WEBVTT 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:12.699 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.699 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast, 00:00:19.019 --> 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 --> 00:00:28.800 message from our preaching team. An entire army, 00:00:29.019 --> 00:00:32.420 horses and chariots have surrounded them. I know. 00:00:32.979 --> 00:00:36.329 What are we going to do? Elisha's servant asks 00:00:36.329 --> 00:00:40.229 Elisha, he's petrified, what do we do? You know, 00:00:40.350 --> 00:00:45.109 what's visible? An army surrounding them. Yeah, 00:00:45.149 --> 00:00:47.109 and that, if I was surrounded by an army that 00:00:47.109 --> 00:00:49.270 would make me poop my pants every day of the 00:00:49.270 --> 00:00:54.289 week. Like, that's fair. But sometimes what's 00:00:54.289 --> 00:00:59.009 visible isn't always what's real. Sometimes what's 00:00:59.009 --> 00:01:03.810 visible is an incomplete picture. The Elisha's... 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:07.040 not stressed at all. In fact, he's very calm. 00:01:08.099 --> 00:01:10.500 In fact, you could even say that he's confident. 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:17.159 Why? How? Doesn't he realize that he's surrounded 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:20.920 by a massive army that's there to take him? They're 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:23.939 there for him. Well, he probably does know that, 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:28.879 but Elisha is confident because he has greater 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:34.390 vision than his servant. Do not fear, he says, 00:01:34.909 --> 00:01:38.250 for there are more with us than there are those 00:01:38.250 --> 00:01:42.189 who are against us. There are more on our side 00:01:42.189 --> 00:01:45.549 than on theirs. And I'll ask your praise. Lord, 00:01:45.549 --> 00:01:49.469 open this servant's eyes so that he may see. 00:01:50.430 --> 00:01:54.150 And his servant's eyes aren't opened. And what 00:01:54.150 --> 00:01:59.670 does he see? An even bigger army with chariots 00:01:59.670 --> 00:02:03.109 of fire. surrounding the army that's surrounding 00:02:03.109 --> 00:02:08.669 them. An angelic army. There are more with us 00:02:08.669 --> 00:02:12.150 than there are against us. There sure are and 00:02:12.150 --> 00:02:15.930 ours are on fire. Metaphorically and literally, 00:02:16.349 --> 00:02:22.090 but not in a bad way, like a good way. How can 00:02:22.090 --> 00:02:25.930 Elisha face this with such confidence? Because 00:02:25.930 --> 00:02:30.009 he has greater vision. His eyes are open. He 00:02:30.009 --> 00:02:32.330 can see that the army of fire that is there. 00:02:32.330 --> 00:02:35.490 It's not visible to all but it but it's real 00:02:35.490 --> 00:02:38.590 That's not until his servants eyes are opened 00:02:38.590 --> 00:02:41.870 does the servant know the reason for Elisha's 00:02:41.870 --> 00:02:45.129 confidence His servant just had an incomplete 00:02:45.129 --> 00:02:50.270 picture of the situation But Elisha knows And 00:02:50.270 --> 00:02:52.289 it begs the question. How does Elisha know that 00:02:52.289 --> 00:02:55.050 the army is there and how does he know what it 00:02:55.050 --> 00:02:58.879 means? Or in second Kings to Elisha's mentor 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:02.960 Elijah is about to be taken up to heaven and 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:05.460 Elijah says to Elisha when tell me what I can 00:03:05.460 --> 00:03:09.039 do for you before I'm taken away and Elisha replies, 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:13.000 please let me inherit a double share of your 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:16.139 spirit double portion and become your successor 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:19.740 You have asked a difficult thing Elijah replies 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:25.240 If you see me when I'm taken from you Then you 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:27.500 will get your requests, but if you if not, then 00:03:27.500 --> 00:03:31.139 you won't And as they were walking along and 00:03:31.139 --> 00:03:35.039 talking suddenly a chariot of fire appeared Drawn 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:38.860 by horses of fire it drove between the two men 00:03:38.860 --> 00:03:41.219 separating them and Elijah was carried off in 00:03:41.219 --> 00:03:46.400 a whirlwind into heaven Elisha saw it And cried 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:50.219 out my father my father. I see the chariots and 00:03:50.219 --> 00:03:53.280 the charioteers of Israel and as they disappeared 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:55.939 from sight Elisha tore his clothes in distress. 00:03:57.139 --> 00:04:00.099 Elisha can see this army and he knows what this 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:05.159 army means because he has seen this before. And 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:08.759 it's the fact that he can see this army that 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:11.639 means that God has granted his request for a 00:04:11.639 --> 00:04:15.379 double share of his spirit. Now what spirit are 00:04:15.379 --> 00:04:16.740 we talking about here? Were you talking about 00:04:16.740 --> 00:04:21.199 Elijah's personal spirit? No, Elisha wants a 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.420 greater portion of the Spirit of the Lord that 00:04:24.420 --> 00:04:28.699 came upon Elijah that activated his ministry. 