WEBVTT 00:00:09.839 --> 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 --> 00:00:26.280 for an inspiring message from our preaching team. 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:31.839 Happy International Women's Day. Do you guys 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:35.390 know that? It's International Women's Day, so 00:00:35.390 --> 00:00:38.289 that's not why I'm preaching today, but you know, 00:00:38.490 --> 00:00:43.490 it's good, it's great. Well, let me pray. Heavenly 00:00:43.490 --> 00:00:45.469 Father, thank you that we can gather here and 00:00:45.469 --> 00:00:49.929 worship you. Lord, thank you that where two Amora 00:00:49.929 --> 00:00:54.149 gathered, your presence is with us. Lord Jesus, 00:00:54.189 --> 00:00:56.789 I just pray that as I bring the word today, Lord, 00:00:56.829 --> 00:00:59.740 anything that is of me will just fade away. And 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:01.520 Lord, that we will hear your word and what you 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:03.820 are trying to teach us and speak to us today 00:01:03.820 --> 00:01:06.739 about. We thank you, Lord, and we give this all 00:01:06.739 --> 00:01:11.299 to you. In Jesus' name, amen, amen. How many 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:15.280 of you here have seen the Lion King? Yeah, most 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:16.540 of you, how many of you, I probably should say 00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:18.400 how many of you have not seen the Lion King? 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:21.579 Anyone? I'm really sorry, Campbell, but there 00:01:21.579 --> 00:01:23.959 is gonna be some spoilers today, but it's been 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:26.140 on for 30 years, so I feel like that's on you. 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:30.280 So the story of the Lion King is there's some, 00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:33.000 there's a pride land and it's called the pride 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:35.560 lands and it's a beautiful land. It's full of 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:39.099 green trees and fruit and vegetables and all 00:01:39.099 --> 00:01:41.420 these animals that wander around. There's no 00:01:41.420 --> 00:01:43.700 humans there, but there's lots of animals and 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:48.159 there's some lions, giant lions. And in the beginning, 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:51.480 this kingdom is awesome because there's a king 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:55.959 and his name is Mufasa. Mufasa, say it again. 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:00.560 And that kingdom is flourishing because the right 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:03.739 king is in charge, King Mufasa. Mufasa has a 00:02:03.739 --> 00:02:07.959 son and his name is Simba. And he says to Simba, 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:11.860 Simba, everything the light touches is our kingdom. 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:14.780 It's a beautiful kingdom because the right king 00:02:14.780 --> 00:02:17.479 is ruling it. But then unfortunately something 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:21.599 happens and Mufasa dies and Simba runs off to 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:26.819 have some teenage angst. And Scar, his uncle, 00:02:27.139 --> 00:02:30.680 takes over. And Scar is not a good king. Scar 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:32.860 does not look after the land, nor does he look 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:35.039 after the animals in the land. And there's some 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:37.280 really funny and awful hyenas that take over, 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:39.340 and you should watch it, it's really funny. But 00:02:39.340 --> 00:02:41.699 they also, what's not so funny is they ruin the 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:47.379 land. And because of the way Scar rules the land, 00:02:47.539 --> 00:02:50.319 the animals leave, the rain stops, and it becomes 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:54.469 a wasteland. The wrong king, King Scar, is in 00:02:54.469 --> 00:02:57.590 charge. But a great thing happens. Simba turns 00:02:57.590 --> 00:02:59.930 about, what is it, like 25 or something, and 00:02:59.930 --> 00:03:02.530 then returns from his teenage angst years, and 00:03:02.530 --> 00:03:06.270 he defeats Scar. And all of a sudden, things 00:03:06.270 --> 00:03:10.150 start to get put right again. It's really awesome. 00:03:10.250 --> 00:03:12.370 The land, the animals come back. It's beautiful. 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:16.909 It's exactly where you want to be. The Lion King, 00:03:17.229 --> 00:03:18.629 interestingly enough, I had never thought about 00:03:18.629 --> 00:03:20.669 this before this week. The Lion King is a pretty 00:03:20.669 --> 00:03:23.949 good representation of the Bible. Maybe I'm reaching 00:03:23.949 --> 00:03:27.669 a little bit for analogy, but it's not bad. The 00:03:27.669 --> 00:03:31.349 entire Bible is really about a story, about a 00:03:31.349 --> 00:03:34.830 kingdom and a returning king, which is kind of 00:03:34.830 --> 00:03:37.150 like the Lion King, which is why I've said it. 00:03:37.849 --> 00:03:41.990 God created the world good. But the wrong ruler 00:03:41.990 --> 00:03:45.469 entered the story and everything became broken. 