WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.400 He was so excited because he'd managed to secure one ticket to the Cup Final. 00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:14.500 ! Always had longed to go. 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:30.500 And yet he knew that although he was very, very lucky to get hold of what he believed to possibly be the last remaining ticket to that game, it was probably about the worst seat in the entire stadium. 00:00:30.500 --> 00:00:43.500 He arrived, he'd made his way up the steps and got higher and higher and higher and higher and further and back and further and back and further and back and further and back until eventually he was standing there right at the very back, at the very top, 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:53.799 thinking to himself, I couldn't be any further away from all of the action from this, probably about the worst view in the place, but nevertheless, I'm here. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:05.819 But about 15, 20 minutes into the game, this guy noticed that right down at the very front, there appeared to be an empty seat. 00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:15.459 Nobody seemed to be making their way as a late arrival to that seat. Eventually it got to half time. 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:21.659 And the man thought to himself, I'm going to make my way down there. 00:01:22.919 --> 00:01:27.159 Just on the off chance that seat could be mine. 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:35.679 Well, eventually, and it took him ages, but he managed to get there and spoke to one person and said, do you know anything about this empty seat? 00:01:35.759 --> 00:01:36.640 And they just shook their head. 00:01:37.179 --> 00:01:41.120 Went to the next guy next to him and said, do you know anything about this? Is this an empty seat? 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:43.579 He said, yes, it is indeed. Nobody's sitting there. 00:01:44.199 --> 00:01:45.840 In fact, I bought the ticket. 00:01:47.340 --> 00:01:48.519 He said, this is the cup final. 00:01:49.299 --> 00:01:51.979 And you've got a ticket for yourself and an empty seat. 00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:54.759 He said, well, there's a story behind it. 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:58.780 He said, all my life I'd wanted to come to this game as well. 00:02:00.180 --> 00:02:05.780 My wife, who absolutely hates it, I insisted that I got a ticket for her as well. 00:02:06.020 --> 00:02:07.219 So she was going to join me. 00:02:08.200 --> 00:02:10.840 But sadly, very recently, she passed away. 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:15.280 The other guy didn't quite know what to say. 00:02:15.460 --> 00:02:17.300 He said, well, that's really, really sad. 00:02:18.099 --> 00:02:19.680 But you decided to come anyway. 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:21.460 He said, I decided to come anyway. 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:26.260 It's what she would have wanted, even though she couldn't bear coming to things like this. 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:34.379 He said, well, sorry, it's not my business, but could someone else have not come with you? 00:02:34.420 --> 00:02:36.120 A friend or a family member? 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:38.219 He said, well, no. 00:02:39.379 --> 00:02:40.520 They're all at the funeral. 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:51.800 I don't think that one's a true story. 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:58.060 But let me put this question to you, and it's a serious, genuine one. 00:02:58.060 --> 00:03:11.759 Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you've been presented with a situation, a set of circumstances, and frankly, you've been lost for words? 00:03:12.620 --> 00:03:17.900 Because the situation that you're being presented with is frankly terrible. 00:03:18.699 --> 00:03:19.560 It's outrageous. 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:28.379 And inside, you're thinking, I feel I should say something here, but I don't really know that it's my place to challenge it. 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:30.759 Have you ever been in that situation? 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:37.920 That's Paul as he writes these words to the Ephesians. 00:03:39.980 --> 00:03:40.719 Wake up. 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:44.140 We would probably say, wake up and smell the coffee. 00:03:44.139 --> 00:03:49.179 Paul says, wake up, oh sleeper. 00:03:50.399 --> 00:03:51.359 Rise from the dead. 00:03:52.819 --> 00:03:55.139 Christ will shine on you. 00:03:57.219 --> 00:04:01.719 Paul does not begin by talking about discipleship lifestyle. 00:04:02.279 --> 00:04:03.599 That's not his starting point. 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:08.719 The first few chapters of Ephesians, he's unpacking what God has done for you. 