WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.339 We are called to be witnesses. What does that actually look like? In the next few minutes, 00:00:06.379 --> 00:00:12.200 we're just going to explore what it looks like to be called as witnesses. And here in this 00:00:12.200 --> 00:00:18.280 morning's reading is one of those amazing, beautiful and powerful images that were given 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:25.719 in the Bible of this amazing encounter between two disciples going up to the temple who have 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:33.640 this encounter with this man who has been brought daily. Now, yet for some, you may think this is a 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:38.700 miraculous thing that's happened. If I'm called to share my faith, if I'm called to witness, 00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:45.719 this could never happen to me. I'd like you to just open your minds this morning and think about 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:54.239 how we actually witness and how we share our faith. And I'd like you to open your mind not to think, 00:00:54.240 --> 00:01:00.240 oh, you know, this is something for somebody who is super spiritual or who is probably on a 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:06.640 different plane than I am in my Christian journey. But I'd like you to just watch this clip because 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:13.099 sometimes I think we can try too hard. And I don't know about you, I've met some really cringy people 00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:18.540 the way they've tried to talk about Jesus. Maybe this resonates with you, the man in the library. 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:25.239 What is that? 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:44.780 Hey, hey, you ever try listening to Christian music? Here, yeah, it's good. It's better. 00:01:44.780 --> 00:02:06.180 Can I help you find anything? 00:02:06.180 --> 00:02:11.480 No, but I know what you've been searching for your whole life. 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:22.860 We all laugh because maybe it resonates for us because often I think sometimes when we're 00:02:22.860 --> 00:02:29.920 passionate about something, we are passionate about Jesus. We try too hard. And as I read the 00:02:29.920 --> 00:02:34.680 scripture this morning, I want us to be encouraged in how we can witness. And I've been reading, 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:40.420 practicing the presence of God. And it was written by Brother Lawrence. Well, it was actually about 00:02:40.420 --> 00:02:46.180 Brother Lawrence. And it was written by a guy who put this all together, about a 17th century monk. 00:02:46.480 --> 00:02:54.040 And what he used to do is he used to stand and do washing up. That's what he did. He just did washing 00:02:54.040 --> 00:03:02.620 up in a kitchen. And people came from all over just to be near him, to be alongside him, to hear what he 00:03:02.620 --> 00:03:12.000 had to say while he was practicing the presence of God, being himself in the everyday. And often I think 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:18.400 there's something in this story this morning that resonated with me about being ourselves as we come 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:25.159 to share our faith into that sense of God's presence. Perhaps that's why so much happens in kitchens. 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:31.359 I don't know about you, but some of the greatest conversations I think we have are held in kitchens, 00:03:31.699 --> 00:03:36.919 because maybe that's a place where we relax and we're at home, and we can chat with people very 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:43.180 openly. Be encouraged. Let's go back to the start, engage what the power and presence of the risen Lord 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:50.400 can do in us and through us in this story this morning. Firstly, Peter and John, two disciples. 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:55.560 Now, only a short time before this happens, they have been, along with other disciples, 00:03:55.719 --> 00:04:01.700 they've been locked away in a room. They were locked away in a room. They thought that it was the end. 00:04:01.819 --> 00:04:07.020 Jesus had been crucified. They'd gone away. They thought the end was coming. Peter had actually 00:04:07.020 --> 00:04:13.520 denied Christ. And so there was these two disillusioned people. But now we see in this picture 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:20.960 this morning that their faith that their faith had been transformed because they had acknowledged the 00:04:20.960 --> 00:04:28.480 risen Christ, and now they were moving in the power of the Holy Spirit. And so here is this totally 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:35.460 game-changing experience that they've had as they know, as they move towards the temple, 00:04:35.459 --> 00:04:44.739 that they have something of the gift of God to share with other people. Now, guys, I'm just going to 00:04:44.739 --> 00:04:51.719 talk to the guys here because it's Christmas coming. Okay? Now, guys, we know