00:03:46.129 --> 00:03:48.610 And then the true king came back and the world 00:03:48.610 --> 00:03:52.110 was set right again. And that's exactly what 00:03:52.110 --> 00:03:54.930 Jesus is talking about when he speaks about the 00:03:54.930 --> 00:03:58.469 kingdom of God in our scripture today. So tonight, 00:03:58.830 --> 00:04:01.909 I want to unpack the kingdom of God with you. 00:04:02.949 --> 00:04:06.189 It's funny, Jesus actually talks about the Kingdom 00:04:06.189 --> 00:04:11.250 of God about 120 times just in the Gospels. That's 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:16.509 a lot for only a couple of books. And it's interesting, 00:04:16.610 --> 00:04:19.910 the Kingdom of God is an extremely big topic 00:04:19.910 --> 00:04:22.709 that I'm not gonna cover all today. But when 00:04:22.709 --> 00:04:25.310 the Kingdom of God arrives, it doesn't look like 00:04:25.310 --> 00:04:28.649 a roaring lion like Simba probably looked like. 00:04:29.029 --> 00:04:31.490 Instead, it looks like a crippled woman being 00:04:31.490 --> 00:04:34.300 healed. It looks like a mustard seed growing 00:04:34.300 --> 00:04:38.259 in the dirt. It looks like yeast quietly working 00:04:38.259 --> 00:04:42.500 through dough. The kingdom doesn't arrive with 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:47.379 spectacle. It begins small, quiet and powerful. 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:51.959 But just like the Pride Lands needed Simba to 00:04:51.959 --> 00:04:55.540 thrive, our lives and our world needs God's kingdom 00:04:55.540 --> 00:05:00.560 to take root for us all to thrive. And in this 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:03.100 passage, Jesus shows us three things about the 00:05:03.100 --> 00:05:06.160 kingdom of God that I want to unpack today. The 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:10.220 kingdom saves people. The kingdom grows quietly 00:05:10.220 --> 00:05:13.980 but powerfully. And the kingdom of God changes 00:05:13.980 --> 00:05:18.110 how we live today. And when I talk about the 00:05:18.110 --> 00:05:20.689 kingdom of God, many of you think of heaven, 00:05:21.209 --> 00:05:23.269 right? You think of something you can touch like 00:05:23.269 --> 00:05:25.569 the Pride land. You think of, you know, trees 00:05:25.569 --> 00:05:27.829 that you can see or beautiful animals, all the 00:05:27.829 --> 00:05:32.100 things you've probably seen in movies. But the 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:34.959 Kingdom of God is actually really complex. It's 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:38.360 the past and the now and the not yet. So Jesus 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:40.720 says the now and the not yet is the Kingdom of 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:44.560 God. And that's a huge topic to cover. I can't 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:47.139 do that justice in, what have I got, 23 minutes, 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:51.160 20 seconds left. So I'm gonna focus on the Kingdom 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:55.699 of God now today. A really simple explanation 00:05:55.699 --> 00:05:58.100 that I found this week to explain the Kingdom 00:05:58.100 --> 00:06:02.259 of God. Oh, by the way, I'm Jenny, sorry. Hi 00:06:02.259 --> 00:06:04.220 everybody. If I don't know you, my bad. I'm one 00:06:04.220 --> 00:06:05.939 of the pastors here. I probably should like stop 00:06:05.939 --> 00:06:07.540 talking at people if I haven't even introduced 00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:09.779 myself. So anyway, let me tell you about the 00:06:09.779 --> 00:06:12.060 simple explanation of the kingdom of God. We're 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:16.800 gonna roll on. It is anywhere God's reign or 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:22.399 rule is, anywhere He's in control. So yes, that 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:27.639 is heaven, but it is much more than that. The 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:32.240 kingdom of God is not a place or a people. The 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:36.060 kingdom creates a place or people, but it's there 00:06:36.060 --> 00:06:39.439 without those things. I did mention it's slightly 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:44.360 complex. Richard Viola says this, the kingdom 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:46.879 of God is what the world looks like when God's 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:51.120 in control. What the world looks like when God 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:55.569 is in control. When God's in control, people 00:06:55.569 --> 00:06:59.089 are set free, His kingdom grows and it changes 00:06:59.089 --> 00:07:04.910 how we live. When we allow