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:17.240 And he sets out in a systematic way how amazing God is, what Christ has done for us. 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:21.060 All that there is to be thankful to God for. 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:30.480 And it takes him several chapters before he gets to the end of laying that as the core upon which everything else is based. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:42.740 Paul knew that the call to discipleship is not just, well, you've got to do this and you've got to do that and you've got to do this and you've got to do that. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:48.759 But rather, it begins and indeed ends with knowing the resurrection power of Christ. 00:04:48.759 --> 00:05:00.199 And once you know that, and only when that has been laid out as the core, then on that core will he set out what Christian lifestyle looks like. 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:07.000 And so, there is this call to walk in the light. 00:05:09.099 --> 00:05:12.599 You were in darkness, but now you're in the light. 00:05:12.659 --> 00:05:13.939 In fact, he says even more than that. 00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:15.839 He doesn't even say you were in the darkness. 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:21.699 He said, now you have come to Christ, you were darkness, now you are light. 00:05:24.259 --> 00:05:25.379 So, wake up. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:34.639 So, what is Paul specifically saying that we've got to wake up from? 00:05:36.579 --> 00:05:42.019 Well, we need to just go back slightly into Ephesians, into the verses that precede the ones that we've just read. 00:05:42.019 --> 00:05:48.439 Let's have it on the screen, because in Ephesians, in verse 3 of this passage, he says, 00:05:49.779 --> 00:06:02.639 Among you, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity or of greed. 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:11.240 There are, I dare say, other things that could be highlighted, but those are the two that Paul singles out. 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:15.919 Attitudes to sex and to money. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:22.740 2,000 years later, how much has changed in the Western church? 00:06:22.740 --> 00:06:28.079 Now, I don't want to spend too long on this, but I think it's worth noting. 00:06:28.699 --> 00:06:32.100 Because this is what Paul is speaking into and saying, you've got to wake up, guys. 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:35.740 The first is this. 00:06:37.840 --> 00:06:42.680 Among you, there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality. 00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:45.319 Look, the Bible's quite clear. 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:50.579 Sex is a gift from God, the most precious gift. 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:59.939 And God wants us to enjoy that which is a special gift in the way that it's intended. 00:07:02.620 --> 00:07:05.039 Marriage between one man and one woman. 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:11.060 And Paul knew, and his readers knew, that anything that is outside of that 00:07:11.060 --> 00:07:19.340 doesn't match the standard that God wants for us, for it to be the very best for us to live life fully. 00:07:21.460 --> 00:07:23.600 And there's no room for compromise here. 00:07:23.640 --> 00:07:27.500 As Paul says, let there not be even a hint of anything else. 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:29.460 Now, look. 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:32.320 We're all broken beings. 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:34.000 We get it wrong. 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:35.279 We make mistakes. 00:07:36.579 --> 00:07:43.779 And as Paul says this, I hear him not as somebody trying to rub people's faces in a sense of a guilt trip. 00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:49.319 He's calling people out. 00:07:50.899 --> 00:07:53.420 But in order to call people back. 00:07:55.699 --> 00:07:58.379 And that we need to understand really clearly. 00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:00.500 We get it wrong. 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:02.339 As human beings, we're broken. 00:08:02.500 --> 00:08:03.180 We mess up. 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:07.220 And when we come back to him, there is always room to be restored. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:11.220 But Paul's message is that you need to make your mind up. 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:12.819 Do you want to be restored? 00:08:14.259 --> 00:08:15.660 Wake up, oh sleeper. 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:21.360 There must not be among you the slightest hint of sexual immorality. 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:26.420 The second thing that Paul mentions in that very short sentence there 00:08:26.420 --> 00:08:29.100 is greed. 00:08:29.100 --> 00:08:29.180 Greed. 