a lot about the instruction and we read a lot 00:26:27.259 --> 00:26:30.380 about the wicked. Where's God in this psalm? 00:26:32.619 --> 00:26:35.799 The word for planted here in the psalm captures 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:39.079 the idea of being replanted rather than planted. 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:42.099 The tree that was far from the water has been 00:26:42.099 --> 00:26:46.220 moved closer. God has taken us from wherever 00:26:46.220 --> 00:26:48.740 we have been and He has replanted us next to 00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:52.650 the flowing river. Our son finishes with this 00:26:52.650 --> 00:26:55.549 idea that the pathway of the righteous is watched 00:26:55.549 --> 00:27:02.029 over by God. He sees you. He sees your effort. 00:27:02.710 --> 00:27:05.450 He sees your struggle as you do your very best 00:27:05.450 --> 00:27:08.869 to follow him. He sees your hard days and he 00:27:08.869 --> 00:27:11.430 sees your good days. He sees the parts of grief 00:27:11.430 --> 00:27:15.150 and the parts of joy. He sees every aspect of 00:27:15.150 --> 00:27:17.730 your life. And He doesn't just see them, but 00:27:17.730 --> 00:27:20.549 He knows them. He knows the steps ahead of you, 00:27:20.589 --> 00:27:22.410 the steps that you're in the space you're in 00:27:22.410 --> 00:27:25.369 right now, and He knows what's happened already. 00:27:26.289 --> 00:27:28.690 Every heartbreak, every failure, every joy, every 00:27:28.690 --> 00:27:34.529 doubt, He knows them intimately. And so for us, 00:27:34.609 --> 00:27:37.309 the question tonight is not, am I planted in 00:27:37.309 --> 00:27:40.069 the right spot or am I producing the right fruit? 00:27:40.369 --> 00:27:43.509 But the question is, am I pushing down towards 00:27:43.509 --> 00:27:48.920 the source? Who am I following? What am I allowing 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:54.200 to feed and nourish me? And so to close, I wonder 00:27:54.200 --> 00:27:57.579 if we can meditate on this Psalm again. I wonder 00:27:57.579 --> 00:27:59.640 if we can read this out loud together and just 00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:03.640 let it roll around in your mind as we do. I want 00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:05.359 to read it slowly, but I would encourage you 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:10.160 to read it out together with me and ask, what 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:15.609 do you think God is highlighting to you? What 00:28:15.609 --> 00:28:18.990 do you think God is taking from this Psalm and 00:28:18.990 --> 00:28:22.849 placing in your mind to stew over, to ponder 00:28:22.849 --> 00:28:27.650 and to meditate upon? Let's read together and 00:28:27.650 --> 00:28:44.859 take a moment to reflect. in the company of mockers. 00:28:45.700 --> 00:28:49.140 Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction 00:28:49.140 --> 00:28:55.220 and he meditates on it day and night. He's like 00:28:55.220 --> 00:28:59.480 a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:03.660 its fruit in its season and its leaf does not 00:29:03.660 --> 00:29:08.680 wither. Whatever he does prospers. The wicked 00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:12.880 are not like this. Instead they are like chaff 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:19.039 that the wind blows away. Thanks so much for 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:21.579 tuning into this week's message. If you felt 00:29:21.579 --> 00:29:24.400 challenged or need prayer, we'd love to hear 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:27.420 from you on Instagram at encounterhenley. Or 00:29:27.420 --> 00:29:29.720 if you're interested in how you can support this 00:29:29.720 --> 00:29:33.420 ministry please go to our website encounteradelaide 00:29:33.420 --> 00:29:37.579 .com .au Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:29:37.579 --> 00:29:37.940 you.