WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.560 Morning, everyone. Good to see you all. Good to see you, sir. I've been to church all my life, 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:16.980 ! At least like what I can remember. The church that I grew up in, actually that's where I met 00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:23.160 ! my wife, Christina. So Joe and I, we went to the same church as Christina and her family. 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:28.300 It's the church that Francis grew up in. So I've known you since. How old are you? 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:37.600 About five, something like that. Felix was in that church as well. And it's called LCCC, 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:42.659 Leicester Chinese Christian Church. If you know anything about the UK, these churches are kind 00:00:42.659 --> 00:00:48.280 of just like, basically, they gather based on geographical, Leicester. And then the next most 00:00:48.280 --> 00:00:53.500 important thing is just ethnicity, just Chinese. And then, okay, oh, we're Christian. Okay, we're 00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:57.679 Christian. And then we're a church because we meet in a church because that's where we are. 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:04.040 And that was my experience. And it's a humble, modest experience, isn't it, Francis, in those 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:10.219 kinds of churches? I remember playing worship. Music guys will appreciate this. Leading worship 00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:14.980 with my guitar and our drummer, bless him. He didn't really know how to play drums. 00:01:14.980 --> 00:01:20.920 He, I was, the song was in 4-4, but he was playing in 5-4. I don't know how you do it, 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:24.340 but which means every fourth bar or fifth bar, we were on the right note. But then after that, 00:01:24.380 --> 00:01:28.480 it was, but you just keep, you just keep going. You just keep going. It's just part of it. The 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:34.680 sermons are long. They're translated. Bilingual, if you're lucky. Trilingual, if you're not. 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:40.580 I literally, we were in a service for, it probably lasts for three hours. And it was 00:01:40.580 --> 00:01:47.140 three people on the stage sharing the message. And then it's, I remember, it's like, hallelujah, 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:54.980 hallelujah, hallelujah. I'm like, I'm like, unnecessary, unnecessary. It's the same word. 00:01:55.480 --> 00:02:02.100 It's fine. We get it. Oh, man. But I like to say that we, we grew up refined by fire. 00:02:02.099 --> 00:02:07.739 Yeah. Just, and you, you know what? Why did we go to church? Like, I remember being really involved 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:12.419 in, wanting to be involved in sports. And then they'd be like, the sports clubs always did it on 00:02:12.419 --> 00:02:17.439 Sundays. And then I'd be like, oh, I'd wish I could, wish I could be part of this team and that team. 00:02:17.740 --> 00:02:23.400 But then it was never a question. It was never a discussion. We can't, because on Sundays, 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:28.120 we go to church. And so we grew up, now part of that is in England. There's nothing else to do. 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:32.700 Right. Queenie, you're like, there's just nothing else to do. You just, that's the only thing that, 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:37.980 oh, we will go to church because that's all there is. And that's where all your friends are. 00:02:38.620 --> 00:02:42.480 And so you end up doing that. When I got to Hong Kong, that's when it kind of, 00:02:42.620 --> 00:02:47.800 things really blew my mind. Because, you know, I come and serve in the church here. And of course, 00:02:47.860 --> 00:02:52.879 this big church with this shiny gold building was the one that welcomed our family. And then I was 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:58.879 sent to go and visit some other churches. And then I was like, whoa, Chinese people can do church 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:06.939 like, well, like these worship people, team people are singing in tune and on time. And it's cool. 00:03:07.519 --> 00:03:13.359 And the sermons are like, like you can tolerate them. And they're like, there's some really gifted 00:03:13.359 --> 00:03:19.039 speakers in town. But then something that really kind of caught me and that has, the Lord's been 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:25.159 teaching me through these years is, and forcing me to rethink what church even is, is as I sat in 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:30.379 those services, I was like, oh, I remember sitting in one, I won't name what it is. I'm like, this is 00:03:30.379 --> 00:03:36.739 the most impressive production I have ever been part of. I'm just blown away by the worship team. 00:03:36.899 --> 00:03:46.919 They all look sound, like pros. They're all as fashionable as JP. And then the speaker comes on and he 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:52.019 just moves your heart and he's just the most eloquent speaker. He has props, he has slides, but not like 00:03:52.019 --> 00:03:57.500 PowerPoint slides. They're like properly designed. Anshan helps design some of these kinds of slides. 00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:04.939 And then I'm, well, it's not actually that church, but anyway, so. And then I realized, wow, this is the 00:04:04.939 --> 00:04:11.859 most amazing thing I've seen. And then as soon as this service finishes, people leave. I was like, oh, 00:04:11.860 --> 00:04:17.900 that's weird. You guys have somewhere to go. In England, when we go to church, you're there for 00:04:17.900 --> 00:04:24.759 the whole day because there's nothing else to do and it's cold outside. So I was like, oh, and then 00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:29.439 it was basically, oh, this feels just like we've just gone to watch an incredible, we've just gone to 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:36.520 watch Oppenheimer. And we go in, we watch something, and then we leave. And then I'm like, oh, that's 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:42.459 church. This is the best church I've ever seen. But then it really got me thinking, but is that church? 00:04:43.379 --> 00:04:48.599 What is the church? And we're going to go through the series. We've been going through just the book 00:04:48.599 --> 00:04:53.000 of Revelation and the letters to the church, starting with the end in mind, because I want to know what 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:58.659 church it is that Jesus is pleased with. And as we're going through that, I realized actually, 00:04:59.060 --> 00:05:02.979 we've been doing the mission statement. Is this on? Can we have the first one on? Sorry, 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:08.120 I'm putting whoever is on the screen. I want to go through the mission statements in these next 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:13.200 few weeks. And we're going to go through the mission statement one, because I realized there's 00:05:13.200 --> 00:05:17.700 some people here who we've walked through this together with, and we've kind of formed these 00:05:17.700 --> 00:05:22.140 statements together, but there are many who actually don't know. But the question really then becomes, 00:05:22.259 --> 00:05:29.319 why are you here? Why are you here? In the kindest, most polite, loving way, why are you here? 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:34.240 I mean, we'll put Alex Lee on the spot, because he helped us read the statements. Why are you here, 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:36.519 Alex? Like, this morning, literally, why are you here? 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:41.459 Because being with me helped me, kind of a reflection that helped me to express faith, 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:44.959 and explore faith, and know God, rather than just, like, isolated. 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:51.019 Yeah. Being a part of a community where you can explore faith and know God deeper. I want to ask 00:05:51.019 --> 00:05:56.399 you, do you know why you're here? Like Alex said, your feet brought you here, of course, 00:05:56.399 --> 00:06:00.519 that's part of it. But why are you here? There's people who go to church for all kinds of different 00:06:00.519 --> 00:06:05.879 reasons, right? We go to church because, well, you have to go to church because you're having lunch 00:06:05.879 --> 00:06:09.459 with Grandma afterwards, and she'll ask you whether you were at church. So therefore, you really should 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:12.199 just be at church, and then you don't have to lie, and then you don't have to be in trouble. 