God to be in complete 00:07:04.910 --> 00:07:08.910 control, it changes us. Now, some of you are 00:07:08.910 --> 00:07:10.850 thinking here, well, God doesn't have complete 00:07:10.850 --> 00:07:14.149 control over me because I have free will. Yes, 00:07:14.149 --> 00:07:17.870 you do. You absolutely do. And that is why we 00:07:17.870 --> 00:07:20.779 have the now and not yet. We see the kingdom 00:07:20.779 --> 00:07:23.639 of God on earth. We saw it in Jesus and we see 00:07:23.639 --> 00:07:26.459 it in his followers today. But we also won't 00:07:26.459 --> 00:07:28.939 see it fully lived out until the second coming 00:07:28.939 --> 00:07:32.439 and all is put right again. That's why it's the 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:36.779 now and not yet, as Jesus says. The kingdom of 00:07:36.779 --> 00:07:39.879 God changes how we live, friends. And I wonder 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:43.879 tonight if you want God to change how you live. 00:07:44.819 --> 00:07:47.699 See the first thing that Jesus teaches us about, 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:49.740 about the kingdom in our scripture that we read, 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:53.639 the angel read to us, is that the kingdom sets 00:07:53.639 --> 00:07:57.759 people free. So in this story that we're reading 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:00.939 in Luke, Jesus is in the temple and it's a Sunday 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:04.480 or whatever day of the week it is and he's teaching 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:06.779 and it's a Sabbath day. And so, you know, he's 00:08:06.779 --> 00:08:08.720 meant to be just worshipping and just teaching. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:12.939 The Pharisees are sitting around just watching, 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:14.519 seeing what Jesus is going to do. Is he going 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:16.319 to do something right or wrong in this moment? 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:18.459 And this woman walks in, in the middle of his 00:08:18.459 --> 00:08:20.759 teaching and she's completely hunched over, right? 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:22.720 She's walking around like this and she can't 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:25.000 even like stand up straight. So she can't quite 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:27.879 look up at Jesus. She's been bent over for 18 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:30.000 years. I imagine she's come into that place many 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:32.460 times and asked for healing, asked for someone 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:34.500 to pray with her. And maybe, maybe the teachers 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:36.379 have said, oh, come back tomorrow. Come back 00:08:36.379 --> 00:08:39.860 next week. Not today, not right now. The thing 00:08:39.860 --> 00:08:45.100 I love about Jesus is he sees people and he saw 00:08:45.100 --> 00:08:48.019 that woman. I imagine if she's hunched over, 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:50.240 you can't really see her through everybody else, 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:54.899 right? But he sees her and then he calls her 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:57.950 up. So Jesus is preaching, so he's probably doing 00:08:57.950 --> 00:09:00.629 something like me up here, and so he calls her 00:09:00.629 --> 00:09:02.529 up. He's not trying to hide what the kingdom 00:09:02.529 --> 00:09:04.889 of God is about to do, but he's also not trying 00:09:04.889 --> 00:09:07.509 to make a spectacle of her, but he quietly says, 00:09:07.830 --> 00:09:09.990 come on up here, calls her, calls her daughter, 00:09:10.110 --> 00:09:15.730 come on up here. And then. And then he reaches 00:09:15.730 --> 00:09:18.269 out to her and he says, woman, you are freed 00:09:18.269 --> 00:09:20.809 of your disability. Can you imagine that moment 00:09:20.809 --> 00:09:23.529 as she stretches her back, like the best chiropractor 00:09:23.529 --> 00:09:26.289 appointment you've ever had? She stands up and 00:09:26.289 --> 00:09:29.549 she's like, this is the best thing ever. I'm 00:09:29.549 --> 00:09:34.570 healed, praise Jesus. But the thing that happens 00:09:34.570 --> 00:09:38.669 next is actually more spectacular than the healing 00:09:38.669 --> 00:09:43.889 itself. He says to her, daughter of Abraham. 00:09:44.500 --> 00:09:48.460 In that moment, He is not only healing her physically, 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:51.679 but He is inviting her into the kingdom of God, 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:54.559 into a relationship with God. He is suddenly 00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:57.620 saying, you have been an outcast and now you 00:09:57.620 --> 00:10:00.879 are welcome back. The kingdom of God doesn't 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:04.980 just heal physically, but it sets people free. 00:10:04.980 --> 00:10:08.860 And that's what we see in this woman. When the 00:10:08.860 --> 00:10:12.759 kingdom of God is at work, it restores all people. 