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:35.620 Our attitudes towards money. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:40.360 Which again, money is not in itself a bad thing. 00:08:40.420 --> 00:08:41.680 It can be a really good thing. 00:08:42.759 --> 00:08:47.420 But the thing that Paul is calling out is our attitudes to money. 00:08:47.419 --> 00:08:52.879 We've been talking as a church a lot about money recently. 00:08:53.099 --> 00:08:55.000 About how we need to raise funds. 00:08:55.099 --> 00:08:55.419 We do. 00:08:56.620 --> 00:08:59.559 You know, I need to say this really clear and openly. 00:08:59.839 --> 00:09:04.459 As a minister, I never have and never will know who gives what. 00:09:04.460 --> 00:09:06.160 I don't want to know. 00:09:08.340 --> 00:09:12.660 Because I don't know, it means I can talk about it openly and freely, 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:17.780 safe in the knowledge that nobody will ever know that I'm singling anybody out. 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:18.300 Because I'm not. 00:09:18.379 --> 00:09:19.759 Because I don't know what everyone gives. 00:09:21.620 --> 00:09:24.000 But I do know as a church that we struggle. 00:09:25.639 --> 00:09:30.460 I know there is a tremendous amount of generosity within our church. 00:09:30.560 --> 00:09:31.040 There is. 00:09:32.180 --> 00:09:33.759 That's undeniably the case. 00:09:34.460 --> 00:09:39.720 But I also know that we struggle. 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:47.060 To raise funds with a church as big as we are in a town as affluent as this. 00:09:47.280 --> 00:09:48.820 That should never be the case. 00:09:51.680 --> 00:09:55.940 Now I'm able to say this because I don't know who gives what. 00:09:59.060 --> 00:10:02.980 And I'm not going to say God knows what each of us gives. 00:10:03.040 --> 00:10:03.680 Of course he does. 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:04.859 That's not my point. 00:10:06.719 --> 00:10:10.739 The point is, you will know what you give. 00:10:12.099 --> 00:10:13.419 And what you don't give. 00:10:13.419 --> 00:10:30.159 When we talk about money in church, it's important that we're clear about what we need to raise in order to pay our bills. 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:35.319 But if that's the only thing we emphasize, we really miss the point. 00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:42.379 Because giving is not so much about fundraising as important as that is as a practical issue. 00:10:42.379 --> 00:10:43.379 It's not so much about our relationship. 00:10:43.379 --> 00:10:47.220 It's not so much about our relationship with God. 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:57.080 It's about how we serve with him and how we trust him with what he entrusts with us. 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:03.960 And when Paul writes to the church in Ephesus and says, you know, there are certain things. 00:11:04.139 --> 00:11:08.740 There must not be a hint of sexual immorality and there must not be a hint of greed either. 00:11:08.740 --> 00:11:18.100 I don't think so much, although there would be a practical issue in the early churches as much as it is today, that funds need to be raised. 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:20.720 Because that's not the most fundamental thing. 00:11:21.940 --> 00:11:32.700 The most fundamental thing is our relationship with God and how we trust or don't trust him with what we have and what we don't have. 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:43.320 With the things that make us feel secure and whether we will allow those to get in the way of the dependency that we place on him first and last. 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:50.760 When the Holy Spirit works in us, generally speaking, it doesn't all happen in one go. 00:11:51.300 --> 00:11:52.500 It's a lifelong process. 00:11:52.980 --> 00:11:54.920 The theological word for that is sanctification. 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:59.020 You come to Jesus, you're accepted as you are completely. 00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:02.660 Then the work really begins. 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:05.540 Throughout our whole lives, the Holy Spirit is at work in us. 00:12:05.680 --> 00:12:10.460 Always, always calling us into greater depths of encounter with him. 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:17.139 And the amazing thing about being a Christian is it doesn't just stop at the point of when you come to Jesus, whether that's a sudden or a gradual thing. 00:12:17.920 --> 00:12:25.720 It's a lifelong process of being filled and go on being filled, as Paul writes here in the present continuous tense. 00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:26.720 Be being filled. 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:28.540 Keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:38.519 As that happens, he makes us and shapes us more and more into the human beings that can live more and more fully as he wants us to. 