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:32.879 Elijah has greater vision because he has the 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:36.540 Spirit of God upon him. Elijah can see the heavenly 00:04:36.540 --> 00:04:40.620 army because he has God's Spirit upon him. God's 00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:43.560 Spirit comes upon some people in some of the 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:46.720 times in the Old Testament. And because he has 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.300 God's Spirit he has the capacity to see into 00:04:49.300 --> 00:04:52.339 the heavenly realm, into the unseen realm, into 00:04:52.339 --> 00:04:55.199 the spiritual reality. He can see both as what 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:58.920 is visible and what is real but unseen. He can 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:03.100 see through heavenly eyes. And friends, that 00:05:03.100 --> 00:05:06.279 spirit that's upon Elisha, the Spirit of God, 00:05:06.540 --> 00:05:09.740 that gives him greater vision, that allows him 00:05:09.740 --> 00:05:12.459 to see the visible and the unseen, this is the 00:05:12.459 --> 00:05:16.259 same Spirit that comes upon you and me today 00:05:16.259 --> 00:05:19.019 when we believe in Jesus and we ask Him for it. 00:05:20.139 --> 00:05:23.220 It's the same spirit that gives Elisha a greater 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:27.519 vision to see through heavenly eyes, gives us 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:32.439 the capacity for the same vision, greater vision. 00:05:33.779 --> 00:05:36.120 So that whatever we face, whether there's an 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:39.240 army in front of us, sickness, unemployment, 00:05:39.579 --> 00:05:42.980 depression, financial insecurity, addiction or 00:05:42.980 --> 00:05:45.620 relationship breakdown, whatever it is that's 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:48.300 in front of us, whatever we face, we can know. 00:05:48.939 --> 00:05:53.180 That there is more with us than there is against 00:05:53.180 --> 00:05:56.420 us. Or maybe put differently, if God is for us, 00:05:56.420 --> 00:06:00.579 who can be against us? This is greater vision. 00:06:01.939 --> 00:06:04.500 And as we begin year three of our church, this 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:08.100 is how we multiply resilient disciples. By having 00:06:08.100 --> 00:06:10.279 greater vision in our discomfort and our suffering. 00:06:11.019 --> 00:06:13.600 That God can use the things we go through to 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:16.560 grow us and to bring glory to His name. This 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:19.939 is how we have hearts on fire for Jesus by trusting 00:06:19.939 --> 00:06:23.560 the sometimes unseen hand of God in our struggle 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:26.680 instead of simply what is immediately visible 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:29.740 to us. This is how we let our Sundays invade 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:33.060 our Mondays by living with spiritual eyes open 00:06:33.060 --> 00:06:36.500 on Monday at work or uni or by walking into a 00:06:36.500 --> 00:06:39.019 room and asking God what He wants you to do in 00:06:39.019 --> 00:06:41.620 that room. This is how we become a church that 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:45.300 contends in prayer. by cultivating our capacity 00:06:45.300 --> 00:06:48.399 for greater heavenly vision, earnestly pursuing 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:50.560 the spiritual gifts that are available to us 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:53.379 through the Spirit to see and fight and work 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:56.500 effectively in the spiritual realm. This is how 00:06:56.500 --> 00:07:00.360 we live Bible -fed and Spirit -led, by growing 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:03.500 a greater vision for our lives fed by Scripture 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:06.800 and alive through the Holy Spirit. Now that's 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:10.399 all good, but I think we actually have a problem 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:13.959 here. It's a problem with the way that we and 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:17.399 many of Christians in the West see the world. 