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:17.960 to God Himself. I wonder if some of us have come 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:20.340 into this room and we're just like that woman. 00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:23.340 You know, we're kind of bent over. Maybe it's 00:10:23.340 --> 00:10:26.240 unforgiveness in our heart. Maybe it's hurt. 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:29.779 Maybe we've had real trauma happen in our life 00:10:29.779 --> 00:10:33.340 and we've barely made it in here. And we've walked 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:36.879 in just going, Jesus, will you see me today? 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:41.850 I need you to see me today. Maybe some of you 00:10:41.850 --> 00:10:44.750 walk in here with your head held high because 00:10:44.750 --> 00:10:47.409 you don't want anyone to see that the pain that 00:10:47.409 --> 00:10:50.330 you're in. But the thing about Jesus is he sees 00:10:50.330 --> 00:10:54.950 you. He sees what's going on in your life. You 00:10:54.950 --> 00:10:57.590 know, we long for healing and we long for wholeness 00:10:57.590 --> 00:11:00.690 and I want to encourage you where the kingdom 00:11:00.690 --> 00:11:04.330 of God is, there is healing and there is wholeness. 00:11:04.649 --> 00:11:07.870 And if we allow God complete control in our life, 00:11:08.210 --> 00:11:11.649 the kingdom of God restores all things right. 00:11:12.490 --> 00:11:16.250 The kingdom of God sets us free. And you could 00:11:16.250 --> 00:11:18.190 look at the woman and you could see her physical 00:11:18.190 --> 00:11:21.450 healing and that would be awesome. But I want 00:11:21.450 --> 00:11:23.710 you to look at that woman and see the healing 00:11:23.710 --> 00:11:26.490 that was done internally that made her fully 00:11:26.490 --> 00:11:31.340 alive. Tonight, Jesus is welcoming you into His 00:11:31.340 --> 00:11:36.480 family. He is calling you a child of God. You 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:41.240 are deserving of healing. Hear that. You are 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:47.440 deserving of healing, friends. Now, then Jesus 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:50.019 goes on and the Pharisees, He's talking to the 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:53.039 Pharisees and He says, Satan has bound this woman. 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:56.559 Now, why does that matter? Why did I bring that 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:59.440 up? I think it matters because we have to understand 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:02.399 that when the Spirit of God is breaking forward, 00:12:02.940 --> 00:12:05.620 there is a Spirit of darkness that fights up 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:08.220 to fight that, that wants to stop that, that 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:10.960 doesn't want to see the kingdom of God move forward. 00:12:11.019 --> 00:12:13.820 Now we know that Jesus has defeated the darkness, 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:16.580 right? We are very aware of that. But in the 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:19.100 moment when we are seeing healings and we are 00:12:19.100 --> 00:12:21.399 seeing miracles, sometimes we also see the darkness 00:12:21.399 --> 00:12:26.220 try and push back on us. And so, Right now, Jesus 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:28.360 has done this healing. And what happens? The 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:31.320 Pharisees start to push back. They are annoyed. 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:33.379 And in their defence, Jesus has just totally 00:12:33.379 --> 00:12:37.379 embarrassed them. Like, you know, and He hasn't 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:40.320 broken their laws. He's just healed on the Sabbath. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:43.419 And so they are mad. They are annoyed. They can't 00:12:43.419 --> 00:12:44.659 do a lot about it because all the other people 00:12:44.659 --> 00:12:47.240 are really excited, but they are mad because 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:50.559 the darkness doesn't like it. when the Spirit 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:52.899 of God is at work. And so friends, we've got 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:55.580 to remember that healing is a spiritual battle. 