The Presence - Jess Hammond

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, welcome everyone, welcome especially to those who are new or visiting this morning great to have you.

[SPEAKER_00]: With us, my name is Jess, for those who don't know me and I am the worship pastor here at one, so it's a great privilege to be able to share this morning and to continue on in our next series.

[SPEAKER_00]: So this morning we are looking at Acts 4, so we've been unpacking the previous chapters over the past couple of weeks.

[SPEAKER_00]: So Darren made a really good statement last week and he said every good sermon hinges on an awesome opening line.

[SPEAKER_00]: Do you remember him saying that?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it was like no pressure at all.

[SPEAKER_00]: So this morning I'm going to share a fun fact.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if you're a dad in the room, I'm going to need your help this morning.

[SPEAKER_00]: This fun fact is that actually the first recorded cricket game is found in the Book of Acts.

[SPEAKER_00]: Does anyone know this?

[SPEAKER_00]: Anyone know what I'm talking about?

[SPEAKER_00]: Any other dads in the room?

[SPEAKER_00]: No, oh, you haven't heard this one.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, in the book, in Acts 2, it says that Peter stood up amongst the 11 and was bold.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bold?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah?

[SPEAKER_00]: See what I did there?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: but those non-Australians in the room who don't understand cricket by apologies, but you can thank my father-in-law for that joke.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, Peter was bold.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, we actually today, we do see Peter being bold B-O-L-V dot bold.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as we come to Acts 4, we do see not only Peter, we see all the disciples, this incredible boldness coming upon them in a really special way.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I thought it would be good to just recap a little bit of where we've been so far for those of us that may not have been here for every week.

[SPEAKER_00]: So the first few weeks, we looked at Acts 1 over the first couple of weeks.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we see this picking up straight after the resurrection.

[SPEAKER_00]: So Jesus has been resurrected.

[SPEAKER_00]: He actually stays with the disciples for about 40 days, you know, showing, proving that he is actually alive.

[SPEAKER_00]: We see that he is taken up into heaven.

[SPEAKER_00]: He ascends.

[SPEAKER_00]: But before that, he promises the Holy Spirit, this amazing gift.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then it acts too as Linda shared with us, we see the arrival of this amazing gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we see this outpouring in Pentecost, we see the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and this new supernatural empowerment that comes upon the church through the power of the Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we see this exponential growth of the church, and the start of this Christian community of believers, what we now call the church, all of this happens in acts too.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then Acts 3 as Darren shared with us last week.

[SPEAKER_00]: We see the disciples starting to step out into more of this supernatural work of the spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: This healing work, we see a healing, a miracle, as the disciples pray for a man who's been lame for 40 years and he's healed miraculously.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we all sing the song, he went walking and leaping and praising God.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know the one I mean, it's going to be stuck in your head all morning now.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we see this miracle take place and then Peter starts to get quite bold with his preaching and I don't know if you remember but Darren shared this sermon that Peter preachers, it's actually starting to get pretty provocative and he actually says he even cast blame for the death of Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: So you can imagine that

[SPEAKER_00]: But atmosphere is starting to get pretty tense and the religious leaders and the elders are starting to, you know, be a bit unsettled by what's being preached.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, we come to Acts 4 and we start to see, for the first time, a bit of opposition, a bit of opposition to this message that's being preached.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not going to read verses 1 to 21, but if you go and read it at home, you'll see that Peter and John are actually thrown into jail, though they're thrown into jail for the stuff that they're starting to preach.

[SPEAKER_00]: But while they're in jail, the church explodes, continues to explode because they've seen this miracle.

[SPEAKER_00]: They've seen this lame man who is recklessly healed after 40 years.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's 40 and they're like, wow, we can't deny what God is doing and they're so impacted by this message.

[SPEAKER_00]: So the crowd are actually on Peter and John's side.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so the leaders are starting to get nervous, but they don't really know what to do with them, because they haven't actually committed anything any crime, they haven't broken any laws.

[SPEAKER_00]: But there's this sense of unrest they're starting to become a bit threatening.

[SPEAKER_00]: So they get thrown into jail.

[SPEAKER_00]: Then the next day, if I get taken to the Sanhedrin, which is the court of law, and I get questioned, and the whole deal.