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:39.879 And that's so exciting. 00:12:40.439 --> 00:12:43.980 Every day you can know God more fully than you knew him the day before. 00:12:45.439 --> 00:12:49.740 As his Holy Spirit grows the fruit of the Spirit in you. 00:12:52.079 --> 00:12:55.539 And as this is a process, so it doesn't all happen at once. 00:12:56.340 --> 00:13:04.679 But I notice that there is a pattern time and time again that the Holy Spirit will transform our minds, will transform our hearts, will transform our lifestyle. 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:12.399 But the very, very last bit frequently that the Holy Spirit gets to is our bank accounts. 00:13:18.779 --> 00:13:20.079 Wake up, says Paul. 00:13:21.239 --> 00:13:22.319 Rise from the dead. 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:24.759 And Christ will shine on you. 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:33.759 Because his Holy Spirit wants to, the Holy Spirit of God wants to move in our lives to the deepest parts of us. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:47.980 And it's only when sometimes we have to lay certain things down, certain securities, certain competing things that we would otherwise lay our securities in. 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:52.460 Only when we lay those things down can we make space for God. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:01.340 This summer, Tamara and I did something we'd been longing to do for a long time. 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:04.279 We walked some of the southwest coast path. 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:06.399 We didn't do loads of it. 00:14:06.580 --> 00:14:08.420 We did it over about five days. 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:11.060 We're not fitness fanatics. 00:14:11.059 --> 00:14:14.439 So we didn't do massive, impressive miles at great speed. 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:15.719 And we didn't camp. 00:14:15.859 --> 00:14:16.899 We went for bed and breakfast. 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:20.239 So we're not sort of hiking heroes or anything like that. 00:14:20.479 --> 00:14:21.439 But it was great fun. 00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:26.619 But for ages we've been planning for this and getting all this stuff, the kit and everything like that. 00:14:26.719 --> 00:14:27.099 We thought we needed. 00:14:27.199 --> 00:14:28.759 Tamara's parents lived down in Cornwall. 00:14:29.079 --> 00:14:32.859 So we loaded up a car with all the stuff, including our rucksacks, 00:14:32.939 --> 00:14:34.919 because we knew that we would still need to take backpacks, 00:14:35.059 --> 00:14:38.279 even though we were still staying in B&Bs. 00:14:38.279 --> 00:14:41.379 And we put it in the car. 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:46.980 And then we'll make a decision on exactly what goes in those rucksacks 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:50.659 and what doesn't on the actual day that we begin the walk. 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:51.720 So we drove down to Cornwall. 00:14:51.819 --> 00:14:53.360 We spent the first night at Tamara's parents. 00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:57.120 And then we decided what we were going to pack into our backpacks. 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:00.240 We'd already put quite a few things in. 00:15:01.100 --> 00:15:05.939 And we realised there was absolutely no way we were going to fit everything 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:09.140 that we had thought of in those rucksacks. 00:15:11.060 --> 00:15:13.720 Decisions had to be made what was going to come out. 00:15:15.580 --> 00:15:19.020 You see, the one thing, and it's quite a boring thing actually, 00:15:19.160 --> 00:15:22.060 but the one thing that we had to make sure that we had, 00:15:22.160 --> 00:15:25.720 because it was hot, was water. 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:30.759 Particularly if you weren't going to actually be stopping off anywhere 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:33.180 during the course of that day where you could get some. 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:37.840 So out had to come that extra T-shirt. 00:15:38.740 --> 00:15:41.519 Out had to come that extra spare pair of socks. 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:43.639 Out had to come this, that and the other 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:47.580 to make sure that we had the water that was needed. 00:15:47.580 --> 00:15:52.720 You can see where this is going. 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.639 When we take a hard, honest look at our lives, 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:00.100 the things that we cling to, 00:16:01.800 --> 00:16:04.139 there may be things that we have to pull out 00:16:04.139 --> 00:16:06.420 to travel more lightly 00:16:06.420 --> 00:16:10.180 in order to make room 00:16:10.180 --> 00:16:13.820 for a higher level of security on God. 00:16:13.820 --> 00:16:18.100 Look, it's not a contractual exchange. 