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:17.779 You might go to church because it's just so much part of your kind of, like, your muscle. Your muscle 00:06:17.779 --> 00:06:21.639 memory is that you wake up every Sunday morning, and you go to church. Your friends might go 00:06:21.639 --> 00:06:28.159 doing different things and surfing with cool people like Aiden, but then you don't do that 00:06:28.159 --> 00:06:32.360 kind of stuff, unless you go really, really early like Aiden, but you don't do that because on Sunday 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:39.180 you go to church. But have we ever stopped and thought, why are we going to church? What is it 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:44.300 for? I want to make us a little bit uncomfortable because I want to talk about this. I can't hear 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:48.300 everyone share their thoughts, but I want you to be able to talk a little bit about this. 00:06:48.300 --> 00:06:52.920 Can you have a think about that? Can you articulate why you're here? 00:06:54.400 --> 00:07:00.340 Why are you here? I mean, let's try now. Just the person next to you, just have a think and try 00:07:00.340 --> 00:07:03.000 and explain in one sentence. We're not going to do this for long, so don't worry, it won't be that 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:07.980 painful. Why are you here? What do you think, what's the reason why you're here? Go, try. 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:08.019 Try. 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:18.460 --> 00:07:18.460 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:56.819 15 seconds. 00:07:56.960 --> 00:07:57.800 Make sure they get it. 00:07:57.960 --> 00:07:58.860 Make sure they get to share. 00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:15.780 All right. 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:17.759 Why are you here? 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:18.399 What's interesting? 00:08:19.619 --> 00:08:20.879 Gaps, why are you here? 00:08:20.939 --> 00:08:22.379 What did you hear from your little group? 00:08:22.619 --> 00:08:23.259 Why are you here? 00:08:24.859 --> 00:08:28.219 To seek God in community. 00:08:28.799 --> 00:08:29.239 That's it. 00:08:29.779 --> 00:08:31.079 Is there more to it? 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:32.480 Jay? 00:08:34.439 --> 00:08:35.579 Oh, he stole your answer. 00:08:36.299 --> 00:08:36.500 Ouch. 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:38.699 Yes, you're right. 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:38.939 You're right. 00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:40.939 To seek God in community. 00:08:41.339 --> 00:08:43.339 Mine was for Jesus. 00:08:43.939 --> 00:08:44.399 For Jesus. 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:44.679 Yeah. 00:08:44.679 --> 00:08:45.120 Yeah. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:49.679 For me, it's this obedience to give Jesus a blessing. 00:08:50.219 --> 00:08:50.419 Yeah. 00:08:51.139 --> 00:08:51.419 Yeah. 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:53.359 Wow. 00:08:55.819 --> 00:08:58.519 In case you didn't hear, he says, I'm here to seek Jesus. 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:02.659 And if Jesus is who he says he is, then actually he calls me to come to church. 00:09:02.699 --> 00:09:06.099 That's why out of obedience I'm here to seek him in his body. 00:09:06.319 --> 00:09:06.599 Absolutely. 00:09:07.139 --> 00:09:07.620 Grace, what about you? 00:09:07.719 --> 00:09:08.339 Why are you here? 00:09:08.339 --> 00:09:08.339 00:09:08.339 --> 00:09:08.339 00:09:08.339 --> 00:09:08.339 00:09:08.339 --> 00:09:10.339 Why are you here? 00:09:10.340 --> 00:09:11.200 I'm here to think of Jesus. 00:09:11.580 --> 00:09:11.800 Yeah. 00:09:11.800 --> 00:09:14.080 Throughout the week, the world is really message. 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:14.600 Yeah. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:19.620 So, I'm like, you have to refocus what is the purpose of your life to do. 00:09:19.620 --> 00:09:22.060 I'm here to think of Jesus. 00:09:22.059 --> 00:09:28.619 yeah man even just the first two answers just i'm here for jesus i'm here to know jesus and i'm here 00:09:28.619 --> 00:09:33.959 to do it in community delos good to see you putting you on the spot why are you here delos 00:09:33.959 --> 00:09:37.500 you're here because alex invited you 00:09:37.500 --> 00:09:42.419 yeah that's huge we played basketball with delos yesterday and i was texting 00:09:42.419 --> 00:09:47.599 alex again i'm in so much pain right now as i sit here as i am definitely sitting on a stool 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:55.159 uh julian why are you here and not listening to a sermon a john stott sermon or a killer sermon 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:55.879 online 00:09:55.879 --> 00:10:06.820 to spend time with jesus and with jesus's people that's such a good answer i think we have to 00:10:06.820 --> 00:10:12.519 understand why we're here in order to achieve the objectives of what this place is supposed to be for 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:17.120 or what this time is supposed to be for otherwise you come and you've wasted your sunday morning 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:22.720 right and so for us we need to figure this out and so that's why we had these statements and 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:27.779 we're praying hard that these don't end up being some kind of ritualistic uh just legalistic just 00:10:27.779 --> 00:10:32.259 mantra that we just kind of again just like just like when you're singing karaoke just kind of 00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:37.240 in one ear and out the other try and remind us it's like why am i here this morning why did i wake up 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:42.240 could have slept in why why why i hope we understand that and so i want to go through these next few 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:46.340 weeks so actually this week we're going to go through one next week will be two the week after we'll 00:10:46.340 --> 00:10:51.480 actually have a little pause because my brother will come back from uh rwanda with josh and game 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:55.980 and actually we've got a special thing lined up that weekend for us which has a spotlight on everything 00:10:55.980 --> 00:11:03.580 that's happening in africa contrary to uh but popular belief my brother does work uh he works 00:11:03.580 --> 00:11:06.220 approximately two three days a month 00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:14.160 and here he is but uh yeah they're they're doing some fun things uh right now uh but i want to go 00:11:14.160 --> 00:11:19.360 through this one today i want you to understand a little bit the heart of the heart behind why i remind 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:25.399 myself why i'm here we're a simple gathering in a complex time and we seek to walk daily in the way 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:31.540 of jesus so that we may know him and enjoy him until the day he returns for good if i look at this slide 00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:38.360 here the thing that really kind of resonates with me the most is i'm here to know him and enjoy him 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:43.679 i think that's actually the ultimate calling that we are here to know him and enjoy him and i want to 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:48.199 unpack that a little bit but let's start with just the fact that it's a complex time we are a simple 00:11:48.199 --> 00:11:55.719 gathering in a complex time we live in an incredibly incredibly complex time right now there are some 00:11:55.719 --> 00:12:00.139 things happening in this world that i cannot figure out what are the things going on in this world just 00:12:00.139 --> 00:12:04.039 let's just throw some out pick us up here what what's so complex about this time 00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:12.139 what is complex about this time kelly war what kind of war 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:15.500 what war are we talking about 00:12:15.500 --> 00:12:26.240 geopolitical war yeah i don't know about you when i when i open my scmp app when i have a look and i'm 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:33.940 just like i can't make sense of this and the wars are tying together into different conversations 00:12:33.940 --> 00:12:41.060 about the same thing but different thing i don't know about you it's complex it's complicated 00:12:41.060 --> 00:12:50.000 war warfare what's happening in israel right now and in gaza right now 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:58.139 i don't have the right words to