[SPEAKER_00]: But again, they can't really find anything wrong with what they've done.

[SPEAKER_00]: So they can't actually do anything with them.

[SPEAKER_00]: They have to let them go.

[SPEAKER_00]: They have to let Peter and John go.

[SPEAKER_00]: But before they let them go,

[SPEAKER_00]: They feel like they have to kind of say something to just keep this preaching thing, you know.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just keep it a bit at bay because they're very nervous, they're very nervous about the groundswell that these disciples are creating and the followers that they're gaining.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so they decide to say to them, listen, you know, we're going to let you go, but you can't you can't preach about this Jesus guy.

[SPEAKER_00]: You just can't.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can't preach about the resurrection, they're very nervous, particularly about this idea of Jesus being resurrected and the power that he has that to say, the power that only Jesus has to say.

[SPEAKER_00]: So they try to silence them and they say, well let you go, but

[SPEAKER_00]: no more preaching, all right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And they actually threaten them, and they threaten them to the point where they feel that their lives are in danger.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, what do you think Peter and John's response would be?

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, you've got these authorities that do have the power to actually kill you or silence you or throw in jail, and they're threatening them.

[SPEAKER_00]: What do you think Peter and John's response would be?

[SPEAKER_00]: And it'd be interesting.

[SPEAKER_00]: Go and keep preaching.

[SPEAKER_00]: You stole my sermon.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just going to go home now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Exactly.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so we're going to read from verse 23.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's read together.

[SPEAKER_00]: On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

[SPEAKER_00]: When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sovereign Lord, they said, you made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

[SPEAKER_00]: You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father David.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain?

[SPEAKER_00]: The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord, and against His anointed one.

[SPEAKER_00]: Indeed, Harrod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your Holy servant, Jesus whom you areointed.

[SPEAKER_00]: They did this, they did what your power and will had decided before hands should happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

[SPEAKER_00]: Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your Holy

[SPEAKER_00]: And after they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were filled.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, what did Peter and John do?

[SPEAKER_00]: First, before they went and preached, they prayed.

[SPEAKER_00]: They prayed, and they cried out to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: And they affirmed their dependence on him and him alone.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, I'm not sure what you would do if your life was being threatened in this way.

[SPEAKER_00]: If it was me, ashamedly, I think my first instinct would be to be pretty scared.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm usually quite a compliant person.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just asked my parents, I did the right thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I didn't like breaking the rules.

[SPEAKER_00]: I really felt bad whenever I did anything wrong.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've actually didn't want to know the anyagram.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm quite a high nine on the anyagram piecemaker.

[SPEAKER_00]: don't like to rock the boat.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I can first, in my human weakness, it probably would have scared me off, and it would have made me question, oh, maybe I should be silent.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe I'm doing the wrong thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I should keep quiet.

[SPEAKER_00]: These are my authorities.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've got to do what they say, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And perhaps Peter and John were scared too.

[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, I'm sure they were scared.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's what they did with that fear,

[SPEAKER_00]: They ran, they ran to their friends, they ran to their community, and they said, this is what's happened, let's pray, and then they ran to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: And they cried out to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: They didn't just say a gentle little prayer.

[SPEAKER_00]: They sure they got on their knees and they just cried out to God.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this prayer is so interesting.

[SPEAKER_00]: They first prayed.

[SPEAKER_00]: They first prayed, sovereign Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: You made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're very first thing they did was to put God back in His place as King.

[SPEAKER_00]: In the face of their fears, they proclaimed the Lord as King.

[SPEAKER_00]: They proclaimed His Lordship over everything.

[SPEAKER_00]: Over the heavens and the earth and the sea, everything in it, God, it all belongs to you.

[SPEAKER_00]: They magnified Him.

[SPEAKER_00]: They made God bigger.

[SPEAKER_00]: and anything else that was going on for them.

[SPEAKER_00]: They made him bigger, and then they quote Psalm 2, which is actually one of the messianic Psalms, you know, a Psalm that tells us something about Jesus that foretell something about his kingdom, his authority.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so they quote Psalm 2, why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain?

[SPEAKER_00]: The kings of the earth rise up and the rule is banned together against the Lord and against his anointed one.