00:16:18.800 --> 00:16:21.160 It's not like you give this amount to God 00:16:21.160 --> 00:16:22.780 and then he will give you an awful lot more. 00:16:22.820 --> 00:16:23.879 It doesn't work like that. 00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:24.780 God's a God of grace. 00:16:27.420 --> 00:16:30.860 But there is this complexity about us as human beings 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:33.160 that the more we cling to other things, 00:16:33.160 --> 00:16:35.560 the less we are able to cling to God. 00:16:37.800 --> 00:16:40.140 And we have to make that space for him. 00:16:43.820 --> 00:16:47.540 And when we do, it can be painful. 00:16:48.800 --> 00:16:51.379 When we lay down and let go of those things 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:54.040 that we would cling to that make us feel safe and secure. 00:16:54.280 --> 00:16:56.760 But when we lay those things down, God is faithful. 00:17:00.280 --> 00:17:04.120 So what might God be saying to you at this time 00:17:04.120 --> 00:17:10.080 to unpack, to let go of, 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:13.639 knowing that the one thing that you do need 00:17:13.639 --> 00:17:15.980 is his living water, 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:18.379 his Holy Spirit. 00:17:21.579 --> 00:17:23.279 And let's be really clear 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:25.980 as to just how amazing this is 00:17:25.980 --> 00:17:29.480 that God does not want to withhold from us. 00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:33.399 You see, when you follow Jesus, 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:35.879 when the Holy Spirit of God comes into your life, 00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:41.980 you don't just sign up to a set of different convictions, 00:17:42.280 --> 00:17:43.120 a new philosophy, 00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:46.200 you know, a code of ethics 00:17:46.200 --> 00:17:47.960 or a set of doctrines, 00:17:48.040 --> 00:17:49.660 although those things will be involved. 00:17:49.780 --> 00:17:52.120 But that's not principally what it is. 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:54.320 When you worship God, 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:57.840 it's not just a human activity that's taking place. 00:17:58.380 --> 00:18:00.260 When you lay things down, 00:18:01.180 --> 00:18:02.440 when you let go of things 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:04.120 and make more space for God, 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:06.580 something supernatural takes place. 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:12.820 Can we have 1 Corinthians chapter 6 up on the screen? 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:15.580 Paul writes this, 00:18:15.579 --> 00:18:19.460 Do you not know that your bodies 00:18:19.460 --> 00:18:21.179 are temples of the Holy Spirit 00:18:21.179 --> 00:18:22.899 who is in you, 00:18:23.579 --> 00:18:25.179 whom you have received from God? 00:18:26.859 --> 00:18:28.559 You see, when you follow Jesus, 00:18:29.919 --> 00:18:31.659 God's not just with you, 00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:32.480 although he is. 00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:35.259 He doesn't just go before you, 00:18:35.339 --> 00:18:35.980 although he does. 00:18:37.159 --> 00:18:38.879 He's not just around about you, 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:40.099 although he is all of that. 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:43.159 He's in you. 00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:47.680 The author of the universe 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:49.300 takes up residence 00:18:49.300 --> 00:18:51.160 in your body. 00:18:56.759 --> 00:19:00.120 Why would we not want to make more space for that? 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:04.759 But the second piece of scripture 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:06.840 that I'd like to share with you 00:19:06.840 --> 00:19:07.800 comes from Hebrews, 00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:11.359 which tells us that 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:13.659 actually when you worship God, 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:16.019 you are surrounded by thousands 00:19:16.019 --> 00:19:18.680 and thousands of angels 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:20.379 and the very presence of God. 00:19:22.819 --> 00:19:24.019 In Hebrews it says, 00:19:24.099 --> 00:19:25.619 in Hebrews 12 it says this, 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:27.779 But you have come to Mount Zion 00:19:27.779 --> 00:19:29.619 to the city of the living God, 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:31.500 the heavenly Jerusalem. 00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:34.000 You have come to thousands 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:35.940 upon thousands of angels 00:19:35.940 --> 00:19:37.100 in joyful assembly. 