say i don't have the eloquent articulate words to say about this 00:12:58.139 --> 00:13:05.080 but i want to be part of a group of people who are actually okay to talk about this to not be afraid 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:11.500 to share and to not be afraid to pray for what's going on here i don't want us to be a church that 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:17.200 just shies away from those things and then we just live the kind of happy comfortable bubble 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:22.280 life that we have here in admiralty center and then go and have lunch and then play sports and 00:13:22.280 --> 00:13:26.920 that's it and maybe even just a just a word on that i know that i don't know what your views are 00:13:26.920 --> 00:13:34.240 on this um the only thing that i'm praying for is peace i know that there are people who god loves 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:40.000 on either side of this war i think there are people who love god and who are seeking to follow god 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:45.960 on either side of this i know there are godly men and women way more than even someone like myself 00:13:45.960 --> 00:13:51.680 on either side who are just crying out and praying for peace praying for peace for god's will to be 00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:59.320 done i also know that actually what's happening there's more happening than what i can see that there 00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:06.340 is a war happening that is beyond what i see on the news so for me that i'm humbled by that i'm i'm 00:14:06.340 --> 00:14:11.940 shaken by that and i'm trying to figure it out so one of the complexities for sure is war and 00:14:11.940 --> 00:14:17.760 the one in israel is just one of them and then there's so many other ones there's also just the 00:14:17.760 --> 00:14:25.700 war on just values as a society each each society is going through its own battles of what is right 00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:30.660 and what is wrong and we're fighting through those things what are the other things why what else makes 00:14:30.660 --> 00:14:35.640 this time a complex time james i'm just going to go all the way to you at the back here okay tell us 00:14:35.639 --> 00:14:48.419 something what's complex about this time shout it out different understandings for teaching just tell 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:49.240 us a little bit more 00:14:49.240 --> 00:15:14.819 that one's that one's big i don't know about you but i mean there are so many different streams and 00:15:14.820 --> 00:15:20.000 of teachings of christianity and i'm like man you're reformed you're calvinist you're you're 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.320 you're a pentecostal you're you're this you're that you're this man that's a lot of that's a lot 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:29.560 of complicated stuff wait you guys you guys haven't sorted yourselves out uh what makes you different 00:15:29.560 --> 00:15:35.620 to the rest and and i'm here i'm sat here saying actually i'm not intelligent enough to be able to 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:38.940 break down every single stream and every single denomination and what the beliefs they have are 00:15:38.940 --> 00:15:46.520 and that's part of why we gather here um it is a complex time even within the church the church has 00:15:46.520 --> 00:15:51.540 discussions and arguments that are happening i mean the church that james and julian you are at in 00:15:51.540 --> 00:15:57.100 in london in all souls some of the battles happening within england and the church of england and some of 00:15:57.100 --> 00:16:04.960 the values that are there man it's complicated it's complex there are all these things that are 00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:11.600 happening and so for us the question is can we keep the main thing the main thing that's my heart 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:17.139 and i'm not smart enough to engage in every single conversation regarding the geopolitical war or 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:22.620 theology even for that matter but my heart and this is where you need to hear my heart is 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:29.480 man how do we how do we keep this how do we be a simple gathering in this complex time that keeps 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:38.060 the main thing the main thing right and so part of that is us understanding why we're here because if 00:16:38.060 --> 00:16:40.960 we don't understand why we're here then we're not going to be able to serve the purpose that we're 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:48.220 supposed to be here for and so for us is to figure that what is the church what is the church how would 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:53.019 you define church nathan you got a cap on so you're looking anonymous there i'm picking on you 00:16:53.019 --> 00:16:56.960 what is the church to you define church explain church 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:09.440 yeah a gathering of people who want to see christ i like that the word in the new testament is the 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:15.319 ecclesia ecclesia which means just an assembly a gathering of people we're trying we're not trying 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:21.779 to be overly cool and hip here because we know not all of us are cool and hip uh apart from jp uh 00:17:21.779 --> 00:17:27.879 but we're trying to we're trying to call it as it is what are we doing here we are gathering here 00:17:27.879 --> 00:17:33.419 we're a group of people who are keen to know jesus keen to seek jesus and we're just going to gather here 00:17:33.419 --> 00:17:39.159 and by being here we become the church you don't attend church you don't attend the gathering you are 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:46.160 part of the gathering right and so that's important for us to figure out is that when we show up here 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:53.920 we are part of we're part of the group that is here to seek jesus and to be jesus to the world if i look 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:59.700 at scripture i see we're supposed to be the house of god exodus 40 is where the tabernacle is created 00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:06.140 we're supposed to be his dwelling place right here right now god dwells among us by the very fact that 00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:13.700 we are here we are ushering the presence of god into this reality here and so we are his temple 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:20.460 right that's part of it ephesians 3 10 says this what are we to do ephesians 3 10 says we are here to 00:18:20.460 --> 00:18:26.259 make known the manifold wisdom of god this world needs wisdom this world is in the complicated place 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:34.280 it's a dark place but we're here to display and show the wisdom of god we're here to be holy 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:39.579 the question therefore does it do we know what the word holy actually means cuban what's the word 00:18:39.579 --> 00:18:40.720 holy mean to you 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:50.779 yeah it's it's it's actually not your opinion it's it's a it's the completely accurate one 00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:55.680 holy is simply that you are set apart if i was to maybe even just to kind of expand on it more it's 00:18:55.680 --> 00:19:02.720 just basically being different are we different lebron james is described to be built different 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:09.420 uh he still is he's pretty old now but he's still doing pretty well sorry kenneth mj still the goat 00:19:09.420 --> 00:19:16.240 but it's just this is what it is as the church are we actually different or are we just another 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:21.120 kind of interest group are we just another group of people that are hanging out who are kind of half 00:19:21.120 --> 00:19:26.660 passionate about what we believe but we but we're not actually leaning into what jesus says that he is 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:32.620 who he says he is and he will do what he says he will do and he will come back the church has to be 00:19:32.620 --> 00:19:37.860 different philippians 2 says that we live in a crooked and twisted generation you look on the news 00:19:37.860 --> 00:19:42.900 now you can see all the crookedness and all the twistedness but then what does he say but you are 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:46.360 going to be children of god without blemish in the midst of this crooked and twisted generation 00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:53.279 