[SPEAKER_00]: They actually affirm that what's happening to them is not about them.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not just about the fact that they've got some leaders off side and they're being told naughty, there's actually opposition to Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: This message has put people off side.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's the United One.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's Jesus, the United One, who has gotten people off side.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's the message of the gospel that is potentially offensive.

[SPEAKER_00]: And by doing this, they're actually kind of saying, okay, well, God, you knew this was gonna happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: This, we saw this happening, and they, you know, they say, God, we know that this was part of your plan.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I guess in one sense, it gives them courage in the next verse, it says, indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles.

[SPEAKER_00]: To inspire against your Holy servant Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: So in one sense, they gain courage from the fact that this is no surprise to God, he knew, he knew that this is gonna bring opposition.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's really interesting what they didn't pray.

[SPEAKER_00]: And now I'm sure I would be tempted to pray, not very nice things at this point.

[SPEAKER_00]: They didn't pray, oh God, smart, my enemies.

[SPEAKER_00]: Kill them, go get them, God.

[SPEAKER_00]: They don't, they just don't.

[SPEAKER_00]: All they say is, Lord consider their threats.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then they don't even pray, oh, you know, God, make people realize that I was right all along, because this is you, this is your message, and your message is right, and, you know, let them see, let them see that I was right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And they don't pray,

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh God, don't let us go to jail again.

[SPEAKER_00]: That was really awful.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to go to jail.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to get, I don't want to be persecuted.

[SPEAKER_00]: Save us, save us from persecution.

[SPEAKER_00]: They don't even pray that.

[SPEAKER_00]: They say, enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

[SPEAKER_00]: Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

[SPEAKER_00]: They ask for more baldness.

[SPEAKER_00]: In one sense, they're asking for more suffering.

[SPEAKER_00]: We know that by preaching, we're probably gonna, you know, have opposition.

[SPEAKER_00]: So let's have more.

[SPEAKER_00]: Woo hoo.

[SPEAKER_00]: They ask for more baldness.

[SPEAKER_00]: And they ask for more of God's power to be poured out.

[SPEAKER_00]: And what was God's response?

[SPEAKER_00]: He poured out His power.

[SPEAKER_00]: He poured out His power.

[SPEAKER_00]: in a really amazing way.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he filled them with courage and fresh boldness.

[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, the power that he poured out was so strong that it caused an earthquake.

[SPEAKER_00]: It caused an earthquake.

[SPEAKER_00]: After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word boldly.

[SPEAKER_00]: Anyone been in any prayer meetings where there's been an earthquake lately?

[SPEAKER_00]: They prayed in earnest and God responded, as he always does.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I think there's a couple of takeaways for us from this passage today.

[SPEAKER_00]: The first thing is that the disciples feed God more than they feed man.

[SPEAKER_00]: They feed God more than they feed man.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's an interesting concept, this fear of God idea.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we probably don't have time to do it full justice today.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I don't think we talk about it enough in our current Christianity.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it might be a bit of a backlash to there wasn't era where, you know, hellfire and brimstone was kind of the theme of preaching for the day.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we've possibly shifted a bit too far, but we don't really understand this concept of what it means to fear God.

[SPEAKER_00]: We see it throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament.

[SPEAKER_00]: We see it in due to autonomy 10-12 here.

[SPEAKER_00]: It says, now Israel, what does the Lord require of you?

[SPEAKER_00]: He requires only that you fear the Lord, your God, and live in a way that pleases Him, and love Him and serve Him with all your heart and soul.

[SPEAKER_00]: And in one sense, the second half of this verse kind of helps.

[SPEAKER_00]: Explain what fearing of the Lord is, fearing the Lord is.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's to live in a way that pleases Him, Him above all else.

[SPEAKER_00]: To live in obedience to our God.

[SPEAKER_00]: The Hebrew word here, which is used as Yare, which means

[SPEAKER_00]: fear, it actually means fear to be afraid, but it means to stand in awe of, be awed, it means fear, reverence on our respect.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's actually the correct response to a Holy God, to have an awe and a respect, a holy fear of the one who created the universe, the one who holds the power of life and death in his hands.

[SPEAKER_00]: The word here, it's also used in Psalm 27.