00:12:56.279 --> 00:12:58.860 Ephesians 6 says, for our struggle is not against 00:12:58.860 --> 00:13:01.799 flesh and blood, but against the rulers and against 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:04.299 the authorities against the powers of this dark 00:13:04.299 --> 00:13:06.360 world and against the spiritual forces of evil 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:10.679 in the heavenly realms. The darkness has taken 00:13:10.679 --> 00:13:14.779 over the world, but Jesus is here to put it right 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:19.440 again. And we start to see Him do that in the 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:23.600 passage tonight. Jesus is revealing even to these 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:26.980 Pharisees that He is King of the kingdom, that 00:13:26.980 --> 00:13:30.419 He is reclaiming His creation from the demonic 00:13:30.419 --> 00:13:34.419 rulers who have enslaved the world. The woman 00:13:34.419 --> 00:13:36.500 was set free from darkness and welcomed into 00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:40.279 the kingdom of God. And it's funny, when we hear 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:42.179 those words that someone was set free and someone 00:13:42.179 --> 00:13:44.340 was welcomed into the kingdom of God, we think 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:48.080 about it as a huge moment where everybody is 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:50.299 celebrating and everyone's excited and, you know, 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:52.240 he gets her up there and shows her off. I don't 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:55.960 think that's really the way Jesus works. Most 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:58.279 of the time Jesus does healing, he sits with 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:01.299 someone. He sits with them in a well. He goes 00:14:01.299 --> 00:14:04.500 over to their home. He bends down and he lays 00:14:04.500 --> 00:14:09.639 his hand on them. or they simply touch him. The 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:14.500 kingdom isn't explained in bombs and loud noises 00:14:14.500 --> 00:14:17.580 and someone yelling from on stage at you. The 00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:23.179 kingdom grows quietly but powerfully. The kingdom 00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:28.899 grows quietly but powerfully. Actually, Jesus 00:14:28.899 --> 00:14:32.679 says in verse 19, what is the kingdom of God 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:35.419 like? What should I compare it to? It's like 00:14:35.419 --> 00:14:38.259 a mustard seed which a man took and planted in 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:42.179 the garden. It grew and became a tree and the 00:14:42.179 --> 00:14:46.460 birds perched in its branches. The kingdom isn't 00:14:46.460 --> 00:14:49.240 explained to us in scripture like bombs hitting 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:54.200 us. It's explained to us like a mustard seed, 00:14:54.620 --> 00:14:57.480 something that's so small you can barely see 00:14:57.480 --> 00:15:01.840 in the palm of my hand. And you look at this 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:05.340 mustard seed and it looks like nothing. Right? 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:11.500 It's so small. It's so tiny. But from this mustard 00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:15.519 seed that's planted in the ground, produces a 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:20.549 tree just like this. Now the cool thing... about 00:15:20.549 --> 00:15:22.889 a mustard tree is it's not like an oak tree, 00:15:22.889 --> 00:15:26.590 right? That stands up proudly, really high, huge 00:15:26.590 --> 00:15:29.889 trunks. No, the mustard tree, and you can't actually 00:15:29.889 --> 00:15:32.370 get proper mustard seeds in Australia because 00:15:32.370 --> 00:15:35.710 it grows in Israel. It spreads, right? So it 00:15:35.710 --> 00:15:38.429 goes out. So it's not just a tree that reaches 00:15:38.429 --> 00:15:40.470 up and shades everybody. It's actually a tree 00:15:40.470 --> 00:15:43.649 that has so much depth to it that there's so 00:15:43.649 --> 00:15:46.889 much room. It's like God saying, there is so 00:15:46.889 --> 00:15:50.899 much room in my house. There's enough room for 00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:54.620 each of you. These mustard seeds, when they're 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:57.860 on their own, they look significant. They don't 00:15:57.860 --> 00:16:01.200 do much. If I throw them at you, they're not 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:06.840 gonna hurt. Actually, some of you might've sat 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:10.480 down on some tonight. Some of you might've seen 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:12.240 them on your seat and brushed off and thought, 00:16:12.259 --> 00:16:15.460 wow, encounter's a bit dirty. Man, they should 00:16:15.460 --> 00:16:19.179 clean up their seats. Because when we see something 00:16:19.179 --> 00:16:22.639 small like this, we don't think anything of it. 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:26.019 We don't think about the power. But if the kingdom 00:16:26.019 --> 00:16:31.840 of God is like a mustard seed, think about the 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:35.059 power in the tree as the mustard seed grows. 