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:39.980 To the church of the firstborn 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:41.980 whose names are written in heaven, 00:19:42.360 --> 00:19:43.880 you have come to God. 00:19:46.320 --> 00:19:47.320 Shortly we're going to be 00:19:47.320 --> 00:19:48.360 in Advent 00:19:48.360 --> 00:19:50.420 and reading all the Christmas story 00:19:50.420 --> 00:19:51.860 and we'll talk about angels 00:19:51.860 --> 00:19:53.160 and when you think about angels, 00:19:53.620 --> 00:19:55.380 you probably think of nativity plays 00:19:55.380 --> 00:19:56.600 with tinsel 00:19:56.600 --> 00:19:57.779 and those kind of wings 00:19:57.779 --> 00:19:58.519 and, you know, 00:19:58.620 --> 00:19:59.039 nighties 00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:00.080 and all those kind of things. 00:20:00.220 --> 00:20:01.779 But seriously, 00:20:01.779 --> 00:20:05.200 if you just saw one angel, 00:20:06.440 --> 00:20:08.039 you'd probably be quite terrified. 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:09.259 It would be a big deal. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:13.440 But here we have Hebrews telling us 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:14.720 that every time, 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:17.079 every time you engage in worship, 00:20:17.339 --> 00:20:19.480 you're not just getting religious. 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:22.460 You're not just doing a human thing. 00:20:23.619 --> 00:20:25.579 Whenever you worship God, 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:28.039 you come into the presence 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:29.279 of thousands 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:31.139 upon thousands 00:20:31.139 --> 00:20:32.099 of angels. 00:20:33.539 --> 00:20:34.779 And that can be here 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:36.059 when you're gathered in church. 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:37.980 It can be when you're at home. 00:20:38.259 --> 00:20:39.779 It can be when you are out 00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:41.019 on a walk. 00:20:41.259 --> 00:20:42.839 It can be any time 00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:44.119 and any place. 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:46.680 But when you confess 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:48.019 Jesus is Lord 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:49.539 and you come to him in worship, 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:51.000 you are surrounded 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:52.039 by thousands 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:53.680 and thousands of angels 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:55.799 and most importantly, 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:56.559 the presence 00:20:56.559 --> 00:20:57.720 of the living God 00:20:57.720 --> 00:20:59.480 who, as we've just read 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:00.279 by his spirit, 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:03.440 lives in you. 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:07.819 Isn't that worth 00:21:07.819 --> 00:21:08.940 making space for? 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:11.579 Isn't that worth 00:21:11.579 --> 00:21:13.139 letting go of other stuff? 00:21:14.619 --> 00:21:16.180 We can understand 00:21:16.180 --> 00:21:17.539 just why it is 00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:18.819 that Paul writes, 00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:20.159 wake up, 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:22.220 rise from the dead 00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:24.460 and let Christ shine 00:21:24.460 --> 00:21:25.839 on you. 00:21:27.140 --> 00:21:28.440 One last image 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:30.019 as we come to pray. 00:21:30.940 --> 00:21:32.299 I've got a glass 00:21:32.299 --> 00:21:37.120 of water. 00:21:45.860 --> 00:21:47.079 In that glass is 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:49.220 just water up to that level. 00:21:49.220 --> 00:21:51.799 Jane, could you just 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:52.920 nudge my hand 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:53.700 gently? 00:21:54.940 --> 00:21:55.600 Nudge my hand. 00:21:55.660 --> 00:21:56.360 Give it a bit of a knock. 00:21:56.579 --> 00:21:56.960 A bit more. 00:21:57.140 --> 00:21:57.720 Just give it a knock 00:21:57.720 --> 00:21:57.960 my hand. 00:21:58.100 --> 00:21:58.480 A bit more. 00:22:01.819 --> 00:22:02.799 What spills out? 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:07.180 It's not a rhetorical question. 00:22:07.299 --> 00:22:08.019 What spills out? 00:22:08.660 --> 00:22:09.019 Water. 00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:10.880 If it was a cup of tea, 00:22:11.019 --> 00:22:11.920 what spills out? 00:22:12.299 --> 00:22:13.400 If it was a cup of coffee, 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:14.240 what spills out? 