[SPEAKER_00]: The same word for fear, although it's not talking about fear of the Lord here.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a Psalm of David, Psalm 27, one of my favorite.

[SPEAKER_00]: Psalms, the Lord is my light and my salvation.

[SPEAKER_00]: whom shall I fear?

[SPEAKER_00]: The Lord is the stronghold of my life.

[SPEAKER_00]: whom shall I fear?

[SPEAKER_00]: When David wrote this Psalm, he was most likely on the run from Saul and Paul Absalom, maybe,

[SPEAKER_00]: He was fleeing for his life hiding in a cave somewhere because he was in danger, but he writes this declaration, whom shall I fear?

[SPEAKER_00]: I will not fear anyone except God whom shall I fear.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it was the same with the disciples with Peter and John and the disciples in Acts 4.

[SPEAKER_00]: They feared God more than they feared man.

[SPEAKER_00]: They feared that the outcome of not obeying God was way worse than what any man could do to them.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we see a similar concept in X9, although this is the Greek word here used in X9 is actually a lot stronger than the Hebrew word, and it actually means terror.

[SPEAKER_00]: And interesting that this passage was written well, it's recorded after the ananisance of fire killed, which I'm going to let Tim deal with next week, maybe.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to carry to that.

[SPEAKER_00]: But interesting, that they still, it was a hallmark of the early church.

[SPEAKER_00]: They lived in fear of the Lord.

[SPEAKER_00]: The church throughout Judea, Galilean, Samaria, enjoyed a time of peace with strengthened living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit and it increased in numbers.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's this idea that, you know, they lived with the determinists who obey God only.

[SPEAKER_00]: To care about what God thought above anyone else, even if they were afraid, even if it was challenging, they chose to care about his opinion, his way of doing things more than anything else.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I think the fear probably for them also came from this center of urgency that they had with the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were given this life-changing message and I think they knew it was burning in their hearts.

[SPEAKER_00]: They knew that if they didn't preach this message that many people would perish.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I think there was a fear, you know, on that level that we just have to preach this message.

[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't matter.

[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't matter if our lives are at risk because there are so many who need to

[SPEAKER_00]: And they cared so little that many of them gave their lives for this faith as we read in Revelation 12.

[SPEAKER_00]: They did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we see in Acts we see through history that many of them gave their lives for this message.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it comes down to a really simple question for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Do we trust God?

[SPEAKER_00]: It comes down to a matter of trust.

[SPEAKER_00]: Do we trust that our God is who He says He is?

[SPEAKER_00]: Do we trust that He will be faithful to sustain us?

[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever it is, we face.

[SPEAKER_00]: What would we do if our lives were under threat?

[SPEAKER_00]: Do we fear God in awe and reverence more than we fear what might happen to us?

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, we're not living in areas where the church is persecuted, like our brothers and sisters overseas.

[SPEAKER_00]: We don't have to face our lives being under threat on a daily basis, but many do.

[SPEAKER_00]: But you never know, like we might not be that far from it.

[SPEAKER_00]: We may not at some point in history in the future.

[SPEAKER_00]: We may have to face this question.

[SPEAKER_00]: But aside from the ultimate cost, the ultimate sacrifice, what about this day-to-day life?

[SPEAKER_00]: Are we ashamed to be known as someone who loves Jesus?

[SPEAKER_00]: Or to stand up for what we believe, what we know God is wanting us to do, even if it costs our career, our reputation, our friendships, to go against the flow of popular culture.

[SPEAKER_00]: What does it look like in our lives to fear God more than to fear man?

[SPEAKER_00]: Might be a good question for us to sit with at some point.

[SPEAKER_00]: Secondly, they knew their dependence on the Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: They knew that they would depend on the Holy Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: Darrell Bock says, in some this prayer, in Acts 4, is an expression of complete dependence on God.

[SPEAKER_00]: A recognition of His sovereignty are called for God's justice and oversight in the midst of opposition.

[SPEAKER_00]: For an enablement for mission, for the working of His power to show that God is behind the preaching of the name of Jesus in healing and science, they knew that they knew that they were completely dependent

[SPEAKER_00]: They knew in this situation that if God wasn't going to come through for them, that they were absolutely stuffed for one of a better word.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were dependent on Him to protect them, to deliver them, and to save them, but they were also dependent on Him for the power to be able to share His message, for the boldness, for the courage, the empowerment, the empowerment to heal that's not their power, that was God's power.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's an interesting concept, isn't it?