00:16:38.100 --> 00:16:41.360 And it's funny. It feels insignificant in my 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.799 fingers, if I'm really honest with you. These 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:47.279 tiny little seeds. But we can actually take comfort 00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:51.100 in the mustard seed. We can take comfort that 00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:55.039 God uses the insignificant and small moments 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:57.740 in our lives to see his kingdom come on this 00:16:57.740 --> 00:17:03.759 earth. That he uses us in small and quiet ways 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:09.160 to further the kingdom of God. Talks in the scripture 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:12.359 about the yeast. and the way the yeast works 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:16.920 quietly unseen, but transforms a whole batch 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:20.759 of dough. That's how the kingdom of God operates. 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:24.900 Sometimes small, sometimes unseen, but always 00:17:24.900 --> 00:17:30.380 powerful. And when God moves in you, you might 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:34.019 simply get a sense of peace that eventually builds 00:17:34.019 --> 00:17:37.000 up to the point that you can share that peace 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.589 with someone else. Or maybe when the kingdom 00:17:40.589 --> 00:17:43.509 of God starts to move in you, you start to realise 00:17:43.509 --> 00:17:47.230 who you are and whose you are. And then it gets 00:17:47.230 --> 00:17:49.250 to a point that you've allowed that to dwell 00:17:49.250 --> 00:17:52.109 within you. So you can then tell someone else 00:17:52.109 --> 00:17:54.849 who God has created them to be because that's 00:17:54.849 --> 00:17:59.849 the way the kingdom of God works. It starts to 00:17:59.849 --> 00:18:02.369 work in people's hearts, tugging, asking the 00:18:02.369 --> 00:18:06.839 question, who is Jesus to you? And it grows into 00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:11.680 a passionate heart on fire for Jesus. The kingdom 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:14.779 of God is shown every time someone is healed, 00:18:15.619 --> 00:18:18.740 someone is released, and someone finds the truth 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:21.880 of Jesus in their lives. The kingdom is shown 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:26.460 every time a Christian lives out faithfully the 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:30.200 gospel of Jesus. So don't expect the kingdom 00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:35.890 to show up always in huge moments. Something 00:18:35.890 --> 00:18:40.150 small to something large. From a few believers 00:18:40.150 --> 00:18:43.670 in the world to everybody bowing at the knee 00:18:43.670 --> 00:18:47.789 at the feet of Jesus. This is the power of the 00:18:47.789 --> 00:18:52.109 kingdom and it's that power that changes us. 00:18:53.450 --> 00:18:59.259 The kingdom changes how we live today. The power 00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:01.900 of the kingdom changed that woman's life and 00:19:01.900 --> 00:19:06.319 it can change your life today. The kingdom you 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:09.380 need in your life is not the kingdom of the world. 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:11.759 It's not the one that leads you to darkness or 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:15.440 fear or anger. No, the kingdom you need in your 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:19.160 life is the kingdom of God. A place where His 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:23.460 rule and reign is. A place where there is healing 00:19:23.460 --> 00:19:29.079 and hope and a place where Jesus is King. So 00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:31.599 what does it look like for you to live in the 00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:34.819 Kingdom of God when you live in the now and not 00:19:34.819 --> 00:19:41.380 yet? Well first you've got to remember who you 00:19:41.380 --> 00:19:48.099 are. Who you belong to. You are not the disability 00:19:48.099 --> 00:19:53.519 that you live with. You are not the pain that's 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:58.839 inside your heart. You are not the shame that 00:19:58.839 --> 00:20:03.220 you live with. You are a child of God, delivered, 00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:08.680 saved and set free to let God fully be in control 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:13.710 of every part of your whole life, friends. I 00:20:13.710 --> 00:20:16.509 said before that you have free will and you absolutely 00:20:16.509 --> 00:20:20.430 do but you have free will to allow God to control 00:20:20.430 --> 00:20:27.730 every area of your life. You will see this really 00:20:27.730 --> 00:20:33.049 small seed grow in your life and you will see 00:20:33.049 --> 00:20:37.210 the kingdom of God expanded right around you 00:20:37.210 --> 00:20:41.480 when you allow God to fully have control. Living 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:45.660 in the kingdom of God is freedom. That thing 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:48.279 you're worried about? That problem that's too 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:50.859 big? Well, in the kingdom of God, we actually 00:20:50.859 --> 00:20:54.660 don't need to worry. Through Jesus' death and 00:20:54.660 --> 00:20:57.700 resurrection, we were transformed, transferred 00:20:57.700 --> 00:21:01.559 from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:04.099 God. And we can fully live in the presence of 00:21:04.099 --> 00:21:08.000 God. What a blessing to fully live in the presence 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:12.279 of God. To have the kingdom of God alive in you. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:17.039 And Keese, you can come on up. I want to go back 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:20.099 to the Lion King again because it's great film. 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:25.099 There's three of them? Oh, I thought you said 00:21:25.099 --> 00:21:28.619 there's three of them. Oh gosh. Oh gosh. All 00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:33.690 right. Cool. Anyway, watch the first one. But 00:21:33.690 --> 00:21:36.549 let's go back to the Lion King for a second. 00:21:38.809 --> 00:21:42.450 The son, Simba, he comes back and he sets right 00:21:42.450 --> 00:21:47.609 the world. Friends, in Matthew 6, it encourages 00:21:47.609 --> 00:21:51.670 us. It says, when we seek first the kingdom of 00:21:51.670 --> 00:21:56.869 God, when we seek Jesus, He sets things right 00:21:56.869 --> 00:22:02.430 again. Kind of like Simba did in the Lion King. 00:22:02.759 --> 00:22:08.940 When we seek first the Kingdom of God, Jesus 00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:14.819 sets things right again. The Kingdom of God is 00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:18.500 what the world looks like when God is in control. 00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:23.380 When Jesus is revealed as the Son and God shows 00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:29.380 us His power and presence in human form. Kingdom 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:34.480 is about how God wants us to live here and now. 00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:40.660 Jesus in charge on earth and we the church starting 00:22:40.660 --> 00:22:47.420 to implement that. Friends, this world right 00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:51.579 now is in a fair bit of turmoil. If you've been 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:56.680 watching the news, you'd understand. And this 00:22:56.680 --> 00:22:59.880 world needs us to live out the kingdom of God 00:22:59.880 --> 00:23:05.710 in power. in small and what may sometimes feel 00:23:05.710 --> 00:23:14.170 insignificant moments. Maybe it's a moment that 00:23:14.170 --> 00:23:16.950 you have with your student in the classroom where 00:23:16.950 --> 00:23:19.789 you remind them that how Jesus fits into their 00:23:19.789 --> 00:23:24.670 issue. Or maybe it's a moment when your child 00:23:24.670 --> 00:23:28.210 sees grace in your eyes where they're expecting 00:23:28.210 --> 00:23:32.099 anger. Or that moment where you hold the hand 00:23:32.099 --> 00:23:34.420 of your dying grandparent and you remind them 00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:36.839 that they're going to heaven and you have faith 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:41.000 for them both. Or that smile on your school friends 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:44.720 face when you invite them in to your game, into 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:49.059 your world. The kingdom of God rarely starts 00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:54.339 in spectacular ways. It starts small. A prayer, 00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:59.380 an act of forgiveness, a moment of faith. And 00:23:59.380 --> 00:24:06.240 these moments really matter. You're doing them 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:10.880 day after day after day. And you think they're 00:24:10.880 --> 00:24:14.220 insignificant and they don't matter. But people 00:24:14.220 --> 00:24:17.839 thought the mustard seed was insignificant and 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:22.019 didn't matter. And yet Jesus said, this is like 00:24:22.019 --> 00:24:28.779 the kingdom of God. And just like the yeast affected 00:24:28.779 --> 00:24:32.819 the whole dough, you will affect the whole world, 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:40.460 one person, one moment at a time. But we've got 00:24:40.460 --> 00:24:44.380 to allow God and the kingdom of God to rule in 00:24:44.380 --> 00:24:50.640 every area of our life. Tonight is the time to 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:54.799 surrender your life to His rule. and to live 00:24:54.799 --> 00:24:58.839 in the kingdom right now. We don't have to wait 00:24:58.839 --> 00:25:01.480 until we get to heaven. That's the beauty of 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:07.359 the kingdom of God. It's at work right now. So 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:10.240 if the kingdom of God is anywhere God reigns 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:15.059 and rules, does God fully reign in your life? 00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:19.579 Or if you come here today and you are bent over, 00:25:20.140 --> 00:25:23.960 the weight of the world is upon your shoulders. 