that we have to come up 00:04:51.719 --> 00:04:59.639 with that ultimate Christmas present, don't we? Now, I've been, a little tip for you. I follow Mandy around 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:07.319 all year, and I listen, and I watch. Okay? And I'll wait for that moment when she'll go and say, 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:16.039 I really like this. And then I make a point of going back into the shop to get it, to wrap it, 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:23.180 and hide it away. I have things in my wardrobe, I am no saint, that have been bought back in last March 00:05:23.180 --> 00:05:29.959 in April. Now, why do I do that? Because I know that on Christmas afternoon when we leave church, 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:38.439 that there will be something absolutely amazing in this gift that I have to give. But just to see her 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:45.899 receive that gift is something really special. It is no different from what the disciples are doing 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:52.980 here this morning. They know that they have this amazing gift. Two men who know the blessing and the 00:05:52.980 --> 00:06:00.500 transformation that change can bring in sharing this gift, and they're about to share it. 00:06:01.939 --> 00:06:08.900 They're on their way to pray. A little line in there, in the reads. Think of what they've been through. 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:15.700 Did they jettison everything? Did they jettison their faith? Oh, dear. Oh, life's been really hard. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:20.640 God's been, oh, look, I was nearly, I've been living in this thing. We thought this was the end. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:27.019 No, they didn't. They are on their way to the temple. They are on their way. They haven't jettisoned 00:06:27.019 --> 00:06:33.539 anything at all. They are still secure in who they are. And they come across this man and faced 00:06:33.539 --> 00:06:41.419 with an opportunity. What a great opportunity that is. An opportunity that's been laid before them. 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:49.079 What can they do? Here we are. This man asks for money. But in their heart, they know that this is about 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:55.500 survival rather than freedom. Because to give him money would just be survival for him. 00:06:56.300 --> 00:07:02.680 They've got more. They want to give him freedom. And I think we need to think about that. 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:09.939 Because often we can just go into survival mode. This is what we do. This is how we do it. 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:15.660 And this enough is enough. But actually, what they're saying is, actually, no, we have this gift. 00:07:16.019 --> 00:07:23.519 You see, my frustration often is, as a Christian and in some areas of life, is that we seek survival 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:31.899 rather than freedom. Because we don't witness. And we're not called to witness as we should. 00:07:31.899 --> 00:07:38.079 Peter and John, if they had money, I guess they'd have been tempted, like you and me, 00:07:38.539 --> 00:07:43.819 to, yeah, that's fine. Have a bit of money. We walk away. We've got a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling. 00:07:44.299 --> 00:07:52.399 We've done something good. Isn't that lovely? But no. It actually happened today that on this 00:07:52.399 --> 00:08:03.259 occasion, they were, had nothing at all. Silver and gold have I none. But what I have, I'd like to share 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:10.060 with you. Now, in my terms, it goes something like this. I'm really sorry, pal. I haven't been to the 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:17.799 cash point. But I have something I can share with you. I don't know whether anybody's ever been in that 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:24.160 situation before. But this is where it gets exciting as witnesses, because we know what we have to share. 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:30.680 We know what we can share with everyone. And we know what a difference those chance opportunities 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:38.779 will make to those people's lives that we are seeking to reach. Maybe you stood at the bus stop. 00:08:39.460 --> 00:08:44.340 Maybe it's a grim Monday morning. Maybe you're just happening to smile at somebody. 00:08:44.340 --> 00:08:49.580 Maybe you've just smiled. You get onto the bus. And you happen to sit next to this person. 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:55.080 And they say, what sort of weekend have you had? Oh, it's been a lousy weekend. I'll tell you, 00:08:55.139 --> 00:09:01.600 it's been really awful. And they offload. You listen. You listen. And they just get off the bus. They 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:08.100 say, thank you so much. Just in talking has made such a difference to my life. Chance opportunities 00:09:08.100 --> 00:09:15.519 that we can take if we are moving in the power and the spirit of God. You may think this is far off. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:21.000 My own story was I had a mate called Ian. He was a good lad. I worked with him in the police for years. 00:09:21.139 --> 00:09:27.759 He wasn't a Christian. And Ian had witnessed a really traumatic accident. His colleague had been 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:33.600 killed in front of him by a stolen car. The chance encounter and the opportunity was that on a lovely 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:39.860 summer's July afternoon, we happened to bump into them at Croyd. They were camping for the weekend. 00:09:40.180 --> 00:09:44.879 We didn't know they were going to be there. His wife mentioned to Mandy. She said, Ian's never going 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:50.399 to work again. He's going to be retired. He gets day terrors. He sees it again and again and again. 00:09:50.800 --> 00:09:58.399 And he's just the shell of the person he was. Silver and gold have I none. I would love to have fixed 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:06.120 the situation for him. But I can't fix it. But what happened was the fact that on that afternoon, 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:14.759 and I would tell you, I wasn't one of my finest moments because I was about to bottle it. 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:21.959 Because Mandy said, I think you need to pray with Ian. And I thought, that's the last thing. I'm going 00:10:21.960 --> 00:10:27.400 to send him over the edge. You know, why is it when women have got so much more wisdom than men? 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:36.000 Doesn't it infuriate you? It's great. And on that afternoon, Mandy went and took the children back. 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:41.600 I was stood there. And I must admit, I made my excuses. And then as I got up to leave, I felt a 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:49.840 hand, a physical hand in my chest. And I turned to my friend Ian. I said, Ian, do you mind if I pray 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:55.399 with you? And he said, I've been sat here for three hours hoping that you would. You see, 00:10:55.540 --> 00:11:02.480 God makes the opportunity. All we have to do is respond to it. I'd love to say I did a really 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:08.200 grand prayer. I didn't do a grand prayer at all. I think it was something, Lord, I'd sense you knew 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:11.860 you want to heal Ian today. Lord, would you come in the power of your Holy Spirit and heal him? 00:11:12.740 --> 00:11:19.800 Amen. Oh, thanks, mate. That was great. Thanks for that. Off we went. Story ends the next day, 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:24.899 we've come back to come to a wedding in Clevedon. And as we get home, it was before mobile phones, 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:30.679 so you can see when it was. There's an answer machine from his wife saying, Clive, you need 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:37.659 to contact us quickly. We're at home. Automatically, I think, as I like to divert things, as we all do, 00:11:38.179 --> 00:11:40.000 Mandy, why did you tell me to do that? 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:48.539 Picked up the phone. She said, we're at home. Ian has been completely healed. He slept the night. 00:11:48.539 --> 00:11:54.219 He's woken up this morning. No more day terrors. He went back to see the GP and the police surgeon, 00:11:54.419 --> 00:11:59.860 and he was back at work two weeks later. Ian became a Christian. He was baptized. This story 00:11:59.860 --> 00:12:06.039 is very personal for me because I always think, and my line will be as Christians, as we are all 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:15.159 called to be witnesses, we don't miss the opportunities. You see, I think we are in a place at the moment in 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:23.279 our Christian journey as a church, that we are in a place of expectation in our discipleship, 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:28.539 that there are people out there who need to know what we have, but are we sharing what they really 00:12:28.539 --> 00:12:38.419 want? You know? And so think about, I was on my way to the temple. I was on my way to work. I was on my 00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:46.379 way to school. I was on my way to go shopping. I was on my computer. The Lord doesn't limit the 00:12:46.379 --> 00:12:56.439 opportunities to witness to what we were called to do. Handing over a check, shaking somebody's hand 00:12:56.439 --> 00:13:02.279 and being in the paper isn't my style. I think what we're called to share is in the heavenlies. 