among whom you shine as lights in the world that's philippines 215 we're in a crooked and twisted 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:59.859 generation tick that's where we're at we are going to be children of god who are shining as lights 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:04.919 in the midst of that what does that mean in this black canvas there are going to be pockets of light 00:20:04.919 --> 00:20:12.959 stars lights are we those lights do we bring hope in your workplace right now do you walk in and go 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:19.400 people go oh that person's different that person's built different that person brings a light in that 00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:25.039 this world that our room did not have before that's what we're supposed to do why do we gather here 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:31.460 so that we can know him and enjoy him why because when we know him and enjoy him we will we will just 00:20:31.460 --> 00:20:36.460 glow and then we can go back into the offices and the workplaces queenie you don't work too far from 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:41.319 here so so you've got just a little short walk and then you can be a light into the chambers that you 00:20:41.319 --> 00:20:47.599 walk into right are we built different are we that jesus says we're the light of the world 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:52.659 salt of the earth light of the world we bring light into this darkness that we're in a dark place 00:20:52.659 --> 00:20:58.259 again do we bring that light to the people that are surrounding us and second will we be the salt 00:20:58.259 --> 00:21:05.980 do we add flavor to life and do we help preserve some of the good things to preserve life in the context 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:13.140 that we're in in order for us to do that we have to recharge we have to refuel we have to come to a 00:21:13.140 --> 00:21:18.259 place where we gather and basically be in a place where we can know him and enjoy him tell you what 00:21:18.259 --> 00:21:23.440 that means when we know him we will start becoming like him have you heard that thing where married 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:27.920 couples that they start looking the same they start looking more and more alike i mean i still don't 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:33.400 understand that phenomenon really but i also think it's true i see people around i'm like man married 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:38.220 couples who has been married for a long time they start to look alike for some reason but maybe in 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:43.420 the same way for us as the churches when we seek to know him we will become more like him and then 00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:48.740 when we how do we enjoy him by worshiping him god says worship me not because he's a self-centered 00:21:48.740 --> 00:21:53.780 god because he wants to hear all our praise because he knows the moment you worship him the one who 00:21:53.780 --> 00:21:59.780 doesn't corrupt you that's when you fill to the full that's when you are just filled with life when 00:21:59.779 --> 00:22:05.420 you worship the one who gives life how do we do that that's the thing so what is a simple gathering 00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:13.180 simple gathering if we look at acts 2 42 to 47 i've asked gab's this before so i'm not going to pick 00:22:13.180 --> 00:22:22.759 on him darren acts 2 42 has basically four things that the group the church are devoted to do you 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:29.440 remember what one of them are fellowship we'll take that they're devoted to fellowship that's another 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:37.160 thing so basically being together what's another one worship that will be in the form of um 00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:44.320 that could be essentially actually that could be all of them uh in some ways uh but i'll come back to 00:22:44.320 --> 00:22:47.299 that one because all of it is worship but there are some other ones that are specific words that 00:22:47.299 --> 00:22:54.500 we're looking at here breaking bread communion which is part of the worship prayer and the final one 00:22:54.500 --> 00:22:58.779 teaching and they devote the apostles devoted themselves they devoted themselves to the 00:22:58.779 --> 00:23:04.160 apostles teaching fellowship breaking bread and prayer what happened for them these people why are 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:07.599 they devoted themselves to these things when they should be making money when they should be climbing 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:12.059 up the career ladder when they should be making just living happy lives and getting married and just 00:23:12.059 --> 00:23:16.500 being joyful and merry what is what what changed the course of their lives to the point where they're 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:21.099 devoted to these four things they were presented with the good news in acts 2 when the holy spirit 00:23:21.099 --> 00:23:26.139 comes upon them they are presented with the good news peter is filled with the holy spirit and then 00:23:26.139 --> 00:23:30.019 he just gives a sermon that he never could have done by himself and then one of the people what's 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:37.119 the response they are cut cut to the heart that means he spoke truth into their hearts to the point 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:44.619 where they're like oh man you cut deep and from there their response was what must we do to be saved 00:23:44.619 --> 00:23:49.019 and then they devote themselves to these four things teaching fellowship breaking bread prayers 00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:53.740 what's a simple gathering can we keep the main thing the main thing can we keep doing these same 00:23:53.740 --> 00:24:00.319 four things in the midst of this complex time can we hold on to the simplest of things 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:06.720 that's why we're here can we gather and stay to these four things because we believe that they are 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:13.259 time tested tried and true and hopefully be in a place where we can actually 00:24:13.259 --> 00:24:18.759 shed some of that light into this dark world that we're in that's why we're here that's what 00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:23.559 we're doing and so therefore we know it's not just we're not just sunday christians we are 00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:29.500 walking daily walking i look i like the word walking daily because one i like walking i don't like 00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:35.579 hiking but i like the idea of walking because walking is one actually of humility or and actually it's 00:24:35.579 --> 00:24:43.299 just a peace and trust and pace that we're not rushing ahead that we're not crawling sometimes life in 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:46.940 hong kong i was just telling talking to someone about this recently these few months just feels like 00:24:46.940 --> 00:24:51.360 hong kong is just just come back with a absolute vengeance to the point where we're all just zooming 00:24:51.360 --> 00:24:56.700 around in teacups and we're just crawling and just spinning but i love the idea of just walking 00:24:56.700 --> 00:25:03.620 walking just shows this i'm not in a rush but i'm going somewhere and keeping in step with jesus 00:25:03.619 --> 00:25:12.019 walking daily in the way of jesus what is the way of jesus what's the way of jesus to you 00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:16.659 anyone trevor what's the way of jesus to you 00:25:16.659 --> 00:25:22.979 life what what aspect of life does the way of jesus impact 00:25:22.979 --> 00:25:31.799 everything you are not wrong but i'm wanting something more specific give us an example 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:39.960 yeah 00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:45.819 i'll tell you what that one might be that one actually what the way of jesus impacts the way 00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:52.399 we use our time it it changes the way we approach every minute of every hour of every day because 00:25:52.399 --> 00:25:56.559 we're like okay this is important to me this goes contrary to actually there's there's two places 00:25:56.559 --> 00:26:02.139 people in hong kong maybe in the people that you know would be one you're using your time for work 00:26:02.139 --> 00:26:07.259 or you're using your time for junk boat trips and golf and all and what and what not that any of those 00:26:07.259 --> 00:26:13.779 things are bad but the way of jesus changes the way you