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:28.619 It's now you've come into this place and you've 00:25:28.619 --> 00:25:32.839 thought, does anybody see me? Jesus sees you. 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:35.799 Jesus knows what's going through your mind right 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:39.420 now. He knows the pain you're in. He knows the 00:25:39.420 --> 00:25:43.740 burdens you carry. And he simply says, come to 00:25:43.740 --> 00:25:49.289 me. I will set you free. You might have been 00:25:49.289 --> 00:25:51.930 a Christian for a really long time, but you have 00:25:51.930 --> 00:25:56.150 let something twist the insides of you. And that 00:25:56.150 --> 00:26:00.809 anger comes up too quickly. And that pain comes 00:26:00.809 --> 00:26:03.630 out in different ways as you speak to people. 00:26:06.430 --> 00:26:10.190 And maybe tonight you need to let that go. You 00:26:10.190 --> 00:26:14.990 need to let God rule and reign and heal you. 00:26:21.259 --> 00:26:25.619 We're going to come to a time tonight of response. 00:26:27.940 --> 00:26:31.460 And I really want to encourage you. If you've 00:26:31.460 --> 00:26:35.160 come here tonight with pain, maybe you've come 00:26:35.160 --> 00:26:40.339 with anger. Maybe you've come with physical pain 00:26:40.339 --> 00:26:44.240 that you need healed. We want to pray for you. 00:26:44.420 --> 00:26:47.680 We want to see the kingdom of God move in that 00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:52.410 small way tonight. We're gonna have elders down 00:26:52.410 --> 00:26:56.049 the front, there's some oil down there and they're 00:26:56.049 --> 00:26:57.609 gonna gnaw at you with oil and they're gonna 00:26:57.609 --> 00:27:02.009 pray for the kingdom of God and to heal and to 00:27:02.009 --> 00:27:09.829 restore you. All you need is faith as small as 00:27:09.829 --> 00:27:19.849 a mustard seed. So I'm going to invite the band 00:27:19.849 --> 00:27:24.970 up. I'm going to pray and I'm going to pray that 00:27:24.970 --> 00:27:29.450 God would reveal to you any area that you need 00:27:29.450 --> 00:27:32.170 to surrender back to Him, that you need the Kingdom 00:27:32.170 --> 00:27:36.650 of God to move in power tonight. And I'm going 00:27:36.650 --> 00:27:39.710 to ask you to be brave. If you need healing, 00:27:40.369 --> 00:27:43.690 if you need to surrender something, to come down 00:27:43.690 --> 00:27:45.609 the front and get prayer from some of our elders 00:27:45.609 --> 00:27:50.250 and some of our staff and team. and allow the 00:27:50.250 --> 00:27:55.809 kingdom of God to move just like Jesus did for 00:27:55.809 --> 00:27:59.670 that woman in the scriptures. So why don't you 00:27:59.670 --> 00:28:02.789 stand with me if you're able and I'm going to 00:28:02.789 --> 00:28:07.130 pray and we're going to continue on in worship. 00:28:11.609 --> 00:28:18.079 Come Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit. Come Holy 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:22.740 Spirit. Lord God, You are a God who forgives. 00:28:23.140 --> 00:28:26.640 You are a God who heals. You are a God who sets 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:30.359 us free, Lord. Father, we wanna live fully in 00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:33.819 the kingdom of God. We wanna live fully surrendered 00:28:33.819 --> 00:28:40.480 to You. And so Lord, as we kneel before You tonight, 00:28:40.519 --> 00:28:44.400 as we come and as we allow You into every area 00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:48.519 of Your life, Will you grow the kingdom of God 00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:50.819 within this church, within your people, Lord? 00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:56.859 One person, one moment at a time. And Father, 00:28:56.859 --> 00:29:00.319 as people step out in faith, will they receive 00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:03.660 healing tonight, Lord? Holy Spirit, will you 00:29:03.660 --> 00:29:09.380 do what only you can do? We thank you, Father. 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:18.920 We thank you, Jesus. If the Lord is calling you 00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:21.740 to respond, I want to encourage you to come down. 00:29:22.819 --> 00:29:26.359 Receive prayer. Receive healing. So we continue 00:29:26.359 --> 00:29:30.240 to worship in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks so much 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:32.920 for tuning into this week's message. If you felt 00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:35.299 challenged or need prayer, we would love to hear 00:29:35.299 --> 00:29:38.920 from you on Instagram at EncounterHendley. Or 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:40.859 if you're interested in how you can support this 00:29:40.859 --> 00:29:43.960 ministry, please go to our website, EncounterAdelaide 00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:47.690 .com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:29:47.690 --> 00:29:48.069 you.