00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:09.360 And so this amazing opportunity that we've been given, some of the greatest acts of witness will 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:15.740 never grace the pages of newspapers and new wine because it's about our everyday witness in the 00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:22.799 everyday. What we are called and we are all called. Nobody's exempt. If you're calling yourself a 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:28.860 Christian, we are all called as witnesses to move in the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter and John 00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:38.600 enter the temple then with the man who has just discovered freedom. Do they say, look what we've 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:48.480 done? This man is jumping up and down. They don't need to. They see life in him and through him of what 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:54.960 the Lord is doing. And many people can testify to that. Here I guess in our own lives of when we have 00:13:54.960 --> 00:14:01.560 tasted and seen and experienced that. Because actually that is the main thing we are called 00:14:01.560 --> 00:14:12.420 to witness and to share and bring people to Christ. I was thinking about this experience and presence 00:14:12.420 --> 00:14:20.519 and I was thinking about the things that basically is about our preference and not God's. 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:29.000 As you know, we are just about to become a single benefice. And I've just been confronted with a large 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:37.939 box of paperwork from the old benefice to sift through. And in there, in many years ago, in the 00:14:37.939 --> 00:14:45.879 darkest hour of this church, when music nearly divided and got rid of God's presence in this church, 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:56.200 church, there is a file of letters that were written by people. And it is the most ungraceful file that I've 00:14:56.200 --> 00:15:06.700 ever read. We need to practice the presence of God in sharing and caring for each other. And realizing 00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:13.080 on that day as Peter and John went up, it wasn't about them. This wasn't about them. This was about 00:15:13.080 --> 00:15:18.259 the kingdom for what they were called to do. You'll be glad to know I took every one of those letters 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:25.180 and burnt them. Because that is history and that is where it believes belongs. But there is a new 00:15:25.180 --> 00:15:31.980 beginning. And you sense here, this is a new beginning, not only for them, but for this man, 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:36.940 for the people that saw them. The man knew that there was something different about these two men that 00:15:36.940 --> 00:15:41.540 stopped. He looked at them, he waited, he didn't keep asking them for money. He just said to them, 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:46.099 and they said, so when God would be not. But what we have, we can give you something. And we can share 00:15:46.099 --> 00:15:51.980 that with you. We can share Jesus with you. And that's what we're going to do. And that transformed 00:15:51.980 --> 00:15:59.860 his life into freedom. Opportunities are there for us. And I like this man's explanation. This is a man 00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:05.899 called Hugh Halter. I just listened to him on the internet the other day. And this is where I am. 00:16:05.899 --> 00:16:11.659 Because I sense the more authentic we are of being ourselves in Christ, in Christ and us, 00:16:11.939 --> 00:16:19.740 that people will be drawn to us. That people will be drawn. And people will come to us and will journey 00:16:19.740 --> 00:16:28.059 with us into that place of acknowledgement and love and faith. And it's not rocket science. 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:34.299 We don't do it in our own strength. We don't do it in quirky ways by putting cards and diverting people. 00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:39.839 We are just ourselves. Listen to Hugh. I think this resonates with me a lot. I hope it resonates 00:16:39.839 --> 00:16:45.620 with you. It's been probably 15 years. I don't think I've ever really initiated a conversation 00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:51.539 unless somebody has already kind of initiated some curiosity with me. Even when you watch Jesus, 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:56.979 he didn't really start a whole lot of conversations. It seemed like people actually went after him. And 00:16:56.979 --> 00:17:02.120 then even when they would ask him a question, he would just sort of deal with it very quickly. And then 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:07.960 he would sort of back up. And it seemed like they couldn't keep from continuing to go at him. I 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:14.619 found that's the same way in my life. People will ask a question about, you know, how come you and 00:17:14.619 --> 00:17:20.900 Cheryl don't seem to fight that much? And then I tell him that we do fight. But yeah, not as much as 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:27.359 we used to. And then they ask, well, how? How do you not fight? And I remember one guy asked me that 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:31.659 question. I said, Joe, for me to tell you that, I'd have to be really honest about my relationship 00:17:31.659 --> 00:17:36.779 with Jesus. And he