use your time for sure uh what what is what 00:26:13.779 --> 00:26:16.720 are other examples of the way of jesus aaron rebecca any 00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:21.600 yeah 00:26:21.600 --> 00:26:34.480 wow so it's not just the quantity of time that you're spending it's actually the quality or what 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:38.259 you're actually doing with that time so when you're spending whether it's one minute with someone whether 00:26:38.259 --> 00:26:44.319 whether it's one day they feel love which is something that's as the black-eyed peas would 00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:51.339 cry out and sing that it's hard to find there where is you know the love oh man i just took 00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:59.539 gaps and kelly to a different place come back come back come back oh dear a couple things for me 00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:06.419 when it comes to the way of jesus one is pace jesus never seemed to be hurried i don't know how you feel 00:27:06.419 --> 00:27:12.639 i feel like i'm spinning constantly uh but he just he was he just he just he did he did lots of things 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:17.180 and he also didn't do much he just spent time with people there's a pace that comes to it there's a 00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:23.920 patience that comes with jesus i'm the least patient person i'm like come on why can't we get this done 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:30.160 already and yet jesus just seemed to have this pace about him and for us it's how can we keep in step 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:36.460 and walk in step with his spirit hey as i'm talking about these things have a think that's this is what 00:27:36.460 --> 00:27:40.580 we're supposed to look like when we're out there so people are outside are supposed to look and see oh 00:27:40.579 --> 00:27:45.579 this person this person runs at a different pace walks at a different pace they're not so rushed and 00:27:45.579 --> 00:27:50.199 hurried and harried about different things they seem to have this patience about them which is man 00:27:50.199 --> 00:27:56.220 their dream their dream job or their dream thing whatever it is they don't seem to be stressed stressed 00:27:56.220 --> 00:28:02.199 about it because they seem just to be walking in step knowing that god is good and he has his time 00:28:02.199 --> 00:28:08.139 there's a patience that comes about there's a perspective that comes about it 00:28:08.140 --> 00:28:16.660 i was talking to okay fine i was talking to my mother uh and her dogs yeah whom i love dearly 00:28:16.660 --> 00:28:22.900 who i won't be sharing the sermon with uh we were talking about and we all have we all have this it 00:28:22.900 --> 00:28:26.420 just happened yesterday for me and we're talking about a project that's happening and she's like this is 00:28:26.420 --> 00:28:38.880 and i'm like is it like is it that big a deal like it's just it's just enormous if this if this doesn't 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:45.060 happen the sky is going to fall down and i'm like i don't think it is i don't think it is but yet 00:28:45.060 --> 00:28:53.019 sometimes the things that we go through we think that it if we don't get what we want our whole world 00:28:53.019 --> 00:28:59.539 is going to come crashing down if if that person who i really like doesn't like me my life is over 00:28:59.539 --> 00:29:07.859 it's it but yet when we walk with jesus there's a perspective that comes and what is that perspective 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:13.480 his perspective is father your will be done your kingdom come he's looking at a different thing he's 00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:18.019 looking at it from a completely different vantage point do we have that i'll tell you what this looks 00:29:18.019 --> 00:29:24.059 like this looks like when you are faced with your really annoying boss who has is out to get you 00:29:24.059 --> 00:29:30.680 you look at them and you're like man jesus show me what it is give me the perspective that you 00:29:30.680 --> 00:29:37.700 want me to see about this person how can i oh how can i love my boss in a better way 00:29:37.700 --> 00:29:43.960 so i'm not attacked and i don't feel offended that is i don't take whatever he's saying personal 00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:50.000 but how do i that's the way of jesus that runs contrary to the way this world works it's when 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.240 you have a family member or when if you're married you have a spouse who really annoys you or rebukes 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:58.519 you for something that you've done wrong and you're like man how do i not take this personally but how 00:29:58.519 --> 00:30:08.660 do i love how do i turn that around and actually make this about me loving that person more you only do 00:30:08.660 --> 00:30:12.759 that if you have the right perspective that you're not consumed by the things of this world but you see 00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:17.379 something beyond that is the way of jesus that we seek to walk in daily uh there's a peace 00:30:17.379 --> 00:30:22.379 philippines 4 right there's there's a peace that surpasses understanding when everything doesn't 00:30:22.379 --> 00:30:27.660 make sense this happened during the fifth wave when all of our friends were leaving and hong kong was 00:30:27.660 --> 00:30:32.180 completely shut down and none of the restrictions made sense none of our lives made sense and i was 00:30:32.180 --> 00:30:37.180 like god nothing makes sense now what are we doing here and then and then the lord reminds me well 00:30:37.180 --> 00:30:41.099 yes nothing makes sense but i'll tell you what you're supposed to have james you're supposed to have a 00:30:41.099 --> 00:30:47.299 peace that doesn't make sense people are supposed to sit and have coffee with you and go man that guy 00:30:47.299 --> 00:30:51.579 has so much on he he has every reason to not be here he has every reason to be annoyed just like 00:30:51.579 --> 00:30:57.299 the rest of us to grumble and to moan and but yet somehow i'm sitting with james and he seems to have 00:30:57.299 --> 00:31:02.219 this peace that doesn't make sense i'm not saying that's what anyone has said that's what i'm hoping 00:31:02.220 --> 00:31:07.720 that they will feel you know that meme where the house is on fire at the back and you're just kind 00:31:07.720 --> 00:31:13.259 of like everything is okay everything is fine do we have that moment where people can look at us and 00:31:13.259 --> 00:31:17.160 go man you should you should you should not be reacting the way that you are but somehow you are 00:31:17.160 --> 00:31:21.720 that's the way of jesus that's the way of jesus and it looks different we're built different we think 00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:26.400 different we see different we feel different but also finally not only do we have peace we also have 00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:33.700 power jesus walked with just such gentle meekness and humility yet you would never ever confuse that 00:31:33.700 --> 00:31:42.140 for weakness never the whole point of being gentle as we deal with our children our tiny little children 00:31:42.140 --> 00:31:46.880 in superhero outfits and we're trying to look after them there's a gentleness that we have to display 00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:51.759 because they're they're weaker than us doesn't mean we're weak by not showing them strength 00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:58.099 in fact it's strong by us withholding our strength and still treating them with gentleness yet jesus 00:31:58.099 --> 00:32:02.980 had this sense of power as well as the peace and patience so when people look at you they're like oh 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:08.900 you have a peace that doesn't make sense you have a perspective that is different to mine and yet you 00:32:08.900 --> 00:32:13.700 still have a power and the power of god the favor of god still seems to follow you wherever you go 00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:21.420 oh that's the way of jesus i'm seeking to walk daily in that way so then oh so that we may know him 00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:26.000 and enjoy him that's it that's the only calling i was talking to my mentor and we were talking about 00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:29.560 all different kinds of callings i was like oh maybe we're called to this maybe we're called to this or 00:32:29.560 --> 00:32:32.940 maybe we just have different callings and she stopped me and she said no james you're wrong we 00:32:32.940 --> 00:32:38.080 all have the same calling it's the same calling that we all have and that is to know him and enjoy him 00:32:38.080 --> 00:32:43.400 to know him and enjoy