[SPEAKER_00]: Dependants, it's fair to say that dependence is probably not our natural human default, that a fair thing to say.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think it stems back to Eden.

[SPEAKER_00]: Doesn't that the Garden of Eden?

[SPEAKER_00]: Do I trust?

[SPEAKER_00]: What God's going to say?

[SPEAKER_00]: What he said about not eating this fruit?

[SPEAKER_00]: Does he really know what he's doing?

[SPEAKER_00]: Do I trust his wisdom, or maybe I'll just go with what I think instead?

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe I'll just eat that fruit.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think I like my independence too much.

[SPEAKER_00]: The ultimate active independence.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why, as humans, are we so uncomfortable with this idea of dependence?

[SPEAKER_00]: being dependent on someone or something else.

[SPEAKER_00]: When the reality is, there is pretty much most of our lives is out of our control.

[SPEAKER_00]: But there's that word, control.

[SPEAKER_00]: We really like to be in control.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't we?

[SPEAKER_00]: What I think that we're in control?

[SPEAKER_00]: I do.

[SPEAKER_00]: But what is it the two voices?

[SPEAKER_00]: You can have control or growth, but you can't have both.

[SPEAKER_00]: And essentially, what's at the root of needing control in our lives?

[SPEAKER_00]: If you look at one of the things that drive us to want to control, it's actually fear.

[SPEAKER_00]: Fear is at the root of needing to control.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you'll know it in yourself.

[SPEAKER_00]: You'll know it in other people when anyone is trying to control, trying to keep their hands tight on certain situations.

[SPEAKER_00]: So when you're doing it, it's because we're afraid.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's because we're afraid, and so we need to control the situation.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this comes back to the idea of trust, doesn't it?

[SPEAKER_00]: He's God, a God, who I can trust.

[SPEAKER_00]: What happens if I let go and I trust him?

[SPEAKER_00]: What happens if he lets me down?

[SPEAKER_00]: Easy trust, Willie.

[SPEAKER_00]: Does he have my best interest at heart?

[SPEAKER_00]: Or maybe it's better if I just stay in control.

[SPEAKER_00]: Then at least I know how things will turn out, or at least we think we do.

[SPEAKER_00]: Dependants also makes us vulnerable.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's scary.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's really scary to be in a place of depending.

[SPEAKER_00]: It makes us vulnerable.

[SPEAKER_00]: But the truth of the matter is, as I said, none of us, none of us are ever fully in control.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I love this passage from Corinthians.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this also passing power is from God and not from us.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this is what the disciples believed.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this is true for us as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: We are the jars of clay, we're earthen vessels.

[SPEAKER_00]: The only power we ever really have is the only true power we ever have is from God and not from us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not from our own efforts, our own striving for good works, but from God and not from us.

[SPEAKER_00]: As believers, as friends of Jesus, we actually need to get really comfortable with this idea of dependence.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's hard.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's really hard.

[SPEAKER_00]: For some of us, I know, some of us in the room we have actually had dependence thrust upon us at the moment.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know many are going through hard times.

[SPEAKER_00]: It might be car accidents, chronic illness,

[SPEAKER_00]: mental, physical health challenges, financial hardships, tough family situations.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've been thrown into a place of dependence.

[SPEAKER_00]: And in one sense, it's almost easier to trust God when we're thrown into dependence.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's thrown upon us.

[SPEAKER_00]: So what other option do we have?

[SPEAKER_00]: We are the trust God or, you know, we try and make things work ourselves.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if that's you today, I just want you to hear this.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can trust him.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can trust him, he is who he says he is.

[SPEAKER_00]: So keep running to him, don't run away.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't run away and try and do it on your own.

[SPEAKER_00]: Keep running to the father because he's got you and he's got whatever situation you're facing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Stay in that place of dependence on him.

[SPEAKER_00]: But for some of us, that's not necessarily our reality.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, there's lots going on, there's not much to make us think all life's hard, and we need to rely on God.