said, that's why I asked you. And so at that point, then the conversation's 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:43.179 supernatural because he's literally asked me to tell him about Jesus. A few months ago, I had a party at 00:17:43.179 --> 00:17:49.159 my house and we had a neighbor that was my wife's real estate agent, kind of head broker at our office 00:17:49.159 --> 00:17:54.359 and just a lot of friends hanging around. Some of his friends, some folks that were a part of our 00:17:54.359 --> 00:18:01.059 church, just kind of mingling together really well. And Matt came over and he just said, hey, 00:18:02.059 --> 00:18:06.259 Barry and I, that's his wife, were talking the other night and we just talked about how we don't 00:18:06.259 --> 00:18:12.139 have a whole lot to offer our kids. His kids were now, I think, six, seven and eight. And they must 00:18:12.139 --> 00:18:18.059 have been bringing up conversations about God. And he just said, I realized that I have nothing to offer 00:18:18.059 --> 00:18:25.759 them that actually goes, I think I might be spiritually bankrupt. And I said, well, you should work on that. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:31.779 And he said, I'm trying to. And then we just went back to the party. And then it was probably four 00:18:31.779 --> 00:18:37.399 months later, just a few weeks ago that I actually walked into his real estate office and he looked a 00:18:37.399 --> 00:18:42.059 little bit sort of bummed out. And I said, what's up, Matt? And he goes, remember that spiritual 00:18:42.059 --> 00:18:48.099 bankruptcy thing I brought up? I said, yeah. And I said, you're not making a lot of headway on that? 00:18:48.179 --> 00:18:54.799 And he goes, no. He goes, is there something that you could do to help me figure this out? And so, 00:18:54.859 --> 00:19:00.039 yeah, so we've been talking now about God pretty naturally. I think it was assumed that Christians 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:06.000 would live such beautiful lives that people would actually go after them, knock on their door, 00:19:06.619 --> 00:19:11.839 call them, email them, whatever, to try to get some help with their life. So I just 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:17.480 wait until people move towards us. And then I just speak openly and honestly as somebody that's 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:24.699 just trying to figure it out too. So I'm not the answer man, but I am somebody that's trying to 00:19:24.699 --> 00:19:29.879 follow this real person that really makes a difference in absolutely everything in my life. 00:19:29.939 --> 00:19:32.699 And so it's easy to talk about that part of Jesus. 00:19:32.700 --> 00:19:48.779 So what I'd like to do is just encourage us to do life with people. Just do life with people 00:19:48.779 --> 00:19:56.740 and live that beautiful life. And people will be drawn to us. People will ask us. People will be drawn 00:19:56.740 --> 00:20:03.140 to us because of who we are as we see in an axe church. The people will come because of the people 00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:09.700 that we are. I can't think of a better gift to introduce somebody to than to the power, presence, 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:16.779 love, freedom, life-giving and healing power of God. You don't have to pass an exam. 00:20:17.819 --> 00:20:23.740 You don't have to be a Christian that's a new Christian or a long-standing. You just have 00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:29.819 to be yourself in Christ, in Christ in you. You don't have to quote the catechism. I probably, 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:37.700 I can't do that either. But you just need to be yourself. But I know what I am called and made to 00:20:37.700 --> 00:20:46.400 do and we are called is to witness in the same power that Peter and John did that day. The same power. 00:20:47.099 --> 00:20:53.279 And that is available to us. And in this season, people, when we can share Jesus in this season of 00:20:53.279 --> 00:21:00.319 invitation, the people are asking us about who is this person that came. What a great opportunity 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:07.379 that's been laid before us. And maybe for those of us who have struggled, who think that it's 00:21:07.379 --> 00:21:13.539 somebody else's role to actually share their faith and to witness, to give us a fresh sense of God's 00:21:13.539 --> 00:21:19.660 presence in peace and being who we are and developing our deeper relationship with God 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:27.580 to enable us to enable us not to miss the opportunities, to smile, to be open to people, 00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:35.180 to draw people to ourselves, that people will actually know what we're for rather than what 00:21:35.180 --> 00:21:42.240 we're against, which I think is a good message for today. Let's tell people what we're for 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:50.720 rather than what we're against. And people will love it. People will love the gift. And when they find that 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:57.359 gift, like us, they'll know. They'll know the moment. Let's seize the opportunities.