him before we even think about what we're going to do for jesus 00:32:43.400 --> 00:32:48.200 the goal is to actually just to be with jesus so that we would look more like jesus 00:32:48.200 --> 00:32:53.100 but so often we are thinking jesus what can i do for you what can i do for you have you been 00:32:53.100 --> 00:32:59.559 have you visited that friend's home who are so hospitable and the moment you walk in the house 00:32:59.559 --> 00:33:03.220 they have a million things that they want to do here they give their agents that they're giving you 00:33:03.220 --> 00:33:07.460 the the tohai to wear uh because you're not wearing shoes and you go in and you've got your warm water 00:33:07.460 --> 00:33:12.120 drink and then you've got this and you've got snacks and that host is just constantly moving 00:33:12.120 --> 00:33:16.759 constantly doing things for you have people visited people like that and they're so loving 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:24.019 they're so nice right and yet all you want to do is what sit down please i'm here for you 00:33:24.019 --> 00:33:27.819 i'm not here for the nuts that you want to bring out and the drink that you want to bring out and the 00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:33.420 and the cabomile tea that you want to bring out i'm here for you can we spend time together 00:33:33.420 --> 00:33:38.480 but don't we do that with jesus sometimes we lock him out and we forget that we even let him in 00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:42.079 and then other times he's in we're like oh jesus what can we do for you what can we do for you 00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:47.259 we're so obsessed with doing things for jesus that we end up neglecting the main thing is we 00:33:47.259 --> 00:33:51.480 just need to spend time with jesus and that we need to begin to look more like him 00:33:51.480 --> 00:34:00.480 the way of jesus to know him and to enjoy him that's the whole goal that's everything the question 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:06.879 therefore becomes how do we do that okay i want to but how do i do it how do i get to know the person 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:12.740 of jesus you might be sat here going i think i kind of know but i don't really james it sounds 00:34:12.740 --> 00:34:16.660 good that you say i should know and enjoy him but what does that even mean right what does that even 00:34:16.660 --> 00:34:22.059 mean how do we even do it well maybe my question to you is well how would you get to know a person 00:34:22.059 --> 00:34:28.700 how would you get to know just let's not talk about most high god right now but how would you get 00:34:28.700 --> 00:34:34.180 to know just a person well if it's someone who you have no i no way of actually knowing first 00:34:34.179 --> 00:34:39.519 thing you'll do is you'll probably google them right read some stuff about them okay so that's 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:44.699 someone who's really far in the distance but just read about them but if it's someone that you did know 00:34:44.699 --> 00:34:52.519 then what do you do now yesterday christine and i we were we were giving a talk on a dating workshop 00:34:52.519 --> 00:35:01.039 to a group of mostly single people in in the church and we were talking about okay well 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:05.460 you're single you're single first you got to figure out just actually where's your relationship 00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:10.219 with god and what's your relationship like with yourself because the most attractive people are 00:35:10.219 --> 00:35:14.259 the ones who actually are the most content in themselves the ones who are not content in 00:35:14.259 --> 00:35:18.900 themselves that actually it doesn't look attractive but someone who actually is just at peace with who 00:35:18.900 --> 00:35:24.920 they are themselves then it's kind of like oh and of course the they're so just in tune with just 00:35:24.920 --> 00:35:29.400 actually just loving the lord then actually everything else seems to kind of pave its way but then we 00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:33.519 started talking about okay well now you finally have someone you have you have located that target 00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:38.220 what do you do and we were i was we were talking more to the guys and i was like guys we need to 00:35:38.220 --> 00:35:47.660 well we need to like freshen up like wash our hair uh and like cut our nails and actually look 00:35:47.660 --> 00:35:55.079 decent uh we need to learn how to be able to hold ourselves when we talk to people why is erica looking 00:35:55.079 --> 00:36:07.179 in aided that's hilarious anyway we have to hold ourselves in a certain manner and we have to 00:36:07.179 --> 00:36:10.940 actually approach the other the person that we want to go to and you know what the main thing is 00:36:10.940 --> 00:36:15.380 then we need to talk to that person we need to ask questions we need to be inquisitive we need to just 00:36:15.380 --> 00:36:20.279 care and show interest if you do that for someone who you might be interested in in a romantic sense 00:36:20.279 --> 00:36:24.579 then actually the principles are not that different if you want to get to know jesus you spend time with 00:36:24.579 --> 00:36:31.619 him spend time with him be with him speak to him listen to him read about him what do those translate 00:36:31.619 --> 00:36:38.739 to in christian lingo go to church be around people who know him if you want to know this this is why 00:36:38.739 --> 00:36:42.480 we're gathered here and that's why we're not listening to john stott sermons on youtube at home 00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:49.139 is because in order to find out about jesus you need to be around his body you need to be with his people 00:36:49.139 --> 00:36:55.179 because when you are with his people you'll find out more about him and you spend and then the next 00:36:55.179 --> 00:37:01.039 one is read the bible oh gosh yeah i know it's that but if you understand the read the bible is the fact 00:37:01.039 --> 00:37:07.259 that it's actually you're reading jesus's message to you growing up christine and i when we were 00:37:07.259 --> 00:37:15.219 courting uh it was during the time where it was the nokia 3210 era does anyone know what the nokia 3210 is 00:37:15.219 --> 00:37:18.179 okay man young crowd hard crowd 00:37:18.179 --> 00:37:26.679 and and of course there's only 160 characters correct you remember when it was 160 characters 00:37:26.679 --> 00:37:34.480 and so my wife and actually in england each text cost money right and it's 10p a text that's i mean 00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:41.539 10 texts and it's a pound and it's not cheap to message so my wife was uh incredibly frugal in the 00:37:41.539 --> 00:37:45.599 way that she text so she was one of those annoying people that would text without any spaces 00:37:45.599 --> 00:37:54.039 in between so and they'd all be abbreviated words so joke becomes jk right and then talk to you later 00:37:54.039 --> 00:38:00.759 becomes dtyl and so her whole message of 160 characters was just intense word after intense 00:38:00.759 --> 00:38:05.960 word all and the only thing that differentiates between the next word is the capital letter and 00:38:05.960 --> 00:38:11.940 so reading it was just it was just terribly hard to read but because they were messages of love 00:38:11.940 --> 00:38:17.179 because because because and because of course there's 160 characters but the last 10 were all x's 00:38:17.179 --> 00:38:17.960 uh 00:38:17.960 --> 00:38:28.679 and i'd keep those messages and i would read them like all the time oh there's the x's again 00:38:28.679 --> 00:38:38.879 oh two x's oh we're heading somewhere uh when you when you when you want to grow in relationship 00:38:38.879 --> 00:38:44.460 with someone you can't help but just read those messages and be just in that just in that space 00:38:44.460 --> 00:38:50.839 i think it's the same it's the same for us as we try and do as we try and get to know jesus 00:38:50.839 --> 00:38:55.659 do we give him time that's what i said last week we may have let him we may have opened the door and 00:38:55.659 --> 00:38:59.539 let him in and then we kind of leave him in the hallway and we say okay i've got other stuff to 00:38:59.539 --> 00:39:05.739 do and then we leave him so much of it is just time and i know i'm trying not to overthink this 00:39:05.739 --> 00:39:09.719 when we know him and enjoy him actually how do we do that it's just through the simplest of things 00:39:09.719 --> 00:39:15.739 it's through the simplest of things that we say oh i'm too busy well actually john mark comas when 00:39:15.739 --> 00:39:20.799 he's talking about praise is if you're too busy to pray you're too busy if you're too busy to pray 00:39:20.799 --> 00:39:25.219 you're just too busy and actually it's not an issue with time it's not as though i don't have time 00:39:25.219 --> 00:39:29.519 it's the