[SPEAKER_00]: So what does dependence look like for those of us?

[SPEAKER_00]: And again, I think it just comes down to this question of who's in control, who is calling the shots.

[SPEAKER_00]: Are you including God in everyday decisions?

[SPEAKER_00]: Are you asking His opinion?

[SPEAKER_00]: Are you inviting Him into the day-to-day thoughts of your life?

[SPEAKER_00]: Are you abiding, staying connected to the vine as Jesus says in John?

[SPEAKER_00]: But perhaps for some of us, we actually need to make the conscious choice to start loosening our group of control on certain things.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's like this idea of the monkey trap.

[SPEAKER_00]: Anyone heard of this monkey trap?

[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, there's a container.

[SPEAKER_00]: Food goes into the monkey trap, and the monkey puts his hand in.

[SPEAKER_00]: to get the food, but the holes only big enough for the hand to go in, you know, as a flat hand, the monkey grabs the food and it makes a fist, clenches the food, and he tries to get his hand out, but the holes too small, so he can't get his hand out.

[SPEAKER_00]: So he's only got one option.

[SPEAKER_00]: Four monkeys, it means, isn't it?

[SPEAKER_00]: The only option he has, if he wants to get his hand

[SPEAKER_00]: is to open his grip, but he has to let the food go.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let me do goes hungry, but he has to let the food go and then it can take his hand out.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he can't stay close, if he's dead, otherwise his hands stay stuck in the pot.

[SPEAKER_00]: What about for you today, are there things?

[SPEAKER_00]: Is that something God is challenging in your life?

[SPEAKER_00]: Are there things where you just need to loosen the grip and let go and actually trust that God has things in His hands?

[SPEAKER_00]: The third takeaway is that the disciples needed a fresh infilling of the Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: They needed a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so do we, so do we.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we see this all throughout Acts actually a number of times.

[SPEAKER_00]: We saw it in Acts 2.

[SPEAKER_00]: We saw this great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that was for, you know, empowerment of the church.

[SPEAKER_00]: We saw speaking in different languages, the spreading of the gospel, all of that.

[SPEAKER_00]: We see it twice in this passage.

[SPEAKER_00]: We saw it when Peter at the start of the passage in verse 8.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and then he preached boldly.

[SPEAKER_00]: So God actually gave him a fresh feeling of the Spirit so that he could preach boldly and basically stand up to the leaders and what they were accusing him of.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then at the end of this chapter, as well as we've read in verse 31, God feels all of them afresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: And again, the anointing is for boldness, for courage, a fresh and feeling for courage, courage to proclaim the gospel, courage to do what God has asked them to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: We see it again in Acts 9 with Saul who becomes Paul when he's in his conversion the Holy Spirit feels him.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we see it again in Acts 10 at the end of the passage it talks about the the disciples being filled with the Spirit again and they're filled with joy.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so God has all these different purposes.

[SPEAKER_00]: Each time he refills them with the Holy Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a new purpose.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I think this is the messages that we just, we need to keep being filled with the Holy Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: We never once, you know, once isn't enough.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a constant, a continuous refilling.

[SPEAKER_00]: And in Ephesians five posts, you know, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't get drunk on wine, but leave be filled with the Holy Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the way filled here is used is to continue, as it's saying, basically, continuously be filled with the Holy Spirit, always be filled with the Holy Spirit.

[SPEAKER_00]: I love this quote from Marco Green, he says, however often we may be filled.

[SPEAKER_00]: We soon need filling again.

[SPEAKER_00]: We evaporate, we leak, we need refilling.

[SPEAKER_00]: And what is more, we Christians are often filled with spirits and attitudes which are far from the spirit of God.

[SPEAKER_00]: However, greatly, we may have been used before.

[SPEAKER_00]: Being filled with the Spirit is not a state we can claim as a permanent possession.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a standing call for us to come again and again to the source to be filled of fresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: I love this.

[SPEAKER_00]: We evaporate.

[SPEAKER_00]: We leak.

[SPEAKER_00]: We need refilling.

[SPEAKER_00]: We are, we are the earth and vessels.

[SPEAKER_00]: We get cracks in us.

[SPEAKER_00]: We get beaten up by life sometimes.