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:16.000 If it was a glass of milk, 00:22:16.120 --> 00:22:16.819 what spills out? 00:22:16.819 --> 00:22:17.220 Milk. 00:22:19.220 --> 00:22:21.180 Whatever fills that vessel 00:22:21.180 --> 00:22:22.600 will be what spills out 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:23.720 when it takes the nudge. 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:26.660 Now what fills you? 00:22:32.380 --> 00:22:33.120 Let's pray. 00:22:43.120 --> 00:22:44.000 Lord God, 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:45.339 we thank you 00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:46.880 that you don't just 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:48.420 call us to follow you, 00:22:48.420 --> 00:22:50.880 you don't just 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:52.380 call us to 00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:54.019 believe in you. 00:22:56.019 --> 00:22:57.240 You call us 00:22:57.240 --> 00:22:58.140 and invite us 00:22:58.140 --> 00:22:59.120 to be filled 00:22:59.120 --> 00:23:00.380 with your spirit 00:23:00.380 --> 00:23:02.640 and to go on 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:03.539 being filled 00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:05.060 more and more 00:23:05.060 --> 00:23:05.759 and more 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:06.920 every day. 00:23:10.860 --> 00:23:11.380 Lord, 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:12.820 we confess to you 00:23:12.820 --> 00:23:13.519 the ways 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:14.360 in which 00:23:14.360 --> 00:23:16.019 we fill our lives 00:23:16.019 --> 00:23:17.039 with other things. 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:19.119 and because 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:19.819 we're all 00:23:19.819 --> 00:23:20.460 human, 00:23:21.180 --> 00:23:22.200 every single one 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:22.720 of us 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:23.779 will be guilty 00:23:23.779 --> 00:23:24.240 of that. 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:26.639 And each of us 00:23:26.639 --> 00:23:27.500 will be probably 00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:28.399 slightly different 00:23:28.399 --> 00:23:29.579 as to what it is 00:23:29.579 --> 00:23:29.980 that we 00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:31.319 fill our lives 00:23:31.319 --> 00:23:31.700 with, 00:23:32.099 --> 00:23:32.500 but Lord, 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:33.420 we bring that 00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:34.079 before you, 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:34.799 we lay it 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:35.379 before you 00:23:35.379 --> 00:23:36.059 and we confess 00:23:36.059 --> 00:23:37.059 it to you now. 00:23:37.059 --> 00:23:44.700 Lord, 00:23:44.759 --> 00:23:45.339 as we confess 00:23:45.339 --> 00:23:46.159 it to you, 00:23:47.579 --> 00:23:49.099 firstly, 00:23:49.259 --> 00:23:49.940 thank you 00:23:49.940 --> 00:23:50.460 that we can 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:50.980 know that we 00:23:50.980 --> 00:23:51.519 are forgiven. 00:23:54.899 --> 00:23:55.339 Secondly, 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:56.379 we ask that you 00:23:56.379 --> 00:23:56.859 would give us 00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:57.419 the courage 00:23:57.419 --> 00:23:58.099 to be able 00:23:58.099 --> 00:23:58.859 to lay 00:23:58.859 --> 00:23:59.919 things down, 00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:03.179 whatever those 00:24:03.179 --> 00:24:04.079 things may be, 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:06.799 to let go 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:07.579 and to let you, 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:10.179 to make space 00:24:10.179 --> 00:24:11.359 for your Holy Spirit, 00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:14.879 to wake up 00:24:14.879 --> 00:24:15.939 and to rise 00:24:15.939 --> 00:24:16.579 from the dead 00:24:16.579 --> 00:24:17.399 that you 00:24:17.399 --> 00:24:18.299 would shine 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:19.119 on us. 00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:23.899 Holy Spirit, 00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:24.939 would you fill us 00:24:24.939 --> 00:24:27.779 and go on 00:24:27.779 --> 00:24:28.500 filling us 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:30.539 that you 00:24:30.539 --> 00:24:31.240 would shape 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:33.359 and form us 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:34.519 into the people 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:35.319 that you 00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:36.279 want us 00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:36.819 to be. 