fact that it's just not a priority the question for us as we gather then is actually 00:39:29.519 --> 00:39:34.119 as we look around is is jesus our priority if we're seeking to know him and enjoy him here 00:39:34.119 --> 00:39:40.179 does that even does that reflect what we look is that reflected in our actual weekly schedules 00:39:40.179 --> 00:39:45.480 do we spend that time with him and i'm not saying you need to force yourself to have your 10 minutes 00:39:45.480 --> 00:39:49.799 of quiet time three minutes of which are you just kind of just thinking about your work stuff anyway 00:39:49.800 --> 00:39:56.480 is there more to it how do you seek to know him and enjoy him and i think also everyone is different 00:39:56.480 --> 00:40:01.500 everyone is different just like we're doing pre-marriage counseling with a couple of couples 00:40:01.500 --> 00:40:07.000 here and we we often we there's things to talk about which is love languages right everyone receives 00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:13.000 love different everyone gives love in a different way right and christina and we are very different so 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:16.900 when we started dating i was actually working in footlocker at the time and of course you guys know 00:40:16.900 --> 00:40:24.920 that i have a sneaker problem i mean that's i had a sneaker problem um but uh one of the ways that i 00:40:24.920 --> 00:40:31.720 expressed love to christina was to buy her shoes right just so she'll have she has like so many pairs 00:40:31.720 --> 00:40:36.180 of air force ones just all she never wears any of them and i'm like what are you doing this is my way 00:40:36.180 --> 00:40:42.460 of showing love to you and but that's not the way that she receives love and so we might look at 00:40:42.460 --> 00:40:46.079 someone else and go oh man that person seems so in love with jesus and i want to do the things that 00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:51.559 they're doing not recognizing that we might actually be different and you might be trying so hard doing 00:40:51.559 --> 00:40:57.380 one thing and actually you're just knocking on the wrong door right because we're all different but i 00:40:57.380 --> 00:41:00.920 think what i'll tell you one thing that is the same that is unanimous across the board we have to spend 00:41:00.920 --> 00:41:06.759 time if you don't spend time then it's over then then it doesn't matter it's what you do with that time 00:41:06.760 --> 00:41:15.260 i mean the the faith and art thing i personally will not be invited to uh because i don't have that 00:41:15.260 --> 00:41:20.160 kind of side in me and that's not the way that i connect with jesus but it might be yours what is it 00:41:20.160 --> 00:41:25.940 that you have to find that thing and for me that's been my journey i've got i've got to try and figure out 00:41:25.940 --> 00:41:31.760 how i can get to know him and enjoy him if you told me to do like spend two hours just painting 00:41:31.760 --> 00:41:38.100 to try and connect with the lord it won't end well but maybe for you that works maybe for you it's 00:41:38.100 --> 00:41:47.720 music maybe for you it is going hiking but one thing i will say is likely not this this thing here 00:41:47.720 --> 00:41:54.280 this thing here i know that we have there's really good apps that do really good things i'm not hating 00:41:54.280 --> 00:42:02.260 on any of those things but i would say this has single-handedly knelt the death blow to prayer 00:42:02.260 --> 00:42:08.680 and intimacy with god in these last two decades i don't know about it the same for you but it's 00:42:08.680 --> 00:42:15.440 definitely for me i that's why i'm convinced that i read my bible through this because this 00:42:15.440 --> 00:42:22.460 stops me because even if i'm looking at an app new version with that ugly icon holy bible 00:42:22.460 --> 00:42:29.260 as i'm looking at that there's notifications that pop up it doesn't even have to be notifications 00:42:29.260 --> 00:42:34.340 because there's nba games happening so i'm checking the scores for those uh and i know there's focus 00:42:34.340 --> 00:42:41.400 modes and all these things but this this stops me i don't know whether it stops you so i think there 00:42:41.400 --> 00:42:46.920 are different ways that we connect with god but there are some things that are across the board stopping 00:42:46.920 --> 00:42:52.200 as and this is one of those things figure out how to figure out how to spend time with god without 00:42:52.200 --> 00:42:59.220 this around figure out how to spend time with god without this around and if you think oh i don't 00:42:59.220 --> 00:43:02.860 know if i have a problem with my phone i know everyone's supposedly addicted well just just try 00:43:02.860 --> 00:43:07.500 next time you're on the mtr next time like how count how many seconds it takes before you reach for 00:43:07.500 --> 00:43:16.639 your phone uh just just try just walk and say oh actually here it is this is one of the things so 00:43:16.639 --> 00:43:20.860 how do we get out of this and i said last week nature nature is a huge thing when you go out and 00:43:20.860 --> 00:43:26.920 you see this world in the way that it was created the symphony that's happening around you because of 00:43:26.920 --> 00:43:31.039 all the trees and all the skies and the birds and the fish of the sea there's there's something 00:43:31.039 --> 00:43:35.360 beautiful about being in nature you don't have to hike if you're like me you don't like to hike 00:43:35.360 --> 00:43:40.640 then you can catch the bus up to the peak and then you can just do the whole thing there uh but 00:43:40.640 --> 00:43:43.800 there's something about being in nature that you pull yourself out of the current surroundings that 00:43:43.800 --> 00:43:51.059 you're in the concrete jungle that we live in take yourself away uh christine and i we for our 00:43:51.059 --> 00:43:56.900 anniversary we went to okinawa for our anniversary and it was just the most beautiful time and actually 00:43:56.900 --> 00:44:04.760 who's been to okinawa here some people such a calm beautiful place that doesn't seem to 00:44:04.760 --> 00:44:12.940 have the intense materialistic values of the city that we have here like the the cars there are just 00:44:12.940 --> 00:44:19.780 these simple like subaru minbaote and everything just seems to operate at a really slower calmer pace 00:44:19.780 --> 00:44:27.620 i come back here and i'm surrounded by things that i don't have surrounded by people that i want to 00:44:27.620 --> 00:44:33.400 meet things i need to do i think those run contrary to the way of jesus i think those run contrary to how 00:44:33.400 --> 00:44:39.840 they are not conducive to having a time where we can know and enjoy him and the hard thing is it's 00:44:39.840 --> 00:44:44.360 hard to do that on your own it's hard to pull yourself away from that schedule right but yeah 00:44:44.360 --> 00:44:49.660 it is so important so you know the organization i work for is called young life uh and we have a team 00:44:49.660 --> 00:44:54.860 of 15 staff that go out and go to schools and meet young people and university students aaron's the 00:44:54.860 --> 00:45:00.740 university director of that and something that we do is that once a month our staff on our own or with 00:45:00.739 --> 00:45:07.879 just one other person we go out and we spend that day with jesus together recognizing that's the most 00:45:07.879 --> 00:45:15.419 important thing and it and it's worth that day because if you have that time with jesus and your 00:45:15.419 --> 00:45:21.639 tank is full the other 29 days are good as a boss as an employer if i force you to work that extra day 00:45:21.639 --> 00:45:26.519 but actually your tank is completely empty i'll take five full healthy days over a whole month of 00:45:26.519 --> 00:45:34.519 emptiness and just dreariness spend that time away but hey that's that's me talking some of those some 00:45:34.519 --> 00:45:38.400 some of the things that i kind of put through but i actually wanted to bring someone up just to hear 00:45:38.400 --> 00:45:43.340 uh someone else and some of their thoughts about how they approach how do how do they know and enjoy 00:45:43.340 --> 00:45:48.280 him or how do they go on that journey to pursuing that to being in that place i want to bring florence up 00:45:48.280 --> 00:45:56.440 just for a second um uh round of applause for florence uh again i'm not i'm not saying i'm not 00:45:56.440 --> 00:46:01.000 saying that florence has it completely right and she's not saying that either but what i do sense in 00:46:01.000 --> 00:46:06.540 florence is actually just this eagerness and this diligence to want to try and i think that's probably 00:46:06.540 --> 00:46:12.340 even half the battle and so florence as i share about this how do you know and enjoy him and what are 00:46:12.340 --> 00:46:14.560 the things that you've tried that worked and what are the things that you try to have 00:46:14.559 --> 00:46:20.880 yeah i think um it goes back to when i was really young i think prayer is the first thing that i 00:46:20.880 --> 00:46:25.820 started with um