[SPEAKER_00]: We need to calm again and again to the source and to be filled of fresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I find this so encouraging.

[SPEAKER_00]: It says, the Holy Spirit, God is offering this unlimited resource for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Green also says, it's not a once for all experience, but a constant offer from a generous renewing God.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not amazing.

[SPEAKER_00]: A constant offer from this generous renewing God.

[SPEAKER_00]: A constant offer to be refreshed, to be renewed, to be strengthened, to have courage and boldness to proclaim the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever it is that we need today, we will find it as we loosen our grip, as we open our hands and invite the Holy Spirit to fill us a fresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: There is nothing too hard for God, there is nothing too hard for Him.

[SPEAKER_00]: And in Him we find all that we need.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is enough and all these inviting us to do is to come, to keep coming back to the source, to keep trusting him, not to run away for to keep coming back.

[SPEAKER_00]: The same God, I just need to be filled with fresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like that pot that's all cracked and dry and I've got bits missing, just fill me with fresh, restore me, renew me.

[SPEAKER_00]: and equip me, equip me for your work, even the work of sharing the gospel.

[SPEAKER_00]: We can't do it on our own.

[SPEAKER_00]: We just can't do it on our own.

[SPEAKER_00]: We need him.

[SPEAKER_00]: We need the fresh and filling, fresh empowerment time and time again from our generous renewing God.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we're gonna just create some space this morning to do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: to just allow ourselves to come back to our God and over this series every week we've had an opportunity just to present ourselves in the presence of God again and be filled afresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we're gonna do that again today.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm just gonna invite us to stand as the band come up to lead us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's just close our eyes.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just take a deep breath in, take a breath out, take another deep breath in.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to invite you with your hands.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just to make a fist, make a fist with your hands while eyes are closed.

[SPEAKER_00]: Clench your fists, squeeze them nice and tight, not too tight that you hurt yourself, but just tight.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as you do this with your fists, let's just imagine in your fists, all the things that are burdening you, the worries, concerns, the battles, the same two big.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe the feelings of inadequacy,

[SPEAKER_00]: or the inability to feel like you want to live up to what God is calling us to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: Self-doubt, shame, it might even be just a recognition that you are still really want to remain in control.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever it is, it's in your fist, keep it nice and tight.

[SPEAKER_00]: And now when you're ready, just loosen your grip and open up your hands, and let it all go.

[SPEAKER_00]: Turn your palms up to heaven.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let go of the worries and burdens.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just acknowledge the knowledge that you need, that you need him today.

[SPEAKER_00]: might not be a desperate situation, but you need him, that we need him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just with our hands open, let's...

[SPEAKER_00]: If you feel comfortable, just invite the Holy Spirit to... fill you again, a fresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: You say, a Holy Spirit, fill me a fresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: Say it out loud, if you feel comfortable, Holy Spirit, fill me a fresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: Feel me afresh today.

[SPEAKER_00]: I need you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I need you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Feel me afresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: Holy Spirit, we invite you today to feel every heart, here and online afresh.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know what every person is facing, you know.

[SPEAKER_00]: Would you come, breathe strength, life, courage into each of us today?

[SPEAKER_00]: Courage to be your people and to follow you even when it's hard.

[SPEAKER_00]: To boldly share your message with those around us.

[SPEAKER_00]: And maybe for some of us, strength, just to make it through today.

[SPEAKER_00]: Would you pour your life into our hearts again, Holy Spirit?

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just going to invite the prayer team to come up to the front to the crosses if you're on the prayer team this morning, why don't you come up now?

[SPEAKER_00]: And as we sing this next song, I just, you know, how to sense that God really wanted to minister his strength to people today.

[SPEAKER_00]: New strength.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know that many of us are weary from life at the moment, there's a weiriness.

[SPEAKER_00]: It might even be strength to have the boldness to respond to God and to be able to preach His Word.

[SPEAKER_00]: and maybe for some of these literally just strength to get out the doors this morning.

[SPEAKER_00]: But each week we're trying to create opportunities for people to come, really be ministered to.

[SPEAKER_00]: So during this final song, if that's you, feel free to come, make use of our beautiful prayer team and invite God just to fill you with fresh strength this morning.

[SPEAKER_00]: The team gonna lead us in worship.