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:41.460 Grow your 00:24:41.460 --> 00:24:42.559 spiritual fruit, 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:43.480 the fruit of the 00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:43.859 Spirit, 00:24:44.779 --> 00:24:45.799 in our lives. 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:52.960 Make us 00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:54.400 more Jesus-shaped. 00:24:58.500 --> 00:24:59.140 Lord, 00:24:59.140 --> 00:25:00.380 and we come 00:25:00.380 --> 00:25:00.839 before you 00:25:00.839 --> 00:25:01.380 in worship 00:25:01.380 --> 00:25:02.160 that we know 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:04.500 that you 00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:05.160 actually dwell 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:05.779 in us 00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:06.740 by your Spirit 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:09.180 and that we 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:10.059 approach your 00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:11.160 throne of grace 00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:12.420 surrounded by 00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:13.539 thousands and 00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:14.380 thousands of 00:25:14.380 --> 00:25:14.779 angels 00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:18.519 and most 00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:19.039 importantly, 00:25:19.180 --> 00:25:19.740 your living 00:25:19.740 --> 00:25:20.420 presence. 00:25:26.019 --> 00:25:26.740 Lord, 00:25:26.819 --> 00:25:27.599 in this 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:28.059 moment, 00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:29.199 move among 00:25:29.199 --> 00:25:29.679 us in 00:25:29.679 --> 00:25:30.379 your Spirit. 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:36.159 Go on 00:25:36.159 --> 00:25:36.879 filling us. 00:25:38.879 --> 00:25:39.879 Each day, 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:41.079 give us the 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:41.719 courage to 00:25:41.719 --> 00:25:42.339 lay things 00:25:42.339 --> 00:25:42.740 down, 00:25:43.419 --> 00:25:44.159 to be filled 00:25:44.159 --> 00:25:44.619 more with 00:25:44.619 --> 00:25:44.859 you. 00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:47.500 Lay things 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:48.159 down and to 00:25:48.159 --> 00:25:48.799 be filled 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:49.419 with you. 00:25:51.139 --> 00:25:52.159 Lay things 00:25:52.159 --> 00:25:52.740 down and to 00:25:52.740 --> 00:25:53.359 be filled 00:25:53.359 --> 00:25:53.939 with you. 00:25:57.599 --> 00:26:10.679 Lord, 00:26:10.759 --> 00:26:11.240 make us 00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:11.959 enable us 00:26:11.959 --> 00:26:12.279 to make 00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:12.839 more room 00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:13.319 for you. 00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:17.500 As Advent 00:26:17.500 --> 00:26:18.099 approaches, 00:26:18.259 --> 00:26:18.639 as we 00:26:18.639 --> 00:26:19.199 begin to 00:26:19.199 --> 00:26:19.839 think about 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:21.839 your promises 00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:22.199 of your 00:26:22.199 --> 00:26:22.579 coming, 00:26:22.719 --> 00:26:22.980 of your 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:23.899 return to 00:26:23.899 --> 00:26:24.279 make all 00:26:24.279 --> 00:26:24.939 things new, 00:26:24.939 --> 00:26:25.259 Lord, 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:25.799 help us 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:26.759 to be 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:27.160 ready, 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:29.299 ready to 00:26:29.299 --> 00:26:29.740 meet with 00:26:29.740 --> 00:26:30.160 you in 00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:30.740 our daily 00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:31.299 lives, 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:33.160 in whatever 00:26:33.160 --> 00:26:33.980 situations 00:26:33.980 --> 00:26:34.579 come our 00:26:34.579 --> 00:26:34.920 way. 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:38.799 Fill us 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:39.160 with your 00:26:39.160 --> 00:26:39.619 Spirit. 00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:45.400 In Jesus' 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:45.839 name. 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:47.079 Amen. 00:26:47.079 --> 00:26:49.119 Amen. 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:49.619 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:49.959 Amen. 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.959 --> 00:26:49.959 00:26:49.960 --> 00:27:19.940 Thank you.