as a little child i went to church and i think the first thing that they teach you is 00:46:25.820 --> 00:46:32.139 to pray and in those moments prayer to me is just calling out to god in the most extreme moments of 00:46:32.139 --> 00:46:37.460 distress um and just knowing that he's my father um actually because growing up was pretty hard for 00:46:37.460 --> 00:46:43.880 me and my family my mom had really severe depression and it was a really difficult home environment so 00:46:43.880 --> 00:46:50.559 i knew that god was my rock and my salvation and he would be there to just be for like be with me so 00:46:50.559 --> 00:46:55.960 i think prayer started then i knew that god was someone who i can depend on every time i prayed i 00:46:55.960 --> 00:47:03.320 sense him being with me and as i grew up i think prayer became more than just a thing that i would do 00:47:03.320 --> 00:47:09.200 in the times of stress i think it's like things that you can do regularly even in every single second so 00:47:09.199 --> 00:47:14.859 there was a point in time which is more radical than now when i would be on the mtr and i just like 00:47:14.859 --> 00:47:20.199 put my headphones in listen to worship music and pray out loud it would be pretty weird because then 00:47:20.199 --> 00:47:24.480 i know this because then my friend told me later on she's like oh i saw you talking to yourself 00:47:24.480 --> 00:47:32.299 are you okay and i'm like yeah i was talking to god but i think but it's just the show um that prayer 00:47:32.299 --> 00:47:36.419 doesn't have to be in a time and place where you're just sat down with your bible in front of you 00:47:36.420 --> 00:47:40.519 it can be anywhere it can be in your heart you don't have to pray out loud but i think inviting 00:47:40.519 --> 00:47:45.619 jesus into every single moment even short prayer it's like oh give me like james was saying right 00:47:45.619 --> 00:47:50.720 with your boss if they're being really difficult just ask god to give me your heart give me your 00:47:50.720 --> 00:47:54.240 eyes to see just like something short like that and just to have him there i think that's like 00:47:54.240 --> 00:47:59.500 one way to know him and to know what to pray for obviously is to then like delve into his words not 00:47:59.500 --> 00:48:05.659 something that i particularly loved growing up my mom would force me to read the bible every single 00:48:05.659 --> 00:48:10.139 day and i don't think any of that stuck but i think as i just got to know god either through 00:48:10.139 --> 00:48:17.839 community and just to know the importance of yeah he left this book for us the word the words there 00:48:17.839 --> 00:48:22.679 every time you read it actually there's something different as the spirit reveals more to you so i 00:48:22.679 --> 00:48:28.599 think yeah just like understanding that and seeing that come to life and how that applies to every single 00:48:28.599 --> 00:48:35.159 part of your life um and then having prayer connect that so through reading his word as well and falling 00:48:35.159 --> 00:48:41.000 in love with that not um sometimes it's easier to start in the easier parts of scripture not 00:48:41.000 --> 00:48:47.159 everybody should always start from numbers or deuteronomy but yeah it's a it's a whole journey and i think 00:48:47.159 --> 00:48:54.839 nature um i'm someone who loves to explore and to like do really random crazy stuff so um i think there 00:48:54.839 --> 00:49:02.279 was this one time when i just biked from yunlong to mawanshan and then to some thing to like 00:49:02.280 --> 00:49:08.040 set moon or something yeah right across it was 100k and then i just like kept listening to 00:49:08.120 --> 00:49:12.820 scripture along the way but i think one thing is just as i was biking i was just like realizing how 00:49:12.820 --> 00:49:18.640 how grateful i was for the body that i have you know that god created us to have muscles that can do 00:49:18.640 --> 00:49:23.800 this kind of thing and god gave us intelligence as humans to create the bike that we can move so much 00:49:23.800 --> 00:49:29.620 faster than walking and then and yeah and just like and to look at the nature and the scenery that's all 00:49:29.620 --> 00:49:36.140 around me so just like hiking or scuba diving and stuff like that i think you just sense it's it's 00:49:36.140 --> 00:49:42.720 pretty crazy you can't just burst out from a rock or have a bunch of atoms clash together and suddenly 00:49:42.720 --> 00:49:48.100 this is it so i think it's just seeing god everywhere i got one quick question for you 00:49:48.099 --> 00:49:53.759 you florence is actually one of the people who i would say uh is a for me a symbol of all the good 00:49:53.759 --> 00:49:58.119 things that can happen in a city like hong kong a young person who loves the lord who is you're 00:49:58.119 --> 00:50:04.539 probably one of the busiest people i know right julian's just like yep yeah um and she obviously 00:50:04.539 --> 00:50:10.599 she's a dentist uh she was doing the hku fellowships back then and then you not only were you studying 00:50:10.599 --> 00:50:16.059 dentistry and becoming a dentist you you also founded your own ngo uh that then worked to teach 00:50:16.059 --> 00:50:20.440 cantonese to ethnic minorities and you did all these things and of course in a city that's just 00:50:20.440 --> 00:50:25.639 constantly busy with all the things vying for your attention and actually even yourself with the 00:50:25.639 --> 00:50:34.599 attention issue like can i say that yeah i mean you have adhd uh no seriously and so you say it so 00:50:34.599 --> 00:50:39.000 casually oh yeah it's all just praying and reading the bible all right for those of us who don't have 00:50:39.000 --> 00:50:44.179 adhd that's hard right so how do you do it what are what are some like tips that you've had over the 00:50:44.179 --> 00:50:48.599 years where like even everything that you've got going on you somehow still read the bible and pray 00:50:48.599 --> 00:50:55.919 what's the what's the secret i think it's not easy i think one is habit like setting that that time 00:50:55.919 --> 00:51:01.359 um for me it was the bus ride to work or to school so just any time that i can find that i'm sure i'll 00:51:01.359 --> 00:51:06.980 be like still in some sort of way and to and to start small as well i think for me sometimes if i'm 00:51:06.980 --> 00:51:11.779 exhausted right there's no way i can read a whole thing so just reading something super tiny but i think 00:51:11.780 --> 00:51:16.900 ultimately it comes from just i think yeah cultivating that desire to connect with god 00:51:16.900 --> 00:51:21.480 um and to enjoy him and to just like really enjoy spending that time with him just like how you 00:51:21.480 --> 00:51:25.280 would look forward to like a really good meal or look forward to meeting your best friend or whatever 00:51:25.280 --> 00:51:29.740 right i think it's just to once you know god a little bit more starting out super small find ways 00:51:29.740 --> 00:51:33.800 to connect with him more and as you know him more then you would fall more in love with him 00:51:33.800 --> 00:51:36.280 thank you round of applause for florence 00:51:36.280 --> 00:51:43.440 and on another on that note actually this is where i want to conclude because we have the pleasure 00:51:43.440 --> 00:51:47.140 actually we had on monday night we had florence and julian and we had aiden and erica at us 00:51:47.140 --> 00:51:51.460 uh doing pre-marriage counseling as both these lovely couples are getting married in the next few months 00:51:51.460 --> 00:51:56.180 and this ties in with my last point here why do you do all these things why are we seeking to 00:51:56.180 --> 00:52:01.980 know him and enjoy him because all of it is actually a precursor to him coming back actually why are we 00:52:01.980 --> 00:52:06.860 seeking to know him and enjoy him now because we're looking forward to the day where we get to do this 00:52:06.860 --> 00:52:13.940 unhindered unrestricted without tears and without pain and knowing that he returns for good 00:52:13.940 --> 00:52:19.780 that's what we're looking forward to and this is where hebrews 10 25 says don't neglect to meet 00:52:19.780 --> 00:52:25.639 together don't meet and this is where covid dealt a huge blow to the church because it just stopped us 00:52:25.639 --> 00:52:30.079 from meeting because when we stopped meeting we thought that we could do it on our own only to find 00:52:30.079 --> 00:52:35.099 out later that we can't do it on our own because as hebrews 10 says don't neglect to meet one another 00:52:35.099 --> 00:52:41.799 to stir each other up in love and good works encouraging each other as the day draws near 00:52:41.799 --> 00:52:50.639 i need you so that i can keep my eyes on his return soon because if i'm just on me if i'm just me i'm 00:52:50.639 --> 00:52:56.980 just stuck in this little bubble here i need you to point me to him that's why we do it together 00:52:56.980 --> 00:53:03.559 okay and that's why we as we gather that's the hope that we are pointing each other to live for 00:53:03.559 --> 00:53:05.840 eternity and not just for monday 00:53:05.840 --> 00:53:07.840 you