00:07:18.579 --> 00:07:20.899 Because we should see the world like Elisha sees 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:24.480 the world. He has the same spirit that we have. 00:07:24.699 --> 00:07:27.519 It was available to some for some times. In the 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:29.399 Old Testament it's available to all of us for 00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:33.600 our all time here. Living in the New Testament 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:37.990 post Jesus death and resurrection. We should 00:07:37.990 --> 00:07:39.990 have eyes to see and ears to hear the greater 00:07:39.990 --> 00:07:43.149 reality of what God's doing But so many of us 00:07:43.149 --> 00:07:47.629 don't always second -guess it Why do we do this? 00:07:48.850 --> 00:07:50.649 Well, it's it's almost like we're collectively 00:07:50.649 --> 00:07:56.089 nursing a hangover from the Enlightenment In 00:07:56.089 --> 00:07:58.449 the late 17th century the Enlightenment project 00:07:58.449 --> 00:08:00.810 kicked off and what it's done is resulted in 00:08:00.810 --> 00:08:05.529 the separation of the physical and the spiritual 00:08:05.529 --> 00:08:10.769 realms of truth as the default Western understanding 00:08:10.769 --> 00:08:14.129 of what is real and what is true. So even for 00:08:14.129 --> 00:08:15.990 us today as Christians, we can believe that the 00:08:15.990 --> 00:08:18.970 physical world is the realm of fact, it's objective, 00:08:19.149 --> 00:08:23.069 it's knowable, seeing is believing, and anything 00:08:23.069 --> 00:08:27.310 spiritual is in the realm of opinion, it's subjective, 00:08:27.430 --> 00:08:30.870 it's just faith. But there is something different 00:08:30.870 --> 00:08:35.950 between what is visible and what is real, sometimes. 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:39.179 And this enlightenment rationalism has created 00:08:39.179 --> 00:08:40.960 a Western culture who would look at the story 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:44.659 of Elisha and say, you're surrounded by an army. 00:08:45.559 --> 00:08:48.080 You can see them. They're probably hairy, angry. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:53.860 That's a fact. That's objective. But whether 00:08:53.860 --> 00:08:56.080 or not you see a greater army surrounding that 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:58.580 army that you're facing and they're on fire, 00:08:58.659 --> 00:09:01.980 well, that's subjective. That's an opinion. You 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:03.679 can't prove that. That's a matter of belief. 00:09:05.760 --> 00:09:09.019 But friends, the Bible wholeheartedly rejects 00:09:09.019 --> 00:09:13.240 this idea. The Bible does not have subjective 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.480 and objective categories. Anyone trying to sort 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:20.059 through fact from myth in the Bible is imposing 00:09:20.059 --> 00:09:22.179 modern rules on a text that is not playing by 00:09:22.179 --> 00:09:25.820 them. Michael Heiser says this, seeing the Bible 00:09:25.820 --> 00:09:28.080 through the eyes of an ancient reader requires 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:30.519 shedding the filters of our traditions and presumptions. 00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:36.059 They process life in supernatural terms. Today's 00:09:36.059 --> 00:09:38.700 Christian processor by a mixture of credo statements 00:09:38.700 --> 00:09:42.759 and modern rationalism The Bible is not trying 00:09:42.759 --> 00:09:45.980 to deal with in fact or myth. It's dealing in 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:47.700 knowledge. I want you to get this it's dealing 00:09:47.700 --> 00:09:51.059 in knowledge It's trying to convey personal knowledge 00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:53.759 of this God through people and culture over thousands 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:56.080 of years through the natural and the supernatural 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:59.320 It's trying to convey humanity's personal encounter. 00:09:59.419 --> 00:10:01.580 It's personal knowledge with this God that made 00:10:01.580 --> 00:10:04.700 is made most perfectly manifest in Christ Jesus 00:10:04.830 --> 00:10:06.710 And this is the problem that we face. This is 00:10:06.710 --> 00:10:08.389 one of the biggest problems we face today as 00:10:08.389 --> 00:10:12.049 Christians. We have the same spirit as Elisha, 00:10:12.049 --> 00:10:16.690 but we get stuck in this trap of living life 00:10:16.690 --> 00:10:19.409 rationally, objectively, Monday through to Saturday, 00:10:19.429 --> 00:10:21.950 and we let our personal religious opinions and 00:10:21.950 --> 00:10:24.909 feelings come out on a Sunday. We get sucked 00:10:24.909 --> 00:10:27.750 into living supernatural on Sundays and natural 00:10:27.750 --> 00:10:30.169 on Mondays, instead of letting our supernatural 00:10:30.169 --> 00:10:33.950 Sundays invade our Mondays. No wonder it feels 00:10:33.950 --> 00:10:36.299 so hard. to talk to our friends or colleagues 00:10:36.299 --> 00:10:40.600 about our faith. No wonder it feels so hard to 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:44.419 be public as a Christian. No wonder it feels 00:10:44.419 --> 00:10:47.159 like we're pulled in every direction away from 00:10:47.159 --> 00:10:49.659 faith and church community. We don't feel like 00:10:49.659 --> 00:10:52.460 when we talk about our faith, we talk about God, 00:10:52.460 --> 00:10:55.720 we talk about Jesus, that we can deal in truth. 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:01.200 We're just dealing in our subjective opinion. 00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:03.720 We don't feel like we can share what we know. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:06.940 About God what we experience because we can't 00:11:06.940 --> 00:11:09.559 objectively prove it to those who don't share 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:12.019 But I want you to hear this and I want you to 00:11:12.019 --> 00:11:16.320 get this Subjective and objective is a false 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:19.019 dichotomy when it comes to faith. It's a false 00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:22.320 dichotomy. They're two things Held against each 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:26.919 other that shouldn't be How do you know something 00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:30.980 is true and real use the same muscles you use 00:11:30.980 --> 00:11:34.500 to know what's AI or what's real There's a polymath 00:11:34.500 --> 00:11:36.879 called Michael Polanyi who called it personal 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:39.539 knowledge. How do you know something is true 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:42.000 and real? You have firsthand personal knowledge 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:45.139 of it. And this enlightenment hangover continues 00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:47.279 to sell us this idea that the only knowledge 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:50.840 that counts is objective, measurable, and emotion 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:54.440 free. But that's a very thin view of reality. 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:58.820 The things that matter most, love, meaning, beauty, 00:11:59.159 --> 00:12:03.619 trust, calling, we know them personally. through 00:12:03.619 --> 00:12:06.159 relationship, through committing, by jumping 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:08.320 in and experiencing them, not just observing 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:12.759 them from a distance. Personal knowledge of God 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:14.940 is what the Bible is actually most interested 00:12:14.940 --> 00:12:19.500 in. Now if you're a Christian in this room, whether 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:22.000 you came to faith as an adult like Ash did, or 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:23.919 you grew up in a Christian family like I did, 00:12:24.659 --> 00:12:26.820 chances are you are still here, you're still 00:12:26.820 --> 00:12:29.899 a Christian because you have personal knowledge 00:12:29.899 --> 00:12:33.039 of God. You've had experience with Him. You've 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:35.080 grown to know Him through the Bible. You've had 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:37.279 visions or dreams. You've had prophetic words 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.320 for others or others have spoken prophetic words 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:42.899 over you. You get the nudge of voice to the Holy 00:12:42.899 --> 00:12:46.120 Spirit to go and speak to this person. Go here. 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:49.340 Check in with them. Go for this job. Stop being 00:12:49.340 --> 00:12:53.299 a mean person to your friends. Maybe that's just 00:12:53.299 --> 00:12:54.779 me. I get that when I'm hanging out washing. 00:12:58.629 --> 00:13:01.070 There are coincidences that we can't explain 00:13:01.070 --> 00:13:03.389 in our life if we think about our life story 00:13:03.389 --> 00:13:05.789 Someone once said to me coincidence is the language 00:13:05.789 --> 00:13:11.690 of God and I think that's so true We have personal 00:13:11.690 --> 00:13:15.490 knowledge of God and if you don't it's available 00:13:15.490 --> 00:13:17.450 to you through the Holy Spirit We can pray for 00:13:17.450 --> 00:13:22.429 you. We want to pray for you For the same spirit 00:13:22.429 --> 00:13:26.460 that came upon Elisha would be upon you But friends, 00:13:26.700 --> 00:13:29.000 I want you to get this. I would argue that personal 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:30.940 knowledge is the deepest form of knowing anything. 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:33.120 It's the difference between watching basketball 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:34.940 and getting out on the court and playing it. 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:36.679 It's the difference between reading a paper on 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:39.740 gravity and falling out of a tree. It's the difference 00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:42.120 between watching Grey's Anatomy and performing 00:13:42.120 --> 00:13:45.899 heart surgery. Personal knowledge. If you're 00:13:45.899 --> 00:13:47.600 a Christian, you have personal knowledge of God. 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:52.820 And friends, this should make us confident. This 00:13:52.820 --> 00:13:59.639 should make us confident and assured. Felicia's 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:04.820 personal knowledge of God in this passage that 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:10.799 we've read today to be so confident. The army 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:19.799 comes to personally kidnap him is to pray. Now, 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:21.879 when a human is faced with significant danger, 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:24.580 our brains go into a defence and survival mechanism 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:28.870 called fight, flight, freeze or fawn. you probably 00:14:28.870 --> 00:14:32.990 know these ones well um you know you hit them 00:14:32.990 --> 00:14:36.309 you hit them back or you hit them first you you 00:14:36.309 --> 00:14:38.769 run away you stay very still or you plead for 00:14:38.769 --> 00:14:47.009 your safety Elisha adds a fifth fight flight 00:14:47.009 --> 00:14:54.750 freeze fawn and face them down with prayer Elisha 00:14:54.750 --> 00:14:59.460 faces an army down with prayer he prays Lord 00:14:59.460 --> 00:15:02.179 let let them be struck down with blindness and 00:15:02.179 --> 00:15:08.179 they are and he saves the day if you're a believer 00:15:08.179 --> 00:15:10.740 in this room I wonder do you have Elisha's confidence 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:15.740 do you have his greater vision you have the same 00:15:15.740 --> 00:15:19.480 spirit that within you that Elisha has you can 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:24.940 have it his confidence but friends it also gets 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:30.899 better Can I have the band come back up? Because 00:15:30.899 --> 00:15:33.940 it's not just that we can have personal knowledge 00:15:33.940 --> 00:15:38.820 of God like Elisha But the God has personal knowledge 00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:47.740 of us God is not at a distance cold and rational 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:53.899 God is not objective and God is not just an opinion 00:15:53.899 --> 00:15:58.759 flippy floppy Depending on how you feel. God 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:05.139 is not subjective. God is personal. Not only 00:16:05.139 --> 00:16:10.240 can you know Him, but He knows you. He knows 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:14.539 everything about you. Why? Because He created 00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:20.039 you for a purpose. He made you uniquely you so 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:23.379 that His glory and love could be made manifest 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:25.639 through your life for the sake of the world. 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:33.159 Being most deeply your unique self is something 00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:37.720 that God desire Because your true self is grounded 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:44.159 in Christ God created you in uniqueness and seeks 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:49.480 to restore you to that uniqueness in Christ Finding 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:51.639 and living out your true self is fulfilling your 00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:57.370 destiny Not only does God invite you into greater 00:16:57.370 --> 00:17:01.350 vision through the Holy Spirit of reality, of 00:17:01.350 --> 00:17:06.910 what's not just visible but true and there. He 00:17:06.910 --> 00:17:09.109 actually has a greater vision for your life. 00:17:10.869 --> 00:17:13.069 God has a greater vision for your life than you 00:17:13.069 --> 00:17:16.789 will ever have for your own life. If I think 00:17:16.789 --> 00:17:20.210 about the things that I wanted to do in my life, 00:17:21.089 --> 00:17:24.049 the kind of person I wanted to be before I took 00:17:24.049 --> 00:17:27.220 Jesus seriously. The things I wanted to do, the 00:17:27.220 --> 00:17:29.240 places I wanted to go, the achievements I wanted 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:33.059 to have. The life that I've actually had in submitting 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:35.799 my life to Jesus blows it away by a factor of 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:39.640 10. God's vision for your life is far greater 00:17:39.640 --> 00:17:41.799 than anything you will ever think you want to 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:48.160 do, achieve, hope or dream. He has a greater 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:49.980 vision for your life than you will ever have. 00:17:51.059 --> 00:17:54.910 And He has made a way through the cross. to the 00:17:54.910 --> 00:17:59.369 cross of Jesus through His blood, by doing away 00:17:59.369 --> 00:18:02.750 with our sin and our shame and our guilt, through 00:18:02.750 --> 00:18:05.009 opening our eyes, through giving us a gift of 00:18:05.009 --> 00:18:09.170 His Spirit, to restore us, to restore you and 00:18:09.170 --> 00:18:14.630 me into the woman or the man that God has created 00:18:14.630 --> 00:18:19.650 you to be. I wonder, friends, what our lives 00:18:19.650 --> 00:18:21.230 would look like if we lived with this kind of 00:18:21.230 --> 00:18:28.440 confidence. This greater vision of life. I wonder 00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:32.819 how God would use your life. I wonder where he 00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:38.359 would take you. I wonder what burdens you carry 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:41.359 that would be lifted off by his greater vision 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:43.440 for your life and letting go of your own vision 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:48.539 for your own life. I wonder what kind of church 00:18:48.539 --> 00:18:51.619 encounter Henley would become. If every one of 00:18:51.619 --> 00:18:56.160 us, including me, stepped into the greater vision 00:18:56.160 --> 00:19:01.700 of Elisha and lived with the supernatural confidence 00:19:01.700 --> 00:19:03.799 that God's gonna bring people who are far from 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:09.039 Him into personal knowledge of Him. That God 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:14.059 keeps His promises. That God still heals today. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:19.730 That He can make this church fruitful. That He 00:19:19.730 --> 00:19:22.930 can restore broken relationships. That He can 00:19:22.930 --> 00:19:25.069 restore to you the years that the locusts have 00:19:25.069 --> 00:19:28.730 stolen. That He can bring peace to this world. 00:19:29.329 --> 00:19:32.509 That He can bring justice into your life. That 00:19:32.509 --> 00:19:35.109 He can awaken the city of Adelaide of faith. 00:19:35.869 --> 00:19:39.269 That He can bring revival and do it again in 00:19:39.269 --> 00:19:44.450 our day. That He will bring a multitude out of 00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:48.230 the waters of Grange and Henley Beach. having 00:19:48.230 --> 00:19:54.890 been baptized, that He will do it. Friends, year 00:19:54.890 --> 00:19:57.210 three of Encounter Henley is a year of greater 00:19:57.210 --> 00:20:06.049 vision, greater trust, greater faith, greater 00:20:06.049 --> 00:20:11.329 confidence in Jesus and what He can and will 00:20:11.329 --> 00:20:15.690 do in your life, through your life, through this 00:20:15.690 --> 00:20:22.630 church. Through this community, Dave won a shirt 00:20:22.630 --> 00:20:27.410 that says, in Henley as it is in heaven. God 00:20:27.410 --> 00:20:32.950 can do it. God can make this suburb, Henley and 00:20:32.950 --> 00:20:39.230 Grange, a place where his kingdom is. Where his 00:20:39.230 --> 00:20:43.130 love, his justice, his reign, his goodness, his 00:20:43.130 --> 00:20:47.319 peace could flow out upon. The people who are 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:49.839 far from Him, the people that are hurting, the 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:52.039 people who need to know Him, God can do this. 00:20:52.460 --> 00:20:55.240 And we pray that He will. So let's pray together, 00:20:55.460 --> 00:20:58.460 friends. God, we pray that You would just come 00:20:58.460 --> 00:21:03.539 now in this place. Come Holy Spirit, let us be 00:21:03.539 --> 00:21:07.259 more aware of Your Spirit in this room, that 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:10.480 You are always with us, because we have Your 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:15.529 Spirit in us when we have faith in You. But Lord, 00:21:15.529 --> 00:21:20.710 let us see Your hand. Open our eyes to the unseen 00:21:20.710 --> 00:21:23.809 realm, to the things that go on in the heavenlies 00:21:23.809 --> 00:21:29.230 that we do not know or cannot yet see. And that 00:21:29.230 --> 00:21:34.430 would fill us with faith and confidence. That 00:21:34.430 --> 00:21:36.690 even though we may be surrounded in our lives 00:21:36.690 --> 00:21:41.589 with things that scare us, that make us timid, 00:21:42.990 --> 00:21:46.380 that distract us. that there is a greater army 00:21:46.380 --> 00:21:51.819 that surrounds those things. You are the Lord 00:21:51.819 --> 00:21:55.859 of hosts and your army surrounds those things 00:21:55.859 --> 00:21:59.500 that surround us. God, thank you that when we 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:01.900 are in you, when we have faith with you, there 00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:04.000 is nothing in this world that we need to be afraid 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:07.160 of. There is nothing in this world that we cannot 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:11.440 do. As Paul says, we can do all things through 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:13.200 Christ who gives us strength. We can be rich 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:15.500 or we can be poor. We can be sick or we can be 00:22:15.500 --> 00:22:18.720 well. We can be in prosperity or we can be in 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:21.119 poverty. We can be successful or we can feel 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:23.960 like a failure. We can do all things because 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:27.140 your spirit is in us. Because we have your vision. 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:29.900 We see our lives through your eyes and not our 00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:33.019 own. So come Holy Spirit, open our eyes today 00:22:33.019 --> 00:22:38.829 we pray in the name of Jesus. Thanks so much 00:22:38.829 --> 00:22:41.609 for tuning into this week's message. If you felt 00:22:41.609 --> 00:22:44.390 challenged or need prayer, we'd love to hear 00:22:44.390 --> 00:22:47.609 from you on Instagram at encounterhenny. Or if 00:22:47.609 --> 00:22:49.710 you're interested in how you can support this 00:22:49.710 --> 00:22:53.410 ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide 00:22:53.410 --> 00:22:57.569 .com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:22:57.569 --> 00:22:57.930 you.